Chapter 35 Spreading Rumors "Xie Shijin, are you shy?"...

"Okay, if you're not going to look for it, I'll look for it!"

Ni Jiaqi took a deep breath, tears streaming into his mouth, bitter and salty.

He raised his hand to wipe away the tears on his face and said in a hoarse voice, "From now on, I will never come to you again regarding anything related to Cheng Shiyun."

He turned to leave, but Yang Shengnan stopped him: "Ni Jiaqi."

"Get out of my way!"

Ni Jiaqi shoved her away and slammed the door shut.

Yang Shengnan covered her forehead, sighed, and sat back down on the sofa.

Xie Shijin held the photo, looked at it for a while, then tucked it into the transcript and pushed it back to Yang Shengnan.

Yang Shengnan stared at him. Xie Shijin remained calm, just like two years ago, enduring beatings and scoldings without retaliating.

He and Ni Jiaqi are two extremes.

But they were both equally concerned about the girl's death.

Yang Shengnan said, "I met him downstairs. He had nowhere to go and sat downstairs for two days without daring to come up to find you."

Xie Shijin turned to look at her: "It has nothing to do with me."

Yang Shengnan was stunned for a moment, and the scene from the night of the accident two years ago inexplicably reappeared in her mind.

There were three other eyewitnesses at the scene, all of whom were employees of the courier station.

The surveillance cameras at the courier station were turned off, so the police could only look for clues in their testimonies and took statements from the three individuals.

They said:

"This has nothing to do with me! When I got there, the girl had already been hit by a car! I only realized it was a person when I got closer."

“I only ran over when I heard the sound of brakes. The rain was so heavy that we couldn’t even see the road clearly from the other side, let alone the moment of impact. Officer, even if you ask me a thousand times or ten thousand times, I have nothing to provide.”

"I don't know anything. Don't come looking for me again, or people will think I've done something wrong, which will have a bad influence."

"To encounter something like this is truly the worst luck imaginable..."

...

They all say it has nothing to do with them and that they know nothing when asked.

They seemed indifferent, as if the deceased had nothing to do with them. Their initial regret upon hearing the news of the girl's death turned into annoyance at the frequent police visits. Some, fed up with the questioning, even resorted to cursing and smashing cups in front of the police.

The person the police sought out most often was Xie Shijin, but the young man never showed the slightest impatience. Even when asked the same question dozens of times, he simply lowered his eyelashes and recalled the events in a calm tone.

Yang Shengnan was surprised that he could actually say those words.

Yang Shengnan smiled gently: "Then let's talk about something that's related to you."

"Xie Pingxue".

Xie Shijin's father has been administratively detained by the police on charges of provoking trouble.

Yang Shengnan glanced at him: "But Xie Pingxue said that you gave him the seven thousand nine, and that you were the one who started it."

Upon hearing that he was to be sentenced again, Xie Pingxue shouted that he was innocent and swore a solemn oath, saying that Xie Shijin had given him the money voluntarily, but he was greedy and wanted Xie Shijin's scholarship, which led to the dispute.

Xie Shijin said, "He stole it."

Yang Shengnan frowned and stared at him: "Do you know that the child who called the police for you recorded the conversation?"

Xie Shijin's eyes flickered.

He lifted his eyelashes and looked at Yang Shengnan: "Officer Yang, are you recording too?"

Yang Shengnan appreciated his keen insight. She took out her phone, turned on the screen, and saw only a few unread text messages.

Yang Shengnan placed her phone on the table and said, "If I came to you as a police officer, I wouldn't be able to bring this statement out."

Xie Shijin withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes, and clenched his injured left hand.

Yang Shengnan added, "You're taking too much of a risk. Xie Pingxue is an adult. Do you know what the consequences would have been if Ni Jiaqi hadn't come that day?"

"You might die."

Xie Pingxue carried a knife and was reckless when he went berserk, but Xie Shijin knew he was crazy and had a bad temper, so he deliberately provoked him, wanting Xie Pingxue to hurt him and then go back to jail.

Only when he is truly persecuted will the police take it seriously and not treat it as a family dispute.

It hurts the enemy a thousand but also hurts yourself eight hundred.

Yang Shengnan thought he was reckless.

“If he’s dead, he’s dead,” Xie Shijin suddenly said.

Yang Shengnan was taken aback.

She looked at the young boy in front of her.

—If you're dead, you're dead.

His indifferent attitude made it seem as if his life was something dispensable, as if there were no people or things in this world that he cared about, so he could just die whenever he wanted.

Yang Shengnan frowned: "You hate Xie Pingxue, but it's not worth dying for someone like that, or wasting your life for someone like that."

