Chapter 43: So, You've Fallen for Him (4,000 words)

Early the next morning.

While Xiao Mo was reading in the courtyard, he saw Bai Ruxue approaching step by step, leading a young girl dressed in a cyan long dress.

Bai Ruxue's fair, delicate face was filled with joy.

The girl being led by Bai Ruxue kept her head lowered, her expression tinged with nervousness and a hint of reluctance.

Seeing Xiao Mo, Bai Ruxue quickened her pace and pulled the girl into the courtyard. "Xiao Mo, this is my younger sister, Bai Qingliu. She just came of age this year. I usually call her Xiao Qing; you can call her Xiao Qing as well."

Both sisters possessed extraordinary beauty, yet their styles were vastly different.

Bai Ruxue had a graceful figure and a charming countenance; she looked somewhat ditsy and innocent, appearing as if she would be very easy to deceive.

Xiao Qing, on the other hand, had a slender build and eyes filled with vigilance and caution; at a glance, she seemed much sharper than her sister.

"Greetings, Miss Xiao Qing," Xiao Mo said, rising to offer a respectful bow.

"Hmph!" Xiao Qing lifted her chin slightly.

*It's you, you stinky man, who stole my sister away.*

*Because of you, I can only see her once or twice a month. Every night, I have to sleep alone as a snake!*

*If it weren't for the fact that I can't bear to be away from her—and that cultivating as a single snake is indeed too boring—I wouldn't have come down the mountain!*

Seeing her sister's mouth pouting so much it was practically touching the sky, Bai Ruxue secretly transformed her form, using the tip of her white tail to swat her sister's bottom.

Xiao Qing winced slightly and bit her thin lip. Performing the human etiquette her sister had taught her, she bowed slightly. "Xiao Qing... greets the gentleman. In the future, Xiao Qing and sister will be a bother to you..."

"Miss Xiao Qing, you overstate it. It is your sister who has been looking after me," Xiao Mo smiled. "It's just that my room might be a bit cramped, so I'll have to trouble Miss Xiao Qing to share a room with your sister."

"Not a trouble at all, not a trouble at all!" Bai Ruxue hurriedly spoke for her sister. "The two of us have slept together since we were small; we are long used to it."

Xiao Qing also nodded. "I like sleeping with sister."

"That is good then," Xiao Mo said with a smile. "Miss Xiao Qing, please treat this place as your own home. From now on, we are all family."

"Who's family with you... hiss..."

Just as Xiao Qing was halfway through her quiet mumble, the tip of Bai Ruxue's tail swatted her sister's bottom again.

A faint mist of tears gathered in the corners of Xiao Qing's eyes.

She felt certain her bottom had been slapped red by her sister.

"Then Xiao Mo, you continue reading. I'll take my sister to familiarize herself with the room."

With that, Bai Ruxue pulled Xiao Qing into the room and shut the door with a "clatter."

Looking at the closed door, Xiao Mo couldn't help but smile. "It seems Miss Xiao Qing has some grievances against me."

Inside the boudoir, Bai Ruxue stood with her hands on her hips, pouting at Xiao Qing. "Xiao Qing, do you remember what you promised me?"

"I remember," Xiao Qing said, rubbing her bottom.

"Then tell me, what were they?"

"First, do not reveal our identity."

"Mhm, and then?"

"Second, treat Xiao Mo just as you treat me. Do not cause him any trouble."

Bai Ruxue leaned forward. "So you must be obedient. Not just to my words, but to Xiao Mo's as well. Do you understand?"

"I understand, sister..." Xiao Qing said reluctantly.

"Oh, Xiao Qing," Bai Ruxue patted her sister's head, "Xiao Mo is a very good person."

"But sister, we are demons, and he is human. How can a demon and a human live together? What if he finds out?"

"Don't worry." Bai Ruxue straightened her slender waist and patted her sister's shoulder. "He's quite silly, a total bookworm. He won't find out. Look at me—I've been here this long and haven't been exposed, have I?"

"..."

Looking at her sister's triumphant expression, Xiao Qing wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.

*True.*

*Why hasn't sister been discovered despite being so silly?*

*Could it be that Xiao Mo is even sillier?*

"In short, as long as you don't show your tail and eat mice in secret, you won't be found. Do you understand?" Bai Ruxue instructed once more.

"I understand, sister."

Xiao Qing sighed inwardly.

*Since things have come to this, I'll listen to sister first and live with this human for a while...*

"Come, sister will take you to buy groceries. At noon, I'll teach you how to cook and wash clothes. Let me tell you, there's a lot of nuance to it."

Bai Ruxue led her sister out of the room.

About half an hour later, Bai Ruxue and Xiao Qing arrived at Huang Village, carrying a basket.

