The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 32: Miss Ji, How Has Shiyi Been Lately

Chapter 32: Miss Ji, How Has Shiyi Been Lately?

“Shiyi, get down.”

Sunlight poured into the second floor of the cabin, filtering through floral curtains and falling onto the wooden bed.

Shu Yue closed her eyes, raised her hand, and waved it in front of her face. She touched something but suddenly felt the texture was wrong.

Her eyes opened, and what pressed against her face was not a fluffy cat but a penguin plush toy.

Shu Yue froze for a moment, hugged the little penguin tightly to her chest, and looked around, realizing the truth.

Shiyi was long gone.

No longer did Shiyi press against her every morning, either on her chest or her head. Nor did Shiyi stickily follow her, occasionally letting out a meow to catch her attention.

Shu Yue stared at the curtains in a daze, buried her face in the penguin’s belly, and rubbed it. With a burst of energy, she sat up from the bed and quickly changed her clothes.

It was only five in the morning. In the courtyard, Fu Xitang was already exercising.

Seeing Shu Yue come out, Fu Xitang nodded at her.

Shu Yue nodded back in response.

Lin Chu stood on the second-floor balcony, opened her mouth wide, yawned long, and waved at Shu Yue.

Breakfast was steamed buns made by Second Brother, along with vegetable porridge. But Shu Yue had no appetite and didn’t waste food by tasting it. A single plain bun was enough for her to nibble on slowly, like a rabbit eating grass.

Half an hour later, everyone finished eating and tidied up. They left Fu Xitang at home to watch the birds, while the rest set off together to stake out at the field ridges.

Since they found Xiao Liu, they rarely saw crested ibises around here. Zhou Miao guessed that poachers’ actions might have scared the birds, causing them to hide.

Zhou Miao decided to have them stake out for two more days. If they found nothing, they would search elsewhere.

The early morning yielded nothing as usual.

Zhou Miao led Lin Chu and the others into the woods, trying to find any traces related to the crested ibises. Shu Yue returned to the courtyard to care for Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu grew more friendly, perhaps because it stayed in the shed for so long and became somewhat tamed. It no longer always wanted to fly away. Occasionally, hearing noises outside the shed, it would peer through the gaps.

When neighboring villagers came to greet them, Xiao Liu would pick up a small twig and approach them, wanting to play.

“This bird is really friendly,” Fu Xitang commented.

Shu Yue stroked the crested ibis’s feathers and said to Fu Xitang, who stood far away, “Crested ibises are like this. They live very close to humans, eating and dwelling nearby.”

Fu Xitang said, “That’s dangerous.”

“Yes, that’s why we have our work now.”

Crested ibises mostly fed on companion animals in farmers’ rice fields. To protect them, the villagers of Qingxi Source didn’t use pesticides. The government provided subsidies for this, but relying solely on government funds wasn’t enough. This led to the Qingxi Source conservation scenic area project.

Over the past few days of visits, Shu Yue had learned everything.

Once the scenic area was built, the villagers would receive dividends. This was why, these days, the villagers greeted them with smiling faces.

Everyone wanted a better life.

Protecting the ecosystem while earning money—why not?

Shu Yue also knew that these things were easier said than done. Zhou Miao got a headache just mentioning it but said thankfully that these matters weren’t their responsibility. The final decision-maker was Ji Shiyi, who had plenty of people under her to offer advice.

Thinking of Ji Shiyi, Shu Yue’s thoughts drifted for a moment.

The call of the crested ibis pulled her back.

She looked at Fu Xitang, noticing that although Fu Xitang kept a cold face, her eyes showed unhidden curiosity toward the ibis. Shu Yue invited, “Captain Fu, do you want to play with Xiao Liu?”

Fu Xitang shook her head, “No need.”

She was self-aware, “I’m the kind of person animals don’t like.”

Shu Yue was curious, “Why?”

Fu Xitang replied, “You’d have to ask the animals.”

Seeing Shu Yue’s disbelief, Fu Xitang took a step toward Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu immediately scampered away, hiding in the farthest corner of the shed, as if it saw a ghost.

