CH 53

Shen Tiantian didn’t need to think to know that Shan Yi would come. When entering the dormitory, she casually locked the door behind her.

The Hongle Orphanage was never large, and the dormitory building hadn’t been renovated. The dorm rooms were still the same as before – each a 20-square-meter space with six metal-frame beds. There was a table in the middle of the room that resembled a dining table, surrounded by a few stools. It didn’t look too crowded.

On both sides of the door were two windows, the old-fashioned kind with a faint blue transparency where you could see both inside and outside.

Sitting on the bed she had slept on, Shen Tiantian looked at the slightly faded light blue blanket, which revealed a bit of history. She reached out and touched the blanket, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable.

A sound came from outside the door, turning into knocking when it couldn’t be opened. This snapped her back to the present. Without needing to think, she knew it was Shan Yi. Shen Tiantian remained still, showing no intention of opening the door.

“Tiantian, wifey~” Shan Yi’s voice sounded somewhat humble, “I was wrong. You can punish me however you want, just don’t ignore me.”

“Darling~”

“Baby’s mom, can you please open the door? Let me explain slowly to you~”

Her words were met with silence.

No matter what Shan Yi said, Shen Tiantian remained silent.   

Shan Yi grew a bit anxious, leaning against the window and using her hands to block the light from both sides. She looked at the hidden figure on the bed.

She continued: “Tiantian, can you please give me some response?”

Shen Tiantian was naturally a soft-hearted person, and Shan Yi was someone she liked. Hearing her calling out persistently, she couldn’t help but look outside and saw her leaning against the window in a somewhat ridiculous manner, which made her burst into laughter.

But soon, she forcefully suppressed her laughter and averted her gaze from her.

“Wifey, can you please open the door first? I was wrong…”

Shan Yi had been speaking in a gentle tone all along. Shen Tiantian was afraid that if she opened the door, she wouldn’t be able to withstand her tactics. Shen Tiantian bit her lower lip, glanced at her, and said: “Just say it from out there.”

“Sure, but after you listen, you have to open the door for me.” Shan Yi maintained her original posture, and after Shen Tiantian’s response, she paid no attention to her and slowly leaned against the wall, squatting down before beginning to speak.

“That year I was in my sophomore year, the holidays in foreign countries are different compared to those in China. When I returned, China was in the midst of the intense period of the college entrance exams. Father said he wanted to take me and Shan Xu out to experience life. We made donations to three orphanages in a row, and Hongle was one of them. It was only at the door just now that I remembered I met you here.”

Shan Yi paused, holding her breath to listen to any movement from inside, then continued: “Back then, I was studying under the mango tree downstairs of the dormitory building and you didn’t notice me. I recognized you at Liu Wanjun’s wedding, but I knew you didn’t recognize me, so I didn’t think it was necessary to say…”

“There’s no need to say when it’s not necessary, and there’s no need to say when it’s necessary. What exactly do you take me for?!” Shen Tiantian became angrier as she listened. Especially when she heard Shan Yi say that she didn’t recognize her so there was no need to explain, she was reminded of the incident from that night, and she couldn’t help but shout, “Alright, I’ve finished listening to your explanation. If you think it’s unnecessary, the CEO can go back.”

Shan Yi wanted to give herself a hard slap in the face. She felt like her brain might have short-circuited. How could she have said something so juvenile?! Her original intention was to calm the person down, but how did it end up making them even angrier?

She let out a heavy sigh, not knowing how to handle the situation from inside. She spoke through the one-centimeter gap of the door: “Don’t get agitated. I won’t argue with you anymore. If you want to stay inside, I’ll wait for you here.”

Shen Tiantian didn’t respond. She huddled on the neatly made bed, feeling a surge of unfairness and a slight urge to cry.

She lied to her, lied to her, and lied to her again!!! 

She was angry at Shan Yi for hiding things from her, and she was angry at herself for getting upset over these trivial matters.

As she pondered, she actually started crying. She wiped away her tears somewhat rudely, took a deep breath, and felt like she had become quite strange. She didn’t know when this had started.

Shan Yi had no idea that Shen Tiantian was crying. They both remained silent, one outside and one inside, in a standoff.

Seconds turned into minutes, and perhaps because the old dean realized they hadn’t returned for a while, they came looking for them, accompanied by a few children.

“Dean.” Shan Yi quickly stood up. Perhaps her movement was too sudden, as her vision darkened for a moment, and she steadied herself against the wall.

Seeing Shan Yi sitting outside, the old dean shook their head, knowing that Shen Tiantian was being stubborn again. They raised their hand and knocked on the door. “Tiantian, what are you doing inside? Open the door.”

Shen Tiantian didn’t hear it; she had fallen asleep with her arms crossed.

“Tiantian?” The knocking grew louder, and the creaky old dormitory door groaned.

Shan Yi smiled helplessly, stopping the dean’s actions. “Forget it, she’ll come out when she’s calmed down.”

The old dean remarked: “This time coming back, this child’s temper seems to have grown. Have you been spoiling her too much?”

He remembered that among Shen Tiantian, Liu Wanjun, and Kang Jiaya, Shen Tiantian had the best temper. Not seeing her for two months, it seemed like something had changed about her.

She had gained some weight, her temper had grown a bit, and her patience had decreased.

The old dean knocked on the door again, their aged voice sounding once more, “Tiantian, what are you doing inside?”

Perhaps due to the cold or maybe in response to the old dean’s call, Shen Tiantian suddenly woke up. She sat up abruptly, but before she could respond to the old person’s words, a wave of nausea surged in her stomach. She quickly covered her mouth and rushed into the nearby bathroom, vomiting with a loud retching sound.

