After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Marriage, marriage, marriage.

Chu Yiqiao was truly being driven mad by the thought of marriage; she practically wished she could just open her mouth and ask.

Actually, she had considered being direct.

In Chu Yiqiao’s plan, she intended to wait until the next time her sister secretly put the ring on her finger. She wouldn’t pretend to sleep; she’d open her eyes, start with a kiss, and then say: “Yes! I do!”

However, half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Tan Ze never secretly put the ring on Chu Yiqiao’s finger again, just holding her and falling asleep, leaving Chu Yiqiao’s heart suspended. She even began to doubt if that night had been real.

Was it just a delusion of her own?

But now, she didn’t need to wonder.

Chu Yiqiao was absolutely certain that it would be next Wednesday night. With so many signs, there couldn’t be a mistake.

Oh, my sister is so thoughtful, as expected. A double harvest of career and love on the day of the auction.

Her strong intention led to her only favoring white dresses when Tan Ze accompanied her to choose clothes that afternoon. She wouldn’t even consider ordinary styles; she insisted on ones with tulle on the skirt.

In the end, she selected three. Chu Yiqiao tried them on one by one. The waist and shoulder width needed to be altered.

Chu Yiqiao stood on the circular platform while the designer took measurements. Tan Ze sat nearby watching.

Tan Ze propped up her head. Due to her posture, her white shirt pulled up slightly, exposing a section of her white wrist. Faint, pale-purple veins were visible underneath. Chu Yiqiao rarely paid attention to this detail before, but she had stared at it for a long time that Friday night. Now, when her eyes caught it, she inevitably lingered.

She noticed that Tan Ze basically never crossed her legs, which must be why her legs were so straight. She also noticed that Tan Ze would squint slightly when looking into the distance. It seemed she was a little myopic. Why didn’t she wear glasses, then? She looked beautiful whether she wore glasses or not.

The thoughts in Chu Yiqiao’s mind were flying chaotically: sometimes it was the proposal, sometimes any small detail of Tan Ze’s body, sometimes what they would eat for dinner.

It had been a long time since she’d thought about so many things at once. Her reaction time was slower. It took Tan Ze calling her three times before she responded, and she was unknowingly subjected to a lot of teasing.

On Tuesday afternoon, Si Yueshan personally delivered the invitations to the company. There were three: one for Chu Yiqiao, one for Tan Ze, and the remaining one for Zhao Jingxing.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Si Yueshan had a perfect smile on her face. The first half of the sentence was directed at Tan Ze, and the second half shifted her gaze to Zhao Jingxing.

Chu Yiqiao hadn’t been alone with Zhao Jingxing for a while and wasn’t very familiar with her current situation. She only knew that Zhao Jingxing was very busy and wasn’t always visible when she came to the company.

Judging from their interaction last night, Zhao Jingxing and Si Yueshan must have had quite a bit of contact recently. Chu Yiqiao happened to run into her Jingxing Jie while getting orange juice in the pantry. She paused and asked: “Jingxing Jie, are you going to the auction tomorrow night too?”

Zhao Jingxing was chugging Americano like water. She replied: “Yes, why wouldn’t I? Free food!”

Chu Yiqiao wanted to ask a few more questions, but Zhao Jingxing sensed her intention and quickly changed the subject to the matter of the “proposal.”

Chu Yiqiao got excited talking about this and, sure enough, forgot to ask how the two of them had become acquainted. She didn’t remember to ask later either.

Wednesday: The Day

Chu Yiqiao was so excited the night before that she couldn’t sleep. On Wednesday, as soon as the alarm rang, she eagerly volunteered to press the snooze button. A faint hint of dark circles hung under her beautiful apricot eyes, but her gaze was bright, dazzlingly so.

Tan Ze was worried she hadn’t rested enough. Chu Yiqiao had already crawled out of the covers but was pulled back by Tan Ze gripping her waist. Of course, Chu Yiqiao was too excited to sleep. She clung to Tan Ze, kissing and licking her like a cat on catnip.

