The Little Bookworm Marked Her Ex-aunt - Chapter 41: Your Susceptible Period Has Arrived, Didn't You Know?

Chapter 41: Your Susceptible Period Has Arrived, Didn’t You Know?

After seeing Meng Zhiyu off, Shu Yue sat on the sofa as if she were dehydrated.

It felt like she had just finished running a marathon, except today, she used her brain instead of her legs.

She stared blankly at the ceiling, with stars spinning before her eyes.

Ji Shiyi, who had obediently left earlier and scampered upstairs alone, now ran back down, jumped onto the sofa, sat beside Shu Yue, looked up at her, and let out a soft meow.

Shu Yue smiled, cupped the cat’s face, rubbed it twice, and asked, “Did I scare you just now?”

Shiyi’s tail flicked, her voice gentle. She leaned forward, touched Shu Yue’s nose with her wet nose, and licked her chin with her tongue.

Shu Yue felt ticklish and raised her hand to block it.

Shiyi persisted, acting as if she were addicted to human contact, determined to show Shu Yue forceful affection.

Shu Yue half-resisted and half-gave in, lying down on the sofa, letting the kitten wash her face and step on her shoulders, trying to find a cozy spot.

“You can’t sleep here,” Shu Yue said, picking up Shiyi and standing up. “Let’s go to bed.”

After washing up, Shu Yue changed into pajamas and patted the bed.

Shiyi quickly jumped up.

Nestling in Shu Yue’s arms, she closed her eyes.

Shu Yue also closed her eyes with ease.

Too many things had happened today, draining Shu Yue’s mental energy. As soon as her head hit the pillow, her eyelids grew heavy and stuck together.

A slow, steady breathing sound came consistently.

The kitten, originally sleeping soundly at her neck, suddenly opened her eyes, cautiously shifted her body, and, confirming Shu Yue didn’t react, lightly leaped off the bed.

In the dark night, the kitten agent sprang into action.

She nimbly opened the door, effortlessly climbed the tree in the courtyard, and, like a parkour expert, jumped from the treetop onto the second-floor balcony of the main building.

“Knock, knock.”

The window was tapped.

Fu Xitang, always a light sleeper, instantly opened her eyes and said warily, “Who’s there!”

A clear, unhesitant meow answered her.

Fu Xitang: “…”

She pushed back her hair, got out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled open the curtain.

“Interesting,” Fu Xitang said. “What could make a lady like you come to me?”

Shiyi raised her chin, her eyes haughty, signaling Fu Xitang to move aside. Seizing the small space, she jumped straight into Fu Xitang’s room.

Without any courtesy, she leaped onto Fu Xitang’s desk, stretched out her right front paw, and tapped the surface.

Fu Xitang: “I don’t understand.”

Shiyi swiftly extended her claws, poised to scratch the wooden desk. As her nails just touched it, producing a sharp, unbearable screech, Fu Xitang gave in.

She opened her palm, and a black python appeared in it.

When it emerged, the python was still sleeping. Fu Xitang shook it awake, and its usually terrifying vertical pupils looked bewildered. Turning its head, it saw a silver leopard cat staring at it.

The snake’s tongue hissed in panic, twisting to slither up Fu Xitang’s arm into her pajamas.

Fu Xitang pulled it out.

“Little Black, Shiyi has something to discuss with you.”

Little Black whimpered, coiling around Fu Xitang’s wrist, refusing to come down.

“Useless thing,” Shiyi commented.

Little Black flicked its tongue: “What do you want with me?”

Shiyi: “I need to talk to your master. She doesn’t understand me, so you translate.”

Little Black: “Go ahead.”

Shiyi: “Tell her to call Ji Shiyi and say her ex-girlfriend came over tonight!”

Little Black immediately relayed this to Fu Xitang.

Fu Xitang sighed helplessly: “You came to me in the middle of the night for this?”

Shiyi glared impatiently, yowling and scolding.

Little Black dutifully translated: “She says, Fu Xitang, you know nothing, how is this a small matter, this concerns her happiness for the rest of her life, Fu Xitang, you—”

Little Black’s head got flicked by Fu Xitang.

