Nine thousand and nine.

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Shen Yu felt like he was seeing a ghost. Such a big matter—he had already prepared himself to apologize to Shen Yi for days, ready to be her humble servant—but unexpectedly, he saw his own sister humming happily as she entered the room, as if the previous conflict had never existed.

Shen Yu had thought this was his death knell. Just as he was about to swallow his pride and apologize, Shen Yi waved her hand generously and pardoned him: “Alright, I get it. I forgive you, but don’t let it happen again. Good night! I’m going to sleep now!”

Shen Yu: “……”

Though he didn’t know what had happened, it certainly had something to do with Wen Que.

Wen Que.

His deity!

Shen Yu was moved to tears, firmly deciding in his heart that in this lifetime he would only acknowledge Wen Que as his brother-in-law.

*

In bed.

Shen Yi tossed and turned for several rounds before finally pulling the blanket over her face.

Hey!

Hehe!

Wen Que confessed to her! That was a confession! He said he liked her!

Shen Yi was too excited to sleep, so she got up and messaged Meng Zihan.

Of course, she didn’t dare to share all the details and simply told her the outcome.

Meng Zihan replied almost instantly.

“That’s normal. Who wouldn’t like you? It just means he’s got good eyes.”

Shen Yi sent a cute emoji.

“You’re making me shy! (Kiss kiss)”

“I’m not wrong.”

“Our Yi Yi is the kindest, most beautiful, generous, and adorable girl in the whole world. Love you the most＾＾”

Shen Yi covered her face.

Although she knew this praise was heavily filtered by friendship, she couldn’t help but feel elated.

This was what good friends were for.

Even though, objectively, she did have some small flaws, she knew that in Meng Zihan’s eyes, she was utterly perfect.

So Shen Yi replied.

“I love you the most too! The most, most, most!!!”

Meng Zihan responded quickly.

“Oh?”

“Do you like me more than Wen Que?”

That was a difficult question. Shen Yi thought seriously for a moment.

Before today, she never dared to imagine that Wen Que actually liked her.

To Shen Yi, she was simply a suitable match for Wen Que’s family, which is why she became his fiancée.

Wen Que had merely accepted the arranged marriage imposed by their families, nothing more.

If by a certain age Wen Que hadn’t found a girl he truly liked, he would accept marrying her and starting a family because he didn’t dislike her.

That was what Shen Yi had always believed.

So she had foolishly prayed in her heart not to have an exceptionally outstanding girl suddenly appear and steal Wen Que’s attention.

She just wanted to live peaceably, grow up a little more, and marry Wen Que as she wished, nothing more.

But if the unexpected happened—

Wen Que was such an outstanding person; he deserved the best girl in the world. If he truly liked someone, she could even withdraw with tears and give her blessings.

After all, she did not want to become a resentful spouse with someone she liked.

Shen Yi had always thought this way; she could accept a future without Wen Que.

But—

She never imagined a day would come when she would be separated from Meng Zihan.

Meng Zihan was the most important friend she had in this life.

No one else could compare.

After careful consideration, Shen Yi replied.

“Yes! I love you the most! Even more than Wen Que＾＾”

*

Meng family.

Staring at the message on the screen, Meng Zihan was stunned for a long time before looking away in surprise.

Because she knew Shen Yi would never lie to her.

Her gaze fell on a pair of decorations on the table.

They were a pair of somewhat ugly, abstract ceramic pieces that the always pampered, never dirty-fingered Miss Shen had personally molded from clay for hours and fired.

There were piles of clay molds on the floor, and Shen Yi was all dirty but didn’t care, proudly holding up the clay to show off to her because she said she liked it.

The elders around had more than once complained that Shen Yi was a perfect person, with the only flaw being that she occasionally did outrageous things with the accident-prone Miss Shen.

The Meng family was a scholarly household, always proud of raising refined and well-mannered young ladies. Her parents had once subtly suggested she reduce contact with Shen Yi.

But to Meng Zihan,

She felt the freest and happiest when she was by Shen Yi’s side.

*

After waking up.

Well, to be honest, she was so excited half the night that she barely slept.

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Shen Yi got up with dark circles under her eyes, skipping breakfast, sitting at the table to fuss with concealer for a long time until finally covering the flaws and putting on a light makeup look.

