Chapter 45: Day 45 as an Object

Shen Wenyi talked on the phone for a very long time. She listened from inside the drawer to Shen Wenyi’s calm voice, even occasionally laughing. She truly didn’t seem like someone freshly heartbroken and in pain.

So, had Shen Wenyi really let go?

Not only let go, but also transferred her affections?!

Shen Wenyi’s Bluetooth earbuds were broken. Without them in, she put the call on speaker for a bit while making the bed. She heard that it was a woman on the other end—her voice was very gentle, but also very unfamiliar.

That woman even said, “Then come to like me instead. My arms are always open for you.”

Shen Wenyi said, “I knew you were still waiting for me.”

The woman said, “Of course. As long as it’s you, I’d wait another ten years. I’m just afraid you still can’t let go of her.”

Shen Wenyi said, “What’s so good about her? What’s there to not let go of? What I couldn’t let go of was just the unwillingness to accept it after all these years. Now I’ve figured it out. You’re the better one.”

The woman said, “Alright then. I’ll come back for the New Year. Get all scrubbed clean and wait for me.”

And then Shen Wenyi turned off the speaker.

She was dumbfounded inside the drawer.

What kind of outrageous talk was that? What did she mean, scrubbed clean and waiting for her?

And Shen Wenyi didn’t even refute it?!

So, this woman was also a homosexual, and she liked Shen Wenyi, had known her for many years, and was still waiting for her even now?

So, Shen Wenyi really was planning to take up with someone else?

Ha. Haha.

This is a good thing, right? This way, she’d never have to worry about being used as a test field again. She wouldn’t have to be so timid and hesitant when doing missions in the future.

But why… why did she feel so unsettled inside?

Was she not charming? What did she mean, ‘What’s so good about her?’ What did she mean, all those years of secret love were just unwillingness to accept it?

She was this beautiful! Tens of millions of fans howled about wanting to have her babies. Even though a woman couldn’t have a baby with another woman, that didn’t stop them from expressing their love for her.

How come when it came to Shen Wenyi, she became ‘nothing good’? Someone who could be let go of just like that?

To think that she had clearly had a way to complete her mission, but she considered Shen Wenyi’s feelings, and even at the risk of a fate worse than death, she hadn’t been willing to use it. And Shen Wenyi? This was how she repaid her?

If she’d known Shen Wenyi could let go so readily, without a trace of sadness, why had she worried so much?

Fine! Good! A nemesis was a nemesis. A nemesis with a secret crush? What a joke!

What was wrong with crawling into bed and listening to an audio drama with spicy scenes? If Shen Wenyi listened to other people’s mature audio dramas, she probably couldn’t help herself either, right?

And she’d actually thought Shen Wenyi only had that kind of… interest in her. With someone else asking Shen Wenyi to scrub clean, hadn’t Shen Wenyi also happily agreed?

Heh.

Just wait. They’d settle this tomorrow!

She was stifled with anger all night, unable to even clearly say what she was angry about.

Angry that Shen Wenyi was fickle? But what did Shen Wenyi’s behavior have to do with her?

Angry that Shen Wenyi just stopped liking her? That seemed like a good thing.

Angry at herself for considering Shen Wenyi so much, even giving that public, roundabout apology, only for Shen Wenyi to have long forgotten about her, even spouting a line like: ‘The one I secretly loved wasn’t her; it was just my unwillingness to accept it after all these years’?

Wasn’t it better that Shen Wenyi didn’t secretly love her?

Analyzing it back and forth, she felt she was angry at herself. Angry at herself for being so hesitant, for actually softening towards an enemy. Well, look what happened? The moment you go soft, they turn around and mock you behind your back as nothing.

Jiang Shiyang, oh Jiang Shiyang, learn from this. Homosexuals are the same as heterosexuals; only the sexual orientation is different. Among heterosexuals, you can’t find many who stay hopelessly devoted for years without regret. Isn’t it the same for homosexuals?

Everyone’s human.

Everyone’s selfish.

Since ancient times, deep, true love is the hardest thing to find.

Shen Wenyi doesn’t like you anymore. She likes someone else. Don’t think about anything. Just think about your mission!

She didn’t know when she fell asleep. She only knew that before she slept, the lights were still on, and Shen Wenyi was still awake.

That night, she slept very restlessly. She dreamed. She dreamed of the sports meet during their second year of high school, dreamed of the moment Shen Wenyi fell, and her own heart nearly stopping.

