Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 100

“Xiaoxiao—” Li Ting called out to her, her gaze…

Si Xiaoxiao froze entirely, maintaining her slightly forward-leaning pose of confession. Her lips were still shaped around the words she had just uttered, her eyes fixed blankly on the world outside the window—a world of light and shadow so brilliant it felt surreal, yet so unbearably loud. She turned urgently to Li Ting, searching her expression for even the faintest trace of a reaction.

The spectacular fireworks had severed this long-awaited confession, a moment she had spent so much effort to cultivate.

Li Ting seemed momentarily captivated by the sudden burst of splendor. She sat with her head slightly turned toward the boiling sky outside, her face wearing a brief expression of dazed wonder, the kind brought on by the sudden impact of extreme beauty.

Sister… did she… not hear me?

Si Xiaoxiao followed her gaze toward Li Ting, biting her lip.

Was this a failure?

This cold, cruel realization struck like an ice-tipped arrow, piercing through Si Xiaoxiao’s chest in an instant. It froze all the burning courage and the hot-blooded passion of her solitary bravery into solid ice.

The small but bright flame of hope that had just been lit—before it could even turn into a wildfire and illuminate her entire world—was ruthlessly extinguished by a grand and precise accident.

A massive wave of disappointment and endless grievance, like a cold and boundless tide, submerged her instantly.

She struggled to hold her breath, not wanting those traitorous tears to burst forth, but her eyes reddened and moistened uncontrollably. A sharp sourness surged in her nose. She hurriedly lowered her head, desperate to hide her current mess and vulnerability from Li Ting. She bit her lower lip so hard she nearly tasted blood. Her hands, resting on her knees, clenched into tight fists, her nails digging deep into her soft palms with a sharp, stinging pain.

Why… why did it have to be now?

A little earlier, or even a little later… it was so close. We were just one step away.

The gondola passed its symbolic peak and began to obey the heartless pull of gravity, descending slowly and irreversibly.

Si Xiaoxiao’s heart seemed to follow this downward trajectory, accelerating as it plummeted into a bottomless, dark, and freezing abyss of despair where not a single glint of light could be seen.

A voice in her heart told her that the best timing and the most special scenery had already been missed…

She lost all her strength.

Outside the window, those damned fireworks refused to stop.

They remained boisterous and brilliant, as if celebrating something, or perhaps mocking her futility and ridiculousness.

There will be another time…

A weak voice struggled in the depths of her soul. As long as I stay with Sister, there will definitely be a next time!

But the next time won’t be romantic anymore…

Rational comfort felt pale and powerless against the overwhelming, suffocating wave of grievance. This surging sorrow was like a physical cocoon, wrapping her so tightly she could barely breathe.

Finally, her emotions broke through the gates of her reason.

Just as Si Xiaoxiao was about to be completely consumed by that thick, inescapable disappointment—just as her slender shoulders began to tremble from the effort of holding back tears—Li Ting, who had been sitting across from her like a silent silhouette, suddenly moved.

Li Ting leaned down, her figure casting a shadow over her amidst the shifting lights of the cabin—a warm, reassuring shadow. She didn’t choose to sit beside Si Xiaoxiao; instead, with a posture that was almost cherished and clearly intentional, she moved closer to the lowered head that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand pounds.

In an instant, the distance between them closed to a dangerous degree, crossing the boundaries of safety.

How close was she?

So close that even though Si Xiaoxiao kept her eyelids lowered, staring blurrily at her own clenched fists, she could clearly trace the outline of Li Ting’s approach through her peripheral vision.

So close that she could sense the familiar scent on Li Ting—a crisp, clear fragrance with a hint of warmth—which seeped into her breath like a silent comfort.

So close that she could even feel a few stray, cool strands of Li Ting’s hair brush against the burning edge of her ear as she leaned in, sending a faint but distinct tingle through her, like a soft electric current.

However, clearer and more impactful than any physical sensation was Li Ting’s voice.

Outside, the firework display was reaching its climax. The massive explosions sounded like the roars of ancient beasts, a continuous assault on the eardrums as if trying to shatter the world itself.

Yet, Li Ting’s voice was like a pure spring refined by the gods—crisp as jade striking stone and tempered with warmth. With an incredible power of penetration, it entered Si Xiaoxiao’s ears clearly, steadily, and without missing a single word.

Her voice wasn’t loud; it carried her habitual, restrained tenderness, but it miraculously smoothed over all the surrounding noise and chaos. It struck precisely and heavily against Si Xiaoxiao’s heart, which had just sunk into an ice cellar and nearly stopped beating.

“Xiaoxiao.” Just hearing her name called that way carried an indescribable tenderness that made her want to weep.

Then came the words that acted like a pardon, like a beam of hope, spoken softly and slowly yet carrying the weight of a mountain: “Shall we… go around the Ferris wheel one more time?”

Having said that, Li Ting sat back in her seat, smiling gently.

Si Xiaoxiao snapped her head up. Her reddened, watery eyes—looking like a small animal that had suffered a great injustice—looked at her blankly, yet with a faint, undetectable glimmer of hope.