Fu Xitang shrugged, “See, I told you.”

It was actually true.

Shu Yue suddenly remembered that Ji Shiyi once said Shiyi didn’t like Fu Xitang either.

How magical.

How did Fu Xitang manage that?

Fu Xitang felt like a puzzle being studied intensely by Shu Yue’s gaze. Shu Yue’s look wasn’t fiery or intrusive, but it was enough to make Fu Xitang uneasy. She thought if Shu Yue kept staring, she might want to dissect her.

“I’m going to rest in my room,” Fu Xitang said. “Call me if you need anything.”

Shu Yue nodded, watching Fu Xitang go upstairs.

Honestly, Shu Yue had initially thought Fu Xitang was hard to get along with. After all, she had a fierce face and, due to her height, always gave a sense of pressure when speaking.

But after a few days together, Shu Yue found Fu Xitang was actually kind, spoke little, and had no temper. Occasionally, she was even a bit clumsy. Shu Yue had seen her more than once walk into a doorframe without looking.

At those moments, Shu Yue wanted to message Ji Shiyi, telling her that Captain Fu had this side too.

Her finger tapped Ji Shiyi’s profile picture but hesitated and sent nothing.

Their chat window stopped at the day Ji Shiyi left.

Shu Yue followed Ji Shiyi’s profile picture into her Moments.

Clean and empty, visible for half a year, with no posts.

She put away her phone, played with Xiao Liu for a while, fed it, and walked it around the courtyard.

Others walked dogs; she walked a bird.

After leisurely strolling most of the way, on the way back, Xiao Liu suddenly stopped.

Its sharp beak and yellow eyes stared at one spot.

“Xiao Liu?”

Shu Yue walked over and found it staring at a butterfly on a banyan tree leaf.

Its wings, covered in blue patterns, were a common blue pansy.

It lay on the leaf, weakly flapping its wings, perhaps stirred by a faint breeze, but that was all.

Xiao Liu let out a squawk.

Shu Yue quickly stepped forward to shield the butterfly, looking helplessly at Xiao Liu, “If you open your mouth any wider, you’ll scare it into flying.”

She tilted her head and noticed the blue pansy’s tail wings were damaged, unbalanced, so it couldn’t fly. After a moment’s thought, Shu Yue made a decision. She carefully cupped the butterfly in her palm, avoiding its wings to not rub off its scales.

“Xiao Liu, let’s go home,” Shu Yue said.

After settling Xiao Liu back in the shed, Shu Yue took the butterfly to her room, found a paper box to place it in, and turned on a light to observe closely. Confirming it couldn’t fly due to damaged wings, she rummaged through her things and got to work.

After wandering around the courtyard, Shu Yue found some remnants of butterfly wings in the grass, not from the same species as the blue pansy, but she estimated they’d fit.

Using specialized biological repair glue, she attached the processed wings. The butterfly seemed unaccustomed, trying to stand with its antennae but falling again.

Shu Yue didn’t lose heart. She mixed some sugar water, dipped a cotton swab, and held it to the butterfly’s mouthparts. Seeing it slowly extend its mouthparts to sip, her worried heart settled.

She took a photo and posted to Moments after a long time.

“Sy: Today, I’m a butterfly doctor.”

Shortly after posting, Chen Mi liked it.

In their private chat, Chen Mi’s message popped up.

mimimi: Still at Qingxi Source?

Sy: Hmm!

mimimi: Still have time to fix butterfly wings? Pretty free, huh?

Shu Yue replied honestly, “Not too busy lately.”

mimimi: Really? Then I’ll come visit you in a couple of days?

Sy: Sure.

Sy: But the scenic area here isn’t built yet, and it’s not fully open. The surrounding facilities aren’t great either. If you come, you might have to squeeze in with me. Is sleeping on the floor okay? There’s a camp bed too.

mimimi: …

mimimi: If I didn’t know you, I’d think you’re saying all this to keep me away.

Sy: TT

Sy: I didn’t mean that.

Sy: I just think it’s better to explain the bad conditions clearly.

