After school that day, Shu Er went home and decided to invite Shu Ya to her birthday party.
Though the luxurious yacht was still just a vague idea, Shu Er somehow believed that the male protagonist would give her an unforgettable birthday celebration. After all, ever since she entered this world, Huo Chao had fulfilled everything she wanted. Whatever she hoped he would do, he had always managed.
In short, Huo Chao was somewhat reliable.
She just wondered whether his high-profile actions this time would once again get him in trouble with his father. But that wasn’t her concern.
Shu Er knocked on the door three times, and Shu Ya came to open it.
After entering the room, Shu Er noticed a high school physics book on Shu Ya’s desk. Truly a top student—Shu Ya hadn’t even graduated junior high, yet she was already self-studying high school material.
Shu Ya was clearly a bit surprised by Shu Er’s visit.
“Second Sister.”
Shu Er smiled, “I’m having a birthday party on Friday evening. Would you like to join?”
In Shu Ya’s mind, Shu Er’s birthday party was likely just a gathering of friends at a small restaurant or a cheap KTV, where they would eat, drink, and then watch Shu Er blow out the candles and make a wish. The Shu family wasn’t particularly poor, but they weren’t wealthy either, and they had never thrown any grand birthday celebrations. Usually, their mother would cook a bowl of noodles, and they would buy a big cake for a simple, warm celebration without extravagance.
Shu Ya had never celebrated a birthday with Shu Er, so she readily agreed.
After mentioning the birthday party, Shu Er didn’t plan to leave. She wanted to gather more information from Shu Ya.
Carefully choosing her words, Shu Er asked, “Third Sister, about what you mentioned last time…”
Shu Ya’s eyes widened, and there was an unnatural glint behind her glasses.
Shu Er, being perceptive, immediately sensed Shu Ya’s discomfort. She gently patted her head and reassured her in a soft voice, “Don’t worry, we’re just chatting as sisters.”
Shu Ya nodded.
“Why did you suddenly say that to me that day?”
Shu Ya looked up at Shu Er. This was her second sister, someone with whom she should have grown up happily. But in reality, they hadn’t spent much time together.
Shu Er grew up in the countryside, while Shu Ya and their elder sister had been raised under their parents’ constant reminder: “Don’t get too close to your second sister.”
As a child, Shu Ya didn’t understand why. But over time, and after overhearing a conversation between her parents recently, she finally understood the true meaning behind those words.
But how cruel this truth must be for her second sister.
If Shu Er didn’t have such an outgoing personality, with a smile always on her face showing she could handle a lot, Shu Ya might never have blurted out that secret on the bus.
Shu Ya hesitated, unsure whether to reveal more. Shu Er wasn’t in a rush, gently comforting her, “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it.” After all, Shu Er knew she would eventually find out.
This decision was too difficult for Shu Ya, who was still in the third year of junior high.
In the end, she followed her heart.
Shu Ya gritted her teeth and revealed the conversation between her parents that she heard not long ago. “I heard them say that you’re not really their child, and they deliberately took the wrong child back then.” As for the lifelong warnings from her parents, she couldn’t bring herself to say them out loud. After she finished speaking, she looked at Shu Er with a look of trepidation.
Shu Er, though mentally prepared, had not expected to hear something so shocking.
Recalling how the female supporting character was eventually sold off to the mountains and never returned, Shu Er wondered if the heroine had done that to hide some truth.
What could that truth be? Could it be that the female supporting character and the heroine were swapped at birth?
Could it be that the female supporting character was the true daughter of the Shu family?
If that were true, then the heroine is really a green tea—manipulative and vicious to the core.
However, this was just Shu Er’s speculation for now, but she felt it was close to the truth.
Shu Er patted Shu Ya’s shoulder. “I understand. Thank you.”
Shu Ya shook her head, “No need to thank me, Second Sister.”
“Alright, keep studying hard. Let’s keep this conversation between us for now to avoid any trouble, okay?”
“Second Sister, I understand.”
After leaving Shu Ya’s room, Shu Er let out a long sigh of relief.
In the original story, this conversation had never taken place.
At this moment, the trajectory of her destiny has completely deviated.
