Beware Of The Best-Friend-Kiss Friendship Trap - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Aren’t You Going To Give Sister Yiqiu a Kiss?

Chu Weiyue was determined; Xu Ruoxi wouldn’t get a chicken drumstick for dinner tonight.

As for Jiang Yiqiu, she wouldn’t make her favorite tomato dish either.

She could only eat her second favorite, spinach!

“…”

Seeing Chu Weiyue’s somewhat displeased face, Jiang Yiqiu was momentarily speechless. It wasn’t easy for her. Before she could soothe the little one, the big one became unhappy again. Who was as troubled as she was, taking care of two children—one big and one small—every day?

Holding Ruoxi in her arms, she turned to say something nice to Chu Weiyue: “Okay, she’s a child; she didn’t mean anything by it.”

Chu Weiyue pursed her lips and didn’t say a word. Of course, she understood the logic and wouldn’t make a fuss over something like this. It would make her look petty. It was just that the incident happened so suddenly, and she was a bit taken aback.

Meanwhile, Ruoxi was still furrowing her brow, pondering what was wrong with her aunt—she seemed angry? But why was she angry? This question was a bit too difficult for little Ruoxi. She bit her lip, racking her brain to think seriously about the problem. Was it because she only kissed Sister Yiqiu but didn’t kiss her? It was very likely. Ruoxi secretly blamed herself, “Aiya, next time I must kiss both of them; I can’t leave out Auntie!”

Just as Ruoxi was about to call Chu Weiyue over to give her an auntie kiss too, Jiang Yiqiu already carried her into the room.

“Well, I’ll make it up next time!”

In the end, Chu Weiyue didn’t say anything more, silently watching the child nestle in Jiang Yiqiu’s arms, hugging her neck, as she was carried into the room.

Jiang Yiqiu carried her to the bed and let go. Ruoxi shouted “Wow,” rolled over, spread-eagled on the bed, and grinned at Jiang Yiqiu. Children love to play, and they can play with anything. Left alone, she could probably have a great time on the bed by herself.

Although a bit lively and active, Ruoxi was generally a good child. She promised Jiang Yiqiu she would coax her to sleep and took the task seriously.

Jiang Yiqiu lay on the bed, and Ruoxi sat cross-legged beside her. The two—one big and one small—looked at each other.

Ruoxi smiled: “Sister Yiqiu, close your eyes quickly; I’ll coax you to sleep.”

Jiang Yiqiu nodded: “Ruoxi is so good to help me.”

Ruoxi held her hand and gently rubbed it, saying earnestly: “Sister is good to Ruoxi, so Ruoxi is good to Sister.”

“Ruoxi is so obedient and willing to help Sister. Sister won’t force you to nap with me. After you’ve coaxed me to sleep, you can go play.”

Hearing the promise, Ruoxi was even happier and more enthusiastic. She eagerly said: “Okay! Sister Yiqiu, close your eyes quickly; I’ll coax you now.”

“How do you want to coax me?”

Ruoxi thought for a moment: “How about telling you a story? When I was little and couldn’t sleep, Mom would tell me stories.”

Jiang Yiqiu nodded: “That sounds good.” She suggested: “Sitting up looks tiring. Why don’t you lie down with me?”

Ruoxi had no objection. She lifted the covers and burrowed into the bed, then suddenly popped her little head out of the blanket and giggled.

Under Ruoxi’s urging, Jiang Yiqiu closed her eyes. A soft, childish voice rang out in the room: “A long, long time ago, there was a big castle in a forest, and a very beautiful princess lived inside…”

Ruoxi was still young, and her language skills were limited. Sometimes, the phrases weren’t quite coherent, but she slowly continued the story according to her own ideas.

Jiang Yiqiu closed her eyes to sleep. After about twenty minutes of lying there, although her eyes were closed, she felt a gaze fixed on her. It was hard to ignore and made her feel uneasy. At first, she thought it was Ruoxi, but after a few minutes, she realized something was wrong because the gaze was overly intense.

Fearing that her “sleep-coaxer” would notice, Jiang Yiqiu secretly half-opened one eye. Ruoxi was still telling her story, but her eyes were closed, and her voice was slowly getting quieter, clearly sleepy. Of course, she wasn’t staring at her.

Since it wasn’t Ruoxi, it could only be the other person. Jiang Yiqiu looked up and sure enough, saw a figure leaning by the door, staring intently at the big bed. If she hadn’t noticed, she guessed the person would have crawled into the room in a dark, twisted way.

