After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 30

“Let me go.”

“What old friend… wait,” Ji Jin was confused at first, but the implication was too clear. The moment the words left her mouth, memories came flooding back.

“You… you know everything.”

Ji Jin swallowed hard, her face burning. Even mentioning it seemed to make her tongue tie in shame. “At that time… I just… hadn’t made up my mind yet.”

“I’m not trying to interrogate you. It’s only human nature that you’d think I was beneath your family.”

In fact, if today’s events hadn’t forced her to pull back the veil on the past, Yun Chuxiu would never have brought this up for the rest of her life.

The Ji family was wealthy and looked down on someone like her, who had no one to rely on. She understood their desire to choose a girl from a more suitable social standing.

But feelings are between two people. Where was Yun Chuxiu any less than anyone else?

Time and time again, they put their contempt on full display. Whether it was the Ji family or Ji Jin herself, where exactly did they think they could trample on someone else’s dignity!

“I don’t want to see you right now,” Yun Chuxiu grabbed a folder and threw it at her face. The force wasn’t heavy, but the intent was unmistakable, it was near humiliation. “You’d better leave on your own.”

Ji Jin froze. She didn’t dodge. A small cut appeared on her cheek, and her eyes turned completely red. She spoke without thinking: “I was wrong about that matter. Axiu, I can compensate you… money, property…”

She could use everything she owned to smooth over that scar, she could turn herself into the one with nothing being scrutinized, she could…

“Get out!”

Yun Chuxiu cut her off sharply, kicking her away. “You bastard… how dare you say such things to me!”

It was the first time she had been pushed to such a rage. Her dizziness intensified, and she could hardly catch her breath.

“I really regret it, Ji Jin. I really regret it,” Yun Chuxiu clutched her chest. The sharp, faint pain coming from there was the most undeniable truth in this absurd scene.

It was simply laughable.

“How did I end up entangled with you for all these years…”

“Axiu!” Ji Jin’s terror reached its peak. Droplets of blood fell one by one from her cheek, but she didn’t notice. She practically crawled up from the floor, her eyes bloodshot as she death-gripped Yun Chuxiu’s wrist. Shaking, her mind went blank. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t…”

“…Enough,” Yun Chuxiu was too exhausted to argue anymore.

She looked at Ji Jin’s collapsing, frantic state, her eyes swirling with emotion. She didn’t struggle, she simply raised her free hand and pressed hard against the bleeding wound on Ji Jin’s face.

Sensing her intent, Ji Jin actively leaned forward, her eyes unblinking, as if she didn’t know the meaning of pain.

“Ji Jin,” Yun Chuxiu let go. After staring into her eyes for a few seconds, she finally surrendered, covering her eyes and weeping. “Exactly how many mistakes have I made… to be entangled with you to this point?”

“Just let me go, okay? Just pretend it was all my fault, that I was the one who overstepped the boundaries…”

Yun Chuxiu choked with sobs, physically and mentally drained. The stabs of pain from her tightening wrist, combined with the pleading eyes of the person before her, felt like a blunt knife. It severed her from every positive emotion she could perceive, leaving her to face a landscape of ruins.

It was a complete mutual destruction.

Yun Chuxiu couldn’t remember the last time she had lost control of her emotions like this. She never used tears as a weapon, and cases where her logic completely melted down were few and far between.

It hurt too much.

She didn’t know where the pain was coming from anymore, nor did she know how to resolve it.

“Axiu…”

Ji Jin was completely stunned. She stared fixedly at the tearful eyes visible through the gaps in Yun Chuxiu’s fingers. Like an electric shock, her trembling worsened. She couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

“I won’t touch you… I’m leaving right now!”

Ji Jin hurriedly let go. The wrist she had been gripping was now red, looking particularly piercing against her pale skin.

Her pupils shrank, and her heart felt squeezed by an invisible hand. Her entire world began to blur. Everything spun, she couldn’t remember or think of anything. She could only gasp for air, stumbling toward the door.

Bang!

Only when the sound of the door closing settled did Yun Chuxiu finally catch her breath.

“Why did I start crying…” She wiped the cold tears from her face, trying to suppress the bitterness in her heart and return to normal.

Folders, phone calls, anything. Yun Chuxiu aimlessly rummaged through her tidy desk. At first, she maintained a facade, but gradually her movements became more violent, until she accidentally slammed a stack of organized documents against the door.

A dull thud echoed, short and sharp, overlapping with the heavy hammer falling in her heart.

Yun Chuxiu remained expressionless. Tears fell one by one, hitting the desk silently. With her back to the door, she looked as if nothing had happened.

But she knew that composure had cut off all ties with this office.

The light was simply too bright, it pierced a hole through the dark night and stabbed her vacant eyes a thousand times over.

What should she do? What on earth was she supposed to do…

Yun Chuxiu stood up to pick up the scattered documents. Her eyes swept over the black and white text mechanically, she had become as numb as an ice sculpture.

