Lend Me Your Shoulder - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Xu Yeyu tilted her head up and waited a long time for him to “help her,” her fingers lightly twisting the hem of her shirt.
Her profile was quite beautiful—the smooth and delicate line of her lips trailed down to her slender neck.
The small cut she accidentally made was right at the center of her throat, extending faintly downward into the hollow of her collarbone.
At that moment, that soft patch of skin was completely exposed—waiting for him…
At the thought, he stopped himself just in time.
“…”
“You don’t want to?” she asked, pretending not to understand, puffing out her cheeks a little before finally lowering her head. “Forget it, if you don’t want to.”
Lu Yanbai: “…”
“It’s not about wanting or not wanting,” he said in a low voice. “Do you know what you were doing just now?”
“Of course I do. Just disinfecting a wound,” she lowered her lashes, her eyes teasing at the corners. “So… you do want to, right?”
“…”
He furrowed his brow, still feeling like she wasn’t getting it. “With what were you planning to disinfect?”
Xu Yeyu opened her mouth, licked her lips, about to answer—only to be cut off.
“Forget it,” Lu Yanbai shook his head. “Don’t say it.”
“…”
With the topic so abruptly dropped, the two continued walking down the street.
The lights were bright. Towering buildings projected huge advertisements that cast a hazy glow over the road ahead.
A nearby department store was playing music. A soft female voice drifted from the speakers, blending into the quiet, bustling sounds of the evening crowd.
“The wind still blows tonight,
Reminds me of your gentle ways…”
That night, as soon as Xu Yeyu got home, she was wrapped up in an unexpected hug from Xiang Wei.
She was startled and almost lost her footing, grabbing the doorknob for balance. “What’s wrong?”
“I passed the first round!!” Xiang Wei shouted excitedly.
“What first round?” Xu Yeyu asked while closing the door. “Your job application?”
“Bojia’s!” Xiang Wei beamed. “Basically, I’ve got one foot in the door of my dream job!”
Xu Yeyu raised an eyebrow. She knew Xiang Wei had been prepping for Bojia’s recruitment process, but she hadn’t expected her to get through this quickly.
“So impressive? Congrats, congrats. When are you treating me to dinner to celebrate?”
Xiang Wei scoffed. “Shouldn’t you be treating me? Celebrate this unemployed bum finally finding work!”
Xu Yeyu nodded thoughtfully. “But didn’t you say the second round isn’t over yet? Can it really count as ‘found’?”
“Get lost.”
“You round things up all the time. Why can’t I indulge in a little fantasy?” Xiang Wei said smugly. “I mean, you hold hands with your professor and already act like he loves you forever. Why can’t I—”
Xu Yeyu wagged her finger. “Wrong. That statement isn’t accurate.”
Xiang Wei: “What’s not accurate?”
“At this point in my relationship with Professor Lu,” Xu Yeyu said solemnly, “we’re basically sleeping together.”
“…”
Xiang Wei gave her a polite eye-roll and said dryly, “Must be nice, being Xu Yeyu. Dreaming for a living.”
“You still don’t understand me.”
Xu Yeyu sighed, shaking her head and walking toward her room.
As soon as she sat down and opened her laptop, Xiang Wei followed and plopped onto her bed.
“When’s the second round?” Xu Yeyu asked.
“Next Friday,” Xiang Wei replied confidently. “I think I did well. Should be fine.”
Xu Yeyu nodded. “Alright, I’ll celebrate tonight by writing 20 more words than usual.”
Xiang Wei stroked her chin, then suddenly said, “I heard Bojia’s second young master is super handsome.”
Xu Yeyu laughed. “What, planning to seduce him?”
“No, just saying,” Xiang Wei replied. “He apparently has a bad temper anyway. And… well, rich heirs probably wouldn’t look twice at us regular office workers.”
“What if he wants to seduce you?”
“Do I look that shallow?” Xiang Wei said indignantly, then straightened up with a dead-serious face. “In that case, of course I’d say yes.”
Xu Yeyu chuckled.
Jokes aside, even if a rich heir came along, if she didn’t like him, Xiang Wei wouldn’t date him anyway.
