Qin Xue perked up, cautiously rising from the bed.
She took a few steps back first, then slowly squatted down and lowered her head.
Under the bed… nothing.
Just as she began to wonder if she had imagined the sound, she looked up—and came face-to-face with a small orange creature.
Less than a meter apart, Qin Xue was crouching on the floor beside the bed, while the orange cat sat atop it.
“Ah!? Where did this cat come from?!” she shouted, panic rising on her face as she ran toward the door.
Clack clack clack.
“What the—why won’t it open?” Qin Xue twisted the doorknob frantically, only to find it locked tight.
She was on the verge of freaking out.
“Meow.” The orange cat jumped down from the bed and slowly walked toward her.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“Meow~…”
Naturally, Qin Xue tried to scare the cat off with a loud shout. It worked. The orange cat stopped.
Then, it turned around and darted toward the window.
And leapt right out.
“Huh?” Qin Xue was dumbfounded by what she saw.
“The cat ran off?”
Huff… She gasped for breath. In just one minute, she felt like she had ascended to the heavens.
Determined to keep that cat out of a room, she went over and shut the window tightly.
Knock knock.
“Big Sister Xue, did you see the cat?” came a knock at the door.
Qin Xue sat weakly on the bed. After a few deep breaths, she walked over to unlock it.
Only then did she realize the door had been locked from the inside—twisting the handle wouldn’t have opened it anyway.
Click.
Standing outside were two familiar young girls from the house.
Are these two always glued together now?
“I saw the cat, but it jumped out the window on its own. You two go look for it.”
“I was holding her earlier, but I started reading and lost track of her. I didn’t watch her properly. I’m sorry…”
…
Though Qin Xue looked calm on the surface, Xia Rou had heard the terrified scream earlier.
“It’s fine. Just hold her tight and don’t let her into my room again.”
“Okay.”
With that, Xia Rou and Qin Yuanyuan quickly ran off to look for the cat.
Not long after, Xia Rou found Xiaoju in the bushes near the window.
“Meow, meow~”
The kitten kept crying out. Without the sound, she might not have found her.
“Xiaoju, you can’t run around like that.” Xia Rou cradled the cat gently in her arms.
“Meow…”
The moment she picked her up, the kitten curled up in her arms and stopped moving, letting out a low, pitiful meow.
Xiaoju had been obedient last night. Why had she suddenly jumped into someone else’s room just now?
Xia Rou walked back into the villa, softly stroking the cat in her arms.
Was it because Sister Xue had returned?
That must be it. This was the second time Xiaoju had gone looking for Sister Xue on her own… and been rejected again. Was that why she was so sad?
“Xiaoju, there there. I’ll play with you, okay?” Xia Rou leaned in and spoke gently to comfort her.
“Meow!”
“There you go. Make some noise.”
It was indeed a sharper cry than before.
“Seriously, don’t be so fickle. Isn’t having me enough, you dumb cat?” Xia Rou pretended to be angry and gave Xiaoju a light pat on the butt (meow).
“Meow!”
Smack.
“Meow, meow…”
The kitten went still.
Xia Rou finally felt at ease. She didn’t want to hear about Qin Xue anymore.
“Sister Rou, you head back to your room. I have something I want to say to Sister Xue.”
At the bedroom door, Qin Yuanyuan said her goodbye.
“Okay. Yuanyuan, take your time talking to her.”
“It’s not a goodbye. I just want to talk.”
“Mm-hmm, of course.”
Xia Rou smiled gently and didn’t argue. She hugged the kitten and returned to her room alone.
—
Knock knock.
“?”
Qin Xue was sitting on the bed, happily staring at her phone, when she suddenly heard the knock.
The cat had finally left, and now someone else was disturbing her while she was trying to chat with Xiaoyun.
“Who is it?” she asked, walking to the door, voice laced with irritation.
“It’s me, Sister…”
The soft voice came from outside.
“Yuanyuan? What is it?”
Hearing her name, Qin Xue softened her tone slightly, though it was still far from gentle.
“Can you open the door? I want to say something.”
“…”
Click.
There stood Qin Yuanyuan.
Two weeks wasn’t long, but not exactly short either. Qin Yuanyuan still looked the same—small, delicate, unchanged.
“What is it?”
Qin Xue shut the door and sat back on the bed. She spoke with a distracted air, glancing at her phone.
Xiaoyun had just reached the door. They were finally going to see each other. Qin Xue was gleeful inside.
“…”
“Sister…”
But then she heard a low voice speaking from above her head.
