My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

"It’s not for you to decide." The nonchalant words hit Liu He like a splash of cold water, stunning her. It was Mr. Chen who had spoken. He took off his glasses and began cleaning them as he continued, "Ultimately, he’s the one who has to make the decision. Whether you like it or not doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m not wrong about a girl like Yaoyao. Haven’t you seen her when she’s with our son? He, I’d advise you not to interfere too much with his decisions."

Mr. Chen finished cleaning his glasses and put them back on in silence.

His tone wasn’t sharp, but his opinion was unyielding.

He and Liu He had been married for twenty years. Their life was simple and happy, supporting each other on their journey through life. To an outsider, they seemed like a model of mutual devotion, a truly enviable couple.

How many pursuits can a person have in one lifetime?

A healthy body, a career they enjoy, a harmonious marriage... No matter what, the topic of marriage is unavoidable.

But Mr. Chen knew that his family’s current happiness had been bought with his own compromises and tolerance. He hadn’t been such a mild-mannered person in his youth.

It was precisely because Liu He was so headstrong and overbearing. Whenever she decided to do something, she wouldn’t allow anyone to question her. She was fiercely opinionated. Even for something as simple as buying a bowl, she had to have the final say! Therefore, Mr. Chen had to be the one to back down, to let her hold the power of voice in the family as much as possible.

That was the only way to avoid arguments.

Life was full of so many trivial, everyday matters. Most of the time, he had to sacrifice his own desires to protect the family.

For example, in front of a young Chen Yuan, how could he just argue with Liu He without any restraint? How much of a psychological scar would that leave on their child?

Was he, a grown man, afraid of his wife?

’Not really. Not at all.’ He just knew that nine times out of ten, Liu He would never be the one to yield or compromise. Continuing to argue was simply pointless.

How many times had Mr. Chen stood at his door, looking at a friend, then glancing back at his wife sulking on the sofa inside, only to wave his hand and force back tears as he sent his friend away? He truly yearned to go out and have a "middle-aged man’s afternoon," even if it was just for a little while, to have a space of his own.

This was the trade-off he made.

Over time, he had gotten used to it.

But that didn’t mean he had grown numb.

Sometimes, Mr. Chen would remember himself from many years ago. Back then, he was full of vigor, brimming with confidence, always walking with his head held high and a confident stride.

Who would have thought that such a heroic and spirited man would, after marriage, become someone who’d take a small sip of liquor, then lower his head and scurry into his own home like a mouse, terrified of being scolded?

So!

Mr. Chen had already walked this path. After much painful reflection, he was determined not to let his son walk it all over again!

When choosing a wife, you can’t marry someone too domineering. Being gentle before marriage means nothing; a few incidents are all it takes to reveal a person’s true character. And one look at Jiangg Ning was enough to tell she was just like Liu He—opinionated and the type to rule the household.

That girl Yaoyao was so much better. She was cute, considerate, sweet, and lovely. Just looking at her, you knew she could never evolve into a ferocious tigress... Bringing her home as a wife, how could you not be happy?

Mr. Chen’s thoughts came to an end. He barely suppressed the pained twitch at the corner of his mouth and looked at Chen Yuan, his gaze suddenly turning gentle. ’Son,’ he said to himself, ’this time, Dad will fight for you. I won’t give in anymore! You’ll understand in the future.’

Chen Yuan glanced to his left, then to his right.

’Wait... why is Dad giving me the "benevolent father" gaze?’

’What on earth are these two trying to pull!?’

Mr. Chen and Liu He both fell silent. Not a word was spoken, but their eyes were locked in constant combat.

In an instant, swords flashed and shadows danced. There was no smoke, but Chen Yuan broke out in a cold sweat, a chill running down his spine.

Suddenly, there was a loud BANG!

Liu He slammed her palm on the coffee table, scaring the father and son so much their hearts nearly leaped out of their chests.

"Our son is being foolish, and you’re muddying the waters right along with him!? I think you’ve lost your mind!" she said coldly.

"This isn’t the old days anymore. Are you trying to make the decision all by yourself, to arrange his marriage? Wake up, He! Even if I agreed, the times wouldn’t agree. And even if the times agreed, our son himself wouldn’t agree," Mr. Chen retorted, steadying himself.

"Dad..." Chen Yuan’s eyes blurred with tears. His timid father, who had almost never fought back, was actually doing this for him. ’You’re really... I could just cry.’

"Son, don’t worry. When I told you to watch your attitude earlier, I meant for you to show some backbone. Now, let me show you your old man’s backbone!" Mr. Chen said, stretching out an arm to shield him.

