Jiang Xiaosi didn’t attend classes for three days, obediently staying at home, minding the store, or taking Little Ghost to Baile Street to play. She was never someone who would die for love. Over the past thousand years, although her mind and body had developed slowly, she had seen enough matters of the heart to know that forcing things never worked. Shen Mo gave her hope, so she worked hard to catch up to him. Shen Mo rejected her, so she withdrew.
He had made it very clear—he didn’t like her. Everything was just a misunderstanding or her own wishful thinking. If she continued to cling to him, stubbornly holding onto resentment, what would be the point? Forcing someone to love you, even if successful in the end, would have no meaning.
Although she hadn’t fully matured, she wasn’t foolish. In this world, no one is indispensable. She wouldn’t hang herself on one tree; even zombies have their pride. They say that everyone’s first love is bitter, right? She felt that she had matured a lot. Her university life had ended, and Shen Mo had taught her many things and left her with many happy memories. She didn’t blame him at all.
A week later, Hu Hui called her, asking if she was sick since she hadn’t shown up for classes in so long. Jiang Xiaosi’s classes were always self-selected, so graduating didn’t mean her schedule had lightened up. Plus, she had chosen all of Shen Mo’s classes that she hadn’t repeated yet, and now, she was skipping all of them.
But she had already received her diploma and wasn’t afraid of failing. Although she could look at Shen Mo’s rejection logically, it didn’t mean she had the courage to face him in class. However, she couldn’t keep avoiding him forever. She had a lot of books that needed to be returned to him and the school library. Besides, they didn’t have a major falling out; it wasn’t like they could just avoid each other forever. She still needed to thank him for everything, and she had to pick up her graduation certificate.
So, on Monday, Jiang Xiaosi packed up the books and headed to school. Jiang Liu had made her breakfast, impressed by her surprisingly calm response to this heartbreak. He couldn’t help but sigh—Xiaosi had truly grown up.
Riding her electric scooter, Jiang Xiaosi went to the school, first returning the books to the library. Then, she headed to Shen Mo’s house. When the door opened, it was Yu Shuixin who greeted her.
“Hello, Shuixin-jie. I’m here to see the professor.”
Yu Shuixin covered her mouth with a yawn and invited her inside. Jiang Xiaosi looked at her long, slender, white fingers, with bright red nail polish, and couldn’t help but sigh. She remembered how Shen Mo used to hold her small hand, and she imagined how different it must feel to hold such beautiful, delicate hands. Honestly, if she were Shen Mo, she wouldn’t choose herself over Yu Shuixin either.
“Shen Mo is teaching a class this morning. He’s not home right now. Would you like to wait for him? How about something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m just here to return the books I borrowed and the house key.” Of course, she had known he would be teaching; that was why she came at this time. In the end, she didn’t have the courage to see him. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to let go.
Yu Shuixin raised her eyebrows when she saw the large bags Jiang Xiaosi had brought. It’s not just books, right? Carving tools, brushes, pajamas—even a potted plant? She’s even returning the key. Looks like this girl has given up.
“You forgot to take your graduation certificate last time.” Yu Shuixin went to the study and retrieved the certificate, handing it to her.
But just as Jiang Xiaosi reached out to take it, Yu Shuixin suddenly grabbed her wrist, holding it tightly.
“Shuixin-jie?” Jiang Xiaosi was startled and instinctively tried to pull away, but she couldn’t break free.
“Who exactly are you?” Yu Shuixin’s smile remained, but her eyes narrowed dangerously.
Jiang Xiaosi’s heart tightened, and she looked back at her with a puzzled expression.
Yu Shuixin could feel the warmth of Jiang Xiaosi’s body—nothing unusual—but something still felt off. And the fact that her shadow demon had been unable to uncover her background only made her more suspicious. What kind of person required such careful concealment?
“I don’t care who you are, just stay away from Shen Mo. We’re about to get married.”
Jiang Xiaosi’s body visibly trembled at those words, and Yu Shuixin’s smile turned cold.
“I understand.” Jiang Xiaosi lowered her head. “Please thank the professor for me.”
Yu Shuixin let go of her wrist and watched silently as Jiang Xiaosi walked away, her figure fading into the distance. For a moment, Yu Shuixin felt like she was a witch in a fairy tale, bullying the princess. But this princess was anything but simple. Even using magic to probe her body revealed nothing.
