Very Traditional

"Social death" is the abbreviated term for "socially awkward situations so mortifying you wish you could evaporate on the spot."

Some people may appear alive, but in reality, they’ve already been dead for a while.

Gu Ximan was currently experiencing exactly that.

Though her body remained in the bedroom, her soul had already floated beyond the clouds, carried away by the humiliating words she’d just blurted out.

The other party hadn’t even made a basic move, yet she had already unleashed her ultimate ability in a panic—blowing herself up in the process.

"Manman..." Though Lu Xuexue hadn’t fully recovered from the sudden shock, she could still understand Gu Ximan’s current state of mind.

Just imagining herself in that situation made her cringe so hard she could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her toes.

All that effort, only to end up with a score of 0-5.

She was about to offer some comforting words when Gu Ximan let out another shrill, groundhog-like scream—"AHHHHHHHHH—!!!"

"Don’t say it, don’t say it! Just let me die!"

"That wasn’t me just now... I was possessed by a ghost, I swear!"

"I wanna die... I wanna die... I wanna die..."

Seeing her best friend on the verge of a complete meltdown, Lu Xuexue hesitated before cautiously saying,

"Manman, I’ll... go make some tea first..."

With that, she quickly slipped off the bed, put on her slippers, and after giving Gu Ximan a complicated look, hurried out of the bedroom.

Of course, "making tea" was just an excuse to leave and give her best friend some time and space to calm down.

Lu Xuexue walked straight to the living room and collapsed onto the sofa like a deflated balloon.

Once again, she couldn’t help but put herself in her friend’s shoes.

Then, unconsciously, she curled her toes inside her white stockings.

Along with the embarrassment came a dazed realization.

The sky had fallen.

Gu Ximan and Gu Luo weren’t actually related by blood.

Which meant... there was nothing stopping them from being together.

She had always thought Gu Ximan was the safest, but it turned out she was the most dangerous.

As the leader of their ship, Lu Xuexue knew all too well that Gu Ximan herself was the ultimate trump card.

In this world, no one stood a chance against Gu Ximan when it came to winning Gu Luo’s heart.

All she had to do was speak up, and everyone else would be left with zero opportunities.

But fortunately, that was also the hardest thing for her to do.

If not for this misunderstanding, Gu Ximan probably wouldn’t have rushed to confess her feelings like this.

So... there was still a chance.

But unlike before, this time, she’d have to rely on Gu Ximan.

There was no competing.

Absolutely no chance of winning.

But was this really feasible?

Lu Xuexue stared blankly at the white ceiling, her stocking-clad legs lifting and dropping repeatedly.

Over and over.

She had no objections to Gu Ximan—in fact, she’d once fantasized about living together with her "little sister" after becoming her sister-in-law.

But now, it seemed she’d have to change "little sister" to "sister-wife."

As the only daughter of Cai Zhou’s top lawyer, Lu Xuexue had been exposed to countless bizarre yet real case files since childhood, giving her an extraordinary understanding and immunity to complicated relationships.

As long as everyone was willing, what was the problem?

The most pressing question now was—would Gu Ximan agree?

Whatever. She had to try.

......

Half an hour later.

Inside the room.

"I wanna die... I wanna die..."

"Someone save me... I need to move to another planet..."

"I’m never reading detective novels again..."

"I’m not Sherlock-Manman... I’m Clown-Manman..."

"I wanna die..."

"I wanna die..."

Curled up in a corner like a pitiful kitten, Gu Ximan kept murmuring to herself.

She was completely broken.

Then, the door creaked open softly.

Lu Xuexue walked in carefully, carrying two cups of tea.

The moment she entered, she heard Gu Ximan’s disheartened muttering.

"......"

Her best friend was clearly in terrible shape.

She set the teacups on the desk first, then slowly crouched beside Gu Ximan and whispered,

"Manman... stop thinking about it, it’s over..."

But Gu Ximan, as if deaf, continued her hollow chant:

"I wanna die... I wanna die..."

"Manman, really, it’s fine. Look at me, okay?"

"I wanna die... I wanna die..."

"Manman, we’re best friends. I promise I won’t tell anyone. No one else knows, right?"

"I wanna die... I wanna die..."

"......"

No matter how much Lu Xuexue tried to coax her, the only response she got was the same three words—"I wanna die."

