Chapter 4
“Song Shiyu!” A teammate wearing a white and blue jersey called out.
The game was about to start.
Song Shiyu smiled at her briefly and murmured, “Little mushroom.” Then he turned and left without waiting to see if she understood.
Jiang Yan managed to get out of trouble by pretending to cry.
The system still didn't understand. It asked seriously, "Why didn't he hit you?"
Jiang Yan was silent for a second. She repositioned it as an emotionless advanced silly robot and made up nonsense, "There are so many people watching, it's not good to make a move, right?"
She almost laughed when the system's thoughtful response echoed in her mind. However, a face suddenly appeared right in front of her. Tian Tian stared at her expressionlessly and said gloomily, "Go back to the dorm and tell me the truth."
Jiang Yan: ...
Tian Tian held a grudge. She complained the whole way, "I brought you to see a handsome guy, but you already know him and you didn't even tell me..."
Jiang Yan couldn't stand it anymore. She said, "Do you want to know how I know Song Shiyu?"
Tian Tian restrained her eager gossip spirit and nodded gracefully.
To appease her little sister, Jiang Yan sacrificed herself a bit. She tweaked the reason slightly: "You know Jiang Zhi knows Song Shiyu. I was a little curious about who he was from listening to him mention it before."
Tian Tian grinned and nodded cooperatively.
"On the first day of school, my legs were numb from squatting, so I didn't go back to the dorm, right? Jiang Zhi had me wait in that club recruiting booth...”
While listening intently, the system secretly thought, what a vicious female villain, lies flow from her as soon as she opens her mouth. It had gone to a meeting after issuing the task that day and hadn’t seen the scene at all.
Jiang Yan barely completed the love-at-first-sight task and hadn’t recovered yet when the system issued a new task: [Attend a party and show your liking for Song Shiyu in front of Jiang Xian].
Jiang Yan suddenly lost her appetite.
She had just put down her chopsticks when Jiang Zhi called. He asked, "We organized an activity. Come play with us tonight. There's good food to eat."
What else could Jiang Yan say? She had no choice but to nod and say she would go.
Tian Tian across from her blinked at her, "Senior Jiang Zhi, huh?"
"He's my brother. What are you thinking?" Jiang Yan stuffed a pork and corn dumpling into her mouth.
But that didn't stop her from talking: "You're not related by blood, though."
Jiang Zhi was still on the phone. Hearing the snippet of conversation, he chuckled and teased, "Now you know I'm your brother. Usually you don't even call me brother."
"Brother, give me 10 million," Jiang Yan said without blinking.
Jiang Zhi thought about it for two seconds then laughed again, "I don't have 10 million, but I can give you a free stay-at-home good brother."
"Then forget it," Jiang Yan sighed mournfully. "Anything free must not be good."
"I'm always buying you good food, comforting you when you're upset, coaxing you when you’re angry. Am I not good enough to you?" Jiang Zhi was shocked for a hundred years.
Jiang Yan mercilessly poked holes in his ulterior motive: "Isn't it worth it to have a little sister you can rub every day?"
Jiang Zhi suddenly coughed. Just then someone called him, so he took the opportunity to hang up, "I'll come pick you up tonight. Wait for me."
Indeed, the precocious Jiang Zhi seemed to have not had a good childhood. He had been repressed for too long and developed some lolita-complex attributes.
After Jiang Yan turned 18, her height still hovered around 1.6 meters. This was especially prominent. Whenever he saw her he wanted to pinch her fair and tender cheeks and pat her head, and he also wanted to hug her and play with her enough.
But Jiang Zhi had always thought he was restrained enough. He didn't expect her to see through him. He knew this little vixen was sly and cunning.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhi waved at the person who called him to indicate he was busy and didn't go over. Instead he stood in place, stroking his chin and pondering how to rub her without being discovered.
Warned by Jiang Zhi's dangerous look and Song Shiyu's suggestive words, the boys hastily withdrew their stares, covering it up by joking around: "Hey Jiang bro, this is your sister?"
"Not cool to hide away such a good-looking sister, Jiang bro."
"Your sister's gotta be the prettiest flower, with looks like those."
"Go play with the ladies, that side's all girls." Jiang Zhi murmured to Jiang Yan, his tone like he was coaxing a child.
Jiang Yan whispered back her complaint just as softly: "You said you'd take me out to have fun." But still she went over there hugging her strawberries and milk tea.
The few girls gathered there looked at her curiously.
For some reason, whether it was mindful of prying eyes or something else, Jiang Xian called out "Jiang Jiang" for Jiang Yan to come sit next to her on the sofa.