Jiang Yiqiu: “…”

She glanced at Ruoxi, whose voice was getting softer and more mumbled, eventually turning into self-muttering. She first signaled “shush” to the person at the door. She didn’t want the efforts of coaxing the little one to sleep to be wasted.

Then, she saw the person at the door wriggle darkly and twistedly a few times on the spot. But the person was still very obedient and didn’t make a sound. Jiang Yiqiu gave her a look of approval.

Chu Weiyue smoothly received the message and immediately stopped her twisted crawling. She was good.

Jiang Yiqiu turned back to look at Ruoxi lying on the bed. The girl was completely still, her long eyelashes gently fluttering with her breathing. She was asleep.

Jiang Yiqiu lay still for a while longer, making sure the little girl was sound asleep before getting up.

Jiang Yiqiu tiptoed out of the bedroom and closed the door. Chu Weiyue’s tone was cool: “Why did you come out? Not going to sleep with her?”

Jiang Yiqiu was helpless: “The little one is asleep, so shouldn’t I come out to coax the big one?”

Chu Weiyue “hmphed,” emphasizing: “I’m not angry, I don’t need coaxing. You make it sound like I’m very petty.”

Jiang Yiqiu raised an eyebrow: “Oh, not petty?”

Chu Weiyue insisted: “Not petty.”

Jiang Yiqiu sighed: “Since Teacher Chu is so generous, I’ll sleep with Ruoxi tonight, and you can have your room alone.”

Chu Weiyue instantly broke: “What did you say? I forbid it!” Even in her urgency, she remembered Jiang Yiqiu’s instructions, pressing her voice low as she protested. However, shouting like that made her voice too small and unauthoritative. After two “wa-wa” calls, it sounded more like pouting than anger.

Chu Weiyue impolitely borrowed the lines Pu Tao used to criticize Jiang Yiqiu for being biased: “You fickle person! As the old saying goes, ‘I only see the new one smiling, never hear the old one crying.'” If Pu Tao were present, she would surely despise her for plagiarizing her lines.

Jiang Yiqiu was helpless: “I’m kidding.” Jiang Yiqiu didn’t know what to say about her: “She’s not even 5 years old. Why are you competing with a child over this?”

Chu Weiyue was silent for a few seconds, then forced out a “Haha, I’m not angry at all. How could I be so childish?” smile: “I’m not competing.”

Jiang Yiqiu smiled without speaking, then soothed her a few more times, finally calming the “big one” down.

Chu Weiyue quietly opened the bedroom door and peeked inside. Seeing Ruoxi, who had obediently gone to bed and was now sound asleep, she marveled. This was the first time she had seen her sleep so obediently. If Ruoxi hadn’t come, she wouldn’t have known Jiang Yiqiu had so many skills. As expected of the chosen top student, she could do everything well, even coaxing children was easy for her.

Although it was just a little trick to coax a child to sleep, Jiang Yiqiu still wanted to maintain a credible image. After a while, guessing Ruoxi was about to wake up, she still lay back down and slept with her for a while.

Ruoxi slept for almost two hours, waking up naturally and feeling especially comfortable. She opened her eyes hazily and sat up, rubbing her eyes and still feeling groggy. After a few seconds, she was startled. Wait, wasn’t she supposed to be coaxing Sister Yiqiu to sleep? How did she fall asleep herself? Where was Sister Yiqiu?

Ruoxi turned around and saw Jiang Yiqiu lying beside her, still sound asleep, and grinned. Hehe, Sister Yiqiu was still sleeping; it seemed her mission was successfully accomplished!

Chu Weiyue, outside the door, saw Ruoxi wake up and appeared at just the right time, pretending to be surprised: “Ruoxi, you’re awake. Wake up Sister Yiqiu too; we have something to go out for.”

“Okay~” Ruoxi agreed and, full of accomplishment, poked Jiang Yiqiu, “Sister Yiqiu, time to get up!”

Naturally, Jiang Yiqiu slowly woke up, praised the child for being so amazing, saying she often suffered from insomnia and had a very comfortable sleep thanks to her coaxing. Ruoxi was so proud that if it weren’t a weekday and she had school, she would really want to stay and coax Jiang Yiqiu to sleep every day, continuing this great mission.

Ruoxi slept until 2:30 PM. The two adults took the child to get their prize.

After changing clothes, Ruoxi immediately noticed the bright “flower” on Jiang Yiqiu’s chest and exclaimed with delight: “Sister Yiqiu, this flower is so pretty!” It was the camellia brooch she didn’t usually wear. Then she added: “The flower is pretty, but Sister Yiqiu is even prettier than the flower!”

