The Storm Is Brewing

As the midnight bells rang.

Under Kexin's forceful love, fireworks were set off next door.

Ke Ling buried her face deep into the pillow, her tender white feet unconsciously curling into an inward shape, and even the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

The monitor on the desk had long since gone black, and as for what had just been displayed on it...

She couldn't say it, and she was too embarrassed to say it.

At the head of the bed, Li Meiyu, her pregnant belly prominent, sat cross-legged, looking at the little girl curled up in front of her, and sighed helplessly:

"Ke Ling, how could you do such a thing? You secretly installed a surveillance camera to watch your sister..."

The story begins about ten minutes ago.

Li Meiyu tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. She couldn't help but release her "Mind Network" to see how far the two next door had progressed.

When the mind network scanned the room, it found that Ke Ling's room light was still on.

She curiously peered over and nearly dropped her jaw in astonishment.

Silly Ke Ling put her feet up on the table, facing the monitor, which was playing Beiwa Nursery Rhymes, and she was humming along softly...

Li Meiyu was greatly shocked. She never expected that Lingjiang, who had always been soft, cute, and naive, would turn out like this.

She immediately activated her electromagnetic power, burning the display screen.

Ke Ling tried to fix it for a long time but couldn't. Undeterred, she went to the wall, lifted the calendar, and revealed a small hole behind it—which she had already drilled, so that she could see the bed in the next room.

Li Meiyu couldn't stand it any longer, so she came over and knocked on the door, and that's how things turned out.

"I'm sorry, Sister Meiyu..." Ke Ling's voice was terribly hoarse, filled with sobs.

A teenage girl caught doing something like this by her elders would be so ashamed she'd want to die.

Moreover, she is naturally thin-skinned, soft-spoken, and has a heart as fragile as glass.

Looking at her sobbing shoulders, Li Meiyu felt a surge of regret.

Was she too fierce just now?

Actually... there's no need to stop Rin-chan.

After all, she had promised Ke Ling that once she got into university, she would let her be with Jiang Ling...

Anyway, we're all family now.

"Ke Ling, you... sigh, don't cry, don't cry."

Li Meiyu reached out helplessly to wipe away her tears, saying, "It's Meiyu's fault, I shouldn't have spoken to you so loudly."

"Waaaaah..."

Ke Ling cried even harder.

Half of it was because she was embarrassed, and the other half was because she suddenly felt that she could never go back to being that innocent and naive little girl who only saw Jiang Ling as her brother.

There was nothing else Li Meiyu could do but wait for that stinky blond guy to arrive.

……

On the other side, in the next room.

Jiang Ling put down the game controller, lowered her head and kissed Kexin, who was asleep in her arms, and chuckled softly:

"Alright, the sapling has been planted."

Ouyang Kexin hugged him contentedly, inhaling his scent, and gradually drifted off to sleep as drowsiness overcame her.

Jiang Ling waited for a long time to make sure she was sound asleep before quietly lifting the blanket and tiptoeing out of the room.

He didn't go to Miyu's room, but went straight to Ke Ling's room.

After all, with his perception, he had already heard Ke Ling's crying.

At the same time, he never expected that Ling-chan had evolved to this extent...

"You stinky blondie, you've finally arrived! Look what you've done!"

When Li Meiyu saw him come in, she glared at him irritably and complained in a low voice.

Ke Ling in her arms had cried herself to sleep and was resting on her shoulder, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

Jiang Ling sighed helplessly, walked over, and gently hugged Mei Yu. "I never expected it to turn out like this..."

"Oh, right," he said after a moment's thought, "Kexin is pregnant."

"Oh," Li Meiyu said silently, lowering her head. "I'm asking you, what's going to happen to Ke Ling now? She still has a week before she can officially become a college student..."

"We'll marry them together on the wedding day..."

"Idiot! The problem is... Ling is really depressed right now, and she's been caught doing something bad. How is she supposed to take the exam?" Li Meiyu rolled her eyes at him. "Heh, it's all your fault. If you hadn't seduced Ke Ling, she wouldn't be like this."

Jiang Ling: ……

666, is it my fault again that I'm a supermodel with high charm?

"How can you blame me?" Jiang Ling retorted.

"If it's not your fault, who is it? Me? Or Kexin's?" Li Meiyu pouted.