“No need to translate that,” Fu Xitang said. “I don’t want to understand it either.”

Little Black shrank its head, looking aggrieved.

Under the stare of a cat and a snake, Fu Xitang had no choice and took out her phone.

“I’ll say this first, Ji Shiyi might already be asleep at this hour,” Fu Xitang said to Shiyi.

Shiyi raised her chin, her meaning very clear.

Under her supervision, Fu Xitang dialed Ji Shiyi’s number.

The phone rang for a while before someone answered.

Ji Shiyi’s voice came through the receiver: “Fu Xitang?”

She was clearly puzzled why Fu Xitang was calling at this time.

“Something happened?”

Fu Xitang: “…Sort of.”

Fu Xitang heard Ji Shiyi’s previously lazy voice tighten.

She quickly clarified: “It’s not about Shu Yue.”

No, wait.

She corrected herself: “Theoretically, it is about Shu Yue.”

Hearing this, Ji Shiyi sat back on the bed, asking slowly, “Alright, what’s the situation?”

Fu Xitang held the phone to Shiyi.

Shiyi meowed and yowled for a while.

Ji Shiyi said: “You’re not in front of me, I can’t sense you, I don’t understand.”

Shiyi, frustrated, clawed at Fu Xitang’s desk.

Little Black trembled in fear.

Fu Xitang quickly said: “She means Shu Yue’s ex-girlfriend came over today.”

Ji Shiyi hummed: “And then?”

Fu Xitang raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised: “You already knew?”

Ji Shiyi said slowly: “Someone called me.”

Fu Xitang guessed: “Shu Yue? Unlikely. Oh—your niece?”

After thinking it over, Fu Xitang laughed: “What did she call you for? To declare war?”

Ji Shiyi’s voice sounded indifferent.

“Just a kid,” she said. “Anything else?”

Shiyi licked her paw and shook her head.

Since Meng Zhiyu had already called Ji Shiyi, she must have told her what Shu Yue said, right? Shiyi meowed twice, asking Little Black to relay.

Little Black told Fu Xitang.

Fu Xitang then asked: “Shiyi asks, when are you coming back?”

Ji Shiyi said: “I’m not coming back. I’m leaving tomorrow morning; there’s something at the garage.”

Shiyi got anxious.

She yowled repeatedly.

Little Black dutifully relayed.

Fu Xitang, now a deadpan cat-language translator, said: “She says, Ji Shiyi, how can you do this, how can you leave at such a critical time, what are you thinking…”

Fu Xitang couldn’t take it anymore.

“How about this? I’ll ride my motorcycle and bring Shiyi to you now, so you two can talk. Deal?”

Little Black nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Ji Shiyi’s reaction was calm: “No need, Fu Xitang, just hang up, ignore her.”

Shiyi rolled her eyes, nearly lunging to bite Fu Xitang’s phone.

But Fu Xitang saw her look and knew she wasn’t far from acting.

She stepped back with the phone.

“Really no need?” Fu Xitang asked.

Ji Shiyi: “Hmm.”

Fu Xitang stroked Little Black’s head in her palm, its scales cool and slightly slippery.

“You’re planning to step back and let things settle?”

Ji Shiyi pinched her brow, putting down the documents she was reading.

“It’s too hot. Let’s cool off for now.”

Fu Xitang: “Aren’t you afraid cooling off will end it?”

Ji Shiyi chuckled: “Isn’t the cat still there? Alright, I’m hanging up, no time to chat.”

Staring at the ended call screen, Fu Xitang paused, then turned to Shiyi.

Shiyi turned her head and left as suddenly as she came.

Once the cat’s figure disappeared from the window, Fu Xitang closed the curtain.

Little Black looked at her pitifully.

Fu Xitang sighed: “Fine, you sleep outside tonight.”

Little Black’s snake tail twitched, following Fu Xitang to bed. In an instant, the palm-sized black python grew enormous, coiling into a mosquito-repellent spiral, sleeping beside Fu Xitang.

Fu Xitang touched its scales.

