Chapter 29: A Sister’s Secret Indulgence

The silver photo frame rested on the computer desk, now filled with memories.

It held pictures from elementary school graduation: an awkward little imp, a gentle mother, and, at the center, the radiantly beautiful sister, smiling brightly as the protagonist.

Sensing movement at the doorway, Qian Xidong arranged the creases in her clothes, smoothed the bedding, and feigned composure as she sat quietly by the bed.

‘If it were today, if I were just her little sister, perhaps a little indulgence might be allowed…’ This thought swirled in Qian Xidong’s mind as she clutched the hem of her T-shirt, nervously watching Qian Surou enter.

Had they lived in such a small home from the start, sharing a bed or even bathing together might have been utterly commonplace.

Only for today.

“Are you ready?”

Qian Surou dropped her phone.

“Aren’t you going to take a bath?”

With a mischievous smile, Qian Surou lost her balance, tumbling onto the bed beside Qian Xidong, her cascading hair spilling across her neck.

“—I’m sleepy…”

Meeting Qian Surou’s coaxing gaze, Qian Xidong found herself powerless to resist.

‘How terrible,’ she thought, detecting a seductive scent.

‘My sense of smell is acting up,’ the thought flashed through her mind.

She might have endured it somewhat if her sister had already bathed, but now she felt as though she were roasted over the flames of desire, prompting her to shove away the temptation on her shoulder.

Her unruly blood surged defiantly.

She leapt to her feet as if called upon by a teacher, bolting for the light switch, but far from bringing calm, the darkness instead offered her imagination even more dreadful avenues to explore.

“Then go to sleep early.”

The words seemed to drain all her strength.

“Xidong requested to stay, so you can’t complain that Big Sister smells, alright? There’s only one blanket, so I can only share half with Xidong—oh, and even though Ji Yushu says I sleep well, she might just be comforting me, so don’t be startled at night.”

Qian Surou’s voice was weary, soft, and delicate.

The sound elicited a response from Qian Xidong, as if mischievous fingers were tickling her ears, enticing her.

Such stimulation, however, ranked only second.

Despite the drawn curtains, visibility within the room remained quite good.

Qian Xidong watched, unblinking, as Qian Surou, her back turned, began to undress; her smooth shoulder blades were fully visible, her skin as slick as glass, reflecting a clear sheen even in the darkness—every detail was perfectly clear.

‘Nude?’

Upon realizing this, a warmth seemed to emanate from the air.

No, not from the air, but from a warm palm pressed against her back, and that soft voice returned—

“Come on in, Xidong.”

Defeated once more.

She had never once prevailed against anything concerning her sister.

Maintaining a stiff posture, she pulled up her T-shirt, her back to Qian Surou, the underwear in her hand already feeling damp.

Then, completely naked, she slipped beneath the thin blanket.

Just for tonight, a little closer, and then a little closer still.

On a night when the summer heat still lingered, she yearned for warmth, pressing her ribs against her sister’s back.

Her long arms, once deemed cumbersome, now embraced the soft form.

After doing all this, she squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep.

Qian Surou’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden turn of events; her built-up drowsiness seemed to have met a temporary resurgence of energy and was suppressed.

Warm breaths invaded her undefended nape, and Qian Surou immediately felt a strange sensation.

In all her life, she had never experienced such intimacy with anyone, making it feel utterly foreign.

It wasn’t unpleasant; on the contrary, it was a profoundly comforting feeling, much like an electric blanket in winter; initially novel, it soon brought a sense of contentment through its warmth.

“Oh, for goodness sake.

…Xidong is unusually clingy today, isn’t she?”

She murmured softly.

The steady rhythm of Qian Xidong’s breathing made her assume her sister had already fallen asleep.

Soon, her accumulated drowsiness rebounded with full force, submerging Qian Surou’s consciousness.

***

Before long, Qian Xidong opened her eyes.

Even though she had replayed the same warning in her mind a million times, it only served to amplify that terrible emotion.

Though she had long considered herself beyond salvation, this was the first time she had ever committed such a depraved act.

A devilish voice whispered in her heart, ‘After tonight, you will no longer be worthy of loving her, but before then—’

She could not resist.

This one transgression.

Henceforth, her affection could only be that of a sister, longing for a few more praises, hoping to have her head patted by her sister, who would stand on tiptoes, and for her occasional displays of affection to be deemed cute.

Beyond that, she would stand afar, gazing, blessing her sister’s happiness, and reserving the bitterness for herself.

Perhaps, by then, she would have fallen for someone else, completely letting go.

Though she couldn’t imagine it now, time corroded everything equally; just as her mother had made new choices, she too would eventually take a new step.

But for now, she surrendered to her fantasy.

She kissed her sister’s nape.

It was something she had wanted to try for a very long time.

Whenever she gazed at her sister’s dazzling back in everyday life, or when her sister cared for her during a cold, she would always think this as she looked at that beautiful nape.

Perhaps her frequent impure thoughts were merely a simple manifestation; because her feelings of affection were too intense, and her heart too easily stirred, she was unable to defy her true emotions.

‘Why isn’t it me standing by her side?’

