Chapter 30

“Auntie, I can really manage on my own. Do you remember Jiang Chan? She goes to the same school as me, and we’re heading there together.”

Yu Xichi still wasn’t entirely reassured. “But everyone seems to go with their parents on the first day. You’re just two kids. Why don’t I come along with you?”

In the eyes of adults, children were forever destined to stay small.

Bai Shuangshuang had no choice but to shoot a covert glance at Bai Bingyang beside her, pleading for rescue.

Bai Bingyang picked up on it and cleared his throat twice. “Honey, Shuangshuang isn’t a baby anymore. She’s a college student now. Surely she can handle something like orientation on her own? You—”

“Say one more word, and you’ll be sleeping in the study tonight.”

He clammed up at once, flashing her a helpless look that screamed he was powerless to help.

“It’s settled, then. Shuangshuang, Auntie isn’t trying to nag. It’s just your first time venturing this far from home, so of course I’m worried. I’ll be on my best behavior—you and your little friend Jiang Chan can just look after yourselves along the way. Auntie promises not to butt in. So, let me see you off, alright?”

The genuine concern shining in the woman’s eyes left Bai Shuangshuang speechless, unable to turn her down.

“No need. I’ll take her.”

The three of them whipped around in unison to find Bai Tongsheng standing in the doorway, her expression cool as she smoothly took up the thread for Bai Shuangshuang.

Yu Xichi frowned in disapproval. “You’re barely more than a kid yourself. Take her? Shuangshuang taking you would make more sense.”

Bai Tongsheng’s dark eyes flicked toward her with faint indifference, an intangible pressure forcing Yu Xichi to bite her tongue. “Between you and me, who do you think is the one nobody can rely on?”

Yu Xichi: “…” In that instant, her maternal dignity was utterly crushed by this ungrateful little wolf without mercy.

As much as she hated to admit it, Bai Tongsheng had a point. There were times when Yu Xichi herself was the less dependable one.

—Bai Tongsheng already carried a poise and unflappability far beyond her years.

Yet as the adult in the room, Yu Xichi sometimes let her emotions cloud her thinking.

In the end, Yu Xichi muttered reluctantly, “Fine, you take her, then. Shuangshuang, call Auntie as soon as you get to school.”

“Okay.”

The moment they were back in their room, Bai Shuangshuang beamed at her in gratitude. “A-Sheng, thanks for saving me back there. So tomorrow, you can head out with me and go straight to your school.”

Bai Tongsheng had already started classes; it was Friday, so she’d come home for the weekend.

“Who said I was saving you?”

“Huh? Not saving me? You actually want to take me?”

She gave her a glance. “What else?”

Bai Shuangshuang shook her head vigorously. “No need, really. Jiang Chan and I have it covered. And tickets are probably sold out by now anyway—you couldn’t get us there.”

If it had been Yu Xichi, she’d have driven them without a second thought. Bai Tongsheng didn’t have a license, though, so they’d be taking the bullet train like everyone else.

Snagging bullet train tickets during holiday season was brutal, especially at the start of term. Buying them just a day ahead? Forget it.

“So I’ve already got them.”

Bai Shuangshuang: ???

Her eyes went wide. “You planned this all along?”

“Mm. It’s late. Time for bed.”

Bai Shuangshuang let herself be drawn into her embrace, shifting with practiced ease to her favorite spot. Before shutting her eyes, she murmured softly, “A-Sheng, I’ll miss you.”

Bai Tongsheng hummed in response. “I won’t miss you.”

Sensing the subtle stiffening in her arms, she pulled her closer and murmured, “Missing you takes too much out of me. I wouldn’t be able to do a thing. So I won’t.”

Bai Shuangshuang had grown used to these offhand remarks from Bai Tongsheng that never failed to tint her cheeks pink. She couldn’t stop her lips from curving up. “Then I’ll miss you double—for both of us.”

A hand ruffled her hair, accompanied by a sigh of helpless fondness. “Bai Shuangshuang, talk like that, and I’ll start thinking you like me too.”

Realizing she’d made the girl squirm, she let the subject drop, withdrawing her hand and saying gently, “Sleep.”

—Like it or not, you’re mine anyway.

Bai Shuangshuang reached out and quietly fisted a fold of her shirt, thinking to herself.

—A-Sheng, it’s no misunderstanding.

…

Bai Shuangshuang felt drowsy. She leaned back with a soft yawn and slowly closed her eyes.

Before long, her mind drifted away, and she slipped fully into sleep.

Deprived of support, her body gradually slumped, tilting slowly to the left.

Just as her hand was about to touch the other’s shoulder, another hand reached out from the side. It turned her head and pressed it gently against its own shoulder.

“There’s something I want to ask of you.”

Jiang Chan, who had one earbud in and was deep in a game, froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected Bai Tongsheng to speak to her. Ever since the three of them had met, Bai Tongsheng’s gaze had been fixed solely on Bai Shuangshuang. The few times she had spoken were only in response to Shuangshuang’s words.

She did find it odd that the same family could raise two sisters with such completely different personalities, but it didn’t really matter. After all, this was Shuangshuang’s big sister—love me, love my dog, right?

So she nodded, asking in bewilderment, “What is it?”

Bai Tongsheng lowered her eyes to gaze at the person sleeping peacefully in her arms. Tenderness filled her gaze, mingled with a deeper meaning that Jiang Chan couldn’t quite fathom.

“Don’t let her date anyone. Please.”

Jiang Chan: ???

“Uh, I—I can’t really control that. And Shuangshuang dating now probably doesn’t count as puppy love, does it? Does your family keep such a tight leash?”

