The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

Lanni was about to answer her when she remembered something with a start. Xiaoshi had gone pale with shock when Wen Lin talked about how Xingyu's mother had been complaining that her son was single despite being so old, and how she was more peaceful now that he had finally gotten engaged. 

Her jaw dropped in disbelief. "You…" 

"Xingyu is engaged?" Xiaoshi looked up at her tearfully. 

When Lanni didn't say a word, the girl let out a sigh. "I understand." 

"Xiaoshi…" 

"Lanni, you don't need to say anything." She interrupted and entered the washroom. Washing her face, she exited the room with a smile. "Everyone must be waiting for us. Let's not keep them waiting for too long." 

Lanni followed her back into the dining room. She was still in disbelief. Who would have thought that the man Xiaoshi had loved for years was Xingyu? 

She knew that Xiaoshi was a good girl but she didn't want to imagine what would happen. Would they still be friends despite the fact that she turned out to be her romantic rival's sister? Most importantly, would she give up on Xingyu since he belonged to someone else, or would she try to compete with Luna? 

Lanni didn't need to think about it for too long. When they went back to her apartment, Xiaoshi looked for her. 

"Lanni, could you do me a favor?" She asked through a smile that Lanni knew she was trying hard to manage. 

"Sure." She hoped it wouldn't be anything crazy or one that might sabotage Luna. 

"Could you… could you not tell Luna about this?" She pleaded. "It's not easy for me to make friends and… if Luna knew how I feel about Xingyu, she might dislike me." 

"Okay, this stays between us." Lanni promised after scanning the latter and being convinced that she was being sincere. 

"Thank you. I will go to bed now." She turned to leave. 

Lanni grabbed her hand. "Will you be okay?" 

Xiaoshi looked away to mask the sadness in her eyes. "Yeah. I mean why not? 

I cannot keep pining for an engaged man, can I?" Her eyes watered slightly and she blinked the tears away. "I mean, sure, I thought he would like me. I thought he would realize that I truly love him since it's been so many years and I'm no longer the little girl he claimed was too young to know what love is. I thought he didn't have a girlfriend but it turns out that he has a fiancée…" 

She let out a sigh. "It was I who was too late. He doesn't even seem to remember me. But… he and Luna look so happy. It would not be fair to ruin their happiness just because I didn't get what I wanted." 

Lanni hugged the girl. Even though she was obviously more hurt than she was letting Lanni know, at least she could still think clearly. 

Luckily she was sensible enough to know better than to try to wreck Xingyu's relationship with Luna. 

Since she wanted to be alone for a while, Lanni let her go to the guest room to rest. 

___

The following day. 

As it was going to be Lanni's first day of work, she woke up earlier than usual and prepared everything she needed to go to her new workplace. After dressing up in a blue peplum dress and donning a pair of diamond high-heeled shoes, she was about to leave her room when Xiaoshi found her first. 

"I was just about to come and check up on you." She smiled at the young woman. 

Xiaoshi looked much more vibrant than she did the previous night. "Good morning, Chief Editor Li! It's your first day of work so I made nutritious breakfast for you! I also prepared you a bento so you don't go hungry." 

Lanni was awed. "Thank you Xiaoshi. Let's have breakfast together." 

The girl went to the dining room with Lanni. 

"Cousin woke up much earlier because he had to go to the office and didn't want to wake you up. Anyway, he prepared some sandwiches for you to snack on when you are hungry." She explained as she sat down opposite Lanni. 

Lanni smiled at the cousins' supportive way of sending her to work today. Xiehan had even left a love note for her on the bedside table, to wish her luck on her first day—she certainly needed it, especially since she was going to work in a position she had never thought she would once work on. 

As they had breakfast, she observed that Xiaoshi didn't seem to be pretending to be happy just so she would no longer worry about her. She seemed to be genuinely feeling better, so Lanni relaxed a little. 

"It's such a bummer that both you and my cousin are going to work." Xiaoshi felt bummed that she would have to be alone. 

Lanni chuckled. She was about to suggest that she go for clothes shopping with Luna since the latter had taken a short break from work but remembering how strained their relationship was at the moment, she sighed and said nothing. 

She was still thinking of what to say to break the awkwardness when Xiaoshi's phone rang and the caller was none other than Luna. 

Xiaoshi was startled. She stared at the screen for a while then took deep breaths to calm down before answering the call. 

"Xiaoshi, are you busy this afternoon?" 

"No. Is anything the matter?" She asked reflexively. 

"I want to go and check out baby clothes and toys but my unreliable sister is going to be busy all day. Could you accompany me?" There was a short spell of silence before she added, "I would also like to talk to you about something." 

Xiaoshi's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Luna had found out after all… 

Clenching her hand into a fist, she agreed to the meeting. 

"Awesome! I will pick you up at my unreliable sister's apartment at noon. We can have lunch together before shopping." 

…

When the call ended, Xiaoshi was deflated. "Will she hate me now?" 

"Of course not. Since you are not doing anything wrong, why would she hate you?" Lanni comforted her. 

Xiaoshi let out a smile. "You know, I had decided to go back home today. I was going to take the first flight back to Australia… But when I woke up this morning, I changed my mind and decided that I will not be a coward and run away from my feelings. After all, only by facing the reality will I move on." She sighed. "But now I'm starting to think that maybe I should have left." 

Lanni no longer knew what to say. SInce Xiaoshi was always constantly moving from one country to another, it was not easy for her to make friends. Now that she had found that she, Lanni and Luna had so much in common and that they could be friends, she was scared of losing them and was now afraid that if she and Luna talked, their new friendship would disappear into thin air.

Thinking about it, she held the girl's hand. "You know, if you and my sister cannot get along now, then you were just not meant to be friends."

Xiaoshi nodded. "Wait, is it really possible for people to be friends despite having feelings for the same person?" 

Lanni tried to think back and the only pair she could think of was Ji Feifei. She shook her head. That disgusting weirdo had feelings for her own biological brother, turning them into enemies. But then again, they were never friends to begin with so that did not count. 

"Now that you mention it, there was such a thing between Xiehan and Xingyu." 

"Wait. What do you mean?" Xiaoshi was flabbergasted. 

Lanni laughed when she realized how her words sounded. "That's not what I mean. I mean, Xingyu was in love with Luna and Xiehan was in love with me; but no one knew we were twins. They both thought they were in love with the same woman and, heavens, I thought they would have a falling out."

Since they didn't, it was possible to get along as long as they did not scheme against each other. 

"I feel better now, Lanni." Xiaoshi smiled. Though she wondered what Luna wanted to talk about. 

"Then I will go to work now." 

"Good luck, Chief Editor Li." The girl winked, enjoying addressing Lanni using her new title. 

___

Tian Yu Media. 

"Good Morning, Chief Editor Li." Mr. Ming greeted as soon as he saw Lanni enter the building. 

"Hello Mr. Ming." Lanni entered the elevator meant for executive employees, which she had been given access to the previous day. 

"I will show you around and introduce you to the people you will be working with frequently." The man said, and led Lanni to a conference room on the tenth floor.

Several employees were already sitting around the large rectangular table, and they looked up when Mr. Ming walked in with Lanni. 

"This is the new Chief Editor, Li Lanni." He introduced, then the employees greeted her in unison. 

A woman who looked older than Lanni walked in, and Mr. Ming took the file she was holding before turning to Lanni. "This is your assistant, Han Lili."