Secret Lover Who Stealthily Fell in Love with My Older Sister - Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Exiting the hospital, Qiao Xi felt…

Exiting the hospital, Qiao Xi breathed a sigh of relief. Pretending to be serious and playing the villain had exhausted her. She truly wasn’t suited for such scenes. She didn’t know Shen Qiuyu, nor if the other party would heed her words, but if the other party still chose not to divorce, then Shen Qiuyu’s home would definitely become chaotic, and she likely wouldn’t have time to bother Shen Ya again.

After a day of travel, Qiao Xi felt tired. She had originally planned to go elsewhere, but decided to go home and rest first. She still had time tomorrow, so there was no need to rush.

Shen Ya waited for Jiang Yunyi at the airport. After getting into the car, she was worried that Jiang Yunyi would press her for details about her and Qiao Xi, but Jiang Yunyi simply focused on driving, with no intention of initiating conversation.

It was only when the car drove into a hotel near the sea that Shen Ya belatedly realized: “This is…?”

“The hotel where our family is staying.” Jiang Yunyi scanned for a parking spot, her tone not serious, even laced with a bit of a joke: “You didn’t tell me the location of the hotel you booked, so I had to take the liberty of bringing you here. Xiao Xi had a separate room right next to mine, and it hasn’t been checked out yet. I had someone clean it before I left. Since you’re only staying for two days, being closer is more convenient, don’t you think?”

Jiang Yunyi was as dominant as ever. Shen Ya wanted to refuse, but they had already arrived. Was she expected to ask Jiang Yunyi to drive her back now? Shen Ya increasingly felt that Qiao Xi was raised by Jiang Yunyi; in certain ways, they were both equally shameless.

After parking, the two got out of the car one after the other. Jiang Yunyi proactively took Shen Ya’s suitcase out of the trunk. The suitcase wasn’t heavy when she picked it up, and Jiang Yunyi estimated that there wasn’t much inside.

She originally wanted to help Shen Ya wheel the suitcase into the hotel, but Shen Ya quickly took her suitcase back from her, seemingly quite defensive of her. Jiang Yunyi felt helpless. She was about to say something but heard Shen Ya ask instead: “Will I be disturbing your family gathering?”

“No, although our whole family is celebrating the New Year here, except for New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year, the rest of the time we all do our own things.” Jiang Yunyi took Shen Ya’s arm, looked down, and slowed her pace: “Watch your step.”

Upon the reminder, Shen Ya focused on the steps ahead. As soon as she stepped onto the first one, a hotel attendant came over to take Shen Ya’s luggage.

After getting into the elevator and walking along the hotel corridor, the perfume scent was strong, and Shen Ya wasn’t used to it, so she raised her hand and rubbed her nose.

Jiang Yunyi took out a tissue from her bag and handed it to Shen Ya, then retrieved the room card from the inside pocket and gave it to Shen Ya.

Looking at the room number, they stopped. Shen Ya swiped the room card open, and the hotel staff placed her suitcase inside before leaving. Jiang Yunyi followed Shen Ya into the room and closed the door.

The room was clean and luxurious, and after being tidied, there was no trace left of Qiao Xi having stayed there. There was a small walk-in closet by the entrance, perfect for her to store her luggage.

Her fingertip pressed against the closet door. Perhaps, before today, Qiao Xi had touched the same spot. She slowly emerged from the closet and saw Jiang Yunyi leaning against the bathroom wall, seemingly with something to say to her.

“Shen Ya.” Jiang Yunyi called out to her, then walked toward her: “There are no outsiders here, so I’ll be straightforward. I want to know, are you and Xiao Xi together?”

Qiao Xi woke up in the afternoon on the second day of her return to Jianglan City. Undisturbed, she rolled around on the bed twice, hugging the blanket. She picked up her phone from the bedside table to check messages. She found many messages from her family, all asking if she was eating properly and urging her to pick up Pangpang from the pet store when she had time.

She lay in bed, replying one by one, until her stomach growled uncontrollably. Only then did she get up. While brushing her teeth, Qiao Xi remembered she still had things to do today.

She left her mother’s house before dinner, heading first to the restaurant where she had reserved the New Year’s Eve dinner for Shen Ya.

Originally, the owner didn’t do takeout on New Year’s Eve, but because he was good friends with Qiao Xi’s mother, he made an exception and helped deliver the food. Qiao Xi found out the address where Shen Ya received the New Year’s Eve dinner from the owner. She searched the location on the map and found it was a private club called ‘Blank’.

What was Shen Ya doing at a private club during the New Year?

Initially, Qiao Xi just wanted to know where Shen Ya was staying, but the result was beyond her expectation. Driven by curiosity, she decided to investigate this private club.

