My Sister Is Acting Strange - Chapter 19 - Sense of Distance

When Tang Yaoyao got home, she sat on the sofa, feeling somewhat lost. Her mind kept replaying the events of the day, especially the last two sentences from Xia Xinya that had completely disarmed her.

What did she mean by saying this shop was hers? Does having money make you so great?

What did she mean by saying that her sister would never have to pay again?

I haven’t agreed to anything yet! And there she goes, calling me sister without my consent. How thick-skinned can she be…

Tang Yaoyao was in a terrible mood. She felt that today’s meal was nothing short of a battle, and Jin, that heartless guy, didn’t even let her prepare. The opponent had already set traps in their own territory, and Tang Yaoyao walked right into them, losing everything.

The more she thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved she became, until her eyes turned red.

“Sis, what’s wrong?” Tang Huaijin finally noticed his sister’s odd behavior and quickly asked.

“Let me ask you, what’s going on between you and Xia Xinya?” Tang Yaoyao looked at him with red eyes, questioning.

“Huh? Me and Xia Xinya?” Tang Huaijin was puzzled, not knowing what his sister was talking about.

“Stop pretending!” Tang Yaoyao’s voice was already tinged with a sob.

“Pretending what?”

“Fine.” Tang Yaoyao choked up, staring intently into Tang Huaijin’s eyes, “Have you ever spanked her?”

“…” Tang Huaijin was stunned, looking at his sister, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Well, yes, I have…”

His sister was heartbroken and burst into tears, sobbing, “You say there’s nothing between you two! You even kissed her! You’ve never kissed your sister!”

Seeing his sister crying non-stop, Tang Huaijin felt terrible, hurriedly sat beside her, hugged her shoulders, and explained anxiously, “I never kissed her!”

“Re… really?” Tang Yaoyao was still crying sadly but looked up at Tang Huaijin.

“Really, really, I promise. Why would I kiss her? She’s just a little girl with nothing to offer. Haven’t you checked my type on my computer?” Tang Huaijin saw his sister’s mood slightly improve and spoke without restraint.

Seeing Tang Huaijin’s natural expression and sincere tone, Tang Yaoyao believed him, but hearing him speak so freely made her blush, annoyed, “Who’s been looking at your computer… Don’t say such things.”

“Okay, okay, my fault. Don’t cry anymore, alright?” Tang Huaijin nodded repeatedly, smiling flatteringly.

Tang Yaoyao’s mood improved significantly, but she still sniffled and said, “Then, you mustn’t kiss her, and you mustn’t have anything with her.”

After speaking, she didn’t forget to warn Tang Huaijin, “Let me tell you, that girl may seem young, but she’s quite cunning. Just because she has some money, Jin, you can’t date a girl like her. I won’t agree.”

… Sis, if you say someone is cunning, I might believe it, but Xia Xinya…

She doesn’t have a cunning bone in her body…

Anyway, his sister wasn’t as upset anymore, and Tang Huaijin finally breathed a sigh of relief, helplessly saying, “Why would I kiss her? Besides, didn’t I often kiss you when we were kids?”

“You said it yourself, that was when we were kids. Since growing up, Jin hasn’t kissed his sister anymore.” Tang Yaoyao wiped her tears, feeling aggrieved.

Tang Yaoyao’s eyes were still a bit swollen from crying, her rosy lips slightly pouting, looking like ripe cherries, tempting one to pick them. Tang Huaijin’s heart raced, half-seriously, half-jokingly said:

“… How about making up for it now?”

“…”

Perhaps today’s events had left her feeling vulnerable, she looked at Tang Huaijin with a bit of confusion, her eyes still slightly red from crying, her lips slightly parted, yet she didn’t refuse.

He didn’t have much hope, but seeing his sister silent, looking like she was ready to be picked, Tang Huaijin’s heart started to beat faster, nearly jumping out of his chest.

He swallowed, his hand on his sister’s shoulder tightened slightly, and he slowly leaned in.

As Tang Huaijin’s face got closer, Tang Yaoyao felt nervous, her small hands tightly clutching her clothes, her mind a whirl of thoughts, yet she slowly closed her eyes.