Jiang Yiqiu smiled and patted her head: “Thank you, Ruoxi.”

Ruoxi’s eyes sparkled: “Did Auntie give it to you?”

Jiang Yiqiu was very satisfied with the child’s perceptiveness: “Yes, Auntie gave it to me for my birthday.”

Ruoxi continued to praise: “Auntie has good taste.”

Ruoxi was very well-behaved and articulate, always providing emotional value to whoever she was with. Adults loved her and were willing to take care of her, wanting to keep her close and hug her like a comforting little quilted jacket.

After getting ready, the two adults led the child out. Chu Weiyue wanted to go to the gym first to complete her weekly check-in, but considering that Jiang Yiqiu probably wouldn’t want to move after exercising, they decided to go to the mall first.

Chu Weiyue still expressed twelve thousand points of disbelief about her good luck: “That big brand store, they shouldn’t be engaging in some kind of fraudulent marketing, right?”

Jiang Yiqiu: “They shouldn’t. Don’t worry, I’ll be watching for you; you won’t be scammed. If it’s a fake, we’ll just consider it a shopping trip.”

Chu Weiyue laughed: “You’ve been back for a week, and we’ve been shopping three times.”

Jiang Yiqiu raised an eyebrow: “Don’t you want to? Didn’t you say in the group chat the other day that you love shopping the most?”

Since she had said it herself, what could Chu Weiyue argue? Of course, she agreed.

Originally, Jiang Yiqiu was leading Ruoxi, but Chu Weiyue insisted on balancing things out, so it became one adult on each side, holding one of her hands.

As soon as they left, Ruoxi asked: “Auntie, where are we going?”

Chu Weiyue smiled: “We’re going to the mall to buy Ruoxi some delicious food, okay?”

Ruoxi was certainly willing to go for good food and didn’t forget to praise her dearest aunt: “Auntie buys Ruoxi delicious food and makes delicious food for Ruoxi. Auntie is so good! Thank you, Auntie!”

The little girl was generous and adorable, calling “Auntie” sweetly and repeatedly. Anyone would be charmed.

Chu Weiyue patted the little girl’s head: “Ruoxi is so good. I’ll make more delicious food for you tonight.”

First, following Chu Weiyue’s suggestion, they took little Ruoxi shopping and bought some of her favorite snacks. When they were almost done shopping, they finally went to the luxury brand store from last time to inquire about the prize for the return visit.

At the store, it was the same sales associate as last time. The associate had a good memory and remembered the two women after only one meeting. Seeing them enter, she showed a polite smile. The sales associate and Jiang Yiqiu exchanged glances. The associate’s gaze instantly became warmer, but before she could speak, Jiang Yiqiu subtly shook her head, indicating not to say too much.

The associate nodded and stepped forward.

Chu Weiyue couldn’t shake the feeling that the associate’s attitude toward Jiang Yiqiu was more enthusiastic than toward herself. Chu Weiyue muttered to herself, did sales associates judge customers by their looks?

She thought that after inputting their basic information, they could take the item and leave. However, the sales associate was very meticulous. Just as Chu Weiyue thought she could finally get the clothes she had been longing for and leave, the associate spoke: “One last question for the two of you.”

Hearing the serious tone, Chu Weiyue instinctively grew nervous: “Go ahead.”

The associate: “Final confirmation, are you two a couple?”

Chu Weiyue’s heart tightened. She really didn’t have much experience with lying, especially this kind of lie. Her first thought was that the associate had seen through them. Then she reconsidered, couples don’t have couple certificates, and there was no way to prove it. The associate wouldn’t keep pressing.

The associate had already asked this question on the phone last time, and Chu Weiyue had felt slightly embarrassed then. This time, it was face-to-face, and Jiang Yiqiu was right next to her.

She quietly looked at Jiang Yiqiu and hooked her finger. Jiang Yiqiu looked back, just gently nodding without speaking, meaning for her to answer.

Finally, she silently repeated “It’s all for the prize; I have no other thoughts” three times in her heart, then nodded earnestly: “Yes, we are a couple.”

Jiang Yiqiu added: “That’s right.”

Chu Weiyue secretly glanced at Jiang Yiqiu, her face slightly flushed. Jiang Yiqiu, however, was composed, maintaining a polite smile throughout.

Chu Weiyue once again reflected internally that she was too thin-skinned and thought too much. Look at Qiuqiu; how generous and natural she was, admitting it directly and looking self-assured. If she wasn’t certain that both of them were straight, she would have thought Jiang Yiqiu genuinely wanted to be in a relationship with her!

