Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Birthday Glitch of Qin Xuan and Qin Lin'er

When Liu Ruoxi came out, she saw Qin Lin’er lying across Qin Xuan’s lap, munching on potato chips.

With a teasing tone, she remarked, “Well, looks like your backside doesn’t hurt anymore?”

Qin Lin’er merely turned her head and kept eating, making it clear she had no intention of responding.

Slightly embarrassed by the lack of reaction, Liu Ruoxi pouted and settled down on Qin Xuan’s other side, immediately looping her arm around his.

Qin Xuan was in the middle of an intense round as Lu Ban, but with Liu Ruoxi suddenly grabbing him, his score plummeted from 0-8 to 0-9. He blamed her for the loss.

She glanced at his black-and-white screen and couldn’t stifle a laugh. “Really? 0-9? My grandmother could play better than you.”

“It’s your fault for distracting me!” he protested. “Besides, Grandma Liu doesn’t play this game!”

“Then what about your 0-8 before?” Ruoxi pressed on, relentless.

“That was… Lin’er’s fault,” he said, pointing at Qin Lin’er, who only stared back wide-eyed and innocent, still savoring her chips.

“Shameless!” Ruoxi scoffed, looking at him with utter disdain.

…

Time slipped by quickly, and soon enough, it was the 19th. That morning, Qin Xuan had specially boiled two eggs for her.

After their first class, as the three of them followed the crowd to the next classroom, Liu Qin called out to them.

“Ruoxi!” Liu Qin handed her a beautifully wrapped box. “Happy birthday!”

Ruoxi was delighted, accepting the gift carefully and nodding in gratitude. “Thank you, Sister Qin! You actually remembered my birthday!”

“Of course. I keep track of every student’s birthday in the class,” Liu Qin replied as if it were only natural. “And I noticed something odd, too!” She glanced meaningfully at Qin Lin’er.

“Oh, and you too, Qin Xuan—your birthday’s tomorrow. Happy early birthday!” Liu Qin pulled out another gift and passed it to him.

“Thank you, Sister Qin.” Qin Xuan took the gift with a smile. “Will you have time tonight? Why not join us for dinner at home?”

But Liu Qin shook her head. “I can’t make it. There’s a meeting tonight—such a nuisance.”

“Ah, that’s a shame. Well, more good food for us then,” Qin Xuan joked.

“Alright, alright, you three enjoy. Go on, class is starting soon,” she urged, as she, too, had lessons to teach.

When night fell, the three of them went out of their way to buy hotpot ingredients—a mountain of food, each hauling a big bag, unsure if they could possibly finish it all.

Back home, even Qin Lin’er donned an apron to help out. Qin Xuan looked at the fragrant twin-flavored hotpot on the table and nodded in satisfaction.

Before long, everything was ready. Qin Xuan had even picked up a few bottles of beer and cooked a tableful of their favorite dishes.

Qin Lin’er emerged from her room, gifts in hand, and presented them to the other two.

Normally, they weren’t in the habit of opening presents in front of each other, but Lin’er insisted, so there was no avoiding it.

Ruoxi unwrapped hers to find a little ornament—clay figurines of the three of them. Without a word, she slipped Lin’er’s likeness into her pocket, leaving only hers and Qin Xuan’s on the table.

“Hey! What are you doing? Take it out,” Lin’er demanded, seeing right through her scheme.

“I made these myself, you know!” Lin’er said proudly when Ruoxi reluctantly returned her figurine to the table.

“I get the idea, but why do I feel like something’s off?” Ruoxi examined her own figurine. “Why did you make mine flat-chested?”

Lin’er broke into a nervous sweat. “That’s called cute! You don’t understand!”

“Do I need to be cute? Make mine bigger. It’s bad enough you made yours flat, but you dragged me into it too. Shameless!”

Lin’er lowered her gaze to her toes. She used to think her development was just a little late, but now it seemed to have stopped altogether! Still, she glanced at her own backside—at least it was perkier than Ruoxi’s.

Qin Xuan, meanwhile, was staring in confusion at a long string of printed numbers, at least a hundred sets in total. “What’s all this?”

Lin’er answered mysteriously, “Something good!”

“So what is it, exactly?” Qin Xuan found it familiar but couldn’t quite place it.

“Game activation codes!”

“Whoa!” His eyes lit up, and he dashed to his room to mess around with the computer.

Moments later, Lin’er and Ruoxi heard him burst out laughing.

He ran back out, so excited he lifted Lin’er off the ground. Lin’er laughed, patting his shoulder and signaling him to put her down.

Once he’d calmed, Qin Xuan said, “Thank you, my dear sister!”

“Hmph, now you know whose side to take when Ruoxi bullies me,” Lin’er seized the moment.

“You’re asking for it, Lin’er!” Ruoxi glared at her.

Qin Xuan set Lin’er down and called, “Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”

He and Ruoxi always exchanged their gifts in private—a little tradition just between the two of them.

Around the table, the three enjoyed their hotpot with laughter.

Suddenly, Lin’er piped up, “You two better start thinking about what to get me for my birthday!”

“You’ve got plenty of time,” Qin Xuan replied, his mouth full of meat.

“Exactly, it’s still half a year away,” Ruoxi agreed, gulping down water to quench the heat.

But Qin Xuan froze at that. He stopped chewing and stared at Lin’er.

“Wait a second!” He swallowed his food and looked at her, puzzled. “Your birthday is June 28th, right?”

“Yes, why?” Lin’er didn’t sense anything amiss.

“I was born October 20th, which makes me eight months older than you,” Qin Xuan said, brow furrowed. “So that means…”

“Was I premature?” Lin’er ventured.

Silence.

“Did it ever occur to you she might not be your real sister?” Ruoxi asked, her tone skeptical.

“Of course she is. There’s no way she isn’t,” Qin Xuan replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Lin’er quietly suggested, “Maybe… you should call Mom and ask?”

Seeing both girls’ serious expressions—especially Lin’er, who didn’t dare meet his eyes—Qin Xuan slowly took out his phone, hands trembling, and dialed his mother.

Fifteen minutes later, Qin Xuan slumped in his chair, questioning everything he’d ever known. So his sister… wasn’t really his sister. What kind of twist was this?

He looked at Lin’er, who sat fiddling nervously with her fingers, and sighed.

“Come here,” he beckoned the lost-looking Lin’er. Though she’d always known this day would come, she still felt afraid.

Qin Xuan put an arm around her shoulders, leaning in to whisper gently, “No matter what, you’ll always be my little sister. Blood can’t change that.”

Lin’er was never one to cry, but this time her defenses crumbled. She threw her arms around him, sobbing, “I was so scared you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

“Nonsense. How could I not want such a lovely little sister?” He wiped her tears, though no matter how many times he tried, they kept coming. He held her close, soothing her, “There, there, don’t cry anymore.”

Only when the hotpot had lost all its heat did Lin’er finally let go. With red-rimmed eyes, she looked up at Qin Xuan, who was still ruffling her hair, and at last, broke into a radiant smile.