After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

When Chu Yiqiao finished reviewing the answer analysis, she was ready to tackle the second practice test, and that’s when Tan Ze took the stage.

The venue was filled with flashing spotlights. Tan Ze’s expression was calm as she slowly walked to the main seat and sat down. To her left was the head of Mingsheng’s Technology Department—the one who hosted the new product launch Chu Yiqiao saw in Linhang. The seat to her right was empty, but the name tag suggested it was her aunt’s position.

Tan Ze sat expressionlessly for a moment. Two minutes later, Chu Lingtong finally arrived. She still had the updo hairstyle Chu Yiqiao remembered from their last meeting. Chu Yiqiao had only caught fleeting glimpses of Chu Lingtong a few times, but today she finally had the opportunity to examine her closely.

Chu Yiqiao’s aunt looked very much like her mother. Both sisters naturally had a reserved, cool appearance—single eyelids and thin lips. When they looked at people without emotion, they always seemed to be looking down on them.

Chu Yiqiao was used to Chu Lingfeng smiling, hugging, and coddling her. Seeing Chu Lingtong so abruptly today, she felt a momentary illusion that she was looking at an angry version of her mother.

Chu Yiqiao was born after the Chu family split. In her childhood memories, although her aunt didn’t visit often because they lived far apart, it wasn’t the kind of absolute estrangement the media was wildly speculating. Chu Yiqiao would receive gifts from her aunt for the New Year, and the grumpy Tan Ze would also reluctantly be asked a few questions.

Because of this, after her mother’s death, Chu Yiqiao found it incredibly difficult to accept Chu Lingtong’s complete silence.

Chu Yiqiao hadn’t stayed until the end of her mother’s funeral. She had been sent home halfway through by people Tan Ze arranged. When she woke up, Chu Yiqiao asked Tan Ze if her aunt had come. Tan Ze said no.

The press conference continued. Finally, a reporter asked about the change in the ownership of the subsidiary’s shares. Tan Ze adjusted the microphone slightly and replied that it was a normal business cooperation, approved by a board of directors’ vote, not a private matter, and would not affect the company’s normal operations in the future.

The microphone was passed on. Tan Ze looked slightly down. The intense spotlights flashed, making her cold, beautiful face appear pale, like a statue in a museum for people to admire.

Chu Yiqiao secretly glanced at Zhao Jingxing next to her. Thinking she was being discreet, she moved her phone over and secretly took a photo. Unfortunately, the angle was awkward, and the portrait was severely distorted.

This wasn’t the first time Chu Yiqiao had seen Tan Ze like this. When she was 13, she also attended a press conference. However, at that time, she was sitting behind the long white table, next to Tan Ze. She couldn’t hear what the reporters were saying. Her entire will was focused on holding back her tears. Tan Ze had promised her that if she didn’t cry, she would take her out to play afterward.

The screen in the live stream kept switching between the questioning media and the main table. The head of the Technology Department was speaking now. Chu Yiqiao withdrew her gaze, intending to continue tackling Subject 1.

Zhao Jingxing suddenly spoke, her eyes still on the road ahead: “Little Qiao, aren’t you going to ask?”

“Ask what?” Chu Yiqiao asked, confused.

Zhao Jingxing had known Chu Yiqiao for six and a half years. This question had been on her mind for a long time: “About the company, you never seem to care.”

Chu Yiqiao wasn’t like Zhao Jingxing’s stereotype of a multi-generational rich kid. Her spending was high but not extravagant. She was completely unconcerned about the family business and was content to stick to her sister every day and paint a picture.

When Zhao Jingxing first started working, she also went through the “mountain is not a mountain” phase, thinking Chu Yiqiao was definitely biding her time. She never expected her to be so consistent, a bit silly, but not stupid—smarter than many people, in fact.

“Because I don’t understand,” Chu Yiqiao said honestly: “Sister understands me. I didn’t understand when I was little either. Mom used to tell me all sorts of things, but later she would only tell me the result. Sister must have learned from Mom and only tells me the result, too.”

“But, Sister doesn’t understand anything about oil painting either,” Chu Yiqiao said, a proud look on her face: “So I only tell her the result too.”

“Sister Jingxing, I’ll only tell you the result, too. I’m having another exhibition next week!” Chu Yiqiao found a promotional poster on her phone to show Zhao Jingxing. It was a group exhibition for the Jing University Oil Painting Department. Chu Yiqiao zoomed in on the poster 30 times to show Zhao Jingxing her name, which was as small as a shrimp.

