After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 17

“If only you’d ask.”

“What… what do you mean?”

Ji Jin watched her quietly, her entire body seemingly frozen, her words stuttering. “It’s not Photoshopped… then that… how is that possible?”

“A-Xiu,” she calmly tossed aside the phone, its screen still glowing, and leaned forward to press her hands onto Yun Chuxiu’s shoulders. Her voice was soft and slow. “I know you’ve been angry with me lately, but there are some jokes you just shouldn’t tell.”

Yun Chuxiu leaned back against the sofa, offering no resistance, and looked up at her. “I never joke about things like this.”

Ji Jin lowered her eyes. Her throat felt as though it were being strangled by a pair of invisible hands, rendering her voiceless.

Her A-Xiu… was always so cruel to her.

She allowed no escape, no retreat, and wouldn’t even let Ji Jin muddle through by pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.

But…

Even reaching this point, Ji Jin couldn’t bring herself to truly resent her. From the beginning, an indescribable sense of guilt had weighed heavily upon her, smoothing away every wrinkle of anger in her eyes.

Some things were simply more important than pride.

Ji Jin suppressed the agony in her gaze, her spine curving like a taut, sharp bow. “Can you… please stop seeing her?”

There was no interrogation, no fire, not even a surface level trace of hatred.

Ji Jin reigned in her emotions perfectly. She knelt before Yun Chuxiu and gently took her hanging hand.

“Don’t see her alone anymore,” she said. “Jiang Fanyin is no good. She has too much, she discards things once she’s had them. She’ll hurt you, she’ll throw you away, she’ll turn you into nothing but idle gossip over tea…”

Yun Chuxiu interrupted her before the speculations turned even more absurd, her eyes flickering. “And? Can you guarantee you’ll love me for a lifetime?”

“Of course,” Ji Jin buried her head in Yun Chuxiu’s lap. She looked normal, but in reality, she was overstimulated to the point of breaking. Her gaze was vacant and unfocused, like eyes popped out of a doll. “I can give you everything. Everything I own is yours. If A-Xiu just nods, I’ll go find someone to draft the contracts right now.”

“Quiet,” Yun Chuxiu covered her rambling mouth. Realizing she had pushed a bit too hard and truly panicked the woman, she sighed with a hint of helplessness. “Let’s go back to the original question.”

“I did accept Jiang Fanyin’s invitation.”

The head beneath her hand stiffened slightly.

“But I was only there for less than ten minutes. There was no physical contact, let alone a kiss.”

Ji Jin slowly raised her head, took a deep breath, and finally asked, “Then that photo…”

“It must have been a forced perspective shot,” Yun Chuxiu pulled her own phone from her bag, tapped around for a moment, and opened a message thread. There sat a video, as yet unopened.

“I figured something like this might happen, so I asked the owner for the surveillance footage in advance.” Yun Chuxiu remained calm, handing the phone over without even looking at it. “Everything from the moment I walked in to the moment I left is right here. If you still want to doubt me…”

“I don’t!” Ji Jin scrambled to take the phone, completely stunned by this sudden wave of relief. She was so flustered she couldn’t even manage to tap play.

Yun Chuxiu had lost all her temper at this display of silliness. She reached out to start the video for her, but the moment her hand moved, Ji Jin snatched the phone away with lightning speed.

“No, there’s no need,” Ji Jin recovered, her eyes bright and shimmering. She couldn’t help but smile. “As long as A-Xiu is willing to explain, I will believe you.”

Regardless of whether the video existed or not.

Yun Chuxiu: “…So your hands are working again?”

Ji Jin didn’t answer; she just wrapped her arms around Yun Chuxiu’s waist and nuzzled her.

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Yun Chuxiu pressed a hand to her forehead. “Can’t you pick a different way to act spoiled?”

Ji Jin leaned in closer and blinked. Having gone through such an emotional rollercoaster, even she was feeling an irresistible wave of exhaustion. After a few seconds of silence, she crawled onto the sofa and began a fresh round of clingy snuggling.

Yun Chuxiu felt like she was being licked from head to toe by a giant cat, her meticulously pinned hair was a mess, and her collar had unsurprisingly been crumpled at the corner.

“Let’s eat first,” she said, using one hand against Ji Jin’s forehead to push her back. Yun Chuxiu picked up the discarded food containers and arranged them on the table one by one.

“The temperature is just right.” Yun Chuxiu didn’t look at her. She picked up the chopsticks to pass them over, but then, remembering something, she quickly pulled them back.

“Ah, I forgot. You don’t like these things.”

Ji Jin stared at the home-cooked dishes that were clearly made by Yun Chuxiu’s own hands. She swallowed hard and slid into a smooth, kneeling apology. “I was wrong. None of those words were sincere.”

Thinking of the chaos of the last two days, Yun Chuxiu decided not to make things difficult for her. She served the rice and handed it over, finally advising with a touch of helplessness, “Next time, you can just ask me. As long as you ask, I won’t hide anything from you, and I won’t lie to you.”

Ji Jin gave a vague mumble of agreement, her gaze kept low, clearly not taking the advice to heart.

Yun Chuxiu truly had no other options with her.

Half an hour later, a message unexpectedly arrived on Yun Chuxiu’s phone.

The moment she saw the sender, Ji Jin’s hands moved faster than her brain. She snatched the phone away, ignoring whatever look Yun Chuxiu was giving her, and blocked the contact immediately after reading.