Shen Yu shouted from downstairs, “Hey! If you don’t leave, I’m going ahead!”

Shen Yi suddenly realized she was late, hurried downstairs, and said, “I’ll go with you!”

At the classroom.

Rubbing her slightly flat stomach, Shen Yi thought about buying a bread roll after class to fill her stomach.

Suddenly—

The chair beside her was pulled out, and a sandwich and corn juice appeared on the desk.

“Wow—!”

Shen Yi’s eyes lit up. She eagerly took a bite, cheeks stuffed, happily exclaiming, “It’s ham! Song Yang, how did you know I didn’t have breakfast?”

“Isn’t it because I messaged your aunt last night? Someone left early, so I didn’t want to waste it and brought it over—not for you,” Song Yang said, eyeing Shen Yi’s ravenous eating with some disdain. “Why? Wen Que didn’t feed you?”

Shen Yi was confused, chewing her sandwich and asking, “What does Wen Que have to do with this?”

“*Ahem*.”

Song Yang coughed awkwardly and looked away. “Didn’t you go to the Wen family last night?”

Since he knew Shen Yi well, he figured that after quarreling with Shen Yu, she wouldn’t want to see him for a while.

If she didn’t return to the Shen house, she’d naturally go to the Wen house.

“Huh?”

Shen Yi thought of Wen Que’s mother’s stern face and shook her head emphatically. “I’m scared of his mom; better not.”

Too terrifying.

Wen Que’s mother was more rigid and severe than her father by far. Shen Yi feared her the most in the world, without exception.

Over the years, Shen Yi avoided meeting Wen Que’s mother whenever possible because she was genuinely afraid.

In front of Wen Que’s mother, she had to act extremely poised and gentle to avoid being found fault with, yet she was still nitpicked mercilessly.

Each meeting lasted hours, and she would start nervously preparing with Meng Zihan’s refined etiquette training a week in advance, only to be exhausted for days afterward.

And whether it was Shen Yi’s imagination or not,

She always felt Wen Que’s mother was dissatisfied with her as a future daughter-in-law and treated her particularly coldly.

Shen Yu had long said, “...With the way you stand and sit, like eating a cake in one bite, it’s no wonder she treats you badly.”

Shen Yi retorted, “I’m way better than you!”

Shen Yu would grin foolishly at such times: “So what? I’m not marrying her daughter; why should she care about me? Hahaha!”

At times like this, Shen Yi had no comeback and could only angrily punch Shen Yu—avoiding any mention of Wen Que’s mother.

But Shen Yi understood.

If she had such an outstanding son like Wen Que, wanting to be with someone like her, she might not be pleased either.

Though she didn’t know why.

But Shen Yi noticed that after she said all this, Song Yang’s expression visibly improved.

Shen Yi glared at him fiercely.

She was so scared of Wen Que’s mother, and he was happy about it?

Song Yang: “...?”

Had he provoked her again? Surely not.

Definitely not.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Song Yang chose to lie down and nap after handing in his homework.

Shen Yi: “???”

Did he actually do homework last night? Amazing.

*

During recess.

Perhaps because she had just learned of Wen Que’s feelings for her yesterday, Shen Yi felt awkward seeing him so soon. Rarely, she didn’t look for Meng Zihan but slipped into a convenience store to buy some milk and snacks before heading back to class.

On the way, she ran into Jiang Yue walking toward her.

Shen Yi instinctively wanted to avoid eye contact, but Jiang Yue waved and called her name first.

Shen Yi asked politely but distantly, “Is there something you need?”

Jiang Yue was surprised but, noticing Shen Yi’s coldness, smiled and said, “I want to thank you and your brother—not just for yesterday, but before that as well.”

“You should have thanked him personally already. No need to say it again,” Shen Yi paused, then added, “Besides, he’s kind-hearted and likes showing off. If there’s a chance to be a hero and save a damsel, he’ll definitely go. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“...Okay, I understand.”

Feeling Shen Yi’s indifference, Jiang Yue seemed a bit discouraged and said no more, instead pulling out a paper box from behind her and handing it to Shen Yi: “If you don’t mind, please try the dessert I made. It’s also from my heart.”

Shen Yi wanted to refuse—really.

But when her eyes caught the transparent window on the box showing a brown sugar pearl cake with cheese, she couldn’t look away.