When Shen Mo returned that evening, his mood was as foul as it had been for the past few days—cold and filled with bitterness. But when he saw the stack of books and keys on the table, his fists clenched involuntarily.
That Jiang Xiaosi—skipping an entire week of classes was bad enough, but now she had the nerve to come to his house to return the key! Did she really think that just because she had graduated, she was beyond his control?
Yu Shuixin watched him carefully, studying his darkening expression.
“Xiaosi came by earlier to return the key. Since it’s here, I’ll just hold onto it. It’ll be more convenient for me to come and go.” She reached for the key, but Shen Mo grabbed it first, forcing her to pull her hand back with a hint of frustration.
“Did she say anything?” he asked.
“Not much, just that I should thank you on her behalf. Oh, and since you rejected her last time, she’s probably afraid of clinging to you, right? I played the good guy this time and helped you out. I told her we were getting married.”
Shen Mo turned to glare at her in surprise. Yu Shuixin pretended not to notice, continuing with a smile. “You owe me dinner next time—Thai food, okay?”
Shen Mo didn’t reply, instead turning away and heading upstairs. He held the key tightly, feeling an emptiness inside, like something was missing. When she hadn’t shown up for class all week, he knew he had truly hurt her. And now, she had even returned the key. She had completely given up on him.
Shen Mo couldn’t understand why he felt so sad. He had told her so clearly that he didn’t like her, so why did it hurt now that she had finally given up? He thought of how she had always been around, bothering him, always in his line of sight. The idea that she wouldn’t be there anymore left him feeling lost, as if his life had suddenly turned colorless and dead. He realized that over the past few years, Jiang Xiaosi had become his sun, warming the darkness and loneliness that had engulfed him since the tragedy. He had indeed rejected her, but he wasn’t ready to lose that warmth again. When had she become so important to him?
Jiang Xiaosi had finished her university studies and couldn’t very well go back and repeat high school with Li Yueyi. She had lost interest in gaming and couldn’t sit still in the shop, so she started thinking about finding something to do. After all, she had a degree now. However, working at the museum was out of the question—she didn’t want to run into Shen Mo all the time. Applying for jobs and saying she was over eighteen wouldn’t be believable either.
Why not open a shop of her own? Something ordinary, of course. Let her dad handle the arrangements, and she would just take care of the day-to-day running. If she kept herself busy, she could forget everything. Yes, that was a good idea. But what kind of shop should she open? A boutique? A toy store? A clothing store? Wait, how about a dessert shop? She could sell ice cream, coffee, milk tea, and simple snacks. Friends could come over to hang out, and she could invite Kou Dan-jie and Xiao Tang to play games in the evenings.
Excited by her idea, Jiang Xiaosi immediately rushed off to discuss it with Jiang Liu. Jiang Liu, of course, knew she was just trying to distract herself.
“There’s no need to go through all that trouble. I have a friend who’s been talking about traveling the world but can’t because he opened a shop. I can tell him we’ll look after it for a while. If you really like it, we can take it over later. How does that sound?”
Jiang Xiaosi was overjoyed and hugged Jiang Liu tightly, kissing him on the cheek.
Three days later, Jiang Liu took Jiang Xiaosi to see the small shop. It was located near a teachers’ college in Taoyuan City, not too far from the city center. The shop wasn’t big, but business was good. It was decorated in a cozy, unique style, with white and light green as the main colors. The owner, naturally, wasn’t human either. When he heard Jiang Liu was offering to take care of the shop, he immediately booked a plane ticket for the next day, ready to travel. The shop originally had four employees, mostly working students from the teachers’ college. When they heard the boss was leaving indefinitely and a young girl was taking over, three of them quit, leaving only one.
Jiang Xiaosi didn’t mind—she could always hire more people later. She wasn’t in it for the money, just for fun. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the one who stayed was not only a graduate student but also a handsome guy, and to top it off, he had RH blood. She promptly doubled his salary.
Jiang Liu watched Jiang Xiaosi excitedly busy herself around the shop, casting a discreet glance at the man named Mo Yang. Although he had been working at the shop on and off for years and seemed perfectly normal, Jiang Liu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Especially with his blood type—was it just a coincidence, or were there too many of those lately?
Rubbing his temples, Jiang Liu blamed himself for overthinking again. He had once feared that Shen Mo would hurt Jiang Xiaosi, but the truth was, she wasn’t as fragile as he had imagined. In fact, this relationship had pushed her to mature faster. Thank goodness. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have any more entanglements with Shen Mo in the future.
