Chapter 45 Two Choices (Bonus Chapter for 4000 Nutrient Solution Count!) "I..."
Upon hearing Cheng Shiyun's name, Ni Jiaqi seemed to come alive again, his previous dejected expression vanishing. He took a deep breath and asked, "Cheng Shiyun is here too? Where is she?"
Damn, he didn't wash his face this morning!
He wiped his face a couple of times and then grabbed his phone from the bedside table.
Xie Shijin watched as he turned on his camera to check his appearance, and asked with a calm face, "Will you treat her well?"
Ni Jiaqi looked at him and said, "Nonsense, of course I'll treat her well."
"Can you accept her no matter what she looks like?" Xie Shijin asked again.
"Cheng Shiyun is injured? Why do you ask so many questions? Stop keeping me in suspense." He was itching to know more. "Is Cheng Shiyun outside? Did you lock her out?"
That's cat abuse, they deserve to die.
He couldn't wait any longer and struggled to get out of bed.
Xie Shijin said, "Don't be afraid."
Ni Jiaqi rolled his eyes, bewildered: "What am I afraid of? Afraid of you?"
Xie Shijin's gaze lingered on his face for a moment before he rolled up his sleeves.
A small, silvery-white snake rested on his scarred wrist.
"……snake?"
It's a very pretty little snake.
But Ni Jiaqi was afraid of snakes, and his scalp tingled and goosebumps rose all over his body.
Xie Shijin said, "This is Cheng Shiyun."
"Xie Shijin, are you kidding me?"
Just as Ni Jiaqi was about to start cursing, he suddenly choked up.
A person cannot be brought back to life after death, but Cheng Shiyun can turn into a cat.
If she can turn into a cat, why can't she turn into a snake?
He didn't find the cat at Xie Shijin's house that day, nor on Xie Shijin's person. He assumed that Xie Shijin had hidden the cat.
Rabbits and chicken in the refrigerator, baby mice in a styrofoam box.
...It turns out those baby mice weren't fed to cats, but to snakes.
Perhaps at that time...
Just like now, Cheng Shiyun has turned into a small snake, coiling around Xie Shijin's wrist.
"Cheng Shiyun turned into a snake?!" Ni Jiaqi grabbed a handful of hair, exclaiming incredulously, "Xie Shijin, you...you didn't slap me, did you?"
Asking him to accept this reality would be tantamount to shattering and rebuilding his entire worldview.
The little white snake was taken off by Xie Shijin and placed on the bed, where it curled up quietly and remained motionless.
Ni Jiaqi was itching to touch her.
—I'm so scared, but this is Cheng Shiyun!
He closed his eyes.
—I'm so scared, but this is Cheng Shiyun!
He slowly extended his hand.
—I'm so scared, but this is Cheng Shiyun!!!
He almost touched her, but Cheng Shiyun dodged.
Once she regained consciousness, she turned her head and hissed at Xie Shijin, flicking her forked tongue rapidly.
"You're lying to me?"
"Xie Shijin, are you lying to me?"
The guess came true.
Disbelief welled up in Cheng Shiyun's eyes, and for the first time, she bared her sharp fangs at him.
"Cheng Shiyun?" Ni Jiaqi called out to her.
She trusted him so much.
I trust him more than I trust myself.
Why did you lie to me? Are you going to do something again?
He has to face the danger alone, and then abandon her without a word?
The long-suppressed emotions finally collapsed in an instant. She couldn't help but stretch out the skin folds of her neck, becoming fierce and terrifying, just like those man-eating venomous snakes on TV.
Xie Shijin said, "Didn't you want to see him? Let's spend a few days with him."
"I'll come pick you up once things are settled, and we'll go to school together."
"Go to Beijing."
It's always like this.
Will you come to pick me up?
"Will they definitely come?"
Xie Shijin remained silent, clenching his hands that hung at his sides.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Cheng Shiyun asked. "Say something! Aren't you... really good at lying to me? Why aren't you saying anything now?"
She hated him for being like that.
Cheng Shiyun asked, "What's on the USB drive? Are you going to find Guo Renyi?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen it yet," Xie Shijin said. "These past few days you've been with me, and I haven't been able to take care of you."