After a bit more banter, Xu Yeyu opened Word and began muttering.
“What are you saying?” Xiang Wei asked.
Xu Yeyu licked her lips and said, “If I double my word count today, Yanbai sleeps with me tomorrow.”
“…”
Xiang Wei politely rolled her eyes again. “Can you please get your head out of the gutter? Try thinking about something positive for once? All you ever talk about is sleeping. Don’t you find it a bit tacky?”
Chastised, Xu Yeyu nodded solemnly. After a pause, she chanted again: “Top line: write hard and write well. Bottom line: Yanbai kisses me like hell.”
Xiang Wei stroked her chin, puffed out her cheeks, and replied, “Summary: keep dreaming.”
“…”
BANG—
Xu Yeyu stood up like a warrior, eyes flashing as she looked around. “Where’s my knife? I’m getting my knife. Don’t try to stop me!”
Xiang Wei stood up too, arms crossed like a gang boss. “What are you gonna do with a knife?”
Xu Yeyu instantly sat back down, smiled sweetly, eyes narrowing into crescents, and changed her tone to a cute, tail-wagging lilt:
“—Peel an apple for our darling Weiwei.”
“…hmph.” Xiang Wei reverted from gang boss to big sister. “That’s more like it.”
After their daily comedy act, Xu Yeyu sat down and opened Weibo to check her DMs.
Xiang Wei peeked and gasped. “Over a hundred unread messages?! That’s insane!”
“Probably because my recent short story got published,” Xu Yeyu said. “I already get a lot of messages, but once a piece goes public, the feedback skyrockets.”
Even though that short story came out a couple of months ago, the messages trickled in steadily.
She skimmed through and replied to a few, then noticed a familiar name in her frequent contacts list—Qing Shan had sent a lengthy review.
“Whoa,” Xiang Wei sucked in a breath. “That’s long. What’s it about?”
“My short story Zero Wind,” Xu Yeyu replied.
“Didn’t that come out ages ago? Why is she only now writing a review?”
“She probably took her time analyzing it,” Xu Yeyu said. “She’s always very detailed.”
“You wrote something new recently, didn’t you? Do you think she’ll review that too?”
“Most likely. She always reviews everything I publish. The magazine with my new short story just hit shelves nationwide yesterday—she’ll be busy again.”
Qing Shan was the admin of her fan group and had been following Xu Yeyu from the very start. She ran the official Weibo account diligently—sharing quotes, giveaways, and long thoughtful messages.
Even in the past two years when Xu Yeyu published less, Qing Shan never missed a piece.
Her reviews always dissected the stories carefully, trying to understand the characters, and sometimes even guessing Xu Yeyu’s intentions in writing them.
To Xu Yeyu, having a reader like Qing Shan was a gift. Qing Shan always maintained just the right balance—never too distant, never too close.
In her most recent review, Qing Shan wrote that she sensed Xu Yeyu was trying something new lately, breaking out of old patterns, searching for something.
At the end, she gave her usual nudge to work on a new novel, joking that just as she’d finished one review, another short story had dropped—now she had to find time to hit the bookstore.
After replying to the message, Xu Yeyu wrote a little more before shutting her laptop and heading to bed—planning to visit the bookstore the next day.
Originally, the Zero Wind editorial office would mail contributor copies. But the magazine had become so popular that they now simply transferred money and let authors buy their own.
The next day, at the bookstore, Xu Yeyu immediately spotted a tall stack of the new Zero Wind displayed front and center. On the cover, her pen name Shi Ye Xi Xi (是夜習習) stood out in bold, unmissable font.
Her name and title were a sure sign of top billing. The accompanying blurb was eye-catching and intense.
Whenever her short stories were featured, they were always the main attraction—printed in the most prominent spot.
Xu Yeyu grabbed a copy but didn’t leave immediately. She wandered slowly toward the shelves on the right.
There, to her surprise, was an entire shelf dedicated to her books.
She’d been to this store before but never noticed that she had a whole section to herself.
From her debut Ji He Ri Huan to her most recent book Yao Xing two years ago, all eight novels were neatly arranged, none missing.
Back then, she’d been productive, burning with creative energy. Ideas came to her like warm rays at sunrise—steady and endless.