Sy: Senior, are you still coming?

mimimi: I’ll ask Chu Yufei.

mimimi: Ning City’s weather is too hot these days, straight to forty degrees, not a place for humans.

mimimi: Your place should be cool, right?

Sy: It’s okay. The hottest times, you just need a fan.

mimimi: !

mimimi: The mountains are great.

mimimi: Wait for my update!

Sy: Okay.

mimimi: Where’s the cat? Send a cat photo for me to see.

Shu Yue stared at her phone, pursed her lips.

Sy: It’s not with me anymore. Miss Ji took it back.

mimimi: Huh?

mimimi: Alright, though it’s a pity, congrats on finally escaping the cat claws!

Shu Yue put down her phone.

After a while, she picked it up again, opened the weather app, and switched to Ning City’s forecast.

It turned out Ning City had been scorching lately.

Shu Yue remembered Shiyi hated heat, always curling up by the air conditioner remote, staring at her longingly. Once the air conditioner was on, Shiyi would snuggle close, despite being a warm little cat furnace herself.

She wondered how Shiyi was doing these days.

Why not ask Ji Shiyi?

Send a message.

After all, Shiyi stayed with her so long; checking in should be fine, right?

Shu Yue pondered, searched online about cats returning home after fostering, and saw others also checked on cats after they left. She relaxed.

After mulling over a sentence repeatedly, she sent it.

“Miss Ji, how has Shiyi been lately? Can I see a photo of it?”

“What’s wrong?” Yu Qianyue put down her bow, glancing at Ji Shiyi’s hand. In the second before Ji Shiyi turned off her screen, she saw the chat with a little bird avatar.

“The girl who fostered your cat sent you a message?”

Ji Shiyi sat on a chair, slowly wiping her long-unused recurve bow.

“Why not reply?” Yu Qianyue asked.

Ji Shiyi looked up at her, “Since when did Dr. Yu switch from endocrinology to intelligence?”

Yu Qianyue grinned, “Just curious.”

“Didn’t you stay at Qingxi Source for her for a few days? What’s up now? Did you fight?”

Ji Shiyi corrected her, “I didn’t stay for her, just passing by.”

“Sure, sure,” Yu Qianyue agreed insincerely.

Creak—

She pulled a chair next to Ji Shiyi, sat down, and leaned over, “Old Ji, seriously, what’s going on with you?”

Ji Shiyi was unmoved, “What could be going on?”

Yu Qianyue rolled her eyes, “Others might not see it, but I do. How long has it been since you asked me for suppressants? I bet it’s that little sister helping you. Your checkup last week showed you’re in much better shape, with balanced pheromones. So, you let her mark you?”

“Temporary,” Ji Shiyi said.

Yu Qianyue tsked, “Even temporary is a big deal. When have you ever let someone temporarily mark you? Even with alphas, you have them collect pheromones for me to customize.”

Ji Shiyi frowned, “What are you getting at?”

Yu Qianyue didn’t back down, “I’m the one asking! What are you planning? You came back and ordered a new batch of suppressants. Old Ji, next month is your heat. You’re not planning to just tough it out with suppressants, are you?”

“So what?” Ji Shiyi asked. “Didn’t I always do that before?”

Yu Qianyue was anxious for her, “Before was before, now’s different! That little girl, what’s her name? Oh, Little Shu, right? Since her temporary marking fixed your condition so quickly, let her help you through your heat.”

“With an alpha around, why use suppressants? Fresh is better than pre-made. Besides, your body’s finally improving. If you rely on suppressants again, who knows what’ll happen.”

“If you get a backlash—”

Ji Shiyi cut off Yu Qianyue’s motherly nagging.

“Qianyue, I know all this.”

Yu Qianyue said, “Exactly!”

Ji Shiyi smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“But she’s not my alpha, and we don’t have the kind of relationship to spend a heat together.”

A frown moved from Ji Shiyi’s face to Yu Qianyue’s.

