Chapter 45: Photo Albums Should Be Sealed Away

Lin Yi felt like she had eaten too much, and even her lower abdomen was throbbing with dull pain.

But this wasn’t the dormitory.

If she had overeaten at the cafeteria at noon or in the evening, at least she could secretly burp or walk it off in the dorm.

Now, at Su Kui’s house, she had to maintain her composure, sitting on the sofa in silence.

Su Kui noticed Lin Yi’s discomfort and took some digestive tablets from the medicine cabinet above the fridge.

“Thanks… how did you know my stomach wasn’t feeling well?”

“You’re just like Xiao Ji—I could tell at a glance.”

Su Kui brought a glass of water.

“Eat until you’re eighty percent full, that’s better for your health.”

“Wuwu, I’m so touched.”

Su Ji held up the game controller.

“Knight Sister, let’s keep playing games!”

“No, you’ve already played for hours this morning.”

Su Xun walked over and took Su Ji’s hand.

“Come on, back to your room to do homework.”

“I want to play with Knight Sister.”

Su Ji’s face twisted with dismay.

“A hero can’t run away from battle!”

Lin Yi cheered him on.

“Don’t fear difficulties, face them bravely!”

Lin Yi watched as Su Xun dragged Su Ji into the room and closed the door.

Only Lin Yi and Su Kui remained in the living room.

The afternoon was quiet; the bustling people must have had the habit of taking a nap, with only the occasional car horn sounding.

Lin Yi and Su Kui sat on the sofa without speaking, simply enjoying each other’s company.

Then Su Kui glanced at the clock on the wall, opened the fridge, and took out the watermelon she had cut and put in that morning.

“I picked it out a few days ago. Try it and see how it tastes.”

“Oh, it’s watermelon!”

Lin Yi picked up a toothpick and speared a piece.

“Mm, it’s very sweet. Do you have any tricks for picking watermelons? I always end up with bad ones.”

Su Kui covered her mouth and laughed.

“It’s simple. Just look at the stem. If it’s withered and curled, that’s a good one. It’s even better if the rind doesn’t have big white patches.”

“I’ll try that next time.”

Su Kui also brought a plate of watermelon into the room and reminded the two to do their homework.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi looked around at the handicrafts in the living room.

“Did you make all these yourself?”

Su Kui nodded.

“When I was in middle school, I joined the Handicraft Club.”

“Huh? You had clubs back in middle school?”

“We did, but very few. And there wasn’t much activity time—the teachers were strict.”

“Regular middle school?”

“Maybe slightly higher-end.”

As if she knew what Lin Yi was about to ask, Su Kui quickly added,

“If you rank in the top ten on the entrance exam, tuition and fees are waived, just like at Zhuming Girls’ High School.”

That was probably how Su Xun got into Zhuming High School’s middle school department.

Lin Yi had also benefited from Zhuming High School’s preferential policies, even though the school had largely granted them based on her being adopted.

But she knew what emotions were wrapped up in that—frustration, resentment, ambition, and that indispensable, unyielding heart.

“Middle school…”

Lin Yi leaned back on the sofa.

“It’s only been a year, but now it sounds like such a distant word.”

Su Kui put down the toothpick.

“They say the reason elementary and middle school feel so far away is that time moves slower for us.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because we’re still young. We’ve only been in this world for sixteen years, and only about ten years with clear memories.”

Su Kui looked at the family photo on the wall and smiled.

“When you’ve only lived for a little over a decade, each year feels so long. Maybe when we’re in our thirties or forties, every year will feel like it passes in a flash.”

Lin Yi didn’t answer.

She thought of her past life—the time she wasted at home.

It had indeed flown by.

Back then, had she ever thought about this?

Had she ever realized that her life was already almost half over, yet her depth of thinking was even less than this beautiful high school freshman sitting in front of her?

“What kind of person do you want to become in the future?”

Lin Yi turned her head.

“I think you’d be a good teacher or a doctor.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

Su Kui brought her legs together and hugged her knees.

“Me… I’ve never really thought about something that far off.”

“What about college?”

“Don’t laugh at me, but I don’t even have a concept of college.”

Su Kui smiled.

“I think…”

“What are you two chatting about?”

Su Kui was interrupted before she could finish, as Su Xun poked her head out.

