The Male Lead's Sister Reborn (GL) - Chapter 26

What truly surprised Jiang Qian was not the fact that she and Shen Xiruo had a CP Super Topic; after all, she had foreseen this direction when she posted that long Weibo condemning Shen Xizhou.

Could the reporters fail to find out whose apartment that was? What truly surprised her was that Shen Xiruo had been the one to discover this Super Topic first and had actually brought it over to show her…

“Do you understand now?”

The killing part was that Shen Xiruo insisted on asking Jiang Qian this question.

Who wouldn’t understand! Why ask about something like this? It was so awkward—awkwardness level: Max.

Jiang Qian picked up the rustic cup on the table and downed it in one go.

Then her throat burned, and she burst into a fit of coughing: “Cough, cough, cough! Why… why is this alcohol!”

There was no helping it; Japanese sake looks no different from water, and she had drunk it too quickly, only wanting to calm her nerves. As a result, the more she tried to suppress her shock, the more shocked she became, making a fool of herself right in front of Shen Xiruo.

Awkwardness level: MMMMMMax.

Shen Xiruo reached over to pat her back. She must have signaled someone, because a waiter suddenly entered, carrying a sanitized towel to hand over.

Taking the warm towel, Shen Xiruo casually helped wipe the face of Jiang Qian, who had finally managed to calm down.

The hot towel pressed against her face for a while, and the sake she had just swallowed seemed to settle down, leaving no further sensation.

Jiang Qian took the towel from Shen Xiruo’s hand and covered her face, wanting to stay like that until the end of time.

Too embarrassing! Was there anyone selling “memory erasers”? She wanted to buy a crate right now and use them all on Shen Xiruo’s brain to wipe out that last segment! Honestly, she had even transmigrated into a book—why didn’t she come with a built-in system or inexhaustible “golden finger” cheats?

Speechless and choking back tears, if she could find the author of this book now, she would definitely have a serious talk with them! Author, oh author, look at me—do I look like a transmigrated “golden finger” female lead? Do I?

“Are you alright now?”

Shen Xiruo’s voice was calm as usual, appearing completely unaffected by the series of awkward situations.

However, Jiang Qian felt strongly that she could detect a hint of a smile in her voice.

“I’m fine,” Jiang Qian said woodenly, deciding to just let things slide. Anyway, the other woman had seen everything already; this wasn’t the first time she’d lost face or been embarrassed.

“Did what I showed you earlier scare you?”

“Not really.”

“I was quite shocked when I found this Super Topic. Netizens these days are truly…” Shen Xiruo let out a light chuckle, leaving the rest unsaid.

Jiang Qian automatically filled in the second half of the sentence for her: Truly sharp-eyed; everyone can tell who slept with whom just by looking.

“Hehe.” She could only offer a hollow smile.

“Actually… I also feel this isn’t very good, but I can’t directly shut down a place like that. I can only try my best to control them so it doesn’t spread outward,” Shen Xiruo said solemnly.

“Ah? Why isn’t it good?” Jiang Qian asked foolishly and bluntly.

Shen Xiruo’s expression stiffened slightly, and she said cautiously, “Don’t you think this is damaging to your reputation?”

This… Jiang Qian… really didn’t think so.

Jiang Qian composed herself and thought about what she had just heard, sensing that Shen Xiruo was speaking with hidden meaning.

As one of the central figures of the entire book, Shen Xiruo had never had any scandals over the years; she certainly maintained great control over rumors concerning herself. So, now she had been “exposed” by Jiang Qian’s long Weibo, and her residence had been dug up by netizens.

From Shen Xiruo’s perspective, no matter how good she was to Jiang Qian, there must be some resentment in her heart. And now this Super Topic had appeared… Jiang Qian suddenly realized she was dragging Shen Xiruo down. In other words, if she “shipped” a CP with Shen Xiruo, it was Shen Xiruo’s reputation that would suffer.

Shen Xiruo was using a subtle way to remind her: Don’t forget what we said before about hiding our relationship as much as possible in public.

“I understand.” Jiang Qian lowered her head and nodded.

“I… will also control it, and not let these opinions spread,” Shen Xiruo said quietly.

As expected, Jiang Qian still… can’t accept it.

The Japanese meal felt flavorless. The ingredients were top-tier and fresh, and the taste was excellent, but by the time the delicious food entered Jiang Qian’s mouth, it felt bland.

Both were preoccupied with their own thoughts and didn’t chat much. The conversation was limited to: “This shrimp is quite fresh” and “Yes, the salmon is good.”

After dinner, Shen Xiruo drove Jiang Qian back near the school. As the car drove onto the brightly lit streets outside the campus, watching the student couples passing by, Jiang Qian suddenly didn’t want to get out.

She sat in the back seat with Shen Xiruo beside her. They hadn’t said much along the way, and the atmosphere was a bit strange.

Neither spoke. Shen Xiruo turned to look at her, but Jiang Qian was looking at Shen Xiruo’s hand resting on her lap.

Jiang Qian spoke up inexplicably: “Once I’ve handled my school affairs, I’ll be moving into your community.”

Shen Xiruo nodded: “Mhm, I’ll find a moving company to help you then.”

Jiang Qian shook her head: “I don’t have much to move. Living in a dorm, I’ll sell or throw away the old stuff.”

Shen Xiruo added: “Then you’ll need to buy new things for your home. Call me when the time comes.”

