The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 35: Shu Yue, Happy Birthday

Chapter 35: Shu Yue, Happy Birthday

The next morning, Shu Yue woke up at five o’clock as usual.

She pulled the blanket over her head, silently counted to ten in her mind, took a deep breath, and suddenly yanked the blanket off, springing up from the bed.

While washing her face, she removed the bandage and looked in the mirror, noticing that the bright red wound from yesterday had already scabbed over.

She rewrapped the tape around her glasses, ensuring they wouldn’t slip off easily, and then put them on her face.

She picked up her phone to check the weather, and the app, which usually had no notifications, showed a small red dot.

She clicked to check it.

An unexpected person had sent her a message.

He: Are you awake?

Shu Yue instinctively looked around, repeatedly confirming no camera was capturing her movements, and then lowered her head to reply.

Sy: Miss Ji? How did you know?

In Shu Yue’s memory, this wasn’t the first time Ji Shiyi had timed a message so precisely.

A voice message replied to her.

It lasted only four seconds.

She played it.

“To be honest, Shu Yue, I know magic.”

By the time Shu Yue realized it, she had played the message three times.

It turned out Ji Shiyi could joke too.

She seriously considered how to reply without seeming stiff or boring, but Ji Shiyi sent another voice message.

“Just kidding, Shiyi told me about your routine, I just guessed right.”

The question lingering in Shu Yue’s mind finally had an answer.

Sy: So you and Shiyi can really communicate with each other.

Sy: How do you do it? Do you talk directly in your mind? Like an internal line? What if the spirit isn’t an animal? Can it still talk?

Ji Shiyi raised an eyebrow.

This girl always knew how to focus on the key points.

He: Next time you see Shiyi, you can ask it yourself.

Sy: Okay!

After changing clothes and leaving the room, Shu Yue realized something was off and quickly took out her phone to ask Ji Shiyi.

Sy: But, Miss Ji, Shiyi can’t talk to me, how do I ask?

He: Forgot about me?

He: Gold-medal translator, you deserve to have one.

“Junior Sister, who are you chatting with?” Lin Chu leaned over and asked.

Shu Yue immediately turned off her phone screen.

“No one,” she said.

Lin Chu looked at her, not believing it for a second.

Some people, before returning to their room yesterday, looked lifeless, like a stranded fish, with a face drained of oxygen. After a night’s sleep, their complexion improved, as if they had taken some miracle pill.

Lin Chu narrowed her eyes, forming a guess in her mind.

“Made up?” she asked.

Shu Yue’s soul nearly jumped out: “Who made up?”

Lin Chu said, “You, with that Meng Zhiyu from yesterday, did you make up?”

Shu Yue stepped back: “Senior Sister, speak properly, don’t curse people.”

Lin Chu’s mouth twitched slightly.

This reaction…

It seemed Meng Zhiyu was quite a character.

To make her capybara-like Junior Sister say such things, what a talent.

Recalling Meng Zhiyu’s face, she was a rather plain-looking girl, nothing remarkable from her appearance.

Thinking of Meng Zhiyu, Lin Chu said, “By the way, Little Yue, after I finish this morning, I’ll take that hat to her.”

“Thanks, Senior Sister.”

“No trouble,” Lin Chu smiled and patted her shoulder. “Also, are you really not taking the guide job for the program team? If not, I’ll let them know.”

Shu Yue shook her head: “I’m not taking it.”

Lin Chu sighed inwardly.

She even disregarded the core principles of their school.

There must be a story behind this.

When Lin Chu went to find Meng Zhiyu with the hat, she was just getting up for makeup. Staff checked equipment nearby, and Meng Zhiyu’s assistant led Lin Chu inside.

Through the door, the assistant knocked.

“Teacher Meng, someone’s here.”

Meng Zhiyu asked, “Who is it?”

The assistant glanced at Lin Chu and said, “A lady from the research team, says she has something of yours to return.”

Meng Zhiyu put down her phone and signaled the stylist working on her hair to stop.

“You all go out first,” she said gently.

The stylist nodded and put down the curling iron.

Meng Zhiyu adjusted her hair in the mirror, applied some light lipstick, and then asked the stylist to open the door.

She had already planned what to say when she met the visitor.

