"Not me, not me!"
Mu Yang's single call of "Yue'er" jolted the dazed Shui Yue'er back to her senses. She immediately broke free from Mu Yang's embrace and fled out the door in panic.
Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er were stunned. But hadn't Shui Yue'er herself—who had gone too far in impersonating her sister—been left just as stunned?
To taste forbidden fruit for the first time, and in doing so to steal it by disguising herself as her own sister… Yue'er, caught up in the act, had never expected that her sister would actually catch her red-handed.
In her panic, not a single thought of denial rose in her mind. The only thing she could think of was escape.
No matter what happened afterward, first she had to run!
Only when the fleeing "herself" vanished from view did Shui Bing'er finally snap out of her shock.
Judging from how it unfolded, wasn't the one who had somehow impersonated her… her own younger sister, Shui Yue'er?
And given how flustered Yue'er looked, could it be that…?
Thinking this far, Shui Bing'er's gaze toward Mu Yang grew dangerous.
Gulp—
Meeting the "death stare" of his girlfriend, recalling last night and the earlier frenzy, Mu Yang swallowed hard. After a moment's hesitation, he raised both hands.
There was no need to spell it out. With Yue'er herself shouting "Not me," the one disguised as Shui Bing'er could only have been his little sister-in-law.
Though as a brother-in-law he had entertained unseemly thoughts before, this whole affair had blindsided him completely.
Setting aside for the moment how Shui Yue'er had managed to disguise herself so flawlessly that even he hadn't noticed, Mu Yang braced himself and said, "Bing'er, listen to me—I can explain."
"You'd better give me a proper explanation!"
Storming forward, Shui Bing'er seized Mu Yang's ear with a fierce glare.
Her sister had been utterly panicked, and Mu Yang's shock when seeing her had been too genuine. Even with her toes she could guess what had happened between the two—it was certainly not as simple as what she had just witnessed.
Damn it! She was the real girlfriend, yet someone else had "tasted first"?
And worse, that someone else was her own younger sister, Shui Yue'er! Now that it had happened, as an older sister, could she really let Mu Yang shirk responsibility toward Yue'er?
If she did, how could she possibly face her parents—or her aunt, who also acted as a second mother?
A truthful confession?
Were it something else, Mu Yang might not have come clean. After all, he had heard the saying: Confess and you'll face leniency, resist and you'll go home for New Year.
But this was different. He couldn't hide it, and with Shui Bing'er in such a temper, he dared not lie—lest she never forgive him.
Besides, though this had caught him unprepared, wasn't it also… a good thing?
If it were another woman intruding, Shui Bing'er would never accept it. But if it was her own little sister Shui Yue'er, and if the "rice had already been cooked"… then there was a fair chance Bing'er might consent.
A very good chance, in fact.
If he could get through this storm, then from now on, the three of them could truly be one family.
At once, Mu Yang honestly recounted the entire sequence of events.
With coaxing words sweeter than honey, he spent over an hour soothing Shui Bing'er before her expression finally softened.
"Hmph~ This isn't over. You stay at home and reflect. I'll settle this with you later!"
Leaving behind that cold snort and harsh warning, Shui Bing'er hurriedly left Mu Yang's residence.
She had already taught Mu Yang a lesson. But her daring little sister had yet to face her wrath!
This sister of hers was truly out of hand—daring even to bully her own elder sister. She definitely needed a proper lesson.
Watching Shui Bing'er's retreating figure, Mu Yang wiped the cold sweat from his brow and quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, this wasn't a case of him straying first—it was his sister-in-law, bold beyond measure, who had disguised herself as her sister to steal forbidden fruit. While he wasn't blameless, the main fault did not lie with him. Otherwise, Shui Bing'er would never have let him off today.
'Where did that girl learn such disguise techniques? And flawless enough that even I couldn't see through?'
Thinking back to Shui Yue'er's seamless impersonation, Mu Yang couldn't help but wonder.
His spiritual power was already a hair's breadth away from god-level. Ordinary disguises were nothing before him. Even back when Qian Renxue had disguised herself as Xue Qinghe using the Angel Skull, Mu Yang was confident he could have seen through it.
After all, before collecting the full set of Angel soul bones, each piece was only ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years old. Its disguise effect was nearly perfect—but only nearly. There were still flaws to be found.
Wait… the Angel Skull Bone's disguise soul bone ability?
"Hiss~ Could it be that the method Yue'er used was the other hundred-thousand-year ability attached to that Dolphin Skull Bone?"
Mu Yang sucked in a cold breath as realization dawned.
After that Dolphin sacrificed itself, Shui Yue'er had gained a head soul bone. Its Nether Sea-Requiem was only one of the two hundred-thousand-year abilities it carried. The other, which Shui Bing'er had kept secret, was most likely this disguise technique.
With a disguise ability from a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, and without Mu Yang knowing beforehand, it was normal that even he had failed to see through it.
"Alas~ Beauty leads to folly."
Sighing, Mu Yang quietly reflected.
Were it not for being blinded by beauty, had he been more careful, he should have been able to see through Shui Yue'er's disguise.
"I, Mu Yang, swear: from today on, no more drinking!"
Wine: "???"
Meanwhile, Shui Yue'er, who had fled home in panic, rushed straight into her bedroom, locked the door, then dove onto her bed. She yanked the covers over herself, burying her whole head in the pillow.
'It's over, it's over! Caught by Sis… What do I do now?'
Her heart was in turmoil.
If she had known this would happen, she would have slipped away first thing that morning instead of stubbornly challenging Mu Yang to another round.
And now look—the moment of carelessness, and she was caught by her own sister.
As for the forbidden fruit itself, Shui Yue'er did not regret it.
Her brother-in-law had both looks and strength. Over the years, he had captivated her thoroughly. She could never regret it.
If not for her sister acting first, she would have made a move long ago.
'Mmm~ Those flirty senior sisters were right. It really is… so wonderful~'
Even in her panic, Shui Yue'er couldn't help but savor the bliss of that madness.
Knock knock knock—
Her thoughts scattered. She didn't know how much time had passed before a knock sounded, and a voice came from outside the door—calm, but giving away no emotion:
"Yue'er, open the door."
At the sound, Shui Yue'er's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no—her sister was here!