Memories (Part Five)

There are no walls in this world that don't let secrets slip through, especially between sisters living under the same roof.

It didn’t take long for Luo Muqi to notice that something was off with her older sister, Luo Shiya. Every day after meals, Luo Shiya would find an excuse to retreat to her bedroom, claiming she needed to study or read.

It wasn’t until Luo Muqi occasionally went to her sister’s room and saw Luo Shiya sitting at her desk with her phone beside her that she began to suspect something. She asked Luo Shiya if she was chatting with their parents without telling her.

“No, I just use my phone to look up information,” Luo Shiya replied calmly. “If it were Mom and Dad, do you think I’d keep it from you?”

Luo Muqi knew it probably wasn’t their parents, but she still felt her sister was hiding something. After all, Luo Shiya had always preferred using her computer for studying. Besides, whenever Luo Muqi entered the room, Luo Shiya’s laptop was always open and running right beside her.

Sometimes during lunch, Luo Muqi would catch her sister smiling at her phone.

“Sis, who are you chatting with every day?” Luo Muqi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Could her sister have met someone online? “Sis, I’m telling you, online relationships are risky!”

Luo Shiya rolled her eyes at her sister’s words and said irritably, “Where did you pick up all this nonsense?”

“Sis, I’ve watched plenty of TV!” Luo Muqi said confidently, trying to advise her sister. “You have to be careful. There are so many scammers online, and what if they’re trying to trick you to harm our family?”

Luo Shiya rolled her eyes again and turned to head upstairs with her phone. But then she paused and looked back at Luo Muqi. “By the way, Mo Xuan agreed to have dinner with us this weekend. Maybe you should focus on that instead?”

Hearing that Mo Xuan had agreed to stay for dinner, Luo Muqi’s face flushed red. She immediately started thinking about which dress to wear, but her excitement was soon replaced by a nagging question.

Wait, why did my sister know about Mo Xuan staying for dinner before I did?

“Didn’t you invite Mo Xuan earlier?” Luo Shiya seemed to notice her sister’s confusion. “He agreed that day. Don’t you remember?”

Luo Muqi thought hard but couldn’t recall. Didn’t we just ask him to stay for dinner and say we’d discuss it over the weekend?

For some reason, Luo Muqi felt uneasy, as if her sister was treating her like a fool.

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became. She wanted to sneak a look at her sister’s phone, but Luo Shiya seemed inseparable from it. Even when Luo Shiya went to take a shower, she took her phone with her!

Ugh, doesn’t she worry about her phone getting wet?

Luo Muqi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, so when Mo Xuan came over to help her with homework, she blurted out, “Brother, don’t you think my sister’s been acting strange lately? She’s always on her phone, chatting with someone. I think she’s in an online relationship!”

Mo Xuan nearly dropped the papers in his hands. If he wasn’t mistaken, the “online relationship” Luo Muqi was referring to was… him.

“Maybe you’re overthinking it. Shiya’s always busy with her studies,” Mo Xuan said, avoiding eye contact. “Let’s focus on your homework for now.”

Luo Muqi didn’t notice Mo Xuan’s evasive look. Instead, she happily asked, “Brother, since you’re staying for dinner this weekend, what would you like to eat? I’ll tell the maids to prepare it for you.”

Mo Xuan was about to ask how she knew he was staying for dinner, but he hesitated and said, “Oh, anything’s fine. I’m not picky…”

Luo Muqi was completely absorbed in the idea of Mo Xuan staying for dinner. She even brought out all her dresses to choose from. The Luo family was wealthy, and most of Luo Muqi’s dresses were custom-made.

“Do you really need to go all out like this?” Luo Shiya leaned against the doorframe, watching her sister try on dress after dress in front of the mirror. She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’ve never been this meticulous even when attending banquets with Mom and Dad.”

“This is different!” Luo Muqi didn’t even look at her sister. “This is the first time Brother Mo Xuan is having dinner with us. Of course, I want to make a good impression!”

“...Muqi, you’re only twelve,” Luo Shiya said, rubbing her forehead. “I didn’t let you watch those idol dramas. How did you become so mature so early?”

Luo Muqi’s face turned red, and she pushed her sister out of the room. “Stop teasing me, Sis! Brother and I are just kids. Don’t make it sound so serious!”

Luo Shiya laughed and let her sister push her out of the room. But as she left, she glanced back at Luo Muqi with a complicated expression, saying nothing more.

