After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The short reprieve on Sunday made Tan Ze realize that even the laid-back Chu Yiqiao needed freedom. Consequently, on Monday, Chu Yiqiao regained her liberty, earning the right to take out the trash downstairs.

Coincidentally, Tan Ze had also passed the first part of her driving exam and gotten her license back. She had worked overtime the night before to handle a lot of work, leaving this Monday morning free. Last night, Tan Ze decided she would take Chu Yiqiao to the temple one more time to fulfill her vows.

Tan Ze still remembered the wishes she made back then.

One: “I hope Chu Yiqiao is always happy and joyful.”

One: “I love Chu Yiqiao for ten thousand years.”

Neither of these was very likely to come true. Tan Ze figured the incense money she donated shouldn’t go to waste. She had to give this “certain deity” some work to do, so before leaving, she added a wish for marital happiness.

A month later, Tan Ze was still “married,” her wife hadn’t separated from her, and all aspects of their life were happy and harmonious.

Tan Ze thought that for idealism to achieve this level of success was already quite remarkable and deserved a reward.

Fulfilling the vow now would also conclude Tan Ze’s superstitious phase. After all, the beautiful life she and Chu Yiqiao shared had to be created by the two of them.

After lying at home for a week, Chu Yiqiao’s physical fitness was worse than a month ago. She started panting halfway up the mountain and sat down on a rock, giving up. Tan Ze stood and watched her, considering whether she should just carry Chu Yiqiao the rest of the way.

The next second, an 8-year-old girl wiped her sweat and huffed and puffed past the rock. Chu Yiqiao automatically stood up and let Tan Ze hold her hand to continue climbing.

Outdoor activities had always eluded Chu Yiqiao. When she went sketching, she only set up her easel at the foot of the mountain. The few times in her life she had hiked up a mountain were all dedicated to Tan Ze. The first time she watched the sunrise on a mountain was also when Tan Ze took her.

Does having the person you love by your side make doing things you hate any better?

Not at all.

Finally reaching the summit, Chu Yiqiao was drenched in sweat. She took the wet tissue Tan Ze handed her, wiped her face, folded it, wiped her hands, folded it again, took off her finger ring to wipe it, and then put the ring back on.

Tan Ze was still the water-fetching utility person. Chu Yiqiao wanted to wash her face, and Tan Ze helped her over. That’s when the problem started. Chu Yiqiao discovered that the temple’s back gate was selling cable car tickets. She found out it took five minutes to reach the summit, and the cable car had air conditioning.

“Sister,” Chu Yiqiao’s face turned white with anger, and she stopped panting.

Tan Ze blinked, her heart skipped a beat, and she could only comfort Chu Yiqiao: “Wishes made after climbing up are more effective.”

Chu Yiqiao wasn’t really a believer in Buddhism. She was a pantheist, not believing in any specific deity but thinking there was an invisible force governing the trajectory of human life, and that the meeting of people was fate.

From this perspective, Chu Yiqiao felt very lucky because she had met Tan Ze, the best sister in the world, and Chu Yiqiao’s only guardian angel.

After a five-minute cold war with the best sister in the world, Chu Yiqiao accepted the large bundle of incense Tan Ze handed her and walked into the temple again with Tan Ze.

She made her wishes in the familiar spot. Chu Yiqiao’s first wish was still to love her sister for ten thousand years. The second was for Mingsheng’s prosperous development. The last was for herself to sign with a major gallery soon.

Supporting a family alone is hard work, Chu Yiqiao had once told Tan Ze.

Tan Ze didn’t know what she was thinking, but she took a long time. Chu Yiqiao had already placed her incense and was standing quietly watching Tan Ze.

The sun was bright in late May. The early summer heat was blocked by the ancient, overgrown trees, leaving only shade. Tan Ze’s expression was calm and devout in the smoky haze.

“…99. May Chu Yiqiao not get sick.”

“100. May there be no traffic on the way home.”

Tan Ze closed her eyes and silently made a hundred wishes.

This number was, of course, not random but carefully calculated.

The last time she was at the temple, Tan Ze observed that most people used three sticks of incense for one wish. Tan Ze had bought two bundles of incense on both visits, so she was entitled to more slots.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

If Chu Yiqiao looked carefully, she would find two more lamps silently added in the hall dedicated to longevity lamps: Chu Yiqiao to live a hundred years, and Tan Ze to live one hundred and eight years.

