After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 44.1

Chapter 44.1

The 04 Session Auction ended, and the tea break was set up on the floor above the auction hall.

Aureat organized tea breaks of varying scales based on the participants’ level.

Normally, a painting and calligraphy session that primarily featured young artists’ work would have a small-scale break, offering only desserts and simple refreshments.

But upon pushing the door open, Chu Yiqiao was stunned by the grandeur before her.

This could not be described as a simple “tea break.” The charity galas she had attended with Tan Ze were no more elaborately staged. People passing by were all in cocktail dresses, holding long-stemmed glasses. The atmosphere conveyed an overwhelming sense of extravagance that made Chu Yiqiao dizzy.

She turned, but Tan Ze still wore her usual composed expression, as if she had been in control all along.

On second thought, this made sense. Since Tan Ze could sign and take press photos in the center of the promotional board downstairs, it meant her understanding of this event was not simply as “the sister accompanying a participant,” but that she possessed more information that Chu Yiqiao was unaware of.

Chu Yiqiao rarely saw Tan Ze’s work side, but the details she observed today were enough for her to contemplate for a long time.

“Sister, did you know about this all along?” Chu Yiqiao leaned against Tan Ze, allowing Tan Ze to gently lead her by the wrist toward a cluster of people.

Tan Ze no longer concealed it: “There’s a jewelry auction and other painting sessions today. I’ll introduce you to a few people.”

Upon seeing the two approach, the group of people who had been chatting immediately stopped and proactively greeted Tan Ze.

Tan Ze took a slight step back, standing behind Chu Yiqiao. The intention to introduce and support was too obvious. The people in front of them quickly grasped the purpose and skillfully steered the conversation from Tan Ze to Chu Yiqiao.

Chu Yiqiao rarely participated in social events like this. She had heard Professor Kong complain about how much entertaining he had to do, saying he’d be happier if he could just paint.

Tan Ze introduced people one by one beside her. Chu Yiqiao responded awkwardly, shaking hands with the chairman of a certain association and the owner of a certain gallery.

She was initially a little nervous, afraid she wouldn’t perform well on her first try. To her surprise, the entire communication process was pleasant. Chu Yiqiao didn’t have to worry about initiating topics or formulating replies; the people opposite her handled all of that.

After half an hour of conversation, Chu Yiqiao’s throat was dry. The mental tension was the most exhausting. She looked at Tan Ze for help.

Tan Ze received the message, ended the conversation, and led Chu Yiqiao to an empty spot near the dessert table.

The moment she sat down, Chu Yiqiao let out a deep sigh, a distinct “whoosh” sound.

Tan Ze reached over the table full of champagne for juice, poured the high-stemmed glass halfway full for Chu Yiqiao, and handed it to her, watching her with a smile: “You’re already tired after just a few people. How will you handle socializing later?”

Since there was no one nearby, Chu Yiqiao sat sprawled out, using a straw to drink the juice in the glass. She finished it in one go. Tan Ze poured it half-full again.

Chu Yiqiao looked at Tan Ze: “Sister, is this what your socializing is usually like?”

Tan Ze thought for a few seconds: “We are usually seated.”

“I don’t mean that!” Chu Yiqiao complained, glaring at Tan Ze, then looked down to examine her skirt: “Sister, I don’t really want to do this.”

Chu Yiqiao’s resistance was completely expected by Tan Ze. She was used to staying home, living a three-point life: home, company, school. Her biggest social setting was class gatherings. It was normal for her to be uncomfortable at first.

However, when Chu Yiqiao was little, she was also the center of compliments when Chu Lingfeng took her out. According to her original growth trajectory, she should be thriving in such environments. It was Tan Ze who had deliberately kept her from attending these events, intentionally enclosing her within their small home.

From childhood to adulthood, if Chu Yiqiao didn’t want to do something, Tan Ze wouldn’t make her do it. This unconditional indulgence was sweet, but Tan Ze knew well that it was also poisonous.

Chu Yiqiao was still too young to understand the truth that no one in the world can be trusted except yourself.

Tan Ze, as the older person, should teach her, but she had selfish motives.

“Didn’t you say you don’t want to go to graduate school and want to be a pure artist?” Tan Ze said. “Being a pure artist doesn’t just mean painting. Even your Professor Kong has to go eat with people after class.”

Tan Ze was referring to something from the beginning of the year. Chu Yiqiao was in her third year and would graduate next year. Even art academies needed to track graduates’ employment rates, and the counselor asked students one-on-one.

There were only three paths for a pure art major: graduate school, joining an institution, or becoming a pure artist.

The short-term part-time job at Lin Jie’s studio had already made Chu Yiqiao wary of the “joining an institution” option. Graduate school sounded like too much studying, so Chu Yiqiao casually chose “becoming a pure artist.”

Counselors usually tried to talk students out of choosing this, but knowing Chu Yiqiao’s background, hers only said, “Good, all the best.”

Chu Yiqiao had no plan for her future and had chosen it casually, forgetting it soon after. She never expected that the little detail she’d mentioned casually to Tan Ze would be remembered until now.

“Sister, can’t you help me?” Chu Yiqiao bent over to reach for the dessert on the table. She was hungry. She bit the waffle into the shape of a moon in one mouthful, her cheeks puffed out as she spoiled Tan Ze: “As long as I have you, it’s fine, just like before.”

Tan Ze was speechless for a moment, gazing at Chu Yiqiao’s rounded cheeks and lowered eyes.

