Chapter 54 I've become human! Xie Shijin, could you lend me one...?

Since her last visit to the hospital, Cheng Shiyun has been going to see Ran Hongyin every day. Sometimes she brings her a flower, sometimes a twig, and more often a leaf.

Ran Hongyin is lucid on very rare occasions, and will sit by the bedside and chat with her.

Cheng Jinghua noticed that the little sparrows came every day, so she bought two small plastic bowls and placed them on the window. She filled one bowl with some water and the other with some millet.

From school to hospital, Cheng Shiyun had to fly more than 40 kilometers round trip. Every night when she returned to her dormitory, she was extremely tired and would fall asleep almost as soon as her head hit the bed.

Xie Shijin went to take a shower. A little sparrow flew in through the window, stuck its bottom up, and fell onto his pillow, burying its head deep in it, not even wanting to move its toes.

"Crack—"

The sound of a camera.

Who's secretly filming her?!

Cheng Shiyun turned her head and saw her roommate holding up her phone and shoving it at her, letting out a strange, cackling laugh: "So cute."

"I hope I won't get beaten to death by Brother Xie if I touch it..." he said, reaching out his hand.

Just as Cheng Shiyun was about to bite him, the dormitory door was pushed open from the outside, and Xie Shijin returned after taking a shower.

The boy's black hair was wet, and he wore a loose white T-shirt with the collar slightly open. He had probably just taken a hot shower, as his cheeks were flushed and the weariness in his eyes had faded.

The little sparrow flew onto his shoulder and complained, "Chirp chirp!"

People are not allowed to take pictures of birds without permission!

After discovering that the little sparrow could talk, her roommates always tried to teach her to say all sorts of nonsense, but Cheng Shiyun ignored them and stopped talking in the dormitory.

Before his roommate could put his phone away, Xie Shijin's gaze fell on him. He quickly opened his photo album and boasted, "Brother Xie, look, your bird just now—"

Xie Shijin's aura suddenly turned somber, landing on him, his tone cold and stern: "Deleted."

Xie Shijin may seem aloof, but he's actually quite easy to get along with. Aside from not allowing anyone to bully his pet bird, he doesn't have many of the typical quirks of other guys. Seeing him with such a cold and ruthless expression for the first time, his roommate Jiang Xia couldn't help but shrink back: "Oh, okay..."

Jiang Xia hurriedly deleted the photo, explaining with an embarrassed smile, "Sorry, Brother Xie, I just wanted to post it on my WeChat Moments to show off."

Another roommate, Liang Wenyuan, said, "Are you stupid? What if the counselor sees you posting this on WeChat Moments?"

"I've blocked my advisor."

"There are plenty of sycophants around the advisor; who knows, someone might take a screenshot and report you to get you punished."

The group started talking about how they had heard in high school that "university is a microcosm of society," and then the conversation turned to joining the Party and the student union.

Xie Shijin didn't participate. He dried his wet hair with a towel, gently took the little sparrow off his shoulder and put it into the quilt: "Why are you so sleepy?"

Cheng Shiyun was indeed so sleepy that her eyelids were drooping. She closed her eyes as soon as her head hit the pillow, but her hands were still unconsciously gripping his fingers.

Xie Shijin covered her with a blanket, thought for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Come back early tomorrow."

"Chirp?"

She did come back a bit late these past few days, arriving at the dormitory around 11 p.m., when her roommates were all in bed. Xie Shijin was either washing clothes on the balcony or sitting there.

The little sparrow struggled to open her eyes, tilted her head to look at him, and asked, "What are the plans for tomorrow?" She wanted to know what time would be appropriate to return.

Xie Shijin paused, looked at her silently for a while, and finally smiled very softly and slowly, saying, "...No arrangements."

No? Then why did you ask her to come back earlier?

Is Xie Shijin jealous because she's been going to the hospital so often these past few days?

The kind of person he is, he won't say it even if he's jealous.

The little sparrow rubbed against his palm, but Cheng Shiyun vaguely remembered that tomorrow seemed to be some important day. However, she was too sleepy, and her mind couldn't process anything after a couple of attempts.

"Go to sleep."

The little sparrow closed its eyes.

After wiping her hair, Xie Shijin took a towel to the balcony to wash it.

Tomorrow is the last day of military training, and soon we'll be free. The energetic male college students are getting excited and starting to chat about which squad has the prettiest girls, or about the beautiful senior students from a certain major in the previous year.

