After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Tan Ze closed her phone, carried the increasingly plump Little Guai back to her nest, and went to bed.

Chu Yiqiao had her back to Tan Ze, and her “acting asleep” technique hadn’t improved much. Her eyelashes fluttered almost every time Tan Ze took a step, and her breathing was deliberately light, as if she feared that if Tan Ze found her awake, she would press onto her and do things that would make her stay up all night again.

Tan Ze lay down, pushed Chu Yiqiao’s hair aside, and kissed the back of her ear.

“Good night.”

One minute later, the “soundly sleeping” Chu Yiqiao flipped over and burrowed back into Tan Ze’s arms.

She had said four business days, which naturally didn’t include Saturday and Sunday.

Chu Yiqiao slept until she naturally woke up. When she opened her eyes, the empty space beside her still held residual warmth. The sound of tidying came from the living room, and the cat’s meows were no longer weak but healthy and loud, functioning as a biological alarm clock.

She stumbled out of bed. In the living room, Little Guai was standing proudly on the dining table. Tan Ze was sitting beside her, checking the necessary items against a printed list.

Chu Yiqiao’s messy head leaned over and saw the listed items: “Are we taking Little Guai to get vaccinated?”

Tan Ze’s gaze moved from the list: “Yes, we’ll leave soon.” She turned, meeting two pairs of round eyes, one green and one brown. Little Guai yawned, and a second later, Chu Yiqiao yawned too.

Little Guai, whom Chu Yiqiao had picked up and sworn to “be responsible for,” had finally become the couple’s shared cat as Tan Ze’s possessiveness grew.

Even though she had been ruling the roost in their home for half a month, when out and about, Little Guai was still a genuine kitten of only four months old, looking like a stuffed cat toy when held obediently by Chu Yiqiao.

Getting a kitten vaccinated was a big deal. Tan Ze had done a lot of research beforehand. Chu Yiqiao leaned against Tan Ze, catching up on sleep while holding the cat. Looking around, most of the people there were family groups like theirs. Tan Ze, who constantly sought superiority, sometimes enjoyed the normalcy of blending into the crowd.

When it came time for the vaccination, Tan Ze was very nervous. She had watched many videos of cats getting stressed and feared her own would do the same. After Chu Yiqiao put the cat onto the platform, Tan Ze quickly took out the pre-prepared cat treats, intending to offer some comfort.

However, Little Guai was very well-behaved. Her emerald-green eyes blinked at Tan Ze, but her gaze was not innocent. Tan Ze held the treat, on high alert.

Chu Yiqiao smiled and took out her phone, capturing the moment Little Guai made a slight movement and Tan Ze instantly shielded Chu Yiqiao with her body.

Back in the car, Chu Yiqiao showed Tan Ze her masterpiece. In the video, Tan Ze’s gaze was sharp, her arm muscles taut, yet the object of her intense caution was just a small kitten.

Chu Yiqiao giggled: “Sister, you were so nervous.”

Tan Ze glanced at Chu Yiqiao, seemingly unbothered by the teasing, and said subtly: “If a cat scratches you, you need a rabies vaccine. I heard it hurts a lot. They say people who aren’t afraid of pain will cry.”

The implication was that someone as afraid of pain as Chu Yiqiao might cry herself to death getting the shot, and she wasn’t even grateful.

Tan Ze felt a little hurt.

After the vaccination, Little Guai became very listless and docile, somewhat reverting to her state when she first arrived.

After returning home, Tan Ze dragged Chu Yiqiao to wash her hands. After a quick tidy-up, she sat down with her laptop on the spot Chu Yiqiao had saved for her on the sofa. Chu Yiqiao was holding Little Guai, gently combing her fur.

Tan Ze’s eyes were fixed on the laptop screen on her lap, her fingers lightly tapping the keys. Her nails were trimmed very short, almost flush with the skin, making virtually no sound when pressing the keyboard. Because of this, she could clearly hear Chu Yiqiao’s comforting words to Little Guai: “Does it hurt? It will be better soon. Every kitten has to get vaccinated…”

Tan Ze turned her head and saw Chu Yiqiao holding Little Guai skillfully. She found the scene strangely amusing. Chu Yiqiao, whom she still thought needed looking after, had unknowingly transformed into a gentle “mom,” doting on her kitten.