In that play of light and shadow, this was her favorite version of the woman before her.

Si Xiaoxiao sniffed her aching nose almost greedily, forcing back the tears that were on the verge of overflowing. Then, with a thick, nasal voice—almost a shout—she responded with absolute decisiveness and resounding volume:

“YES!!!”

Time, in that moment, seemed to stretch infinitely before standing still.

Outside, the fireworks continued their tireless, boisterous bloom, and the gondola continued its rhythmic, slow descent.

But Si Xiaoxiao felt that her heart—the one that had just plunged into a cold abyss and nearly ceased to beat—had been caught by that light, weightless question and lifted, tenderly and firmly, out of the bottomless depths.

Although the roar of the fireworks was deafening… since Sister had leaned in so close, was it possible… that she had captured a few fragmented syllables?

Or was it simply that she had keenly detected my instantaneous plummet into gloom and, just as she had done every time before, offered a silent way out and a touch of indulgence in her own unique way?

Or perhaps…

She didn’t dare think any deeper, terrified that excessive hope would only be traded for deeper disappointment. She could only desperately suppress these tumultuous conjectures within her chest.

Clack— A faint mechanical sound rang out as the gondola settled steadily back onto the ground. Not far away, the staff member who had been keeping an eye on them jogged over immediately, a professional smile on his face, reaching out to open the door for them.

However, Li Ting beat him to it. She turned her head slightly toward the staff member and gave a nearly imperceptible, yet exceptionally firm, shake of her head.

The movement was subtle—she didn’t even make a sound—but that unquestionable aura of hers made the staff member understand instantly. He retracted his hand just in time and silently backed away a few steps, blending back into the background.

The Ferris wheel set sail once more.

Si Xiaoxiao waited for the fireworks to end, her heart filled with trepidation.

This time, at the peak, I must! I must confess to Sister!!!

Si Xiaoxiao’s fingers were clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. She held her breath, her heart thumping like a startled rabbit, waiting in agony. She waited for the end of that annoying yet interminably long firework extravaganza. While the world outside was a cacophony of exploding color, her inner world was a silent theater of repeated rehearsals.

However, when the final cluster of fireworks finally staged its tragic, beautiful curtain call in the night sky, dragging its dim embers into the darkness—when that deafening roar that had lasted far too long came to a jarring halt—

The world seemed to have all sound sucked out of it in an instant, falling into a near-vacuum of heart-pounding silence.

And this abrupt silence acted like a blinding light, instantly dazing Si Xiaoxiao. It scattered all her meticulously prepared lines, leaving her mind a total blank, like a formatted hard drive.

What was I going to say again?

How should I say it??

Are we at the highest point now?

The confession! Right! I need to confess!!

Her chaotic thoughts were like a tangled mess of yarn. She snapped her head up, her chest heaving violently, and opened her mouth. At the very second the breath was about to surge past her throat—

“Xiaoxiao.”

Li Ting’s voice was one step faster than hers. Soft, yet carrying a certain decisive power, it rang out clearly in this newly descended quiet, interrupting her gathering impulse.

“Don’t you want to know… what my secret is?”

Sister’s… secret?!

Si Xiaoxiao instinctively furrowed her brows. She felt that Sister’s secret probably had quite a bit to do with that “complete” version of herself. If that were the case, it didn’t really matter whether the current “her” heard it or not…

She was having a private argument with herself.

“I… I only want to tell Sister my own secret!”

More than Sister’s secret, what Si Xiaoxiao cared about—what she cared about more—was…

Seeing her look like a little animal guarding its food, a faint trace of helplessness—mingled with heartache and realization—flickered in the depths of Li Ting’s eyes. She sighed softly, her voice as gentle as a night breeze: “Xiaoxiao, I am your sister…”

The words sounded like a statement of fact, yet also like an emphasis on some kind of responsibility or boundary.

So what if you’re my sister!!

Does being a sister give you the right to reject me?

Si Xiaoxiao instantly conjured up images from novels—those self-restrained sisters who didn’t want their younger sisters to stray from the “right path.” Her eyes turned red in an instant!

“Xiaoxiao—” Li Ting called her name, her gaze tender and full of longing. “My secret is…”

She paused slightly, her gaze grazing Si Xiaoxiao’s lips, which were trembling from tension, before finally meeting her eyes again. Her voice was low and soulful, carrying a kind of sacrificial devotion.

“I want to kiss you.”

The moment those words fell, there was no time given for Si Xiaoxiao to react, digest, or even doubt.

Li Ting had already leaned forward.

She reached out, her fingertips gently cradling the back of Si Xiaoxiao’s neck with a strength that was impossible to refuse yet incredibly cherished. She lowered her head and, with precision and resolve, kissed those soft lips that had parted slightly in shock.

The world, in this heartbeat, stopped entirely.

Nothing remained but the scalding, real shudder at the point where their lips met, and the sound of their suddenly uncontrolled heartbeats, roaring and intertwining.

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