The Art of Mischief and the First Breakthrough

While the sensation was pleasant, merely holding hands made the atmosphere too quiet, hindering any progress in cultivating their feelings.

Having endured two minutes of silence, Xi Ruo finally broke it.

“So, when did you start getting into mischief?”

It hardly sounded like a topic for fostering affection, but then again, it didn’t really matter.

“Not long ago, actually, about a month,” Xi Yao replied with an air of innocence. “Just a little.”

She wasn’t exaggerating; it was the truth.

Xi Ruo scoffed. “So, just over a month ago, you wouldn’t even let me hold your hand, telling me you needed to prepare. Yet, a mere few days later, you started engaging in this kind of mischief?”

Xi Yao considered this, then suddenly spoke with earnest gravity. “That’s right.”

“…That’s right?”

“Yes, that’s right, for preparation, didn’t I tell you?” The young woman’s beautiful face was etched with seriousness. “This is precisely the preparatory work.”

Xi Ruo laughed in exasperation. ‘Too embarrassed to hold hands, so you just went straight for the grand prize, did you?’ she thought. ‘It’s like someone trying to cure their social anxiety (TL Note: ‘shè kǒng,’ a common slang term for social phobia) by running into a KFC when there’s no promotional event, shouting, “Different worlds meet, enjoy delicious food!” (TL Note: A popular slogan for KFC in China, often used in internet memes) and then uploading the video to Bilibili (TL Note: A popular Chinese video-sharing website).’

“This is your ‘preparation’? Hmm? Shock therapy?”

Xi Yao knew her flimsy excuse wouldn’t hold up, yet she brazenly continued. “But you’re holding my hand now, aren’t you? Just tell me if it worked.”

The art of spouting nonsense, she knew, hinged entirely on one’s conviction. One had to project an air of making it sound utterly convincing, leaving the other party unable to discern whether you were truly speaking nonsense.

Xi Ruo was indeed stunned by her sheer audacity, freezing for a moment. But the genius young woman was no pushover; she quickly recovered, letting out a cold snort.

“Since the effect is so good, why don’t we do more than just hold hands today? Why not go straight for the shock treatment?”

Xi Yao’s little heart skipped a beat. “No, we can’t… I mean, that wouldn’t be good. Besides, Mom always said it’s better to take things one step at a time.”

“So, are you still going to spout nonsense?”

“No, I won’t, I won’t.” The young woman returned to her docile self.

‘Tsk, so easily startled,’ Xi Ruo mused.

Yet, hearing Xi Yao say “our mom,” Xi Ruo felt an inexplicable warmth blossom in her heart.

****

As dusk deepened and the hour grew late, Xi Ruo released Xi Yao’s small hand and addressed her.

“Today was just the beginning. We’ll both be returning to school soon. Every weekend, I’ll come find you at the senior high campus, understood?”

“Understood,” Xi Yao nodded obediently. “Absolutely understood.”

Xi Ruo watched her silently for a moment, then suddenly spoke. “So, you’re not pretending anymore, are you?”

“Pretending about what?” Xi Yao asked innocently.

“Before, you were meek and timid, your voice softer than a mosquito’s buzz, and you couldn’t string three sentences together in half an hour of conversation,” Xi Ruo said, crossing her arms. “Now, you speak without hesitation, spouting arguments one after another.”

‘She really was pretending to be innocent with me before!’ Xi Ruo thought.

Xi Yao’s face flushed as she rubbed her little hands together awkwardly. “Well, I used to be quite introverted.”

“Heh.”

Xi Ruo rolled her eyes. “Alright, go back. Don’t let Mom find out.”

“Okay.”

Xi Yao gently pushed open the door, tiptoed down the corridor, and returned to her room.

She hadn’t paid any price today, and Sister Xi Ruo was completely unaware of the original owner having someone outside; it was a perfectly smooth success, one might say.

‘What a truly good day,’ she mused.

****

It truly was a good day; Xi Ruo thought the same.

The veil of her fiancée’s pretense had been torn away, revealing her true self. She spoke with such conviction, yet it was all twisted logic, and a mere scare was enough to make her behave—a classic case of a timid soul needing to be put in her place.