"The nearby villages all set up stalls here. I usually buy groceries here, but some older ladies try to rip people off, so you have to haggle. Watch closely, sister's watching."

Bai Ruxue turned around and called out to an elderly woman, "Grandma Li, how much for this crucian carp?"

"What! Thirty-three wen?"

"I know this fish is fat and weighs about three catties, but this is too expensive!"

"Twenty-five wen, and I'll take it."

"If you won't go that low, twenty-eight wen is still too much."

"Just twenty-five wen."

"Oh, Grandma Li, please sell it to me, please... look how pitiful this fish is. If it isn't eaten soon, it will suffer so much, Grandma Li~~~" Bai Ruxue shook Grandma Li's arm.

"Alright, alright. Thank you, Grandma Li."

Bai Ruxue happily handed over the twenty-five copper coins, picked up the fish, and placed it in the bamboo basket.

"How was that? Did you see? That's how you haggle," Bai Ruxue said, looking at her sister with great pride.

"..." Xiao Qing felt complicated.

Although she hadn't had much contact with humans, *is that really how you haggle?*

"Sister, that didn't seem very difficult," Xiao Qing remarked.

"Who says? It's actually very hard! But ever since Xiao Mo passed the provincial examinations, it has indeed become easier for me to haggle. People from the surrounding ten miles and eight villages are very accommodating toward him," Bai Ruxue explained.

"Then sister, if other males sell you things, do you act spoiled like that too?"

"How could that be?" Bai Ruxue rolled her eyes at her sister. "If they don't want to sell, they don't sell. If they won't, I'll just go to another stall. I only act spoiled for one man."

"Who is it?" Xiao Qing asked curiously.

"Silly girl." Bai Ruxue lightly flicked her sister's forehead. "Of course it's Xiao Mo~~~"

With that, Bai Ruxue walked forward happily to continue her shopping.

And just as her sister had said, she only acted spoiled with the elderly women. As for the male vendors, she would simply state a price; if they agreed, she bought it, and if not, she simply turned and walked away.

After finishing the shopping, Xiao Qing followed her sister home to cook.

Xiao Qing knew her sister was quite clumsy. Seeing how proficient her sister had become at lighting fires and cooking, she knew she must have practiced many times and endured much hardship.

At lunchtime, her sister would specifically leave the meat in the dishes for Xiao Mo, not touching a single piece herself. Only after Xiao Mo put down his chopsticks would she eat the remaining meat.

However, Xiao Qing also noticed that the human man would deliberately leave plenty of the dishes her sister liked.

In the afternoon, Xiao Qing began helping her sister clean the courtyard. From the rooms to the yard, her sister cleaned with meticulous care.

After cleaning the courtyard, her sister would sit in the yard with a book, reading alongside Xiao Mo.

However, Xiao Qing noticed that although her sister was reading, her mind was constantly on Xiao Mo.

When Xiao Mo reached out his hand, her sister would pour him a cup of tea.

When Xiao Mo turned his neck, her sister would stand up to massage his shoulders.

It was as if her sister knew exactly what Xiao Mo was going to do with every movement.

As evening approached, Xiao Qing had to follow her sister to the kitchen to cook again.

After dinner, her sister rolled up her sleeves to boil water for Xiao Mo's bath.

These were all trivial chores; just watching them made Xiao Qing feel they were boring and troublesome.

"Sister, you do these things every day. Aren't you bored?"

Seven days after arriving at Shiqiao Village, while bathing in the tub with her sister, Xiao Qing couldn't help but ask.

"Bored? Why?" Bai Ruxue blinked. "I find it very happy."

"Why would you be happy?" Xiao Qing didn't understand. "Washing clothes, cooking, cleaning the yard, and even boiling water for his bath... what is there to be happy about?"

"Well..." Bai Ruxue thought about how to answer while scrubbing her sister's back. "I don't know either. It's just that as long as I can be by his side, as long as I can do things for him—even if they are insignificant trifles—I am very happy."

"..."

Xiao Qing didn't understand the meaning behind her sister's words.

But as the days passed, Xiao Qing found that this man seemed quite decent.

He had a very good temperament and always wore a gentle smile. Moreover, when she wanted to learn how to read, he would teach her patiently.

Ten more days passed, and Xiao Qing found that she had actually grown accustomed to this lifestyle.

But on the seventeenth day of Xiao Qing's stay in Shiqiao Village...

That night, while Bai Ruxue was absorbing the essence of the moon, something went wrong.

When she woke up the next morning, her face was pale and she was completely listless, looking like a mortal suffering from a common cold.

"Sister, you should rest well today. I'll handle the housework," Xiao Qing said, feeling heartache at her sister's condition.

Fortunately, it wasn't serious; a couple of days of quiet rest would suffice.