Flicking her curly hair ends, a smug smile on her lips, Meng Zhiyu turned around, but when she saw who it was, all her preparations froze on her face.

“Hello,” Lin Chu said. “Classmate Meng, this is your hat, right?”

“Senior Sister Lin,” Meng Zhiyu nodded politely. “It’s mine, thank you.”

She took the hat and casually asked, “How did it end up with you?”

Lin Chu replied, “Oh, you might’ve accidentally left it at Little Yue’s and forgot to take it. She asked me to bring it to you.”

Meng Zhiyu’s hand tightened on the hat’s edge.

“Okay, thank you.”

“No big deal, I’ll go now,” Lin Chu said.

Meng Zhiyu nodded.

As Lin Chu turned to push the door open, Meng Zhiyu called out to her.

“Um, Senior Sister Lin.”

“Yeah?”

“Did Shu Yue… say anything?”

Lin Chu thought for a moment and recalled something: “The guide thing she mentioned yesterday, she’s really not coming. I thought about it, and I’m not exactly free either. I’ll talk to the program team later to see if someone else can help. But Classmate Meng, thanks for the recommendation.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go?”

Meng Zhiyu: “Okay.”

When Lin Chu closed the door, Meng Zhiyu’s smile vanished instantly.

She threw the hat into the trash bin and sat back down. Staring at the mirror for a long time, still angry, she pressed the hat to the bottom of the bin through a tissue, covering it so she couldn’t see it anymore, like hiding it from herself.

She opened her phone, coldly clicked into a shopping app, and canceled the order for the glasses she had just placed.

Meng Zhiyu tossed her phone aside, calmed her emotions in front of the mirror for a while, and then called the stylist back in.

The stylist noticed her odd reaction: “Teacher Meng, are you okay?”

Meng Zhiyu smiled proudly: “I’m fine, what could be wrong? Let’s continue, it’s getting late.”

*

Chen Mi calmly picked up a piece of rib, dipped it in spicy sauce, and said, “Hey, I really have nothing going on with that woman.”

Chen Mi had dodged the topic several times these past few days, but today, Chu Yufei and Shu Yue finally cornered her, pinning her at the table to tell the truth, not letting her leave until she did.

Chu Yufei looked at Shu Yue: “Do you believe her?”

Shu Yue, busy chewing on greens, shook her head, swallowed all the greens, and then commented, “Something’s fishy.”

Chu Yufei laughed: “Hear that? Even someone as slow as Little Yue says so, Chen Mi, stop pretending, tell the truth.”

Chen Mi sucked the meat off the rib and spat out a flat bone.

“Isn’t this seasoning a bit bland?” Chen Mi said.

She had dipped it in so much chili, yet it still felt tasteless in her mouth.

Chu Yufei: “It’s not the seasoning that’s bland, it’s that your mind isn’t on eating.”

Chen Mi sighed, put down her chopsticks, grabbed the Wong Lo Kat drink nearby, took a big gulp, and said, “It’s really nothing, just dated someone and broke up, that’s all.”

Shu Yue remembered: “Is it that ex-girlfriend you said died?”

Chen Mi tugged at her lips: “Yeah.”

Shu Yue was startled: “I thought she really…”

Before finishing, she gestured a slicing motion across her neck.

Chen Mi said, “To be honest, I really thought she was dead. We were doing fine, then she suddenly vanished without a word. You know what I thought? I even wondered if I was dating a K-drama heroine, maybe she had some terminal illness she couldn’t tell me about.”

“But—”

Chen Mi sneered.

“That’s my story.” She tapped her bowl with her chopsticks. “Now you, Little Yue, got anything to confess?”

Gossip pressure doesn’t disappear; it just shifts.

Shu Yue pushed up her glasses: “What do I need to confess?”

Chen Mi hummed twice: “That scar on your face, those glasses, care to explain? Don’t tell me you fell, I don’t buy it. Tell me, did Meng Zhiyu come looking for you?”

“Does that even need asking? Look at her expression, it’s obvious,” Chu Yufei said.

Chen Mi tsked twice: “What’s her deal?”

Chu Yufei asked, “Trying to get back together?”

Shu Yue didn’t even want to eat anymore.

She put down her chopsticks: “In broad daylight, don’t talk about horror movies.”

Glancing at Chen Mi, Shu Yue said slowly, “Senior Sister, how did you know about this? Did Captain Fu tell you?”

