Green Plum, Green Plum (15)
“Do you know what a masochist is? Just like her.”
“Sis! Cheers! Cheers! No one is allowed to leave tonight until we finish drinking! Where’s Lao Shen? Lao Shen?”
Late at night, there was a clattering noise at the door. Shen Yelan got up, draped in her clothes, hearing the sound of keys falling on the floor. She opened the door and saw two figures almost pressed together in the entrance hallway.
In the dim warm light, their shadows were vague and indistinct.
It was a different kind of intimacy.
Shen Yelan squinted her eyes. The dizziness from being hungry all day, coupled with the depth of the previous dream, made her feel as though she hadn’t yet woken up. Seeing Xu Jiao’s figure, she involuntarily moved towards that direction.
The clothes she was wearing were the same ones she remembered getting cake on, which she had clearly torn apart. How could they still look so neat?
Those clothes looked best when taken off.
She moved towards them, almost mesmerized, her hand just reaching out—
“Click.”
Xu Jiao, pressed by most of Su Xi’s weight, finally found the switch for the living room light. A bright white light immediately flooded the room, revealing the appearances of the three people clearly, even casting heavy shadows on the floor.
It was as if something hidden in the darkness had retreated into the cracks and corners.
Blinded by the light, Shen Yelan instinctively turned her head and closed her eyes tightly.
At this moment, Xu Jiao’s voice sounded: “Did we wake you? Sorry, Su Xi drank too much at the party, she’s a bit rowdy.”
This cool, clear voice immediately pulled Shen Yelan out of her previous reverie. Her brain, dulled by hunger, took a moment to remember. Yes, Xu Jiao had gone out to celebrate Su Xi’s birthday.
Today was Su Xi’s birthday.
It was also her birthday.
“Where’s Sister Jiaojiao? Call her over, she didn’t drink a single cup, so disrespectful… Sis…” At this moment, Su Xi, who was leaning against Xu Jiao, started making a fuss again, waving her hands and feet like a crab, blindly trying to reach Xu Jiao.
Unprepared, Xu Jiao almost got slapped in the face by her.
Even with her good temper, Xu Jiao couldn’t handle Su Xi’s drunken behavior. With a slightly displeased expression, she said to the drunken mess:
“You should be thankful I’m not good at controlling my strength—”
“Or I’d have knocked you out already.”
Su Xi’s face was flushed, her eyes barely open. One hand rested on Xu Jiao’s shoulder, the other gripping the shoe rack as if it were Xu Jiao.
She seemed about to say something more, but strangely, under Xu Jiao’s warning tone, she slowly let go of her grip.
Even in her hazy state, she seemed to sense danger and instinctively backed down.
Mumbling something incomprehensible, her voice was too low and slurred for anyone to understand.
Shen Yelan calmed herself, seeing Xu Jiao struggling to even change her shoes because of Su Xi, she pursed her lips and offered, “I’ll… help you take her to the room.”
Xu Jiao initially didn’t want to bother her, not wanting to deepen their interaction. However, Shen Yelan had already carefully reached out to take Su Xi, making it too awkward to refuse.
In the end, Xu Jiao simply said:
“Thank you.”
Shen Yelan tightened her jaw, hearing the hidden distance in her words but showed no reaction. She only lowered her head, watched her steps, and helped Xu Jiao take Su Xi to the guest room bed before leaving sensibly.
Leaving Xu Jiao to deal with the troublesome, drunken Su Xi.
She had no desire to take care of this little drunk.
If it weren’t for Shen Yelan’s high favorability and the potential negative impact on the plot or excessive entanglement, Xu Jiao wouldn’t have faced the troublesome Su Xi alone.
She sighed, removed Su Xi’s shoes, covered her with a blanket, and stared at her makeup for a while before shaking her head and going to her room for makeup remover.
……
When Xu Jiao returned with cotton pads and makeup remover, she noticed that Shen Yelan’s room door was open, with a dim light shining from inside.
Thinking Shen Yelan had forgotten to close the door before going to bed, Xu Jiao glanced in.
What she saw was Shen Yelan sitting at a table, head down, eating a beautifully decorated one-pound cake with rose petals, only a small slice taken out, corresponding to the piece she had offered that morning.
Xu Jiao suddenly hated her excellent memory.
She knew that Shen Yelan had probably eaten the piece she had specifically saved.
And now, it seemed Shen Yelan had bought a cake for her own birthday, cutting just one piece to share with Xu Jiao—
But Xu Jiao had refused, leaving Shen Yelan alone, late at night, finishing the leftover cake.
Xu Jiao felt an inexplicable reluctance to move.
Her rational mind told her not to look further, that since she had decided to keep her distance, she shouldn’t give this person unnecessary attention, which would only bring more trouble.
……
Shen Yelan didn’t notice the extra attention from the door.
