The SPLISH-SPLASH of water was mostly drowned out by the music coming from the living room. On the balcony, a figure bustled about, bathed in sunlight.
The past two days had been blessed with rare, sunny weather. There were no somber, rolling clouds in the sky; the fine drizzle and the bone-chilling cold of the cusp of winter and spring were forgotten, left behind in yesterday.
The sunlight was so scorching it was hard to breathe.
Only in the evening could one fully appreciate the sun’s gentle warmth without worrying about getting dizzy from the heat.
The figure on the balcony seemed both unique and utterly ordinary. Every object here remembered the mistress’s beautiful face and her subtle, serene scent—she was often out here, hair tied up, sleeves rolled high. Her delicate cheeks were more eye-catching than the morning light, and her moving arms were fair and slender.
But today, she was different. Normally, she wasn’t this lively, swaying back and forth to the music playing from the phone on the coffee table.
Soapy water trickled onto the floor. She let out a long breath and stood on her tiptoes to hang the freshly washed clothes.
CLICK.
The front door was pushed open.
A woman who looked identical to the one on the balcony walked in, wearing high heels.
She set down her bag, changed into slippers, and walked through the entryway.
Hearing the music, she looked inside curiously. When she caught sight of the figure on the balcony bustling about with her back to her, she froze for a moment.
"What’s going on... Is Chen back?"
"No," Jiangg Yao said, patting a half-dry piece of clothing without turning her head, clearly immersed in her chores. "Didn’t he tell you he’s not back until tomorrow?"
"He did. So what are you doing?"
"Washing clothes."
Jiangg Yao’s reply was matter-of-fact, as if this was something she did all the time.
Jiangg Ning was completely baffled by her sister’s uncharacteristic behavior. She even forgot what she had planned to do after getting home. Without taking off her coat, she leaned against the entryway wall in her office attire, staring at Jiangg Yao.
Her knee-length trench coat covered her black tights, revealing slender calves that were a work of art a sculptor would struggle a lifetime to replicate.
But this woman, who possessed a face comparable to a Saintess and a perfect figure, parted her red lips only to ask such a malicious question:
"Chen isn’t here. Why are you washing clothes?"
"What’s that supposed to mean? You make it sound like I’m some pampered princess who never lifts a finger."
"Aren’t you?" Jiangg Ning raised an eyebrow and said coolly, "Laziness is your defining characteristic. If this was all a performance for his benefit, I could understand it. The problem is, he’s not here."
"Please, there’s a lot you don’t understand. People can change, you know. If a beautiful girl like me were the protagonist of an anime, the titles would be something like, *The Daily Life of a Young Mistress Turned Domestic Goddess* or *A Record of a Transformed Beauty’s Today*," Jiangg Yao said, shaking the dampness from a shirt. Standing in the sunlight, she flashed a sweet smile and asked in a deliberately saccharine voice, "So, my dear Ningning, what kind of anime would you be the star of?"
"I don’t know."
"I know. I’ve even thought of the title. How about *The Evil Hag Sister Who Occasionally Murmurs Malicious Insults at Her Younger Sister*? How’s that for a slice-of-life anime, hmm?"
"No, that would have to be a battle anime." Jiangg Ning seemed unfazed by her sister’s passive-aggressive jab, looking completely composed.
"..."
In truth, Jiangg Yao didn’t want to do laundry either.
But the man’s boxers flapping in the wind on the balcony were dirty because of her. It couldn’t be helped. Who could blame a certain naive young man for being unable to resist the overwhelming beauty of a gorgeous girl? It was only natural.
Normally, Jiangg Ning wouldn’t come home and immediately start picking a fight with Yaoyao for no reason. They hadn’t argued in a long time. Since their last birthday, the three of them had spent a relatively peaceful and happy period together. Life seemed to be moving in a wonderful direction, just as Chen Yuan had imagined.
But it was all an illusion.
Their concessions and compromises only ever happened when he was around.
They still had irreconcilable conflicts.
If Jiangg Ning hadn’t been so busy lately, this balance would have been shattered long ago.
Chen Yuan happened to be away in Kyoto on a business trip. With him not at home, the two sisters didn’t have to hold back, and the acrimony of their tit-for-tat was naturally much thicker.
In the past, Jiangg Yao would look forward to her young master coming home soon, and Jiangg Ning would be happy to enjoy a bit of respite from her exhausting work. But things were different now. He wasn’t home.
After taking off her trench coat, Jiangg Ning flopped onto the sofa. She washed an apple and took a small bite, leaving a red mark on the pale yellow flesh.
A phone was lying on the sofa. It wasn’t hers; Yaoyao had casually placed it there when she went to do the laundry.
"You’re home early."
"Mmm..." Jiangg Ning subconsciously glanced at the chat on the phone’s screen. "Just a little tired."
The phone was just lying there; anyone would have glanced at it. She had no intention of prying into her sister’s daily interactions with Chen Yuan, but that one glance at the chat log was enough to sting her deeply.
The sweet nothings that filled their typed conversation, the various cringey pet names, the doting tone... Jiangg Ning’s mood instantly plummeted.
’I don’t want to doubt Chen Yuan.’
’But day after day, what I want remains forever out of reach. It’s like a carrot I can never catch. Besides, in a complicated relationship like this, there’s no such thing as unshakable trust. We all just love as we do, relying on nothing but our own conscience.’
She wasn’t doubting Chen Yuan.
Rather, everything in front of her was telling her that she was sinking deeper and deeper into this cage, while the promised rescue remained impossibly distant.
Jiangg Ning spoke nonchalantly with Yaoyao as she reached out and turned off the lit phone screen in front of her.
’Looking at this is pointless. It only deepens the pain.’ She knew this all too well.
"Our young master won’t be here tonight, so we can just have something simple. Or we don’t have to eat at all. I was planning to lose a little weight recently, not a lot, since it’s almost time for short skirts again. I remember you had a way to slim down your legs, sister. Is it hard...?"
Jiangg Yao chattered on.
However, Jiangg Ning, still on the sofa, suddenly froze.
As if she hadn’t heard a word, her hand froze in mid-air. She stared at a glittering object on the coffee table. It had been hidden among some wadded-up tissues, but when Jiangg Ning had moved the phone, it had been revealed.
It was an extremely beautiful watch, small and exquisite.
"When did you buy a new watch?" Jiangg Ning asked, picking it up in surprise, an eyebrow raised.
"...Uh," Jiangg Yao stared blankly at the watch, her mind going completely empty. "I..."
She hadn’t known her sister would be home so early, and she hadn’t realized at all that the watch Chen Yuan gave her was sitting on the coffee table. She normally only wore it when Jiangg Ning wasn’t home. Looking at the gift from her young master while she was streaming always put her in an especially good mood.
But today, the watch had gotten wet while she was doing laundry. She had wiped it off and set it there because the washing machine’s timer had just gone off.
She never thought she’d set it down and forget about it.
"I bought it a while ago! I forgot to tell you, sister... It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, it’s just that I was afraid if I did, you’d buy the same one, and then mine wouldn’t be special anymore!" Jiangg Yao’s face was pale as she forced a smile and lied.
Her lie was almost believable.
It was definitely something she would do.
However, no matter how elaborate, the lie couldn’t fool Jiangg Ning. It wasn’t because she was particularly clever, but because Chen Yuan had made a fatal mistake.
The two separate gifts he had bought were from the same store, from the same brand.
Even if the two sisters were complete idiots, they would have noticed something was wrong.
To Jiangg Ning, that brand looked far too familiar.