"Um... I'm sorry, it's my fault..." Ke Ling had woken up at some point and looked timidly at Mei Yu and Jiang Ling. "It's my fault, I couldn't help but look at my older brother and sister..."

"Ling-chan..." Li Meiyu hugged her tightly with heartache and sighed, "You and your brother have a good talk, I'm going back to my room first."

After saying that, she gave Jiang Ling a look that said, "You decide for yourself," and then turned and tiptoed out of the room.

Only Jiang Ling and Ke Ling remained in the room.

"Brother..." Ke Ling rubbed the hem of her clothes, her head bowed low, her voice barely audible, "I'm sorry... but Ling... really likes you so much... even though I know there are many things I can't do, but... Ling really can't let go of you, brother... because... the person I like the most is you, brother..."

Such a heartfelt confession from a younger sister is enough to melt the heart of any sister-obsessed person; even Jiang Ling's heart melted within 0.01 seconds.

Oh, a touch of brilliance, such a lovely touch of brilliance...

"Brother likes Ling-chan too!" Jiang Ling gently placed his hands on her shoulders, looked into her eyes, and said with utmost seriousness, "Ling! Brother likes you, just as much as he likes Kexin! You and sister are both my wings!"

Ouyang Keling suddenly raised her head, her large eyes still glistening with tears, but they instantly brightened, and she blankly replied, "Mmm..."

Looking into her brother's earnest eyes, she inexplicably leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stood on tiptoe, wanting to kiss him.

"Brother, Ling... Ling wants to give everything to you..."

pat.

Her warm lips were gently covered by Jiang Ling's index finger.

"elder brother……"

The moment she was rejected, Ke Ling's tears welled up again. She bit her lower lip, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Ah...ah, I was rejected...Brother will always only see Ling as a simple little sister, right?"

"Ling knows... the only people my brother truly loves are my sisters... a girl like Ling can only be my brother's sister..."

"No," Jiang Ling shook her head, her tone still serious. "You're not a college student yet. Only after you finish your exams, get your acceptance letter, and become a real college student will I be willing to do this kind of thing with you."

"The fruit should not be picked when it is unripe. Only by taking good care of it, watering and fertilizing it, and waiting until the mountains are covered with red fruit and the fruit is plentiful, can you taste its sweetest flavor."

"I like the prologue of fairy tales, but this liking is always based on love and protection."

He looked into Ke Ling's eyes and asked softly, "Ling, for your brother's sake, so that you can marry him, can you get into Shilu University?"

Jiang Ling's extremely serious attitude was like a ray of light, instantly illuminating Ke Ling's gloomy mood.

So it turns out my brother doesn't only see me as his sister!

He likes me! It's the kind of liking a boy has for a girl! It's the kind of liking where he wants to marry me and spend his life with me!

"Um!!!"

Ke Ling nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling like a small flame, brimming with unprecedented motivation: "Brother! Ling will definitely get into Shilu University! I'll become a qualified college student, and together with my sisters, I'll be your lover!"

"When the time comes, brother, you can't refuse Rin anymore, okay?"

"Okay." Jiang Ling smiled and held up her little finger. "Pinky promise, never to change for a hundred years."

"Yes! My brother is the most trustworthy!"

Ke Ling stopped crying and started laughing. She hooked her little finger around his, then snuggled into his arms, nuzzling her head against his chest.

"I love my older brother the most!"

"Alright, it's getting late. Ling-chan, go to sleep, okay?" Jiang Ling said softly.

"Hmm..." After experiencing such a huge emotional upheaval and crying for so long, Ke Ling was already exhausted. She leaned against him for a short while and then fell into a deep sleep again.

Jiang Ling carefully covered her with the blanket and tucked it in before quietly leaving the room.

He pushed open the door to the guest room and saw Li Meiyu lying on the bed, playing on her phone with her back to the door.

Jiang Ling climbed onto the bed, gently hugged her from behind, his arms encircling her slightly protruding belly, and took a deep breath of the fragrance from her hair: "All done."

"Oh." Li Meiyu turned around, her forehead resting against his chin, a hint of hesitation flashing in her large eyes. "What about Kexin? Did our plan... succeed?"

The so-called plan is to gradually get Kexin to accept the fact that everyone is together.

"Yes, she finished watching it." Jiang Ling leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I asked her what she thought, and she said... it was okay."

