Chapter 97: To Wear or Not to Wear?
Xia Yu’s illness was under the radar, revealed by a notification from the higher-ups, so now all the teachers in the school were in the know.
Especially the teachers in charge of the fifth grade. Their mission was crucial—constantly monitoring Xia Yu’s situation to prevent any previous tragedies from repeating themselves.
So now, the teachers wouldn’t dare to scold or hit Xia Yu.
Even when… they spotted Xia Yu staring blankly at her textbook, utterly confused, they didn’t have the courage to remind her.
No way were they going to stick their noses in that!
Thus, Xia Yu managed to zone out through the afternoon classes.
Ding ding ding!
The school bell rang.
During the evening reading sessions at elementary school, there were no teachers keeping an eye on the students, so as soon as that bell rang, the excitable kids rushed out of the classroom like a stampede.
Of course, Xia Yu was not among them.
Even if she wanted to, her legs, which had only just started to recover, wouldn’t let her.
Resigned, Xia Yu slowly packed the homework assigned by the teacher into a bag and, with her ever-patient twin sister Xia Ling waiting, made her way out of the classroom, step by step.
As they passed through the corridor, the curious Xia Ling habitually peeked downstairs.
And behold! The moment she looked, Xia Ling’s face lit up, and she excitedly shook Xia Yu’s hand, saying, “Sister, Mom and Dad are here to pick us up!”
That’s right; their parents drove over to fetch them. No more walking – how could Xia Ling not be thrilled?
However, in stark contrast to Xia Ling’s beaming smile, Xia Yu’s expression remained unchanged as she responded blandly, “Mm.”
Xia Yu and Xia Ling were identical twins, so they were practically identical in height and looks.
In the past, you could mix them up if they wore similar outfits, but now Xia Yu’s changed personality made it easier to tell them apart.
Xia Ling was well aware of Xia Yu’s leg situation; she had just recently gotten her cast off, so every time they approached the stairs, Xia Ling would follow their mother Wang Wenjuan’s instructions, supporting Xia Yu to prevent any tumbles.
And Xia Ling was happy to do it.
With Xia Ling helping, they slowly made their way to their parents’ car.
Beep beep!
That sound meant the car locks were released, indicating it was time to get in.
Xia Yu opened the middle right door and climbed in first, only to see her mom sitting on the left side, grinning at her.
And in the front passenger seat, who else but her older brother, Xia Le?
Thinking about how Xia Ling still had to climb in, sitting here alone was not going to cut it, so Xia Yu opted to squeeze into the back seat.
But to her surprise, just as Xia Yu settled into the back, her mother, Wang Wenjuan, followed her and plopped down next to Xia Yu.
Lastly, Xia Ling hopped in. Seeing her mom and Xia Yu both sitting in the back, of course, she jumped in and settled right beside Xia Yu.
Stuck in the middle, Xia Yu felt a bit helpless, thinking to herself, why did Mom and Sis have to squeeze in with her? There were plenty of seats up front!
But alas, Xia Yu was not in the mood to speak up, so she decided to let it go; after all, the ride home wasn’t too long.
From the rearview mirror, Dad Xia Hong saw that everyone was settled and started the car, shifting gears and releasing the handbrake, finally pressing the accelerator as they drove toward home.
During the journey, Wang Wenjuan predictably asked Xia Yu about her day at school: “Little Yu, how did you find school today? Were the classes understandable? Do you feel unwell? Are those kids still bullying you?”
“Not bad. It’s fine now~”
After a moment’s hesitation, Xia Yu managed to squeeze out those few words.
After all, who actually enjoys going to school? Xia Yu certainly didn’t.
Wang Wenjuan was not surprised by Xia Yu’s response and continued, “Little Yu, you really don’t need to feel pressured; having fun is what matters, okay? If you ever want to learn, feel free to ask Xia Ling. She’s doing better in school than you. Plus, you two sleep together, so it’ll be convenient.”
Exactly. Regarding Xia Yu’s studies, Xia Hong and Wang Wenjuan had already agreed: if Xia Yu just didn’t enjoy studying and couldn’t focus, they wouldn’t push her.
They were frankly terrified of a repeat of the past.
They could only be grateful that the elementary school was just three stories high; if they had to deal with the middle school’s five or six stories, who knew how disastrous that would be?
“Mm.”
Xia Yu’s answer remained as cool as ever.
Seeing Xia Yu like this, Wang Wenjuan could only chuckle helplessly and reached over to pat her head: “If there’s anything bothering you, you can talk to Mom. No need to keep it all inside.”
“Mm~”
…
The journey home was merely over two kilometers; the car sped along, and in no time, they were back.
Usually, this would be the time Xia Yu would help out with chores, like feeding the chickens or any other manageable tasks.
Now, she truly wanted to help out as well. After putting her backpack down, she slowly headed toward the grain shed, wanting to take some rice bran to feed the chickens.