Their lips were almost touching.

“Ding ding ding ding dong~”

The phone on the coffee table suddenly rang, startling Tang Yaoyao, who opened her eyes, pushed Tang Huaijin away, and moved back two steps on the sofa, turning her head.

Tang Huaijin, unprepared, was pushed back, instinctively looking at the ringing phone.

It was Bai Yuerou calling, Tang Huaijin silently muted it, his expression somewhat complicated as he looked at his sister.

“You, you should answer the phone first.”

Tang Yaoyao, who was peeking over, was caught red-handed, her ears turning red, hurriedly left a sentence, then quickly ran back to her room.

Tang Huaijin watched his sister’s slightly flustered back, feeling a pang in his heart.

You clearly wanted it to be just us.

I promised you, I would always be with you.

But why did you push me away…

…

The call had already ended automatically, Tang Huaijin took his phone back to his bedroom, didn’t call back, just sent a message on WeChat.

“Is there something you need?”

“Nothing much, just wanted to ask if you got home safely?” Bai Yuerou quickly replied.

“Yeah, I’m home.”

“That’s good, Xiaoya is still dragging me around shopping here, I’m a bit tired so I bought a cup of milk tea.”

She sent a photo of the milk tea.

Tang Huaijin wasn’t in the mood for chatting, so he casually replied with a cat meme.

Seeing no reply for a while, Tang Huaijin put the phone aside, opened a document, and started typing. His melodramatic web novel was reaching its finale, the male protagonist teaming up with ten girls who liked him to defeat the dimension-breaking demon king, only to find the demon king was a beauty, and then they all lived happily together.

Tsk.

Though melodramatic, elementary school kids love it!

Some readers commented for him to stick to a single line, ha, no way, Tang Huaijin would never stick to a single line, you’re all my wings!

…

Meanwhile, in the shopping mall.

Xia Xinya was sipping milk tea, scrolling through her phone, and saw a funny short video, laughing out loud, quickly nudged Bai Yuerou’s arm, saying, “Yuerou, look at this, it’s hilarious.”

Bai Yuerou was a bit troubled, glanced at the video perfunctorily, and asked, “Xiaoya, what do you do when someone sends you a meme in a chat?”

“Meme?” Xia Xinya thought for a moment, then confidently replied, “Just send a meme back.”

Bai Yuerou’s eyes lit up, urging, “Then send me some cat memes.”

“Cat memes?” Xia Xinya took a sip of milk tea, opened Yuerou’s chat box, sent a bunch of cat memes, puzzled, “Who are you chatting with?”

“No one…” Bai Yuerou replied perfunctorily, picked a suitable meme from the bunch and forwarded it.

Ding~

Tang Huaijin didn’t know what to reply, but he was the type to always respond to messages, so he sent a meme back.

Bai Yuerou sent another meme…

After a few rounds of meme exchange, Tang Huaijin frowned, well, this is a meme battle.

“Is there something you need?” he asked.

After typing several times, Bai Yuerou finally sent a message: “… Actually, it’s nothing, what are you doing? Are you busy?”

“Not really, nothing much, if you have something, just say.”

“Did Xiaoya make things difficult for you today? Sorry, she’s just like that, childish.”

“No worries, you don’t need to apologize for her, she’s always been like that.”

After a moment of silence, Bai Yuerou replied, “Actually, there’s one more thing…”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Well, I noticed.”

“Noticed what?”

“You used communal chopsticks to serve me, but used your own for Xiaoya…”

“…”

“Not just the chopsticks, there are other things, I seem to feel you’re intentionally keeping a distance from me, but not with Xiaoya, it makes me a bit envious…”

“… Really?”

“Well… maybe I sensed it wrong.” After a pause, she sent another message, “Actually, I wanted to say, given our relationship, there’s no need to deliberately keep a distance, aren’t we friends…”

Tang Huaijin fell silent, he indeed was intentionally keeping a distance from Bai Yuerou, or rather, for certain reasons, he kept a safe distance from all girls.

Because Bai Yuerou was gentle and understanding, he almost forgot that she was also a sensitive girl…

Thinking this, Tang Huaijin felt a bit guilty, typed:

“Sorry for giving you that impression… I won’t do it anymore.”

