Junior Sister Is Here

When Kexi returned to the manor last night, it was almost dawn.

He collapsed onto the bed, not even taking off his coat, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

I felt like I had only slept for five minutes when someone kicked the door open.

The loud bang of the door slamming against the wall was like a bomb exploding at the head of the bed. Kexi sprang out of bed, her hair a mess, her eyes still misty with sleep.

Carlotta stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, and roared in a booming voice, "You idiot, get up!"

Kexi slumped back onto her pillow, pulled the blanket over her head, and muffledly said from under the covers, "Don't make a sound... just five more minutes..."

Carlotta strode to the bedside, yanked off the blanket, bent down and whispered in his ear, her voice suddenly becoming very gentle, so gentle it sent chills down his spine. "Are you itching for some training?"

Kexi's eyes snapped open.

He sat up straight, his movements so swift it was as if he had springs in his back.

The memory of being chased and run over by a jeep yesterday is still vivid in my mind, and my bones seem to be aching again.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" He raised his hands in surrender, the sleepiness on his face vanishing completely.

Carlotta nodded in satisfaction, took two steps back, leaned against the doorframe, and said in a normal tone, "You're lucky today. Someone wants to see you; they sent me a visiting card yesterday."

Kexi rubbed her eyes, yawned, and asked indistinctly, "Who is it? So early in the morning."

Carlotta's lips curled into a mysterious smile as she turned and walked out, leaving behind the comment, "You'll see when you get there; she's already in the living room."

"Tch, still keeping me in suspense." Kexi muttered as she got out of bed, quickly washed up, put on her clothes, and headed to the living room.

He was yawning as he walked down the corridor, his mind wandering as he wondered who might be visiting so early in the morning.

The moment he stepped into the living room and looked up to see the person sitting on the sofa, he froze on the spot as if he had been frozen in place.

He had seen that face, those eyes, that quiet profile, sitting upright on the sofa countless times in another world; he knew it all too well.

Kexi rubbed her eyes, then rubbed them again. It wasn't a hallucination.

"Junior Sister?!"

The girl sitting on the sofa swayed slightly upon hearing this address.

Before she could react, Kexi rushed over excitedly and hugged her tightly, completely ignoring Sanhua beside her.

Is it really you?

It wasn't until he hugged me that I realized this was reality.

His arm was still wrapped around the other person.

He could clearly feel the warmth of the body in his arms, its heartbeat, and its increasingly pronounced trembling.

In other words, the person corresponding to his junior sister in real life is --

Jinhsi.

Jinhsi the Jinzhou prefectural magistrate.

Kexi abruptly released her grip and took two steps back.

Jinhsi stood there, her face as red as a boiled shrimp, the redness spreading from her cheeks to her ears and then down to her neck.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with panic and shyness; her gaze wandered around, but she dared not look at him.

Her voice was soft and hesitant. "Junior Sister? You... you must have mistaken me for someone else? We... we should be meeting for the first time."

Kexi felt her face burning.

He coughed twice, trying to make his expression look less awkward, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Sorry, you look too much like an old friend of mine. I couldn't help myself."

Jinhsi hearing this, something flickered in Jinxi's eyes, but she quickly concealed that unusual look.

She straightened her wrinkled clothes, took a deep breath, and the blush on her face subsided somewhat, but her ears were still faintly pink.

"It's okay." After saying those two words, she pursed her lips, seemingly hesitating about what to say next.

Kexi's mind was racing.

Why would Jinhsi suddenly appear in Montelli? Even if she came to Ragunna on official business, why would a magistrate like her personally pay a visit? Was she here specifically to see him? Or to discuss matters with Carlotta? If she was here to see him, what reason would she have to seek out a complete stranger, a young master of Montelli? Could it be...?

As he was thinking, Jinhsi suddenly turned her head and said softly, "Sanhua, go outside and wait for me."

Kexi then noticed that there was another person standing next to her.

Sanhua was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with a knife at his waist, and his expression was cold and serious.

After hearing Jinhsi's instructions, her gaze lingered on Kexi's face for two seconds. Her expression was complex, very complex, as if she were suppressing some other emotion.

Sanhua didn't say much, gave a slight bow, and turned to leave the living room.

But she didn't go far; instead, she hid in a corner they couldn't see.

Only two people remained in the living room.

Jinhsi lowered her head and remained silent for a few seconds before reaching into her bosom.

She took out a letter.

Kexi recognized the envelope at a glance: its material, the pattern on the sealing wax, and the location of the creases.

His pupils contracted slightly, and a bad premonition on his back felt like cold water being poured from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

Jinhsi held the letter in both hands and looked up at him.

A trace of redness still lingered on her cheeks, but her gaze had become serious and focused, carrying a hint of cautious anticipation and a touch of inexplicable nervousness.

"Young Master Kexi," her voice was soft, as if afraid of startling something fragile, "This letter, you wrote it, didn't you?"

Kexi looked at the letter and felt her eyelid twitch.

The familiar wax seal, the familiar creases, and the familiar cursive signature on the envelope were all handwritten by him, stroke by stroke.

Of course he recognizes it.

He couldn't deny it even if he wanted to, because the fact that Jinhsi came to his door with the letter meant that she was absolutely certain.

"... I wrote it," he said.

Jinhsi breathed a sigh of relief when she heard those words.

The breath was very light, as if it had been held in for a long time and was finally being exhaled.

She tucked the letter back into her bosom.

"I knew it." Her voice was soft, a very faint smile curving her lips. "Besides your birthday party, Montelli doesn't have any other grand celebrations..."

"Young Master Kexi." Jinhsi raised her head, her gaze suddenly becoming very serious, so serious that Kexi wanted to take a step back. "Is everything you said in the letter true?"

Kexi opened his mouth. Of course he remembered what he had written in his letter.

"Those words—" Kexi began, her voice tinged with a hint of probing, "Do you think they're true or false?"

Jinhsi was silent for two seconds, then nodded very lightly. "I hope it's true." Kexi felt as if she had been punched in the heart.

In the corridor outside the door, Sanhua leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.

She heard Jinhsi ask that question, and she also heard Kexi's answer.

She lowered her head, looked at the hilt of the knife at her waist, gently stroked it with her fingers, and a straight line appeared on her lips.