Chapter Seventeen: Sister, Are You Really This Charming?

Seeing Zhao Kewen’s anger, I tried to reason with her, appealing both to her emotions and her sense, and at last, under the twin pressures of my gentle persuasion and unrelenting eloquence, she relented with a frustrated compromise.

The two of us sat in a quiet, window-side corner of the cold noodle restaurant. I didn’t dare meet her eyes, fully aware of how disgracefully I’d handled things today. Yet, humiliating as this was, my desire for a better life outweighed my concern for pride.

In truth, I wished from the bottom of my heart to treat Zhao Kewen to a proper meal. She had cared for me so much these past few days… But reality must be respected, mustn’t it? And my reality was that I simply had no money.

“Why won’t you look at me? Are you too ashamed to admit what you’ve done?” Zhao Kewen finally broke the silence, her tone mocking.

“Kewen, I—”

“Stop right there!” She cut off my attempted apology and explanation with a swift gesture.

“Actually, in this heat, cold noodles aren’t so bad…” She tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table, pausing before continuing, “In fact, I quite like cold noodles!”

I raised my eyes to hers. There was no evasive flicker, no guilty panic—only a calm and inscrutable depth that I could not penetrate.

I couldn’t guess her thoughts, nor could I tell if she was comforting me or if her earlier anger had been feigned. All I knew was that my guilt only deepened—and that I desperately wanted a cigarette.

I called the waiter to order: two bowls of cold noodles and two cold dish platters. As I finished, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“You little rascal, picking up such bad habits so young!” Zhao Kewen scolded with a playful smile, then unexpectedly held out her hand in a scissor gesture before me.

“What—are you asking for one?” I couldn’t read her intentions.

“Of course. What else would I want but a cigarette?” she replied without hesitation.

I stared at her wordlessly, momentarily dumbstruck.

She seemed to realize something, and a flush crept across her fair, beautiful face.

“You wanted a cigarette…”

“Oh…”

I couldn’t help but be amused—who would have thought Kewen could be so cute?

Lighting a cigarette for her, I watched as she took a drag. Suddenly, her entire aura seemed to shift into something unfamiliar. If Youqin’s way of smoking exuded a careless freedom, then Zhao Kewen’s manner projected a distant indifference, as though nothing in the world could touch her.

I had no idea what she’d experienced in the past, nor could I fathom why she spent so freely on luxury clothes and handbags, yet lived in such a shabby rented flat.

I wouldn’t pry into her past; just as she’d never asked about mine. We were, after all, siblings in name only, barely acquainted. Perhaps that was for the best.

At last, our order arrived. Zhao Kewen stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.

“Sis, maybe you should call your friend before we go. What if I show up and he doesn’t need anyone?” I said between mouthfuls of noodles.

“Relax. I’ve got it all under control.” Kewen picked at her food with unshakeable confidence.

I looked up at her with obvious skepticism.

“Oh, so you don’t believe me?”

“I do, I do!”

“Alright, just you wait—I’ll take you along myself and you’ll see him fall at my feet!”

“Sis… are you planning to seduce him or something?”

Our lunch ended with a mix of banter, laughter, silence, and awkwardness.

We hailed a cab, and Zhao Kewen rode with me toward the supermarket. The serious look on her face told me she truly meant to prove her words.

After a twenty-minute drive, we arrived at the supermarket. Looking up, I saw a huge sign above the entrance—‘Rainbow Market’—each character painted in a different color, eye-catching and bold.

“Stop gawking. Come on, this is where you’ll be working from now on,” Kewen said, still brimming with confidence.

I followed her inside and was immediately struck by the sheer size of the place—by my estimate, it must be at least five hundred square meters. The owner, I thought, must be quite wealthy.

“Hey!” As I was sizing up the supermarket’s layout, Zhao Kewen’s crisp voice rang out.

She crooked her finger directly at a handsome young man behind the front desk. To my surprise, the young man’s face lit up with excitement and he hurried over to her.

“Wh-what brings you here?” Even his words faltered, whether from excitement or some old habit, I couldn’t tell.

“Why? Am I not welcome?” Kewen folded her arms, looking every inch the queen.

Though I hated to admit it, she had pulled it off. Judging by the way that man looked at her, if she told him to kneel at her feet, I had no doubt he would.

His eyes brimmed not just with affection, but with utter infatuation.

I could hardly deny that Zhao Kewen was strikingly beautiful—tall, elegant, with stunning features and a perfect figure. But could mere looks truly inspire such obsession?

“I—I’ve dreamed you’d come see me, see our supermarket…” As he spoke, his excitement faded into a trace of melancholy.

There was a history here! “Our supermarket”—there was nothing simple about Zhao Kewen’s relationship with this man.

“Enough with the chatter. I’m here to recommend someone—my brother, Yang Chen.” Zhao Kewen interrupted him coldly. “Find him a job that’s not too taxing, and don’t pay him too little. He needs to be able to eat and have a place to stay.”

“This will be your boss from now on—Li Xuyang,” she said, making the introductions. I knew then just how much she’d helped me, smoothing my path from the very start.

“Work hard, little brother. I’m heading back,” she said, turning to leave.

“Wait!” Li Xuyang suddenly called after her. “Can’t you stay a little longer? Let me buy you lunch!”

“Sorry, no time!” she replied, pushing the door open and disappearing.

I stood in the supermarket, stunned and alone. Sis… just how charming are you, really?