"Clothes, didn't you say you didn't have many clothes to change into during your vacation? So I bought you a few."
"Then I'll go down with you to get it."
Chai Qianning tidied up the table after finishing breakfast, rummaged through the cabinet for something, and asked in a rising tone, "Have you ever seen Lin Daiyu go downstairs to pick up a package?"
"Ah." After Chai Shuqing came to her senses, her expression seemed to freeze, and she was speechless for a moment: "Then what I say, you are what I say? I could have said you were a lazy pig, why didn't you say that?"
Chai Qianning sprayed sunscreen spray around Chai Shuqing's arms and neck a few times: "I'm Lazy Pig, then what are you? Lazy Pig's sister, aren't you also Lazy Pig?"
".."
Chai Qianning lay down on the sofa and raised an eyebrow at her with great interest: "Little Pig, go ahead, we'll be waiting for your triumphant return."
“Sister…” Chai Shuqing rushed to Chai Qianning’s side and sat down, hugging her arm and shaking it: “I don’t care, I can’t take that much by myself.”
"There are no large or heavy items."
“I can’t get it either. No matter how light it is, I can’t carry it. I’m not an octopus.” Chai Shuqing shook her.
Chai Qianning sprayed some sunscreen on herself: "I'll go down with you, stop shaking."
Once inside the elevator, Chai Qianning counted the number of packages that had arrived. There were eight in total, five of which had arrived yesterday evening, and the remaining three had just arrived this morning. They were all summer clothes and pants.
Suddenly remembering something, she said to Chai Shuqing, "What did you say? You're an octopus, so there are exactly eight packages."
"..." Chai Shuqing felt that her older sister couldn't go a day without teasing her.
All packages in the community are delivered to the designated parcel station, which is located near the community gate and takes a few minutes to walk there.
Chai Qianning opened the parasol and placed it over their heads.
Although it was morning, the mid-June sun in City A was already scorching, the heat was intense and pervasive, making the air stifling.
Under the sunlight, their shadows swayed with each step, and soon their necks were covered in a fine layer of sweat.
Chai Shuqing fanned her face with her hand, squinting because the light was too strong: "Sis, why didn't you come to pick up the package later?"
"The afternoon sun is even stronger."
"I mean evening."
I have something to do this evening.
Chai Qianning had previously mentioned treating Sheng Muxi to a buffet barbecue, but Sheng Muxi didn't have much free time on weekdays. So, they decided to have it this Saturday evening, which is today.
Are you going out this evening?
"Yeah, I'm going out to eat with friends, do you want to come?"
The two had reached the entrance of the post station. There weren't many people, but there were still quite a few, so they had to wait in a short queue.
Chai Shuqing thought for a moment: "Are we going out to eat with Sister Su Ye?"
"No, Mr. Kazumori."
"..." Chai Shuqing licked her dry lips: "Then I won't go."
"Are you sure? All-you-can-eat BBQ, huh? Your favorite."
Chai Shuqing was adamant about not going, but after Chai Qianning mentioned it, she also really wanted to eat barbecue. She picked up her phone and prepared to send a message to her friend: "I can invite my friend to eat together."
Soon it was Chai Qianning's turn. There were a total of eight packages, and the two of them each took four.
However, after walking only a few steps from the post station, Chai Shuqing looked up and saw something, and thoughtfully offered to take the four packages from Chai Qianning's hands.
Chai Qianning squinted: "Can you get that much?"
“Sure.” As she spoke, Chai Shuqing had already snatched the four packages from her hands. She carried four in each hand; they weren’t heavy, so it wasn’t difficult for her.
Chai Qianning looked at her suspiciously: "What are you doing? Has the sun made you lose your mind?"
Chai Shuqing met her gaze earnestly and said, "I'd rather be Lin Daiyu's sister than a pig's sister."
Chai Qianning smiled: "Did Lin Daiyu have a younger sister?"
“Anyway…” Chai Shuqing’s eyes drifted upwards, and only then did Chai Qianning notice that there was a person standing on the eleventh-floor balcony.
Sheng Muxi lived upstairs from her, and her balcony faced the exact same direction as her home.
It's not very clear from downstairs; you can only see someone on the balcony. Sheng Muxi lives alone, so there's no one else in the house.
This made Chai Qianning realize why Chai Shuqing had helped her pick up the package; it turned out she was just putting on an act in front of the teacher.
She raised her hand and wiped the sweat from Chai Shuqing's forehead: "Well, you only pretend to be nice to me in front of outsiders."
"No way," Chai Shuqing said righteously. "Playing along is a necessary skill for navigating the world, but I do care about you in your private life."
"Besides, is Teacher Sheng an outsider to you?"
Once downstairs, Chai Qianning closed her parasol and cleared her throat: "Why do you ask that?"
Chai Shuqing wore an expression that said, "I've seen through everything." She replied, "Now you're an outsider, but what about later? Will you still be an outsider in the future?"
