Chapter 35: Unexpected Visit and a Voice Message

Su Mian was somewhat bewildered that his younger sister, Su Baixue, had actually sought him out.

Normally, at home, Su Baixue treated him like air, barely sparing him a glance. The idea of her knocking on his door like this was completely unheard of.

“What’s wrong?” He immediately rose to open the door. What met his eyes was Su Baixue’s face, ashen and utterly devoid of life.

At the sound of his voice, Su Baixue lifted her head. As her gaze landed on Su Mian’s face, she froze in surprise.

Su Mian had just showered and changed into soft, light-colored pajamas. A clean, fresh scent of soap clung to him.

The rigid black-framed glasses that usually obscured half his face were gone. His overly long bangs, dampened by the steam, now allowed his entire face to be vaguely discerned.

Under the lamplight, his skin possessed a cold, almost translucent pallor.

The contours of his features were far more delicate than Su Baixue had ever expected.

His nose bridge was elegantly upturned, his lips a soft hue. Especially striking were his eyes, slightly widened in confusion, with a natural, delicate upward curve at the corners.

Within their clear, black-and-white depths, lingering moisture created an inherently timid yet alluring charm.

‘Su Mian… is this what he truly looks like?’

How long had it been since she had truly looked at his face?

Deep in her memory, young Su Mian had seemed quite handsome, and back then, she had loved trailing after her older brother.

When exactly had he started to hide himself completely, stuffing himself into shapeless, baggy clothes, using heavy, overgrown bangs and unfashionable glasses?

When had he become so gloomy and silent, making her increasingly reluctant to approach him?

Setting aside this sudden revelation for the moment, the harsh reality of her situation immediately seized her once more.

She glared fiercely at Su Mian, her tone sharp as if she had found the culprit. “It’s all your fault! Why couldn’t you win over Sister Zhixia even after chasing her for so long?!”

If Su Mian had been more capable, if he had established a relationship with Shen Zhixia earlier, none of this would have happened! Her Senior Moyuan wouldn’t have…

Su Mian was utterly baffled by her baseless accusations. He mumbled, “I… I wanted to, too…”

He truly couldn’t understand his sister. At the dinner table, she had scorned his attempts to get close to Shen Zhixia, yet now, in the blink of an eye, she was blaming him for not trying hard enough?

Her mood swings were simply too rapid.

“You’re utterly useless!” Su Baixue exploded, seeing his docile and bewildered expression. She flung a harsh retort at him, then spun around and ran back into her own room, slamming the door shut with a resounding bang.

Su Mian stood rooted to the spot, his face a mask of innocence and confusion. He turned to his mother, Lin Xiangwan, who had come over at the sound. “Mom, what’s gotten into Xiaoxue this time?”

Lin Xiangwan gazed at her younger daughter’s tightly shut door and shook her head, her expression even more baffled than his. “I don’t know either, dear… She was crying perfectly fine in her room just a moment ago.”

She sighed, only able to attribute it to that universal explanation. “It’s probably just her rebellious phase; her emotions are unstable.”

Su Mian nodded in profound agreement. He, too, felt that Su Baixue’s rebellious phase had arrived, and its symptoms were growing increasingly severe.

However, he didn’t have the mental capacity to delve into his sister’s peculiar behavior at the moment. He had a mountain of his own vexing problems to deal with.

***

Just moments ago, upon returning to his room and picking up his phone, a new message from Xiao Moyuan had starkly appeared on the screen.

[Yuan: Wife, meet tomorrow?]

A mere five characters, plus a question mark, yet it struck him like a bolt of lightning. His heart instantly hammered out of rhythm, and his limbs grew cold.

Tomorrow? So soon?!

He hadn’t even mentally prepared himself yet.

He initially wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen it and reply tomorrow.

His finger hovered above the screen. He recalled the previous incident where he had been swiftly unfriended for not replying promptly.

He gritted his teeth, finally resigning himself to fate and tapping open the chat.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Brother, missing you~ (Heart emoji) But I just got home today, and tomorrow Mom and Sis insist on dragging me shopping to buy new clothes… (Pouting cat emoji)]

[Yuan: Hmm, then video call tonight?]

Xiao Moyuan seemed determined not to let him have a peaceful night.

It was almost bedtime. His makeup and wigs were still safely hidden at the bottom of his suitcase.

