Second Sister: Are You Daydreaming

Evening.

Eldest Sister returned home.

Looking left, right, up, down… a flawless beauty from every angle!

Of course,

Beyond her beauty, there was her usual gentle and warm demeanor.

If you didn’t mention it, who would guess she was ill?

When Eldest Sister saw Second Sister, she paused slightly in surprise and smiled. "On break?"

"Mhm~"

Second Sister, already a bottle of wine deep on the living room sofa, nodded.

She seemed in low spirits.

Beside her, Cao Cheng greeted, "Good evening, Eldest Sister. Have you eaten?"

"I had dinner at a work event," Eldest Sister replied with a nod.

A perfectly ordinary conversation—nothing unusual.

But Eldest Sister was far too sharp. Think about it—she didn’t even gamble with Cao Cheng anymore. So she quickly sensed something off about the atmosphere in the room.

Especially Second Sister’s mood…

It was unusually somber.

As the eldest, she knew her sisters too well.

When Second Sister was in a bad mood, she usually didn’t drink—she’d go train in martial arts instead.

She only drank when she was in a good mood or just feeling neutral.

But right now,

This clearly wasn’t normal.

Moreover, the way Second Sister looked at Eldest Sister was strange.

Hard to describe—somewhat complicated.

Eldest Sister changed into her slippers, glanced down at her business attire, and murmured, half to herself, half questioning, "Did I wear the wrong clothes?"

Before Second Sister could respond,

Cao Cheng gave a thumbs-up. "Amazing outfit and style! Absolutely stunning!"

Eldest Sister scoffed. "Flattery… What do you want now? Let me tell you, I’m busy tonight—I still have to go out later to pick up some documents. No time for bets!"

See?

Too sharp.

Cao Cheng quickly shook his head. "No, no, no bets. Just saying you look even more beautiful than yesterday. There’s this indescribable ease about you—absolutely stunning!"

Eldest Sister chuckled. "Well, I should thank you for lightening the group’s burden and adding a hefty sum to the company’s liquidity. Makes my work much smoother."

Cao Cheng grinned. "Then how about selling the group to me outright? You’d be completely free."

"Talk to Mom about that," Eldest Sister replied, neither refusing nor agreeing.

Then she headed upstairs. "Keep watching TV. I’m going to change."

"Bye, Eldest Sister," Cao Cheng waved.

Once she disappeared around the stairwell,

Cao Cheng turned to Second Sister, exasperated. "Can you tone down the mood? Huh? Can you?"

"I don’t know how you work in criminal investigations. Undercover ops? With this attitude, even in a dress, you’d still seem like a brute."

"..."

Second Sister, uncharacteristically "docile," didn’t retort, just took a few sullen sips of wine.

Cao Cheng suddenly said, "Opportunity’s here."

"What opportunity?" Second Sister blinked.

"Eldest Sister obviously came back to change before going out to get something. If it’s really just documents, why not grab them on the way back? Why make an extra trip?"

Cao Cheng—now channeling his inner Conan—looked shrewd. "And like you said, the pills in Eldest Sister’s bottle are down to less than ten. At the standard dosage of two antidepressant pills a day, that’s not even a week’s supply."

"So,"

"Chances are, she’s going to get more meds… or see a doctor."

Second Sister’s eyes flickered.

Makes sense.

Some things go unnoticed until they happen. Only then do you realize how many details were overlooked.

Eldest Sister had no friends outside work obligations.

Unlike Second Sister, who, despite being busy, still went shopping or hung out with her bestie Tang Xin during downtime.

Eldest Sister lacked those small life details.

She either worked overtime at the office or brought files home. Even her social engagements never ran too late.

It almost felt like OCD—rechecking documents she’d already reviewed countless times.

Another sign of psychological strain.

Looking back, it was clear: every month, Eldest Sister had one or two instances of coming home, changing, and heading back out.

Never long—an hour at most.

Each time, the excuse was different: a haircut, shopping, forgetting documents at the office…

Once a month—easy to miss, since everyone had their own lives.

But now, what once seemed normal suddenly felt suspicious.

...

Second Sister and Fifth Brother exchanged glances.

The same thought flashed between them: tail her!

But Cao Cheng knew better. "This isn’t right. Everyone deserves some privacy."

Second Sister stared. "Are you coming or not?"

"Don’t threaten me. I’m a gentleman—I don’t do this kind of thing," Cao Cheng insisted.

"I’ll give you three massages when we get back."

"Five."

"Deal!"

"??"

Did I lowball myself?

Damn.

Should’ve gone for ten.

Cao Cheng hesitated. "How about… ten? Five’s too few."

Second Sister shot him a look. "In your dreams?"

"..."

Vulgar!

Absolutely vulgar!

Sigh.

Cao Cheng’s heart ached.

