My Sister is a Superstar - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Qin Baobao’s Tantrums

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

At 6:30—with the others from dormitory 304, Old Wang, Li Liang, and company went to a grilled-fish place near school. The eight people ordered two big fishes, six or seven dishes, and some beer.

The restaurant was not far from school. It was about fifteen minutes away and was one of the ‘cafeterias’ of the guys from 303. Their grilled fish was really authentic. Liu Ziqiang and Zhao Baliang were not from Shanghai City so they could not tell if it was authentic, but they knew it tasted good.

Half an hour later, the dishes were served as the waiter lit up the fuel cans and set the grill down.

The fish was soaking in a bed of red oil and soup, topped with red chilies, coriander, mushrooms, onions, etc. Underneath it was a layer of luncheon meat, bean sprout, and lotus root slices.

The fragrance was enticing.

“Hang on!” Li Liang stopped them from eating as he took a deep breath. “I just wanted to thank you all today. Zhang Mingyu is an assh*le. No matter if he was actually going for Qin Ze, I was the one who got hit. You guys could have kept quiet, and I would have been hit for nothing. I even thought that there was no hope for us when he said to bet using basketball, but none of you backed down; we even won in the end.

“That was cathartic, but that’s not what I’m thanking you all for. It’s that you all didn’t take the money… I won’t say more. We were bros, and we’d continue to be so. Just let me know if you have any trouble, and I’ll go all out for you all.”

“You don’t have to go all out,” Old Wang said wryly, “I can’t afford to date girls, and it’s a huge loss.”

Li Liang moved his hips and said coyly, “I’m always here for you.”

Qin Ze and Zhao Baliang shivered as their eyes met. “Second Battalion Commander, where are your Italian cannons?” They shouted out.

Liu Ziqiang rolled his eyes. “My Italian cannons can’t take this either.”

Qin Ze left earlier at 7:30. He did not drink, but his friends did not insist on it since they knew he had work. Otherwise, an MVP like him would be totally gone by now.

Qin Ze sent his sister a text: “I won’t be home for dinner tonight.”

“K,” Qin Baobao replied as Qin Ze strolled towards the subway. Just as he stepped onto the platform, he got another text from her. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll wait for my brother.”

One could feel her anger and resentment from across the phone screen.

Qin Ze swore as he tapped out of the station. He bought a strawberry pastry, tuna sandwich, two egg tarts, and a box of yogurt at a French bakery.

He got home before 8 since it was a ten-minute journey.

When he stepped into the apartment, the lights were off except for a chandelier in the living room. Music echoed in the room. It was Qin Baobao watching a drama on the Japanese occupation.

Her legs were crossed as she sat on the sofa. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. Her hair was put into a bun to reveal her forehead and neck. Her outfit showed off her shoulders and figure.

She glanced at Qin Ze from the corner of her eye as she continued to watch her show.

Qin Ze placed the pastries on the coffee table in front of her. “You haven’t had dinner? I brought you cake.”

Qin Baobao huffed.

“We had a basketball match this afternoon. We won, and my roommate gave us a treat. I couldn’t refuse,” he said helplessly.

“What does that have to do with me?” Qin Baobao scoffed.

“Okay.” Qin Ze then got his materials from his bag and got his laptop from his room. He focused on his work as the sound of cannons and bullets echoed in the background, ignoring his sister.

Qin Baobao gave him the side-eye and gritted her teeth when she saw her brother act so coldly towards her. “I’m learning how to tear the enemy apart.”

You probably want to rip me apart.

Qin Ze muttered as he continued his research.

The pair of siblings went on cold war for a few minutes before Qin Baobao could not take it. She used her dainty feet to nudge him. “I’m hungry.”

Qin Ze pointed at the food on the coffee table.

“I want to eat piping hot food.” Qin Baobao sulked.

“Take it or leave it.”

Qin Baobao was angry, and she lunged over to strangle him. “I’ll rip you apart, you shameless monster.”

“It doesn’t matter if you call me that, but you’ve gotta ask the monster if they agree.” Qin Ze fought back and pinned Qin Baobao down. She could not break free no matter how much she tried.”

A few minutes later, the defeated Qin Baobao curled up on the sofa and gnawed on her cake as she sipped on yogurt.

Digital modeling was not particularly difficult, but its difficulty depended very much on the scale of the model. Precision was a must just like building blocks. Each block had a rightful place, and when done right, one could get a palace. If there was a mistake somewhere, it would all come crashing down.

