Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Yan Zimo felt a surge of emotion. Five years had flown by in the blink of an eye. Her habits were starting to become more feminine, and so was the way she spoke.
“Sigh… What am I going to turn into?”
Yan Zimo sighed. She had no idea what her future would look like, but life had to go on. There was no point overthinking it. She might as well focus on what was right in front of her.
Yan Zimo had just managed to pep herself up with some toxic positivity when reality promptly dealt her a heavy blow.
She was out of shampoo.
Yan Zimo muttered, “Damn it, why’s even the shampoo out to get me?”
“Qianxue, are you home? Grab the shampoo from the shoe cabinet and bring it over. Hurry!”
Yan Zimo immediately thought of her younger sister, Ye Qianxue, and called out toward the bathroom door.
The sound of someone rummaging through everything reached her ears. Yan Zimo put a hand to her forehead. That girl really was such a klutz! She’d probably have to clean up the mess herself later.
“Big Sis, I’m coming in!” A sweet, clear voice came from outside the bathroom.
“Wait, don’t come in yet.”
The bathroom door swung open, and a slender figure stepped inside.
She had the same waist-length black hair as Yan Zimo, the same curvy figure, and the exact same face. There was no mistaking that they were sisters.
Only, the girl’s forehead was a little red. Had she fallen?
Yan Zimo went over to her. Seeing the red patch on her younger sister’s forehead, she gently blew on it, then rubbed the slightly swollen spot with her hand. A pang of affection suddenly welled up inside her.
“Does it still hurt?” Yan Zimo asked with concern, looking at her sister, who was half a head shorter than her.
There in the bathroom, the two identical sisters stood close together. Add in their adorable height difference, and it was like a yuri scene straight out of an anime.
“I’m fine. After Big Sis’s loving touch, Qianxue doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Ye Qianxue said it so naturally, even though her words were startling.
“Who taught you to talk like that, with all those dirty jokes?”
Yan Zimo squished Ye Qianxue’s soft cheeks this way and that. Still not satisfied, she pulled them hard to either side, stretching poor Qianxue’s face into a pancake. Qianxue yelped and begged her to stop.
“Big Sis, I-I was wong! Let go, quick!”
“Good. Now go outside!”
Once she’d had her fun, Yan Zimo let go at once. Smack! Ye Qianxue’s cheeks made a loud noise as they sprang back into place.
Rescued at last, Ye Qianxue was now terrified of Yan Zimo’s dragon-claw hands. She hurried out of the bathroom.
“Ow!”
Maybe Ye Qianxue had stepped on the water on the floor, or maybe she’d been running too fast. Either way, she fell again, hitting her forehead in the same spot. Blood started trickling out.
Seeing what had happened, Yan Zimo forgot all about the shampoo suds still on her body. She wrapped herself in a towel, carried Ye Qianxue to the bed, and carefully checked her injury.
Thankfully, the cut wasn’t deep. A bandage would be enough.
Yan Zimo let out a breath of relief. She took a first-aid kit from the small cabinet beside the bed. It was packed with emergency supplies, including disinfectant alcohol and bandages.
“You really need to be more careful. It’s a good thing this wasn’t serious. I’d be so worried if something happened to you.” Yan Zimo dabbed the cut with disinfectant alcohol, then gently blew on it before putting on a bandage.
Ye Qianxue stayed quiet through the whole thing, without saying a word.
“What’s wrong, Qianxue? Does anything else hurt?”
Noticing that her younger sister seemed a little off, Yan Zimo quickly asked her.
Ye Qianxue lifted her head and stared straight at Yan Zimo. Her serious expression, paired with the little flower on the bandage on her forehead, was quite adorable.
“Big Sis, is something bothering you? You can tell Qianxue if it is. I’ll do my best to help you feel better!”
“Huh?” Yan Zimo shifted her gaze away, suddenly feeling guilty, as if Qianxue had seen right through her.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Her reply was rather cold.
