Chapter 121 - 112: Sisters’ Showdown (Part 2)

Chapter 121: Chapter 112: Sisters’ Showdown (Part 2)

Yan Xici lost her nerve again. She pursed her lips, looking timidly at Yan Li on the opposite sofa. "Sis, don’t be so fierce..."

Yan Li: "..."

Just then, Wang Meng came in with their food. Seeing the state the two sisters were in, especially the deathly pale Yan Li, her first thought was, ’President Yan must have gotten sick from anger!’

She hurriedly placed the food on the office desk and walked quickly toward Yan Li.

With a concerned expression, she asked, "President Yan, are you alright?"

Yan Li let out a long breath. "Walk Xici downstairs!"

Right now, she desperately needed to be alone.

She needed to think hard about what to do next.

...

Meanwhile, Xiao Ran had bought groceries and returned home. He’d expected to see Yan Xici’s cheerful and adorable figure the moment he walked in, but to his surprise, the house was empty.

The silence told him that no one was home.

His first thought was, ’Did she fall asleep in the hanging chair?’

With that in mind, he tiptoed over, placed the groceries in his hands on the dining table, and then turned to walk into the small courtyard.

However, there was nothing in the hanging chair but a laptop.

He reached into his jeans pocket, pulled out his phone, and called Yan Xici.

’That girl... She never goes out at this time of day. What’s gotten into her today?’

After a few rings, the call was answered.

The girl’s soft, sweet voice came through the phone. "Hello."

She was currently sitting in a taxi.

Wang Meng had offered to drive her back, but she didn’t want Wang Meng to know where she lived.

So she’d chosen to take a taxi home herself. Yan Xici glanced at the cars speeding past outside the window, her tone vacant.

Although it seemed she had won the first round of this war with her sister, she didn’t feel at ease.

After all, that was her own sister. Especially when she saw the state her sister was in as she was leaving, the more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.

Xiao Ran’s voice was laced with worry. "Where did you go?"

She hadn’t cried when she got the call from her sister, and she hadn’t cried when she was in her office arguing with her.

But the moment she heard Xiao Ran’s voice, she was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of grievance.

She was sad and scared. ’That was terrifying just now!’

’What if my sister forces me to break up with him, or flies into a rage and drags me home to be dealt with by our parents? The consequences would be unimaginable.’

That complex mix of turmoil, fear, and a tiny drop of victorious joy instantly swept through every cell in her body.

She finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, and tears welled up in her eyes.

But as upset as she was, she didn’t want to worry Xiao Ran. She pressed her lips together, trying to act as if nothing had happened, and said in a deliberately light tone, "It’s nothing, I just went out for a little walk."

She might be naive, but she understood that since she had made her choice, there were some things she would simply have to bear on her own.

’I have to be strong. I can’t let Brother Xiao Ran get upset because of my problems.’

Even though they weren’t face to face, they had lived together for three years. Just from the sound of her voice, Xiao Ran could already tell something was wrong.

His intuition told him she was very upset and that she wasn’t telling the truth.

His heart leaped into his throat. "Where are you really? Are you hiding something from me?"

"It’s nothing, I just went out to buy groceries. I’ll be back soon," Yan Xici said stubbornly, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Her voice was thick with a nasal tone and was trembling slightly. Xiao Ran knew—it was the sound of someone who had been crying.

He just couldn’t figure out what had happened that she was unwilling to tell him about.

As far as he could remember, this was the first time she had hidden something from him. In the past, whenever something was bothering her, she would always tell him, and he would help her figure things out.

Although he was curious, he chose to respect her decision. He could always listen when she was ready to talk.

He pursed his lips. "Just come home for now."

"Okay." The girl sniffled and nodded instinctively.

Then she hung up the phone.

The tears could no longer be held back.

Large, crystal-clear drops streamed down uncontrollably.

The taxi driver was a middle-aged man. Seeing the girl crying her heart out, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. He pulled out a tissue and passed it back to her.