After fulfilling their vows, the two descended the mountain. This time, they certainly didn’t rely on walking. Tan Ze quickly scanned the tickets for four people. She and Chu Yiqiao entered the cable car one after another. The cable car door slowly closed, leaving the two of them to admire the scenery on the way down.

To avoid the crowds, they had left at 6:30 AM. Now, it was just past 9 o’clock. The mountain mist had not yet cleared. Deep green forests passed beneath their feet. Looking into the distance, a round sun hung high in the sky, casting golden sunlight through the clouds.

Chu Yiqiao couldn’t resist in the end. As the cable car neared the foot of the mountain, she quietly asked Tan Ze what she had wished for, looking around mysteriously.

“It’s not a birthday wish, you can say it,” Tan Ze seemed to have read Chu Yiqiao’s mind.

Actually, even if it were a birthday wish, it wouldn’t matter. Tan Ze had worn many hats over the years. Besides being Little Chu Yiqiao’s mom, Middle Chu Yiqiao’s sister, and Adult Chu Yiqiao’s wife and legal guardian, she was also Chu Yiqiao’s Santa Claus and Birthday Wish Genie.

Tan Ze picked a few to say: “I hope you are healthy, and that we’re together forever.”

Chu Yiqiao also shared her wishes. Tan Ze breathed a sigh of relief. Two of the three were things she could realize.

“I’ll keep an eye out for that gallery again,” Tan Ze promised Chu Yiqiao as she helped her out of the cable car.

Chu Yiqiao replied with a brilliant smile: “Then I’ll exercise well and be healthy!”

Tan Ze didn’t quite believe it. Chu Yiqiao only seemed to enjoy the kind of exercise they did last night.

The road home was indeed congested. Monday’s Beijing traffic was an indiscriminate attack on everyone. Tan Ze looked at Chu Yiqiao, who had fallen back asleep in the passenger seat. After much thought, she decided to give idealism another chance.

After all, her marriage was genuinely happy.

Chu Yiqiao had been home for a week, and she painted two oil paintings. These were the first two in a series she planned to create called Gray Blue.

Regaining her freedom, Chu Yiqiao decided to paint the remaining pieces at school. Her various painting tools and design drafts were numerous, and outsiders could easily miss things. Chu Yiqiao needed to make a list first, then find someone to help transport them to the school. She also planned to tidy up the utility room a little.

Tan Ze still had work. After dropping Chu Yiqiao off at the door, she rushed to the company. Before leaving, she instructed Chu Yiqiao to send her the list after she finished tidying, and to speak up if there were any issues.

Chu Yiqiao gladly agreed, waved goodbye to her sister obediently, closed the door, and started tidying.

Little Guai was still at leisure. With Chu Yiqiao and Tan Ze gone, the whole house was her cat tree. The sofa was her favorite, and the bottles and jars on the table were just a bonus.

Before Little Guai could knock down any glass cups, Tan Ze had already put away the fragile items in the cabinets. After half a month of owning a cat, not a single cup had broken in the house.

After cleaning the dried paint from her palette and making sure the cap on every tube of paint was twisted tight… After finishing these miscellaneous tasks, Chu Yiqiao’s hands were so dirty she could leave fingerprints.

Holding her hands up to avoid Little Guai, who was begging to be petted and held, Chu Yiqiao walked to the coffee table. She opened the drawer with her pinky finger, intending to use a hair clip to pin up her bangs before washing her hands.

The drawer opened, but the two wool hair clips inside were gone.

Had Sister already tidied them?

Chu Yiqiao searched her jewelry cabinet again. Tan Ze loved buying these little trinkets for Chu Yiqiao. She had a whole basket of hair clips. Chu Yiqiao grabbed one at random to wash her hands, planning to look for the others later.

Ten minutes later, she found nothing.

Those hair clips weren’t cheap; the pair was worth over 6,000 RMB. Tan Ze might not remember, but Chu Yiqiao did. Tan Ze had given them to her last year, the first time she wore a scarf.

Because they were bought for winter, both were fuzzy, and Chu Yiqiao loved them.

If she checked her Moments now, she could still find photos Chu Yiqiao had posted wearing those hair clips last year.

She asked Tan Ze, and Tan Ze said she would look for them when she got home. They couldn’t be lost, and there was no need to rush; they could always buy new ones.

Chu Yiqiao was quite discouraged. Tan Ze changed the subject, asking if she had finished packing. Chu Yiqiao said yes. Tan Ze surprisingly replied that she was coming right back and would take Chu Yiqiao to school herself later.

