The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 17 It Opens Its Mouth and Bites Shu Yue’s Finger

Chapter 17 It Opens Its Mouth and Bites Shu Yue’s Finger

After taking a taxi home with Shiyi, Shu Yue checks the balance of the card Ji Shiyi gave her at the ATM at the entrance of the community.

“120,000”

She pauses, checks three times, and after the number remains the same, she numbly withdraws the card and puts it in her pocket.

Shiyi, puzzled, lifts its head from the handbag: “Meow?”

Shu Yue says to it: “It’s fine.”

Really, it’s fine.

She is just purely shocked by the blow of capitalism.

Shu Yue, who has been an honest child since young, never imagined she would earn so much money by selling pheromones.

Instinctively, subconsciously, a faint sense of guilt arises in her heart. She always feels this money is not rightfully earned, not deserved. In this matter, she barely put in any effort. It’s like a pie falling from the sky while walking on the road, as if heaven insists on feeding her, making her eat for free.

The 20,000 yuan fostering fee already made Shu Yue feel uneasy, and now another 120,000 yuan has come in…

Shu Yue tightly grips the bag with the kitten and heads home.

As soon as Shiyi enters the house, it jumps out of the bag, patrols the place like a king inspecting the mountains, and only then leaps onto the sofa, lying down next to Shu Yue.

Shu Yue stares at her phone, thinks for a while, and sends a message to Ji Shiyi.

Sy: Miss Ji, I have something to discuss with you. Can we meet and talk?

She chooses to talk face-to-face because Shu Yue feels that if they meet, even if Ji Shiyi refuses to take the card back, she can return it to her. Whatever Ji Shiyi does with it is her own business. Shu Yue just wants to “return” it; otherwise, she can’t feel at ease.

If they communicate online, whether by phone or text, Shu Yue has a hunch.

Ji Shiyi would surely, like before, tell her to handle it casually, to throw it away if she doesn’t want it.

But this is 120,000 yuan.

It’s enough for a down payment in a small city.

How could Shu Yue dare to throw it away? She only hopes to return it to its owner and explain clearly to Ji Shiyi that she really can’t accept so much money.

She waits by the phone for a while but gets no reply.

Shiyi doesn’t like her staring at the phone and ignoring it. It nudges its head into her palm, clearly seeking attention.

Shu Yue has no choice but to take out the scratching stick, running it from the cat’s head to its tail, up and down. Based on past experience, a few rounds would satisfy Shiyi. But today, for some reason, after a couple of scratches, Shiyi unhappily swats at it with its paw.

Its two front paws clutch the scratching stick, and it chews on it wildly, determined to stop Shu Yue from continuing.

Shu Yue asks tentatively: “Do you want me to pet you?”

Shiyi replies with a milky: “Meow!”

Shu Yue initially stands firm, reasoning with Shiyi: “That’s not allowed. I promised Miss Ji I wouldn’t touch you carelessly. You know it could cause a bad reaction for Miss Ji.”

Shiyi doesn’t listen, doesn’t care, flops onto the sofa, eyes watery and fixed on Shu Yue, its tail tip flicking left and right. Its two front paws come up to its face, its pink tongue deliberately sticking out, eyes innocent but behavior far from pure.

Shu Yue shakes her head: “No, no.”

Shiyi, tilting its head, licks its curled-up round paws and keeps looking at Shu Yue.

Shu Yue: “…”

Why does this cat feel even clingier than before?

Out of options, she takes a photo of this crime scene of tempting humans and sends it to Ji Shiyi.

Sy: Miss Ji, what do I do? Shiyi won’t let me use the scratching stick and insists on this.

After sending the message, Shu Yue says to the kitten, whose face screams “unsatisfied, pet me”: “I told your owner. I’m waiting for her reply.”

Shiyi rolls its eyes.

At least Shu Yue thinks it’s an eye roll, though she has no proof.

Before she can prepare, the cat suddenly darts into her arms, its two paws clutching her forearm, pressing itself against her without care, rubbing its round face flat, squinting comfortably, making “wiwiwiwi” sounds, or perhaps purring noises.

In that instant, Shu Yue’s mind flashes back to last night when a certain lady sat on her, pinning her down, forcing her to stay still while rubbing against her.

…

Heavens.

This person and this cat, at certain moments, are practically identical.

Shu Yue can’t shake Shiyi off. Facing this forceful love from the kitten, she can only grimace, take another photo, and a short video, sending them to Ji Shiyi.

Sy: Miss Ji, I’m really not touching it.

Ji Shiyi finally replies.

Starting from the latest message.

