Adopting Myself from the Young Heiress - Chapter 18

High school was a time of both stifling boredom and unrestrained youth.

Some anchored their future girlfriends, others flitted from one romance to another, while still others spent their days gossiping with their girlfriends.

An Chixu, however, found herself a mother.

A brand-new, loving mother.

Her “new mother” was her age, just six months older, yet she was remarkably organized and mature beyond her years.

An Chixu immersed herself in this dynamic, never daring to shatter the illusion.

Eventually, Yan Ciwei took full responsibility for attending An Chixu’s parent-teacher conferences.

Their first time doing this was during their sophomore year.

When it came time to choose between the arts and sciences, An Chixu hesitated.

Yan Ciwei, using An Chixu’s account, brought her home to help her change her selection, all while analyzing the situation.

“The most important thing is, if you go to the arts stream, we won’t be in the same class anymore.”

At that time, Yan Ciwei was still adjusting to her role, her tone slightly stiff.

She preferred to make An Chixu submit with a single command, forcing her to obey her arrangements.

An Chixu excelled in science and possessed exceptional logical thinking skills. Her only hesitation stemmed from a slight interest in history.

“Interests can’t put food on the table,” Yan Ciwei said. “The job market is changing. Science will definitely be more in demand in the future.”

“Can you just listen to me?” Yan Ciwei’s gaze, untrained in concealing her emotions, unconsciously revealed a hint of displeasure.

“Then I don’t want to,” An Chixu replied, clearly moved by Yan Ciwei’s ultimatum.

“I want to be in the same class as you. I don’t want us to be separated,” An Chixu said, reaching for the mouse.

But Yan Ciwei submitted An Chixu’s subject selection preferences before she could.

Then she smiled. “Now we can always be together.”

An Chixu’s outstretched hand hung in the air, momentarily lost. But Yan Ciwei’s smile gradually soothed her, and she slowly moved forward.

Pressing against Yan Ciwei’s back, she echoed her smug smile. “Yeah, we’ll always be together.”

Yan Ciwei wrapped her arms around An Chixu, stroking her smooth black hair, finally showing genuine tenderness.

At the parent-teacher conference at the start of the semester, Yan Ciwei brought An Chixu to the homeroom teacher to explain the situation.

“You’re attending the parent-teacher conference as her guardian?” The teacher, who had been teaching for ten years, had never heard such a request before.

What kind of logic is it for a child to attend a parent-teacher conference for another child?

She wanted to reject the idea outright, but when she met Yan Ciwei’s gaze, her courage faltered.

Yan Ciwei had a rather special background. She was the young mistress who had secretly run away from Four-Nine City. No one dared to displease her; even the school board members avoided crossing her path.

An Chixu’s family situation was indeed difficult. Throughout her entire first year of high school, no one from her family had ever attended a parent-teacher conference.

The homeroom teacher swallowed the question, “Did your parents approve of this?” and made one last attempt to resist. “In what capacity would you be attending?”

Yan Ciwei paused, pretending to consider. “As her… sister?” She couldn’t say “mother,” so “sister” would have to do.

“…Then, An Chixu, do you agree to this?” Seeing An Chixu’s lack of objection, the homeroom teacher finally gave up.

An Chixu followed behind Yan Ciwei, looking almost like her younger sister.

It wasn’t just their appearance. An Chixu was half a head shorter than Yan Ciwei and unnaturally thin for her age.

Her timid eyes and clingy posture only reinforced the impression.

Out of the teacher’s sight, Yan Ciwei squeezed An Chixu’s hand, dissolving her anxiety in the warmth of her palm.

An Chixu nodded and, at Yan Ciwei’s gentle squeeze, murmured a soft “mm-hmm,” even more timid than a trickling stream.

Then she hid, pressing herself against Yan Ciwei’s back, shrinking her presence, and taking a silent, deep breath.

Their tightly clasped hands intertwined, becoming sticky and warm.

In the second it took for the homeroom teacher to make a decision, An Chixu’s heart raced wildly.

The surrounding noise gave her a headache, yet she felt deeply buried in Yan Ciwei’s tranquil darkness.

She could only smell Yan Ciwei’s faint scent.

The familiar fragrance of her shower gel filled An Chixu’s chest, while the powdery scent of Yan Ciwei’s face powder tickled her nose.

Yan Ciwei had used this same face powder on An Chixu during the summer vacation. Their similar scents were gradually merging into one.

“Alright. If Miss An wishes to participate, she may attend the lecture as an observer,” the homeroom teacher conceded, unable to stop the lawless heiress and rebellious successor.

Later, at the second parent-teacher conference of their senior year, Yan Ciwei represented An Chixu.

With only three months until the college entrance exams, An Chixu’s parents were embroiled in a bitter divorce, each having found new partners and even children, leaving them no time to care for their “old” daughter.

It’s okay… she thought. I have a new mom now.

As Yan Ciwei emerged from the crowd of parents, An Chixu darted into the throng, pushing past the adults who were as tall as her, and threw herself into Yan Ciwei’s arms.

“Tuantuan, you’ve made such great progress this time,” Yan Ciwei praised An Chixu, sounding just like a proud parent.

An Chixu’s ears flushed crimson, as sweet and slightly cloying as the hawthorn cakes they’d secretly shared the day before.