"I haven't heard of anyone in our year who's particularly good-looking."

"Yes! Zhou Sitong from Class 3, Row 2, is the most beautiful girl in the Physics Department and also an internet celebrity with over a million followers."

"It's only been a short time since the start of the semester, and they've already chosen the most beautiful girl in the department? She must have just declared herself that way."

"Physics department... isn't that Xie Ge's major?"

"Brother Xie, have you seen Zhou Sitong? Is she pretty, Brother Xie?"

Liang Wenyuan pouted: "It's on the balcony. If you ask him, he'll say it doesn't look good. A couple of days ago, some female students came to bring him water, and he said he was allergic to water."

"Holy crap..." Jiang Xia was so shocked that he spat out a mouthful of water. "Are you really that heartless towards women?"

"Brother Xie is just annoyed by having too many suitors." Someone said enviously, "Why doesn't anyone bring me water? I want to be in a relationship too."

"I found Zhou Sitong's video account, anyone want to watch it?"

"I want!!!"

Liang Wenyuan's roommate forwarded it to the group chat. He swiped it twice and clicked his tongue, saying, "It's just so-so. It's not as good as the photos in Brother Xie's drawer."

"What photo?"

Liang Wenyuan recalled, "He had a picture frame in his drawer, didn't you guys see it? Holy crap, it was gorgeous!"

While tidying up yesterday, he accidentally knocked over Xie Shijin's water glass, and the water dripped down the edge of the table and seeped into the drawer.

Afraid of getting Xie Shijin's things wet, he opened the drawer to try and salvage them, but his eyes immediately fell on a photo frame.

The girl in the photo has fair skin and dark eyes, and her beauty is so striking that she is unforgettable at first glance.

Unfortunately, before he could even take a second look at it, Xie Shijin returned from outside. Upon seeing the photo frame in his hand, his face immediately darkened, and he strode over: "Who gave you permission to touch it?"

Water had seeped into the edge of the photo frame, wetting a corner of the picture. Xie Shijin snatched the frame and wiped it directly with his sleeve, his tense expression completely different from his usual self.

The balcony door was pushed open with a bang, and Jiang Xia exclaimed that Xie Shijin was being unfair: "Damn it! Brother Xie has something good hidden away and isn't going to show it to us?"

Xie Shijin frowned: "Could you keep your voice down?"

"Yes, yes, keep your voice down, the birds are sleeping."

Cheng Shiyun woke up when they said a girl had brought water to Xie Shijin.

There are photos in Xie Shijin's drawer? Photos that are even prettier than the most beautiful girl in the department?

How come she never saw it?

...

On the last day of military training, the students of Class 309 gradually moved out of their dormitories.

My roommate's parents drove over to pick me up, and they emptied the trunk of my dorm room with all my luggage.

Xie Shijin was still packing. He didn't have much left, just a few clothes and some miscellaneous items.

Cheng Shiyun stood at the window looking at the sky outside.

It's almost October, and Beijing is entering autumn. More and more people on the street are starting to wear autumn clothes, so Xie Shijin no longer stands out in the crowd.

The sky was low and gray, weighed down by thick clouds, making even the distant buildings appear blurry.

"Xie Shijin, it looks like it's going to rain again."

Xie Shijin was stuffing bird toys into her schoolbag when she heard this and looked up at the window: "It's raining at seven o'clock, light rain."

Cheng Shiyun flew back and landed on his newly packed suitcase: "Did you bring an umbrella?"

"I brought it."

A blue umbrella was placed behind the dormitory door.

"Buzz—Buzz—"

My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

A call came in from an unknown number asking, "Hello, is this Xie Shijin?"

Xie Shijin, with his phone tucked under his shoulder, zipped up his suitcase: "Yes, who is this?"

"The parcel station at the west gate of the school," the person opposite said. "You have a parcel that's been sitting at our station for over a month. Could you please come and pick it up as soon as possible?"

Xie Shijin checked her recent packages: "I don't have any packages. You sent the wrong package."

"Your name is Xie Shijin, right? If so, then you are."

After hanging up the phone, the employee at the courier station sent him a multimedia message.

The shipping information on the tracking number was blurry, but the phone number and name were his.

Cheng Shiyun tilted her head and glanced at it: "It was sent from Yichuan, could it be from Uncle Lin? Go and check it out."

Xie Shijin put down his schoolbag and nodded: "Wait for me to come back."

