After Stealing a Kiss from My Sponsor Sister - Chapter 28
The bustling nightlife of Shangjing was concealed beneath the dazzling lights that lined the streets.
Red, green, blue, purple—the streaks of light flickered past Jiang Ya’s profile, but when she looked outside, all she saw was her own reflection in the glass: young, tender, confused, and lost.
She reached out to wipe the car window, only making her reflection clearer.
Jiang Ya exhaled.
Her gaze lost focus.
It was already late.
He Minqian’s visit hadn’t lasted long. When he failed to reach an agreement with Yu Shuang about her affairs, the man quickly changed the subject, finally asking the kind of questions one would expect during a hospital visit.
Truthfully, he hadn’t stayed for long.
Before leaving, He Minqian said to Yu Shuang, “If you need anything, just let me know. The He Group’s hospitals are better than this one.”
Miss Yu only replied politely, “Alright, thank you.”
Jiang Ya didn’t know,
but He Minqian understood all too well that this was just a polite deflection.
Like the adult niceties of “Let’s chat next time,” “Let’s grab a meal when we’re free,” or “We should hang out sometime,” it was a carrot dangled before a donkey—seemingly within reach, yet never truly attainable.
He was all too familiar with this version of Yu Shuang. Back in high school, when they first reunited abroad, it had always been like this—polite, courteous to the extreme. But he could never reach the softer side of her. Even if there was something he could resolve with a single phone call, he’d only hear about it much later, by chance, from a friend.
If he asked—and of course, he had done so before—he once confronted her face to face. Yu Shuang had paused, tilting her head with a smile. “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you? See, I’ve already handled it.”
When he tried to press further, she cut him off, grinning. “Don’t underestimate me.”
He Minqian couldn’t say anything more.
Thinking of this, his determination to get to the bottom of things quietly faded.
“You don’t have to be polite with me,” He Minqian stood up, unable to hide the disappointment in his expression, his lashes lowering. “You know perfectly well that if you just said the word, I wouldn’t be able to refuse.”
Yu Shuang paused again, tilting her head with a laugh.
Like a fox—cunning, heart-fluttering, and equally heart-wrenching.
“It’s getting late, you should hurry. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late getting back to the office.”
She was practically shooing him away.
But Yu Shuang was right—he really did need to return to headquarters.
As he pushed the door open, He Minqian came face to face with Jiang Ya, who was sitting on the bench outside. His polished leather shoes paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over her—complex, turbulent, and filled with unspoken emotions.
Jiang Ya felt like he was jealous of her.
As absurd as that sounded.
But she was rarely wrong about people.
“Mr. He, is there something you need?”
Jiang Ya struck first.
Sure enough, her question rendered him silent. He only muttered, “Take good care of Yu Shuang,” before striding away.
Just as well—she didn’t want to talk to him either.
Who’d want to chat with someone who badmouthed them behind their back? Only an idiot.
Her little notebook of grudges was nearly full.
And the fact that he’d done it in front of Miss Yu made it even worse!
But even after finally seeing He Minqian off, Jiang Ya didn’t immediately enter the ward as she’d imagined.
Her mind was in turmoil.
The chaos didn’t fade with time. Instead, after seeing Miss Yu, the ripples had swelled into waves, crashing back and forth in the sea of her heart, growing larger by the minute.
That night, she didn’t take a taxi back to Miss Yu’s place.
Nor did she take the subway.
She chose the slowest bus.
Hoping to sort out her thoughts during the idle time wandering through the city.
But the reflection in the window made it clear—she had failed.
Her mind was a mess, emotions overwhelming reason, to the point where she didn’t even want reason anymore.
Did she really have to be Miss Yu’s little sister?
Why?
What gave her the right?
She… wasn’t there yet, but she had potential, didn’t she?
Aside from the uncertainty about whether her gender was even a match, the rest…
Well, she couldn’t lie to herself—her background wasn’t even on the same level as Miss Yu’s.
But that gap wouldn’t last forever.
She still had the potential to change.
She was still young.
It was possible.
Her thoughts jumped all over the place, as if she had considered so much, yet when she tried to summarize, there was no concrete conclusion.
No logic, just emotions clashing.
Jiang Ya was unfamiliar with this state of mind, but she didn’t reject it.