Shan Yi heard the commotion from outside and looked in through the window. She couldn’t see Shen Tiantian in her previous position.

“Does the dean have a way to open the door to this dormitory?!” Shan Yi asked.

“Tiantian locked it from the inside; the key won’t work,” the dean explained helplessly, their brows furrowing slightly. “Did you hear anything?”

Shan Yi made a heavy sound of acknowledgment. She knew Shen Tiantian had vomited again.

The old dean was still unaware of Shen Tiantian’s pregnancy. Hearing the unusual sound of retching, they assumed she was feeling unwell, and their knocking grew more forceful.

Shen Tiantian vomited all of her breakfast in the morning. When she straightened up, her vision briefly went black. She steadied herself against the wall before taking water to flush the mess on the floor into the toilet.

She washed her face with cold water, causing her body to shiver from the cold. After a shiver, she rubbed her arms and went outside.

Just now, she had been focused on vomiting, so she couldn’t hear the sounds from outside. Now that she was out, she heard the old dean calling her name with a slightly urgent tone.

The dean seemed to have a favorable impression of Shan Yi. Shen Tiantian didn’t want to create an ugly scene in front of the dean, so after hesitating for a moment, she opened the door.

The hand that was about to knock on the door remained suspended in the air. The dean slowly withdrew their hand and turned to Shan Yi, saying, “You young people should discuss things openly. It’s better that way.”

Then, they turned to Shen Tiantian and continued, “Tiantian, you too. You’ve been in society for a few years now. Why is your temper becoming harder to control? You’re setting yourself up for losses.”

Shen Tiantian lowered her head and remained silent.

Shan Yi held her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, and explained to the dean: “Her situation is a bit special lately.”

“What kind of situation?” the old dean asked in response.

Shan Yi looked at her, waiting for her to decide whether to reveal the truth.

Shen Tiantian pursed her lips and whispered: “Dean, I’m pregnant.”

“What’s going on?!” The old dean’s eyes widened.

In his mind, he wondered if she had encountered an irresponsible man, became pregnant, and was reluctantly with Shan Yi. Such a situation wouldn’t be fair to her.

Shen Tiantian was worried that the dean might assume too much, so she clarified, “It’s Shan Yi’s child… We had a procedure done, it’s been almost two months.”

She had considered mentioning Shan Yi’s involvement, but with the children around and her own reservations about the matter, she believed it was better to keep the details limited.

“What kind of procedure?!” 

The old dean had dedicated his entire life to the orphanage, and while he was aware of the legalization of same-sex marriage after attending Liu Wanjun’s wedding, he had no idea about a procedure that could enable two women to become pregnant.

Shen Tiantian held the old dean’s hand affectionately and coquettishly said in a soft voice: “Explaining all these details will take a while. Can I tell you another day?”

The old dean huffed, “You better make it clear. Don’t make Shan Yi, a good girl, feel wronged.”

A good girl?!

Shen Tiantian felt like her lips were about to twitch. Meanwhile, Shan Yi chuckled behind her and received a glare from Shen Tiantian.

“Oh, by the way, Wanjun is pregnant too, she’s almost three months along…” Shen Tiantian’s voice became fainter and fainter. Shan Yi prepared to catch up, but her skirt was tugged from behind. She lowered her head and saw the same girl from earlier.

The girl timidly said to her, “I’ve shared the gifts properly.”

Shan Yi paused for a moment, then crouched down slowly, gently patting the girl’s head and softly saying: “You did great.”

Upon hearing Shan Yi’s approval, the girl beamed a big smile, her voice a bit louder than before, “There are still some gifts left.”

“It’s okay, you can distribute them again. If there are leftovers, you can keep them for yourself.”

The girl’s expression turned innocent and dreamy, “Thank you, big sister.”

Shan Yi smiled, “What’s your name?”

“Big sister, I’m called Lu Qimei.” Lu Qimei’s voice was a bit louder when she said her name, hoping the beautiful older sister in front of her would remember her name.

“Alright, Qimei, right? Go share the gifts with everyone.” Shan Yi patted her hand encouragingly.

Lu Qimei nodded vigorously and dashed downstairs with her skinny legs.

Shan Yi glanced downward and happened to see Shen Tiantian talking to a woman of similar age. The woman held a variety of dishes but that couldn’t prevent them from being affectionate with each other. Her other hand occasionally touched Shen Tiantian’s arm. From Shan Yi’s perspective, Shen Tiantian was smiling sweetly without any sign of refusal.

The smile on Shan Yi’s face was instantly replaced by jealousy. She wished she could jump from the second floor immediately, but reality didn’t permit such an action.

She lifted her skirt and hurriedly walked down, approaching them. With possessiveness in her actions, she wrapped her arm around Shen Tiantian’s waist and forced a forced smile, “Hello.”

Shen Tiantian stiffened momentarily. She wanted to brush Shan Yi’s hand away, but with friends present, she didn’t want to embarrass Shan Yi. So, she bit her lip and introduced, “Yueyue, this is my… girlfriend, Shan Yi.” After a pause, she introduced Yang Yue, “And this is Yueyue, my childhood friend.”

Shan Yi quickly assessed Yang Yue and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Yang Yue wasn’t overly surprised upon hearing Shen Tiantian’s introduction. Despite returning to the orphanage to help after graduating, she was well aware of what was happening outside.

She smiled and checked the time, “Oops, I need to cook. Are you both staying for lunch?”

Shen Tiantian chuckled: “Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve had your cooking. I’ll help.”

“Sure.”

Shan Yi was still holding Shen Tiantian’s waist, gritting her teeth and whispering: “Aren’t my dishes delicious enough?”