Accidentally Becoming a Green Tea Goddess Everyone Loves - Chapter 29

Overnight, Shen Shirou’s phone had accumulated over a dozen missed calls.

The records were surprisingly consistent—every single one was from Jiang Peixing. In addition to the calls, there was a solitary text message. Its content consisted of only three words: “Where are you?” It was very much in line with Jiang Peixing’s terse style.

When Shen Shirou saw it, her surprise was followed by a moment of serious reflection. She confirmed that she hadn’t taken a single item of value from the villa when she left. The Jiang family shares had long since been returned to Jiang Peixing via contract. Even that exorbitantly expensive ring had been left behind on the table.

She didn’t owe Jiang Peixing a thing. Surely these calls weren’t about debt collection?

However, since she still intended to fix the plot and push Jiang Peixing and Lu Yanwei together, she—as the former fiancée needed to make a clean break. Shen Shirou decided to act as if nothing had happened. Not only did she ignore the calls, but she also deleted the text message for good measure.

Just as she finished, a knock sounded at her door.

“Miss Shen, are you awake?” It was the butler’s voice. “Breakfast is ready. Allow me to show you to the dining room.”

Shen Shirou stepped out of her room and followed the butler to the table. It was covered in a sprawling variety of dishes. The only problem was the quantity; there was far more food than one person could ever handle.

As if reading her mind, the butler explained, “Miss Qi wasn’t sure what style of breakfast you preferred, so she specifically ordered us to prepare a bit of everything. Starting tomorrow, we will adjust the portions according to your preferences.”

Shen Shirou wasn’t sure whether she should praise Qi Yan for being meticulous or just find it excessive.

“Please, enjoy your meal.” With that, the butler bowed and withdrew.

Noticing a set of utensils neatly placed across from her, Shen Shirou assumed they were for Qi Yan. She had no desire to wait for the woman to arrive. She wanted to eat quickly and scurry back to her room to avoid any unnecessary provocations.

But she had barely taken a few bites when her phone began to vibrate again.

Shen Shirou looked up, saw the name “Jiang Peixing” flashing on the screen, and went right back to her breakfast with practiced nonchalance. The person on the other end was persistent; when one call failed, they immediately tried again. It seemed that if Shen Shirou didn’t pick up, they would call until the end of time.

Shen Shirou hesitated. For Jiang Peixing to call this many times, there had to be something important.

Weighing the pros and cons, she decided to pick up just this once. Any subsequent calls would be ignored.

The moment she answered, Jiang Peixing’s voice came through.

“Where are you?”

There was a faint trace of urgency in her voice, a departure from her usual icy calm. For once, Shen Shirou could actually detect an emotional ripple in her tone.

Though Shen Shirou had left of her own volition, she knew that being too calm would seem unnatural for her persona. She lowered her voice, layering it with a hint of sorrow. “Sister, let’s keep this brief.”

Her tone was heavy with feigned grief. “Everything that belongs to you has been left at the villa. I assume you’ve seen it.” She paused. “Did you need anything else?”

To her surprise, Jiang Peixing didn’t mention the items at all. Instead, she stubbornly repeated: “Where are you?”

Shen Shirou found it odd. If she wasn’t calling to demand her things back, why the dozen phone calls?

She didn’t answer. A minute of silence stretched between them—Shen Shirou simply didn’t want to speak, and Jiang Peixing was waiting for her reply. Their old dynamic had been completely inverted.

Finally, Shen Shirou changed the subject. “I’ve troubled you for too long these past three months.”

“I knew you hated me and didn’t want to see me, yet I kept clinging to you,” Shen Shirou said. “I thought if I showed you my heart, you might slowly accept me. In the end, it was just my own wishful thinking.”

She let out a self-deprecating laugh, her voice full of sadness. “That agreement, you prepared it for me, didn’t you? You’ve wanted to cut ties with me for a long time. Why didn’t you just tell me? I’ve already signed it. Sister, let’s end the engagement.”

“From now on, I won’t pester you anymore,” Shen Shirou said, enunciating every word. “You can rest easy. You’ll surely meet someone better than me and have a beautiful romance.” To highlight her “saintly” nature, she didn’t forget to add: “I’ll be rooting for you.”

Perfect. A ten-out-of-ten script, Shen Shirou appraised herself.

There was silence on the other end. Just as Shen Shirou was about to hang up, Jiang Peixing spoke abruptly.

“I am not ending the engagement.”

“Regarding the agreement, I will give you an explanation in person.” Jiang Peixing’s grip on her phone tightened.

The sheer volume of information in that sentence left Shen Shirou stunned. Explain? What was there to explain? She didn’t need one!

Jiang Peixing was supposed to be interested in Lu Yanwei—what was this refusal to break up? Did she want to keep one foot in two different boats?

“Tell me where you are. I’m coming to take you back.” Jiang Peixing didn’t say anything more. Deep down, she felt a strange flicker of hope—hope that Shen Shirou would give her an address, hope that she could see her again.

But she received nothing. All that responded to her was the hollow beep, beep of a disconnected line.

________________________________________

“Give me my phone back,” Shen Shirou said to Qi Yan.

