30 Siren Song

◎We are each other's other life.◎

Liang Youwei has been in a good mood these days.

The third sister seemed to have completely forgotten the cold words she had said to her. She would wait for her to have lunch together, and would often pay attention to her work situation and solve her work problems in time. Even if she shared meaningless funny jokes with her every day, she would patiently read them, get her point, and reply to her with a "haha".

"I'm going to take you out this weekend." Liang Jingyi informed her gently during lunch time one day.

Liang Youwei didn't think much about it and asked casually: "Oh. So where are we going? Shopping or sightseeing?"

"To see Mom and Dad."

"Mom and Dad? Don't we see them every day?" As soon as these words came out, the smile on her face froze. Liang Youwei suddenly realized that the person opposite was not talking about Liang's parents.

They are business parents.

Liang Jingyi said calmly, "We should meet them. I miss them very much, and you probably do too."

"...Then what do I need to prepare?" Liang Youwei felt nervous and put down her chopsticks involuntarily, looking at the table intently. "Like chrysanthemums, paper money, fruit, or something like that?"

Liang Jingyi shook his head lightly: "No need. It's fine as long as they're gone."

Ms. He had already arranged for regular deliveries of the necessary worldly goods. She knew the kindness of the merchant's parents to Jingyi, so she naturally wanted to repay them. While this return was optional, she felt compelled to express her gratitude and attitude.

Liang Youwei's heart inevitably darkened at the mention of her biological parents. She knew only a vague understanding of the Shang family's affairs, knowing only that they passed away early, but the Liang family tacitly kept silent about the details of what had happened.

"Why did they... die?" Liang Youwei's nails, inlaid with tiny crystals, gleamed with luster. She curled her fingers slightly, and her sweet voice was hesitant.

Liang Jingyi paused, then lowered his eyelashes: "It was a minor accident, a car accident."

The cause of death of Shang Jia's parents is not suitable for Liang Youwei to know, because Liang Youwei cannot avenge them.

She didn't have the ability, nor the heart to be cruel enough. Knowing the truth would only add to her troubles. It would be better to be a fool for the rest of her life.

There are some things that Shang Jingyi can't do, Liang Youwei can't do, but Liang Jingyi can.

During the week, weekends.

"Third sister, do I really not need to wear black clothes?" The girl couldn't help but ask, "I have that kind of clothes."

"No, Mom hates black, and so does Dad." Liang Jingyi put pearl earrings on her fingernails. "They like to see us wearing bright clothes. Every time I go to accompany them, I will deliberately wear something lively."

"Really?" Liang Youwei blinked. Her face, with light makeup on, looked good, covering up the dark circles from last night.

Liang Jingyi nodded and stroked his hand across her shoulder: "Okay. When we get there, just call mom and dad obediently. They'll be happy."

Liang Youwei is the best at pretending to be good in front of her relatives, so she nodded and said yes.

The graves of Shangjia's parents are in a very remote small cemetery, but it is exceptionally clean and tidy, and the security seems to be good.

It was Liang Youwei's first time to come to such a place. Looking at the densely packed tombstones, she felt vaguely uneasy and clutched the corners of the clothes of the people around her even tighter.

"Don't be afraid." Sensing the faint fear, Liang Jingyi held her hand without hesitation and patiently explained: "I bought this place after I returned to the Liang family. No bad people will appear here."

Ten years ago, Shangjia's parents passed away suddenly, and with their savings wiped out, there were no good burial sites to choose from. To save time, Shangjia's relatives simply picked the cheapest spot and crammed his mom and dad, who had been good people their whole lives, into one.

The original cemetery was in his hometown Suzhou, but the first thing Liang Jingyi did when he returned to the Liang family was to move the cemetery from Suzhou to the imperial capital.

She deliberately chose a cemetery that was extremely similar, even retaining the specifications for one person.

When people are too happy, they tend to forget their pain, but Liang Jingyi must never forget every pain she has experienced, especially the pain related to her parents. This is wrong and impossible.

Blood debt must be repaid with blood.

