My Favorite Ship Became My Sister-in-Law - Chapter 21

Ji Chenchuan stayed the night with Shi Yue.

Relative to Shi Yue’s familiarity with his home, Ji Chenchuan had only visited the apartment a few times.

“Shi Yue! Shi Yue!”

Ji Chenchuan shouted loudly in the living room several times, but of course, no one answered him. Receiving no response, Ji Chenchuan entered Shi Yue’s bedroom. On the desk, he saw a ballpoint pen with its barrel crushed to pieces. He hurriedly exited the room and called out for Shi Yue several more times. Finally, he walked toward the bathroom and heard the tireless sound of rushing water coming from behind the closed door.

“Shi Yue, are you in there?”

Ji Chenchuan pounded on the glass bathroom door a few times. There was no response. He assumed the door was locked and gripped the handle to try it, only to find it unlocked. The glass door swung open with a bang. Inside the bathroom, Shi Yue was completely naked, lying unconscious on the floor while cold water showered down on him relentlessly.

Ji Chenchuan froze for a split second before shouting urgently, “Shi Yue!”

Ji Chenchuan rushed to turn off the water, then grabbed a nearby bath towel to wrap around Shi Yue. Disregarding his own injury, he knelt in the bathroom and pulled Shi Yue’s upper body into his arms. He shouted Shi Yue’s name while patting his face.

“Oh dear, this… should I call an ambulance?” The locksmith had followed him in. Seeing the scene before him, he asked in horror.

Ji Chenchuan told him to make the call while he continued to pat Shi Yue’s face and shout, even pinching the philtrum of his upper lip. A deep, red nail mark was left on Shi Yue’s philtrum. His long fingers, resting on the floor, twitched slightly. He slowly opened his eyes, his pupils darting back and forth several times as he gradually regained consciousness.

“Brother Chenchuan,” Shi Yue called out weakly.

Ji Chenchuan let out a massive sigh of relief. He pressed his forehead against Shi Yue’s and pulled him tightly into his embrace, repeatedly whispering, “It is okay! It is okay!” It was unclear if he was saying it to himself or to Shi Yue.

“Why are you here?”

“You did not answer your phone, so I had the locksmith open your door to come in.”

“That is right, young man!” The locksmith added as he hung up the emergency call. “You should thank him properly later. Luckily he insisted I open the door, or something terrible might have happened.”

“Thank you, Brother Chenchuan,” Shi Yue said weakly, a tear sliding from the corner of his eye.

“As long as you are okay. I will carry you to bed.”

Ignoring the risk of his wound reopening, Ji Chenchuan gathered his strength and carried Shi Yue from the bathroom to his bed. The locksmith saw that Shi Yue was just a bit weak and seemed mostly fine. He asked Ji Chenchuan if they still needed the ambulance. Shi Yue spoke before Ji Chenchuan could, saying it was unnecessary. He did not feel unwell; he was simply weak for the moment and did not need to go to the hospital.

Ji Chenchuan wanted to insist on a check-up, but seeing Shi Yue’s stubborn refusal, he gave in. He paid the locksmith 3,000 pesos. After sending the locksmith off, Ji Chenchuan poured a glass of warm water and brought it to the bedroom.

Shi Yue leaned against the headboard, his face pale and green, wrapped in the quilt. He did not take the water; instead, he stared blankly at Ji Chenchuan as if afraid that if he looked away, Ji Chenchuan would disappear.

“I am not leaving. You do not have to keep staring at me like that.” Ji Chenchuan saw through Shi Yue’s thoughts. He sat on the edge of the bed to prove he was staying and offered the water again. “Warm water. Drink some; it will make you feel better.”

“Oh.”

Shi Yue took a sip from the glass held by Ji Chenchuan.

“Why did you faint?” Ji Chenchuan asked.

Shi Yue shook his head evasively. He did not plan to tell anyone about his unusual behavior tonight, including Ji Chenchuan. Seeing Shi Yue’s secrecy, Ji Chenchuan did not press him. He placed the water on the nightstand. He felt a sting in his side and wondered if his wound had reopened. He stood up to go to the bathroom, wanting to check it away from Shi Yue’s eyes.

“Where are you going, Brother Chenchuan?”

As soon as Ji Chenchuan stood up, Shi Yue became incredibly nervous. He grabbed Ji Chenchuan’s fingers and asked weakly. He was now terrified of being alone in this empty home; he needed company.

“The bathroom,” Ji Chenchuan said. “Do not worry! I am not leaving. I will stay with you all night.”

Shi Yue slowly let go.

Shi Yue’s home was a four-bedroom, two-living room layout with two bathrooms. His parents’ master bedroom had an en-suite, but his secondary bedroom did not, so he used the common bathroom. He watched Ji Chenchuan’s back until he left the room.

Standing before the mirror, Ji Chenchuan lifted his pajamas to check his waist. Fortunately, the gauze was still white with no blood seeping through. The pain was likely just from the sudden exertion. Ji Chenchuan let out a quiet sigh of relief. He washed his hands, intending to return to the bedroom, when he noticed Shi Yue’s discarded clothes in the basin under the sink, unwashed.

Ji Chenchuan had seen Shi Yue wear this set of pajamas many times; it was likely his favorite. After a moment of hesitation, he washed the clothes for him, including the underwear mixed in with the rest. When he returned to the room and saw what Shi Yue was doing, Ji Chenchuan’s heart trembled.

Even in this state, he was doing practice problems.

Knowing how focused Shi Yue became while studying, Ji Chenchuan turned off the main bedroom light, leaving only the warm white glow of the desk lamp. He tiptoed to the bed and sat on the other side, watching Shi Yue quietly. From this angle, Ji Chenchuan could only see Shi Yue’s profile.

