An Adoptive Older Sister Cannot Become a Wife - Chapter 8

The bus pulled up to the stop, and students swarmed out of the carriage like a hive of bees.

Qi Shu tucked her vocabulary book back into her pocket and stood up. As she did, she caught Jiang Ye silently mouthing the word “Stingy” at her.

Qi Nianshu didn’t notice the silent exchange between the two. She instinctively followed at Qi Shu’s heels, not forgetting to wave goodbye to Jiang Ye. “See you, Senior!”

Jiang Ye beamed and waved back. Then, remembering something, she called out a warning: “I heard the Student Union is checking for ID badges today!”

Nianshu’s hand flew to her chest. Her heart dropped. There was nothing there. She had been in such a rush to leave that she hadn’t checked if she’d packed her school ID.

A long queue had already formed at the school gates. Standing right next to the Student Union members with their armbands was the Dean of Students, “Baldy” Wang.

Nianshu froze in her tracks. She turned to Qi Shu, her face as pale as ash. “Sister, I suddenly feel… really unwell. I think I should probably take the day off after all!”

She turned to bolt, but Qi Shu caught her by the backpack with one hand, holding her firmly in place. Qi Shu looked down at Nianshu’s tense shoulders, her voice unreadable. “Where are you going?”

Nianshu turned around, her face crumpled in misery. “Old Wang is the strictest! If you’re caught without an ID, they deduct class points and make you stand in front of the bulletin board for public shaming! It’s humiliating, I won’t do it.”

She tried to duck behind Qi Shu, attempting to hide in her shadow. “I was writing that essay until midnight; I must have left it on my desk!”

The line moved slowly toward the gate. The Dean’s sharp gaze was already scanning the crowd, looking for anyone trying to slip through. Nianshu could already see the image of her homeroom teacher, Old Chen, lecturing her and poking her in the forehead.

“Stay still.”

Like a magic trick, Qi Shu pulled a light blue ID badge from her pocket. She leaned down and clipped it to Nianshu’s jacket.

It was her ID.

Nianshu stared blankly at the badge, featuring her own ID photo. She touched it; the plastic felt as if it still held the warmth of Qi Shu’s fingers.

“When did you grab this? I didn’t even see!” She looked up at Qi Shu, her eyes sparkling with relief, the panic from moments ago vanishing.

Qi Shu withdrew her hand and reached up to straighten Nianshu’s collar, which had gone crooked during her nap. “I saw it when I was tidying the bags this morning,” she said simply.

“Sister, you’re literally a lifesaver,” Nianshu said, overflowing with gratitude. She’d already been assigned a self-reflection essay yesterday; if she caused the class to lose points today, Old Chen would probably have her head.

Qi Shu checked the time. “If you aren’t careful, I won’t always be there to bail you out.”

Nianshu shook her head instantly. “But every time, Sister, you appear like a guardian angel to save me from the fire.”

It was true in the past, and it was true now. Qi Shu looked at her but said nothing more.

The seniors occupied a separate building. Qi Shu left first, and Nianshu watched her retreating back for a long time before finally forcing herself to move.

When she entered the classroom, Old Chen was already standing at the door with his arms crossed, ready to catch latecomers. He shot her a sharp look that made her snap to attention and immediately offer up her self-reflection essay like a peace offering.

Old Chen scanned it, folded it, and shoved it into his pocket. Then, he started his usual nagging. “Listen well in class. Grade 11 is a turning point in your life. If you study hard now, then later…”

Nianshu nodded along, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.

Seeing her lack of focus, Old Chen sighed. “I know you and Qi Shu are close. But have you thought about it? With Qi Shu’s grades, she can pick any university in the country. What about you? You can’t just be her little ‘tag-along’ forever.”

“So what if I’m a tag-along for life?” Nianshu muttered under her breath.

It wasn’t loud, but it reached Old Chen’s ears clearly. He took a sharp breath in frustration and poked her forehead. “Is that all the ambition you have? Qi Shu is destined to fly higher and higher; she’ll have her own life. No matter how close you are, you can’t stay with her forever!”

Nianshu wanted to shout, “Why not?”—but the words died in her throat. She realized she didn’t have the confidence to back them up.

Even Qi Shu had just said that she wouldn’t always be there to save her.

Qi Shu was a grade ahead. Back when Qi Shu started high school, Nianshu was still in middle school, but since it was a combined campus, they were only separated by a single wall. They could still be together.

But university was different. Those schools were scattered across the country. They wouldn’t be separated by a wall, but by hundreds or thousands of kilometers. That meant seeing Qi Shu would become incredibly difficult. She wouldn’t be able to go to school with her, eat with her, or sleep beside her anymore.

Just the thought made Nianshu’s heart ache unbearably.

Seeing that his words had finally hit home, and remembering the message Qi Shu had sent him this morning, Old Chen didn’t push further. He just sighed. “You’re a smart girl. Think it over.”