"..." Chai Qianning didn't answer immediately. After a few seconds, she said in a deliberately calm tone, "What are you thinking about all day long instead of studying!"
"You're feeling guilty."
".."
"You're so lazy, why would you go out of your way to deliver pork rib soup to someone? That's not like you."
"That's just reciprocity. Teacher Sheng gave it to me last time, so I'm returning it to her."
Chai Shuqing's face clearly showed her disbelief. She knew her older sister's personality all too well. She could tell from just one incident last night that Chai Qianning was acting strangely.
She blinked, and just then the elevator doors opened, and the two of them walked out.
Once they reached the corridor, they realized something was wrong.
"Sis, did we go to the wrong place?"
Chai Qianning recognized Sheng Muxi's door at a glance and said casually, "Oh, this is the eleventh floor. You pressed the wrong button."
"I pressed the button?" Chai Shuqing held up both hands holding packages. "How could I possibly press the elevator button looking like this?"
Chai Shuqing moved closer to her: "No way? Sister, are you bewitched? You even pressed the eleventh floor button subconsciously."
Chai Qianning patted her arm: "I just didn't notice, okay? You didn't notice that I pressed the wrong button either."
As the two were about to turn around and walk back, Chai Shuqing suddenly stopped and asked, "Which room is Teacher Sheng's?"
Chai Qianning gestured with her chin toward the room on the far right: "That one."
"It really is right upstairs from us."
Just as the two were about to take a step, they heard the door of the last room open. Sheng Muxi opened the door and saw the two of them, a little surprised: "Did you come to see me?"
Chai Shuqing spoke first with a smile: "Yes, Teacher Sheng, my sister said she has something to tell you."
After saying that, Chai Shuqing winked at Chai Qianning, turned around, and ran towards the stairwell. Her figure quickly disappeared, and her voice faded into the distance: "I won't disturb you anymore."
Chai Qianning: ?
Sheng Muxi then looked at Chai Qianning, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, "What do you want from me?"
Chai Qianning: ...
Chapter 12 Pendants
The building has excellent natural lighting; during the day, sunlight streams into the corridor, casting golden dappled patterns on the spotless floor, which has been thoroughly cleaned by the cleaning lady.
Even though Chai Qianning found the events of earlier absurd, she had only been to Sheng Muxi's apartment a few times, and this subconscious feeling had already taken root in her mind. However, she attributed it solely to her distraction while chatting with Chai Shuqing in the elevator.
On the surface, she remained calm and composed, without any ripples, and greeted Sheng Muxi generously: "Good morning, Teacher Sheng."
Sheng Muxi nodded: "Would you like to come in and talk?" Before Chai Qianning could answer, she had already stepped aside to make room for her.
She moved closer, but didn't go inside. Instead, she leaned her back against the door frame, facing her.
There wasn't anything to say anyway, so there was no need to go in; I wouldn't be staying long anyway.
She made up a reason on the spot, smiled and leaned over to whisper in the other person's ear.
"Teacher Sheng, remember we made plans to have dinner together tonight?"
Sheng Muxi felt a warm warmth emanating from her earlobes and looked at her incredulously: "It's gone?"
“That’s all.” Chai Qianning answered matter-of-factly, as if she had come up specifically to say something she had already mentioned on WeChat, and it wasn’t anything superfluous.
"I know about that. Is there anything else?"
Chai Qianning thought for a moment. Since the other party insisted on asking, she decided to elaborate: "After we finish the barbecue, we can go see a movie. What do you think?"
“Sure.” Sheng Muxi stared at her face for a few seconds before looking away.
Chai Qianning nodded: "Then I'll go down first. See you in the evening."
After closing the door, Sheng Muxi stood in the entryway for a while.
What's possessed? What didn't you notice?
She had vaguely heard those words and Chai Qianning's voice in the corridor before she went to open the door.
Her brows furrowed for a moment, then quickly relaxed.
Going down to the tenth floor, Chai Qianning saw Chai Shuqing at the door, happily unpacking a package.
Chai Shuqing has a key to her house, but she went downstairs to pick up a package with Chai Qianning, so she didn't bring the key with her.
A pile of opened delivery packages lay on the floor.
Chai Shuqing picked it up and stuffed it into another bag. After Chai Qianning opened the door, she placed the bag in the entryway, waiting to throw it away when she went downstairs.
Upon entering, Chai Shuqing practically leaped for joy, bounding to the sofa, tearing open the transparent plastic packaging, and carefully examining each piece of clothing, pants, and skirt, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Sis, why are all these clothes mine?"
"Yes, I bought them all for you," Chai Qianning replied casually, then opened her phone to search for good movies to watch recently.
Yesterday she was at Sheng Muxi's house and fell asleep while watching a horror movie, so maybe it's best to skip horror movies.
Moreover, Sheng Muxi doesn't seem to be afraid of ghost movies at all, which makes the whole thing pointless.
After browsing for a while, Chai Qianning couldn't find anything she liked, so she leaned back on the sofa and saw Chai Shuqing carrying the clothes into the room to try them on.