She was already dizzy from hunger. Maybe because she often missed breakfast growing up, even though she exercised regularly and was in good physical condition, a day without eating still led to symptoms of low blood sugar.
This cake, though not successfully given to the intended person, shouldn’t be wasted. So Shen Yelan decided to eat it as her midnight snack before bed.
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Maybe her stomach was too uncomfortable, burning with hunger, so Shen Yelan ate hastily—
First, she quickly used a fork to scoop up a large piece of cake with cream, then, too lazy to cut it again, she used the plastic triangular knife to scrape off a piece directly into her mouth.
In her life, Shen Yelan had never eaten sweets to the point of feeling sick.
But she couldn’t bear to waste it.
This cake carried Shen Yelan’s first birthday wish.
She desperately wanted her wish to come true.
So with each bite, she silently made a wish in her heart.
With a piece of cream-covered strawberry in her mouth, she thought: “Bless Xu Jiao to score well, get into her dream university, and have a bright future.”
The next bite was a piece of soft bread with fruit filling: “Please keep Xu Jiao healthy and safe all her life, free from illness and suffering, and always happy.”
Then she accidentally ate a piece of sour kiwi: “May her life be smooth, her desires fulfilled, her endeavors successful, and may she taste only sweetness.”
“Please bless her with financial stability all her life.”
“May she meet people who will love, care for, accompany, and appreciate her, never betraying her.”
……
The wish-maker ate the cake, awkwardly praying for the well-being of her beloved, not knowing that the person she cared for could easily win the world’s favor if she wished.
But here was Shen Yelan, seriously using her birthday wish, hoping all the good things would come to Xu Jiao.
Like a tattered believer, walking through the land of suffering, finally kneeling devoutly before a deity, praying:
May the world be bright, and bless my deity.
Unfortunately, her deity couldn’t hear her prayers.
Xu Jiao stood outside the door, watching her finish the cake, leaving only the white base and a plastic triangular knife with cream.
Though she couldn’t hear Shen Yelan’s wishes, she inexplicably sensed a subtle loneliness and sadness from Shen Yelan’s actions.
She stood for a long time.
Until Shen Yelan prepared to clean up the mess, putting the leftover sweets into a trash bag to take out, lest it attract bugs if left too long.
Before being seen, Xu Jiao slipped into her room, looking at the sleeping Su Xi, then sighing, taking makeup remover to the bedside.
The system suddenly spoke to her: “Don’t you think you’re being too much?”
Xu Jiao paused, then responded in her mind: “What?”
The system: “Today is Shen Yelan’s birthday. She bought a cake just to share with you, but you didn’t eat any and instead attended Su Xi’s birthday party—”
“Su Xi has many friends, but Shen Yelan only has you.”
“Maybe this world seems fake to you, but to everyone in it, everything that happens is real. Even if they’re just characters, your whims decide their entire lives.”
Xu Jiao, usually dismissive of such remarks, was unexpectedly touched this time, softly saying two words:
“Shut up.”
……
Shen Yelan threw the trash into the public bin outside the hallway. When she returned, she noticed the light from the room opposite was still on. Through the half-open door, she saw Xu Jiao carefully removing Su Xi’s makeup.
She glanced once, then quickly turned away, returning to her room.
Sitting gloomily on her bed for a while, Shen Yelan remembered she planned to wash up. She walked to the closet, rummaged through the items Lu Pei had thrown out from her relative’s house, then suddenly stopped and returned to the bed.
She pulled a phone from under her pillow.
It was a recent gift from a promotion at the cake shop, a phone given for topping up 100 yuan.
The plan was cheap, lasting three to four months.
The contacts list only had one entry, forced on her by the person, kept out of courtesy. She hadn’t expected to use it so soon.
Originally…
She had intended to save Xu Jiao’s contact information.
Now it seemed unlikely.
Remembering the plan didn’t include free texts, she grudgingly composed a message, combining greetings and her query into one text.
The recipient was labeled “Black Hoodie.”
The message read: “Did you arrive safely? Sorry to bother you so late, I hope I’m not disturbing your rest. I want to ask if you know how to safely and effectively knock someone out?”
After sending, Shen Yelan didn’t expect a quick reply. She took a deep breath, then resumed packing her clothes to head to the bathroom.
But before reaching the door, her phone vibrated—
Not a text, but a call.
Returning to pick up the phone, she saw it was from the person.
Dong Qing’s voice came with a playful tone: “What’s up? Who pissed you off? Are you trying to protect yourself or attack? This isn’t something I can describe easily. If you don’t have any fighting skills, I suggest you don’t try it. Too light won’t knock them out, too hard might kill them, it’s dangerous.”
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Shen Yelan responded disappointedly: “Oh.”
So that’s how it is.
She thanked her and was about to hang up when she spoke again: “How about becoming my apprentice?”
Shen Yelan, confused by the sudden offer, asked: “What?”