Chu Yiqiao had no idea what kind of temptation Tan Ze faced every day. Chu Yiqiao was so compliant, as if anything could be done to her. Tan Ze was acting against her own instincts to push Chu Yiqiao onto a path that was relatively further away from herself.

Tan Ze propped up her head, adopting the calm, analytical tone she used in company meetings for the first time in front of Chu Yiqiao: “You’re in the second half of your third year now, and you haven’t signed with a gallery. This competition brings you fame, which is a good stepping stone.”

“Si Yueshan knows many curators of art spaces. You can participate in group exhibitions first. Wait another year, and you can start planning your own exhibition after graduation.”

“By then, whether you want to open a gallery or sign with one to paint leisurely, it’s up to you. Whatever you like.”

Chu Yiqiao was dumbfounded. She knew nothing about any of this. It was her own affair, yet Tan Ze seemed to have planned everything out. Her shock was mixed with admiration and a subtle sense of inferiority.

The juice in the stemmed glass gently swayed. Chu Yiqiao felt her face heat up, embarrassed by her lack of ambition.

Tan Ze took a glass of champagne for herself, drinking most of it while deep in thought, until she felt a slight weight press onto her shoulder.

Without looking down, she knew it was Chu Yiqiao clinging to her again.

She lowered her head, starting to fiddle with Tan Ze’s hair in boredom, looking a century away from growing into an adult like Tan Ze.

Tan Ze reached out to touch Chu Yiqiao’s head and made three promises in one breath: “The frequency won’t be high. I’ll take you to meet people privately next time, and we’ll go home shortly.”

“Okay, I’ll try my best, but can you please accompany me, Sister…” Chu Yiqiao mumbled softly. She seemed to know this request was too childish, and the latter half was too vague to hear clearly.

Chu Yiqiao was exhausted and refused to get up. Since Tan Ze chose to attend, she couldn’t just leave after a brief appearance.

Zhao Jingxing’s work attire also had a hidden meaning; she wasn’t actually freeloading food, as she claimed, but working overtime. Within minutes, she appeared out of nowhere to inform Tan Ze that the CEO of a certain corporation had arrived.

Before leaving, Tan Ze instructed Chu Yiqiao: “Wait here obediently. Don’t wander off,” Chu Yiqiao nodded, lowering her eyes to fiddle with her ten fingers.

The warmth she had absorbed from interlocking her fingers with Tan Ze in the hall had completely dissipated. Chu Yiqiao’s skin returned to its usual temperature, and her restless heart gradually calmed down.

Did I misunderstand again?

Chu Yiqiao looked at her empty finger, thinking she should just buy a ring and put it on herself.

Maybe it’s fake now, but wouldn’t it become real after she and her sister had been in a de facto marriage for eight years?

Chu Yiqiao lay sprawled out and pulled her phone out of her dress pocket. It was Wednesday. In the three-person chat group, Bei Tong and Yan Yuanjing were taking turns complaining about their professor. Chu Yiqiao sent a picture of the champagne tower.

The complaining paused, and the questioning began.

Bei Tong: Chu Yiqiao, where are you? Don’t you usually hate going to these kinds of events?

Chu Yiqiao: My sister brought me.

Yan Yuanjing: @Beishell, do you want this for your birthday? Looks pretty cool.

Bei Tong: Where would I put it? My apartment? My mom would break my legs if she saw it.

Yan Yuanjing: Disability aesthetics, so sexy.

Chu Yiqiao laughed out loud. The gloom in her heart was swept away. She carefully composed a few photos of the dessert area and posted them on her Moments. Several friends liked them. Chu Yiqiao replied to the comments one by one, then put her phone back in her pocket.

Most people attending this event were here for networking. There were almost no people sitting and eating. The table next to Chu Yiqiao was filled with the desserts she had eaten. Her gaze traveled across the room and finally landed on a high-stemmed glass.

It held champagne, most of which had been consumed. Irregular water marks remained on the rim, particularly visible under the ceiling lights.

It was the glass Tan Ze had been drinking from.

Chu Yiqiao secretly glanced around. Everyone was busy with their own things; no one was looking her way.

Although her sister was not far, her back was to Chu Yiqiao. It didn’t look like she would suddenly turn around anytime soon.

Chu Yiqiao raised her hand and picked up the glass.

She rotated it so the side with the water marks faced her, raised it to her lips, covering the marks with her soft, warm lips, and drank the same wine as Tan Ze.

That’s strange. Is champagne this sweet? Chu Yiqiao suspected her sense of taste was malfunctioning, or maybe the wine had gone bad.

That won’t do. I must take another sip to confirm.

Misbehavior is always easier the second time. Chu Yiqiao felt guilty with the first sip but only sweetness with the second. She slightly parted her teeth and took another sip.

This time, only a thin layer of wine remained in the glass, a pitiful testament to Chu Yiqiao’s crime.

Dispose of the evidence. Chu Yiqiao decided to eliminate this last bit as well. Without checking her surroundings again, she raised the glass to her lips.

As her arm went up and her eyes opened, Chu Yiqiao met the gaze of a distorted figure through the glass.

Tan Ze was standing not far away, her gray-blue eyes full of teasing.

Chu Yiqiao’s face flared up, almost consuming her entirely.

She wanted to look back confidently. After all, they had done intimate things countless times; there was no reason to be shy about consuming some of the other person’s saliva.

But on second thought, it was different. Kissing was mutual.

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