She Adopted Me After My Biological Mother Passed Away - Chapter 26

“Just say it once… a rogue sister is still a sister.”

Shi Shuxue was held forcibly in her arms. Her vision was pitch black, and she could only smell the distinct, pleasant scent of Chi Yeyu a mature, neutral woody fragrance subtly mixed with a hint of sweetness. She must have been eating candy again.

Hearing Chi Yeyu’s answer, Shi Shuxue laughed softly. Her head instinctively rubbed against the other’s chest as she said in a calm tone, “Let go of me.”

Chi Yeyu pressed down on the back of her head, squeezing her breathing space, and said fiercely, “I won’t. Not unless you defeat me.”

“Chi Yeyu, how old are you?” Shi Shuxue nearly ran out of breath. Her fingers gripped the fabric of Chi Yeyu’s back tightly, and taking advantage of the moment the other flinched from the pinch, she managed to push her a little further away.

Chi Yeyu leaned back against the edge of the bed in a good mood, her arms resting on the frame. Her pale pupils flickered as she looked at the ceiling, suddenly remembering something and letting out a laugh.

When Shi Shuxue asked what she was laughing about, Chi Yeyu said she was once caught by Chi Liting and locked in the attic for three days. It was Shi Xianyu who brought her band members to knock on the attic window and rescued her from the high floor. A-Yuan’s bass bag was used as a landing pad, and Shi Xianyu’s Doc Martens kept slipping on the roof tiles.

In the getaway taxi, Shi Xianyu had mocked the security of the place, boldly cracking open a can of beer and tossing the pull-ring out the window.

“I told her I wanted a sip back then, and she gave me the half she had left,” Chi Yeyu said double-standardly. “But you aren’t allowed to drink before you’re an adult. Even after you turn eighteen, drink less. And don’t you dare touch cigarettes.”

Perhaps because Chi Yeyu’s description was so vivid, images of the scene involuntarily appeared in Shi Shuxue’s mind, even though she hadn’t been there.

Chi Yeyu wasn’t quiet for even a minute before her lips moved again: “Xiaoxue, did you know?”

“Know what?” Shi Shuxue asked.

“There’s a nine year age gap between Shi Xianyu and me too. So, in high school, I would respectfully call her ‘Xianyu-jie,’ and after joining the band, I called her ‘Captain,'” Chi Yeyu said cryptically, the underlying meaning of her words being quite obvious.

Shi Shuxue guessed what she was going to say next. She sat on the edge of the bed near Chi Yeyu’s head, looking down at her upturned face with a lack of emotion, and asked, “What do you want me to call you?”

“Well…”

“CEO Chi? God Chi? Captain Chi? Oh, I’m not in your band. Then should I call you Yeyu-jiejie? Or just… Sister?”

With every word Shi Shuxue uttered, Chi Yeyu’s eyes brightened. Her upturned eyes squinted slightly, and she nodded with a curled lip. “Just ‘Sister.’ ‘Sister’ is good.”

Shi Shuxue rejected her cruelly: “I refuse.”

“Why not? What do you have to lose by saying it once?” Chi Yeyu suddenly performed a “carp leap” and sat up, flipping over to pin her to the bed. Her side-swept bangs fell, revealing a smooth forehead. She already had a face that looked affectionate and smiling, when her smile brightened, it became even more soul-stirring.

Held captive on the bed, Shi Shuxue was left breathless by the other’s playful pestering. Chi Yeyu had a habit of working out and was much stronger, she held Shi Shuxue’s wrists firmly, leaving her with no way to resist. In a fit of pique, Shi Shuxue raised her legs to kick her, her voice higher than usual: “Go away!”

Chi Yeyu was relentless, tickling her. “I won’t, unless you call me Sister.”

“Chi Yeyu, do you know what you look like right now? You look exactly like a rogue,” Shi Shuxue gasped for air, gathering all her strength to snap back at her.

“A rogue is a rogue. A rogue sister is still a sister,” Chi Yeyu said, completely disregarding her dignity.

The bedroom was warm, and Shi Shuxue was dressed thickly underneath. After the scuffle, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her face, and her earlobes were bright red. Looking up at the handsome face above her, the moment her eyes met Chi Yeyu’s, a ripple appeared in the depths of her pure black pupils: “…Sister.”

Chi Yeyu paused, her eyelashes fluttering, pretending she hadn’t heard. “What did you say?”

Shi Shuxue had struggled through many psychological barriers and gone against her conscience and sense of shame to call Chi Yeyu “Sister” once, she naturally didn’t want to say it a second time. Annoyed to the point of anger, she said, “Just this once. If you didn’t hear it, forget it.”