Seeing that Big Sis wouldn’t confide in her, Ye Qianxue couldn’t help getting annoyed.
Annoyed, she pushed Yan Zimo down onto the bed and pressed her again. “Really? If you don’t behave, I’ll have to punish you, Big Sis!”
Yan Zimo froze. She’d never seen Ye Qianxue act so forcefully before. The huge contrast left her thoughts in a tangle.
The shampoo suds still on Yan Zimo’s body gave off an alluring scent.
After waiting ages without getting an answer, Ye Qianxue grew angry too. The scent lingering in the air seemed to act like a catalyst. She’d only meant to tickle Yan Zimo as punishment, but it was as if she’d been bewitched. She leaned down and kissed Yan Zimo on the lips.
“Mm.” Yan Zimo snapped back to her senses in an instant. Ye Qianxue was about the same size as her, and Yan Zimo was still a little dazed, so she couldn’t move under her sister’s hold.
The moonlight slowly shifted. A light sheen of dew rested on the lilies by the window, their beautiful blossoms opening beneath it.
Early the next morning, Yan Zimo looked at Ye Qianxue sleeping beside her. She thought she couldn’t remember what had happened last night… As if! Everything was etched into her mind. She covered her face. This was so embarrassing! How had she, the older sister, ended up being taken by surprise by her younger sister? She hadn’t been able to fight back at all—Qianxue had had her completely at her mercy the whole time.
Thinking back on it now, though, it had been kind of exciting.
Overcome with embarrassment, Yan Zimo rolled around wildly on the bed, shaking Ye Qianxue awake.
“Big Sis, why are you freaking out this early in the morning? Or do you want to pick up where we left off last night?”
Of course, they hadn’t gone all the way last night. Once Yan Zimo came to her senses, she’d subdued Ye Qianxue in no time.
“What are you talking about? You’re just a kid—what would you know? And stop calling me Big Sis. Call me Zimo!” Yan Zimo rolled her eyes and grumbled.
“You’re only a year older than me, Big Sis! What do you know?” Ye Qianxue shot back, glaring at her in return.
She still wouldn’t change what she called her.
“Can you tell me what was going on with you last night, Big Sis? You really weren’t acting like yourself.”
Looking at her younger sister, who was worried about her, Yan Zimo began to feel guilty. What kind of older sister made her little sister worry so much?
She slapped her cheeks hard a few times. Maybe a little too hard, because they turned bright red.
“It’s nothing much. I was just thinking about how I’ve changed over the past five years, and whether I’ll end up living like a walking corpse in the future.”
“You won’t! Big Sis, you shine so brightly! ‘Walking corpse’ doesn’t suit you at all!”
Hearing what Yan Zimo said was troubling her, Ye Qianxue hurriedly protested.
After she finished speaking, Yan Zimo climbed out of bed. Her bare feet touched the floor as she tiptoed to the kitchen to make breakfast.
She took the frozen pork out of the fridge, cut it into a few thick slices, and fried them in a pan. Before long, fragrant pork chops were ready.
“Qianxue, come have breakfast!”
There was no answer. Yan Zimo called a few more times, then went straight to the bed, pulled back the covers, and opened the curtains. The dazzling sunlight fell across Ye Qianxue’s face. She could no longer sleep, and sleepily stretched out both arms.
What was she trying to do? Yan Zimo was confused.
“I won’t get up until Big Sis gives me a good-morning bite,” Ye Qianxue whined.
Yan Zimo was at a loss for words. What did her little sister think about all day? She hadn’t used to be like this. Had Yan Zimo been so busy lately that she’d neglected to teach her proper manners at home?
Unable to get Ye Qianxue to budge, Yan Zimo had to settle for kissing her on the forehead.
“There. Get up now. Breakfast will get cold if you wait any longer.”
“Okay!” Ye Qianxue didn’t get exactly what she’d wanted, but she still got up, perfectly satisfied.
Just as Yan Zimo was about to start eating, someone knocked on the door.
