My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

Zhou Cha’s husband had no connection to Chen Yuan; they had barely even met. On top of that, he was suffering from a rare disease and had fallen into a deep depression, languishing in the hospital day after day.

Under these circumstances, it was impossible that he would suddenly decide to curry favor with the Jiangs’ future heir.

Zhou Cha used this excuse as a precaution, fearing it could be used against her in future factional struggles.

After all, outside of official business, Zhou Cha had no reason to contact Chen Yuan. Every time she saw him, Jiang Zhengfeng had been present. As a highly competent and trusted executive secretary, she had no need to use such tactics to improve her standing, much less make preparations so far in advance.

She worried that approaching him out of the blue would send the wrong signal and arouse suspicion, so she’d concocted an excuse that was barely an excuse at all.

That afternoon, she left work before sunset and arrived home a little after four.

After entering her home, Zhou Cha slipped off her high heels. Her feet, still in their nude stockings, slid into a pair of soft slippers. She gathered her hair at the nape of her neck and tied it into a low ponytail, making it easier to cook in the kitchen.

Not long after, a soothing piano piece began to play.

Zhou Cha took some ingredients from the refrigerator, planning to make a few of her signature dishes. As she worked, she mentally rehearsed her conversation with Chen Yuan. She already had a clear idea of what she would say and how she would say it.

Most importantly, Chen Yuan was a perceptive young man. Zhou Cha had known this about him since he was a child. Seeing him again after all these years, she could tell he had matured even more. She wasn’t worried he would misunderstand her intentions.

It was relaxing to talk to someone so sharp.

In the kitchen, clear water flowed from the slender faucet, rinsing the vegetables Chacha held between her fingers. Relaxed, she began to hum along with the music.

...

「Flying over Kyoto was prohibited.」

Chen Yuan had left Tokyo early, not wasting a single moment. But upon reaching the outskirts of Kyoto, he had to land. A private car was waiting to take him the rest of the way to Zhou Cha’s apartment complex.

The journey wasn’t difficult, but Chen Yuan was still tired from all the travel. He forced himself to stay awake, knowing he had to rush back to Linzhou after dinner.

’All this travel is exhausting,’ he thought.

The only thing that brought him some comfort was the thought of seeing her tonight—the one who had occupied his every thought and haunted his dreams in Tokyo.

Leaning against the car window, he watched the scenery blur past. When he thought of Jiangg Ning, the corners of his lips curled into a smile. He pictured meeting Ningning tonight, picturing the affection they both felt but were too shy to express. Lost in this daydream, he could almost see the look on her face.

’Perhaps this is what a spiritual love is like,’ he mused. ’We don’t have to be together every second or have much physical contact. From the very beginning, we’ve seen each other as lifelong partners. That’s why even a simple meeting can make my heart feel so warm.’

’The most difficult part of love is making it last. It requires a deep, mutual respect.’

The fact that Chen Yuan was falling deeper and deeper for her was a testament to Jiangg Ning’s own constancy. As time passed, his longing for her only grew more profound, more visceral.

CLICK—

The security guard in the booth opened the gate, the sound pulling Chen Yuan from his reverie.

Chen Yuan entered the complex, finally arriving around five o’clock.

He took the elevator up. It was his first time visiting Zhou Cha’s home. When he stepped out, he glanced down the corridor and took in the complex’s pleasant surroundings. The grounds were covered in lush green grass, and the pavilions below had the rare, elegant charm of Jiangnan architecture.

’It should be... this one?’

He rang the doorbell. DING-DONG. A few seconds later, the brown door swung inward, revealing Chacha peeking out, an apron tied around her waist.

The light in the entryway was warm.

It illuminated the loose strands of hair framing the thirty-something-year-old Zhou Cha’s face.

The gentle light created an immediate sense of comfort, and the aroma of a home-cooked meal wafted from within.

"Yuan, you’re here so quickly! Oh, dear, dinner isn’t ready yet. If I had known, I would have left work even earlier, honestly." Zhou Cha said with a beaming smile, grabbing a slightly stunned Chen Yuan by the arm and pulling him inside.

"The driver was fast," Chen Yuan explained with a smile as he stepped inside.

"It’s alright. I didn’t make anything too extravagant today. I figured you weren’t a fan of takeout, so I’m just making a few simple home-cooked dishes. Otherwise, I’d have to make you wait on an empty stomach," Zhou Cha said. She took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, bent down, and placed them at his feet. "Here, change into these."

"No, no, Chacha! I can get it myself."

Chen Yuan’s tall frame made Zhou Cha look particularly petite beside him. As she bent over to place the slippers, her business attire, which she hadn’t changed out of yet, stretched taut over her curves. She paid it no mind, but Chen Yuan quickly averted his eyes.

He had always thought of Zhou Cha as an older sister, so of course he had to be respectful of boundaries.

The moment made Chen Yuan blush with embarrassment.

"Alright, you get it then," Chacha said, tucking a strand of hair back. She reached up to pat his shoulder. "Did you get taller since you came back from Tokyo? I don’t remember having to crane my neck so much to look at you last time. Growing boys are really something else."