She didn’t know what was up with this kid.

Big in size, small in courage, looking fierce but actually a fragile crybaby.

Patting Little Black’s head, Fu Xitang hugged it and lay down beside it.

Under the same night sky, Ji Shiyi put down her phone.

She picked up the notebook beside her, opened it, and on the page with the latest date, there was a perfectly preserved four-leaf clover specimen sealed in plastic.

Her fingertips gently traced the square plastic edge.

Whenever she rested, the image of the girl trying to escape in panic and the anxious look during their car conversation clearly appeared in Ji Shiyi’s mind.

Sighing softly, she closed her eyes.

Ji Shiyi set down the clover bookmark.

She had thought about Fu Xitang’s question but couldn’t find a good answer.

Perhaps, more than her moving forward, Shu Yue needed a moment to breathe and calm down.

They both needed to calm down.

The next morning at the breakfast table, Fu Xitang casually mentioned Ji Shiyi leaving.

Shu Yue didn’t want to overthink, but she couldn’t help connecting Ji Shiyi’s departure with yesterday’s events.

She wrestled with her thoughts all morning, her mind battling without a clear winner.

Shu Yue wanted to ask Ji Shiyi directly but felt her actions were inappropriate. After much thought, she only asked about the cat.

Ji Shiyi’s reply was normal, still asking her to take care of Shiyi.

Shu Yue stared at the clean, concise text Ji Shiyi sent, with no extra words.

This was probably for the best.

She told herself.

Just as she had told Meng Zhiyu yesterday.

Right now, she didn’t want to do anything but focus on doing well in her life. Ji Shiyi leaving like this, theoretically, should make her feel relieved. This way, she wouldn’t worry about how to face Ji Shiyi, fearing she’d see through her feelings or hide them so poorly that Ji Shiyi would misunderstand.

Maintaining a slight connection through Shiyi, Shu Yue already cherished it.

She tried sending Ji Shiyi a daily photo of the cat.

Ji Shiyi would reply with a sentence or two.

That was the most contact they had during this time.

Shu Yue didn’t dare share more, say goodnight, or even suggest resting early, afraid it would sound presumptuous.

Meng Zhiyu came to see her again, near the end of the film crew’s shoot, when everyone was preparing to leave Qingxi Source.

Shu Yue happened to be out, so Meng Zhiyu left a message with Lin Chu.

“Give me a bit more time. Once I handle things, I’ll come find you,” Lin Chu relayed in Meng Zhiyu’s tone.

Shu Yue’s face froze, pushing up her glasses.

Three words popped into her mind—

Please, don’t, come.

Chen Mi and Chu Yufei left after staying for a while; Greydomain couldn’t stay closed too long, and this half-month was already Chen Mi’s summer break.

On the day they left, Fu Xitang drove them to the high-speed rail station.

The two were polite, calm, and didn’t say much.

Shu Yue privately asked Chen Mi about her situation with Captain Fu.

Chen Mi said: “No situation at all.”

She rarely spoke seriously: “I’m actually unwilling to let it go. I wanted to play her like she played me back then, but later I thought, why bother? We all have our own lives. Why torture myself again for revenge?”

“She didn’t explain?” Shu Yue asked. “About what happened back then?”

Chen Mi shook her head: “Explain what? I thought she was going to say something that day, but she just asked me one question.”

Shu Yue: “What question?”

Chen Mi: “She asked if I like snakes.”

Shu Yue: “Huh?”

Chen Mi shuddered at the word, rubbing her arms, goosebumps falling everywhere.

“Of course I don’t like them!” Chen Mi said, terrified. “I’m scared to death of those things!”

“Then she never brought up explaining, and I didn’t ask,” Chen Mi scoffed. “I don’t get her. Whatever, I never did.”

“Little Yue, come back to the city soon. When you do, let me know. Yufei and I will pick you up.”

Shu Yue smiled: “It’s still early.”

Indeed, it was early.

The Qingxi Source project was long-term, and Shu Yue still had Xiao Liu to care for.

Before autumn arrived, Xiao Liu finally recovered.

