Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: The Unspoken Sweetness

After speaking these words, Qiao Xi felt that the huge rock weighing on her heart was gone. She realized that she had already received the unique love of her mothers and sisters in her childhood, and her worries were completely unnecessary. Reflecting again, she clearly saw many previously ignored details. If Shen Ya hadn’t clarified things for her in time, she would likely have been stuck in that dead end again.

“Teacher Shen.” Qiao Xi turned to face Shen Ya, supporting herself on her hands as she knelt on the carpet, leaning closer. Shen Ya’s cool face filled her view and occupied her entire pupil: “You are the first person to know my secret.”

Qiao Xi was too close. The scent of sweet fruit under the sun surrounded her. Shen Ya became inexplicably nervous, even avoiding Qiao Xi’s gaze. Although she made no movement, her body was noticeably stiff: “What?”

“I’ve never shared these things with anyone else. Teacher Shen is the first.”

“Mhm.” Shen Ya asked her: “Then why did you tell me today?”

“Because last time, Teacher Shen chose to trust me, so I trust Teacher Shen too.”

Qiao Xi’s gaze was too sincere, always staring at her with determination and seriousness. Such pure, clean attention made her flustered every time.

Shen Ya had thought she was used to Qiao Xi’s sincerity, but now it seemed she was far from it. Looking at Qiao Xi’s current state, her mood must have recovered. The “little rascal” side of her was quite good; although she could overthink things, she also listened to advice and knew how to release unhappy feelings instead of bottling them up.

“Teacher Shen.”

“Hmm?”

Qiao Xi changed her posture, sitting up neatly on her knees. When Shen Ya saw that expression, she immediately had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next moment, Qiao Xi smiled at her and said, “Since it’s my birthday, can Teacher Shen sing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song for me?”

As expected, she knew Qiao Xi would make this request. But she knew nothing about singing. The last time she sang was probably during school. She rarely listened to music on a daily basis, and even when colleagues invited her to KTV, she quietly sat in the corner and listened to others sing.

Shen Ya was thinking about how to refuse, or maybe suggest an alternative request. That’s right, she suddenly remembered she had something to give Qiao Xi.

She stood up from the carpet. Qiao Xi simply watched her with eager eyes. No matter where she went, that gaze never left her.

Shen Ya went into the room. With the wall blocking the view, Qiao Xi couldn’t follow her anymore. She closed the door, retrieved an unopened box from the small study’s cabinet, and returned to the living room.

As soon as she appeared, Qiao Xi’s gaze latched onto her again. The girl was like an obedient puppy, sitting perfectly still with her legs hugged, curiously looking at the object in Shen Ya’s hand.

Shen Ya approached Qiao Xi. She bent down and placed the box in Qiao Xi’s arms. This time, she didn’t sit back on the carpet but turned and sat on the sofa.

“Is this… a smartwatch?”

“Mhm.” Shen Ya said: “A birthday gift. You’re starting university soon. I thought this might be useful for you.”

“It’s so useful!” Qiao Xi quickly tore open the box. “If Teacher Shen hadn’t given it to me, I would have forgotten to buy one. High school didn’t allow them, and I bought all my other electronic gadgets, but I never remembered I was missing a watch.”

Qiao Xi’s tone was sincere, and her eyes and actions showed genuine delight. Shen Ya found it hard to tell if these words were just to please her or if the gift truly resonated with Qiao Xi.

“As long as you like it.” If she liked it, she shouldn’t ask her to sing anymore.

Just as Shen Ya was about to sigh in relief, Qiao Xi had already put the watch on her wrist. She turned around, still smiling at Shen Ya, and brought up the one thing Shen Ya wanted most to avoid: “Teacher Shen, about the singing…”

Shen Ya choked. She felt awkward and helpless, but finally shot Qiao Xi an annoyed, embarrassed glare.

Qiao Xi was different from the young people she interacted with. If Chen Qian had received such a gift, she would have focused all her attention on the new gadget. But Qiao Xi merely put the watch on, not even fiddling with it, and immediately fixed her eyes back on Shen Ya.

Her thoughts were transparent to Qiao Xi. Although unspoken, that smile and the gaze fixed on her clearly meant: No escaping.

Qiao Xi was the main character tonight, and the request wasn’t excessive. On her own birthday, Qiao Xi had enthusiastically sung for her, so she really had no reason to refuse.

However…

Shen Ya tensed up again. Perhaps it was because Qiao Xi’s gaze was too intense, causing her to feel so shy. She thought that since she couldn’t refuse this small request, she might as well take control of the situation.

She patted the space beside her: “Come here.”

Qiao Xi was thrilled. Could she interpret this to mean she had successfully persuaded Shen Ya?

She scrambled up from the carpet and plopped down beside Shen Ya. A hand landed on her shoulder, gently holding her, and then Shen Ya spoke: “Close your eyes.”

The words sounded familiar to Qiao Xi. She seemed to have said the exact same thing to Shen Ya on her birthday.

Qiao Xi closed her eyes. Since the living room light was still on, she could clearly sense the brightness. Now that she was the one with her eyes closed, she noticed that when sight was taken away, hearing, touch, and general awareness of the surroundings became significantly heightened.

She felt a shadow fall over her eyes. The faint, jasmine-like floral scent immediately enveloped her. A slightly cool hand covered her eyes. With that, the light she could still sense completely vanished.

