She Adopted Me After My Biological Mother Passed Away - Chapter 34

Guess who’s here to drop her off?

Her hand trembled as she held the cup, spilling coffee all over the table. Chi Yeyu moved to the window with her phone, her lips twitching as she said, “So it was a girl. You two little ones, did you do something last night that needs to be kept from your parents?”

“Is there anything that doesn’t need to be kept from parents?” Song Liulan retorted, her voice full of mischievous laughter. “Sister Chi Yeyu, if there’s nothing else, let’s hang up. We’re sleepy.”

With that, she ended the call.

Chi Yeyu stared at the coffee dripping from the edge of the table, her temples throbbing. She felt an immediate urge to buy a plane ticket and fly back to catch the two of them.

How long had she been gone? Shi Shuxue was already becoming this lawless, getting involved with all sorts of messy people!

Flipping through her mobile calendar, she received a voice message from Tiangua: “I’m at the hospital. Li Lingling ate something bad, but it’s nothing serious now.”

“You’re asking who Shuxue is with? She’s probably with Song Liulan. I asked Song Liulan to accompany her back first.”

“She’s the new drummer for our band. She’s young and gets along quite well with Shi Shuxue.”

Hearing that it wasn’t some shady character, Chi Yeyu calmed down slightly. “Just ‘getting along’? Did they develop any special relationship? Did they talk their way into bed?”

Li Lingling’s voice cut in: “Good heavens, what are you talking about? Talk their way into bed? What can two kids do? Even in bed, they’d just be chatting under the covers. When did you become so much like Yu Xiu?”

Chi Yeyu’s eyebrows gradually relaxed. Right, she had jumped to conclusions. Shi Shuxue was so innocent, what could she possibly do? Maybe it really was just chatting, wait, does she take me for a fool? Even if Shuxue didn’t mean anything by it, that drummer was clearly being provocative!

“By the way, did you see Shuxue’s bass playing today? She played incredibly well and gained quite a few fans. I just saw that some fans have already started a Super Topic for her,” Li Lingling added.

She had seen it, of course. Her original purpose for calling Shi Shuxue was to talk about this, to praise her “little one.” Who would have thought it would suddenly turn into a “cheating scandal” bust?

So, without a second thought, she quickly dialed Shi Shuxue again.

This time, Shi Shuxue answered quickly and explained immediately, “The drummer from our band came to see me just now. She was messing around and hung up the phone. I’ve already sent her away. I am not in a secret relationship!”

Her serious, earnest tone moved Chi Yeyu despite herself. She said softly, “Good girl, I know.”

Shi Shuxue got goosebumps. “Then why are you still calling me?”

“I called to praise you! Your performance today was so wonderful, don’t you deserve a compliment?” Chi Yeyu pouted, deliberately acting cute. “If it were any other child, they’d have been waving their certificate in front of their parents long ago, asking for a reward.”

“I don’t want a reward.” Shi Shuxue looked down and opened the app to find the video. She discovered that shortly after being uploaded, the views had already surpassed ten thousand, and the comment section was bustling. Song Liulan was even using her main account to interact wildly with fans. “But a compliment is fine.”

“A compliment is fine? Then I’ll have to think about how to praise you properly… Xiao Xue, you were like a different person on stage today. Usually so quiet, but when you pick up the bass, you become a little glowing orb. The opening bass notes were steadier than in the rehearsal room; I can tell you’ve mastered the control. And that solo, especially the ending, it had more of your own flavor than when I taught you. You changed it beautifully, the student has surpassed the master. You’re simply a genius teenage bassist!”

Chi Yeyu’s words of praise continued like an endless stream. Shi Shuxue’s face began to flush. She hadn’t expected her to notice such fine details. She stared at her own reflection on the screen, her voice softening: “How do you remember so clearly…”

She hadn’t failed to finish practicing that last song. When she first decided to switch from drums to bass, Li Lingling taught her, and Chi Yeyu would also give her tips when she had time. One day last year, in the underground rehearsal room, Chi Yeyu had held her hand over the strings, reminding her to play lighter there, “like the sound of stepping on snow.”

She had asked Chi Yeyu, if the bass is too light, won’t the sound disappear?

She thought Chi Yeyu would argue or explain why she should play it that way. Instead, Chi Yeyu chuckled and said, “Then let me teach you another way.”

There were no “standard answers” for the bass. Chi Yeyu loved tinkering with instruments in her free time and naturally had different playing styles. Thus, Shi Shuxue learned a second version from her that had never been performed in public. But during the live performance, in a moment of excitement, she had improvised and added many of her own elements.

She didn’t know if it was good or bad, but judging by the audience’s reaction afterward, it seemed popular.

“I’ve listened to it on loop many times! So many people are praising you,” Chi Yeyu laughed and asked, “Master Shi, when do you plan to open a Weibo account?”

“…We’ll see,” Shi Shuxue said. Her current Weibo account was used for posting short paragraphs or essays; no one she knew in real life was aware of it, and she didn’t plan on exposing herself.

Chi Yeyu even found a way to praise that: “Low profile, so low profile.”

