After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

That night, Chu Yiqiao had a dream. She was being hugged from behind by a giant, plush teddy bear. The soft fur tickled her neck, and she squirmed, trying to get away.

“It’s so itchy! Don’t hug me anymore!” Chu Yiqiao complained impatiently.

She turned her head, and the cute plush bear had turned into a poker-faced Tan Ze. Chu Yiqiao’s mood instantly brightened. She cozied up to Tan Ze’s chest, muttering: “I want a hug, Sister, I want a hug.”

The sister in her dream was very good-natured and didn’t get angry. The kisses that landed on her skin were hot and soft. Chu Yiqiao was so kissed that her body tingled. In her daze, she thought she heard the sister in her dream call her “Wife,” followed by “Baby.”

“Say it again, Wife, say it one more time,” Chu Yiqiao giggled foolishly, wrapping her arms around her sister’s neck and pleading.

But the sister in her dream kept getting smaller and smaller. Chu Yiqiao was terrified, holding the date-pit-sized Tan Ze, not knowing what to do.

Her sister was still shrinking. Chu Yiqiao was anxious, afraid of losing such a tiny sister. A brilliant idea came to her, and she simply put Tan Ze in her mouth.

Then, she accidentally swallowed her spit and swallowed her.

“No!”

Chu Yiqiao woke up in a fright. She abruptly opened her eyes, saw the familiar ceiling, and realized it was all just a dream.

That’s a relief.

Three minutes later, Tan Ze was awakened by Chu Yiqiao’s fluffy head rubbing against her.

Tan Ze slowly opened her eyes. Chu Yiqiao had buried her entire face in Tan Ze’s body. From Tan Ze’s perspective, she could see a bit of a straight nose and curled eyelashes. Chu Yiqiao was smelling and licking, seemingly very interested in the thin skin on Tan Ze’s chest.

A cannibal.

“Chu Yiqiao? What are you doing up so early?”

The moment Tan Ze spoke, Chu Yiqiao leaned in, as expected. She was probably just waking up herself, her face flushed from sleep.

Tan Ze suspected that Chu Yiqiao’s eyes were different from other people’s, otherwise it was hard to explain why they were always so sparkly.

“Wife, Wife,” Chu Yiqiao rubbed her soft face against her. “I dreamed you called me that yesterday.”

“Called you what?” Tan Ze asked blankly. “Chu Yiqiao?”

“Not that!” Chu Yiqiao bit Tan Ze’s collarbone with a vengeance, successfully leaving a tooth mark.

Married life was completely different from what Chu Yiqiao had imagined.

She thought it would be very romantic. She figured if Tan Ze wasn’t holding her and calling her “Wife” or “Baby,” at least she would be awakened by a kiss in the morning’s first light.

But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Tan Ze had never called Chu Yiqiao “Wife” except during post-coital moments of affection. It seemed she genuinely found the term hard to say.

In stark contrast, Chu Yiqiao had made a perfect transformation. The word “Sister” that was always on her lips had been completely replaced by “Wife.”

“Wife, good morning! Wife, good evening! Wife, what should we eat for lunch? Wife, can you get something for me? Wife, I don’t want to jog! Wife, can you charge my phone?”

For the first three days, Tan Ze did as she was told.

Starting on the fourth day, Chu Yiqiao’s kisses did nothing to move her.

Every morning, Chu Yiqiao would lie on the bed and say “Sister, I love you” at least three times. Tan Ze would still have a straight face, directly putting the toothbrush in Chu Yiqiao’s mouth and taking her, with her own straight face, downstairs to exercise.

Because of this, on the night before May Day, Tan Ze came out of the pre-activity shower. Chu Yiqiao, who usually would already be in bed, was still sitting up, holding her tablet and doing something seriously.

Tan Ze walked over. Chu Yiqiao, hearing her, fumbled and quickly closed the tablet. She wasn’t good at being sneaky. She threw the tablet to the side and tried to cover up by sitting up straight and wrapping her arms around Tan Ze’s neck to kiss her.

Tan Ze tilted her head, dodging Chu Yiqiao’s advances: “What were you looking at?”

“Nothing.” After saying that, Chu Yiqiao continued to kiss her.

