Chapter 33

She’d said she wanted to touch her, but she really wasn’t very confident. After all, Su Ci had been asleep last night; she hadn’t meant it on purpose.

Besides, if it were her touching Su Ci like that, she wouldn’t dare.

Su Ci didn’t say anything. The room was dim, and Yan Can couldn’t make out her expression, so she assumed Su Ci had changed her mind.

“What? Not going to let me touch?” Su Ci’s tone was teasing.

Yan Can admitted she’d only been talking big. In this regard, she was thinner-skinned than anyone else; every time she talked about kissing or touching, her face went red.

“Hmph, I knew you—”

Before she could finish, her wrist was seized. Su Ci sat down in front of her, and a faint, cool fragrance brushed the tip of her nose.

Yan Can froze for half a second. Before she could react, Su Ci guided her hand onto her own chest.

The sudden contact with something soft and warm made Yan Can’s face flush instantly, red as a boiled crab.

As if scalded, she snatched her hand back at once.

“You—” She hadn’t expected Su Ci to press her hand directly against her chest.

“What? Weren’t you the one who wanted to touch?” Su Ci’s voice was flat.

Faced with Su Ci, who was always this direct, Yan Can was left speechless.

Su Ci’s gaze darkened slightly. She stood and said, “Can you get up and brush your teeth and wash up now?”

Her tone was still light, giving nothing away.

Yan Can was still a little dazed; her brain felt sluggish. Then she heard Su Ci say, “Your clothes are still wet. Wear mine first.”

Yan Can watched blankly as she walked out of the room. The door was casually pulled shut, cutting off the last bit of light inside.

After a long while, about half a minute, she held out her hand in front of her, palm up.

Her fingers curled once; that soft, warm sensation still seemed to linger in her palm.

The first thought in her head was—

Su Ci’s really was bigger than hers.

The first time Su Ci stayed the night at her place, she’d accidentally seen that part of her. Even then, she’d thought it was unusually well developed.

She hadn’t expected that when she touched it...

Though she really didn’t want to admit it, now that she thought about it, the sensation was truly unimaginably...

It was too soft to describe in words, like a water balloon. No, even better than a water balloon...

The heat on Yan Can’s face refused to go down.

She reached out and squeezed her own, feeling nothing much at all.

Was this kind of thing only more pleasurable when you did it to someone else? Yan Can was thinking this when she heard the sound of bowls and dishes clinking from the kitchen.

Staying over at someone else’s house and lying in bed forever wasn’t a good look. She shook her head, patted her cheeks, let her mind clear a little, then got up to take the phone from the nightstand, intending to check the time. Her gaze fell on a neatly folded set of clothes beneath it.

They were the clothes Su Ci had prepared for her.

Yan Can turned on the light. The room brightened all at once, and she could see that the outfit was one Su Ci hadn’t worn before, or maybe she had in the past, but Yan Can had never seen it.

She climbed out of bed, closed the door, and quickly changed into the clothes Su Ci had prepared.

It was a mint-green long dress with simple trim along the hem.

The skirt fell to just above her knees, showing off her long, fair legs. It was fitted at the waist, outlining her slender figure.

Yan Can turned halfway around in it; it fit quite well.

She lowered her head and sniffed; there was a fresh scent of laundry detergent.

After changing, she tied her hair into a ponytail in just a few quick motions and headed toward the bathroom. She had only taken two steps when she stopped.

The kitchen was right next to the bathroom, and Wei Li’s voice drifted out: “You’re still sending money to that family?”

Yan Can instinctively slowed her breathing, a strangely tense feeling rising in her chest.

After Wei Li finished speaking, there was no answer for a long while. If Yan Can hadn’t been sure that Su Ci was also in the kitchen, she would have thought Wei Li was talking to the air.

“Ah Ci, you don’t need to go this far. Legally, you’re not obligated to pay that money back.”

Pay the money back?

Yan Can’s heart gave a jolt; then everything suddenly clicked into place.

Was this the reason Su Ci, even while receiving the school’s 6,000 yuan monthly subsidy, still insisted on taking part-time jobs?

Had the prize money from the last competition, which Su Ci won as a gold medalist and which amounted to six figures, also been used to pay back debt?

Had all the prize money from every competition gone toward repaying debt?

So that was why she rented such a cheap place, why even her clothes and shoes were old; it wasn’t that she didn’t want to wear new things, but that she had no money?

Yan Can had always thought Su Ci enjoyed the independence that came from working and studying. It turned out there was an unavoidable reason.

Her heart seemed to be gripped by something, aching hard.

She was only a 17-year-old student.

Yan Can suddenly understood why the female lead would want to kill herself.

Bullied at school; in debt outside school. For the average person, they probably would have broken down long ago.

Wei Li’s voice continued from the kitchen: “Ah Ci, your studies are the most important thing right now. I’ll deal with that family’s matter; this was supposed to be an adult problem anyway. If it doesn’t work, I’ll think of another way...”

She didn’t continue. She knew that with her own ability, she would never in her lifetime be able to pay that debt back, but that was a matter from the previous generation; it wasn’t Su Ci’s burden to bear...

She was only a high school student.

Su Ci pressed her lips together and looked at the dumplings floating in the pot, a few of them even splitting open from being overcooked. “Auntie, if you keep boiling them, they’ll break.”

Wei Li lowered her eyes to the pot, bubbling away with steam, then took the bowl Su Ci handed her and asked, “Has your classmate definitely gotten up?”

She was afraid they’d be cooked too early and get cold.

Su Ci set three bowls side by side, making it easier for Auntie Wei to take them. “I’ll go check again.”

Familiar footsteps approached. Yan Can felt guilty and immediately moved in the other direction; behind her came Su Ci’s voice: “What are you doing?”