Chu Yufei’s judgmental gaze shot over like two spotlights: “A dead person can still private message? You’re playing quite the resurrection game.”

Chen Mi said, “Don’t blame me, okay? She could talk about other things, but Little Yue’s matter, how could I pretend I didn’t see it?”

Ex-girlfriends, current girlfriends, dead or alive girlfriends—all lost meaning in the face of a good friend’s gossip.

After saying this, Chen Mi grabbed her Wong Lo Kat, took two sips, shook the can, found it empty, and got up to ask the owner for a new one.

The conversation paused, giving Shu Yue time to reply to messages.

Before the meal, Ji Shiyi had asked what she was eating today. After the food arrived, she snapped a photo of the table and sent it but hadn’t had time to reply since.

Sy: Just eating.

Sy: Miss Ji, what about you? What are you eating today?

He: [Picture]

He: Top 1 must-eat for fitness folks: freshly peeled shrimp.

Sy: Is it a bit better than steak?

He: More than a bit ^^

Sy: Then they’re really kind shrimp!

Chen Mi returned with a new Wong Lo Kat, and from a distance, saw Shu Yue with her head slightly bowed, typing on her phone, a smile she couldn’t hide on her lips.

She gave Chu Yufei a look.

‘What’s going on?’

Chu Yufei shook her head.

‘I don’t know either.’

Clink—

Chen Mi pressed the cold drink can from the fridge against Shu Yue’s neck.

Shu Yue shivered, trembling, nearly screaming from the cold.

Chen Mi hummed twice: “Spill! Who are you chatting with?”

Shu Yue pushed the can away, rubbed her chilled fingertips, and confessed honestly, “Shiyi’s owner.”

Chen Mi raised an eyebrow: “Talking about what? Smiling so happily?”

Was she?

Shu Yue paused, touched her lips, and felt an unnoticed upward curve under her fingertips.

“Shu Little Yue, you’ve got something going on,” Chen Mi said, eyeing her like a hawk.

Shu Yue caught the hint in Chen Mi’s tone and quickly said, “Nothing’s going on.”

Afraid Chen Mi and Chu Yufei would misunderstand, she explained, “Miss Ji and I really have nothing.”

“Nothing, and you’re smiling like that?” Chen Mi wasn’t letting her off.

“Just… smiling casually,” Shu Yue said, holding her ground. “I smile when I chat with you guys too! It doesn’t mean anything, right?”

Chen Mi shook her head: “It’s different, something’s different.”

Chu Yufei, who had watched Chen Mi’s interrogation, kicked her under the table.

“Enough,” she said. “Stop meddling in Little Yue’s business, mind your own.”

“What did I do now?” Chen Mi asked.

Chu Yufei said, “Resurrection match is coming up. Is your ex-wife getting sent off, or are you giving her another shot?”

“No idea,” Chen Mi said, slumping. “Depends on her performance.”

Shu Yue glanced at her watch.

“It’s time, I need to get back to work.” She stood up. “After you settle the bill, let me know, and remember to send the group payment.”

Chu Yufei nodded: “Go get busy.”

Chen Mi remembered something: “Little Yue, wait, can you take leave from your advisor? Can you free up the afternoon the day after tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure,” Shu Yue said, as she usually did when she couldn’t give an immediate guarantee. “What’s up?”

Chen Mi smiled at her: “You’re asking me? Don’t you know what day it is?”

Shu Yue really didn’t know, shook her head, and was about to check her calendar.

Chen Mi said, “Dummy, it’s your birthday.”

Shu Yue froze.

Chu Yufei was used to her reaction: “Let her off, which year doesn’t she forget?”

Shu Yue explained, “It’s not on purpose, I just feel like that day isn’t anything special, just like any other ordinary day.”

“But it’s not like that for people who care about you,” Chen Mi said. “Anyway, Yufei and I want to celebrate for you. Remember to ask your advisor. If you really can’t make it, it’s fine, we can plan it for the evening.”

Shu Yue nodded.

“Okay, I’ll remember.”

She said goodbye to Chen Mi and Chu Yufei, rode her electric scooter back, and moved slowly along the dirt road against the mountain breeze. Suddenly, Shu Yue smiled, her heart filling up a little more.

She really loved her friends.

