My Sister Is Acting Strange - Chapter 79 - Starting with Bai Yuerou

Tang Yaoyao pushed open Tang Huaijin’s bedroom door, carrying a small plate of sliced fruit. She saw Tang Huaijin writing at his desk and sat on the bed beside him, placing the fruit on his desk with a playful smile. “Jin, have some fruit.”

He responded with a soft acknowledgment, remaining focused on his writing without even glancing at her. Tang Yaoyao pouted slightly, feeling a bit dissatisfied. She picked up a grape with her slender fingers and offered it to her brother’s mouth, speaking softly, “Let me feed you, here.”

Watching Tang Huaijin turn his head to eat the grape, Tang Yaoyao finally smiled with satisfaction. She glanced at the water cup on the desk and noticed it was still full. In a gentle voice, she said, “Jin, you need to stay hydrated in autumn. Why haven’t you drunk the water I poured for you?”

Tang Huaijin finally put down his pen, flexing his wrist a bit, and looked at his sister with a hint of helplessness. “Sis, if I remember correctly, this is your seventh visit to my room. You’ve poured me five cups of water and brought snacks twice.”

He had retreated to his bedroom because in the living room, his sister would occasionally act cute and cling to him, making it impossible for him to concentrate on writing.

Tang Yaoyao chuckled sheepishly, sticking out her tongue, and decided not to disturb her brother further. She gave him a light peck on the cheek and said with a smile, “Alright, I won’t bother you anymore. Go ahead and write.”

With that, she prepared to leave.

“Okay~” Tang Huaijin had just replied when his phone started buzzing.

To be safe, Tang Huaijin usually kept his phone on silent. But with his sister still in the room, she naturally heard the buzzing. She turned her head to look at the vibrating phone and paused her steps, then gently sat back down on Tang Huaijin’s bed.

Tang Huaijin picked up the phone, seeing the name on the WeChat call, his eyelid twitched. He turned to his sister, forcing a calm smile. “It’s Mrs. Xia, probably asking about Xia Xinya’s study progress again.” He wouldn’t be foolish enough to claim it was an advertisement; his sister would definitely find time to check.

Tang Yaoyao nodded noncommittally, showing no intention of leaving. With a gentle smile, she said, “Then answer it, put it on speaker so I can hear too.”

Tang Huaijin’s mouth twitched slightly. Not answering wasn’t an option, and refusing would only make his sister more suspicious. He gritted his teeth and chose to answer, turning on the speaker. Before Xia Yunzhu on the other end could speak, he laughed and spoke first, “Aunt Xia, are you satisfied with the tutoring results for Xinya?”

“What tutoring?” Xia Yunzhu was momentarily confused on the other end, instinctively asking. Then she quickly realized he might not be able to speak freely and continued, “I paid you to tutor Xinya, and this is how you handle it?”

Tang Huaijin breathed a sigh of relief internally, relaxing as he thought Mrs. Xia was indeed savvy. If it were that troublesome girl, the truth would surely be exposed. He feigned surprise and asked, “Impossible, I thought Xinya was studying quite seriously?”

“What good is that if her grades are still poor? If this continues, I’ll demand a refund.” Xia Yunzhu’s voice carried a faint hint of resentment.

Tang Huaijin was taken aback, puzzled, “How could that be?”

Xia Yunzhu let out a cold scoff, saying, “Where are you now? Send me the address, and I’ll have someone come pick you up. We need to have a proper discussion about Xinya’s studies.”

Tang Huaijin glanced at his sister with a hint of inquiry in his eyes, feeling somewhat troubled.

Tang Yaoyao’s expression mirrored his concern. Seeing her brother’s gaze, she immediately nodded, indicating he should agree.

“Alright then,” Tang Huaijin finally nodded and gave Xia Yunzhu the address.

After hanging up the phone, Tang Yaoyao leaned closer to Tang Huaijin, expressing her worry, “Jin, why is Mrs. Xia so fierce?”

“There’s no choice; it’s part of the job. After all, I accepted her money,” Tang Huaijin replied with a resigned smile, reassuring her, “Don’t worry, it’s probably just Xinya getting nervous and not doing well in her exams. It’s not really my fault. You stay home and wait; I’ll be back soon.”

Though unsure why Mrs. Xia wanted to see him, Tang Huaijin silently appreciated her cooperation. He genuinely didn’t know how to explain the situation to his sister, especially since he couldn’t just say he was trying to help Xia Xinya.

After sitting at home for a while, Tang Huaijin received a message from Mrs. Xia, bid farewell to his sister, and left the house.

As he stepped out of the neighborhood, he didn’t see the familiar Bentley. Scanning the street for cars, he was about to call Mrs. Xia when a white Porsche 911 honked behind him.

Through the windshield, he saw Xia Yunzhu wearing sunglasses in the driver’s seat. Tang Huaijin smiled and opened the passenger door to get in.

Once Tang Huaijin settled into the passenger seat, Xia Yunzhu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly beneath her sunglasses, though she said nothing.

Tang Huaijin had researched the Porsche 911 before, considering buying one for his sister. As he sat in the car, he briefly examined the interior and curiously asked Xia Yunzhu, “Mrs. Xia, why didn’t you bring a bodyguard?”

