Chapter 25: Sibling Squabbles and Amused Onlookers

“Zhao!~ Qing!~ Xia!~ You’ve really outdone yourself this time! Not only did you fall for such a scoundrel, but you also brought your mood home, causing me to barely sleep a wink last night! What exactly do you intend to do to make it up to Nana?”

I had barely been seated in the private room for a minute before I could no longer contain myself.

True to her nature as my older sister, the moment I raised my hands, she reacted instantly, and we found ourselves glaring furiously at each other across the table, our hands clasped together in a ready-to-brawl stance.

“Zhao!~ Wang!~ Qiu!~ You’ve also really outdone yourself! Your dearest, dearest sister is still heartbroken! How dare you kick her when she’s down?! And what does any of this have to do with little Nana?”

Zhao Qingxia struggled fiercely, attempting to overpower me in return, but fortunately, her physical strength was almost identical to mine, ensuring that our current stalemate would likely persist for a while.

“Because Nana booked me a massage first thing this morning, and now look what’s happened!”

“Then you should quickly let go and sit properly, lest you get another headache later and make little Nana worry, uwaa?! Hey! You actually ambushed me!”

“Ugh, ah!? Never!”

“Oh~ These two, they start brawling the moment they sit down. Truly siblings, it’s quite enviable.”

Ye Ning, seated to the left of my left, began to speak with a teasing smile.

“More importantly, why did you follow us here?!”

“Because you still haven’t agreed to our date~”

With a captivating demeanor, she subtly winked at me with her right eye.

“Ningning?~”

As expected, Nina, who was seated to my left, immediately went on the offensive.

“Uwaa?! Nana, don’t go too far!”

“Who’s truly going too far, huh? Take this!~”

“Iyaaaah!?”

The two of them were once again tangled in a playful skirmish.

“Sigh… Can’t you both just settle down?”

Lan Xinyue, seated to Zhao Qingxia’s right, pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

To her right, Su Yuanyi showed her a phone screen, the contents of which I also happened to catch a glimpse of.

[How long will we be staying here?]

“Hmm… Judging by these siblings, it looks like we might even sort out dinner here.”

“”Absolutely not!””

Zhao Qingxia and I retorted in unison, immediately falling back into a stalemate.

“See?”

[It seems so. I’ll let my family know then (Happy Bear emoji)]

“Mm.”

“By the way, isn’t anyone going to rein in these two?”

Tang Feiyu, who had been forced off the sofa by Nina and Ye Ning’s antics and now stood idly by, playfully twirled her hair with a mix of amusement and annoyance.

“Ah, it’s fine. It’s just a cat-and-dog fight; they’ll naturally settle down once they’re tired.”

“Yueyue! Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“Xinyue! Isn’t your choice of words a bit… unfortunate?”

“Then make your choice: do you want me to join the fray, or will you both sit down quietly?”

Lan Xinyue stood up, a mischievous grin playing on her lips, and stretched her wrists, fingers interlaced.

“…”

“…”

“Ningning?”

“I understand.”

The two of them actually stopped their bickering and sat down obediently.

‘Lan Princess’ (TL Note: A playful title referring to Lan Xinyue, implying her strong presence or authority) wields such immense pressure?

“Now’s our chance!”

“Uwaa!?”

I nearly lost my focus because of this, almost allowing Zhao Qingxia to overpower me.

Tang Feiyu, looking surprised, glanced first at Lan Xinyue, then at Ye Ning, before settling back onto the sofa with a knowing smile.

“Hehehe!~ You were clearly the one who started it, yet you got so distracted looking at Xiaoyue. Is it really okay to be so unfocused?”

“Hahaha!~ Don’t just spout nonsense! I was clearly worried she’d help you, so I just wanted to remind her with my eyes!”

“You’d better make it sound like Xiaoyue and you are of one mind; she would, of course, only help me, her older sister!”

“You’d better make it sound like Xinyue is your actual younger sister; she definitely has to prioritize her club president duties first!”

[They’re acting like children (Sneaky Bear emoji)]

‘You traitor! And here I was, so worried about you earlier!’

‘So what if I stole your chance to speak? Is that really reason enough for revenge now?’

“Hmm~ The disparity in psychological age often only becomes apparent at crucial moments.”

“”Then what do you suggest we do?!””

“Ah!~ Don’t speak in unison only at times like these.”

Lan Xinyue crossed her arms, her smile unwavering.

“Anyway, for us, as long as there’s entertainment, it doesn’t matter if it’s a married couple bickering or siblings fighting.”

“Uweh!? Xiaoyue, how can you say that? Your sister is so sad~”

“Hahahaha! Exactly, President, that’s the spirit! There’s an opening!”

“Just kidding!”

“Waaah!?”

“Sigh…”

Lan Xinyue sighed once more, clearly giving up on intervening.

Su Yuanyi tilted her head in thought, then quickly held up a typed message for me to see.

[Wangqiu, let’s just sit down and talk properly. If this continues, it’ll only leave a bad impression on everyone.]

‘How dare you say that? Why didn’t you tell us immediately?’

Su Yuanyi paused, a hint of grievance in her expression, and blinked her moist, shimmering eyes.

“Because… I was worried about your injury…”

‘Ah…’

‘This person is so cunning; to pull out such a killer move at a time like this…’

“The victor is decided!!”

“Uwaa!?”

“Qiuqiu, watch out!”

In the end, I was still pushed against the back of the sofa, with Nina only managing to shield the back of my head in time.

“Hmph! I won. Apologize quickly and obediently!”

“I’m sorry!!”

I apologized grumpily, wincing in pain, as Nina gently began to rub the back of my head.

