Chapter 10

Shen Zhirou sat in the driver’s seat and connected the car’s audio system to her phone’s Bluetooth. She played a piece of light music, lowered the car window slightly, and felt a gentle breeze brush across the side of her face, lifting a few strands of her lightly curled hair. Shen Zhirou simply smoothed them with a light touch before focusing on driving.

Fifteen minutes later, Shen Zhirou’s car arrived at the gate of Jiangbei University. She registered with the security guard and drove onto campus. Once she reached the spot below Shen Yumian’s dormitory building, Shen Zhirou called her sister. “Mianmian, are you ready? I’m downstairs at your dorm.”

“I’m all packed, Sis. Why did you come all the way to the dorm to pick me up? I could’ve just waited for you at the main gate. I’m not a three-year-old kid anymore.” Shen Yumian unconsciously acted spoiled toward her sister as she tied a strand of hair back from behind, giving it a messy yet beautiful look.

Shen Yumian wore a white short-sleeved top on her upper body and a slim-fit thin black pair of jeans below. Her brows and eyes brimmed with irrepressible youthful energy. She grabbed her phone and hurriedly rushed downstairs to find her sister, looking just like a puppy that hadn’t seen its owner in ages. If she had a tail trailing behind her, Shen Yumian probably would’ve wagged it like a propeller.

In reality, she handled people and situations at school with great poise. When she wore skirts, she was utterly aloof, to the point that plenty of girls at Jiangbei University had crushes on Shen Yumian. But Shen Yumian turned down everyone, regardless of gender. Dating would interfere with her money-making, and she didn’t want her sister to have to work so hard! She was her sister’s treasure girl!

Shen Yumian zipped down in the elevator and immediately spotted her sister waiting not far from the dorm entrance.

Shen Zhirou wore a white long skirt today. Its waist was perfectly cinched, and the tie design accentuated her slender, elongated figure. Paired with leather sneakers below, the outfit made her look all the more gentle and serene.

Shen Zhirou spotted her sister too. She saw Shen Yumian’s eyes light up as she gazed at her, and she hurried over to Shen Zhirou’s side before throwing her arms around her in a spoiled hug. “I missed you so much.”

Shen Zhirou chuckled softly and patted her sister’s waist and back, her expression brimming with tenderness. “We literally just saw each other last week. Do you have to be this dramatic?”

“It’s not dramatic at all—I really just missed you.” Shen Yumian was used to being aloof at school, but around her sister, she just loved to act spoiled.

Shen Zhirou patted Shen Yumian’s back, her voice calm and unhurried. “Alright, people are watching us. Let’s go—we’ll grab dinner first. Hop in the car.”

“Did Elder Sister Tong get a new car?” Shen Yumian asked when she noticed her sister driving something different today.

“No, this is her car.” Shen Zhirou slid into the driver’s seat while explaining to her sister.

Shen Yumian climbed into the passenger seat as well. She puzzled over it for a moment, taking a few seconds to realize who the “her” her sister meant was. After all, her sister didn’t have many friends—it was pretty much just Zhao Tongtong. This “her” had to be the girlfriend her sister had met on that blind date.

Shen Yumian caught on, her gaze locking straight onto Shen Zhirou as she asked, “Sis, is that ‘her’ your girlfriend?”

“Mm.” Shen Zhirou’s ear tips flushed faintly pink, and her grip tightened on the steering wheel.

“Sis.” Shen Yumian’s whole body leaned over dramatically, her eyes scrutinizing her sister nonstop. If not for the seatbelt holding her back, she would’ve ended up sitting sideways entirely.

Shen Zhirou’s face turned red under her sister’s stare. A hint of shyness flickered in her clear, watery eyes as she hurriedly glanced at her. “What are you doing? Sit up straight. With you staring like that, I’m about to forget how to drive.”

“You seem to really like your girlfriend, huh? I’m dying to know what she looks like—got any photos to show me?” Shen Yumian was curious what kind of person had managed to win over her sister, especially since Sis had never dated before.

Shen Zhirou thought it over. She actually didn’t have any photos of Lu Yao—they’d never taken any together, and Lu Yao never posted selfies on her Moments. “No photos. Wait until there’s a chance, and I’ll bring her over so we can all eat together.”

“Sure! Then we’ll be a family of three from now on: you, your girlfriend, and me. We’ll have our own little family.” Shen Yumian was thrilled beyond words. To be honest, even though their mother had stayed in touch with them these past few years, Shen Yumian still felt awkward around her. It was probably because some childhood events had left too deep a scar, one that Shen Yumian still struggled to shake even now.

Meanwhile, the people who had just met Shen Yumian downstairs at the dorm building were buzzing with gossip. After all, humans had an innate love for juicy rumors. Shen Yumian got along well with her dormmates, but she spent most of her time working part-time jobs, so she wasn’t close with her classmates. Aside from her roommates, hardly anyone knew she even had a sister.