"Huh?" Li Meiyu's eyes widened instantly, her face filled with shock.

"She also said that she had a dream before, a dream about you and her..." Jiang Ling coughed lightly and continued, "So, sometimes a girl's intuition is terrifyingly accurate. Maybe she had already vaguely sensed something from somewhere else."

"If we continue this gradual approach for another seven days, she should... be able to fully accept it psychologically."

"Oh...so what are we going to do for these seven days?" Li Meiyu asked softly.

The two looked at each other, remained silent for a few seconds, and then leaned in and kissed.

……

Meanwhile, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

Liu Yishan stood in the courtyard of her grandmother's house, looking at the scenery before her, and let out a long sigh of relief.

The old-fashioned Japanese garden has a path paved with bluestone slabs, and next to it is an exquisite rockery and pond, where several koi carp swim slowly in the water.

Just a wall away, there's a bustling, noisy commercial district.

Inside the walls, however, it was as quiet as another world.

The wooden sliding door has a warm, smooth patina, and the air is filled with the faint scents of sandalwood and tea, exuding the old-world charm that has been passed down through generations.

If the Uesugi family weren't a prestigious clan with a history spanning over a century, they wouldn't be able to afford such a house.

"grandmother--!"

Upon seeing the silver-haired old woman emerge from the house, Liu Yishan immediately smiled and rushed over, hugging her waist.

"Koyanagi, you're such a grown-up, yet you're still so impulsive," Uesugi Kazumi said sternly, but her tone was filled with undisguised affection.

She was a serious woman her whole life. After being widowed in middle age, she single-handedly supported the entire Uesugi family business, exuding the aura of a decisive and powerful woman.

When she was little, Liu Yishan was a little afraid of her, but she realized when she grew up that her grandmother had the softest love hidden beneath her seemingly stern exterior.

That's often how it is; people we disliked as children are often the ones we discover as adults.

The deepest love is often hidden in the silent details.

"Okay, Grandma."

Liu Yishan smiled and let go of his hand, but her gaze inadvertently fell on the doorway.

There was a man standing there.

He was wearing a long, pure black robe with the hood pulled down low, covering most of his face.

The brim of the hat was embroidered with white spots. If you looked closely, the spots, when connected together, resembled the face of a demon from ancient legends—hideous and terrifying…

"Grandma, who is he?"

Liu Yishan asked softly, a strange feeling of unease rising in her heart.

"He is the bishop of a recently emerging religion, and he has many business dealings with our Uesugi family. He came here today to discuss cooperation with me."

Kazumi Uesugi turned to look at the man, a polite smile on her face:

"Mr. Yuan, please. The tea has been prepared in the tea room."

"Um."

The man's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against wood.

You can't detect any emotion in his voice.

As he passed by Liu Yishan, he paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across her face from under his hood, carrying an undisguised flirtatiousness and mockery.

Liu Yishan subconsciously took a step back, her unease growing stronger, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

"Nothing bad should happen, right?"

She looked up at the sky.

Before anyone knew it, a thick, dark cloud had silently enveloped the sky above Chiyoda, and the sky instantly darkened, as if night had fallen prematurely.

The wind whipped up the fallen leaves in the courtyard, swirling them as they drifted by, carrying with them a sense of impending storm.

In a nearby shopping street café, a snow-haired girl dressed as a shrine maiden sat by the window with a cup of coffee in front of her. She picked up the cup, took a small sip of her panna latte, and stuck out her tongue:

"Ugh, what a strange taste... but the aftertaste is quite sweet..."

Granny Li: [Have we arrived, Qingzi?]

Kiyoko lowered her head and typed a reply: 【Yeah, we've arrived in Chiyoda...】

Granny Li: [Let me repeat my request.]

Yuan Qingzi sighed helplessly and muttered under her breath, "My mother-in-law is really too much trouble for an old person."

[Only conducting perimeter rescue operations, prioritizing personal safety above all else...]

Splash splash splash splash—

It was as if the heavens had pierced a large bag of rainwater with a needle. In an instant, the dark sky rose up, replaced by torrential rain, and a dark film of water visibly accumulated on the ground.

"Ah, it's raining again..." Gen Kiyoko yawned, reminiscing about her life in the villa, looking up at the torrential rain outside the window, and murmured:

"In this kind of weather... it's best to sleep..."