NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14.1: Alone
The neighborhood where Shi Hai lives is just a ten-minute walk from the subway station, but this neighborhood has existed since before the subway was built.
Fourteen years have passed since Shi Hai started first grade, making it an old neighborhood.
However, because the rent in old neighborhoods is cheap and it’s not far from the university campus, it has become a popular rental location for college students.
It’s common to see couples living together here.
Shi Hai’s home is in the last entrance of the first building on the left after entering the neighborhood gate.
After reaching the entrance, Shi Hai took out his key to unlock the door, then made a gesture for Jian Sichun to go ahead.
Jian Sichun, without thinking much, stepped inside first.
Shi Hai didn’t let her in first out of gentlemanly manners; he did it to observe her reaction.
So, as they went upstairs, Shi Hai didn’t mention which floor his home was on and didn’t prompt her to stop.
However, Jian Sichun stopped at the third floor and correctly faced 302 instead of 301. Shi Hai narrowed his eyes, thinking, as expected.
When he saw Jian Sichun waiting for him at the subway entrance earlier, he already felt something was off.
If Jian Sichun had been following him, she couldn’t have arrived at the subway entrance before him, considering he didn’t dawdle much along the way.
This meant Jian Sichun likely knew he was heading to the subway beforehand, so she could get there earlier and even knew the route better than him.
Now, it was clear she knew the exact location of his home. Coupled with Tian Shui’s hint…
Could Jian Sichun really be a stalker?
Or is there something else she’s hiding?
Shi Hai began sorting his doubts and reasoning them out.
Jian Sichun, on the other hand, didn’t think much about it. She was just eager to get back “home,” staring intently at Shi Hai as he took out the key and opened the door.
“Please come in.”
“I, uh, sure, sorry for the intrusion…”
She almost blurted out, “I’m home.”
When the door opened, the familiar yet strange interior made her dazed again. Her traces had been completely erased, reverting to the initial state.
At this moment, she began to feel the reality…
Shi Hai noticed her dazed expression but didn’t point it out.
Shi Hai stepped in first, took off his shoes, and intended to find a pair of guest slippers for Jian Sichun but couldn’t find any in the shoe cabinet.
It had been too long since there were guests; there wasn’t even an extra pair of slippers.
So, he had no choice but to give Jian Sichun his slippers.
“Here, you can use my slippers. Don’t worry, I don’t have smelly feet.”
“It’s okay, I don’t need slippers. The floor is wooden, right?”
“No, you are a guest after all.”
“…Alright.”
Jian Sichun was reminded by this: yes, now she is just a guest…
She must not act too familiar, or he would find out!
So, she obediently put on Shi Hai’s large slippers and entered the house.
Shi Hai glanced around the living room and, seeing no one, sat down on the carpet in the living room, set up the low dining table, and said,
“Looks like my mom hasn’t come back yet. She might be on-site this afternoon.”
Shi Hai’s mother is a civil servant with the Emergency Management Department, often going to various places for disaster prevention surveys and being first on the scene to organize, direct, and rescue when a disaster happens.
Jian Sichun naturally knew all this and greatly admired strong women like Shi Hai’s mother who worked in rescue operations.
Jian Sichun naturally sat on one side of the low table and, without thinking, said,
“Yeah, and your sister should be in class now, right?”
So now they were alone! However, her excitement only lasted a second before she heard Shi Hai’s puzzled voice.
“Huh? Sister?”
He turned around, frowned, and said,
“I don’t have a sister. I’m an only child.”
“Uh!”
Jian Sichun’s heart skipped a beat. Oh no! Is the little sister not here yet?
Jian Sichun knew the little sister was an adopted child of Shi Hai’s family, but she didn’t know the exact time of adoption.