I'm Your Sister, Brother Chow
Chapter 39: You're Just a Nobody

Chow reached out and grabbed her chin as he came closer. His voice was low and hoarse. "You don't want to be a side mistress? Then what are you aiming for? Mrs. Howard?"

Vivian shivered when Chow spat out the words 'Mrs. Howard' at her. She could feel her heart trembling as well.

She had always dreamed of holding the title of 'Mrs. Howard'.

However, she knew very well that she would never become his wife even if she traded her life for it.

That was why she never dared to dream of a future together with him.

However, Chow thought that Vivian was trembling because he'd exposed her innermost thoughts. His eyes turned red in an instant. "Are you trying to drive the real Mrs. Howard away and replace her, just like your mother did?"

As soon as Chow brought up her mother, Vivian's shoulders slumped as she quickly denied it. "N-No! I'd never!"

Chow scoffed and stood up after pushing her aside. "You had better not have any ideas of the sort. You're just a nobody in the Howard family! You're nothing but a toy. Stop thinking of the impossible!" With that, Chow stomped towards the interconnecting door to his room.

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind Chow.

The door to Chow's heart had also slammed shut as well.

All that was left on the other side of the room was Vivian and her tearful face.

Because of that incident that day, the rapport that had initially been established between them both had crumbled to pieces.

For the past two days, Chow had been treating her as if she was invisible. Even when they ate at the same table, he never spared her a glance. He didn't even bother making life difficult for her anymore like he did in the past.

Even though Vivian was used to his indifferent attitude towards her, after experiencing a short moment of tenderness from Chow, his current demeanour was making her feel even more depressed than before.

She'd already had a taste of the potential sweetness between them and was greedy for more.

Vivian sighed and continued doing the dishes absent-mindedly.

She had just had breakfast. Chow had long left before breakfast without even sparing her a glance.

Vivian suddenly heard footsteps coming from the door. It was Aunt Blaine.

Vivian quickly hid the disappointment on her face and smiled at Aunt Blaine. "Aunt Blaine, I've just finished washing up the dishes. You don't need to worry about them."

Aunt Blaine looked at the forced smile on her face and sighed softly. She slowly walked to Vivian's side. "Didn't you say that there were no classes today?" she asked. "Why are you up so early?"

Had Vivian hoped to catch a glimpse of the Young Master before he left for work this morning?

What a pity that the Young Master would never reciprocate her affection for him.

Vivian looked down in a fluster. She stared at the plate in her hands. "I-I couldn't sleep last night."

Aunt Blaine shook her head rather helplessly. She suddenly caught sight of the oven in the corner and had a brainwave. "Do you have a lot of homework today?" she asked Vivian.

Vivian blinked at Aunt Blaine in surprise and shook her head rather belatedly. "No, I'm done with all my homework. I was just planning to do some revision today."

Her teacher had actually left her with a lot of homework, but since she couldn't really sleep last night, she had spent all of her time finishing up her homework and feeling slightly better about herself.

A smile spread across Aunt Blaine's face when she heard what Vivian said. "What a coincidence! I'm quite free today too. I was about to make some macarons for the Young Master. Do you want to learn how? "Macarons?" Vivian widened her eyes in surprise and looked at Aunt Blain in disbelief. "I thought Brother Chow hated sweet things."

She'd been living with Chow for two years and had never known that he liked macarons.

No wonder Aunt Blaine always sent him a portion of her macarons every time. All this while, Vivian had thought that she was just giving the extra ones to Chow for formality sake.

It turned out that he was the reason why Aunt Blaine made the macarons in the first place.

"He doesn't like sweet things in general, but he's always liked macarons," Aunt Blaine said as she started rolling up her sleeves. "I just have to make sure they aren't too sweet. So, do you want to learn how to make them?"

"Yes, please! I want to learn how!" It was only after Vivian blurted out the words that she realised she was being a little too enthusiastic about it. She blushed and hung her head shyly.

Aunt Blaine burst into laughter when she saw how awkwardly Vivian was acting. "You don't need to be so anxious about it. Once you've learned how, I'm going to let you continue making them for him next time. It's a little too much hassle for me."

Vivian blushed and nodded gently at Aunt Blaine. "Okay."

If he allowed it, she would gladly make all of his meals for the rest of her life.

Nonetheless, she knew that it was just wishful thinking on her part.

At the very least, she would know how to make his favourite dessert for now.