After all, she had tasted sweetness first—it was the amplified longing in her heart that had brought out this bitterness.
It was her own delusion.
And she accepted it.
She didn’t know how many streets had passed by, how many streetlights flickered across her face. Ding—her stop arrived.
The bus doors closed behind her. At the station, Jiang Ya stood alone, gazing ahead into the deep night.
She pulled out her phone.
“Jiang Ya, the Academic Ace” patted me.
Watching the pink Jigglypuff head bounce on her screen, Mu Xiao quickly replied: ?
Has the academic goddess finally graced us with her presence in the group chat?
Jiang Ya pointed out: This is a private chat.
Mu Xiao took a closer look—oh, it really was.
Mu Xiao: ?
Mu Xiao: Looking for me?
Not here to ask about English homework, are you?
The aftermath of the fight hadn’t even been fully discussed in the group yet, and now she was thinking about homework? What kind of indomitable study spirit was this?
“Jiang Ya, the Academic Ace” patted me.
Mu Xiao: ?
“Jiang Ya, the Academic Ace” patted me.
“Mu Xiao, the Love-Struck Fool” patted my Jigglypuff head.
Jiang Ya: “…”
Great. One pat each, taking turns—they could keep this up till tomorrow.
Jiang Ya: I have a question for you.
“Mu Xiao, the Love-Struck Fool” patted my Jigglypuff head.
Mu Xiao: Isn’t this still about studying?
A personal question.
Not about studying.
Very personal.
Mu Xiao: The layers of emphasis are making me nervous.
Jiang Ya thought for a moment. You should be nervous.
?
Jiang Ya: I want to talk to you about puppy love.
…
Mu Xiao: Hard pass. Bye.
“Jiang Ya, the Academic Ace” patted me.
“Jiang Ya, the Academic Ace” patted me.
“Jiang Ya, the Academic Ace” patted my already-dead brain.
“…”
Clearly, she really didn’t want to talk about it.
Since Mu Xiao had mentioned the group chat earlier, Jiang Ya wasn’t in a hurry. She switched back to their small group of five—herself, Mu Xiao, Fatty, Little Flower, and their class monitor.
Originally, there were only three of them. The class monitor had been added just the day before because he kept asking questions.
Mu Xiao had been added by Jiang Ya—since she needed help with English, she figured she might as well share the resource with Fatty and Little Flower too.
Little Flower and Fatty were… less than moved or grateful.
She had only sent two messages when Shu Tianxin popped up: Wait… that’s it? That’s all you’ve got?
Little Flower: +1
Fatty: +1
Little Flower: You’re not really transferring schools, are you?
Jiang Ya: Not sure. Depends on what happens next. Oh, does anyone have the homeroom teacher’s number? I need to take a day off tomorrow.
Fatty: “Ah, taking leave? Not coming to class until the results are out?”
Then shared Old Chen’s phone number.
“No, someone at home is sick. I’ll take care of them for one more day.”
Jiang Ya felt that by tomorrow, the fever should stabilize, and Miss Yu would be able to eat takeout again.
“Besides, tomorrow will definitely be about announcing the exam scores and then going over the papers. I don’t think I made that many mistakes, so skipping won’t affect me much.”
Shu Tianxin: “…”
Mu Xiao: “‘Skipping won’t affect me much’??? Are those human words?”
Huahua: “Are those human words?”
Fatty: “Are those human words?”
Shu Tianxin: “So confident you did well?”
Jiang Ya: “If you’re in the top three this time, surpassing you will be a bit hard. If not, you’ll be behind me.”
Mu Xiao: “Please spare the ordinary folks.”
Huahua: “Please spare the ordinary student livestock.”
Fatty: “Please spare the academic failures.”
Jiang Ya: “Leave is approved.”
Jiang Ya: “When the scores come out tomorrow, help me collect my papers, and send me the rankings too. Thanks.”
“No thanks, won’t send.”
“No thanks, won’t send.”
Mu Xiao: “Okay.”
“‘Mu Xiao’ recalled a message.”
Mu Xiao: “No thanks, won’t send.”
Jiang Ya: “@Shu Tianxin”
Shu Tianxin: “…If no one else collects them, I will.”
“Thanks, bro.”
After entering the house, washing up, and picking up her phone again, Jiang Ya noticed Mu Xiao had repeatedly tapped her several times at some point.
