I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 10

After a good deal of fuss, the family doctor finally finished examining the rather uncooperative Modesty.

The person sitting by the bedside had changed back to Ni Songan. Perhaps having caused enough of a scene and exhausted her energy, Modesty was now quiet and still, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

The doctor informed Ni Songan that Modesty’s sudden illness was the result of chronic fatigue combined with a chill from the changing seasons, as today’s festivities had drained her physical reserves. At the moment, the patient was actually in a daze, and most of what she said was a reflection of desires she usually kept hidden.

“Sister, did you promise me?” she called out in a thin, delicate voice, glancing at the others in the room.

“I promised, I promised. It’s just staying with you tonight, a small matter.”

Understanding the hint, Ni Songan took her hand and motioned for the servants and the doctor to leave. Two cups of warm ginger tea were placed on the trolley at the foot of the bed, within Ni Songan’s reach.

Modesty looked at her with a pained, aggrieved expression. “You forgot one more thing!”

“What?” Ni Songan was taken aback. She remembered Modesty asking for a room change, but nothing else.

“Didn’t we agree to play games together?” Modesty’s eyes accused her. The realization finally dawned on Ni Songan.

Ni Songan coaxed her gently, “But you’re sick right now. The most important thing is to get some rest. The doctor just said”

Modesty pouted, interrupting her. Her blue eyes filled with tears. “But we promised… and I have a very strong constitution. A little illness like this doesn’t even require medicine, I just need to sleep it off.”

The wall clock at the head of the bed pointed to ten in the evening. Ni Songan looked down, deep in thought. “I did indeed promise. How about a compromise? I’ll play with you for half an hour, and after that, we go to bed. Deal?”

As expected, Modesty wasn’t obsessed with the game itself, she simply wanted to fulfill their agreement. With Ni Songan’s answer, she was satisfied.

Following her instructions, Ni Songan projected the game onto the television, handed a controller to Modesty, and the two began to play.

It wasn’t until the set alarm went off that Ni Songan spoke up to encourage her to sleep. “Time’s up. I’m going to wash up, and I’ll be back to stay with you in a moment.”

“Okay.” Having had her wish granted, Modesty was exceptionally agreeable. Though Ni Songan usually found her well-behaved, the sick version of Modesty seemed even more endearing.

“Was that level of effort enough?” Immediately after Ni Songan left the room, Modesty began discussing the progress of the second plot point with the system.

The system looked at the stagnant progress bar with some awkwardness. “It doesn’t seem to be working… oh, wait, it moved!”

The second plot point involved the “cannon fodder” stepsister taking a fancy to the protagonist Modesty’s bedroom because of its large terrace, leading her to demand a room swap. The task assigned to Modesty by System 313 required her to reject the stepsister’s demand without leaving any room for negotiation.

“See, I told you it would work, and you didn’t believe me,” Modesty grumbled at the system with disdain. “By forcing me to suggest the room swap, it counts as Heloise bringing it up. Then, I improvise, reject her, and make her pay a small price—like sleeping with me tonight.”

“How does that not count as a ‘face-slap’?”

313 was speechless. “Alright, that actually makes sense.”

Modesty pulled the blanket down slightly, revealing her entire face. Her cheeks were still flushed bright red, looking hot to the touch.

Ni Songan didn’t just think it, she acted on it. She reached out and lightly placed her hand on Modesty’s forehead. The temperature wasn’t as terrifying as it had been last night. It seemed Modesty’s physical constitution was indeed as good as she claimed, and a night’s sleep would likely return her to normal.

“I feel like I’ve broken a sweat, I want to take a shower.” Modesty’s expression betrayed a hint of discomfort.

Ni Songan said considerately, “Alright, I’ll step out first. Call me when you’re done?”

“It’s fine, you can just sit on the sofa and wait for me. I figure you’d just be on your phone or reading in the living room anyway.” Modesty pointed toward the bookshelf. “I have many types of books here that you won’t find in the main study.”

In truth, Modesty had asked Rosaline to buy those books and set them up a few days ago. Many of them were related to Ni Songan’s specific interests, guaranteed to be hard to put down.

Seeing Ni Songan walk to the bookshelf to browse seriously, Modesty couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Her steps became light as she grabbed her clothes and ducked into the bathroom.

Ni Songan had made it through a third of a book by the time Modesty emerged, her blonde hair draped wet over her shoulders.

“Why didn’t you dry it before coming out?” Ni Songan sounded like a worried parent. She put the book back, walked to Modesty’s side, and frowned. “What if you catch another chill?”

Modesty shook her head, looking troubled. “I couldn’t find the hairdryer in the bathroom. Maybe it was left outside.”