It was rush hour when she got in the car, and she was stuck in traffic for a long time. It was only after the last bit of sunset disappeared from the horizon that Qiao Xi arrived at the private club named ‘Blank’.

Getting out of the car, she looked around. Although the location was right in front of her, she didn’t see any sign with the name “Blank.” Instead, there was a three-story commercial building with black and white exterior walls. It had a huge doorway built specifically for it, but there was no name on it.

This, however, immediately made Qiao Xi think of ‘Blank’.

She stopped in front of the building. The automatic sliding glass doors opened to both sides. The first thing she saw was a semicircular bar counter. The inner side of the bar seemed to have a hidden door leading further inside. The left side of the bar was blocked by a wall, on which hung a doll tied up with rope. Below it was a glass display case containing exquisite collars and other leather goods.

“Hello?” A woman emerged from the hidden door behind the bar and proactively asked Qiao Xi: “You look new. Is this your first time?”

Qiao Xi nodded.

The woman then asked her: “Then do you know what this place is for?”

Qiao Xi came here precisely to figure out what this place was and why Shen Ya would be here during the New Year. But hearing the question, she realized this private club was somewhat mysterious.

Seeing Qiao Xi not answering, the woman politely declined her: “I’m sorry, but our private club is not open to the public. You can only enter if you are a member or if a member vouches for you.”

Member? Guarantor?

This made Qiao Xi even more confused. What exactly did this private club do, and why did it refuse outsiders? And was Shen Ya actually a member of this private club?

She wanted to mention Shen Ya’s name, but doing so would certainly cause them to contact Shen Ya, wouldn’t it? Then her presence here would be exposed.

Being exposed was a minor issue. The main problem was how she would explain to Shen Ya that she got the address from the delivery person and came looking for her. What would Shen Ya think of her if she knew?

Qiao Xi glanced at the hidden door in the bar, then at the other glass door on the right. She pondered for a moment and decided to leave first. But just as she turned, the club’s automatic sensor door opened again.

A woman in a black overcoat walked in from outside. She had two round earrings in her ears, bright red lipstick, and sharp eye makeup. She only glanced at Qiao Xi before nodding to the girl behind the bar.

Qiao Xi watched the woman walk to the right. The woman touched an access control system on the wall with her phone. With a “Beep—!” sound, the glass door sprang open. The moment the woman raised her leg to step through, Qiao Xi, like an unrestrained Samoyed, dashed through the glass door before the woman.

“Hey!!! Stop right there!”

The woman with the red lipstick was bumped on the arm by Qiao Xi. She frowned, intending to scold her, but Qiao Xi was nowhere in sight. Even the girl who was behind the bar earlier had already passed through the hidden door.

Qiao Xi finally entered this mysterious private club. She had expected to see something incredible, but the interior looked distinctly like a cozy, atmospheric bar.

The hidden door by the semicircular bar she saw earlier led to another specialized bar area for mixing drinks and the back kitchen in the bar. There weren’t many people drinking and eating inside. The woman Qiao Xi had bumped into earlier also came up behind her.

“Whose child are you? So rude.”

The woman’s words were stern, making it impossible for Qiao Xi to ignore her. She turned around, faced the woman, and first said: “Sorry, I came in to find someone.”

“Who?”

The pressure the woman exerted on her was very similar to her Sister Yunyi’s. Qiao Xi lowered her eyes, still trying to fabricate a lie, when the girl from the bar counter caught up.

“How could you trespass?” The girl emphasized again: “This is a private club. You absolutely cannot enter without an invitation or a member vouching for you. If you know someone, please call them to come out and vouch for you.”

Having finally made it inside, and still not understanding why this private club was so secretive, Qiao Xi absolutely didn’t want to leave. It was just a bar; why the need to vet guests? Didn’t the owner want to make money? Or was this private club hiding some unknown secret?

Qiao Xi took a step back. The bar area was quite large. She had seen from the outside that it was a three-story building. If the first floor was a bar, was something else hidden upstairs?

Unfortunately, she didn’t see a staircase leading up.

“Meow~”

A cat’s meow broke the tense atmosphere. A white cat stopped at Qiao Xi’s feet and affectionately rubbed against her calf. At first, Qiao Xi thought she was mistaken, but when the little white cat looked up, those clean blue eyes met her gaze. Only then was she one hundred percent sure: this little cat was the one she and Shen Ya were supposed to raise together.

“Shiyi?!” Qiao Xi squatted down and picked up the kitten. Shiyi probably recognized her scent and kept rubbing its head against hers. “How are you here?”

Could it be that Shen Ya was at ‘Blank’ right now?

“You know Shiyi?” the girl from the bar asked in surprise.