People are always easily influenced by those around them. Zhao Jingxing, caught between Tan Ze and Chu Yiqiao for years, could feel herself being split into two distinct halves.

Chu Yiqiao was open-minded, only caring about the outcome. Whatever detours and complications happened in the middle didn’t matter. Tan Ze was serious, a severe perfectionist. If one aspect of something wasn’t completely pure, she would begin to question the meaning and authenticity of the whole thing.

So, seeing that their relationship, from dating to marriage, was so sweet, Zhao Jingxing was quite shocked. Tan Ze was a contradiction from head to toe. Zhao Jingxing would rather believe her workload was doubling than believe Tan Ze could change her nature.

It wasn’t until Chu Yiqiao brought back that bracelet that Zhao Jingxing’s heart finally returned to her chest. It seemed that love hadn’t completely mellowed out her rigid boss; she was still the incurable control freak she was.

Chu Yiqiao followed behind Zhao Jingxing upstairs. They took the executive elevator, which was unimpeded all the way. When the elevator doors opened, Zhao Jingxing protected Chu Yiqiao with a blank expression as they walked to Tan Ze’s office.

There was a slight internal upheaval at Mingsheng after the May Day holiday. The split within the Technology Department was one part, and the other was the appearance of Fang Yizhen. The “real” and “fake” heiress story was still too sensational for the average person, not to mention that the two were now in the same building. Gossip was inevitable.

Fortunately, Chu Yiqiao generally moved around on the top floor, under Tan Ze’s nose. No one was stupid enough to make trouble, and Chu Yiqiao’s life remained ordinary and happy. Her only worries were what to eat and, recently, Subject 1.

Tan Ze returned right after the press conference, just in time for dinner. She hadn’t asked Zhao Jingxing to order from a private chef today. She didn’t have much work in the evening and planned to take Chu Yiqiao out to eat.

Pushing open the office door, she saw Chu Yiqiao sitting in the main chair, hunched over and eating the strawberry Basque cake that was “Sister, I brought for you.” The original quarter-slice had been eaten down to an eighth. She was using a fork to scrape little bits from the side.

“Hungry?” Tan Ze deliberately made a loud noise.

Chu Yiqiao jumped up as if she’d been caught: “Sister!”

“You’re back. What are we eating tonight?” Chu Yiqiao chased after her, dutifully helping Tan Ze take off her jacket.

Tan Ze found Chu Yiqiao amusing: “We’re going out to eat tonight. Wait a few minutes. I’ll be done right away.”

“Okay.”

Chu Yiqiao gave her warm seat to Tan Ze. Tan Ze glanced at her, not understanding why she was doing this in the summer, and opened her computer: “You can eat. I really don’t like sweets.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Chu Yiqiao looked at Tan Ze coyly.

Tan Ze: “Seriously, eat it now. We’ll eat dinner soon.”

Chu Yiqiao finished the cake in three bites with her fork. After swallowing, she went to kiss Tan Ze’s lips. Tan Ze tasted a little; it was so sweet it hurt her teeth.

If a single cake was enough for Chu Yiqiao to offer a kiss, Tan Ze couldn’t think of a single reason why she should let go.

She only had a few documents left to read. The workload that should have taken half an hour to complete was dragged out for a full hour because Chu Yiqiao was propping up her face and staring at her with wide eyes.

Tan Ze noticed that Chu Yiqiao had been looking at her with a dazed look lately. It didn’t bother her. On the contrary, she was very touched. Her seduction attempts over the years had finally worked after they got married. It seemed Chu Yiqiao wasn’t blind, and her aesthetic sense was normal. It was a cause for celebration.

Zhao Jingxing had already left work. Tan Ze drove Chu Yiqiao toward the restaurant using the navigation. As they passed a traffic light, a familiar figure zipped by on an electric scooter. Chu Yiqiao recognized her. It was Fang Yizhen.

“Why isn’t Sister Yizhen wearing a helmet?” Chu Yiqiao muttered softly.

Tan Ze heard her. The light just turned green, and she slowly continued driving: “It’s fine. There’s a traffic police officer at the next intersection.”

The next second, the two passed an intersection, and Fang Yizhen was walking by the roadside, pushing her scooter.

Chu Yiqiao: “So smart!”

Don’t learn everything, Tan Ze suddenly accelerated.

After driving down the street, Tan Ze remembered to ask Chu Yiqiao: “Chu Yiqiao, have you encountered anything that really bothered you recently?”

“Yes,” Chu Yiqiao immediately replied.

