Surprise! My Cohabiting Sister is Actually My Fiancée - Chapter 5

Rescuing someone in need was an act of righteous courage, and Jian Suixin would naturally do it. But that didn’t mean everyone would.

Yet the moment she saw the woman’s face, an inappropriate thought flashed through her mind: If anyone could see this beauty’s face clearly, no one would hesitate to save her.

To hesitate even a second would be disrespectful to such a face.

High nose, thin lips, skin like porcelain, and raven-black hair cascading down like the finest silk. The fever had flushed her pale cheeks with a rosy glow, and even her weary expression couldn’t conceal her breathtaking beauty.

Jian Suixin’s eyes were transfixed.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

System: Host, you slid to your knees so quickly! What about your principles? Your inner self? Did you really have to slap yourself in the face so fast?

Jian Suixin: …Shut up.

After a moment of silence, her gaze involuntarily drifted back to the figure on the sofa.

System, is she really just a random extra?

The System sounded defensive, but its voice remained firm: Of course! Are you questioning my professional competence?

Hmm… With looks like that, are you sure she’s just a random extra? She looks more like the female lead of a novel!

The words “female lead of a novel” startled the System, which hastily replied: Don’t talk nonsense! How could she be the female lead?

“She might be the female lead in another storyline,” the System added. “I don’t have any data on her here.”

Jian Suixin didn’t dwell on it and nodded in agreement.

Her gaze shifted to the woman’s hand. In the dimly lit alley, it was hard to see clearly, but under the lamplight, she noticed the woman’s hand was scraped and bleeding.

She must have gotten hurt when we bumped into each other earlier.

Jian Suixin brought the woman’s hand closer to examine it. The hand was exquisitely beautiful, much like the woman herself—her skin was as fair and delicate as mutton-fat jade, her fingers long and slender with distinct knuckles.

Jian Suixin’s thoughts drifted momentarily. How can someone be so flawlessly beautiful in every way?

The abrasion wasn’t severe—just a broken layer of skin with a faint trickle of bl00d. Yet against that slender, delicate hand, it looked alarmingly stark.

The stark visual contrast made Jian Suixin’s pupils contract slightly. She rose silently and walked to the cabinet by the window. After a few seconds of blank staring, she remembered her hasty move-in. The fever and cold medicine had been given by her neighbor—she had no topical ointment.

Fortunately, the wound wasn’t serious. Jian Suixin found a bandage and applied it to the woman’s hand.

The System suddenly spoke up: “Host, can I ask you something?”

“Do you really hate Junxi… that… JunJun?”

Jian Suixin didn’t immediately understand. “Who’s JunJun?”

“Your marriage partner.”

The System used an endearingly familiar tone, but Jian Suixin frowned. “Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”

The System gave a vague answer. “Just remembered him and wanted to ask.”

Jian Suixin replied flatly, “I hate him.”

The System asked cautiously, “Really?”

“Really.”

The System’s mainframe began processing data, analyzing the situation.

What would happen if I told her who he really is right now?

Would she immediately throw him out?

The System fell silent. While the technology used to create it had advanced to the point of human-like communication, its understanding of the nuances of human emotions remained imperfect.

For example, judging solely from Jian Suixin’s attitude toward her marriage partner, revealing the truth now would severely hinder the development of their relationship.

The System watched Jian Suixin tenderly caring for the man on the sofa, then considered the likely scenario of her turning cold and ruthless upon learning his true identity. It concluded: The Host must never know who this person on the sofa really is.

I need to keep this a secret.

While the System’s processor analyzed these complex considerations, Jian Suixin remained completely unaware, her thoughts focused entirely on the person before her.

As the pampered eldest daughter of a wealthy family, Jian Suixin had only recently escaped home and was still a novice at caring for others.

After standing by the sofa for a moment, Jian Suixin asked the System, “What can I do?”

True to its high-tech nature, the System not only possessed detailed knowledge of the plot but also contained a vast database of practical knowledge.

“She just has a fever. Give her some antipyretic medication and help her to bed for proper rest.”

Jian Suixin nodded and moved to help the woman up.

Before acting, her gaze fell on the woman’s somewhat dirty and disheveled clothes. She couldn’t possibly sleep like this.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jian Suixin murmured, “I’m sorry,” and stepped forward.

The woman was wearing a heavy coat, buttoned tightly from neck to thigh, leaving only a sliver of her snow-white neck exposed. Unfastening the buttons one by one proved surprisingly difficult.

Her fingertips brushed against the coat buttons, feeling cool against the woman’s feverish skin.

The stubborn buttons explained why they remained so tightly fastened even after the woman’s frantic escape. Perhaps Jian Suixin’s movements made her uncomfortable, as the woman began to twist restlessly, instinctively pushing away the fumbling hands in front of her.

The more Jian Suixin hurried, the more she struggled to find the right way to remove the clothes. The woman’s movements grew increasingly restless, especially as Jian Suixin reached her chest and abdomen. The inevitable physical contact made Jian Suixin’s face flush.