"You're only eighteen..."

"Then what should I do?" Xie Shijin interrupted her.

He closed his eyes and said wearily, "He came to me, I called the police, the police tried to mediate, he came again, and I called the police again?"

Xie Pingxue knew he had received a government scholarship and wouldn't give up until he got the money. He gave Xie Pingxue the money, but Xie Pingxue was insatiable and would only want more after tasting the sweetness. If he didn't give it to him, Xie Pingxue would cause trouble.

As long as things don't escalate and no one gets hurt, the police can't do anything about Xie Pingxue, thus creating a vicious cycle.

The air fell silent in an instant.

Yang Shengnan remained silent for a while, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. A person who was willing to risk her own life didn't care about anything else.

She picked up the transcript, stood up, walked to the door, and said as she stepped out, "The recording is short, and there is no evidence against you in it."

"If Xie Pingxue is convicted of robbery and disorderly conduct, he should be sentenced to at least five years in prison."

Xie Shijin didn't turn around, but her lips moved slightly: "Understood, thank you, Officer Yang."

Yang Shengnan is gone.

The door closed, and the air inside was thin.

Xie Shijin took a breath, and the small snake hidden in his sleeve crawled out.

Cheng Shiyun asked him incredulously, "Did you give Xie Ping the money?"

Xie Shijin looked away, avoiding her gaze.

The cemetery administrator returned the cash to him, but Xie Pingxue, who had just been released from prison and had nowhere to stay, was determined to leech off him. During their struggle, the money fell out, and he told Xie Pingxue to take the money and never come back.

"Seven thousand yuan? That's not even enough for me to lose one hand at the card table. Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

He said he had no money, but Xie Pingxue certainly didn't believe him.

"Don't pretend to be poor! I already know you have money!" Xie Pingxue demanded an exorbitant amount. "I'm not asking for more than 100,000! Either you give me the money, or I'll come here every day and cause trouble! School, your doorstep, wherever you go, I'll go! If I can't have a good time, you won't be able to live a peaceful life either!"

Xie Pingxue tried to break down the door to search the house, and the two started fighting again.

It's true that Xie Pingxue robbed that money, but it's also true that he gave it to them.

Xie Shijin lowered his head, his brows furrowed, and said softly, "Cheng Shiyun, I'm not as good as you think."

"What's wrong with it?" Cheng Shiyun couldn't stand hearing him say such things, and her throat began to feel dry.

She couldn't see anything wrong with Xie Shijin. If she had such a father, she would have wanted to hang herself from a crooked tree and start over. The fact that Xie Shijin has grown up without going astray is already incredibly good.

“What’s wrong with you protecting yourself?” Cheng Shiyun supported him unconditionally. “I just think it’s not worth it for you to get hurt for someone like that.”

"If the wound had been any deeper, your hand would have been useless..."

If Ni Jiaqi hadn't come, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The girl said, "What will I do if you die?"

Xie Shijin was clearly taken aback for a moment.

Her tone contained no blame or complaint, only an almost instinctive dependence.

It was as if she was saying that if he died, she wouldn't be able to live either.

She tied his life and death to her own.

For the first time, Xie Shijin realized that she could also become someone others "cannot lose".

Is he that important?

After a moment of silence, he said, "Ni Jiaqi."

He will take good care of you.

"So you really wanted to die together with Xie Pingxue back then?" Cheng Shiyun realized this possibility, and her expression turned even more unpleasant. "Xie Shijin..."

"No." Xie Shijin's Adam's apple bobbed a few times involuntarily. Afraid of being scolded, he quickly explained, "I said I would come to pick you up in a few days."

Cheng Shiyun: "You just said that if you die, you die." She's not deaf.

His hands, resting on his knees, clenched and unclenched, his voice tinged with an undisguised bitterness: "...I won't die."

Cheng Shiyun retorted, "You won't die, but you'll be injured. You clearly know Xie Pingxue is not easy to deal with, yet you still risked your life. Do you think you're Superman, immune to injury and pain?"

Xie Shijin didn't tell her anything and just handed her over to Ni Jiaqi. Cheng Shiyun was a little angry. But only a little.

She thought Xie Shijin found taking care of her too troublesome... and didn't want her anymore.

But when she returned and saw him holding a knife and covered in blood, all she could think about was that Xie Shijin was injured.

Forget about being angry; the moment she saw the boy's pale face, she couldn't think of anything else. All she knew was that she couldn't let anyone hurt Xie Shijin anymore, so she pounced on him and bit Xie Pingxue's face.

As a result, they overestimated their abilities, resulting in one death and one injury.

