I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 23

“I have no need for friends, I only lack loyal underlings.”

On the vast stage, a stark, pale spotlight focused solely on Modesty. She held a skull high in her hand, her eyes devoid of any emotion as she gazed upon it.

The crown atop her blonde hair gleamed coldly, looking as if it might fall at any moment.

Below the stage, Ni Songan stood by the side door, waiting for the rehearsal to end.

Spring was already half over, and peach blossoms were being swept from the branches by the wind. Soon, it would be time for the senior students to leave campus.

Now that Modesty claimed she could integrate well into the school community, Songan had stopped worrying about her studies, especially since Modesty regularly showed her report cards with excellent marks. To anyone watching, she was a remarkably low-maintenance child.

Modesty had also joined the drama club and had successfully been elected as the club president in her second year. Lately, she was busy organizing members for activities and preparing a performance for the senior graduation gala.

They were performing an original story written by a girl in the club, telling the tale of an arrogant emperor who, in an attempt to save her country, walked step by step toward her own destruction.

The emperor in the script was played by Modesty.

Songan had come specifically to pick her up. They had agreed last weekend to go to the mall together because Modesty felt Songan was so busy she forgot how to enjoy life, so she practically dragged her out to relax.

Since she arrived right during rehearsal, Songan had asked a passing student for the location of the drama club, wanting to catch a glimpse of the performance while she waited.

In the script, the emperor eventually died by self-immolation. The stage design used fans and red silk to mimic leaping flames.

Songan watched as Modesty collapsed to her knees. Her crown had long since vanished. The red silk billowed around her, and even at the end of her life, she remained unaware of her mistakes, firmly believing her choices were the only way to turn the tide.

The look of disbelief and resentment in her eyes pierced through the layers of soft silk, across the rows of seats, and happened to lock right onto Songan.

Songan then watched as Modesty instantly shed those negative emotions. Unable to hide her joy, she beamed a bright smile directly at Songan.

“Sister!”

Modesty glanced at the stairs on the side of the stage but didn’t walk toward them. Instead, she boldly jumped down from the platform, which was over a meter high, and ran to Songan’s side. “How did you find me here?”

The gold tassels on her shoulders bounced as she moved, looking nothing like the cold, ruthless emperor Songan had seen just minutes ago.

The strange contrast was quite funny to Songan. She covered her mouth with her hand, not wanting Modesty to think she was making fun of her.

As Modesty approached, Songan noticed beads of sweat on her forehead. She pulled a tissue from her bag to wipe them away. “Be careful next time. Jumping down in boots makes it easy to sprain an ankle. I kept it a secret on purpose, I wanted to see what your rehearsals looked like.”

“If you wanted to see, you should have just said so! I could have brought you here myself. Have you been standing here for a long time?” Modesty stood obediently as Songan wiped her sweat, her eyes fixed intently on her step-sister, her tone intimate.

“It wasn’t too bad.” Songan hadn’t checked the time, but her legs did feel a bit sore, she guessed about half an hour had passed.

“I’ll go remove my makeup and change into regular clothes first. Sit and wait for me.” Modesty pulled her to the drama club’s lounge. After introducing Songan to the club members one by one, Modesty ducked into the dressing room next door.

It was hard for Songan to ignore the curious gazes fixed upon her, so she simply returned them with a smile.

This friendly gesture gave the drama club students courage. They crowded around Songan, competing to talk to her.

“You’re Modesty’s sister! She praises you all the time!”

Songan was flattered.

“Sister, you look so cool! What brand is that watch?”

Songan silently glanced at her watch, which cost less than a hundred dollars.

“Do you want something to eat? Modesty just told us to take good care of you!”

Songan was indeed hungry, but she had to save room for dinner with Modesty.

***

The chirping voices almost overwhelmed her. Songan quickly called for a timeout. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you all clearly. Please speak slowly, and I’ll answer you one by one.”

The first girl who had asked a question raised her hand. “Me, me, me! I asked first!”

She looked at Songan expectantly. “Are you Modesty’s step-sister? What do you think of her? I have a step-sister too, and I can’t figure out if she actually likes me, but I like her a lot.”

Songan paused for a moment, then smiled. “Modesty and I have a pretty good relationship. I quite like her as a sister. Generally speaking, I don’t think an older sister would hate a younger one who likes her. Why are you feeling confused?”

The other club members held their breath, listening in.

“My sister is always so cold. When I tell her I miss her, she doesn’t really react… but she used to care about me so much. When I was sick, she’d patiently give me medicine and coax me to sleep.” The girl grew a bit pained as she spoke.

“Used to? How long ago was ‘used to’?” Songan pressed.

“Not that long, okay, just a few days ago,” she grumbled, pouting.

The onlookers couldn’t help themselves and started chiming in. “Oh, Xiao Liu, I think you’re just too clingy with your sister. It sounds like things are fine!”