Shen Yi swallowed hard.

She was inwardly angry.

Hating her own uncontrollable mouth.

And Jiang Yue... how did she know what Shen Yi liked? It must have been Song Yang who told her last time.

Thinking this, Shen Yi closed her eyes and made up her mind.

She took the small cake from Jiang Yue’s hand and then stuffed most of the snacks and milk from her own bag into Jiang Yue’s arms, making it clear—

This was a trade!

She wasn’t taking anything for free!

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Jiang Yue chuckled softly.

Tilting her head, she sincerely remarked, “Shen Yi, you’re really so adorable!”

“Don’t think sweet talk like that will win me over!” Shen Yi still insisted on refusing.

At noon.

In the cafeteria.

Shen Yi scanned the surroundings to make sure Jiang Yue wasn’t there before furtively taking out the cake.

Meng Zihan was surprised. “When did you buy that?”

Shen Yi whispered, “...Jiang Yue gave it to me.”

Meng Zihan was a bit astonished, about to ask more, but upon seeing the brown sugar pearls on the cake, she sighed resignedly.

Alright, that was something Shen Yi truly couldn’t refuse.

No choice.

Three minutes later.

Shen Yi stubbornly forced a piece of cake into Meng Zihan’s mouth, eyes gleaming with tears as she exclaimed, “...Unbelievable, how can it be this delicious?”

Unbelievable, too unbelievable.

Even after being stored so long, the pearls still had their chewy texture, the sweetness was just right and not cloying at all. It was practically a perfect work of art!

After fretting all afternoon.

After school at dusk.

Shen Yi dawdled packing her things, stealing glances at Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue was smart and noticed Shen Yi had something to say, so she slowed down.

Classmates gradually left.

The classroom was left with just the two of them.

Jiang Yue looked up toward Shen Yi.

Shen Yi met her gaze.

Their eyes locked.

Shen Yi bowed deeply at ninety degrees, unable to contain her feelings, and blurted out, “Could you please bring me another cake tomorrow? I can pay... no, I can trade you Song Yang’s secret!!!”

Jiang Yue: “?”

Song Yang’s secret?

Why would she care about that?

But before Jiang Yue could ask, Shen Yi, embarrassed by her own request, turned and ran away like a little cat that suddenly appeared and disappeared.

So cute.

Jiang Yue couldn’t help but think so, a smile playing at her lips.

It reminded her of the first time she met Shen Yi.

Back then, Shen Yi had also suddenly appeared and disappeared in her life like that.

*

Though Jiang Yue didn’t understand why she had to know Song Yang’s secret, the next day she appeared with the same small cake in front of Shen Yi.

The two of them didn’t exchange a word but appeared at the same place during recess with perfect timing.

Seeing Jiang Yue’s expectant face, Shen Yi silently apologized to Song Yang in her heart.

Song Yang’s secret?

She knew far too much already. Which one should she reveal...

It all seemed inconvenient.

After some hesitation, Shen Yi looked up.

“Can I trade by telling you Song Yang’s likes instead?”

Jiang Yue: “...”

Finally finding the chance, she said, “You can, but...”

But why did she want to know such things?

Shen Yi didn’t let her say the ‘but’ and quickly said, “Song Yang’s favorite color is gold. He not only dyed his hair that color but even has a shiny golden dragon robe pajama at home!”

After saying this, Shen Yi looked at Jiang Yue expectantly.

Seeing Jiang Yue frozen in place, Shen Yi sighed resignedly.

Alright.

She knew that information wasn’t enough to get such a delicious brown sugar pearl cake in exchange.

So Shen Yi went on and on: “Song Yang’s favorite fruit is banana because it’s easy to eat without washing; his favorite shows are cartoons, probably because he’s a bit childish; his favorite movie is...”

As she spoke, Shen Yi noticed Jiang Yue’s expression turning strange.

Not knowing what to do, she thought Jiang Yue wasn’t interested and gave her the floor: “Forget it, ask whatever you want.”

A voice tinged with some restraint sounded.

“Is that so? You know everything about Song Yang?”

“Almost...” Shen Yi hadn’t finished when she finally realized the problem.

She slowly turned her head and followed Jiang Yue’s gaze behind her.

In the sunlight,

A boy with golden hair looked at her with a fake smile, his hair almost sticking up in irritation.