It's good that she came back. If she hadn't, I don't know how much Xie Shijin would have blamed herself.

Cheng Shiyun was filled with mixed feelings and didn't want to continue the topic. She sighed and said, "Officer Yang is a really nice person..."

She climbed onto the living room balcony, entangled herself around the gardenia pot, and looked down from above.

Yang Shengnan had already gone downstairs. Downstairs, someone was standing next to a trash can that had been kicked over, cursing loudly. Cheng Shiyun guessed that it was Ni Jiaqi's doing and couldn't help but say, "...How can he still be so childish?"

Ni Jiaqi was on the school basketball team. She remembered that once when No. 7 Middle School lost to No. 4 Middle School, Ni Jiaqi kicked over a trash can outside the gymnasium and was scolded by the teacher. He then sheepishly picked up a broom and swept the trash clean.

Throwing tantrums all the time, so childish.

Cheng Shiyun recalled Ni Jiaqi's reckless words from earlier, and her gaze drifted to the boy beside her.

Ni Jiaqi also seemed to say... Xie Shijin liked her.

hiss--?

How could Xie Shijin possibly like her?

He adopted her only because he pitied her, and also because he felt guilty and remorseful after witnessing her death.

It could never be liking someone.

Besides, she's not even human anymore.

Why would I still like her?

...

She explained on behalf of Ni Jiaqi: "He's always been like this, speaking without thinking. Don't listen to him, and don't take it to heart."

They were so familiar with each other that it was as if they were the people who knew each other best.

Xie Shijin lowered his eyes, feeling a momentary numbness in his heart.

He clenched his injured left hand again, the sharp pain bringing back some sensation, and slowly exhaled.

Cheng Shiyun was still looking downstairs when he asked, as if on a whim or casually, "Have you known each other since you were little?"

"Who? Ni Jiaqi?"

"More or less," Cheng Shiyun said after thinking for a moment. "We've known each other since first grade."

Then, in junior high school, we were in the same class for nine years and lived in the same building. It was hard not to get to know each other.

Besides her parents, the person who knows her best is Ni Jiaqi.

So Ni Jiaqi's statement that they were childhood sweethearts is not entirely wrong.

"And..." Ni's parents used to joke that if the two children liked each other when they came of age, they would get engaged.

"fine."

Xie Shijin spoke, interrupting her train of thought.

Cheng Shiyun turned around and asked, "What's so good about it?"

Xie Shijin got up, collected the cups on the table, and took them to the kitchen to wash.

Cheng Shiyun followed him to the kitchen and saw the boy's tense profile. Only then did Cheng Shiyun realize that he seemed a little unhappy.

Ni Jiaqi and the others had never drunk from those cups, but Xie Shijin stubbornly rinsed them repeatedly under the tap.

Who is he angry with?

Cheng Shiyun's brain sluggishly processed for a few moments before she came to her senses; by then, the bandage wrapped around Xie Shijin's left hand was already soaked with sweat.

Cheng Shiyun panicked and shouted at him, "Xie Shijin, your wound can't get wet, it will get infected."

"Your sleeves are wet too, quickly roll them up."

Cheng Shiyun tried to turn off the tap, but she forgot that she was no longer human. Instead of turning off the tap, she fell into the sink.

With a thud.

"Cheng Shiyun".

Xie Shijin dropped the cup and reached out to retrieve it.

Cheng Shiyun clung to his arm and climbed up.

"I'm fine." I just choked on some water and got completely soaked.

Xie Shijin carried her to the bathroom, pulled a towel off the wall, and wrapped it around her.

Cheng Shiyun emerged from under the towel and coughed twice: "Don't worry about me, go change your bandages and clothes first, hurry up."

Xie Shijin's entire sleeve was wet, and there were water stains on her body from when she struggled earlier.

Cheng Shiyun wrapped herself in a towel, rolled around in it twice to dry herself off, and then wandered into the bedroom.

It was getting dark, and the desk lamp on the desk was on.

The door was ajar. Cheng Shiyun didn't have long arms and didn't know how to knock, so she went straight in and accidentally bumped into Xie Shijin changing clothes.

In the dim light, Xie Shijin stood with his back to her, arms crossed, and took off his long-sleeved T-shirt.

Her exposed abdominal muscles were taut, rising and falling gently with her breath, gleaming with a thin, warm sheen, like jade porcelain.

Cheng Shiyun's gaze was drawn to him as if by a magnet, first landing on the clearly protruding spine at the back of his neck, then sliding down the smooth curve of his shoulders and back, finally stopping at the taut waistline.

She wasn't as thin as she thought.