This was an unspoken rule we siblings had established over years: whenever such a squabble occurred, regardless of who was in the right, the loser always had to apologize first.

Incidentally, my current record was a complete losing streak…

“Hmph!”

Zhao Qingxia also sat back down, pouting.

Yet, less than ten seconds later, tears streamed ceaselessly down her face, and she began to sniffle softly, hurriedly wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

“Here, don’t use your hand. What if it gets all itchy later? Honestly…”

I could only place the entire packet of tissues directly in front of her.

In truth, we could have easily continued our argument back home; there was no need to make a spectacle of ourselves for everyone else present.

However, I couldn’t let her return home in her current emotional state, as that would only cause our parents undue worry.

While a mere cry would certainly not be enough, and our parents would still see through it, it would at least allow her to communicate with them in a more composed manner, which, in terms of outcome, was far superior.

“Qiuqiu, don’t be so ‘tsundere’ (TL Note: A Japanese loanword describing a character who is initially cold or hostile but later reveals a warmer, softer side) at a time like this.”

Nina’s amused whisper, instead, made my ears tingle first.

“No one said I couldn’t.”

“You two, after all that fuss, you’re still on great terms, making us worry for nothing.”

“My apologies…”

As I spoke, I gently moved her hand away and began to rub the back of my own head.

In front of so many people, I couldn’t help but feel a little shy.

The others remained silent for a while, until Zhao Qingxia had used up half a packet of tissues and, with red-rimmed eyes, looked towards me.

“I’m sorry, little brother, for making you worry. And… thank you for sticking up for me.”

“If you’re so embarrassed, then save it for when we’re home alone. Also, you forgot to thank the young ladies present; those security personnel were called by them.”

“Is that so?”

Ah, my idiotic sister, she naturally looked at Lan Xinyue first.

“You’re welcome~”

Nina was the first to playfully whisper in my ear.

Ye Ning also shot me a subtle, sidelong glance.

Lan Xinyue, however, merely shook her head slightly, offering no comment, evidently unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Zhao Qingxia thought for a moment and quickly understood.

“I see. Thank you, everyone, and I’m truly sorry for causing you all worry.”

“Well then, big sister, since things have already come to this, and there’s no more shame to lose, it seems you should honestly confess.”

As I said, the situation had escalated to this point, and given my sister’s personality, she truly wasn’t afraid of further embarrassment, so I couldn’t be bothered to interrogate her again back home.

“Tch!~ To be saddled with a younger brother like you, I’m truly unlucky!”

“You’ve got it backward. You should be grateful I’m not the same kind of scoundrel, otherwise, today you wouldn’t even know where to go to cry your eyes out!”

“Argh!~~~ Even though I already know he’s a scoundrel, why does it make me so furious when it comes from *your* mouth?!”

‘This person actually dares to flare up first, even at this point?!’

“Because you still refuse to face the truth! You still want to defend that scoundrel! That’s why you’re lashing out at me!”

“…Argh!~ Argh!~ Argh!~ Argh!~ Argh!~ You good-for-nothing little brother! Why do you only say things that are impossible to refute?! I admit it! Can’t I just admit it already?! That scoundrel is truly infuriating!!~”

Zhao Qingxia wailed, clutching her head in her hands. No sooner had she finished, adopting a stance with clenched fists and elbows pressed to her sides, as if poised to pounce and hit me, than her right hand was firmly grasped by both of Su Yuanyi’s hands.

“Mm, mm, mm!”

“Don’t just keep nodding in agreement at every opportunity! Your situations are actually different!!”

“Eh?”

“Huh?”

“Mm?”

For some reason, Su Yuanyi, Nina, and Lan Xinyue all looked at me in unison, each uttering confused questions in turn.

This, in turn, left both Zhao Qingxia and me, who had been about to continue speaking, utterly stunned.

Ye Ning and Tang Feiyu also surveyed us, looking perplexed.

“Qiuqiu, I’ve actually wanted to say this for a while now: unless it’s just the three of us, you rarely complain so loudly.”

Nina happily explained.

“Ah? Is that true? No way.”

“It is true! Normally, even when Xiaofeng (TL Note: Makino Kaede’s nickname) is here, you just… well, you only speak very blandly or calmly, or your eyes just keep darting around, and you don’t say anything at all.”

“What kind of description is that? It suddenly sounds like a horror movie…”

“See? It’s just like now.”

“Uh…”

‘Is that really how it is? I have absolutely no recollection.’

“Well, regardless, it’s a good thing, I suppose.”

It seemed genuinely rare to them, as even Lan Xinyue’s expression had softened.

“Mm, mm!”

‘Vice President, if you’re going to agree, then agree properly; don’t try to turn into an ‘Mm-mm Monster’ (TL Note: A playful term for someone who overuses ‘mm-mm’ or ‘uh-huh’ sounds in agreement, often to an annoying degree)…’

“Wow~ It’s truly enviable. It makes one feel that being with you two would never be boring~ What do you think, Xiaoyu?”

Ye Ning suddenly joined the conversation with a brilliant smile, drawing Tang Feiyu into it as well.

“Mm, I completely agree, but I’m suddenly feeling a bit hungry. Can we order something first?”

“Me too, Sister Qingxia. Shall we order our food first?”

Ye Ning seamlessly picked up the conversation from Tang Feiyu and deliberately handed the decision-making power to my older sister.

Because of the still-effective honorific, Zhao Qingxia naturally agreed very happily and pressed the service bell.

On second thought, we were currently in a private room at a board game cafe where one could also order food, yet since I had started brawling with my sister the moment we entered, the staff member who led us in must have felt both helpless and awkward.

‘I truly apologize.’

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