Chapter 98 Part 2

Lou Yixuan shot a “fierce” glare at Lu Lingxuan across the table. Lu Lingxuan leaned on Xu Yaning’s shoulder, whining, “Honey, there’s a shame-raged cat over there, all green-faced with fangs—terrifying!”

Hearing her nonsense, Lou Yixuan bared her teeth. “Talk less ghost stories, or a ghost might come for you.”

She’d struck the snake’s vital spot.

Lu Lingxuan had feared “ghosts” since childhood. She might strut by day, but alone at night, she never turned off the lights to sleep.

“Alright, alright, I’m here.” Xu Yaning wrapped an arm around Lu Lingxuan to soothe her, then shot a helpless look across the table.

Catching the hint, Lin Huayan picked up her chopsticks and served Lou Yixuan some food.

She made a new discovery: Lou Yixuan was “spoiled” around her and around Lu Lingxuan, but in utterly different ways.

It was clear from their gestures—Lou Yixuan and Lu Lingxuan were like close sisters, twin-like in their deep understanding. Temperaments miles apart, always bantering, yet trusting each other completely.

Lou Yixuan pouted, brows drooping. “Teacher Lin, don’t let her fool you.”

Seeing her look so fragile and pitiful, Lin Huayan chuckled inwardly. Who’s fooling who, exactly?

Her little cat wasn’t weak at all.

Not in words, not in mind, not in stamina.

Lin Huayan fell silent, and Lou Yixuan’s heart fluttered with panic and uncertainty. “Teacher Lin?”

Lu Lingxuan couldn’t hold it in, sitting up straight with glee. “Serves you right! Now you know how I’ve felt this past year.”

She hurriedly refilled her glass and held it to Lin Huayan with both hands. “Teacher Lin—no, my dear sister-in-law—please keep her in check. Don’t let her bully your little sister-me anymore.”

Lin Huayan: “…”

Lou Yixuan wanted to cry and laugh at once.

Afraid Lin Huayan couldn’t handle Lu Lingxuan’s onslaught, she reached out after Lu Lingxuan drank. “Single-no-more gift—now it’s your turn to give me one back.”

Lu Lingxuan’s mind worked fast. She set down her glass and reached for Lin Huayan. “Sister-in-law, Yixuan’s my only sister. No meet-and-greet gift for me?”

“…” Lin Huayan was rarely caught so off-guard.

Who’d have thought a simple dinner with these much-younger “juniors” required a “meet-and-greet gift”?

Lu Lingxuan’s relentless “sister-in-law”s left her flustered and embarrassed. “Sorry, I’ll make it up to you next time.”

“Who asks for a meet-and-greet gift so shamelessly?”

Xu Yaning pulled Lu Lingxuan back, smoothing things over. “The food’s getting cold. Let’s eat first.”

“I didn’t say anything wrong.”

Lu Lingxuan arched an eyebrow and asked Lou Yixuan, “Big baby, come on, tell me—did I call out the wrong person? Did I mess up the gift?”

Lou Yixuan, who had gained the upper hand in this round thanks to Lu Lingxuan, wasn’t frustrated at all. Nor did she want to argue back.

Because she was… too damn right.

Lou Yixuan tugged at Lin Huayan’s arm, then covered her mouth and leaned close to her ear. “You’ve got money in WeChat, right? Transfer me 888 bucks.”

Lin Huayan hummed in acknowledgment, pulled out her phone, and sent it over.

No need to ask why.

After receiving it, Lou Yixuan forwarded it to Lu Lingxuan. “Here, 888.88. A red envelope from your sister-in-law. The extra 0.88 is from me. Wishing our little President Lu all the best, leading the whole company to strike it rich.”

Lu Lingxuan’s phone, resting on the sofa arm, vibrated. She picked it up, opened WeChat, and glanced at it—but didn’t accept.

“I don’t want it from you. I want it straight from sister-in-law. What, can’t I add my sister-in-law—your girlfriend—on WeChat?”

Lou Yixuan: “…”

Lin Huayan pulled up her WeChat QR code and handed over her phone. “You can add me.”

Lu Lingxuan scanned it and sent a friend request.

Once approved, just as Lin Huayan was about to transfer the money, Lu Lingxuan stopped her. “No need from you, sister-in-law. Xuanxuan just sent it—I’ve accepted it now.”

As Lu Lingxuan pocketed the cash, Xu Yaning shook her head with a smile. “Teacher Lin, shall we add each other too?”

Kids beat around the bush that much to add WeChat.

She and Lin Huayan—both women nearing forty—were better off being direct.

Lin Huayan agreed. “Sure.”

…

It was nearly two hours later when they finished eating and said their goodbyes. As soon as Lou Yixuan got in the car, she received a transfer from Lu Lingxuan: 13,141.30 yuan.

Right below it was a message: 【Wishing my most beloved baby Xuanxuan and sister-in-law Teacher Lin a lifetime together, just the two of you.】

Lou Yixuan showed the phone to Lin Huayan. “Lingxuan’s got a slick tongue and loves beating around the bush, like a smiling tiger. It’s because she’s stepping into our dry parents’ shoes—running the company. A small company boss has to navigate all sides smoothly, be worldly-wise in dealing with people. That’s the only way to handle the tangled web of relationships and interests, keep the business afloat. She’s super competitive at work. Only with me and Ya Ning-jie does she act a bit childish.”

