My Favorite Ship Became My Sister-in-Law - Chapter 22

“Student, silence does not mean consent. It means refusal.”

Shi Yue did not want to deal with another Ji Zhiruo, so he declined decisively. Despite his blunt rejection, the girl maintained a confident smile, as if certain she could turn his “no” into a “yes.” She said, “It is not like you have a girlfriend anyway. Do not be so rigid!”

“I have someone,” Shi Yue said without hesitation.

He truly did not want to invite unnecessary trouble. Hearing this, the girl’s expression turned to one of regret. She stopped talking and sat down nearby, looking somewhat reluctant to give up.

Just then, class began, and the tutor started explaining the problems. Perhaps because it was the first day of summer vacation, there were only five students present. Many were absent, including Tang Yao. Tang Yao was the only person in this cram class that Shi Yue actually wanted to befriend, for the simple reason that they were well-matched rivals.

When Shi Yue returned home from his classes, he habitually rummaged through his wardrobe for his favorite light gray cotton pajamas to take a shower. When he could not find them, he suddenly remembered that he had taken them off the night before and had not washed them yet. He went to find the clothes under the sink, intending to wash them before showering. However, he found only an empty basin; his clothes were gone.

Strange, did they grow wings and fly away? Shi Yue wondered.

He looked up and saw his pajama top, bottoms, and even his underwear swaying in the breeze on the drying rack. Clothes do not hang themselves up. There was only one possibility: Ji Chenchuan had washed them for him the previous night.

Shi Yue felt a sudden, violent jolt run through him. Only now did he recall with horror the fact that he had fainted in the bathroom the night before and he had fainted completely naked. This meant he had appeared stark naked before Ji Chenchuan. In what kind of posture had he been?

“Ah!”

Shi Yue did not dare to think further; it was too embarrassing. At the same time, his heart erupted with a fierce throbbing unlike anything he had ever felt, giving rise to an absurd, terrifying thought: he wanted Ji Chenchuan to be good only to him for the rest of his life.

Returning home on Saturday after classes, Shi Yue realized he did not have school the next day. Like squeezing water from a sponge, he managed to carve out some time to finish the horror novel he had been reading to Ji Chenchuan in the hospital. He planned to tell him the ending tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, his parents returned early Saturday night. Shi Yue’s perfect plan was forcibly halted by He Lin’s new schedule. As soon as He Lin arrived home, she excitedly told Shi Yue that a relative of one of her colleagues had been guaranteed admission through a math competition. A certain famous teacher in Lincheng had tutored that student, and that teacher happened to have an opening tomorrow. She planned to take Shi Yue for a trial class. If it went well, she would enroll him in another course. This class was held every Sunday morning, so the schedule would not conflict with his other lessons.

Enrolling in another class on Sundays meant that Shi Yue’s only day of rest each week was gone. Shi Yue said nothing. He sat silently on the sofa, letting He Lin arrange things as she pleased. Since opposition was futile, there was no point in upsetting her. He also did not intend to breathe a word to his parents about what had happened to him that night.

Shi Jingsong looked at the silent Shi Yue and tentatively mentioned that since he had already enrolled in the elite math competition course in Zhejiang, there was no need for this additional class.

“Every teacher teaches different knowledge points. It is better to cover everything than to miss a single detail,” He Lin said.

“But this way, Yueyue will not have even a single day of rest,” Shi Jingsong argued.

“Can you not contradict me at a critical moment like this? Please, Shi Jingsong,” He Lin said, her anger rising. “It is July now. The regional league is in September, and the finals are in November. There are only four months left. If he does not work himself to death, where is the future? It is nowhere to be seen.”

“If you want to enroll me, then do it. Mom, work is already tiring enough. Do not get angry with Dad because of me,” Shi Yue said, standing up from the sofa and handing He Lin a glass of water he had poured for her.

“It is not that I want to be harsh, Yueyue, but look at your father; he has no long-term vision. You are at the age for learning. If you do not study hard now, you will suffer in the future. I am doing this for your own good,” He Lin said, taking a sip of water and glancing at Shi Jingsong with frustration.

“I know, Mom. I will study hard,” Shi Yue said. “I am going to practice some problems.”

With that, Shi Yue returned to his room. He sat at his desk and pulled the top two papers from the tall stack of exams. After finishing those, he moved on to Olympic math classics. When he checked the time, it was already one o’clock in the morning.

Lying in bed, Shi Yue had never felt so exhausted. It was not a physical exhaustion, but a mental one; a feeling of being crushed under a giant boulder that made it difficult to breathe, a weight he could not push away no matter how hard he tried.

Shi Yue opened his phone and went to WeChat. His clean chat interface had only one window: Ji Chenchuan. Shi Yue was meticulous about his chat logs; he deleted conversations with unimportant contacts as soon as they were finished. Ji Chenchuan’s was the only one he never deleted.

He retraced his chat history with Ji Chenchuan word by word, attempting to find some solace. As he read, he unconsciously typed a string of words into the input box. By the time he realized what he was doing, he had already sent the message. Shi Yue hurriedly retracted it.

Actually, the content was not scandalous: “I really want to give you a hug, Chenchuan-ge.” Just those few words. Given their relationship, it was not an overstepping of bounds.