“Our family isn’t strict. I am.”

Jiang Chan had the distinct feeling she was brushing up against some forbidden territory. Sure enough, the next moment, Bai Tongsheng laid it all out with utter calm.

“Shuangshuang and I aren’t blood-related. And I like her.”

Jiang Chan: ???!!!

“So, I’m counting on you.”

Jiang Chan: What the actual fuck are you asking me for?! I’m just a pure, innocent college freshman who doesn’t know shit from shineola! Why are you so casually coming out to me and announcing you want to pursue your own sister? Holy hell!

~~~

Jiang Chan found Bai Tongsheng downright terrifying.

—This was specifically in reference to her mastery of mind control.

She hadn’t said a word beyond that meaningless plea of “Don’t let Shuangshuang date anyone.”

Yet when that obsequious senior came slinking up to ask for Shuangshuang’s phone number or WeChat, Jiang Chan had already scowled fiercely and shooed him away without a second thought.

Shuangshuang looked at her in confusion. “Jiang Chan, why were you so harsh to the senior? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

Inwardly, she wanted to cry rivers of tears. Hell if I know! The second some random guy tried hitting on you, my brain spat out “Shuangshuang belongs to Tongsheng” like it was on autopilot! I’m even more pissed off than you are! Why the fuck won’t my body listen to me?!

—This proved beyond doubt that Bai Tongsheng was a total pervert.

Jiang Chan silently mourned for Shuangshuang in her heart. Stared down by a freak like that, you’re on your own, girl. Sister’s tapped out.

If Jiang Chan had known that Shuangshuang actually rather enjoyed Tongsheng’s possessiveness, she probably would have thrown her head back and let out a long, despairing howl.

What the hell? Tongsheng’s the pervert? The whole damn Bai Family’s full of perverts! What’s the world coming to? Are they cranking these psychos out on an assembly line now?

~~~

Shuangshuang’s roommates were all locals, and they often slipped into dialect without realizing it.

This created an intangible, indescribable barrier between Shuangshuang and the others.

Still, they all got along well enough on the surface. A ways into the semester, plenty of other dorms had devolved into open catfights, but theirs remained the most harmonious.

Jiang Chan wasn’t in her major, but their dorm buildings were close by. When their schedules lined up, they’d head to the cafeteria together for meals. If not, Shuangshuang ate alone.

She was thoroughly enjoying this rhythm of life right now. Everyone fears loneliness at first, but once you adapt to it—once you learn to embrace it—it’s nothing short of growth.

~~~

Shuangshuang had started to notice something off about Jiang Chan these past few days.

It wasn’t her personality that seemed strange, but her looks.

She’d always been slim without being skeletal, with a bit of healthy roundness to her cheeks and a ruddy complexion that screamed good nutrition.

But lately—

Shuangshuang picked up another piece of meat and dropped it into her bowl. “Are you having trouble adjusting to the local water and food? You’ve gotten thinner recently, and your face looks a little pale. You’re not trying to lose weight like those other girls, are you?”

Once a girl got fixated on her figure, there was no low she wouldn’t stoop to.

Diet pills were amateur hour.

Corseting, crash dieting, liposuction… all manner of nightmarish extremes, just for the sake of “slim.”

It might make sense if someone were truly overweight, but aesthetics had gone pathological for some. Even with perfectly proportioned bodies, they’d convince themselves they weren’t thin enough and torment themselves in pursuit of “thinner.”

The moment Bai Shuangshuang thought of that, her expression turned serious. “You’re already skinny enough as it is. Get any thinner, and you’ll look like a stick figure. You’re not that foolish, are you?”

Jiang Chan looked at her with amusement. “How could I possibly do something like that? I don’t even wear makeup. Do I strike you as the type who’d risk her life for a figure?”

That was a fair point. Bai Shuangshuang nodded in agreement. “Then why do you look so worn out? Is school too stressful, or is the part-time work too grueling?”

Jiang Chan picked up part-time jobs every weekend, tackling all sorts of gigs. Compared to her, Bai Shuangshuang couldn’t help feeling incredibly fortunate.

She had offered to join her once, but Jiang Chan had shot it down immediately.

“I only took these jobs out of necessity. If I had the choice, I’d much rather focus on my studies like everyone else, nice and steady. Don’t get involved—you don’t need to do this. Put all your energy into school instead. That’s what you should be doing. The more you learn now, the more opportunities you’ll have later. As for real-world experience, trust me, you’ll get plenty of it eventually. If you waste time on stuff you don’t need right now, then you’d truly be the silly one.”

Bai Shuangshuang had always sensed a certain glow about Jiang Chan, something she herself lacked—a worldly wisdom and open-mindedness that someone sheltered in an ivory tower her whole life could probably never achieve.

“Everyone has their own path that suits them. There’s no need to follow someone else’s. I’m perfectly happy with my life right now, so don’t worry about me. I’ll manage my own road just fine. After all, I’m not walking it alone, right?”

Jiang Chan’s words successfully convinced Bai Shuangshuang. That very evening, she got a call from Bai Tongsheng.

She brought up the conversation she’d had with Jiang Chan earlier that day.

The message couldn’t have been clearer: focus on her studies and stop fretting over everything else.

Other than the money Yu Xichi had stubbornly pressed on her, Bai Shuangshuang had been living off what Bai Binghan had left behind. It wasn’t enough to live lavishly forever, but it would comfortably carry her through university.

She laughed lightly. “But what if I run out of money?”

Bai Tongsheng hummed in response. “Then I’ll take care of you from now on.”