When Cheng Shiyun was reborn and saw him for the first time, Xie Shijin was as thin as a sheet of paper that could let light through.

It's possible that he's been eating well for the past twenty-odd days and has recovered a bit.

Looking at it now, the boy's body is more lean and slender, but with well-defined muscles and a strong sense of power.

Cheng Shiyun finally sensed that Xie Shijin was gradually getting better.

Peeking silently would seem like a pervert, so Cheng Shiyun felt guilty and dared not make a sound, but her gaze uncontrollably swept over him again.

Look at the nape of his neck with its stray hairs, the slight curve of his shoulder blades...

Seemingly noticing her gaze, Xie Shijin turned her head.

The pot of boiling water that was poured on him when he was a child must have been poured over his shoulder, which is why there are scars on the area below his collarbone.

A light pink scar.

When their eyes met, Cheng Shiyun's heart skipped a beat.

The air seemed to freeze; she could hear her own heart pounding like a drum, yet she couldn't bear to look away.

Xie Shijin snapped out of his daze and pulled on a piece of clothing.

Seeing a man's body for the first time, and having peeked for so long, Cheng Shiyun felt a little embarrassed and wanted to slip away, but after thinking about it, she felt it was necessary to speak up.

"...Oops, you're wearing them backwards."

"..."

Xie Shijin's ears turned slightly red, and he took off his clothes and put them back on, his face tense: "Why didn't you knock?"

Cheng Shiyun scoffed inwardly and climbed onto his bed: "Hiss~ I don't even have hands, how am I supposed to knock?"

She is a snake now.

snake.

Snake! Hiss—!

You can only knock on a door with your head. She imagined the scene, and then, "bang bang bang," it was incredibly stupid.

"You didn't close the door yourself, and you're blaming me?" Cheng Shiyun said matter-of-factly.

Xie Shijin picked up the clothes draped over the back of the chair and threw them into the washing machine on the balcony: "You think you can just come in like that if the door isn't closed?"

Cheng Shiyun: "?"

Did Xie Shijin criticize her?

Xie Shijin actually criticized her?

"Can't I come in? I've been to every corner of this house!"

She's been everywhere except the sewers!

Now it's turned into a small snake, and it can even crawl into the sewers.

Xie Shijin turned his face away, his distinct knuckles clenched tightly: "...You should have said hello when you came in."

"I was so busy looking... Oh..." Cheng Shiyun realized, "Xie Shijin, are you shy?"

The boy's Adam's apple bobbed: "No."

"No?" She curled up in a circle, lay down by the bed, and wagged her tail. "Really?"

She didn't believe it.

“You don’t need to feel anything, it’s not like I haven’t seen it before,” Cheng Shiyun said.

Xie Shijin turned his head away, his breathing, which had just calmed down, now felt as if someone was choking him again. He knew he had no right to ask, but he still couldn't help but ask, "Who else... have you seen?"

He stared at her darkly: "Ni Jiaqi?"

Ni Jiaqi loves playing basketball, and Cheng Shiyun even brought him water during the school sports meet. She even helped carry Ni Jiaqi's clothes; of course, she had seen them.

"?"

Cheng Shiyun found it baffling: "What does this have to do with Ni Jiaqi?"

Xie Shijin stared at her face, his brows furrowed, and pressed for details, "If it's not Ni Jiaqi, then who is it?"

"Who? What are you talking about?" Cheng Shiyun didn't understand a word. "I have absolutely no relationship with Ni Jiaqi."

Xie Shijin braced his hands on the washing machine, his shoulders tensing more and more. His Adam's apple bobbed, as if he could no longer suppress it, and he asked the question that had been buried deep in his heart: "Don't you like... Ni Jiaqi?"

The washing machine started spinning with a loud rumble.

It's very noisy.

He regretted asking the question as soon as he did.

They have known each other since childhood, are childhood sweethearts, inseparable, and are the people who understand each other best.

It's natural to like it.

It's only natural to like it.

He wanted to take off his hearing aid and, if he couldn't hear the answer, pretend that her reply had never existed.

A hot wind blew in from the window, billowing the boy's thin collar.

His slightly bowed body was like a string stretched to its limit, as if one more word pressing down on him would break it.

"Do I like Ni Jiaqi?"

Cheng Shiyun almost laughed, then hissed angrily, "I'm already dead, who's still spreading rumors about me?"

Bang--!

The tension that had been building in his chest suddenly eased. Xie Shijin slowly, slowly released the pressure from the washing machine, turned his head to look at it, and after a long while, blinked gently.

Cheng Shiyun immediately started cursing: "Which shameless person told you that I like Ni Jiaqi and asked him to come and confront me? Spreading rumors about a dead man, do you have any public morality?"

