The Jade Pendant and Lingering Shadows

Chen Sishi calmly withdrew her gaze, quietly returning to her seat. Opening her tattered workbook, she saw Lin Yi’s name scrawled across its pages. She carefully turned to a new page, then began to draw and write.

After Chen Sishi returned home last night, Chen Lujun reprimanded her for several hours. As a result, she no longer had a driver to pick her up or drop her off for school, now only able to take a taxi or the bus home each day.

If Chen Sishi were given another choice, she would still want to lock Lin Yi away. She couldn’t bear to see the Lin Yi she loved so deeply interact with other girls, much less flirt with them. Lin Yi was hers. No matter what, Lin Yi would always be hers.

****

As soon as lunch break began, Li Yan insisted on dragging Lin Yi out for a good meal. Lin Yi, who had just finished tidying his desk, felt a shiver of apprehension at the mention of going out.

‘The events of yesterday hadn’t fully concluded yet,’ he thought. ‘What new trouble is my good friend trying to stir up now? Is he planning to set me up again, only to be “invited” as a guest to Chen Sishi’s house?’

‘This guy must have been swayed by Chen Sishi,’ Lin Yi realized. He absolutely couldn’t listen to him. He wouldn’t go out, even if it killed him. If he got caught, that “big meal” would surely turn into a funeral feast.

Seeing Lin Yi’s reluctance, Li Yan decided not to press the issue. Instead, he took Lin Yi to the cafeteria, bought two boxes of fried noodles, and found a table where they chatted idly.

Their initial conversation revolved around a newly launched game. Li Yan enthusiastically detailed his plan to build a survivor base on the map, recruiting numerous NPCs to form a guard team. Lin Yi, however, didn’t know much about the game, so it was largely a one-sided discussion.

As they talked, the conversation inevitably drifted back to yesterday’s incident.

“Brother Lin, what exactly happened yesterday?” Li Yan asked. “Chen Sishi didn’t do anything to you, did she?”

Lin Yi’s mouth twitched. He had been unconscious the entire time. While he could vaguely guess what transpired, Lin Yi didn’t know a single detail about yesterday’s events.

“Ahem, it’s nothing,” Lin Yi stammered. “She just wanted to talk to me alone.”

“I feel like it’s hard for nothing to happen when you’re with her.”

“Really…”

Lin Yi forced himself to appear calm, meticulously weaving his lies. Li Yan didn’t intend to expose him; if Lin Yi didn’t want to elaborate, he wouldn’t press. Knowing too much about such matters could only lead to trouble, and Li Yan still hoped to live a few more years.

“If you ask me, Brother Lin,” Li Yan continued, “if you don’t like her, just tell her directly. Let her give up on the idea.”

As these words left his lips, an ominous shadow silently enveloped Li Yan. Lin Yi, who had been listening absently from across the table, looked up just in time to see a figure standing directly behind his friend.

Lin Yi’s face instantly turned ashen. He opened his mouth, but not a single sound escaped. Across from him, Li Yan remained oblivious to Lin Yi’s distress, continuing to chatter on.

“Brother Lin,” Li Yan went on, “I remember you used to keep a lot of fish, right? With such a big pond, there’s no need to drown yourself over just one fish. Besides, Chen Sishi’s personality is so dangerous, it’s better to—”

Before he could finish, a gleaming small knife pressed against Li Yan’s throat. The faint, sweet scent of a girl’s perfume wafted to his nose, and he felt the brush of soft hair against his ear.

“What… are you saying?”

Sunlight streamed through the cafeteria window, illuminating the girl’s delicate, pretty face. Her long, silver hair cascaded like a starlit river across the tabletop.

Chen Sishi wore a smile, but it was one that radiated an unsettling chill, making Lin Yi shiver uncontrollably.

“Ah?” Li Yan stammered, his mind racing. “I… I meant to say, Brother Lin, if you settle down with Sister-in-law soon, all those other ‘fish’ in the pond will naturally disperse.”

