Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: The room at Blank was decorated more…

The room at ‘Blank’ was decorated quite warmly. The bathroom had everything needed, and the bed was made with clean sheets. This room was right next to the one Jiang Yunyi was staying in. Shen Ya didn’t linger downstairs for long; after two drinks, Zhou Ziqian led her up to this room.

Zhou Ziqian told her that this room would be hers from now on and that she should feel free to stay.

While drinking downstairs, she received a message from Qiao Xi. She could feel the other party’s politeness and distance across the screen. Shen Ya felt uncomfortable looking at the brief message.

When she replied to Qiao Xi, she only received a short “Okay” in return. That single word kept Shen Ya awake all night.

Shen Ya finally woke up around noon, groggy. One benefit of staying at ‘Blank’ was that she could go downstairs and eat lunch. She asked the working girl and learned that Fang Moyao and Zhou Ziqian had gone back to their own homes, and even Jiang Yunyi wasn’t around.

After a night, ‘Blank’ was cold and quiet. Only one employee remained. The employee told her that ‘Blank’ was closed for the day but would receive familiar guests in the evening.

Shen Ya ate lunch and cleaned up her dishes before leaving ‘Blank’. She hadn’t been home all night and wondered how Shiyi was doing.

When she returned to the familiar place, Qiao Xi’s figure once again occupied her entire mind. From the moment she opened the door, two vague figures constantly appeared beside her.

No matter where she walked, she could see the fun moments she and Qiao Xi had shared. Shiyi heard the sound and ran to her feet, meowing at her.

Shen Ya picked Shiyi up off the floor: “Sorry, I’m late. She…”

Shen Ya paused, then continued, “Shiyi, you’ll have to put up with living in a small place with me for a while.”

She hadn’t returned yesterday, and Shiyi’s food bowl was empty. Shen Ya opened a can of cat food for it before starting to pack her clothes.

This wasn’t a move, just a change of scenery to clear her head, so she only took a suitcase for a few outfits and packed her work essentials. Then she found a cardboard box and packed Shiyi’s things.

It took her two trips to carry everything to the car. Although it wasn’t a full move, the house felt significantly emptier after packing up some things. There were still items in the refrigerator, so she would have to come back occasionally to clean up.

There were too many memories in this house, and staying for an extra second made Shen Ya feel suffocated. Before leaving, she left a note for Qiao Xi on the living room coffee table. Fearing the note might be lost, she used a tissue box to weigh it down.

Shen Ya wasn’t sure if Qiao Xi would come back, but she didn’t know how to face her by sending a message now.

She sighed standing at the door before resolutely closing it.

On the way back to ‘Blank,’ Shiyi was quiet in its carrier bag. She thought Shiyi would be scared in a new place, but when they arrived at ‘Blank’ and went back to the room, Shiyi just sniffed around the room before jumping onto the large bed to find a spot to sleep.

Qiao Xi slept late last night. Although her mothers’ comforting words helped calm her, she was still sad. Lying in bed, she couldn’t sleep. She had expected to fall asleep hugging Shen Ya tonight, but instead, she was lying alone in the room, hugging her blanket and secretly crying.

She wanted to reach out to Shen Ya several times, but the memory of Shen Ya’s expression when she refused her killed those thoughts.

She finally drifted into a heavy sleep after crying herself out. Neither of her two mothers woke her up the next day. By the time Qiao Xi woke up, it was almost dinner time.

She came downstairs in her pajamas. The house was full of people. Jiang Yunxi and Qin Shuyao were cooking for Pangpang. Jiang Yunyi was sitting in the living room chatting with the four mothers.

Qin Shuyao was the first to greet her. She walked over after washing her hands and stroked Qiao Xi’s head: “Are you awake? Were you very tired from celebrating last night?”

“Y-Yes.” Qiao Xi almost thought her secret had been discovered, but then she remembered her mothers had promised to keep it. To avoid giving anything away, she became the always-smiling little sun when she looked up.

“Go change your clothes. We’re going out to eat later.”

Qiao Xi felt uneasy, wondering if it was just her imagination, but she felt Jiang Yunyi’s gaze on her today held a deeper meaning, as if she were completely transparent in Jiang Yunyi’s eyes, and her hidden secrets had been seen through.

She avoided Jiang Yunyi’s eyes throughout the meal, thinking about why she was staring. Could it be that the cat adoption fees she tricked her out of last time had been discovered? Or had her relationship with Shen Ya become known?