Chu Weiyue secretly resolved to learn from Jiang Yiqiu’s good mindset. It was just for the clothes, after all. If she was caught pretending because she was too hesitant, wouldn’t she lose the prize worth tens of thousands of yuan?

The sales associate smiled: “Understood.”

With that, she packed the clothes for them, carefully using a special gift box, making the packaging very exquisite, and then handed it to the two women.

Finally, the sales associate said sincerely: “Congratulations to the two of you for being the 9999th returning customers to our store. We use this number to wish you both long-lasting happiness and eternal unity.”

The sales associate maintained her smile and didn’t ask further or show surprise because of the couple’s gender.

Chu Weiyue was a little touched by the sincere blessing: “Thank you.”

With the prize in hand, the two were about to leave. During the few minutes they talked to the sales associate, Ruoxi stood beside them. She was too short to see the counter, but she heard everything they said clearly.

The little girl held Chu Weiyue’s finger. She was well-behaved and didn’t interrupt while the adults were talking, just listening intently with her big, blinking eyes, gradually taking in the available information and analyzing it.

The sales associate hadn’t noticed the child at first and only saw her as the three of them were about to leave. Seeing Chu Weiyue holding a child’s hand, the two adults and one child looked exactly like a family of three, and the sales associate finally looked surprised for the first time.

Without needing to say much, Chu Weiyue immediately understood and quickly explained: “The child is my cousin’s.” She stopped the misunderstanding from escalating in the very first moment.

She could casually pretend to be a couple with Jiang Yiqiu, but she couldn’t randomly claim her cousin’s child! She couldn’t become a mother before marriage or a relationship. Although she wasn’t related to the sales associate, they would definitely come back to this mall in the future, and the associate had a good memory. She didn’t want to be remembered for this.

The sales associate realized and smiled, patting Ruoxi’s head: “Little beauty, you’re very cute.”

Normally, Ruoxi would be chattering away, asking questions. But this time, she was surprisingly quiet.

The reason was simple. She was thinking.

Little Ruoxi was too short to see the specifics, but she heard everything they said clearly. Wow, Auntie and Sister Yiqiu are a couple after all! They denied it and tried to trick her! Did they think she was a child who was easily fooled? No way! Even if they tried to trick her, she could see right through it. Humph, wasn’t she found out?

Ruoxi was secretly pleased with her keen observation skills and gave herself a thumbs-up. No wonder they lived together.

Although Ruoxi was still young, she knew a lot. She remembered her mother asking Auntie several times when she would start dating, and now she finally was! Mom said people in love cherish their lovers very, very much and always like to stick together. Wasn’t that exactly what Auntie and Sister were doing? Mom also said people in love like to drink sour vinegar! Although she didn’t understand why, Ruoxi planned to buy Auntie vinegar as a gift the next time she saw her.

After buying things, Chu Weiyue didn’t forget her “weekly check-in” spot. She had brought everything she needed when they left, so they headed straight to the gym. Ruoxi had come along several times before. The little girl was naturally active, unlike some adults who just wanted to lie down and play on their phones. She was always excited to exercise with Chu Weiyue. Although she wasn’t tall enough to use many of the machines, it didn’t dampen her enthusiasm one bit.

It was the same this time. The chattering Ruoxi was in stark contrast to the silent Jiang Yiqiu.

Ruoxi: “Great, we’re exercising again! Ruoxi loves exercising the most!”

Jiang Yiqiu: “Do we have to exercise?”

Chu Weiyue had a lot to say about this, using Ruoxi as a ready-made positive example: “We must work out! Look at Ruoxi, she’s so self-aware at such a young age. Can’t you learn from her?”

Ruoxi chimed in: “Sister Yiqiu, you should exercise more, just like Auntie and me, so you can have a strong body.”

Jiang Yiqiu was speechless.

Although Ruoxi couldn’t use the equipment, the amount of exercise she got just running around the indoor space wasn’t small. She ran here and there, highly excited. Before, she used to like to wander around Chu Weiyue, but now there was Jiang Yiqiu too.

She first went to Jiang Yiqiu: “Sister Yiqiu, keep up the good work~ You must exercise well.”

Then she went to Chu Weiyue’s side, watching Chu Weiyue, who was sweating on her forehead, clapping her hands and shouting: “Auntie is amazing! When Ruoxi grows up, she wants to be as amazing as Auntie!”

So, Jiang Yiqiu was “held captive” by the two, the big and the small, and was forced to stay until dark.