The 3000-meter race. Not many people were willing to participate; everyone was forced into it. The same for her, and probably the same for Shen Wenyi.

Her stamina was pretty good; jogging at a steady pace, she didn’t feel too tired. Her rank slowly climbed until she’d lapped Shen Wenyi by more than half a lap.

Shen Wenyi was usually quite steady. She’d seen Shen Wenyi run the 3000 in middle school. Like her, Shen Wenyi started at a steady jog and didn’t rashly sprint.

But this time, Shen Wenyi must have taken the wrong medicine. She charged fiercely from the start and was worn out after less than two laps.

When she was running not far behind Shen Wenyi, she saw her drenched in sweat, her lips pale, her complexion very poor. She wanted to tell her not to push herself, that walking was fine, that reaching the finish line even by walking wouldn’t shame their class.

But before she could reach Shen Wenyi’s side, Shen Wenyi suddenly pitched forward and fell. Her knees hit the ground with a thud—a very heavy fall. At that sound, she even felt like Shen Wenyi’s kneecaps had shattered.

But Shen Wenyi didn’t cry at the time. Her face only spasmed briefly. She collapsed, clutching her knees. The skin was scraped, and quite a bit of blood welled up immediately.

Instinctively, she wanted to crouch down and support Shen Wenyi. Just then, she heard her name being broadcast over the speakers—Class 2-3’s entire class cheering her on.

Shen Wenyi was in Class 2-5. People from Class 2-5 were already running towards her.

She hesitated. Her back, half-bent, straightened again. Shen Wenyi saw her—saw her go from bending over to standing straight, then continue running forward.

She took first place. Her whole class cheered. Some classmates came to hug her, some handed her towels and water. Through the crowd, she looked towards Shen Wenyi.

Shen Wenyi was still sitting on the ground, surrounded by a few classmates and the homeroom teacher of Class 2-5.

Clutching her towel, she walked over with a limp and saw the usually calm and composed Shen Wenyi sitting on the ground, clutching her knees, crying.

Why, when she hadn’t cried at the moment of the fall when the pain was worst, was she crying now?

And someone as concerned with face as Shen Wenyi, how could she cry in front of so many classmates and teachers?

She watched tears roll one by one from Shen Wenyi’s eyes, watched Shen Wenyi’s red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes. At that moment, she didn’t know what came over her. Even though Shen Wenyi was her nemesis, and she should have been cheering at her tears, she just felt incredibly miserable.

She walked over, used the towel to wipe Shen Wenyi’s face. She wanted to say a few comforting words, but after so many years of mutual antagonism, she couldn’t say anything soft. Her words came out stiffly:

“Shen Wenyi, are you three years old? Look at you, tears and snot everywhere. Aren’t you ashamed?”

She turned around and asked a nearby student to help her lift Shen Wenyi onto her back.

The Class 2-5 homeroom teacher said, “You just finished the race, don’t carry her. Someone from our class can do it.”

Actually, her legs were weak and drained of energy then, but she still carried Shen Wenyi on her back all the way to the infirmary.

Shen Wenyi cried the entire way on her back.

Panting, she teased Shen Wenyi: “Truly a pampered young miss, so delicate. Usually you can’t tell, but one fall and your true nature is exposed, huh?”

It was only when they reached the infirmary that Shen Wenyi took her towel and wiped her face, stopping her tears.

When the school nurse applied medicine to Shen Wenyi, she was unbelievably well-behaved. She hadn’t seen Shen Wenyi that docile in all those years—sitting perfectly still, eyes wet and glistening, looking not at the school nurse, but at her.

After treating the wound and applying medicine, the school nurse gave her a bottle of Safflower Oil and told her to help massage Shen Wenyi’s foot. Shen Wenyi had twisted her ankle before falling; it was swollen.

She took off Shen Wenyi’s athletic shoes, then her white ankle socks. Shen Wenyi insisted on washing her feet first, refusing to let her massage them otherwise.

Resigned, she borrowed the school nurse’s basin, filled it with water, and helped Shen Wenyi wash her feet. She hadn’t even washed her own parents’ feet.

After washing, she helped Shen Wenyi sit on the infirmary’s only bed. Shen Wenyi leaned against the headboard; she sat at the foot. She placed Shen Wenyi’s foot on her leg and massaged it for a very long time.

Just when she felt it was about enough and was about to stop, the Class Monitor arrived. The Class Monitor was very handsome, jokingly called the school heartthrob. She was the class study rep and naturally sociable, not just close with people in her own class, but also familiar with many from other classes. She was even more familiar with the Class Monitor.

