Hearing that it was her sister’s residence, Chiling found herself momentarily stunned. Yet, before she could fully regain her senses, Lena’s voice continued.
“Go inside,” Lena urged. “You’ll be staying at Roland’s place tonight.”
“What?”
‘Could Lena’s idea for them to reconcile truly be a forced encounter with Roland?’
‘It seemed utterly preposterous.’
A wave of disappointment washed over her. She questioned in a low voice, “She despises me so much. How could she possibly allow me to stay at her home?”
“Despises you? What if I told you she doesn’t actually despise you?”
“Impossible…”
‘Did Roland despise her or not? As her sister, how could she not know?’
For years, Roland had fled to Vidona alone, simply to avoid her.
If a simple encounter was all it took for Roland to forgive her, then it was an utterly impossible feat.
“Whether it’s true or not, wouldn’t you know if you just tried?” Lena persisted, still not giving up on convincing Chiling.
However, Chiling merely stood with her arms crossed, silently staring at Roland’s villa, completely unmoving. Occasionally, her gaze swept over Lena, tinged with a hint of suspicion.
As birds returning to their nests flew overhead in the evening, Lena suddenly let out a cold laugh, mocking, “What’s wrong? A dignified Councilor, are you truly afraid to even try this?”
Chiling cast a calm, indifferent glance at Lena, silently suppressing the faint flicker of anger that Lena’s words had ignited within her.
If it had been her younger self, she would have likely grabbed Lena by the collar and taught her a lesson.
Now, however, she could see right through Lena’s obvious goading.
‘Was she trying to provoke her into meeting Roland?’
“I’ll trust you this once.”
After a moment of contemplation, as if remembering something, Chiling uttered these words before walking towards the villa.
She raised a slender finger, hesitated for a moment, then pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong—
The crisp chime of the doorbell sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet evening. Following this, she heard light footsteps approaching from within, and then the front door opened from the inside.
Roland stood in the doorway, dressed in casual loungewear. Her thin white top hung down to her thighs, making it appear as though she wore nothing on her lower half.
Upon seeing Chiling, the smile on Roland’s face gradually faded.
“What are you doing here?”
“I, this…”
The cold words, paired with a blank expression, made Roland’s attitude cause even the dignified Eighth-tier Councilor, Chiling, to involuntarily step back. At the same time, she searched for Huona’s figure, hoping to seek her help.
What made her eye twitch was that Huona, who had been behind her moments ago, had vanished without a trace, leaving only the biting winter wind to blow.
She knew Roland could not possibly *not* despise her. This attitude and tone hadn’t changed in over a decade.
“I haven’t had a place to stay recently, so…”
Uttering an extremely clumsy lie, Chiling felt a surge of retreat. She intended to wait for Roland to finish her sarcastic remarks, then find an excuse to escape from there.
Huona’s method was truly terrible.
“No place to stay? You’re a high-ranking Councilor. How could you possibly have no place to stay? Besides, if you had no place to stay, where did you sleep the past few days?”
Her lie was exposed on the spot, causing Chiling’s face to flush. Just as she was about to elaborate on her excuse and flee, she heard Roland calmly state:
“Come in.”
As her words fell, Roland didn’t wait for Chiling’s reaction. She simply turned and walked back into the house, pulling a pair of slippers from the entryway and tossing them onto the floor.
Chiling, head bowed, was somewhat stunned. She had expected Roland to mock her, then drive her out like an insect.
‘Could it be just as Lena said? Did Roland not actually despise her?’
A glimmer of joy sparked in Chiling’s heart. Seeing her standing motionless outside the door, Roland frowned slightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Then hurry up and come in.”
“Mm.”
Responding, Chiling walked to the entryway and put on the slippers Roland had prepared for her. Whether by coincidence or not, the slippers were perfectly her size.
Upon entering the living room, Roland quickly sat on the sofa and gathered a stack of papers and several paper cranes from the table. Despite her swift movements, Chiling still caught a glimpse.
“What were those?”
“None of your business.”
After tidying the table, Roland picked up a book nearby and began reading silently. Once Chiling had settled onto the sofa, Roland spoke.
“Tell me, why did you come to my house?”
“I just wanted to stay with you for a night.”
“That’s all?”
“Mm…”
Seemingly speechless at Chiling’s answer, Roland opened her book and focused on reading, using it to shield half of her face.
In the corner unseen by Chiling, the corners of Roland’s mouth subtly curved upward.
Afterward, no further conversation arose between the two. The living room gradually grew quiet, with only the ticking of the clock on the wall breaking the silence.
Through this interaction, Chiling realized that Roland might indeed be different from what she had imagined, not simply despising her.
Moreover, she and Roland had spent so many years together, yet Lena seemed to understand Roland better than she did. She was truly an unqualified sister.
As the moonlight streamed in, Chiling finally thought of a topic and broke the silence. “What did you eat for dinner?”
Putting down her book, Roland replied, “I don’t know yet. I haven’t started cooking.”
“I’ll cook.”
“You can cook?”
“I learned a little over the years.”
With Roland’s consent, Chiling rose from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. After donning an apron, she began preparing the ingredients.
Roland observed her for a long time. Only after confirming that Chiling indeed possessed culinary skills did she leave the kitchen.
Before she came to Vidona, Chiling couldn’t cook at all. Roland had even tried to learn a few times in the past, but always failed.
‘She actually succeeded in learning all these years?’
The novelty of it made her anticipate Chiling’s cooking.
It wasn’t long before plates of appetizing-looking dishes were arranged on the table. Roland picked up her knife and fork, speared a piece of beef, and put it into her mouth.
“Is it good?”
Chiling blinked, watching her expectantly. Roland chewed a couple of times, swallowed, and then honestly replied, “It’s average.”
Receiving such a review, Chiling herself speared a piece of beef. After chewing it a couple of times and tasting it, she found it somewhat difficult to swallow.
“It’s not that bad, though…”
“It’s still alright. At least it’s not inedible.”
Leaning on her hand, Roland speared another piece of beef. As she chewed, she asked, “Didn’t you used to only know how to fight?”
“If you try a few more times when you’re free, you’ll always succeed.”
Nodding, Roland said nothing more, simply and silently finishing all the beef on her plate. Chiling only noticed this when she was clearing the dishes.