Chi Yeyu leaned close to her ear and gave a low, muffled laugh, whispering almost coquettishly, “Say it again, just one last time. I promise I’ll never force you again.”

“No, I’m not saying it.” Shi Shuxue’s ears were sensitive; feeling the breath against her, she trembled visibly. She used her head to bump into Chi Yeyu’s forehead with a thud, hitting her so hard that Chi Yeyu’s eyes welled up.

“Fine, don’t say it. But how could you commit domestic violence?” Chi Yeyu condemned her indignantly, clutching her forehead as she let go. She propped herself up and turned back to smile at her: “Anyway, I’ve already recorded that word in my brain. I’ll play it back whenever I need to.”

“Chi Yeyu!”

“Chi Yeyu.”

A knock sounded at the door, and the voice calling her name happened to overlap with Chi Shuxue’s. It was Chi Xin.

Chi Yeyu ruffled Shi Shuxue’s hair, got up to open the door, and asked, “Oh, is something the matter, Ms. Chi Xin?”

Chi Xin was irritated just looking at her, disheveled and clearly having been messing around in the room. She said coldly, “Chi Jin is here, and she brought her brother.”

Chi Yeyu pulled open the wardrobe to find a coat. Putting it on, she said, “Chi Jin? What is she doing here? What does that have to do with me?”

Chi Xin only urged her to come downstairs, then glanced into the room and smiled at Shi Shuxue. “Are you bored being in the room alone? I’ll have someone cut a fruit platter and bring it up for you.”

Shi Shuxue was about to say she would just stay and read, but Chi Yeyu took a long stride, grabbed her hand, and said, “Chi Jin brought someone, so I’m bringing someone too. Come on, come downstairs with me.”

On one side of the living room sofa sat two strangers, one adult and one child. The woman wore a sharp black suit, her hair cut short to her ears, with cold, sharp features. Beside her sat a young boy, about seven or eight years old, wearing a colorful sweater. He sat with his legs dangling, head down, his small hands tucked into the sofa, looking extremely timid.

Chi Liting sat opposite them, talking to her. When a servant handed over tea, she said thank you but didn’t touch it. She got straight to the point: “With the New Year approaching and knowing Uncle’s health hasn’t been great, I specifically brought Haojing to visit. Also, I wanted to report on the recent project progress at the branch office.”

Her attitude was respectful, but even though she caught a glimpse of people coming downstairs in her peripheral vision, she didn’t rush to stand up and greet them. As the most outstanding junior of the side branches, Chi Jin had used ruthless methods to revive a failing branch office, her ambition was already plain to see. She chose this time to visit under the guise of an inspection to gauge the severity of Chi Liting’s illness and to show her loyalty. Once Chi Liting fell, the power structure of the Chi family would inevitably change, and she had to prepare for the subsequent layout.

Chi Yeyu came downstairs and walked gracefully into the living room, bringing along a girl who had never been seen before. Chi Jin was surprised, wondering about the girl’s identity. Looking at her age, she seemed like she could be Chi Yeyu’s sister. Could she be a love child Chi Liting had fathered behind Chi Xin’s back years ago? But there hadn’t been a whisper of such news all these years.

She had always looked down on Chi Yeyu’s willful and reckless behavior, so she projected that hostility onto the person following her. She couldn’t muster even a hint of a smile, staring coldly as Chi Yeyu led the girl to her and introduced: “Xiaoxue, this is Aunt Chi Jin.”

Shi Shuxue greeted her as instructed.

Chi Jin nodded slightly, scanning her up and down casually. A bob haircut, a youthful face, and a mild temperament, the typical timid “good girl.” Losing interest, she looked away and pushed the little boy beside her: “Chi Haojing, say hello to your Sister Yeyu.”

Chi Haojing looked up timidly, revealing a chubby little face. His eyes were full of anxiety as he whispered, “Hello, Sister,” before quickly burying his head again.

Chi Yeyu didn’t like making things hard for children. She bent down and teased him for a bit, and once she managed to make the boy smile, she looked back. “Chi Jin, aren’t you curious about who this child is?”

She spoke to Chi Jin in the same tone she used for children playful and cynical, as if she were teasing her too. Chi Jin’s face turned as black as the bottom of a wok. She wanted to snap back and ask if this was a child she’d given birth to in a middle school restroom, but since Chi Liting was right there taking medicine, she forced herself to maintain politeness: “Who is she?”

She and Chi Yeyu were around the same age and had grown up being compared to one another. At a young age, she had realized that Chi Yeyu possessed a talent she could never catch up to in her entire life.

