069 That Woman
Cheng Siyu couldn’t sleep.
She should have been able to, but just as she was having a nice chat with her brother-in-law, a WeChat call came in.
“Annoying, who is it…”
After starting work, Cheng Siyu had been living at her parents’ house. During this time, only her mother was at home; her father was on a business trip. So the moment the phone icon popped up on her screen, she subconsciously thought it was her father calling again to nag about some random things.
But this was just a reflex.
After seeing the caller ID clearly, Cheng Siyu’s furrowed brow immediately softened a lot. Then, another complex emotion faintly tinged her brow.
“Hello? Siyu.”
Cheng Siyun’s voice came from the receiver.
Cheng Siyu took a deep breath.
“Jiejie~”
Then she answered sweetly.
…
The Cheng Siyun sisters were twins, the very identical kind, from their looks to their voices, almost clones.
Back in high school, Cheng Siyu often used this to tease her brother-in-law.
The sisters were deskmates, both sitting behind Qin Ren. Because Qin Ren was handsome, for a while, girls from other classes pursued him, sending him lots of snacks every day: Maltesers, Lay’s, corn sticks, and so on. Qin Ren would always offer them to Cheng Siyun.
So Cheng Siyu would often imitate her sister’s tone in class and ask him for snacks. Qin Ren would usually just toss them back without even turning his head, allowing Cheng Siyu to get a lot of freebies.
…
“Did you work overtime again today?” Her sister’s concern for her younger sister was no less than her concern for her “ex-boyfriend.” The first thing she asked was about this.
“Mmm…”
Cheng Siyu considered for a moment. She didn’t know why she had to consider.
“I did.”
“Again… you just started at the company. Can you handle it?”
“It’s alright…”
Cheng Siyu tilted her head, holding the phone between her shoulder and cheek. She freed her hands to gently massage her legs.
“…Anyway, I’m not the only one…”
“You mean Qin Ren?”
Cheng Siyu said “mhm.”
“Brother-in-law is much more tired than me. He has to draw, calculate indicators, and handle two things at once…”
“Handle two?” Cheng Siyun’s voice rose a fraction.
“Handle two proposals. What were you thinking…”
Cheng Siyu was speechless. She switched to the other leg and continued to knead.
“Jie, your mind is not healthy.”
“Tch… you, don’t you dare put a hat on me.”
Cheng Siyun huffed softly.
“When you fall in love and find a boyfriend someday, you’ll definitely be even more unhealthy than me…”
“…”
Cheng Siyu fell silent.
Falling in love and finding a boyfriend, are these two related?
Cheng Siyu thought not.
In terms of falling in love, she had probably fallen in love even earlier than her sister…
…
Falling in love is a matter of liking or not liking. From the day a person has someone they like in their heart, they have fallen in love.
If you had to say that only after establishing a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship does it count as falling in love, then Cheng Siyu admitted that her sister had indeed fallen in love earlier than her.
Falling in love doesn’t necessarily mean you can have it.
The person in your heart is not something you can easily get just because you like them.
Her sister would probably never understand such things. After all, she was lucky enough. What she wanted, she had gotten long ago…
…
Old memories were like yellowed old photographs. Cheng Siyu was lost in a daze. The summer of a long, long time ago appeared in her mind.
She thought of that gym class, of the old infirmary.
She thought of the girl who, in order to show off in front of her sister, fell and got covered in scrapes but didn’t shed a tear…
She thought of the boy who didn’t say a word, who only came over to hold her hand after class…
“Siyu, hello?”
“Huh? Jie, what were you saying?”
“What are you spacing out for? Thinking of a man?”
“…”
There was something Cheng Siyu had suspected since she was a child. Did her sister know how to read minds…
“If you’re thinking of a man, go find an excellent boyfriend. Don’t just daydream. I rarely get to have a voice call with you, and you’re still absent-minded… hmph, I’m not calling you anymore in the future.”
“Jie, don’t act cute, okay? If you want to act cute, go do it with brother-in-law.”
Cheng Siyu didn’t have to worry about that. Cheng Siyun was going to do just that later. But for now, she was more concerned about her younger sister’s situation at the company, who had just entered the workforce. They chatted for about ten minutes, and then she gradually became a little puzzled.
“Siyu, why are you panting so much?”
“I’m massaging my legs. Phew~”
As Cheng Siyu spoke, she tensed her legs again. The soreness and fatigue were somewhat relieved, but with the relaxation, sleepiness also came.
“Massaging your legs? What’s wrong with your legs? The subway was crowded?”
“No, just… riding a bike…” Cheng Siyu yawned.
“You have to ride a bike after getting off the subway? Is there no bus?”
“There’s no bus from Niushikou Station to our house…”
“Why did you go to Niushikou? Isn’t Shachang Station the closest to our house?”
“Anyway… aiya, let’s not talk about it. I’m so sleepy. Let’s chat another day. Good night, Jiejie.”
Truth comes out after wine, and also after sleepiness. Cheng Siyu had let a lot of things slip in her daze and wanted to make a run for it.
“Wait, Siyu, there’s one more thing.”
However, just as she was about to hang up, Cheng Siyu mysteriously added a sentence.
“It’s a surprise.”
“A… surprise?”
“Mhm.”
Cheng Siyun’s tone was tinged with a hint of joy.
“I might not have to wait a year. I might be coming back to the country early.”
“Eh…?”
Cheng Siyu was stunned.
…
After that, Cheng Siyu couldn’t remember some of what her sister said, and some she remembered but didn’t want to think about.