Once Lin Huayan had finished reading, Lou Yixuan tucked the phone back into its holder and kept talking.

“Sometimes I really feel sorry for her. She’s even younger than me—just six months behind. She turned 26 last month.”

She’d brought Lu Lingxuan lunch at the company, seen her all businesslike and meticulous in meetings. She’d picked up a wasted-drunk Lu Lingxuan from a business dinner, listened to her boast proudly about landing a big deal on her own, how she deserved her father’s boss chair, how she could helm the company.

But that night afterward, she hadn’t taken her home—she’d gone straight to the hospital.

“Back in school, she wasn’t like this. She was clear about what she loved and hated, bold in word and deed, living freely and boldly by her joys and sorrows. She never let herself be wronged, and she never let me be wronged.”

But now?

Just a year out of grad school, and she was already rolling in the brutal arena of society, edges sanded smooth.

A young woman in her twenties, fresh out of the gate, trying to stand firm in the cutthroat business world, shouldering a whole company—it had to be a struggle every step, endless hardships and grievances.

Lou Yixuan knew it was the path to forging Lu Lingxuan into a strong winner. But it still hurt her heart.

From Lou Yixuan’s words, Lin Huayan picked up the explanation—and the protectiveness toward Lu Lingxuan.

She unbuckled her just-fastened seatbelt, leaned over, and took Lou Yixuan’s hand, her voice soft. “Yixuan, I don’t think she’s bad. I wasn’t offended by anything she said or did.”

They were soulmates, bodies and spirits intertwined—how could she not understand what Lou Yixuan really meant?

Lou Yixuan worried she’d be fooled by Lu Lingxuan’s glib words and playful facade, miss the real strengths and shines underneath. Worried she’d end up disliking her, yet still have to face her, tolerate her for Lou Yixuan’s sake—and make herself uncomfortable.

“Coming to meet them with you, eating, drinking, chatting—none of it bothers me.” Besides, she and Xu Yaning were close in age, their relationships similar. They could be good confidantes.

“And as you said, the four of us will be in each other’s lives plenty from now on. Time reveals true hearts. I believe in time, Lu Lingxuan and Xu Yaning will see my sincerity—and I’ll see theirs.”

“Mm.” Lou Yixuan’s heart warmed.

She squeezed back, took a deep breath to tamp down the rising sadness, and looked up with a smile.

“I got too eager. I just wanted you to know more about Lingxuan. After all, she’s truly my only little sister—a very good little sister.”

Seeing her smile again, Lin Huayan’s lips curved upward too. She smiled back. “She’s our little sister.”

The meeting gift had gone to Lu Lingxuan, after all. She’d accepted the “sister-in-law” title.

…

Back home, Lou Yixuan stowed the five bottles of wine Xu Yaning had packed for them in the fridge to chill. Lin Huayan took her laptop and papers to the study.

She’d downed a bottle and a half of Peach Blossom Brew. Not drunk, but the aftereffects hit harder than last week’s fruit beer—her head spun.

So she sat in the chair, planning to let it settle before showering.

Lou Yixuan popped into the bathroom for a quick hand rinse—and while she was at it, removed her makeup and washed her face.

Coming out, she saw Lin Huayan still in the study across the hall, quiet as could be. She called out “Teacher Lin” as she walked in, curious what she was up to.

No response from Lin Huayan.

Lou Yixuan drew closer and called again. “Teacher Lin?”

Standing behind the chair, she leaned over, wrapped her arms around Lin Huayan, and kissed her flushed, hot ear with a laugh. “Are you drunk?”

By her gauge of Lin Huayan’s “impressive tolerance,” this amount shouldn’t faze her at all.

Lin Huayan tilted her head right, cheek to cheek with Lou Yixuan, eyes narrowed as she asked, “Does Teacher Lou hope I’m drunk… or sober?”

The Peach Blossom Brew smells so good.

Lin Huayan smells so good.

No one could resist a lover with flushed cheeks and a waft of wine.

“I hope… we both get drunk. With Teacher Lin.”

Lou Yixuan turned her head to capture the red lips beside her. Her tongue tip delved in and out of the seam, frolicking playfully, sharing the lingering taste of Peach Blossom Brew.

Her fingers found another peach blossom elsewhere, grinding now light, now heavy—studying the art of brewing.

Lin Huayan had no choice but to tilt her head back, defenseless, reduced to decadent little sounds. “Come to the front… let me hold you.”

Lou Yixuan hugged her every day—and only she knew how much she loved those daily embraces, how much she loved holding Lou Yixuan.

A soft, clingy little kitten of a lover—who wouldn’t love that?

“Alright, Teacher Lin.”

It wasn’t their first time kissing in the study. Lou Yixuan went along readily, lips parting for now as she stepped around and straddled Lin Huayan’s lap.

Her right hand stayed put, just switching to the more convenient side with the shift, continuing its deep studies.

Lin Huayan’s shirt today had easy buttons—and the metal hook-and-eye back was simple too.

As her earlobe was sucked, she heard the kitten mewl, “I washed my hands.”