Hmm.

Except for Chen Mi’s big mouth that always spoke things into existence.

Back at the lab, she mentioned it to Zhou Miao.

Zhou Miao immediately said, “Friends want to take you out for your birthday? Go, go, have fun.”

Shu Yue was stunned.

“Advisor, how do you know too?”

Zhou Miao looked up from the microscope, set aside the sample, and said, “It’s written clearly on the student information form, how could I not know?”

“By the way, do you have enough money? If not, I’ll send you this month’s stipend early.”

Shu Yue couldn’t describe how she felt.

A warmth filled her chest, sour and swelling, unable to rise or fall. She wanted to express something, say something, but in the end, she did nothing, just fetched another sample for Zhou Miao.

“It’s enough,” she said. “Advisor, thank you.”

Zhou Miao said, “What’s there to thank? You’re my student, of course I’ve got your back.”

“Is the money really enough?” Zhou Miao’s gaze fell on Shu Yue’s awkward glasses frame. “Don’t be shy.”

Shu Yue smiled helplessly: “Advisor, it’s enough.”

She didn’t buy new glasses because she found it troublesome. Since the current ones still worked, they were fine for now.

Zhou Miao nodded, saying no more. Shu Yue didn’t bring it up again either, quietly working beside Zhou Miao.

When the day after tomorrow arrived, Shu Yue finished lunch and went to meet Chen Mi and Chu Yufei.

Lin Chu stopped her and stuffed a small red envelope into her hands.

Shu Yue’s eyes widened: “Senior Sister?”

She refused to take it.

Lin Chu insisted she accept it.

“It’s not much, less than two hundred, pooled together by your senior brothers and sisters,” Lin Chu said casually. “Hey, I told our advisor, since everyone’s here this year, we should just throw a party for your birthday. But Advisor said it’s not appropriate—who wants to spend their birthday with teachers and seniors? So, we ended up pooling for this red envelope.”

“Take it, your friends are waiting!”

Lin Chu pushed her shoulders toward the door.

Refusing further would be pretentious, so Shu Yue held the envelope and quietly said thank you.

After meeting Chen Mi and Chu Yufei, the three took a car to the county town. As for what to do, it was nothing special—just the usual routine of eating, karaoke, and barbecue.

But Shu Yue still felt very happy.

Even when the restaurant brought out a cake labeled ‘Bird-Shooting Saint,’ she was so embarrassed she wanted to flee. Even when the lively birthday song and Haidilao-style dance made her face flush and squirm uncomfortably.

Or even when Chen Mi held up a DJI camera to record a vlog, and she instinctively tried to dodge but was pulled back, sandwiched between Chen Mi and Chu Yufei like ham in a sandwich, with nowhere to hide.

But she still felt very happy.

The thorns that had risen after seeing Meng Zhiyu softened, and she clearly confirmed once again that humans were truly warm creatures. So warm that she couldn’t help but ask herself, what had she done to deserve this?

After sending the drunk Chen Mi and Chu Yufei back to the guesthouse, Shu Yue took a flashlight borrowed from the owner and walked the night road back to her place.

Lin Chu saw her and said, “Little Yue, you’re back?”

Shu Yue nodded and handed her the barbecue she brought back.

A big full bag.

“Advisor doesn’t eat spicy, so I grilled a separate portion. Their tofu skin and mini buns are grilled really well. Senior Sister, I know you love them, so I got both flavors. As for the rest, you and the senior brothers can share.”

“Oh, and milk tea. You can’t get it in the village, so I brought some back, but it’s not cold anymore, all room temperature now.”

Shu Yue chattered on about the things she’d carried all the way.

Lin Chu laughed at her: “This isn’t you going out for your birthday, it’s you running errands for our school.”

“Give it to me, you must be tired after a day out, go rest.”

“Oh, by the way.”

Lin Chu winked at Shu Yue with a smile: “A friend of yours came this afternoon, waiting for you. It was too sunny outside, so I let her rest in your building first.”

Shu Yue’s uplifted mood suddenly dipped.

She couldn’t be blamed.

After all, the last time Lin Chu said something like ‘a friend is looking for you,’ Shu Yue opened the door and saw Meng Zhiyu.

Her expression turned hesitant, unease taking over.

“Thanks, Senior Sister,” Shu Yue said.

