My Gloomy Stepsister Has Her Eyes on Me - Chapter 36

Zhen Zhu was first captivated by the dark depths of those eyes. Then, realizing what the girl had said—

“Who belongs to you?!”

Golden sunlight streamed through the window, causing the ends of her long, naturally wavy hair to tremble. Zhen Zhu angrily slapped away the restless hand, her temper flaring. “I belong only to myself!”

“Mmm~”

The slapped-away hand retreated naturally, but Zhen Min’er didn’t argue. Instead, she stole a kiss from her elder sister’s unconsciously upturned lips.

Seizing the opportunity, she kissed Zhen Zhu’s red lips again, her doll-like face beaming sweetly. “Then I belong to Elder Sister~”

“Ah! Stop touching me!” Zhen Zhu’s temper finally snapped after the second ambush. Her long, wavy hair floated in the air as she completely forgot about the blanket covering her. She reached out to shove the girl off the bed.

But as her hand extended, Zhen Min’er seized her fingertips and kissed them.

This time, before Zhen Zhu could explode, Zhen Min’er released her.

She got out of bed, picked up the porridge prepared on the bedside table, and held it to Zhen Zhu’s lips.

It was like punching a soft cotton ball, only to be taken advantage of multiple times in the process.

Zhen Zhu was furious. Her fox-like eyes darted sideways, and she huffed coldly, “I don’t want it! I won’t eat it!”

Does she really think I’m that easy to fool?!

A bowl of porridge can’t erase what she’s done!

With that, Zhen Zhu brushed past Zhen Min’er.

Clutching the blanket, Zhen Zhu slid off the other side of the bed. The jingling of the ankle chain irritated her, so she grabbed the excess length of the cat-shaped chain and looped it around her wrist to muffle the noise as she moved.

Her bare feet landed on the floor, and her gaze was immediately drawn to the soft, fluffy, giant Cheese Cat rug.

Does Zhen Min’er really like Cheese Cats this much?

Or is there something else…?

No, now’s not the time to think about that!

Zhen Zhu wrapped the thin silk blanket around herself, arms crossed tightly, and tugged the long chain at her ankle, pulling herself toward the door.

Her fox-like eyes remained fixed ahead.

Once I get this chain in my hand, I won’t be truly bound. Then I can figure out a way to…

The chain was too long; Zhen Zhu couldn’t hold it all in one hand. By the time she reached the door and reached out—

Another hand snatched the golden ring hanging from the doorknob and snapped it onto her slender wrist.

Zhen Zhu glared at Zhen Min’er, furious. Why now? Why not earlier? She’s doing this on purpose!

“You—”

“Elder Sister, eat your breakfast,” Zhen Min’er said sweetly. “Then I’ll give you this golden ring. Okay~?”

Zhen Min’er leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with a mischievous smile, appearing utterly innocent and charming. Yet every move she made reeked of malice.

“Actually, this golden ring was custom-made for you, Elder Sister. I’m so glad you like it.”

“……”

“I don’t want it!”

Zhen Zhu had only taken the ring to carry it easily while moving around, preventing Zhen Min’er from using it to control her. Now, Zhen Min’er’s words made it sound like she actually liked it!

“I don’t like it at all!”

“Hurry up and let me go!” Zhen Zhu glared at her disobedient stepsister. “If you release me now, I’ll…”

“You’ll what?”

“Will you forgive me afterward, Elder Sister?” Zhen Min’er asked, her brow furrowed, her eyes seemingly hopeful.

“……”

“Never!”

Never! After what Zhen Min’er had done, Zhen Zhu had only refrained from sending her to prison out of consideration for the good service she had once provided. How could she possibly let her off so easily?

She wasn’t some pushover Main Lead!

Zhen Zhu snorted coldly, lifting her chin, her beautiful fox-like eyes gleaming with icy contempt. “At most, I’ll torment you a little less afterward!”

“You’ll pay for what you’ve done!”

“Mm-hmm~” Zhen Min’er replied obediently. “Alright, then I’ll wait for Elder Sister to make me pay.”

“So… you’re letting me go?” Does this mean she’s willing to let me leave?

Zhen Zhu snorted to herself, thinking, At least the Main Lead has some sense.

Fine, I’ll just pretend I was bitten by a dog… Actually, even though it’s a bit uncomfortable…

“No~”

Before Zhen Zhu could decide what to do next, she heard this.

