"It's probably because when they were little, you could mistake one for the other seven times a day."
Wen Yi teased her husband unmercifully.
"Ahem, I was just joking around with them..."
"When they were just starting on solid food, I left them in your care for a whole morning. You were entertaining them with one hand and taking business calls with the other."
Wen Yi looked at her husband with amusement. "When it was time to feed the girls, you fed Lingyi first, then got a phone call and rushed to give instructions to your subordinates. While you weren't paying attention, Jiashuo got mischievous. She crawled right over Lingyi, squeezed her aside, and just like that, the two of them swapped places."
"After you hung up the phone, you didn't even notice that the sisters had switched places. You assumed it was Jiashuo's turn to be fed, picked up the spoon, and shoved it straight into Lingyi's mouth."
"Pfft, Hahaha—!" Gu Lingyi, listening from the side, laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
For some reason, she suddenly couldn't help thinking that Dad and Lu Man were somewhat alike in a way...
Wen Yi continued reminiscing about Gu Yan's boneheaded antics, thoroughly enjoying herself. "When I came back in the afternoon, I saw both daughters: Lingyi's belly was rounded out like a ball, and Jiashuo was howling from hunger. And you had the nerve to ask me why 'Lingyi' wouldn't stop crying no matter how you tried to comfort her!"
The very next day, Wen Yi bought several sets of baby clothes in different colors, figuring that with Gu Yan's carelessness, without distinct markers, he wouldn't be able to tell his daughters apart at all.
Gu Yan refused to accept his wife's version and tried to talk his way out of it. "They were too little back then, they definitely wouldn't remember!"
"But in her subconscious, Jiashuo probably remembered the stunt you pulled," Wen Yi said with a smile. "That's why Jiashuo isn't as close to you."
Jokes aside, both daughters still had great relationships with their parents; it was just that the older sister, Gu Lingyi, was better at noticing and caring for her father's moods, while the younger sister, Gu Jiashuo, preferred sharing her secrets with her mom.
As Gu Lingyi listened to her parents' conversation, the phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated.
She checked a message on QQ, picked up a plate, and loaded it with some bread and chicken breast. "Jiashuo didn't eat enough, I'll take some up for her."
Arriving outside Gu Jiashuo's room, Gu Lingyi turned sideways with the tray and gently bumped the door open.
The duplex villa they lived in was huge, and five rooms each would have been more than enough for the two sisters.
However, they were used to sleeping in the same room, so Gu Jiashuo's room served as their shared bedroom.
On the left side of the bedroom sat a set of bunk beds. Though they were bunks, they were oversized adult models, measuring 1.8 by 2.4 meters, meaning a single tier was spacious enough for both sisters to sleep on.
Gu Jiashuo sat on the carpet by the bed, hugging a Pikachu plushie whose big yellow mouse ears had already been mauled beyond standing up.
"Mad at Dad?"
"No." Gu Jiashuo turned her head away. "Whether I date or not is none of his business."
Yet, thinking of her boyfriend's outrageous behavior earlier in the day, Gu Jiashuo felt her teeth itch with anger. "This relationship, better off ended!"
She clenched her little fist and gave the Pikachu two heavy thumps.
Gu Lingyi sat down beside her, resting her head on her younger sister's shoulder. "Haven't you two made up yet?"
"Made up?" Gu Jiashuo gave a cold huff. "Lingyi, you have no idea what that guy actually said!"
Gu Jiashuo possessed the trait typical of younger twins: she rarely addressed her sister as such, calling Gu Lingyi directly by her name instead. Furthermore, since Gu Lingyi was born only a few minutes before her, she had been plotting a coup to steal the older sister's spot for quite some time.
"He did it on purpose so he couldn't tell us apart! He said if he runs into either of us, he'll just go straight in for a hug—hug you and hit the jackpot, hug me and break even!"
"Can you believe that? Is that something a human would say? Bah!"
Seeing that her sister was about to continue mutilating the Pikachu doll, Gu Lingyi quickly rescued it from her hands.
Having grown up together and known Lu Man for over a decade, Gu Lingyi naturally didn't believe such talk.
She sighed. "Sometimes I really envy the two of you. Even though you're a pair of bickering enemies with plenty of tears and laughs, you've loved each other for so many years and share so many memories of your own."
Gu Lingyi slumped over the edge of the bed. "Unlike me, who has grown up just like you only to shed tears and lose sleep exclusively over math."
She poked her sister's soft shoulder. "Hurry up and make up. Aside from today, when has he not coaxed and spoiled you? Someone you're not even blood-related to treating you this well is a blessing from the heavens. If you really end up pushing him away, I'd like to see how you cry then."
Gu Jiashuo let out a scoff. "I'm not going to initiate contact with him anyway. Let's see when he decides to message me."
