“Sister Xue is awake.”
Qin Yuanyuan slowly opened the door and calmly spoke to the person standing outside. Yet the moment the door opened, it was as if time froze—no sound at all.
Qin Xue saw the solemn expression on the woman at the door and frowned.
It was because of this person… that she couldn’t even stay in her own home, forced to live like a criminal on the run.
It was because of her… that she couldn’t spend lunch with Xiaoyun.
Qin Xue cast a cold glance at her older sister.
“Qin Xue… are you still feeling dizzy? Come on, we’re going to the hospital.”
Qin Yao’s serious expression wavered slightly as she hurried into the room.
Just as she reached out to take her sister’s hand, Qin Xue pulled away.
“I’m not dizzy anymore. I’m fine.”
“Even if you’re fine now, you’re still going!”
To her surprise, Qin Yao suddenly snapped at her, the sharp tone pulling Qin Xue out of her indifference.
Looking at her sister again, she realized the woman’s face was filled with worry. It was a look she rarely saw—maybe only once, back when Qin Yao fell hundreds of places in her final exams from stress.
For a brief moment, Qin Xue’s heart wavered.
“Don’t get mad over illness. I’m all better now, okay? Qin Xue, I was wrong before.”
“…You couldn’t be woken up at all last night. You must’ve felt horrible.”
“If something happened to you, how would I explain that to Mom?”
“Oh.” Qin Xue’s heart went cold again at those words.
So it was all for Mom’s sake.
“Qin Xue…”
Smack.
Qin Yao reached for her hand again, but Qin Xue slapped it away without hesitation.
“It’s time to go to the hospital, right? Stop wasting time here.”
She walked past Qin Yao and out the door without looking back.
…
“What do you want to eat? Sister will buy it for you.”
Near Summer End Plaza, a white-haired girl was wandering down a lively street with a woman in a smart maid uniform.
“Don’t want anything.”
“Eh, how about a movie then? There’s a really good one—”
“No need.” Before she could finish, Su Yun had already rejected the idea.
The two of them were like the sun and the moon—existing together, yet unable to blend.
“Little missy, why don’t you want anything?” Qin Xin leaned down playfully, peeking at her from the side.
“Don’t give me that icy stare~ Miss will come back to see you, you know~ Let me think—back then you were way cuter, hehe~ You used to call Miss ‘Master’ all the time~”
“!?”
Hearing the strange things this girl was saying, Su Yun froze.
She glared at Qin Xin with a dangerous look.
“Stop spouting nonsense. I never called her that…”
After saying so, she lowered her head in embarrassment.
“You’re not being honest.”
“But really, I was surprised the first time I saw you.”
“I didn’t think anyone could look that cute in a maid outfit. Every time an apple fell and I pulled you back to start over, I just wanted to steal a kiss.”
With a sly grin, Qin Xin reached a hand toward Su Yun’s soft face.
“Ugh, don’t touch me.”
But the moment Qin Xin’s fingers brushed her cheek, Su Yun darted away like a startled rabbit.
“If you keep saying weird stuff, I’m going back!”
“Oh?” Qin Xin blinked, briefly stunned by the girl just under a meter tall.
Just teasing her a little had turned her face as red as an apple.
And she was even trembling.
So. Cute.
Qin Xin thought she might actually be cuter than the little miss.
Ding—
Just then, Qin Xin’s phone chimed.
“Wait~ Lemme check, Xuanxuan sent a message~” She waved the phone teasingly in front of Su Yun but deliberately didn’t show her the screen.
“Let me see! Did something happen to Sister Xue!?”
Su Yun, who had been avoiding her just moments before, suddenly clung to her.
“Wait, wait, don’t be so desperate, little miss~” Qin Xin grinned mischievously and raised the phone high above her head.
“Ugh, give it give it give it!” Su Yun stood on tiptoe, pitifully reaching up toward the phone.
She kept trying, again and again, but failed every time. Her flustered attempts made her look like a silly little potato—much like Qin Yuanyuan in her goofiest moments.
