Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The Birthday Surprise

【Little Rascal: Teacher Shen, by the time you see this message, I’ll already have been hauled onto a plane going abroad… Wuwuwu, Teacher Shen, I’ve been kidnapped. My sisters had planned this trip abroad after the Gaokao long ago, including my two friends and their sisters. I only found out this morning. I’m going to be gone for a long time. Teacher Shen, you absolutely must wait for me to come back!!!】

Shen Ya received this message just as she was leaving the supermarket. Knowing Qiao Xi, she figured the girl would definitely come over after the Gaokao, so she had gone to the supermarket early to buy fresh ingredients, planning to cook a meal for Qiao Xi and celebrate the end of her exams privately.

However, this message completely disrupted her plans. Qiao Xi wouldn’t be coming over today, and she wouldn’t be able to see her for a while. The groceries she bought would just have to be put in the freezer.

Shen Ya freed a hand to reply to Qiao Xi: 【Have fun.】

After the Gaokao, Shen Ya enjoyed a brief holiday. Qiao Xi would send her messages every day—sometimes of delicious and beautiful food, sometimes group photos with her friends, but more often, pictures of the night sky she saw in a foreign country.

Although the Gaokao results hadn’t been released yet, Shen Ya’s workplace began seeing some students inquiring about retaking the exam. She had been busy with various tasks these past few days, and life had returned to its original routine. Chen Qian, however, continued to update her from time to time.

Shen Qiuyu still wanted her to meet the person from the demolition household, but after hearing that the person might be talking to others, she temporarily stopped pressing the issue.

One day, when Chen Qian came to talk to her again, Shen Ya finally couldn’t help but ask: 【Why do you keep reporting on Shen Qiuyu?】

【Chen Qian: Sis, I was wrong before. Please talk to Sister Qiao Xi. I really know I made a mistake. I didn’t know how Mom treated you before. I promise to stand by you from now on.】

Qiao Xi?

【What did she say to you?】

Chen Qian then sent a long chat history. It turned out that on the very day Shen Ya moved into Qiao Xi’s house, Qiao Xi had sought out Chen Qian. The little rascal, who cried and acted spoiled in front of Shen Ya, showed a completely different face to Chen Qian. She resorted to threats, persuasion, and intimidation, mixing lies and truth, scaring Chen Qian into calling Qiao Xi her ‘Boss’.

Shen Ya hadn’t known the little rascal had two faces. She was truly the ‘good’ sister taught by Jiang Yunxi. Shen Ya had underestimated Qiao Xi. But seeing all those messages defending her, Shen Ya experienced the feeling of being favored for the very first time.

In a foreign country, Qiao Xi sneezed twice in a row. She rubbed her nose and muttered: “Strange, who’s talking about me?”

A water balloon hit Qiao Xi’s head from behind. She let out an “Ouch!” and turned around to see Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian standing not far away, grinning mischievously.

“What are you doing, Qiao Xi? Come and play. Are you secretly dating someone or something!”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Qiao Xi rubbed her wet hair, picked up a water balloon by her feet, and threw it at Xia Cong’an’s face.

But that girl, who seemed silly normally, was unmatched when it came to games. Her dodge stat must have been maxed out. Qiao Xi couldn’t hit her with a single water balloon.

She gnashed her teeth in frustration. Since a direct approach wasn’t working, she decided to go sneaky.

Qiao Xi quickly turned, used the water balloons to lure Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian behind their older sisters, and then smiled cunningly. She grabbed a water balloon in each hand and threw them at the backs of Song Wanning and Ji Lingwei’s heads.

Because they were so close, both water balloons hit their targets. Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian froze. As Song Wanning and Ji Lingwei turned around with dark expressions, Qiao Xi instantly feigned surprise and pointed behind her at Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian: “Sister Wanning, Sister Lingwei, I can’t believe they were so bold.”

“Xia Cong’an!” Song Wanning shouted sharply.

Ji Lingwei also smiled as if she was about to devour someone and called out: “Tiantian.”

The two shouts not only brought Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian back to their senses but also made them point at Qiao Xi, their faces red with anger: “You… you…”

Qiao Xi added fuel to the fire, twirling a lock of her hair: “I just overheard them two discussing how to bully Sister Wanning and Sister Lingwei, so I rushed over to warn you to be careful, but I was too late.”

Having said that, she quickly hid next to Qin Shuyao and tugged at Jiang Yunxi’s clothes: “Sisters, accompany me to buy something to eat over there, I smelled something delicious just now.”

Qin Shuyao stroked her head. She and Jiang Yunxi each took one of Qiao Xi’s hands, smiled at Song Wanning and Ji Lingwei, and then led Qiao Xi away.

