Liang Sheng was jolted awake by a piercing scream. “Aaaah!” No peace from one day to the next! She sat up indignantly and turned toward the source of the noise.
“Sister Liang Sheng! This is all your fault! It’s already seven o’clock!” Liang Sheng jumped at the words and glanced up at the wall clock. It was past seven-oh-five.
Liang Jin pulled a long face, complaining to Liang Sheng. “It’s all because of you! Why’d you drag me into bed with you? I fell asleep and lost track of time.”
Liang Sheng threw up her hands. “Blame me, huh? You could’ve stayed awake.”
Liang Jin scrambled to get moving, but Liang Sheng pointed at her hair. “Hey, aren’t you gonna fix that bird’s nest on your head?” Liang Jin’s face filled with panic as she dashed to the mirror, letting out another shriek. Liang Sheng calmly plugged her ears, used to it by now.
—
“Sis… what on earth is that getup?”
Liang Sheng sported a blue-black shawl of long hair, a pair of toad-like sunglasses perched on her face, retro red lipstick smeared across her mouth, and eyebrows painted thick and dark. She’d thrown on the most mature outfit from the closet and grabbed a bag that looked expensive.
“It’s camouflage. So no one recognizes me,” Liang Sheng said, shooting Liang Jin a mysterious, knowing look.
Fine, whatever. Liang Jin forced a smile at the corner of her mouth, inwardly roasting her sister nonstop. Why did she have to have such a cringe, over-the-top dramatic sibling?
Under Liang Jin’s watchful eye, Liang Sheng… opened the window and climbed down the ladder outside.
“Sis, why not use the door?” Liang Jin called from the window.
“Are you kidding? You think I want Great Aunt seeing me like this? Hurry up and come down.”
“Oh…” Liang Jin clambered down the ladder after her.
As they neared the destination, Liang Jin suddenly grabbed Liang Sheng’s hand, her face twisting into a strange expression. “Sister Liang Sheng, I’m nervous…”
Liang Sheng adjusted her toad shades with a smirk. “Heh, wimp. Weren’t you in a huge rush earlier? Let’s go inside already.”
“No, no, I can’t! Give me a minute to breathe…” Liang Jin gulped down air, clinging to Liang Sheng’s hand.
In the end… Liang Sheng had to drag her inside by the hand, like some creepy old lady kidnapping a kid.
Su Ze hadn’t arrived yet. Liang Sheng checked her watch—still twenty minutes to go. She settled the fidgety Liang Jin at a table, then took the seat behind her. She ordered fried shrimp balls, stir-fried crabmeat, a few slices of cool jelly cake, and a bowl of millet porridge, then sat waiting.
Time ticked by. Liang Sheng was almost done eating when Su Ze still hadn’t shown. Liang Jin poked her back from behind and whispered, “Hey, you’re sure it’s eight in the morning?”
Liang Sheng twisted slightly and nodded. “I’d stake this plate of fried shrimp balls on it—definitely eight a.m. If he got the time wrong, that’s on him…”
Before she could finish, Liang Sheng spotted someone entering the shop: Su Ze. She straightened up, ducked her head, and hissed, “Su Ze’s here. Keep your distance, Liang Jin. Don’t let him spot me.” Otherwise, she’d die of embarrassment—maybe even get labeled a stalker or peeping tom.
“Oh, right—want some cool jelly cake?” Liang Sheng tossed out the question to ease Liang Jin’s nerves. Silence was her only reply.
Su Ze walked past her and stopped by Liang Jin. “Are you Liang Sheng’s cousin?” Liang Jin shot to her feet, stiff as a board. Whether from nerves or excitement, words failed her. It took ages before she stammered out, “Y-Yes… yes, yes, I am…”
Liang Sheng facepalmed. What a hopeless case.
Su Ze’s voice was gentle. “May I… have your name?”
“L-Liang… Liang Cake—argh, Liang Jin!” Liang Jin’s face burned crimson from her slip-up. All Liang Sheng’s fault for mentioning the jelly cake!
“Pfft—cough cough cough!” Liang Sheng nearly spat out her millet porridge, choking until tears streamed from her eyes. But inwardly, she couldn’t help mocking: How is someone even dumber than me? (Gotta know your limits.)
“Heh heh heh.” Su Ze chuckled too, gazing at Liang Jin with gentle eyes.
Liang Jin suddenly stood, her face flushed beet red as she thrust a pre-prepared box of chocolates at Su Ze. Liang Sheng sneaked a peek, clenching her little fist. Here it comes—the girl’s confession! Better say yes if you don’t want an axe to the neck, you big scumbag!
“I… I’m really grateful for your help last time. This is a thank-you gift…” And then she trailed off.
Keep going! Say something! Liang Sheng craned her neck anxiously for a better look. Su Ze had already accepted the gift, and Liang Jin had gone quiet. Sigh. No rush like an emperor’s eunuch. Liang Sheng was breaking her heart for her sisters’ love lives!
The atmosphere at the table grew painfully awkward. Liang Jin twisted her fingers under the table, biting her lip, at a loss for words. Liang Sheng watched helplessly from behind, burning with frustration but powerless.
Su Ze quietly ate his meal.
