She couldn’t be thinking of keeping you, could she?!
The moment Yuan Yue’s words left her mouth, a horrified Yuan Xi shoved her away. “You must have a nerve illness!1” he said in disbelief.
“Fine, just assume I’m sick then.” Yuan Yue decided to smash a cracked pot2 and pretended to leave.
Yuan Xi hurriedly pulled her back. “You’d better make yourself clear,” he said with a frown.
Yuan Yue knew he wouldn’t believe her so easily, so she patiently explained, “Ge3, I like women. I like Yu Xi. Do you understand now?”
Yuan Xi reached out to feel her forehead. With a sharp pa, Yuan Yue slapped his hand away. “What are you doing?” she snapped.
“Seeing if your brain’s been fried.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” Yuan Yue retorted, finding a seat for herself.
Yuan Xi followed right behind her.
Yuan Yue said nothing, just staring at him with pleading eyes.
Unable to withstand her visual assault, Yuan Xi looked away and pulled out his phone. “I’m going to talk to Yu Xi.”
With fast eyes and quick hands4, Yuan Yue pressed down on his hand. “Yu Xi is at work. How could she have time to talk with you?”
Yuan Xi brushed her hand aside, lightly and easily, and stepped out of her reach. He quickly found Yu Xi’s number and dialed.
After a single du, the call connected, and Yu Xi’s pleasant voice came through from the other end.
Yuan Xi was once again at a loss for words. He cleared his throat and said, “Yu Xi, do you have time right now? I’d like to chat.”
Surprised, Yu Xi paused for a moment before replying, “Dage5, I’m so sorry, but I have plans with Yueyue to eat hot pot today. Did you need me for something?”
“Eating hot pot, huh?” Yuan Xi’s lips twitched as he glanced at Yuan Yue, who was sitting nearby, watching him like a tiger eyeing its prey. “In that case, you should come over now. Yuan Yue and I are both at the restaurant.”
The call was over in three words and two sentences6. Yuan Xi put his phone away and said coldly to Yuan Yue, who wanted to speak but stopped, “I don’t want to hear your explanation right now. I’ll wait for Yu Xi to get here and ask her face-to-face.”
Even though Yuan Xi wasn’t much older than her and usually doted on her, Yuan Yue was still a little scared whenever he lost his temper. She pouted and stood up to leave.
“Where are you going?”
Yuan Yue held the file folder up in front of him. “Someone’s waiting for me outside,” she said reluctantly. “I have to give this to her.”
Yuan Xi was unmoved in the middle of it7. He held out his hand. “Just have Xiao Min take it. You stay right here and don’t move.”
Since Yuan Yue didn’t want to see Sun Wenya anyway, she gladly accepted his arrangement and handed him the folder.
Without a second glance, Yuan Xi opened the door, gave the item to Xiao Min, and walked back in with a face without expression.
Yuan Yue was looking down, fiddling with her phone. Yuan Xi happened to glimpse her open WeChat window and his sharp eyes caught the jarring words “My Dear.” He remembered that this was Yuan Yue’s contact name for Yu Xi, and a mix of five flavors8 instantly filled his heart.
Knowing Yuan Xi was peeking, Yuan Yue turned off her phone. As she looked up, she let out a nearly inaudible sigh and said leisurely, “I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s the truth. Ge, there’s a simple reason why I haven’t had a boyfriend all these years and refused all the blind dates you arranged for me: I don’t like men at all.”
Hearing her put it that way, Yuan Xi had to admit it was a bit strange. It was just that he wasn’t mentally prepared.
Yuan Xi wasn’t a rigid person, and this wasn’t his first time encountering homosexuality. But to suddenly learn that his own younger sister was a “leisi”9… that was a little hard for him to accept.
He couldn’t help but scrutinize Yuan Yue from head to toe, his brows furrowing deeper in distress. “How could you… how could you and Yu Xi…”
The mention of Yu Xi made his heart ache even more. They were both his younger sisters, and they’d gotten together behind his back.
Yuan Xi shook his head and sighed.
