Chapter 23: Replica Enamel Basin Strawberry Cake

Song Yiyi was sitting with the aunts and sisters-in-law from the compound. As they chatted, the smile on her lips grew wider and wider.

One aunt, sewing a shoe sole, asked, “Yiyi, you’re this happy?”

Without hesitation, Song Yiyi nodded. “Of course!”

One sister-in-law chuckled. “Ha! We thought you still couldn’t get over Deputy Battalion Commander Cen. That’s why we didn’t dare mention him in front of you.”

Cracking sunflower seeds, Song Yiyi replied, “How could that be? I don’t even like him. Aunties, sisters-in-law, if you hear any news, you must tell me right away! Say it out loud so we can all enjoy it together.”

Seeing her beaming expression, everyone finally believed that Song Yiyi truly didn’t care about Cen Bowen.

Before long, the topic shifted. Someone, eyeing Song Yiyi’s hair, asked cautiously, “Yiyi, where did you get your hair done? I want a stylish haircut too, but I’m not as pretty as you. Do you think it would suit me?”

When Song Yiyi heard the words “stylish,” she almost burst out laughing. She quickly coughed twice, her face reddening as she said, “Let me take a look.”

Based on that military wife’s face shape, she recommended the length and curl she thought most suitable.

“Sister-in-law, don’t go to a state-owned barbershop—find a privately run one. Ask for shoulder-length hair with a light wave, just like I said. I guarantee it’ll look great!”

Once one sister-in-law started, the others followed, all asking Song Yiyi for advice. With her sweet tongue, she complimented each person’s best features, making everyone grin from ear to ear.

“Sister Zhang, your eyes are big and round—you should show them off completely. Don’t keep bangs in the future.”

“Sister Wang, your lips are beautiful—you should get bangs.”

“Sister Li—wow! Your nose is so high! I’m so jealous. Why don’t I have such a straight nose bridge? You’re already beautiful enough; no need to change a thing!”

Munching sunflower seeds, Song Yiyi managed to praise everyone present.

Having accomplished her mission, she made an excuse to leave, saying she needed to buy groceries. The real reason was that the topic was starting to turn toward her.

“Yiyi, I have a distant nephew whose family lives in the provincial capital. He’s even more rugged and strong than Deputy Battalion Commander Cen—his fists are as big as sandbags. I was thinking of introducing him to you. What do you think?”

Song Yiyi nearly fell off the stone bench. What, did she look like she could take a beating?

“Aiya, Aunt Liu, Yiyi’s such a petite girl—she’s not a match for your nephew. Besides, he’s far away, and you might not even know what he’s like these days.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Yiyi, you should meet my nephew instead. He’s still in college, studying something called civil engineering. I heard that means building skyscrapers! I’ll have him come to the compound tomorrow so you two can meet.”

Song Yiyi left behind one sentence: “Oh! My parents haven’t had breakfast yet—look at my memory! They sent me out to buy groceries, and I completely forgot while chatting. Aunties, sisters-in-law, goodbye!” Then she slipped away like the wind.

She really hadn’t expected that just listening to gossip could lead to blind date offers.

She went to a quiet flowerbed where no one was around to sunbathe. The spot was almost empty—probably because it was too sunny. Song Yiyi unwrapped a White Rabbit candy, popped it into her mouth, and half-lay back on a chair, eyes half-closed, legs crossed.

Back home, Song Minghui and Cai Mengjun were still there. The reason she had come out was to avoid her father talking about finding her a match in case Gu Chengze wasn’t home today. There’s never any reasoning with elders when it comes to marriage pressure. Song Yiyi didn’t want to waste her breath.

On this point, she felt she was quite similar to Cen Bowen—they both preferred to avoid problems rather than face them.

She wasn’t afraid of the sun. Before she crossed over, she had even wanted to get a tan, though she had completely failed. She wasn’t particularly concerned about her looks either, often acting on impulse.

In truth, she didn’t have much “inner depth.” If you analyzed her, she was probably made up entirely of food—her life revolved around her mouth.

As she lay there, she got drowsy in the sun. Half-asleep, she suddenly felt a weight on her chest, as if something had stepped on her. Her heart almost skipped a beat.

Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself staring into a pair of wide, copper-bell-like eyes.

“Ah!” Song Yiyi’s voice rose in delight. “Whose little kitty are you? Tsk tsk, so chubby! Let me pet you.”

She scooped up the big, fat orange cat curled on her stomach, sitting up and holding it tightly.

The big orange cat kicked its hind legs, trying to get away, but her grip was firm.

“Alright, alright, don’t move. Just let big sister rua you once—just once.”

The cat kept struggling. She patted its round head. “I’ll give you meat!”

The cat finally stopped resisting—clearly a foodie.

Song Yiyi examined it closely. Its fur was clean and well-kept, and it was chubby all over. It clearly had an owner. So she didn’t take it home, instead making a deal with the little fatty to meet again after lunch.

The fatty seemed to understand. When she left, it kept staring after her.

At noon, Cai Mengjun was making chicken soup, saying it was to nourish Song Yiyi. When the chicken was parboiled, Song Yiyi asked for a piece of meat to be set aside just for her.

After lunch, she went back to the flowerbed. The little fatty was still there. She unwrapped some chicken and salted egg yolk she had brought, and the cat came out on its own.

Surprisingly, it ate with elegance.

Lounging in the sun-heated chair, Song Yiyi even felt her period cramps easing.

“Little fatty, you eat so daintily—how did you manage to get so round?”

The cat kept eating.

“Little fatty, what name did your owner give you?”

No response.

“Little fatty, do you even have an owner? If not, come home with me, okay?”

Still nothing.

“…Forget it. Playing music to a cat.”

Sitting there, she suddenly missed the strawberry enamel-basin cake she had bought before she crossed over. She should’ve eaten a bite back then.

Watching the cat eat so happily made her mouth water. But here she had only enamel basins—no cream, no cake, no strawberries!

A sudden thought struck her—she would make her own enamel-basin strawberry cake.

Once she had the idea, she got up and asked the orange cat, who was pretending to nap beside her, “Little fatty, big sister’s leaving. Want to come home with me?”

The orange cat opened its eyes, gazing at her with the most innocent look.

Her heart melted instantly. She reached out to grab it—but just before she succeeded, the cat darted into the flowerbed and vanished.

“Ungrateful little thing, eating and running,” she muttered.

She went to the military district’s service store to buy eggs and bottled milk. Since she couldn’t get strawberries, she decided to skip them entirely.

On the way back, she ran into Gu Heng and Cen Yue.

Gu Heng was still in casual clothes, looking approachable and easygoing. Cen Yue, in contrast, was in full dress uniform, neat and precise, even the top button fastened perfectly.