Yet the unconscious woman remained oblivious, completely unaware of what was happening. Left with no choice, Jian Suixin couldn’t let her lie in bed wearing dirty clothes. She steeled herself and continued, “Hold still, almost done.”

After finally removing the outer garments, Jian Suixin needed to get her onto the bed.

Looking at the woman lying so still, Jian Suixin hesitated. The thought of carrying her to the bedroom immediately brought back vivid memories of undressing her earlier.

Jian Suixin felt a headache coming on.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out, looping one arm around the woman’s neck and the other under her knees. Leaning down, she prepared to lift her. Their faces were now inches apart. Jian Suixin glanced down and could clearly see the woman’s thick eyelashes, fanning out like tiny fans.

Jian Suixin instinctively held her breath, momentarily lost in thought. Just as she was about to hoist the woman up, the woman suddenly reached out, wrapped her arms around Jian Suixin’s neck, and yanked her down.

Whether she was dreaming or not, the woman’s sudden, forceful embrace caught Jian Suixin completely off guard. Her body tilted sharply, all her strength focused on supporting the woman’s weight. Thrown off balance, Jian Suixin didn’t even have time to steady herself before being pulled headfirst into the woman’s arms.

The force of the fall was considerable. As Jian Suixin tumbled forward, a sharp pain stabbed her in the back of the neck. She hissed in pain, barely registering what was happening before she collapsed.

Her forehead brushed against the woman’s cheek, their hair tangling together. Jian Suixin’s weight pressed down on the other woman, their faces so close she could see the fine pores on her skin. They were now sprawled on top of each other in a compromising position.

The posture was undeniably intimate, and if anyone saw them, it would be impossible to explain. Jian Suixin’s face flushed crimson, like a ripe tomato. She struggled to her feet, determined not to lose focus this time, fearing another mishap. She scooped the woman into her arms and carried her to the bedroom.

After considerable effort, she finally managed to lay the woman down on the bed and tuck her under the covers. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on Jian Suixin’s forehead—whether from exhaustion or something else, she couldn’t say.

She rummaged through the medicine cabinet for fever reducers. When she tried to give the woman the medicine, the woman stubbornly refused, clamping her mouth shut so tightly that the water spilled onto her clothes, soaking a large patch of her snow-white collar.

Left with no choice, Jian Suixin had to change the woman’s clothes. The details of this task were so painstaking and exhausting that they need not be recounted.

Finally, she managed to care for the woman properly and settle her into a peaceful sleep.

This is even more exhausting than moving and unpacking, Jian Suixin thought.

The beautiful woman she had rescued was still feverish, sleeping in her bed. Jian Suixin resigned herself to sleeping on the sofa outside. It wasn’t comfortable, but she made do.

Before going to sleep, Jian Suixin went to the bathroom to check the back of her neck.

Standing with her back to the mirror, she tilted her head to catch a glimpse of the stark red scratches against her snow-white skin—likely from the woman’s fingernails earlier.

Nothing serious, just a bit conspicuous.

Since Jian Suixin didn’t have any medicine, and the scratches weren’t severe, she decided to ignore them.

For some reason, she thought, “She kept her nails long.”

The System chimed in, “What’s wrong with keeping nails long?”

Jian Suixin couldn’t explain. “…Nothing.”

After tidying up, Jian Suixin finally lay down to sleep. Anxious about the woman’s condition, she deliberately left the bedroom door ajar. She woke up several times during the night to check on her, giving her water and taking her temperature. The constant fussing left her with only a few hours of sleep.

Around five in the morning, she took the woman’s temperature again. It had dropped to 37.5°C, still a low fever, but at least it hadn’t spiked above 39°C again. Relieved, Jian Suixin finally returned to the sofa to sleep.

She was awakened by persistent knocking at the door.

It had been past midnight when she finally drifted off, so exhausted that she slept like the dead. Now, the relentless knocking felt like a death knell.

“Who is it?” Lack of sleep had put her in a foul mood, radiating a palpable aura of irritation. She was already plotting to blow up whoever was knocking if they didn’t have a damn good reason.

When she opened the door, the person outside was the complete opposite of her resentful and exhausted state—bursting with energy.

Seeing her murderous glare, the visitor instinctively took a step back. “Xin Xin, what’s wrong? Did you stay up all night?”

Jian Suixin’s eyes barely opened, her brain still half-offline. She didn’t answer the question, instead snapping, “What do you want?”

The visitor blinked in confusion. “Didn’t you ask me to help you pack this morning? Did you forget?”

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Jian Suixin’s mind, and then a few more to process. When she finally remembered, her anger dissipated by half, and her expression softened considerably. “Sorry, I forgot. Come in, Taotao.”

The visitor was Ying Tao, Jian Suixin’s neighbor. Though they’d only known each other for a few days, Ying Tao’s naturally outgoing personality had already made them close.

Ying Tao, ever good-natured, simply smiled and said, “No worries. As your friendly neighbor, I don’t mind at all.”

Jian Suixin nodded and turned to walk back inside, yawning. “What time is it?”

