After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 20

“Right now, I will promise you.”

“So it’s you,” Meng Lin was the first to end the standoff. She waved toward the newcomer proactively, showing not a hint of shame for her attempt to win someone over. “I didn’t expect that after all these years, the person standing by her side still hasn’t changed.”

“Should I say she’s too tolerant, or simply too nostalgic?”

Ji Jin sneered, firing back with biting sarcasm: “Even if you were twenty years later, the person by her side would still be me. You can only watch with your regrets, who told you that you aren’t the ‘old friend’ she remembers fondly?”

“It’s a bit too early to talk about regrets,” Meng Lin’s tone dropped. Her gaze landed on Yun Chuxiu, remaining impossibly gentle as if she couldn’t sense the other woman’s coldness.

“Chuxiu, can you give me some time to catch up in private? Things between us can’t just end so unclearly.”

“Didn’t you make things clear enough when you were hurling insults back then?” Ji Jin couldn’t stand her nostalgic act. The memory of what happened years ago, even if she hadn’t heard the full story at the time still filled her with genuine rage. She wanted nothing more than for this person to vanish. “Now you want to catch up privately? Give it a rest. I wouldn’t dare leave Axiu alone with a spider that might bite at any moment.”

Meng Lin’s face stiffened. She suppressed the urge to physically shove Ji Jin away, staring fixedly at the silent Yun Chuxiu and treating Ji Jin’s words like a buzzing fly.

Yun Chuxiu didn’t want to participate in their war of words. She asked the dazed Lin Xing for a glass of plain water.

…At least Chuxiu hasn’t refuted that sentence yet, Meng Lin thought, a tiny sliver of hope rising in her heart.

“Axiu,” Ji Jin pulled Yun Chuxiu into her arms, a gesture of absolute possession. “You didn’t tell me there would be a scene like this today.”

“Since the person has come knocking on your door, don’t you have something to say?”

Yun Chuxiu looked at her sideways. Being held so tightly, her hand holding the water glass could barely lift. “I think you’re doing plenty of talking for the both of us.”

Ji Jin puffed out her cheeks: “A-xiu”

“Alright,” Yun Chuxiu said helplessly, patting the head that was forcefully nuzzling her. She said softly but firmly, “Haven’t I already said everything that needs to be said?”

Three pairs of eyes turned toward her simultaneously.

Yun Chuxiu set down the glass. Her eyes, though bathed in the warm light of the bar, were unexpectedly cold. “She asked, and I answered.”

“I’ve already forgotten the person, so what ‘sequel’ is there to talk about?”

Lin Xing took a sharp breath, truly not daring to look at Meng Lin’s expression now. “So that ‘mm’ earlier wasn’t just a brush-off…”

Actually, it was a brush-off.

But the right of interpretation belonged to her.

Yun Chuxiu shook herself free from Ji Jin’s overly emotional embrace and unfastened her messy long hair, running her fingers through it carelessly.

When she raised her eyes, they reflected Meng Lin’s soul-crushed shadow yet, upon closer look, those eyes held nothing at all.

The calm facade Meng Lin had struggled to maintain finally shattered. Her lowered hands clenched into fists, sharp nails digging into her palms, yet she seemed oblivious to the pain. She stared intently at Yun Chuxiu, her words forced through gritted teeth.

“Don’t be like this…” she nearly pleaded, yet she forced herself to keep her posture so as not to lose face in front of Ji Jin. “You know those weren’t the truths.”

Yun Chuxiu finally looked at her directly. She didn’t look moved; she simply let out a long, hollow sigh. “If you had said that five years ago, there might have been room for consideration.”

But not now.

“Even the most intense emotions have an expiration date,” Yun Chuxiu said expressionlessly as she pried away Ji Jin’s increasingly anxious hands. “Besides, I’m not a very generous person. The things I remember now are just those few terrible sentences.”

“Do you need me to help you recall them?” She rested her hand on the bar counter, her tone bordering on cruel. “Social climber… becoming someone’s canary just to flip your fortunes… that even if I knelt on the ground and begged you, you wouldn’t look at me again…”

“Stop it!”

“Don’t say it…”

Two voices rang out at once.

Ji Jin, face full of heartache, cupped Yun Chuxiu’s face, crouching slightly to block her from looking at Meng Lin.

“I didn’t know she said so many horrible things to you…”

Yun Chuxiu tilted her head and pulled away gently, she wasn’t actually sad. “She had probably been drinking then, so her phrasing was a bit more… pointed.”

She knew then that those weren’t entirely truths, but…

Were they entirely not truths?

“I haven’t forgotten. I haven’t gone a single day without thinking about them,” Meng Lin’s expression was pained. Ignoring the fact that others were starting to notice, her voice rose uncontrollably. “Chuxiu, I was stuck in a dead end then. I was just… I was just…”

…I was just too resentful that the treasure I guarded chose someone else, and too afraid that the woman I loved would repeat her mother’s old path.

But she couldn’t say those truths five years ago, and five years later… anything she said sounded like a flimsy excuse. She could no longer speak.

Meng Lin covered her eyes dejectedly. Her beautiful “butterfly wings” felt heavy, as if swallowed by a lightless corner.

