A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 8

Yibo

"I hate you!" Dilraba yells from the backseat, before turning to Xiao Zhan. "Don't you hate him too?"

Xiao Zhan nods. "Yes," she say, before looking at me through the review mirror, her gaze unfocused. "I hate you," she whispers, her voice breaking.

Something about the way she says it hits me hard and a dull ache spreads across my chest. I know they're both just drunk but I've never seen Xiao Zhan look at me this way.

"And why is that Bunny?"

She looks away and rests her head against Dilraba's, the two of them cuddled up in the back seat. I sigh and keep my attention on the road as I drive us home, confused. Xiao Zhan and Dilraba mostly keep to themselves and the last time I caught them drunk or hungover was when they were in college. Why the hell did they drink so much tonight? And what the hell did I do to deserve their hatred when it's me who picked them up at three in the morning, without a single complaint?

I park my car in front of my condo absentmindedly and it isn't until the girls rush out of the car and towards my front door that I realize I should've taken them to the main house instead. Shit.

"Open it!" Reba orders, her eyes still flashing with anger.

"If I do, will you stop being at me?" I can't even recall the last time Dilraba was mad at me. Even though I'm 10 years older than her, she and I have always been close. I'm not sure what's going on today.

Xiao Zhan walks up to me and places her hand on my bicep. "Why won't you let us in?" she asks, her voice carrying a hint of agony. Oh fuck.

"I will, sweetheart. Of course I will."

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her along to the front door, unlocking it with my fingerprint. Reba throws a glare my way as she rushes into my house, kicking off her heels before running to the kitchen.

"Come on," I tell Xiao Zhan but she shakes her head.

"I don't wanna walk," she says. "You carry me."

I chuckle, surprised by her cute voice and her petulant expression. Xiao Zhan has never asked me for help and she’s never acted spoiled this way. It’s kind of endearing.

“Okay, Bunny.” I reach down and place one hand behind her knees as I lift her into my arms. She giggles and rests her head against my chest as I carry her to the sofa. The way she looks up at me... there’s no hatred in her eyes now, but in the car I was certain that’s exactly what I saw.

"Why are you two so mad at me today?"

I place her on the sofa carefully and she shakes her head. "Secret."

"Since when do you keep secrets from me?"

Xiao Zhan laughs, the sound melodious. "I've kept secrets from you for years."

"Oh yeah? Tell me one."

Her eyes roam over my body, pausing on the gray sweatpants I’m wearing. “Every time I see you wearing those, I wonder what they’d look like if your dick is hard. Would I be able to see every contour?"

My eyes widen and I cough nervously. That is not what I expected her to say. "You what?"

Xiao Zhan merely shurgs and bends over to take off her shoes, giving me a clear view of her breasts. She's bot wearing a bra. Fuck. Did she go out like that? Yuchen's bodyguards better have done their goddamn job, so help me God.

"Don't ask question you don't want answer to," she singsongs.

I look away and clear my throat. "I'm going to check up on Dilraba," I tell her, before escaping in the same direction my cousin disappeared in. My heart races all the way to the kitchen. Xiao Zhan has never once acted inappropriately with me. She's never even given me a sign that she sees me as a man at all. What the fuck? What's with the sweatpants comment?