If he were to take them out and fuss with them now, what if his parents, or his unpredictable sister, saw him if they woke up for the bathroom? He couldn’t even begin to imagine the scene.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Brother, it’s really late now, I’m already in bed~ And we’ll see each other in a couple of days, then… then when we meet, Brother can look at me all he wants! (Shyly covering face emoji)]

He forced himself to send the message, feeling the heat rise rapidly in his face.

[Yuan: Just look?]

The other party had precisely seized upon the unspoken implications in his words.

Hiding under his blanket, Su Mian felt all the blood rush to his face. His legs involuntarily squeezed the soft duvet between them.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Then what else does Brother want to do… (Curious cat peeking emoji)]

He sent this message almost holding his breath.

[Yuan: Hmm, I still really want to.]

Su Mian stared at the cryptic reply and momentarily froze.

‘Want? Want what? Did he not finish his message?’

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: What do you want, Brother? (Confused emoji)]

He foolishly pressed for an answer.

[Yuan: Naturally, what you just said.]

Su Mian’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly scrolled up to review his previous messages.

‘”…then when we meet, Brother can look at me all he wants!”‘

‘Look all he wants…’

‘Look…’

*Boom—!*

He instantly understood what Xiao Moyuan was referring to! That guy!

He was teasing him in a roundabout way again!

His ears, cheeks, and even his neck flushed crimson in an instant. A powerful wave of shame, mixed with an ineffable flutter, made him curl up completely.

‘Why was the discrepancy between online and reality so vast?’

‘Could the Xiao Moyuan who was as cold as ice in the classroom, whose gaze could freeze people, actually be like this behind closed doors?’

‘Or perhaps… this was his true self, and he had simply interacted with him too little?’

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: Brother, you’re so annoying! I’m going to sleep now, good night! (Running rabbit gif)]

Overwhelmed by embarrassment, Su Mian hastily tried to end the conversation that was making his heart race.

However, Xiao Moyuan clearly had no intention of letting him off easily.

[Yuan: If no video call, shouldn’t you send hubby a voice message?]

[Yuan: Just say what you just typed.]

Su Mian: “…”

If this had been at the very beginning, when he hadn’t fully grasped the situation or was merely playing around, he might have been able to send such a message without batting an eyelid.

But now, after Xiao Moyuan’s blunt “interpretation,” every single word felt scalding hot. He simply couldn’t bring himself to utter them normally.

Just as he was agonizing over what to do, Xiao Moyuan’s next message arrived, and its content nearly made his jaw drop.

[Yuan: You won’t even fulfill this small request for me? (Pleading emoji)]

A round, teary-eyed cartoon emoji!

Su Mian’s eyes widened. He stared at the emoji in disbelief.

‘Xiao Moyuan… that Xiao Moyuan… would actually send an emoji like this?’

‘Did this mean he was one step closer to his goal: making Xiao Moyuan completely fall for him, only to be unattainable?’

‘In that case, sending this voice message was absolutely necessary.’

‘For the sake of his grand revenge plan, what was a single voice message?’

“Cough, cough…” He cleared his throat, adjusting his vocal cords. He attempted to find that “sweetheart” voice—sweet but not cloying, soft but not overly cutesy.

He pressed the voice message button, lowering his voice. With a breathy whisper, he tried practicing. “…then when we meet, Brother can… look at me all he wants…”

After speaking, he shivered himself. ‘Could that overly cutesy, syrupy tone really have come from him?! No, it had to sound more normal.’

He took a deep breath, trying to repeat it with a steadier tone. However, his finger, trembling with nerves, slipped accidentally as he tried to press the button—

*Whoosh—*

The notification sound for a successful send echoed remarkably clearly in the quiet room.

!!

‘He, he actually sent the first, most cutesy practice version?!’

Su Mian’s soul instantly scattered. He fumbled frantically, desperate to recall the message. Yet, the instant his finger was about to touch the “unsend” option, Xiao Moyuan’s message flashed in, hot on its heels.

[Yuan: Wife, your voice is truly lovely. Is that little tremor deliberately trying to tempt me?]

Su Mian was on the verge of tears. Trembling, he tapped open his own voice message.

From his phone, a soft, sweet voice emerged, accompanied by subtle breathiness and a distinct tremor. The tail end of the words elongated stickily, truly… impossibly alluring.

He swiftly unsent it, then hastily re-recorded a version that was as steady as possible, though still in his disguised voice, and sent it.

[Sweetheart Marshmallow: That one just now doesn’t count! I was a little nervous then, not ready! (Furious cat emoji)]

[Yuan: Wife, you already sent it, I heard it, and I saved it.]

Su Mian: “!!!”