After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 33

“Don’t make her wait anymore.”

“You, talk less,” Yun Chuxiu said, her fingers slightly curved as she tapped Chu Cheng’s forehead. “What exactly happened? Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t get into a conflict with her?”

“I just held her down for a hearty match of arm wrestling,” Chu Cheng replied, unbothered by the tap. She leaned in closer on purpose, blinking innocently. “As the saying goes, whoever is stronger at arm wrestling gets the final say.”

“Where on earth did you get such twisted logic…”

The other woman, having waited patiently for a while without seeing Yun Chuxiu offer a reprimand, couldn’t sit still any longer. In a voice flattened by a sense of grievance, she complained, “Who starts a conversation by forcing someone into a winner takes all arm wrestling match?! You set all the rules and punishments, and you wouldn’t let me leave, you only did it because you knew for sure you’d win!”

“Why else would I play that with you?” Chu Cheng gave her a look as if she were a fool, wearing her victory like a badge of honor. She hummed with a smirk, “I already have the moral high ground, why would I set rules that give you a chance to turn the tables?”

“I’m telling you… if you’re bad at it, practice more!”

“How loathsome!” The anonymous lady, completely provoked, turned her face dark. She stared at Yun Chuxiu, looking as though she wouldn’t leave until she received a formal explanation.

Yun Chuxiu said helplessly, “How old are you both?”

The lady immediately joined the fray: “Exactly! How old is she, still using such childish tactics!”

Chu Cheng rolled her eyes at her. “Did the boss mention you by name? Why are you answering?”

Though the situation was unclear, Chu Cheng had 100% trust in Yun Chuxiu. At the very least, before the facts were out, her boss would never play the “neutral party” standing in the middle.

There was no such thing as “punishing both sides equally.”

“I wasn’t talking about her.” Yun Chuxiu met the stranger’s gaze directly. As if unaware of how biased her words sounded, she tilted her head slightly. Her voice was thin and calm, showing no ripple of emotion. “Chu Cheng may be impulsive, but she isn’t someone who refuses to admit when she’s wrong.”

Unless, from the very beginning, she felt she hadn’t done anything wrong at all.

“Heh.” The lady was truly laughed into a temper. With a thud, she threw down the water gun in a small fit of rage. She stiffened her neck, her voice rising several notches. “I told her my intentions the moment I arrived. I am not some stalker!”

“I received a message to come take care of you before your plane even landed. It was all above board. I even showed it to her.”

Chu Cheng sneered, her fists clenched tight. “Do you dare say who instructed you to come?”

The lady paused, a flash of guilt crossing her face, but it was quickly masked by a forced sense of confidence. “It was Ji Jin. She said if I was discovered, I could just say it.”

Chu Cheng chuckled twice, each word squeezed out between her teeth: “Then why don’t you guess why she didn’t dare let you stand before the boss openly?”

“She originally wanted me to pick you up normally, but later…” The lady rubbed the bridge of her nose, seemingly realizing that the rest of her words would be self-incriminating. After two seconds of awkward silence, she simply gave up. “I’m just someone who was called here. How should I know the issues between you all?”

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have taken this job just for the commission!

Yun Chuxiu lowered her eyes, her voice dropping a few more intervals, carrying a faint rasp. “You shouldn’t be unaware of the fact that we have broken up.”

To dare take a shady commission from Ji Jin, there was no way she hadn’t done some background research.

But who knew the situation was actually this severe?

In their circle, breaking up and getting back together was normal, wasn’t it? Besides, Ji Jin’s attitude made it clear she didn’t intend to let go. Wouldn’t a reconciliation happen sooner or later?

“A breakup is just temporary,” the lady chuckled nervously, trying to gloss it over. “You big shots shouldn’t involve us little people in your power struggles. I just wanted to boost my performance metrics. It’s not a capital crime, is it?”

“Who told you it’s temporary?” Chu Cheng found those words unbearable. Her lips curled, her eyes wide, ready to charge.

“…That’s enough.” Yun Chuxiu pressed her hand down first, stopping her. She sighed and reminded her calmly, “People are already looking over.”

