My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

Jiang Yao narrowed her eyes. She took a deep breath, then softened her tone and moved closer to ask gently, "Young Master, I want to get some soup dumplings. Let’s go with my sister, alright?"

"I don’t want soup dumplings..." he refused curtly, his voice devoid of warmth. "Ningning, what do you think?"

"You don’t want any? I think soup dumplings sound pretty good."

"In that case, let’s get soup dumplings. I was just kidding earlier. I haven’t had them in ages, and now that you mention it, I’m actually starting to crave them. So it’s happily decided."

"Are you even human, Chen Yuan?" Jiang Yao couldn’t help but stomp her foot.

"What’s wrong, Yaoyao?" Jiang Ning asked with concern. "Chen already agreed, didn’t he?"

"But when I suggested it, he refused. The second you say it, he agrees! That’s not fair! He’s playing favorites!"

"Just be glad we’re getting food. You make such a fuss... Alright, alright, don’t be mad. Here, take this." As he spoke, Chen Yuan thrust the suitcase into her hands.

Then he walked on ahead with Jiang Ning, chatting and laughing.

"I..." Jiang Yao bit her lip, her eyes wide. "I..."

A moment later, she ran to catch up, her voice full of grievance.

"Hey, wait for me!"

...

Meeting the parents. No matter how one tried to downplay it, the significance of the event was undeniable.

All the way there, Jiang Ning and Jiang Yao debated the matter endlessly with Chen Yuan. Each held a different opinion, and no one could convince the others.

They arrived at the soup dumpling shop.

And they kept talking as they ate.

"Honestly, just making a good impression is enough. Sis, I understand what you’re saying about different regional customs, but didn’t you hear what our dear young master wants? Just a simple meal, nothing more. If we get to see them again in the future, we can plan a more formal meeting then."

"But wouldn’t his parents think we’re being flippant? With no sense of occasion? What if they get the wrong impression?" Jiang Ning wiped her mouth and said calmly, "Yaoyao, think about it. If Chen Yuan were going to meet our mother and he showed up completely unprepared, what would she do?"

"And what would she think?" Chen Yuan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She would absolutely think you have no manners, put you on her blacklist, and then complain to us about you for three days and three nights after you left."

"You have a point there." Now that her sister mentioned it, Jiang Yao could practically see it happening.

"Your mother is that... particular about etiquette?" Chen Yuan finally managed, after struggling for the right word.

"Exactly. So, judging by that standard, my view is that we need to prepare a substantial gift to show how seriously we’re taking this. First impressions are crucial."

"That’s not necessary. Like I said, you don’t even need to come pick them up. We’ll just have a meal together at my place. On the way there, I’ll casually mention that I have a girlfriend to give them a heads-up. That’s all. My parents shouldn’t think much of it."

"Hmm... Are you sure that’ll work?"

"Of course. At the end of the day, it’s my decision. They just need to know I have a girlfriend. Otherwise, with all this talk about buying a house, what if they turn around and try to set me up on blind dates? That would be a total nightmare."

Chen Yuan considered it. ’Yeah, his mom would totally do something like that.’

So many parents strictly forbid their kids from dating before high school, treating the slightest hint of romance like a national emergency.

Just being friendly with a classmate of the opposite sex was a problem; walking home together was out of the question.

But the moment their kid gets to college, they suddenly can’t wait for a girlfriend to magically appear, preferably one who is virtuous, gentle, and sensible.

What these parents never consider is that talking to girls and pursuing a relationship are skills that need to be practiced. A boy who grew up too scared to even open his mouth around a pretty girl, always following his parents’ rules to keep his distance...

How is he supposed to suddenly figure out how to woo a woman, as if a switch had just been flipped?

Of course he’s just going to end up playing video games in his dorm, drifting aimlessly through his college years until he graduates without ever tasting the bittersweetness of first love.

Mrs. Chen was a classic example.

She would even sneak into Chen Yuan’s room to look for a diary.

Not long ago, she had subtly brought up Ke Bing and the daughter of one of his teachers during a phone call with Chen Yuan. Her words were full of praise, and he had no idea what she was scheming this time.

Luckily, Chen Yuan had an open-minded adoptive father; otherwise, it would’ve been difficult for him to grow up so well-adjusted.

"Well, if that’s what Chen wants, then I have no objections. We’ll try to be natural and just have a meal together tomorrow. If your aunt and uncle want to see the sights in Lanjing, we can go with them. That would be nice."

"I don’t know about that. They haven’t said if they’re planning to stay over."

Chen Yuan said, picking his chopsticks up again as Ningning and Yaoyao continued their discussion.

He watched the two of them, and a sudden sense of anticipation stirred within him...

’I can’t wait to see the looks on my parents’ faces when they find out I have two "girlfriends-to-be."’

On the cusp of such a momentous event, Chen Yuan, just like the two sisters, felt a subtle sense of apprehension.

In the blink of an eye, he’d gone to college.

In the blink of an eye, he was in a real-life relationship.

In the blink of an eye, he no longer needed to hide the fact that he’d found someone he loved from his parents.

The memory of being scolded by his mom for coming home late after playing on the court, his dad trying to mediate on the side—it all flashed through his mind as if it had happened just yesterday.

And yet, it also felt like a century ago.

Chen Yuan suddenly had an epiphany about what it meant to grow up. It was in these abrupt moments that you realized you were drifting further and further from your younger self, until you couldn’t even see the shadow of that little boy anymore.

He was left behind in the classroom, head buried in his books. Left behind at the run-down elementary school, on the court where a downpour meant slipping and falling with every step, by the old flower bed with its stone border.

But then he’d turn his head to look again, and that wasn’t it, either. The shadows would vanish, and all he could find were faint traces, proof of a past that once was. And back then, it had all just felt so... ordinary.