’This girl is the same age as my own daughter. It makes me miss my daughter... I wonder if she also cries this sadly when no one’s watching.’

"Thank you, sir," the girl sniffled.

She took the tissue and wiped the teardrops from her face.

The man continued, "How old are you?"

"Twenty."

Yan Xici wiped the tears from her face, sniffled again, and then replied.

Hearing this, the man looked surprised.

"Oh, that’s really the same age as my girl. My daughter’s also twenty this year. She’s back in our hometown. I wonder how she’s doing now."

He sighed after speaking. "Look at that suit, it doesn’t look cheap. If your tears get on it, it’ll turn yellow and be hard to wash. Stop crying now."

’Don’t be fooled by the man’s age; his eyesight is sharp. That suit... good workmanship, good material. It looks expensive at a glance. The kind I could never afford to buy, anyway.’

Hearing this, the girl subconsciously looked down at her clothes. When she saw they weren’t wet, she relaxed again, pursing her lips and saying nothing.

Perhaps because he was thinking of his own daughter, the man became more talkative.

"Why are you crying? Did you have a breakup?"

The girl shook her head. She hadn’t had a breakup.

"Then, did you have a fight with your family?"

"Mhm... my family doesn’t really approve of my current boyfriend."

Perhaps because the man was so kind and approachable, Yan Xici, as if guided by an unseen hand, found herself telling him about her situation.

Hearing this, the man was taken aback. ’Well, what do you know, I hit the nail on the head!’

’And I was right on both counts!’

"What does your boyfriend do for a living?" the man asked subconsciously.

"A librarian."

"Then, do you think he’s a good person? I don’t mean just to you, but how he treats his friends and other people around him," the man continued to ask.

’I’m not just someone who’s been around; I’m also a father with a daughter. Usually, parents disapprove for one of two reasons: either his job isn’t good and they think he has no future, or there’s a problem with his character.’

The girl blinked and said earnestly, "He’s a very good person. He’s good to me, and he’s good to the people around him. A lot of people like him."

She truly believed it. In her heart, Xiao Ran was the best man in the entire world.

Seeing her eager to defend him, the man couldn’t help but smile.

"Look at you. It’s obvious you really like your boyfriend, huh?"

"Actually, if there are no problems with those two things I asked about, parents will usually come around. After all, there aren’t any parents in the world who don’t want what’s best for their children. As long as his character is good and his job is decent, they won’t have much reason to refuse."

Hearing this, the girl fell into deep thought.

’If what the man said is true, then Mom and Dad should be able to accept me being with Brother Xiao Ran, right?’

’Mom likes Brother Xiao Ran so much. My sister is their daughter, and so am I. She can be with Brother Xiao Ran, so why can’t I?’

’Anyway, my sister already misunderstands the situation. Maybe I should just tell Mom and Dad the same thing. After all, I’m their biological daughter. If all else fails, I’ll just say I’m already pregnant!’

’The more she thought about it, the more she felt it could work!’

’After all, she was in this for life; it really wasn’t a game!’

Meanwhile, after hanging up, Xiao Ran went to the entrance of the residential complex to wait.

The midday sun was glaring. Xiao Ran kept his head down, his brow furrowed, his eyes occasionally glancing at the vehicles passing by on the road.

’If she won’t talk, then the only thing I can do is be there for her.’

When Yan Xici got out of the car, she said goodbye to the kind driver and walked toward the complex with her head down.

Because a grand family drama was playing out in her mind, the girl completely missed Xiao Ran standing by the side of the road.

Seeing that she was about to enter the complex, Xiao Ran walked over quickly and gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?"

The girl, who was busy pondering how to approach her parents, was startled by the sudden tap and let out a little "Ah!"

When she saw it was Xiao Ran, her expression of surprise softened, and she patted her chest in relief.

She said with a hint of playful reproach, "You scared me!"

Xiao Ran chuckled. "When you eat, focus on eating. When you walk, focus on walking. Got it?"

No matter what you’re doing, it’s not good to be distracted.