Qiao Xi felt nervous throughout the meal, afraid of what Jiang Yunyi might ask. So, when she was full, she put down her chopsticks and pulled out her phone to pretend to be busy.

She hadn’t had a chance to check her phone since last night. When she opened her chat app, she found her three-person group chat already had 99+ unread messages. Her two little friends must have been waiting impatiently, having not seen her all day.

Sure enough, when she opened the chat history, they were all calling her a love-struck couple. Qiao Xi felt a rush of grievance. She quickly typed a few words into the dialogue box:

[XixiIsNotHeehee: Confession failed. I was rejected.]

The two people who were chatting heatedly immediately fell silent. A minute later, Xia Cong’an was the first to reply: [AnAnUneasy: Today is not April Fool’s Day.]

[XixiIsNotHeehee: Really, Teacher Shen rejected me. She said she couldn’t accept my feelings for the time being and asked me to give her some time.]

[SweetButNotSweet: Wanna go out for late-night snacks tonight? That crawfish place we usually go to. I just called and they’re open tonight, and I reserved a spot.]

Qiao Xi rubbed her stomach. Why didn’t Yu Tiantian say so earlier? She had just finished eating. But since it was late-night snacks, she had time to digest. Xia Cong’an had already agreed, so she naturally wouldn’t refuse either.

After dinner, as she was preparing to sneak out, she was caught red-handed by Jiang Yunyi. The latter grabbed her collar and pulled her back. They were currently at the corner outside the restaurant entrance. Qiao Xi couldn’t escape, nor was there anyone to rescue her, so she could only manage a silly smile and ask, “What’s wrong, Sister Yunyi?”

“Who did you spend New Year’s Eve with last night?”

“Uh… that…” Qiao Xi dodged the question, a storm raging inside her. The worst-case scenario had emerged. Jiang Yunyi must have discovered something. But Jiang Yunyi usually didn’t concern herself much with her; why bring up last night in particular?

Could it be that Shen Ya met Jiang Yunyi later, and Jiang Yunyi discovered Shen Ya was driving her car?

After thinking it over, only this was possible.

“With an old classmate.” Qiao Xi calmed down slightly and put on an act: “Ouch, Sister Yunyi, you’re grabbing too tight. My clothes are choking my neck.”

Jiang Yunyi loosened her grip on Qiao Xi’s clothes. “A classmate? Aren’t you only close with Yu Tiantian and Xia Cong’an at school? Are there other classmates who would make you go out alone on New Year’s Eve instead of staying with family?”

Qiao Xi’s brain was steaming. She could get away with acting spoiled and manipulative with Qin Shuyao and Jiang Yunxi, but not with Jiang Yunyi; the latter wouldn’t fall for it. Fortunately, she hadn’t been caught yet. If not now, when else could she run!

“Sister Yunyi, I have quite a few friends.” Qiao Xi slowly backed away as she spoke: “I have a good relationship with my high school classmates.” Once she had created a safe distance, Qiao Xi turned and ran away. Vaguely, she thought she heard Jiang Yunyi calling her name.

No way! She wasn’t going back to be interrogated. But after running a distance, she started to worry again. What if Sister Yunyi told her two other sisters about this? Qiao Xi stopped and scratched her head. She took out her phone and sent a text message to Jiang Yunyi:

[Sister Yunyi, I’ll tell you about this later. Please, please don’t tell the other two sisters.]

Upon receiving this message, Jiang Yunyi’s suspicion was confirmed even without asking Qiao Xi. It seemed Qiao Xi had indeed chosen not to come home for dinner because of Shen Ya. So, what exactly happened between the two of them?

After escaping from Jiang Yunyi’s sight, Qiao Xi got into a car to meet up with Yu Tiantian and the others. It wasn’t time for late-night snacks yet, so the three of them decided to wander around the vicinity before slowly walking to the restaurant.

In the lively commercial center, Qiao Xi saw people selling balloons and lanterns on the street. One design was the same one she bought for Shen Ya last year. Unfortunately, even if she wanted to buy something new this year, she had nowhere to send it.

“Qiao Xi, over here!”

She saw Xia Cong’an waving at her in the crowd. Qiao Xi hurried over. She saw they both held ice cream cones, and Yu Tiantian handed the uneaten one to her: “Eating ice cream in winter is the best.”

“Thanks.” Qiao Xi took it and habitually walked between the two of them. The sweetness of the ice cream overcame the sadness she felt moments ago seeing the lanterns and balloons.

Yu Tiantian started to question her: “Tell us, what happened last night?”

Qiao Xi shrugged casually: “I confessed and got rejected. It’s nothing much.”

