Chapter 62 - Stay for One Night
Xu Yao’s horrified tone caused the room to fall into a strange silence.
After a while, Shao SiJia raised a brow and laughed. “What, you’re against this marriage?”
Xu Yao’s shaken mind dimly realized that his reaction was a bit too much. However, Shao SiJia’s words caused Xu Yao’s expression to crack once again.
Shao SiJia’s mention of ‘this marriage’ was obviously about Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing’s parents.
But Xu Yao’s traitorous brain had already begun to twist Shao SiJia’s words and generate certain images that he truly didn’t want to see.
Xu Yao, who wanted to cry but had no tears, could only say: “….no.”
Lin YaZhi laughed. “Xu Yao, are you scared? It’s understandable; you probably didn’t expect Little Zheng to appear here.”
Xu Yao: “….” No, you’ve misunderstood!
Lin YaZhi placed the plate of sliced fruits on the coffee table. “Have some fruit Xu Yao, and relax. It’s rare to have Shao SiJia visit, and even Little Zheng is here. It’s a chance for everyone to play together.”
Xu Yao: No, I want to go, ah.
But before Xu Yao could open his mouth, Shao SiJia lifted her leg and pointed her toes towards the fruit. “Ah Yao, can you give me some apples, please.”
Xu Yao didn’t dare fight against Shao SiJia, so he could only answer: “Alright.”
Shao SiJia left her hands around her cup of tea and simply opened her mouth: “Ah-”
Xu Yao: “….” Endure this humiliation Xu Yao, endure!
As Xu Yao picked an apple, Zheng PingQing suddenly produced a red-hot fighting spirit, his eyes wandering towards the fruit, then to Lin Qian. Lin Qian, who had been slumped comfortably on the sofa, saw the twinkle in Zheng PingQing’s eyes and immediately sat up. Full of righteousness, he solemnly said: “Shao SiJia is such a lazy pig, ah. But I’m not the same. I can eat by myself.”
Shao SiJia: “Stop talking nonsense, ha. You just don’t have anyone to feed you.”
Zheng PingQing started to become restless. “I….”
Lin Qian rushed to reply: “I just don’t want to lower myself to your level.”
Shao SiJia gave him a meaningful look, then glanced at Zheng PingQing. In the end, she opened her mouth towards Xu Yao: “Ah-”
Lin Qian contemptuously said: “Shao SiJia, your double chin is showing!”
Shao SiJia remained unmoved. She even threatened Xu Yao: “Ah Yao, is big sister’s double chin beautiful?”
What could Xu Yao say to that? With tears in his eyes, he complimented: “Very beautiful!”
Poor Xu Yao just came to deliver something, but Shao SiJia ended up forcing him to bring her tea and water all afternoon. When they started playing cards, Xu Yao was forced to give Shao SiJia all his good cards. At the same time, Lin Qian also kept receiving Zheng PingQing’s good cards. The brother-sister pair ended up evenly matched, with Zheng PingQing cheering Lin Qian on from the sidelines.
Shao SiJia was dissatisfied with this and said to Xu Yao: “Ah Yao, why aren’t you cheering for me?”
Xu Yao: “…..QAQ” Unlike Zheng PingQing, he was being forced, ah. He wanted to keep his good cards, ah!
In the evening, Lin YaZhi enthusiastically invited Xu Yao for dinner. Of course, Xu Yao firmly refused. He even thought of the perfect and most heart-warming reason: “There’s only one semester left before university, so I want to spend more time at home and eat with my parents.”
The ignorant Chen ShiYi asked: “Don’t you still have half a year left? And with three meals a day…”
Xu Yao was adamant: “One meal away from them is one meal too many!”
Chen ShiYi could only reply: “What a filial child!” Although his way of showing it was a bit baffling.
“Then, I’ll be leaving.” Xu Yao looked at Zheng PingQing with troubled eyes. “Would you like to walk home together? I can walk with you part of the way.”
Without waiting for Zheng PingQing to reply, Lin YaZhi spoke up first: “Little Zheng, don’t go, ah. I heard from ShiYi that you live alone? Since there’s no one at home anyway, it’s better if you stay the night instead.”
Zheng PingQing readily followed his excellent advice. “Alright.”
Once again, Xu Yao was in a panic. He said: “No, no, there aren’t any vacant rooms in your house.”
As if it was only a matter of course, Lin YaZhi replied: “He can sleep with Ah Qian.”
