Jiang Tan couldn’t help but take a step back, forcing her expression to remain neutral so as not to show anything unusual.
She felt a bit awkward.
“You shouldn’t dirty your own hands,” Jiang Tan said.
The woman wasn’t her mother, after all; her hands were moving a bit too familiarly.
Jiang Yue’s outstretched hand paused slightly before she withdrew it as if nothing had happened. “What are we making for lunch? I’ll give you a hand.”
Since she had moved past the previous incident, Jiang Tan naturally didn’t pursue it. Walking toward the kitchen, she said, “I bought some ribs. How about braised pork ribs later? We also have green vegetables, tofu, and shrimp paste. We can stir-fry a dish and make a soup; that should be enough.”
“Mm.” Jiang Yue followed beside her, watching her hum a little tune while she worked. She remarked, “You seem very happy today.”
“Of course,” Jiang Tan replied casually. “The delivery money was paid out—over five thousand yuan. We can breathe a little easier for the next few days.”
Moreover, Jiang Yue only had two outfits to rotate through right now. Once Jiang Tan calculated the upcoming expenses and set aside what was needed, she planned to see how much was left and take Jiang Yue to buy a couple more sets of clothes.
“No wonder,” Jiang Yue said softly. No wonder Jiang Tan looked much more relaxed today than she had the past two days.
A person only becomes relaxed when they have money in their pocket.
Jiang Yue sighed inwardly; she also wanted to have more money so that Jiang Tan could lead an easier life.
With Jiang Tan at the stove, Jiang Yue assisted her while observing the cooking steps. By the time the meal was ready, she had already mentally rehearsed the process countless times.
After lunch, seeing that the time was right, Jiang Tan originally intended to bring some fruit to Grandma Wang’s house to discuss the matter of Jiang Yue staying over for a few days. However, she later realized that for something like this, she had to bring Jiang Yue along so they could see her. But since Jiang Yue was still in her heat phase, it clearly wasn’t the right time.
It’s better to wait until her heat is over before talking to Grandma Wang and the others, Jiang Tan thought.
She explained this to Jiang Yue so she could be mentally prepared. At the same time, she told her about the conversation she’d had with the group of elderly people at the building entrance earlier, warning her not to let the truth slip when the time came.
Hearing that Jiang Tan had told outsiders they were sisters, Jiang Yue gave her a silent, sidelong glance.
“Are you so sure that I’m older than you?”
Jiang Tan blinked at her. “A feeling. My feelings are usually quite accurate.”
Before crossing over, Jiang Tan was 24, and the original owner of this body was 23—not much of a difference. However, that night in the dead-end alley when she met Jiang Yue, even though Jiang Yue was drugged at the time, Jiang Tan could still feel a sense of internal pressure emanating from her.
Besides, Jiang Yue had a very mature, “cool beauty” look. Could someone have that kind of presence without some life experience?
Jiang Yue: “…”
Fine. In her instinctive memory, she also subconsciously felt that she was older than Jiang Tan.
Looking at Jiang Tan’s face, she was exactly at the prime of her youth. Even though Jiang Tan hadn’t applied anything to her face these past few days, her skin condition was still excellent. Her eyes were bright and clear; she looked very youthful.
“How old are you?” Jiang Yue realized she hadn’t asked her this before.
“23,” Jiang Tan said without a hint of guilt.
She had only reported herself as one year younger! There wasn’t much of a difference!
Jiang Yue nodded. “You aren’t that old yet. Have you ever thought about going back to school?”
At the very least, her options would be much broader than they were now.
Jiang Tan: “…”
“If I quit work to study full-time, I’d starve. Plus, my foundation is poor,” Jiang Tan said quietly.
Her grades hadn’t been terrible before she crossed over, but they weren’t great either—just average. After crossing over, the original owner’s situation was even worse; in her memory, there wasn’t a single time she had passed a test. Having inherited the original owner’s memories, Jiang Tan was completely out of her depth regarding the knowledge required in this world. To continue her education, she would have to start from scratch.
But she was essentially an orphan now. Just feeding herself was a struggle; if she went to school without a source of income, she truly might starve to death.
After hearing this, Jiang Yue remained silent for a moment. “So, are you going to stay like this forever?” Jiang Yue asked softly. She felt that this kind of life was too exhausting for Jiang Tan.