After preparing everything for release, Shu Yue reluctantly said goodbye to Xiao Liu.

Zhou Miao comforted her, saying it was a good thing, and there might be unexpected gains. Xiao Liu left with a specially made, lightweight tracker on its leg, much lighter than a collar, with almost no impact on daily life.

“You’ve all been busy for so long. Take a break,” Zhou Miao said. “It’s not right to keep you young folks stuck in the mountains with me. This week, Little Yue and Lin Chu get a break first. Old Two and Old Three stay. When they return, you swap.”

Shu Yue didn’t want to leave.

She felt there was nothing to do at home, and most importantly, leaving meant dragging the cat back and forth, too much hassle.

But something happened, and she had to go.

During a normal morning meal, Shu Yue and Lin Chu returned from a run, crossing paths with Fu Xitang, who had finished her morning training.

Fu Xitang was practicing punches. Lin Chu, not noticing, got too close and took a hit.

Before she could react, Shu Yue silently rushed forward and pushed Fu Xitang away with excessive force.

After pushing, Shu Yue was shocked: “Captain Fu, I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

Fu Xitang wasn’t angry. After apologizing to Lin Chu, she went upstairs, grabbed a device, and placed it on Shu Yue’s forehead.

“Shu Yue, your susceptible period has arrived. Didn’t you know?” Fu Xitang said.

Shu Yue shook her head.

“You’ve never experienced a susceptible period?” Fu Xitang was surprised.

Shu Yue said: “I have, but after that time, I took medication monthly. Since differentiation, I haven’t had a second one.”

“I took this month’s medication too.”

Fu Xitang, for the first time, felt respect for the bespectacled girl.

“You might have developed resistance. Want to try mine?” Fu Xitang offered her alpha-specific suppressant. “But it’s strong. Don’t use too much at once.”

Lin Chu was curious, and leaned in. As an alpha, she’d never seen this suppressant on the market.

“Which brand?” she asked.

Fu Xitang: “You can’t buy it.”

Lin Chu realized it was likely issued by the military or some other place. In that environment, an alpha’s susceptible period was indeed sensitive.

Shu Yue took the syringe from Fu Xitang, saying thanks.

That day, she planned to use just a little, but Shiyi, not noticing her injecting, pounced for a hug. The ten-pound cat’s weight made Shu Yue’s hand shake, injecting the entire syringe into her vein.

“…”

She comforted Shiyi, who thought she’d done something wrong, and carried her to Fu Xitang.

Cautiously, she asked: “Captain Fu, if I accidentally used all the suppressant you gave me, what would happen?”

Fu Xitang immediately pulled her over, opened her case, took out various devices, and checked Shu Yue thoroughly.

“You’re fine now,” Fu Xitang said. “But watch out. If you get a fever, tell me immediately.”

Shu Yue nodded.

She stayed tense all night, monitoring her temperature, but it didn’t rise. Honestly, she felt a bit smug.

Her constitution wasn’t as weak as she thought.

She could handle special forces-grade suppressants.

But in the middle of the night, Shiyi was woken by the heat.

When Shu Yue woke again, she was in the hospital.

An IV dripped into her hand, and she was in a stark white room.

Seeing her awake, Shiyi, curled up by the bed, meowed loudly. The nurse watching her hurried to call the doctor.

A familiar face entered.

Yu Qianyue, in a white coat, holding a notebook and pen, walked in: “Awake?”

Shu Yue nodded, looked around, tried to speak, but found her throat painfully dry, like a kettle boiled dry with barely any steam left.

“Want to know what’s going on?” Yu Qianyue asked.

Shu Yue nodded.

“You overused high-potency ARI, or what you call alpha suppressant, causing your pheromone regulation system to collapse, triggering a series of acute, life-threatening pheromone imbalances. Medically, we call it Infucrin Storm Syndrome, or the legendary Elsa Storm Syndrome.”

Shu Yue opened her mouth slightly, processed it, then pointed at Shiyi, then at Yu Qianyue.