Fortunately, Li Yan’s quick wit saved him. At his words, the severe expression on Chen Sishi’s face softened considerably. She withdrew the knife and settled into a nearby chair, her large, aquamarine eyes fluttering as she stared intently at Lin Yi, as if seeking an answer from him.

“Sishi, what a coincidence, haha…” Lin Yi chuckled, a strained sound.

Lin Yi forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace. He couldn’t help but recall the law of the jungle: the strong prey on the weak. Chen Sishi was his natural predator, and he was destined to be devoured by her.

Seeing Lin Yi’s reaction, Chen Sishi tilted her head, bewildered.

“Lin Yi, do you remember what happened yesterday?”

“Huh?”

Lin Yi’s expression faltered slightly, unsure of Chen Sishi’s intentions. Under her unspoken pressure, he felt compelled to answer truthfully.

“I don’t remember anything after coming out of the haunted house yesterday,” he admitted.

His memory had indeed cut off completely after drinking the beverage that afternoon. By the time he woke up again, it was already the next day.

“It’s good that you don’t remember, it’s good.”

Seeing that he didn’t seem to be lying, Chen Sishi finally offered a sweet smile. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she slowly reached a small hand into her pocket.

“Here~ Lin Yi, I have something to give you.”

“Ta-da~”

She opened her clenched fist, revealing a jade pendant of vibrant green.

It looked very familiar. Lin Yi suddenly recalled that he, too, had a similar jade pendant. It was one his parents had obtained for him when he was a child, and it still hung around his neck.

“Why are you giving me a jade pendant?”

“Yesterday, I saw that Lin Yi was quite scared of ghosts,” Chen Sishi explained. “So I specifically had someone get this one for you. Now Lin Yi won’t have to be afraid of ghosts anymore.”

Lin Yi’s mouth twitched again. He silently pulled out his own jade pendant. The two pendants were strikingly similar in style, color, and size, with only subtle differences in their engraved patterns.

The one in Chen Sishi’s hand bore features Lin Yi couldn’t quite identify, likely representing a divine beast from this world.

Conversely, the jade pendant in Lin Yi’s hand was carved with a Pixiu, a mythical creature known for warding off disaster and evil, also a divine beast shrouded in mystery. Beyond these individual characteristics, both jade pendants shared one common feature: an image was carved on only one side, while the other remained smooth.

“Sishi, I already have one…”

Chen Sishi frowned, glancing at the jade pendant in Lin Yi’s hand, then at the one in her own.

“Couple’s edition?”

“What?”

Lin Yi froze, utterly unprepared for Chen Sishi’s bizarre train of thought. Before he could formulate a response, Chen Sishi’s tone suddenly shifted, and her entire demeanor seemed to darken, as if she were enveloped in shadow.

“Lin Yi,” she asked, her voice low, “this jade pendant isn’t from some other girl, is it?”

“No, no, it’s not,” Lin Yi quickly denied. “This jade pendant was obtained by my family when I was a child…”

Hearing Lin Yi’s explanation, the tension in Chen Sishi’s face eased, and she displayed a “pure” smile.

“Then, Lin Yi, would you like to exchange them with me?” she proposed. “I promise I’ll take good care of yours.”

Lin Yi pressed his temples. He suspected that Chen Sishi’s idea of “taking good care” might involve enshrining his jade pendant in her family’s basement. And then, after Chen Sishi inevitably captured him, she would make him slowly admire her collection.

“Sishi, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?” Lin Yi protested. “This item has been with me for over a decade, and it was a gift from my parents.”

“Is that so…”

The silver-haired girl lowered her head, gently biting her lip as if deep in thought.

“Lin Yi, come here.”

“What… what are you doing?”

Instinctively, Lin Yi leaned back. He was quite afraid of what Chen Sishi might do now.

“Oh, come on,” she said, a hint of playfulness in her voice, “it’s not like I’m going to eat you.”