When they got home, Luo Qingmeng noticed the door handle; the item on it was gone. Qiu Shuxue had pulled her sleeve up slightly, revealing the gold bracelet Luo Qingmeng had given her on her slender wrist.
Qiu Shuxue opened the door and went inside. Luo Qingmeng placed her hand behind her back and said softly to her, “I’m wearing that iron chain you gave me too.”
Qiu Shuxue turned her head to look at her and said, “It’s not iron.”
“Huh?” Luo Qingmeng was looking at her own wrist. She had originally wanted to say “silver,” but then felt that Qiu Shuxue wouldn’t give her something so cheap.
Before she could finish her words, Qiu Shuxue closed the door. She pulled Luo Qingmeng to the sofa and had her sit on her lap. She kissed her lips over and over, as if she had been holding it in for a long time, gazing intently at her. “Why didn’t you give me a ring?”
Luo Qingmeng parted her lips. “I was too shy… It felt too fast at the start.”
Qiu Shuxue knew why she had given her the bracelet. It wasn’t because she had given her a “silver” one and she was returning a “gold” one. Rather, on her birthday, she had wanted to buy a ring, and Luo Qingmeng had noticed. She knew that no matter how willful she was, she could always get her big sister’s indulgence. She also knew that Luo Qingmeng would remember all her unreasonable demands and help make them come true. She placed her finger on Luo Qingmeng’s chest and said, “Let me hear your heart race again.”
Luo Qingmeng’s heart obediently pounded furiously in Qiu Shuxue’s palm, strong and vigorous.
Qiu Shuxue continued to act spoiled. “I want a ring.”
Luo Qingmeng pursed her lips. She felt embarrassed from being touched like that and suddenly remembered something. “That house I live in… it’s yours?”
Qiu Shuxue nodded.
“Then my landlord…”
“It’s me. I have WeChat on dual accounts.” Qiu Shuxue opened her phone to show her.
Luo Qingmeng frowned and asked, “But the girl who brought me there that day…”
“I hired an agent.”
Luo Qingmeng pursed her lips tightly, feeling a bit angry that she’d been deceived. Qiu Shuxue spoke quickly. “Sorry. At the time, I only liked this place where I live. My dad came to pay for it, and when my mom found out, she wouldn’t be outdone and immediately bought the one next door for me. That’s how they are—one cheats, and the other one-ups them by sleeping around even more.”
Luo Qingmeng didn’t pursue it further. Her eyes filled with heartache as she asked, “Why don’t they just divorce?”
“They both refuse to on principle. Even if it kills them, they’ll cling to their partner’s spot and make sure the other one suffers.”
Qiu Shuxue wrapped her arms around her waist and said softly, “Back in middle school, at the dinner table, my dad brought two mistresses to eat with us. My mom wouldn’t back down and brought one man and one woman—just to show off more than him.”
Luo Qingmeng didn’t ask her “What about you?” Instead, she brushed her lips lightly against Qiu Shuxue’s. “You’ve got me to cook for you.”
Qiu Shuxue closed her eyes and nodded gently.
Qiu Shuxue said, “Move in here with me from now on.”
Luo Qingmeng was silent for a few seconds. “I wanted to move before because it was too far. You’d definitely drive me to work, and it’d be a hassle back and forth, so…”
“None of that’s an issue. Do you have a driver’s license? Once you become a manager, you’ll need a car. You can’t take the subway every day…” Qiu Shuxue placed her hand on her shoulder. Though she didn’t really want to get up, she still took her hand to input her fingerprint. She fiddled with the door for a bit and said, “Later on, we can meet in the middle and buy a place…”
Luo Qingmeng was surprised and shook her head. “A house is too…”
Qiu Shuxue cut her off. “What if one day my parents divorce and I don’t get a dime? I should take their money while I can and buy houses and cars for the person I like… Why should I let others benefit?”
“Big sis is always saying she’s ordinary, but the one who should be scared is me. I’m a hedonist. If one day I have nothing left…”
“That won’t happen…” Luo Qingmeng said. “You’ve got me.”
She stroked her head. “How could you ever have nothing?”
Qiu Shuxue was silent for a moment. She placed Luo Qingmeng’s hand on her own chest, then pinched her fingers—they were even softer now. She squeezed and pinched them. She kissed Luo Qingmeng’s cheek.
“Big sis feels so nice to kiss.”
Luo Qingmeng wanted to say something but grew shy again. A flicker passed through her eyes. Qiu Shuxue caught sight of it, and her heart stirred. She deliberately called her name. “Luo Qingmeng.”
Sure enough, Luo Qingmeng’s cheeks instantly flushed red.
She gently shook her arm to push Qiu Shuxue away. She always wanted to scold her but didn’t know what to say. Qiu Shuxue smiled, cupped her face, and kissed her lips, teasing her tongue and nipping at her.
She kissed Luo Qingmeng until she was breathless. When they parted slightly, she licked her lips. Luo Qingmeng took the initiative to hook her arms around her neck and said, “One more kiss…”
Her voice was very soft and small. It wasn’t the kind of fawning kiss from before; this time, she just wanted to kiss because she wanted to. Qiu Shuxue pressed her against the door and kissed her every which way—her lips, her neck…
Luo Qingmeng let her do as she pleased. When they grew tired from kissing, she said softly, “The clothes I brought back haven’t been washed…”
“I’ll wash them later.”