She furrowed her brow, puzzled, “What do you mean? I thought you two had a deal. Isn’t it all a transaction? Besides, spending a heat with an omega like you is a golden opportunity, isn’t it? Is she unwilling?”

Ji Shiyi shook her head, “I didn’t bring it up.”

Yu Qianyue, “…?”

“I thought you went to Qingxi Source partly to discuss this with her,” Yu Qianyue didn’t understand. “Old Ji, did you really just go sightseeing?”

Ji Shiyi smiled, didn’t answer, picked up her bow, stood, and walked to the archery range.

Yu Qianyue watched her draw the bow, its specially colored pale purple arc curving beautifully. The woman aimed at the target, released her fingers.

Whoosh!

Ji Shiyi’s custom arrow hit the bullseye dead center.

She was always this steady.

Since Yu Qianyue met Ji Shiyi, she’d been like this.

Clear goals, precise actions.

With the bowstring in hand, she never missed.

So Yu Qianyue was even more confused.

What happened to make Ji Shiyi change her plans? Why ignore a perfectly good alpha and come back for suppressants?

Could it be—

Yu Qianyue pictured that alpha.

Quiet, gentle, even a bit dull.

Damn!

Yu Qianyue thought:

Could that alpha be no good?!!

“Achoo—”

Shu Yue sneezed long and loud.

Zhou Miao looked at her worriedly, “Little Yue, you okay? Caught a cold?”

Shu Yue shook her head, “Guide, I’m fine, just a sudden itch in my nose.”

Lin Chu placed a bowl of rice in front of her, “Good news, then. Someone’s probably thinking of you.”

Shu Yue took the rice, said thanks, didn’t respond to Lin Chu’s gossiping smile, and focused on eating.

Second Brother’s cooking was excellent, flavorful.

Lin Chu had whispered to Shu Yue that Zhou Miao recruited Second Brother entirely for his culinary skills.

Out in the field, everyone relied on Second Brother’s cooking to survive.

Shu Yue used to think Second Brother’s food was delicious, but today, for some reason, the rice mixed with chili tasted bland. She ate two small chilies, and only when her mouth burned did she react, reaching for her water cup.

“Don’t—!” Lin Chu warned.

Too late. Shu Yue gulped it down. Her eyes widened as the spice doubled with the hot water. She turned, staring at Lin Chu in disbelief.

Lin Chu, guilty, said, “Little Yue, I saw your cup was low, so I added some hot water, thinking it’d cool down for you.”

Shu Yue opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and fanned it with her hand until the burning faded.

“Spacing out again?” Lin Chu teased. “What’s with you these days? Your spacing out is getting worse. You’re eating and still zoning out, eating chilies like meat?”

Shu Yue gave a wry smile, “Don’t know, maybe I’ve got early-onset dementia.”

But though she said that, she knew exactly why.

She was distracted at dinner because Ji Shiyi hadn’t replied.

Before, when chatting with Ji Shiyi, she didn’t mind if Ji Shiyi didn’t respond.

Now, she didn’t know why.

Once she sent the message, her heart was all over the place. She kept checking WeChat, thinking every notification might be from Ji Shiyi.

From morning to night, their chat stayed silent.

Shu Yue couldn’t help wondering if she shouldn’t have sent that message, if she was too full of herself, asking for a photo of someone’s spirit animal, sounding almost like a creep.

These thoughts swirled in her mind, impossible to shake off.

Shu Yue felt irritated but didn’t know what to do.

After dinner, she prepared to wash dishes, but Lin Chu shooed her out of the kitchen.

“Forgot? Last time we played sandbags with Miss Ji, Guide and I lost. You don’t have to wash dishes this week.”

Ji Shiyi again.

For a moment, Shu Yue thought she should find a place where Ji Shiyi didn’t exist, where no one knew her. Then her emotions wouldn’t be so easily tugged by a name.

Back in her room, Shu Yue fed the butterfly some sugar water, checked its condition, and sat by it, opening a book.

After flipping ten pages, she couldn’t resist, stood up, and grabbed her charging phone from far away.

Ji Shiyi still hadn’t replied.

