“Is there… anyone else home besides you?” Gu Yuqi asked, one foot already stepping through the door.
Liang Sheng giggled foolishly. “Nope, it’s just me home alone. Senior Sister Gu and I can do—uh, ha—whatever you want!”
Gu Yuqi nodded. Perfect. She had some things to say that only Liang Sheng could hear.
“Let’s go to your room,” Gu Yuqi said, striding toward Liang Sheng’s bedroom without a second thought, treating the place like her own home. “I have some things I want to talk to you about.”
Some things? To talk to her about? Liang Sheng tilted her head, her heart suddenly thumping wildly. Whoa~ Could it be a confession?
No way, no way, no way. Liang Sheng shook her head furiously. Senior Sister Gu was so dense. Even if she did like Liang Sheng, she wouldn’t confess so easily. Besides, she might not even like her that way.
Once they were in Liang Sheng’s room, Gu Yuqi plopped down on the bed and fixed her gaze on Liang Sheng, who stood in the doorway looking like a startled little rabbit. “Come sit.”
Huh? Liang Sheng blinked in confusion. This was her room, so why did she feel like the guest while Gu Yuqi acted like the owner?
A bit nervous, Liang Sheng walked over hesitantly. Gu Yuqi’s expression was so serious. Liang Sheng sat primly beside her, not quite daring to meet her eyes.
Why wasn’t Senior Sister Yuqi saying anything? Liang Sheng sneaked a glance at Gu Yuqi, only to get caught red-handed. Gu Yuqi had been staring right at her face the whole time.
“Hoo~” Gu Yuqi finally spoke. “Junior Sister Liang Sheng, I want to ask you something. You won’t mind, will you?”
“Of course not!” Liang Sheng waved her hands frantically, though she had no idea what the question was. “Why are you being so polite with me, Senior Sister? We’re close—ask away!”
“Then… I’m asking?” Gu Yuqi double-checked. “It’s about some private matters of yours.”
“No problem!” Liang Sheng replied quickly. “If it’s Senior Sister Yuqi asking, I won’t hide a thing!”
Gu Yuqi nodded and slowly began. “Junior Sister Liang Sheng… you and our school’s doctor, Mo Qingrou… what’s your… um… er… relationship?”
“Ah?” Liang Sheng started to sweat. “W-what relationship?”
Oh no. She felt a pang of guilt, like she’d been caught cheating by her wife. Cold sweat beaded on Liang Sheng’s back.
“Well…” Gu Yuqi rubbed the back of her neck, looking a little embarrassed. She fumbled for words for a long time, still stumbling over them, unsure how to phrase it.
She couldn’t let Junior Sister Liang Sheng misunderstand. Couldn’t let her think she was jealous or something. Gu Yuqi felt a surge of anxiety right then, though she was jealous. But she couldn’t admit it—saying it out loud would make things weird between friends.
Argh, her head was such a mess. Gu Yuqi rapped her own forehead.
Just say it! Brave senior sister, no fear!
“Junior Sister Liang Sheng, that day I overheard your conversation with Mo Qingrou by accident,” Gu Yuqi confessed, mustering her courage. “It sounded like you two were dating. Is that true?”
“Eh? Eh?” Liang Sheng panicked.
She wasn’t dating Mo Qingrou, but Mo Qingrou had confessed to her, and she hadn’t refused—instead, she’d played along with the flirtation with that iceberg school doctor. How could she tell her beloved Senior Sister Yuqi about such scummy behavior?
“Y-you must’ve misheard, Senior Sister.” Liang Sheng tried to speak smoothly, without stuttering, keeping her expression relaxed.
Seeing Gu Yuqi about to speak again, Liang Sheng cut her off in a hurry. “S-Senior Sister! Hear me out first!”
“Mm?” Gu Yuqi paused, looking ready to listen.
Heh, our little Liang Sheng cub was about to start spinning lies again~
“Well…” At this point, there was no choice. Sorry, my dear Sister Mo Qingrou! Liang Sheng teared up inwardly, ready to dump all the blame on Mo Qingrou.
“You’re not entirely wrong about what you heard,” Liang Sheng said, deciding on a half-truth to avoid big holes in her story. “Sister Mo Qingrou did say she likes me—not as a friend or a little sister, but… you know, like a lover would.”
It wasn’t a lie; Mo Qingrou did harbor some unusual affection for her.
Gu Yuqi’s heart sank with a thud at those words.
“Then…” She started to ask more.
“Wait!” Liang Sheng stopped her again. “Let me finish first, Senior Sister, then you can ask.”
Liang Sheng’s little brain whirred at full speed.
“But as you can see, my feelings for Sister Mo Qingrou are just like a little sister’s for her big sister—like with a friend, not romantic.” Liang Sheng looked earnestly into Gu Yuqi’s eyes. Those pure, innocent eyes made it impossible to tell she was lying.
“Oh?!” In an instant, Gu Yuqi felt her body and mind lighten up. Ah~ It was like soaring~
“So what you overheard that day was probably Sister Mo Qingrou insisting we try being a pretend couple for a day. But that’s over now—I told her I don’t have those feelings for her!” Liang Sheng batted her big, watery eyes, snuggling into Gu Yuqi’s arms. She grabbed her senior sister’s hand and rubbed it back and forth, hoping to win her trust.
Gu Yuqi completely bought her “innocent” little junior sister’s tall tale.
“Oh, so that’s what happened.” Gu Yuqi let out a relieved breath. “Phew, I was worried for nothing.”
“Ding~” Favorability greatly increased.
“Gu Yuqi’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 110”
“Ah?” Liang Sheng froze. Whoa~ Did Senior Sister get jealous? A mischievous grin spread across Liang Sheng’s face as she plotted her next mischief.
“Hey~” Liang Sheng draped herself over Gu Yuqi, resting her head on the senior sister’s shoulder and teasing in a soft voice. “Senior Sister Yuqi, were you jealous thinking I was dating someone?”
Cough! The words hit Senior Sister Gu right in the heart. She awkwardly looked away, fixing her gaze on a book on the shelf. “Don’t talk nonsense. What’s there to be jealous about?”
Aw, did Senior Sister Gu Yuqi have a bit of a tsundere vibe going on?
“You totally were jealous!” Liang Sheng pressed on relentlessly, reaching up to loop her arms around Gu Yuqi’s neck.
“Hey, you!” Gu Yuqi felt an itchy tickle on her neck, her face flushing.
This little lass was so handsy!
Gu Yuqi grabbed Liang Sheng’s wrist and yanked it back.
“Mmph!”
In an instant, the distance between their faces shrank to nothing.
“Ahem~” Gu Yuqi shifted gears, a playful smirk on her face. “That’s right, I was jealous~ So how’s Little Junior Sister Liang Sheng going to make it up to me?”
