Liang Jin and Gu Yuqi both started by poking their heads into the room.
“Hey, who’s this?” Liang Jin strode right in, casually kicking off her shoes onto the shoe rack before heading straight to the kitchen to brew herself a cup of coffee. Her movements were so fluid and familiar that she gave off the vibe of the lady of the house.
Gu Yuqi and Ni Sihan were both utterly baffled. Neither of them had ever seen Liang Jin before.
Ni Sihan spotted a sudden pop-up with Liang Jin’s info and realized she was one of the harem members too. Still, she couldn’t just blurt it out—she had to wait for Liang Sheng to make the introduction.
“This is my little sis, Liang Jin,” Liang Sheng said cheerfully, plopping back down onto the floor. “Liang Jin, what brings you here? We’re in the middle of doing homework.”
Liang Jin brewed two cups of coffee, setting one down beside Liang Sheng and handing the other to her before settling in next to her sister.
“Well, I’m heading to your school tomorrow, Big Sis, so I figured I’d swing by to see you~ Liang Sheng Sis, let’s go to school together tomorrow~”
Liang Sheng scratched her head. After all, this was her own sister—family. How could she say no?
“Sure thing. Wait for me at my place tomorrow morning,” Liang Sheng said, giving her little sister’s head a playful pat.
“Ooh, so this is your sister, Liang Sheng~?” Ni Sihan tilted her head with a smile toward Liang Jin. “I’m Ni Sihan, your big sis Liang Sheng’s neighbor and classmate. If she’s ever not around and you need anything, you can always come to me.”
Liang Jin bristled at those words. What do you mean ‘come to you if you need help’? Who the hell are you? Since when does an outsider get to butt into me and my sister’s business?
“Whoosh~” Favorability declined.
“Liang Jin’s Favorability toward Ni Sihan: -5”
“Whoosh~” Adoration Value declined.
“Liang Jin’s Adoration Value toward Ni Sihan: Unable to view”
Ni Sihan: “……” Ugh, whatever. I’m used to it by now. Take it slow—who doesn’t start from zero? Well, I guess I’m starting from the negatives.
“Heehee~ You two sisters have such a great relationship~” Ni Sihan clasped her hands together beside her face. “I’m so jealous~ I never had any siblings, so I miss out on all that sisterly love.”
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Liang Jin’s Favorability toward Ni Sihan: 0”
“Ding~” Adoration Value increased.
“Liang Jin’s Adoration Value toward Ni Sihan: 0”
Ni Sihan let out a quiet sigh of relief. Finally, she was out of the negatives.
Just then, a heavy silence fell over the room, plunging the atmosphere back into awkwardness.
“Let’s just get back to our homework, haha~” Liang Sheng said awkwardly. She bent her head to rummage through the bag she’d grabbed from upstairs on a whim. When she opened it, she realized it wasn’t even her schoolbag.
What era were these relics from? She pulled out a notebook and flipped through it. It looked fairly new, probably from not too long ago, but she had no memory of it. Must’ve been the original Liang Sheng’s.
What could it be? Some poignant musings or calligraphy practice from a literary girl?
“What’s that, Liang Sheng Sis?” Liang Jin leaned in close. Hearing this, Gu Yuqi scooted over too. Ni Sihan hadn’t been interested at first, but when she saw the other two girls crowding around, she hurriedly stood and moved behind Liang Sheng.
Shrugging indifferently, Liang Sheng opened the notebook. The moment she saw the first page, a bad feeling hit her.
Bold characters sprawled across the top:
“Female Hero Side Story”
What the hell? Did the original Liang Sheng fancy writing melodramatic novels? This is so embarrassing! Sweat beaded on Liang Sheng’s forehead.
Steeling herself, she flipped to the next page.
The first line read “Character Profile.”
The second: “Name: Shangguan Xiaodie”
The third…
Before Liang Sheng could read further, her hand snapped the notebook shut and flung it onto the sofa.
Ahhhh!! Liang Sheng yanked at her hair. That name is so cheesy it explodes! It’s embarrassing just looking at it! Why the heck would that literary girl write something this weird?
“Hahaha!” Liang Jin burst into laughter. Gu Yuqi clutched her stomach, collapsing onto the floor and laughing so hard she couldn’t straighten up. Only Ni Sihan blinked her big eyes, barely holding back her giggles.
Like a tiger pouncing on its prey, Liang Jin lunged for the notebook on the sofa and snatched it open to keep reading.
Seeing this, Liang Sheng threw herself onto Liang Jin, wrestling for the book. “My dear granny! Don’t look! Don’t look! My secondhand embarrassment is killing me!”
Liang Jin wouldn’t let go. “I wanna see! Liang Sheng Sis! Let me look~ It’s so fun~”
Fun my ass! Fun your whole family! No, wait—Liang Sheng caught herself. She is family.
Liang Jin flipped it open again, choking back laughter as she read aloud: “Gender: Female! Weapon: Treasured Sword! Age: 18! Husband: Haven’t decided—any old name will do! Identity: Red Lotus Sect Leader! Other identities… Mmph mmmph!!”
Liang Sheng clamped her hand over Liang Jin’s mouth.
Gu Yuqi was laughing so hard tears streamed from her eyes.
Only then did Liang Jin realize her big sis was straddling her. Her face flushed crimson, and she stopped struggling.
“Ding~” Favorability surged upward.
“Liang Jin’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 117”
“Okay, hand it back to Junior Sister Liang Sheng now.” Gu Yuqi wiped the tears from her eyes, paying no mind to Liang Sheng’s current position. She figured it was normal for sisters. Of course, if she knew about Liang Jin’s little secret feelings, she probably wouldn’t think it was so innocent. She might even explode on the spot and yank Liang Sheng right off.
Liang Jin let go. Liang Sheng shot a glare down at her little sister, still pinned beneath her.
“Bleeeh~~” Liang Jin stuck her tongue out at her big sis.
“Wanna get punched?!” Liang Sheng brandished her harmless little fist in threat.
Liang Jin grabbed Liang Sheng’s small fist and leaned in close with a cheeky grin. “Go on~ Hit me~”
“You…!” Liang Sheng’s face turned beet red with anger.
Gu Yuqi watched the scene, and suddenly she couldn’t laugh anymore. Even for sisters, this was too intimate!
“Alright, that’s enough. Get off her.” Gu Yuqi grabbed Liang Sheng by the scruff of her neck and hauled her off Liang Jin.
“Urk—blech—cough cough cough!” Liang Sheng hacked and coughed, a choking sensation overwhelming her. Was this some kind of new asphyxiation play?
Gu Yuqi released her grip. Liang Sheng slumped to the floor, rubbing her neck. “Ow, Senior Sister Yuqi, you’re too rough! Go easy next time, yeah?”
Gu Yuqi arched a brow and leaned in close to Liang Sheng’s ear. “Oh wow~ Didn’t peg you for the rough type, Junior Sister Liang Sheng~ Already angling for a next time~?”
Liang Sheng: “???” I didn’t! That’s not me! Don’t spread lies!
“If you want…” Before Gu Yuqi could finish, Liang Jin yanked Liang Sheng into her arms.
“What’re you saying to my sis? Why’re you getting so close?” Liang Jin glared at Gu Yuqi.
Only then did Gu Yuqi sense something off. Her junior sister’s little sister seemed… strange. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but it just felt wrong.