"Um!"

...

After sending Xie Shijin away, Cheng Shiyun began looking for a photo frame.

The photo frame that Xie Shijin's roommate mentioned last night.

The last time she returned as a little snake, she saw a photo frame in Xie Shijin's desk cabinet. Was it that photo frame?

She went to the hospital to see Ran Hongyin in the afternoon. She wasn't there when Xie Shijin was packing up. Maybe Xie Shijin had already taken the photo frame home?

The dormitory cabinets and drawers were all empty. Cheng Shiyun searched for a long time but couldn't find it. Instead, she got so tired that her mouth was dry.

Xie Shijin's cup still had half a cup of water left over from when she finished drinking it in the morning.

The little sparrow spread its wings, fluttered twice, and grabbed the rim of the cup with its two claws.

Having indulged in a lavish lifestyle for the past month, Cheng Shiyun had seriously underestimated her current weight. The glass, losing its balance, was tipping over the table at a alarming speed.

"...!"

The tragedy has repeated itself.

She got Xie Shijin's schoolbag wet.

Not only can you not help, but you're making things worse!

After scorning herself, Cheng Shiyun quickly used her mouth to grab the bottom of her schoolbag and moved to the side.

There wasn't much in the backpack, so it wasn't heavy.

But as it turns out, after the bird did something that backfired once, it soon came back a second time.

Cheng Shiyun originally intended to carry her schoolbag to the next table, but the zipper was undone, and as she moved it, the contents fell out one by one.

A series of crashing sounds came from the dormitory, as if something had broken.

Cheng Shiyun thought it was a glass cup, so she quickly threw down her schoolbag and flew down.

It's not a glass, it's a picture frame.

She smashed Xie Shijin's photo frame.

It was indeed the photo frame in Xie Shijin's desk cabinet, containing a picture he had cut out from the honor roll.

The glass in front of the picture frame shattered completely, but thankfully it didn't pierce the photo.

Cheng Shiyun picked up the broken glass one by one with her mouth.

The photos on the honor roll are made of thin, slightly transparent material. If two photos are stacked together and pressed tightly, you can even see the faces of the people behind them.

So, Cheng Shiyun stepped on it with her paw and saw a pair of eyes and eyebrows that she knew all too well.

The blurred facial features were superimposed on the boy's back, making it look like two people back to back.

She suddenly found it difficult to breathe, and she had a vague feeling... that this was her photo.

Amidst the pounding of her heart, Cheng Shiyun turned the photo frame over.

In the photo, a girl with a high ponytail stands in front of a white background wall, wearing a blue and white school uniform, looking at the camera with a smile that crinkles her eyes.

It's her photo.

A photo of the last monthly exam in the second semester of my first year of high school.

Xie Shijin cut out her photo and placed it next to his photo, back to back, in this frame.

Why didn't she turn this picture frame over last time?

Just flip it over.

She will be able to find it.

The front of this photo frame features Xie Shijin.

...

Her picture is on the back.

...

The sound of her heartbeat was suddenly amplified infinitely at that moment. Cheng Shiyun seemed not to recognize herself and kept staring at her face.

In fact, Cheng Shiyun hadn't looked at her own photos in a long time.

I haven't seen her even once since she came back as a small animal.

Cheng Shiyun didn't even know what her portrait looked like.

Perhaps Xie Shijin made the portrait of her for her own good so that it would be easier to pay respects to her?

Didn't Xie Shijin burn paper money for her?

But she wasn't dead yet at that time...

Near the end of the semester, this honor roll was taken down.

Xie Shijin cut out her photo back then, framed it, and has kept it ever since.

She has many beautiful photos, and she'll give them to you if you ask, so why did you secretly keep this one?

But they weren't familiar with each other back then...

We were only classmates once, and we didn't even add each other as friends.

Cheng Shiyun calmed herself down, then thought of Ni Jiaqi's words of cursing Xie Shijin.

He said, "Xie Shijin, I know you like Cheng Shiyun."

“Cheng Shiyun doesn’t know, but I do.”

Ni Jiaqi also said that Xie Shijin would follow behind them every morning, and she could spot her as soon as she turned around.

Xie Shijin was extremely timid and didn't even dare to get close to her.

He would kill for her, but he wouldn't dare get close to her.

Suddenly, as if she had a premonition, her heart started beating faster and faster, and Cheng Shiyun anxiously took apart the photo frame.

