After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 22

“Absolutely impossible.”

Ji Jin left the Ji family residence feeling refreshed.

As if she could already foresee her victory, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile after walking just a few steps. In a great mood, she clicked into a video call.

Only two seconds after the ringing started did she realize she was in the wrong location, and she hurriedly hung up in a panic.

…It was over.

Ji Jin closed her eyes in despair. She could have just muddied her way through with a bit of luck, but this slip-up was a fatal mistake, wasn’t this just a blatant attempt to attract Yun Chuxiu’s attention?!

Her A-xiu was so perceptive…

Ji Jin found a spot with dim lighting and carefully observed her surroundings. After confirming that even an emergency video wouldn’t capture any landmark buildings, she dialed back for a voice call.

The ringing lasted an unexpectedly long thirty seconds.

Yun Chuxiu seemed truly busy. Even after the call connected, she didn’t have time to attend to Ji Jin, keeping the mouthpiece covered while talking to someone nearby. She actually left Ji Jin on cold standby for nearly a full minute!

The guilt that had been swirling in Ji Jin’s mind was instantly smoothed over, along with the slight upturn of her lips.

In just a dozen seconds, her mood felt like it had ridden a roller coaster, one that had unfortunately stalled at the very peak, leaving her hanging.

“Did you call suddenly for something urgent?” After finishing her task, Yun Chuxiu glanced at the thirty second call duration and explained apologetically, “I happened to have some unfinished business just now. It’s settled now.”

Ji Jin instinctively pouted. Realizing the person on the other end of the line couldn’t see her through the internet, she responded sluggishly, her voice a small, unhappy accusation. “Can’t I call you if there’s nothing urgent?”

Yun Chuxiu fell silent for two seconds. Ji Jin couldn’t wait any longer and raised her pitch, drawling, “Is A-xiu meeting someone very important? You never used to ignore me like this.”

The act of picking up a call and not ending the other conversation first… in the past, that was something that simply never happened.

“Ji Jin,” Yun Chuxiu said helplessly, her voice sounding slightly distorted through the receiver. “I am a busy person after all. It’s normal to be unable to attend to everything at once.”

“Does this even count as being ignored?”

Ji Jin suddenly lost her confidence. “…Yes,” she muttered. Feeling she was being excessive, she crouched on the ground, patted her face, and quickly shifted the topic: “Aren’t you going to ask me what happened with that video call just now?”

Yun Chuxiu paused even longer this time, her tone sounding inexplicably like a sigh. “A mis-touch, right? That’s a very normal thing to happen.”

And then, there was nothing else.

Ji Jin plucked a handful of grass from the ground. While she should have been relieved that she had passed this hurdle smoothly, she couldn’t stop the irritation from rising in her heart.

“…It wasn’t a mis-touch,” she murmured, then added as if trying to mend the fold, “I realized after clicking it that it wasn’t a suitable time for video.”

She was being very honest, so honest that she would likely spill everything if asked just two more questions.

So ask me.

Ji Jin carefully placed the plucked grass back onto the small bare patch of earth, smoothing it out slowly to leave enough time for the other person to think.

Whether it was checking her location, questioning her, or complaining anything would be better than this attitude of total indifference.

“Mm…” Yun Chuxiu seemed a bit troubled. “Then just be more careful next time.”

Ji Jin: “?”

Ji Jin instinctively rubbed her ear and waited patiently, holding her breath for a while longer.

But no matter how long she waited, there was no follow-up explanation.

Yun Chuxiu seemed to have lightly let go of this glaringly obvious loophole and even took the initiative to change the subject.

“Two minutes have passed. Aren’t you going to tell me what you wanted to say?”

…She was being far too considerate.

Ji Jin slowly straightened her body. The mysterious tension in her heart didn’t dissipate instead, it grew more anxious.

“I missed you,” she blurted out the mushy words, completely ignoring the fact that they had been apart for less than two hours. “Can I come find you?”

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

“No,” Yun Chuxiu stopped her. Her voice turned a bit colder, though still within the bounds of concern. “Did something happen? Is someone bullying you?”

Ji Jin earnestly denied it. Hearing those words, her tense emotions relaxed slightly, and her logic returned.

“…Then I won’t disturb Axiu further.” She mumbled a few words, realizing she couldn’t say anything if she wanted to maintain a sense of mystery. She awkwardly tried to cover it up: “Maybe I haven’t rested well these past two days, my head is a bit messy.”

Yun Chuxiu gave an affirmative sound. Even after the call ended, she still didn’t press for more.

“Did you guys have a fight?” The woman sitting opposite Yun Chuxiu tapped the now darkened phone screen in confusion. She explained, “I didn’t listen on purpose, and I didn’t hear what she said, but…”

Yun Chuxiu: “But?”

“But you spoke very little this time,” the woman said, rubbing her fingertips and taking a sip of coffee to hide her curiosity, though her eyes betrayed her completely. “Your attitude was terrifyingly cold.”

