My Favorite Ship Became My Sister-in-Law - Chapter 10

“Two orders of Si Wawa. Brother Chenchuan, do you want to order anything else?”

“A bowl of mung bean soup.”

“Oh, then I want one too. I heard their mung bean soup has a delicate texture, not too sweet or bland; it is very good. So, that is two orders of Si Wawa and two bowls of mung bean soup.”

“Mm.”

Five hundred meters from the hospital, there was a Sour Soup Si Wawa shop. It was a popular internet-famous spot in Lincheng. The status of the shop did not matter as much as the food being delicious. The sour soup Si Wawa and mung bean soup were the shop’s signature dishes, and the flavors were exceptional. Visiting Lincheng without eating Si Wawa is like going to Changsha and not eating stinky tofu; missing it is a true regret.

The shop had two floors. The first floor faced the street, but those who were not in a hurry preferred the second floor. Since they were not rushing, Shi Yue and Ji Chenchuan went upstairs and chose a seat by the window. The view from the second floor was excellent, with clean windows and a clear sight of the pedestrians and vehicles passing below.

Once the order was decided, Shi Yue signaled for service.

The server was a young woman. Everyone loves to look at beautiful things, and as she glanced at Shi Yue and Ji Chenchuan, a faint blush suddenly appeared on her face. She lowered her head slightly and walked over with small steps to take the menu.

“Do you remember, Brother Chenchuan?” Shi Yue said. “The first time Auntie Feng said she was taking us to eat Si Wawa, I thought it was ‘babies cut into shreds.’ I was so scared that I wailed and cried, refusing to come no matter what. Later, Auntie Feng managed to coax me here, and only then did I see that it was just palm-sized flour wraps used to wrap vegetarian ingredients like houttuynia, shredded cucumber, shredded potato, and green beans.”

As Shi Yue spoke, he thought of the scene back then and could not help but laugh loudly. He really wanted to know who came up with the name. Although the wraps did look a bit like a small infant in a swaddling cloth once they were finished, the name itself was quite creepy.

Ji Chenchuan laughed too. He was remembering how Shi Yue had cried as if the world were ending; it was truly hilarious. His mother had a hard time coaxing Shi Yue to come.

When staying with Shi Yue, no matter how silent the other person might be, Shi Yue had the ability to keep the conversation going if he wanted to. Furthermore, being with Ji Chenchuan made Shi Yue even more of a chatterbox. One moment he was asking Ji Chenchuan if the Si Wawa he wrapped looked like a baby and telling Ji Chenchuan to eat, and the next he was complaining that the mung bean soup was a bit too sweet. He added water to his, then complained it had no flavor, and ended up pouring Ji Chenchuan’s half-finished soup into his own to neutralize it before splitting it back into two half-bowls for them to share.

The young server watched from the side, her expression complicated. Did they not find each other’s leftovers unhygienic?

The two of them ate for over an hour, and it was nearly ten o’clock by the time they got home.

As they exited the elevator, Shi Yue suddenly hung his schoolbag on Ji Chenchuan, saying he would sleep over at Ji Chenchuan’s house tonight. His parents were on another business trip, and his own home felt cold and empty. He did not want to be alone and said he would head over after taking a shower.

With the pitiful way Shi Yue looked while saying those words, what could Ji Chenchuan do but agree?

Back at his house, Shi Yue quickly went to his room to grab his favorite gray cotton short-sleeved pajama set. He showered in a hurry, dried his hair, and prepared to head to Ji Chenchuan’s. Then he remembered his phone was broken and he needed to replace it.

He found the new phone his father had bought him a month ago in the television cabinet drawer, took out his SIM card, swapped it in, and turned it on. The “ding-ding-ding” of message notifications lasted for a full minute.

Shi Yue looked and saw there were 38 missed calls. Aside from one from Ji Zhiruo, the other 37 were all from Ji Chenchuan.

So many missed calls.

