Qin Yuanyuan didn’t really care who was slacking off or resting. As long as they were good to her, that was all that mattered.
“Xuanxuan, hold me~” she said, stretching out her arms and giving a commanding tone.
“Yes, Miss.”
Qin Xuanxuan quickly put down the needle and thread, made sure her hands were empty, and gently scooped the young miss into her arms.
But once Qin Yuanyuan nestled into the older girl’s soft embrace, she still felt like something was missing.
“Xuanxuan, pat my head.”
“Huh? Miss, I don’t think that’s appropriate…” Qin Xuanxuan hesitated, holding back even though she’d been given a direct order.
She remembered how much the young miss used to hate people touching her head. Why was she asking for it now?
Qin Xuanxuan froze, afraid she’d upset her.
“Ugh! Xuanxuan, hurry up and pat me!”
After waiting with her eyes closed for what felt like forever and still feeling no touch, Qin Yuanyuan pouted and grabbed the maid’s slender hand, placing it on her own head.
“Now pat.”
“Yes, Miss…”
Qin Xuanxuan had no choice. Even if she risked making the young miss mad, she had to obey.
…But her movements were far too stiff, and Qin Yuanyuan could barely feel a thing.
“Ugh, Xuanxuan, your hands are so clumsy. You have to move more—left, right, all around. Don’t just tap the same spot.”
Qin Yuanyuan pouted in frustration.
Qin Xuanxuan’s patting was nothing like Xia Rou’s.
When Xia Rou patted her head, it always felt so soothing!
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t say sorry. Just do it right.”
With Qin Yuanyuan’s guidance, Qin Xuanxuan slowly figured out the proper rhythm, and eventually, the young miss began to feel relaxed.
She nestled deeper into Qin Xuanxuan’s warm embrace, starting to feel drowsy.
Knock knock…
“Sister Xuanxuan, can I come in?” Just as Qin Yuanyuan was about to fall asleep in her arms, a voice came from behind the door.
“Miss is asleep in here,” Qin Xuanxuan responded softly through the door.
If it had been another maid, that would’ve been enough to make them back off. But not Qin Xin.
“She’s asleep? Then… can you come to my room, Sister Xuanxuan?”
“…” Qin Xuanxuan sighed helplessly at the sweet voice coming from outside.
“I can’t, Xiao Xin. Miss is asleep in my arms.”
“Oh… okay…”
Qin Xin’s voice sounded a little disappointed, even slightly bitter.
The footsteps outside slowly faded away.
“…” Silence returned to the room.
Qin Yuanyuan immediately felt sleepy again, but now… she just couldn’t fall asleep.
Hmph…
Even Xuanxuan has someone to play with.
Thinking about it, Qin Yuanyuan remembered the Qin Xue she’d played with a few days ago.
Nobody loves me anymore… Wuwu.
“Hmph, I’m leaving.” She gave up on sleeping and crawled off Qin Xuanxuan’s lap.
Her cheeks puffed up in frustration—she looked adorably upset.
“What’s wrong, Miss? Are you feeling unwell?” Qin Xuanxuan panicked and wondered if she’d done something wrong.
Maybe I shouldn’t have replied to Qin Xin just now?
“I don’t feel good. Hmph.” Qin Yuanyuan stood by the bed with her back turned, doing her best to hide how upset she was.
“Go play with your little Xin. She seemed like she really wanted to spend time with you.”
“Miss, that’s not it…”
Xuanxuan’s heart sank.
So Miss had gotten mad about her talking to Qin Xin.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have responded to her. Please don’t be angry with her—it’s my fault.”
Qin Xuanxuan came to her side and bowed deeply.
“…”
“Hmph!”
“I’m not mad!”
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to go play with Xiao Xin!”
“She’s waiting for you…”
“I’m not sleepy anymore. You two can have fun together…” Qin Yuanyuan’s voice grew softer and softer, eventually trembling with tears.
“Everyone’s thinking about someone else!”
“Even Big Sis—she was so afraid Su Xiaoyun would get hurt that she hid somewhere and cried all by herself.”
With those words, Qin Yuanyuan ran out of the room.
Qin Xuanxuan was frozen in place, still bowing.
She wanted to chase after her, but the door was already locked.
“I’m sorry, Miss…”
“…”
No one responded this time.