Out of options, she finally raised her voice:

"Manman, if you keep this up, I’ll confess to Gu Luo right now!"

As if electrocuted, Gu Ximan immediately snapped her head up, her previously vacant eyes finally refocusing.

Relieved, Lu Xuexue awkwardly explained,

"...Just kidding. Glad you’re back, Manman."

"Let’s... talk properly, okay?"

The two locked eyes for a moment before Gu Ximan gave a small nod.

"Come on, the floor’s too cold."

Lu Xuexue helped her back onto the bed and even tucked a blanket over her legs.

Watching her best friend’s gentle care, Gu Ximan felt an indescribable wave of guilt.

Just moments ago, she had been prepared for the worst—even ready to lose this friendship over her confession.

But in the end...

She was the clown.

The biggest clown.

No, she couldn’t think about it.

The more she did, the more she wanted to socially die.

After a long silence, Lu Xuexue suddenly mustered her courage and spoke softly:

"So... Manman, can you tell me everything that happened these past two days? Let’s compare notes."

Another stretch of silence.

Gu Ximan stared at the blanket over her legs, curling her toes underneath, before finally whispering,

"Yesterday, I..."

Lu Xuexue listened attentively, nodding occasionally. No wonder Manman had misunderstood.

From her perspective, after she had helped orchestrate a princess carry between Lu Xuexue and Gu Luo during the day, Gu Luo had asked about relationships that night.

After some back-and-forth, they both realized the other had someone they liked.

Then, later that night, Lu Xuexue had even video-called Gu Luo.

Anyone would jump to conclusions after that series of events.

But none of that mattered now.

The most important question was—who was the girl Gu Luo liked?

Could it be...?

Lu Xuexue’s face flushed at the sudden thought.

Could it be... that Gu Luo actually had feelings for her?

After the princess carry, that’s when he tentatively asked Gu Ximan about relationships.

Thinking about it carefully, this possibility was very likely.

At this realization, Lu Xuexue’s heart felt like it was harboring a rabbit, suddenly beginning to race—faster and faster, faster and faster.

Steady, stay steady.

She couldn’t provoke Gu Ximan any further.

For now, she couldn’t let her entertain thoughts of confessing again.

Yet, as fate would have it, the very thing she feared came to pass.

At that moment, Gu Ximan tightly clutched the blanket, her voice tinged with sorrow:

"But that idiot brother of mine really does have someone he likes..."

"Who could it be...?"

Lu Xuexue didn’t dare let this ‘Sherlock? Man’ continue her wild speculations, so she quickly interrupted:

"Ximan... have you ever considered that the person might be you?"

Hearing this, Gu Ximan abruptly lifted her head, her eyes flickering with a fleeting spark of hope before dimming again.

Was that even possible?

That guy was as dense as a block of wood.

Seeing her reaction, Lu Xuexue hurriedly pressed on:

"Ximan, think about it. Brother Gu has spoiled you rotten since you were kids—could it really be that simple?"

"There are as many siblings in this world as there are stars, but how many of them dote on their sisters the way Brother Gu dotes on you?"

"Isn’t it possible... that you’re both heading toward each other, just lacking the courage to take that final step?"

After a pause, her mind racing, she added:

"And last night, Brother Gu asked me who the guy you like is."

"That’s definitely jealousy."

"So... Ximan, don’t rush it. Take it slow. A sudden confession wouldn’t do either of you any good."

This entire speech left Gu Ximan utterly stunned.

But upon careful consideration, it did make a lot of sense.

As expected, her best friend was a genius.

Yet, she couldn’t help asking uncertainly:

"But Xuexue, what about you?"

Hearing the most critical question of the day, Lu Xuexue took a slight breath before suddenly pouncing forward, wrapping her arms around Gu Ximan’s and cooing sweetly:

"Sister Man, from now on, I’ll call you Sister Man."

"Huh?"

Baffled by her best friend’s antics, Gu Ximan was completely dumbfounded.

But she had to admit, being called "Sister Man" was oddly satisfying.

At home, she had always been the youngest sister, constantly addressed as "Little Man," "Manman," or simply "little sister."

Lu Xuexue, her face flushed, continued:

"Sister Man, actually... I’m quite traditional..."

"I don’t mind being the second wife..."

............

............