“Youyou, you think it would be a huge hassle for her to change, yet you still chose to come and ask me.”
Liyun seemed to laugh without realizing it as she spoke, her smile full of peace.
“Though I don’t know why you, Youyou, would be entrusted with a child, and you seem to think raising her is a real pain… But please, don’t give up on her. I believe she wouldn’t want you to give up on her, either.”
“Is that so?”
Luo You raised an eyebrow.
Honestly, that silly kid didn’t seem like she’d be much different no matter who raised her.
As for whether she’d give up on Xue or not—that depended on whether keeping Xue around would get Luo You herself into trouble.
As long as Luo You felt things were fine as they were, that kid just had to open her mouth for food like a pet.
Having any other thoughts would only breed extra risks.
“It feels just like how I was not long ago.”
“Hm?”
Luo You looked at Liyun, puzzled.
“How is that similar to you, big sister?”
Liyun clasped her hands together, bowing her head.
“Before I met you, Youyou… Haha, I bet you’d find it hard to believe, right? I was such a mess back then, just lazing around at home like some useless thing, always being cared for by my sister.”
“…I think the slacker big sister is quite nice…very charming, actually.”
“Youyou!?”
Liyun was clearly shocked, but Luo You offered no further response.
Liyun quickly slipped back into her role and continued: “To my sister at that time, I probably wasn’t much different from that child you mentioned, Youyou. Back then, all I did was eat and sleep, sleep and eat, never cared about the whole Magical Girl thing at all. My sister only had to take care of my basic needs… It must’ve been easy, right?”
“Ha.”
Luo You pictured it for a moment.
A slacker big sister, like a pet, doing nothing, never causing trouble—actually sounded pretty nice.
And no matter how much of a slacker that big sister was, as long as the bratty little imp poked her, she’d come back to life with energy, so there was nothing bad about it.
“If my sister had just let me stay that way, she could have saved herself a lot of trouble, right? But no, she couldn’t stand to see me like that… Seven years—she spent seven years refusing to give up on dragging me out of that mire. Seven years she worked so hard at it… I’m really grateful she never gave up on me back then.”
Liyun said proudly, “She wanted me to change.”
“But that’s because of family, isn’t it?”
“Not just that. It’s also because I’m my sister’s right-hand man, after all.”
Liyun showed off her fist.
“Youyou, the reason you hope she stays the same is because you think she can’t help with anything, right? But if you had any expectations for her at all, you’d want her to change.”
“Expectations, huh…”
Luo You’s gaze drifted to the sky.
Her only hope for Xue was: don’t cause trouble, don’t cause trouble, don’t cause trouble.
So there really wasn’t anything, was there?
“But… Youyou, you give me the feeling that you might just abandon her at any time.”
“Isn’t it fine to give up any expectations of her?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Eh?
Was it that obvious?
Luo You was startled.
Even that could be seen through.
She had to admit, Liyun could be pretty sharp at times.
Liyun was right—she really might give up on Xue at any time.
To be honest, Luo You felt there was nothing good about keeping that thing around.
Even though Letia said Xue might be the only way humanity could understand the Sea of Realms in decades, Luo You couldn’t see it.
On the contrary, she felt it was like raising a time bomb at her side.
If Xue ever caused some irreparable chaos, Luo You wouldn’t hesitate to abandon her—she might even cut ties herself to keep Xue from leaking her information.
“But, if you truly wanted to give up on her, Youyou, you wouldn’t have bothered to ask me, right? I don’t know why, and I don’t know all the reasons, but I feel like… you still have a tiny bit of hope for her, so small even you haven’t noticed it.”
Luo You said nothing.
This already touched on something deep within her—even she didn’t dare claim to fully understand herself.
True, deep down she thought it didn’t matter what happened to Xue.
But if it really didn’t matter, she wouldn’t have brought it up during this secret talk with her big sister.
What was she really thinking?
“Ah, Big Sister’s back.”
Across the street, Jimo waved her hand, her lively and adorable figure truly heartwarming.
Honestly, if Jimo didn’t look so young, Luo You would definitely tease both sisters together.
But with that look, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Let’s go, Youyou.”
“Mm.”
The little devil and big sister’s secret meeting ended quickly.
***
At that moment, hiding nearby, Ji Yue’s pupils were quaking in shock.
What?
Who is Liyun’s sister?
Is it Jimo?!
“What?!”
Even a strong-willed woman like Ji Yue’s mind went blank for a second.
Liyun’s sister is Jimo…
Then Jimo is…
Xingyu?
No, no, no, aside from Luo Zining, Jimo doesn’t have any other sisters, right?
[If Jimo is Xingyu, then Liyun and she would be big sister and little sister? That can’t be! The two of them have always claimed to be twins in public?]
Ji Yue could only comfort herself with that speculation.
But then, she was struck by another possibility.
“Could it be…”
That one who disappeared during the Dimensional Beasts Disaster, missing for so many years, presumed dead…
Back then, Luo Zining and the others were four sisters, but none of them were actually blood related.
The oldest were the twins Jimo and Jilan, then Luo Zining, and finally the little sister who wasn’t in much contact.
Ji Yue remembered what that little sister looked like—it definitely wasn’t the Liyun before her, so that meant Liyun was—
“Jilan?”
Ji Yue muttered that name in a daze.
But, but why is she still alive, and why does Jimo know she exists, yet never mention her to anyone?
No, wait—there was an even bigger problem before all that—
“Ellera knew perfectly well that Jimo and Jilan are Xingyu and Liyun, and she knows I’m Feiyu, that we’re all her daughter’s family, but she still wants to bring us together for a Yin Party?!”
Ji Yue felt like her brain was about to explode.
Now this—this was the real bombshell.
Terrifying, absolutely terrifying—what kind of mind did that woman even have?
Ji Yue used to naively think that, no matter how perverse or shameless Ellera was, she would never lay a hand on her own daughter, Luo Zining.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
She’d dare to bring her daughter’s big sister and aunt together for a Yin Party—did Ellera even care that Luo Zining was her own daughter?
Ji Yue suddenly felt her legs go weak and collapsed to the ground.
“I was too naive…”
Ji Yue muttered quietly.
She thought as long as she kept her secret and maintained the status quo, she might not get to monopolize Ellera, but at least she’d be close enough to get some benefits.
But now she only felt terror.
The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to get a final confirmation from Ellera.
“Hello?”
“Auntie? What’s up?”
“Tonight… are you free?”
“Free, free, I’ll come right over! Just send me the address and I’ll be there soon.”