“There’s a major shake-up happening right now. The Qin Family won’t make a move in the midst of this turmoil,” Xia Yunzhu replied with a hint of impatience, adding, “Fasten your seatbelt.” Besides this reason, she mainly wanted to avoid being recognized by Xia Xinya, hence she drove this car she rarely used.

Tang Huaijin furrowed his brow but said nothing, fastening his seatbelt.

Xia Yunzhu didn’t ask why Tang Huaijin couldn’t speak freely earlier. She simply started the car and drove to the café they had visited last time, leading him to a seat.

Today, Mrs. Xia wore a camel coat over her outfit, the belt cinched at the waist, accentuating her slender figure. She paired it with fitted jeans that highlighted her shapely form. Perhaps due to driving, she opted for ankle boots instead of the high heels Tang Huaijin admired.

Xia Xinya loved dressing this way, likely influenced by her mother. Like many children, despite having a strained relationship with her mother, she still harbored a sense of admiration for her.

Xia Yunzhu’s slightly curled hair cascaded casually over her shoulders, the ends forming an elegant arc that exuded a unique charm of a mature woman. After signaling the manager to bring two cups of coffee, Xia Yunzhu glanced at Tang Huaijin, her lips slightly parted beneath her sunglasses, and softly said, “Let’s talk.”

Tang Huaijin understood what she meant and nodded, beginning to speak, “I’ve pretty much figured it out now. Xia Xinya doesn’t genuinely like girls. At least she doesn’t have that physiological aversion to boys. It’s just that due to her personality and other reasons, she doesn’t have other friends, so she’s overly reliant on Bai Yuerou.”

“Because she’s afraid that Bai Yuerou might leave her someday, Xia Xinya wants to be a couple with Bai Yuerou, thinking that this way Bai Yuerou won’t leave her. So she believes she’s fallen for Bai Yuerou. This doesn’t really count as being into girls; she doesn’t like other girls.”

Xia Yunzhu gave Tang Huaijin a somewhat approving look, as her consultation with a psychologist had led to similar conclusions. She asked, “And then?”

Tang Huaijin was taken aback, puzzled, “And then what?”

Xia Yunzhu looked at Tang Huaijin, took a sip of her coffee, frowned slightly, and asked, “Do you think I don’t know this? As you said, her original sexual orientation is actually normal, but her pathological dependence on Bai Yuerou, even wanting to be a couple to prevent her from leaving, isn’t normal, is it? She’s now able to accept being with a girl. How can you ensure her sexual orientation won’t become problematic in the long run?”

Indeed, in Xia Xinya’s subconscious, she still believes she likes Bai Yuerou. Tang Huaijin sighed, looked at Xia Yunzhu, and asked, “You’re right, but I really haven’t figured out what to do now. Since you called me out today, you must have some ideas, right?”

“Yes.” After a moment of contemplation, Xia Yunzhu took off her sunglasses, raised her head, her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at Tang Huaijin, and softly said, “Have you thought about starting from Bai Yuerou’s side?”

“What do you mean?” Tang Huaijin frowned.

“As you said, Xia Xinya developed the idea of being with Bai Yuerou because she’s afraid Bai Yuerou will leave her,” Xia Yunzhu explained. “So, as long as she understands that even if she doesn’t become a couple with Bai Yuerou, Bai Yuerou won’t leave her, wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

Tang Huaijin felt a headache coming on, “You make it sound easy, but how exactly do we do that?”

Xia Yunzhu looked at Tang Huaijin and softly said, “You.”

“…” Tang Huaijin asked with a confused expression, “Me?”

“Yes, you pretend to date Bai Yuerou, let her know Bai Yuerou is with someone else, and at the same time, make sure Xinya doesn’t feel neglected.” Seeing the troubled expression on Tang Huaijin’s face, Xia Yunzhu took out a card from her bag and said, “I know this is difficult for you, but if you agree, I’ll add another million.”

Tang Huaijin didn’t touch the card, feeling quite conflicted. He looked at Xia Yunzhu and hesitated, “Aunt Xia, do you really think this will work? Won’t it upset Xia Xinya?”

“This is the best solution we’ve come up with after discussing with Xinya’s psychologist. You just need to make sure Xinya doesn’t feel Bai Yuerou might leave her. Once she understands, you can tell her it was all pretend,” Xia Yunzhu nodded. This morning, after reading her daughter’s diary, which mostly complained about Tang Huaijin being annoying, she realized it was filled with feelings of jealousy whenever she saw Tang Huaijin close to Bai Yuerou.

This wasn’t a good sign. Although Xia Yunzhu had never experienced such feelings herself, she knew what they meant, having been a young girl once.

Only when you truly like someone do you feel jealous seeing them close to others. This meant Xia Xinya was genuinely starting to like Bai Yuerou!

Understanding this, Xia Yunzhu panicked. How could she ask Tang Huaijin for help, spend money, and end up with negative results?

She consulted her psychologist again, who had previously suggested asking Tang Huaijin for help. After a lengthy discussion, the psychologist recommended this approach, starting from Bai Yuerou’s side, as the safest and most effective method. It needed to be done quickly to prevent Xia Xinya’s emotions from escalating further.

Seeing Mrs. Xia’s determined expression, Tang Huaijin remained silent for a while before taking the card.

Doctor Bai also advised him to find a pretend girlfriend, and Xia Xinya’s psychologist suggested pretending to date Bai Yuerou.

Tang Huaijin sighed inwardly, feeling that he was destined to have a life filled with pretend girlfriends.