As they left, Qiao Xi turned back and playfully stuck her tongue out at Xia Cong’an and Yu Tiantian.

Xia Cong’an was nearly driven insane by Qiao Xi. She couldn’t believe Qiao Xi was so petty. She had only ambushed her once, and Qiao Xi was completely dishonorable in return.

Song Wanning had already reached Xia Cong’an. Xia Cong’an was so scared she turned to run, but Song Wanning grabbed her ear, failing the escape: “You’ve got guts, Xia Cong’an.”

“Are you blind, Song Wanning?! Qiao Xi clearly did it!”

Song Wanning naturally didn’t believe her, as Qiao Xi had no reason to attack her, but Xia Cong’an was a different story. “Where’s the evidence?”

“I…”

“Looks like there’s no evidence.” Song Wanning let go of her ear, then squeezed her face and turned it around. Hearing Xia Cong’an wince in pain, she sneered: “Come on, let’s have a private chat, sister.”

Xia Cong’an was so angry her mind went blank. She grabbed Song Wanning’s hand and bit down hard without thinking. Yu Tiantian, watching from the side, gasped. When Xia Cong’an looked up and saw the deep teeth marks on Song Wanning’s arm, even Ji Lingwei felt the pain.

Ji Lingwei pulled Yu Tiantian’s wrist and whispered in her ear: “Let’s go, let’s go. They’re about to fight. Let’s buy drinks at the store over there and watch.”

Yu Tiantian nodded. They exchanged a smile and quietly slipped away from Xia Cong’an and Song Wanning like thieves.

Ji Lingwei had just bought two drinks and returned to Yu Tiantian when she saw Xia Cong’an being chased and hit by Song Wanning not far away. Xia Cong’an was running and swearing, clearly terrified but verbally defiant.

Qiao Xi and her two sisters, who had gone to buy snacks, reappeared next to Ji Lingwei at some point. The five of them ate their food while watching Song Wanning and her sister play fight.

When night fell and everyone in the room was asleep, Qiao Xi, fully dressed and wearing a backpack, quietly opened the bedroom door. She planned to sneak back home tonight, without anyone knowing. The last time she signed the rental contract with Shen Ya, she learned that June 25th was Shen Ya’s birthday. So, she had to go back today to give her a surprise.

She had calculated the time. If she was fast enough, she could even be the first person to wish Shen Ya a happy birthday exactly at midnight.

She made no sound, moving towards the living room, when suddenly the sound of a door opening came from behind her. Qiao Xi jumped, trying to figure out an excuse, but then heard a muffled: “Huh?”

It wasn’t her sister’s voice.

Qiao Xi quickly turned around and saw Xia Cong’an, wearing pajamas and rubbing her eyes. Before the other girl could speak, Qiao Xi rushed up to her, covered Xia Cong’an’s mouth, and put a finger to her own lips, making a “shhh” sign.

Xia Cong’an looked at her in confusion, as if a row of question marks floated above her head.

Qiao Xi whispered to her: “I’m going back home tonight. Don’t make a sound. If my sisters ask, just pretend you don’t know.”

“Mmm mmm mmm mmm? (Do you have something to do?)”

“I have something to do, and I can’t explain it right now.”

“Mmm mmm mmm mmm?! (You have a secret!)”

“Who doesn’t have a secret? Don’t you have a secret? You and Sister Wanning…”

“Mmm mmm!! (Nonsense!)”

“You think I can’t tell? Okay, I’ll keep your secret, and you have to keep mine. Nod if you agree.”

Xia Cong’an had no choice but to nod.

Qiao Xi let go of her mouth. “Then I’m leaving. See you back home.”

“Then be careful and message me when you get home.”

“Got it.” Qiao Xi turned her back, waved to her again, and headed for the main door.

Leaving their rented house, the car Qiao Xi had called was waiting outside the door. She had no trouble communicating with the foreign driver, who was a chatty woman. They talked the whole way. Perhaps Qiao Xi was sweet-talking, because the driver even gave her a bag of snacks when she got out.

Aboard the flight home, Qiao Xi’s heart was pounding with excitement. In fact, if she hadn’t sneaked away today, they would have returned tomorrow anyway, as the day for the Gaokao results was approaching. But she wanted to give Shen Ya her blessing and gift exactly at midnight.

After sleeping on the plane, Qiao Xi woke up to find the aircraft landing back home. It was currently dinner time. Qiao Xi didn’t plan to go straight to Shen Ya. After leaving the airport, she took a taxi and went home first. She had pre-ordered a cake yesterday. On the way, the cake shop called to confirm the delivery time.