Tan Ze sleepily smoothed her hand down Chu Yiqiao’s waistline and slapped her three times with force. Chu Yiqiao was quiet for a few minutes, then started poking Tan Ze’s collarbone again.

A chaotic morning thus began.

Chu Yiqiao had many small habits, all clingy, just like her personality. Tan Ze, who had very strong personal boundaries, didn’t understand but didn’t dislike them either.

For example, Chu Yiqiao insisted on them squeezing together to brush their teeth, as if she really enjoyed seeing the two of them reflected in the same mirror.

Tan Ze had to admit that her idea had indeed plagiarized Chu Yiqiao’s sentiment a little.

As compensation, Tan Ze was the first to dispense toothpaste for Chu Yiqiao recently. She was also willing to condescend to wipe Chu Yiqiao’s face, no longer thinking about the “no spoiling principle” she had previously held in her mind.

Chu Yiqiao was also used to being served. When Tan Ze offered to wipe her face, she just tilted her small face up with peace of mind, doing nothing herself.

Tan Ze proactively asked for her reward. After wiping her face, she always followed up with a kiss.

This one action, in Chu Yiqiao’s eyes, became another omen for the proposal.

On Wednesday afternoon, Chu Yiqiao went home first to change. She wore the white dress she had chosen. The style was simple and casual, not overly formal for sitting in the audience. The dress’s highlights were the hollow-out design on the back and a light pink tulle around the waist. The waist and shoulders had been specially narrowed, making her look youthful and radiant.

Tan Ze was exceptionally serious about dressing Chu Yiqiao, yet when it came to herself, she wore her usual clothes. Given her excellent physical attributes, it didn’t look careless but rather reserved and elegant.

Zhao Jingxing made no effort to hide her intention: she was a paid worker freeloading a meal. She dressed for comfort and didn’t bother going home to change, still wearing her usual professional attire, the only difference being the absence of her employee badge.

The group arrived at the venue half an hour early. Upon entering the main hall, a giant promotional board was already set up. The main body featured the Aureat auction house logo, and below it were the major investing partners for the recent period.

Chu Yiqiao glanced at it while taking photos, stunned to find that the largest one, right in the center, was the Mingcheng logo.

She turned around, and a black signing pen had already been placed in Tan Ze’s hand. An usher guided her to sign in the center of the promotional board.

Zhao Jingxing skillfully took out her phone to take a press photo of her boss, carefully avoiding capturing the wide-eyed young lady standing beside them.

This was what Zhao Jingxing had been busy with for the past half-month. Si Yueshan’s initial attempts to get close to Chu Yiqiao were all about securing an investment.

Tan Ze had her subsidiary company matters to attend to. This particular business was not related to any project of the main company and was, strictly speaking, Tan Ze’s private affair. Therefore, Zhao Jingxing was fully in charge, from initial talks to the final signing.

Chu Yiqiao often saw Tan Ze answering calls at home, and the conversation was precisely about the recent investment in Aureat to open a new branch.

Chu Yiqiao stood still, feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu. It seemed this had been the case since high school wherever she went for an event, she would see her company’s presence.

When she first enrolled, the billboard at the academy building seemed to be showing information about corporate partnerships. She had thought it was just a coincidence due to the company’s wide business scope, but now it seemed there was another truth.

While Zhao Jingxing was taking press photos of Tan Ze, Si Yueshan approached, her face beaming it was clear she was riding a wave of success recently.

She first greeted her dear investor and the investor’s sister, then had an usher guide them to their reserved seats inside the venue.

Zhao Jingxing put away her phone and followed. Si Yueshan leaned closer, bringing with her a strong scent of perfume.

Zhao Jingxing hadn’t gotten used to the smell even after half a month and turned away to avoid it, but the scent diffused quickly. Si Yueshan’s voice rang in her ear.