Shi Shuxue didn’t want to hear her continue with these blind compliments. She interrupted: “Stop talking about that. When are you coming back?”

Chi Yeyu said, “Soon. Once I’m back this time, I won’t be away for so long anymore.”

But that “soon” didn’t come with a specific date.

At the end of June, when Shi Shuxue checked her college entrance exam results, Chi Yeyu wasn’t back. In July, when Shi Shuxue received her university admission letter, Chi Yeyu still wasn’t back. In September, for the first day of university registration, Yu Xiu drove her to the neighboring city, and Chi Yeyu was still not by her side.

She performed normally on the exam and became the top liberal arts student in the city. Her score was much higher than D University’s requirements, so she naturally didn’t apply to Chi Yeyu’s alma mater, choosing instead another top university in the neighboring city.

The two cities weren’t far apart, only an hour and a half by car. Shi Shuxue originally wanted to take the high-speed rail herself, but Yu Xiu said she was free anyway and would drop her off.

Yu Xiu had opened a bar and was usually only busy at night. Tiangua was still working on her PhD, Li Lingling had returned to her hometown for work, and Song Liulan had landed a small role in a TV drama and needed to be on set for a while.

Looking at it this way, Yu Xiu was the most idle.

She dropped Shi Shuxue off at the dormitory building and helped carry her two pieces of luggage. Scanning the surroundings, she said, “As expected of a prestigious school, the facilities are quite complete.”

“Except for the Computer Science students, all the freshmen this year are staying in the new buildings. The conditions are much better than ours,” a nearby student volunteer smiled.

“Then you’re quite lucky,” Yu Xiu told Shi Shuxue.

As they were about to head upstairs, the volunteer gestured toward Yu Xiu and asked, “Are you her sister?”

Yu Xiu’s gaze lingered on her face for two seconds before her lips curved into a smile: “I’m her colleague.”

Taking advantage of the volunteer’s stunned silence, they headed up the stairs. The floors were polished to a shine, potted plants sat on the windowsills, and calligraphy paintings hung at the corners. Yu Xiu turned to Shi Shuxue and said, “This dorm is actually pretty good. When I helped Tiangua move, I was afraid her building would collapse and bury her in it.”

“Sister Tiangua’s building… was very broken?”

“The building she moved into for her PhD was where the ‘perpetual’ PhD students lived. The construction date probably goes back to the last century. I advised her to rent a place outside, saying if she didn’t have enough money she could rent my spare bedroom, but she said she was too lazy to move again and just stayed there. You can visit her little den next time; the only merit is that it’s a single room.”

Shi Shuxue nodded and asked, “What about you? Did you graduate from the same school as Sister Tiangua and Chi Yeyu?”

“Haha, do I look like a good student to you? I didn’t take the Gao Kao. I studied in Australia, played around for a few years, and then came back.” Yu Xiu shrugged, reached over to take the bag from her hand, and said, “I’ll go up first. You walk slowly.”

With that, she took the stairs two at a time and headed up quickly.

Shi Shuxue’s dormitory was a standard four persons room with a bed above a desk. Her roommates had arrived early. One was packing her things, seeing Shi Shuxue and Yu Xiu enter one after the other, she gave a polite greeting and pointed to the two desks in the back where things were piled: “The other two went to the supermarket. You’re sleeping opposite me. Your student ID number is labeled on the corner of the desk.”

The girl was named Chen Xia. She was slightly chubby with round eyes and slightly drooping corners, making her look easy to get along with.

Yu Xiu smiled and asked her, “Do you need me to help you make the bed?”

Shi Shuxue pursed her lips: “You can go back now.”

Seeing there was nothing left for her to do, Yu Xiu sat at the desk under the bed, propping her arms up to play on her phone, while Shi Shuxue spread her suitcase on the floor to unpack.

Yu Xiu glanced over and said casually, “Your clothing style is quite varied.”

The suitcase contained versatile basic pieces in black, white, and gray, but also various colorful long dresses and skirts, if one looked closely, many high-end brands still had their tags attached. Shi Shuxue hung them in the wardrobe one by one. “Some were bought by Chi Yeyu.”

She wasn’t picky about clothes now; she wore whatever Chi Yeyu bought.

“Your hair is longer now, so you can do many styles. Have you thought about dyeing it?” Yu Xiu asked her. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, shiny and beautiful, though it didn’t make her look very mature; she still gave off the vibe of an exquisite little doll.

Hairstyles affect a person’s temperament to some extent. Tiangua used to have long, straight black hair too, but she was coaxed by Yu Xiu and Chi Yeyu to go to an extreme, cutting it into a mushroom style and dyeing it light grass green. She was often singled out by the nearly retired old professor during group meetings.

Shi Shuxue asked, “What color should I dye it?”

“You actually want to dye it?” Yu Xiu became interested, making a “gun” gesture under her chin as she looked over Shi Shuxue’s face and hair. “Blue or purple would be quite good. No, we should go for contrast. How about a ‘fire like’ red or a ‘stunning’ gold? But I can’t decide on my own; your guardian might get angry if she finds out.”