The shop’s name was “A House”—an odd name, chosen by the previous owner. Because of some business handover matters, the shop was closed for two days. When they reopened, Jiang Xiaosi invited Li Yueyi, Xiao Tang, Di Fan, Yu Chen, and a bunch of other friends—both human and non-human—to celebrate.
Mo Yang was very capable, handling the work of several people at once. Jiang Xiaosi had updated the menu, and the shop now offered a few drinks and ready-made ice cream, which was manageable without needing to hire more staff.
Jiang Xiaosi had considered the idea of falling in love again someday. Her only requirements were that the guy had to have RH blood and genuinely like her—not like Zhang Qi or Shen Mo, who had only left her heartbroken. But she hadn’t expected the opportunity to come so soon.
Mo Yang had been working part-time at the shop since his first year of university. Over the years, he had seen many of the boss’s strange friends. He had stayed on because the salary was good, and there was none of the usual pressure found in other jobs. As a graduate student nearing the end of his studies, he wasn’t in a hurry to find a new job, so he continued working there.
He was very talkative, seemingly knowledgeable about everything, and he could crack jokes that had Jiang Xiaosi laughing so hard she’d pound the table. The two of them often stayed after closing to eat ice cream and watch movies on the computer. Little Ghost, of course, wouldn’t stay quietly at Dugu Xiang and would join them. Although Mo Yang couldn’t see him, he could sense him. When Little Ghost would float a cloth or something over to him, Mo Yang would say thank you, without fear or questions.
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Xiaosi hadn’t stepped foot in T University again, nor had she seen Shen Mo. She often thought that perhaps her fate with Shen Mo had ended here. Maybe it wouldn’t be long before Kou Dan or Hu Hui would call her and say Shen Mo was getting married, asking if she wanted to attend the wedding.
Mo Yang sat down beside her, juggling two apples in his hands, asking her what she was thinking. She could only respond with a bitter smile. She had thought that time would help her forget Shen Mo, but she had never experienced the burning nature of longing. His shadow always seemed to linger in front of her. What she didn’t know was that Shen Mo was actually standing across the street, watching her through the glass wall.
Over the past month, he had “accidentally” passed by the shop once a week on average. He didn’t know why, and he couldn’t be sure if he had truly fallen for Jiang Xiaosi. Perhaps he just needed sunlight in his life. Whenever he saw her smiling face, it was as if he came back to life.
Another reason was Mo Yang. Something about him didn’t seem right, but no matter how much he or Xiao Tang investigated, nothing suspicious came up. He wondered if he was just imagining a rival where there was none.
A cold smirk appeared on his face. He had been tempted more than once to barge in and lecture Jiang Xiaosi, ordering her to return to class. But he knew he couldn’t keep doing this. As Jiang Xiaosi had once asked him, why keep things ambiguous? Why give her hope? Even though he longed to see her and couldn’t bear to let her go, it was probably just psychological conditioning. In the end, he couldn’t let go of his past and embrace a future with her.
As he watched Mo Yang peel an apple for Jiang Xiaosi, the two laughing and chatting, something triggered in him. When Jiang Xiaosi playfully smacked Mo Yang’s shoulder, causing him to cut his finger, she stared for a moment. Then, to Shen Mo’s shock, she gently took Mo Yang’s hand and placed his finger in her mouth, softly sucking on it.
The sun shone brightly, but Shen Mo suddenly felt as if he were standing in the rain. His fists clenched tightly as he fought the urge to cross the street and storm into the shop. He couldn’t stop himself, though, from pulling out his phone and dialing Jiang Xiaosi’s number for the first time.
Jiang Xiaosi pulled out her phone from her pocket, and even from across the street, Shen Mo could see her furrowed brows. To his surprise, she immediately hung up the call without any hesitation.
What? Shen Mo’s long-suppressed anger erupted in an instant. He called again, but Jiang Xiaosi turned off her phone.
Unbelievable! Shen Mo seethed with rage. She dared to ignore his calls? Furious, he was about to cross the street when he saw Mo Yang look up and give him a slight smile—a smile full of mockery and provocation, making Shen Mo feel an icy chill from head to toe. He knew that smile all too well.
A truck passed by, blocking his view. When it moved on, Mo Yang was simply looking at Jiang Xiaosi, who was focused on putting a bandage on his finger. His smile was now soft and gentle, filled with affection. That previous smile… perhaps it had just been a figment of Shen Mo’s imagination.
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