My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister - Chapter 296 200: Lying Chen Yuan

It was a rare opportunity to finally lay the problem out in the open. As long as Jiangg didn’t bring it up herself, Chen Yuan wouldn’t dare to ask, afraid of hurting her sensitive pride.

He just hadn’t expected this particular question.

As he got to know them better, Chen Yuan had indeed discovered that Ningning and Yaoyao were two completely separate, individual personalities. They looked alike, but upon closer inspection, nothing about them was the same except for the body they shared.

One was lively, the other intellectual.

One was passionate, the other reserved.

Their personalities were also different: one was quirky and mischievous, the other demure and introverted.

They called Chen Yuan by different names, slept in different positions, and even the corners of their eyes crinkled differently when they smiled.

Which one did he like more?

It wasn’t that Chen Yuan hadn’t asked himself this question. But he would often get halfway through the thought before uncontrollably shoving it from his mind, avoiding the choice.

There are people in this world who, when faced with an impossibly difficult problem, will retreat into their shells. They don’t care if a tempest is raging outside, if swirling floodwaters threaten to drown everything. All that matters is that tiny, warm space to wrap themselves in.

Even if the shell drifts along with the current, floating out of the city with countless other pieces of debris, lost to the ends of the earth.

None of that matters.

He had been the same way when he was younger, after finding out his parents were his adoptive parents. He never dwelt on the issue; if the thought surfaced for even a second, he would forcibly suppress it.

But now, it seemed, he couldn’t do that anymore.

Because Jiangg Yao was sitting on the bed, blinking her big eyes at him, her gaze filled with boundless expectation. It was as if two invisible hands were reaching out from her eyes, holding him fast.

He couldn’t retreat even if he wanted to.

“That question… I don’t think it matters, does it?” Chen Yuan said, shrugging hesitantly. “Because you and Ningning, at the end of the day, are different personalities in the same body. If I were to make a distinction, wouldn’t that be like treating you as two separate people?”

Jiangg Yao didn’t get the answer she wanted to hear and was a little disappointed.

She stared at Chen Yuan, relentless.

Now that she’d started this, Yaoyao, who had mustered a great deal of courage, couldn’t back down. If she didn’t ask, the question would stay bottled up inside her, and she wouldn’t be able to stop her growing anxiety.

Once she’d said it aloud, she wouldn’t rest until she got an answer.

“Then treat us as two different people. Me and Ningning, whose personality do you like more?”

“I don’t know… I’m a little thirsty. I’m going to get a drink from the fridge.”

Perhaps her scorching, insistent gaze had left his mouth dry. Chen Yuan swallowed and started to get out of bed to go to the living room.

‘I really need to make a run for it.’

‘Otherwise, I feel like a fish on a grill right now, sizzling and oozing oil from the heat.’

“How could you not know?” Jiangg Yao came over, grabbed his hand, and snuggled into his arms. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. “You definitely know, you just won’t say it. Come on…”

Like a dizzy little kitten, she pressed her head against Chen Yuan’s chest, nuzzling him insistently.

“I can’t, I’m really too thirsty. My throat’s about to catch fire. I really have to get some water!”

“I’ll get it for you!”

Jiangg Yao looked up, scrambled out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and ran to the living room.

“What do you want to drink?” she called from a distance.

Chen Yuan replied in a tone full of reluctance:

“Oolong tea…”

Jiangg Yao came pattering back, having already twisted the cap open for him, and presented the bottle with both hands.

The bottle of oolong tea was covered in icy condensation, radiating a palpable chill.

Chen Yuan tilted his head back and took a few large gulps. Of course, he wasn’t actually thirsty.

“Can you tell me now?”

“Do you really have to ask this question?”

“What’s so hard about saying it, Little Master? I won’t get mad,” Jiangg Yao said, growing impatient. She began to hug Chen Yuan’s arm, acting cute, her tone as saccharine as possible. “Tell me, tell me~ I’m begging you.”

‘Not get mad?’

Chen Yuan laughed awkwardly to himself.

‘If she doesn’t get angry, I’ll bash my head on the side of this bed until I’m dead. The three words you can never trust from a woman are “I’m not angry.” It’s a lie, no matter her age—as long as she’s female!’

He was speaking from experience. When he was little and got bad grades, Mrs. Chen would always promise she wouldn’t get angry when asking about them. She’d follow up with a long lecture, but she’d also comfort him and tell him not to care so much about his scores.

But the one time he naively believed her and told her the truth, it didn’t even take three seconds for Mrs. Chen to start yelling, “You’re driving me crazy!”

At this moment, Chen Yuan was incredibly conflicted.

He knew his real answer wouldn’t satisfy Jiangg Yao.

‘Should I lie?’

‘I should at least say something nice to her face. If Ningning asks the same question later, I’ll just say I prefer whoever I’m with at the time. That way, no one gets angry.’

“Your personality is definitely better. You’re so lively and cute.”

“Really?! For real!?”

In an instant, Jiangg Yao felt her heart THUMP and accelerate. Immense joy flooded her eyes.

Chen Yuan clearly felt the grip on his arm tighten.

“Of course it’s true!”

Chen Yuan affirmed, going against his conscience.

He actually preferred Ningning’s personality. She was mature and didn’t get jealous easily. Gentle and graceful, she was probably every guy’s ideal type. Although he didn’t laugh as much when he was with her as he did with Yaoyao, he couldn’t help but sink into the relaxed atmosphere that surrounded her.

Even if the two of them did nothing and just spent time together,

it would still feel very comfortable.

“Mwah~”

Soft lips pressed against Chen Yuan’s cheek. A sweet fragrance washed over him as, caught completely by surprise, he was tackled onto the bed.

Jiangg Yao kissed his face, his forehead, the corners of his lips.

She left kisses everywhere, a clear sign of how happy she was.

This was the first time Chen Yuan truly understood the benefit of telling people what they want to hear.

He let a small smile play on his lips, feeling slightly pleased with his own cleverness.

Jiangg Yao sat up and cupped his face in her hands.

But Chen Yuan was stunned.

He saw that Jiangg Yao’s eyes were brimming with tears, her eyelids already red.

“Little Master, I’m so happy… I’m really so happy. I thought you liked Ningning’s personality.”

His answer…

…meant the world to Jiangg Yao.

Lately, though she never said it aloud, she had been incredibly anxious. The day the two “sisters” had agreed upon was drawing nearer, and she was terrified that Chen Yuan wouldn’t choose her in the end. She never dared to imagine how she would face that outcome.

If she had to accept a life without Chen Yuan, then what would all this brief companionship and sweetness from the past few days have been for?

Would it just be a beautiful, fleeting memory etched into her life?

She would probably cling to that memory and be lost for the rest of her life.

What Yaoyao wanted wasn’t to beat Ningning in any way, but simply to be with Chen Yuan in the future.

A moment ago, Chen Yuan had been relieved that his answer had been the right one. But seeing Jiangg Yao so moved she was on the verge of tears, he was suddenly overcome with guilt.