Lin Yi turned around.

“Talking with your sister Kui about life.”

“Pfft, how boring.”

Su Xun produced a thick photo album from behind her back.

“Ta-da! When a friend comes over, this is what they should look at!”

Su Kui’s face instantly reddened as she stood up and tried to close the door.

“Go~do~homework~”

“No~way~”

Su Xun and Su Kui started a tug-of-war with the door, the two sisters flushed red as they fought over its use.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi quietly slipped over to their side, reached out, and snatched the photo album from Su Xun’s raised hand.

“Treasure, Get!”

“Ah! Sister Lin, I’m entrusting you with the most important thing in the world. You must keep…”

Bang.

The door was ruthlessly shut, leaving only Su Kui’s pretty face.

“Are you really going to open it?”

“Huh? Are there photos I shouldn’t see?”

Lin Yi quickly placed the album on the coffee table.

“If you say no, I absolutely won’t open it.”

“Well, it’s not that forbidden.”

The girl tidied her hair and collar, then picked up the album and secretly glanced at it a couple of times.

Lin Yi watched as she seemed to pull out a few photos, lock them in a drawer under the coffee table, and only then handed the album to Lin Yi.

“Here, look.”

“As you command!”

Lin Yi opened the album, and the first thing she saw was a photo of Su Ji when he was little.

What was there to see in a first-grader?

She quickly skipped it.

Next was a photo of Su Xun.

Wow.

It seemed that little sister Xun had staked even her childhood photos to win her over.

Sister Xun, I will never forget your kindness.

“So cute.”

“That’s how Xiao Xun was. When I took her out as a child… ah, this photo.”

Lin Yi saw a picture of the two of them in front of the zoo.

Su Xun was probably in kindergarten’s youngest class back then, while Su Kui, who had moved up to the middle class, was expressionlessly holding her sister’s hand.

Only Su Xun was holding a balloon and cotton candy.

Su Kui’s hand was just holding her sister’s—nothing else.

There were also family trips to the museum, the amusement park, and the circus.

And one from last year, with a photo taken in front of Disney.

Why were they all in front of the entrance?

Were there no photos of them going inside?

But Lin Yi’s attention was clearly on the cute girls.

“Both sisters are adorable.”

“Not at all…”

As she flipped to the back of the album, photos of Su Kui gradually increased.

Then came the graduation photo of the entire middle school department.

Lin Yi scanned the faces one by one before stopping in front of a girl.

It had only been a year, so her features shouldn’t have changed much.

Lin Yi shouldn’t have mistaken her.

“Feng Chuyue?”

“Yeah.”

Su Kui nodded and leaned closer to Lin Yi.

“Chuyue and I were classmates for all three years of middle school.”

No wonder Su Kui had called her “Chuyue” back then and said she wasn’t originally such an extreme personality.

Lin Yi wouldn’t pry.

She just closed the album.

Generally speaking, if a girl wanted to say something, she would say it on her own.

If she didn’t, it was rude to keep asking.

The same went for Feng Chuyue.

Lin Yi only chatted with her lightly.

Digging deeper would only make the socially anxious girl retreat further into her shell.

After finishing the album, the two of them also finished off the large plate of watermelon.

“Ah, I feel so happy!”

Lin Yi spread her arms.

“I’ll probably never forget today.”

“What nonsense are you saying?”

Su Kui put the album away.

Lin Yi took off her coat.

“Don’t you think the same, Su Kui?”

“Of course I do.”

“Hehe, let’s just say today is…”

“Wait, Lin Yi.”

Su Kui looked at Lin Yi’s white shirt, then down at her lower abdomen.

“Why is there a big red patch?”

Lin Yi looked down.

A small part of the white shirt was stained red.

“I don’t know. Did watermelon juice drip on it?”

“It doesn’t seem like it. The color is a bit dark.”

Su Kui grabbed a tissue and helped wipe it.

“Lin Yi… does your stomach still hurt?”

“It hurts, but I can stand it.”

“This is a bit rude to ask, but just to be safe, let me confirm.”

Su Kui looked Lin Yi straight in the eye.

“Have you tracked your menstrual period?”

Huh?

Lin Yi froze.

She had been in this world for less than a month and definitely hadn’t kept track of that kind of thing.

Could it be?!