My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister - Chapter 306 - 205: Because of You, I Choose to Love Life

In Huaxia, a nation with a history stretching back thousands of years, even parents and children, or siblings as close as one’s own hands and feet, often fail to bare their hearts to one another despite their deep blood ties. Voicing one’s innermost thoughts is considered something of a shameful act.

Chen Yuan had grown up with this very mindset.

He always kept things bottled up inside, processing them silently. Sometimes, he’d rather talk to his friends than his adoptive parents.

That night, for once, he told Jiangg Yao so much about himself. He spoke of his family, his childhood, his likes and dislikes—he laid his heart bare for her to see.

He even told her about moving to Kyoto with his biological father to attend an exclusive school, and the deep sense of inferiority his school and classmates instilled in him.

He had gone from living in a small county town that didn’t even have a KFC to suddenly being whisked away to one of Huaxia’s greatest cities.

He had only ever seen a steak on television, yet there he was, sitting in an opulent villa eating a Western-style meal.

He was a middle schooler wearing a Versace luxury shirt from Italy, but it was draped over the frame of a kid from a small town on the northern frontier.

When others conversed entirely in English during class, he could only listen, completely bewildered.

In swimming class, he felt completely out of his element amidst a group of laughing, playful classmates.

At that moment, he found himself desperately missing the small town’s plastic running track, its rusty pull-up bar, and the basketball hoop that was just a rim with no net…

Without a doubt, baring one’s soul is the most effective way for lovers to get to know each other.

「Just a wall away.」

In the bedroom the two sisters usually shared, Jiangg Ning was already fast asleep on the soft, warm bed.

Her sleep was untroubled and relaxed.

She had already handled her resignation, she’d spent an unforgettable day eating barbecue with Chen’s friends, and her annoying sister was finally far away instead of clinging to her like an octopus while she tried to sleep.

Jiangg Ning lay on the bed, free to stretch out in any comfortable position; the bed was more than big enough, after all.

She lay on her side, pillowing her head on her arm, her face serene in sleep.

A closed book rested on the small table beside her. The lamp was off, and the only sound in the entire room was her own breathing.

Ningning was completely unaware that all the efforts the two sisters had made together were being harvested by Jiangg Yao alone.

After tonight, Jiangg Yao and her little young master would understand each other on a deeper level, growing even closer.

…

“You know, I really hated the girls at my old school too. They were so boring. All they ever did when they got together was talk about boys, celebrities, and their family backgrounds. And they were always one-upping each other with their clothes.”

A look of profound disgust filled Jiangg Yao’s eyes, as if she had been transported back to her school days in an instant.

She would often just sit at her desk alone, chin in hand, staring out the window, or she’d put on her headphones and listen to music on her phone. She had absolutely nothing in common with those girls.

Of course, they excluded Jiangg Yao, too. She was too pretty, her family was well-off, and most importantly, they just didn’t click.

“And the worst part was, they would secretly gossip about me. I’d overhear them so many times coming back from the restroom,” Yaoyao said, hugging Chen Yuan and sighing. “After a while, I grew to hate being in the classroom.”

“I’m surprised someone as feisty as you got excluded,” Chen Yuan said, a little taken aback.

“What do you mean, feisty? I’m adorable, obviously.”

Instantly displeased, Jiangg Yao made a show of grabbing his finger to bite it.

’Excluded!?’

’Of course she’d been excluded—more times than she could count.’

’This bullying wasn’t physical, but emotional, all of it hidden where no one could see.’

’The girls at school were jealous of Jiangg Ning for getting so many love confessions from the boys, and jealous that her grades were always so good—she was consistently in the top three of her year.’

’They didn’t dare say it to Jiangg Ning’s face. So, to mask their own cowardice, they’d say it loud enough for Jiangg Yao to hear, just because they were sisters.’

’And so, they’d wait for the right moment to loudly proclaim things like, “Jiangg Ning just acts all high and mighty to get guys’ attention,” or “I can’t stand her,” or “Her family isn’t even as rich as mine,” or “I don’t even think those twins are all that pretty.” They used verbal jabs to delude themselves and protect their own battered egos.’

’It was all to protect their own festering vanity.’

’They couldn’t stand the contempt in Jiangg Yao’s eyes, either.’

’During school talent shows, the teachers would always single Jiangg Yao out for praise. She was a beautiful dancer and a good singer, and she was even the class’s arts representative.’

’That made them even more jealous. Every time there was a performance, all the boys’ eyes would be fixed on Jiangg Yao.’

’It was as if she was the only one in the spotlight.’

’The school was so pristine, the classrooms so bright and airy, yet they were perpetually filled with vile vanity and jealousy. Those girls in their skirts and expensive school uniforms transformed into one ugly squid after another, filthy ink dripping from the legs of their chairs, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, until it covered the entire floor.’

’It spread until it surrounded Jiangg Yao. She would look around, lifting her feet, completely trapped.’

That’s why she had been so withdrawn and sensitive during her school days.

“But that’s all in the past. I’m all grown up now. I have a really happy life, and I have you…” Jiangg Yao nuzzled her cheek against his hand. “You’re the best, my little young master. You have to stay with me forever and ever.”

“Of course. I will.”

“I love you so much, and I really, really, *really* like you tonight.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know why. I always like you, but I like you even more today. Congratulations! Player Chen Yuan, you’ve unlocked the ’Yaoyao’s Most Cherished Thing’ badge. Please wear it properly.”

Jiangg Yao reached into the air and made a grabbing motion. Clenching her fair hand into a fist, as if she’d truly caught something, she patted his chest.

“Badge equipped.”

“GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE.”

Her bell-like laughter drifted out from beneath the blankets.

A smile tugged at the corners of Chen Yuan’s lips, as if all his worries had been swept away.

“But seriously, about what you said earlier… about feeling so insecure when you went to live with your other father. I don’t think you have any reason to feel that way, my little young master.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re just wonderful. Too wonderful,” Jiangg Yao said, shaking her head. “I can’t even describe it in words… I mean, look at you! You’re handsome, you’re tall, you have a great personality, and your family is well-off. So many girls at school liked you. When you gave that speech, the applause from the girls in the audience nearly deafened me. It would be a crime for you to feel insecure.”

“Such a sweet-talker. Any more praise and I’m going to blush.”

“Hee hee, it’s just the truth! That’s why you have to love yourself.”

“What about you? Do you love yourself?” Chen Yuan suddenly asked, looking down at her.

“I…”

The question left Jiangg Yao stunned.

’It seemed she… indeed… had probably never loved herself.’

’Because she wasn’t as outstanding as Ningning. She wasn’t particularly smart, and “gentle and intellectual” had nothing to do with her. All she knew how to do was act cute to curry favor with the elders in her family, and it was the same with Chen Yuan.’

’Her good qualities, if she were to count them carefully, were pitifully few.’

’In life, she was always the one being taken care of.’

’She didn’t love herself.’

’How could a person love something that wasn’t good? People probably love things that are elegant and moving—the character standing in the spotlight.’

’Ningning must love herself a lot. That was why she studied so hard, pursuing a master’s degree in philosophy, tempering her own heart, and trying to look inward for life’s answers to save herself from her own struggles.’

’But Yaoyao always looked outward. She loved others more than she loved herself.’

’She always gave of herself willingly. Maybe that was why she always praised Chen Yuan’s strengths but rarely mentioned her own. She wasn’t confident.’

“I… Isn’t it enough that I love you? As long as I have you, I have so much more motivation and so many more goals. I’m so excited for the future, and I’ll work hard to be better for you, my little young master.”

“In short, I love you the most,” she said, blinking at Chen Yuan.