My Sister Never Said She Was a Creepy Tale - Chapter 41

If it were before, she wouldn’t have thought too much about these things.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do—that was a phrase she often told herself.

But the result of this attitude was that after emerging from the Gap, she realized she was missing another chunk of memory.

A memory that should be very important to her.

Yue Yiyue hated this feeling.

The feeling of being played in the palm of fate’s hand, of being arbitrarily changed.

She absolutely hated it.

She inexplicably lost a section of memory after the college entrance exam.

When she woke up, she was in the hospital, not knowing what had happened, only that she had been rescued by a kind person who found her in a house.

She was fine, but she remained in a coma for half a year before waking up.

Just like that, her life underwent a tremendous change.

Did she ever hate it?

Yes, she did.

Her beautiful life had just begun, only to have a full stop placed upon it.

But life is long, and there are always other ways.

Later, she received that message.

It was normal for her not to remember much from elementary school.

In junior high, she got along very well with her sister.

High school… her sister went somewhere else. She secretly found a spot to cry, and later her sister…

Looking at the word “He” (祂) on the phone screen.

Yue Yiyue realized something was wrong.

There were many sisters in the orphanage, but the one Yue Yiyue always remembered was the one who always wore a white dress, with long hair draped over her shoulders and a tiny red mole on her collarbone.

She had another sister who got a scar on her face because of her, yet Yue Yiyue only remembered her when she saw similar scenes…

Perhaps she should ask Gu Nanqiu to set up a meeting with Ye Qiu (Wild Autumn) for her.

With this thought, Yue Yiyue walked to the study, picked up her notebook, wrote down all her doubts, took a photo, and saved it on her phone.

As she did so, a piece of paper, folded neatly into a small square, fell from the notebook.

Yue Yiyue looked at the paper, soaked in large swaths of bright red ink, and fell into deep thought.

Gu Nanqiu woke up, and it was already the next day.

After washing up, she clung to Yue Yiyue like a large doll accessory: “We’ve been separated for too long. I feel like we need to stick together constantly now to make up for that time.”

“Yiyue, let’s go out tonight. Let’s soak in the hot springs in the next city. It’s almost autumn, and the temperature is getting cooler.”

When Gu Nanqiu mentioned this, Yue Yiyue remembered that after she entered the so-called Gap, her period for this month had stopped, lasting only about two days.

Will it affect my next period?

Will I have menstrual cramps?

Will strange mood swings occur due to hormones?

Thinking of these things, Yue Yiyue’s expression grew serious, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Not having a period is fine, but I really dislike pain.

She had a lot of internal coldness, and when the pain hit, it was world-shattering.

Gu Nanqiu looked at Yue Yiyue’s solemn appearance and felt a little guilty, tempted to read Yue Yiyue’s thoughts.

But in her past memories, Yue Yiyue strongly disliked this action. After much consideration, Gu Nanqiu restrained herself.

It was best to do as little as possible of what Yue Yiyue disliked, preferably not at all.

“What’s wrong, Yiyue?” It’s best to ask directly if you have doubts rather than guessing wildly. This was one of the secrets in the book for a relationship to last.

Gu Nanqiu looked ready to listen intently.

“Nanqiu, I want to ask, do you know what I went through after I disappeared?” Yue Yiyue thought this was a perfect opportunity. Gu Nanqiu certainly knew something, but she would never tell the truth, so it was the right time to call out Ye Qiu. She would take it one step at a time.

“I have some questions about my period that I want to ask Ye Qiu. Is it convenient to contact your cousin? Let’s skip the next city tomorrow. Let’s go to that cake shop you haven’t been able to visit, eat cake, and take pictures.”

“It’s best to ask my cousin if she has time. I want to thank her. She went through a lot of trouble.”

At the entrance of the cake shop.

Yue Yiyue saw the tables inside were full and was worried there would be no seats, but seeing Gu Nanqiu walk straight in, Yue Yiyue followed.

After the chime of the door opening, the first scent was the sweet aroma of bread that whetted the appetite, followed by an elegant violin melody that added a touch of romance to the atmosphere.

Off-white walls paired with dark sofas. The huge display case held various beautiful and delicious small cakes.

Some customers were taking photos, others were drinking beverages and speaking in hushed tones.

At one table, two children, acting like small adults, were competing to see who could eat cake the fastest and best, making the adults next to them suppress their laughter.

Yue Yiyue withdrew her gaze. She looked up at the second floor of the cake shop, thinking there might be vacant seats up there. Has Ye Qiu arrived yet?

A staff member saw the people at the door. She quickly scurried over, smiled, and bowed to Gu Nanqiu: “Is this Ms. Gu? Please come in. We have reserved a private room for you—”

The staff member placed the prepared desserts and drinks on the table, presented a gift, and emphasized that it was exclusive to Gu Nanqiu.

Then, with a peculiar smile, she closed the door.

There were four different flavors of cake and some cookies.

There were only two drinks. One had a cute smiling dog on top, and the other had a cute smiling cat.

“Yiyue, look at me.”

Click, the sound of the shutter. This moment was captured on Gu Nanqiu’s phone.

Looking at the picture of Yue Yiyue, Gu Nanqiu handed the phone over: “This photo is pretty good. The little dog is a bit like you, both have a kind of simple, honest cuteness.”