Shi Yue sat at the desk in his pajamas. The warm light made his already pale face look even more drained. He did not time himself today. After finishing two papers, he moved on to “Olympiad Classics.” It was not until he finished his daily goal that he finally put down his pen, exhausted. He had not let He Lin’s disappointment get to him; he had managed to find his focus today.

“You have to do two papers every day? You cannot even skip one?” Ji Chenchuan asked. He had been timing him; it had taken one hour and forty minutes.

Shi Yue turned to look at him and shook his head. From the day He Lin decided he would take the path of the math competition for university admission, he had never missed a day of doing two papers. “If I skip one day, I will want to skip two, then three, then four, and then forever.”

Technically, he had skipped one day once, but he would never forget the look on He Lin’s face. He eventually made it up. A large portion of these papers were repetitive, but Shi Yue still had to fill them all out tirelessly. Otherwise, He Lin would be unhappy, thinking his attitude was poor, and then Shi Jingsong would become the target of her frustration. There would be no peace in the house.

Ji Chenchuan had always thought Shi Yue was sunny and happy. It was only now that he realized the truth. Those were just the surface; Shi Yue’s heart was filled with melancholy. He cared too much about his family, to the point of winding himself as tight as a bow. Even if the string snapped, he did not seem to care.

That night, Shi Yue slept very well. He and Ji Chenchuan shared his bed. As if afraid Ji Chenchuan would run away in the night, Shi Yue clung to him like an octopus. Consequently, Ji Chenchuan spent the night in a battle with his most primal instincts.

At six o’clock, Shi Yue’s biological clock woke him up.

He opened his eyes to find himself nestled in Ji Chenchuan’s arms. Ji Chenchuan was holding him. Shi Yue felt both startled and enamored. He loved being close to Ji Chenchuan, so for once, he stayed in bed. He postponed the English essay materials he was supposed to memorize until the evening, pretending to sleep so he could continue huddling in that solid, warm embrace.

Ji Chenchuan’s biological clock was also set for six. Seeing that Shi Yue was still “asleep,” he did not push him away and let him continue resting in his arms. Both thinking the other was asleep, they stayed there, awake but tightly held together, feeling each other’s body heat, breathing, and heartbeat until seven o’clock.

Knowing Shi Yue had tutoring, Ji Chenchuan gently moved Shi Yue’s head to the pillow and quietly got up to prepare breakfast in the kitchen. Hearing a sound behind him, Ji Chenchuan turned to see Shi Yue following him. Because he stopped suddenly, Shi Yue stepped on his heel and bumped his face into his back.

Shi Yue gave him a cheeky grin, then dragged Ji Chenchuan along to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Afterward, one was responsible for cooking noodles, and the other for frying eggs. Although the eggs fried by the “good boy” were a bit of a disaster, they were edible when paired with the well-presented noodles.

Shi Yue and Ji Chenchuan sat opposite each other at the dining table, eating the breakfast they had made themselves. Shi Yue’s heart was overflowing with satisfaction; he truly wished every day could be like this. At 7:40 AM, it was time to leave. Shi Yue reluctantly left the table, rushed to wash the dishes, and then headed out.

“I am off to tutoring, Brother Chenchuan.”

“Mhm. Stay safe on the road!”

Ji Chenchuan stood by the hallway, waiting for the elevator with Shi Yue. When the elevator arrived, Shi Yue stepped inside. Once the doors closed and it descended, Ji Chenchuan headed home.

Feng Liuyu thought Ji Chenchuan was still asleep. She was carrying a watering can to the balcony when she saw her son coming back from outside. She looked at him in surprise, having no idea he had slept next door. Ji Chenchuan just smiled at his mother, and the matter passed. Ji Chenchuan went back to his room. Since he could not do much else, he lay on the bay window reading a book.

Suddenly, his phone chimed with a new message notification. Through the lock screen, he saw it was from Shi Yue. He unlocked the phone to check WeChat. It was a photo of a stone brick with a ten-cent coin on it, and a hand with long fingers reaching to pick it up. Shi Yue then sent a message: “Should I hand this over to the police?”

Ji Chenchuan could not help but curl his lips. He replied: “The police are probably too busy to deal with you.”

“I thought so too.”

“So I have decided to keep the gold for myself.”

Ji Chenchuan, for some reason, replied with a message that was not very like him: “Finders keepers, share the wealth!”

Shi Yue: “Stunned.gif”

Shi Yue: “I will give you half.gif”

Ji Chenchuan: “Stop looking at your phone. Pay attention to the road and be safe.”

Shi Yue: “Obedient.gif”

Shi Yue: “I will talk to you when I get to class.”

Ji Chenchuan: “Mhm!”

Ji Chenchuan put down his phone and stared at the words in his book, but he could not process a single one. He was wondering if his connection with Shi Yue had become a bit too close, and if he should maintain a safer distance; after all, Shi Yue was still a minor.

Tutoring class started at 8:30 AM. There were over thirty students in the class, and Shi Yue sat in the middle. At 8:20 AM, he glanced around; there were only three people in the room including himself. At 8:25 AM, two more students entered, both girls. One of the girls with a bob cut saw Shi Yue and her eyes immediately lit up. She sat at the desk next to him and peeked at him behind her book.

Shi Yue did not know her name, but he recognized her as a classmate. He really could not get used to being stared at; it made him feel uncomfortable. He decided to smile at her and say, “Classmate, I did not wash my face today. If you keep looking, I will really get embarrassed.”

The girl had been peeking, but she was charmed by Shi Yue’s humor and laughed. Finding him even more interesting, she stood up and introduced herself boldly, asking if she could pursue him.

Shi Yue: “…”

He had tried to end the peeking, but it had only intensified.

“Since you are not saying anything, I will take that as a yes,” the girl said with a bright smile.