Shen Shirou could have sworn Qi Yan had appeared out of thin air. She hadn’t heard a single footstep, and she had no idea how long the woman had been standing behind her. As for how much of the conversation Qi Yan had overheard, she couldn’t be certain.

Having snatched the phone away without a word, Qi Yan had hung up with decisive efficiency. “Darling, talking to Jiang Peixing right in front of me, don’t you think I might get jealous?”

Qi Yan turned her head, speaking slowly and deliberately. “If there is a next time, I’ll have to implement a punishment.”

She placed the phone back on the table. Shen Shirou picked it up and saw that Jiang Peixing was no longer in her contacts. Either Qi Yan had deleted her or blocked her. Regardless, it didn’t bother Shen Shirou; she hadn’t intended to tell Jiang Peixing her location anyway.

However, she still had a bone to pick with Qi Yan for hanging up on her.

“I just wanted to say goodbye to her.” Knowing Qi Yan hated any mention of her rival, Shen Shirou purposefully looked worried. “Without me, Sister Jiang won’t be able to take care of herself.”

“Instead of worrying about her, you should worry about your own situation,” Qi Yan said with a half-smile. “If you make me angry, I might just ‘eat’ you up.”

Living under someone else’s roof, one must bow to the villainess. Shen Shirou chose to shut up and focus on her breakfast.

Halfway through the meal, Qi Yan used her chopsticks to place a few pastries into Shen Shirou’s bowl. Still annoyed, Shen Shirou protested, “I can do it myself, Miss Qi. There’s no need for these unnecessary gestures.”

“But aren’t these all your favorites?” Qi Yan asked.

Shen Shirou glanced down. They actually were. But she had barely spent any time with Qi Yan—how did the woman know what she liked? Had Qi Yan been watching her every move during the meal?

As soon as breakfast was over, Shen Shirou returned to her room and received a message from Lu Yanwei.

She hadn’t seen Lu Yanwei since the night she moved out. For one, she hadn’t expected to still be in this world. Secondly, she didn’t know how to face her.

How do I get Lu Yanwei to give up on me and like Jiang Peixing instead? It was a problem as difficult as climbing the heavens.

Shen Shirou shook her head and decided to meet her. At the very least, she had to let Lu Yanwei know she had moved out of Jiang Peixing’s house—she needed her to know that Jiang Peixing was officially back on the market.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t even be able to take the first step toward pushing Lu Yanwei and Jiang Peixing together.

Shen Shirou replied to Lu Yanwei’s message, setting their meeting place at Lu Yanwei’s apartment. The only remaining challenge was figuring out how to actually leave the house.

After confirming Qi Yan’s whereabouts with the butler, Shen Shirou knocked on the door of the mansion’s art studio. The door wasn’t fully latched; it swung open at a light touch.

At a single glance, Shen Shirou caught sight of Qi Yan’s back.

Alerted by the sound of the door, Qi Yan turned around. She met Shen Shirou’s gaze while subtly shifting her weight to block the view of a sketch resting on the easel behind her.

“What is it?” Qi Yan asked.

Shen Shirou cut straight to the chase. “I want to go out and see a friend.”

A friend who happened to confess to me.

Qi Yan didn’t agree immediately, appearing to weigh Shen Shirou’s words carefully. Having learned from their previous encounters, Shen Shirou had mastered the art of softening Qi Yan’s resolve.

“I’ve been cooped up here for days,” Shen Shirou said, a touch of lonely resignation creeping into her eyes. “I just want a little bit of freedom to see a close friend. Is even that too much to ask?”

She let out a long sigh. “Forget it. If you don’t agree, just act like I never mentioned it.”

The “push-and-pull” tactic worked.

Qi Yan swept a gaze over her. “Darling, I don’t recall giving my answer yet. If it’s just to see a friend, of course it’s no problem.”

She paused, adding, “However—”

“However what?” Shen Shirou asked.

“However, I will be the one driving you there and picking you up,” Qi Yan stated. “Lest you decide to be naughty again and sneak off to see Jiang Peixing.”

Ultimately, Shen Shirou had no choice but to agree.

Qi Yan drove the Cayenne and dropped her off right in front of Lu Yanwei’s building. Fortunately, Qi Yan remained in the car to wait, showing no intention of following her inside.

The moment she saw Lu Yanwei, Shen Shirou was ready to go into full “actress mode.”

After Lu Yanwei gently asked how she had been, Shen Shirou replied with a mournful expression, “Yanwei, you were right. Sister Jiang and I, we aren’t a good match.”

“I’ve already moved out of the villa,” Shen Shirou continued. “I’ve decided to end the engagement.”

She lowered her eyes, preparing to let them redden as if she were on the verge of tears. But before she could produce a single drop, Lu Yanwei stepped forward and pulled her into a firm embrace.

“Don’t cry,” Lu Yanwei whispered. “Jiang Peixing isn’t worth a single one of your tears.”

“I don’t know if saying this will make me seem despicable in your eyes,” Lu Yanwei said, her voice trembling slightly. “But I have truly waited for this day for a very, long time.”