"So you just abandoned me and dumped me on Ni Jiaqi?" Cheng Shiyun stared at him intently. "I don't need you to do so much for me."
"Do you think it's great that you did all this for me? Who asked you to do it? What kind of bullshit hit-and-run driver is he? So what if we found him? Let him go to jail? Would killing him bring me back to life?"
"I don't care how I die, so why are you so fixated on it? Why do you have to keep dwelling on the past!"
"The past is the past. Isn't it good that I'm back now? I'm doing well, you're all doing well, and I'm doing well too. I'm already very satisfied that everyone is safe and sound."
"Why are you always like this? So self-righteous, so arbitrary, and never respect my ideas?"
"I just want to be with you, I just want to be with you!"
She lunged at him, biting his hand and wrapping her arms around his, only to have the boy pull her off again and again.
"Xie Shijin, take me home, I want to go home!"
She wanted to cry. She desperately wanted to cry, but the snake's eyes couldn't produce tears; it could only sob.
A childlike sob.
Xie Shijin turned his face away, his gaze drifting aimlessly out the window, past the lush trees, past the blazing sky, past the startled birds, but he dared not look at her again, dared not look into her tearful eyes.
"hiss--!"
"fraud!"
"I hate you! I hate you!"
A sudden pang struck my heart.
Xie Shijin suddenly tensed up, a burning reluctance appearing in his eyes, and then turned his face to meet her gaze.
He took off his hearing aid and opened his lips.
"You hate me, don't forget me."
...
As he turned around, a sweltering wind rushed in from the corridor, suddenly penetrating the boy's body.
Xie Shijin wanted to go downstairs, but his legs felt like lead, heavy and numb. He stood there for a long time, until the elevator doors opened and closed repeatedly, until everyone was looking at him with strange eyes.
His bones were rusty and he couldn't move them at all.
The elevator doors opened, and a little boy skipped out, holding his mother's hand. Pointing at him, he asked, "Mommy, why is this older brother crying?"
Warm tears silently welled up in his eyes and rolled down his jawline without him even noticing.
The young mother covered her son's mouth to stop him from talking, and then apologized to the boy by the wall.
In the hospital corridors, scenes of life and death unfold every day. Those who weep bitterly like this are mostly patients who are terminally ill.
Xie Shijin lowered her eyelashes slightly, blinked twice to wipe away her tears, and said, "I'm happy, so I cried."
Cheng Shiyun can go home now.
She went back to her own home.
"ah?"
The little boy didn't understand. Shouldn't he be laughing when he was happy? Why was he crying?
...
Cheng Shiyun was still struggling with the door.
She's too short; she can't even reach the doorknob. And this door gap is so narrow; you can't even squeeze through. Are they trying to suffocate the patient?
After two failed attempts, Cheng Shiyun was utterly desperate.
She could no longer smell Xie Shijin's pheromones.
Xie Shijin really doesn't want her anymore.
"Cheng Shiyun".
There was a thud behind him, and Ni Jiaqi fell off the bed.
Cheng Shiyun turned her head away, completely forgetting that there was someone else in the room.
Ni Jiaqi sat on the ground, clutching his legs and wincing in pain. When he saw the little white snake slithering towards him, he was startled and couldn't help but shrink back twice until his back hit the cold wall, leaving him nowhere to retreat.
"..."
coward.
Cheng Shiyun flicked her tail dismissively, climbed onto the bed by the foot of the bed, pulled out Ni Jiaqi's phone, hooked it with the tip of her tail, and unlocked the screen.
On June 9th, Ni Jiaqi's phone password remained unchanged.
Ni Jiaqi swallowed hard as he looked at the scene before him.
A snake is playing with its phone with its tail; the scene is so bizarre it sends chills down your spine.
"Cheng Shiyun?" Ni Jiaqi called her again.
The small snake on the bed hissed and flicked its tongue. Ni Jiaqi, as if by some strange twist of fate, understood her meaning and cautiously asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
The little snake nudged his phone with its head, gesturing for him to come and look.
Ni Jiaqi was overjoyed and, ignoring the excruciating pain in his leg, dragged his leg, which was in a cast, little by little to the bedside.
