One Pet Gets Married

Chapter 10

However, Song Xici seemed to have completely forgotten who had established this troublesome one-meter rule in the first place.

"This won't do... If I let her run wild with Shi Xiaobao, that fool might cause some disaster..." Frowning deeply, Song Xici finally got out of the car, went to the trunk, and opened it to retrieve a large bag of items.

These were spare clothes and shoes she kept for emergencies.

After pulling out a beige coat, khaki scarf, white fuzzy flats, and a hat, Song Xici returned to the car.

Rolling up the windows and changing her clothes, Song Xici opened her phone app and purchased a ticket for the same movie showtime she had glimpsed Shi Xiaobao buying earlier. She then exited the car, covered her nose and mouth with the scarf, and headed back to the mall.

Meanwhile, Tang You'an was still standing in the mall, clearly puzzled. They had agreed to have dinner together and that it was up to her whether to watch a movie or not. Yet suddenly Song Xici had left without explanation, which felt oddly disconcerting.

"Shall we go see the movie first, then have dinner?" Shi Xiaobao asked, arm linked with Tang You'an's.

"Alright," Tang You'an nodded after glancing in the direction Song Xici had left.

The movie was a sci-fi film about humans and aliens.

Tang You'an didn't fully understand it, but she was captivated from the opening credits, her eyes seemingly glued to the screen. At the same time, she was curious about how these images were created.

Meanwhile, Song Xici snuck in like a thief after the movie had started, sitting down three rows behind them.

Removing her mask and sunglasses and putting on 3D glasses, Song Xici alternated between watching the big screen and the two in front of her, clutching her coat collar and shaking slightly, like a behind-the-scenes mastermind.

Fortunately, everything seemed fine; Tang You'an wasn't doing anything strange.

As the movie ended and Song Xici prepared to continue following them, her phone rang.

Reluctantly, she took out her phone. The screen displayed "Mrs. Lin Xing" - her mother.

"Hello?" Song Xici sighed as she answered.

"Xici, are you busy lately?" Lin Xing asked.

Lin Xing's voice always sounded as professional as a news anchor's.

"It should be better in a few days. One of the two dramas I'm working on doesn't have many scenes for me, and the other is almost finished filming."

"Good, then I'll come visit you two in a few days. I really don't understand why you insist on struggling in the entertainment industry, with so little time to rest. We're family, yet having a nice meal together has become such a luxury." Lin Xing couldn't help but nag.

"Can't help it, I just love acting," Song Xici replied simply. She dared not discuss it further, lest they start arguing again.

After a moment of silence, Lin Xing spoke again. "By the way, how are the fish I bought for you?"

Hearing this question, Song Xici's back stiffened. "They're... they're doing quite well..."

"Why are you stammering?" Lin Xing pressed.

"I'm not! Not at all!" Song Xici immediately denied.

"And how are things with You'an lately? I saw in the news that she seems to have changed," Lin Xing asked.

"It's... pretty good," Song Xici answered.

"That's good. Well, that's all for now. I'll come see you two after I finish my work in a few days. I'm hanging up now." True to her word, Lin Xing ended the call.

Song Xici stared at her phone, sighing deeply. How annoying - she'd have to pretend to get along well with Tang You'an again, and sleep in the same room. Who knew if it would turn into another chaotic mess like before?

Lost in thought, Song Xici turned around to find Shi Xiaobao and Tang You'an had disappeared.

Damn it— Song Xici smacked her forehead with her phone.

After watching the movie and having dinner, Tang You'an was still concerned about Song Xici.

Was she still angry? It made sense; she had indeed made many mistakes these past few days...

With this in mind, Tang You'an turned to Shi Xiaobao: "Xiaobao, do you know where I can buy fish?"

"Of course! I'm a food blogger after all, and I often buy fish!" Shi Xiaobao replied, munching on crackers.

"Good, could you take me to see?" Tang You'an asked.

Shi Xiaobao paused mid-bite, eyeing her quizzically for a moment. Something seemed off about Tang You'an.

Not only had she become more formal in speech, but now she wanted to buy fish and cook? How strange.

"Sure. But Sister An, what's going on with you? Why have you suddenly changed so much? It feels... really unfamiliar..." In Shi Xiaobao's memory, Tang You'an was someone who cursed freely, liked to act cool, and had quite a temper.

"It's nothing. I've just been reading a lot lately, enriching myself," Tang You'an smiled.

"Oh..." Shi Xiaobao gave her another puzzled look, then sealed her cracker bag and put it in her purse. "Well, let's go then!"