At least that’s what passersby thought as they watched.
“Haha.” Seeing her trick work, Qin Xin laughed aloud.
“Here, here, take a look.” She unlocked the screen and handed the phone to Su Yun.
“…Thanks.” Su Yun didn’t argue. She snatched the phone and began scanning it seriously.
There, in the WeChat chat window, was a big bold nickname:
[Hubby]
(Hubby: Second Miss has arrived at the hospital.)
Just one line. But Su Yun stared at it for a long time.
“Little missy, done reading?”
“Mn.” She returned the phone.
“Mm~” Qin Xin used that moment to sneakily take Su Yun’s hand again.
“Alright, since Xuanxuan didn’t say anything else, that means everything’s going fine. Your master will be back tonight. Relax and come play with me.”
“If you don’t come with me, you won’t get any more updates~”
“…”
Su Yun didn’t reply.
But she didn’t let go of Qin Xin’s hand either.
Qin Xin smiled at the soft, delicate hand in hers.
“Let’s go~”
For the next while, Su Yun was dragged all around the area by this strange maid.
Clothing shops, bubble tea stands, makeup stores, arcades—they popped into any store that caught their eye. At one point, they even stumbled across a small anime convention, and Qin Xin yanked her inside too.
Because she was walking with a girl in a maid outfit, Su Yun could feel everyone staring. It made her want to dig a hole and hide.
She thought going into the convention would give her a break… but that only made it worse.
People even came up asking to take pictures.
They thought Qin Xin was cosplaying.
…
After playing around Summer End Plaza for nearly two hours, Su Yun was completely exhausted.
“I’m tired… let me rest a bit.”
She found a stone bench in the shade outside the mall and sat down.
“You’re tired already? We haven’t even gone inside.”
“…”
Su Yun was speechless.
All she wanted was to quietly wait for Sister Xue in peace.
Instead, she’d been dragged everywhere by this lunatic.
And why wasn’t this maid embarrassed at all? So many people were watching!
…Oh, right. She was a real maid. Of course she didn’t care.
“How’s Sister Xue doing?” Su Yun looked up at Qin Xin with hopeful eyes. It was the only thing she truly cared about right now.
“Let me see…”
“Mn. She’s still at the hospital.”
“Ugh…” Su Yun’s shoulders slumped.
“Xuanxuan says it won’t be long now. Little miss, let’s play a bit more?”
“No, I think—”
“Eh? Don’t be like that.” Qin Xin started pouting.
“I work so hard every day. Sometimes I can’t even sleep properly. And this is my only day off all year. I haven’t even stepped into a real mall before…”
“Little missy, won’t you play with me for a while?”
“……”
Su Yun glanced at her from the corner of her eye—and saw her hands clasped together in a pleading pose.
Something in her heart trembled.
Images of two stubborn figures flashed in her mind. They worked tirelessly from morning till midnight… just to make her life a little easier.
“…No problem. Let’s go.”
Su Yun stood up, suddenly full of energy.
Later, she would definitely talk to Sister Xue about giving this maid more rest time.
“Hehe, thank you, little missy~” Qin Xin beamed with joy.
Her face changed expression so quickly it was almost impressive.
But Su Yun—pure and innocent—didn’t notice at all.
Hand in hand, the two of them walked into the bustling crowd of the shopping mall.
This time, Qin Xin had completed her task.
This time, Qin Xin’s mission…
Was to play with the cute little sister~
No, wait—it was to gather intel for her Miss!
“You probably don’t earn much each month, right? I’ll buy you some nice clothes.”
This time, it was Su Yun who took the initiative, pulling Qin Xin into a clothing store.
She figured most girls usually had plenty of pretty clothes, but this maid only came to the mall once a year. Her wardrobe was probably just full of maid uniforms.
“Eh? Really? For real?” Qin Xin blinked in surprise.
“Mn.”
Then, Qin Xin began browsing through the racks.
Su Yun originally thought she would pick five or six pieces, maybe eight at most. But the reality was—
“One, two, three… twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five…”
“Are you planning to clean out the entire store? Wait a second, let me check the price… this one dress alone costs 800!”