Xu Yao looked at Lin YaZhi in horror, then turned towards Lin Qian with wide eyes. He hoped that his friend would prioritize his innocence. Lin Qian patted him on the shoulder, and eloquently said: “Don’t worry about it.”
Shao SiJia smiled at Xu Yao and deliberately threatened: “If that won’t do, he can always sleep with me.”
Xu Yao: “…..”
Zheng PingQing: “….”
Xu Yao weakly replied: “I don’t care anymore. I’m leaving, ah.”
Lin YaZhi and Chen ShiYi were confused. Don’t care about what?
Shao SiJia strode forward and wrapped an arm around Xu Yao’s neck. “Big sister will walk you home.”
Xu Yao felt like his neck was being pressed down by a barbell. “No, no. I know the way, it’s quite alright.”
Shao SiJia calmly said: “I’ll let you say that again.”
Xu Yao decisively changed his tone: “It would be my greatest honor to be escorted home by big sister.”
Lin YaZhi felt mixed emotions as he watched Shao SiJia dragged Xu Yao into the elevator. “Does SiJia like Xu Yao? But, well, I guess Xu Yao is a good boy. Them ending up together isn’t a bad thing.”
Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing were stunned silly at Lin YaZhi’s imagination. Lin Qian was a little speechless as he said: “You’d better spend more time familiarizing yourself with your daughter.”
Shao SiJia was away for a good half-hour. When she finally came back, Lin Qian was waiting for her. Leaning on the wall opposite the elevator doors, he asked: “Did you get what you were looking for?”
“Of course. Do you think Xu Yao would dare to keep anything from me?” Shao SiJia raised a brow.
Lin Qian snorted. “You swindled him, didn’t you?” Even if Xu Yao were afraid of Shao SiJia, he wouldn’t willingly tell such an important secret to others.
Swindling Xu Yao was also easy, as long as you knew him.
Shao SiJia gave him a lazy smirk. “You know, sometimes brothers and sisters don’t need to know each other so well.”
Lin Qian didn’t continue to taunt her. Instead, he seriously asked: “So? What are you going to do?”
Shao SiJia’s expression turned solemn. “You two are quite audacious.”
Lin Qian curled his lip into an indifferent smile. “Aren’t we being really restrained, though? We aren’t out of the closet. At least, not yet.”
Shao SiJia replied: “If you were really restraining yourself, I wouldn’t have found out as soon as I came back.”
Lin Qian didn’t disagree. “It doesn’t matter. You would’ve known sooner or later.”
Shao SiJia looked at her brother straight in the eye, but Lin Qian didn’t dodge her burning gaze. Shao SiJia sighed. “So… This isn’t some whim? You’re really going to go all the way?”
Lin Qian let out a low laugh. “Look at Zheng PingQing. Does it look like some temporary fling?”
Shao SiJia thought for a moment. “….he looks bewitched.”
Lin Qian’s eyes were firm as he said: “He’s very good to me. You don’t have to worry.”
Shao SiJia suddenly hit Lin Qian on the shoulder. “No wonder you asked me to support you. I figured you had some sort of dilemma you were dealing with.”
Lin Qian didn’t avoid her punch and suffered the blow, but his voice remained clear as he replied: “I don’t have any dilemmas. I was simply explaining my decision.”
“You already promised to support me, so I don’t have any worries.” Lin Qian said with a smile.
Shao SiJia rolled her eyes. “What were you going to do if I tell?”
Lin Qian replied in a relaxed tone: “You won’t.”
Shao SiJia had no words. Suddenly her fists came out as she complained: “Who taught you to act so spoiled!”
Lin Qian giggled as he sincerely answered: “Zheng PingQing, of course.”
Shao SiJia clicked her tongue. “….who allowed you to make public displays of affection?!”
Lin Qian answered once again: “Zheng PingQing, ah.”
Shao SiJia uttered a pained cry and covered her ears. “Don’t talk anymore; I’m getting gooseb.u.mps. You two are so young, how can you be so cheesy already!”
Lin Qian grabbed her braid. “So, in the end, do you support us or not?”
“If you turn me bald, you’ll completely lose my vote!” Shao SiJia took back her braid, then after a momentary pause, sighed. Remembering her cheating ex-boyfriend, she lamented: “If you’re really confident about him, then I have nothing to say. Straight or gay doesn’t matter. What’s important is the person.”
Lin Qian’s mood finally eased. “Thank you. I knew that you would understand.”
