My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

"Xiao Ran...do you really want to do this...?" Su Qing sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped together on her knees, her fingers unconsciously twisting together, her voice trembling with a pleading tone.

"Sister, don't cheat! We agreed on three fingers, how can you give up halfway?"

Jiang Ran didn't look up, her tone serious and focused. Her slender fingers steadily supported Su Qing's wrist with just the right amount of force, preventing her from pulling away. "Relax a little, sister, don't be so tense. I'll be very gentle and won't hurt you."

Su Qing felt her ears starting to burn.

In all her years, she had never been held in this way, spoken to in this tone, or at this distance.

"It's not about whether it hurts or not, it's just so strange... Does it really have to be like this? I can do it myself."

"How can that be? I don't trust my sister to do it herself. Besides, my sister just said her arms are sore. It's perfect for me to do it now. Be good and don't move around. Let me do it properly."

Su Qing resignedly closed her eyes and turned her face to the side. She could feel Xiao Ran's fingertips gently stroking the back of her hand, separating her fingers one by one with the utmost tenderness, as if she were handling some fragile treasure.

Then a slightly cool touch landed on her fingertips, the coolness spreading from her fingertips to the base of her fingers, making her involuntarily shiver slightly.

Xiao Ran's movements were slow and meticulous. She would apply the nail polish to each finger several times, and while doing so, she would softly comment, "Your nails are so beautiful, so round and delicate. They will look gorgeous with this color."

"But this is too strange..." Su Qing stared at the bottle of nail polish, her expression as if she were looking at some dangerous item.

"What's strange? Sister herself agreed to it, and now you want to go back on your word?" Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow slightly, the curve of her lips looking anything but malicious. "Just now outside, sister said herself that once we're home, I can do whatever I want."

"Now Xiaoran just wants to paint my nails, and I'm going to back out at the last minute? Besides, I already bargained with you, reducing the number of fingers from five to three on each hand. I gave in, okay?"

Su Qing opened her mouth to refute, but she realized that she had indeed said that sentence.

She held up the hand that had been forced open to her eyes, looking at the cherry-pink nail polish on her ring finger... The color was indeed beautiful, not a flamboyant bright pink, but a pearly, warm light cherry color that made her already fair fingers look even more delicate and slender.

But no matter how she thought about it, she felt that this thing was completely out of place for her.

She has hardly ever touched cosmetics in her life except for face wash, and she has hardly ever even applied lipstick. Now, she is being forced to apply nail polish.

"Alright, the last one." Jiang Ran tightened the cap and set it aside, then took Su Qing's hand and examined it carefully for a while.

Six cherry-pink nail polishes were evenly distributed on both hands, creating a surprisingly harmonious and beautiful combination with her clean and simple fingers.

She lowered her head and blew very lightly on her still-dry nails, then looked up at Su Qing's face, which was already bright red, and chuckled, "Sister, I already said that you can do whatever you want once we get home, so you can't blame me."

Su Qing pulled the hand with three pink nail polishes back, looked at her with a stern face, and said speechlessly, "Then I thank you."

  

"You're welcome," Jiang Ran said seriously, putting the nail polish back into the bedside table drawer. "It's a younger sister's duty to think of her older sister, but it's the older sister who..."

She suddenly leaned closer, her deep brown eyes fixed on Su Qing. The smile on her face was still there, but beneath it was something Su Qing was already very familiar with. "Have you thought carefully about what Xiao Ran just said?"

Su Qing's fingers curled slightly on her knee.

She knew that painting her nails was just a pretext. This guy had been planning this topic since he walked in. All those acts of coquetry, pleading, kissing, and hugging were just a prelude. Now he was finally getting to the point.

"Is this something that can be concluded so easily...?" Su Qing turned her face slightly away, her voice much softer than before.

Looking at the swaying shadows of the trees in the night outside the window, the knot of unease that had been weighing on her mind for most of the night resurfaced.

She knew what Xiao Ran was thinking: that face that was focused on her in the dim light, those eyes that only ever reflected her, that gesture of pulling her into his arms without hesitation on the old street, not caring about the gazes of everyone around them... It wasn't that she didn't understand, she just didn't dare to say it.

She had never been treated like that by anyone before.

When she was a child in the orphanage, no one wanted to give her a second glance. Later, she struggled alone at the bottom of society. The only thing she learned in those years was how to avoid being disliked.

Don't be too greedy, don't ask for too much, do your best in what you can do, repay the kindness of others doubly, and always remember what you owe others.