Even Lin Xing couldn’t bear to watch. Before this, she had a good impression of this older sister who occasionally checked in on Chuxiu’s life online. Having the mask of the past suddenly ripped away left her momentarily stunned.

She silently handed over a glass of ice water, trying to calm the other woman’s obvious mental breakdown, but that was all.

Nothing was more important than Chuxiu’s feelings, no amount of explanation would change that.

Lin Xing looked away and stepped back behind Yun Chuxiu, making her stance clear.

“This distance is a bit too close,” Ji Jin said, picking up the person in front of her and taking a massive step back. Before Yun Chuxiu could react, she was moved, chair and all into a blind spot where Meng Lin couldn’t see her.

Even then, Ji Jin stood protectively in front, declaring fiercely, “Now that you’ve finished your slander, have the guts not to look back.”

Yun Chuxiu curiously tugged at the end of Ji Jin’s hair. The other woman seemed truly livid; her shoulders were trembling slightly.

“Why are you so angry?” Even angrier than when they ran into Jiang Fanyin. “Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

Yun Chuxiu felt her suspicion was well-founded.

After all, those words were five years old. If she, the victim, could recount them calmly, there was no reason for Ji Jin to explode like this.

She wasn’t exactly wearing a “highly flammable” sign, was she?

“No,” Ji Jin glared at Meng Lin, ignoring the woman’s dazed state. Her attitude remained sharp, ready to sting. “She was your best friend back then. When you heard those words, you must have been so sad, yet I knew nothing about it.”

She had even been basely happy about the rival’s departure.

Thinking about it made Ji Jin feel miserable. She momentarily lost interest in attacking Meng Lin and became dejected herself.

Yun Chuxiu helplessly hooked Ji Jin’s pinky and gave it a shake. Glancing at the surrounding eyes that were peeking over, she sighed. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard such things. If I took everything to heart, how would I live my life?”

“Everyone is watching,” she said. “Let’s not argue here. If you have something to say, we’ll talk at home.”

The bystanders quickly shifted their gazes. Juan Niao Bar had been open for years, and many regulars knew the owner. Being called out led to a wave of awkward coughing.

“Tonight’s drinks are on me,” Yun Chuxiu said to the equally lost Lin Xing. Guessing the girl wouldn’t be sleeping well tonight, she softened her tone. “You should go home and rest too. You couldn’t have prevented this unexpected situation.”

Back then, they each had their own thoughts, but out of respect for years of friendship, no one had truly brought the falling-out into the open.

Lin Xing was unlucky enough to be deceived, there was no need for further blame.

Thinking this, Yun Chuxiu gave a warning poke to Ji Jin’s open palm.

Ji Jin retracted her gaze unhappily. Out of respect for Yun Chuxiu, she pursed her lips and said nothing more.

But she did feel resentment, not because of Lin Xing’s stubborn desire to break them up, but simply because of this poorly vetted “candidate.”

Even if it were Jiang Fanyin…

…Actually, Jiang Fanyin still wouldn’t do.

Ji Jin muttered to herself, clearing her head of the overwhelming emotions. She couldn’t be bothered to keep attacking Meng Lin.

“Let’s go home.” She took Yun Chuxiu’s hand and slowly pulled her up from the chair, forcing a smile despite her low spirits.

“Let’s not talk about that for now,” Yun Chuxiu changed the subject considerately. “How did you find this place anyway? And so perfectly timed… Lin Xing wouldn’t have told you.”

“Location tracking,” Ji Jin squeezed her hand, her voice turning plaintive the moment the topic was raised. “Nothing good ever happens when Lin Xing looks for you… when I saw your location moving this way, my heart nearly stopped.”

Yun Chuxiu: “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

Ji Jin pouted. “It’s because her malice toward me is too strong.”

Yun Chuxiu sighed and declined to comment further.

A minute later, Ji Jin asked cautiously: “So, can I follow A-xiu home tonight?”

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Yun Chuxiu: “If I said no…”

“Then I’ll cry,” Ji Jin said seriously, leaning her face close. It was late, and the nearest streetlight was some distance away. Those narrow eyes, reflecting fragments of light, were both alluring and pitiful.

“Since you behaved well tonight,” Yun Chuxiu’s heart softened. She pinched the other’s cheek and said, “Just this once.”

“Mhm, mhm,” Ji Jin nodded obediently, taking the opportunity to steal a kiss. Her words immediately became bold again. “I’ll behave even better tonight. I’ll definitely make A-xiu so satisfied she won’t be able to speak.”

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Yun Chuxiu immediately straightened her expression and pushed the face away, scolding neutrally, “Watch your mouth.”

“It’s more like… being unable to help myself,” knowing she wasn’t truly angry, Ji Jin interlaced their fingers and pointed to the ground. “Just like this.”

Yun Chuxiu looked down. Two faint shadows were stretched long, melting into the quiet night, almost vanishing.

“Just like this…” Ji Jin trailed off, suddenly turning serious. “Accompanying you forever.”

“Ah.”

Yun Chuxiu gave a soft response. Thinking of something, the slight curve of her lips faded.

She paused for a moment and said unclearly, “Right now, I will promise you.”

Ji Jin didn’t parse the complexity of her attitude, she simply took it as a definite promise and relaxed completely.