Chapter 456: The Guilty Xu Ruoxue and the Sinister Xu Ruoshui!
The next afternoon.
Xu Ruoshui woke up in a daze and touched her side, but the familiar warm body was nowhere to be seen. She immediately jolted awake. "My husband left?"
Opening her hazy eyes, she recalled what happened last night. It seemed she had drunk some wine, and then…
A deep, vivid blush crept up Xu Ruoshui's neck, spreading across her cheeks. The memories were fragmented, a jumble of heady sensations and whispered words, but the core of it was obvious. She made a soft sound of embarrassed self-reproach before swinging her legs out of bed. The silk of her nightgown felt cool against her skin as she tidied her disheveled hair and straightened her clothes.
A glance at the wall clock sent a jolt through her. It was already past four in the afternoon.
"Ruoxue isn't up yet?" she murmured to herself, a slight frown creasing her brow. "Didn't she say early to bed, early to rise?"
Her sister's door was still tightly shut, an unusual sight. Xu Ruoxue was disciplined, almost militantly so. For her to sleep this late was practically unheard of.
Patting her fair forehead, Xu Ruoshui felt a wave of annoyance, mostly directed at herself. "I originally planned to create an opportunity for Xu Ruoxue, but I ended up drinking some wine and forgot everything." The plan had been simple: she would feign drunkenness, giving her sister a perfect opening. Instead, she'd genuinely succumbed to the wine's allure, leaving her sister high and dry.
"She must be so disappointed," Xu Ruoshui sighed, her heart sinking with guilt. "She probably thinks I'm a dishonest sister who breaks her promises. No, I have to apologize to her."
With renewed purpose, she walked towards Xu Ruoxue's room. She raised her hand to knock, but her knuckles barely grazed the wood before the door swung inward with a soft click. It hadn't been latched.
"Huh? Xu Ruoxue, why are you still sleeping?" Xu Ruoshui's voice was filled with surprise as she stepped inside. The air in the room was shockingly cold, the air conditioning blasting at full power. Yet, incongruously, her sister was buried under a thick, plush velvet quilt, a cocoon of fabric in the middle of the large bed. "And why are you wrapped in that?"
She moved closer, her eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through the drawn curtains. Her sister's delicate, usually cool face was flushed a deep crimson, as if she were suffering from a high fever. Her skin glistened with a fine sheen of sweat. It was mid-July. Even with the AC on, being smothered in a winter quilt was absurd.
As Xu Ruoshui approached the bed, a flicker of pure panic flashed in Xu Ruoxue's starry eyes. She tried to sit up, clutching the quilt to her chin. "S-Sister Ruoshui," she stammered, her voice thin and strained. "I… I'll get up now. You go out first."
Her panicked reaction set off alarm bells in Xu Ruoshui's mind. "No, your face is abnormally red. Are you sick?"
An older sister is like a mother. All thoughts of the previous night's failed plan vanished, replaced by a surge of genuine worry. She couldn't help but feel a pang of responsibility.
Without another word, Xu Ruoshui walked over and gently placed the back of her hand against Xu Ruoxue's forehead. It was burning hot, slick with sweat. The temperature was alarmingly high.
"Xu Ruoxue, you're on fire! Why didn't you tell me?" Xu Ruoshui's voice was a mixture of concern and exasperation. "You're such a big girl, yet you still don't know how to take care of yourself. I can't imagine what kind of hard life you had when you were studying abroad all alone."
Her sister's overflowing concern only made Xu Ruoxue feel a thousand times more guilty and flustered. Her mind was a chaotic mess, racing to find an explanation, any explanation, that wasn't the truth. "Sister Ruoshui, no, it's nothing! I'm really fine!" she insisted, her voice trembling slightly. "You forgot, I've studied martial arts. My body is very strong. I'm not sick, it's just… it's just that the air conditioning is set too high, and I'm a bit hot."
Xu Ruoshui heard this and was both amused and annoyed. "Wrapped in a quilt thick enough for a blizzard, of course you'd be hot," she retorted, her tone softening with a hint of teasing.
As she spoke, she reached out, her fingers closing around the edge of the velvet quilt, intending to pull it away and let her sister cool down.
It was like setting off a bomb.
Xu Ruoxue's brain felt like it was about to crash. 'Absolutely not. He can't be seen. He absolutely cannot be seen.' The thought screamed through her mind, overriding all reason.
Her face flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet, and with a desperate cry, she clutched the quilt with all her strength, refusing to let go.
"Xu Ruoxue, what are you doing?" Xu Ruoshui grunted, pulling with more force. She hadn't practiced martial arts, and her strength was no match for her sister's. The quilt became the rope in a silent, desperate tug-of-war.
Xu Ruoshui panted softly, her brow furrowing in confusion. Her sister's reaction was completely irrational. It wasn't just resistance; it was pure, unadulterated panic. The look in her eyes was that of a cornered animal. A suspicion, wild and unbelievable, began to form in the back of Xu Ruoshui's mind. She pulled again, and Xu Ruoxue whimpered, her knuckles white as she held on for dear life.
"Alright, alright, I won't pull anymore," Xu Ruoshui finally relented, letting go abruptly. Sweat was beading on her own forehead now. She took a step back, studying her sister's terrified face. A faint, knowing smile touched her lips. "Honestly. I'll go out first. You come out soon, before you get sick from the heat."
She gave her sister a final look, one that was gentle but carried a hint of profound amusement, shook her head, and with a graceful twist of her slender waist, turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
The moment the latch clicked, Xu Ruoxue collapsed back against the pillows, her body trembling with relief. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. After a few seconds, she heard Sister Ruoshui's footsteps fading down the hall. Finally, she lifted the edge of the quilt, her face a storm of anger and embarrassment.