—
The next morning, when Shu Er saw Huo Chao, she couldn’t help but feel a little angry. How could he, in the book, have fallen for that vicious woman Shu Er?
She was right to curse him in her heart for being stupid, rich, and blind.
Although the Huo Chao in the book and the one in front of her might not be the exact same person, she was still angry.
Shu Er used her index finger to poke Huo Chao’s waist forcefully and said angrily, “Brother, you must keep your eyes open when you find a girlfriend in the future. Don’t bring just any random stray at home. Do you hear me?”
Huo Chao accurately caught her delicate finger. “What are you fussing about now?”
Shu Er huffed and boldly declared, “Brother, I’m giving you two choices. Either your future girlfriend is me, or your future girlfriend must get my approval first. You’re not allowed to like girls I don’t like. Your call.”
Huo Chao was already used to Shu Er’s little temper tantrums and quirks. He also knew exactly what to say at moments like this.
The best approach was to just go along with her. Agreeing with her was always the safest bet. Otherwise, who knows what trouble she’d cause him.
This wasn’t repaying a debt of gratitude; it was more like accepting a little ancestor.
“Got it.”
Only after hearing that did Shu Er feel slightly better. Anyway, she and the female lead were natural enemies. If it turned out they were swapped at birth, then their conflict would only get bigger.
Just after Shu Er and Huo Chao left, Shu Rou came out of the neighborhood, all dolled up.
From a distance, she seemed to spot Shu Er and her bicycle boy.
The distance was too far for her to see clearly, but the boy’s back looked pretty handsome, and his biking posture seemed carefree and relaxed.
But no matter how good-looking he was, he was still just a poor kid on a bike. Shu Rou quickly dismissed the thought of him.
—
It was early September and the weather still carried some of the heat of summer.
The last class in the morning happened to be PE. Maybe it was the running that had drained her energy, but Shu Er didn’t have much of an appetite.
She accompanied Ning Meng to the cafeteria to eat first, then headed to the small store to buy herself a “Green Tongue” ice cream.
There were a variety of colorful cones with different kinds of flavors in the freezer, but Shu Er couldn’t find the “Green Tongue” she wanted to eat.
As she kept looking, she asked the shop owner, “Boss, do you have Green Tongue here?”
Without even looking up, the shopkeeper said, “No, we’ve run out. That ice cream’s been discontinued for a long time.”
Shu Er was stunned. Discontinued?
No way. How could such a delicious thing be discontinued?
“Why was it discontinued?”
Ning Meng knew the answer. She explained, “It was made with edible gelatin and food coloring, which wasn’t safe, so the government banned its sale.”
Green Tongue was all the rage when Shu Er was a child and it was extremely popular among kids. When she was young, she used to love it too.
Unfortunately, it is no longer available. Left with no other choice, Shu Er settled for a trendy double egg yolk ice cream instead.
Seeing her choice, the shop owner said, “That one’s really good too. The taste of Green Tongue wasn’t anything special, it just stood out a bit more.”
But to Shu Er, there was no other ice cream as special as Green Tongue. Though she was eating the double egg yolk ice cream, her mind was still on Green Tongue. As she walked along the cement path on campus, she ate her ice cream with one hand while typing quickly on her phone with the other.
[Xiao Er: Brother, I really want to eat Green Tongue. ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა]
Ning Meng happened to glance over and was taken aback. That ice cream has been discontinued. There’s no way the boss can make it out of thin air, right? Isn’t Shu Er just deliberately torturing the boss Huo?
[Brother: ?]
[Brother: I remember it was discontinued.]
Shu Er pouted. Just because it’s discontinued doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get.
Items may be gone, but people are resourceful.
[Xiao Er: Brother, it doesn’t matter if it’s discontinued. You can make it for me!]
She had just looked it up on Baidu. There were recipes for making Green Tongue online, and it didn’t seem too difficult. If she couldn’t figure it out from the written steps, she could always follow a video.
Of course, even if it seemed simple, it would still be very hard for someone like her, who is terrible at crafting things.
[Brother: Let’s talk about it later.]
Upon seeing his reply, Shu Er hummed but reluctantly put away her phone.
During the afternoon break, Shu Er received a small note from Jiang Xici.