÷: “OK”

After sending the message, Chu Yiqiao continued searching. She was still looking when Tan Ze returned. She was sitting on the sofa with a downcast face, staring blankly at the empty drawer.

Tan Ze pushed the door open and was startled by Chu Yiqiao’s dejection. She had seen this expression the last time Chu Yiqiao lost a hair clip.

In Tan Ze’s mind, Chu Yiqiao, who had so many things, was always careless, frequently forgetting things. She would often lose umbrellas and meal cards, or leave her hair ties or paintbrushes in Tan Ze’s office, seemingly unconcerned about these external possessions.

Because of this, Tan Ze hadn’t even thought Chu Yiqiao would notice the loss of the two hair clips, because Chu Yiqiao had so much; those two were insignificant.

Chu Yiqiao turned her head and saw Tan Ze: “Sister, I must have lost them.”

Tan Ze silently put her hand into her jacket pocket, subtly caressing the two replacement hair clips she had bought. Suddenly, she didn’t want to give them back yet.

“Do you remember the cleaner?” Tan Ze suddenly said: “The hair clips were in the living room, they might have been taken.”

Chu Yiqiao’s eyes lit up. Tan Ze thought this was Chu Lingtong’s fault. If Chu Yiqiao asked for the photos back, she wouldn’t have to return the money.

She led Chu Yiqiao to the bedroom and showed her the surveillance footage of the living room on the day of the cleaning.

Chu Yiqiao sat in the chair, her expression solemn, watching frame by frame. Then she pinpointed the few seconds of the supposed theft. Chu Yiqiao clearly saw someone walk over and open the drawer. There were still things inside then, and the two pink and brown color blocks were Chu Yiqiao’s hair clips.

Then, the person squatted down, their body blocking most of the view. When they stood up again, the hair clips were gone. In a flash, Chu Yiqiao also thought she saw a few photos slip into the pocket, but it was too fast to be certain.

Tan Ze paused the surveillance. She breathed a sigh of relief: “So it’s not your fault. We can buy new ones.”

Chu Yiqiao raised her face, her brow furrowed. She said seriously: “Sister, we should report it to the police. This is theft.”

Tan Ze felt the two new hair clips in her pocket practically burning. Under Chu Yiqiao’s gaze, she dialed “110.”

The value exceeded the threshold for filing a case. Fifteen minutes later, two police officers, led by the property manager, knocked on the door.

After briefly understanding the situation, the lead officer subtly hinted that since there was no clear footage of the theft, they might not be able to recover the items, but they would do their best.

Chu Yiqiao and Tan Ze thanked the officers, saw them out, and promised to go to the police station later to make a statement.

On the way to the school, Chu Yiqiao was still thinking about the few objects that looked like photos she had seen.

She turned her head. Tan Ze had a cold face, appearing even angrier than Chu Yiqiao.

Chu Yiqiao comforted her: “It’s okay, Sister.”

Tan Ze was indeed angry. Chu Lingtong’s original request was for Tan Ze to leave the photo album outside so her person could just take it. Tan Ze had taken the money but only left three photos outside, just to appease Chu Lingtong and ensure she wouldn’t return to the country again.

She should have just told her to scram from the start.

The car slowly stopped at the north gate of Peking University. Chu Yiqiao put on her bag, preparing to get out of the car, but Tan Ze pulled her back by the strap.

She had thought about it all the way and finally decided to tell the truth: “Qiao, I have something to tell you.”

This wasn’t a good time to confess, but Tan Ze had to say it, about the photos.

To her surprise, Chu Yiqiao’s previously knitted brows slowly relaxed as Tan Ze confessed. A hint of shock flashed in her eyes, and she asked back: “Did my auntie want Mom’s photos?”

Tan Ze nodded. She hesitated for a few seconds and said: “Chu Lingtong might have also taken the things left at the old house.”

Chu Yiqiao thought about it. Suddenly, she remembered the irises she had seen at the grave.

Maybe Fang Yizhen didn’t place them.

Chu Yiqiao sighed deeply and said: “Why didn’t my auntie just ask? Mom was her sister too. I understand.”

Chu Yiqiao turned to look at Tan Ze, her eyes flickering: “Well, if it’s because of Mom… then forget it.”

Tan Ze’s heart melted into a puddle of water. She leaned over and hugged Chu Yiqiao.

Chu Yiqiao suddenly added: “But we have to get the hair clips back. You gave them to me.”

Tan Ze nodded. The two hair clips in her pocket could be given away now.

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