Li Chunhua sat on the couch beside Li Caiyi as she looked around in boredom. She wondered if the cats were hiding somewhere in the cafe? Or perhaps Shao Jingfei had a separate room where he kept them because she hadn't seen any of them since earlier.
Usually, Yue would greet her by rubbing its head on her leg, but she couldn't see that kitty anywhere.
Li Chunhua was tempted to check on the space below the couch when her sister suddenly questioned her.
"Xiaohua, what is your relationship with Jingfei?"
It took Li Chunhua a few seconds before she could respond. "It's not what you think."
"Eh? But you two seem so close."
"Not really, we occasionally talk, but that's it." Li Chunhua replied while playing with the edge of her hair.
"Is that so? But you looked like you were comfortable being around him. You don't even try to pretend to be a good girl before him." Li Caiyi chuckled.
"That's because such an act won't work against him. Did you forget we had fought as soon as we met? Even if I try to use that trick on him, it won't fool him, so why should I bother?"
"Well, they say that friends who truly get along are usually the ones who bicker a lot." Li Caiyi said in a teasing tone.
"Maybe, but those who bicker a lot don't necessarily mean friends." Li Chunhua countered.
Li Caiyi felt strange because she was sure that Shao Jingfei treated her sister as one of his cherished friends. However, seeing Li Chunhua was so adamant in denying the fact, Li Caiyi thought that perhaps her sister was just too shy to admit it.
"Friends or not, it doesn't change the fact that Jingfei is a good guy. You should restrain yourself and not trouble him anymore in the future."
"....I know," Li Chunhua grumbled sulkily.
Li Caiyi smiled meaningfully when Li Chunhua didn't deny the 'good guy' part. It answered many of her questions, and she felt happy for her sister, who slowly ventured out of her bubble. There was a chance that Li Chunhua's positive changes these days were thanks to Shao Jingfei's influence.
There was no Shao Jingfei in the twins' life in her previous life, so it amazed Li Caiyi how a connection with a person could bring a significant change to another person's life. It was so simple, yet hard to understand sometimes.
"It's a miracle, indeed…."
"Hmm? Did you say something, Xiaoyi?"
"Nothing." Li Caiyi shook her head with a profound smile adorning her lips.
***
After 15 minutes, Shao Jingfei, who looked slightly messier, came out of the door behind the counter and walked over to the twins.
"Sorry for waiting. The room is ready now. Let me help you bring your stuff upstairs."
Shao Jingfei reached out to help Li Caiyi with her suitcase, but she quickly slid it to her other side.
"No, it's okay. It's not heavy at all, so I can bring this myself. Thanks for your offer."
"Well, if you are sure. Shall we go then?" Shao Jingfei grinned, with some sweats glistened on his forehead.
There were stairs leading to the second floor beyond the door behind the counter, and Shao Jingfei slowly led the twins upstairs. The floor was made from wood, creating a distinct creaking sound as they stepped on it.
The first thing Li Caiyi saw after they arrived on the second floor was a small living room on their left side, with a couch, small table, and TV on it. The floor plan was very simple since there was no wall separating the living room and what Li Caiyi assumed was a working area. On their right side was a study desk with a PC and bookshelves filled with books and files.
If they passed through, Li Caiyi could see three doors on the second floor, and Shao Jingfei led them to one farthest from the stairs.
"You can use this room temporarily." He said as he opened the door for the twins, revealing a small white-painted room with a bed and a wardrobe in it. The size was half of Li Caiyi's room in her house and seemed so empty at a glance, but at least it was clean.
Li Caiyi didn't mind the bareness and turned toward Shao Jingfei gratefully.
"Thank you for preparing a room for me."
"Haha, I actually feel bad because I can't give you a better room. This was supposed to be a staff resting room, but you can use this since there is no part-timer yet."
Li Chunhua looked around to inspect the room, and the floor made a creaking sound whenever she moved. She cringed so hard hearing that sound.
"I think you should repair the floor. It creaks too much and feels like it can break anytime." Li Chunhua commented.
"Hmm, the cafe is not popular enough, and there is no one but me here to use the space, so I don't think I need to repair it for now." Shao Jingfei replied.
"How do you expect to succeed in business with that laid-back attitude?"
"Geez, cut me some slack, okay? I barely make a living here," Shao Jingfei groaned.
Meanwhile, Li Caiyi, who slowly picked up the information piece by piece, gasped in shock when a realization hit her.
"Jingfei, you owned this place?! Even the cafe downstairs?"
"You didn't tell her that?" Shao Jingfei glanced at Li Chunhua.
The latter shrugged her shoulders. "I thought she already knew, even without me explaining anything."
"How am I supposed to know about that? I thought this cafe belonged to the Shao family or something…." Li Caiyi said in awe.
Li Chunhua sneaked a peek at Shao Jingfei's expression when her sister mentioned the Shao family, but there was no visible change in his expression.
"Well, it can't be helped if you think like that, but I rented this place cheaply, using the payment I got from working as an 'unofficial' editor."
Listening to his explanation, Li Caiyi was even more convinced that there must be some kind of backstory between Shao Jingfei and the Shao family now. Not only did Li Caiyi never hear that the current head of the Shao family had another son, the fact that Shao Jingfei lived here alone despite coming from a wealthy family reeked of fishy smell everywhere.
She could also faintly sense that the atmosphere had turned awkward somehow. Perhaps she shouldn't have brought up the matter of his family.
Li Chunhua clapped her hand once to break the silence, "Okay, now that my task is finished, I will return home first. Xiaoyi, send me off downstairs first."
"O-okay…"
"You don't have to come. Just take a rest. You look like you had just run a marathon," Li Chunhua said to Shao Jingfei, who looked like he was about to follow.
The boy smiled thankfully at Li Chunhua before waving his hand. "See you at school tomorrow."
After the twins left the room, Shao Jingfei plopped down on the bed as he rubbed his temple.
"What did I just sign myself into? I shouldn't have let her stay here." He muttered in a low voice. "But I can't just ask her to leave after hearing her situation. Hopefully, nothing will go wrong."
Follow current nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om