I Got Together With the Fake Heiress - Chapter 23

“Buzz—buzz—” Hearing her phone vibrate, Wen Yimeng reached a hand out from under the covers. After finding her phone, she expertly turned off the alarm.

Sitting up in bed with her eyes closed, Wen Yimeng scratched her slightly frizzy hair, managed to open her eyes into a slit, and glanced at the time on her phone.

It was already five-thirty. Time to get up, or she would miss the first sunrise of the new year.

Fumbling to turn on the small bedside lamp, Wen Yimeng couldn’t help but yawn, rubbing her eyes before drifting ghost-like towards the bathroom.

After twenty minutes of getting ready, Wen Yimeng emerged, impeccably dressed. Seeing a certain person still sprawled out in a large ‘X’ shape on the bed, her brows furrowed slightly.

“Wen Yunqing, get up,” Wen Yimeng said. Seeing no reaction from Wen Yunqing, she mischievously pinched her nose shut.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds passed. Looking at Wen Yunqing’s pinched nose and tightly shut mouth, Wen Yimeng released her grip in a panic, then nervously put her hand under Wen Yunqing’s nose.

No way, no way. Did something happen to Wen Yunqing?!

“Mint flavor, quite fragrant,” Wen Yunqing suddenly said, opening her eyes and smiling playfully at her.

“…” Wen Yimeng slowly exhaled and said through gritted teeth, “Wen Yunqing, did you scare me on purpose?”

“Did I?” Wen Yunqing propped herself up and sat, tilting her head to ask, “It was only holding my breath for thirty seconds. Darling Yimeng, you can do it too, right?”

“…If you’re awake, hurry up and get up. It’s almost six o’clock now, and we have to leave for the mountaintop soon.” Wen Yimeng was mostly immune to the words “Darling Yimeng” by now. Fortunately, Wen Yunqing didn’t shout it out in public anymore, so she just tolerated it.

According to predictions, the sunrise on New Year’s Day was around seven o’clock. The meeting time was set for six-twenty. Once everyone gathered, they would take the bus to the top of the mountain, arriving approximately five minutes before sunrise.

The mountaintop had not been overly developed, so apart from the necessary guardrails, there was only a simple notice board recording some legends about the mountain.

“I’m so sleepy. Has the sun not come out yet?” the sports representative asked with a yawn.

“Soon. There’s already a bit of light over there!” The class monitor turned to say a few words to the photographer who had followed them, then began giving instructions. “Everyone choose a spot here. Once the sun comes out, we want to take a group photo together!”

Wen Yunqing compared the position of the sunrise, directly grabbed Wen Yimeng’s hand, and confidently stood right in the front and center.

“You’re too tall. You’ll block the people behind,” Wen Yimeng reminded her. “Stand behind me.”

“Okay.” Wen Yunqing slowly moved behind Wen Yimeng and whispered, “Can I wrap my arm around your waist?”

Wen Yimeng was speechless. She unceremoniously poked her non-held left arm. “If I said no, would you let go?”

“Of course, but I’d switch to wrapping my other arm around you,” Wen Yunqing said earnestly.

Perfect. That answer was exactly what she expected.

Once they finished adjusting their positions, the clouds on the horizon were gradually dyed red, and the original darkness was dispelled by light.

“Alright, everyone look here. Three, two, one, Cheese!” the photographer shouted, furiously pressing the shutter, capturing one photo after another.

After the group photo, the remaining time was for individual efforts. Many people took out their mirrorless cameras from their bags and started snapping pictures.

Neither Wen Yunqing nor Wen Yimeng brought professional cameras. After the group photo, both moved in perfect synchronization, pulling out their phones and opening the built-in camera app.

The only difference was that Wen Yimeng used her phone to capture the scenery during the sunrise, while Wen Yunqing treated Wen Yimeng as the scenery, taking photo after photo with a very satisfied smile on her face.

It wasn’t until the sun was almost fully risen that Wen Yimeng noticed Wen Yunqing’s stealthy photography. She chased her down and fiercely questioned her, “What were you taking pictures of just now? Were you secretly taking ugly photos of me?!”

“How could I? Yimeng, you’re so beautiful. You look good no matter how you’re photographed!” Wen Yunqing said sincerely.

“Really? Let me see.” Wen Yimeng mostly believed her in her heart. Honestly, Wen Yunqing was genuinely kind to her and would never do anything to harm her.

“Sure,” Wen Yunqing generously handed over her phone.

Wen Yimeng didn’t take it, but merely glanced at the phone screen, not intending to pursue the matter of her taking secret pictures. But that casual glance instantly stunned Wen Yimeng…

“This isn’t an ugly photo?” Wen Yimeng was full of disbelief. Although she wasn’t as tall as Wen Yunqing, she was still over 1.6 meters. Why did Wen Yunqing manage to photograph her with a height of only 1.3 meters! And with such a huge head!

“Is this very ugly?” Wen Yunqing was completely unaware of how terrible her photography skills were, and she asked very confidently, “Doesn’t the photo look just like you? They’re all very beautiful.”

“…” If Wen Yunqing hadn’t sounded so sincere when she said this, Wen Yimeng would have thought she was being sarcastic.