Yan Can turned back awkwardly, smiling. “I was a little dizzy this morning and went the wrong way, haha. It’s this way, right?”

She walked forward a few steps, then turned to look at Su Ci and asked, “Are you still going to your part-time job this afternoon?”

Su Ci found the question strange, knowing the answer and asking anyway, but she still replied patiently, “Yes.”

As if Yan Can had something else to say, she asked again, “Why?”

Yan Can shook her head. “Nothing.”

Su Ci watched her figure disappear into the bathroom, then turned and went to the living room, taking the folding table out from the corner and unfolding it.

After finishing that, she passed the bedroom on her way back to the kitchen and glanced inside. Yan Can had folded the blanket neatly and placed it at the head of the bed.

She withdrew her gaze and went back to the kitchen, where she and Wei Li carried the dumplings out together.

By the time Yan Can finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, it was still early, not yet seven. Her cheap father wouldn’t land until nine, and driving from here to the airport wouldn’t take more than an hour.

The appointment with Secretary Cen was at eight, so she wasn’t in a hurry. She blew gently on her food and ate the dumplings in small bites.

Even now, Yan Can still remembered to build up some points in Su Ci’s and Wei Li’s eyes. After taking a bite, she gave a thumbs-up and said, “These dumplings are really delicious. I just love pork and leek filling.”

Auntie Wei was very pleased by that. “If they’re good, eat more. Next time I’ll make extra and bring some home for you.”

Yan Can said, “Thank you, Auntie.”

After eating a few more, Wei Li asked her, “You really don’t want vinegar?”

Both she and Su Ci had a small dish of mixed dipping sauce in front of them.

Yan Can shook her head. “I don’t like the taste of vinegar.”

The three of them sat around the folding table. It wasn’t raining today, but the sky was still a little overcast.

The living room lights had been on the whole time, glowing a warm yellow.

While eating, Wei Li chatted with Yan Can. “Next month is Ah Ci’s 18th birthday. Xiaocan should come over then; Auntie will make black-bone chicken soup for you two.”

Only then did Yan Can remember that, according to the records, Su Ci was only two months younger than the original body.

“Sure.” Yan Can agreed readily.

After breakfast and a few more words, a message from Secretary Cen came through; she was already waiting at the designated place.

It was only 7:30.

“Su Ci, Auntie, I still have something to do, so I’m leaving first.” Yan Can felt embarrassed keeping Secretary Cen waiting.

Su Ci nodded. Yan Can looked at her without speaking, but her eyes were full of reluctance.

Anyone who’d ever been a child could see through Yan Can’s thoughts at a glance. Wei Li glanced at Su Ci beside her; seeing that she wasn’t moving, she smiled and said, “Ah Ci, see your classmate downstairs.”

Su Ci looked at Yan Can. Yan Can smiled and said, “Ah Ci~ walk me downstairs?”

The two syllables of “Ah Ci” were deliberately drawn out for a long time.

Su Ci seemed to be scalded by the sound; her expression paused for a moment, and then she silently followed Yan Can downstairs.

When they reached the bottom, Yan Can looked at her and said, “No need to see me off anymore. Go back up.”

Su Ci turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Yan Can...

She really didn’t linger at all.

Yan Can walked to the mouth of the alley. Secretary Cen’s car was already parked by the roadside. When she saw Yan Can, she immediately got out and came over to greet her.

Secretary Cen opened the door for her. After Yan Can got in, the car drove toward the airport.

The car was very quiet. Yan Can listened to the sticky sound of the tires rolling over the wet road.

“Secretary Cen.” Yan Can called to her.

Secretary Cen looked at her in the rearview mirror. “What is it?”

When Su Ci first moved, Yan Can had asked Secretary Cen to investigate why Su Ci had moved. Back then, Secretary Cen had said Su Ci had suddenly moved because the place was too noisy.

But Yan Can had been to Su Ci’s current home, and it was noisier than before.

Yan Can suspected that wasn’t the real reason at all, but Secretary Cen couldn’t possibly lie to her.

“You said last time that Su Ci moved because the environment was too noisy?”

Secretary Cen didn’t understand why she was bringing this up again all of a sudden. Wasn’t that the reason? But when she’d gone to ask the landlord, that man had said exactly that.

“The landlord said so.”

If the landlord said it, then that meant it was what Su Ci had told the landlord.

Probably just an excuse she’d made up on the spot.

Thinking of what she’d just overheard at Su Ci’s place, all kinds of guesses suddenly sprang into Yan Can’s mind.

Her heart tightened as she said, “Help me check what debts Su Ci is carrying, and then check her background as well.”

Secretary Cen didn’t understand why the young lady was suddenly asking her to investigate her classmate again, but she still nodded. “Yes, Miss.”

“And don’t tell anyone about this.” Yan Can added.

After seeing Yan Can off, Su Ci returned just as Wei Li was walking out of the kitchen, wiping her hands.

“Sent your classmate off?” Wei Li went over to the sofa and sat down.

Su Ci gave a hum, planning to go back to her room and do some studying.

Then Wei Li thought of something and stopped her.

Su Ci turned back to look at her. Wei Li was still smiling, but there was something different in her eyes; they were a little serious, the kind of serious look someone wore when they were about to say something important.

She had seen that expression before, very long ago.

A long time ago, she was in class when the teacher called her out. Wei Li had looked at her with that same expression and said, “Your parents have had an accident. Come to the hospital with me now.”

Su Ci felt an unaccountable tension. Ever since her parents left, she had treated Auntie Wei like family.

She vaguely sensed that Auntie Wei had something to say.

Her fingertips, hanging at her sides, curled slightly; she stared at her fixedly.

After a long while, she heard Auntie Wei say, “Does your classmate know you like her?”