Until…

Her gaze stopped on a “Team Building Proposal.”

“How did the Boss think to join us?”

A light jacket was draped over Yun Chuxiu. The newcomer was beaming, her eyes following her as she spoke in a forced, lighthearted tone. “It seems I’m the only one with the honor of sitting next to the Boss.”

Yun Chuxiu looked at her sideways, feeling a bit helpless. “This ticket was originally booked for you anyway. Am I really that scary?”

“I wouldn’t say scary. I fought hard for this opportunity,” Chu Cheng smiled. As soon as she sat down, her attention was caught by the dark circles under the other’s eyes.

She pulled out a steam eye mask and pressed it into Yun Chuxiu’s hand. Thinking of the rumors she’d heard lately, she said heart-achingly, “It’s not like before when we couldn’t see the end of the tunnel. Why does the Boss still look so tired…”

As one of the first people to stay by Yun Chuxiu’s side, having watched her lead everyone from a tiny studio to where they were now, Chu Cheng found it hard to associate Yun Chuxiu with the phrase “relationship setback.”

But unfortunately, whether it was the external rumors or the sight of Ji Jin running out of Yun Chuxiu’s office in a panic two days ago… everything pointed to a single answer.

“How about we go to a temple to pray?” Chu Cheng’s gaze was sincere. She blinked, trying to lift the low mood. “Isn’t it trendy now to ‘outsource’ the problems you can’t solve yourself?”

“That’s not the same thing at all,” Yun Chuxiu chuckled. Looking out the window at the layered clouds, her mood inexplicably improved.

Chu Cheng didn’t push it. She said with a grin, “Maybe it is. Now that the weather is warming up, maybe after a few sea breezes, the things you see will become clearer.”

“In any case, the Boss can’t be wrong. Out with the old, in with the new.”

“It seems you know a lot,” Yun Chuxiu said wistfully. She rubbed her eyes, went silent for two seconds, and finally put on the eye mask.

Chu Cheng laughed again. “It’s the Boss’s business, after all. People from several entertainment companies have come knocking. Thanks to you, I’ve really felt what ‘enthusiasm’ means.”

It was more than enthusiasm.

She had never seen people so good at finding gaps. Sometimes they would even crouch downstairs at the company, just waiting to add fuel to the fire of a “failed romance.”

But those weren’t things Yun Chuxiu should have to worry about.

Chu Cheng didn’t mention her increased workload. She changed the subject in a few sentences, leaving no room for bad emotions to land.

Yun Chuxiu saw through her intentions and felt a sense of comfort. After listening to her chatter for a while, she actually fell asleep.

It was a deep sleep, untroubled by nightmares, lasting until the plane landed.

The sunlight in the coastal city seemed particularly clear. A sense of freedom met her, soft yet refreshing. The moment she walked out of the airport, the knot in her heart seemed to be gently loosened.

Chu Cheng walked over with a sun umbrella, covering Yun Chuxiu’s long shadow. She said, “I’ve already handed over the plan to someone else. We can break away from the group.”

“Come to think of it, the last time we came out to play together seems like a very long time ago.”

“Indeed,” Yun Chuxiu walked toward the exit. A warm breeze swept through, bringing a refreshing, clear fragrance. She paused, and the cold expression she had been wearing softened briefly.

“I don’t have much of a plan, why don’t we…”

Before she could finish, her phone rang.

Yun Chuxiu frowned. Just as she reached for it, a hand reached out and pressed down on it.

Chu Cheng clearly misunderstood. “We’re busy right now. It’s normal if we can’t answer the phone.”

“…It’s not Ji Jin,” Yun Chuxiu lifted her eyelids and looked helplessly at her friend’s agitated state. Her voice was clear and steady, as if she didn’t care at all. She explained, “I’ve already blocked her. Her calls won’t get through.”

Chu Cheng raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Yun Chuxiu moved past her hand and answered the call. She searched her mind for information on “President Shen” and spoke politely: “Hello, this is Yun Chuxiu. You…”

“Axiu, where are you…”

Snap. Yun Chuxiu hung up.

Chu Cheng saw something in her attitude and leaned over to peek at the name on the screen. Right then, a message popped up.

“I won’t call using this number again. This time I just wanted to confirm if you arrived safely. Axiu, have a good time.”

The tone made it obvious who was behind it.

Chu Cheng frowned in disgust, completely unable to understand. “Why insist even after being blocked? Just to convey a meaningless greeting?”

Yun Chuxiu: “Maybe.”

She glanced at the darkened screen. She couldn’t keep a business partner’s number on the blacklist forever, so she could only turn off the phone, out of sight, out of mind.

Chu Cheng was even more annoyed. “Honestly, is she a ghost that won’t leave…”

“Let’s not talk about it,” Yun Chuxiu rubbed her temples, consciously avoiding the topic, fearing that if she spoke of it, Ji Jin would pop up again from some other corner.

She was truly exhausted from dealing with it.