[Take me to Xie Shijin.]
Xie Shijin probably discovered something, so he tried to push her away to protect her, but she didn't want that kind of protection.
If it comes at the cost of his life, Cheng Shiyun would rather not find the driver who caused the accident. She wants everyone to be safe and sound.
The moment Ni Jiaqi saw the words, the joy on his face vanished, replaced by an undisguised disappointment.
The first thing Cheng Shiyun said to him was Xie Shijin.
Remembering how he had cried like an idiot in front of Xie Shijin, the boy's eyes reddened sharply: "Why didn't you come to find me?"
Cheng Shiyun typed only two words on the screen: [Flower bed.]
"flower bed?"
Memories return.
Ni Jiaqi thought of the little snake that had been staring at him for a moment downstairs in the teachers' apartment building: "That snake... it's you!"
Cheng Shiyun came to see him!
Having run out of kindergarten, Cheng Shiyun had been hiding in the bushes, her clothes covered in dirt. Now she was clean and fair-skinned, and even a little chubby, clearly well-cared for.
Cheng Shiyun rolled her eyes inwardly: [You're the boss.]
"...You know I'm afraid of snakes, yet you still try to scare me."
Ni Jiaqi was furious. Cheng Shiyun called him an idiot, and he really was an idiot for not recognizing her at the time.
He was both crying and laughing, and a hot snot bubble popped out of his nose.
Then he saw the little snake turn its head away, its disdain undisguised.
If snakes could talk, he might even hear Cheng Shiyun let out a soft "Eh?"
Ni Jiaqi rubbed his nose: "Do you and Xie Shijin communicate by typing like this too?"
Cheng Shiyun replied: [He understands me.]
"ah?"
Ni Jiaqi felt a pang of bitterness in his heart: "Why?"
Why doesn't he have this special ability? God is so unfair!
It was strange, but Cheng Shiyun didn't have time to analyze the reasons behind it with him. She typed urgently: [Ni Jiaqi, Xie Shijin is in danger. Take me to him.]
Ni Jiaqi felt even more disappointed, her heart aching, and she complained bitterly, "You didn't even ask how my leg was, you only care about Xie Shijin, not me?"
Cheng Shiyun asked helplessly, "How's your leg? Is it broken?"
"Ugh," Ni Jiaqi said in a muffled voice, "It hurts so much. I had a metal plate in my body, and I need help to go to the toilet."
Cheng Shiyun retorted without hesitation: [Serves you right, who told you not to listen to Uncle Ni and Aunt Ni?]
"right."
"I deserve it."
These two words seemed to have hit a nerve with him.
Ni Jiaqi was as if a fuse had been lit, and the confusion, anxiety and unease that had been building up for two years finally erupted: "Serves me right for looking for you all over the world like an idiot, serves me right for not being able to understand what you're saying, serves me right for being deceived by Xie Shijin!"
He chuckled mockingly, his eyes red as he pressed, "Xie Shijin said you didn't want to see me before, why?"
"What did I do to offend you? What did I do to wrong you that you treat me like this?"
"You just watched me suffer every day, feeling like I was living a life worse than death, and you didn't even tell me you were back?"
He missed her just as much as Xie Shijin did.
So when Xie Shijin said that Cheng Shiyun didn't want to see him, his first thought was to reflect on whether he had done something wrong.
He couldn't understand it, he really couldn't understand it.
After venting his emotions, Ni Jiaqi calmed down and his tone gradually became more even. He pondered for a moment and came to a blaming conclusion: "Xie Shijin has corrupted you."
"..."
Cheng Shiyun said, "[I'm sorry, I should have told you I was back sooner.]"
She was very anxious and couldn't explain too much to Ni Jiaqi: "[Xie Shijin is really in danger right now, Ni Jiaqi, please take me to him, okay?]"
"not good."
Ni Jiaqi resolutely refused, staring intently at her: "Knowing it's dangerous, why did you still go to him?"
He didn't know what Xie Shijin had found out, but Xie Shijin must have realized that something was unusual and didn't want Cheng Shiyun to get involved when he sent her over.