Yun Chuxiu: “…Isn’t that a bit childish?”

Jiang Fanyin had actually come to explain. Not only had she clarified the context of that photo, but she had also dealt with the person who took it, ensuring an apology and explanation were provided.

She was waiting for a reply, only to receive a bright red exclamation mark.

Yun Chuxiu felt this was too emotional a way to handle things. She gave Ji Jin two minutes to calm down before soothingly saying, “This time it really was an accident. President Jiang did quite a good job handling it.”

“You’re praising her in front of me?” Ji Jin’s face was clouded with gloom. She gripped the phone tightly, refusing to let go even though she knew she was being unreasonable. She grumbled, “The way she looks at you is not innocent at all. If it wasn’t this time, it’ll be next time and she calls you so intimately.”

The jealousy jar had completely shattered.

Yun Chuxiu laughed and held out her palm. Seeing the resistance in Ji Jin’s eyes, she explained helplessly, “Give me yours.”

Ji Jin obediently handed it over. Watching Yun Chuxiu scroll through the contacts for a long time without finding the person, she reminded her reluctantly, “…She’s in the block list.”

Yun Chuxiu: “…” Well, that wasn’t exactly a surprise.

Briefly pulling the contact out of the block list, Yun Chuxiu thought for a moment. She first explained the reason for the block, then offered her thanks.

Jiang Fanyin’s response popped up almost instantly, a short string of characters with a heavy tone.

“Is Senior still going to indulge her childish temper?”

Ji Jin pouted, very unhappy. “Humph, she’s up to no good.”

Yun Chuxiu didn’t look up. “Alright, don’t start a fight through the screen.”

Ji Jin drawled, “She’s clearly provoking me. She knows I care… eh?”

The complaining stopped abruptly.

In the time it took to say one sentence, Yun Chuxiu had sent her typed response and then smoothly blocked the person again.

Ji Jin fell silent. That blunt rejection echoed in her mind, making it hard to describe her current mood.

“She won’t call me that anymore,” Yun Chuxiu looked up and pinched Ji Jin’s chin. Amidst the latter’s daze, she curled her lips into a faint, blooming smile. “Do you feel a bit better now?”

Ji Jin nodded. It felt like she had just taken a bite of cool, sweet ice cream; her whole being felt refreshed.

“Won’t that ruin your already poor relationship with her?” Ji Jin emphasized her words, resting her head on Yun Chuxiu’s shoulder. She was both happy and smug, yet she forced her face into a worried expression. Pouting, she continued with nonsense even she didn’t believe: “A-Xiu doesn’t like handling problems emotionally. I could have endured it.”

Yun Chuxiu poked a small dimple into her cheek. Hearing this, she didn’t rush to refute it, but simply smiled again and slowly reached for the phone. “Mm, if you can endure it, that’s for the best. Then I’ll just…”

“No,” Ji Jin pressed down on her arm, her face changing instantly. She bared her teeth, staring at the phone as if she might bite it the next second.

Her “generosity” hadn’t even lasted three minutes.

Ji Jin reined in her emotions and deliberately rubbed her eyes. Once she was sure the rims were red, she looked up with her long, beautiful eyes at just the right angle.

At first glance, she looked quite pitiable, as if accusing someone of going back on their word… if only the entire process of faking it hadn’t been done in plain sight.

Yun Chuxiu gave a light laugh. Seeing her lean in pitifully for a kiss, she followed suit and tilted her head up slightly, not moving away.

Eyes met as a cool breeze drifted through the crack in the door, silent and soft, blowing through their intertwined hair.

The tickle of the contact made Yun Chuxiu’s voice go a bit husky as she pushed away the person who wanted to do more. She tapped Ji Jin’s head playfully. “The door isn’t even closed properly. What if someone walks in right now?”

“So it’s okay if the door is closed?” Ji Jin leaned in again, taking a deep breath at her neck. Her long-suppressed emotions began to surface, and the heat between their skin rose. “A-Xiu”

…Acting spoiled again.

Yun Chuxiu closed her eyes, trying to resist, but she couldn’t help it. She grabbed Ji Jin by the ear and held still.

“Don’t push your luck,” she warned neutrally, clearly not ready to initiate any “troublesome” environments.

Ji Jin’s mouth moved faster than her brain, sinking into compliance once again. She grumbled, “I’m not even pushing…”

Yun Chuxiu: “.”

Yun Chuxiu sneered. “Give you an inch and you take a mile. If I actually let you have your way, who knows what would happen.”

Ji Jin: “…”

Ji Jin smacked her lips, savoring the moment, and began to ponder other questions. “Since here won’t work, then tonight…”

Before she could finish, a set of ill-timed footsteps forced their way into their ears.

The assistant who pushed open the door was wide-eyed with shock. Realizing she had accidentally walked in on something, she turned around and closed her eyes in one smooth motion.

She was so flustered she even forgot why she had come in the first place.

“Boss, please continue, I didn’t see anything…”

“Eh” Before she could finish her “hear no evil, see no evil” routine, a head wearing a beautiful hat (even indoors) popped out from beside her.

The wearer of the beautiful hat was all smiles, showing no self-awareness about ruining someone’s moment. She was only filled with wonder. “You can’t see them from this close? How interesting.”