Ni Songan helped her look, but the hairdryer was nowhere to be found in Modesty’s room. She had no choice but to lead Modesty to her own bedroom. “Use mine for now.”

“Okay,” Modesty replied sweetly, though the internal dialogue with her system was far less harmonious.

System 313 asked in surprise, “Why are you lying to Heloise? I saw you hide the hairdryer in the laundry basket.”

Modesty gave a cold mental snort, offering no explanation for her actions.

Once they arrived, Ni Songan had Modesty sit on the sofa while she went into the bathroom to fetch the supplies. She plugged the hairdryer into the outlet by the sofa, tested the distance and temperature against her hand, and once satisfied, began drying Modesty’s hair.

Modesty tried to turn her head, but Ni Songan firmly kept her in place. “Just let me do it for you.”

The damp hair was somewhat tangled. Ni Songan didn’t force the knots out, instead drying it halfway before slowly untangling them. Once, someone had handled Ni Songan’s hair with this same patience, and now, she was the one helping another.

Ni Songan carefully tended to Modesty’s long hair before applying hair oil. The rich, fragrant scent of tuberose drifted through the air.

After the routine, Modesty’s blonde hair was incredibly bright and smooth, giving Ni Songan a great sense of accomplishment. Confirming the roots were completely dry, Ni Songan put the hairdryer away and patted Modesty’s shoulder to signal she was finished.

Modesty could finally turn to look at her. Leaning against the back of the sofa, she sighed, “The sunlight is so nice today.”

Had she not mentioned it, Ni Songan wouldn’t have noticed. The curtains had been tightly drawn in Modesty’s room, but back in her own, the morning light was spilling over the soft bed, looking very cozy.

“Yes, the high today is supposed to be around twenty degrees Celsius,” Ni Songan recalled from the weather forecast she had seen on her phone.

Upon hearing this, Modesty wore a look of longing, cupping her face in her hands. “Is that so? Then…”

“Sister, don’t you think today is incredibly perfect for us to have a picnic outside?”

In the end, Modesty’s words swayed Ni Songan. Since Modesty wanted to go out and she had nothing urgent to do, accompanying her was fine.

After asking Rosaline to prepare a small basket of food, Ni Songan and Modesty dressed and got ready to head out.

Near Lenore Castle in Quxi Orange County, there was a small lake with an island in the center. The two of them could row a small boat out to the island themselves.

Although Ni Songan didn’t know how to use an oar, Modesty mentioned she had received training and participated in competitions before transferring to Nanzhou, so she could teach Ni Songan how to row.

After her bout of illness, Modesty’s spirit seemed even more vigorous than before. She coaxed Ni Songan until the latter was overwhelmed, giving in step by step—first agreeing to the picnic, then to the rowing.

It wasn’t until she calmed down that Ni Songan realized exactly what she had agreed to. Since it was too late to back out, she simply told herself to be more attentive and keep a close eye on Modesty to ensure she stayed healthy.

“Don’t be in such a rush. The weather is nice, but there’s still a breeze. You’ve just recovered, so don’t get cold.” Ni Songan caught the eager Modesty and untied the silk scarf from her own neck, wrapping it around Modesty’s instead.

The latter’s eyes crinkled into crescents as she let Ni Songan dress her. Once everything was ready, Modesty picked up the hand basket. “Alright, let’s go!”

“I want to rest my head on your lap, is that okay?”

Modesty made the request in her clumsy Nanzhou dialect, her blue eyes looking earnestly at Ni Songan.

“Of course you can.”

Ni Songan agreed readily, sitting sideways and smoothing the folds of her skirt over her knees. She then smiled and said, “There, all ready.”

Having gotten her wish, Modesty squinted with satisfaction. The blue of her pupils was identical to the blue of the dress Ni Songan was wearing. Ni Songan gazed at her tenderly, brushing away a strand of blonde hair stuck to the corner of her mouth.

Her cheek was easily brushed by the fingertips. The youth lying on her lap had pale skin, making the flush of shyness appearing on her face easy to spot. The kind stepsister naturally noticed, but while her observation was correct, her conclusion was wrong. The smile on Ni Songan’s lips grew wider. “The sun today has turned your face so red.”

Somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, Modesty pulled the wind-blocking scarf from her neck and spread it over her face. Unfortunately, she forgot that the scarf was something Ni Songan had hurriedly wrapped around her before they left the old house, and it definitely belonged to Ni Songan.

The faint, lingering scent of gardenia from the stepsister surrounded the tip of Modesty’s nose.

In her mind, System 313’s voice suddenly rang out. “Stay focused. Do you really trust Heloise Rodney now?”

“We still have so many plot tasks to complete.”

It droned on and on, incredibly noisy.

For some reason, Modesty didn’t acknowledge it. She simply closed her eyes, hiding all her irritation.

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