Chapter Sixty-three: A Heart-to-heart Between Sisters

The tall, slender figure that had previously appeared at the airport now emerged in the room opposite. She stepped out of her door and walked toward the elevator, confirming that Chen Hao had indeed gone down. Only then did she turn and return to the door of Chen Hao’s room. She neither knocked nor attempted to quietly pick the lock; instead, she placed her ear against the door, listening for any sounds from within. It quickly dawned on her that in such a high-end hotel, the soundproofing must be excellent. Unless a bomb exploded inside, one could blast death metal with dozens of loudspeakers and not hear a thing.

Realizing this, she shook her head in self-mockery, thought for a moment, and then pressed the doorbell. This luxury hotel, with its rooftop terrace, naturally had more than one doorbell; otherwise, guests on the terrace wouldn’t hear it, which would be inconvenient. So the room Chen Hao occupied had a bell both upstairs and downstairs.

Meanwhile, Gu Mengyan and Fan Yirou were swimming in the upstairs pool, savoring this wonderful life as they chatted while gliding through the water.

“Hey, Mengyan!” Fan Yirou leaned against the edge of the pool, looking at Gu Mengyan, and asked, “What made you suddenly decide to quit your job and travel?”

Gu Mengyan continued swimming as she replied, “I just wanted to travel; I never planned to quit. It was Chen Hao’s idea—he encouraged me to join him. I figured, working for someone is work, but with Chen Hao, I’d never be treated badly, and it’s more freeing than working for others. So I resigned, too!

But I didn’t expect that his so-called entrepreneurship would include you. Hmph! Looks like the time I was away from him, you two got awfully close!”

Her last words were sharp, clearly expressing a lingering grievance.

Fan Yirou laughed merrily, swimming over to Gu Mengyan and hugging her from behind. “Oh, my dear Lady Gu! Who was it, back then, who urged me to spend more time with Chen Hao? What, are you regretting it now? Do you think inviting me to live in your home was a huge mistake? Did you let the wolf into the house?”

Gu Mengyan scoffed, feigning disdain. “Don’t flatter yourself! A wolf? At best, you’re a rogue with the desire but not the nerve! Don’t think I don’t know—though you’re close to Chen Hao now, and your relationship is ambiguous, nothing has happened between you two. You’re still a virgin!”

Fan Yirou’s cheeks flushed, seeming a bit embarrassed. “Hmph! Easy for you to say. Aren’t you the same? If we’re talking about natural advantages, you have more than I do! Why are you still single after all these years? You clearly like Chen Hao but don’t dare tell him. What are you afraid of?

And if you like him so much, why did you leave him for so many years? Do you think distance makes the heart grow fonder? Times have changed—if you like someone, you must seize every opportunity to keep him close. If you slack off even a little, with Chen Hao’s qualities, who knows how many are coveting him!

He’s like a succulent prize—he’ll encounter countless women wanting to claim him in his lifetime. If you’re not careful, your master will be snatched away!”

“Don’t bring up me leaving home—it infuriates me! I went away to study for years, and he never once came to find me, as if I didn’t exist. Regardless of us not being a couple, I grew up with him as his little sister!

What kind of brother behaves like that? His sister studies in another city, alone and lonely, and he never visits—not even once! Fine, I know he’s busy, with school and learning martial arts from Uncle Chen during holidays. But can’t he at least call to ask how I’m doing?

Ask how school is, whether I’m tired or struggling, if I’m used to my dorm, how I get along with classmates, if I’m facing any hardship? Even when I didn’t return home for holidays, he never asked why. He nearly drove me mad. I must be blind to like him; if we hadn’t grown up together, I wouldn’t even bother looking at him!”

Gu Mengyan grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, climbing out of the pool and gulping down a drink from the table with force.

Fan Yirou lay at the pool’s edge, watching her with amusement. “If you hate him so much, maybe you should let some other monsters whisk him away!”

Gu Mengyan rolled her eyes. “Let monsters whisk him away? All these years I was gone, no monsters managed to whisk him away! He’s still single. Plus, his mind is filled with two-dimensional beauties; ordinary people don’t interest him. Who could compare to us? Who else could he possibly find in the real world?

I suspect the main reason he’s been single all these years is you. Maybe you’re not the ideal goddess he dreams of, but aside from me, you’re the closest. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed—Chen Hao likes you a lot. He may already see you as his future wife. Otherwise, he wouldn’t ignore other women and invite you to partner with him in business.

Come to think of it, I should thank you! If it weren’t for you, who knows whom Chen Hao might have randomly married, and then neither of us would have a chance.

But I’ve never understood—what do you really think of Chen Hao? Though we’ve been sisters for years, even now I can’t figure out what’s on your mind. You speak seriously but your actions are always at odds with your words. Chen Hao is another matter; you act ambiguous with him, like lovers, but nothing ever progresses. I can see it’s not because Chen Hao isn’t trying, but because your behavior keeps him guessing, so you two are stuck where you are.”

Gu Mengyan suddenly paused. “Hmm?”

Fan Yirou gave a strange smile. “What’s wrong? Did you think of something?”

Gu Mengyan turned, eyes wide, staring at Fan Yirou, sizing her up from head to toe through the water. Then she jumped back into the pool, wrapping an arm around Fan Yirou. “Hey, Yirou, you…”

Fan Yirou looked at her with a half-smile. “What about me?”

Gu Mengyan seemed to steel herself, taking a deep breath and holding Fan Yirou’s face in her hands, staring into her eyes. “You aren’t deliberately staying close to Chen Hao, keeping things ambiguous so he’ll misunderstand your intentions and give up on other girls, are you? You don’t actually like Chen Hao, do you?”

“How could that be? Of course I like him! If I didn’t, would I have played with you two all these years?” Fan Yirou pretended not to understand.

“I don’t mean that kind of ‘like,’ I mean between a man and a woman. Don’t play dumb!” Gu Mengyan feigned annoyance.

“Heh! If I didn’t like him, why would I keep things ambiguous?” Fan Yirou retorted.

“I already told you—you're doing it deliberately, to keep him away from other girls. Is it because of me? Because you know I like him, but you also know it’s hard for us to get to that point. Yet I’m unwilling to let go, and too timid to make the first move. So you help me by keeping him single, waiting until no one else wants him, so I’ll have a chance. Is that what you’re thinking?”

Fan Yirou burst out laughing, pushing away Gu Mengyan’s hands and returning the gesture. “When did my little Mengyan become so imaginative and clever? I’m impressed!”

“So you admit it?”

Fan Yirou sighed and nodded. “You’ve seen through me, so there’s nothing to hide. I guess my acting isn’t good enough, if you discovered it!”

“You did all this just for me?” Gu Mengyan eyed her in disbelief. Fan Yirou’s easy admission made her doubt it; from her experience, Fan Yirou would usually resist even when her motives were exposed.

“Of course. What else?” Fan Yirou replied with a cheerful smile.

“Don’t pretend. Your eyes flickered just now.” Gu Mengyan knew Fan Yirou’s little tells—she always showed this sign when lying or hiding something.

Hearing this, Fan Yirou realized she’d been found out and dropped her smile, shaking her head in confusion. “Not entirely…”

“There’s more?”

Fan Yirou sighed. “At first, yes—I only wanted to help you, so I got close to Chen Hao, and I really didn’t have those feelings for him. But later…”

She smiled wryly. “Later, maybe it was spending so much time alone with him… You know, we used to hang out together, but you were always there, and I knew how you felt, so I never had any stirrings. But those years…”

“So now, like me, you truly have feelings for Chen Hao?” Gu Mengyan asked, utterly serious.