"I don’t think so. I’m still the same height..."

"Yuan, go sit on the sofa for a bit. I have a dish simmering in the kitchen. It’ll be ready soon."

"Okay... Oh, by the way, Chacha, where’s your husband? Isn’t he home from work?"

Chen Yuan sat on the sofa, feeling a little puzzled. He picked up an orange from the coffee table, peeled it, and popped a few segments into his mouth.

"What was that, Yuan?"

Zhou Cha, who hadn’t heard him clearly, asked again as she brought bowls and chopsticks out from the kitchen.

"Is your husband not off work yet?"

"Oh, him. He hasn’t worked in almost a month." Speaking of this, a helpless look crossed Chacha’s face. She sighed. "He’s on medical leave. I took him to the hospital a few days ago. He’s under observation now, waiting for surgery."

"Surgery?" Chen Yuan frowned.

"You’ll understand in a minute."

Zhou Cha gave Chen Yuan an intriguing smile before turning and heading back to the kitchen. Now it was Chen Yuan’s turn to be confused. ’If her husband is in the hospital, why did Chacha invite me over for dinner?’

’Could it be... she needs my help with something?’

’But that can’t be right,’ he thought. ’Chacha is so resourceful. She must have far more connections than I do, especially after so many years in the business world. Is it because his disease is extremely rare?’

A moment later, Zhou Cha came out, placed the dishes on the table, and gestured for him to eat. He pulled out a chair and sat down.

Her first words made Chen Yuan freeze.

"I didn’t ask you here today for my own sake. This has everything to do with you."

"Me?"

"Eat first. We can talk while we eat." Zhou Cha began as she placed some food on Chen Yuan’s plate. She chose her words carefully, having already rehearsed what she wanted to say. "I know you’re very close with the two sisters from the Jiangg Family. Because of that, this is something I can’t get too involved in, but I can’t just stand by and do nothing, either. The best thing is to tell you and let you decide how to handle it. You just happened to be in Tokyo on business, dealing with a mountain of problems, so this was the only window I could find to talk to you."

"This is about Ningning and Yaoyao?" Chen Yuan’s brow furrowed, and he grew tense.

"It doesn’t just concern them; it affects them directly." Zhou Cha didn’t mince words. "A few days ago, I attended a dinner party while consulting a doctor for my husband. You had just left for Tokyo on business. It was at that dinner that I heard something huge... The mother of the two Jiangg sisters, Jiangg Ruxue—I’ve told you about her history and character before. As it happens, I overheard that her company is about to collapse. Over half her projects are losing money, and her capital chain is on the brink of snapping."

"Right. You told me before that she was a poor manager, but I didn’t think her company would collapse this quickly," Chen Yuan said.

Zhou Cha shook her head.

"If she hadn’t been funneling her own money in to cover the deficits, the company would have been finished long ago. But that’s not the main point. The point is, she didn’t want the company to go bankrupt, and her projects desperately needed cash flow, so she cooked the books to trick investors and shareholders into signing off. You have to understand just how serious that is."

"But if she gets reported, won’t she be sued? If anything goes wrong, she’ll have to take full responsibility, and she won’t even be able to dissolve the company properly."

"Exactly. Which is why someone specifically targeted this vulnerability and set a massive trap for her. And, just as they expected, Jiangg Ruxue walked right into it. Now... to be honest, I wanted to tell you the moment I found out. Yuan, I know how close you are with the Jiangg sisters, but I had to verify everything first and get solid intel. I couldn’t just go around slandering someone without proof. You understand, right?"

"Chacha, I understand. What’s the situation now?"

Chen Yuan’s heart sank. Her words meant that Jiangg Ruxue was already in grave danger, caught deep inside the trap.

"Right now, hundreds of employees demanding back pay have gathered in the third-floor main hall in Mingzhu City. The entrance to Jiangg Ruxue’s office is completely blocked. The news that she cooked the books is out, and the investors are preparing to file a lawsuit. Yesterday, things weren’t this bad, but today..." Zhou Cha sighed deeply.

Just yesterday, Jiangg Ruxue had still been wondering if she could use her connections to weather the storm, if she could cut her losses to survive—even if it meant selling her company’s most valuable building.

But after a sleepless night, what awaited her was an even deeper abyss.

Zhou Cha was right.

While Chen Yuan had been flying back from Tokyo, Jiangg Ruxue’s affairs had been exposed. The investors found out last night and acted swiftly. Countless corporate spies, following secret orders, spread the news through various work group chats, creating widespread panic. Then they brought the issue of unpaid wages to the forefront, which instantly provoked outrage.

The already disgruntled employees were organized by agitators and began to rally together.

By the time Chen Yuan arrived in Kyoto, they had already surrounded Jiangg Ruxue’s office. Perhaps at that very moment, the furious shouts of the crowd were echoing without pause.

Zhou Cha had timed it perfectly, choosing the most opportune moment to tell Chen Yuan everything.

As of now, not even Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao knew what was happening. Everything had escalated far too quickly.