“Xingya… are you okay?”
Inside the car.
Li Xingya shook her head.
‘I’m not okay.’
‘Not at all.’
She had run from inside the mall to the square, then from the square all the way across the street before getting into the car that Zhou Zhiting had parked on the roadside early this morning.
‘Exercise… I definitely overdid it today.’
Even in PE class, Li Xingya would at most run half a lap by herself, and then be dragged by Meng Yiqiao for another half lap.
Running almost the entire mall like today was absolutely overkill for Li Xingya.
‘My thighs are definitely going to hurt tomorrow morning.’
In the back seat, Li Xingya lay on Lin Jin’an’s lap, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“I’m a little thirsty,” Li Xingya said, her voice hoarse.
Lin Jin’an pinched Li Xingya’s cheeks with her fingers and gently kneaded them.
“Want to go get some milk tea?” she suggested.
“Mm.”
In the driver’s seat, Zhou Zhiting listened to their conversation, silently turned the wheel, and drove toward the milk tea shop Lin Jin’an frequented.
When they arrived outside the shop, Zhou Zhiting told the two to wait in the car to avoid causing a commotion like at the mall, and she went in to buy the milk tea herself.
“Hah.”
Li Xingya let out a long breath.
“At this time tomorrow, are we going to end up on some entertainment news or something?”
“…Probably.”
“That would be a bit of a hassle.”
“Yeah.”
At that moment, they were both thinking the same name.
‘Jiang Chiyue.’
Sneaking out on a date behind her back… How were they supposed to explain that?
Especially Li Xingya—she had told Jiang Chiyue just this morning that she was going out alone.
If she couldn’t explain it well… Given Jiang Chiyue’s temper, she might end up getting hit.
Just then, Zhou Zhiting returned with two cups of milk tea.
“Here,” she said, looking at them.
“Thanks, Sister,” Li Xingya said as she took the milk tea from her.
‘Hehe~’
‘Forget it, forget it.’
‘I’ll put Jiang Chiyue aside for now.’
‘What’s done is done. Milk tea is more important right now.’
In the afternoon.
Lin Jin’an put on a new mask and sunglasses, then led Li Xingya to a cosmetics shop that looked very expensive.
As a gift for the day, Lin Jin’an gave Li Xingya a matte lipstick.
Lin Jin’an’s exact words were:
“Xingya, your skin is really good, so you don’t need much makeup usually—just taking care of it is enough… But maybe because you’re lacking some nutrition, the color of your lips is a bit lacking. So Sister is giving you this lipstick. You’re going to be an idol from now on, and you need to learn how to make yourself presentable.”
Li Xingya took the lipstick and carefully examined its color.
Then she turned her head to look at the other lipsticks on the display counter.
‘Hmm—’
‘I really can’t tell the difference.’
‘Aren’t they all just red?’
Li Xingya put the lipstick away and smiled at Lin Jin’an.
“Thanks.”
It was that smile that made Lin Jin’an, who was used to big scenes, freeze for a moment.
Even her heartbeat skipped a beat because of it.
The reason was simple.
Li Xingya’s smile was genuine.
For a nuclear-powered donkey who had been isolated for years, receiving a gift was absolutely a very happy thing.
Even if Li Xingya didn’t understand the gift.
Even if she would probably never use it.
Just bowing her head and looking at the small lipstick in her hand made Li Xingya happy from the bottom of her heart.
‘This is a gift for me.’
‘I received a gift… I have to give something in return.’
“Xingya?”
“Hm?”
Li Xingya looked up, her eyes curving into a smile as she glanced at Lin Jin’an.
“Sister?”
“Wh-what?”
Li Xingya tilted her head.
“Is something wrong?”
“No… Xingya, you, what did you just call me…?”
“Lin · Jin · An.”
Li Xingya was mischievous.
She stood on tiptoe beside Lin Jin’an and whispered into her ear,
“I called you Lin Jin’an.”
‘If you didn’t hear it before, too bad.’
‘I’m only calling you that this once.’
Lin Jin’an’s expression visibly dropped.