To win him over, Yuan Yue stood up, hooked her arm through his, and said coaxingly, “Ge, I’m your sister. You’ve always doted on me. You’d support me no matter what I do, right?”
Yuan Xi’s gaze shot to her, chillingly cold, like a predator ready to pounce.
Pretending not to notice, Yuan Yue shook his arm insistently. “Ge, you can’t force feelings. Some things just can’t be changed. You have to accept it.”
Yuan Xi removed her clinging hand and took a deep breath. “What’s the use of telling me this? If Mom finds out, it’ll be a disaster.”
“She already knows.”
Yuan Xi’s expression was like he’d just swallowed a fly. He stared blankly. “And she accepts it?”
“Well, not exactly,” Yuan Yue said coyly. “Mom only knows that Yu Xi likes women. She doesn’t know that we’re together.”
To gain Yuan Xi’s help and support, Yuan Yue had no choice but to tell him everything about her and Yu Xi, including the story of her “taking refuge” at home earlier.
After listening, Yuan Xi was silent for a long time. He watched her with composure, all orderly and at leisure, before saying, “No wonder Yu Xi suddenly started calling me Ge. And no wonder she inexplicably acknowledged our mom at dinner last time. So you two had this premeditated all along.”
Both of those things had been Yu Xi’s own ideas, and Yuan Yue had been just as baffled. But that wasn’t the point. Seeing Yuan Xi’s resolve wavering, she decided to strike the iron while it was hot10. “Ge, no matter what, you have to help me.”
Yuan Xi was still hesitant and didn’t commit one way or the other.
The two siblings were left with big eyes staring at small eyes11, looking at each other without words in the room for ten minutes. Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door.
Without asking who it was, Yuan Xi opened it. When he saw the person standing outside, he said with a complex mix of emotions, “You’re here.”
The moment Yu Xi stepped into the hot pot restaurant, Xiao Min called out to her before she could even look for Yuan Yue.
Xiao Min told her that Yuan Yue and Yuan Xi were waiting in the break room. Puzzled, Yu Xi walked over and knocked. Now, seeing Yuan Xi’s complicated expression, she grew even more confused. “What’s wrong, Dage?”
Yuan Xi’s eyes flickered. “Come in first, then we’ll talk.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Xi walked inside.
Seeing her enter, Yuan Yue shot to her feet, went to greet her, and naturally took her hand.
Yuan Xi carefully locked the door. When he turned around, he saw the two of them interacting intimately as if no one else was around. He felt a pang of discomfort and let out a few fake coughs. He paced around the room, thinking for a long while before he dared to stop and face the two younger sisters across from him. He found it difficult to speak. “You two…”
“My ge already knows about us,” Yuan Yue said to Yu Xi first to avoid any awkwardness.
Yu Xi’s face showed no stirred-up waves12. She simply smiled at Yuan Xi. “So you were in such a hurry to see me because of this?”
Yuan Xi couldn’t manage their level of composure. He struggled to find the right words, saying unnaturally, “Yuan Yue says she doesn’t like men. She says she likes you. I want to hear your thoughts on the matter.”
Since he was being direct, Yu Xi saw no reason to turn corners and brush against the edges13. She instinctively interlocked her ten fingers tightly with Yuan Yue’s and addressed Yuan Xi, solemnly handling the matter14. “I like Yuan Yue very much. I want to be with her. I hope we can have your blessing, Dage.”
Yuan Xi: “…”
After they had opened sincerity and announced publicly, Yuan Xi sat down to eat hot pot with them.
At the dinner table, the normally talkative Yuan Xi became unusually quiet. He kept scrutinizing the pair across from him, who were acting all “you thick, I thick”15 with each other. When he finally could endure it no longer, he spoke up. “I have to say, you two are going too far. Can’t you just eat properly? Do you have to be so flesh-numbing?16“
Chewing on a piece of shrimp Yu Xi had personally peeled for her, Yuan Yue mumbled, vague and not clear, “You’re just envious and jealous. If you can’t stand it, you can sit at your own table.”
Yuan Xi wasn’t in the mood to bicker. Weighed down by his thoughts, he finished his meal in silence.