After that, he actively started a conversation, chatting with Bai Yuerou.

…

After scrolling through her phone for a while, Xia Xinya felt bored, lazily leaned on the small table in the milk tea shop, weakly said, “Yuerou…”

Bai Yuerou seemed not to hear, still engrossed in her phone, her face slightly flushed, occasionally smiling, dimples appearing on her cheeks.

Xia Xinya put down her phone, suspiciously stared at Bai Yuerou for a while, Yuerou was usually very quiet, rarely so interested in chatting.

Moreover, Bai Yuerou was usually very smart, rarely would there be awkward silences when she was around, yet she asked how to reply…

And she asked for memes…

Something’s off, very off.

Xia Xinya felt a sense of crisis, as if a green light was faintly glowing above her head.

She asked, “Yuerou, who are you chatting with?”

“No one…” Bai Yuerou’s body trembled, slightly unnaturally said, her face slightly red.

“Oh…” Xia Xinya took a big sip, finished her milk tea, picked up her bag, stood up, “Then let’s go, let’s shop a bit more, I heard there’s a new store opening over there.”

“Ah? Okay…” Bai Yuerou stood up, followed Xia Xinya, still looking down at her phone.

Xia Xinya frowned, suddenly leaned towards Bai Yuerou, looking at her phone.

She just saw the white chat background, Bai Yuerou quickly turned off the phone screen, slightly reproachfully said, “What are you doing, Xiaoya, suddenly leaning over…”

“It’s supposed to be just us hanging out, yet you’re always on your phone.” Xia Xinya said, a bit unhappy, “Who are you chatting with? It’s a guy, right? I saw the avatar.”

Xia Xinya actually didn’t see clearly, just saw a dark silhouette, just trying to trick her.

Bai Yuerou brushed her hair behind her ear, her face red, said, “No one, just a friend, you don’t know him.”

She felt inexplicably shy, not wanting Xia Xinya to know she was chatting with Tang Huaijin.

Hearing Bai Yuerou didn’t deny it was a guy, Xia Xinya felt a surge of jealousy, holding Bai Yuerou’s hand, said petulantly, “No matter who it is, don’t look anymore, we’re supposed to be shopping.”

Bai Yuerou couldn’t argue, helplessly put her phone back in her pocket.

Distractedly accompanying Xia Xinya shopping for a while, feeling her phone hadn’t vibrated since last time, Bai Yuerou bit her lip, stopped, said to Xia Xinya, “Xiaoya, maybe we should stop here today, I’m not feeling well, want to go back.”

Xia Xinya noticed her friend’s distraction, disappointedly said, “Alright, I’ll have someone pick us up.”

Bai Yuerou gently shook her head, smiled, “I’ll take a cab back, really not feeling well…” Since they were on a busy street, with many pedestrians around, she wasn’t worried about Xia Xinya’s safety, said goodbye, and hailed a taxi.

Xia Xinya watched her friend’s departing figure, alone on the street waiting for a ride, feeling a bit sour, wanting to complain but having no one to talk to, thought for a while, then took out her phone to bother Tang Huaijin.

“Poke~” She sent a meme, typed, “You pervert, are you there?”

Tang Huaijin had just received Bai Yuerou’s reply, was typing, when Xia Xinya’s message popped up, he frowned, weren’t they together?

“?” He replied.

A simple question mark, yet it instantly triggered Xia Xinya, she replied:

“? You think you’re cool? You pervert.”

“? Did you take something?”

“You started with a question mark, provoking me.”

“…”

“… I mean, weren’t you with Bai Yuerou? Why message me?”

Not mentioning it was fine, but mentioning it made Xia Xinya even more upset, she typed, “What, Yuerou’s been chatting with a guy all day, ignoring me, and finally left me alone.”

“…” The information was overwhelming, Tang Huaijin didn’t react immediately, at least Bai Yuerou hadn’t told him they separated.

After considering for a while, though not knowing why Bai Yuerou wanted to hide her chat with Tang Huaijin, he decided to respect her wishes, typed to Xia Xinya, “Explain.”