Chapter 226: Eldest Sister

Ruling out the possibility of inheriting the family business, and considering it’s impossible for my father to suddenly develop fatherly love and want to make it up to me after so many years, that only leaves being used as a tool for a marriage alliance in exchange for benefits…

Hmm, it feels a bit exaggerated. Could something so ridiculous really happen to me? Though reality itself is bizarre and unpredictable—anything can happen.

My imagination is just too limited, I really can’t think of any other possibilities.

What’s more, to protect his own interests, my father really is unscrupulous enough. I suspect that the woman who broke up our family is probably the rich aunt who provided him with critical financial support…

Walking along the path that had been freshly laid with fine gravel, a gentle breeze caressed my face.

I snapped back to reality, and took the chance to tug at the collar of my shirt, letting the wind slip in to cool my stifling chest and lungs.

Just thinking of these troubling matters made my body feel as if it had been tossed into a furnace, roasting my organs and every inch of muscle from the inside out.

I used to love the spring and summer. I always felt free—no matter how scorching the weather, I could just buy a cold drink and tilt my head back to gulp it down in big, refreshing swallows.

But now, I’m a girl—more than that, a special demi-human catgirl. Never mind whether suddenly switching between hot and cold would be too much of a shock to my body.

Just considering the monthly period that lasts for days, the necessity of proper inner layers for clothing, and… and…

“Eh?! Zhi Nian… is that you? It’s you, right? I didn’t get it wrong, did I?”

“Ah, huh? Uh, yeah, and you are—?”

While I was lost in thought, a voice tinged with surprise called out from straight ahead.

I blinked, quickly releasing the hand that had been pulling at my collar, silently rebuttoning it, then looked up.

A girl wearing a cool, short-sleeved shirt, with a jacket tied around her waist like an apron, was waving at me with a smile.

“Forgot who I am? When we were kids, I always came looking for you to play together, remember?”

This girl, about my age, raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips, her tall frame paired with an otherwise unremarkable figure.

Her words, and that familiar tomboyish stance, suddenly brought back memories of those childhood days I spent at my old home, eagerly waiting for someone.

“You’re the Eldest Sister, right?”

“Haha! Little Zhi Nian, I knew you’d recognize me! See, you were so clever since you were small—how could you ever forget me?”

The Eldest Sister, who used to protect me from being bullied by other kids, strode briskly over.

She was a full head taller than me, and as soon as she reached me, she slung an arm over my shoulders, then glanced a few times at my puffball tail, speaking enviously.

“I never expected you to change so much, Zhi Nian! If not for your red eyes and those soft, fluffy cat ears, I wouldn’t have recognized you at all. You developed such a good figure—unlike your Eldest Sister here, always getting mocked by those annoying boys, saying my chest is as flat as a board with two nails stuck in it.”

The Eldest Sister has always been easygoing, a tomboy running wild since she was little.

We met by chance when she was playing hide-and-seek with someone and accidentally tumbled over my family’s courtyard wall, landing right on top of me while I was squatting and watching ants move things.

After that, she often took me out to play all over the village, roughhousing and making trouble together.

“Zhi Nian, did your family finish sweeping the graves? It’s been so long since we met—let me treat you to a meal!”

Eldest Sister gave my shoulder a friendly squeeze and, without waiting for an answer, started to pull me toward the nearby commercial street.

If today’s trip was just a simple ancestral visit, I really could have set all my troubles aside, and gone shopping and eating with her.

But my biological father was still waiting for me at my grandparents’ house. I had to deal with those things first before I could catch up with the Eldest Sister in peace.

“Um… Eldest Sister, I have to head home to take care of something first. How about we add each other as contacts? If I’m free later, I’ll message you.”

“Yeah? Sure, handling serious business comes first—go on, get your stuff done.”

Eldest Sister let go of my shoulder without fuss, and patted me lightly on the head. Her fingertips brushed my cat ears by accident, making them twitch hard a few times.

“How come you haven’t grown taller, Zhi Nian? Still so tiny. Hmph, is anyone at your city school bullying you now?”

“Uh, no… My classmates are pretty nice.”

I actually wanted to chat freely with this rare, familiar girl my age—talking about that childhood friend who always looked after me, and how to confess my feelings to him and all that.

But right then, my phone vibrated in my skirt pocket—not the ringtone I’d set for Gu Fan, just the regular message alert, which probably meant it was from my parents or something official.

Suppressing my urge to pour my heart out, I took out my phone. While scanning the Eldest Sister’s QR code to add her as a friend, I glanced at the message—it was from my mother.

“Hurry back. Lin Chengxiao wants to take you back to Huacheng for school. Think it through. It’s up to you whether to go. If you stay, I’ll still support you until you can marry off on your own.”

The Eldest Sister across from me seemed to sense my change in mood. She took a quick look at the content roughly showing on my screen, quickly finished scanning, and took a step back.

“Alright, we’re friends now. Little Zhi Nian, I’ll get going first. When you’re done with your stuff, remember to message me, okay?”

“Mm… bye.”

I wanted to say something nice for our parting, but all that came out was a flat “bye.” How terribly plain.

Thankfully, Eldest Sister didn’t seem to mind. She smiled and waved at me, then turned and walked off toward the stadium with her usual swagger.

I watched her go, then slowly turned back onto my own path, heading home.

Chatting and hanging out so freely with a girl my age felt strangely new. When she slung her arm around me, I felt relaxed, not as tense as I’d imagined.

Most importantly, I could talk with the Eldest Sister about things only girls can share. If I brought those topics up with Gu Fan, I’d die of embarrassment.

As for my mother, even though she’s a woman too… she hardly ever has time to see me. Even during my most painful periods, it was always me who researched remedies, bought medicine, and got heating pads on my own. She never showed me any care or help at all.

Letting out a long sigh, I lit up my phone screen and swiped away my mother’s message.

I had no intention of replying to her—there was nothing to say, and I didn’t even want to discuss anything with her.

The conversation between them at home was probably over by now. Who knows, by the time I walk through the gate, Father and Grandfather and the others might be waiting right at the main house, staring straight at the courtyard entrance.