In the late spring of the south, while there was still a chilly, lingering spring drizzle, there was also bright spring sunshine.
Shen Wuqiu was awakened by the spring sunshine climbing higher outside the window. The light-filtering, non-blackout blue and white curtains passively allowed the bright light to pierce through wantonly, sneaking into the room to disturb her sweet dream.
Her sleep had been deep, but Shen Wuqiu also felt exhausted. When she woke up, her eyes were open unconsciously while her thoughts still drifted in the ambiguous and enchanting dream of the previous night.
Could it really be because spring had arrived, easily stimulating the hormones of all things?
Shen Wuqiu fought an internal battle in her heart before finally deciding to convince herself with the phrase, “spring is here.”
Not daring to think about it deeply any longer, Shen Wuqiu quickly rinsed the soap off her body. As she reached for a bath towel, she suddenly remembered something.
Thinking of the uninvited white cat from the previous night, she didn’t bother looking for a clean towel and instead slipped her pajamas right back over her wet body.
Glancing around the room, there was simply no sign of the white cat.
“Meow.” Shen Wuqiu crawled under the bed again, imitating the cat’s meow to coax the little creature out.
However, after searching every single corner of the room, she couldn’t find the white cat anywhere.
Looking at the tightly closed screen window, Shen Wuqiu couldn’t help doubting herself. A mere cat couldn’t possibly be supernatural enough to open and close windows by itself, right?
Or was yesterday’s white cat also part of her dream? But the neatly folded square bath towel was sitting right there on the swivel chair.
That was truly bizarre.
Still, Shen Wuqiu refused to attribute it to ghosts and monsters. She figured she must have been exhausted from spending the entire day traveling yesterday, which was why her mind couldn’t clearly distinguish between reality and illusion.
Rubbing her throbbing temples, Shen Wuqiu stopped dwelling on these messy thoughts.
The alarm clock in her room had been broken for a long time. She checked her phone and saw that it was already nine-thirty. If she didn’t go downstairs soon, who knew how Su Yunzhi would complain about her.
When she came out of her room, she happened to see Shen Wujun also getting ready to go downstairs. Remembering her younger brother’s subtle warmth from the day before, she took the initiative to greet him. “Still haven’t started school?”
She remembered that when she left home, this younger brother was not yet in his second year of high school, so logically he should be in his third year of college this semester.
“None of your business.” Shen Wujun retorted sarcastically. After a two-second pause, he added, “We don’t have classes this semester; we are required to go out for internships.”
Shen Wuqiu didn’t bicker with his odd attitude. Since they were going downstairs together anyway, she simply asked a few more questions. “Where are you interning?”
Shen Wujun kept his arrogant look. “Still don’t know. Anyway, the internships arranged by the school are just assembly lines in factories, acting like coolies. It is not like they actually let us learn anything.”
An internship involving factory assembly line operations indeed lacked much practical value and could only be considered a form of social seasoning.
Clearly, this younger brother’s academic performance wasn’t that great, as slightly better universities wouldn’t uniformly assign students to factory assembly lines for internships.
“What is your major?”
“Computer Network Technology.”
Shen Wuqiu raised an eyebrow. “Then can you choose your own internship location?”
“We can apply.”
“Then how much professional knowledge do you think you have actually learned?”
Shen Wujun looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“If you didn’t waste your college years, I can arrange an internship placement for you that matches your major.”
Shen Wujun immediately stopped walking, his eyes lighting up as he was clearly tempted, though he still put up a stubborn front. “You are so kind? Tell me what kind of company you are arranging first.”
Seeing his awkward little expression, Shen Wuqiu couldn’t help smiling. “Well, I can’t tell you right now. I’ll have someone give you a set of assessment questions later, and we’ll talk after confirming that they are willing to take you.”
“It is not like I said I definitely wanted to go.”
As they spoke, the two reached the living room. Su Yunzhi was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Seeing the siblings coming down together, her brow furrowed, but she quickly put on a warm expression toward Shen Wuqiu. “I knew you had a hard journey yesterday, so I didn’t dare wake you up. You must be hungry by now, right?”
With that, she turned her head toward Shen Wujun, transforming instantly from a loving mother into a stern one. “You little brat, you don’t do a single proper thing all day long. It is already the middle of the morning, are you a pig?”
Knowing that Su Yunzhi was using the dog to beat the chicken, Shen Wuqiu didn’t care to argue. She was genuinely hungry now. “Auntie, is there any noodles left?”
As soon as Su Yunzhi faced her, she beamed again. “Yes, should I go cook a bowl for you?”
“No need.” Shen Wuqiu said as she first walked over to the bedroom to check on her father.
Father Shen was leaning against the headboard eating a steamed bun. Seeing Shen Wuqiu walk in, he picked up another bun from the bedside table and handed it over, expressionless. “Did you eat?”
“No, I don’t want a bun. I’ll go make some noodles later. Do you want some?”
Father Shen didn’t speak and continued burying his head in his food.
Shen Wuqiu understood. “Then I’ll bring some over for you later.”
Father Shen still said nothing.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Seeing that his water glass was empty, Shen Wuqiu went back out to the living room to refill it with warm water. “How are you feeling today? Any better?”
“It is just a useless shell anyway, so it is whatever.”
Early in the morning, Shen Wuqiu didn’t feel like bickering with him. After being rebuffed in just a few words, she didn’t know what else to say. Besides, seeing him eating buns made her own stomach churn even more, so she didn’t stay long in the room, excused herself, and headed to the kitchen.
Years had passed, and the kitchen was still as clean and bright as before, except the exhaust fan had been replaced with a modern range hood, making it look much more contemporary.
Although Su Yunzhi’s personality wasn’t likable, she always had a knack for keeping the house clean, a trait Shen Wuqiu didn’t actually mind.
After washing the wok, Shen Wujun lazily drifted over to the doorway and awkwardly asked, “Need me to help?”
Shen Wuqiu skillfully added oil and fried an egg, casually replying, “Help make a mess?”
“You bite the hand that feeds you.”
Shen Wuqiu suddenly felt a bit amused, turning back to look at him. “Do you want to eat?”
“If you feel like eating alone is too lonely, I might consider it.”
“Then go grab two more eggs from the fridge.”
Shen Wujun was quite obedient this time. After bringing the eggs over, he started making small talk. “How long are you staying at home this time?”
“I have no plans to go back out for now.”
“Then your job?”
“Resigned.”
“Why?”
“I specifically came back to fight you for the family property.”
This response was completely unexpected. Caught off guard by the jab, Shen Wujun stared blankly at her.
The fried egg was done. Shen Wuqiu scooped it out and poured boiling water from the kettle into the wok. While waiting for the water to boil a second time, she looked at Shen Wujun again. “What, afraid you won’t win against me?”
“Tch!” Shen Wujun let out a disdainful scoff. “I don’t believe it.”
Shen Wuqiu smiled noncommittally. Remembering something, she asked him, “By the way, did you hear a cat yowling last night?”
“What cat yowling?”
“I mean, that kind of heat-induced yowling from a cat, around midnight.”
“Didn’t hear it.”
Shen Wuqiu frowned. “Maybe you were asleep, so it is normal that you didn’t hear it.”
“How is that possible? I was playing video games until one in the morning last night.”
“Then you must have been too focused on your game and missed it.”
“Rubbish. I didn’t even dare turn on the sound because I was afraid my mom would scold me. My teammates were as useless as dogs; if it weren’t for carrying a buddy’s girl, I would have gone AFK long ago.”
Shen Wuqiu still figured Shen Wujun had been too engrossed in his game. She refused to believe that she was the only one who had heard those annoying cries last night.