The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 36: When Have You Ever Seen Me Chase Someone?

Chapter 36: When Have You Ever Seen Me Chase Someone?

Under the warm light, Shu Yue gently untied the ribbon on the gift bag and opened the light blue box.

In the center of the box, a pair of black glasses rested quietly on a velvet cushion.

She looked up at Ji Shiyi.

Ji Shiyi explained, “I bought them casually while shopping. The lens prescription should be suitable. Want to try them?”

Shu Yue nodded and picked up the glasses to put them on.

In an instant, her world became much clearer.

She was somewhat surprised and said, “Miss Ji, how did you know my prescription…?”

Ji Shiyi slightly raised her eyebrow and said, “My answer is the same as before.”

Shu Yue couldn’t help but exclaim, “Miss Ji, is this something you can find out too? Is there anything you can’t find out?”

Ji Shiyi gave a half-smile and said, “You wouldn’t want to know.”

Alright.

Since Ji Shiyi said that, Shu Yue didn’t ask further.

The sensation on her nose bridge felt unfamiliar. Shu Yue pushed the frame up several times, her heart quietly leaping with joy. She really wanted to see what the glasses looked like on her face. After hesitating, she turned to Ji Shiyi, but before she could speak, Ji Shiyi nodded her chin toward her.

Shu Yue put Shiyi down and walked to the full-length mirror.

Shiyi jumped off the table, as if a magnet were attached to her, the other pole clinging to Shu Yue. Wherever Shu Yue went, Shiyi followed.

“Do you like them?” Seeing Shu Yue standing silently in front of the mirror, suddenly dazed like a little penguin, Ji Shiyi asked.

Shu Yue took off the glasses and nodded cherishingly.

“As long as you like them,” Ji Shiyi said.

She glanced at her watch and said, “It’s getting late, so I’ll head out. Shiyi can stay with you for now. Judging by her behavior, she doesn’t want to leave with me.”

Ji Shiyi turned, picked up the book she had placed on the sofa, waved it, and said, “Can I borrow this book? I’ll return it after I finish.”

Shu Yue said, “Sure, sure.”

She actually had a lot she wanted to say to Ji Shiyi, to ask how long she had been here, if she had waited long, or how long she’d stay this time. But she didn’t say any of those words, not a single one.

It was indeed late, and Shu Yue thought Ji Shiyi must be very busy. She didn’t want her questions to hold her back.

Holding Shiyi, who sat properly by her leg, Shu Yue walked Ji Shiyi out to the courtyard.

Under the courtyard’s light, the surroundings on both sides of the path were clearly visible. Shu Yue looked around but didn’t see Ji Shiyi’s car.

Noticing Shu Yue’s confusion, Ji Shiyi explained, “This afternoon, I had the driver drop me off on the way. After dropping me, she left. I just sent her a message, so she should come when she sees it.”

Shu Yue frowned and looked toward the road.

Once night fell, the world’s light seemed swallowed by an invisible beast. Without artificial lighting, nothing was visible in these mountains. The moonlight glowed, and the stars twinkled, but against the mountain’s darkness, they were merely romantic, serving no other purpose. At night, this place was pitch black.

She hesitated and suggested, “Miss Ji, if you don’t mind, why not stay here tonight?”

Afraid Ji Shiyi might misunderstand, Shu Yue said, “I’ll sleep downstairs, don’t worry, Miss Ji. I definitely won’t do anything.”

She spoke very politely and added, “I have new toiletries. I prepared them thinking Chen Mi and Chu Yufei might stay over, and no one has used them yet. The bedding was washed and dried a couple of days ago and just put away. I’ll go change it now.”

She chattered on, each sentence piecing together a polite boundary and a simple invitation. Shiyi, lying in her arms, was nearly lulled to sleep, flipping over against her chest and letting out a long meow.

Ji Shiyi gave an almost imperceptible smile.

Patiently waiting for Shu Yue to finish all her arrangements, she said to the girl in front of her, “Shu Yue.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not worried.”

The woman’s voice came gently with the soothing evening breeze.

“I just have appropriate doubts about my self-control as an omega,” Ji Shiyi said, looking into Shu Yue’s eyes and explaining honestly, “At least now, at least today, Shu Yue, I don’t want our interaction to be the same as before.”

Shu Yue didn’t understand what Ji Shiyi meant by this.

The same as before in what way?

And how was it different now?

Seeing the confusion on her face, Ji Shiyi slightly lowered her gaze, looked toward the road, and saw bright car headlights approaching from a distance.

“I’m leaving now,” Ji Shiyi said to Shu Yue.

“Okay, Miss Ji,” she replied. “Please let me know when you reach the hotel.”

“Alright,” Ji Shiyi answered.

Holding Shiyi and seeing Ji Shiyi off to the car, watching it turn and drive away, Shu Yue pinched the smart fur on Shiyi’s ears, scratched her chin, and said softly, “Do you feel your owner is different in any way?”

Shiyi, comfortable from the scratching, squinted her eyes into slits, only meowing playfully. When Shu Yue stopped, Shiyi pawed at her with her pads, not answering Shu Yue’s question at all.

Shu Yue smiled, feeling she was being silly.

Even if she asked Shiyi, and even if Shiyi answered, with Ji Shiyi gone, she wouldn’t understand the answer.

A moment later, Shu Yue received a message from Ji Shiyi.

He: [Picture]

He: Arrived, don’t worry.

The picture showed a hotel room.

Sy: Okay, Miss Ji.

After thinking, she replied again.

Sy: You worked hard today, Miss Ji. Rest early.

