After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 3

“A Monetary Relationship”

“A-Xiu… the weather is so nice today… No, I mean, today’s luck is really bad, no, that’s not right…”

“Haven’t woken up yet?” Yun Chuxiu tapped the doorframe, her gaze naturally dropping. She was about to say something when she was cut off immediately.

Ji Jin scrambled forward, her brain seemingly short-circuiting as she desperately tried to stop Yun Chuxiu from remembering that “ominous object.” “I think I might be a little sick, A-Xiu. My head is dizzy and I feel terrible.”

Having said that, she performatively clutched her head. Yun Chuxiu seemed to pause for a moment, letting out a short “Mm,” her tone rising at the end, she didn’t believe a word of it.

Yun Chuxiu asked with genuine confusion, “But your voice sounded very energetic when you were shouting my name across the house just now.”

Ji Jin: “…”

Ji Jin cleared her throat awkwardly. One plan failed, so she tried another. “Actually, that was just a final burst of energy before the end…”

Knock, knock. Yun Chuxiu frowned and tapped the doorframe, her voice turning cold. “What did you say?”

Ji Jin gulped and went silent again.

“Can we go out for breakfast?” She squeezed herself into Yun Chuxiu’s line of sight, raising her voice slightly. After saying this, she coughed dryly again and continued timidly, “Eating the same thing all the time… one needs a change of pace once in a while…”

Yun Chuxiu: “.”

Yun Chuxiu didn’t even bother changing her expression. She glanced sideways at the sandwiches and porridge that hadn’t been brought to the table yet and said calmly, “Mm. Whose cooking do you want to switch to?”

Realizing she had said the wrong thing again, Ji Jin lowered her head like an ostrich.

Yun Chuxiu gave Ji Jin a ghostly look, then reached out with annoyance to cup her chin, forcing her to look up. She said, “If you want to change, change. I don’t usually see you being this cautious and obedient.”

Ji Jin subconsciously retorted, “Except for when we’re in bed, when am I ever not obedient?”

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Yun Chuxiu pinched her cheeks, smoothly squishing her mouth into a duck face.

Ji Jin tried to speak but couldn’t open her mouth, resulting in a muffled “Doo.”

Yun Chuxiu’s cold facade broke, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Fine, it’s about time anyway. It’s not too late to go get whatever you want to eat.” She let go and untied her apron. Seeing Ji Jin still standing there, she placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her around.

“Consider it a reward for being good. On the dining table, there’s…”

“Ah!” Ji Jin let out a short yelp. After drawing all of Yun Chuxiu’s attention, she realized she had overacted and had to rack her brain to smooth it over. “A reward… a reward… I can’t take that. I’m still a ‘guilty party’ right no. I haven’t even prepared an apology gift for A-Xiu yet.”

“Heh,” Yun Chuxiu sneered, speaking slowly and deliberately. “If you’re so aware of being a ‘guilty party,’ then was it a dog sleeping in my bed last night?”

Ji Jin struggled to find an answer: “…Actually, last night was only because I have thick skin.”

At this point, Yun Chuxiu didn’t want to waste a single punctuation mark on her.

“If you don’t like it, forget it. No need to make excuses.” She brushed past Ji Jin’s shoulder and picked up the velvet box from the table. She weighed it in her palm, showing no sign of frustration despite being repeatedly rejected.

Ji Jin’s heart leaped into her throat. Her brain exploded with a buzz, making her voice sound shaky. “I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just… it’s too early. I haven’t made preparations yet, A-Xiu…”

Yun Chuxiu curled her lip coldly. “You need to ‘prepare’ yourself just to accept a necklace? Fine. Lin Xing’s neck is empty. I think she’d be quite a good fit for it.”

“Wait!”

A necklace? What necklace? It’s just a necklace?!

Ji Jin’s brain shifted gears instantly. Without a second’s pause, she “whooshed” in front of Yun Chuxiu and snatched the box away like it was a precious treasure.

“It’s mine,” Ji Jin’s non-existent ears almost perked up as she emphasized again: “It’s for me. You can’t give it to anyone else.”

Yun Chuxiu smiled thinly. “Oh? But didn’t you just firmly refuse it?”

Ji Jin was speechless for a moment, only shaking her head persistently.

The necklace, adorned with a blue gemstone, lay quietly in the velvet box, twisted into the shape of a fingertip wreath. Even in the dimly lit room, its brilliance was hard to hide. Ji Jin touched it carefully, quickly realizing its design matched a sketch she had once glimpsed on Yun Chuxiu’s desk. Her heart felt tight. “This… you prepared this for a long time, didn’t you? Were you going to give it to me last night?”

She had been blind, mistaking such a beautiful token of affection for a terrifying shackle, and had even ruined A-Xiu’s mood.

Ji Jin pressed her lips together, her face clouded with guilt. “I’m sorry, last night I…”

“What are you talking about?” Yun Chuxiu suddenly interrupted her, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Last night? I only picked this up this morning. Did you see it last night?”

Ji Jin: “!”

A stray lock of Ji Jin’s uncombed hair practically stood up in shock.

From the start to the end, it all came back to the “box.” There was no hiding, no escaping, she was truly finished now.

Ji Jin stood motionless, her feet seemingly glued to the floor and the glue had seemingly reached her brain as well!

“You must have remembered wrong.”

Ji Jin’s brain was frozen; she subconsciously nodded, only to realize the words hadn’t come from her.

Yun Chuxiu laughed again, cupping Ji Jin’s face and rubbing it. It took a while before she suppressed her light laughter. “Just a few words and you’re already in a mess. You should at least try to resist me a little.”

“A-Xiu is always right,” Ji Jin found her voice again under the gentle treatment. She slowly wrapped her arms around Yun Chuxiu’s waist and spoke softly: “If this is what A-Xiu wants to see, then being in a mess is fine.”

