The Warm-hearted Sisters

Qin Luo wore an exasperated expression as he forcefully pulled Su Muwan and Su Bailian apart, creating some distance between the two.

Su Muwan’s hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed from agitation, and her chest heaved violently. She glared at Su Bailian, gnashing her teeth as she spat, "Su Bailian, this isn’t over!"

Su Bailian wasn’t faring much better—her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and a few strands of Su Muwan’s hair still clung to the corner of her mouth. Struggling against Qin Luo’s grip, she yelled, "Su Muwan, just you wait! I won’t let this slide!"

Qin Luo sighed heavily at the chaotic scene. "Enough! It’s obvious you two actually care about each other, so just drop it."

His words brought a momentary lull to the shouting, though the two women continued to glower at each other, still fuming.

Su Muwan snorted. "As if I’d ever care about someone like Su Bailian."

Su Bailian huffed back, "I’d rather die than get along with Su Muwan!"

Qin Luo released his grip and rubbed his temples.

The sudden shift in their dynamic left him struggling to keep up.

After all, when they’d first met, one had been the downtrodden heroine of a romance novel, while the other had been the scheming, high-tier "green tea" antagonist.

But now?

Qin Luo watched the quarreling sisters and sighed inwardly.

Sisterly bonds truly are something—deep down, they can’t bear to hurt each other.

Seeing Qin Luo step between them, Su Bailian burst into pitiful sobs. "Qin Luo, I can’t rely on Su Muwan anymore! You’re my only hope now, brother-in-law! Save me, pleeease!"

Su Muwan’s face instantly turned red. She shot Su Bailian a sharp look. "Excuse me? Brother-in-law? Since when?!"

"Why can’t I call him that?!"

Su Bailian wiped her tears and glared back defiantly. Even a cornered rabbit will bite, and now that she thought she was facing death, she had no filter left. "Su Muwan, you ungrateful wretch! If it weren’t for me, you and Qin Luo wouldn’t even be together!"

Su Muwan was so stunned she nearly laughed. "What the hell are you even saying? Are you out of your mind?"

"I’m out of my mind?!"

Su Bailian’s face burned with fury as she jabbed a finger at Su Muwan. "I’ll have you know, Su Muwan—I was the one behind ‘Master Bailian’! Or did you forget how you begged me to help you with your love plans?!"

"If it weren’t for you asking— Mmph?!"

Before she could finish, Su Muwan lunged forward in shock and covered Su Bailian’s mouth with her hand.

Her entire body froze in realization.

Wait…

That "Master Bailian" my best friend Yan Qiuyue introduced me to… was Su Bailian?!

No way!

Master Bailian… Su Bailian.

Oh god.

Su Muwan stood rigid, her mind reeling.

Qin Luo blinked in confusion. "What’s this about ‘Master Bailian’?"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

Su Muwan forced an awkward smile under Qin Luo’s bewildered gaze, then glanced at the teary-eyed Su Bailian.

With no other choice…

"Alright, alright."

Su Muwan released Su Bailian and gently wiped her tears with a tissue, softening her tone. "Stop crying. I was just messing with you."

Su Bailian sniffled, eyeing her suspiciously. "Messing with me?"

"Yeah. Qin Luo already came up with a plan. If you go undercover, we’ll make sure you’re safe."

"After all…"

Su Muwan averted her gaze, murmuring under her breath, "You are sort of my little sister."

Su Bailian’s breath hitched.

She stared intently at Su Muwan. "...You mean that?"

"I do."

"No take-backs?"

"No take-backs."

"Hmph!"

Su Bailian turned her nose up and finally stopped crying, slinging her bag over her shoulder and stepping aside.

A smug feeling swelled in her chest.

Su Muwan… this time, I win.

"Woof!"

Boqi poked his head out from the bag and barked happily at Qin Luo.

Utter humiliation.

Su Muwan’s eye twitched as she watched Su Bailian’s poorly concealed smirk.

Maybe I should just beat her up after all.

As if sensing the sudden shift in the air, Su Bailian’s triumphant expression faltered. She instinctively shielded herself and took a few steps back, eyeing Su Muwan warily.

"...You’re not about to hit me, are you?"

"Of course not."

Su Muwan blinked innocently. "We’re sisters, remember? I shouldn’t have treated you like that earlier. My bad."

???

Su Muwan… apologized to me?

Su Bailian swallowed hard, a creeping sense of unease settling in.

This is weird. Normally, she’d have already thrown a punch by now.

But here I am, pushing my luck, and she’s still holding back…

Could it be…?

A realization dawned on her.

Is Su Muwan actually trying to make up with me?!

Puffing out her chest, Su Bailian lifted her chin and scoffed, "Took you long enough to admit you were wrong!"

Su Muwan’s smile stiffened.

But Su Bailian wasn’t done.

"Su Muwan, I’ve known since we were kids—your personality is the absolute worst!"

"What’s wrong with liking harem anime? I’m gonna be the queen of harems!"

"But you? You only watch pure romance crap and expect your partner to be some die-hard ‘true love’ fanatic."

Qin Luo: "......"

Su Muwan: "......"

"Not only that, but they also have to survive your full-power punch. Everyone knows no normal human could take a hit from you!"

Qin Luo: "(⊙o⊙)"

Su Muwan: "?"

"And on top of that, you demand unconditional trust from them? Hilarious!"

"With your temper, you’d probably toss someone into the ocean for sharks to snack on. Who in their right mind would trust you blindly?"

Su Bailian paused to catch her breath, then continued her tirade.

"Oh, and don’t even get me started on your obsession with ‘nice hands.’ Seriously, sis, get a grip on reality!"

"Does a person like that even exist?"

"And… and…"

Mid-sentence, Su Bailian’s words trailed off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Su Muwan’s eerily serene expression.

"Eep—!"

In an instant, Su Bailian’s triumphant smirk vanished, replaced by sheer terror. Her body locked up, her lips trembling as if under a curse.

Oh no.

I went too far!

Her eyes widened in panic as she stammered, "S-Sis… I didn’t mean it! It just slipped out! Don’t be mad, please don’t be mad!"

She shuffled backward nervously.

A second later—

Su Muwan’s hand shot out, pinching Su Bailian’s cheek with a terrifyingly sweet smile.

"Su Bailian, you’ve got some nerve, talking about me like that! And who did you just call ‘sis’? Try ‘old hag’ again. I dare you."

"Eeek—!!!"

Su Bailian instantly revealed her true colors, trembling with fear as she cried out in a pitiful voice, "Sister Su, I was wrong! I won’t dare do it again!"

"Heh! You think I’d fall for your tricks again? This time, you’ll learn what it means to miss out on years of sisterly affection!"

"Waaah!!"

Meanwhile, on Qin Luo’s side.

He glanced at Su Muwan, who was currently "lovingly disciplining" Su Bailian, and couldn’t help but chuckle helplessly.

Well then.

The young miss’s standards for a partner… how could they be so… so…

Qin Luo looked down at his own hands, his eye twitching slightly.

So perfectly matched to me?

So all those defense stat points I invested were just to withstand Su Muwan’s "gentle" punches?

......

At the same time.

Inside the grand conference hall of the Alliance headquarters.

Representatives from various sects sat in silence, their expressions solemn.

Feng Chu of the Taichu Holy Land looked especially furious, his face as dark as coal.

Damn Alliance, making us wait deliberately.

Trying to intimidate us ancient sects, is that it?

Fine, fine. Very well then!

On the other side, Alliance members like Ouyang Xuan were just as uneasy, shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Seriously.

Where are those three?

What on earth are they doing??