More Beautiful Than Heaven - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He and Si Qing stood arm in arm, leaning against each other.

They were so close there wasn’t even the slightest gap for me to squeeze into.

Si Qing was supposed to be the beastman Mom and Dad had given to both of us.

But he only wanted to cling to Tang Xi, and he only let her touch his tail.

When Tang Xi saw me standing in the living room, she gave a subtle roll of her eyes.

“Your sister is back, and you don’t even know how to say hello?”

“You never say anything nice. No wonder nobody in this family likes you.”

“And could you change your clothes?”

“Even at home, could you not always dress like some junk collector? It’s so depressing, okay?”

I looked down at the cheap T-shirt I was wearing, then glanced at Si Qing’s beautiful fur.

Caracal beastmen were difficult to care for.

Not only did their fur require a lot of time to groom, but everything they ate and used had to be high-end, too.

Before my parents passed away, they set up trust funds for my sister and me.

Before we turned eighteen, we could only receive a tiny amount for living expenses.

Most of my share went toward taking care of Si Qing.

After I started working, I was still the one covering all his food, clothing, housing, and daily expenses.

Naturally, I didn’t have extra money to dress myself up the way Tang Xi did.

I had always thought that if I just gave a little more, he would come to like me the way he liked my sister.

But he didn’t. In the end, he never did.

A faint sneer tugged at the corner of Si Qing’s mouth.

“Not everyone is born beautiful like Sister Tang Xi.”

“No matter how pretty the clothes are, on her they still look like a sack.”

“What a shame. If only I could be Tang Xi’s beastman alone…”

Chapter 4

I had known ever since I was little.

Compared to me, everyone liked Tang Xi more.

The year she was born, Dad got promoted, and Mom even won money from a scratch-off lottery ticket.

When I was born, it happened to be during the years after their investments failed, when money was tightest.

For as long as I could remember,

I had said many times that next year, I didn’t want to celebrate my birthday with my sister. I didn’t want to share the same birthday present.

Mom and Dad agreed every time.

But the next year, they would still make me wait a few days and celebrate together with my sister.

The joy I felt waiting for a cake that belonged only to me slowly turned into disappointment after midnight.

Then, on Tang Xi’s birthday, it became sadness I couldn’t hide.

One time, Mom and Dad couldn’t hold back and hit me.

“Do you have to act like this?”

“It’s only a few days apart. What’s wrong with celebrating together?”

“It’s not like our family is that well-off. Why do you have to be so petty about this?”

Because whenever there was only one gift, Tang Xi would always be the first to use it.

Even the beastman liked my tall, beautiful sister more.

Even later, when our family’s situation improved greatly and Dad had the means to set up trust funds,

the share he gave me was far smaller than Tang Xi’s.

I grew more and more silent.

Mom and Dad thought I was dull and not as good with words as my sister, so they favored Tang Xi even more.

Even Si Qing, the last to join this family, didn’t like me.

Every time he finished his nutritional supplements, he would push the plate away and run back to Tang Xi’s side to act cute.

“She’s so boring. All she knows is feeding me, feeding me, feeding me. She doesn’t care at all about what I like.”

“Being with her isn’t fun at all.”

He only saw the expensive toys Tang Xi bought him.

He never thought that if he was hungry, he wouldn’t even have the strength to play with them.

That was why, on Christmas Eve, I made a wish for a little dog that loved me.

A little dog that belonged only to me.

But now, it seemed I had messed that up, too.

I swallowed my disappointment and asked Si Qing,

“Do you really want to be Tang Xi’s beastman alone?”

“If you say yes, then from now on, I won’t take care of you anymore.”

Perhaps my tone was too cold, because Si Qing froze for an instant.

He pressed his lips together, then lifted his chin and said with absolute certainty,

“Who needs you to take care of me!”

“You can’t compare to Sister Tang Xi at all!”

Fine. Then I’d like to see

whether the way she spends money can keep you alive and kicking.

“Fine. From now on, you belong only to her.”

Without another word, I turned and went back to my room.