Chapter 41: Reason

When I got home, I turned the key and opened the door. The first thing I saw was Yun Rou sitting on the sofa watching TV.

She glanced at me, then immediately shifted her gaze back to the screen.

I looked around the house but didn’t see any sign of Sister Yuan, so I carried the shopping bag and quietly returned to my room.

After hiding the bag, I opened the window and gazed out at the rows of towering skyscrapers, recalling the situation on Sister Yuan’s previous birthdays.

Sister Yuan never cared about her own birthday and never made any special preparations for it, as if it were just another ordinary day.

Only at night, when she received the simple handmade card I had spent so much effort on, could I see the joy she showed because of her birthday.

This was how she had spent her birthday for the past few years.

No grand party filled with guests, no sweet and tempting cake, not even a single “happy birthday” from a second person.

So this time, although I still couldn’t throw a magnificent birthday party for her, I could at least prepare a more exquisite gift.

“Can we talk? There’s something I want to ask you.”

The door to my room had opened at some point, and Yun Rou was leaning against the doorframe, looking at me.

“Sure, go ahead and ask,” I replied faintly, my gaze still fixed on the view outside the window.

“You and Sister, is your relationship just that of a normal brother and sister?”

“That’s not a very easy question to answer, Miss Yun Rou.”

My tone was formal, without a hint of intimacy.

Since she had shown me a sense of distance as if I were a stranger, I didn’t want to appear overly familiar either.

“Sister Yuan gave me everything I have now. She is my most important family member. As for what I mean to her… Miss Yun Rou, it would be better for you to ask her yourself.”

Yun Rou lowered her eyes and didn’t press the matter further, her pursed lips suggesting a hint of unwillingness.

‘For a sister-complex like Miss Yun Rou, her hostility towards me, the male that Sister Yuan fancies, is probably still quite mild.’

“I really don’t see anything about you that’s worthy of my sister’s affection,” Yun Rou muttered under her breath, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“You’ve lived with my sister for so many years, so you should know very well what she likes. I want to give her a birthday gift that she’ll like the most. Could you perhaps give me a suggestion?”

‘Ah, this… if I tell the truth, are you going to tie me up and deliver me to Sister Yuan’s bed?’

“Sister Yuan seems to quite like drinking coffee. Maybe you could give her a nice coffee cup?”

‘What am I saying! Giving a cup for a birthday! What a bad omen!’^1

‘I’m really not used to talking to people in such a feigned, serious manner. It’s completely contrary to my usual style.’

But there was no other way. Yun Rou wasn’t Sister Yuan, so I couldn’t respond to her in that flippant way mixed with nonsense.

“A coffee cup… that’s a good idea. I’ll consider it. Thank you.”

‘Please don’t consider it! I was just saying whatever came to mind! How would I know what Sister Yuan likes besides my body?!’

“Have you never paid attention to what Sister Yuan likes before?”

“My sister left home a long time ago. The time you’ve spent living with her is much longer than mine.”

“I suggested celebrating her birthday many times, but I was rejected without exception. It’s as if she wants to sever all ties with our family. Except when absolutely necessary, she almost never seeks us out, nor does she allow us to come and find her on our own.”

“So you’re really lucky, Lu You. My sister likes you so much, to the point where she’s not even willing to come home. Although this is more or less influenced by what happened in her childhood, her love for you is still so strong that it makes me jealous.”

Yun Rou was about to leave after she finished speaking.

I mulled over my words for a long time, trying to get her to stay and reconsider the matter of the cup, but I didn’t know how to start.

“By the way, I suggest you go take a shower now. You have a girl’s scent on you. My sister is very sensitive. If she were to smell it…”

‘Are both of you sisters’ noses really that sharp?!’

I quickly rummaged through my closet for a change of clothes, went into the bathroom, and started showering.

I had made Sister Yuan so angry last night.

If she were to catch An Xue Ruo’s scent on me again today, I dare not imagine what she would do.

When I came out of the shower, Yun Rou was no longer in the living room.

I returned to my own room, flopped onto the bed, and feeling the cool breeze from the air conditioner, I took an afternoon nap.

‘Embrace the laziness, take a long nap, and put everything else on the back burner.’

Not long after I fell asleep, a steady knocking on the door woke me up again.

Yun Rou was standing by the door with an indifferent expression.

“Sister is back. She’s on the balcony and wants you to go see her.”

“Oh, okay.”

I rolled out of bed, slipped on my slippers, and walked to the balcony.

Sister Yuan was standing there, watching the gradually setting sun and feeling the cool evening breeze.

“The wind is quite restless today,” I said, standing beside Sister Yuan and gazing into the distance just as she was.

“Your method of hitting on girls is quite artistic, Xiao You. It’s just a pity that it’s not very clever.”

“Then why don’t you teach me something clever, Sister Yuan?”

“Hm? Are you speaking your last words again, Xiao You?”

“Sorry, sorry, pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“Actually, it’s not that I can’t teach you, but you can only use it on me,” Sister Yuan flashed her signature mischievous smile.

At times like this, going along with what she says would definitely lead to no good.

“Forget it, forget it. I won’t learn after all. When it comes to hitting on girls, I’ll just continue to be an idiot.”

“No. Even if you don’t want to learn, you have to repeat after me.”

Sister Yuan pinched my cheek, forcing me to meet her gaze, and then said, word by word, “Repeat after me: Wifey, give me a hug.”

“That’s not very appropriate, is it? How could you use words like that to hit on a girl?”

“That’s why I told you to only use it on me. If you don’t say it, Xiao You, then tonight I’ll just re-enact what happened last night.”

“…Alright, I’ll say it.”

I shifted my gaze elsewhere and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, “Wi… Wi… Wifey… gi… give me a hug.”

“Okay!”

Sister Yuan reached out and pulled me into her embrace, giving me a face full of her chest while stroking my head, smiling with exceptional delight.

After indulging in Sister Yuan’s soft warmth for a moment, I broke free.

While calming the blush that had naturally spread across my face, I asked.

“You didn’t call me over just to do this, did you, Sister Yuan? There must be something else you wanted to say.”

“Oh my, Xiao You guessed it. I do have something else to say.”

“Xiao Rou might have already told you. I left home on my own when I was very young and never moved back. Can you guess why I did that?”

“Because there was someone in the family you disliked? Or you wanted to escape Auntie Yun Xi’s control and live a freer life?”

“A bit of both. It was less about a person and more about memories I hate. There was also the factor of me wanting a more independent and free life. In the beginning, those were indeed the two reasons I ran away from home.”

“But later, it was because of you, Xiao You. Because I only wanted to live alone with you, without being disturbed by others. That’s why I drastically reduced the number and frequency of my contacts with my family. In your world, Xiao You, having just me is enough. There’s no need for any other girls. Not Mom, and not Xiao Rou either.”

“Your possessiveness is more than just a little strong, Sister Yuan.”

“Of course. After all, you’re the Xiao You I love the most. If you ever dare to learn from me and use an excuse like ‘pursuing a free life’ to run away from home, you’ll be tied up by me, you know.”

“So if I have another suitable reason in the future, you’ll willingly let me go out and make my own way in the world, Sister Yuan?”

“What do you think? You can try.”

A gray shadow fell over Sister Yuan’s face, and her voice became much colder.

^1 A cultural note: In Chinese, “cup” (杯子, bēizi) is a homophone for “a lifetime” or “a generation” (辈子, bèizi), so giving a cup can be interpreted as a wish for separation for a lifetime, making it a taboo gift in some contexts.