"I plead guilty... I confess that from the very beginning, I had a very flippant attitude toward this relationship. I treated online dating like a game that could be started and ended whenever I wanted. I had some psychological issues back then, and my life was incredibly boring. Besides playing games and watching anime every day, I didn’t have many other forms of entertainment."

"On top of that, I’d never been in a relationship before. To be honest, whenever I came across those sweet love stories, whether real or fictional, I’d always be filled with envy. I’d get this goofy, doting smile on my face every time I read them."

"Ahem." Jiangg Yao cautiously raised her eyes to observe Chen Yuan’s expression.

She saw that he was expressionless.

She wondered if she wasn’t reading with enough emotion. Immediately, Jiangg Yao knelt up straighter, cleared her throat twice, and continued with dramatic flair:

"I often fantasized about having a sweet romance of my own. But as someone with social anxiety, a real-life relationship was impossible for me. Still, online dating isn’t something you should just jump into carelessly."

"One day, I found out my sister had added a gaming friend. I heard your voice when you turned on your mic, and it was really nice."

Jiangg Yao pressed her lips together.

Meanwhile, Jiangg Ning had already turned her face away.

"At the time, I thought my sister had added a guy to duo queue behind my back, so I was a little jealous. But mostly, I was just curious about you... Since the game account was mine, I logged in and took the initiative to invite you to play."

"Sometimes I was the one playing with you, and sometimes it was my sister. At that point, we weren’t deliberately pretending to be anyone; our voices just naturally sound alike."

"Here, I want to emphasize that when I confessed to you, I genuinely liked you, I swear," Jiangg Yao said, raising one hand. "I promise, it wasn’t just about your looks. I’m not that shallow. I realized while we were gaming that you were a very attentive and kind guy. The more I listened to your voice, the more I started to fantasize."

Chen Yuan didn’t say a word, just listened quietly.

Outside, the rain was still falling.

"I am guilty. After I confessed and we tested the waters, right when we first decided to be in a relationship, you sent me a very, very long message. The gist of it was that if we were going to date, we should do it seriously. It should be genuine, not one of those ’find a partner’ things where you get together on a whim and break up when you get bored. You wanted us to try getting to know each other first."

"After reading that, I was moved, but I didn’t take ’dating seriously’ to heart. I still looked down on this relationship. That was my sin."

Jiangg Yao took a deep breath and pointed at her sister.

"Her!"

Caught completely off guard, Jiangg Ning found a finger pointed right at her nose.

Jiangg Ning narrowed her eyes slightly. ’My sister’s confession is pretty elaborate,’ she thought. ’It’s even interactive. Mine, on the other hand, is much more straightforward, without all these tricks.’

’Wait, why is she suddenly pointing at me? She’s not trying to shift the blame, is she?!’

"She didn’t know I had confessed to you at first. She was still just playing games with you. It was only after she heard the change in how we addressed each other that she asked me what was going on. My sister, Jiangg Ning, is a very open-minded person."

Jiangg Ning: "..."

"She found out I was in an online relationship and didn’t object. In fact, when I was busy, she offered to help me reply to your messages. At first, I would dictate what to say and have her type it out... Little Master, don’t think this is too outrageous. It’s pretty normal for twins. My sister and I rarely have secrets from each other; we know almost everything about one another. Later, I found dictating to be a hassle, so I just let her improvise."

"This was my mistake. I shouldn’t have shared the private details of my relationship, and I shouldn’t have let my sister experience the fun of online dating. And I especially shouldn’t have! After hearing her praise your nice voice and say you were polite and had good values, I actually suggested, ’Why don’t you give it a try, too?’ She hesitated and asked how. I said, by trying with you. Hiss—why are you pinching me?"

As Jiangg Yao was speaking, she suddenly cried out in pain and slapped at Ningning’s hand on her waist.

"Do you need to share all these details?" Jiangg Ning demanded, her cheeks flushed with angry embarrassment.

"Of course. The details show my sincerity."

"Keep talking," Chen Yuan said then.

Jiangg Ning bit her lip and fell silent.

"It was still for those two reasons. First, I wasn’t serious enough about the relationship. Second, as twins, we’re used to sharing everything. Looking back now, that was a huge mistake. It’s completely absurd."

"Because I wasn’t serious about the relationship, I didn’t ask for your opinion. Because I didn’t realize a relationship shouldn’t be shared, I dragged you into this... For that, I must formally apologize to you, Little Master. Just like you said, before taking on any new identity, you should think about the responsibilities that come with it. I failed to be a proper girlfriend. I don’t deserve that title. I was too busy indulging in the happiness and sweetness of it all."

As Jiangg Yao said she didn’t deserve it, her expression clearly fell. No matter how lively she appeared on the outside, inside she was just a sensitive little girl.

This proved she was genuinely reflecting on her actions, not just trying to fool him.

"When this relationship moved into the real world, I really panicked. I wasn’t prepared, and I didn’t have a correct understanding of how to take a relationship seriously. My idea of online dating was that once the novelty wore off, the two people would just gradually stop talking. It wasn’t supposed to be counted as a proper relationship experience. My sister told me she met you at the university, and when she suggested breaking up, I agreed."

