"Let me try it on, Sis, please? I’ll give it right back after I try it on for just a second."
"No."
"Why not? I just want to try it, okay?"
"Not okay. You think I don’t know you? You say you’ll give it right back, but once it’s on your hand, I’d never be able to pry it off. You did the same thing when we were kids. That time I got good grades and Mommy rewarded me with a little Christmas bear, you stared at it with those puppy-dog eyes and said you just wanted to sleep with it for one night. The next day, you said the little bear went missing?! Did the stuffed animal grow legs and run away on its own?"
"That was different! This is just a normal ring. You can buy one anywhere on the street."
"Then go buy one. There’s no way I’m giving you this one. It was a gift."
"Stingy! Fine, I don’t want it anymore. I’ll never ask you for anything again..."
...
The scene of their argument from four months ago resurfaced in Jiangg Yao’s mind, all because of this ring.
As she recalled, the two of them had bickered from childhood to adulthood, but most of the time, it was Jiangg Ning who yielded to her and would be the first to soften up and apologize.
That little Christmas bear from their childhood... her sister had actually planned to give it to her after playing with it for a few days.
But she had used some unsavory methods to forcefully take it for herself.
This ring, however, was special. She had never once gotten to touch it. Jiangg Ning even wore it when she showered.
Jiangg Yao hadn’t seen it at all since that breakup. She never expected her sister to have taken it off and put it in a drawer.
Taking the ring out of the jewelry box, Jiangg Yao studied it for a moment before putting it back. She returned to the bedroom, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"Found them. Here."
Jiangg Ning was already lying on the bed, her legs crossed. A clean plate sat on the nightstand beside her. She put down her phone, which was playing a TV show, and took the toothpick box from her sister’s hand, shaking a few out to stick into the fruit.
The cut apple slices were crisp and sweet. Jiangg Ning popped one into her mouth and bit down, and the sweet-and-sour juice burst out, a great satisfaction to her taste buds. She then picked up a cherry from the plate, parted her ruby lips, and took a bite, the soft line of her jaw flexing slightly.
"So good..." she mumbled.
Since it was quite warm inside, she was only wearing pajama pants, leaving her long, fair thighs exposed. Her face was bare and clean without any makeup, and her lips and the rosy cherry complemented each other perfectly.
Jiangg Yao stood by the bed, studying her sister intently. ’The more abstinent the face, the more ascetic the aura,’ she couldn’t help but think, ’the more it makes you want to reach out with your wicked claws.’
"What are you looking at me for..." Jiangg Ning tore her eyes away from the screen, staring in surprise at Jiangg Yao’s strange expression.
"Insolence! Is that any way to speak to this empress?" Jiangg Yao suddenly raised her voice, making her sister jump. The toothpick nearly poked her in the face.
"Are you nuts?"
She turned a deaf ear to Jiangg Ning’s question. Her expression slowly turned serious, and she looked at her sister on the bed with a teasing glint in her eyes. Then, she knelt on the bed and shuffled toward her on her knees... inch by inch.
THUD—
Her slippers fell to the floor.
Jiangg Yao reached out, the corner of her mouth slowly curling into a wicked smile. She pinched Jiangg Ning’s chin, meeting the gaze of her sister, whose brows were now slightly furrowed.
"It is your honor that this empress wants you. You should be eternally grateful and accept this favor, not show this empress such a sour face, you little vixen!"
Jiangg Ning’s chin was forced up, making her look up at her younger sister.
She rolled her eyes. She knew Jiangg Yao was just acting crazy again. ’A shut-in drama queen’s personality is truly something else! I’m speechless.’
"Heh heh," Jiangg Yao let out a cold laugh. She suddenly turned and yanked the blanket up, covering both of them. Their vision abruptly went dark. Then, her hands landed on her sister’s waist and began to tickle her mercilessly.
"You’re crazy... HAHAHAHA, don’t tickle me... GIGGLE GIGGLE, I can’t take it! You stinky Jiangg Yao, can you keep your hands to yourself, HAHAHAHA..."
In the bedroom, the pink blanket rose and fell violently, bulging in one spot one moment and sinking in another the next.
It was clear how intense the situation was underneath.
A few gasps and yelps could be heard from time to time.
"Wow, so soft to the touch."
"Get lost! What are you grabbing at?!"
...
After about ten minutes, they had probably had enough of their roughhousing.