Having been hit by such a heavy dose of reality first thing in the morning, Nianshu slumped back to her seat, looking like a wilted plant.

Her friend Lin Xiao noticed her mood. “What’s wrong? Did Old Chen chew you out again?”

Nianshu rested her chin on the desk, looking up listlessly. “Hey… what kind of people get to stay together happily for a lifetime?”

“The Prince and Princess in a fairy tale, I guess,” Lin Xiao answered without thinking.

Nianshu shook her head. “But fairy tales only end with them living happily ever after. They’re still young at the end of the story. What about the long years after that? Don’t they fight? Don’t they have problems?”

Lin Xiao thought the question was a bit random, but she followed the logic. “You can’t apply real-world logic to fairy tales. In reality, the Prince in Snow White probably has a corpse fetish, and the fisherman in the Snail Girl story is basically a kidnapper. There’s no such thing as ‘happily ever after’ in real life.”

Nianshu felt even worse. She realized she had never actually thought about the future. She simply couldn’t imagine a life where Qi Shu wasn’t there.

“Whoa, what’s with her?”

Zhang Ruomeng slipped in through the back door, avoiding Old Chen’s line of sight. Seeing Nianshu face-down on the desk, she asked curiously.

Lin Xiao shrugged. “She’s contemplating the meaning of life.”

“What’s there to contemplate?” Zhang Ruomeng scoffed. “You’re born, you survive, you die. Simple.” She tapped on Nianshu’s desk. “Stop being ‘The Thinker’ and look at this. I’ve got something good.”

Nianshu didn’t think anything could be “good” right now, but she looked up to see Ruomeng acting suspiciously, hiding something behind a textbook.

Nianshu gasped. “You actually brought a phone to school!”

The school rules were strict; snacks and electronics were strictly prohibited. Getting caught with a phone usually meant a major disciplinary mark.

Zhang Ruomeng lunged to cover Nianshu’s mouth. “Shhh! My mom is on a business trip for a week, so I needed it for contact.”

Nianshu blinked to show she understood, and Ruomeng let go to show her the screen. It was an update from the school’s “Confession Wall” (anonymous forum) from ten minutes ago. Nianshu had always wondered who ran that page, they seemed to have eyes everywhere in the school.

It was an anonymous post with the caption: [Wall-ie, please hide my ID! I can’t keep this to myself, it’s so sweet I’m dying.]

There was a photo attached.

Nianshu looked at it, confused. It was a picture of her on the bus, sleeping on Qi Shu’s shoulder. It was clearly a candid shot; the camera was slightly shaky and blurred. In the photo, Nianshu’s head was tilted against Qi Shu’s shoulder, fast asleep. Qi Shu was slightly turned toward her, appearing to look at her vocabulary book, but also seemingly watching over Nianshu.

“I’ve seen the post. So where’s the ‘good thing’?” Nianshu asked, genuinely puzzled.

Zhang Ruomeng choked. “Some people really don’t know how lucky they are.”

“Huh?”

Lin Xiao chuckled. Ruomeng tried to explain: “Do you have any idea what kind of ‘CP’ (Couple) status you two have in this school?”

“I don’t know about their status,” a cold, merciless voice rang out from behind Zhang Ruomeng, “but I know your phone’s status for the next few weeks, it’ll be staying with me.”

Ruomeng froze. The phone hit the desk with a thud, the screen still glowing with the candid photo. She looked at Lin Xiao, who had gone silent and lowered her head, then slowly turned around with a smile that looked more like a grimace. “C-Chen… Mr. Chen… what are you doing here?”

Old Chen held out his hand. “Hand it over.”

“I was just… before class started…” Ruomeng tried one last time.

Old Chen was brief. “The Dean’s office or me. Your choice.”

Knowing this was the best deal she’d get, Ruomeng reluctantly handed over the phone with both hands. Old Chen pocketed it without a second thought. “The sports meet is in two weeks. Win the 2000-meter race, and I’ll give it back.”

“The sports meet?!” Ruomeng’s eyes lit up.

Old Chen huffed. “Lazy when it comes to studying, but the moment you hear about ‘fun,’ you’re the first one ready.”

The rest of the class had been eavesdropping and perked up at the mention of the sports meet. Old Chen walked to the podium and tapped the desk to get everyone’s attention.

The room went dead silent. Old Chen’s expression softened slightly. “The week before National Day. Thursday and Friday after next—is the Autumn Sports Meet. Our class needs an opening ceremony formation and participants for the group events. Sports rep, hand out the sign-up sheets. I want them back by the end of the day.”

The classroom exploded into cheers. Ruomeng, having spent years running from teachers, was already confident about the 2000-meter sprint.

But Nianshu felt distant from the noise. She was still thinking about that post on the Confession Wall.

What did they mean by “CP”?

And what did they mean by “So sweet I’m dying”?

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