Chu Ge, Qin Ruojing, and Qin Ruoying looked at each other in silence, the tension and awkwardness quietly spreading in the quiet air, weighing heavily on the hearts of the three.

Chu Ge originally intended to surprise Qin Ruojing, but now, for him and the Qin sisters, the surprise undoubtedly turned into a shock.

"Xiao Ying, could you step out for a moment?"

After what felt like an interminably long few seconds, Qin Ruojing was the first to break the silence. Compared to Chu Ge and Qin Ruoying, she appeared the calmest at this moment.

Qin Ruoying lowered her face and got off the bed. When she brushed past Qin Ruojing, her steps paused slightly but ultimately she said nothing and left the bedroom. However, as she closed the bedroom door, she sneaked a glance at Chu Ge.

In the room, only Chu Ge, sitting on the bed, and Qin Ruojing, standing opposite him, remained. Neither spoke for a long time. Over a minute passed, and meanwhile, Qin Ruojing left the bedroom for a moment. Chu Ge heard the sound of a door closing; evidently, Qin Ruojing had shut the outer door.

When Qin Ruojing returned again, she was the first to break the silence between them once more, "Don't you want to say something?"

Facing Qin Ruojing's gaze, Chu Ge offered a sheepish smile, "I don't know what to say."

Chu Ge was telling the truth. His mind was in a mess right now, regardless of whether this situation stemmed from a misunderstanding; things were just like this, and he truly didn't know what to say.

"Just explain your actions, like saying you returned home quietly, hoping to surprise me, but then saw my sister on the bed and mistook her for me, leading to this situation."

Chu Ge smiled wryly again, "If I say that's exactly what happened, would you believe me?"

Qin Ruojing looked into Chu Ge's eyes. After a few seconds, she gently patted his shoulder and softly said, "I believe you."

Chu Ge was momentarily stunned. Qin Ruojing didn't appear to be mocking him, but he didn't feel any better. In fact, he felt even more guilty.

Looking up, Chu Ge gazed into Qin Ruojing's eyes, which were void of reproach, and furrowing his brow, he finally asked the question that puzzled him, "What... exactly happened here? Why was your sister here?"

Qin Ruojing sat down on the edge of the bed beside Chu Ge and explained the situation to him.

"Today, Xiao Ying attended a dinner party with her colleagues from the kindergarten where she works. Since the restaurant was close to home, she didn't take a cab afterward. But when she got to this point, she didn't feel like walking anymore and called me to say she'd stay here for the night and not return to her rented place."

Upon hearing Qin Ruojing's explanation, Chu Ge rubbed his forehead and suddenly understood.

Apparently, Qin Ruoying got a bit tipsy, mistook the bedrooms, and lay down on this bed. Qin Ruojing, worried about her sister, came to check, and these incidents happened to coincide, resulting in the current situation.

After piecing this together, Chu Ge suddenly remembered something. Even if Qin Ruojing was worried about her sister, her reaction when she entered the house was unusual. Her steps were too hurried, and her expression was inexplicably peculiar, not to mention the flustered and nervous demeanor mixed with a barely noticeable daze?

Despite the doubts, Chu Ge didn't bring it up. Since Qin Ruojing was willing to believe him, he was willing to trust her too, assured she wouldn't do anything unreasonable behind his back.

Even taking a hypothetical step that Chu Ge didn't believe in, no matter what might have happened between Qin Ruojing and another man, from the time she left wherever she was previously to her return home, she should have had enough time to compose herself. If she hadn't known he was returning and suddenly saw him here, she would have shown some signs of guilt.

However, Qin Ruojing didn't, not even a little.

Moreover, the sisterly bond between her and Qin Ruoying was incredibly tight. With worry for her sister driving her home, how could she have the mindset to maintain that kind of state?

Strange, too strange.

Chu Ge pondered these illogical matters, silent for a while, until Qin Ruojing raised another question that left him in a bind.

"Now, what do you plan to do?"

Even though Qin Ruojing didn't explicitly state it, Chu Ge of course understood that she was referring to the situation between him and Qin Ruoying.

Chu Ge exhaled, looked at the ceiling, and mumbled, "I... don't know."

"Then think it over carefully. I'll go check on Xiao Ying." Qin Ruojing stood up from the bed, patted Chu Ge's shoulder, and walked out of the room.

With only Chu Ge remaining in the room, he raised a hand to tap his forehead and lay back on the bed. Despite all his usual clever ideas, he now felt completely at a loss.

Staring at the ceiling above, his mind in turmoil, Chu Ge was utterly confounded by these events. How would he face his sister-in-law in the future?