Dong Qing patiently repeated: “Do you want to be my apprentice? Seriously train for five years, and I think you’ll be able to use this move.”
Hearing the proposal, Shen Yelan felt tempted.
She never thought she could learn such skills… After all, in her mind, it was either the domain of bad students or privileged kids learning self-defense.
Both seemed distant from her.
Her first thought was:
No one will dare bully me anymore, right?
And…
Maybe she could protect Xu Jiao.
Imagining the fighting scene she once stumbled upon, with the beautiful girl sitting in a wooden chair folding a paper rose under the setting sun, Shen Yelan couldn’t help but think:
Such a beautiful person, with such delicate hands, should only do intricate work.
Fighting seemed like a waste.
Thoughts swirling, Shen Yelan finally answered: “But I’m still a student, and we don’t seem to be in the same place. How can I learn from you?”
Dong Qing easily replied: “That’s simple, I’ll come over to teach you whenever I can. In the meantime, you can practice the basics.”
Shen Yelan nodded, realizing she couldn’t see it, and added: “Okay, thank you.”
Dong Qing laughed: “Hey, don’t thank me yet. Remember, gain some weight.”
Shen Yelan: “?”
Dong Qing: “I heard that some extra weight makes it less painful when you get hit—anyway, if you still feel grateful after our first session, then thank me.”
“And kid, remember my name, I’m Dong Qing.”
……
Shen Yelan soon understood what Dong Qing meant.
One day after school, she was suddenly pulled into a dark alley and—
All she could think was:
What’s the difference between getting beaten by Dong Qing and getting beaten by school bullies?
Does it hurt more to be beaten by Dong Qing?
In the first fight, she was in a daze, only remembering to protect her own head. In the second round, her psychological shadows were particularly heavy, but she was forcibly educated by intense pain, learning about the vulnerable parts of the human body: which areas are too fragile to move, and which can withstand serious blows…
Shen Yelan often carried injuries.
If not for knowing she was a student, facing teachers and classmates, Dong Qing might not even spare her face.
Just as she wondered if she was taking revenge—
One day on her way to school, she was stopped by students from another school demanding protection money.
While lost in thought, their malicious intent became clear as they reached out to grab her shoulder, harshly saying: “Hey, you…”
“Ahhhhh!”
Startled by the scream, Shen Yelan realized she had instinctively twisted the person’s arm.
Unsure whether to let go or not, she found she could now fight back.
With this realization, she accepted the beatings more willingly, and her chances of fighting back increased.
……
“Alright, I’ll be right there—”
One afternoon, after another beating, Shen Yelan, her clothes dirty, returned home early to shower. The unlocked door was pushed open by Su Xi.
“Wait!” Shen Yelan barely managed to cover herself with clothes, meeting Su Xi’s eyes.
Su Xi’s smile froze, then she awkwardly stepped back: “Hey, why didn’t you lock the door?”
Though the one violated, Shen Yelan only lowered her eyes: “Forgot, sorry.”
Su Xi’s quick glance at her bruised shoulder and neck, with what looked like choke marks, revealed surprise. As she backed out, she asked:
“Hey, did someone beat you up?”
Shen Yelan covered herself more, pursing her lips: “No.”
Su Xi “oh”ed, closed the door, and turned to share the incident with Xu Jiao.
“Sister Jiaojiao, guess what I just saw?!” Su Xi, holding a fully recovered puppy, barged into Xu Jiao’s room, monopolizing her attention.
Xu Jiao, focused on her work, casually replied: “What did you see?”
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Su Xi lifted the puppy’s paw: “I saw Shen Yelan covered in bruises, definitely from a beating. Is she being bullied again?”
Xu Jiao’s pen paused, “You asked her, what did she say?”
Su Xi, puzzled: “She said no, but she looks like the silent type who wouldn’t complain even if beaten. Should we help her?”
Xu Jiao, noting the system’s silence, frowned.
It shouldn’t be a problem.
Even if it was, the protagonist should handle it, right?
Thinking for a moment, she finally replied: “If she says no, then it’s no. Don’t meddle. Finished your homework?”
Su Xi, hugging the dog, retreated: “Sister Jiaojiao is the best, bye!”
At the door, she paused, seemingly realizing something, then turned back:
“Wait! Sister Jiaojiao, do you think…”
Xu Jiao, unhurried, looked up: “Hmm?”
Su Xi licked her lips: “You know some people have twisted minds, hurting themselves for pleasure. Extreme cases find both mental and physical… You get it, right?”
Getting more excited, she continued: “Maybe she did it to herself? You know what I mean? Some say under extreme conditions, pain and pleasure can…”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She squinted, scrutinizing Su Xi: “You seem to know a lot about this.”
Su Xi, feeling a chill, quickly retreated.
Not forgetting to justify: “It’s true!”
“Do you know what a masochist? Just like her!”