Yun Chuxiu gave a “mm” and directly adopted Ji Jin’s excuse. “Maybe I haven’t rested well these past two days.”

“Haven’t rested well?” The woman arched an eyebrow and smiled. “It seems the Eldest Miss Ji is as clingy as ever.”

“…Let’s focus on business,” Yun Chuxiu tapped the table, clearly unwilling to continue dwelling on the matter.

So something really did go wrong…

“I understand,” the woman turned serious in a second. She took a small glass bottle from her bag and handed it over, tactfully dropping any concern regarding their relationship.

“It’s the scent I wanted,” Yun Chuxiu rubbed the bottle, a trace of nostalgia in her eyes.

The woman glanced at the small hydrangea tucked in Yun Chuxiu’s palm. She held back, avoiding sensitive topics again. “Look who you’re talking to. You got your money’s worth.”

Yun Chuxiu hummed in agreement again.

The air conditioning in the room drowned out the slight warmth stirred in her heart. Yun Chuxiu glanced at the woman’s fingers, which were unconsciously interlaced, and said somewhat helplessly, “You don’t need to be so cautious.”

“Actually, it’s not that…”

“She and I haven’t reached that point yet,” Yun Chuxiu smiled candidly. She didn’t point out the other’s momentary embarrassment, merely lowering her eyes and murmuring an explanation: “Couples can’t always understand each other perfectly. I’m just still looking for a more balanced way to get along with her.”

It wasn’t anything shameful.

After all, having been with Ji Jin for so long, their social circles were highly integrated. If something really happened, it would be impossible to hide from anyone.

By then, the “pieced together” answers from others would only be more bizarre.

“Balance… hearing that word used here really makes me want to laugh,” the woman gave a fake smile for two seconds but didn’t follow up on that sentence. She just shook her head. “If Ji Jin heard that, she’d probably be heartbroken.”

Yun Chuxiu thought otherwise, but the person in front of her was more certain than the party involved, even betting on the opposite answer.

“She doesn’t seem to have any principles when it comes to you, it feels like she’d go along with anything,” the woman recalled their interactions. Having been an onlooker a few times, she felt it was overly saccharine. “The moment you appear, she has no eyes for anyone else. I’ve never seen her look so spineless.”

“She and I were classmates for a few years, after all. I can see that much,” she said wistfully. After observing Yun Chuxiu’s expression for a moment, she started advocating for Ji Jin. “She chose you long ago. If there’s something she’s not doing well, it’s much more effective to tell her directly than to give her the cold treatment.”

“She will definitely change.”

“That’s why it’s meaningless,” Yun Chuxiu looked at the rustling leaves outside the window. She didn’t hide it, speaking a few rare words of truth. “I don’t like using forced methods to achieve a goal.”

A fruit plucked by force, no matter how sweet it looks, will have a dry bitterness when tasted.

“Hmm…” The woman pondered for a while, thinking of certain rumors in their circle, and was momentarily speechless.

If the person involved felt it was untangleable, then what could she, a “small sapling” caught in the middle, possibly say?

The woman shrugged, her conscience clear after trying, and even initiated a bit of trouble: “Since you put it that way, I can only wish her luck.”

“Speaking of which, I’m flying to Milan in a few days, so…”

Yun Chuxiu raised an eyebrow: “So?”

“So if she cries, can you take a photo and send it to me for the archives?” The woman smiled mischievously. “I have to get revenge for that time she took an ugly photo of me and sold it to my brother at a high price.”

Yun Chuxiu: “.”

Yun Chuxiu’s lip twitched, though her tone lightened up. “Absolutely impossible.”

“Absolutely impossible.”

In the backstage of the Tired Bird Bar, a caught Lin Xing resisted vehemently, crossing her arms in an ‘X’ shape. She said with emphasis, “If you really want to do this, find someone else. I don’t want to help you at all.”

“Don’t be stubborn at a time like this,” Ji Jin moved to block her exit, offering a polite but warning smile. “You don’t actually think you can break us up, do you?”

“Have you completely forgotten the results of your last attempt?”

Ji Jin’s gaze turned cold. She had originally only intended to pressure her, but now she was getting annoyed herself. She let out a cold snort: “It’s only because A-xiu is gentle and doesn’t hold a grudge.”

Lin Xing knew exactly what she was talking about. She froze for a moment as suppressed negative emotions surged once more.

“She’s always like this, she doesn’t say anything when she’s hurt and is always so forgiving,” Ji Jin’s voice leveled out. With a “thud,” she leaned against the door. After a moment of silence, she reluctantly curled her lips. “If it weren’t for the fact that you really are important to her, I wouldn’t want to see you at all.”

Lin Xing: “…You think I want to see you?”

“Whatever, what’s done is done,” Ji Jin looked up, her gaze lingering for a second on the faint dark circles under Lin Xing’s eyes. She forced a superficial, fake smile, her tone rising slightly. “Whether you help me or not is up to you. I’ll only remind you of one thing.”

“What I want to do is what A-xiu wishes for. If something goes wrong halfway… you wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would you?”