In his last life, Shao SiJia had vehemently opposed their relationship because, at that point, he and Zheng PingQing had hurt each other too much for too long. It made Shao SiJia very uncertain about Zheng PingQing’s feelings for him. She didn’t care about Lin Qian’s s.e.xual orientation; she was worried about the object of his love. She was concerned about whether Zheng PingQing’s feelings were as pure as her brother’s.
Back then, Zheng PingQing hadn’t been able to get her trust.
That was why Zheng PingQing had been so eager to get into Shao SiJia’s good graces today. She occupied too much weight in Lin Qian’s life. In their last life, she had been the biggest obstacle between them.
Fortunately, this time, all those hurts had yet to occur. Furthermore, they won’t happen again. The current Shao SiJia didn’t doubt Zheng PingQing’s sincerity, and her issues with h.o.m.os.e.xuality were non-existent. This was why Lin Qian dared to act so brazenly in front of her.
However, while Shao SiJia was fine with her brother’s s.e.xuality, she was struggling to understand something else. “But I kinda don’t get how you two ended up together in such a short time.”
During summer vacation, Shao SiJia had helped Xu Yao beat one of Zheng PingQing’s brothers in an online game. How did her brother and his enemy fall in love in only one semester?
“Fighting is also one way you can get to know a person.” Lin Qian said with a completely straight face.
Shao SiJia touched her chin. “According to your theory, I should’ve gotten to know a lot of people, ah. But how come I don’t feel like I got close to anyone?”
Lin Qian thought about it. “You haven’t fought a single person enough times.”
Shao SiJia hummed. “Then, next time, I’ll play a little more delicately.”
When the brother-sister came back home, Lin YaZhi, who was waiting for them, looked towards them with a frown. “SiJia, how come you took so long to send Xu Yao off?”
Shao SiJia carelessly spouted a lie: “Oh, he got lost.”
Lin YaZhi’s expression cleared. “Although Xu Yao visits our house quite often, I guess that doesn’t prove he knows the way. Occasionally losing one’s way is normal.”
Shao SiJia was baffled. “Do you have such rigorous logic when you do your scientific research?”
Lin YaZhi gave her a ‘you know, I know’ wink. “Yep.”
Shao SiJia tilted her head. “Your eyes seem to be trying to indicate something to me, but I can’t decipher it. Just admit it- we really don’t know each other very well.”
Lin YaZhi: …..I suddenly feel quite hurt.
Seeing the father-sister pair chat like chickens talking to ducks, made Lin Qian feel delighted.
Meanwhile, Zheng PingQing was wholly indifferent to this touching moment, his mind too busy conjuring up images not suitable for children. He nudged Lin Qian with his elbow and said: “We should clean up for bed.”
Lin Qian, who immediately saw through his boyfriend, wasn’t the least bit afraid as he asked: “Are you thinking of doing some exam problems tonight?”
Zheng PingQing replied with gritted teeth: “This Master is planning on solving many problems tonight…”
Lin Qian’s face was full of provocation as he asked: “Oh, really?”
But just as the two were getting into it, they were abruptly disrupted when Shao SiJia squeezed between them. Grabbing Zheng PingQing by the arm, she whispered: “Little Zheng, why not sleep with me tonight, ah!”
Zheng PingQing immediately covered his chest with his arms. “What are you planning on doing to me?”
Shao SiJia sneered in reply. “Come on, sister-in-law. With both our s.e.xual orientations being as they are, don’t you think you’ll be quite safe with me?”
With a jolt, Zheng PingQing suddenly understood why Lin Qian had waited for Shao SiJia outside. He asked: “So you agree to this marriage?”
“I’ll allow it.” Shao SiJia cheerfully responded. Noticing the slight disbelief in Zheng PingQing’s eyes, she continued: “But you aren’t married yet, ah. For the sake of your reputation, you should stay with auntie tonight.”
In their last life, Shao SiJia used to intimidate Zheng PingQing all the time, so he was already very familiar with her tricks. Anyway, as long as she wasn’t objecting to their love, all the other things were trivial to him.
So with a smile, Zheng PingQing said: “Alright, I’ll do as you say. Oh, I’ll be troubling you to speak with father-in-law in the future.”
Shao SiJia: “…..”
All of a sudden, she wanted to object to this marriage!
The author has something to say:
Shao SiJia: I haven’t met such a formidable enemy in years…d.a.m.n it, barf.