Qiao Xi couldn’t help but feel nervous. Even though she knew Shen Ya wouldn’t do anything to her, she could sense a wave of heat approaching her, even without seeing.

Shen Ya leaned close to Qiao Xi’s ear. She had mentally prepared herself, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. Fortunately, she had covered Qiao Xi’s eyes; otherwise, her current embarrassment would surely be laughed at.

“Teacher Shen?”

Qiao Xi didn’t know why Shen Ya had gotten close and then stopped. She debated for a long time whether to ask. The longer she held back, the stronger the strange feeling grew.

“No talking, and no moving.”

Shen Ya’s tone was somewhat cold. Qiao Xi quickly shut her mouth tightly. She didn’t dare to move, afraid she had somehow upset Shen Ya again. Although she hadn’t done anything, perhaps her question had interrupted Shen Ya’s plan.

Her hard-won composure was broken. Shen Ya was a little annoyed. She feared it would take effort to regain her previous state, but the longer she stalled, the harder it would be to speak.

Shen Ya knew herself too well, so she forced herself to start right now.

She closed her eyes, recalling the melody and lyrics of the song Qiao Xi had sung to her that day. Fortunately, the song’s tune was simple, and the lyrics were not complicated.

She swallowed hard, and then opened her mouth.

Shen Ya’s voice was like clear spring water in a mountain stream—clean and pure. Although there was a slight coolness, it didn’t feel cold when it fell on Qiao Xi. Her voice wasn’t loud; it was more like a gentle hum of the melody, but because of the proximity, Qiao Xi heard every single note distinctly.

Every sound wave entering her ear brought a jolt of electric tingling to her body. Shen Ya’s breath had unknowingly turned into a warm chain, silently wrapping around Qiao Xi’s heart, circling it carefully, and contracting and relaxing with the rhythm of her heartbeat.

After the last note was sung, Shen Ya opened her eyes, but the hand covering Qiao Xi’s eyes remained. Those brief tens of seconds were enough to make her cheeks flush. Even now, her heart was beating irregularly from shyness.

But she suppressed the panic, then pressed her lips close to Qiao Xi’s ear. She took a breath, felt Qiao Xi’s body tremble, and then let out a soft, light laugh before slowly saying, “Happy Birthday, Qiao Xi.”

In that instant, the chain that had just wrapped around Qiao Xi’s heart grew more branches, binding her limbs and body. She had never expected the usually cool Shen Ya to do something so heart-stirring.

This was the first birthday she spent away from her family, but it was the first time she had experienced such profound emotional excitement.

Shen Ya’s words were sweeter than the cake she had just eaten, and the song sung only for her was worth more than all expensive luxuries. This, she realized, was a truly unique gift.

The hand over her eyes moved away. Qiao Xi regained her sight. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Shen Ya had returned to her original spot, but her face was slightly flushed. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or if Shen Ya was embarrassed from singing.

She had gotten everything she wanted tonight. Qiao Xi was completely satisfied. She grinned, her smile sweeter than candied fruit: “Teacher Shen’s singing is really lovely. I love Teacher Shen’s voice.”

Shen Ya took this as Qiao Xi’s usual flattery and didn’t take it to heart. She only said, “Why don’t you try setting up the watch?”

“Is Teacher Shen perhaps shy and deliberately changing the subject?”

“Nonsense.” Shen Ya instantly reverted to her usual poker face, but her heart had yet to calm down.

Even with her hair down, Qiao Xi vaguely saw the slightly red tip of Shen Ya’s ear through the gaps. She found Shen Ya’s contrast adorable, but she was afraid of genuinely angering her if she pointed it out. So, she played along with Shen Ya’s words: “Alright, alright, I was talking nonsense. Our Teacher Shen is an ice beauty; how could she be shy from singing a song?”

Qiao Xi forgot the consequence of being cheeky: her head received a sharp rap. She was unprepared, and Shen Ya didn’t hold back, leaving a small red mark on her forehead with just one hit.

She gasped, covering her forehead with both hands, looking at Shen Ya with teary eyes and calling out: “It hurts, Teacher Shen.”

Shen Ya knew the hit wasn’t light. Although she was worried about hurting Qiao Xi, she felt a little annoyed thinking about the girl’s mouth: “Serves you right.”

Qiao Xi feigned distress. She tipped her body and lay directly in Shen Ya’s lap. She rested her head on Shen Ya’s thigh, turned over, and wrapped her arms around Shen Ya’s waist, acting completely spoiled: “It hurts so much. It’s my birthday today! Why did Teacher Shen hit me? I’m unhappy. Teacher Shen needs to comfort me.”

Shen Ya was helpless at her rascal behavior. Her fingers found Qiao Xi’s ear and gently squeezed it. She realized Qiao Xi was becoming increasingly comfortable with cuddling and asking for favors, and she didn’t mind the feeling.

“How do you want me to comfort you?”

Qiao Xi lifted her head from Shen Ya’s lap, showing a cunning smile: “I want Teacher Shen to take me to work tomorrow!”

Take Qiao Xi to work?

It wasn’t a difficult request. Qiao Xi had been to her workplace before. Qiao Xi’s university started late, so she still had a few days off. Shen Ya thought about it and saw no reason to refuse.

She nodded and replied, “Alright.”