Back home, Chu Weiyue dutifully prepared dinner. Jiang Yiqiu was simply the ultimate weapon for conquering children. She once again coaxed Ruoxi to eat her vegetables obediently and played games with her in the evening. Coaxed by one aunt and one sister, the little girl’s laughter didn’t stop all night; she was beaming.

However, good times are always short, and soon it was bedtime. Moreover, tomorrow was Monday.

“Sigh, I have to go to school again tomorrow.” Little Ruoxi sighed.

“Sigh, I have to go to work again tomorrow,” Chu Weiyue echoed.

Normally, Chu Weiyue and Jiang Yiqiu slept later, but they couldn’t keep the child up late, so they took her to take a bath and went to bed early.

In the end, the sleeping arrangement became a new problem. On this matter, the two surprisingly reached a consensus.

Chu Weiyue looked very serious: “Ruoxi is very independent. She’s been sleeping in her own small bed since she was 3 years old. She’s very obedient and has never cried or fussed. Even here, sleeping alone is not a problem.”

Jiang Yiqiu nodded in agreement: “You’re right.”

Then, the two went to ask the child’s opinion. Ruoxi readily agreed, excited to have the other bedroom’s big bed all to herself. “Okay, I want to be alone! Sleeping with Auntie and Sister is too crowded.”

However, plans are plans. After much thought, they were still uneasy about leaving the child alone in an empty room, so in the end, the three of them slept on one bed.

Ruoxi, who had lost the big bed, was dissatisfied: “You adults just love to argue and have so many issues. I was perfectly fine sleeping alone; you just had to make me stay with you.”

Chu Weiyue found it amusing but played along: “We’re scared to sleep alone. Ruoxi, why don’t you keep us company?”

Since Auntie had actively requested it, Ruoxi reluctantly agreed, flipping onto the bed: “Okay, but just this one time.”

Ruoxi had visited Chu Weiyue many times before, but this was her first time staying overnight, and there was no dedicated small bed or room for a child in the house, so safety came first.

Lying on the bed, with the adults on either side, little Ruoxi was in the middle. The big bed, which was more than enough for two women, wasn’t crowded even with a child, and they all had plenty of room to sleep. Chu Weiyue momentarily had a certain illusion that they had entered “family of three” mode early.

“We’re going to sleep now, Ruoxi,” Chu Weiyue said, reaching to turn off the light.

“Okay~” Ruoxi agreed, then suddenly remembered something, “Wait, wait a minute!”

“What is it?”

The little girl curved her eyebrows, smiled mischievously at Jiang Yiqiu, who was closer to her, and hooked her finger: “Sister Yiqiu, come here.”

Jiang Yiqiu was puzzled but obediently leaned forward.

A soft “smack” sounded, and Jiang Yiqiu paused slightly. Ruoxi had kissed her on the cheek.

Little Ruoxi remembered Chu Weiyue’s anger from last time, so she turned to Chu Weiyue, “smack,” and kissed her too. She made sure to treat them equally.

Ruoxi smiled sweetly: “A goodnight kiss~”

This kiss was solid; Chu Weiyue could feel the slight springiness of the skin on her cheek. She subconsciously touched the small area where Ruoxi had kissed her. It felt soft and smooth, like jelly. The sensation was a bit strange but also very comfortable.

Chu Weiyue’s first thought was, would it feel like this if Jiang Yiqiu kissed her?

After a moment of daze, Chu Weiyue smiled: “Ruoxi, is that all? Can I turn off the light now?”

Ruoxi frowned, shaking her head vigorously, looking somewhat dissatisfied: “No, you can’t sleep yet! Auntie, did you forget something?”

Chu Weiyue looked confused: “Hmm, forget what?”

Ruoxi kept a straight face, urging her to think carefully. Chu Weiyue offered several guesses, but Ruoxi kept shaking her head.

Chu Weiyue asked humbly: “Little Teacher Ruoxi, can you tell Auntie what I forgot?”

Ruoxi looked serious, with a hint of disdain, blaming her for not knowing: “Auntie, I’ve already kissed. Aren’t you going to give Sister Yiqiu a goodnight kiss?”

You guys are a couple!

Chu Weiyue: “…?”

Chu Weiyue hadn’t quite processed it. She turned to look at Jiang Yiqiu, her gaze instinctively falling on her moist, full lips.

Jiang Yiqiu, after a momentary pause, had already adjusted her expression, looking at her with a smiling gaze.

Her expression seemed to say: Come and kiss me.