After they ate, Yu Xi had to get back to work. Yuan Xi followed her out and, seeing that Yuan Yue wasn’t around, took the opportunity to ask, “What are your plans for the future?”
Yu Xi paused to think. “I don’t have any other plans right now,” she admitted frankly, “but I’m thinking of selling my apartment.”
That evening, after they returned home, Yu Xi told Yuan Yue she wanted to sell her apartment.
Yuan Yue was shocked. “What?! Why would you sell it? Don’t tell me you’re planning to sell it and run back to Germany!”
Yu Xi was both exasperated and amused. “Why would I run back for no reason? Don’t worry, I promised you I wouldn’t leave, and I won’t.”
Yuan Yue patted her chest to calm herself. “You nearly scared me to death,” she said with exaggeration.
Yu Xi wrapped her arms around her, pressing their foreheads together affectionately. “Yueyue, I’m never leaving again. I’ll stay in China and be with you, okay?” she said sincerely.
Yuan Yue could hardly believe her ears. She gently pushed Yu Xi away and gazed into her captivating eyes. “Really?” she whispered.
Yu Xi nodded emphatically. “Of course, it’s real,” she said in all seriousness. “When have I ever lied to you?”
Feeling like she was about to faint from happiness, Yuan Yue shifted to sit on Yu Xi’s lap. She cupped Yu Xi’s face in her hands, a sliver of doubt remaining. “Then you can’t lie to me in the future, either. You can’t hide anything from me.”
Yu Xi didn’t respond immediately. Her expression stiffened slightly. “There is one more thing I haven’t been frank about,” she said slowly.
“What is it?” Yuan Yue’s heart tightened.
Yu Xi hesitated, a rare sight. “You have to promise you won’t get angry when I tell you.”
Her words made Yuan Yue deeply uneasy. “I’ll be even angrier if you don’t tell me,” she said with feigned anger.
Steeling herself, Yu Xi said in a low voice, “The apartment next door was actually a gift from Jie Ran. That’s why I want to sell it.”
Jie Ran gave Yu Xi an apartment?
Yuan Yue thought she’d misheard. She was utterly shocked and stared blankly for a few seconds before remarking, “Jie Ran… she’s so rich…”
That wasn’t the reaction Yu Xi was expecting. She frowned and pinched Yuan Yue’s soft waist. “Are you sure you’re focusing on the right thing?” she asked, displeased.
Yuan Yue looked at her in confusion.
Seeing her dazed expression, Yu Xi realized Yuan Yue was committing flower-craziness17 again. Her face fell. “Normally, when you hear someone gave your girlfriend a gift, shouldn’t you get angry or jealous? Why are you only focused on Jie Ran?”
It took Yuan Yue a moment to realize Yu Xi was eating vinegar18. Snapping back to her senses, she quickly explained, “That was just a spontaneous thought!”
This time, Yu Xi just stared at her without a word.
Her gaze made Yuan Yue’s skin crawl, and she instinctively shrank back. Suddenly, she made a connection. “Wait,” she said suspiciously. “Jie Ran gave you an apartment… she couldn’t be thinking of keeping19 you, could she?!”
Yu Xi’s lips remained tightly sealed. She squeezed Yuan Yue’s soft, pliant waist again and said with a smile where the skin smiles but the flesh doesn’t20, “You’ve been pent up these last few days, haven’t you?”
The sensation sent a tingly numbness through Yuan Yue’s body, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft hum. Fighting to stay rational, she insisted, “You still haven’t answered my question. Does Jie Ran have feelings for you? Why else would she give you an apartment for no reason?”
“We can discuss that question another day.” Unwilling to continue the topic, Yu Xi’s eyes gazed at her with a slow-burning heat. “Do you want it?”
✨ Unlock Early Access to Chapters! ✨
Choose your perfect membership at bamboopandatl.net:
📚 Full Access ($4.99)
• Advanced chapters of ALL ongoing novels
• Access to complete finished novels
• Ad-free reading experience
📖 Single Novel Access ($1.49)
• Advanced chapters of ONE specific novel
• Ad-free reading for chosen novel
PayPal is the only current payment option!