Chapter 7: Vacuum State  

Jiang Lai remembered a time when work left her no time to eat or sleep.  

That’s when Chi Yingyu quietly began taking care of her.  

Monitoring her three meals a day, ensuring she got enough rest despite limited time, Chi Yingyu was like a personal assistant, meticulously planning her health.  

Even now, free from such strict oversight, Jiang Lai saw Chi Yingyu’s slightly cold expression and couldn’t help feeling apprehensive, her tone tinged with timidity.  

“I know drinking is bad, that it’s self-destructive.”  

Jiang Lai was used to solving everything alone, but how could something as absurd as turning into a woman be resolved?  

“I thought it was temporary, but after so long, I haven’t changed back. I’m truly at a loss.”  

Chi Yingyu looked down at her brother-in-law, now half a head shorter than her, and her urge to scold vanished completely.  

Her cold anger wasn’t about Jiang Lai drinking—her brother-in-law wasn’t one to overindulge, and she wouldn’t mind an occasional drink as long as it wasn’t excessive.  

What bothered Chi Yingyu was that, even in such a situation, Jiang Lai didn’t confide in her first.  

She grabbed Jiang Lai’s slender wrist, pulling her into her arms.  

Jiang Lai always acted like she could handle everything alone, then and now, never changing.  

“If you face something you can’t solve, tell me…”  

Jiang Lai was tightly confined in Chi Yingyu’s embrace, her shoulders held warmly and firmly, surrounded by the jasmine-like fragrance of her breath.  

“I’m not the little girl who stood behind you anymore. I’m grown now, fully capable of helping you. Don’t drink next time—call me, okay?”  

“Yingyu…”  

Jiang Lai instinctively tried to pull away from the embrace, but Chi Yingyu held her tighter.  

What Chi Yingyu wanted wasn’t this—she wanted Jiang Lai to think of her first, for big or small matters.  

How she longed for Jiang Lai to rely on her, even for something minor, but Jiang Lai’s heart was closed off.  

Aside from her sister, almost no one could enter it.  

Despite years of effort, Chi Yingyu hadn’t even found the door, let alone stepped inside.  

Was the order of meeting really so insurmountable?  

Because of her sister, could Jiang Lai never accept anyone else?  

It wasn’t fair…  

Jiang Lai didn’t know why Chi Yingyu held her so tightly, but the scene felt familiar—she had once held Chi Yingyu just like this.  

Perhaps Chi Yingyu wanted to protect her, just as she had in the past.  

“I promise, if anything happens, I’ll call you.”  

Chi Yingyu held a special place in Jiang Lai’s heart; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been the first person Jiang Lai told about this.  

That said, Chi Yingyu had her own life.  

Her law firm kept her busy, and unless absolutely necessary, Jiang Lai wouldn’t trouble her sister-in-law.  

Chi Yingyu knew her brother-in-law’s personality.  

Even if she agreed now, unless truly desperate, Jiang Lai wouldn’t rely on anyone, as today showed.  

Taking this first step was already significant progress, so Chi Yingyu didn’t push further.  

Though she wanted to keep holding Jiang Lai, she had to let go.  

But during that intimate embrace, Chi Yingyu noticed something unusual—Jiang Lai’s chest felt too soft, as if she wasn’t wearing a bra.  

“Sister… husband… are you wearing anything underneath?”  

Jiang Lai was caught off guard by her sister-in-law’s sudden question.  

Of course she was wearing something—didn’t she have a shirt under her coat?  

“I’m obviously wearing something!”  

Still thinking like a man, Jiang Lai processed the situation.  

After speaking, she even slightly opened her coat to show Chi Yingyu.  

But that simple glance sent a rush of heat through Chi Yingyu, nearly causing a nosebleed.  

Under the loose coat, Jiang Lai’s figure was captivating.  

Her face was that of a cool, aloof beauty, but her body was like a ripe peach—slim waist, curvaceous.  

Even a beauty like Chi Yingyu felt an urge to indulge, an indescribable fascination stirring within.  

Chi Yingyu’s affection was clear.  

Her love transcended gender; she loved only the Jiang Lai before her, no matter her form.  

Any improper thoughts were reserved solely for Jiang Lai, no one else.  

But as Jiang Lai explained, Chi Yingyu sighed.  

Even her clothes were still men’s, and the underwear certainly wasn’t women’s.  

When she said she was “wearing something,” she must have meant the shirt.  

“I meant underwear. Without a bra… a thin shirt makes it very obvious.”  

Her words hit like a pause button.  

Jiang Lai slowly turned her face away, biting her lip.  

Though she tried to hide her embarrassment, her red ears betrayed her completely.  

If it was just about not wearing a bra, Jiang Lai wouldn’t have been so ashamed—she found women’s underwear too embarrassing and had no interest.  

But when Chi Yingyu pointed it out…  

Jiang Lai wasn’t clueless.  

She instantly understood what Chi Yingyu implied and quickly wrapped her coat tightly again.  

That simple action fully ignited Chi Yingyu’s longing.  

How long had it been since their relationship saw such a shift?  

Since graduating college, Chi Yingyu felt Jiang Lai deliberately distancing her, drawing a clear line.  

They were them, she was her, their relationship unchanged for a decade.  

But now, fate seemed to offer a chance to change everything.  

Her brother-in-law becoming a woman might be the turning point, like a pebble dropped into a still lake, sending ripples across the surface.