For a moment, Su Yun regretted her offer. Even though she had about forty or fifty thousand in savings, she couldn’t just blow through it like this—especially when she still owed Qin Xue a hundred thousand.
“Swipe the card.”
Qin Xin, already holding the pile of clothes, walked right up to the cashier, swiped her card with a flourish, and didn’t even hesitate.
“Thank you for shopping with us! Um, is that young lady over there your Miss? Would you like me to recommend some clothes for her too?”
The shop assistant gave Qin Xin several deep bows.
Most outsiders might not understand the significance of her maid uniform, but this woman knew better. This wasn’t the kind of outfit anyone could just buy off a rack—it was the kind only true, professional maids wore.
“That won’t be necessary. My Miss will buy for her herself.”
“Wait, that was really expensive, wasn’t it—huh?”
Su Yun had just opened her mouth to say something, only to find the bill already settled.
She stared at Qin Xin in disbelief.
That must’ve cost at least fifteen thousand… Were maids really this well-paid? Having just one day off a year didn’t seem so bad now.
“Are you hiring?”
“These are for Xuanxuan. She’ll look great in them, hehe.”
Qin Xin looked at a pink frilly dress and chuckled, her expression laced with mischief.
“…Oh, they’re for Xuanxuan.” Su Yun blinked, then let herself be dragged away.
…
Spending over ten thousand just to buy clothes for someone who wasn’t even your parent? That seemed way too excessive.
…
Wait a minute. What did Qin Xin have Xuanxuan saved as in her phone again…?
‘Hubby’?
…What does that even mean?
Because they bought so much, Su Yun was now carrying one of the shopping bags. As they made their way through the mall, they attracted stares from just about everyone.
While wandering around the basement level, Su Yun caught sight of a supermarket across the aisle. She spotted shelves stacked with vegetables and oil.
Oh right—she hadn’t bought groceries yet. And they didn’t have a fridge.
In that moment, light returned to Su Yun’s eyes. Her lifeless expression from earlier vanished.
“Little miss, what are you doing?”
Qin Xin followed her curiously as Su Yun made her way toward the store.
After depositing their shopping bags, the two of them entered the basement-level supermarket.
It was rare for the little miss to be this enthusiastic, so naturally, Qin Xin kept a close eye on her.
Eventually, they stopped in front of the vegetable section.
“Hmm? Why’re you buying groceries, little miss?”
“Eggplant, eggplant… found it!”
Su Yun scanned the shelves, her white hair bobbing with excitement. When she spotted her target, a smile as bright as a blooming flower lit up her face.
“You’re that happy over eggplant? Do you like eating it?”
Qin Xin stood behind her, observing the little girl’s head, where a tuft of white hair swayed left and right like a kitten’s tail. The sight nearly melted her heart.
“You like eggplant. Got it. I’ll make sure to tell Miss.”
“Sister Xue likes it, so I’m buying more.”
As she spoke, Su Yun grabbed a fresh produce bag and began stuffing it with eggplants—almost like she wanted to clear out the entire shelf.
“Oh? …O-oh.”
“You’re doing it just for that? Really?”
Qin Xin blinked and stepped forward to join her.
“These eggplants do look pretty good… Must be from a fresh shipment.”
“Ugh…”
Just then, the little miss next to her—who’d been happily stuffing eggplants into a bag—suddenly slumped like a deflated balloon. Her head drooped low.
She slowly returned the half-filled bag of eggplants to the bin.
“We don’t have a fridge at home…”
“?”
“Pfft— You’re so dumb. So adorable.”
Qin Xin suddenly burst out laughing in the middle of the supermarket, completely forgetting all the usual elegance a maid should maintain.
But her laughter didn’t feel annoying—in fact, it was oddly comforting.
And in that moment, Qin Xin understood something.
No wonder her Miss had fallen for this girl so quickly.
But honestly… her Miss was kind of dumb too, not noticing a thing.
(End of Chapter)