“Captain Fu brought you here, cat included,” Yu Qianyue paused, then added. “But it was Ji Shiyi’s arrangement. She didn’t trust Lu County’s medical level and insisted on transferring you to me. Though my specialty isn’t this, my partner mostly handled your case.”

“Teacher Fang, you’re here,” Yu Qianyue turned.

Fang Wenyao walked in, smiled at her, then approached Shu Yue, introducing herself: “Hello, I’m your attending physician, Fang Wenyao. Here’s a tablet. If you want to say something, type it. Now, shall we start the consultation?”

Shu Yue lifted the iPad, her neat handwriting her response.

After talking with Fang Wenyao, Shu Yue learned she’d been unconscious with a high fever for three days since the incident.

For three days, Shiyi stayed by her side.

Ji Shiyi even hired a nurse to care for her.

Shu Yue’s gaze fell on a small suitcase in the room.

Yu Qianyue said: “That’s Ji Shiyi’s. She’s been coming after work these days.”

Shu Yue lowered her head, clutching the hospital’s white sheets.

“Did you notify her?” Fang Wenyao asked. “Tell her Shu Yue’s awake.”

Yu Qianyue slapped her forehead: “Forgot. I’ll call her now.”

Ji Shiyi arrived forty minutes later.

Shu Yue had finished basic checks with Fang Wenyao.

“Your symptoms are stable. Your body’s adaptability is strong. Another alpha might take much longer to recover. From the latest checks, your vitals are normal, and your pheromones stabilized quickly.”

Shu Yue gave a relieved smile.

Fang Wenyao glanced at her: “Don’t smile yet. I’m not done.”

Shu Yue: “…”

Fang Wenyao: “From my experience, this might just be temporary normalcy. Elsa Storm Syndrome is unpredictable, especially since it hit during your susceptible period.”

“My advice: don’t stay too far from your omega for the next half-month to avoid another flare-up. Come back for a follow-up after that.”

“I don’t have an omega,” Shu Yue said.

Fang Wenyao: “Ji Shiyi isn’t your omega? When you were brought in, she was more nervous than you. Oh, right, you were unconscious, so it’s normal for her to be nervous.”

Shu Yue choked on Fang Wenyao’s words, unsure how to respond, when a familiar voice sounded.

“Old Fang, mind your own business,” Ji Shiyi appeared at the door.

How long had it been since Shu Yue saw Ji Shiyi? A month? She looked the same, always composed, making it hard for Shu Yue to imagine her nervous, as Fang Wenyao described.

Fang Wenyao shrugged, joking with Shu Yue: “Alright, not your omega—your guardian’s here.”

Shu Yue’s face flushed, her ears burning.

She knew Fang Wenyao was teasing, but with her ulterior motives, her heart always raced inappropriately at such words. She glanced at Ji Shiyi. Ji Shiyi’s face was calm, showing no trace of the embarrassment Shu Yue felt.

Shu Yue’s racing heart suddenly cooled.

“Pack up and take her home,” Fang Wenyao said to Ji Shiyi. “Don’t hog my bed. I’m busy.”

Ji Shiyi raised an eyebrow: “What? I didn’t pay you enough? Want me to donate a building?”

Fang Wenyao, speechless, turned and left.

The nurse left too.

The white room held just the two of them.

“Miss Ji,” Shu Yue spoke first.

Ji Shiyi handed her a bag: “Clothes I got on the way. Change, and we’ll leave.”

Shu Yue hummed, took it, and said, “Thank you.”

She pulled back the covers to get up, stepped forward, and suddenly her vision went black. A gentle, firm hand steadied her. Shu Yue turned, and Ji Shiyi was frowning: “Still unwell?”

Shu Yue’s heart raced, and she shook her head: “I got up too fast. I’ll be fine.”

Ji Shiyi’s gaze swept over her pale face. She turned, locked the door, and drew the curtains.

“Change here,” she said. “I’ll turn around. Call me if you need anything.”

Shu Yue sat on the bed, watching Ji Shiyi’s back.

She knew Ji Shiyi hadn’t changed, still considerate as always. Between them, the only thing that had changed was her own heart.

That was all.