A Sister’s Ultimatum

“Si Yi, stop this. Calm down.”

Seeing my sister’s anger explode and Su Xiao Yu, whose collar she was gripping, hanging her head low, I quickly walked over to mediate.

The situation was already dire—on the verge of collapse. If no one stopped them, I was afraid the living room would turn into a boxing ring.

Having watched them grow up together, if Xiao Yu and Si Yi, who were like sisters, really came to blows, I would feel terrible and guilty.

After all, it seemed I was the root cause of their argument.

—”That night, I could only watch him from the sidelines. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

From Chen Si Yi’s words, I learned this shocking fact: it seemed that during the confession that night, she had followed us the entire time and witnessed the whole process.

Whether it was the scene of my rejection or my embarrassing display afterward, sitting alone on the stairs drinking myself silly—she had apparently seen it all.

Sigh. So she had carefully planned all this because she saw how heartbroken I was. I didn’t know how to react.

Was I touched… or gratified? Perhaps a bit of both. But right now, I couldn’t afford to dwell on my sister’s devotion. The urgent task was to reconcile the two girls and prevent them from becoming enemies.

According to Chen Si Yi, she was angry at Su Xiao Yu for rejecting me. If that was the case, then as long as I showed that I had moved on, the situation should ease up.

But…

Their conversation was becoming more and more baffling to me.

“Si Yi, it’s not like that.” Su Xiao Yu lowered her head, her expression bitter. “I had my reasons for doing that…”

“What reasons? Is it what you told me in the room two years ago?” Chen Si Yi said.

“But haven’t I done what you asked? I’ve grown up now. I don’t need his care anymore. So why did you still reject him?”

“… …”

Chen Si Yi’s barrage of questions made Su Xiao Yu’s bitterness deepen, and of course, it furrowed my brow in confusion.

‘What did Xiao Yu say two years ago?’ ‘I don’t need his care anymore, so why reject him?’

What did that mean? Why couldn’t I understand a single word they were saying?

I recalled that their relationship had suddenly hit a freezing point two years ago, and Su Xiao Yu had barely set foot in our house since then. So I had reason to believe that the source of this quarrel was that conversation two years ago.

Could it be… that they had fought over me two years ago?

“No. Throwing a tantrum like a child just proves that you haven’t grown up, Si Yi…”

After a long silence, Su Xiao Yu slowly raised her head, hands pressed against her chest. Her hesitant words immediately made Chen Si Yi’s face turn red.

“What… do you mean by that?!”

Chen Si Yi’s voice rose several octaves.

“If you have something to say, just say it outright. Why do you have to be so secretive? Aren’t we family…? Why… why must it be like this?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s precisely because you are my sister that I can’t say it. Besides… Si Yi, you already have the answer, don’t you?”

As she spoke, Su Xiao Yu instinctively reached out to touch Chen Si Yi’s head, but Si Yi turned away to avoid it.

“I don’t know. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Chen Si Yi bit her lip, stomped a few steps back, and her hand gripping the chair began to tremble slightly.

“Si Yi, you just aren’t ready to face it yet.”

“Wh-what? That’s nonsense. What do I have to be afraid of? I, I…”

Su Xiao Yu’s aggressiveness made Chen Si Yi’s breathing rapid. She shrugged her shoulders, took a deep breath, and her heaving chest finally calmed down a bit.

“Let’s drop this topic.”

Chen Si Yi gritted her teeth, and the hesitation on her face gradually gave way to determination.

“In any case, I want to ask you a few questions, Xiao Yu. If you don’t plan to answer, then don’t expect to see Lin Yan today. No… not just today. From now on, forever and ever, you’ll never see Lin Yan again.”

Huh? This… this was a bit terrifying. What did she mean by preventing Xiao Yu from ever seeing me again?

Was she planning to keep me locked up at home as a loli forever if Su Xiao Yu didn’t answer?

Even though I knew the threat was more about effect than reality, Chen Si Yi’s serious expression still made my hair stand on end. As for Su Xiao Yu beside her, she looked as if her weak spot had been hit, her face drastically changing.

Seeing the situation spiraling in a bad direction, I quickly coughed a few times. Forgetting the awkwardness of revealing my identity in this loli form, I parted my pink lips to speak and stop them, ready to blow my cover.

“Wait… mmm… mmm?”

But before I could even say the word “wait,” my mouth was blocked by something familiar.

‘Hey, what are you doing, Serena? Let go! Can’t you see the situation is bad?’

I turned to glare at Serena’s face, raising my eyebrows to signal her to let go. This was no time for jokes!

But in response to my complaints, Serena simply shook her head. While I was distracted, she used her free left hand to wrap around my waist and lift me up, pressing my back tightly against her chest, completely trapping me in her embrace.

‘Hey, what are you doing? Let me go!’

I sent urgent glances at Serena, but she had no intention of stopping. She just lowered her head and whispered in my ear, “This is all according to Si Yi’s plan,” then fell silent, ignoring my struggles and resistance.

The situation was becoming increasingly unpredictable. Seeing me held immobile in Serena’s arms, Chen Si Yi gave me a meaningful glance and finally made her next move.

She waved her hand, beckoning Su Xiao Yu beside her to walk with her toward the entrance.

“Xiao Yu, since you want to see Lin Yan, let’s talk outside. After all, my two younger sisters are still here. It wouldn’t be good if they heard.”

“Mm.” Su Xiao Yu nodded stiffly. “Since you say so, Si Yi, let’s go.”

And with that, the living room fell silent again.

The rustling of footsteps sounded, one after another. Under my astonished gaze, Chen Si Yi and Su Xiao Yu left the house, stepping into the dark stairwell. The door closed, and they disappeared from my sight.

What was Si Yi planning?

Held in Serena’s embrace, I stared blankly at the closed door, my thoughts on the verge of chaos.

My little sister… what exactly was she trying to do?!