Vivian often helped Aunt Blaine with the weekly baking. She had made cookies and cupcakes with her before.

Macarons were a little more sophisticated than regular cookies, but it didn't stop Vivian from trying her very best.

Since this was her first time making them, Vivian took a while to learn the ropes. Nonetheless, when the first successful batch came out of the oven, it was just a little past two in the afternoon. Aunt Blaine picked up one of Vivian's cookies and bit into it. "This is not bad for your first time!" she praised. "The texture is just right and it's not too sweet, just how the Young Master likes it." Vivian's eyes lit up when she heard Aunt Blaine complimenting her. "Really?"

Aunt Blaine glanced at her and laughed. Vivian started blushing, too flabbergasted to say anything.

Realising that she was making Vivian feel uncomfortable, Aunt Blaine cleared her throat and stopped laughing. "Macarons taste the best when they're fresh out of the oven," she said. "Young Master can enjoy it for tea if he receives them now."

Vivian was nervous and excited when she thought that Chow would be able to taste her baked goods. "That would be nice of you, Aunt Blaine!"

"Me? I'm not sending it over. I don't have the time for that." Aunt Blaine cleared her throat again and smiled at Vivian. "Since you don't have anything else to do, why don't you send them to the Young Master instead?"

Vivian held the box of sweets tightly in her hand as she stood outside the building of the Howard Group. She was feeling extremely anxious.

Why on earth did she agree to personally deliver the macarons to Chow in place of Aunt Blaine?

Chow absolutely loathed her at the moment. Forget eating the macarons - she would be extremely thankful if Chow didn't lose his temper with her if he caught sight of her in his building right now.

But since she was already here, she might as well send it up to him instead of bringing it back home.

Vivian held tightly onto the macaron box as she paced in front of the building.

The anxiety on Vivian's face was too obvious. The security guards at the door observed her for a while before finally walking up to her.

"Miss, is there something we can help you with?"

Although Vivian was technically from the Howard family, this was the first time that she came to the Howard Group building. It wasn't surprising that the guards didn't know who she was. Vivian felt like a deer caught in headlights. Her nerves caught up to her and her mind just went blank. "I-I came to replace my b-brother," she stammered.

"Your brother?" The security guard looked confused.

It was only then that she realised what she'd said. She quickly corrected herself. "N-No, I mean, I'm here for... Ethan! I'm here to look for Ethan!" "Assistant Ethan?" The guard asked, giving her a once-over.

Vivian was wearing a pink dress that Aunt Blaine had prepared for her. It was just a simple-looking dress, but anyone could tell that it was from the pricier range.

The security guard nodded when he saw that she was dressed well. "I see, so you're Ethan's little sister," he said. "How about I bring you in and ask the receptionist to give your brother a call?" Vivian didn't quite mind that the security guard had a misunderstanding about her identity. Rather, she was thankful that he had offered to help her like that. "Yes please, thank you, sir!" That was right! She could just pass the macarons to Ethan and ask him to give them to Chow instead.

Maybe Chow would accept the macarons like that.

Vivian finally managed to calm down after making up her mind. She followed the guard to the receptionist's desk.

After learning that she was Ethan's 'sister', the receptionist immediately put a call through to Ethan's office. Ethan picked up almost at once.

"Ethan? There's a lady here saying she's your sister and wanting to see you. Should I let her in?"

Hearing what the receptionist said, Vivian's face turned bright red. She quickly said her name on the phone. "B-Brother Ethan, it's me, Vivian."

Although she couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, judging from the expression of the receptionist, Ethan had obviously heard her. "Miss, Ethan wants to speak to you."

It seemed that the receptionist really regarded her as Ethan's sister. She smiled sweetly at her when handing the phone over.

Vivian quickly took the phone and put it to her ear. "Brother Ethan?"

After having called him for the first time just now, her second time was a lot less hesitant.

Ethan was obviously not used to her calling him like that. He coughed lightly. "Miss, why are you here? And how did you suddenly become my little sister?"

Vivian blushed. She turned around and whispered into the phone. "Aunt Blaine sent me here with some snacks. Can I go to your office? Please help me give it to... him."

"I see. I thought something bad had happened," Ethan said in a relieved voice. "Well, Mr. President is quite busy in his office for now, so I don't think he'll be coming out anytime soon. Ask the receptionist to send you to my office. I'll see you in a while."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