Act Wantonly Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Only My Younger Sister Cares

“The first surprise after getting off the plane, meeting my younger sister whom I haven’t seen in a long time…”

In her ear, Tan Yinqing read out the first half of Su Xu’s Moments post, followed by a soft “Heh~”

At the same time, Tan Xingwei’s phone screen lit up with Tan Yinqing’s comment.

“Tan Yinqing: Younger sister, oh?”

Tan Xingwei blinked, but before she could ponder or ask Tan Yinqing, the comment suddenly disappeared.

Tan Yinqing had deleted it.

Tan Xingwei secretly turned to look at Tan Yinqing, only to see her engrossed in her phone, the loud laughter from the variety show on TV unable to drown out the rapid tapping of the keyboard as Tan Yinqing typed furiously.

Tap tap tap tap.

Tan Xingwei started having many speculations. Was Tan Yinqing in a group chat? What were they chatting about? Were they discussing Su Xu’s Moments? Why did Tan Yinqing mockingly repeat “younger sister”?

What was Tan Yinqing laughing about? What did they talk about that made her laugh so much? Typing so fast, were all four of them chatting?

Did Su Xu say something?

What did she say?

Why would Su Xu post that on Moments?

But perhaps nothing was wrong, perhaps she hadn’t said much, it was just that she hadn’t explicitly named Tan Xingwei.

If she didn’t name Tan Xingwei, who was she blaming? Who was the one who secretly went to the airport to pick someone up?

Tan Xingwei overthought, so much so that she could see many threads intertwining in her mind, tying themselves into a tight knot.

A round knot wasn’t pretty, so she adjusted it into a bow.

A white background, a red thin string bow, just like the wrapping on the bouquet she gave Su Xu today, the one Su Xu praised as nice, the red bow.

Every ribbon on the bow had Su Xu’s name written on it. Wow, how cheesy…

“Hahahaha.” Tan Yinqing next to her suddenly burst out laughing.

Tan Xingwei finally couldn’t help herself: “What are you chatting about?”

Tan Yinqing shook her head: “Nothing, Chen Jing is being dramatic.”

Tan Xingwei felt she would eventually be infuriated to death by Tan Yinqing’s vague answers, but now was the time to speak properly. She even managed a faint smile: “Being dramatic about what?”

Tan Yinqing: “Over there, she’s saying the person who came back is Niu Gulu A’Xu.”

Tan Xingwei felt she was getting close to the truth: “What about Sister A’Xu?”

Tan Yinqing was still smiling at her phone, but mumbled, “Nothing.”

Tan Xingwei was dead inside.

She also remembered that the period when she was most fawning over Tan Yinqing was that summer vacation, when she was so friendly that Tan Yinqing thought she had taken some strange medicine.

At ten-thirty, after much anticipation, Tan Xingwei drove Tan Yinqing to the location on time.

When they arrived at the private room, Chen Jing and Yaoyao were already there. After graduation, they stayed in Haicheng and were now roommates, so they often went out together and often had meals with Tan Yinqing.

Tan Xingwei had just taken off her coat when voices came from the doorway.

Someone shouted first, and within a second, the entire room erupted in screams.

Of course, the steady Tan Xingwei did not scream. Even though she missed Su Xu so much that a quarter of a day apart felt like three-quarters of a year, even though Su Xu had changed her clothes and suddenly looked so commanding that Tan Xingwei felt dizzy, even though Su Xu tucked her hair up and didn’t wear glasses, the fine strands of hair brushing her ears felt like an itch to Tan Xingwei, she still stood quietly beside her chair, a faint smile on her face, looking at this group of older sisters as if she were the only sober one among the drunk.

Looking at them.

“Long time no see, A’Xu!”

“A’Xu, A’Xu, A’Xu!”

“We missed you so much!”

…

Chen Jing was the first to hug her, placing her hand on Su Xu’s shoulder: “You’ve gotten too thin.”

Su Xu: “I have lost a little weight recently.”

