The Young Miss Refuse To Love
Chapter 72: Shot herself in the foot

Chapter 72: Shot herself in the foot

"Have you said your goodbyes to the others?" Qi Jianyi asked, rising to greet the twins as they arrived.

With a cheerful smile, Qi Jinlu nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Sister, did you see how powerful I was earlier?" he exclaimed, cutting off Qi Jinli, who was about to speak.

Oblivious to the twins’ silent rivalry, Qi Jianyi smiled warmly, a hint of pride in her voice. "I saw it! You jumped so high and with so much power," she complimented generously.

"Of course! I’m the best player on our team," Qi Jinlu declared proudly.

Meanwhile, Qi Jinli sulked quietly, glaring at his brother with a mix of annoyance and envy. He had never felt more frustrated about his inability to express himself than in that moment, struggling to find the right timing to interject.

Fortunately, despite their little competition, Qi Jinlu was quick to include his brother. He turned the spotlight back to Qi Jinli. "Jinli is the second-best player," he stated.

Qi Jianyi nodded in agreement, her eyes sparkling with encouragement. "That’s right! I saw you jump back there, but Jinli was the fastest."

"That’s obvious! Jinli is the fastest in our school," Qi Jinlu chimed in, a hint of pride creeping into his tone as he acknowledged his twin’s talents.

"Sister, you don’t know this, but no one has ever defeated Jinli before. He’s always been number one and never loses!" Qi Jinlu said, a broad smile spreading across his face as he placed a hand on Qi Jinli’s shoulder, pulling him into the frame of their conversation.

Qi Jinli, still a bit reserved, felt a flicker of warmth at his brother’s praise, even if he wouldn’t outwardly admit it.

"Really? How many races have you won?" Qi Jianyi followed Qi Jinlu’s cue, turning her attention fully to Qi Jinli, her smile warm with encouragement.

Qi Jinlu flashed a knowing smile and gestured to his younger brother. He clearly enjoys giving his quiet sibling the spotlight.

Qi Jinli shifted, his face turning a little red as he replied, "Since middle school... it’s been more than fifty races," he murmured, almost shyly, as if the number were too unbelievable to say aloud.

Qi Jianyi’s eyes widened in surprise. Fifty races, all victories? For someone who avoided most forms of strenuous exercise, she was genuinely in awe of Qi Jinli’s athletic ability.

"That’s incredible!" she said with admiration. "You must have some crazy reflexes to keep winning like that."

Qi Jinli blinked, unsure if he truly understood what she meant. "Uh, maybe? I just... run fast."

With a smile, Qi Jianyi turned to both of her brothers as they walked. "Have you ever thought about going to a car race? Just to watch, maybe?"

Both twins shot her a look of surprise. It was a suggestion that had never crossed their minds.

"Nope," Qi Jinlu shook his head, laughing.

"But why would he want to? Just because he’s fast on his feet doesn’t mean he’d be good at driving fast." He snorted, amused by his sister’s seemingly random idea.

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes at his lack of imagination. "I’m just saying he might enjoy it, not suggesting he become a racer. Maybe the experience could show him something new about himself."

She reached over and lightly smacked the back of Qi Jinlu’s head in mock annoyance. "Can’t you go five minutes without twisting my words into nonsense?"

Qi Jinlu rubbed his head with an exaggerated pout. "Then why only suggest it for him and not me?" he protested. "What, am I not fit to be a racer or something?"

Qi Jianyi chuckled, shaking her head. "Please, you’re the heir to the Qi family. Don’t let your thoughts drift to frivolous things like that," she teased, poking fun at his tendency to get sidetracked by ambition.

Qi Jinlu froze, putting a hand dramatically over his heart, looking as if she had just doomed him to a life of misery. "No! Do I really have to be the heir? Sister, you were supposed to be the one! Have you really no heart, leaving your poor baby brother to shoulder the whole family burden?"

For extra effect, he latched onto the hem of her clothes, looking up at her with the most pitiful expression he could muster, almost like a forlorn puppy.

But Qi Jianyi wasn’t one to be swayed by a bit of acting. Her gaze remained unfazed, though her mouth twitched with amusement.

"Jinlu, you’re absolutely right," she said with a fake look of resignation, drawing out the moment as she glanced at him. Qi Jinlu’s face lit up with a spark of hope, thinking she might actually change her mind.