The Class Monitor teased her, saying she was almost collapsing herself yet still playing the hero carrying someone else, and said he’d come to see if she’d collapsed yet.

She knew the Class Monitor was joking and must have come because something was up. She hurriedly got up, washed her hands, and gave Shen Wenyi the Safflower Oil and a few pills—she wasn’t sure what they were—that the school nurse had given.

Originally, she’d wanted to tell Shen Wenyi she’d go find someone from Class 2-5 to come over, but meeting Shen Wenyi’s red-rimmed, moist eyes, she swallowed her words.

She thought to herself, she’d come back later. Anyway, school wouldn’t be out for a while, there was time. She could bike Shen Wenyi home.

She told Shen Wenyi to rest well. Classes were basically over anyway, everyone was at the sports field for the meet. No need to rush off; she could wait until school was out to leave. Then she and the Class Monitor left.

After hearing the homeroom teacher’s instructions in the office, she went back to the infirmary. But she saw Shen Wenyi limping out, walking over to a waist-high trash bin near the restroom entrance. She threw away the Safflower Oil and those few pills.

Shen Wenyi’s expression was one of utter disdain.

Was it because she was the one who had handed them to her?

Just like that time they’d met in the cafeteria and she’d helped Shen Wenyi get chopsticks that were out of reach, and Shen Wenyi hadn’t even looked at them?

Shen Wenyi had secretly loved her for many years?

It was all a lie.

Perhaps there really was some liking later on, but now those affections had transferred to someone else.

~

She rehearsed the scene with Shen Wenyi that morning. The smell of Bone-Setting Liniment on Shen Wenyi was very faint, almost undetectable. Had that bottle of Bone-Setting Liniment also been thrown away?

After the rehearsal, she deliberately, in front of many people, checked Shen Wenyi’s injured hand.

“It’s almost healed. Does it still hurt?”

Shen Wenyi’s mood was very steady. She truly showed no sign of heartbreak.

Shen Wenyi even smiled at her. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Yesterday, when she saw Shen Wenyi smile, she’d thought it was a forced smile. Now… Heh…

She pushed up Shen Wenyi’s wide sleeve and said, “I meant to say this yesterday. Teacher Shen, do you never use skincare? Look at your arm, then look at mine.”

Back in her own place this morning, the first thing she’d done was wrap her arms in a sheet mask. Then she’d applied essence, cream—the whole works.

She rolled up her own sleeve, revealing her freshly nourished arm, and compared it with Shen Wenyi’s. She even reached out and pressed Shen Wenyi’s arm to emphasize the visual contrast.

Her arm was supple, fair, and tender, both soft and smooth.

Shen Wenyi’s arm was also quite fair, tender, soft, and smooth, but ultimately couldn’t compare to hers after her recent intensive care.

She said, “Tsk tsk. It really is different, isn’t it? Maybe because you’re two months older than me?”

That was enough provocation. From what she knew of Shen Wenyi, Shen Wenyi would definitely use Body Lotion tonight!

That evening, she made a point to transmigrate into the Body Lotion early, afraid she wouldn’t be there when Shen Wenyi used her.

She’d figured out the System’s missions by now. All of them required her to be inside the item for it to count. If Shen Wenyi used the item when she wasn’t there, even just a tiny bit, the mission would be a failure.

She listened to the distant sound of the shower, heard Shen Wenyi come out of the restroom, heard the buzz of the hairdryer.

Should be about time, right? Time to use the Body Lotion?

The drawer suddenly opened. Light flooded in. She instinctively closed her soul-eyes for a moment, then opened them to see Shen Wenyi’s hand reaching inside.

She was going to be used! Finally!

She stared eagerly at that slender, fair hand. But the hand bypassed her entirely and picked up the Bluetooth earbud charging case beside her.

Click. The charging case opened. Shen Wenyi took out the broken earbuds that Little He had pieced together. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, looking at them for a long time. She turned to throw them away, even walked all the way to the trash bin, but then pulled her hand back.

The broken earbuds were placed back in the charging case, and the charging case was returned to the drawer.

Shen Wenyi didn’t even spare her a glance. The drawer closed.

What? Why?! Why?!!!

Based on her understanding of Shen Wenyi, after such a provocation, how could Shen Wenyi be completely unmoved?

If nothing else, didn’t that woman tell Shen Wenyi to get all scrubbed clean to meet for the New Year? Didn’t Shen Wenyi want to apply a little Body Lotion to make herself even fairer and more supple?