In the photo, Yue Yiyue was looking down at the little dog-shaped chocolate on top, her gaze focused, filled with curiosity and exploration, as if she were talking to the dog.

“Alright, now it’s time for our joint photo!”

After saying that, Gu Nanqiu quickly sat on Yue Yiyue’s lap, then held a small cake in one hand and her phone in the other.

Ten minutes later, Gu Nanqiu’s Moments was updated with a nine-panel grid.

Even her profile picture was changed.

Yue Yiyue’s was too.

With exaggerated red notification dots popping up and comments rapidly increasing in the comment section.

Yue Yiyue saw many classmates asking for Gu Nanqiu’s contact information and asking if they could save the photos.

Interspersed with furious question marks from Gu Ye (a character from the previous chapter/Gu Nanqiu’s other side).

Yue Yiyue flipped her phone face down, out of sight, out of mind.

She glanced at Gu Nanqiu’s phone and saw something like “Sister-in-law doesn’t look like the core chaos? Has Mother met her yet?”

Gu Nanqiu pressed the screen off. She smiled apologetically at Yue Yiyue: “I’m sorry, the kids at home are ignorant and don’t understand these things. I’ll go explain later.”

“No, no, no need.” Yue Yiyue hugged Gu Nanqiu, only feeling awkward.

She leaned her head on Gu Nanqiu’s shoulder, her tone slightly muffled: “It’s okay. Kids don’t understand, and explaining is just trouble. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look at your phone.”

“Oh, Yiyue, I’ve even given you my password. It’s nothing.” Gu Nanqiu forked a small cake and brought it to Yue Yiyue’s mouth: “Come on, let’s not talk about that—eat—”

The sweet and sour strawberry filled her mouth. Unlike the quickly-spoiling strawberries she used to save up money to buy, which only tasted sour.

Footsteps sounded behind them. Gu Nanqiu glanced at the person ascending the stairs with a fake smile. For the sake of their continued peace, she cursed under her breath. She knows what I’m doing, and she still comes up? Really, couldn’t she wait a bit longer?

The emptiness in her arms was sudden, and Yue Yiyue was still getting used to it, but Ye Qiu’s arrival distracted her.

A large bag of fruits was placed on the table. A quick look showed kiwis, raspberries, and blueberries.

A huge, miscellaneous bag.

Ye Qiu wore a light overcoat and sunglasses, looking like an elite professional.

“Hello, Cousin. Should I sit next to Nanqiu? Is that okay?”

Ye Qiu removed her sunglasses and sat next to Gu Nanqiu: “You didn’t order the cake I asked for?”

“I did, it will arrive later. Just wait a bit. Speaking of which, since you’re here, you can take some photos for Yiyue and me later.” Gu Nanqiu moved the bag on the table aside: “Yiyue, do you want anything else to eat? Cousin is taking us out to dinner later, so I didn’t order too much for you. We can pack up anything else you want.”

Yue Yiyue, who was comparing the two women’s appearances bit by bit, nodded, answering with divided attention: “I can take a strawberry-related cake and some strawberry jam for takeaway later. These flavors are quite nice.”

The moment she saw Ye Qiu, Yue Yiyue was even more certain that Ye Qiu was also problematic.

Although her memory of Ye Qiu’s face had always been vague, seeing this face today felt wrong.

Ye Qiu shouldn’t look like this.

She kept her doubts hidden and chatted casually with them.

Suddenly, Gu Nanqiu changed the subject: “Yiyue, didn’t you say you had something to ask Cousin?”

Gu Nanqiu raised her teacup and smiled at Yue Yiyue: “Do I need to step out?”

“Oh, no need.” Yue Yiyue ate the last piece of strawberry on her plate: “Speaking of which, my period stopped while I was in the Gap. Will that have any impact on my body?”

After a brief silence, Ye Qiu let out an exaggerated laugh.

“Heavens, I thought the Gap had caused some strange effect on you, making you see hallucinations or something else.” Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow: “My dear, of course it won’t affect you in any way~ That ginger milk curd was restorative, after all.”

Her confusion resolved, Yue Yiyue thanked her sincerely: “That’s good. But speaking of hallucinations, I am a bit confused. Recently, I keep seeing fleeting shadows in the corners of the house.”

Yue Yiyue feigned distress: “Since we’re on the subject, I suspect there’s an octopus or a squid hiding in the house?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s a soft-bodied creature anyway.”

“Including the feeling I had before, of something soft pressing down on me. This must be the Gap’s influence, right?”

Silence.

A strange silence descended upon the entire private room.

After a long moment, Gu Nanqiu took a sip of her drink: “It is the Gap’s influence.”

“Yiyue, you’ve been cleaning the house yourself recently. You surely know that the house is spotless, not even a mosquito. I don’t know that Nanqiu has a hobby of keeping such things! Oh, Yiyue, speaking of which, I don’t think we have each other’s contact information yet.”

Ye Qiu awkwardly changed the subject: “We’re family, right? If you need anything in the future, just contact me. I also know an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. I can get you a prescription.”

Yue Yiyue handed over her QR code: “That sounds great.”

“However, there’s one more thing I can’t figure out.”

“Nanqiu was still unfamiliar with things like this when she first started university.”

“Yet, in just two short months, she knows so much. She doesn’t even need an explanation of what the Gap is. That’s truly impressive.”