Volume 1 Chapter 53: Junior Sister, Senior Brother Loves Me
Ye Anping held Pei Lengxue's small hand, deliberately slowing his pace as he walked with her, taking in the bustling night scenery of the Heavenly Street.
The marketplace of the Profound Star Sect was no small place—roughly the size of the Hundred Lotus Sect's. Many shops stayed open through the night. After all, once cultivators reached the Foundation Establishment realm, sleep was no longer a necessity. Those with nothing better to do often came out in the evenings to stroll around the market.
Pei Lengxue walked obediently beside him, her head lowered as she stared at the stone bricks beneath her feet, clearly lost in her own thoughts.
Ye Anping observed her for a while before finally realizing what she was doing.
The reason she kept her head down wasn't shyness or distraction—it was because she was carefully avoiding stepping on the cracks between the stones, making sure every step landed right in the center of a brick.
Whenever she encountered a broken slab, she'd even hop lightly over it.
What kind of obsessive habit was this?
…But it was pretty cute.
She looked just like an ordinary little girl.
You'd never guess she was a cultivator immune to a hundred poisons, someone who had slain countless demon beasts and wielded a formidable sword.
What Ye Anping didn't know was that Pei Lengxue was currently busy divining her future.
Much like plucking flower petals—loves me, loves me not.
She was thinking that if she kept walking like this, step by step, until she reached the last stone at the end of the street—
If her left foot was forward, it meant "Senior Brother loves me."
If her right foot was forward, it meant "Senior Brother doesn't love me."
After dozens of steps, they finally reached the final stone before the corner.
She stopped.
Her right foot was in front.
Her lips immediately puckered in dissatisfaction. Without hesitation, she hopped lightly in place and switched her footing so her left foot landed on the last stone.
My fate is mine to decide, not heaven's!
Senior Brother loves me!
Seeing this, Ye Anping was completely dumbfounded.
What on earth was she doing?
"Junior Sister, what are you up to?" he asked.
"..."
Pei Lengxue fell silent for a moment, then looked up at him and asked softly, "Senior Brother… do you love me?"
Why such a sudden question?
Ye Anping blinked, then smiled.
"Of course I do. You're my only junior sister—how could I not love you?"
"Mm…"
Pei Lengxue pressed her lips together in a shy smile and nodded, tightening her grip on Ye Anping's hand.
"Hehe~"
At that moment, Ye Anping paused, suddenly realizing something.
"Don't tell me… when you went shopping with Xiao Yunluo earlier, you saw something you wanted, and now you're trying to get your senior brother to buy it for you?"
"Huh?! No—"
"With your personality, if you want something, just tell me. Why beat around the bush? Do you think I'm some outsider?"
He chuckled. "Go on, what do you want?"
Pei Lengxue looked at his face, hesitated for a long moment, then finally nodded.
"Mm."
When she'd gone to the market earlier with Xiao Yunluo, Xiao Yunluo had dragged her into a clothing shop, insisting on buying her something. Pei Lengxue had firmly refused—the prices were outrageous. Just a single sheer shawl cost a thousand spirit stones.
However, inside that shop, there had been a stunning, almost ethereal red wedding dress on display.
The proprietress had proudly introduced it to them, boasting that it was inlaid with eighty-one magical tools. Whether one was curvy or flat-chested, wearing it would make every man unable to look away.
Pei Lengxue hadn't really understood all of that—but she genuinely thought it was beautiful. She even imagined herself wearing that wedding dress, standing beside Senior Brother as they bowed together in marriage.
Of course, she would never tell him that she wanted that dress. It was far too expensive—what if he couldn't afford it? That would just be awkward. Besides, she didn't want all men to be unable to look away.
As long as Senior Brother couldn't look away, that was enough.
Just then, she noticed a modest, affordable clothing shop by the roadside.
After hesitating for a bit, Pei Lengxue took the initiative to tug on her senior brother's hand, turned around, and led him back straight to the entrance of that little clothing store.
"Clothes."
"..."
Ye Anping looked up at the signboard above the tailor shop and blinked blankly.
This was the very shop where he'd once commissioned women's clothing.
Back then, he hadn't yet thought of asking Bai Yuelin to help attract customers, so his original plan had been to have women's clothing as part of the business—after all, a therapy hall with female attendants was more than enough to lure in plenty of paying customers.
Later, thanks to a series of coincidences, Bai Yuelin ended up helping him bring in customers anyway, and the women's-clothing plan was quietly shelved.
As for that particular outfit—he'd remembered it the day before yesterday, when Feng Yudie came to his shop to freeload roasted chicken.
The dress had been custom-made to his body measurements. If he gave it to his junior sister, it would probably squeeze her chest uncomfortably.
But since Feng Yudie's figure was fairly similar to his—just a little shorter—he'd sold it to her at half price, at least recouping some of the cost.
Feng Yudie had liked it quite a bit after getting it, even praising his taste…
Just as Ye Anping was about to make up an excuse and suggest going to a different clothing shop, the proprietress inside noticed them and walked out to greet them enthusiastically.
"Well, if it isn't that young master from last time?"
"Huh?"
Seeing that the proprietress recognized her senior brother, Pei Lengxue tilted her head in curiosity and quickly pulled Ye Anping forward.
"Madam, has my senior brother bought clothes here before?"
"Oh, how could I forget him?" the proprietress laughed, covering her mouth.
"He came in and immediately asked me to make a dress according to his body measurements."
"A d-dress?!"
Pei Lengxue stared at Ye Anping in horror, leaving him utterly mortified and at a complete loss for how to explain himself.
Then the proprietress added, "You bought it as a gift, didn't you, young master? How was it? My workmanship isn't bad, right?"
"…A gift?"
Pei Lengxue's brows knitted slightly.
A dress tailored to her senior brother's body… given to someone else?
Ye Anping had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive—he pulled out an excuse so bad it barely qualified as one, while hurriedly changing the subject.
"I just had it made to keep at home as decoration. Anyway—Junior Sister, didn't you want clothes? Madam, please make my junior sister a fitted outfit. As for style and color, just ask her directly."
"Of course!" the proprietress replied cheerfully.
"Young master, please sit inside for a bit. I'll take the little lady to measure her figure."
With that, the proprietress warmly took Pei Lengxue by the hand and led her into the inner room, fetching a measuring tape and starting to take her measurements.
As she worked, Pei Lengxue couldn't help asking, "Madam… what did the outfit my senior brother ordered look like?"
"Hm?"
"It was emerald green. The style was similar to what I'm wearing now, though the fabric was a bit better."
"I see…"
Pei Lengxue pressed her lips together and nodded.
As far as she knew, the only woman with a figure similar to her senior brother's was Feng Yudie.
When she got back, she was definitely going to rummage through Feng Yudie's wardrobe and confirm it!
But…
What if it was true?
Giving fitted clothing to someone of the opposite sex was an extremely intimate gesture—no different from gifting a handkerchief or a jade pendant.
Especially when the two weren't particularly close.
Wasn't Senior Brother always thinking about Xiyue?
Then why would he give clothes to that white-haired idiot?
What was so great about that idiot anyway?!
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Link for character illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1PdkaxAXCm0CjLL3M58xxLd1KyiUxEjjh