Wen Yimeng snatched Wen Yunqing’s phone directly and scrolled through more than ten photos, nearly gasping for breath when she found herself looking like a short person in every single one.

“I don’t think so. They all need to be deleted,” Wen Yimeng strongly insisted. She then selected dozens of photos and asked, “Can I delete all of these?”

“Fine. If you don’t think they look good enough, then delete them,” Wen Yunqing said carelessly. Anyway, the recycle bin would automatically save the files, and she could restore them later.

After deleting her ‘ugly photos,’ Wen Yimeng habitually scrolled down a few times and saw the very last photo in the album. Based on the date displayed, it seemed to have been taken when Wen Yunqing first arrived.

Out of a strange curiosity, Wen Yimeng turned to glance at the person standing beside her. Seeing that Wen Yunqing was watching her actions, Wen Yimeng directly clicked on the large image. Since the person was right there, her action didn’t count as spying.

“…Is this what you drew?” Wen Yimeng was surprised that the first photo on her phone was actually a drawing of herself. Although the lines and outline of the figure were rough, Wen Yimeng could immediately tell it was herself during music class.

“Yes. You were avoiding me back then, so I could only draw you,” Wen Yunqing said. “You wouldn’t forbid this too, would you?”

Wen Yimeng felt a warmth in her heart, a kind of unspoken emotion. However, she didn’t show it too clearly on her face and still asked stubbornly, “What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll hire you as my model. I’ll transfer you one hundred yuan for every drawing I make,” Wen Yunqing replied smoothly.

Perfect. This answer was very much in line with Wen Yunqing’s character.

Seeing Wen Yunqing’s empty photo album, Wen Yimeng felt a slight guilt. So, holding the phone with one hand, she switched it to selfie mode and faced Wen Yunqing.

“You need to crouch down a bit. Your head is out of the frame!” Wen Yimeng said.

Wen Yunqing very cooperatively bent her legs, bringing their shoulders to the same horizontal level. “Is this better?”

Wen Yimeng squinted, saw her own face noticeably larger on the screen, and tried hard to pull her face back, retreating little by little.

Seeing the other person struggling to stretch her neck, Wen Yunqing couldn’t help but chuckle. She took the phone and leveraged her long arms, pulling the lens much farther away. “How about this?”

“Wait a moment.” Wen Yimeng moved Wen Yunqing’s arm, then moved behind her, leaning her head on Wen Yunqing’s shoulder. “Now it’s good.”

Click. Their first photo together was freshly taken. Wen Yimeng admired it, finally satisfied after seeing their faces were roughly the same size in the picture.

“This is how I should look when photographed. Send the photo to my phone later,” Wen Yimeng said, handing the phone back to Wen Yunqing.

Looking at the single, lonely photo, Wen Yunqing was slightly dissatisfied. She waved at Zhou Jun, who was not far away. “Zhou Jun, a favor! Can you take a picture of Yimeng and me?”

“Sure. Right here?” Zhou Jun walked over and took the phone from her hand.

“Just a moment.” Wen Yunqing held Wen Yimeng’s hand. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, facing away from the sun.

Zhou Jun looked at the screen and said, “The lighting is too dark like this. You need to turn to the side a bit.”

“Okay.” Wen Yimeng, who had a slight knack for photography, immediately grabbed Wen Yunqing’s shoulder and spun her ninety degrees clockwise, then stood half a step in front of her.

“Perfect. Look at my lens.” Zhou Jun adjusted her stance based on the angle of the light. When the soft sunlight gently spilled across their profiles, she seized the moment and took the photo.

In the instant the photo was captured, Wen Yunqing turned her head, her gaze falling on Wen Yimeng’s face with great tenderness, adding a subtle hint of ambiguity to the image.

“Why are you looking at me?” Wen Yimeng turned her head, sensing his gaze. Their eyes met.

“Your…” Wen Yunqing originally wanted to say there was something dirty on her face, but immediately changed her words after recalling the romance PPT she had read. “Nothing, I just think you look especially beautiful.”

Saying this, Wen Yunqing naturally raised her hand and gently brushed Wen Yimeng’s face, removing a tiny speck of dirt.

Wen Yimeng’s cheeks were slightly flushed. She tried hard to maintain her expression. “You’ve seen me before. What flattering nonsense!”

Wen Yunqing blinked innocently. “What does me thinking you’re beautiful have to do with me having seen you before? It’s a fact that I thought you were beautiful the first time I saw you, and it’s a fact that I think you’re beautiful now.”

“I’m just stating the facts,” Wen Yunqing said.

The blush on Wen Yimeng’s face became even more obvious. Perhaps it was the filter effect of the sunrise, but for several moments, she actually found Wen Yunqing incredibly beautiful—so beautiful that she felt an urge to reach out and touch her.

On the other side, Zhou Jun, whose phone camera had remained on, her eyes lit up. She immediately snapped many photos, perfectly documenting almost every interaction between the two.

She knew it! The relationship between the two classmates, Wen Yunqing and Wen Yimeng, was not ordinary! She hadn’t experienced much in life, but she understood the typical interaction patterns between cousins.

If cousins had interactions like this, she would eat the entire phone in her hand! The whole thing!