Xia Cong’an: “Is there no room for negotiation at all?”

Qiao Xi shook her head: “I don’t know. She just said she couldn’t accept my feelings for the time being and wanted me to give her some time. I don’t know what she’s worried about. Is it because of my age, or her family? But those aren’t even real problems. Is she unsure of herself or unsure of me?”

“The way she put it, you still have a chance.” Yu Tiantian bit into her ice cream, licked the corner of her mouth, and said: “So, why don’t you try harder?”

Qiao Xi moved the ice cream cone away. She sighed: “I don’t know where to direct my efforts anymore. Now, if I step forward, she steps back. If she’s continuously unwilling to move closer to me, I won’t be able to catch up, even if I use all my strength.”

After speaking, Qiao Xi looked mournfully back and forth between Yu Tiantian and Xia Cong’an: “I’m starting to resent you two. Both of your older sisters took the initiative. Why is it reversed for me?”

Yu Tiantian snorted a laugh and teased her: “Then why don’t you find someone else to like? There are so many older students at school. Want to consider them?”

Qiao Xi elbowed her: “Tomorrow, I’m telling Sister Ling Wei that you’ve fallen for a senior at school.”

“Hey, hey, that’s not fair.” Yu Tiantian conceded: “Alright, alright, so what are you planning to do next?”

“I don’t know. I’ll calm down for two days. After New Year’s Day, I’ll go back and see what Teacher Shen’s attitude is toward me.”

“Then why don’t you try throwing a tantrum and rolling on the floor in front of her?” A ridiculous idea came from Xia Cong’an’s mouth. Yu Tiantian and Qiao Xi both turned to look at her simultaneously.

The two of them burst out laughing at the same time. Qiao Xi patted Xia Cong’an’s shoulder, with an indescribable expression: “That method probably only works for you and Sister Wannin.”

Xia Cong’an furrowed her brows. A minute later, she realized what they meant and shouted: “Hey, what do you two mean by that!”

Seeing Xia Cong’an, red with anger, swing her fist to hit them, Qiao Xi and Yu Tiantian both scattered, leaving Xia Cong’an’s punch hitting nothing but air.

With her friends around, Qiao Xi temporarily cast aside her worries. She stayed at her mother’s house for these two days. Her two sisters hadn’t noticed anything unusual. To keep her mind off things, her mothers even took the whole family to a small farm in the countryside for a night.

The three-day holiday passed in a flash. On the last day, Qiao Xi finally mustered some courage and decided to go home for a visit. She carried some pastries to the door. She absolutely couldn’t lose her nerve when she saw Shen Ya. Her hand went up and down several times. After a few minutes, she finally pressed the doorbell.

Usually, she would knock first and then unlock the door, and today was no exception. After the doorbell rang three times, Qiao Xi unlocked the door with her fingerprint.

She gripped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and a smile returned to her face as she pulled the door open: “Teacher Shen, I’m here.”

The room was dark, and the whole house was unusually quiet. Qiao Xi called out again: “Teacher Shen?”

But there was no one else there, only her echo. A bad feeling immediately arose in Qiao Xi’s heart. She took off her shoes and ran into the living room barefoot. Shiyi was gone. She opened the cat room, and all of Shiyi’s belongings had disappeared.

The smile left Qiao Xi’s face, but she still held a glimmer of hope. Her eyes landed on the master bedroom. She quickly walked to the door, her hand trembling as she pushed the bedroom door open. The curtains in the room were open. The blankets and pillows on the bed were gone. She opened the closet and her legs went weak, causing her to fall to the floor when she saw Shen Ya’s clothes were still there.

Thank goodness, the clothes were still there, which meant she hadn’t completely left.

Qiao Xi scanned through the clothes. She quickly noticed something was amiss.

Shen Ya’s frequently worn clothes were missing. Was it because she didn’t have time to take them? When did this happen? Did Shen Ya find a new place so quickly? So, when she told her she needed time that day, was it just to appease her!

Why leave her with hope when she could have just rejected her outright? Tears blurred Qiao Xi’s eyes. She held onto the closet and stood up, stumbling out of the room as if her soul had left her body. Shen Ya was truly cold. She carried the bag of pastries and left the house. She had come at the wrong time. Perhaps next time she returned, there would be nothing left of Shen Ya’s belongings in the house.

And how would Shen Ya return her car?

Leaving the building, Qiao Xi threw the box of pastries into the trash can. Shen Ya had already left her home. Did she still have a chance? Did she still need to keep waiting?