However, upon seeing what Xia Yu was up to, Wang Wenjuan immediately stopped her: “Little Yu, you can’t do that right now. Go upstairs and wash up. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
“I…”
Xia Yu felt out of sorts not having anything to do; she didn’t want to feel like a useless lump. She opened her mouth to say something.
But then her mother, Wang Wenjuan, interrupted her by patting her head: “Be a good girl.”
“Mm~”
With no other option, Xia Yu reluctantly let it go. Grabbing her backpack again, she clutched the railing and slowly climbed the stairs.
Wang Wenjuan wasn’t about to let Xia Yu go up alone and remain there unsupervised, so when Xia Yu wasn’t looking, she signaled to Xia Ling to tag along and keep her company.
Xia Ling got the hint, gave an “OK” hand gesture to her mom, and quickly raced after them.
Once upstairs, Xia Yu wasted no time and headed straight for her room to find some clothes for a shower. After all, with so many people in the house, if she waited too long, she might have to queue up.
Seeing Xia Yu running in a specific direction, Xia Ling, who had just caught up, was not pleased. She dashed up and grabbed her: “Sister, where do you think you’re going? If you want to find something to wear, I have tons of pretty clothes! Wear mine!”
As she said this, Xia Ling skillfully snatched the backpack from Xia Yu’s hands: “You can leave this in my room, right? We’ll do our homework together later and sleep together anyway.”
Xia Yu: “…”
In the end, despite Xia Ling’s persuasion and tugging, Xia Yu found herself being pulled into Xia Ling’s room.
At this moment, Xia Ling was beyond excited; having her sister cooperate like this was an opportunity she couldn’t miss!
She began rummaging through her wardrobe, searching for suitable outfits for Xia Yu: “Sister, sit tight for a moment, I have your clothes wrapped around me!”
I can’t deny that Xia Ling, the self-proclaimed big sister, was losing herself in the role. And thankfully, Xia Yu didn’t burst her bubble; otherwise, her joy would have been dampened.
Now, with June approaching, the weather was gradually warming up, and it was totally normal for girls to wear skirts during this time.
Exactly. Xia Ling had the brilliant idea of wanting Xia Yu to wear a skirt.
She thought, why not give it a shot? Who knows, maybe Xia Yu would be willing to wear one!
With this hopeful thought in mind, Xia Ling couldn’t remember what her sister would think of the clothes.
Besides, as a girl, Xia Ling’s wardrobe was full of beautiful clothes her mother, Wang Wenjuan, had bought her—possibly even more than the combined total of clothes in Xia Yu and Xia Le’s closets!
How else would it be called a girl’s wardrobe?
After a few minutes of searching, Xia Ling finally pulled out five skirts that she thought Xia Yu might like.
Three of them were dresses, and the last two were skirts complemented by matching short tops.
After laying the skirts out on the bed, Xia Ling proudly announced, “Sister, which set of skirts do you like? These are way newer than the things Big Brother lent you!”
Xia Yu: “…”
Initially, Xia Yu held a sliver of anticipation about what clothes Xia Ling would find for her.
But upon seeing those beautiful skirts, she felt a heavy wave of dread wash over her, and immediately sprang up to leave.
That’s right, Xia Yu considered herself perfectly normal. Even without that little thing, she could still uphold a shred of dignity as a boy.
So, the idea of wearing a skirt? Totally out of the question—she wouldn’t budge on this. Xia Yu was resolutely firm on that belief.
As she tried to leave, Xia Ling noticed right away.
Without skipping a beat, Xia Ling quickly caught hold of Xia Yu’s arm and yanked her back onto the princess bed.
“Dear sister, I know what you’re thinking; there’s no need to be embarrassed. Remember wearing my down jacket during the New Year?”
With pleading eyes, Xia Ling gazed at Xia Yu.
She truly couldn’t bear for Xia Yu to keep wearing those hand-me-downs from their older brother; besides, those clothes were no match for her skirts in cuteness anyway.
And let’s be real—Xia Ling was genuinely curious to see what Xia Yu would look like in a skirt. They were twins, after all! Imagine them both in skirts parading around in front of their parents—how amusing would that be?
We can’t deny, Xia Ling had her own playful reasons hidden in there.
But hey, if she could get Xia Yu in a pretty skirt while also satisfying her curiosity, why not?
Yet, Xia Yu remained silent. She merely tugged at her left hand, still caught in Xia Ling’s grip, clearly signaling her desire to leave.
But Xia Ling was not about to let Xia Yu slip away that easily. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to sweeten the deal: “Alright, sister, if you listen to me, I’ll treat you to a pack of spicy strips tomorrow at school. How’s that?”
p.s.: The author has a backlog of chapters; this afternoon during a nap, I thought I was dreaming when I saw the rewards—it turned out it was real! Hehe, sorry for the late update!
