“…Then I’ll go with you. But don’t regret it.”
Shen Xili suddenly clenched her fists, a flicker of doubt rising in her heart. Why had her sister asked that so pointedly? Had she noticed something? No, that was impossible. She was her little sister—why would she ever be on guard against her?
Curious, Yan Tu piped up from nearby. “What are you two off to do?”
Shen Xiluo hopped onto the desk and, with an air of irresistible command, hooked an arm around Yan Tu’s waist. She leaned lazily against her, her thoughtful gaze fixed on the girl lingering by the door. In a half-joking tone, she replied, “Something shady.”
In front of Shen Xili, Shen Xiluo made no effort to hide her intimacy with Yan Tu. They’d already been caught three times anyway, and come next semester when the sisters attended the same school, there’d be plenty more awkward run-ins.
So why bother with the furtive distance, constantly fretting over the day their relationship might be exposed? Far better to flaunt it now, hitting the other girl with the occasional visual shock until she gradually adjusted to the illusion Shen Xiluo was deliberately crafting—
—that she was forcing Yan Tu to submit to her.
“Luo-jie…” Yan Tu gave a token struggle and turned her head away. To any onlooker, it might have looked like reluctant compliance… but in truth, no one could make out her expression.
Shen Xili startled at Shen Xiluo’s answer, then watched their interplay with a complicated expression. She couldn’t help sneering, “Sis, you’re not a kid anymore. Can you stop with these gross moves…?”
Shen Xiluo shot back casually, “What, jealous? Want a hug from your big sis too?”
Shen Xili’s face twisted like she’d swallowed a fly. “…”
Yan Tu: “…” Her hand snuck around from behind to sneakily pinch the soft flesh at Shen Xiluo’s waist.
Shen Xiluo squirmed with a muffled squeak of “mmph!”, then shot Yan Tu a glare. The latter ducked her head, hiding behind her hand as if wronged.
Fed up with their bizarre antics, Shen Xili took a quick step back, her eyes brimming with disgust… Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, she shot them both a strange look. In a tone laced with smug disdain, she said, “Heh, have your fun, Sis.” With that, she turned to leave, clearly eager to put as much distance between them as possible.
Now it was Shen Xiluo’s turn to raise an eyebrow in mild surprise. She called out, “What’s this? You’re leaving already? Didn’t you come specifically to pick me up?”
Shen Xili halted, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Since you’re dragging your feet and clearly reluctant, I won’t push it. Making a birthday surprise for Mom is all about the sentiment anyway. Your attitude is such a letdown—it wastes all my good intentions…”
“Oh,” Shen Xiluo replied. “Then thanks in advance for Xili’s ‘good intentions.’ I hope tomorrow we can bask in Mom’s glow too and enjoy the ‘surprise’ you’ve made with your own hands.”
“You!” Caught off guard and guilty, Shen Xili couldn’t muster a retort. Swallowing the urge to curse, she spat, “In your dreams!” and stormed off.
Shen Xiluo watched her back until she vanished from sight, then finally let out a breath of relief.
She had no idea why the girl had abruptly changed her mind and dropped the pursuit, but it was a good thing regardless. It spared her a lot of hassle down the line. Shen Xiluo wasn’t afraid of schemes—if the other girl made a move, she’d hit back just as hard. She was simply too lazy to deal with it. Fewer headaches, the better. At the same time, she didn’t want to clash head-on right now.
Of course, this was just a temporary reprieve, not the end. “Little traps” like this, tailored for her, would keep cropping up. Shen Xiluo would just have to handle them one by one as they came.
Yan Tu keenly sensed the tension easing from Shen Xiluo’s body. She rested a hand on her shoulder and asked, “Does Luo-jie have something on her mind? About Xili?”
“It’s nothing.” Shen Xiluo shook her head, sighing. “I just hope she shapes up and acts like a decent person…”
Yan Tu blinked, puzzled. “?”
In a flash, Shen Xiluo clamped down on the hand on her shoulder.
Unable to pull free, Yan Tu: “??”
Shen Xiluo glared at her. “You tickled me earlier!!”
Yan Tu smirked and spread her hands innocently. “So? Want to tickle me back?”
A sly glint flashed in Shen Xiluo’s eyes. She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Yan Tu’s waist and burying her face in the girl’s chest. In a high-pitched, whiny voice, she complained, “Aaaah~~~ You’re so mean! You know I’m ticklish and you still go for it! No more next time, or I’ll get mad and ignore you!!” All the while, she took advantage of the chaos to nuzzle back and forth furiously.
“…”
Yan Tu didn’t so much as blink, letting Shen Xiluo “misbehave” against her chest in stunned silence.
After a good fifteen seconds of deep nuzzling with no pushback, Shen Xiluo finally stopped, sheepish. She lifted her head, cheeks mysteriously flushed. “W-why didn’t you push me away?!”
Yan Tu hadn’t even considered pushing her away. A clear blush colored her fair face as she shifted her gaze aside. “I-I just wanted to see… if I didn’t stop you, how long you could keep rubbing…”
Shen Xiluo froze for a moment before falling back on her usual snark. “I could rub until they go flat!”
Yan Tu froze too, blurting out the first thing that came to mind without a second thought. “Then go ahead and rub!”
The words had barely left her lips when both of them went rigid. “…………”
Shen Xiluo abruptly released her hold. Her face burned crimson as she whipped around, clearing her throat and fussing with her desk and backpack to cover her embarrassment. “I-it’s getting late anyway. We’re clearly not in the mood to study, so we might as well head home early.”
Yan Tu glanced out the window. “Yeah, you’re right…” But then she kept stealing sidelong glances at the other girl, only to realize Shen Xiluo was doing the exact same thing. Their eyes locked once more.