Therefore, she had to let her parents endure it for a few more years while she grew up.

Swallowing her anger silently, the tall and thin girl took a few steps forward and placed the pure white lisianthus in her arms in front of the monument.

"Mom, Dad, Youwei and I are here to see you. I wonder if Dad is still having insomnia lately, and if Mom has seen more beautiful scenery. But this year, I am very happy, as happy as I was ten years ago."

Liang Jingyi squatted down, her long, bony fingers slowly moving across the mottled black and white photo. Looking at her mother's still youthful and beautiful face, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

I miss you so much.

There was a subtle rubbing sound beside me. It was Liang Youwei.

She also squatted down and placed the jasmine bouquet next to the lisianthus, then called softly: "Mom and Dad."

"This is our first meeting, so I don't know what you like. My sister said Mom likes jasmine, so I bought a bunch and sprayed some jasmine-scented perfume on it. I hope you'll like it when you see and smell it."

Her voice was soft and thin, sounding like some gentle and harmless little animal.

"I will take good care of my sister and will be with her from now on. When she's angry, I'll comfort her; when she's happy, I'll laugh with her. Don't worry..."

Hearing her serious words, Liang Jingyi curled her lips. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and spoke calmly, "Are you sure—from now on, you will take care of me, not me taking care of you?"

My dear, hateful little princess who doesn't understand the necessities of life.

Liang Youwei quickly made a "hush" gesture to her and lowered her voice: "They don't know I'm unreliable yet. Keep your voice down. At least you have to reassure Mom and Dad, silly sister."

At the end, "stupid sister" was almost whispered, scratching her sister's heart.

"...You're obviously the idiot."

Liang Jingyi's eyes were filled with complexities as he murmured softly. His gaze passed over her fingers, and he was surprised to find they weren't glaring. It turned out she had already removed her nail polish.

"Also, Liang Jingyi, I will really take good care of you." Liang Youwei didn't know what she was thinking. She just turned her head to look at her and called her name solemnly. "You must have suffered a lot when you were a child. I will make it up to you. In the future, when you are by my side, I will only make you happy."

Liang Jingyi was stunned, burned by her straightforward gaze, and quickly looked away: "I am the elder sister, why do I need your care? Besides, I didn't suffer much when I was a child."

She was a gifted girl, and at school she was the center of attention. The grievances she faced sometimes were nothing to her, because she was strong enough. It was after entering university that she encountered many setbacks, which successfully transformed her into a twisted and angry young woman.

As for happiness... Liang Jingyi's eyes showed confusion. She didn't know what happiness was. She didn't know how Liang Youwei could give her happiness.

Since returning to the Liang family, Liang Jingyi has had a lot of money and many luxuries she didn't have before. However, unlike what she expected, she is not happy despite her abundant material wealth.

Her work, future, career, and love life—none of them were completely satisfactory, and none of them met her inner ideals. All the pride she had accumulated in her studies had been repeatedly eroded in the past two months.

Thinking of this, Liang Jingyi began to hate again.

"That was someone cheating on me." Thinking of her brother and sister's partiality in certain aspects, Liang Youwei inexplicably didn't dare to look at her and complained in a low voice: "We were born on the same day and month of the same year, so it's hard to tell who is the older sister and who is the younger sister. I usually call you sister just to make you feel good."

Liang Jingyi suddenly stopped talking for a long time. She lowered her beautiful eyes, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Liang Youwei finally suppressed the strange restlessness in her heart, but just as she was about to say something, she was disturbed by the sudden call.

"elder sister."

The scent of gentian suddenly hit my nose, accompanied by her soft, pronounced words, so frivolous that it seemed like a tease.

"So, do you feel good when I call you like that?"

Her heart stopped beating in an instant. Liang Youwei was stunned, looking at her beautiful, aloof face so close to her, and saw a smile on the corner of her mouth.

"It seems like you don't feel that way. So, how do you know I'd feel comfortable being called sister?"

"Then...then what should you do to feel truly comfortable?" Liang Youwei asked without moving, as if possessed by a ghost.