Tan Ze believed that even if Little Guai climbed onto Chu Yiqiao’s shoulder and harassed her, Chu Yiqiao would still smile helplessly.

Thinking of the reply she saw last night and the deliberate like and save, Tan Ze realized that she was also an object of Chu Yiqiao’s doting. Chu Yiqiao accepted everything; she was a person who could only be met with softness.

Tan Ze continued to flip through the documents on her laptop in silence, unconsciously inching closer and closer to Chu Yiqiao.

After finishing a task with frustratingly low efficiency, Tan Ze was suddenly brought back to her senses by the sound of a TV drama’s theme song.

Next to her, Chu Yiqiao put down the remote control, comfortably leaning against Tan Ze with the cat in her arms. Her lips were turned up, and her delicate, sweet features were adorable from every angle.

She turned her head and found that Chu Yiqiao had been squeezed all the way to the edge of the sofa. The two of them were cramped, sitting on half the couch.

“Chu Yiqiao, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming up,” Tan Ze haphazardly pressed the keys on her keyboard, mentioning casually: “Do you have any plans for the festival?”

Chu Yiqiao’s eyes were focused on the TV. She said: “No, I don’t. Going out with Sister is fine, or going to the school to paint is fine too.”

Tan Ze took a deep breath and put the laptop down directly.

“Fang Yihe wants you to spend the holiday at her place.”

It was only the Dragon Boat Festival. Not the Mid-Autumn Festival, not the Lantern Festival, not the Spring Festival, not Tan Ze’s birthday, not their anniversary. Just the Dragon Boat Festival.

A very ordinary holiday. Chu Yiqiao and she could wrap rice dumplings together, go for a walk outside, or watch a movie.

Again, it was just the ordinary Dragon Boat Festival.

Chu Yiqiao finally turned to look at Tan Ze, picking up the remote control to pause the drama.

“Sister Yihe?” Chu Yiqiao rarely interacted with Fang Yihe. The last time they met was at a gathering Tan Ze arranged. Compared to her excessive dependence on Tan Ze, she felt nothing for her “biological sister”: “What does she want me to go for?”

Now it was Tan Ze’s turn to look at the TV screen: “She probably wants to apologize to you in person for the previous incident, and maybe show you some things belonging to your birth mother.”

“They’ll be wrapping rice dumplings,” Tan Ze suddenly added.

The living room was silent for a long time. Chu Yiqiao gazed at Tan Ze’s sculpted features and said: “Okay, I’ll go.”

Tan Ze nodded, quietly took the listless Little Guai from Chu Yiqiao’s arms, stroked the warm fur on the kitten, and sat there watching soap operas with Chu Yiqiao for a long time.

Working on a Sunday was practically routine for Tan Ze. After Tan Ze got up, Chu Yiqiao quickly monopolized the entire air-conditioned blanket, wrapping herself up tightly, lying in bed like a caterpillar.

“Bye-bye, Sister.”

Chu Yiqiao wiggled a few times, happily continuing to sleep, without even looking at her sister.

However, the next second, Tan Ze directly yanked the blanket off Chu Yiqiao. Like a plump pea rolling out of a pod, Chu Yiqiao rolled out twice and woke up.

“The cleaners are coming this afternoon for a deep clean. Your daughter sheds too much hair,” Tan Ze announced expressionlessly, holding the blanket.

Chu Yiqiao sat up, scratching her messy hair: “Then where do I go?”

Tan Ze met Chu Yiqiao’s gaze and clearly saw genuine confusion in her eyes. After only five days of being confined at home, Chu Yiqiao had regained her freedom but still had to consult Tan Ze on where to go.

“You can go to school to paint, or you can come with me to the company,” Tan Ze suggested thoughtfully: “Since we need to do preventative pest control, your daughter has to leave too. If you come to the company, you can introduce the cat to Zhao Jingxing. She seems to like cats very much.”

Chu Yiqiao immediately made up her mind: “I’m going to the company.”