The little sparrow, with its sharp beak, pecked and pecked along the edge of the picture frame until it opened.

Then more photos slid out.

There are eight in total.

They were all cut from the honor roll.

With each new card that appears, her hair gets a little shorter.

From the length of her ponytail, Cheng Shiyun could deduce when these photos were taken.

From the first monthly exam in the first year of high school to the last.

These photos, which should have been thrown into the trash cans under the teaching building like other garbage, were hard for her to imagine how Xie Shijin got the honor roll from the teacher and how carefully she cut out her photo.

Each photo is the same size.

There was a piece of paper sandwiched between the photos of her back to Xie Shijin, because it had fallen out due to her violent trembling.

Cheng Shiyun unfolded it with difficulty, and the familiar handwriting caught her eye.

[Dear Teacher Zhao:]

I had a conflict with Yuan Shao during PE class today, but it wasn't my fault.

Yuan Shao was wrong.

Yuan Shao used an excuse to skip morning exercises and conspired with others to slander my classmates and spread rumors about me. After my warnings went unheeded, he grabbed my hair first, and that's when I retaliated.

I admit that hitting someone was inappropriate, but if it happened again, I would try my best not to knock his glasses off.

Reviewer: Cheng Shiyun

Parent: Cheng Jinghua

Date: June 6, 2016

These few lines of writing were rejected by Lao Zhao several times, and he even made her take them back to Cheng Jinghua for his signature.

Xie Shijin signed her father's name on her behalf.

Xie Shijin did not submit her self-criticism to Lao Zhao.

The self-criticism was badly creased, the edges were worn, and some of the words were blurred.

It's like a tear that fell on it and was then hastily wiped away.

After her death.

Someone should open this self-criticism.

I've watched it many times.

Cheng Shiyun's breathing became rapid, and she trembled uncontrollably. She tried her best to hold back and suppress her tears, but she still couldn't help but shed tears.

A tear fell heavily onto the crumpled self-criticism.

So even sparrows can shed tears.

Why not tell her?

Why didn't you tell her sooner?

Why did they have to wait until she died to discover that Xie Shijin loved her?

Xie Shijin liked her very much.

But she's not even human anymore; she can't even hug him.

...

Upon arriving at the post station, the staff found Xie Shijin's package among a pile of unclaimed parcels and handed it to him.

The package had been rained on, and the sender's information on the tracking number was so blurry that it was impossible to read.

Xie Shijin asked, "Is it possible to find out who sent it?"

The staff member said, "Yes, now all shipping information is registered under real names. Please wait a moment while I check it for you."

Enter the tracking number, and the sender's information pops up: "He Sumei, the phone number is..."

Xie Shijin frowned, his gaze quickly shifting from astonishment to intense disgust. He walked out of the courier station, where there were trash cans right next to him.

The package was so light, just a thin layer, that it fell into the corner of the parcel shelf and went unnoticed for over a month.

Xie Shijin wanted to throw the package into the trash can, but then stopped.

Xie Pingxue said that He Sumei sent money back every month. He checked his grandmother's bankbook and indeed found that 500 yuan was deposited into a fixed account every month. Sometimes it was at the beginning of the month, sometimes at the end of the month, the timing was not fixed. But it never stopped for ten years.

He opened the package; inside was a bank card and a letter.

[Xiao Jin, by the time you read this letter, Mom will already be abroad...]

After reading only one line, Xie Shijin crumpled the letter into a ball and stuffed it into the package, only to find a photograph inside.

A family photo of the three of them.

Xie Shijin traced the family portrait with her gaze.

The woman on the left is He Sumei. She is not as young as I remember, but she is even more gentle and graceful than I remember.

The person on the right is her remarried husband.

In the middle is his half-sister.

The little girl looked to be three or four years old, with two pigtails, and smiled happily at the camera.

His mother seems very happy now.

Xie Shijin was only eight years old when He Sumei and Xie Pingxue divorced.

On the day of the divorce, he saw He Sumei carrying things downstairs at the entrance of the apartment building, just after school.

"Xiao Jin, Mommy is leaving. You should go live with your dad."

He Sumei moved all her belongings away, but she didn't take him with her.

He watched He Sumei's figure recede into the distance, feeling flustered, afraid, and at a loss.

He Sumei got into a taxi by the roadside, and he ran over with his schoolbag on his back, shouting.

"Mom! Me too!"