"But Xiao Qing, can you really do it?" Bai Ruxue asked worriedly.

It had taken her a full two months to master these household chores. Xiao Qing had only been learning for a little over half a month.

"I can! Just rest, sister. Otherwise, how could you work in this state? What if you accidentally show your tail?"

"Well... alright then..." Bai Ruxue could only agree.

After tucking her sister in, Xiao Qing walked out of the room.

Coincidentally, Xiao Mo had also just gotten up.

Xiao Qing told Xiao Mo that her sister was ill, but it wasn't a big deal and didn't require a doctor; she would be fine in a couple of days.

Xiao Mo went into the room to visit Bai Ruxue.

Bai Ruxue insisted she was truly fine and would recover quickly, noting that it had happened before.

Xiao Mo suspected there might have been an issue with her cultivation, but he assumed it wasn't serious; otherwise, Xiao Qing would have been more anxious than he was.

After Xiao Mo left, Bai Ruxue sat in the room, watching through the window as Xiao Qing gathered Xiao Mo's clothes and folded them one by one.

Xiao Qing was doing a very good job.

It was just that Bai Ruxue felt a strange sensation in her heart.

*These are things I should be doing...*

By noon, Bai Ruxue felt much better, yet she felt restless, wanting to go to the kitchen to cook for Xiao Mo.

But Xiao Qing pushed her back: "Sister, you rest. I'll cook."

Before long, Xiao Qing brought the food out from the kitchen.

"Brother Xiao, Sister, I'm not a very good cook, please don't mind it."

"Not at all, Xiao Qing, you cooked very well."

"Really? Then Brother Xiao, please eat more."

"Alright."

"Sister, you eat more too."

"Ah, okay..."

Bai Ruxue ate her food in small bites.

The food Xiao Qing made was indeed delicious. It was a good thing that Xiao Mo enjoyed it.

However, Bai Ruxue felt a heaviness in her heart, as if something were blocking it.

In the afternoon, lying back in bed, Bai Ruxue watched through the window as Xiao Qing poured water for Xiao Mo and massaged his shoulders.

She watched Xiao Mo teaching Xiao Qing how to read.

She heard Xiao Mo occasionally praise her: "Miss Xiao Qing is truly clever."

Bai Ruxue felt the heaviness in her chest grow even more.

*Why? What is wrong with me? Am I getting even sicker?*

In the evening, Auntie Chen heard that Ruxue had caught a cold and came specifically to Xiao Mo's courtyard to visit.

"You girl, aren't you usually quite healthy? How can you catch a cold in the middle of summer? I've brewed some medicine for you and put it in this gourd. Drink a bowl before bed, and heat it up and drink another in the morning. You'll be better soon."

Inside the room, Auntie Chen spoke to Ruxue.

"Thank you, Auntie Chen." Bai Ruxue took the gourd and gave a small smile.

But soon, the girl lowered her head as if she had something on her mind.

"Ruxue, what's wrong?" Auntie Chen asked.

"It's nothing, Auntie Chen." Bai Ruxue shook her head quickly. "I'm fine."

"Don't give me that." Auntie Chen rolled her eyes at her. "You're too simple; you wear everything on your face. Do you think I don't know if you have something on your mind? Speak up. When you're sick, you shouldn't keep things bottled up, or you won't get better."

Bai Ruxue bit her lip, her eyes showing hesitation as her fingers nervously rubbed the quilt.

Auntie Chen was not in a hurry, waiting patiently for her to open up.

"Auntie Chen..." After a long time, Bai Ruxue looked up.

"Mhm."

"Today, Xiao Qing took care of Xiao Mo for me. She folded the clothes very neatly, the food was delicious, and the courtyard was cleaned very well. I should be happy, but why... why do I feel so empty inside? And sometimes my chest feels heavy, as if I can't breathe."

Bai Ruxue gripped the quilt tightly with her small hands.

"Auntie Chen, what kind of illness is this?"

"Eh?"

Auntie Chen froze for a moment, then as if she understood something, the corners of her mouth curled into a knowing smile.

"Let Auntie guess. Is it when Xiao Qing gets close to Xiao Mo, or when she becomes more intimate with him, that your chest feels blocked?"

"Yes, yes."

"And when Xiao Mo praises her, you know you should be happy for your sister, but you also feel a strange sense of loss in your heart?"

"That's it, that's it!"

Auntie Chen pointed to the girl's heaving chest. "Is it also true that sometimes it feels sour here, as if you've been drinking vinegar?"

"That's right! I never used to feel this way. Auntie Chen, how did you know?"

"Silly girl..."

Auntie Chen sighed and gently tapped the girl's forehead.

"It's because you've fallen in love with him."