After a bit, Liang Jin jabbed Liang Sheng hard in the side. Ow—that woke her up!
Liang Sheng leaned back and whispered, “What?”
“Check your phone.”
“Oh.” Liang Sheng patted down her clothes. Pockets? Empty. The fancy bag? Nope. Pants pockets? Oh, wait—no pants pockets. Skirt. She searched everywhere and came up empty.
Liang Sheng leaned back again. “Sorry, forgot my phone!”
Liang Jin finally realized just how unreliable her cousin was.
The awkward meal wrapped up. The one bit of progress? Liang Jin got Su Ze’s Koukou ID.
When it came time to pay, Su Ze beat her to it. His gentle voice echoed in Liang Sheng’s ears: “I can’t let a girl pay. That’d be rude.” Ah! Liang Jin felt like her ears and brain were short-circuiting.
Ding~ Favorability increased.
“Liang Jin’s Favorability toward Su Ze: 92”
Seriously, why was her favorability toward her own sister lower than for some random guy? Liang Sheng grumbled inwardly.
On the walk home, Liang Jin fell silent for a long stretch, lost in memories of Su Ze’s kindness and the sweet vibe.
“Sis, from now on, you have to call Su Ze ‘brother-in-law,'” Liang Jin said dreamily. Liang Sheng snapped, “Shameless! You haven’t even confessed, and after just two meetings, you’re already fantasizing?”
Liang Jin eyed her suspiciously up and down. “You’re not crushing on Brother Su Ze too, are you?” Liang Sheng made a puking gesture and wagged her finger side to side.
“Nope nope nope. No way. I’d sooner get with a bunch of girls than like Su Ze.” Total flag right there—just begging to be jinxed.
“Tch, Sis, you’ve got no taste. Even if I didn’t like Su Ze, I’d never go for girls.” Oh ho, another flag. Misery loves company, huh?
Liang Sheng shook her head, her tone a touch helpless. “You wouldn’t get it. Love between girls is still love. Even if most people don’t accept it.”
Liang Jin didn’t respond, just kept walking slowly ahead.
Back home, Liang Sheng climbed back up the ladder through the window. A glance at the time showed only nine-thirty. Her mother, Zhong Wen, figured she’d worn herself out at school and was sleeping in—no need to wake her.
And just like that, the day slipped by in a daze.
The next afternoon, Liang Sheng was bored out of her mind at home and decided to head out.
True to form as the protagonist of a yuri story, she turned a corner and ran into An Hua walking her dog.
An Hua’s look was the same as always—no school uniform, but otherwise unchanged from her usual school style. Those pale, slender legs were still clad in black stockings, and Liang Sheng, a total stocking fanatic, couldn’t tear her eyes away.
Liang Sheng flashed what she thought was a sweet smile and greeted her. “Afternoon, Senior Sister An Hua.” An Hua nodded curtly. “Afternoon.” Pure iceberg vibes.
Liang Sheng felt awkward—and a little annoyed. Senior Sister An Hua lit up around Su Ze, chattering more than Liang Jin, but with her? Total ice queen.
“Hmph.” Liang Sheng brushed past An Hua without a backward glance, displeasure plain.
What Liang Sheng didn’t see: An Hua’s face suddenly flushed.
Ding~ Favorability increased.
“An Hua’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 10”
What? No way I saw that right. Liang Sheng’s jaw dropped in shock. She rubbed her eyes. Nope, real.
Liang Sheng halted, stroking her chin as she sized An Hua up and down. Tsk tsk tsk, you can’t judge a book by its cover! So Senior Sister An Hua put on this prim-and-proper act… pfft, wrong phrase, but you get me. All that holier-than-thou facade was fake—she was a full-on masochist underneath.
Liang Sheng decided to tease her a bit. Bold as brass, she smacked An Hua’s butt hard, making the poor masochist senior sister shudder. Then, mimicking Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s arrogant tone, she drawled, “Yo~ Senior Sister An Hua, you’re blushing.”
An Hua whipped around, turning her back to hide her flushed cheeks from Liang Sheng.
Ding~ Favorability rose sharply.
“An Hua’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 24”
Ha! Definitely a masochist! All that iceberg black-long-straight-goddess nonsense was pure fiction!
Before Liang Sheng could bask in it, An Hua turned back, eyes red-rimmed, and glared at her with a pouty scold. “Hate you!” Then she covered her face and bolted.
Liang Sheng stood there dumbfounded. She looked down, then up at An Hua’s fleeing back, mouth agape. She started to speak but held back, then blurted, “…Senior Sister, you forgot your dog…”
An Hua fled stumbling to a flower bed, leaning against a big tree. Seeing no one around, she slid down to the ground, hugging her knees and burying her face in them. Her long black hair hung in disarray as she panted heavily.
After a long moment, An Hua looked up and slowly removed her black-framed glasses. Her eyes burned with intense desire, cheeks still rosy. She murmured to herself, “Not enough… not nearly enough… I want more…”
What to do… She still craved Junior Sister Liang Sheng humiliating her hard. What to do?
An Hua felt like she was on the verge of breaking. Part of her reveled in the mental and emotional thrill, but another part dreaded Liang Sheng spreading her secret.