“Xiao Liu, you overthink way too much. Just go back and ask her directly!”

The youth called Xiao Liu looked to Songan for help. “Really?”

Songan looked at the child, who was clearly lacking a sense of security, with a smile in her eyes. “It’s best to be open with the people you care about. Otherwise, there might be a gap in information, and you’ll end up doing things neither of you likes.”

Another voice suddenly asked, “Are you and Modesty always completely honest with each other then, Sister?”

Songan’s eyes narrowed slightly with a mischievous smile. She wagged her index finger. “People still need to keep a little distance. We all have our own little secrets. It would be a bit silly to tell everything.”

As soon as she said it, Songan realized something was off—that voice was far too familiar!

Sure enough, she turned around to find Modesty standing behind her, feigning anger. “So Sister has been keeping lots of secrets from me!”

Caught in the act, Songan didn’t panic. “I don’t believe for a second you don’t have any hidden tails.”

Modesty stammered, “That… how can you call it hiding.”

The rest of the club members burst into laughter. Xiao Liu was the first to grab Songan’s arm, shaking it. “I’m reporting her! I’m reporting her!”

“A while ago, Modesty sneakily took the drama club’s big-tailed mascot costume. No one knows what she wanted it for, and she still hasn’t brought it back!”

“Ah, I knew it! I couldn’t find that costume anywhere!” The girl usually in charge of organizing the costumes slapped her forehead, remembering the missing outfit.

Everyone looked at Modesty, waiting for a reasonable explanation.

“Hey, Daphne, you can’t wrong me this time! I definitely sent you a message! I told you I was borrowing it for a while!” Modesty immediately started shouting.

The name Daphne rang a bell for Songan. Ever since she had met Flora, the names Daphne and Flora appeared frequently in Modesty’s conversations.

The three of them seemed to be very close friends.

Songan guessed they were something of a “Golden Trio,” though Modesty had admitted that Daphne and Flora were more intimate with each other.

“After all, they’re childhood sweethearts! They grew up together,” Modesty had said.

Songan’s mind flashed back to that sentence. She looked up at the girl who had never appeared in the book Guide to a Boss’s Entrepreneurship.

Daphne had thick bangs and hair that looked naturally curly, she seemed exceptionally lively. Under Modesty’s clamoring, she frantically scrolled through their chat history and actually found Modesty’s message. “It’s really there?! I totally missed it…”

“Flora probably opened it for you and forgot to mention it.” Modesty didn’t even have to think to know the reason.

Songan coughed lightly to get their attention back. “So, what did you need the mascot suit for? I don’t recall seeing it at home.”

Modesty looked everywhere but at Songan. “That… I can’t say! Anyway, I have a great use for it! Just you wait and see, Sister!”

“You’ve certainly become quite the smooth talker,” Songan didn’t press for details, merely smiling as she patted her head. She started to feel a bit nostalgic for the days when Modesty couldn’t speak Nanzhou dialect. “It really wasn’t a waste of time giving you those language lessons.”

Upon hearing this, Daphne looked up in surprise, looking as if she wanted to say something, but she caught the warning glint in Modesty’s eyes and shut her mouth.

Xiao Liu approached eagerly. “Sister, can I add your contact info? I promise I won’t bother you!”

“I want to add you too!” “Me too!” “Me, me, me!”

***

Songan thought for a moment and agreed to their requests. She didn’t check social media often anyway, so adding them didn’t matter much.

Furthermore, Songan actually had someone she was very interested in, Daphne.

Daphne was intricately linked to the villainous characters, perhaps Songan could see some content related to Flora through her. Adding her as a friend was partly for that reason.

Songan and Modesty chatted with them for a bit longer in the lounge, satisfying most people’s curiosity about the “Sister” Modesty always talked about. Then, they left Koridous Middle School, ready to wander through the mall.

“Daphne, why are you still dazing off?”

A companion called out to Daphne. After finishing rehearsal, they still had to tidy up the costumes and props, if anything was damaged, they needed to find someone to repair or replace it promptly.

“Oh, coming!” Daphne snapped back to reality and shouted back.

Once they were finished, the group said their goodbyes. Daphne spotted her friend Flora at the entrance of the drama club. “Good afternoon, Flora!”

She waved and ran toward her, saying triumphantly, “I discovered a huge secret about that girl Modesty today!”

Flora caught her to prevent her from tripping as she skipped along. She wasn’t actually interested in Modesty’s secrets, but she patiently humored her. “Oh? What secret?”

“That girl Modesty clearly knows several languages, yet she actually asked her sister to give her extra lessons!” Daphne’s face was animated as she shared the gossip. “I was wondering why she used to purposely do an extra set of practice papers full of wrong answers. Turns out she was just doing it to trick her sister!”

Support