I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 27

“Forget it, maybe I should wash my face first?” Ni Songan remembered she’d been at the factory for half the day; she was bound to be covered in dust.

Qian Duoduo had already shown them how to use the bathroom faucet. Due to a counterintuitive design, the red side for hot water actually ran cold, while the blue side for cold ran hot, it was a bit of a puzzle. Apparently, she’d messed up the installation herself and, being too lazy to take it apart, just learned to live with it.

After washing up, both felt much more refreshed. They followed Qian Duoduo’s recommendation to a wet market not far from the neighborhood, which featured a popular food street.

The area was bustling. The air was thick with the pungent, spicy aromas of various foods—a bit overwhelming, yet incredibly enticing. At the very least, it kickstarted Ni Songan’s appetite. Modesty didn’t mind the smell either. In fact, since it was her first time in a place like this, she seemed exceptionally excited, stopping at almost every stall to watch the vendors prepare their snacks.

Ni Songan found the sight amusing. “How about we get a little bit of everything and share? That way we can try more variety without wasting food.”

Modesty nodded like a woodpecker. She stuck close to Ni Songan’s side, watching her negotiate with the vendors. “Right, no onions or cilantro, please. Spicy is fine.”

They moved from one stall to the next, and soon, all four of their hands were full.

Since snacks alone wouldn’t cut it—Modesty was still growing and Ni Songan was exhausted from work, they needed a proper energy boost. Both had quite the appetite. Noticing a barbecue joint by the road that looked clean and had a few empty seats, Ni Songan turned to ask, “Do you want to grab some BBQ?”

But Modesty hadn’t kept up. She was standing a few meters behind, staring intently toward a certain corner.

Ni Songan followed her gaze. It was just the entrance to a small alleyway, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Modesty? Earth to Modesty.” She walked back to her side. With her hands full, she nudged the girl with her elbow. “Let’s go. Want BBQ? You didn’t hear a word I said.”

The sudden numbness in her arm made Modesty’s expression flicker. She looked at Ni Songan reproachfully. “You poked me too hard. It hurts.”

“Alright, alright, let me see.” Ni Songan bent down to check her arm, figuring she’d hit the ulnar nerve. “I’m sorry.”

“I suppose I can forgive you this once, Sister” Modesty muttered.

“Is there something special over there? You’ve been staring.” Ni Songan pointed toward the spot Modesty had been watching.

Modesty remained silent, instead pulling Ni Songan toward the BBQ restaurant to find a seat. Only after they had set down their various bags of food did the distracted girl speak up. “I just felt… like someone was following us?”

“Since when?” Ni Songan didn’t doubt her for a second, focusing instead on the timeline.

“Probably since we left the residential area.” Modesty toyed with her fingers, mentally retracing the day’s oddities. “At first, when Big Sister Qian was leading us to her place, a lot of people were staring. But that’s normal, we’re new faces.”

She paused. “But there was one person whose gaze felt wrong. Dressed in black, wearing a mask.”

“The person behind us just now, was it her?”

A server arrived with their dishes, and both women fell silent at once.

Modesty didn’t say a word, but Ni Songan saw the answer in her eyes.

***

That evening, Qian Duoduo returned from her mother’s house. As soon as she stepped inside, she saw the various gifts Ni Songan and Modesty had prepared, supplement gift boxes of the kind frequently advertised on TV. They clearly hadn’t been cheap.

“Sister, we felt bad about imposing on you so much without bringing anything. When we went out this afternoon, we thought we’d pick up some supplements for you.” Ni Songan stood up and began explaining the benefits of the items, which she had hurriedly arranged for delivery earlier that day.

Qian Duoduo recoiled in shock. “Oh, I can’t take these! You’re just crashing here for a bit. Hurry up and take these back with the receipt for a refund! This is way more expensive than a hotel room!”

“It’s not easy for you young people to earn money. I appreciate the thought, truly!” Qian Duoduo resisted as Modesty tried to shove a shopping bag into her hands, while Ni Songan did her best to persuade her.

After a brief stalemate, Ni Songan realized she couldn’t win. She finally relented. “Fine, Modesty, put the things down. I’ll return them when I head home…”

“That’s more like it!” Qian Duoduo’s expression relaxed. “Knowing you care is enough for me.”

She sat down and asked about their afternoon. “Did you go to that food street I mentioned?”

“We did, it was packed,” Ni Songan remarked. “But the food at those stalls was delicious.”

“Oh, by the way, Sister, is this neighborhood mostly factory workers? I felt like some of the people I saw this afternoon didn’t really look like they worked in the plants.” Ni Songan inquired, feigning casual curiosity.

Qian Duoduo scratched her head. “Well, not necessarily. It’s not just factory workers living here. It’s mainly because the rent is cheap, so people from all walks of life move in. It just so happens that the factory crowd is the largest, but there are actually a lot of empty apartments that won’t rent out.”

“I see. The area does seem quite convenient to live in…” Ni Songan nodded thoughtfully. After chatting with Qian Duoduo for a bit longer, she made an excuse to go rest with her sister.

After washing up, she squeezed into the single bed with Modesty. To create an air of secrecy, Modesty pulled the duvet over their heads, looking at Ni Songan by the glow of her phone screen.

“Isn’t it stuffy in here?” Ni Songan thought it was a bit breathless, but she was happy to play along and crawled in.

