1.
Hearing that, I froze.
I looked toward Cố Tư Tư, who was sitting off to one side enjoying the show, and tried to speak calmly:
“Tư Tư, come shopping with me.”
She blinked at me with innocent eyes.
[Hasn’t she always wanted to kick me out? Why is she suddenly acting so close to me?]
I confirmed once again that she hadn’t said anything aloud, yet I could still hear her voice.
And it wasn’t just me—Cố Ngôn Xuyên seemed to be able to hear it too.
Right now, I really wanted to throw her out.
The corner of my mouth twitched. I said evenly, “School’s about to start, so I’ll buy you a few new outfits.
[Sis, you’re the only sister I have.]
She tried to suppress the smile spreading across her face, then obediently said, “Okay, Sis. I’ll go upstairs and get my purse.”
The moment she stood up, I heard a delighted song in my ear.
Cố Ngôn Xuyên frowned at me. “Do you hear anything strange?”
I clenched my hand and said casually, “No. What do you hear?”
His gaze was languid, a faint smile on his lips. “Nothing.”
Cố Tư Tư quickly went upstairs to get her purse.
It was an old purse; even the strap was worn through.
After she came to live at my house, she didn’t get to enjoy the life of a rich young lady, mainly because I hated her.
A few years ago, when my father brought Cố Tư Tư home, I learned that I had a younger half sister.
I resented my father for cheating, so I took it out on her too.
Three years ago, my father and I were in a car accident on our way home.
The moment it happened, he lunged in front of me to shield me.
He died on the spot, while I suffered only minor injuries.
I owed my father my life, so after he died, even though I didn’t like Cố Tư Tư, I didn’t kick her out.
But lately, she seemed like a different person.
She was no longer up to her old childish schemes. Now she was cautious and serious.
She’d always studied hard, and her grades had gone from terrible to good enough to get into the same university as me.
Even stranger, today I could hear those mysterious voices.
I was driving when I got a call from Tần Tử Dục.
I put it on speaker, and Tần Tử Dục’s voice filled the car.
“Tích Tích, something came up tonight, so I can’t see you.”
“Okay.”
As soon as I hung up, I heard Cố Tư Tư’s thoughts.
[He really is busy—busy going on a date with his little mistress, that is.]
[With a face like Sis’s, she’d still be gorgeous even with her hair dyed bright green (1).]
(1) Refers to being cheated on.
[All right, she’s been treating me so well lately, so I should probably give her a little warning.]
She turned to me with a smile.
“Everything in this store is designer, so it’s not really suitable for students.”
“Let’s go to the shopping street behind the school. The clothes there are reasonably priced, and I just saw in the student group chat that there’s a really good dessert shop there, too.”
Hadn’t she just said in her thoughts that… Tần Tử Dục was cheating on me?
I was suddenly curious, so I immediately changed course and drove to the shopping street behind the school.
2.
After getting out of the car, I followed Cố Tư Tư to that dessert shop.
As soon as I walked in, I saw Tần Tử Dục sitting with a girl. There was only one cup of ice cream on the table.
When I walked over, everyone inside turned to look at me.
Just then, Cố Tư Tư’s thoughts rang out again: [The heiress has arrived. Everyone, make way.]
I tilted my head to look at her, my eyes narrowing.
Was this girl crazy or something?
Tần Tử Dục saw me too. He looked surprised, then got up and walked over.
I glanced at the pretty girl behind him and asked with a smile:
“Is this what came up?”
Tần Tử Dục’s smile stiffened. He explained, “She’s the younger sister of a former neighbor of mine. She’s a new student at the school, and her mother asked me to help her get settled in.”
“I was afraid you’d misunderstand, so I didn’t tell you just now.”
“What about you? What are you doing here?”
He knew me well. I would never come to a little shop like this.
“My sister wanted ice cream.”
He looked at Cố Tư Tư beside me, his gaze probing.
“How come I’ve never heard you mention having a sister?”
I didn’t like Cố Tư Tư, so of course I’d never told him about her.
I looked at the cup of ice cream in front of the girl behind him.
There were two spoons in the cup.
I gave a cold laugh. “You never told me you had a sister, either.”
The atmosphere froze. I heard Cố Tư Tư start singing in her thoughts.