She had a strong sense of urgency and rarely took long breaks. Two weeks off was her max before she began writing again.
She was also disciplined—unable to sleep if she failed her daily writing goals. Editors loved her: she was high-volume and high-quality.
Even she didn’t expect to have a two-year dry spell.
Chen Gefei suspected she wasn’t blocked, and she was right. A skilled writer can always write something.
But Xu Yeyu refused to publish anything below her standards. To preserve her reputation, she chose to hold off on novels.
Fortunately… the issue with Jiang Zhou was nearing resolution. Once the truth was uncovered, her inner demons might vanish. And with them, the creative block.
She was confident she’d get her groove back soon.
Lost in thought, Xu Yeyu snapped back to the present and looked toward the bookstore entrance—
Lu Yanbai had just stepped in, light scattering gently at his feet.
Beside him was a young girl, likely in middle school.
Xu Yeyu watched for a moment, then realized: that must be Professor Lu’s sister.
Their resemblance was obvious—in both features and mannerisms. Then she saw the girl speak to Lu Yanbai, confirming her guess.
Perhaps her gaze was too blatant, because Lu Yanbai soon noticed and looked over.
Xu Yeyu raised a hand and waved. “Hi, Professor.”
While Lu Wanyi headed deeper into the store to pick out magazines, Lu Yanbai walked over, stopping in front of Xu Yeyu. “Book shopping?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “You too?”
“I’m just accompanying family,” he replied with a slightly nasal tone.
Xu Yeyu glanced toward the girl. “Your sister?”
He nodded.
“She looks a lot like you,” Xu Yeyu said with a deeper smile. “I recognized her right away.”
Then she asked, “What’s her name?”
“Lu Wanyi.”
Xu Yeyu thought for a moment. “Gentle and graceful? That’s a lovely meaning.”
He curved his lips slightly, surprised she got it right.
“But you used a different character for ‘Wanyi,’ didn’t you?” He didn’t explain further, as if waiting for her to guess.
Xu Yeyu: “Wan, like in ‘Wan Zai Shui Zhong Yang’ [graceful in the middle of the water]?”
He let out a short laugh from his nose. “Exactly.”
Just then, Lu Wanyi came over, holding a few magazines.
Xu Yeyu raised a hand and greeted her. “Hi there.”
“I know you,” Lu Wanyi said suddenly.
Xu Yeyu pointed at herself. “Me?”
“Yeah,” Lu Wanyi said. “You call my brother a lot, right? I recognize your voice.”
Xu Yeyu nearly broke into a cold sweat. She thought her author photo had leaked or something…
Before she could respond, Lu Wanyi added softly, “My brother doesn’t usually answer calls outside of work.”
Xu Yeyu froze and glanced at Lu Yanbai, who was quietly flipping through a book, giving no sign of whether he’d heard.
Her ears flushed, and she didn’t know where to look.
Lu Wanyi noticed her awkwardness and asked, “Looking for a book? Don’t know which one?”
Xu Yeyu didn’t know how to reply, so she simply nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then let me recommend an author,” Lu Wanyi said. “Do you like novels? Any preferred genre?”
“I’m open to anything.”
“Well then, there’s this author I love. I’ve read every one of her books at least three times. She’s amazing! Beautiful writing, deep themes.”
Xu Yeyu chuckled. “Is that so? Sounds impressive.”
“Totally! I’ve been reading her newer short stories lately. She’s really grown—her characters and plots are so well-developed,” Lu Wanyi wrinkled her nose. “The only downside is that she hasn’t written a full-length novel in two years. But we fans think she’s just perfecting her comeback—something like a masterpiece in the making.”
Xu Yeyu was starting to sense something strange. “…”
“If you’re interested, you should check out her older novels. My favorite is Jing Yan. For short stories, her recent ones are in Zero Wind. You can find her mid-length pieces online—just search her pen name.”
“…”
“…………”
A vein twitched on Xu Yeyu’s forehead. She forced herself to stay calm. “And this author’s pen name is…?”
Lu Wanyi smiled brightly.
“It’s four characters—Shi Ye Xi Xi.” (是夜習習)