Jiang Yan found it a bit odd, but with no alerts from the system she was too lazy to make trouble. She just went along and sat down.
"Jiang Xian, this is your sister?" One of the girls asked curiously.
So Jiang Xian gave a simple introduction: "My little sister, Jiang Yan. She's a college freshman this year."
The girls had likely been chatting before Jiang Yan arrived, but now Jiang Xian ignored them and kept talking to Jiang Yan instead.
But the two had never been very close. Most of what Jiang Xian said was just asking questions - if Jiang Yan was used to college yet, if she was getting along with her classmates - really seeming like a caring big sister concerned for her sibling.
"Shouldn't she hate me?" Jiang Yan asked the system doubtfully.
After all, Jiang Yan had done far too many annoying things over the vacation. Pretending to be close in front of their parents while being cold and nasty otherwise; all sorts of verbal attacks and childish temper tantrums. She'd clearly walked the whole path of a vicious female supporting character's tasks.
The system was just as confused, but still steadfastly tried to find a reason: "There's so many people here. She probably doesn't want to damage your family image."
What it didn't see was the dimpled smile Jiang Yan gave out, and the little finger she secretly hooked with Jiang Xian's. Jiang Xian blinked in surprise, feeling soft and melty inside. She knew her stubborn little sister was sneakily acting cute again.
In her heart, Jiang Yan was simply a sincere, adorable little girl. One with some temper and willfulness, but not often. She'd say all kinds of mean things about disliking you, to express her unhappiness, but would also secretly give you little rubber ducks and cupcakes later, conveying her apologies indirectly.
Moreover, she could also see the regret and distress in the little girl after each bout of anger. Jiang Yan's previous living environment wasn't as good as the Jiang family's. She'd endured a lot of hardship, so the rushed words she occasionally spat out really meant nothing. Jiang Xian had never taken them to heart.
On the contrary, she actually really liked Jiang Yan's candid honesty. Dislikes and unhappiness were stated outright, clear and unambiguous, also making it easy to resolve problems.
The only annoyance was that Jiang Yan seemed to harbor some resentment, rarely growing close to her. Although Jiang Xian wanted to spend more time with her sister, she didn't know how to take the initiative. With Jiang Yan off to college too their meetings grew even fewer.
And this was precisely the little gesture Jiang Yan made behind the system's back. Jiang Yan had never planned to live out the life of a vicious female lead according to the system's tasks. What vicious female lead, that was just the designated character settings. On what basis could they arrogantly control other people's fates?
When Jiang Zhi said he'd brought Jiang Yan out to eat delicious things, that was no lie. This restaurant offered buffet-style ordering, with all kinds of staple foods, desserts, signature dishes, fruits and snacks available.
The wood ear coconut milk soup was soft, sweet and fragrant, the mango cheesecake dense and sweet, the shrimp dumplings perfectly plump and tasty, the coin-wrapped eggs hot, spicy and flavorsome, the cola cookies crispy and moreish, and the parboiled beef slices and shrimp just so, so delicious.
Seeing that Jiang Yan was fully focused on her food, Jiang Xian went back to chatting with the other girls who were dieting and not eating much.
Jiang Yan had been happily focused on her meal, when she suddenly heard Song Shiyu being mentioned. The other girls sighed knowingly in unison, exchanging meaningful looks directed at Jiang Xian.
This was the plot point. The female supporting character finds out by chance that Song Shiyu likes Jiang Xian, and flies into a jealous rage.
The system eerily reminded her: You haven't expressed any good feelings towards Song Shiyu yet.
Hearing this, Jiang Yan observed Jiang Xian for a while. She didn't seem to have any special reaction to the topic. Jiang Yan said to the system: "Are Jiang Xian and Song Shiyu really a thing or not? The plot wasn't clear about it either. If it's true it doesn't seem appropriate."
But the system didn't consider any of that. It just said: "You don't need to worry about those things. Just complete the task by whatever method."
Jiang Yan knew it was just a robot that followed programs, so she didn't argue and simply asked Jiang Xian directly: "Is it true? You and Song Shiyu?"
Somewhat concerned, her expression inevitably seemed a little apprehensive, which made Jiang Xian misunderstand.
Glancing at Song Shiyu boneless as a noodle on the sofa, Jiang Xian felt that Jiang Yan had been deceived by that playboy's looks. But subconsciously, standing in the position of a parent, she privately felt that Jiang Yan was a tender little white cabbage. How could she be ruined by a pig?
So Jiang Xian skirted around the topic vaguely, not wanting Jiang Yan to get close with those boys.
That made things difficult. Jiang Yan's face fell. But Jiang Xian's gaze only deepened, confirming her guesses even more firmly.