[Does every girl by his side eventually become his little sister…]
Now I was sure of one thing: this girl was crazy.
I took a deep breath, turned, and left the dessert shop.
Cố Tư Tư followed behind me with her ice cream. Tần Tử Dục didn’t chase after me.
Usually, whenever I got upset, he would comfort me. Why was he acting so differently today?
Cố Tư Tư held out the ice cream to me. “Sis, do you want some?”
I turned to look and said coolly, “No.”
Cố Tư Tư followed my gaze, as if she understood what I was thinking, and her thoughts started getting noisy again.
[His company just got a huge investment, so of course he doesn’t care about a little heiress like you anymore.]
[That freeloader doesn’t even know Cố Ngôn Xuyên was the one who put that money in.]
[Too bad you’ll never know that Cố Ngôn Xuyên likes you.]
My mind went blank in an instant.
My heart began racing, and my breathing grew unsteady.
I stood still and quietly looked at Cố Tư Tư. “What did you say?”
She looked a little surprised. “I asked if you wanted ice cream… I just took a lick…”
That wasn’t what I was asking about.
It sounded like she’d just said… my brother likes me…
It was true that Tần Tử Dục was cheating on me. Could this be true too…?
“I just remembered I have something to take care of.” I pulled a card from my purse and handed it to her. “There’s no PIN. Go shopping on your own.”
Cố Tư Tư’s expression stayed calm, but inside she was over the moon.
[Hehehe, I want to cling to my rich big sister.]
3.
I drove straight to the company and went up to the top floor.
After my father passed away, my brother gave up the chance to study abroad and pursue advanced studies so he could take over the company.
In the two years since he took over, the company has grown tremendously.
When I pushed open the door to his office, he was sitting at his desk, looking over some documents.
At the sound, he looked up. When he saw me, he seemed surprised.
“Tích Tích, what are you doing here?”
I walked over and looked him straight in the eye as I asked,
“Brother, do you know why, out of all the people in the orphanage back then, I chose you to be my brother?”
As if sensing that I was unsettled, he closed the documents he’d been reading and stood to come over to me.
“What’s wrong?”
I didn’t answer his question and continued, “Maybe it’s because I like you.”
That affection had grown with me, taking root in my heart and growing wildly, until it became harder and harder to hide.
But my brother had always treated me coldly. His voice was cold when he spoke to me, and so was his gaze.
I raised a hand and, through the thin fabric of his shirt, placed it over his heart. Pressing my lips together slightly, I asked,
“Brother, what about you? Do you like me?”
He looked at me for a moment, as though he’d just heard something terribly funny.
“Cố Tích, what’s gotten into you?”
I wanted to go crazy.
I looked up at him, my eyes bloodshot, and said each word through clenched teeth.
“My boyfriend cheated on me, so I want to cheat too.”
He looked slightly stunned, as if he didn’t understand what I meant.
I rose onto my tiptoes and slowly moved closer to his lips.
Our warm breaths mingled, and the air between us grew hot.
As I drew closer, he suddenly raised a hand to stop me.
My kiss landed in the palm of his hand.
“Cố Tích.” He gently pushed me away, his expression as cool as ever. His voice held a warning. “I only think of you as my sister. Don’t come to me and act crazy.”
Liar.
I stared at his ears, which were gradually turning red.
And his palm just now, its burning warmth and racing pulse.
Everything told me—
He didn’t really feel that way.
He looked at me, his voice dropping slightly. “Your boyfriend cheated on you?”
I looked up at him. “Brother, you were right. I really do have terrible judgment.”
I’d only gazed at him for a moment, yet I already felt myself sinking into his clear, lake-like eyes.
I was such an idiot.
And I’d actually thought Tần Tử Dục was like him.
“So you’re going to break up with him?” he suddenly asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, my phone rang.
It was Tần Tử Dục. His voice was as gentle as ever as he humbly apologized to me.
I spoke softly to the person on the other end. “I’m not mad at you. Let’s have dinner together tonight, and bring your sister too.”
After hanging up, I looked up at my brother.
“It turns out I misunderstood Tần Tử Dục and his childhood sweetheart.”
“He said he only thinks of that girl as his little sister.”