She pursed her lips, hid her Moments post, set the butterfly photo to private, and everything turned gray.

Patting her cheeks, Shu Yue decided to stop thinking about Ji Shiyi.

But just then, Ji Shiyi’s message popped up.

“Busy this afternoon, not convenient to let it out.”

“/Picture”

“Shiyi is fine, Miss Shu, no need to worry.”

Shu Yue wanted to reply instantly but hesitated, waited a few minutes, then sent.

“Okay, thanks for sharing, Miss Ji.”

She opened the photo Ji Shiyi sent.

Shiyi curled up, sitting on the woman’s lap, as if knowing Ji Shiyi was taking its picture, its round cat face pressed to the lens, eyes big and round.

For the first time, Shu Yue felt she could use “miss” to describe her feelings for a cat.

She zoomed in on the photo.

She saw Ji Shiyi’s hand on the cat.

A beautiful hand, slender, fair, and strong.

After hesitating, she long-pressed the image and saved it.

She wanted to chat more with Ji Shiyi, but without Shiyi, they seemed to have no topics. Shu Yue couldn’t toss out topics lightly. After thinking hard, she only sent one line.

Sy: Miss Ji, good night.

This time, Ji Shiyi replied quickly.

He: Hmm, you rest early too.

He: By the way, I’ll be busy with work lately, might not reply promptly, please understand.

Shu Yue stared at the last line in the white bubble.

Somehow, she felt Ji Shiyi was a bit further away.

Not knowing what to say, her thoughts churned, fingers tapped the screen, and she left four words.

Sy: Okay, understood.

Tossing her phone aside, Shu Yue turned to the butterfly in the box.

She watched it lie quietly, with its repaired wings. After struggling all day, it seemed exhausted.

Looking at it, Shu Yue realized she’d returned to a state she hated. Not hating Ji Shiyi, but hating herself for being like this lately, today—unsettled by one person’s message, emotions rollercoasting.

This state made her uneasy, deeply uneasy.

Her chest felt blocked. She stood, not knowing where to go, paced the room, and sat back down.

For the next two or three weeks, she didn’t message Ji Shiyi.

Though she wanted to share the moment the butterfly flew away, she only saved the photo in her album and patted Xiao Liu’s head.

“Don’t worry, you’ll fly again too,” she said to Xiao Liu. “I’ll stay with you until that day.”

Xiao Liu seemed to understand, rubbed her palm, and let out a chirp.

“Alright, see you later.” Shu Yue leaned in, pressed her face to Xiao Liu’s long beak. “I’m going to the village entrance to pick up friends. You’ll meet them soon.”

Riding a neighbor’s electric tricycle, she found Chen Mi and Chu Yufei waiting.

Seeing her, they both smiled. Chen Mi pulled her into gossip, “On the way, the driver said a group arrived earlier. Some celebrity, here to film a variety show.”

Shu Yue thought it had nothing to do with her; she didn’t follow celebrities.

Loading Chen Mi and Chu Yufei’s luggage onto the tricycle, someone called out to Shu Yue.

“Hey, miss, can you help us out?” The person wore a work badge, dressed in black.

Shu Yue was puzzled, “What help?”

“We’re from the ‘Happiness Restart’ crew, preparing to film here. Can your tricycle fit more luggage? One of our vans got a flat tire and can’t move. We need to transport luggage to the guests. Are you heading back to the village? If it’s convenient, can you help us carry some stuff?”

As Shu Yue opened her mouth to agree, Chen Mi cut in, “Is there payment?”

The staff paused, discussed on the walkie-talkie, and settled on eighty per trip. Chen Mi agreed instantly, “Fine, we’ll take it. Bring your stuff.”

Shu Yue smiled and helped lift the luggage.

She drove the tricycle back to the village, following the staff’s instructions, and delivered the luggage to a renovated guesthouse courtyard.

“Thanks.” The person who walked out with a smile froze upon seeing Shu Yue.

Chen Mi and Chu Yufei exchanged glances, both screaming internally.

Oh my God!

Why is Meng Zhiyu here?!