But later, this person’s personality changed drastically. She abandoned her usual pretenses and acted arrogantly and wildly. Chi Jin thought Chi Liting would be disappointed in her, yet Chi Yeyu still firmly held the position of heir. Meanwhile, no matter how many all-nighters she pulled or how many projects she snatched, she was always restricted by the label of “side branch,” forever fated to be a foil to Chi Yeyu.

Because of this, she had a “Chi Yeyu allergy.” If Chi Yeyu came within a five-meter radius and flashed a smile, Chi Jin couldn’t help but get goosebumps.

“Can’t you guess? It’s obvious, she’s my long-lost daughter who was wandering outside for years,” Chi Yeyu introduced with a beam of delight.

Chi Jin realized that after not seeing her for a while, Chi Yeyu’s mental condition had not improved.

Chi Liting coughed twice and said to Chi Yeyu and Chi Jin, “You two come with me to the study to discuss matters. Let the two children play in the living room.” As he stood up, he needed a servant to support him, his slightly stooped silhouette revealed the decay of long-term illness.

Chi Jin was prepared and immediately moved to follow. Chi Yeyu unhurriedly instructed Shi Shuxue: “Wait here obediently. I’ll be back soon. Don’t bully the little kid.” She glanced at the chubby boy, then grabbed her girl’s thin wrist and added, “And don’t let the kid bully you, either.”

Shi Shuxue said nothing and simply nodded.

After the study door closed, the living room fell silent. A servant brought a fruit platter and placed it on the long coffee table between the two.

Chi Haojing remained like an ostrich with his head down, picking at every one of his fingernails.

Shi Shuxue pulled out her phone to reply to a few messages. Xu Qiaoli asked her for the answers to the first few multiple-choice questions on the Chinese exam paper, and Li Lingling asked if she had time to practice bass tonight. She first sent Xu Qiaoli a row of ABCD, then explained to Li Lingling that she wasn’t in the city today and might not make it back in time.

Li Lingling thought Chi Yeyu had taken her out to play. She tapped her phone screen to reply: Not out to play, I’m at her house. Li Lingling immediately sent a string of “folded hands” emojis, telling her to protect herself, if Chi Yeyu couldn’t protect her student, she should be thrown into the lake to feed the fish.

She replied with an OK gesture. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the boy sitting silently across from her, picking his hands and looking at the strawberries on the platter. She picked up a strawberry, offered it, and asked, “Want one?”

Chi Haojing looked at her in surprise, then at the strawberry. He swallowed his saliva hesitantly and shook his head. Shi Shuxue didn’t force him; she put the strawberry back and continued playing on her phone.

After some time, a young servant carrying cat toys passed through the living room and dropped a toy ball. Chi Haojing seemed unable to sit still anymore. He quietly slid off the sofa and tiptoed to the center of the living room, squatting down to fiddle with the small blue ball. Above him, the crystal chandelier had three layers, someone had opened a high window, causing the crystal pendants to jingle softly.

Shi Shuxue followed the rustling sound with her eyes when she suddenly caught a strange “click” the sound of something snapping. She looked up abruptly to see the chain holding the chandelier swaying. Several crystal pendants from the outermost layer fell one after another, shattering on the floor with a crisp sound.

“Watch out!” Shi Shuxue’s pupils shrank as she dashed forward.

Chi Haojing was startled by the falling crystals and hadn’t even had time to move before the chain snapped completely. The massive crystal chandelier crashed down, falling straight toward him!

With all her might, Shi Shuxue lunged and shoved Chi Haojing toward her side, but she couldn’t dodge in time herself. The edge of the falling fixture grazed her shoulder, and crystal shards flew everywhere, slicing through her arm and the side of her face. Blood gushed out instantly.

The massive crash drew everyone in the villa. The study door was thrown open, and Chi Yeyu, Chi Liting, and Chi Jin rushed out in succession.

The living room was a mess. The moment Chi Yeyu saw Shi Shuxue kneeling by the wreckage of the chandelier, her pupils narrowed to needles. She rushed over like a madwoman to check her injuries. “How are you? Is it serious? I’m calling an ambulance right now.”

Chi Haojing had tumbled onto the floor a distance away, wailing in terror. Chi Jin stepped over the glass fragments and quickly helped him up. She checked him over and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, he didn’t have a single scratch. Why was he crying so hard?

Shi Shuxue touched her shoulder and her hand came away covered in blood. The pain finally began to spread throughout her body. She knitted her brows, her face turning pale. “It’s not necessary. It’s not that serious.”

Chi Yeyu hurriedly called her private doctor on her phone, her facial features tense. Her gaze remained locked on the several striking patches of red on the girl. “You’re covered in blood! You’ve lost so much blood and you’re saying it’s not serious?”