Tan Ze turned to look at her, her face instantly turning cold. She thought about when Chu Yiqiao might have been feeling down recently and asked: “Who, where, what?”

“This,” Chu Yiqiao held up her phone, showing Tan Ze her red-marked Subject 1 results.

Tan Ze felt like hitting a child.

“No,” Tan Ze freed a hand to gently pinch Chu Yiqiao’s cheek, and said: “With Fang Yizhen coming to Mingsheng, has anyone said anything strange to you?”

Chu Yiqiao shook her head: “No.”

Tan Ze: “If they do, you need to let me know.”

“They really haven’t,” Chu Yiqiao, seeing that Tan Ze didn’t seem to believe her, comforted her: “Actually, not that many people pay attention. I’m just a very, very small person.”

As she said this, she held out her right hand and pinched a tiny bit of air to show how small she was.

Tan Ze chuckled at Chu Yiqiao: “Alright, then is the little person hungry? We’re almost there.”

The restaurant required reservations. They arrived later than their reserved time and had missed their spot, so they had to wait for one table. Chu Yiqiao used this time to cling to Tan Ze, asking her a few questions that she thought had “definitely wrong answers.” Tan Ze, who got her license ten years ago, actually remembered some of the knowledge and explained the tricky parts of the questions to Chu Yiqiao.

Chu Yiqiao listened intently, nodding and “mm-hmming.” She opened the question bank and started practicing again. Tan Ze sat next to her, glancing over. Halfway through, an email notification popped up. Chu Yiqiao casually swiped it away. It wasn’t until she finished the test and pressed “Submit” that she nervously covered the screen and turned to Tan Ze.

Tan Ze raised an eyebrow: “I think you got a hundred.”

“Hmph,” Chu Yiqiao knew Tan Ze was teasing her and mumbled a retort: “It would have been a hundred anyway.”

She moved her hand. The score was 92.

“Congratulations,” Tan Ze clapped enthusiastically: “Have you thought about what kind of car you want to buy?”

Chu Yiqiao looked up proudly and listed over a dozen brands, not holding back: “I want one of everything.”

Tan Ze looked at Chu Yiqiao: “Yes.”

There were a lot of people around. When Chu Yiqiao wasn’t looking, Tan Ze leaned in and suddenly pecked her.

Chu Yiqiao pulled her head away from the phone screen, her face lacking a smile, her lips drooping.

“Are you angry?” Tan Ze looked serious.

“No,” Chu Yiqiao showed the information on her phone to Tan Ze. The screen was on her QQ mail: “I was rejected.”

Tan Ze took the phone and read the email twice. The main point was that her style didn’t fit, and they looked forward to future collaborations.

Defeat was common in battle. Someone as powerful as Tan Ze had experienced countless failures since childhood—she had even had a bid document snatched away the night before submission. So, she didn’t understand why a mere rejection email made her feel such a pang of sadness.

“It’s okay,” Chu Yiqiao took her phone back: “It was a big gallery anyway, and I’m just a little undergraduate. And we submitted to five places. This is only one.”

Tan Ze looked at Chu Yiqiao. Her heart was conflicted. She didn’t want Chu Yiqiao to succeed, afraid that Chu Yiqiao would no longer need her or rely on her. Yet, she also didn’t want Chu Yiqiao to fail. Even the slightest hint of sadness was something Tan Ze felt could be completely avoided.

Her mood was complex, hard to describe.

Tan Ze patted Chu Yiqiao’s back and kissed her cheek, saying: “Do you need me to reply to the email for you?”

Chu Yiqiao leaned her head against Tan Ze’s shoulder and nodded: “Thank you, Sister.”

“Wife, I’m so hungry.”

Tan Ze said: “My fault. If I was more efficient, we wouldn’t have missed our spot.”

Chu Yiqiao smiled. How was everything her sister’s fault? Her sister was too amazing.

“Global warming is all your fault, Sister!”

Tan Ze: “Mm.”

Tan Ze replied to the email for Chu Yiqiao, put both their phones back in her pocket, and quietly waited, hugging Chu Yiqiao. Chu Yiqiao’s mood had noticeably improved. She chattered, putting the blame for many things back on Tan Ze’s head.

About three minutes later, their number was finally called. Chu Yiqiao stood up, clutching Tan Ze’s jacket in her arms, and said her last sentence: “I love Sister so much. It’s all Sister’s fault!”

Tan Ze looked at her, leaned in, cupped Chu Yiqiao’s head, and kissed her again: “Mm.”

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