"Fine, fine, fine. Give you an inch and you take a mile," Liu He said, so angry she began to laugh. Her glare was enough to make one tremble. "I saw it long ago. You two, father and son, are in cahoots. You’ve been dissatisfied with me for a while now. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. I said we’re choosing Ningning, and we’re choosing Ningning. No one is going to change my mind about this daughter-in-law. I’m telling you flat out, it’s not happening!"

"Then you can marry her if you want. I won’t stop you. Let’s go... Son, there’s no point in talking to a person like your mother. Let’s go rest." Mr. Chen grabbed Chen Yuan and started to leave.

"I’d like to see either of you try to move!"

"Well, today I’m moving!" Mr. Chen was truly furious now. He took a large step forward. "I’ve put up with you for twenty years, and now I’m going to fight back! I won’t listen to you! If you tell me to go east, I’ll go west! You tell me not to move, I’ll move! You want to adopt Yaoyao as a goddaughter, I object!"

"On what grounds do you object?"

"On what grounds can I not object? Yuan is your son, but he’s my son too! Are you the only one who has a say in this family’s affairs? Am I, the head of this household, just a decoration?"

Mr. Chen stood with his hands on his hips. If Liu He’s attitude had been a little better, he wouldn’t have gotten so angry. But Chen Yuan was an adult now, and Liu He wasn’t giving him an ounce of face in front of their son.

Just like that, the two of them abruptly started arguing.

Chen Yuan didn’t even have to think about how to object; his father had become the first barrier against Liu He forcing him to make a choice.

Chen Yuan stood awkwardly in the living room for a while, listening to his parents’ dispute.

The worst part about an argument isn’t that the problem can’t be solved, but that as it goes on, it stops being about the current dissatisfaction and moves on to dredging up old, settled accounts from the past. Naturally, the more they talked, the more convoluted it became.

Mr. Chen even brought up why he hadn’t brought an umbrella earlier, accusing Liu He that instead of spending time telling him to get it, she could have just gotten it herself. He complained she always had to boss him around, but had plenty of time to grumble about it afterward.

Liu He shot back, not understanding. He had always been the one to get it before, so why not this time? Or was he just deliberately bringing up trivial things to nitpick her mistakes?

Mr. Chen snorted coldly and said in a low voice, "Just because it’s always been this way, does that make it right?"

The more they argued, the more grievances surfaced.

Buying the house, their last vacation, menopause.

Countless past resentments came pouring out one after another.

For the first ten minutes, Chen Yuan was shocked and confused. For the next ten, he frowned in disapproval. But for the ten minutes after that, he started to find it amusing. He then proceeded to viciously fan the flames before quickly slipping away to his room.

At first, he felt that the fighting was bad, but as the topic deepened, he realized the focus of the argument had completely shifted away from the two sisters.

It was the perfect diversion.

Chen Yuan grabbed a bath towel and went to take a shower. The SPLASHING of the water still couldn’t drown out the shouting from the living room. The couple must have been red in the face from arguing by now.

As long as they didn’t start physically fighting, Chen Yuan was happy to let it happen. He even treated the argument as background noise, contentedly humming a song to himself.

The steaming hot water soaked his hair. He squeezed out some shampoo and scrubbed it vigorously into his scalp, mulling over his mom’s idea as he lathered. He really hadn’t seen the full picture of the adult world. A plan like adopting a goddaughter to make them "siblings"... you could beat him to death and he’d never have come up with that.

Chen Yuan turned the shower back on, letting the hot water rinse the foam away, watching it gurgle down the floor drain.

During this time, he was trying to think of a way to deal with the situation. Otherwise, even after he saw his parents off tomorrow, this issue wouldn’t be over. He had to make it clear to Liu He that there was no way he would abandon Yaoyao. Only then would he achieve his goal.

But how could he counter such a terrible idea...

「Five minutes later.」

He walked out of the bathroom, drying his dripping hair with a towel.

"So now you think I’m menopausal!" A sharp roar made Chen Yuan jump, and he nearly stumbled and fell.

"I never said that! You’re the one constantly giving yourself psychological suggestions and then blaming it on me! That’s completely unreasonable! You can’t just be irrational, can you?"

"Bullshit! That time at home, do I even need to say what you meant by that?"

"What did I mean?"

Chen Yuan peeked his head out to look at the living room. He saw the various objects on the coffee table bouncing up and down with every slam on the table, as if they were trembling too.

’I really want to call Ningning and Yaoyao over to watch the show...’ he thought. ’I wonder how they’d feel if they knew their aunt and uncle were arguing because they had different opinions about them.’

Then again, it seemed like everyone’s impression of the twins was always different.

As he thought this, he started walking toward his bedroom, but his footsteps suddenly stopped.

A terrible idea flashed in his mind.