Qin Ze’s team was made up of model builders. Professor Lee was part of it as well, but what he did the most was corrections and checks to ensure that what the students turned in was flawless.

Modeling and building blocks were not the same thing, and there were a lot of equations and knowledge involved. The core information was with Professor Lee, but Qin Ze had to get some ordinary data from the internet himself.

The anti-Japanese occupation show entered in a commercial. Qin Baobao stretched as she rubbed her calves. She was tired.

Qin Ze went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He then found a cleaned chicken and a bag of mushrooms. He suddenly understood why Qin Baobao was that upset.

She had bought the ingredients for her favorite chicken and mushroom dish, only to find that her brother had gone out for dinner.

Qin Ze shook his head with a smile. His sister was still like a child. Their parents spoiled her.

Back in the living room, he saw her lying across the sofa, and her tank top was a little loose. She was dozing off.

“Was today’s training exhausting? Go and rest early,” Qin Ze said down next to her.

Qin Baobao was clearly still mad at him. She ignored him and continued switching channels.

Qin Ze was used to it. He knew what his sister was like.

When things were good, she would love him to bits. When she was upset, she could ignore him for two weeks.

Marrying this kind of woman was like inviting a deity home. They were to be worshipped.

Their parents probably knew what their daughter was like, and they sent Qin Ze to watch his sister. They were afraid that his sister would be conned by a lecher. They were also working on finding her a good prospective husband.

Qin Ze did not think his parents were worrywarts. Qin Baobao was a little worrying. She was stubborn, but her IQ was much higher than that of her brother. She was also good at acting cute, being seductive, and proper. So her EQ was clearly not low either. There were throngs of men who wanted to woo her, but she had not laid her eyes on any of the men in twenty-five years of her life.

It was 8:30. Qin Ze remembered that he still had a few pieces of laundry not done yet. He set his work aside before he went into the bathroom and tossed the clothes into the machine. He then set a timer for 30 minutes.

The pair of siblings each focused on their work—one on the methods of ripping apart the enemy, the other, on work. Qin Ze only came to his senses when he heard the washing machine beeping. He went to get the clothes out to dry. He then heard his sister’s voice when he was walking back from the balcony. “Qin Ze, help me wash my clothes.”

Qin Ze knew that that was his sister’s way of mending their ‘terrible’ relationship. “Where are your clothes?”

“They’re in the basket in the washroom. Remember to separate the clothes and underwear.”

“Oh.”

Qin Ze left the two pieces of purple underwear out and put the clothes in the washer first. All he had to do was to put in the detergent so it was not much effortless.

Half an hour later, the laundry was done. It was 9:30 by now and about time for Qin Baobao to wash up and return to her room. She would always sleep before 11.

Qin Baobao rubbed her sore butt cheeks and instructed her brother to put the clothes out for drying, but Qin Baobao was upset.

“Qin Baobao, don’t you have arms and legs? I’m not your servant. Do it yourself; I’m busy.”

Qin Baobao pouted and headed to the washroom in her slippers. There was a scream a few seconds later. “Qin Ze, did you leave napkins in your pockets again?”

Qin Baobao jumped out of the bathroom, one hand on her waist and the other on a pleated skirt.

Qin Ze turned and saw bits of paper stuck to the pleated skirt. He had done something like that before, and the napkins stuck to the clothes. It was practically impossible to remove.

While Qin Ze felt guilty, something felt wrong. He stood up confusedly and ran to the balcony to check on his clothes. They were clean and napkin-free.

He instantly understood what was going on. “My foot, get over here and have a look at my clothes. They’re fine so it’s not me,” he said as he glared at his sister.

Qin Baobao glanced at the balcony doubtfully before she hurried back to the bathroom where she found a soggy ball of napkins in the pockets of one of her clothes.

Qin Ze was right behind her. “See? It’s you. I refuse to take the blame for this.” He then huffed.

Qin Baobao was angry. “You wash the clothes, and you didn’t check the pockets. You should be responsible for this.”

Naturally, Qin Ze did not argue with his sister. He had learned to never argue with women. One would never win since they were more experienced.

Qin Baobao found the opportunity for revenge as she pinched Qin Ze really hard. She then angrily went on her way to hang her laundry out.

At quarter past ten, Qin Baobao left the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel. She said down on the couch to blow dry her hair, and the noise made Qin Ze’s head ache. “Dry your hair in your room,” he said impatiently.

Qin Baobao made a face at him, and she then moved closer and turned the hairdryer on even louder.

Qin Ze rolled his eyes and began to sing to himself as a means of countering the noise his sister was creating.