She really wanted to hear Li Xingya call her sister.
Seeing that, Li Xingya took Lin Jin’an’s hand.
“Okay, don’t be sad.”
“But…”
“Sister.”
“…”
“Don’t space out. Your adorable little sister is calling you ‘Sister,’” Li Xingya frowned.
“If you don’t like it, I just won’t call you that anymore…”
“I like it.”
Lin Jin’an hugged Li Xingya.
“How could I not like it? I… I…”
Lin Jin’an stammered, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time.
And Li Xingya, rarely, didn’t struggle.
She just let Lin Jin’an hold her.
“Sister, don’t be anxious. I was just joking. Since you like it, I’ll call you ‘Sister’ for today.”
“Only today?”
Li Xingya nodded.
“Mm, only today.”
“That’s too sly.”
Lin Jin’an cupped Li Xingya’s face with both hands.
“Half the day is already gone… Xingya, how about you come home with me tonight? That way, I can hear you call me sister in the evening too.”
“No.”
Li Xingya shook her head.
“Taking a minor home or something… I can’t let my sister commit a crime.”
With that, Li Xingya took two steps back, playfully creating distance from Lin Jin’an.
“Let’s go.”
She extended her hand.
“Take me to the next place before the sun sets, Sister.”
In Li Xingya’s eyes sparkled a light that belonged to a little liar.
“During this time, I belong to you.”
‘Like this.’
‘Keep falling for me a little more.’
‘Please keep liking me.’
‘If possible—’
‘Become a sister who belongs only to me.’
Lin Jin’an was a really annoying person, but after today, Li Xingya suddenly felt she wasn’t so annoying anymore.
But—as someone emotionally迟钝 and always avoiding social interaction, Li Xingya still couldn’t determine whether Lin Jin’an’s “like” for her was real.
She was afraid that this feeling might be a whim, a flash in the pan.
So Li Xingya had a bold idea, one that even she herself was startled by when she realized it.
‘I’m going to seduce Lin Jin’an.’
As long as she could make Lin Jin’an truly fall in love with her, then she wouldn’t have to worry about whether the other’s “like” was genuine.
And the method to trick Lin Jin’an was actually not that difficult.
The joy Li Xingya felt when she received the lipstick was undeniably genuine.
If she used that emotion to disguise her smile, even if she was deceiving Lin Jin’an, she definitely wouldn’t slip up.
‘Once I feel Lin Jin’an isn’t that annoying…’
‘Her reactions toward me actually seem a bit cute now.’
Now, in Li Xingya’s heart, Lin Jin’an was equal to Meng Yiqiao.
For the three years at the academy, Li Xingya had to rely on Meng Yiqiao to get through.
For life after graduation, Li Xingya would need Lin Jin’an’s help.
To ensure this long-term plan went smoothly, Li Xingya had to guarantee one thing—that both Meng Yiqiao and Lin Jin’an would fall in love with her unconditionally.
Binding them with mutual benefit… Li Xingya simply didn’t have that kind of capital.
But she understood that this body of hers, which she herself couldn’t quite comprehend, was fatally tempting to others.
So…
“No can do, Xingya.”
‘Huh?’
The top of Li Xingya’s head was poked hard by Lin Jin’an.
“You’re thinking about tricking people again, aren’t you?” Lin Jin’an laughed.
“My little Xingya is only sixteen, and she already knows how to use feelings to deceive people. You’re so unfathomable that it scares your sister.”
‘How…?’
Li Xingya stood frozen in place.
‘She saw through me again?’
‘Where did I go wrong?’
Just as Li Xingya was deep in thought, her extended hand was still taken by Lin Jin’an.
“But… even this little sly-girl version of Xingya, I still like her a lot. After all, Xingya is just too cute.”
This was Lin Jin’an’s prankish counterattack, and also Lin Jin’an’s acceptance of Li Xingya’s true self.
“…Mm.”
The corners of Li Xingya’s mouth… twitched a few times.
She was trying hard to suppress a smile.
‘It feels tickly in my heart.’
‘Wah, this strange feeling…’
‘What’s going on?’