He: [Quote] Hmm, I can tell.

He: [Quote] I’m in much better condition now. Touching the cat normally is fine, as long as I watch the pheromones.

He: [Quote] Meet and talk? Hold on, let me check my schedule.

After a while, Ji Shiyi asks.

He: Are you free the afternoon after tomorrow at six?

Shu Yue replies immediately.

Sy: Yes, I’m at home.

He: Ok, then at that time.

Sy: Alright.

Sy: What’s the specific address?

He: We’ll talk the day after tomorrow. I’ll send someone to pick you up.

Ji Shiyi keeps her word.

When the driver calls, Shu Yue is hesitating whether to message Ji Shiyi. Hearing they’re already outside the community, she prepares to leave.

Shiyi bites her pant leg, refusing to let her go alone.

After Shu Yue pushes it away, it darts to the door like lightning, blocking her path like a tiger.

Shu Yue, out of options, lets it pick a favorite bag and brings it along.

In the car, Shu Yue orders a pet carrier online.

When choosing the color, she deliberately shows Shiyi the seller’s pictures. Shiyi’s eyes follow the sliding images, finally picking a pink one with little flowers.

“So you like cute things,” Shu Yue says, smiling, and completes the payment.

The driver drops Shu Yue at the destination.

Shu Yue stands at the restaurant entrance, looking up. The carved rosewood door exudes elegance. For a moment, she can’t tell if this is a scenic spot or a restaurant.

A woman in a qipao approaches from inside, smiling gently.

“Guest, do you have a reservation?”

Shu Yue, a bit of a bumpkin, loves the twelve-yuan cafeteria stir-fry rice when not with Meng Zhiyu—it has veggies and meat, and for an extra yuan, a fried egg. At trendy restaurants, seeing hipsters gives her social anxiety, let alone a formal place like this where the wealthy and elite gather.

Her brain freezes, she stands petrified, stammering for a while, unable to utter a word, only awkwardly swallowing and adjusting her glasses.

“She’s with me,” a woman’s voice says from behind.

Shu Yue turns. Ji Shiyi gets out of the car, closes the door, locks it. Holding the car keys, she walks leisurely to Shu Yue’s side, nods slightly, and asks: “Waited long?”

Shu Yue shakes her head repeatedly: “Just arrived.”

Ji Shiyi hands the keys to a staff member, casually pets Shiyi’s head poking out of the bag, and glances at the bag’s print.

“Looks like you’re pleased with her brand’s design,” Ji Shiyi says.

Shu Yue, confused: “What? Which brand?”

Ji Shiyi’s gaze carries meaning.

Shu Yue’s mind buzzes, and she hurriedly says: “I didn’t choose this bag, Shiyi did. I tried to get it to pick another, but it refused, only wanted this one.”

She has so many bags at home!

Shu Yue hoards takeout and packaging bags. Meng Zhiyu scolded her for being cheap, so she stopped for a while. After their breakup, she started again. For some reason, she loves neatly folding bags and storing them in the cabinet.

A hoarding habit, like a hamster.

Out of so many bags, Shiyi picks the one Ji Shiyi used to gift her underwear.

Shu Yue’s face reddens.

“I get it,” Ji Shiyi says. “It’s like that, loves cute things.”

Shu Yue follows her inside, passing through a courtyard with landscapes. She can’t resist tapping Shiyi’s head.

It’s all this cat’s fault.

Making her socially dead.

What kind of cat obsesses over an underwear brand’s bag?

Bad! Truly bad!

Shiyi, unconvinced, opens its mouth and bites Shu Yue’s finger.

Ji Shiyi frowns, stops, glances over, and reaches out toward Shiyi.

The cat, just acting tough, immediately spits out Shu Yue’s finger, leaps out of the bag, lands lightly in Ji Shiyi’s palm, and is scooped into her arms. It eagerly sticks out its tongue, licking the back of Ji Shiyi’s hand.

A breeze rises, and the blooming crabapples in the courtyard fall like pale pink rain behind Ji Shiyi.

Shu Yue suddenly feels that Ji Shiyi, in a white suit, tilting her head to tease the cat, looks refined and aloof. Even without a fitting qipao, she’s already a rare, meticulous beauty in a traditional painting.

Then, somehow, seeing Ji Shiyi with the cat, Shu Yue can’t help recalling that night when Ji Shiyi had those extra features on her head and tailbone.

She observes repeatedly, unable to figure out how those things suddenly appeared and disappeared. Does Ji Shiyi normally have cat ears and a tail? Just hidden? Where could a long, soft tail be concealed?

Strange.

Truly strange.