Yan Ciwei took An Chixu’s hand and led her aside to analyze her mock exam results.

An Chixu listened intently. After seventeen years of drifting aimlessly, she finally had a dream.

Even if it stemmed from Yan Ciwei’s invitation, she was determined to pursue it.

“By the way, Tuantuan, I still haven’t asked why you insisted on taking the exam while you were sick. It was just a diagnostic test, after all,” Yan Ciwei said, her tone much more practiced than when they were in tenth grade.

She was a good older sister, saving the uncomfortable questions for last and phrasing them with gentle care.

After all, her obedient little sister would always tell her the truth.

“I remember I even got you a sick leave,” Yan Ciwei said, standing beside An Chixu and shielding her from the sun.

Though she was no taller than An Chixu now, her gaze still carried an unmistakable intensity when they were together.

An Chixu had become addicted to this.

She loved Yan Ciwei’s slightly threatening, darkly intense gaze.

Yan Ciwei looked at her this way and only her.

She was special.

“I want to know my current ranking,” An Chixu said. Her grades weren’t particularly good.

At the end of her sophomore year, she was still about thirty points short of the target Yan Ciwei had set for her.

But Yan Ciwei was confident she could help An Chixu close that gap.

“Didn’t you say you wanted us to go to the same university?” An Chixu asked, already able to press herself against Yan Ciwei’s chest even under her somewhat sinister gaze.

“I want to be with you, always with you,” An Chixu murmured, her voice softening.

She was no longer as timid and cautious as she had been two years ago, her voice now flowing like a gentle stream.

But when facing Yan Ciwei, the woman who had guided her out of her shell, she still indulged in a playful lightness.

Yan Ciwei would hear her.

True to form, Yan Ciwei wrapped her arms around An Chixu’s waist—a gesture of satisfaction.

Then, while explaining a problem, she quietly…

kissed the tip of An Chixu’s ear.

But at twenty-five, An Chixu finally understood.

No pair of sisters would constantly embrace each other and kiss each other’s earlobes.

No mother would personally apply baby powder to her seventeen-year-old daughter.

And no pair of friends would have such a twisted relationship.

Their connection had been unhealthy from the start.

By the time she wanted to break free, it was already too late.

Now, two years after leaving Yan Ciwei, she still found herself rushing into Yan Ciwei’s arms whenever she reached out, offering a hug and an intimate kiss.

In exchange for Yan Ciwei’s caresses, from the crown of her head to the base of her spine.

An Chixu’s tears finally fell, one by one, so small they barely resembled rain.

Like her own existence.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Her nightmare was right before her, holding her close and gently massaging her temples.

Yan Ciwei knew her so well, understanding that An Chixu would have a headache after waking from a nightmare.

An Chixu gasped, her sobs intensifying the flow of tears, but only slightly, stringing them together like a pearl necklace.

“You kept calling for ‘Mother, Mama…’ You must have had a nightmare.” Yan Ciwei’s arm around An Chixu tightened as she patted her back, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Their unspoken role-playing as mother and daughter was a shared secret.

Now, Yan Ciwei once again gently assumed the mother’s role, cradling her fragile daughter in her arms.

Yes.

To Yan Ciwei, all of An Chixu’s resistance stemmed from her rebellious phase.

That’s why she would always forgive An Chixu.

“Don’t cry. You already have a fever, which makes you even more pitiful,” Yan Ciwei murmured, gently patting An Chixu’s back and tucking the tear-soaked strands of hair behind her ear.

“Poor little Tuantuan. What did you dream about?” She leaned closer, her voice almost whispering in An Chixu’s ear.

An Chixu wanted to pull away.

How could she be dismissed as merely rebellious? She simply wanted to become an independent person.

To escape Yan Ciwei’s care, regardless of whether it was good or bad, love or hate.

Everything about Yan Ciwei should be separate from her.

She only wanted to achieve this one thing.

Was that too much to ask?

“Tell me. Talking about it will make you feel better,” Yan Ciwei insisted, refusing to let An Chixu escape.

She continued to close the distance until she gently nipped An Chixu’s earlobe.

Just like when they were seventeen. Except now, Yan Ciwei no longer held back or hid her desires.

She still didn’t use force. This slow, teasing caress was enough to maintain control.

An Chixu gasped, her tears freezing mid-air.

Yan Ciwei tightened her embrace, wanting to kiss her into submission.

Their lips were so close.

Just accept it.

Drowning in her love isn’t painful.

You know her control is perfect. Gentle and comforting, she won’t let you fall and hurt yourself.

An Chixu pressed her fingers against Yan Ciwei’s lips.

As Yan Ciwei stared in surprise, An Chixu bit down on her own lip, her eyes reddening and tears welling up.

“Work… I should have finished adjusting the spreadsheets, editing the videos, posting the copy, and… and…”

Yan Ciwei’s gaze silenced her.

“I’ve already taken care of it,” Yan Ciwei replied.

An Chixu wasn’t surprised.

Their relationship stemmed from a conversation they’d had earlier. The distorted parent-child dynamics in East Asia had left the younger generation without healthy models for romantic love. Everyone craved unconditional favoritism, but what they were truly seeking was a substitute for maternal affection.

This story will also delve into the protagonists’ families of origin. There are reasons why they’ve become who they are. Yan Ciwei will explore this further in later chapters.