Chapter Forty-Two: Visiting SM and the First Meeting with Soojung, Part Two (Second Update for Last Night)

The sudden change in Zheng Xiujing’s expression did not escape the notice of Choi Sooyoung and Lim Yoona. After a brief exchange of glances, the two quickly deduced the reason behind Zheng Xiujing’s demeanor, shaking their heads in resignation. After all, to Zheng Xiujing, Chen Zhe remained a complete stranger, and this was precisely how she always conducted herself around unfamiliar people.

“What are you all standing there for? Come in already!” Because Zheng Xiujing had rushed ahead to open the door, the others hadn’t gotten up and continued chatting. But when they noticed that nobody outside had spoken or come in, Kim Taeyeon called out toward the entrance with a note of confusion.

At Taeyeon’s call, the four at the doorway, whose mood had grown tense with Zheng Xiujing blocking the way, snapped back to their senses, and the atmosphere lightened.

Zheng Xiujing, after a moment's silence, stepped aside to let Lim Yoona, Choi Sooyoung, and Chen Zhe in, each carrying snacks. Only once they had entered did she exhale quietly and gently close the door behind them.

“Zhe, put down that cucumber-flavored potato chips and eat this instead!” Zheng Xiujing had barely reached the sofa when she heard her elder sister’s somewhat impatient voice. Curious about what had riled her sister up this time, she looked over.

She saw her own sister, Zheng Shiyan, sitting together with the boy from before, handing him a packet of barbecue-flavored chips and insisting that he put the cucumber-flavored ones far away.

This scene left Zheng Xiujing momentarily stunned, watching them in disbelief as she tried to piece together their relationship. Were they dating? Was this boy her sister’s boyfriend? Did her unnie really like someone so much younger than herself?

But this boy was clearly not yet an adult—did her sister realize she was treading into dangerous territory? No, she would have to talk to her about this later. After imagining all sorts of scenarios, Zheng Xiujing made up her mind: she could not let her sister walk down this criminal path.

“Little Crystal, why are you just standing there? Come sit by your unnie!” Since Chen Zhe had been whisked away by Zheng Shiyan, Chen Yuqi was now sitting alone on her twin sofa. Seeing her younger brother in Zheng Xiujing’s usual spot, she quickly called out to Zheng Xiujing to join her.

“Yuqi unnie, who is that boy?” Having resolved to have a serious talk with her sister later, Zheng Xiujing decided to gather some information first. Chen Yuqi, who was close with both her and the other Girls’ Generation unnies, sat right beside her, making her the perfect source.

“Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you!” Only then did Chen Yuqi realize she hadn’t mentioned the purpose of her visit to SM Entertainment that day, nor had she introduced her brother to the Girls’ Generation members.

“Ahem, Little Crystal, that boy is my biological brother, Chen Zhe! Zhe, come here and say hello—Little Crystal is your senior!” She feigned a cough, drawing the attention of Chen Zhe, who was still negotiating over chips with Zheng Shiyan, as well as the others.

“Hello, Senior Zheng Xiujing. I am Chen Zhe, from China, Yuqi’s younger brother. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” At his sister’s words, Chen Zhe immediately stopped bargaining over snacks, stood up, and bowed slightly to Zheng Xiujing with the utmost elegance and courtesy.

“Hello, Chen Zhe. I’m Zheng Xiujing from f(x). It’s a pleasure to meet you too!” Startled by Chen Yuqi’s unexpected revelation, Zheng Xiujing took a while to recover, her cold demeanor softening a little. After nodding politely, she introduced herself in return.

So this boy—no, this Chen Zhe—was Yuqi unnie’s real brother. No wonder he looked a bit familiar; he did share some resemblance with Yuqi.

But who would have thought her unnie would go after Yuqi’s brother? If she remembered correctly, Yuqi had said her brother was born in 1996, making him two years younger than herself and still a minor. No, she had to stop her sister from acting out of line. With this thought, Zheng Xiujing’s gaze toward Zheng Shiyan grew sharper.

After watching the two exchange greetings, Kim Taeyeon suddenly smacked her forehead, finally recalling what they had forgotten earlier. She had meant to explain who Chen Zhe was and why he was there to Zheng Xiujing, but had gotten too caught up in the conversation.

“Little Crystal, Zhe is our brother too, so you can’t bully him!” As soon as the introductions ended, Seohyun chimed in, waggling her finger with a teasing tone.

“That’s right, Little Crystal. You’re our little sister, and Zhe is our little brother, so you two need to get along!” For some reason, Kim Taeyeon suddenly put on an impressively big-sisterly air, which surprised the other Girls’ Generation members who knew her well.

“Sooyoung unnie, what’s gotten into Taeyeon unnie?” Watching Taeyeon act so oddly, Lim Yoona felt uncomfortable and nudged Choi Sooyoung, lowering her voice.

“From what I can tell, it’s just her usual randomness. Haven’t you gotten used to her antics yet?” Sooyoung stroked her chin, analyzing Taeyeon’s reliable big sister act, then gave Yoona an odd look, as if she couldn’t believe Yoona was still surprised by this.

After all, the Girls’ Generation members had been close sisters for years, and Taeyeon’s occasional outbursts were nothing new to them.

“Now that you mention it, unnie, this really does seem like her usual randomness.” After observing Taeyeon for a moment, Yoona nodded in agreement, convinced that her captain was just being her unpredictable self—truly living up to her nickname as the queen of randomness.

“By the way, Chen Zhe, why did you call me senior?” Considering that Chen Zhe was Yuqi unnie’s younger brother and wanting to avoid awkward silence, as the older one, Zheng Xiujing forced herself to strike up some small talk.