Internally, his system pushed him toward chaos—collecting negative emotions, stirring trouble.

Externally, people like Second Sister strong-armed him into mischief.

A man like Cao Cheng—a paragon of virtue.

One of the Ten Outstanding Youths.

One of the Ten Outstanding Entrepreneurs.

A Top Ten Young Leader.

A "Four Virtues" Youth—moral, cultured, conscientious, and soulful.

And yet, utterly corrupted by Second Sister.

In this household, aside from Cao Cheng, was there even a decent person left?

...

Eldest Sister soon reappeared in casual wear, her demeanor natural.

Normally, no one would think twice.

At most, they might wonder if she was secretly dating.

But now…

Things were different.

With a casual "I’m heading out," she left for the parking lot and drove off.

The two sneaky followers chose the "cheapest" car—an old Illie—and trailed her.

Still in their loungewear, too.

Changing clothes earlier might’ve tipped off Eldest Sister’s sharp instincts.

They tailed from a distance, nearly losing her multiple times.

Not due to Cao Cheng’s poor driving—rush hour traffic was brutal.

But the congestion also helped them cling to her trail.

...

Soon,

Eldest Sister arrived at a nearby CBD.

She parked in an open lot and entered a high-end office building.

Definitely not the family company’s location.

"What now?" Second Sister panicked. How could they track her inside?

The building was still bustling at this hour.

Which floor did she go to?

Getting closer or asking around would risk exposure.

Meanwhile,

Cao Cheng didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned, reached into the backseat, and pulled out a laptop.

(°Д°): A laptop?!

Second Sister was stunned.

"Is there a laptop in the back seat?

I didn’t even notice it earlier."

Cao Cheng didn’t offer an explanation, his expression unusually serious.

It was rare to see him this composed, leaving Second Sister utterly stunned.

With a few swift keystrokes, Cao Cheng began hammering out lines of code on the laptop.

The state of cybersecurity in this era was truly abysmal.

Even without "amateur-level" hacking skills, Cao Cheng’s own technical prowess was more than enough to breach the building’s weak passwords and laughably simple network credentials.

At most, he’d need to rely on a few publicly available tools.

Piece of cake.

The building’s network might as well have been wide open to him.

Network isolation, firewalls, encryption? None of it stood a chance.

In the blink of an eye…

While Eldest Sister was still waiting for the elevator, Cao Cheng had already infiltrated the IT and security systems.

He pulled up the surveillance feed, locking onto Eldest Sister’s figure.

With a smug "I’m a freaking genius" look, he handed the laptop to Second Sister, whose jaw had practically hit the floor.

"Here—keep an eye on her. The elevator and floor numbers are labeled. You can read those, right?" Cao Cheng drawled, oozing arrogance.

"You… you know how to hack?"

"I majored in computer science. Knowing a bit about hacking is pretty reasonable, don’t you think?"

"…"

Since when do universities teach hacking?

And this is just "a bit"?

The speed you pulled that off… You’re clearly not a first-timer!

Over the past two years, Second Sister Ren Fanxing had met her fair share of so-called "computer experts" fresh out of school.

But…

Were any of them this skilled?

Nope.

She couldn’t help but wonder—when this guy lazed around at home, was he really just drinking tea?

He definitely had some side hustle.

And probably a highly questionable one at that.

"What other sites have you hacked?" Second Sister eyed him suspiciously.

Who was Cao Cheng?

A righteous gentleman, of course. He’d never dream of hacking into home security cameras.

Cao Cheng shook his head. "This is the first time I’ve ever used hacking skills."

"Pfft—" Second Sister couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Yeah, right.

Cao Cheng tapped the laptop screen. "Quit staring at me. You think my face is a surveillance feed? Watch the screen—Eldest Sister’s already in the elevator. Hurry up, switch the feed and zoom in!"

"…"

Second Sister swallowed her doubts.

Her computer skills were mediocre at best.

Her movements were clumsy, fumbling a few times before finally pulling up the elevator feed.

But in her mind, she’d already made a decision: she was going to learn everything she could from this guy.

These skills would be invaluable for cracking cases.

Ding—

The elevator arrived in a flash.

On screen, Eldest Sister stepped out and turned right, moving with practiced ease.

Cao Cheng reached over and switched to another floor.

Sixteenth floor.

A camera on the right side revealed a company name in crisp detail:

"Xinran Psychological Counseling Studio."

The name alone made it clear—this was a private practice.

And it had to be legit if it could afford prime real estate in a location this expensive.

Eldest Sister walked straight in.

Second Sister tensed. "She’s here for therapy? Can you get a feed from inside?"

"That’s private space—"

"Just tell me if it’s possible."

"Fine."

Cao Cheng sighed. Second Sister wasn’t backing down.

Damn, she’s pushy.

No wonder she’s the second eldest.