But inexplicably, she found her rather cute, far more endearing than her previous demeanor.

Moreover, after her self-proclaimed “practice” of two and a half years, they had finally achieved the first step in their romantic progress—holding hands, a breakthrough from zero.

For that alone, today was already a good day.

Xi Ruo sat down at her computer and casually opened QQ Music (TL Note: A popular music streaming service in China).

“I want to hold your hand like this and never let go, can love forever be pure without sorrow~”

As Jay Chou’s (TL Note: ‘Zhōu Dǒng,’ a respectful and affectionate nickname for the famous Taiwanese singer Jay Chou) voice filled the air, Xi Ruo leaned back in her soft chair, gently sniffing the lingering milky fragrance in the air.

Enrollment was on Tuesday, with classes officially starting on Wednesday, meaning the weekend would arrive in just three days.

What should she ask her to do then? A date?

During the date, could they perhaps do a little more…

In any case, whatever they did, the future certainly looked bright.

****

‘Pure, so utterly pure,’ Xi Yao thought.

Lying on her bed, Xi Yao gazed at the pristine white ceiling, a sigh escaping her lips.

She wasn’t referring to herself, nor the original host, but to Xi Ruo.

Xi Ruo was indeed a genius, but she had allocated all her talent points to more practical areas—such as academics, abilities, and sports. She was, in essence, a warrior with maxed-out hexagonal stats (TL Note: ‘liù biān xíng tiān fù,’ referring to an individual who is exceptionally talented in all aspects, like a hexagon with all sides maximized), with one glaring exception: romance.

Among other things, the fact that she was stuck on merely holding hands with her fiancée for three years already spoke volumes.

Not to mention, she had even allowed her fiancée to find someone else she liked at school…

“Alas,” she sighed, life was hard for a young woman. “What a mess.”

She had already torn out those pages from the diary, wrapped them in a silk handkerchief, and hidden them close to her body. Once she reached school, she would find an opportunity to burn them.

This, she thought, was what they called destroying all traces (TL Note: ‘huǐ shī miè jì,’ an idiom meaning to destroy all evidence or cover up one’s tracks).

As for future matters, she would worry about them later. She was still young; even at eighteen, it didn’t matter, as she was only in her second year of senior high.

‘Time to sleep, Zzzzz.’

The next day dawned, and the August sun rose early. However, thanks to the blackout curtains in her bedroom, Xi Yao slept soundly until past nine, only slowly rousing herself.

Had it not been for the impending school term, which necessitated some adjustment to an early rising schedule, she could have easily slept for another two hours.

Today marked the last day of summer vacation. Classes wouldn’t officially start tomorrow, but students needed to report back to school and arrange their dorm rooms.

Thus, for a while, this would be the last time the Xi family members would eat together.

Madam Xi had prepared a table laden with delicious dishes, including the spare ribs and roasted chicken that Xi Yao had recently grown fond of. (While Xi Ruo had always preferred light, refreshing desserts and ate sparingly, Xi Yao, in the past month, had suddenly developed a strong liking for meat.)

Her eating was endearing, with soft ‘awoo-awoo’ sounds.

“It’s good to eat well; those who enjoy their food are blessed,” Madam Xi murmured softly.

Over the past month, Xi Yao hadn’t gained weight; instead, she seemed to have grown a little taller.

‘Perhaps it was a matter of how her talent points were allocated,’ Madam Xi mused.

Xi Ruo walked in from the corridor and settled onto a chair with a soft scrape.

“Ruo, my dear, did you not sleep well last night?” Madam Xi immediately noticed her daughter’s unusual demeanor.

“Hmm…” Xi Ruo combed her bangs with her fingers. “I’m going back to school soon, so I spent some extra time checking if I’d forgotten anything.”

The truth was, she had been too excited to sleep, listening to “I want to hold your hand like this and never let go” on repeat more than a dozen times.

“Then have your meal and go take a nap. You must be well-rested before returning to school.”

After giving her instructions, Madam Xi paused, then asked her quietly, “How did your chat with A-Yao go yesterday?”

She was referring to their conversation that afternoon.