My Gloomy Stepsister Has Her Eyes on Me - Chapter 31

As Zhen Zhu handed over the box, the worn pink hair tie flashed across her vision. A faint, pink-and-white calico cat’s head seemed to be imprinted on it—the breed she had adored as a child.

The fleeting memory didn’t distract her. She placed the hair tie and box against Zhen Min’er’s chest.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t have your own paintbrushes?” Zhen Zhu asked, pressing her lips together as she placed the box on the blanket covering Zhen Min’er’s chest.

Zhen Zhu intended to leave immediately after speaking, but as she turned to go, her hem was tugged.

“Thank you… Elder Sister.” Zhen Min’er’s soft, weak voice carried an undisguised note of surprise as she gazed at the pink gift box. “This… it seems like it was left by Elder Sister’s mother…”

Zhen Min’er actually knew.

Why are you giving this to Zhen Min’er? Are you two getting closer?

“I didn’t save it specifically for you!” Zhen Zhu reflexively recalled Lin Zhi’s words and immediately turned back. “Don’t get the wrong idea!”

Elder Sister… saved it specifically for me.

“Okay~” Zhen Min’er tilted her head back, her pale, lifeless face softening with a gentle smile that radiated from her shimmering eyes. “Thank you, Elder Sister.”

“Cough, cough…” As she finished speaking, her discomfort seemed to overwhelm her, and she coughed several times in succession, her doe-like eyes growing even more moist and innocent.

Zhen Zhu pursed her lips, reached for the teapot beside her, poured a cup of tea, tested the temperature, and handed it to Min’er.

The moderately warm cup was a welcome change from the scalding one earlier. Zhen Min’er inhaled the familiar floral aroma of her elder sister’s favorite tea, her lips curving into a barely perceptible smile as she took a small sip, soothing her throat.

And warming her heart.

Elder Sister is so good.

Seeing Min’er drink the tea, Zhen Zhu rose to her feet, but the hem of her robe remained clutched in Min’er’s hand—the same hand with the needle still stuck in it.

Afraid of hurting her, Zhen Zhu frowned and scolded gently, “What are you doing? Let go of my robe.”

“Rest properly. You’re always getting hurt.”

“Such a nuisance!”

Zhen Zhu cautiously tugged at her sleeve. Min’er’s grip tightened slightly… before slowly releasing.

Finally freeing her robe, Zhen Zhu stood up. But suddenly, the childish voice in her mind shrieked, “Ahhh, Host! You forgot the most important part!”

“We agreed! You have to say the Male Lead gave it to you!”

“That’s how the Happiness Value will increase!”

“The Main Lead’s Happiness Value just reached 95%!”

“Just a little bit more!”

“What?” Zhen Zhu turned back to look at Zhen Min’er in shock. She saw Min’er slowly holding a teacup, taking occasional sips.

She looked so well-behaved.

Why… would her Happiness Value suddenly increase?

Zhen Zhu felt an instinctive suspicion. As if drawn by her gaze, Zhen Min’er looked up, her beautiful deer-like eyes flickering as she offered a timid smile. “Elder Sister?”

“Are you… happy today?”

Zhen Zhu deliberately ignored the System’s frantic screams in her mind and asked the question.

She didn’t even know why she was asking, but the urge to ask was there, so she did.

Because… what if the increase in Happiness Value wasn’t because of J Ninglan? This sudden doubt was faint, yet it refused to be dismissed.

Just moments ago, it had been only her and Min’er, with no J Ninglan present.

“…Elder Sister?” Zhen Min’er seemed taken aback by the sudden question, pausing for a moment before hesitantly asking, “Why are you asking…?”

“Just say it,” Zhen Zhu snapped, her tone bordering on harsh.

“I’m… I’m happy…” Zhen Min’er seemed startled. She clenched her fists for a long moment before finally relaxing them. After a tense silence, she spoke timidly, her voice trembling slightly, “Brother Ninglan took me home today…”

Zhen Zhu blocked the others from approaching her sister.