She had never once actually tried, not even during the time Ji Yushu was gone, when others stood by her sister’s side.

She was always the farthest from that position.

When she saw her pass by the campus window, when she felt her smile at others from a corner of the basketball court, when her sister was injured and unconscious, the closest person was never herself.

Now, the moment to fulfill her tainted dream had finally arrived.

Her mind mimicked her sister’s voice.

‘—Xidong.’

‘Will you open your eyes and look at me? I love your eyes, Xidong; you’ve always been watching me.’

‘You won’t leave me, will you, Xidong? So beautiful, so soft to the touch, I truly want to kiss it.’

“…Big Sister!”

‘Yes, it’s Big Sister.

I love it when Xidong calls me Big Sister.

Will you call me a few more times? Because usually Xidong is so cold… but now you’re so fiery.’

‘What do you want me to do? Will you tell Big Sister?’

“T-touch, touch here…”

Submerged in her delusion.

The dream manipulated her Sleeping Beauty-like sister, transforming her into a part of her own body.

On the other side of her flushed skin, she felt her sister.

Even as her rounded nails grew damp, she couldn’t stop.

‘So eager, so wonderful… I can’t think of anything else.’

‘—Xidong, I love you.’

Waves of heat surged like the tide, one after another.

Her heart felt squeezed in someone’s hand, and her blood circulation shifted into its highest gear.

Even though it was a fabricated affection, it enveloped her completely, her mind overflowing with words of love, her very marrow trembling.

Neither fully dreaming nor fully awake.

“There’s still here.”

A fingertip pressed against her upper lip.

“Good girl, open up.”

She obediently complied.

“You’re spacing out.

…What are you thinking about? I know! Don’t worry, Ji Yushu hasn’t touched here! Xidong, do you not want to kiss me?”

“I-I do…”

“Then help me ‘clean’ my finger.”

Her waist was encircled, followed by a soft, ‘Good girl,’ as fingerprints danced deftly across her lips.

It was somewhat like a testing kitten, clearly a first attempt, awkwardly charming yet utterly captivating.

Her exhaled breath moistened the corners of her eyes, and physiological tears began to well up from the stimulation.

Slowly, she parted her lips.

The timing of her exhale was precisely seized, revealing a forceful side.

Her supported nape could not pull back, and a sense of suffocation and pleasure, indistinguishable from each other, were simultaneously stirred.

“Xidong, you’re so stiff.”

‘What…’

“Weren’t you long and agile when cleaning my finger? At this level, I won’t be satisfied.

…Hehe, you’re shy, how cute.”

A softer sound.

It was like a straw stirring the remaining ice in a cola cup on a summer day, the frequent clinking and minty coolness stimulating her delicate nerves.

She felt as if she were hearing her sister’s harmonica, its melody distant and prolonged, driving away all clamor, leaving only the emotions and sensations of that moment etched in her memory.

“…Big Sister.

Big Sister, Big Sister, Big Sister! I love you, Big Sister…”

“Oh my, such a passionate confession first thing in the morning! You’re making me blush!”

She suddenly awoke.

The sweet dream swiftly receded, leaving reality in its wake, revealing her sister, already dressed, sitting cross-legged on the bed and smiling at her.

Indeed, a dream was merely a dream; no matter how blissful the illusion, it could never last forever.

“Get out!”

Qian Xidong casually picked up a pillow and threw it at Qian Surou’s face.

“Hey! You just said you liked Big Sister, and now your face has changed so suddenly.

Xidong, that’s so mean!”

Breathing became difficult.

For the first time, Qian Xidong realized she talked in her sleep, and that it was the very content of her innermost thoughts.

She inhaled deeply, but found no relief; instead, she was captivated by another sweet scent.

Indeed, desire could make her mind send out erroneous signals.

“I need to get dressed.”

Qian Xidong was acutely aware that her sister had merely been teasing her.

If she weren’t stern at such a moment, her sister would only escalate, making her want to silence that mouth.

After displaying her firm resolve, she finally found a moment to breathe, changed into last night’s clothes, and then prepared to check what lay beneath the blanket.

However, Qian Surou had already eagerly entered.

Then, she heard her sister begin to murmur—

“Is the house getting too old? I woke up this morning and felt something like plaster dust, light white, probably the walls starting to age and flake.

I’ve heard some people pound on walls in their sleep; I didn’t do anything strange last night, did I?”

Qian Xidong was so mortified she wanted to cover her face, but she merely lowered her head and shook it.

Qian Surou, assuming Qian Xidong was still shy about her sleep-talking, didn’t pay it much mind.

‘My little sister is truly a tsundere,’ she thought.

‘Even though she likes me immensely, she still puts on a cold front—it’s utterly adorable.

Last night, she was also so clingy.

It seems Xidong is the type who can’t help herself once she’s asleep.’

“Huh…”

Sitting down at the computer desk, Qian Surou found her small vanity mirror and discovered a tiny red mark on her nape.

“Mosquitoes are so annoying!”

Qian Xidong’s head dropped even lower as a wave of guilt began to surge.

She then started to reassure herself that she had maintained some restraint, neither touching her sister’s body nor her lips.

As a sister, a kiss on the cheek and neck shouldn’t be a big deal.