Jiang Tan went silent for a second, then turned her head away and said, “It’s already quite good that I can support myself like this. Anyway, I’m not a very ambitious person.”
Hearing these words, Jiang Yue felt a dull, stifling ache for some reason.
Jiang Tan clearly gave off a sunny and cheerful vibe, so why did she hold such a low opinion of herself?
She didn’t pursue the topic further. Unsure of the specific reasons behind Jiang Tan’s situation, she didn’t know how to comfort her, so she said softly, “Go take a nap. I won’t disturb you.”
“Mm, you should rest more too,” Jiang Tan said, looking at Jiang Yue.
Jiang Yue nodded slightly, got up, and went into the bedroom.
After she went in, Jiang Tan lay on the sofa, thinking back on everything Jiang Yue had said. Finally, she pursed her lips, unwilling to think about it anymore.
She was someone who just took things as they came. Even if Jiang Yue thought she lacked ambition, that was an irrefutable fact.
The two lived together under the same roof like partners sharing a life. Once Jiang Yue’s heat had completely ended, Jiang Tan took her, carrying some fruit, to visit Grandma Wang’s home.
As soon as they entered, Wang Xiuya’s daughter saw Jiang Tan and shouted with a look of pleasant surprise, “Sister Xiao Jiang! Are you here to play with me?”
“Yes, and I brought the bananas you like, Nannan,” Jiang Tan replied with a smile, peeling a banana and handing it to Nannan.
“Yay! Sister Xiao Jiang is the best!” Nannan’s eyes crinkled so much with laughter they almost disappeared.
Watching their interaction, Grandma Wang had a warm smile on her face. However, looking at Jiang Tan and then at the woman following her, a hint of regret appeared in the depths of her eyes.
Jiang Tan really was a good kid; it was just a pity she wasn’t destined to be with her own family.
Watching Jiang Tan interact with the child, Jiang Yue hadn’t expected that Jiang Tan would get along so harmoniously with children; she seemed to genuinely like them.
“You should have just come over; why bring fruit?” Grandma Wang scolded gently, then looked at Jiang Yue beside Jiang Tan. “You haven’t introduced her yet.”
“It’s just a small token.” Ready to get to the main point, Jiang Tan felt a bit nervous and embarrassed. After Wang Xiuya emerged from the kitchen with a plate of washed fruit, Jiang Tan said somewhat bashfully, “Her name is Jiang Yue; she’s my sister.” After saying that, she introduced the three generations of the family to Jiang Yue.
Hearing Jiang Tan’s introduction, both Grandma Wang and Wang Xiuya were stunned.
“She’s your sister?”
“Mm,” Jiang Tan hummed vaguely. After thinking about it, she decided to be honest: “But we aren’t blood-related.”
Grandma Wang and Wang Xiuya both nodded slowly. In their minds at that moment, since both had the surname Jiang, they assumed Jiang Tan meant they weren’t born of the same mother but were still related by blood or kinship.
Thinking this way, they understood why Jiang Yue was living with Jiang Tan.
“I came here this time because I wanted to discuss something with you.” Jiang Tan’s face felt hot as she sat on the sofa, awkwardly picking at her hands. “As you know, I’m an Alpha and have those few days every month. My sister is an Omega, so I was wondering if she could stay here for a few days during my rut?”
Jiang Tan knew her request was a bit forward, but…
At least this was the safest way.
Listening to Jiang Tan’s words, Wang Xiuya looked at Jiang Yue as if remembering something.
But a few days ago… hadn’t she happened to run into Jiang Yue during her heat?
How was it that the two of them could share a room back then, but now they couldn’t?
“Of course, that’s no problem at all. When the time comes, just let Yueyue squeeze in with Xiuya,” Grandma Wang said, laughing a little when she realized what the request was.
Wang Xiuya nodded gently, indicating it was fine.
Jiang Tan was overjoyed. “Then I’ll be troubling you, Grandma and Sister Xiuya.”
Jiang Yue also nodded in thanks. “Thank you for the trouble.”
However, Jiang Yue wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt that the grandmother across from her seemed much more pleasantly surprised after hearing that she and Jiang Tan were sisters.