Tan Ze still wanted to ask. A few days ago, she saw a Douban post that Zhao Jingxing had forwarded to her. The title was: “I’ve noticed | Relationships where one person constantly checks the other’s phone never last long.”

The message was quickly recalled by Zhao Jingxing. Tan Ze saw the title for a second and remembered it, then quickly searched for it and read the whole post.

Three minutes later, she was finished.

Nonsense, Tan Ze concluded immediately.

TanZe: “Zhao Jingxing, are you that free?”

Even so, Tan Ze decided to slightly reduce the frequency of checking Chu Yiqiao’s phone. Two times a day might indeed be a bit much.

Tan Ze wrapped her arm around Chu Yiqiao’s waist, wanting to ask her directly. However, as they kissed, her hand slipped into Chu Yiqiao’s pants. By the time she realized it, it was already after the act. Chu Yiqiao was so tired that she just clung to Tan Ze in the bathtub and didn’t want to walk on her own.

How was she supposed to ask questions in that situation?

There was no way around it; she had to check for herself.

Tan Ze expertly opened Chu Yiqiao’s tablet and navigated to her private collection of posts.

“How to make my wife love me more?”

Category: Learning.

?

Tan Ze turned her head. In the floating darkness, Chu Yiqiao was sleeping soundly, her breathing steady. Her small, round face was flushed red from sleep, and her expression was very peaceful. From the outside, she looked like someone with very few worries.

Tan Ze was quite surprised. She had always thought Chu Yiqiao was a natural talent in this area.

She didn’t expect a genius would also need to study. Chu Yiqiao’s dedication to this marriage made it seem like Tan Ze wasn’t loving her enough.

Tan Ze carefully put the tablet back in its original place. She wrapped her arm around Chu Yiqiao, staying awake to think.

She was reflecting on whether she had genuinely not done enough, not given the attention and love that Chu Yiqiao, who so clearly needed it, deserved.

The next morning, even though Chu Yiqiao didn’t ask, Tan Ze proactively gave her permission to skip her morning jog (walk).

But since they were newlyweds and it was the May Day holiday, they replaced it with a different kind of exercise.

On the first day of May Day, Chu Yiqiao slept until 2 PM. After lunch, Tan Ze drove her to school again.

Chu Yiqiao’s May Day itinerary was set.

Painting at the studio during the day, exercising at home in the evening.

This wasn’t because she had suddenly matured and decided not to have fun. It was because the timing was special and she was genuinely too busy.

Preparing a portfolio to submit to galleries was a huge undertaking, and organizing her resume and layout was a major project.

Chu Yiqiao hadn’t participated in many exhibitions this semester. She was currently busy with a large-scale oil painting, hoping to finish it before May Day ended so she could make it into the school’s group exhibition and add another page to her portfolio.

Tan Ze parked the car at the entrance of Jing University and turned to the passenger seat to say to Chu Yiqiao: “We’re here. I’ll pick you up this afternoon.”

“Then pick me up early, Wife.”

The words had barely left her mouth when Tan Ze voluntarily offered her right cheek. Chu Yiqiao happily gave her a goodbye kiss and then finally opened the car door, first opening her sun umbrella before stepping out.

Standing outside the car window, she waved to Tan Ze: “Bye, Wife.”

“Goodbye.”

Only after getting Tan Ze’s response did she turn around and enter the school gate.

Tan Ze didn’t leave immediately after dropping Chu Yiqiao off. She stayed where she was, watching Chu Yiqiao’s figure get smaller and smaller.

With May approaching, temperatures were steadily rising. Chu Yiqiao’s clothes were much lighter than they were a week ago, but she still mostly wore long sleeves because of the scars on her inner right arm. This made her stand out among the many students wearing short sleeves.

Tan Ze averted her gaze and started the car.

The next few days followed the same routine. Tan Ze would drop Chu Yiqiao off at school in the morning or afternoon and drive to pick her up at 6 PM.

The weather in Yanjing had been excellent recently, with temperatures climbing to a new high. When Tan Ze went to pick Chu Yiqiao up at 6 PM, it was one of the hottest times of the day.

Every day at 5:55 PM, Chu Yiqiao would appear at the far end of the street, with her umbrella open, and walk closer and closer.