Shen Xiluo schooled her expression into a stern mask, straightening her posture. “Why are you sneaking peeks at me?!”
Yan Tu turned to face her fully, hands clasped behind her back. “How would you know I was peeking if you weren’t peeking at me?”
Shen Xiluo jabbed a finger at her. “Look at how red your face is! What are you so embarrassed about?”
Yan Tu shot back, “Feel your own face—it’s scorching! What are you embarrassed about?”
Shen Xiluo huffed. “Hmph, why would I be embarrassed? It’s just rubbing your chest. I’ve groped and squeezed them before.”
Yan Tu matched her tone. “Why would I be embarrassed? It’s just you rubbing my chest. I’ve been groped and squeezed by you before.”
Shen Xiluo’s mouth fell open. “…”
Silence stretched between them. How did this conversation veer so far off course…
“Snicker.” Yan Tu suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth, laughter bubbling out. She was sure she’d been possessed to say something so utterly ridiculous.
“Hey…” Shen Xiluo slapped both hands over her own face in embarrassment and dissolved into laughter. “Hahahahahaha…” Her mind replayed that line—”groped and squeezed by you”—over and over.
The more she thought about it, the funnier it got. She doubled over, slapping the desk as peals of delighted laughter escaped her. “Ahahahaha, you silly roe deer…”
Yan Tu’s laughter tapered off. Her expression sobered as she reached out toward her.
Spotting that look and motion, Shen Xiluo sensed trouble. She snatched up her bag and darted aside with agile grace, then bolted for the door. Glancing back, she taunted with a cheeky grin. “Come on, come catch me! If you do, you can grope me!!!”
Yan Tu arched a brow ever so slightly, discreetly rolling her ankles.
“Come on!!” Shen Xiluo bounded out of the classroom like an excited monkey. She was just stretching her long legs for a sprint down the corridor when a dark shadow loomed abruptly in front of her. She couldn’t brake in time and barreled straight toward it…
Yan Tu, who had leaped straight out the classroom window in pursuit, sidestepped at the last second to dodge the impact. With lightning reflexes, she grabbed Shen Xiluo’s bag, keeping the girl from tumbling forward off-balance.
In one smooth countermove, Yan Tu yanked her back, pulling the dangling Shen Xiluo into her arms. She looked down with a teasing gaze. “So, where should I grope you?”
Shen Xiluo: “…………”
Who the hell gave you cheat codes?!
Amusement danced in Yan Tu’s eyes. She freed one hand and trailed her fingers along Shen Xiluo’s cheek, down to her chin, then her neck—heading lower still…
Shen Xiluo suddenly seized that hand. She isolated Yan Tu’s index finger and jabbed it toward her own face, leering in mock lewdness. “Grope my nostril! It’s small, narrow, super tight… maybe even a little wet…”
“…” Yan Tu pressed her lips together tightly, torn between laughter and exasperation. “Luo-jie, you are begging for a spanking!” As punishment, she pinched Shen Xiluo’s nose hard—then finally let go.
“Ow…” Shen Xiluo retreated a step, gingerly rubbing her reddened nose tip. “Rabbit, that was brutal! I was doing this out of the goodness of my heart—pulling out all the stops to protect your innocence!”
Yan Tu shot her a sidelong glance. “Telling dirty jokes is supposed to protect my innocence?”
Shen Xiluo drew herself up righteously. “Exactly! What else was I supposed to do? It’s one of my countermeasures! Think about it—if you groped any lower, you’d be the impure one!”
Yan Tu countered, “If me groping you makes me impure, then what does it make you when you grope me?”
Shen Xiluo twisted logic shamelessly. “I stopped being pure the first time I groped you, so now I get to grope you forever and ever.”
Yan Tu turned her head away. “…Such a glib tongue.”
Shen Xiluo slung an arm around her shoulders with easy familiarity. “Come on, don’t be mad. You pinched my nose and I didn’t even get upset…”
“Who said I’m mad?” Yan Tu stressed. “I-It wasn’t that I couldn’t catch you. I was just respecting your boundaries.” All while reining in her own impulses.
Shen Xiluo owned up with mock guilt. “Fine, fine—I’m the disrespectful one. I’m the one toying with you…”
Yan Tu fought a smile, maintaining her stern facade. “You… yeah, good that you know.”
“Look at you, why are you blushing like that again?” Shen Xiluo teased her with a laugh.
Yan Tu denied it flat-out. “I’m not.”
The two chatted idly here and there as they walked all the way home. By then, Shen Xiluo had completely forgotten about her plan to “seduce” Wei Tianrui.
~~~
The next evening, Mother Shen’s birthday banquet went off without a hitch, just as planned.
Amid the lavish and lively feast, Shen Xiluo, the eldest daughter, presented her gift—a limited edition space capsule massage chair that was perfectly in line with her extravagant gifting style and taste. It was loaded with features, ridiculously over-the-top in design, outrageously expensive, utterly impractical, and took up an absurd amount of space!
Not that it mattered. As a broke student, she was just spending the Shen Family’s money anyway.
Her stepdaughter Yan Tu offered a red longevity flower she had personally selected and planted. It made for a tasteful potted display—subtle enough not to steal the show, yet rich with auspicious meaning.
It was worth noting that since this was Mother Shen’s own celebration, she accepted the gifts with genuine pleasure and, for once, refrained from nitpicking or making trouble for Yan Tu.
The youngest daughter, Shen Xili, kicked things off by performing an original composition named after their mother right there on-site—a creative touch. There was no additional cake.
In the end, the banquet concluded with the entire Shen Family getting through the evening in perfect harmony, without a single ripple of discord.