Does she really deserve Xiao Ran's intense and unwavering affection?

Xiao Ran is so outstanding, smart, beautiful, and capable; it seems like there's nothing in the world she can't have.

She deserves someone better, not a sister who can't even remember her own birthday, can't do elementary school math problems properly, and hesitates for ages even when someone likes her...

"Sister," Jiang Ran's voice suddenly became very soft, so soft it was as if she were touching something that would break at the slightest touch, "Are you disgusted with Xiao Ran?"

Su Qing turned around abruptly and shook her head rapidly, her voice filled with undisguised anxiety, saying, "How could that be? How could she possibly dislike Xiao Ran?"

"Then why won't you agree to my request, sister?" Jiang Ran's hand had already gently touched the back of her hand without her noticing, her cool fingertips resting on her slightly trembling knuckles.

Looking at her sister's face, filled with struggle and conflict, she no longer tried to coax her with coquettishness or disturb her with affectionate gestures. Instead, she quietly and earnestly looked into her eyes, her voice carrying a very light tension, so light that Su Qing could barely hear it, "Sister, don't you want to be with Xiao Ran forever?"

Su Qing shook her head again and said no, she wanted to stay with Xiao Ran forever.

After she finished speaking, she saw the tension in Jiang Ran's eyes transform into a softer, brighter light. Then she turned her face away and focused her gaze on the two people's intertwined fingers.

Xiao Ran's fingers were longer than hers, with distinct knuckles, and her nails were neatly trimmed.

That hand was quietly resting on the back of her hand, without applying force or urging her, simply waiting for her.

"This isn't something you can just accept..." Her voice was very soft, so soft it was as if she were talking to her own heart. "Xiao Ran, have you thought about how others will see us in the future... the people around you, your competitors in the business world, and those who talk behind your back? You don't care about these things now, but what about later? Will you regret it someday? If you do, will we never be able to go back to the life we ​​have now...?"

Su Qing paused here, her fingers unconsciously clenching the fabric on her knees. She didn't care what others said about her, but she couldn't watch Xiao Ran get hurt because of this. Xiao Ran was her only family in this world. If one day they became strangers because of this, she didn't know what she would do...

After she finished speaking, she suddenly felt a little thirsty. The fears and worries that she had been repeatedly reliving in her mind ever since she realized Xiao Ran's feelings were finally spoken out word by word.

She didn't feel relieved, but rather afraid. She was afraid that after she said those words, Xiao Ran would be angry, would think that she didn't trust her, and would think that she wasn't brave enough.

She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Xiao Ran's expression.

Then she heard a very soft sigh.

The sigh was so soft that she wasn't sure if she had misheard it.

But the next second, she felt the hand that was covering the back of her hand gently move away, and then her cheeks were lifted up by a pair of hands very, very gently.

She was forced to look up and meet a pair of eyes that were staring at her intently... There was no life or disappointment in those eyes, only a very deep tenderness.

The next second, Jiang Ran leaned down and kissed him.

A warm touch came from my lips, soft yet firm, like a vow that had been rehearsed countless times finally finding its place.

Su Qing's mind went completely blank in that instant. All the worries that had been arguing in her head, all the noise of "she deserves better," "will she regret it later," and "what will others think," were crushed into fragments by this gentle and resolute kiss and dissipated in the evening breeze blowing in from the window.

She stared wide-eyed at Jiang Ran, who was so close to her, and saw that those beautiful eyes reflected only her image—an image that was not illusory or blurry, but truly her.

This was the first time Jiang Ran kissed Su Qing while she was awake.

Jiang Ran's lips left hers, but didn't move far away; they just parted slightly.

Her fingers still gently cupped Su Qing's cheeks, her thumb lightly brushing against the cool skin. Then, looking into Su Qing's eyes, which were filled with confusion, shock, panic, emotion, and a little bit of longing that Su Qing herself probably didn't even realize, she smiled softly.

"Sister, I know what you're worried about." Her voice was a little hoarse, but every word she spoke was extremely serious. "I've thought about all of those things you mentioned a long time ago, countless times. I've considered every possibility, but no matter how I reason it out, there's only one conclusion."

"Nothing is more unbearable for me than losing my sister. Everything else—other people's opinions, outside gossip, or the difficulties I may encounter in the future—none of that matters to me. I only ever want one answer."

She paused, her thumb lightly brushing against the corner of Su Qing's eye, wiping away the tear that had somehow welled up. "And this answer, only my sister can give."