Ji Shiyi smiled at her stiff reply, said “you too,” and tossed the phone aside, taking off her coat as she walked.

After showering, she saw several missed calls on her phone.

She called back.

“Something up?”

Yu Qianyue’s voice came through the receiver, “Nonsense, you disappeared all afternoon without a word.”

Ji Shiyi casually dried her damp hair and said lightly, “I fell asleep waiting for someone this afternoon and didn’t check my phone.”

“Who could make our Boss Ji wait all afternoon? Are they tired of living?”

Hearing the teasing in Yu Qianyue’s voice, Ji Shiyi didn’t respond, just put the phone aside, turned on the speaker, and dried her hair with both hands. The towel rubbed over her wet strands, soaking up the moisture.

“Did you go see that girl?” Yu Qianyue asked.

Ji Shiyi said, “It’s her birthday today.”

Yu Qianyue clicked her tongue twice, “I knew it. What project could make you, Boss Ji, keep running to Qingxi Source? Turns out, the business was fake, and the personal stuff was real.”

“Didn’t someone say those things to me before? What was it about not being in a relationship just to get through a heat cycle? Oh, Ji Shiyi, does your face hurt? Hold the phone closer, let me hear it sting.”

Ji Shiyi moved her hair from right to left, switching sides to dry it again, and said to the phone, “Doctor Yu, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. There’s no sting to hear. If you love hearing it so much, slap yourself twice.”

Yu Qianyue was genuinely confused.

“What do you mean, sis? Weren’t you going after her to solve your heat cycle?”

“Did I say that?”

Ji Shiyi stood up, picked up the phone with her right hand, and held the wet towel with her left, hanging it to dry. She sat at the vanity chair.

She opened the drawer and took out the hairdryer inside.

“Alright, I’m going to dry my hair. Hanging up.”

“No, wait, Ji Shiyi, explain yourself—hello? Hello?”

Yu Qianyue looked down at the abruptly ended call screen, speechless.

What the hell.

What was Ji Shiyi up to?

Yu Qianyue thought and thought, unable to find an answer. A sudden spark flashed in her mind, and she grabbed the phone to message Ji Shiyi.

“No way, no way, no way, no way!”

“Boss Ji, we’re almost thirty, and you’re pulling a pure romance on me?”

“You’re chasing her?”

The hairdryer hummed, hot air blowing from the side. Ji Shiyi glanced at the messages popping up on the screen, looked up at herself in the vanity mirror.

After drying and caring for her hair, Ji Shiyi picked up the phone to answer Yu Qianyue’s question.

“You’re overthinking,” she said. “When have you ever seen me chase someone?”

Yu Qianyue had been waiting by the phone for Ji Shiyi’s reply. Seeing it, she knew Ji Shiyi had finished pampering her precious hair and called back.

“Not chasing her, then what’s this about?”

“Don’t know,” Yu Qianyue rarely heard this answer from Ji Shiyi. The woman paused on the other end, her crisp tone softening, “I just don’t want to see her get bullied, that’s all.”

“You—” Yu Qianyue started to say.

“Stop asking me,” Ji Shiyi sighed lightly and said, “Qianyue, I’m already annoyed enough.”

Yu Qianyue let out an “oh” and said, “Feelings are such a hassle. Forget it, don’t overthink, Ji Shiyi. Take it one step at a time.”

“If you ever want to talk, I’m always here,” Yu Qianyue laughed, “except when I’m in surgery. Human lives are slightly more important than friendship.”

Ji Shiyi chuckled, “Don’t worry, Doctor Yu, I wouldn’t dare mess with your medical ethics. Hanging up, I’m checking on the project team tomorrow morning.”

Ending the call with Yu Qianyue, Ji Shiyi tossed the phone on the bed, walked to her suitcase, and opened it, pulling out a small box. She took out a suppressant, deftly swept her long hair to the left, and injected it into the right side of her neck without hesitation.

Once the suppressant was fully injected, Ji Shiyi pulled out the needle, tossed it into the trash, and leaned back on the sofa.

The pain from the suppressant hit as expected. Ji Shiyi curled up, turned her head, stared at the distant mountains outside the balcony, then looked at the bright moon hanging above the treetops.

Her arms wrapped around her body, which heated up and cooled down rapidly as the suppressant took effect. When everything settled, Ji Shiyi rubbed her forehead, got up, and took a bottle of wine from the fridge.

The chilled white wine cooled the glass.

Holding the wine and sitting on the bed, Ji Shiyi opened her laptop on her lap and began reviewing reports.

She worked until 2 a.m., her eyes sore, before closing the laptop and setting it aside. After resting her eyes, Ji Shiyi picked up her phone. Her chat with the girl stopped at “goodnight.” She clicked on Shu Yue’s profile and noticed two new pictures in the previously empty space. Following them, she saw a Moments post.

Sy: At my six o’clock. [Picture][Picture]

The first picture was a screenshot from Chen Mi’s vlog, showing a goofy cake, laughing friends, and an embarrassed Shu Yue.

The second picture showed the gifts she received, with Shiyi in the corner and a bit of Ji Shiyi’s gift bag visible at the edge.

Cautious yet unable to resist sharing a little. Like those small thoughts, perhaps even she hadn’t noticed.

Ji Shiyi’s lips curled up unconsciously, then flattened. Her fingers paused, and she only gave a plain like, leaving her unspoken blessings in her notes.

Girl, may you, at your life’s six o’clock, see the clouds part, the fog clear, your future bright, always clear, and always lovely.