Then Yaoyao hugged her and nodded in agreement: “She is thin,” then asked, “What perfume are you wearing?”

Su Xu thought for a moment: “I don’t remember the name.”

Yaoyao: “Send me the link later.”

Su Xu: “Okay.”

Then Tan Yinqing hugged her and held Su Xu’s arm: “This makeup suits you perfectly.”

Su Xu: “Isn’t it just because I’m beautiful?”

Tan Yinqing laughed: “Is that even a question?”

After Tan Yinqing finished speaking and stepped back, Su Xu’s gaze shifted to Tan Xingwei.

It wasn’t just Su Xu; the other three older sisters stood by in a line, all looking at Tan Xingwei simultaneously, waiting for the last person to complete this unexpected ritual.

Everything was conveyed through glances. Tan Xingwei took a step that seemed casual but had actually been waiting in line for a long time, walking up to Su Xu just like the other three.

It was unclear who moved first, but by the time Tan Xingwei reacted, she was already pressed against Su Xu’s shoulder.

Due to the height difference, Tan Xingwei stood on her tiptoes slightly. The scent of perfume Yaoyao had just complimented wafted into Tan Xingwei’s nose.

It was a floral scent.

“Long time no see, Xingxing.”

The hug was brief, and Su Xu spoke after it ended.

Tan Xingwei secretly hid a smile, and replied, “Long time no see.”

Su Xu added, “You’ve become much prettier.”

Tan Xingwei felt her cheeks heating up, but thankfully she was wearing makeup, so the foundation hid any redness.

“You’re very pretty too,” Tan Xingwei retorted.

Su Xu chuckled softly.

“You two haven’t seen each other in a long time,” Yaoyao said from the side as she pulled out a chair and sat down, “Four years, right? When A’Xu first went abroad, Xingwei was just finishing her college entrance exams?”

“Yeah,” Tan Yinqing chimed in, “For days after A’Xu left, I cried in my room every day.”

Tan Xingwei’s eyes widened: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Tan Yinqing laughed: “Are you in a bad mood or something?”

Tan Xingwei’s face was about to burn: “When was I?”

Tan Yinqing presented evidence: “Weren’t you in your room those few days and wouldn’t come out?”

Tan Xingwei instantly felt a bit guilty, but her mouth remained stubborn: “If I stay in my room, does that mean I’m in a bad mood? Does that mean every time you go back to your room, it’s because you’re in a bad mood?”

Tan Yinqing: “You know perfectly well whether you were in a bad mood or not.”

Tan Xingwei: “Of course I know, I just wasn’t.”

Tan Yinqing: “Tsk.”

Tan Xingwei: “Tsk tsk.”

Everyone was used to the sisters bickering and ignored them. Some ordered food, others unwrapped cutlery.

Tan Xingwei decided to unwrap cutlery too. After the battle, she reached for the transparent lazy Susan, but just as she was about to grab what she wanted, a pair of hands moved faster and snatched the cutlery she desired.

At the same time, a set of already unwrapped bowls and chopsticks was pushed in front of her.

Yes, Su Xu was sitting right next to her on the right.

The flames of war in Tan Xingwei instantly extinguished, and she immediately became well-behaved: “Thank you.”

As soon as she spoke, a laugh came from Tan Yinqing on her left.

Sure enough, the next second: “Who exactly is your older sister?”

Tan Xingwei immediately leaned against Su Xu: “Of course it’s Sister A’Xu. Sister gave me chopsticks to unwrap.”

Tan Yinqing pouted: “Sister gave me chopsticks to unwrap~”

Su Xu chuckled lightly, took the already unwrapped set of chopsticks in her hand, bypassed Tan Xingwei, and pushed them in front of Tan Yinqing.

Tan Yinqing’s expression immediately changed, and she acted coyly in front of Tan Xingwei: “Thank you, Sister A’Xu.”

Tan Xingwei gritted her teeth and shot Tan Yinqing a look, then held up her fist.

Annoyingly, Tan Yinqing threw down paper (rock-paper-scissors).