Thinking back to how anxious Ji Chenchuan had looked at the bookstore, Shi Yue did not dare imagine how Ji Chenchuan felt making one call after another only to have no one answer. He must have been worried to death. And he was driving; if something had happened, Shi Yue did not dare think further. He only knew that from now on, no matter what happened, if he could not use his phone normally, he had to tell Ji Chenchuan immediately. He could not let Ji Chenchuan worry about him like that ever again.

Sitting on the sofa, Shi Yue called He Lin.

He Lin’s exhausted voice came through the phone. She asked Shi Yue a few questions about his daily life and then hung up in a hurry.

Shi Yue suddenly felt a bit uneasy. He knew his parents worked very hard and were busy, having no time to accompany him. He never complained, but sometimes he could not help but secretly wonder if his parents really loved him.

From the age of four until now, thirteen years later, if his parents stayed home for 100 days out of 365, it was considered a good year. The other 265 days were spent at Ji Chenchuan’s house.

As far as he knew, his parents never gave Ji Chenchuan’s parents money. Even hiring a nanny would require a salary, yet his parents only brought back gifts whenever they returned from business trips. They were not particularly expensive items, and Ji Chenchuan’s family did not lack anything, but Ji Chenchuan’s parents always accepted them with smiles and treated him remarkably well. He could feel it was a genuine kindness, not an act.

In this world, Shi Yue thought that perhaps only Ji Shengqiang and Feng Liuyu would treat a neighbor’s child as their own.

Because of this, Shi Yue often thought to himself that when he became successful in the future, he would definitely treat Ji Chenchuan’s parents with the same filial piety as his own. It was this thought that often gave him a strange illusion that Ji Chenchuan’s house was his true home, though he knew clearly that the place he was sitting right now was his actual house.

But at this moment, he really did not want to stay in this lifeless, cold house for even one more minute. He grabbed his phone and keys, locked the door, and ran to Ji Chenchuan’s house as fast as he could.

The door to Ji Chenchuan’s house was left slightly ajar.

Shi Yue entered directly and closed the door behind him. He knew that because he said he was coming, Ji Chenchuan had left the door unlocked for him, as he always did.

The moment he entered Ji Chenchuan’s home, the feeling of home instantly washed over him.

Ji Shengqiang was sitting on the sofa watching the evening news, with Feng Liuyu sitting beside him cracking walnuts. Ji Chenchuan had already showered and was wearing dark blue silk short-sleeved pajamas, sitting on a high stool at the small bar counter drinking water. Ji Zhiruo was leaning on the counter, picking at her fingernails.

Upon seeing Shi Yue arrive, Ji Zhiruo became a completely different person, greeting him with the enthusiasm usually reserved for a major celebrity.

“Did Li Chao’s brother find you today?” Ji Zhiruo approached Shi Yue and asked in a low voice.

In fact, she had already asked Ji Chenchuan about this as soon as he returned and had received the answer. However, to show her concern for Shi Yue, she pretended not to know and asked him personally.

“He found me. The matter has been resolved.”

“How was it resolved?”

“With your curiosity, you probably already asked Brother Chenchuan. You still insist on having me tell you again.”

Ji Zhiruo gave a sheepish laugh. “Hearing it from you is different from hearing it from my brother.”

Shi Yue shuddered. Was Ji Zhiruo having a fever today? He was really not used to her being this enthusiastic. “There is no difference; it was just how it was.”

After saying that, Shi Yue squeezed directly past her toward Ji Chenchuan’s side to stay away from her.

“Yueyue, come eat some walnuts. They are fresh and very delicious.” Hearing Shi Yue’s voice, Feng Liuyu turned her head and called out to him.

“Oh, thank you, Auntie Feng.” After answering her, Shi Yue immediately asked Ji Chenchuan, “Brother Chenchuan, do you want to eat some? I will bring some over for you.”

Ji Chenchuan gestured with the water glass in his hand. “Drinking water, I do not want to eat.”

“I want to eat! Shi Yue, bring some for me!” Ji Zhiruo leaned her hands on the bar counter and blinked at Shi Yue with a smile.

