Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Bedtime stories…
Pei Shishi watched in a daze as Pei Ge tilted her head upward. The memories she had gradually forgotten suddenly surfaced in her mind.
‘Cousin, you’ve read this story to me before! It’s not nice; it’s not nice!
‘Cousin, your reading is so monotonous and emotionless. Let me read it for you!
‘Cousin, was my reading good?
‘How about we do this: You will read on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I will read on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. As for Sundays… we can just read together!’
…
It seems… we were indeed close in the past. I really doted on Pei Ge before and treated her as my younger sister, but…
‘Ge Ge, your cousin must be plotting something against you for her to suddenly treat you so well!’
‘Yes! She couldn’t be bothered with you before. Why is she suddenly treating you this well just because your dad passed away? She must be up to something!’
Pei Shishi’s mouth slightly curled up. The hesitation in her eyes, along with the happy memories, all but vanished.
Her eyes then gradually filled with hatred and detest that could make one feel cold to the bones.
Unfortunately, Pei Ge, who had her head tilted upward, did not notice the change in her cousin’s eyes.
“Ge Ge, you are thinking too much. I haven’t changed…” Pei Shishi put on a fake smile as she looked gently at her.
Raising her hand, Pei Ge wiped the moist at the corner of her eyes and then lowered her head to look at her cousin.
She saw her usual smile and gentle expression, yet, for some reason, she only felt revulsion inside.
“Cousin, enough. Whether you admit it or not, I already know the truth. I am not blind or stupid.” Pei Ge directed her disappointed eyes to her cousin. She totally did not expect that her cousin would continue denying everything even when things already reached this point.
“Ge Ge, you have really misunderstood me. I—” Pei Ge cut off her cousin before she could say her excuse.
“Cousin, you don’t need to explain yourself. It already happened.” Although she looked as if she did not mind this, her eyes betrayed her actual feelings.
“I just hope that this won’t happen again. I don’t wish to see our sisterhood be broken by something like this. One man is not worth it.”
She then resolutely turned around and left the washroom, holding her back straight up and not caring for Pei Shishi’s reaction.
Tac, tac, tac! The sound of footsteps pounded heavily on Pei Shishi’s heart like a hammer.
“Ha!” When the sound vanished, her face immediately contorted.
“Ha ha ha! A man? A man!” She pushed everything on the wash basin counter to the floor and laughed maniacally.
“Ha ha ha!” She looked at the contorted expression being reflected by the mirror and screamed like a psychopath, “Pei Ge, what do you know?! You know nothing at all! Why does everyone like you but not me?!”
“Ha ha!” She looked at her ugly and disheveled look in the mirror and then covered her face with her hands before softly chuckling.
She was laughing, yet her voice seemed to be weeping. Anyone who could hear her right now would feel the chill from her voice.
Yes. She truly wanted to dote on Pei Ge before, but she soon realized that the latter did not need her doting and love.
The number of people doting on Pei Ge increased upon her father’s passing.
Who the hell does she think she is? I treated her sincerely, yet I was only accused of faking it and having a vile motive!
Why should I continue treating her well, then?
‘… Your cousin must be plotting something against you for her to suddenly treat you so well!’
‘Shut up! You are not allowed to say that about my cousin! She is the best elder sister there is in this world and the one I like the most! I will break off all relations with you if you say that again!’
“Pei Ge…” Pei Shishi’s contorted expression gradually returned to her usually gentle one, except that her dark irises were still as cold as ice.
“I indeed treated you well because I had an ulterior motive.” Pei Shishi raised her hand to slowly and lightly caress her beautiful face.
“Between you and me, there is not just the issue of one man.” A gentle smile blossomed on her face.
Swash, swash, swash! She looked at herself in the mirror and then opened the tap to wash her hands.
She raised her hands after washing them.
There was none of the insane and wicked look she had from before. The Pei Shishi now gave off a feeling of gentleness, like a still pond of water.
She raised her palms and arranged her hair slowly.
“Pei Ge, between you and me, there’s only…” Her lips curled up into a gentle smile as she said in a barely audible voice, “A winner and a loser.”
Therefore, we can never be sisters again… for eternity.
…
In her ten-centimeter tall stilettos, Pei Ge returned to the banquet hall and watched the elegant and well-dressed people mingle with one another.
She felt a little loss for a moment. It was as though she were an irrelevant person who had mistakenly walked into this place.
Even in an extravagant evening gown and with exquisitely arranged hair, she still seemed like a misfit to this place.
She, who was already feeling drained inside after her talk with Pei Shishi, only felt constricted by her attire to the point of suffocation.
Ji Ziming had been searching for her all this time. When he finally spotted her at the side of the banquet hall, he took large strides toward her with shining eyes.
When he was close enough, he immediately took in her lost expression. His heart, as though squeezed by a pair of hands, felt uncomfortable.
“Where did you go?” He subconsciously grasped her hand the moment he reached her side.
She regained her senses at his cold touch. Raising her head, she looked at the flawlessly handsome face before her. In that instant, as though she had found a sense of belonging, the feelings of loss and helplessness in her heart vanished.
His arrival to her side made her smile.
His heart quickly accelerated at her smile.
He had never known that someone could smile this sincerely. It was a smile that seemed capable of cleansing one’s soul.
“I went to the washroom just now,” she softy answered while looking at the slightly dazed man.
He was jolted out of his daze by her reply and asked, “Are you tired?”