In the movie Love Letter, they say, "Love is a heavy cold that never truly goes away." After the three of them squeezed into the house one after another, each was suffering from their own version of this cold.

The day’s trip had stirred up different feelings in each of them.

But one thing was certain: it was perfectly normal for someone with a heavy cold to be shivering uncontrollably.

If Chen Yuan hadn’t walked in holding both of their hands, the symptoms of the cold might have been a little milder. But he did it unconsciously anyway, completely oblivious that even as they scrambled through the door, muttering, "It’s so cold," their eyes were glued to the other’s hand, clenched tightly in his.

Under the warm lights of the living room.

The moment they were inside, Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao darted into the walk-in closet to change out of their soaking wet clothes.

Chen Yuan really wanted to follow them, but he stopped at the doorway. He had no excuse to sit in the closet and enjoy the beautiful sight of the two sisters changing; that was the kind of thing that would earn him a slap. Even for a scumbag, he didn’t dare to be *that* blatant.

Chen Yuan could only take off his sopping wet jacket, slip into some slippers, and strip off all his clothes, which reeked of damp cold.

Shivering, he walked over to the air conditioner, quickly turned it on, and stood there basking in the warm air.

"Who’s showering first?" A moment later, the two sisters emerged together, now in their pajamas. Jiangg Ning asked as she casually tossed her clothes into the washing machine.

"You go first. I’m freezing to death," she answered her sister.

Jiangg Yao picked up the comb from the coffee table and started forcefully working it through her hair. The eyeliner she had so carefully applied that morning was now smudged, giving her a smoky, postmodern, decadent look. Her meticulously styled wispy bangs were now casually pushed to the side, making her look both languid and disheveled.

"What about you? Are you going to shower?" Jiangg Ning suddenly asked him.

"Huh? With you?" Chen Yuan’s brain short-circuited for a second.

"Of course not... I meant, do you want to go first? I can see you’re still shivering over there."

"You go ahead. I want to rest a little longer."

Chen Yuan had misunderstood Jiangg Ning, and his face flushed with embarrassment. He pretended nothing had happened and went back to rubbing his hands in front of the A/C unit.

Ningning gave him a slightly amused look, grabbed a towel from the balcony, and turned to go take her shower.

In the living room.

Only Jiangg Yao and Chen Yuan were left.

The sound of the comb scraping through hair continued. Jiangg Yao seemed to be combing with great focus. She was unexpectedly quiet as she sat down on the sofa and crossed her long legs.

It was as if she was ignoring Chen Yuan completely, treating him like he was thin air.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little strange.

Chen Yuan couldn’t quite put his finger on what was strange. His gaze swept over to Jiangg Yao, but unfortunately, Yaoyao didn’t look at him once, and she certainly showed no intention of speaking first.

Jiangg Yao was rarely like this. Usually, she was like a little lark perched on Chen Yuan’s shoulder, chirping away about all sorts of things, seemingly never stopping for a moment.

Chen Yuan felt a bad premonition. ’Did my closeness with Jiangg Ning make Yaoyao upset?’ he wondered. ’...No way, right? I didn’t even do anything out of line.’

He was wrong.

Most of the time, what a woman cares about isn’t her partner’s interactions or intimacy with others. It’s the details in how he treats her versus how he treats everyone else.

The details don’t lie; they’re a reflection of subconscious actions.

Chen Yuan wasn’t sure. His heart was pounding a little, so he decided to break the silence.

"Yaoyao, where did you put that cold medicine you made for me last time? We should each have a cup. After being in the rain for so long, we’ll be lucky if we don’t catch a cold tomorrow."

"I forgot," Jiangg Yao replied, her tone cold and hard.

Then she lowered her head, fiddling with something in her hair.

"Alright then."

Chen Yuan was taken aback. He looked around and could only start searching the living room by himself. He seemed to recall it being near the TV cabinet, but the exact spot was a bit fuzzy.

He looked in one box, then opened another.

Chen Yuan had no idea that Jiangg Yao, sitting on the sofa, never once took her eyes off his back as he searched.

Her gaze held the kind of emotion that wanted to tear him to shreds but was worried about the hassle of disposing of the body. The description might be a slight exaggeration, but not by much.

Suddenly, a shrill voice, dripping with sarcasm, squeezed out of her throat, making Chen Yuan shudder.

"Ohhh, sweetie~ Are you going to take a baaath~?"

If he hadn’t recognized the painfully familiar tone, he might have suspected the TV had turned on by itself and was playing a horror movie.

"Huh? With you? Oh, I’m so shyyy~" she cooed again.

Chen Yuan froze, startled. He whipped his head around to look at Jiangg Yao, who was cupping her cheeks and wearing a bizarrely sweet smile—it was an absolutely sinister smile.

"What’s wrong... Yaoyao?" Chen Yuan played dumb.

"Honestly, I’m totally starting to ship you two. It’s so sweet."

"Ship who?"

"Ship you and my sister, of course! The handsome scholar and the beautiful maiden, a match made in heaven!"

"Stop messing around. How are we a match made in heaven...?"

"You’re a liar, and she’s so bland." In an instant, all traces of a smile vanished from Jiangg Yao’s face. "How is that *not* a match made in heaven?"

"What did I lie to you about?" Chen Yuan was a little bewildered.

"Didn’t you promise you’d come clean with her soon? Where’s the ’coming clean’?" Jiangg Yao’s face hardened as she looked at him with contempt. "Somehow, I don’t get the feeling you have any intention of laying your cards on the table. In fact, it looks like you’re enjoying yourself."

"Am I?" His eyes darted away.

"You and my sister are so stuck together a knife couldn’t pry you apart. Do you think I’m blind? What was that just now? My dear young master, flirting with her right in front of me? And you want to shower together? For crying out loud! Am I even a person here? Maybe I should just move across the hall to give you two some space, so I’m not the third wheel in this little life of ours. No, wait. Why do I get the feeling that *I’m* the one about to be eliminated? Are we even working from the same script we agreed on? Did I get the wrong copy?"