She felt a little guilty. After all, it was she who had encouraged Mo Xuan to spend time with Luo Muqi, yet she was the one constantly chatting with him.

Still, chatting with Mo Xuan secretly had gradually eased Luo Shiya’s mind. As the older sister, she had never shown her vulnerable side to Luo Muqi.

She was human, too, and she found the current situation unbearable. But she couldn’t talk to Luo Muqi about it, nor could she confide in Uncle Zheng or the others.

It wasn’t until Mo Xuan came along that Luo Shiya began to relax through their conversations. The secret between the two of them gave her a sense of guilty pleasure.

Though she knew it might be a little wrong…

On the day of the dinner, Luo Shiya, dressed casually, looked at her sister, who was dressed like a little princess, and struggled not to laugh. “Muqi, don’t you think you’re overdoing it a bit?”

Luo Muqi even wore a small crown on her head!

But Luo Muqi didn’t care. She even shot her sister a look and said, “This is called proper etiquette. Unlike you, who doesn’t even know how to treat a guest!”

Sure, you’re the expert. It’s not like I’m the one who used to avoid greeting guests by hiding upstairs.

Luo Shiya silently mocked her sister in her mind, but her eyes kept darting toward the door. Soon, Mo Xuan arrived. Seeing Luo Muqi so elaborately dressed, he was taken aback.

“Uh, is there a guest coming? Should I…?”

Mo Xuan thought there was another guest and was about to leave, but Uncle Zheng quickly stopped him, smiling warmly. “No, no, it’s just you. Come on in!”

“Brother, do I look nice?”

Luo Muqi, blushing, walked over to give Mo Xuan a closer look at her outfit.

Mo Xuan, his face also red, mumbled, “Y-yes, very nice…”

During dinner, Luo Muqi chatted and laughed with Mo Xuan. Uncle Zheng was about to remind her of the family’s rules—no talking during meals—but Luo Shiya stopped him with a look.

The Luo family had many rules, and “no talking during meals” was one of the basics. But for Luo Shiya, she didn’t want to follow those rules right now.

Besides, Mo Xuan was polite. Though he chatted with Luo Muqi, he didn’t overdo it.

After dinner, Mo Xuan and Luo Muqi talked for a while in the yard, while Luo Shiya watched them from the balcony on the second floor.

There was no denying that Mo Xuan’s presence had changed both her and her sister. However, Luo Shiya couldn’t shake the growing discomfort in her heart. She didn’t even understand why she had forbidden Mo Xuan from adding others on QQ or why she had made those comments about preventing early romance.

Especially when she saw Mo Xuan and Luo Muqi in the yard, their innocent interactions made her feel inexplicably uneasy.

After Mo Xuan left, Luo Muqi skipped upstairs, humming happily. Luo Shiya sighed, finally giving in.

Since their parents were always busy with work, Luo Muqi had always relied on her. Seeing someone who could make Luo Muqi happy brought her joy, too.

It was just that it had to be Mo Xuan—the same Mo Xuan who made her feel things she couldn’t quite explain.

“Muqi, there’s something I need to tell you.”

After some hesitation, Luo Shiya called her sister over. Luo Muqi, confused, walked over and looked at her sister curiously.

Luo Shiya pulled out her phone and showed Luo Muqi her chat history with Mo Xuan. Then she smiled bitterly and said, “These past few days, besides helping you with homework and talking to you, he’s also been chatting with me on QQ.”

"I knew it!" Luo Muqi glared at her older sister. "You were sneaking glances at him while I was doing homework with him!"

"Don’t act so innocent, Sister. You’re in high school now!"

Luo Shiya avoided eye contact, feeling a bit guilty, then pulled out a brand-new phone. "Here, I had Uncle Zheng’s people get this for you. I even set up a QQ account for you..."

Luo Muqi, who had been fuming moments ago, immediately grabbed the phone and started exploring it eagerly. But when she saw the bizarre five-snowflake-character username her sister had chosen, she shot Luo Shiya a look of disdain. "Can I change the name?"

"Mo Xuan and I both have the same name. Take it or leave it."

"...Fine, I’ll just deal with it."

"Luo Muqi, since when are you so picky?"

From that day on, their two-person chat turned into a three-person group chat. Neither Luo Shiya nor Luo Muqi realized that the seeds of everything that would happen in the future were already being sown at this moment.

They also didn’t know that while Mo Xuan was special to them, they were equally special to him...