[So, if I confess to you, and you accept, that should work. That seems simpler.]
Reading the message from Sea the Stars, Platinum's heart immediately started going thump-thump.
Out of sheer terror.
With a face full of dread, she stared at her phone screen, utterly failing to comprehend how Sea the Stars' train of thought had managed to derail itself onto this particular track.
She nudged Agnes Tachyon again: "Tachyon, look, quick! How am I supposed to reply to something like this?!"
Agnes Tachyon glanced over, interest piqued once more.
"Just tell her if she wants you to be her girlfriend, she has to pay the girlfriend fee. Ask if she wants to go for a monthly subscription or the annual plan..."
"I knew asking you was useless." Before Tachyon could even finish, Platinum had already rolled back over.
After thinking it over carefully, Platinum cautiously sent a message back to Sea the Stars.
[Don't you think it's a bit too early for us to be talking about this?]
Then she opened her chat with Urban Sea and typed out a message.
[Sis, your little sister is really coming on too strong. I can't handle this.]
As it turned out, before Sea the Stars could reply, Urban Sea responded first.
[What happened? Let me go check.]
Then, both sides went quiet.
While Platinum was idly waiting over there, Urban Sea, on the other side of the planet, was anything but calm.
Having just woken up, Urban Sea, still wearing her nightcap, charged straight downstairs to Sea the Stars' room.
She opened the door to find Sea the Stars sitting on the bed in a duck-like pose, wearing a nightgown, her phone laid out in front of her. Sea the Stars' face was its usual permanent ice sculpture, and she was using a single index finger from each hand to painstakingly poke at the screen.
"Star, what did you say to Platinum?"
Urban Sea's heart was doing somersaults. She knew perfectly well what her little sister's communication skills were like.
This was Sea the Stars, the one who could make 'how are you' sound like 'I'm going to kill you'!
Sea the Stars didn't really understand the question, but seeing it was Urban Sea, she obediently moved over and handed her the phone.
Urban Sea looked over the chat log. At first, her brow was furrowed tightly, but as she read further, her expression relaxed, even breaking into a wide grin.
Especially when she saw the last line, Urban Sea beamed with delight.
Good, good, well done, Star!
A natural! Absolutely brilliant!
From Urban Sea's understanding of Platinum, a tsundere player like her required constant, aggressive offense—nothing but straight pitches right down the middle!
Handled this way, she was sure to be utterly defeated, her defenses crumbling in no time!
Sea the Stars hung her head and asked in a soft, timid voice, "Sister, did I mess up again?"
Urban Sea grabbed Sea the Stars' face and planted a bunch of kisses on it. "Star, you were wonderful! I knew you had it in you!"
Sea the Stars blinked, realizing the situation wasn't quite what she had expected.
But as long as her sister was happy. If her sister was happy, then Sea the Stars was happy.
"You did great. With someone like Platinum, you need to speak from the heart, be direct." Letting go of Sea the Stars, Urban Sea pointed at the phone and began coaching her little sister step-by-step.
"What counts as 'direct'?" Sea the Stars asked, tilting her head.
"Just like what you did earlier is fine."
"But she told me it's too early for us to become lovers." Sea the Stars frowned. "Sister, are lovers different from friends?"
"Why is it that for lovers, one person just has to confess and the other agrees to make it official, but friends can't do the same?"
"Wouldn't that mean becoming friends is much harder than becoming lovers? So why did Platinum refuse to be my lover?"
"But didn't you say, sister, that you can have many friends, but only one lover? So logically, becoming lovers should be harder than becoming friends, right?"
Sea the Stars' world was still very small, containing only this racetrack and her sisters. Things about romance and love were still far beyond her grasp.
Not to mention she was only fourteen. Understanding these things now wasn't exactly too early... but it wasn't too late either.
What decent fourteen-year-old already knows about this stuff?! Anyway, Urban Sea, having immigrated from Hong Kong, absolutely forbade her little sisters from turning out that kind of way.
(T/N: I assume its hongkong cause her IRL owner was from hongkong)
Putting off this kind of education for her sisters as long as possible, yet wanting to launch them out into the world the moment they came of age—now that was a genuinely East Asian mindset.
It was precisely because of Urban Sea's overprotectiveness... combined with Sea the Stars' natural airheadedness, that her thought processes had ended up like this.
Urban Sea thought for a moment and decided to give her little sister a little nudge.
"Star, a lover is a step above a friend, so it needs to be treated more seriously."
"You were too impatient, so Platinum couldn't agree."
"In reality, most relationships between people stop at being friends."
"A lover is something special. You can only have one."
Sea the Stars frowned, thinking it over for a bit. "Then should I apologize to Platinum? What I said seemed offensive."
Urban Sea, however, stroked Sea the Stars' head. "What do you think, Star?"
"What kind of relationship do you want to have with Platinum?"
"Do you want her to become someone special to you?"
"If you want to be friends with her, then you should apologize. But if you want to take a step further with her, then you don't need to apologize."
Sea the Stars frowned, thinking hard, trying her best to understand what Urban Sea was saying.
"Someone special to me... like you and Galileo are to me?"
"Perhaps when that time comes, she might become even more special to you than we are," Urban Sea said softly.
"Then never mind. I don't want a friend, and I don't want a lover either." After wrestling with it for a moment, Sea the Stars shook her head. "Sister will always be the most special one in my heart."
Urban Sea pulled Sea the Stars into an embrace, her fingers running through Sea the Stars' chestnut hair. "Hearing you say that makes your sister very happy."
"But I can't always be by your side, you know."
Sea the Stars murmured, almost as if talking in her sleep, "Then what should I do?"
"So, you can start by becoming friends with Platinum. When the time comes, whether she's suitable to be your lover or not, perhaps your heart will know the answer."
Nestled in Urban Sea's arms, Sea the Stars nodded firmly.
Even though Sea the Stars was still very fuzzy about all this, she knew her sister would never steer her wrong.
So, after waiting for what felt like ages, Platinum finally saw a new message from Urban Sea.
[Don't worry, I've explained everything clearly to Star.]
Can I really rest easy?... Platinum grumbled inwardly.
Immediately after, a message came in from Sea the Stars too.
[I understand what you mean now.]
[Then let's become friends with the goal of becoming lovers.]
Platinum nearly coughed up a lung.
Urban Sea, you explained absolutely nothing! What the hell was that!
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T/N: Lowering chapter count cause lack of interest compared to other fics, also for me this fic kinda boring, but don't wanna drop it w/o reason
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.