Left with no choice, Qin Xuanxuan quietly walked away.
“Xiao Xin, I’m coming.”
The first thing she did was go to Qin Xin’s door and knock.
Click.
The door opened quickly.
“Sister Xuanxuan! You’re back! Where’s the Miss?” The girl looked genuinely happy to see her.
“She went back to her room.”
“Oh, then come in! I made a new dress for you.”
Qin Xin looked thrilled and immediately pulled her inside.
“Huh? Weren’t you supposed to be resting?”
But then, Qin Xuanxuan was stunned by the sight of the elegant dress laid out before her. This couldn’t have been made in just a few days, could it?
“I was resting. I just got bored, so I made this while I had time, hehe.”
Qin Xin giggled and handed her the dress.
“Come on, try it on!”
“Thank you, Xiao Xin.”
For once, Qin Xuanxuan’s usually mechanical expression softened.
She smiled along with the cheerful girl.
Their next shift didn’t start until 5 PM, so for now, the two of them could just relax together.
However—
Qin Yuanyuan was in her room, feeling more uncomfortable than ever.
“…” She buried her head into her big sister’s pillow, quietly sobbing.
Qin Xue had been gone for so long.
That pillow—every night she had waited for it, because it held her sister’s warmth and scent.
But now, the pillow was cold and empty. She couldn’t even catch a trace of that familiar fragrance.
She curled up under the blanket, hugging a small bunny plushie.
“Wuu…
“Yuanyuan, what’s wrong?”
Just then, a voice came from outside the door.
“I thought I heard you thump on the bed from upstairs. Are you upset?” Qin Yao stood outside, asking about Qin Yuanyuan’s condition.
“No.” Qin Yuanyuan replied coldly.
Even now, in her current state, she still felt nothing for this older sister.
“Hm? Yuanyuan, your voice doesn’t sound right. Are you okay?”
Compared to Qin Yuanyuan’s cold attitude, Qin Yao actually sounded much more concerned.
Even though she was trying hard to hide it, Qin Yao quickly noticed something off in her sister’s voice.
“It’s nothing. Just go away.”
“…”
Qin Yao fell silent for a moment.
“Where’s Qin Xue? Did she get into a fight with you?”
“What fight? She’s already—” Qin Yuanyuan’s voice suddenly rose, unable to hold back anymore.
“Already…?”
“!”
“Nothing. Sister Xue is still sleeping. I just hurt my leg when I fell earlier, that’s all. Sister Yao, you should get some rest too.”
Panic surged in her chest, and Qin Yuanyuan quickly calmed herself down.
“Oh?”
“Mm.”
In the end, Qin Yao walked away.
She knew Qin Xue treated Qin Yuanyuan very well, so a fight seemed unlikely. She must’ve misunderstood.
As she walked back, Qin Yao thought again about what Qin Yuanyuan had said earlier.
“What fight? She’s already—”
She hadn’t finished the sentence.
The way she said it made it clear—there was no way they could’ve fought.
The part she emphasized was “already,” and the person she was referring to was Qin Xue.
What happened to Qin Xue?
Qin Yao returned to her room with suspicion lingering in her mind.
These past few days, she’d received a lot of calls on her phone.
All from the same person.
Once, she finally answered out of irritation and found it was a man, speaking in a strangely familiar tone.
She quickly hung up. Just from his voice, she could tell she didn’t know him, and her mother hadn’t mentioned any recent business contacts.
As far as she was concerned, her job was to watch over Qin Xue.
Her time was valuable.
–
Back in the town, Su Yun was riding in a car. Around noon, she even made a trip to the nearby market.
She’d looked things up on Baidu and specifically bought a lot of carrots and red dates.
When she got home, Su Yun personally cooked a dish of stir-fried carrots with meat for Qin Xue’s lunch. For dessert, she served red dates.
She had read somewhere that these helped replenish blood.
That afternoon, with nothing else to do, they both stayed at home.
Su Yun sat on the bed, while Qin Xue—still not feeling well—was resting.
Su Yun’s thoughts kept drifting to school life after they returned.
Now that she was no longer Su Yun in class, but Su Xiaoyun instead, the whole thing felt strange.
And she was probably kind of famous by now, wasn’t she?
Su Yun had noticed that her votes on the campus beauty ranking were quickly catching up to Qin Xue’s.
(End of Chapter)