“Enough. You don’t need to say any more.”

Zhen Zhu cut Zhen Min’er off again, her voice sharp and dismissive.

“See, Host! I told you it was the Male Lead’s influence!” The System’s childish voice dripped with smug satisfaction, blending with Zhen Zhu’s own sour, uncomfortable emotions.

This is so annoying.

“Yes, yes, yes! It’s all your precious Male Lead’s fault!” Zhen Zhu snapped back mentally, her fox-like eyes glaring coldly at her stepsister, who had fallen silent in fright.

Is Zhen Min’er brain-damaged? How can she actually like such a moron?!

“Host, hurry up and say it! Tell her the gift was from the Male Lead! We’re only 5% away! Just 5%!” The System’s childish voice buzzed with excitement.

“……” This gift… was from J Ninglan.

Zhen Zhu bit her lip, unable to force herself to say the words.

She, the Eldest Miss of the Zhen Family! Would she ever be the one to give gifts to others?!

Moreover! Those were her mother’s belongings, and giving them to Zhen Min’er was her idea! Why should she be doing someone else’s dirty work?! Was she some kind of matchmaker with nothing better to do?!

She really didn’t want to—

“Elder Sister…”

Boom!

A sudden thunderclap jolted Zhen Zhu back to reality. Zhen Min’er, who had been about to speak, startled at the thunder and instinctively cried out, grabbing Zhen Zhu’s sleeve again. “Elder Sister! Are you alright?!”

Zhen Zhu’s slight tremor vanished instantly. She pressed her lips together. “Is this the World Consciousness warning me?”

“Yes, yes!” The childish voice sounded exasperated. “Host, we’re only five percent away! Just one more step!”

Zhen Zhu glanced at her stepsister on the bed, who was watching her with apparent concern. She snorted coldly. “What could possibly happen to me?”

“What were you about to say earlier?” Zhen Zhu had heard Zhen Min’er call out to her first.

“Well…” Zhen Min’er hesitated.

“Speak up! Stop beating around the bush!” Zhen Zhu, already frustrated, grew even more irritated seeing Zhen Min’er’s soft, doughy demeanor, which reminded her of her own recent threats.

“Well, when Elder Sister was massaging me earlier, Brother Ninglan said his family is already discussing with Father…”

“…about dissolving the engagement with Elder Sister.”

Zhen Min’er glanced up tentatively at her sister, hoping she had moved on from J Ninglan.

But she met a pair of fox-like eyes, now icy and indifferent, staring back at her with cold composure.

The earlier warmth and emotional openness seemed to have vanished in an instant.

Her heart tightened, and Zhen Min’er whispered, “Elder Sister…”

“Host! See? The Main Lead’s Happiness Value is all because of the Male Lead!” a childish voice whined in her mind.

Watching those deer-like eyes flicker with hope as they gazed at her, Zhen Zhu wondered: Why is she telling me this? To share her joy?

So, I was right about what she was thinking.

I was overthinking things. Zhen Min’er is just following the plot, destined to end up with J Ninglan.

Forever and ever.

“Hmph,” Zhen Zhu scoffed coldly. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Congratulations!”

“You got what you wanted!”

Yes, she should focus on her mission. According to the requirements, she needed to maximize her Happiness Value. It must have increased because of the Male Lead. What had she been exploring just now?

What else did she want to explore?!

Wonderful.

Zhen Zhu pointed to the diamond gift box in Zhen Min’er’s arms, her tone cold yet natural. “No wonder. J Ninglan begged me to give this to you.”

Since the Male and Female Leads were destined to follow the plot, she might as well expedite their union.

She had her own life to live.

Once her Happiness Value reached 100, the annoying, childish voice of the System in her head would finally disappear. She could then return to her socialite life and never speak to Zhen Min’er again!

Wonderful!

“Hmph,” Zhen Zhu snorted through her nose, straightened her posture, bent down, and forcefully pried Zhen Min’er’s fingers apart, yanking her dress hem free.