"And my mother! Take me with you!"

His schoolbag was so heavy that it weighed heavily on his shoulders, and no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch up with it.

Perhaps he, like that schoolbag, was an obstacle to He Sumei's happiness, which is why He Sumei abandoned him.

The day He Sumei came to find him, he actually had many questions he wanted to ask: Why did you leave alone? Why didn't you take me with you? Did you ever try to stand up for me?

He later realized that these were all meaningless questions.

He Sumei always had her own reasons. What else could he hear besides listening to her repeatedly recount her unavoidable hardships when he asked these questions?

He Sumei and her remarried husband have moved abroad.

I will never go back to Yichuan again.

...

fine.

No one will abandon him again.

...

Xie Shijin put away the photos and walked towards the dormitory building.

A light rain began to fall, and when Xie Shijin returned to his dormitory, a small patch of his shoulder was wet.

The dormitory was empty, and all the belongings had been moved out, as if no one had ever lived there.

As he approached, the photo frame in his backpack fell to the ground and shattered, spilling the photos inside. There was also a suspicious pool of liquid and claw marks on the table under the bed.

Xie Shijin picked up the photo frame and searched for the culprit.

"Cheng Shiyun?" he called out.

No one responded.

The little sparrow is not in the dormitory.

Were you scared away by these photos?

These past few days, Cheng Shiyun has been flying to the hospital every day, leaving earlier and returning later and later.

He had a vague feeling that Ran Hongyin might have recognized her and might have told Cheng Jinghua.

But he didn't dare ask.

He was afraid that if he asked, Cheng Shiyun would say, "Xie Shijin, I'm going home."

Cheng Shiyun will definitely go home.

She has her own parents and her own home.

Her parents love her very much, and they will live happily together as a family. She will no longer need him or depend on him.

Today, he even made a point of asking her to come back early so they could celebrate his birthday together.

"Abandoned again?" Xie Shijin's voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

...

"Who abandoned you?"

A soft, gentle female voice pierced through the pattering noise of the hearing aid and landed in my ear.

A gust of wind swept in from the balcony, rustling the photos on the table.

The boy's hoarse and dejected voice made Cheng Shiyun's heart tighten.

Who abandoned him?

Her?

She felt that every time she left, Xie Shijin was very sad.

Xie Shijin had shed too many tears for her, and Cheng Shiyun was terrified when she heard his voice like that. She quickly said, "Xie Shijin... I'm here."

But she can't go out now.

It was raining outside, and the cold wind was howling into the small bathroom window. Cheng Shiyun huddled up, feeling very cold.

The sound originated from the bathroom on the balcony.

The light in Xie Shijin's dim eyes gradually returned.

Xie Shijin strode over.

The bathroom door was made of frosted glass. Even without the lights on, a slender figure could be vaguely seen through it.

The girl wrapped her arms tightly around herself, her slender, thin body trembling uncontrollably.

Xie Shijin stopped outside the door and slowly raised his hand: "...Cheng Shiyun, are you inside?"

The room was dimly lit, and he couldn't see anything clearly through the glass, but Cheng Shiyun inexplicably felt that Xie Shijin's gaze was fixed on her.

There was a slight rattling sound from the door lock; Xie Shijin was turning the doorknob, about to come in.

Cheng Shiyun trembled and quickly reached out to stop him: "No!"

"Don't come in..."

Her jet-black hair slipped from her shoulders and cascaded down her chest, making her bare skin appear even paler.

...She wasn't wearing any clothes.

How did it suddenly turn into a human?!

Just a second ago, she was crying so hard she felt like throwing up, but she couldn't throw up on the photo, so she flew to the bathroom.

The next second, she braced her hands on the sink.

Her wings turned into hands, and her claws into feet.

Like a newborn baby, they come into this world completely naked.

She had no idea what was going on when she heard the door open.

Xie Shijin is back.

She could only hide in the bathroom, barefoot, awkwardly hugging her arms.

"I'm so cold..."

Under the boy's anxious eyes, which seemed to pierce through glass, she trembled, cowered, and spoke softly, almost pleadingly.

"Xie Shijin, could you... lend me a piece of clothing?"

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

Author's Note: Let's start with two sweet chapters to whet our appetites [glasses emoji]

It's been a long time since I've written such a pure love story. I've written 300,000 words and we haven't even had a kiss yet. I'll make sure we get one in the next chapter.