Mo Xuan never imagined that he would maintain such a relationship with the two sisters.
Of course, what troubled him the most was not only having to accompany Luo Muqi with her homework and receive guidance from Luo Shiya but also having to chat with the two sisters every night.
Luo Shiya had created a group chat with just the three of them, where they would talk daily. They would often ask Mo Xuan about his life at school, with the main focus being his so-called "puppy love" issues...
Xue Xue Xue Xue Xue: "Brother, we're still too young, so we should focus on studying!"
Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei: "+1"
Mo Xuan felt like his head was about to explode. In the past, Luo Shiya would lecture him daily about the dangers of puppy love, and now Luo Muqi had started to follow suit.
Jokes aside, Mo Xuan actually enjoyed his current life. Being with Luo Shiya and Luo Muqi gave him a feeling he had never experienced before.
In the past, Mo Xuan had always been a loner. The only person he was somewhat close to was Su Yanran, who always accommodated him in everything.
Unconsciously, Mo Xuan had grown accustomed to spending time with Luo Muqi while she did her homework and lying in bed at night chatting with the two sisters.
Eventually, Mo Xuan brought this up with his grandmother, as keeping it from her didn’t feel right. His grandmother was concerned and even paid a visit herself. To Mo Xuan’s surprise, after her visit, she didn’t forbid him from seeing the sisters.
It was understandable, really. His grandmother even felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that her grandson was clearly the one benefiting from the situation, yet she had gone over there almost as if to interrogate them.
However, she had run into a teacher she knew from the past, who remained tight-lipped about the family. His grandmother didn’t press further.
In the Capital, wealthy families were a dime a dozen. If they chose not to reveal their identities for some reason, there was no need to dig deeper.
Moreover, his grandmother thought that they would eventually leave, and her silly grandson, though smart, was still quite naive when it came to matters of the heart—even a bit clueless.
Otherwise, why would he always treat Su Yanran the same way? Both his grandmother and Su Yanran’s grandmother had hoped that Mo Xuan and Su Yanran could get engaged, but while Mo Xuan seemed to accommodate Su Yanran in everything, there didn’t seem to be any deeper feelings involved.
After some thought, his grandmother decided that the kids were still young, and it might be too early to think about such things, so she didn’t dwell on it too much.
Mo Xuan continued living his life, with the only change being that every time he went to the old house, he would look up and see Luo Shiya standing on the second-floor balcony, smiling and waving at him.
Once he entered the courtyard, Luo Muqi would quickly run over, take his hand, and happily lead him inside.
Time passed quietly, and soon it was New Year’s.
Every year, Mo Xuan and his grandmother would celebrate the New Year with Grandma Zhang’s family. His parents would make a token appearance during the day, sometimes bringing along one of his sisters. But this year, Mo Xuan wasn’t waiting for them at home.
He had promised Luo Shiya and Luo Muqi that he would spend the day with them, and his grandmother had agreed.
“Take these over to them,” his grandmother said, handing Mo Xuan a few bags. “There are some New Year’s goods I bought, as well as some dumplings I made. They might not care for them, but we shouldn’t be rude. After I deal with your foolish parents, I’ll head over to Grandma Zhang’s.”
Then, she muttered under her breath, “Letting you go over there on New Year’s… they must really think highly of you…”
“Grandma, what did you say?”
Mo Xuan, who was putting on his shoes, didn’t catch her words. His grandmother waved her hand and said, “Never mind, never mind. Hurry up and go!”
Since his grandmother spent every day with Mo Xuan, she didn’t mind him going out for the New Year.
Besides, she could see that after spending time with the sisters, Mo Xuan had changed. In the past, he had been well-behaved and filial, but he always seemed lonely.
Only when Su Yanran came over would Mo Xuan act a little more like someone his age.
Mo Xuan carried the bags and walked to the old house. As usual, Luo Shiya was standing on the balcony, holding a cup of hot tea. When she saw him, she smiled and waved.
“You’re here?”
By the time Mo Xuan entered the courtyard, Luo Shiya had already come downstairs, but Luo Muqi was nowhere to be seen. Noticing the bags in Mo Xuan’s hands, Luo Shiya smiled and said, “Did your grandmother send these over?”