The two tangled together, kissing from the doorway all the way to the bedroom. On the bed, they shifted into more comfortable positions, caressed each other soothingly, and fell asleep.
Luo Qingmeng was utterly exhausted. She sprawled out and slept straight through until the afternoon. When Qiu Shuxue woke up, she still wasn’t awake, so Qiu Shuxue scooted over to snuggle against her. She draped her hand over her shoulder and kissed her as they slept close together.
She really liked Luo Qingmeng too much—like, one day if someone came to steal her away, she felt the impulse to kill.
Luo Qingmeng slept until four in the afternoon and was woken by her kisses. Her eyes were red from sleep. She lifted her head to look at Qiu Shuxue and asked groggily, “Are you hungry?”
She was still in a daze, and that one sentence melted Qiu Shuxue’s heart. Luo Qingmeng rubbed her cheek against hers, hummed softly, and then sprawled out again for a good while.
Luo Qingmeng didn’t end up moving. She kept her things at the other place. During this time, she made a decision: she planned to put in her resignation and then properly handle things at Star Continent Plaza.
When she went back to work, she talked to the store manager about it.
The store manager was quite reluctant to see her go.
Luo Qingmeng had worked there for three years, and the store manager truly hadn’t had to worry about a thing. If it weren’t for the current library manager being a veteran employee with more seniority than her, she would have kept Luo Qingmeng no matter what.
Luo Qingmeng handled most things in the store. She did all the managers’ work while being just a cashier, and she kept everything in perfect order.
The store manager kept sighing. “You really have to go?”
“Work out this month at least.”
Luo Qingmeng pursed her lips gently but still refused. “They need training over there too. If it were before, I would have, but now…”
“To be with that Qiu Shuxue?” the store manager asked.
Luo Qingmeng nodded. The store manager frowned. She had always felt these two would end up together. Luo Qingmeng had soft ears, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
“Your willpower is way too weak,” the store manager said softly.
Luo Qingmeng’s eyes curved in a smile. She lowered her head, laughing, and said, “I went back home… and she came looking for me.”
The store manager thought Luo Qingmeng seemed even sillier upon hearing that. “Why did she go looking for you? Will your parents agree? What if they fight? This… it’s not very mature. It’s just like something middle or high school kids would do.”
“…I wasn’t happy at home. I told you that before. My relationship with my parents isn’t good. They didn’t care much when I came and went.” Luo Qingmeng said, “I don’t know if it’s mature or not, but high school love… it’s so pure. When you love, you just love—with all your youthful courage. I really like that childish side of her.” She spoke earnestly. “I need that childishness. Being with her makes me feel so deeply loved. It fills the regret from all those years when no one loved me.”
The store manager wanted to say more, but the words caught in her throat when she saw Luo Qingmeng smiling sweeter than before. She was just wearing rose-tinted glasses. Looking at Luo Qingmeng, she said, “Fine then. Her family’s well-off from the looks of it. You won’t go hungry with her, at least. I’m just worried you’ll get tricked.”
Luo Qingmeng smiled and said, “You care about me more than my parents do.”
The store manager replied, “How could I not care? Sometimes you’re just like my little sister. Seeing you is like seeing my old self. Of course, I’m not like you—my temper isn’t as good.”
“That’s why you’re the store manager,” Luo Qingmeng laughed.
“You…” The store manager leaned against the register and reached out to her again. Luo Qingmeng looked at her in confusion. The store manager said, “Shake my hand. Don’t forget the plan we made back then. And don’t just stick to being a manager—seize any chance to try for store manager. You can definitely do it.”
Luo Qingmeng shook her hand. “Thanks, Store Manager. I got it.”
After the handshake, the store manager glanced outside and said, “That Hermès is back again.”
Luo Qingmeng followed her gaze. Her smile grew even brighter. “Hermès is pretty expensive… I kinda like it.”
The store manager shook her head. She couldn’t bring herself to dislike Qiu Shuxue—after all, she was the store’s top-spending VIP. With no choice, she left on her own.
Once the store manager was gone, Qiu Shuxue came in to browse books, flipping through this one and that. When she came to check out, she kept muttering under her breath, “Little sister.”
That evening on the way home, Luo Qingmeng took one step and she said it once—totally over the top.
“Okay, stop saying it, little sister,” Luo Qingmeng said helplessly, shooting her a glare.
Qiu Shuxue unwillingly went, “Oh,” then added, “Little sister.”
Once they entered the elevator, Luo Qingmeng clenched her fist and punched her arm. With no one else inside, she couldn’t hold back and reached out to pinch Qiu Shuxue’s ear.
Qiu Shuxue hissed in pain.
As they stepped out, Luo Qingmeng took her hand and said, “You’re my only little sister…”
Qiu Shuxue didn’t respond, so she continued, “But you won’t even let anyone else treat you like a little sister, huh.”
Qiu Shuxue replied, “Oh.”
Luo Qingmeng tilted her head up, rising slightly onto her tiptoes, and grinned as she nipped at her earlobe. “Stingy.”
Qiu Shuxue turned sideways to look at her. She was quite a bit taller than Luo Qingmeng, who wore flat shoes to work. She glanced down at Qiu Shuxue’s feet and said, “Why do you wear such high heels every day…”
Qiu Shuxue said, “I work sitting down and don’t move around much.”
“Really?” Luo Qingmeng felt like she understood her a little better now. She asked, “You’re not doing it just so wearing heels makes you taller than me, turning you into the big sister, right?”