“Sister, I’ll try harder… Next time I’ll bathe faster, so Big Sis won’t notice you’re gone. Sorry for wasting your time… It’s my fault for getting in the way…”
Qin Yuanyuan’s head drooped lower and lower as she spoke.
She stared at the ground, but couldn’t really see it. All she saw was a dense, swirling fog.
“Sister… you should go.”
“I’m good at pretending. I fake like you're always here.”
“Huh?” Qin Xue looked up, puzzled.
“Yuanyuan, you’ve already done your best. I don’t blame you.”
She tried to see her sister’s expression, but the girl had turned her back.
Something clicked inside her.
Though the voice was faint, she still heard it—
“Miss! Miss, over here!”
At that moment, there was a tapping sound at the window.
“Hmm?”
“Xiaoyun.”
Qin Xue rushed to the window, surprised to see Xiaoyun actually standing there.
In an instant, the gloom in her heart lifted, her expression lighting up.
Swish.
She eagerly pulled open the window.
“Xiaoyun, I’ll be right down!”
Since she was upstairs, she had to keep her voice low. But even then, her excitement couldn’t be hidden—it was as if she’d just received a long-awaited present.
“Hey! Sister Xue, don’t jump out! It’s really high!” Su Yun called up from below, panic written all over her face when she saw Qin Xue step up to the ledge.
“Dummy, I was just messing with you.”
Seeing Xiaoyun worried, Qin Xue grinned mischievously.
She did have some odd quirks.
“Alright, Xiaoyun, just wait a few more minutes, okay? I’ve got something to handle first.”
“Mm.”
Qin Xue pulled herself away from her eager thoughts and slowly shut the window.
She glanced at the little girl still standing by the bed, back turned and unmoving.
If one looked closely, they’d see her small figure trembling slightly.
Qin Xue had wondered earlier why this silly little sister hadn’t run to hug her right away.
She’d thought maybe they hadn’t seen each other in so long that Qin Yuanyuan had gotten attached to someone else.
“Yuanyuan, turn around.”
Qin Xue approached her and spoke softly from behind.
“No…”
Qin Yuanyuan refused.
“Yuanyuan, you never acted this way toward me before.”
“Ugh…”
“Didn’t you always tell me everything? When you were mad or upset, you’d hit me right away. I’ve been gone for so long. Aren’t you even a little angry?”
“…”
“I’m not mad. I have to study. No time to think about anything else… She’s here, right? Sister, you should go.”
The little girl didn’t turn around. Instead, she walked toward the door.
“Silly sister.”
Qin Xue sighed and quickly caught up, wrapping her arms around the small body from behind.
“Qin Yuanyuan, I’m sorry. Don’t cry, okay? I promise to see you at least twice a week. Or you can video call me anytime. I won’t find you annoying.”
Qin Xue held her tight, but Qin Yuanyuan was pushing at her shoulders, trying to break free.
“Ugh, I’m not crying! I’m not mad or sad just because you left! I have over ten plushies—I don’t need your company… ugh… Just go already! Isn’t she here now?!”
The girl kicked her legs and even punched Qin Xue’s chest.
She looked like she was trying to shove her away, but with that tear-streaked face, she didn’t have a shred of credibility.
“Okay, okay, not sad, not sad.”
Qin Xue didn’t explain much. She just stroked Qin Yuanyuan’s hair and gently swayed back and forth, just like she used to.
“Silly girl, you mean so much to me, Yuanyuan. You’ve always been number one in my heart.”
“You’re my only little sister, after all.”
“Mm…”
Those soft words finally reached Qin Yuanyuan’s ears, and the pitiful sobbing slowly faded.
“Number one… really?”
Qin Yuanyuan peeked her little head out of her sister’s embrace, eyes full of hope.
“Mm, really! Yuanyuan, you’re my most precious little sister.”
“Ugh… then why did you stay away for so long? You know I’m scared of being alone…”
“You’re a bad sister!”
She punched Qin Xue’s chest again with her little fists.
Qin Xue didn’t resist. She let her stay in her arms and throw her little tantrum.
“Mm-hmm, I’m a bad sister.”
The room was filled with the sound of a little girl’s sobs and scolding, as well as the warmth of gentle comfort.
“…Sister Xue…”
At the window, still standing on the ladder, Su Yun froze.
She didn’t interrupt the tender scene between the sisters. Instead, she watched quietly from outside.
There was a pang of guilt in her heart.
She was the one who had taken this little girl’s sister away.
“I’m sorry, Little Potato.”
She would work hard to make Qin Xue’s family accept her someday.
(End of Chapter)