Knowing she couldn't reason with this sister of hers, Gu Lingyi straightened up. "Haven't you gone a bit overboard with what you did to him?"
"No, I haven't," Gu Jiashuo argued loftily. "Dating a guy means you shouldn't let him feel too happy in the first place."
"Huh?"
"I mean, you can't let him know that you can't live without him."
Gu Jiashuo simply began lecturing her older sister. "You can't let a guy have you completely in the palm of his hand; guys have a very strong sense of possession. Even if you really like him, you can't show that you depend on him too much. It's best to keep a bit of distance."
"I don't get it..."
"Because if he feels completely satisfied, there won't be any room left for tension and pull-and-push in your relationship."
Gu Jiashuo continued, "So sometimes, even though I see big brother's message instantly, I deliberately wait a while before replying. The harder something is to get, the more you cherish it. If love comes too easily, he'll lose interest fast."
Gu Lingyi shook her head, completely disagreeing. "I would never do that. I think if I fall for someone, I'd love them without any tricks or concealment."
"Getting along with him was actually most comfortable before our relationship was made official. Once we actually started dating, I found out it wasn't as wonderful as I'd imagined." Gu Jiashuo thought carefully. "Maybe being with him falls a bit short of my ideal romance, which is why I ended up like this."
"Is big brother not good?"
Gu Lingyi thought of Lu Man's infinite tolerance and doting pampering toward her sister—a gentleness she had no right to envy.
She couldn't understand her sister's mindset. Wasn't having all of that enough?
"But he really isn't suited to be a boyfriend. Lingyi, do you think I'm lithromantic? I love the ambiguous stage so much, but after he confessed, I just stopped liking him as much..."
"You're a silly dog!" Hearing this, Gu Lingyi suddenly shoved her sister away. "Then you might as well break up with her—with him!"
This sister of hers was foolish when she ought to be smart, and craftily cunning when she shouldn't be. Gu Lingyi really wanted to knock some sense into her head. "Where did you pick up that word?"
"I saw it in *South Wind* magazine..."
"Stop reading those little girls' teen romance novels from now on!"
Gu Jiashuo asked in bewilderment, "Are you my sister or his sister? Why are you suddenly getting mad..."
"Jiashuo, romance is built on mutual equality. If you demand so much of him, why can't he demand an end to this relationship?"
"I..."
Gu Jiashuo fell silent. Right, Lu Man seemed to be dead serious this time.
She was currently putting on a tough front, claiming breaking up didn't matter, yet she was the one reluctant to let her boyfriend walk away.
"See? Unless you're truly confident you can say goodbye to him, the longing you'll feel later will be a hundred times more painful than your little mood swings right now."
Gu Lingyi looked away, her lips trembling slightly. "So, when you can hold hands, never just walk side by side."
Gu Jiashuo stopped talking. After a few seconds, she mumbled softly, "Then at least give way a little and give me a way out."
Gu Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out her phone, and began typing rapidly.
"What are you doing?"
"Probing him indirectly."
Gu Jiashuo opened her mouth, but the words to stop her didn't come out.
The phone vibrated with a hum. Seeing the message, Gu Lingyi frowned slightly.
"He replied?" Gu Jiashuo noticed the distinctive vibration and asked suspiciously, "Did you set big brother to special alerts too?"
"Uh... this... well..." Gu Lingyi panicked a bit and answered with a stiff upper lip, "Wasn't that all for the sake of the two of you?"
"What did big brother say?"
"He said he won't look for you anymore." Gu Lingyi carefully observed her sister's expression. "I asked big brother why he's suddenly taking this breakup so seriously. You can't just throw words like that around casually."
"And then?" Gu Jiashuo bit her lip, feeling somewhat nervous.
"He said..." Gu Lingyi hesitated, then read it out anyway. "Jiashuo is the pig from Gold Miner; I once liked her, but it's also true that I couldn't hold onto her..."
"Ah, ah, ah, he actually said that about me!"
At that moment, Gu Jiashuo completely forgot about needing a graceful way out. "No waiting till tomorrow, I'm marching over to his house right now!"
"Jiashuo, you might end up running into empty air."
Gu Lingyi wore a peculiar expression. "Big brother said he's going away for a bit, just to let you cool down and accept reality."
"I'll accept his big fat ghost!"
Gu Jiashuo snatched up the hem of her dress and sprang to her feet, her fingers trembling as she clutched the fabric.
"Did he say why he's going? Graduation trip? Where to?"
" baseY... He told me to keep it from you."
"Oh, big sister~ please, good sister~"
Gu Lingyi sighed. What could she do? The girl was her twin sister, after all.
"He wants to check out a college in advance—Binhai Normal University."