“What do you mean?! Didn’t you just say you’d let me go?!”

“Hmm?” Zhen Min’er blinked innocently, tilting her head. “Did I say that?”

I’d never give my Elder Sister a chance to escape.

Zhen Min’er once again held the red bean and barley porridge in front of Zhen Zhu’s face.

“Elder Sister, eat first.”

“You won’t have the strength to resist otherwise, will you?”

“…”

After a day and a night of struggling, that aroma…

Zhen Zhu was hungry.

“Hmph!” I’ll fill my stomach first, then figure out a way out!

Since she couldn’t reach the end of the chain, Zhen Zhu let go. She’d initially planned to drop it on the floor, but then she remembered the Cheese Cat…

With another cold snort, she tossed the long, swaying Cheese Cat onto the bed.

Zhen Zhu reached out irritably. “Give it to me.”

“I’ll feed you, Elder Sister.”

Zhen Min’er refused to hand the bowl to Zhen Zhu, instead bringing the spoon to her lips. “Ah~”

Does she really think I’m a child?!

“You—” Zhen Zhu began to scold, but Min’er immediately shoved another spoonful of porridge into her mouth. “Mmph.”

She reflexively swallowed, her fox-like eyes gleaming.

So sweet! So delicious!

Zhen Zhu narrowed her eyes, swallowing and instinctively taking another bite of the porridge Min’er offered.

She couldn’t remember when Aunt Wang had stopped making sweet dishes. As the Eldest Miss of the Zhen Family, indulging in sweets was considered too frivolous. Consequently, Zhen Zhu had grown accustomed to bland, light flavors, occasionally satisfying her cravings with sweet fruits.

But this porridge Min’er had made…

Before she knew it, Zhen Zhu had finished the entire bowl. Her fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, her slightly swollen, vividly red lips pursed, and the tip of her tongue darted out to lick a stray drop of porridge from the corner of her mouth.

Delicious.

It’s been so long since I’ve tasted something this sweet.

A warm feeling surged through her.

Lifting her gaze, her fox-like eyes softened as she looked at Zhen Min’er. Just as she was about to praise her for the excellent porridge—

Her gaze locked directly with those dark amber eyes.

That look!

Zhen Zhu immediately clutched the blanket tighter around herself and snorted coldly. “I’m not drugged this time!”

“If it comes to a fight, I won’t lose to you!”

Though Zhen Zhu preferred resolving conflicts with words rather than fists, she refused to let her stepsister completely walk all over her.

Yesterday, she had been drugged and unable to resist. But not today!

She would never let her stepsister take advantage of her again.

Never!

Clutching the blanket tightly, Zhen Zhu glared at her stepsister—slightly shorter but radiating an overwhelming sense of aggression—her fox-like eyes trying to intimidate her.

“Yes, Elder Sister…”

After collecting the bowl and chopsticks onto the tray, Zhen Min’er turned to face her sister, who sat regally above her.

She tilted her head slightly, a sweet smile spreading across her doll-like face. “So, Elder Sister, do you think there was medicine in that porridge?”

Zhen Zhu’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Zhen Min’er. “What do you mean?”

“You drugged me again?!”

The porridge had already been swallowed, making it impossible to spit out. Zhen Zhu was furious. “Where do you even get all these drugs?!”

“Ah… I lied to Elder Sister.”

Zhen Min’er smiled sweetly, her long hair swaying gently, but her words sent a chill down Zhen Zhu’s spine. “How could I bear to give Elder Sister so much medicine?”

“At most…”

“I only make Elder Sister take it when she doesn’t cooperate with me.”

“……”

Zhen Zhu pressed her lips together, suppressing the icy dread in her chest, and glared at Min’er.

Zhen Min’er was acting very strangely, very absurdly.

Very bizarre.

Are you sure your Main Lead is kind and innocent?!

Zhen Zhu couldn’t help but question the System in her mind once again.

“Um, well, she should be…” The System’s childlike voice hesitated. “That’s how the plot is supposed to go…”

“Could it be that the Main Lead has awakened too?” the System asked uncertainly. “But the Happiness Value the Main God told me to monitor hasn’t changed at all.”

“I’ve only noticed changes when the Host’s actions cause them.”

“Maybe, Host, you should just go along with the Main Lead and raise her Happiness Value?”