"Whether it was out of fear or a lack of responsibility, I felt that was the most appropriate way to handle it. If we had really broken up, that would have been the end of it. But after I saw you that day..."

"I really regretted it. You gave me such a good feeling. You’re not just attentive and outstanding, but also responsible, interesting, and you know how to care for people. It’s a complicated feeling, not something that can be explained in a few sentences. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe it as ’a single glance that lasts ten thousand years.’ I liked it a lot."

"But I still didn’t have the courage to defy my mother. That was the main reason I wanted to break up. I might have to go back to Mingzhu City someday, and if she found out then, everything would be ruined."

"After coming back, the more I thought about it, the more I regretted it. And more, and more. So I decided to take a risk and date you in secret, hiding it from both my sister and my mom. I just wanted to live each day to the fullest and stop worrying about the future."

"Little Master, you’ve really changed me in so many ways."

Jiangg Yao looked at Chen Yuan pitifully and continued in a small voice, "I genuinely like you. My feelings for you aren’t fake in the slightest. You’re the best guy I’ve ever met. I’m happy even when you’re stern with me. You should be able to feel that..."

It was a gradual, sincere, step-by-step performance. If she were to shed a single tear right now, it would be the finishing blow.

Jiangg Ning inexplicably felt a great deal of pressure.

She hadn’t expected her sister’s confession to be so layered. She had thought it would just be a simple, "I was wrong," "I’m crying," "Please forgive me," "I’ll never do it again."

Ningning felt a complex mix of emotions. She couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Chen Yuan’s reaction and saw that he did indeed seem moved.

After all, faced with a girl like Yaoyao apologizing and repenting so earnestly, who could remain indifferent?

But it wasn’t over yet!

Jiangg Yao lowered her head and choked back a few sobs.

"(SNIFFLE) I never thought my sister would find out. But I don’t regret it. Those first days of our relationship, from when we made up to when we kissed, that was the happiest time of my life. And I started to... like you more and more."

Her voice was already choked with tears.

"I didn’t want to go to you under the guise of being my sister, but I was too scared to tell you about us being twins. I was afraid you would hate me if you found out two people were dating you at the same time. I also didn’t dare tell my sister the truth and ask her to hide it with me. I wasn’t sure if she would agree to me being with you, because she was the one who suggested breaking up in the first place. So I had to lie to both sides." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I thought that if... if I worked hard and earned enough money, and we could hide it for long enough, we could run away together someday. I know it was a childish idea, but that’s really what I was thinking at the time."

"I don’t know... it was that kind of thinking that made things more and more complicated. It’s all my fault... Then my sister started to like you, too, and I didn’t want to give you up to her, Little Master..."

"In the end, I was blinded by possessiveness and even got into a fight with her. After she found out, my mind was consumed with how to stop her from taking you away from me. I had no capacity to think about anything else. I went to great lengths to hide the fact that I was pretending to be her, even trying to convince her not to contact you anymore. But my efforts backfired. Thanks to the groundwork I’d laid, her relationship with you progressed even faster..."

"What was even more wrong was that, even at that point, I was discussing with my sister which one of us should be your real girlfriend, partially ignoring your feelings. But, Little Master, I wasn’t completely ignoring you! I was thinking about you! My sister and I decided that whoever you liked more would be the one to stay. That’s why we started the Heartbeat Diary."

"We never intended to make a fool of you or play with your feelings, please don’t misunderstand. And most of the things I said to you were true, except for the lies about us being twins. You believe me, right?"

Jiangg Yao reached out and gently pushed Chen Yuan’s leg, her eyes shining with sincerity.

"So, from start to finish, neither of you ever thought about coming clean to me?" he asked.

"Well... there were many times, but we never dared to speak up. We just kept making one mistake after another, leading to the situation today," Yaoyao said in a small, miserable voice, the corners of her mouth turned down. "I have deeply reflected on my actions and realized just how absurd I’ve been. I know I’ve caused you harm that will be difficult to repair, Little Master. I know how much you hate deception and love triangles. As it stands now, I’m the one who started all this, and I bear the primary responsibility."

"I’m sorry," Jiangg Yao said, hugging Chen Yuan’s leg. "Little Master, I’m not asking for your immediate forgiveness, only for a chance to make amends. Seeing as I’ve confessed everything, please be lenient. Let’s not break up, okay?"

Jiangg Yao’s multi-faceted, emotionally charged confession, interspersed with interaction and performance.

The reading was complete!

With tear-filled eyes, she looked at Chen Yuan, her emotions on full display, desperately hoping he would say something that wasn’t so cold.

It was a performance that would make any listener grieve and any onlooker weep.

However, Yaoyao didn’t get to hear Chen Yuan speak. She abruptly felt a push on her shoulder and stumbled with a yelp, catching herself on the carpet.

"That’s enough of a show," Jiangg Ning said, glaring at her. "Leave some time for me to speak."

"Fine."

Jiangg Yao pouted, tidied a few messy strands of her hair, and obediently sat to the side, grabbing a throw pillow and settling down.

"I plead guilty, too!"

As if accepting her fate, Jiangg Ning closed her eyes.