"Yes, you’re right... I really don’t feel bad at all about leaving the family burden all to you," she finished with a playful smirk, her voice filled with mock seriousness.

Qi Jinlu’s hopeful expression collapsed instantly. He looked at her, crestfallen, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Sister!" he whined, his shoulders slumping with exaggerated sadness.

He stopped dead in his tracks, looking ready to dive into a deep and serious talk with her, right there in the middle of the parking lot.

But Qi Jianyi had already turned away, strolling ahead with Qi Jinli, both seemingly oblivious to Qi Jinlu’s plea.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Qi Jinlu called out, quickly realising that his dramatic pause had left him alone.

Begrudgingly, he jogged to catch up with them, muttering under his breath about the cruelty of his sister. Though his complaint was loud enough for them to hear, neither turned back.

Left with no choice, he followed them back to the car, sulking yet resigned to his fate, a small pout lingering on his face as they all climbed in, his dreams of avoiding the family burden momentarily dashed.

...

"Sister, why don’t you take us with you?" Qi Jinlu said as he returned the menu to the waiter, his eyes gleaming with expectation.

They were having lunch at a restaurant near their school. After all, two teenage boys who had just finished an intense game of basketball would, naturally, be ravenous.

Qi Jianyi looked up from her phone, eyebrows raised in slight confusion. "Take you both where?" she asked, still half-distracted by whatever she’d been reading.

"Car racing," Qi Jinli answered, beating his older twin to the punch.

"And why should I take you there? If you’re interested, just go on your own. We have two drivers at home—you’re more than capable of going by yourselves," she replied casually, brushing off their request.

"But you’re the one who mentioned it," Qi Jinlu argued, a little smirk forming. "So doesn’t that make it your responsibility to take us? You can’t just give us ideas and expect us to go alone!" He sounded so confident, as if it were some unwritten rule she’d just violated.

Qi Jianyi’s eyes narrowed as she gave them both an exasperated glare. "What do you take me for? Your chauffeur? Huh!" she scoffed, leaning back in her seat with crossed arms.

Qi Jinlu grinned, undeterred by her sharp response. "Have you ever gone to an event like that?" he asked, a hint of genuine curiosity softening his tone.

Neither he nor his twin really knew much about their sister’s life outside of family gatherings or the occasional shared meal. What did she do with her time? Who were her friends? For as long as they could remember, their sister had kept them at arm’s length, and it seemed like she preferred it that way.

But recently, he had noticed subtle changes in her demeanour. She seemed a bit more approachable, a touch less guarded. Qi Jinlu saw this as his chance to bridge the distance between them, however slim.

"Not particularly," Qi Jianyi replied, eyes drifting away for a moment as if recalling some distant memory.

Of course she had been there physically before. Wasn’t it all because she wanted to write about the life of a car racer? Qi Jianyi felt like everything she had experienced in the past years was only meant for her to look for inspirations for her novel. Otherwise, why would the lazy bum Qi Jianyi even walk out of the house instead of writing her novel?

"I’ve only gone to a few random events before, but nothing too exciting. Besides, I doubt you two could handle something like that. Too noisy, too crowded." She shrugged, it was really noisy. She could barely handle it before.

Was it not because of those so-called real life experiences make the writing more exciting, Qi Jianyi believed that she would never step into those kinds of places.

Qi Jinlu leaned forward, unwilling to let the opportunity slip away. "We could handle it! Right, Jinli?" He nudged his twin, who nodded eagerly in agreement, his eyes bright with anticipation.

Qi Jianyi looked at her brothers, already feeling a twinge of regret. ’Why?’ she wondered, ’did I even bring up the car racing event in the first place?’

Now, she’d dug herself into a hole, and there was no graceful way out. Watching the spark of excitement dance in their eyes, she realised she’d just shot herself in the foot—now she’d be saddled with the responsibility of actually taking these two eager, unstoppable teens to the event.

With a sigh, she leaned back and muttered under her breath, "What have I gotten myself into..."

Qi Jianyi rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide a reluctant smile. "Fine. But if you two start causing trouble there, don’t expect me to save you. You’ll be on your own."

The twins exchanged a triumphant look, their faces lighting up with excitement.

"Promise," they chorused, far too enthusiastically for her comfort.

With a resigned sigh, Qi Jianyi shook her head. What was supposed to be a casual suggestion, has somehow spiraled into a full-fledged siblings outing.