Jiangg Ning’s expression was back to normal as she continued to recline and watch her show. Beside her, Jiangg Yao was nestled against her like a well-behaved kitten, hair disheveled, leaning on her and staring, entranced, at the plot unfolding on the phone screen.
However, judging from the equally dramatic rise and fall of their chests, it was clear how intense the previous struggle had been. Both were panting heavily.
Pulling down the status bar, Jiangg Ning glanced at the time.
"It’s time. I have to go to the university for a meeting."
"Goodbye. Pull up your pants and get going..." Jiangg Yao said weakly, tossing over the black mermaid skirt that had been thrown to the side.
"I won’t be long. Don’t you stay up too late playing, either."
"I know!"
...
「Landa University, Men’s Dorm.」
The joys and sorrows of humankind are rarely shared. Liu Nan, Chen Yuan, and Wei Zhen walked into the dorm laughing and talking, their faces beaming with cheerful smiles. But the moment they stepped inside and flipped on the light, they jumped in fright.
The floor was littered with crumpled-up tissues. On one of the beds, a man wrapped in a blanket trembled like a caterpillar.
The sound of muffled, intermittent sobs reached them.
"What’s going on? A ghost!"
"Have you ever seen a ghost that wastes so many tissues? That must be the Boss on the bed."
"You scared me!" Liu Nan clutched his chest, kicked a tissue away in disgust, and jutted his chin toward the bed. "Why is he twitching like that? Don’t tell me he jerked off till he passed out."
"Let me see."
Chen Yuan felt something was off. He quickly climbed onto Quan Yafeng’s bed, lifted the blanket, and forcefully turned their boss, who was facing the wall, over.
The haggard face that met his eyes, covered in snot and tears, gave him a shock.
"Are you okay, Yafeng? Do you have a fever?"
"I’m... not."
Liu Nan quickly scrambled up as well and felt their boss’s forehead. It felt warm, but not like he had a fever.
"What are you crying about? Did someone beat you up or something? Tell your brothers!"
He frantically grabbed their boss’s shirt and shook him hard.
"I... I’m so stupid! Second Brother! I’m crying because of my own stupidity!" Quan Yafeng wailed, hugging Liu Nan and wiping his snot all over his sleeve. "I got rejected by a girl again! She even blocked and deleted me."
"This..."
"Okay, okay," Liu Nan exchanged a look with Chen Yuan. They could both see the speechlessness in each other’s eyes. He put an arm around their boss’s broad shoulders and comforted him softly, "Don’t be sad, okay? I’m here for you. It’s not a big deal, it’s something everyone goes through... There, there, don’t cry. Mommy’s here to hold you. There, there, let me pet your hair. It’ll all be over after a good cry, ’kay!"
"WAAAAAAH..."
After a chaotic half-hour.
The dorm room floor was now completely covered in tissues, with several wads even littering the desk.
Chen Yuan and Wei Zhen sat together below the bed, tilting their heads from time to time as if playing a game of dodgeball, trying to avoid being hit by snot-covered tissues.
Quan Yafeng’s emotions finally stabilized somewhat. His eyes were numb, and his face was a mask of despair.
"Alright, tell us what happened."
"I... I confessed to Li Bing from our class just now. Well, it wasn’t really a confession, I just said I wanted to be friends... But I got too hung up on it. When she didn’t reply, I got anxious. I didn’t just send her several long-winded paragraphs, I also called her. In the end, I even contacted her friend to see what was going on and why she wasn’t replying..."
"And then?"
"You guys can look at the chat history."
Quan Yafeng handed over his phone, his lip trembling. The lit screen was a sea of green.
The guys passed it around.
In the ensuing exchange of glances, they each offered their own verdict.
"Idiot."
"Moron."
"I can’t even..."
When Wei Zhen saw it, his vision went dark, and he felt like he was about to fall over backward. He scowled and cursed, "Don’t you know Liu Fang and Li Bing don’t get along? You asked *her* for help contacting Li Bing, of course she was going to block you! And this is how Liu Fang ’helped’ you? By @’ing you in the thousand-person class group chat!"
"I didn’t know..."
"You deserved it. Li Bing is such a nice girl, just introverted and doesn’t talk much. After a stunt like this, it’d be a miracle if she had a good impression of you!"
"So what do I do now?"
"First, get dressed, clean yourself up, and take a shower. I’ll take you to apologize." Wei Zhen stood up. He knew a little about Li Bing and what kind of girl she was.