“Assistant Zhao, the color of your jacket today is lovely.”

Zhao Jingxing gave her a sideways look. Si Yueshan stared back with a smiling face.

The next second, Zhao Jingxing simply took off her suit jacket and tossed it aside.

The interior of the venue was similar to Chu Yiqiao’s memory: a small auditorium design, two tiers, with fixed rows of seats. Bid paddles lay quietly on the tables. Staff, security, and photographers stood by the door, layers deep. The scene was surprisingly grand.

Chu Yiqiao let Tan Ze lead her inside. She looked around, studying the layout of the venue.

The lights on the front stage were already set up, a dazzling beam shining brightly. Other parts of the venue were also lit, but they appeared dim compared to the strong light on the stage. The LED screen at the top continuously displayed the session number.

2304. This was their fourth session of the day: the painting and calligraphy special.

The pieces from the participating artists were interspersed with the general selections for the session. The first piece was a new work by a contemporary foreign painter, abstract in style, with very bold use of color.

The auctioneer on stage was introducing the basic information about the painting. Occasional whispers of discussion rose from the audience. Most people focused their attention on the lot being auctioned.

Chu Yiqiao was not.

Strictly speaking, her mind hadn’t been on this since this morning.

She had agreed to come here with an ulterior motive. Sitting next to Tan Ze now, feeling the seconds tick by, Chu Yiqiao’s heart felt like it would leap out of her throat.

There was no barrier between their seats, and the surrounding light wasn’t very bright, so no one would notice them. Chu Yiqiao slowly, slowly tilted her body sideways, finally leaning gently on Tan Ze’s shoulder.

Tan Ze caught a glimpse of Chu Yiqiao’s inexplicably nervous expression in her peripheral vision. She smiled, quietly adjusting her posture to make Chu Yiqiao more comfortable.

Under the strong light, Tan Ze’s features were more defined. The cool lighting hit her high nose bridge, creating a subtle division of light and shadow, giving her a noble, distant aura.

Chu Yiqiao leaned against her, her state no longer “pre-proposal” but “proposal successful.”

She thought: This person, my sister, who holds me while sleeping, takes me out to play, and supports every single one of my actions since I was a child…

If not for Chu Yiqiao’s ingrained insistence on ceremony, she truly would have kissed Tan Ze now and said, “Sister, I do. Let’s get married.”

She wanted to get even closer.

Chu Yiqiao’s gaze moved down, finally landing on Tan Ze’s hand. She raised her own hand, quietly placing it next to Tan Ze’s for comparison. Her sister’s finger joints were more pronounced and larger. Chu Yiqiao carefully threaded her fingers into the gaps between Tan Ze’s, skin touching skin.

They say the fingers are connected to the heart. This must be the moment they describe. Their fingertips met. A warmth seemed to seep out from beneath the skin, a cozy, heart-softening current of heat. Chu Yiqiao’s whole body felt warm because of this small contact.

Tan Ze glanced sideways at Chu Yiqiao at that moment. On stage, the auction had begun for the first of Chu Yiqiao’s three paintings for this event. It was the same subject as Half Moon Sinking into the River—the moon setting over the sea—but the overall feeling was completely different, serene and dreamy.

Others began to raise their paddles.

The auctioneer crisply announced the number and the bid.

The hammer fell at 250,000.

Auctioneer: “Congratulations to the lady with paddle number 7562!”

The entire hall erupted in applause, congratulating the lady for winning the bid for the painting.

Only the two of them remained motionless. The surrounding clamor was their background. The world slowly shrunk again, leaving only the two of them.

Tan Ze recalled Zhao Jingxing’s report: Chu Yiqiao’s heart was glass; Tan Ze saw right through her. Tan Ze’s heart, however, was turbid water; she couldn’t even grasp it herself.

Regardless, Zhao Jingxing had already gone to order the flowers.

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