Modesty just looked at her and smiled. They had used the same travel-sized packets of body wash and shampoo, so they both smelled of the same minty scent.

Ni Songan couldn’t help but sniff her own arm, then watched as Modesty leaned in to sniff it too. Modesty then sniffed herself and curled her lip. “A bit spicy.”

“Mint is spicy?” Ni Songan was confused. Usually, it was described as cooling or tingly.

“I still prefer the stuff you usually use. The gardenia smells so much better,” Modesty remarked, already feeling nostalgic for their usual products.

Ni Songan burst into laughter and tweaked the girl’s nose. “I knew you liked it. I don’t remember you using it before, though. When did you switch?”

“Not long after you arrived at Quxi Orange County.” Modesty went strangely quiet for a moment, then buried her head against Ni Songan so the latter couldn’t see her face.

“That early? I don’t really remember. I just know we seemed to use the same scents for everything, and there were always gardenias around the house.” Ni Songan thought back to a year ago; it felt like a lifetime had passed.

She stroked Modesty’s hair. “Were you missing your mom today?”

When Qian Duoduo had mentioned going to her mother’s for dinner, Ni Songan hadn’t missed the momentary daze in Modesty’s eyes.

“Don’t you miss yours, Sister?” Modesty’s muffled voice came through. Her hair was tickling Ni Songan’s neck.

“I do, but there’s not much I can do about it,” Ni Songan said, feigning a light tone. She didn’t exactly “miss” Ni Tianjiao, yet she didn’t not miss her either. Her feelings toward the mother of this identity were complicated.

Even now, that remained true.

“We only have each other now.” Modesty wrapped her arms around Ni Songan’s waist.

She held on tightly, so tightly that Ni Songan felt as though she were being locked in an embrace that would never let go.

Ni Songan exhaled slowly, one hand stroking the girl’s head while the other gently patted her back. “It’ll get better.”

She looked down at Modesty’s fluttering eyelashes and made a silent vow—

Don’t worry. I will help you. You will get everything you deserve, and you will have many more friends.

We will both get what we want.

Ni Songan’s promise to return the gift boxes had been a lie. They secretly left the items in Qian Duoduo’s house, returned the key, and left as if nothing had happened.

They had serious business to attend to today.

Modesty lay bored on the sofa, playing on her phone while waiting for the people in the inner office to finish their discussion.

The clock on the wall ticked away, the hour hand sliding toward three.

“Then let’s leave it at that for today.”

With a click, the door opened. Ni Songan was shaking hands with Factory Director Fang to say goodbye.

Modesty immediately pocketed her phone and moved to Ni Songan’s side. “Are you done?”

“Of course. Is there anything else you want to do?” Ni Songan asked.

“Can we go back to that food street from yesterday and buy some snacks?” Modesty was mostly craving the grilled skewers Ni Songan had bought her.

Director Fang, having resolved his current dilemma, was in a better mood. He looked at them with a smile. “You two sisters have a wonderful relationship.”

Ni Songan couldn’t hide her smile as she replied to the director. “Yes, we get along very well.”

“We’ll leave a bit later then. I’ll take you to get snacks first.” Ni Songan could never say no to such a simple request.

After they left the factory, Zhu Tingran arranged for the other employees to head out first, while she stayed behind in the RV to wait for Ni Songan and Modesty.

The food street wasn’t far. They reached it after a short walk, and Modesty dragged Ni Songan straight to the skewer stall. “Boss, I want three sticks of grilled bread, three sticks of.”

She listed her order precisely, then stood by the roadside with Ni Songan, waiting for the food to be ready.

“Why three of everything today? For Zhu Tingran?” Ni Songan asked curiously.

“Yeah. It would be awkward if only the two of us were eating,” Modesty shrugged.

The vendor was fast. Since it wasn’t evening yet, business wasn’t too hectic, and he handed Ni Songan the container of skewers within minutes.

But at that moment, Modesty gripped Ni Songan’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “That woman in black is following us again. Don’t look. Pretend we’re just sharing a secret.”

“Okay.”

The sounds of sizzling skewers and popping oil from the nearby stalls provided perfect cover, masking their quiet conversation.

“I’m going to try and tail her for a bit. Wait here for me.” Modesty made an instant decision.

Ni Songan told her to be careful, though she wasn’t overly worried. Modesty was in great shape, took weekly boxing and karate classes, and was a fast runner. She was more than capable of handling a minor situation.

However, just as Modesty was about to bolt, a little girl suddenly darted out from the side of the road, right into the path of an oncoming electric scooter.

Without hesitation, Modesty lunged forward and grabbed the child by the collar, preventing the accident.

By the time Modesty looked back toward where the woman in black had been, the spot was empty.

The child’s parents were so shaken their legs nearly gave out. When they thanked Modesty, they looked ready to hand over every cent they had on them.

After speaking with them, Modesty walked back to Ni Songan, looking dejected.

Ni Songan had also been about to intervene, but she’d been a step slower than Modesty.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch her,” Modesty apologized.

Ni Songan didn’t mind at all. Had she been in that position, she would have prioritized the little girl too. She comforted her, saying, “It doesn’t matter if you caught her or not. There are surveillance cameras around. We can find someone to look into it.”

Professional matters required professionals. As for how to find those professionals… Ni Songan delegated that task to Zhu Tingran.

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