On the little white paper was Jiang Xici’s handwriting.
[Do you want to eat Green Tongue?] Signed: Jiang.
She had to admit, his handwriting matched his character. Jiang Xici was as resilient as a pine tree, and his writing had a strong, powerful stroke, full of spirit.
Shu Er honestly wrote beneath it, [I want to.]
She passed the note to Ning Meng, who then passed it to Jiang Xici.
After a while, Shu Er received another reply from Jiang Xici.
[There’s a DIY ice cream shop near the vocational high school. I just watched the production process of Green Tongue. It’s not difficult. I can make it for you.]
Shu Er was stunned when she saw his reply.
Wow, her classmate Jiang was really thoughtful and considerate. Her efforts to win him over hadn’t been in vain.
After all, treating people sincerely and building trust would always lead to reciprocation.
Shu Er happily agreed.
—
After school, Shu Er told Huo Chao that he didn’t need to take her home. Then, she, Jiang Xici, and Ning Meng took the bus to the DIY ice cream shop near the vocational high school.
At this time of day, the bus was crowded, filled with the unpleasant smells of sweat, smoke, and food containers all mingling together.
Shu Er furrowed her brows. In her past life, she had always traveled by private car, and even after entering the book, Huo Chao usually picked her up and dropped her off. So this was her first time experiencing such a scene, and she wasn’t used to it at all.
Sensing her discomfort, Jiang Xici took a few steps closer to her, subtly creating a barrier between her and the other passengers.
A clean, soapy scent wafted over.
Shu Er smiled sweetly and thanked Jiang Xici.
Jiang Xici lowered his gaze slightly, his tone cool and composed, “You’re welcome.”
Curious about the shop they were headed to, Shu Er asked, “That shop is near the vocational school, a bit far from ours. How did you know about it?”
Jiang Xici calmly explained, “I worked part-time there during the summer.”
That made sense.
Jiang Xici came from a poor family, and in order to support himself and his mother, who was in a vegetative state, life wasn’t easy for him.
There wasn’t much Shu Er could do to help him at the moment. She took out the bread she had brought from her backpack, one pack for herself, one for Ning Meng, and three packs for Jiang Xici.
Shu Er wasn’t actually that hungry, but of course, she couldn’t say that out loud.
“I’m getting a bit hungry. You all should eat something too.”
“Little Ear, you’re so sweet. This bread is super delicious, but it’s a little expensive, so I usually can’t bear to buy it,” Ning Meng said, then paused as she noticed Jiang Xici holding three packs of bread. She blinked in surprise and asked stupidly, “Why does he get three?”
Shu Er confidently replied, “Boys have bigger appetites, and they don’t have to worry about gaining weight. Of course, they can eat more.”
Hearing that, Ning Meng felt it made sense and chimed in, “Little Ear is right. You should eat more.”
Jiang Xici, holding onto the bus handle with one hand and cradling the three packs of bread with his arm, was silent for a moment before softly saying, “Thank you.”
The bus was crowded and noisy, but even though Jiang Xici’s thank you was spoken quietly, it reached Shu Er’s ears clearly.
Shu Er tore open a pack of bread and, noticing that Jiang Xici might be having some difficulty, offered, “Do you need help?”
Jiang Xici lowered his eyes and declined, “No need.”
Shu Er was just asking out of politeness. After all, she wasn’t as familiar with Jiang Xici as she was with Huo Chao, so she didn’t feel as relaxed around him. Since Jiang Xici declined, she didn’t push the matter.
About twenty minutes later, they finally got off at the vocational high school stop.
The moment she stepped off the bus, Shu Er felt like the air was fresher. If they had stayed on any longer, she thought she might have gotten motion sick.
At the same time, Shu Rou had just finished school and was planning to take a taxi home with her classmates.
Right then, Shu Rou’s classmate, Xiao Fen, suddenly pointed in surprise towards Shu Er and exclaimed, “Xiao Rou, look over there!”
Shu Rou looked in the direction her classmate was pointing and saw a group of people, among whom was her own younger sister. She frowned and asked, “What about it? What are you trying to show me?”
Xiao Fen excitedly replied, “That girl! Did you see her? She is the campus goddess who has been the talk of the town recently!”
