Chapter 161: A Piece (45/55)

Xu Nian once again felt completely at a loss.

He had no idea what exactly Yang Shuli had experienced, and he had even asked her about it before.

But Yang Shuli couldn’t remember.

It probably needed to be something as significant as that time they crossed the street during their trip to the seaside—only then might Yang Shuli suddenly recall what she’d actually been through.

Of course, afterward she would immediately forget everything again, then chase after Xu Nian for all sorts of snacks to fill her stomach.

Maybe he should have thought of this earlier.

He didn’t even know if it was still possible to do anything about it now.

The movie was only halfway through, yet Yang Shuli had already eaten two-thirds of that bucket of popcorn.

Xu Nian himself hadn’t eaten much, afraid that if he did, Yang Shuli wouldn’t have enough.

Faced with the current situation, Xu Nian had two ways of handling it.

The first was just like now—although difficult, he could still try to resolve the issues Yang Shuli faced, and ideally, once he intervened, he could completely eradicate her psychological disorder.

The second option: if he couldn’t resolve that matter, or if Yang Shuli would get hurt because of how he handled it, then he would give up.

He could choose to ignore that problem altogether and simply stay by Yang Shuli’s side, making her happy for as long as possible.

After all, it was only negative emotions that could trigger whatever hidden trauma Yang Shuli had; so, as long as he could keep her happy and joyful, everything would be fine.

They could just go on like this.

And he was willing to always stay with Yang Shuli this way.

Yang Shuli was absentminded, not as sharp as her other roommates, but she was quite adorable.

She didn’t think about things like emotional care; she could only sense who was truly good to her, and then she would pour her all into reciprocating that person’s kindness.

She offered everything she could, albeit in a rather clumsy way.

Here, Xu Nian taking her out for a cup of freshly brewed latte art coffee and her dragging Xu Nian to enjoy a discounted group-buy lemon drink were the same in her mind.

Even if she had only two yuan, she would split it and give Xu Nian one yuan.

“No good, I think I drank too much. I’m going to the restroom,” Yang Shuli suddenly stood up, hunching over and lowering her head as if she were afraid of blocking the view of those behind her.

But in reality, there was no need for her to do this, because even if she stood up straight, she wouldn’t block anyone’s view.

That was the core advantage of being so tiny.

Because the entire theater was shrouded in darkness, she accidentally tripped over Xu Nian’s foot and tumbled onto him.

Of course, Xu Nian gently caught Yang Shuli and whispered softly by her ear, “Do you want me to go with you?”

It was meant to be a caring question, but in the ears of Yang Shuli, who had just been watching a suspense movie, it sounded different.

“Corporal Xu Nian, do you really think your superior would be so scared by a little suspense that she’d need someone to accompany her to the restroom?”

As she spoke, Yang Shuli stood up, glaring down at Xu Nian from above.

Then she bent over and, just like when she’d fallen into Xu Nian’s arms, she delivered a headbutt.

Bang, bang—two quick bumps, causing a bit too much commotion and drawing a complaint from someone nearby: “Control your kid.”

Yang Shuli and Xu Nian both fell silent.

After a moment, the tiny dorm leader left the screening room by herself, presumably looking for the restroom.

Xu Nian thought about it and decided to follow.

But at that moment, a sound clearly out of place in the movie rang out.

Next to Yang Shuli’s seat, Xu Nian found her ringing phone.

After repeatedly apologizing to the surrounding audience for the disturbance, Xu Nian grabbed her things and left the screening room.

In his hand was the still-unanswered call, with no contact name displayed.

Normally, Yang Shuli always left notes on her contacts, afraid she might forget. If there was no note, it meant she didn’t need to contact them again, it was a spam call, or it was someone whose number—like Xu Nian or her roommates—she already knew by heart.

He couldn’t be sure which it was, and right now Yang Shuli was nowhere to be found since she’d gone to the restroom.

After some thought, he answered the call.

“Hello, hello, this is the Apprentice Goddess speaking.”

A lively, energetic voice came through Yang Shuli’s phone.

Xu Nian didn’t say anything; he was just wondering why there was someone like this in Yang Shuli’s circle whom he had never heard about.

“Why so quiet? Hello, hello, is Xiao Yang there?”

“She went to the restroom.” Xu Nian still answered.

“Ah, what a shame, I had something to discuss with her.” On the other end, the Apprentice Goddess sounded regretful, as if lamenting a missed opportunity.

“Who are you?”

When Xu Nian realized he was about to be led into asking what the matter was, he stopped himself at once.

The other party was doing it on purpose, clearly aware of how much he cared about Yang Shuli.

“Me? I’m the Apprentice Goddess, didn’t I say so already? Why don’t you listen to people, huh?” The voice on the other side sounded a little helpless, “The same Apprentice Goddess who turned Yang Shuli from a boy into a girl, you know.”

Xu Nian listened and was silent for a long time.

“What do you mean, turning a boy into a girl?”

“No need to pretend in front of me, right?”

It wasn’t until these two sentences that Xu Nian finally believed what the so-called Apprentice Goddess was saying—and her identity.

“All right, all right. Since Xiao Yang isn’t here, I’ll just have you pass on something important for me.” The Apprentice Goddess switched back to a casual tone.

“Do you really need me to pass it on?”

“Hm?”

“You called at this exact moment, fully knowing almost everything, making it seem like something urgent that she had to know right away. When I told you she was in the restroom, you left the message for me to relay… ” Xu Nian’s face was calm. “The truth is, you just wanted to tell me, didn’t you?”

“You’re really something, you know.” The person on the phone chuckled softly. “Then I’ll say it straight: if you two aren’t together within three years, Xiao Yang will die.”

“No chance you die first?”

“Oh dear, sorry about that.” The Apprentice Goddess’s voice was apologetic. “Even if I die, the same result will happen after three years, you see?”

“If you really want to get rid of me, you’d be better off figuring out how to handle Xiao Yang’s family issues. If you two don’t become a couple, you’ll be torn apart by life and death. I always cry when I see that kind of story.”

Xu Nian hung up the phone and deleted the call record.

He saw Yang Shuli walking back and, of course, also received the information the other party had revealed.

Yang Shuli’s family.

“Are you going back to your hometown for the New Year this winter break?” Xu Nian asked.

“Uh, yeah, I am. Hey, why aren’t you inside watching the movie?” Yang Shuli was wiping her freshly washed hands on Xu Nian’s clothes.

“Then I’ll go back with you.”

“Huh?”