“Xiao Shen, Xiao Xu, you went out?”
When Shen Zhiyi and Pei Xu returned, Aunt Jiang was basking in the sun with her husband at the entrance of their building.
Aunt Jiang’s husband sat in a wheelchair, staring blankly ahead, showing no reaction to their conversation.
“We went shopping at the mall. Are you enjoying the sun?”
“It’s good for young people to go out more. I saw the weather was nice today, so I pushed him out to get some fresh air.”
Aunt Jiang casually gestured toward the person in the wheelchair without even glancing his way.
“Aunt Jiang.”
Pei Xu also greeted Aunt Jiang.
“Ah! You’ve grown taller, handsomer, and stronger than before.”
“What happened to Uncle Liu?”
“Him? It’s from drinking. Now he’s paralyzed, and I have to take care of him. But with him like this, I probably won’t have to take care of him for many more years. My life is getting more hopeful by the day.”
Shen Zhiyi wasn’t very familiar with the situation between Aunt Jiang and her husband, so she naturally didn’t chime in, afraid of saying the wrong thing.
“Look at me, once I start talking, I can’t stop. You’re carrying so many things, hurry home. We’ll chat another day.”
“Alright, Aunt Jiang, we’ll head home now.”
Seeing that Pei Xu’s hands were already turning pale from the tight grip on the shopping bags, Shen Zhiyi reached over and took one from him.
“Go on back. Make sure to take Xiao Xu downstairs for a walk when you have time.”
“Got it, Aunt Jiang.”
Only after Shen Zhiyi closed the door to their apartment did Pei Xu speak up.
“Uncle Liu loved drinking when he was younger. After drinking, he would hit Aunt Jiang. Maybe this is his retribution.”
“A man who hits a woman is truly despicable.”
No wonder Aunt Jiang had said what she did earlier.
After hearing Pei Xu’s explanation, Shen Zhiyi thought Aunt Jiang was quite kind-hearted. It was already admirable that she was still taking care of her husband.
Shen Zhiyi went to the kitchen to wash her hands, then took a glass pitcher from the fridge and poured two glasses of mint lemon water.
In this kind of heat, staying outside too long could easily leave you feeling roasted.
“Have some water. I’ll go organize the things we bought.”
Pei Xu and Shen Zhiyi had a clear division of labor at home.
Cooking was Shen Zhiyi’s responsibility, so washing and preparing vegetables fell to Pei Xu.
Shen Zhiyi was in charge of doing the laundry, while Pei Xu handled hanging and folding the clothes.
“Could you put the water on the coffee table for me? I’ll go wash my hands too.”
Shen Zhiyi agreed and opened a short video app to glance at it casually.
When she saw the notifications marked “99+,” she was a bit puzzled.
She hadn’t logged in for a few days—who had sent her so many messages?
Seeing that her followers, likes, and favorites were all marked “99+,” Shen Zhiyi clicked on her own content to check the stats.
150,000 likes, 30,000 favorites, and millions of views.
And the numbers were still climbing steadily.
If the data continued to perform well, Shen Zhiyi estimated the video could reach a million likes.
When she was a food blogger before, she’d had videos with similar stats.
But she’d never felt this excited or thrilled back then.
“Pei Xu! I posted a video a few days ago.”
Shen Zhiyi suddenly called his name and ran toward him, startling him. He thought something had happened.
“Hmm, what’s wrong? Take your time and tell me.”
Pei Xu turned off the faucet, even though there was still soap on his hands.
“A few days ago, I posted a food video, and it went viral! It got millions of views and over a hundred thousand likes!”
“That’s amazing.”
Pei Xu seemed to be infected by Shen Zhiyi’s excitement.
He also knew that being a content creator wasn’t easy.
Shen Zhiyi’s video performing so well had a lot to do with her content and editing skills.
“I’m so good at cooking, and even my side hustle took off just like that. I’m practically falling for myself.”
“Yeah, you excel at whatever you do.”
“I think someone’s knocking. Let me check.”
Shen Zhiyi wasn’t sure at first, but after muting the video, the knocking at the door persisted, so she went to answer it.
“Hello, who are you looking for?”
Shen Zhiyi looked at the person standing at the door, certain she didn’t know her.
“Where’s Pei Xu? Did you kick him out?”
Zhou Sisi scanned the living room, noticing how clean everything was. Even the old coffee table and TV had been replaced with new ones.
Instinctively, she assumed Pei Xu had been driven out by Shen Zhiyi.
“He’s blind now, and you’ve taken over his only home. Are you trying to push him to his death?”
Shen Zhiyi found her voice familiar. On the day she transmigrated into this book, she had received a phone call—it seemed like it was from her.
“No, miss…”
“You’ve misunderstood. She didn’t kick me out. She’s been staying here with me this whole time.”
Hearing the commotion, Pei Xu made his way toward the door.
“You two… have been living together this whole time?”
Zhou Sisi looked at their shoulders pressed close together, her tone filled with confusion and disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Shen Zhiyi must have some ulterior motive. Pei Xu, how can you still trust her? She’s already hurt you so badly. Are you forgetting how she treated you before just because she’s stayed with you for a few days?”
“This is between her and me. Even if she has an ulterior motive, I don’t regret it. Whatever she wants, I’ll give it to her.”
“If Shen Zhiyi doesn’t have any hidden intentions, I, Zhou Sisi, will bow and apologize to her!”
Zhou Sisi…
Shen Zhiyi repeated the name over and over in her mind.
Zhou Sisi!
She was the one who had stayed by Pei Xu’s side during the time he was blind.
But she didn’t seem to be the female lead in the book. Shen Zhiyi didn’t know much about the specific plot.
Because she was more concerned about the villainess who shared her name and appearance, she had only focused on the parts of the story related to herself.
But that also meant she had missed large chunks of the actual plot…
Shen Zhiyi pinched the bridge of her nose.
What should she do now?
“Why don’t you move in too, and the three of us can live together?”
Before Zhou Sisi could respond, Pei Xu reached out and closed the door.
“What did you mean by what you just said?”
“Wh-what did I say?”
Shen Zhiyi tried to play dumb, but Pei Xu didn’t give her the chance.
“About Zhou Sisi moving in with us.”
“I just… I just saw how emotional she was and thought I should try to calm her down first.”
Pei Xu removed his hand from Shen Zhiyi’s shoulder.
Just as she thought he was going to let it go, he suddenly turned around.
They stood face to face, and the atmosphere grew awkward for a moment…
“I’m pretty emotional right now too, Shen Zhiyi. How are you going to comfort me?”
How to comfort him…
Shen Zhiyi was so nervous that her palms began to sweat.
“Have you thought of something, Shen Zhiyi?”
“I have.”
She closed her eyes, stood on her tiptoes, and quickly kissed Pei Xu on the lips.
“Is this okay? Are you feeling a little less agitated now?”
He had originally wanted to say that Shen Zhiyi’s cold noodles were quite tasty, and she could make them again tomorrow.
But this kind of compensation… seemed acceptable too.