Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Sweet Bait

Time unknowingly slipped away, and in the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. Qiao Xi always spent New Year’s Eve with her sisters, and this year was no exception.

Jiang Yunxi hired a chef to cook at home, and Qin Shuyao ordered Qiao Xi’s favorite cake to reward her for her recent hard work studying. As the youngest child in the family, she had been pampered since childhood.

Qin Shuyao gave her the largest slice of cake, then pinched her cheek, sighing with a smile, “Xiao Xi is already 17. Time really flies.”

“Indeed. She used to be so small, and now she’s so tall,” Jiang Yunxi used a small fork to scoop up a piece of cake and brought it to Qiao Xi’s mouth.

Qiao Xi bit into the cake, chewing while hugging Qin Shuyao’s waist and acting spoiled: “Even when I’m all grown up, I’m going to stay by my sisters’ side and keep you company forever.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yunxi and Qin Shuyao both laughed. Qiao Xi tilted her head and asked, “Don’t my sisters want me to stay with you forever?”

“Of course, we do.” Qin Shuyao found her adorable, pinching her nose and gently shaking it: “Our Xiao Xi is so sweet and well-behaved, how could we bear to let you leave?”

Qiao Xi smiled, appearing innocent and pure, her eyes clear and bright. The ends of her shoulder-length hair swayed gently with her movements. No one could tell that a hint of slyness was hidden beneath that harmless smile.

She released Qin Shuyao’s waist, then took both Jiang Yunxi’s and Qin Shuyao’s hands, saying seriously and solemnly: “Then it’s settled. Even if my sisters fall in love in the future, you can’t abandon me, and you certainly can’t hide anything from me.”

The two looked at each other, then both showed a smile of ambiguous meaning. Immediately after, Jiang Yunxi placed her free hand on Qiao Xi’s head and ruffled her hair: “Alright. Then Xiao Xi has to keep her promise too.”

After eating the cake, Qiao Xi went to find the dog treats. The clever Golden Retriever knew its treats were involved just by the sound of the packaging bag.

Qiao Xi fed the dog “Pang Pang” (Fatty) quite a few things, then picked up the leash and said to her two sisters, “Sisters, I’m taking Pang Pang out for a walk.”

Jiang Yunxi called out, “I’ll go with you.”

“No need, I’ll be back soon.” Qiao Xi had already slipped the harness over Pang Pang’s neck. She changed her shoes and led Pang Pang out of the house. Today, she was planning a big deed, so she needed to leave her sisters some time alone.

She estimated that during this time, her sisters would surely do something. If she was lucky, she would catch them in the act later. If she failed, she wasn’t worried. The night was long; she would eventually catch her sisters’ little tail.

After walking Pang Pang around twice, she slowly headed home. Before stepping inside, she opened the home’s pet surveillance app on her phone, cautiously controlling the camera to search for her sisters inside the house.

When she saw her two sisters sitting on the sofa, embracing and engaging in intimate actions, she knew her opportunity had arrived.

Qiao Xi patted Pang Pang’s head, pulled on one of its ears, and instructed it sternly and seriously: “Watch my hand signal later, understand?”

Regardless of whether Pang Pang understood, she held the leash lightly and quietly opened the front door like a thief, making no sound in the process. She gave Pang Pang a hand signal, telling it to sit still and not move.

Just as Qiao Xi walked in, she saw the two kissing. She immediately put on a look of shock and alarm: “S-Sister… Doctor Jiang…”

The two on the sofa quickly separated when they heard the noise, but Qiao Xi appeared too fast. They didn’t have time to adjust their expressions, or even wipe the lipstick marks from the corners of their mouths.

“Xiao Xi…”

Qin Shuyao panicked a little. She stood up and started to walk toward Qiao Xi, but Qiao Xi quickly backed away, giving Pang Pang a hand signal behind her back.

“You guys…” Qiao Xi put on an expression of shock and unacceptable disbelief: “Sister and Doctor Jiang are… are…”

“Xiao Xi, listen to me…” Before Qin Shuyao could finish her sentence, the Golden Retriever, who had been sitting behind Qiao Xi, suddenly bolted into the house.

Pang Pang’s leash was still attached. It dragged the long lead and charged wildly through the downstairs of the villa. Qiao Xi had planned this all out. Pang Pang had been trained since it was small and understood hand signals. The signal Qiao Xi had just given was “search.”

During this period, Qiao Xi had been playing a game of ‘find the treats and toys’ with Pang Pang every day, having hidden its snacks and toys in places where they could cause a mess.

Pang Pang knew where these spots were. When the dog found the first hiding place for the treats, the sound of plates and bowls shattering echoed throughout the first floor of the villa. Qiao Xi knew her plan had worked. She was secretly thrilled but maintained her outwardly distressed look.