She did more than just know Shiyi; she was the one who rescued it and gave it to Shen Ya. Since Shiyi was here, it meant that Shen Ya was not only a frequent visitor but also very likely left the cat here.

After seeing Shiyi, Qiao Xi couldn’t think of anything else. She only wanted to confirm if Shen Ya was here.

In this instant, many emotions arose in Qiao Xi’s heart. These emotions clashed within her, controlling her actions and stripping her of reason. Her mind went completely blank. Shiyi jumped out of her arms.

All she could think about was finding Shen Ya to ask for a clear explanation. She couldn’t hear the people calling out around her. In her rush, she seemed to have knocked something over. Through the haze, unknown hands reached out to her.

Qiao Xi used all her strength to avoid the obstructions. Shen Ya wasn’t on the first floor. What about the second floor? The third floor? She had to confirm with her own eyes!

She saw the circular staircase and rushed toward it without a second thought, but before her foot touched the steps, she bumped into a soft embrace: “Oh~ Which little girl is this, rushing into my arms so proactively?”

Zhou Ziqian heard the noise downstairs from the second floor, so Fang Moyao asked her to go down and check. Before she could steady herself, she had already embraced a girl. Seeing the employee rush over, panting, she glanced at the mess behind the employee.

Zhou Ziqian gasped, her smile freezing on her face: “What’s going on here? Did someone come to trash the place?”

The girl pointed at Qiao Xi in Zhou Ziqian’s arms: “It’s her. I don’t know who she’s looking for, but she knows Shiyi, and Shiyi is very close to her.”

“Oh? Knows Shiyi?” Zhou Ziqian’s eyes darted around, and she slightly loosened her grip.

Without the restraint, Qiao Xi was about to struggle free. The moment she lifted her head, Zhou Ziqian uttered a name: “Xiao Xi?”

All of Qiao Xi’s movements stopped because of those two words. She looked blankly at the woman in front of her, wondering why the other person knew her.

Seeing Qiao Xi staring up in a daze, holding her breath, Zhou Ziqian narrowed her eyes: “Xiao Xi, I know who you’re looking for. How about a drink with me, Big Sis?”

Qiao Xi’s pupils contracted. Did the other person really know her? Did Shen Ya mention her to the other person? Why would Shen Ya mention her, and what did she say?

She desperately wanted to know everything about Shen Ya.

Zhou Ziqian put her arm around Qiao Xi’s shoulder and led her to the spot where Shen Ya usually sat. Looking at the shattered vases and decorations on the floor, she clucked her tongue several times.

After settling Qiao Xi onto the sofa, Zhou Ziqian tapped her nose and playfully teased her in a high-pitched voice: “Sit here and wait for Big Sis to come back. Naughty children get spanked here.”

Qiao Xi frowned. Hearing this, she suddenly felt a chill, and goosebumps rose on both arms. If the other person hadn’t known her name, she definitely wouldn’t have stayed close. This woman looked like a seductive spirit, the kind that drains people’s vitality.

After Zhou Ziqian walked away, she found the young employee of ‘Blank’. She glanced sideways at Qiao Xi, who was still obediently sitting in her original spot, and whispered instructions: “Ask Fang Moyao to come down and look at the things on the floor. Tally up the losses and report them to her. This is Jiang Yunyi’s sister. If you see her next time, let her in. Don’t mention today’s incident to Shen Ya, Jiang Yunyi, or Jiang Yunxi.”

The young employee nodded and hurried upstairs after receiving the command. Zhou Ziqian also walked into the small bar to personally mix a drink for Qiao Xi.

Fang Moyao came downstairs faster than Zhou Ziqian expected. She had probably already learned the whole story, as she remained calm and composed even when she saw her favorite vase shattered on the floor.

Zhou Ziqian hadn’t returned yet, but Fang Moyao had already come and sat down in front of Qiao Xi. This was the first time she had met Jiang Yunyi and Jiang Yunxi’s beloved little sister. It was strange; even though it was their first meeting, she felt a strong sense of familiarity from Qiao Xi.

A smile remained on Fang Moyao’s face. As she observed Qiao Xi, Qiao Xi was also secretly sizing her up.

“Qiao Xi.” Fang Moyao spoke her name.

Qiao Xi’s hand under the table tightened on her pants. For some reason, the woman in front of her gave her an indescribable feeling. Although she was smiling, Qiao Xi felt a chill down her spine. When she tried to delve deeper, she also sensed the other party’s gentleness.

“My name is Fang Moyao, I’m the owner of this private club and a friend of your sisters, Jiang Yunxi and Jiang Yunyi.” Fang Moyao rested one hand on her lap, tapping her thigh lightly with her fingertip, while her other hand propped up her chin. “You trespassed today and damaged my property. What exactly is your purpose?”