Last time, he failed to protect Cheng Shiyun, and could only watch helplessly as Xie Pingxue threw her to her death.
Such pain is worse than death; to suffer it again is worse than death.
Cheng Shiyun said: [Xie Shijin only has me left.]
His parents didn't love him, and his grandmother, who loved him, had passed away. Xie Shijin's only connection to the world was with her.
If she doesn't go to him, who will?
"You're considering Xie Shijin, but why aren't you considering me?" Ni Jiaqi's chest tightened, and he sniffed hard. "Xie Shijin has only been gone for a short while and you're already going to find him. I've been looking for you for so long, and you don't even want to say a few words to me. Is Xie Shijin more important to you than me?"
Cheng Shiyun thought he was throwing a tantrum: [Ni Jiaqi, stop making a scene.]
"I'm not making a scene!" Ni Jiaqi punched the ground with his fist and said, "You think I'm a child too?"
Yang Shengnan always said that he was not as mature as Xie Shijin.
He is himself, Xie Shijin is Xie Shijin, why should he compare himself to others?
Ni Jiaqi leaned against the wall, hugged the little snake, and said, somewhat exhausted, "I am not Xie Shijin. Now that you are back, I will tell Uncle Cheng that Uncle Cheng and Aunt Ran miss you very much. I will reunite your family."
Cheng Shiyun also missed her parents, but her immediate priority was to find Xie Shijin, as she didn't know what Xie Shijin wanted to do.
But she always felt that Xie Shijin would never return from this trip.
Since Ni Jiaqi wouldn't help her, she had to find a solution herself.
Just then, the caregiver knocked on the door and, seeing no one responding, tried to push the door open to come in.
Cheng Shiyun slipped out of the boy's arms, and Ni Jiaqi's pupils contracted as he tried to grab her.
The snake's scales were smooth; he only managed to hook the tip of its tail. He roared, "Don't open the door!"
The boy behind her collapsed with a thud, and Cheng Shiyun turned around and glanced at him.
Outside the door, the caregiver said, "Xiao Ni, Auntie has brought you some food. Please eat a little."
"Don't open the door, don't come in!" Ni Jiaqi said.
He crawled on the ground, dragging his injured leg, and moved a few meters away to pull Cheng Shiyun back into his arms.
"You care about Xie Shijin's life or death, but not mine?" he said. "Cheng Shiyun, you're too cruel to me."
The little snake hissed twice, as if it had something to say, and Ni Jiaqi handed her the phone.
Cheng Shiyun said, "[If you were the one who got into trouble, I would worry about you too. It has nothing to do with whether I'm heartless or not.]"
Ni Jiaqi gave a self-deprecating laugh, almost choking up: "Really?"
"Then don't go looking for Xie Shijin, stay here and keep me company."
Cheng Shiyun remained silent.
"Xiao Ni, is something wrong? Auntie will come in and check on you." The caregiver was worried.
The moment she pressed down on the doorknob, Cheng Shiyun decided to leave and broke free from his hand.
"Cheng Shiyun, I like you, I like you!"
The sudden confession struck her ears, and Cheng Shiyun paused slightly, frozen in place.
Their eyes met, and Ni Jiaqi's eyes were filled with tears.
It dripped and hit her head.
"Cheng Shiyun, I like you, I like you a lot, I've liked you since I was very, very young."
"Please don't go. I'll love you no matter what you become. Please don't leave, don't go looking for Xie Shijin..."
His throat was filled with the sound of painful sobs.
Cheng Shiyun quietly processed the information for a few seconds, then hooked her tail over the phone she had tossed aside.
Ni Jiaqi didn't know what she wanted to say. He wiped away his tears haphazardly, his eyes burning with anxiety as he waited for a reply.
She typed.
I like Xie Shijin.
...
Cheng Shiyun said.
[Either let me go.]
[Either take me to him.]
Choose one of the two answers.
They were all Xie Shijin.
...
As dusk fell and the summer heat lingered, Xie Shijin went to an internet cafe near No. 7 Middle School.
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's a 1v1 relationship!
The 6k bonus chapter failed, so I'll settle for 4500 [laughing]
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