Heading to the building, she paused at the door, recalling the last encounter, and silently took off her glasses, putting them in her pocket.

Already limping, she couldn’t afford to limp more.

With mixed feelings, she knocked on the door, mentally prepared herself, pushed it open, and said in a calm tone, “Looking for me?”

No one answered, but Shu Yue already knew the answer.

A beautiful, fluffy kitten jumped down from the hammock, silently, almost running toward her, nuzzling her leg. It was the same as every time she left and came home, if not more enthusiastic, rubbing against her leg.

“Shiyi?!”

Shu Yue couldn’t believe her eyes.

She crouched down, touched Shiyi’s head. The fur was soft, the ears slightly warm, and when she leaned in, the milky scent on its head was there.

“It’s really you!”

She picked up the kitten.

“How did you get here? By yourself, no, one cat? Were you waiting long?”

The kitten, confused by the questions, stretched out its paws, hugged Shu Yue’s neck, and licked her face.

Shu Yue giggled from the tickle, dodging while her crouched legs gave way, and she simply sat on the floor, letting the kitten snuggle.

When she looked up, she saw a woman on the small living room sofa, holding a book against her chest, as if she had fallen asleep while reading.

Shu Yue froze.

She picked up the kitten and approached the sofa.

The fan spun on its lowest setting, barely audible. The night breeze slipped through the half-open window’s screen, lifting the floral curtains, like waves of a flower sea rolling through the room.

Everything felt like a dream.

So real that Shu Yue couldn’t confirm it.

Cautiously, she reached out toward Ji Shiyi’s hand, hanging naturally by her side.

Just as she was about to poke it to check if it was warm, alive, real, the woman’s hand swiftly grabbed hers, tightly holding her wrist with a firm grip, making Shu Yue gasp.

The eyes that snapped open held a fleeting coldness.

Seeing who it was, Ji Shiyi sat up quickly, setting the book aside.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked, adjusting her grip, carefully lifting Shu Yue’s wrist to inspect it.

Shu Yue shook her head and pulled her hand back.

“It’s fine,” she said. Seeing Ji Shiyi still seemed concerned, she smiled. “Really, it’s fine.”

Ji Shiyi lowered her eyes and said, “Sorry, I’m more alert when I’m asleep.”

“Being alert is good!” Shu Yue said quickly. “It’s really fine! Miss Ji, I’m not glass, a little pinch won’t break me.”

To prove it to Ji Shiyi, Shu Yue stood up, single-handedly lifted a wooden chair nearby, her face full of ‘look, look.’

Ji Shiyi smiled.

“Miss Ji, why did you come so suddenly?” Shu Yue thought of Ji Shiyi’s earlier mention of Shiyi being unwell. “Is it about Shiyi?”

Ji Shiyi looked at the kitten clinging to Shu Yue like sticky rice.

“Partly, but not entirely.”

Ji Shiyi stood, picked up a gift bag from the table, and said, “Shu Yue, happy birthday.”

Shu Yue was stunned.

“Miss Ji? How did you know…?”

Ji Shiyi’s tone carried a hint of teasing: “I investigated you, after all. This kind of public information is easy to find.”

Thinking back to their earlier conversation, when Shu Yue had blurted out ‘you investigated me,’ she was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Thank you,” she said, taking Ji Shiyi’s gift. It was a very delicate, thoughtful gift bag, and Shu Yue glimpsed a small box inside. Eagerly, she asked, “Miss Ji, can I open it now?”

“Of course,” Ji Shiyi said with an indulgent smile. “It’s for you, Shu Yue, you’re free to do whatever you want with it.”

“By the way,” Ji Shiyi glanced around the room and casually mentioned, “I didn’t see that butterfly box in your place. So, what happened to it? Did it fly?”

Shu Yue’s hand, untying the ribbon, paused.

So she saw it.

Ji Shiyi saw that Moments post.

For some reason, small emotions welled up in Shu Yue’s heart.

She looked at Ji Shiyi. Under the warm light of the room, her face was porcelain-white and mature, her eyes calm and warm, looking at her with sincerity and grace.

Shu Yue thought, anyone looked at by those eyes would surely feel what she felt now.

“Miss Ji, it flew,” Shu Yue said softly.

And the butterfly in her heart seemed about to take flight too.