Tan Ze turned to fetch Chu Yiqiao’s clothes, then left the room to prepare for the cleaning service.

The former cleaner had been reported by Tan Ze the day after the incident. After a complaint letter, the compensation Tan Ze received was enough to hire a cleaner for another year.

She had originally planned to switch companies, but a few days ago, Tan Ze received a phone call. The person on the other end was desperately begging Tan Ze to give her another chance, claiming she was temporarily misled and guaranteeing she wouldn’t do it again.

Amidst the sobbing, Tan Ze seemed to have a change of heart. Although she knew the other party had been bribed by Chu Lingtong, she accepted the “free as compensation” service—which was the full-house cleaning and disinfection scheduled for this afternoon.

The apartment Tan Ze bought had four rooms besides the dining room and kitchen: one bedroom for the people, one bedroom for the cat, one study for Tan Ze, and one utility room for Chu Yiqiao’s painting supplies.

Normally, when the cleaner came, they would clean all rooms except the study. Before the cleaning, Tan Ze would lock all valuables in the study to prevent damage.

This time was no different. After organizing the areas around the living room, she got to the coffee table. Tan Ze pulled open the drawer next to the coffee table and calmly took out the boxes of finger cots stored inside.

Then, the second drawer. A book lay quietly inside: their old photo album.

Calling it “their” photo album wasn’t entirely accurate. About 60% of the photos were of Chu Yiqiao.

Tan Ze had never been keen on taking photos since childhood. Other than news photos, she only took pictures with Chu Yiqiao. Their joint photos made up about 10%, and another 10% were photos of Chu Lingfeng and Chu Yiqiao together.

The remaining 20% were photos of Chu Lingfeng, which Chu Yiqiao had intentionally moved little by little from the old house over the years, as well as news photos saved from the internet.

Tan Ze opened the album. The first page showed Chu Lingfeng holding Chu Yiqiao as a baby, with the sentence that once made Chu Yiqiao break down and run away written underneath.

In the room separated by a wall, Chu Yiqiao was washing up and wouldn’t be out for a short time.

Tan Ze squatted in front of the coffee table, casually pulled out a few single photos of Chu Lingfeng, and placed them deep in the drawer.

There were also two of Chu Yiqiao’s hair clips outside the drawer. They were shaped like long guitar picks and were fuzzy to the touch. They were kept there for pinning up hair during that, but Chu Yiqiao complained they were pokey and only used them once.

Tan Ze ignored the hair clips and closed the drawer.

After everything was tidied, Tan Ze took the photo album, now missing a few photos, to the study.

Chu Yiqiao finished washing up and came out just in time. A few strands of her fringe were wet and stuck to her forehead. She wasn’t fully awake yet, and her eyes were hazy.

Tan Ze reminded her: “It’s best to check your painting supplies in the utility room.”

Chu Yiqiao obediently went in and came out with a sketchbook, clutching it to her chest with both hands as if it were a great treasure.

Tan Ze casually flipped through a couple of pages. The drawings were indeed all of her. She gently turned the pages and saw the one Chu Yiqiao had drawn of her in the conference room when she was depressed. The arm muscles were still just as hard.

Seeing the only model look through the sketchbook, Chu Yiqiao quickly leaned in to take credit: “Sister, do you feel like I’ve improved a lot?”

“Yes, a lot.”

Tan Ze, utterly lacking in artistic cells, said this purely out of her affection for Chu Yiqiao herself. Unbeknownst to her, Chu Yiqiao had mentioned the exact same thing to her professional art teacher.

That day, the teacher also looked for a long time, nodded: “Indeed, you’ve improved again.” Then he smiled, looked at Chu Yiqiao, and stated confidently: “You’re in a relationship, aren’t you?”

Chu Yiqiao couldn’t help but chatter to Tan Ze: “The teacher said my brushstrokes have improved, and I’m better at capturing details and characteristics.”

Tan Ze turned, seeing Chu Yiqiao’s small face flushed with excitement, seemingly glowing in the early morning sunlight. She chuckled and said sincerely: “You really are. That’s very impressive.”

She now also considered this sketchbook to be very precious.

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