“Just because I took another look…

“In the crowd…

“Unable to forget your face…

“Dreaming of bumping into you again someday;

“I began missing you alone from then.

“You’re by the skies when I’m thinking of you…

“You’re before my eyes when I’m thinking of you…

“You’re in my mind when I’m thinking of you…

“You’re in my heart when I’m thinking of you…

“I’d rather believe that we have a promise in your past life;

“Our love story will not change in this life…”

The hairdryer had gone silent at some point.

Qin Ze turned to see his sister entranced, her hair a mess. Perhaps he was seeing this, but her eyes seem to be a little cloudy.

“What is this song?” Qin Baobao asked softly.

Qin Ze paused, and he realized that he had exposed himself. “I wrote it myself, I’m just making things up.” He lied.

“Yo-you wrote it…” Qin Baobao said, with her mouth slightly ajar.

The silent show-off was the most deadly.

Qin Ze was going to just look up at the ceiling, but his quiet sister suddenly pounced on him.

“Ahhh!” She screamed.

“What is wrong with you…? Are you insane…? Hurry up and get up…” Qin Ze could barely breathe, and his sister smothered him.

Qin Baobao finally managed to calm herself down after a while. She straightened up her towel and looked up as she asked gently, “Ah Ze… no, my dear brother, did you really write this song?”

“I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I’m not done yet.”

“Then, when are you going to be done?” she said quietly.

“It depends on my mood. What does it have to do with you?”

“I’m going to debut as a singer. The company has been asking if I have any composition these few days, and I’ve been playing dead since I don’t know how to answer that,” Qin Baobao said, “An ace manager told me yesterday that there’s a singing variety show this summer. If I can take part in it with an original, it will be the best way to make my name; and he’ll consider becoming my manager.”

To be recognized this fast, it seemed like Qin Baobao was one of the best trainees.

The further his sister went on that path, the better it would be for his future plans. However, Qin Ze could agree to it readily since she was still throwing her tantrum at him earlier.

He needed to make her understand who was in charge.

“So?” Qin Ze was unmoved.

“Teach me, teach me, teach me!” Qin Baobao shook his arm vehemently.

Qin Ze moved his neck. “Aiya, I’m so tired from playing basketball today. My shoulders are a little sore.”

“I’ll massage you.” Qin Baobao immediately got the drift.

“My legs, too.” Qin Ze enjoyed the massage that his sister was offering.

“I’ll do it.” Qin Baobao put up with it for the sake of what she wanted.

“My soles are sore, too.” Qin Ze pushed it even further.

Qin Baobao’s smile froze, and the corners of her mouth began to twitch. “The soles… too?”

Qin Ze shrugged. “It’s fine if you don’t want to; I’m not forcing you. It’s just that inspiration comes and goes so I can’t be sure about it.”

“I’ll do it; of course, I’ll do it. I’m going all out today.”

“Oh please don’t, you’re the precious princess of our family. You shouldn’t.”

Qin Baobao gritted her teeth. “You’re the only boy in our family. In the past, you would be the one to continue the family line. It’s my duty as a sister to serve you.”

With that, she looked down and prepared to take Qin Ze’s socks off.

Qin Ze rolled his eyes as he pushed her aside. “That’s enough. It’s so weird.”

He would never let Qin Baobao massage his feet. He could not bear to, and he dared no. Women were vengeful creatures, especially intelligent creatures like Qin Baobao.

However, Qin Baobao clearly took it the wrong way and thought that he was being difficult. “Qin Ze, don’t push it. If I can’t make it in entertainment, you’re not getting away unscathed. I’ll tell Dad that you’re the one who encouraged me to be a star.”

“Why don’t you just tell him that I asked you to make porn?”

Qin Baobao’s eyes were red from anger, and she reached out to pinch him. “Come on, two can play at this.”

Qin Ze sighed. “Fine, fine, fine, I’ll be your royal composer in the future.”

“Really?” Qin Baobao raised her eyebrows.

“I can lie to everyone but my sister.”

“My dear brother, I didn’t dote on you for nothing.” Qin Baobao’s emotions switched instantly. She immediately wanted to kiss her brother on his cheeks.

“Scram.” Qin Ze pushed her back with a finger to her forehead.

Qin Baobao went back to her room to sleep. Before she left, she turned off the TV. Qin Ze was left in the living room, and he lit up a cigarette.

He closed his eyes as he leaned back on the couch and puffed out a cloud of smoke. He thought of the widely-used saying: ‘the road ahead is long, but I shall persevere in my journey’.