“…If you keep acting spoiled, we won’t have time for breakfast.” Yun Chuxiu’s voice turned cool for a moment before returning to normal. “I have a meeting with a partner today to look at materials. It will probably take a long time, so I won’t be able to have dinner with you tonight.”

Ji Jin was a bit hesitant, but the reason was so legitimate that she had no grounds to object.

“Will there be drinking? Do you need me to pick you up?” Ji Jin asked.

Yun Chuxiu shook her head. Her pale eyes looked like they were stained with ink in the dim light of the rain. “I don’t like the feeling of alcohol numbing my nerves. This partner feels the same way.”

Ji Jin ran a hand through her hair, feeling a petty dislike for that “feels the same way.”

“I won’t drink anymore unless it’s absolutely necessary,” she promised in a gentler tone. “I won’t do things A-Xiu dislikes anymore.”

Yun Chuxiu: “?”

“How did the conversation even get here?” Yun Chuxiu poked the face that had leaned in, unable to handle how the other person took every opportunity to pledge her loyalty. Avoiding the core issues while working desperately on the minor details… even for Yun Chuxiu, it was rare to see someone so dedicated to taking the long way around.

“It’s not necessary,” she waved her hand, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out. At the door, she paused briefly, her back turned. The sound of the falling rain blurred the emotions in her words.

“What I want isn’t another ‘me.’ If that were the case, I’d never be able to shake off this ‘control freak’ label.”

Though, currently, it wasn’t much different.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Yun Chuxiu looked up at the pouring rain. She didn’t leave immediately but opened the GPS on her phone, pinning it to the most prominent position on the screen.

Three marriage proposals, three failures. Even if she didn’t say much, her friends who knew the situation probably couldn’t sit still and would likely invite Ji Jin out for a “long chat” sooner or later.

She didn’t deny the futility of doing this. If Ji Jin were willing to talk, she wouldn’t have buried her head like an ostrich during all those previous hints. But even so, Yun Chuxiu couldn’t refuse her friends’ kindness, though refusing was useless anyway.

The only solution seemed to be getting there early.

…When did this relationship start feeling like constant firefighting? Yun Chuxiu thought, somewhat inappropriately.

Last night’s failure had affected her calm judgment after all. The rain grew heavier, but fortunately, the traffic wasn’t too bad. Yun Chuxiu rushed and managed to reach the last traffic light just in time. The red numbers counted down; only 30 seconds left to cross.

…30 seconds.

Yun Chuxiu turned the steering wheel and looked down at the green dot representing “Ji Jin” on her phone. It was drifting off course, slowly moving toward a location that was far too familiar yet shouldn’t be visited at this time.

…Why the rush?

Yun Chuxiu felt a sense of helplessness as she pulled up Ji Jin’s schedule for the day. Confirming that she was indeed off-course, she rubbed her brow, went silent for two seconds, and then smoothly opened the chat with her business partner to cancel today’s meeting.

Then, she took the shortest route and headed straight back.

At 10:00 AM, Ji Jin skipped her regular meeting and arrived at the “Tired Bird” bar.

It was early. Although the bar was open, it was cold and empty, completely different from its moody nighttime atmosphere.

Ji Jin frowned as soon as she stepped inside.

“Lin Xing,” she lowered her voice, her eyes sweeping over the unwelcome guests at the table on the far right. Her gaze was sharp and icy. “What is going on with them?”

“Long time no see. Well… maybe I shouldn’t say that.” Jiang Fanyin was the first to raise a glass to her, then gestured to the others at the table with a smirk. “I don’t count, but you’ll certainly find these friends a bit unfamiliar. After all, those years we spent together in our youth were a long time ago.”

Ji Jin rolled her eyes, finding the other woman’s smile nauseating. “I hardly consider you people ‘friends.'”

“But you’ll definitely be interested in the topic we’re about to discuss: ‘The secrets Yun Chuxiu is hiding from you.’ You were lured here by that reason, weren’t you?” Jiang Fanyin’s tone rose slightly, as if provoking her. She continued with a beaming smile, “Initially, this is your family matter, and I didn’t want to kick you while you’re down, but who told our Miss Lin to plead with me?”

Ji Jin’s warning gaze fell on Lin Xing, who had remained silent. For Yun Chuxiu’s sake, she temporarily suppressed her anger and tried to stay calm through this farce. “Out of respect for your friendship with A-Xiu, I respect your concern for her. But that doesn’t mean you can continue to test my bottom line.”

Lin Xing calmly adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, undeterred by the sudden shift in Ji Jin’s attitude. “I didn’t contact CEO Jiang. I just ran into her last time, and today was a pure coincidence.”

Jiang Fanyin waved her hand, still smiling. “I just accidentally overheard some things I shouldn’t have. When Miss Lin called last night, her expression was so bad she couldn’t hide it. I was truly curious what kind of thing could make her that angry… Well, it seems I know everything now.”

Ji Jin’s expression went completely cold. It was obvious she had realized something.

The phone call, last night… Knowing she probably shouldn’t stay any longer, she turned to leave.

“Wait,” Jiang Fanyin called her out again. Unlike Yun Chuxiu, who still left some room for grace, Jiang Fanyin was much more direct, giving her no chance to escape. “Ji Jin, why are you running? Are you afraid to hear why Miss Lin is angry?”

Ji Jin said coldly, “I don’t care”

“Of course you don’t care,” Jiang Fanyin interrupted, glancing at the “audience” she had brought along. Her expression dimmed, but her voice grew louder. “After all, your original intention was to maintain a monetary relationship with Miss Yun. Someone like you… how could you possibly care about the sincere heart she offers in her repeated marriage proposals?”