Jiang Qian thought for a moment, not knowing what she was feeling, so she said tentatively: “I feel… it’s quite embarrassing to keep asking you to come help me. I think… I can handle things myself from now on.”

She looked up and gave a smile as bright as possible: “After all, I’m a bit of a minor celebrity now. How can I keep troubling President Shen with such small matters?”

Shen Xiruo looked at her deeply and then asked: “Qianqian, do you have some grievance against me?”

Jiang Qian: “Ahahaha, how could that be possible…”

Shen Xiruo stared at her intently without speaking, but her gaze carried a great deal of pressure and an undetectable trace of melancholy. Her lips were slightly pursed, looking a bit like she was pouting, or perhaps like she was asking for a kiss.

The sight made Jiang Qian feel hot all over. The car, already warm with the air conditioning, suddenly felt so hot she started to sweat.

Jiang Qian didn’t want to look away, as looking away would confirm Shen Xiruo’s words and make it seem like she did have a grievance.

She just looked at Shen Xiruo and offered a peaceful smile: “Maybe… it’s still about your brother.”

Shen Xiruo froze abruptly. Her expression changed suddenly, and her whole body exuded a cold aura. Her eyes were like frost, completely devoid of the romantic feeling from a moment ago.

“Didn’t you say you had nothing to do with him?” Even her voice carried a powerful aura that made Jiang Qian shiver slightly.

“Right, I definitely have nothing to do with him! But, aren’t you his sister? I… I’m wondering if making him look like a villain across the whole internet will have any impact on your relationship with your family?” Jiang Qian quickly explained; she truly had been thinking this.

“If it’s just that, you don’t need to worry.” Shen Xiruo’s features relaxed, and she smiled gently. “He and I have always been like fire and water. Everyone in the family knows, they won’t interfere.”

After saying this, her expression dimmed, and she gave a faint smile: “He is the next head of the Shen family. I have already left the family.”

Jiang Qian felt a wave of pity for her, thinking that having a father like that made her more pitiable than someone like herself who had no family or estate. At least she could be unburdened, while Shen Xiruo seemed to have many grievances toward her family.

“Mhm, then I’m relieved. I was mainly worried it would affect you,” Jiang Qian said, nodding. To comfort the other woman, she reached out and patted Shen Xiruo’s hand.

Although she felt this was just a “professional” pat, the moment her fingers touched the back of Shen Xiruo’s hand, she felt a slight electric shock, which surprised her.

Shen Xiruo turned her hand over, caught Jiang Qian’s hand, and held it between her palms. She said very seriously: “Your hands are very warm.”

Jiang Qian: “Haha, I have a nickname, ‘The Little Furnace’.”

Shen Xiruo held her hand tightly in her palms, looking down at it, unmoving. Jiang Qian tried to move her hand but felt it was tightly enveloped and completely unable to be pulled away.

“Xiruo, what are you doing?”

Shen Xiruo released her hand, looked up, and smiled: “I was just thinking about having you move to my place as soon as possible. Winter is coming, it will be cold. There is heating there.”

Jiang Qian nodded, hummed in response, and quickly turned to get out of the car as if escaping.

As she stepped out, she suddenly ran into a stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. She turned back and said to Shen Xiruo, “Wait a moment!”

Shen Xiruo closed the car door, rolled down the window, and nodded with a smile.

Jiang Qian bought a large portion of sugar-roasted chestnuts at the school gate. They were fragrant, and the paper bag holding them was quite hot. She carried the bag of chestnuts to Shen Xiruo’s car and reached in to hand the bag over.

“Here, these are for you. They can warm your hands. Be safe on the way back!”

The full bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts was held in Jiang Qian’s palms and handed to Shen Xiruo with a radiant smile.

Shen Xiruo was stunned at first, then smiled again and accepted them. Seeing her take them, Jiang Qian waved and ran into the school.

Shen Xiruo stared at Jiang Qian’s retreating back for a long time until she heard the driver ask: “President Shen?”

Only then did Shen Xiruo snap out of it, discovering that a trace of a smile had been hanging on her lips the entire time. Every time she was with Jiang Qian, her mood would constantly fluctuate like a roller coaster.

Of course, for Shen Xiruo, riding a roller coaster was something from primary school that she could barely remember. But that feeling of her heart pounding fiercely was so captivating, so intoxicating.

The next day, in the Qingcheng Entertainment company group, a piece of gossip was quietly spreading:

“President Shen brought a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts to the office today! It’s real, not a model or a prop—they even smelled good!”

“I didn’t see it myself, but I heard from Jenny. When she went into President Shen’s office, she saw President Shen just holding a chestnut and looking at it. She wasn’t eating it, just looking at it the whole time—even while listening to the report!”

“Is President Shen… suddenly wanting to be a foodie or a chef? That’s not right either—aren’t sugar-roasted chestnuts just street food?”

“Holy crap! Does President Shen actually have a dream of selling chestnuts at a street stall?”

“Shocking! The thing being cherished in the palms of a multi-billionaire president isn’t her partner, but…”

“I have a bold idea—what if her partner gave those chestnuts to her?”

“Hehehehe, you must be a new employee. Don’t you know President Shen’s ‘partner’ is her work?”

“I’ve searched the entire dictionary and couldn’t find the words ‘President Shen’s partner’! President Shen? Partner? How could such a thing even exist, hahahahahahaha I’m dead.”