“Yes, she asked me to bring them. There are also some dumplings she made,” Mo Xuan said, a bit embarrassed. “They’re just simple things. I hope you don’t mind…”
“Of course not!”
Luo Shiya suddenly reached out and ruffled Mo Xuan’s hair. Mo Xuan felt his face heat up, and he lowered his head even further.
“Uncle Zheng, could you have someone take these to the kitchen?” Luo Shiya turned and instructed Uncle Zheng. “Where’s Muqi? Isn’t she coming out?”
“I’m here, I’m here!”
Luo Muqi suddenly ran out of the room, wearing an adorable pink coat and a cute rabbit ear hat. She looked like a little sprite as she dashed toward Mo Xuan, arms wide open. But just as she was about to hug him, Luo Shiya grabbed her from behind and held her back.
“Sis, why are you holding me?”
“Oh, nothing. Happy New Year.”
Luo Shiya smirked inwardly. What was this little kid thinking, acting out some drama right in front of her? Did she really think she could just hug him like that?
Luo Muqi glared at her sister, but at only 12 years old, she was no match for Luo Shiya in height or strength. Her sister seemed unusually strong today!
Finally breaking free from Luo Shiya’s grip, Luo Muqi grabbed Mo Xuan’s right hand and shot a challenging look at her sister. Then, smiling at Mo Xuan, she said, “Brother, let’s go build a snowman!”
“Oh, sure.”
Mo Xuan had no idea what was going on and simply nodded in agreement. But then, to his surprise, Luo Shiya grabbed his left hand.
“I’ll join you. It’s been a while since I’ve built a snowman.”
Luo Shiya smiled at Luo Muqi and even hummed a line from a song: “You never noticed, you always hold my hand with your right, but your heart beats on the left…”
At first, Luo Muqi didn’t understand what her sister meant. But then she looked down at the hand she was holding Mo Xuan’s with and thought about the lyrics her sister had sung…
She was basically saying that even though they were both holding his hand, she was closer to him!
How unfair!
Meanwhile, Mo Xuan, whose hands were being held by both sisters, felt like his face was about to burst into flames.
“Uh, let’s just build the snowman!”
Mo Xuan found an excuse to free himself from the sisters’ grip, quickly crouched down, and started rolling a snowball…
“Sis, why aren’t you asleep?”
The bedroom door suddenly opened, and Luo Muqi, wearing pajamas, walked in. She saw Luo Shiya sitting by the window, staring at Mo Xuan in a daze.
“Nothing, just thinking about the past,” Luo Shiya said with a smile. “Muqi, it’s my turn today, and you didn’t even knock before coming in!”
“Oh, come on, Sis. You do this all the time, don’t you?”
Luo Muqi sat down next to Mo Xuan and gently touched his face, her expression filled with tenderness. Seeing this, Luo Shiya felt a moment of confusion. The little sister who used to chase after Mo Xuan and secretly compete with her had now grown as tall as she was.
“By the way, Muqi, do you remember what we said that New Year when the three of us built a snowman together?”
Hearing her sister’s words, Luo Muqi looked up and smiled bitterly. “Of course I remember. We promised to spend every New Year together, just the three of us.”
But after saying that, they had only spent two New Years together before she and Luo Shiya lost Mo Xuan for a long time. Even after finding him again, he no longer remembered them.
“Maybe nothing is ever meant to be perfect…” Luo Shiya turned to look out the window. “Sometimes I wonder, if we hadn’t lost him for so long, would you and I have ended up like this? And what would have happened with him…”
Perhaps she would have married Mo Xuan, or perhaps Luo Muqi would have. But no matter the outcome, it would have hurt the other sister.
And yet, they were both equally stubborn, neither willing to let go of Mo Xuan.
“I remember that year after we finished the New Year’s Eve dinner, didn’t you sneak into the guest room where Xiao Xuan was staying?” Luo Shiya suddenly asked. “Muqi, you were only 12 back then…”
“Sis, stop making things up! I was just sneaking in to give my brother a gift!” Luo Muqi quickly retorted. “And what about you? That morning, I clearly saw you coming out of the room where he was staying!”
“Oh, I was giving him a gift too. What’s it to you?”
Luckily, Mo Xuan was sound asleep and didn’t hear the two sisters shamelessly exposing each other’s embarrassing past secrets behind his back.
And every single one of those secrets… was somehow related to him.