Tan Xingwei: “Ah!” She turned to the person next to her: “Sister A’Xu.”

Su Xu also held out her hand. In the next second, Su Xu’s scissors appeared in mid-air against Tan Yinqing’s paper.

“Yay!” Tan Xingwei cheered.

Tan Yinqing snorted: “Did you beat me?”

Tan Xingwei said proudly: “Whoever Sister A’Xu wins, I win.”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” Tan Yinqing finished her sarcasm and immediately added, “Have you really not seen each other in four years?”

Tan Xingwei almost performed a smile-disappearing act, especially since Su Xu was now looking back at Tan Xingwei with a question: “Is that so?”

Tan Xingwei quickly changed the subject: “Haven’t you two also not seen each other in four years?”

It was Tan Yinqing’s turn to be smug: “That’s not true.”

Tan Xingwei was stunned: “Huh?”

Yaoyao explained from the side: “Last year, or the year before, A’Xu came back to the country once.”

Tan Xingwei’s smile truly vanished this time. She desperately wanted to ask why she wasn’t told, but her rationality immediately stopped her mouth. After all, Su Xu returning was not a reason she needed to tell her.

“The year before last,” Chen Jing added, “I happened to be following up on a project, so I rushed back to have dinner with you all.”

Tan Xingwei blinked, unconsciously looking towards Tan Yinqing.

As if sensing Tan Xingwei’s thoughts, Tan Yinqing spoke up: “I asked you if you were coming back that weekend, and you said no.”

Tan Xingwei was surprised: “When?”

Tan Yinqing shook her head: “I forgot, but I asked if you wanted to come back on the weekend, and you said no.”

Tan Xingwei: “…”

Tan Xingwei: “Why didn’t you tell me Sister A’Xu was back?”

Tan Yinqing thought for a moment: “Did I not say it?”

Just then, a voice drifted into Tan Xingwei’s ear: “So you didn’t know? I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

Tan Xingwei didn’t know how to smile anymore.

The topic ended, and their grilled fish was served.

Yes, it was just an ordinary gathering of friends after one of them returned, nothing special, no one felt regretful about not informing the sister who was left out.

Except for the sister herself.

Everyone really did chat often, just as Tan Yinqing said. Everyone’s updates made it seem like they saw each other frequently. They could talk about what was happening around them without needing deliberate explanations or clarifications.

Just like four years ago, Tan Xingwei was only there to share some food.

The topic Tan Xingwei had been hoping for never came up.

What was she hoping for?

Haha, shhh.

She had to confess sheepishly that before leaving, she had been fantasizing—what if someone brought up Moments? What subtle words would Su Xu use to explain the situation, words only Tan Xingwei would understand?

Just thinking about it was thrilling.

Alas, no one asked.

Forget it, it was nice to have had the thrill anyway.

But it wasn’t entirely useless information. At least Tan Xingwei confirmed that Su Xu was planning to settle down in the country, having already found a job.

“What about you?”

As the conversation died down, Su Xu scooped some vermicelli into her own bowl and asked Tan Xingwei: “Are you planning to come back to Haicheng to work?”

Su Xu asked this question very softly, as if suddenly stepping out of the crowd and leaning close to Tan Xingwei to whisper in her ear.

Tan Xingwei’s inexplicable agitation was smoothed away, as if a small doll in the corner was being picked up. “Yes, I’m still in my internship, but we’re talking about making it permanent.”

Su Xu nodded: “Congratulations.”

Tan Xingwei: “Thank you.”

Su Xu asked again: “Are you going back to school?”

Tan Xingwei nodded: “Yes, I have to go back for the graduation ceremony.”

Su Xu nodded again.

Su Xu had already taken several bites of vermicelli; perhaps it was delicious. So Tan Xingwei also took a bite.

“Then you.”

In her ear, Su Xu spoke again.

Tan Xingwei put down her chopsticks.

Just as Tan Xingwei prepared to receive Su Xu’s polite question, she heard Su Xu ask:

“When did you finally let me into your WeChat?”