"Do you really want to know?"

"……think."

Her chin was gently pinched, and in response she was greeted by the scent of gentian flowers that came closer.

Her thin eyelids were trembling, and amid the sound of her violent heartbeat, Liang Youwei closed her eyes without struggling.

Liang Jingyi's eyes darkened and he slowly closed them.

Finally, a gentle touch fell on the lips.

Liang Jingyi's lips are soft and fragrant.

It looks like freshly made strawberry mousse, like the long-awaited perfect answer sheet in childhood, and like the colorful sunset in the sky.

Uncontrollably, Liang Youwei clenched her hand and unexpectedly discovered that she could describe Liang Jingyi with all the things she liked.

"Liang Youwei, do you know?"

She didn't know when the kiss ended, nor did she know when a gentle whisper sounded in her ears, "You are the bloodline of your parents, and I am the continuation of their spirit."

"They gave birth to you and raised me. We should be the closest, most important, and most inseparable people in this world."

As the vines grow, they intertwine and entwine, and so do we.

She felt warm fingertips caressing the side of her face. After slowly opening her eyes, she could only see the eyes on the other side that were filled with her own.

Such concentration and such determination.

"How can I feel comfortable? I think it's by being close to you. Plants without sunlight will wither, but what about us without each other? There really is such a connection in the world, one that's not defined by blood or any worldly definition of relationships."

Liang Youwei was very flustered. She didn't know how to respond to this feeling. It was too strange and too ridiculous.

The heartbeat was so loud that it almost drowned out everything.

She wanted to escape his gaze, but she couldn't escape the intense gaze of the person opposite her. Liang Jingyi's eyes were like a magnet, like the ocean, attracting her and drowning her.

"But Qin, Qin Zhen..."

The feelings she was experiencing now were so unusual that she subconsciously brought up her boyfriend, but was interrupted by the person in front of her: "How can he be compared to us? Liang Youwei, is there only love between us? Is there only family affection between us? Who said that only lovers can kiss?"

Her hand was held, and then their fingers were firmly intertwined. She could feel the other person's fingertips slowly sliding across her skin, passing by her own lines.

"Kissing is never exclusive to lovers. Besides, we are each other's other lives, right?"

"You haven't seen your parents, but I have; you haven't spent time with them, but I have; I have inherited their living habits, hobbies, and even every detail of their daily lives. If there were no me, if you didn't love me, how would you be able to see them and love them?"

"Loving me is the prerequisite for loving them. We are a family. And I am the only fulcrum connecting you and mom and dad. Youwei, you should love me and trust me, right? We have never been lovers. We are each other's other lives. Since we are so important to each other, we should be closer, right?"

The excessive amount of knowledge she took in today caused Liang Youwei's nerves to ache a bit, but despite the pain, she still looked directly at Liang Jingyi, and when the other party asked "Is that right?", she chose to nod drowsily.

Just like the fishermen bewitched by the Sirens, the people moved by the goddess could only bow to her devoutly.

"right."

As the sun sets, the breeze overturns the paint bucket, coating the ends of the earth with an indelible grand curtain.

Liang Jingyi held Liang Youwei's hand and walked out of the cemetery, their long backs dragging on the ground, almost entangled with each other.

"Liang Youwei, I just lied to my mother."

"What did you lie to her about?"

“When I say I’m happy, I’m not actually feeling happy.”

"...Then when will you be able to feel happiness?"

"From now on, I will be happy."

Also started to be happy.

They held each other's palms tightly and kissed each other with wet sweat.

【Author’s words】

Jingyi sister always has a strong feeling, and she is so good at brainwashing. She is simply too succubus. The two sisters are completely obsessed with each other... I was so happy when I wrote this chapter (rolling on the ground)

P.S. Why isn't Jingyi a "heartthrob"? Because she only radiates her charm towards Liang Youwei, ignoring everyone else. Not everyone can see the genuine, charismatic Liang Jingyi; Liang Youwei is the only one in the world who can. (And it seems not everyone buys Jingyi's dark little cake. Respect differences and understand differences.)