Shi Shuxue squatted on the floor, looking up at her expressionlessly.

“Are you discussing hair dye? Dye it blue, the kind that’s deep black with a blue tint. My former goddess had that color,” a female voice came from the doorway.

Yu Xiu and Shi Shuxue turned their gazes simultaneously. The moment the girl at the door locked eyes with them, her mouth opened as wide as a goose egg.

“You are… THAT! THAT ONE!! Yu Xiu and Shi Shuxue!!!” Her volume rose, the light in her eyes nearly bursting out as she said in disbelief: “Screaming Goldfish?”

Yu Xiu blinked and asked Shi Shuxue, “Fans have followed you all the way here?”

“We aren’t that famous,” Shi Shuxue retorted. She stood up and greeted the two roommates who had returned: “Hello, my name is Shi Shuxue.”

“Oh my god, the person I just saw on my phone last night suddenly appeared in front of me… Are you my roommate? My future roommate? Hello, hello! My name is Zhou Qing, and she is Xu Xiaoyu. We just went out shopping.”

She hopped in place excitedly, incredibly lively, the plastic bags in her hands almost fell to the floor.

Xu Xiaoyu was calmer. She walked inside, placed the newly bought thermos under the desk, and then said to Shi Shuxue, “Hello. I also play the bass. She just recommended your video to me on the way. I really like your style. We can exchange ideas if we get the chance.”

“Okay.” Shi Shuxue nodded slightly.

Seeing her other two roommates so excited, Chen Xia asked curiously, “Are you two… are you two stars?”

“No, we are a band made up of a group of music lovers,” Shi Shuxue said.

Yu Xiu was amused by her official sounding answer and agreed: “Right, we are influencers.”

Shi Shuxue frowned: “I am not an influencer. I just occasionally play the bass and post it online.”

“She’s being too modest. She’s liked by many young people online,” Zhou Qing showed Chen Xia her social media interface, scrolling down as she introduced: “Look, so many likes and shares. Her popularity in the circle has been very high lately, many people are following ‘Little Shuxue’.”

Yu Xiu held back her laughter, patting her shoulder: “‘Little Shuxue’…”

Thanks to the farce caused by Chi Yeyu, the initial impression she left on the public was “So and so Little One.” Even though many fans were younger than her, they still called her that. Shi Shuxue had tried countless times to reclaim her mature image, even specifically emphasizing it in live streams but she failed every time.

Fans still called her whatever they wanted: “Student Shi Shuxue,” “Little Shuxue,” as if everyone was Chi Yeyu, and everyone wanted to be her elder.

“But don’t look at her as the youngest in the band, she goes wild during performances. I was shocked the first time I saw her perform, the contrast between her on and off stage is really huge.” Zhou Qing was still gossiping about Shi Shuxue right in front of the bassist herself. Chen Xia listened in awe and immediately followed her account.

Shi Shuxue: “…” They were probably about the same age.

She was introverted and couldn’t stand being the center of conversation. She quickly finished tidying the dorm, said goodbye to her high-spirited roommates, and escaped. Yu Xiu unhurriedly gave her roommates an autograph before heading out to find Shi Shuxue.

University life moved fast. For a high school student who had been “liberated” for nearly three months, it wasn’t hard to adapt. Shi Shuxue lived a routine of dormitory, cafeteria, and classroom, going home on weekends to see her grandmother and squeezing in one or two band rehearsals.

Autumn arrived and the weather turned cold. Shi Shuxue changed into autumn clothes and made it a habit to wear a hat when going out. One day after class, she came out of the teaching building, looking at the darkening blue sky, and suddenly realized it had been two years, since she and Chi Yeyu first met.

She liked to keep track of things clearly, whether it was the anniversary of Shi Xianyu’s death or the date she and Chi Yeyu first met and the days they spent apart. For instance, she clearly remembered that two years ago on October 16th, Chi Yeyu was dressed like a suspicious fraud, her car parked not far from the school gate, her long legs crossed as she told her to come home with her.

At the time, she only suspected the woman was a scammer with a hole in her brain, until the other party mentioned Shi Xianyu’s name. Only then did she understand the behavior, if it was Shi Xianyu’s friend, then nothing they did was surprising.

But Chi Yeyu was completely different from what she had imagined. She was sincere, meticulous, and thoughtful toward her, caring about her emotions and silently remembering all her dietary restrictions and hobbies. Rather than a grand, public passion, what Shi Shuxue felt more was a deep, quiet care.

It was this overly subtle care that caused her feelings for Chi Yeyu to change. Or rather, the kind of “family affection” that Chi Yeyu expected had never existed.

Her feelings for Chi Yeyu had been “distorted” for a long time.

It had rained all night, and today had been damp and cold all day. She stretched out her stiff, cold hands and typed a few words into the chat box to send to Chi Yeyu.

[Shi Shuxue: I’m turning eighteen next month.]

Chi Yeyu’s reply came after a long pause.

[Annoying Adult: Of course I know, I’ve remembered it all!]

[Annoying Adult: What do you want for a birthday present?]