“It’s ten o’clock,” Ying Tao replied. “I texted you but got no response, and you didn’t answer my calls, so I came straight over. I was worried you’d been kidnapped!”

Ying Tao scrutinized Jian Suixin’s expression. “Have you been up all night?”

Jian Suixin nodded. “Yeah, last night…”

She trailed off abruptly, as if a keyword had triggered a mechanism in her brain, snapping her awake.

She had stayed up late last night, but the real issue wasn’t the lack of sleep—it was the reason for it.

Freezing for a moment, she immediately glanced at the open bedroom door. The bed was positioned deep inside, with only a corner of the foot visible from the outside.

All she could see was the rumpled bedding.

Jian Suixin sank into thought. If Ying Tao finds out, how will I explain why there’s a strange woman in my house after just one night?

She turned back to Ying Tao, who hadn’t noticed anything amiss yet.

Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Ying Tao said, “Xin Xin, what else do you need to pack? Let’s start with the bedroom.”

Following her principle of avoiding trouble, Jian Suixin replied, “The bedroom can wait. Let’s tidy up out here first. My bedroom’s a bit messy.”

Ying Tao shrugged. “That’s fine. That’s exactly why we should clean it first! Don’t worry, I won’t laugh.”

Ying Tao was about to head to the bedroom.

“The bedroom can wait,” Jian Suixin quickly said, pulling Ying Tao back. “Let’s tidy up the living room first.”

“Alright,” Ying Tao agreed without much thought, following Jian Suixin’s lead.

Jian Suixin wanted to sneak over and close the bedroom door while Ying Tao wasn’t looking, but Ying Tao stayed glued to her side, following her every move.

Jian Suixin couldn’t act too obvious, so she never got the chance.

Having fled in a hurry, she had only purchased a few temporary items in the past two days, so tidying up was quick.

With the living room nearly done, Ying Tao surveyed the clean and tidy space and nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s finish the bedroom and then go out for dinner.”

Jian Suixin felt a headache coming on, convinced it was best to keep Ying Tao out of the bedroom. “There’s hardly anything in the bedroom,” she said. “I can handle it myself.”

Ying Tao looked puzzled. “Didn’t you say the bedroom needed the most work last time? Why not anymore? Are you hiding something you don’t want me to see?”

As if burned, Jian Suixin recoiled a step, denying it immediately without thinking. “No! What are you imagining? What could I possibly be hiding?”

“If there’s nothing to hide, why won’t you let me in? We agreed yesterday we’d clean together.” The more Jian Suixin protested, the more suspicious Ying Tao became. She glanced toward the bedroom, but saw nothing amiss.

“It’s just that the room is too messy,” Jian Suixin said, “I didn’t want you to laugh at me. Let’s leave it for now. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

Now Ying Tao couldn’t help but suspect something. She sized Jian Suixin up and down. “There’s definitely more to this. What secret are you hiding in your room? Tell me! Are you hiding a woman?”

Jian Suixin was stunned by her train of thought. While she was technically hiding a woman—in the literal sense—what was Ying Tao imagining?

Rubbing her temples, Jian Suixin explained, “How could that be? What are you even thinking?”

Ying Tao had just been joking. She stepped closer. “I was just kidding. Who knew you’d…”

Her voice suddenly caught in her throat. “Holy sh1t.”

Jian Suixin: “?”

Jian Suixin turned to see Ying Tao’s expression change drastically in mere seconds. One finger pointed at her, her eyes fixed on something on Jian Suixin’s body, her lips trembling.

Confused and sensing something was wrong, Jian Suixin asked, “What’s wrong?”

Then Ying Tao let out a shrill, cracking shout: “You said you weren’t hiding anyone! I didn’t notice before, but you—you—you… what’s that on your neck?!”

Damn it!

Alarmed, Jian Suixin instinctively covered her neck.

Panic finally set in. Her eyes darted around. “I can explain.”

Ying Tao’s eyes widened in shock for a few seconds before gradually shifting to a subtle expression. “I never would have guessed, Xin Xin. I didn’t realize you were such a wild one in private.”

Jian Suixin was speechless. What is even happening right now?

“I swear, I’m not hiding anyone.”

“Not hiding anyone? Then were you out partying all night? Living it up in a drunken haze?” Ying Tao scrutinized her from head to toe, her gaze like she was seeing Jian Suixin for the first time. “I never imagined you were this kind of person.”

Clinging to the principle that the innocent have nothing to fear, Jian Suixin remained relatively calm. “I can explain everything. It’s not what you think. I wasn’t out partying, and I’m not hiding any women.”

Her words were firm and righteous. “Really?” Ying Tao asked.

Jian Suixin nodded emphatically. “Trust me.”

Ying Tao hesitated before speaking again. “Alright, I…”

Just as Ying Tao was about to say, “I believe you,” the women’s raised voices seemed to have awakened the woman inside the bedroom. In the sudden silence, the rustling of fabric could be heard from within.

Before Ying Tao could finish her sentence, a melodious yet slightly husky moan drifted from the bedroom.

Jian Suixin: “……”

Ying Tao: “……”

How am I supposed to believe you now?!