Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Unmasking the Lie

Qiao Xi failed to convince Shen Ya; instead, she was persuaded by her. She realized that she had been continuously ignoring Shen Ya’s own thoughts. She had been constantly guessing the other woman’s intentions, and whether her guesses were right or not, she stubbornly proceeded to do things based on her own assumptions.

Shen Ya was right. She had never said she was unhappy about coming here, nor had she ever said she still harbored lingering feelings for Jiang Yunxi. Everything was merely Qiao Xi’s conjecture.

Furthermore, Shen Ya was an adult, eleven years older than her. If Qiao Xi could understand this, didn’t Shen Ya understand it too? No one wants to dwell in the past; Qiao Xi herself always looks forward. If Shen Ya didn’t want to come here, she wouldn’t have chosen to. Since she came, she must have been mentally prepared.

Qiao Xi said to Shen Ya after getting out of the car, “I’m sorry.”

Shen Ya glanced at her, emitting a short sound from her nose: “Mm.”

Back on her own turf, Qiao Xi was, of course, more familiar with the environment here than the agent, but she couldn’t show it. So, she followed behind Shen Ya, looking left and right, pretending to be curious.

There were two elevators and three units per floor. The elevator stopped on the 16th floor. Qiao Xi had already sent the temporary access code for her door to the agent earlier. She had been careful, using a secondary account to add the agent, so even if the agent checked the chat history now, Qiao Xi wasn’t worried that Shen Ya would find out.

Pushing open the gray door, they were faced with a reasonably spacious entrance corridor. The corridor had a custom-made shoe cabinet and a white small-dog shoe-changing stool.

Shoe covers were placed on the cabinet, which Qiao Xi had prepared in advance yesterday. As soon as she learned Shen Ya was going apartment viewing this weekend, she planned to find an opportunity to bring her here.

After putting on the shoe covers, the agent led the two of them inside. The apartment had a warm-toned interior design: an off-white long sofa, next to which was a huge, doghouse-like beanbag chair. The coffee table resembled a small cloud, and two cartoon cushions rested on the fuzzy rug.

Shen Ya looked around. After a moment of contemplation, she asked with uncertainty, “Does this landlord have children?”

The agent laughed awkwardly, glancing at Qiao Xi. Qiao Xi, hiding behind Shen Ya, lightly coughed and helped the agent explain: “Maybe it’s because the landlord is quite young?”

“That’s right, that’s right! The landlord is young, so she likes these quirky things. But seriously, the decoration is well-done. You can tell good quality materials were used, and the area is large. The balcony even has floor-to-ceiling windows. Let’s go look at the rooms.”

The agent led Shen Ya toward the master bedroom. Qiao Xi leisurely followed behind. She hardly ever stayed here, so the closet only held two or three emergency outfits, all of which she packed into a suitcase yesterday. The game consoles were stuffed into the smallest utility room along with the suitcase.

From the moment Shen Ya entered the apartment, she had a strange feeling. Although there was an air of incense in the room, she faintly smelled Qiao Xi’s scent. She initially thought she was mistaken, but Qiao Xi was exchanging glances with the agent right under her nose, assuming she hadn’t noticed.

With lingering doubt, she walked into the master bedroom. The master bedroom was more spacious than she had imagined. It even came with a micro-study area, and the desk in that study looked extremely familiar to her.

Shen Ya walked up to the desk, her fingers tracing the surface. She then looked up at the wall directly opposite the desk. She ceaselessly rummaged through her memories. When Qiao Xi’s figure appeared beside her, she finally locked onto a specific memory.

If she hadn’t misremembered, when she video-called Qiao Xi the night before last, she saw an identical desk. While walls might be painted the same color, the identical arrangement of the small items on the desk was too much of a coincidence.

The agent suddenly changed the itinerary to bring her here, Qiao Xi’s abnormal mood in the car earlier, and the faint scent she detected upon entering—none of it was a mistake. To confirm the final answer, Shen Ya curved her lips into a smile that was chilling.

She turned back to Qiao Xi, beckoning her: “Qiao Xi, come here for a moment.”

Qiao Xi didn’t know what Shen Ya was thinking. She simply walked over obediently. “What is it, Teacher Shen?”

Shen Ya pulled out the chair in front of the desk, its wheels sliding on the floor. Shen Ya then took Qiao Xi and pressed her down onto the seat.

The moment Qiao Xi sat down, Shen Ya was a hundred percent certain: Qiao Xi was sitting at this very desk when she video-called her the night before last. If so, whose apartment was this?

Even though she had guessed the truth, Shen Ya remained composed. She didn’t expose Qiao Xi’s lie but continued to follow the steps. After touring the master bedroom, she cooperated with the agent to view the other two rooms.

“Can’t we enter this room?” They stopped in front of the last locked room after viewing the entire apartment.

The agent told her, “The landlord has some personal belongings stored here, so this room can’t be accessed temporarily.”

Shen Ya thought, Perhaps the evidence to expose Qiao Xi is hidden in there. She nodded, seemingly unconcerned, and even showed a relatively satisfied expression.

The viewing came to the final segment. The agent routinely asked, “Sister, what do you think? Not bad, right?”

“It is indeed good. How much rent is the landlord asking for?”

The agent took out her phone and showed Shen Ya a four-digit number: “This price is probably the only one of its kind in this complex. Would you like to reserve it right away? No other apartment will offer this environment and value for money.”

The price would be tempting to anyone who saw it, but unfortunately, the landlord was a habitual liar.

“I’ll think about it.”

When Shen Ya said this, not only did Qiao Xi’s face change, but the agent also grew anxious. After all, the conditions Qiao Xi offered were too tempting—double the commission was hard to resist.

“Sister, is there anything you’re not satisfied with? Or is the price too high? We can discuss that with the landlord.”

“Mm, I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”

Shen Ya chatted with the agent for a few more sentences and finally asked her to wait outside for a moment.

Once only the two of them remained in the apartment, Shen Ya’s expression dropped. She walked back to the living room. When she met Qiao Xi’s gaze, her eyes seemed covered with a layer of frost, fiercely pushing Qiao Xi away.

“T-Teacher Shen?”

Shen Ya looked down at Qiao Xi. Her tone was cold and sharply pointed: “Do you have anything you want to tell me?”

Shen Ya’s sudden change in mood caught Qiao Xi off guard. She was confused, unsure what she had done wrong to make Shen Ya angry. Had the other woman seen through the apartment?

Qiao Xi dared not speak rashly. She was afraid she would only make things worse. Until she could figure out the cause of Shen Ya’s anger, perhaps silence was the best answer.

Shen Ya sneered and lightly scolded, “Little liar.”