Jiang Ya: “What’s up?”
No response from the other side.
“Want to chat?”
Mu Xiao tapped her again.
Jiang Ya understood. “Did talking to the class monitor upset you?”
“Relax, I won’t spread that you like the class monitor.”
Originally, Mu Xiao was fine, but seeing this message, she completely lost it, rolling back and forth on her bed five or six times before surrendering: “Is it that obvious?”
“Not obvious at all, my friend.”
She didn’t believe a word of it.
Mu Xiao was utterly defeated and asked Jiang Ya via voice message, “When did you notice?”
“Too early, like a week after joining the class? Every time I asked a question, your eyes were glued to us. At first, I thought I was stealing your question time.”
“…”
“Great understanding. Next time, don’t jump to conclusions.”
Jiang Ya called her. Mu Xiao hesitated but answered.
Through the call, neither spoke at first. Jiang Ya was lost in her thoughts, while Mu Xiao was still awkward and embarrassed.
“So, can we talk about your puppy love now?”
“Uh… talk about what?” After replying, Mu Xiao grabbed her hair—this was too awkward.
“Do you still like Shu Tianxin now?”
“…”
“Hanging up.”
Jiang Ya: “Wait, wait! I’m not digging for details. It’s just… he rejected you, right? Do you still like him?”
Mu Xiao was frantic: “Did you hack my phone? How do you even know all this?!”
Clearing her throat, Jiang Ya softened her voice. “The vibe between you two—one awkward, the other even more awkward. If it were just a pure crush, it wouldn’t be like this. You don’t ask him questions, and he subtly pushes you toward me. Even an idiot could figure it out.”
“Thanks, but your idiot brain and mine are different. We’re not the same!”
Her voice muffled, Mu Xiao buried herself under the blankets.
“Embarrassed? No need. I like someone too.”
“Uh, a secret crush?”
“Whatever, it’s like that.”
“Who is it?” Mu Xiao perked up at the mention.
“Someone I know?”
“No, you don’t.”
“Really?”
“Really. The people you know aren’t on the level to make me infatuated.”
“…I feel insulted.”
“Sorry?”
“Go die!”
“Hahahaha.”
“Hahahaha.”
…
After the laughter and banter, the conversation finally turned serious.
Jiang Ya spoke, and Mu Xiao listened.
Halfway through, Mu Xiao interrupted, “Wait, what was it you originally wanted to ask me?”
Jiang Ya: “I don’t know if I should continue.”
“I don’t think that’s even a question.”
Mu Xiao: “From what you’ve said, I don’t think you can just stop.”
“…”
“…Oh.” Jiang Ya responded softly.
Both fell silent, leaving only the faint static of the phone line between them.
Mu Xiao stared at the ceiling and exhaled quietly.
If it were so easy to let go, she and Shu Tianxin wouldn’t be in this situation either. Jiang Ya had asked the wrong person.
Jiang Ya also looked at the ceiling, but her mind wandered to more memories of their time together.
Her heart began to beat irregularly again.
Closing her eyes, Jiang Ya let herself feel it fully.
The girl’s voice was soft, almost like a sigh. “I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“Everything.”
She no longer had any questions to ask.
Her heart had already answered.
It was just that she seemed to hear it only now.
But it wasn’t too late.
Jiang Ya smiled. “When you make it into the top three in an exam, I’ll give you a secret too.”
“I won’t make it.” Self-awareness was a virtue, and Mu Xiao had plenty of it.
“Then let’s wait until after the college entrance exams, my friend.”
Before Mu Xiao could ask more, she heard a lazy voice on the other end: “Ah, I feel so much better now. I really want to ask you a couple of English questions.”
Now the only remaining question was acing the exams.
“????”
I really don’t have time to entertain you geniuses anymore.
Mu Xiao gritted her teeth and forced a smile. “Goodbye!”
–
Jiang Ya couldn’t stop her feelings.
So she decided to bury her true heart for now, waiting for the right day to let it sprout.
Born in spring, hidden in winter.
She had met Miss Yu in the spring.
And soon, winter would begin.
Perhaps her heart would wait until the day it could sprout—or perhaps it would wither halfway.
But so be it. Jiang Ya didn’t want to overthink it anymore.
She decided to leave everything to fate.
Just as fate had brought them together.
Good or bad, she would accept it all.