The other person whose eyes glinted with menace as she stared at Jun and Ai's picture was Guiying or more precisely, the other 'Guiying' who had taken over her.
A sardonic laughter escaped her lips. "This is your MrPerfect that you loved so much. Look at all the gifts he gave you and now look at him holding your best friend in his arms so intimately. Are you enjoying this?"
Her question was met with silence, but a part of the real Guiying's answer was visible through the tears rolling down her cheeks.
'Guiying' wiped the tears in disdain. "Pathetic. Crying even now after seeing the evidence right in front of you."
'She' gritted her teeth, her heart filled with anguish and outrage. She wanted to wipe that smile off Jun's face which was there at the cost of Guiying's heartbreak.
"But this smile…won't be for much longer."
The sound of the doorbell snapped her from her daze, and she narrowed her eyes. She threw away the extinguished cigarette in trash and lazily opened the door.
A figure hugged her as soon as it stepped in. 'Guiying' stood, expressionless as Cai Lingyun met his sister.
"I am finally back! How are you, Guiying?"
The real Guiying felt thrilled with her brother's homecoming, a sentiment which the other 'Guiying' didn't share. 'She' slightly pushed him away, earning a shock from him. 'She' felt a resistance from the real Guiying by this rude treatment towards him, but 'she' ignored it.
"What happened? Why are you acting so distant? Aren't you happy that your brother is back?" He grinned.
'Guiying' raised her brow.
"Come, come! I have brought a lot of gifts for you! Let me show you!" Cai Lingyun eagerly pulled her, and they sat on the couch.
'She' saw him taking out all the gifts, and there was one particular gift bigger and brighter than the others. But there wasn't her name on it.
"For Ai, huh?" 'she' asked in a mocking tone which Cai Lingyun didn't catch.
His eyes brightened. "Haha, yes. She won the Summit, after all! I cannot tell you how excited I am to meet her. Look at everybody fawning over her now," he snorted, "Just days ago, they were talking nonsense against Ai, and everybody is now her fan!"
"You have nothing to say to your sister who lost?"
'Her' question came so sharp, direct and cutting that Cai Lingyun was dazed for several long moments. He was rendered speechless for sometime, but then he finally found his words.
"What? Of course I feel bad for you Guiying! I told you before. Whether you would lose or Ai, I would definitely be sad. I treat both of you so dearly."
"Yet I couldn't see any ounce of sadness over my loss. You were too busy celebrating Ai's victory that my loss just got drowned in it, isn't it?" 'She' sneered.
He blinked his eyes rapidly. "Why are you talking like that, Guiying? You look so different. You are my sister. How could I not feel bad? But it's a competition.
Either you or Ai would have won and if you had won, then Ai would have been so happy for you too, right? Her best friend won, after all. Aren't you happy for her likewise?"
'Guiying' clenched the couch's armrest, her nails digging into the fabric.
"Isn't that expectation a little cruel, big brother? Even if she is my best friend, can I not feel sad over my loss? You are right. It's a competition, after all. So if I lose, then I am allowed to feel bad and hurt, right? I worked hard, and I was serious about winning the Summit."
Cai Lingyun pursed his lips and held her hand. "I am sorry, Guiying. You are right…I was insensitive. I just thought that you two are such good friends. Even if there is a competition, it won't come in the way of your friendship. But I realize I am wrong."
'She' shook her hand away. "If I had won and Ai had lost, I think your reaction would have been very different. Anyway, I guess you are more excited to meet Ai rather than me, right?"
He widened his eyes. "Of course not. You are my family. I missed both of you!"
'Guiying' chuckled. "But I don't think Ai missed you that much. She won't either since…she has a boyfriend now~"
Cai Lingyun froze. "...Huh?"
'She' narrowed her eyes. "Actually, you should have bought two gifts. One for Ai and one for her boyfriend to greet him."
His face turned paler and paler, and he anxiously laughed. "I-I don't understand what you are saying…Ai doesn't have a boyfriend."
"Seems like you didn't check social media today," 'she' smiled. 'She' unlocked her phone and showed the picture the young girl took in the library.
He read the caption and message with a blank gaze.
"My best friend is dating the CEO of Sky Publishing, Liu Jun. The same company where she has joined as a writer. Such good news, right? Look, how happy they are."
Cai Lingyun trembled hard. Since he was on a flight to return to Beijing, he didn't have the mobile reception to check the news.
'Guiying' smiled. "It came as a shock to me too, big brother. I didn't know when she grew so close to him. But this is the fact now. Aren't you happy for her? You always are when Ai is happy, right?"
"H-huh?" He looked at her in a daze, his breathing turning heavy and sweat forming on his forehead. He was trying his best to smile and agree but for some reason, he couldn't.
"But this time you aren't because how can you bear to see the woman you love with someone else?"
Cai Lingyun stiffened. It felt as if 'she' suddenly opened his chest and laid his heart bare.
"N-Nonsense! I don't…" he inhaled, "I don't look Ai in that way. I treat her as my sister," his hands were shivering just as his words.
"Then why isn't the happiness of this news reflecting in your eyes, big brother~?" Google seaʀᴄh noᴠelfire.net