Qiao Xi returned home and took a thorough shower. By the time the cake arrived, it was already late. She prepared the gift and the cake, then called a car to go to Shen Ya’s house.

It was a hot summer night. After getting out of the car, Qiao Xi felt like she was back in a steam basket. The outside air felt boiled. Every cell in her body screamed for coolness. Qiao Xi, carrying the cake, didn’t dare walk fast. It was only ten minutes until midnight.

When the elevator door opened, there were only a few minutes left until midnight.

Qiao Xi decided to wait outside but dared not get too close to her own door. The door had a visual lock, and the app would send an alert if someone stayed outside for too long.

With two minutes left until midnight, Qiao Xi walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. She knew Shen Ya never slept early, so the other woman was either working or reading.

Unfortunately, Qiao Xi was wrong. Shen Ya had been busy with work the past few days, so she went to bed early. She never celebrated her birthday and didn’t even remember the date. She was just falling asleep when she heard the doorbell ring.

Groggily opening her eyes, she initially thought it was a hallucination in her sleep. She sat up and waited a moment. Only when the doorbell and knocking sounded simultaneously was she sure someone was at the door.

She wondered who would come so late. Besides Qiao Xi and Jiang Yunyi, no one else knew this place. Could it be that her mother had reported her missing again, and the police had come?

Shen Ya remembered the door lock had a visual function. She grabbed her phone and opened the app. When Qiao Xi’s face appeared on the screen, her sleepiness was instantly thrown out of her mind.

She rushed out of bed, running a hand through her hair as she went. In her haste, she even forgot to wear slippers. She jogged to the door. Upon opening it, the first thing she heard was a cheerful: “Happy Birthday, Teacher Shen!”

Qiao Xi was like a star falling into her eyes. The air around them became lively due to her bright smile. Countless warm rays of light penetrated Shen Ya’s body and squeezed into her heart.

Shen Ya stepped aside to welcome Qiao Xi inside, found her a pair of slippers, and took the cake from her hands. “Why did you suddenly come back? Aren’t you supposed to be gone for two more days?”

“Because today is Teacher Shen’s birthday, so I secretly came back without my sisters knowing.”

“Alone?” Shen Ya’s heart felt warm but also fearful: “That’s very dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous. Communication was easy. I got into the car and went straight to the airport, and once I was back home, I didn’t have to worry.”

“It’s still too dangerous. You should have told me you were coming back. I could have picked you up from the airport.”

The two of them went to the living room. The cake was placed on the coffee table. Since entering the door and seeing Shen Ya in the black slip nightgown, Qiao Xi had avoided looking at her.

Shen Ya was dressed somewhat revealingly, and perhaps because she wasn’t wearing a bra, the curves were subtly outlined, making Qiao Xi’s ears burn after just one glance. Despite Shen Ya’s concern, Qiao Xi hadn’t heard much of what she said. She never felt shy facing her sisters at home, so why was she suddenly embarrassed around Shen Ya?

Qiao Xi nodded haphazardly. “Was Teacher Shen asleep just now?”

“No, I had just finished showering.”

“Then…” Qiao Xi secretly peeked at Shen Ya, then quickly looked away: “Should we eat the cake now?”

“Okay.”

Qiao Xi immediately opened the cake box. Inside were two brown bears leaning against each other. The white cream was dotted with fresh flowers. One of the bears seemed to be holding a sparkling firework. The cake wasn’t large but was exquisitely made.

She found two numbered candles from the bag and placed them in the center of the cake. The cartoon birthday hat was also assembled and placed on Shen Ya’s head.

Shen Ya had never worn such things. She found it childish and tried to take it off, but Qiao Xi stopped her: “Don’t move, Teacher Shen. You’re the birthday girl today. You absolutely have to wear this birthday hat.”

Shen Ya had never celebrated her birthday. When she was little, Shen Qiuyu resented her and would never buy her a cake. Birthdays were just ordinary dates to her. Later, when she grew up, colleagues who knew her birthday would wish her a happy birthday and sometimes give her snacks.

She had never bought a cake for herself on her birthday, as she always believed a birthday cake needed to be shared with others, and she didn’t have anyone to share it with.

Since Qiao Xi had traveled all this way to celebrate her birthday today, she would humor Qiao Xi. Shen Ya put her hand down. Qiao Xi bent over, found matches in the bag, and lit the candles.

“Teacher Shen, can you sit on the sofa and close your eyes?”

“Okay.” Shen Ya listened to whatever Qiao Xi said. She walked to the sofa, sat down, and closed her eyes without peeking. She was curious to see what new surprise Qiao Xi had for her.