“After all, Host, you’ve already been… uh, hugged by the Main Lead, right? Once is a hug, twice is a hug, multiple times is still…”

“Shut up!”

Zhen Zhu was done. At first, the System’s words had made some sense, but now its true intentions were laid bare!

It was clear the System desperately wanted to become human, even more eager than Zhen Zhu to escape the plot and max out its Happiness Value.

“Hmph!” Zhen Zhu, annoyed, unilaterally blocked the System again and turned to watch Zhen Min’er rummage through the wardrobe. “Zhen Min’er, do you know the plot too…?”

Boom—

A sudden thunderclap outside the window startled her.

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Zhen Zhu glared back, about to curse the so-called World Consciousness, when she heard a tense voice behind her: “Elder Sister!”

“Are you alright, Elder Sister?”

Her hand was gripped tightly. Zhen Zhu turned in surprise to see amber eyes sparkling with concern and anxiety.

It was just like…

how Min’er used to cling to her, not like now…

“You—”

Zhen Zhu inexplicably remembered how Min’er would immediately run to cling to her whenever it thundered, and she pressed her lips together.

Was Min’er actually worried about her?

Min’er remembered everything from their childhood, even her love for sweets…

Aunt Wang, who came later, never knew this, and Zhen Zhu had never mentioned it.

Zhen Min’er, who had always served her, personally brought over the sweet, perfectly warm porridge.

That…

Min’er likely knew about Zhen Zhu’s fear of thunder, stemming from her mother’s death.

Zhen Zhu remembered.

From the very first time the World Consciousness triggered thunder… Min’er had been at the door, asking about her.

Later, when Zhen Zhu hesitated to complete a mission, after the World Consciousness’s warning…

Min’er had blurted out:

Elder Sister! Are you alright?!

“I’m fine,” Zhen Zhu said, pressing her lips together and pulling her hand away from Min’er. “I’m not afraid of thunder anymore.”

With a cold huff, she refused to look at her stepsister. “Fearing thunder was ages ago. I wouldn’t be afraid of something for that long!”

Elder Sister isn’t afraid of thunder anymore?

Min’er looked up at Zhen Zhu, her amber eyes darkening slightly. “When did you stop being afraid of thunder, Elder Sister?”

When did this happen? When did I miss something so important about Elder Sister?

A hollow ache formed in Min’er’s chest, and she couldn’t accept it—

Anything.

She couldn’t bear not knowing something about her elder sister.

She had to be the one who understood Zhen Zhu best, the only one truly close to her.

“I stopped being afraid a long time ago,” Zhen Zhu said, her fox-like eyes tilting upward with haughty pride. “Lin Zh and Ba Xueyue both know.”

“…Is that so?”

Zhen Min’er pressed her fingertips into her palm, lowering her gaze and curving her lips into a faint smile. “That’s wonderful, Elder Sister.”

No one could—

The stinging pain from her clenched fist was suddenly interrupted as her fingers were pried open.

“Elder Sister…?”

Zhen Min’er looked up in confusion, seeing her sister’s hand suddenly grasp hers and pry open her palm.

“What are you doing?!”

Zhen Zhu cleared her throat, feeling awkward that her strange stepsister was showing such concern. Yet she couldn’t help but recall Zhen Min’er’s injured palm from before. Had it healed yet?

Her gaze, subtle and hesitant, shifted to Zhen Min’er, who had suddenly lowered her head.

She saw Zhen Min’er’s tightly clenched fist, her nails digging into her palm.

If she remembered correctly, that hand had been bleeding just yesterday!

Reaching out, Zhen Zhu angrily seized the clenched fist and forcibly pried it open. Sure enough! The bloodstain was darker now! The bl00d on the gauze had turned a deep crimson!

Zhen Min’er hadn’t changed the gauze or applied fresh medicine at all!

Yanking Zhen Min’er’s hand, Zhen Zhu pushed her onto the bed, stomping her foot in frustration, the Cheese Cat’s chain jingling.

Sparks flew from her fox-like eyes. “Where’s the medicine kit?! Apply the ointment now!”

Seeing Zhen Min’er suddenly revert to her former self, gazing at her with an innocent, pitiful look, Zhen Zhu completely forgot that she was the one held captive.

Her anger erupted into a furious tirade. “Didn’t I tell you to take care of yourself?!”

“You remember everything from when we were little so clearly!”

“Then why aren’t you doing as I said?!”