“In that case, I no longer want the conditions J Ninglan originally promised me.”

Zhen Zhu casually deepened the lie she had never spoken aloud, her crimson lips parting slightly as she fixed her cold, detached gaze on her stepsister’s panicked face. “Congratulations,” she said.

“May you have a hundred years of blissful harmony.”

“From now on, don’t come looking for me.”

“Elder Sister! Why…”

Why suddenly? Zhen Min’er’s heart clenched. She tried to rise and approach, but Zhen Zhu’s icy glare pinned her in place.

“Stay still!” Zhen Zhu snapped impatiently, turning to glare at the restless Zhen Min’er. “Behave yourself!”

Watching Zhen Min’er squirm stubbornly, Zhen Zhu grew annoyed. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Elder Sister… are you upset because Brother Ninglan broke off the engagement because of J Ninglan?” Zhen Min’er clutched the quilt, her eyes fixed on her sister’s expression.

“No,” Zhen Zhu scoffed. “I’m perfectly happy.”

The mission is almost complete! I’m ecstatic!

What reason do I have to be upset?!

“Get some rest!” Once the System notified her that the Main Lead’s Happiness Index had reached its maximum, she would finally be free.

“From now on, don’t tell me anything about your affairs or J Ninglan’s.”

“Your very existence is a disturbance to me.”

“From now on, you and J Ninglan should be together and be happy!”

With that, she ignored Zhen Min’er’s struggles and attempts to grab her. After all, Zhen Min’er was the Main Lead, just as the System had said.

Everything about her was protected by the Male Lead, and none of it concerned her!

“System, are we there yet?”

Zhen Zhu sat on the sofa, waiting impatiently for good news. After a long while, she still hadn’t received any updates. Suppressing her rising anger, she asked again, her voice sharp with impatience.

“…Ah, um, ah, um, not, not yet…” The System stammered, its voice hesitant.

Another half-hour passed.

“?? Still no change—?!”

“No! No, not yet…”

“Ahem, I guess the last bit of Happiness Value is… particularly… difficult…”

The System’s childish voice faltered, a stark contrast to its previous confident certainty. Except for the first “no,” which it had replied to instantly, the rest of its words were filled with confusion and uncertainty.

Something was wrong.

Zhen Zhu’s fox-like eyes narrowed slightly. She lifted her wrist to check the children’s watch she had always found ugly. The Happiness Value—

“No! Host!”

Current Happiness Index of the Main Lead: 0%.

The index floated down the screen, disappeared at the bottom, then reappeared at the top, drifting down again into the invisible depths…

“???” Zhen Zhu’s fox-like eyes widened involuntarily. She thought she must be hallucinating. “Zhen Min’er’s Happiness Index,”

“Has dropped to 0?”

“……”

The usually chatty, childlike voice suddenly fell silent. Clearly, there was no problem with the Happiness Index itself.

“So,”

“After all the effort I wasted tangling with Zhen Min’er and J Ninglan, in the end… my Happiness Value has dropped to 0?”

“Ha?” Zhen Zhu scoffed. “So, all my efforts were for nothing?”

“I still have to accept the role of the villainess and follow the plot?” Zhen Zhu’s crimson lips curved upward, but her eyes remained icy cold.

“System, answer me,” Zhen Zhu demanded coldly. “Didn’t you say that if I replaced Zhen Min’er’s paintbrush with one made by the Male Lead, my Happiness Value would max out and I could escape the plot?”

“I want to know,”

“How did it drop to 0?”

“…There might be a slight… a very slight error…”

“I’ll investigate immediately! I’ll report to the Main God and have them verify with the World Consciousness. We’ll definitely restore the correct value, Host, and you can escape the plot!” The childlike voice was eager to reassure Zhen Zhu. “Just… don’t panic.”

“No need,” Zhen Zhu replied coldly, her fox-like eyes utterly devoid of emotion.

“I,”

“I’m done.”