Who knows how much time had passed when the door opened once more, and Qin Ruojing and Qin Ruoying walked back together.

Chu Ge hurriedly sat up from the bed. This time, distinguishing between the sisters was much easier.

With her head down, eyes fixed on the floor as if she wished she could bore a hole through it, it was definitely Qin Ruoying, looking quite helpless, naturally was Qin Ruojing.

Qin Ruojing gently squeezed her sister's hand, then sat on the swivel chair by the computer desk while Qin Ruoying walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, keeping a good distance from Chu Ge.

Qin Ruojing tapped her fingers on the computer desk, cleared her throat, "In light of today's events, the three of us should have a brief family meeting."

On a normal day, seeing Qin Ruojing solemnly say something like this at home, Chu Ge would have found it amusing, perhaps even burst into laughter, but now he was sitting upright, unable to muster even a wry smile.

Qin Ruoying said nothing either, fidgeting with her fingers, continuously looking down at her feet.

Qin Ruojing clearly did not expect any response from Chu Ge and Qin Ruoying as she carried on, "The first thing I want to mention is that since Xiaoying happens to have a day off tomorrow, I'll also set aside my work, and we'll go out and take our wedding photos."

Chu Ge was taken aback and looked up at Qin Ruojing, never imagining she would come up with such a statement. What connection does that have with today's events? Moreover... what does taking wedding photos with Qin Ruojing have to do with Qin Ruoying's time off?

Glancing sidelong at Qin Ruoying, Chu Ge found she was still staring at her toes, seemingly not in the least surprised by Qin Ruojing's words.

Either she already knew about this, or she was in a daze, not hearing what her sister said at all.

Qin Ruojing waited a few seconds and continued, "Since no one is speaking, I'll take it as you both have no objections. I'll move on to the second item, which is..."

Chu Ge finally couldn't help but interrupt Qin Ruojing, "Wait, wait."

Qin Ruojing glanced at Chu Ge, "You disagree?"

"No..." Chu Ge shook his head, "It's just..."

Before Chu Ge could finish, Qin Ruojing asked again, "Do you have something scheduled for tomorrow?"

"Not that either, you..."

Qin Ruojing waved her hand, interrupting Chu Ge once again, "Since you neither disagree nor have something tomorrow, then there are no objections. Anything else you want to discuss, save until after I've finished."

Hearing Qin Ruojing's indisputable tone, Chu Ge furrowed his brow but ultimately said nothing more, temporarily holding his questions inside.

"The second matter is, I've discussed it with our parents, and our wedding date is tentatively set for a month from now, October 28th by the solar calendar, September 16th lunar. Mom found someone to calculate it and said it's a good day. Chu Ge, what do you think? Do you have any issues with it?"

Chu Ge shook his head, becoming increasingly unsure of what Qin Ruojing was aiming for. These matters, she could have discussed with him privately. Why must Qin Ruoying be here too?

"Since there's no problem, it's settled. Please inform your family and friends when you have time, the wedding will be held in Kyoto, we'll not host it here in Lidu."

Qin Ruojing went on to discuss some wedding-related matters, and Chu Ge found himself nodding in agreement no matter what Qin Ruojing said, until she suddenly brought up a topic unrelated to the wedding. His heart skipped a beat as he finally realized they were getting to the crux.

"Chu Ge, I want to ask you a question. Regarding this question, I hope you can discard all other factors and provide me with your most honest thoughts. Is that okay?"

Chu Ge exhaled, having a vague sense of what was coming. Facing Qin Ruojing's solemn gaze, he hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded slightly.

Although he nodded, Chu Ge still felt conflicted inside. Would he express his true thoughts later? That depended on what kind of question Qin Ruojing would ask.

"Do you, or do you not like my sister? I think you know, I'm referring to that kind of romantic liking."

Chu Ge subconsciously frowned, and Qin Ruoying's tightly clenched hands paused slightly.

"Chu Ge, I think I need to emphasize once more: I hope you can, as you promised earlier, avoid considering any other factors, and simply communicate your truest feelings. Can you do that?"

Inside, Chu Ge smirked bitterly. In situations like this, even a fool would know the safest answer to give.

He had just mistakenly taken Qin Ruoying for Qin Ruojing. To his wife, that was already over the line. If he then admitted a romantic interest in her sister, he truly doubted if his marriage with Qin Ruojing could continue.

Looking into Qin Ruojing's earnest and expectant eyes, then glancing at Qin Ruoying, who subconsciously interlocked her hands to the point where her knuckles whitened, the bitterness in Chu Ge's heart deepened further.