It seemed her claim that she was going to pursue Shi Yue was not just talk.

This abnormal behavior from Ji Zhiruo made Shi Yue shudder again, his skin crawling with goosebumps. “You should just speak to me normally like before. This sudden tenderness is too awkward.”

“How am I being awkward?” Ji Zhiruo asked, her voice turning unpleasant.

They say that when a girl pursues a boy, it is as easy as piercing a layer of gauze, yet her first attempt at pursuing someone was being met with rejection despite her enthusiasm.

“Yes, exactly like that. This way is normal. Keep it up in the future.” Shi Yue smiled and gave Ji Zhiruo a thumbs-up.

“So you like the fierce type.”

“?”

“I get it. I will treat you like this from now on.”

Shi Yue was completely baffled, but he truly had no interest in figuring out what Ji Zhiruo meant. He grabbed the hem of Ji Chenchuan’s clothes and asked Ji Chenchuan to accompany him while he solved some practice problems.

Ji Chenchuan still had half a glass of water left when he was skillfully pulled toward his room by Shi Yue.

“Yueyue, Chenchuan, are you not going to eat any walnuts? I peeled so many,” Feng Liuyu asked them.

“Auntie Feng, you eat first. I am going to have Brother Chenchuan help me with some problems for a bit before I come out to eat.” Shi Yue answered her from the room and closed the door with a moderate amount of force.

Ji Chenchuan had placed Shi Yue’s bag on the desk when he returned. Since Ji Chenchuan had gone to another province for university after the Gaokao and only came home once a year, his desk was still there and had not been moved.

Shi Yue sat at the desk, opened his bag, and took out a Little Blue Book. He asked Ji Chenchuan to time him to see how long it took him to solve a hundred problems.

“Okay.”

Ji Chenchuan sat on the bed, opened the timer on his phone, and told Shi Yue to start.

Shi Yue closed his eyes and took a gentle breath before opening them again. He gripped his pen and buried his head in the problems. The entire preparation took ten seconds; this was Shi Yue’s habit before solving problems, as it allowed him to enter his flow state immediately.

The overhead room lights were off because the desk was against the wall and the light would cast a shadow over his work. Instead, only the desk lamp was on, emitting a warm white light that was easy on the eyes.

From where Ji Chenchuan was sitting, he could only see Shi Yue’s profile. The warm white light shone on Shi Yue’s face, making his well-defined profile appear as if it were gilded with a white halo, outlining his fan-like eyelashes, high-bridged nose, and slightly pursed lips in a way that made them look even more three-dimensional and handsome.

Ji Chenchuan could not help but be momentarily dazed. He immediately moved his gaze away and finished the remaining half glass of water in one gulp. Afraid of disturbing Shi Yue, he kept the empty glass in his hand while his eyes remained fixed on the timer on the phone screen.

“How many minutes did it take, Brother Chenchuan?” Shi Yue put down his pen and asked urgently.

“87.”

“Ah!”

Shi Yue gave a cry and ran his hands through his hair, tugging at it forcefully. He was extremely dissatisfied with this speed.

“Your speed is already very fast,” Ji Chenchuan said, looking at Shi Yue. Anyone who had been flogged by the difficulty level of the Little Blue Book would not find that time unfamiliar.

“No, it won’t do.” Shi Yue disagreed, shaking his head vigorously. “Do you know who I ran into at the bookstore today?”

“Who?”

“Tang Yao from the Eighth High School.”

Ji Chenchuan had never heard the name, but the person seemed to have a significant impact on Shi Yue. Mentioning the name made the expression on Shi Yue’s face change slightly.

“He also won first prize in the preliminary round,” Ji Chenchuan guessed.

“Mm,” Shi Yue nodded hard. “Our strength is about equal, but I feel he is more powerful than me. Brother Chenchuan, I cannot be worse than him, even if…”

He seemed to be thinking of something. Shi Yue’s eyes were filled with determination and a strong longing. After a moment, he spoke:

“For my mom.”