"Mm," Tang You'an smiled.

They left the mall and got into Shi Xiaobao's car. Soon, they parked at a large supermarket.

The supermarket was much busier now than during the day. This particular store was quite famous and well-stocked, so there were many people coming and going at this hour.

Walking inside, Tang You'an remembered Song Xici's words and pulled her mask up higher.

Following Shi Xiaobao to the seafood section, they saw glass tanks filled with water and various fish swimming about.

Tang You'an had never seen so many fish before. Living in the mountains, the most she'd ever seen were river carp.

After looking around several times, Tang You'an finally stopped in front of some very large fish.

"Miss, would you like to buy some fish?" A cheerful young man asked her.

"Yes, what kind of fish is this?" Tang You'an pointed and asked.

"This is a large grass carp. Would you like to buy one?" The young man continued smiling. "It's really good!"

Although she couldn't find the exact type Song Xici had kept, this fish looked big enough - much larger than Song Xici's fish. It should be fine, right?

With this thought, Tang You'an nodded. "Yes."

"Miss, would you like me to clean it for you?" The young man asked.

"No need," Tang You'an raised her hand to stop him.

"Alright then!" The young man said, putting the fish in a bag with some water and handing it to Tang You'an.

After paying, Tang You'an looked at the fish in her hands and nodded with a smile.

"Xiaobao, could you take me home?" After buying some writing materials, Tang You'an turned to Shi Xiaobao.

"Sure," Shi Xiaobao nodded, still looking at Tang You'an quizzically. First asking how to watch what she wanted on her phone and computer, then buying these things.

Sister An was acting so strangely today. As if she had amnesia. But if she had amnesia, how did she still recognize her?

Half an hour later, Shi Xiaobao dropped Tang You'an off at home. Waving goodbye to Shi Xiaobao, Tang You'an hefted the fish and walked to the front door.

Seeing it locked, Tang You'an took out her phone and called Song Xici.

After a few seconds, the call connected.

"Xici, I'm back. I got you—"

"There's a spare key under the doormat." Song Xici cut her off coldly and hung up.

Tang You'an stood at the door, stunned for a moment, then crouched down to lift the mat and retrieve the key.

Sighing, she opened the door and went inside.

After replacing the key and changing her shoes, Tang You'an stood up, looked around, and walked to the fish tank. She carefully opened the bag and gently placed the large grass carp into the tank.

Around 11 PM.

Song Xici tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

That girl must have had a great time today, right? Seeing her with Shi Xiaobao... she looked just like a canary freed from its cage.

With this thought, Song Xici threw off her covers and sat up. She opened the door and padded to the water dispenser, filled a glass, and gulped it down. Setting the glass aside, she was about to return to her room.

But as she turned, she paused and looked sharply towards the fish tank.

There, an enormous grass carp was swimming back and forth.

"What the..." Song Xici frowned.

Then she noticed a piece of paper on the cabinet next to the fish tank. On the white paper, beautifully written in calligraphy, were the words: "I'm sorry. I bought you a new fish. Everything I did before was unintentional."

Seeing this, Song Xici was momentarily taken aback.

"What's this? Fool, a real fool. You kill my pet fish and think you can be forgiven by simply buying a grass carp?" Song Xici muttered, looking at the note's contents, then bending down to watch the large grass carp swimming in the tank. Though her words were critical, a hint of a smile played at her lips.

Afterward, Song Xici turned off the lights and walked to Tang You'an's door, coughing softly before knocking.

There was no answer. After a moment, Song Xici simply turned the knob.

As the door cracked open, she saw Tang You'an slumped over the table on the balcony, apparently asleep. Song Xici carefully approached, intending to wake her to sleep in bed.

Drawing closer, she saw an open laptop in front of Tang You'an, with a user manual beside it.

On the computer screen, a video player was open, showing a food variety show Song Xici had participated in earlier, now playing the second episode. On screen, she was frowning and saying, "I actually don't like fatty meat..."

Beside the laptop lay a notebook, an inkstone, a brush, and a phone. The notebook was filled with neat, regular script.

Song Xici couldn't help but glance at it, seeing the first line: "Everything about Fairy Xici."

Stunned, she couldn't resist reading a few more lines.

"Xici's favorite foods: fish, shrimp, beef, all vegetables; Foods Xici won't eat: various organ meats, animal heads..." Song Xici read, unable to suppress a laugh. "Tang You'an, you weirdo..."