However, ever since Ji Chenchuan had washed his underwear, Shi Yue could not stop his mind from wandering whenever he saw him. He would pay special attention to Ji Chenchuan’s hands, hands so beautiful they could belong to a hand model, and then imagine those hands washing his underwear. His face would flush, and his heart would race uncontrollably. Sending those words now made him feel the same way; he was overthinking, wondering what it would feel like to be embraced by those hands.

Shi Yue tried to imagine the sensation, but he knew it was only a fantasy. He assumed Ji Chenchuan would not pay him any mind this late at night. To his surprise, however, Ji Chenchuan actually sent a message.

“What did you send? Why did you retract it?”

Shi Yue typed back with fumbling fingers. Although he truly wanted a hug, he did not want to disturb Ji Chenchuan’s rest. He replied against his own feelings: “Nothing.”

“Sent it by mistake,” he added, afraid Ji Chenchuan would press further.

“Are you still awake, Chenchuan-ge?” Shi Yue could not help but ask tentatively.

“I was asleep, but the notification woke me up.”

“Oh.”

“Are you truly alright, Shi Yue?”

Shi Yue hesitated. He suddenly wanted to know what Ji Chenchuan would do if he said he was not okay. He replied: “Something is wrong.”

“What is it?” As if afraid Shi Yue would not tell him, Ji Chenchuan added: “Do you want to tell me? If you do, I am happy to listen.”

Shi Yue thought for a moment and plucked up the courage to reply with what was truly on his mind: “It is just that right now I really want to give you a hug.”

After sending the message, Shi Yue waited for thirty seconds without a reply. He immediately regretted it. He should not have said that. Ji Chenchuan must be angry, thinking he was a nuisance for bothering him so late. Suddenly, the phone vibrated. Shi Yue checked it hurriedly. Ji Chenchuan had actually replied with a single word: “Okay.”

Shi Yue could not believe it. “Chenchuan-ge, you actually agreed?”

“Yes.”

“It is one o’clock in the morning,” Shi Yue reminded him, fearing he was acting on impulse.

“I know.”

“Then I will wait for you in the hallway. My parents are back.” Shi Yue had never been this excited; even his hands were shaking as he typed.

“Okay.”

At this hour, Shi Jingsong and He Lin were naturally asleep. Shi Yue tiptoed into the living room and felt his way to the door. He opened it very quietly, leaving a small crack. Like a thief, he poked his head out to scan the area before slipping out sideways.

The warm yellow motion-sensor light in the hallway was on. As soon as Shi Yue stepped out, he saw Ji Chenchuan already leaning against the hallway entrance near the elevator, waiting for him. Ji Chenchuan was wearing a set of fog-blue silk pajamas. The fabric had an excellent drape, emphasizing his broad shoulders and giving him a reliable air of security. The V-neck design perfectly revealed his collarbones, making his flawless facial features and handsome lines even more impeccable.

This is definitely a face that has been kissed by the Creator more than once, Shi Yue thought.

Shi Yue tiptoed over to Ji Chenchuan and gave him a silent smile. Ji Chenchuan returned a slight smile and opened his arms. Shi Yue was the one who had asked for the hug, yet now that Ji Chenchuan’s arms were open to him, he stood frozen like an idiot. A moment later, he watched as Ji Chenchuan took one step toward him, then two.

Ji Chenchuan’s powerful arms gently pulled Shi Yue into an embrace. Shi Yue’s face was pressed against Ji Chenchuan’s warm shoulder, and his chest felt the strong thumping of Ji Chenchuan’s heart. Shi Yue felt an almost uncontrollable surge of emotion. He wrapped his arms tightly around Ji Chenchuan’s waist, pressing his body close and returning the embrace with passion.

In that instant, Shi Yue felt the giant boulder that had been crushing him, the weight that made it hard to breathe and impossible to push away, suddenly vanish. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, another kind of greed began to grow wildly and secretly beneath the space where the boulder had once been.

They had agreed on just a brief moment, yet they held each other tightly for a full minute before Ji Chenchuan finally let go.

“Alright, go back and sleep,” Ji Chenchuan said.

“Okay.”

Shi Yue did not want to let go at all, but Ji Chenchuan was a patient who needed rest. Shi Yue returned home reluctantly. Looking through the peephole, he saw Ji Chenchuan wait until he was safely inside for a good while before returning to his own home. Using the faint light from the window, Shi Yue prepared to sneak back to his room. Suddenly, the living room light flickered on.

Shi Yue jumped, finding himself face-to-face with Shi Jingsong.

“Yueyue, you are not asleep yet?” Shi Jingsong asked in surprise.

“Um,” Shi Yue paused, panicking as he fabricated a lie. “I was thirsty, so I got up for some water. Dad, are you also thirsty?”

Shi Jingsong looked at him with half-suspicion. “The water dispenser is over here, but you were walking toward the door.”

Shi Yue gave a guilty, dry laugh. “It was dark, I went the wrong way.”

Shi Jingsong looked at Shi Yue with pity. “Turn on the light if you cannot see. You will not disturb your mother and me.”

Shi Jingsong poured a cup of water for himself and one for Shi Yue. Shi Yue did not want any water at all, but to maintain the lie, he forced himself to gulp down the cup his father had poured. He put on an exaggerated act of finally being quenched before scurrying back to his room.

Lying in bed, he immediately messaged Ji Chenchuan.

“That was close!”

After sending it, Shi Yue felt a secret pleasure, as if he and Ji Chenchuan had just committed a misdeed together and narrowly escaped being caught.