“Was that Senior Shen from senior year just now? Who’s the girl she was hugging? She’s a bit shorter and looks so gentle.”

“No way that’s her girlfriend, right? I heard from a classmate that Senior Shen never dated in college. Turns out she was already taken.”

“And the sister who came to pick her up was driving a Bentley. I want a rich big sis like that too.”

“Yeah, they looked so cute hugging like that.”

Shen Zhirou had no idea that she and her little sister had already become the subject of wild speculation. She drove to a Sichuan restaurant, parked the car, and went inside with Shen Yumian. Her sister loved spicy food, and Shen Zhirou was fine with anything, so she picked a place her sister would enjoy.

Shen Yumian gazed at Shen Zhirou with a playful pout. “Sis, once I start working, I’ll take you out for delicious meals every week. Oh, and your girlfriend can come too.”

Shen Zhirou’s eyes softened even more. Her sister was about to graduate soon, and the thought filled her with a sense of relief. She chuckled lightly. “Sounds good. I’ll hold you to it.”

The dishes Shen Zhirou ordered arrived quickly—spicy chicken with peppers, maoxuewang, and more, all Shen Yumian’s favorites. Paired with rice and iced juice, it was pure bliss.

Shen Zhirou wasn’t very hungry and only took a few bites before watching her sister eat. Shen Yumian had a huge appetite and turned into a total kid when dining with her big sister, a far cry from the aloof senior her underclassmen described. She even acted spoiled from time to time.

As Shen Zhirou watched her sister, her eyes curved in a gentle smile. Back when she was in college, she’d often lacked confidence. Her parents’ tuition and living expenses barely covered the basics, so any new clothes or a change of scenery meant endless part-time jobs. Her university years had been grueling and frugal. Even when she started at her first company, she had little interest in material things. While others chatted about the latest fashion or cosmetics, it all felt foreign to her, and she had no desire to buy any.

It wasn’t until she joined AFN Group that things improved. Her salary rose steadily, and she gradually stopped being so timid with money. That’s when she started feeling more confident.

Watching her sister now, Shen Zhirou felt relieved. Yu Mian was doing much better than she had—no crippling inferiority complex from their family background. That was the biggest comfort. By the time her sister started college, Shen Zhirou’s job had stabilized. Beyond the tuition and living expenses their parents covered together, she sent Yu Mian an extra two thousand yuan every month. She didn’t want her sister worrying about money during class gatherings or group activities.

Seeing her sister hadn’t eaten much, Shen Yumian looked up at her. “Sis, why are you just watching me? Eat with me!”

Shen Zhirou smiled. “Alright, I’ll eat with you. Have some more yourself. I had lunch at the company cafeteria, so I’m not that hungry.”

“Mm-hmm, everything tastes better eating with you, Sis.” Shen Yumian immediately laid on the sweet talk, making Shen Zhirou chuckle endlessly.

After dinner, Shen Zhirou dropped her sister back at the dorm and finally headed home. She lounged in the living room for a bit before getting up to shower and change. By the time she lay down to rest, it was past nine at night.

Shen Zhirou flopped onto the soft bed, rolling around under the covers for a moment before pulling out her phone to check the pinned message. There was still no red notification dot. She sighed and tapped the pinned chat lightly, staring at the starry sky profile picture with a hint of grievance. In a soft, whiny voice, she murmured, “Are you really that swamped with work? Not even a WeChat reply? It’s Friday already—are you still working overtime?”

Of course, there was no response. Her tap on Lu Yao’s starry sky avatar had just added a “pat” message below.

Shen Zhirou shook her head with a light laugh. Pats probably weren’t cutting it anymore. For Yaoyao, only a kiss would do. At the thought, her ear tips flushed pink, and she buried herself under the covers.

When Shen Zhirou first lay down on this bed, she had been somewhat unaccustomed to it. The mattress was simply too soft—one sank right into it upon climbing in. But that night, she had no attention to spare for appreciating the bed’s comfort. Her heart and eyes had been utterly filled with Lu Yao; how could she have spared a thought for anything else?

After so many nights of sleep, Shen Zhirou had gradually grown accustomed to the mattress’s soft, yielding embrace. The only thing she still couldn’t get used to was the absence of Lu Yao in her arms.

Meanwhile, Lu Yao had wrapped up her work early as well. After the meeting, she returned to the hotel to rest. She had seen all the WeChat messages Shen Zhirou had sent her but had no real desire to reply. To her, those empty, pointless questions held no meaning and didn’t merit a response. The one surprise had been her parents’ impending visit.

Lu Yao mulled over Shen Zhirou’s words from the WeChat messages and decided to give her parents a call anyway. Shen Zhirou was the marriage partner she had chosen for herself—a rare match, especially one so perfectly compatible in bed. Lu Yao had no intention of letting her parents derail her plans to marry Shen Zhirou.