After confirming that Shen Ya wouldn’t peek, Qiao Xi turned off the living room light. She quietly picked up her backpack, took out the gift, and held it in her palm. She slowly approached Shen Ya and gently sat down beside her.

In the darkness, only the faint candlelight emitted a glow like the stars outside the window. Qiao Xi opened her palm and held the gift. The tiny light illuminated the beautiful and sexy curve of Shen Ya’s shoulder and collarbone.

Shen Ya sat up straight, her hair cascading behind her. She remained motionless with her eyes closed, like a beautiful sculpture placed on a snowy peak. Qiao Xi leaned closer to Shen Ya’s face. Even though she deliberately held her breath, her own warmth still brushed against Shen Ya’s nose.

Neither of them spoke. The only sound in the air was the accelerated thumping of two hearts.

Qiao Xi swallowed. “Teacher Shen, don’t open your eyes, and don’t move.”

Shen Ya let out a slight sound: “Mhm.”

As she got closer to Shen Ya’s neck, Qiao Xi’s hand involuntarily trembled slightly. Her pinky accidentally brushed against Shen Ya’s skin. The soft touch made her heart flutter, and she immediately clenched her fist.

She parted Shen Ya’s hair, revealing her slender white neck. She then put a necklace around Shen Ya’s neck. In the darkness, a blue diamond completely illuminated the tiny star that seemed to be suspended above her collarbone.

Shen Ya opened her eyes. She raised her hand, her fingertip touching the diamond resting right in the center of her collarbone. Although it was a cold, hard touch, it ignited a warm, blazing sun in her heart.

“Teacher Shen, make a wish quickly.”

In the half-year she had spent with Qiao Xi, she had been coaxed into making many wishes. Now, when asked to make another, she wasn’t sure what to wish for.

But the candles were still burning, and she had no time to deliberate. So:

【She wished that Qiao Xi would always be safe and happy, that everything would go smoothly for her, and that she would be accepted into the university of her dreams.】

With the wish made in her heart, Shen Ya leaned down and blew out the candles. Qiao Xi then rushed to the switch and turned on the light.

When she came back, she saw Shen Ya looking down, her finger constantly caressing the diamond necklace.

“I bought this abroad. I just happened to see this necklace that day. Although it’s a simple style, I thought it was perfect for Teacher Shen.”

The necklace truly lacked overly complicated design, yet its inherent sparkle was undeniable, giving it a subtle and reserved brilliance. Shen Ya couldn’t say it resembled her, but she genuinely loved it.

Even without words, Qiao Xi guessed Shen Ya’s thoughts, because her smile was so obvious, like a golden sun rising in the cold winter.

“I’m glad Teacher Shen likes it. Shall we eat the cake now?”

Qiao Xi took out the small knife and handed it to Shen Ya, then pulled the numbered candles out of the cake. She sat cross-legged on the carpet, eagerly watching the cake.

It was late, and Shen Ya didn’t have the habit of eating late, especially sweets. But today’s cake was brought by Qiao Xi, so she still cut a small slice onto a plate for herself.

Then, she cut a large slice and handed it to Qiao Xi.

Qiao Xi received the cake like a child receiving candy. She beamed, took the cake, and eagerly stuffed it into her mouth.

“Was this cake custom-made?” Shen Ya asked her.

“Mhm. I contacted the cake shop yesterday. Their cream is delicious, sweet but not greasy. Teacher Shen, try it quickly.”

Shen Ya scooped a small piece of cream into her mouth. The taste was indeed as Qiao Xi had described, sweet but not cloying. After the first bite, she couldn’t help but want a second.

Qiao Xi was halfway through her cake when she suddenly remembered that she had missed the most important step. She quickly stopped and said to Shen Ya: “I forgot, I forgot! Teacher Shen, I forgot the most important part.”

“Hmm?”

Qiao Xi put down her cake, turned to face Shen Ya, and gathered her courage to pinch the hem of Shen Ya’s skirt: “Teacher Shen, please don’t mind. I’m going to sing you ‘Happy Birthday’ now.”

Without any accompaniment, Qiao Xi started a melody on her own. Her voice was clean and clear. Although a few notes were off-key occasionally, it added a touch of innocence and sweetness to the song.

As Qiao Xi sang, she became shy. Her face flushed slightly, and her eyes occasionally shifted away. Shen Ya, however, didn’t suppress the smile on her lips; it even seemed to widen. She put down her cake and placed her palm on Qiao Xi’s cheek. The singing didn’t stop. Her fingers slowly slid downward. As Qiao Xi sang the last note, her thumb gently pressed against Qiao Xi’s lips.

“That was very beautiful. I loved it very much. Thank you, Qiao Xi.”