Tan Ze had paid attention to how far it was from their meeting point to Chu Yiqiao’s studio: 221 meters. This was the closest distance Tan Ze had carefully chosen, yet even so, Chu Yiqiao was always drenched in sweat by the time she reached the car, quickly folding her umbrella and getting inside. Her fair, round face was sunburned and red.

“It’s so hot!” Chu Yiqiao quickly rolled up her long sleeves and wailed.

Tan Ze glanced at the car screen, which showed 29 degrees Celsius.

It wasn’t really that hot. It was just because Chu Yiqiao had to wear long sleeves that she felt this way.

Chu Yiqiao, unable to bear the heat, parted her lips and unhealthily directed the car’s air conditioning at her face.

“You’ll get a headache…” Tan Ze’s warning was cut off mid-sentence. Chu Yiqiao hadn’t heard and turned to look at her.

When she met Chu Yiqiao’s heat-distressed face, Tan Ze couldn’t bring herself to say the latter half of the cold phrase: “…I won’t give you a massage then.”

On the way home, Tan Ze was very silent.

Even though Chu Yiqiao’s complexion returned to normal three minutes later, and she rolled down her sleeves, happily scrolling on her phone and drinking the iced milk tea Tan Ze had brought for her, Tan Ze’s heart remained heavy.

Even though Chu Yiqiao was a literal hothouse flower, spending 23 out of 24 hours a day in air-conditioned rooms, with the remaining hour being a necessary outdoor walk, it was still a small impact on her life to wear long sleeves.

Still, Tan Ze genuinely felt sad for Chu Yiqiao.

This was a result of her own past neglect. Even after all these years, that soul-crushing guilt would return every summer.

Tan Ze wasn’t sure why she hadn’t taken action earlier, but this year she was determined to make a change.

May 2nd.

Yanjing’s highest temperature broke 30 degrees Celsius.

That afternoon, Tan Ze came home with a bag of various brands of scar-removal ointment. Chu Yiqiao, still in long sleeves, walked behind her.

Chu Yiqiao was oblivious to Tan Ze’s complicated and shifting inner thoughts. To her, summer wasn’t any more annoying than other seasons. In fact, she could eat a lot of watermelon and ice cream, so life was full of happy anticipation.

That evening, after dinner, Chu Yiqiao took a shower and changed into a loose T-shirt and shorts. She sprawled lazily on the sofa, engrossed in a lively chat with her three friends, not noticing that Tan Ze was quietly observing her exposed skin.

Her face, neck, arms, legs… Tan Ze’s gaze wasn’t the kind she used when they were in bed at night. It was quite serious and focused, almost like a mother checking her child who had been beaten up at school.

The group was discussing birthday presents. Bei Tong’s birthday was coming up, on May 19th, half a month away.

The gift Bei Tong had given Chu Yiqiao at the beginning of the year was a box of mineral pigments. The color selection was more complete than the one Chu Yiqiao had found herself.

Chu Yiqiao was deeply moved and had started looking for a return gift in January. She finally decided on tickets for a concert tour of Bei Tong’s favorite singer. At the moment, she was trying to get hints about which month of the tour would be most convenient for Bei Tong’s schedule.

Bei Tong: “No need to send me anything this year, I don’t need anything. Chu Yiqiao can just get me one of your wife’s sub-companies to play with, and Yan Yuanjing can wear a maid outfit and make me breakfast for ten years, over.”

Yan Yuanjing: “The outfit you bought? It wouldn’t fit, I’m taller than you.”

Chu Yiqiao: “1”

Bei Tong: “Seriously. Last week I overheard my mom talking to her friends, and she’s planning to get me a sports car. It’s so cool. I’ll definitely spend the whole night praising it. If you guys mind, just give me your gifts one day earlier, and I’ll make time to praise them.”

Afterward, Bei Tong sent a screenshot from the official website. Chu Yiqiao opened it and indeed, it was a very cool car.

Chu Yiqiao: “Have you guys gotten your driver’s licenses?”

Bei Tong: “Got it in a month. What’s wrong? You haven’t yet, have you? But your wife is willing to drive, so it doesn’t matter.”