It was just that after hanging up the phone, she couldn’t sleep anymore.
Her sister was coming back early.
Cheng Siyu had a feeling that she had been secretly accumulating time with that person from her sister, second by second, and her sister’s casual “coming back early” seemed to have snatched it all back in an instant.
Something seemed to be choking her heart, sometimes tight, sometimes loose, making Cheng Siyu want to think about many things, but she couldn’t come up with any meaningful answers.
Her mind was a mess.
A sense of loss and imminent powerlessness enveloped Cheng Siyu a few minutes after she hung up the phone. It wasn’t until her thoughts gradually became aimless that she also aimlessly took out her phone and started to scroll.
[Qin Ren: ? Classic murdering your dear brother-in-law?]
Her gaze rested on the last message Qin Ren had sent her tonight. Cheng Siyu’s mood eased a little. The corners of her lips curled up, revealing two cute little canine teeth.
Indeed… I should just cherish the present…
Her sister was coming back early.
But at least not tomorrow, not the day after, not the day after that.
“The days to come are still long…”
She murmured and held out her little finger, the tip of which gently tapped on the character “Jie” in “murdering your dear brother-in-law.”
Without “Jie,” “dear brother-in-law” became “dear husband.”
“Brother-in-law… Qin Ren…”
Even a Little Orange will grow up.
The slowly growing Little Orange did not let herself cry tonight.
——————————
The next day, in Longhu Residential Community.
Qin Ren, who had only gotten up at noon, was full of energy. A whole week of gloom had finally been completely dispelled by a good sleep.
Reflected in his behavior, the most obvious feature was that he sat down at the computer and started to play games as soon as he finished washing up.
For a corporate slave like him, this was truly a state of extreme emotional release.
“What… what is this?”
Yu Ling’er, who was originally seriously studying Earth’s common knowledge, stood up, temporarily put down the notebook Yu Yourong had used for notes, and stood up from the sofa.
Dressed in hanfu, she was as graceful as an immortal. Her jade-like hands were clasped in front of her lower abdomen. Faced with the computer she had never seen before, she showed the dorky and cute reserve of an ancient young woman. She carefully moved a little closer, and her eyes soon widened.
“She can use a sword…”
“Heh, pretty, right?”
Qin Ren smiled, showing off an immortal lady flying on a sword under the control of his mouse.
This was a hero in League of Legends called Fiora, using the “Jade Sword” series of skins with a xianxia style, giving her a very female sword immortal feel.
Qin Ren also casually demonstrated the hero’s dance, lines, and laughter.
“You whip her with this, and she laughs?” Yu Ling’er pointed at Qin Ren’s mouse, her eyes sparkling.
Qin Ren thought to himself, what kind of talk is that? She laughs when she’s whipped?
A masochist, is she?
“The computer is a bit complicated, but Yourong learned to use the internet pretty quickly back then. Do you want to try?”
Whether to try or not could be discussed later. Yu Yourong, who had already started to steam the rice, poked her head out from the kitchen with a spoon and interrupted the two of them.
“Ge, we’re out of vegetables at home.”
“Alright, I’ll go buy some.”
Qin Ren habitually wanted to call the Pixiu who was playing on her phone in bed, but Yu Yourong had already turned her gaze to her master.
“Master, you go too.”
“Huh? I…”
Yu Ling’er bit her red lip. She didn’t know what kind of activity “buying groceries” was and seemed a little at a loss. Seeing this, Yu Yourong became even more determined.
“Buying groceries is a basic life skill on Earth. If you don’t know how, you learn. Master is so smart, you can definitely do it.”
“Oh, oh, alright then. I’ll go too.”
Since her disciple said it was a life skill, then Yu Ling’er, who had always taught her disciple to be grateful, also had to be a role model.
Qin Ren thought it was a good idea too. After all, the Pixiu and Yu Ling’er had a “master-servant” relationship. Now, letting her go buy groceries while Luo Yao rested could also be considered an indirect adjustment to the balance of their relationship.
…
It was definitely not appropriate to wear hanfu to buy groceries. Qin Ren went back to the bedroom to play with the Pixiu, leaving the living room for Yu Ling’er to change her clothes.
Beige nine-point casual pants, a gray T-shirt, and the same little white shoes as Yu Yourong.
This set of casual clothes for Yu Ling’er had just arrived yesterday, and it was a good opportunity to wear them out and get used to them.
It was just as the saying goes, “high-end ingredients often only need the simplest cooking methods.” Although Yu Ling’er’s outfit was simple, she was radiant in it. Her gourd-like, graceful figure was full of charm. Her black hair was tied in a simple bun. It was easy to think of the young wife at the entrance of a house in a Japanese anime.
“We’re leaving.”
“Wait, Qin Ren, wait for Qin Ren!”
After opening the door, Luo Yao came over, pattering.
“What? You want to come too?”
“This eminence is just going downstairs. Tang Bobo asked me out.”
As Luo Yao spoke, she glanced at Yu Ling’er, then held up her arm for Qin Ren.
“Hold my hand.”
Qin Ren held it. Luo Yao felt that it was much stronger than the past few days. It seemed that he had slept very well last night. He must have dreamed of Luo Yao.
————————
Some people sleep soundly, and naturally, some have insomnia.
Cheng Siyu was one. And another woman, also for some reason, tossed and turned in bed until the middle of the night.
And this person, just as Qin Ren and Yu Ling’er were going to the wet market, appeared at the entrance of Longhu Residential Community, pulling a suitcase in one hand and holding an old Vivo phone in the other.