"It's all your fault," she hissed into the darkness under the covers. "Leave, quickly! If Sister Ruoshui sees you, I won't want to live anymore."
A little while later, after confirming the coast was clear, Xu Ruoxue tidied herself up. Her hands still shook as she smoothed her hair and clothes. She took a deep breath to compose herself and exited the room, heading for the living room with the feigned purpose of getting a glass of water.
She had just stepped into the hallway when Xu Ruoshui's voice, as pleasant and clear as a mountain spring, drifted from the sofa.
"He left?"
The question was casual, almost lazy, but beneath the gentle tone was a sharp, mischievous edge that cut right through Xu Ruoxue's carefully constructed composure.
"Ah? Who? Who left?" Xu Ruoxue's delicate body went rigid. The words tumbled out of her mouth, a clumsy, stammering defense.
Xu Ruoshui was sitting elegantly on the sofa, legs crossed, a teasing glint in her eyes. She watched her sister's flustered reaction with suppressed amusement. "You always stammer when you lie," she said, her voice dripping with playful mockery. "Ever since you were little. And you especially like to repeat words."
To drive her point home, Xu Ruoshui began to imitate her, pitching her voice higher in a perfect mimicry of her sister's panic. "I-I-I… just-just-just… who-who-who… ah-ah-ah."
The imitation was so accurate it was mortifying. Heat flooded Xu Ruoxue's face, a burning wave of shame and annoyance. She stamped her foot like a petulant child. "Xu Ruoshui, you… you're making fun of me!"
Xu Ruoshui's eyes curved into beautiful crescents as she laughed, the sound bright and musical. Then, her expression shifted dramatically, her smile fading into a sigh of mock disappointment. "Alas, I was originally going to openly assist you, create the perfect opportunity. But I didn't expect my dear little sister, ah, to have her own ideas and rush into it herself. Tell me," she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "is it more interesting when it's stolen?"
The directness of the question shattered Xu Ruoxue's last defense. She looked at the faint worry lines between her sister's brows, heard the feigned sigh, and was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of guilt. She had betrayed her sister's trust, even if it was a plan they'd concocted together.
"Sister Ruoshui," she whispered, her head bowed in shame. "I… I'm sorry."
The moment the apology left her lips, the worry on Xu Ruoshui's pretty face vanished like smoke. It was replaced by a triumphant, clever sparkle. She blinked her lively eyes at her sister, her expression growing even more mischievous and playful.
"Hehe, I tricked it out of you, didn't I?"
Xu Ruoxue stared, her mind blank. "... "
"So, where's that scoundrel?" Xu Ruoshui shook her head with another light laugh. She wasn't truly angry. After all, this was an outcome she had tacitly approved of, even prepared to facilitate. But she couldn't resist teasing her sister, not when she looked so adorably guilty.
Beneath her gentle, yielding exterior, Xu Ruoshui was actually quite cunning. It was a necessary trait. Otherwise, she never would have been able to hold her position as company president, navigating the treacherous waters of the business world, constantly scheming against old foxes and seasoned veterans who would devour her whole at the slightest sign of weakness.
Of course, her gentleness was also genuine. A truly cruel person would have thrown open the quilt in the bedroom, exposing the secret and letting her sister drown in humiliation. She had chosen a kinder, more private way to confirm her suspicions.
Xu Ruoxue stammered, her voice barely audible, "I told him to leave."
Xu Ruoshui narrowed her beautiful eyes, her playful demeanor turning serious for a moment. "Did he say how he would treat you in the future?"
Xu Ruoxue shook her head, admitting that the topic hadn't even come up.
Xu Ruoshui was both annoyed and amused by her sister's naivety. She reached out and tapped Xu Ruoxue's cheek with her delicate index finger. "Silly girl. Thankfully, that scoundrel, though a complete jerk, is also a responsible one. If you met any other man, you wouldn't even have tears left to cry."
A small, sweet smile finally broke through the clouds of embarrassment on Xu Ruoxue's cool face. "Mm-hmm, he's very good. I trust him."
Xu Ruoshui was speechless. "... "
How on earth did she end up with such a silly sister? On the surface, Xu Ruoxue projected an aura of cold competence. Rumor had it that during her time abroad, she was the feared intelligence master of the Blood Skull Mercenary Group. Yet here she was, acting like a clumsy, love-struck fool.
'Did falling in love really make her stupid?' Xu Ruoshui wondered. 'How is this cute, clumsy idiot supposed to work with me to keep that scoundrel's heart from wandering?'
A determined glint entered Xu Ruoshui's eyes. She pulled her sister down to sit beside her on the sofa and began speaking in a low, mysterious voice, imparting various palace intrigue tactics and strategies for winning a man's favor, insisting that they had to work together to seize the scoundrel's heart from all the other women.
Xu Ruoxue listened in a daze, her little face occasionally flushing at her sister's bold suggestions. A peculiar thought slowly emerged in her mind:
'Is all this scheming really not just a reward for him? When it comes to this, Sister Ruoshui seems even sillier than I am.'
'Is this really not rewarding me?'
Shen Anyu, listening to the entire conversation through a nanometer-sized monitoring robot, pinched his chin, a half-smile playing on his lips.
Actually, men didn't dislike "green tea" or "palace intrigue"—not as long as they were the ultimate beneficiary.
Xu Ruoshui's desire to compete for his favor was exactly what Shen Anyu wanted.
After all, he was the one who stood to be pleased.
At this moment, Shen Anyu had already returned to Jiangjing Manor. In the cultivation secret chamber, he sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.
As Shen Anyu's thoughts stirred, the inherited Jade Slip of the Nascent Soul True Scripture Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture floated before him, level with his eyes...
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