Yan Yuanjing: “My girlfriend is getting me one too. How pitiful, I’ll be crying on my sports car.”

Bei Tong: “Get lost.”

Chu Yiqiao continued to chat, and in the end, she managed to piece together some information from their fragmented messages.

The other two had plans for the evening and logged off early. Chu Yiqiao remained on the WeChat interface, opening the official website screenshot Bei Tong had sent.

She suddenly looked up at Tan Ze, who was sitting on the other side of the sofa, and announced: “Sister, I want to get a driver’s license.”

This decision of Chu Yiqiao’s was quite shocking to Tan Ze. Tan Ze glanced at her, her expression unchanged: “Why the sudden interest in learning? The family can just give you a car.”

Did Zhao Jingxing know she was about to be semi-unemployed?

Chu Yiqiao was so cruel. She always called her “Sister Jingxing” and now, with one sentence, she was about to make her semi-unemployed.

“I just suddenly thought of it,” Chu Yiqiao thought for a few seconds. She had actually wanted to learn back in the summer after high school graduation. She was lazy then, and her sister seemed to have tried to persuade her for a long time but couldn’t convince her. Thinking about it, she was quite a handful back then. “I won’t have time to learn after graduation.”

Nonsense.

Tan Ze looked at Chu Yiqiao’s profile, frowning slightly. Where had she picked up such rubbish information now?

Chu Yiqiao would be a pure artist after graduation, a freelancer. She would have plenty of time to learn to drive even at 35.

“Then pass the first subject first,” Tan Ze said coldly, the next words heavily implying: “I heard some people can’t pass the first subject even after eight tries.”

Tan Ze thought this person was very likely to be Chu Yiqiao.

“Is it that hard?” Chu Yiqiao wiggled and lay on Tan Ze’s lap again, smiling brightly: “It’s okay. My wife will help me.”

Tan Ze pulled her into her arms, and as she nibbled on Chu Yiqiao’s mouth, she thought, Chu Yiqiao is indeed clever, too clever.

From that night on, Tan Ze started applying scar-removal ointment to Chu Yiqiao’s arm every day.

In Tan Ze’s mind, the seemingly carefree Chu Yiqiao was actually very sensitive inside and needed to be cared for meticulously and carefully.

Even though she was her closest wife and sister, she might not be able to candidly expose her wounds in front of her. So, to avoid emotionally damaging Chu Yiqiao’s fragile spirit, Tan Ze did this very discreetly.

That night, as usual, after Tan Ze had bathed Chu Yiqiao, the two of them got into bed. The day’s exhaustion and post-coital fatigue came over her, and Chu Yiqiao, with her arms wrapped around Tan Ze, quickly fell asleep.

Tan Ze stayed awake, listening to Chu Yiqiao’s breathing. When the person in her arms was sound asleep, Tan Ze quietly sat up, carefully laid Chu Yiqiao flat, reached her hand into the blanket, and took out Chu Yiqiao’s boneless right hand.

To avoid waking Chu Yiqiao (even though Tan Ze thought this was highly unlikely), Tan Ze had to apply the ointment under the dim glow of the small nightlight.

Luckily, her gray-blue irises came with excellent night vision. Tan Ze considered the mission to be a perfect success.

She opened the ointment, squeezed it onto her hand—it was warm—and rubbed it on the inside of Chu Yiqiao’s arm.

Tan Ze’s touch was very gentle. She caressed Chu Yiqiao’s arm, her palm feeling the subtle raised ridges. They were of varying lengths, and one was vertical, almost half the length of her forearm.

Realizing this, Tan Ze’s hand trembled, and she unconsciously squeezed the flesh beneath her.

With Tan Ze’s movement, in the dim light, Chu Yiqiao’s eyelashes fluttered.

This subtle change was quickly noticed by Tan Ze, who was constantly paying attention to Chu Yiqiao’s state.

The next second, Chu Yiqiao rolled over, her left arm tucked beneath her body, and her right arm reached out, clearly in a hugging gesture.

Normally, Tan Ze’s waist would be there.

Today, her hand fell and found nothing.

Chu Yiqiao’s eyelashes fluttered again, as if about to open her eyes, and at the same time, a faint, questioning hum escaped her throat.

“Sis…ter?”

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