Cheng Shiyun was genuinely angry. If she caught that person, she would curse their ancestors for eighteen generations.

“Isn’t that right?” Xie Shijin straightened up, staring intently at her fierce tail-wagging appearance, his voice deep and hoarse, “You two grew up together since childhood, childhood sweethearts.”

"Just because we grew up together, does that mean I have to like him?" Cheng Shiyun retorted angrily. "Just because we grew up together, does that mean I have to like him?"

She grew up with so many people, and she liked them all. How could she possibly like them all?

so.

Cheng Shiyun dislikes Ni Jiaqi.

This realization was like a pebble falling into Xie Shijin's heart, rippling outwards in concentric circles. Each ripple told him, "Cheng Shiyun doesn't like Ni Jiaqi."

He lowered his eyes, exhaled very softly, and silently repeated the mantra many times, as if brainwashing himself—

"Cheng Shiyun doesn't like Ni Jiaqi."

When she looked up again, Xie Shijin pursed her lips very slightly, but Cheng Shiyun didn't notice at all.

The little snake was still angry, its tail slapping against the mattress like a whip: "Whose mouth did this rumor come from?"

Cheng Shiyun remembered that when she was in school, there were always rumors that she liked Ni Jiaqi, and she was even harassed by girls from other schools.

Xie Shijin said, "Feng Yue."

Cheng Shiyun: "?"

"Feng Yue?"

Xie Shijin said calmly, "She said you like Ni Jiaqi."

His mention of it reminded Cheng Shiyun of it.

It was during that same PE class that she got into a fight with Yuan Shao because he insulted Xie Shijin's mother. Feng Yue then asked her if she liked Xie Shijin, and what did she say back then...?

"I would never like Xie Shijin if I liked Ni Jiaqi."

Then, that afternoon after school, several girls from other schools came to ambush her.

At the time, Cheng Shiyun was still wondering how she had offended them.

"So that's how it is..." Cheng Shiyun suddenly realized.

Feng Yue definitely didn't consider her a good friend.

Before the exam, she helped Feng Yue highlight the key points and explain the questions she got wrong. She even made Feng Yue copy her notes. When Feng Yue said that her family was having financial difficulties, she lent her pocket money that she had saved up for a long time without saying a word. In the end, it all went to waste.

but……

Cheng Shiyun found it strange.

Is she overthinking it?

Xie Shijin seemed particularly concerned about who she liked.

...

Regardless of whether she thought it through or not, Cheng Shiyun was determined to clear her name.

"In your heart, am I the kind of... female hooligan who likes to peep at other people changing clothes?"

Xie Shijin pursed her lips: "Aren't you one?"

"You were peeping at me, and now you blame me for not closing the door."

Cheng Shiyun was shocked.

yes.

She admitted that she had been peeking and was also somewhat captivated by Xie Shijin.

So what!

Everyone has a love for beauty, and she held an appreciative attitude; she absolutely had no intention of being indecent.

Letting her see won't cost her anything. It's too petty for Xie Shijin to argue with a snake. Ouch!

Cheng Shiyun flicked her tongue twice, calming down: "First, I'll knock before entering your room from now on. Second, you might have misunderstood; what I was talking about earlier was the scar on your body."

Xie Shijin was slightly taken aback.

The balcony lights were off, and darkness crept in from behind the boy, almost engulfing him.

Cheng Shiyun said, "You lent me clothes before, I already saw them."

And the night she transformed into a cat to find Xie Shijin, seeing the scars all over his arms, her heart clenched as if pricked by a needle.

She only knew that Xie Shijin had scars on his hands before, but she didn't expect that he also had them on his body, on his collarbone and waist, like marks left on crumpled pages of paper.

Cheng Shiyun jumped off his bed and moved closer to him: "Aren't you hot? You don't need to wear long sleeves at home."

Anyway, it's just the two of them.

There's no need to deliberately cover it up.

Otherwise, she would have another reason to hate summer.

In the deep darkness of the night, the boy's skin was pale beneath his dark hair, his face was handsome, and his eyes were fixed on her without blinking.

Cheng Shiyun continued, "Of course I didn't say you can't wear long sleeves. Wear whatever you like. What I mean is..."

The wind was still blowing, ruffling the folds of his collar, revealing the scar half-hidden.

"The scars on your body are not ugly at all."

At least, she felt sorry for him.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Hmm, I've heard that light pink scars turn red after strenuous exercise. How lewd! [Pants]

When he's angry, he takes off his hearing aid, buries himself in his work, and can be quite lecherous [glasses].