The two sisters stopped in their tracks upon hearing the noise. Jiang Yunxi patted Qin Shuyao’s shoulder and whispered, “I’ll go check.”

With Jiang Yunxi gone, Qiao Xi felt even more confident. Jiang Yunxi was calm and could easily see through her little tricks, but Qin Shuyao was more easily dominated by emotion, so she would prioritize comforting her.

“Xiao Xi, listen to Sister explain.” Qin Shuyao looked worried. Seeing Qiao Xi’s hurt expression made her feel terrible, but every time she took a step forward, Qiao Xi would take a step back, clearly increasing the distance, which stung Qin Shuyao’s heart like little needles.

Qiao Xi squeezed out a few tears. Speaking with a shaky, tearful voice, she said, “I actually discovered this before. I just didn’t expect, I didn’t expect that you sisters would hide it from me. Was it because you were afraid I couldn’t handle it that you didn’t tell me? But I’ve been with you since I was little. Why don’t you trust me, Sister?”

“It’s not like that, Xiao Xi. We didn’t intend to hide it from you. It’s just that you’re still young. We wanted to wait until you graduated to tell you.” Qin Shuyao quickly tried to explain.

But Qiao Xi didn’t accept this answer. She raised her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes, deliberately rubbing them red to look more pitiful. The noise inside the house was growing louder; they could faintly hear Jiang Yunxi angrily scolding Pang Pang to stop.

Qiao Xi sniffed: “I’m sorry, Sister. I don’t want to come home tonight. Just let me be alone for a while.”

She turned to leave, but Qin Shuyao couldn’t possibly let her go: “Xiao Xi, come here. We can talk about this properly. Where are you going so late at night?”

Qiao Xi shook her head, stubbornly refusing Qin Shuyao. Her voice turned cold, and when she met Qin Shuyao’s gaze, she looked clearly displeased and angry: “I’m going to Mom’s house.”

“Xiao Xi!!”

Jiang Yunxi had managed to control Pang Pang. Watching Qiao Xi run away, she frowned deeply. She stopped Qin Shuyao and said, “Don’t chase her. She was probably planning to scheme against us tonight. This little one has a big temper and is angry that we kept this from her. I’ll call her later. As long as she’s safe, it’s fine.”

Qiao Xi ran for a good distance before turning on the home’s pet surveillance. She saw the camera right at her sisters’ feet, with Jiang Yunxi pointing at Pang Pang and scolding it.

Likely anticipating that she would watch the surveillance, the two then used the camera to remind Qiao Xi to be careful and make sure to message them to let them know she was safe.

Qiao Xi smiled. Her sisters understood her, just as she understood her sisters. Having gained her freedom, she decided to go to a lively area first and see if she could meet up with some friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

…

Even though it was New Year’s Eve, Shen Ya still had a class to teach. She could clearly feel that today’s students were distracted and unable to focus on the content she was discussing.

Therefore, she gave the students homework, telling them that they could leave at the end of class even if they hadn’t finished and take the work home.

Class ended relatively early today, right as the streets were becoming most bustling. Her workplace was very close to the city center, and she heard there would be a New Year’s fireworks display tonight. So, as soon as she left the building, she was enveloped by the excited and restless crowd.

Shen Ya walked aimlessly down the street with her bag. The subway station was packed, and the vehicles on the road were backed up in a long queue. She blended into the crowd, feeling the surrounding laughter and the vibrant nightlife. The lively atmosphere seemed to generate some slight ripples in her long-calm heart.

Perhaps influenced by this enthusiasm, she didn’t want to go home so quickly tonight. She wanted to listen to the hustle and bustle of the street, look at the fireworks in the small alleys, and allow herself to merge into the prosperous streetscape.

But every time she passed by long lines of people, watching couples and friends chatting and laughing, a sense of loneliness descended upon her shoulders like a heavy yoke. She was, and always had been, alone—with no close friends to confide in and no family who loved her deeply.

Just as she was about to lower her head and quickly pass through a crowd, her left shoulder was suddenly tapped. Shen Ya quickly looked back, but saw no one behind her. She thought someone had bumped her by accident. But when she turned back around, a bright moon squeezed into her line of sight.

“Teacher Shen, what a coincidence!”

Qiao Xi’s head poked out from behind a moon-shaped lantern. Her eyes were lively and expressive; tiny flecks of golden light seemed to spill out with every blink. Her subsequent smile was like honey melted by the moonlight.

“Teacher Shen, do you still remember me?” Qiao Xi pulled out a piece of candy that wasn’t finished last time from her pocket and slipped it into Shen Ya’s hand: “I’m Qiao Xi. I wonder if the last piece of candy satisfied Teacher Shen?”