Chu Cheng couldn’t vent her frustration, her cheeks puffing out in a pout. “But look at what she’s saying!”

To suggest that someone who was clearly hurt would get back together with their ex… she wouldn’t even wish that on someone she hated.

Realizing she had misspoken, the lady lowered her head. She intended to stay silent until the topic passed, but Chu Cheng’s sharp gaze felt physical. She couldn’t help but talk back.

“Getting back with Ji Jin isn’t a bad thing! You don’t know how many people are eyeing that spot next to her…” her voice grew lower and lower.

Chu Cheng’s face was cold, she had already started rolling up her sleeves.

“Alright,” Yun Chuxiu patted her arm soothingly. She stared at the woman expressionlessly for a moment, then suddenly held her phone up in front of her. “I recorded everything you just said.”

The lady was stunned. “What…”

“You say this doesn’t count as stalking, but without my personal consent, do you think the police will share your opinion?”

Even if it were just a minor dispute, if things escalated, it couldn’t be suppressed, especially when tagged with the currently trendy “breakup gossip.” By then, how many people would find out would be beyond the parties’ control.

Yun Chuxiu watched her crumbling expression quietly, her voice turning several degrees colder. “Do you want to settle this at the police station, or apologize now? The choice is yours.”

“…I’m sorry!” The woman clearly hadn’t expected this outcome. She stood frozen for a few seconds before finally gritting her teeth and bowing her head, as if everything would disappear if she just didn’t look at it.

Yun Chuxiu had no intention of driving her to a dead end. She nodded in acceptance and simply told her not to do such things again.

“Then delete the recording,” the lady said, her mind clearing as her face flushed with embarrassment, her tone softening.

“Don’t worry,” Yun Chuxiu curled her lips into a slight smile. “I never recorded anything in the first place.”

She just wanted to resolve this quickly.

The apology was insignificant, but if she had let the woman go without it, Chu Cheng would likely have been unhappy for the rest of the day.

Besides, this matter wasn’t just about one person; those words were indeed harsh enough to be ear-piercing.

“Boss! You’re amazing!” Chu Cheng hopped in place, her vitality returning.

The smile didn’t leave her face until the woman’s back was long gone.

Yun Chuxiu comforted her with a few more words and lay back down on the lounge chair. The sun was still shining brightly, but her heart was swaying, like something being pulled out of the sea and then repeatedly plunged back in.

How strange.

Even though she was standing firmly on land and living within the sight of others, she still felt an unspeakable sense of helplessness and exhaustion, as if she were drowning alone.

What should she say? What could she say?

Whether in fact or logic, such self-righteous thoughts shouldn’t exist, at least, they shouldn’t be argued so confidently in front of the person involved, as if they were a correct conclusion.

But… how many others held the same thought?

Even among those who sent messages of “concern,” a significant number carried this underlying assumption. They just didn’t say it outright, so she kept one eye closed, pretending not to know.

Even though it was a relationship between two people, “Yun Chuxiu” never seemed to have her own voice… right, she should have been used to it by now.

Time would eventually prove everything.

Both for love, and for letting go.

“This trending topic…”

In Yucheng, Ji Jin looked at the trending hashtags that were constantly climbing, momentarily finding it difficult to make a choice.

After the livestream ended, many accounts claiming to be “insiders” sprouted up like bamboo shoots after rain, sharing many small anecdotes about the “Jin Xiu” romance.

…After the news of the breakup came out, they unexpectedly gained “CP fans” (shippers).

The information being spread was a mix of truth and lies, but likely because the attitude she presented was clear enough, the stories appearing under the tags were mostly warm and beautiful, regardless of their authenticity.

Even Ji Jin herself, seeing those familiar small details, felt as if she were returning to the past through the screen and loving her “A-Xiu” all over again.

How wonderful, everyone instinctively paired their names together, proving over and over again that that was love.

But.

Ji Jin looked calmly at certain comments that instinctively blamed the breakup on Yun Chuxiu, accusing her of “playing hard to get.” Even though they were quickly buried, the mere fact that they existed was something she couldn’t tolerate.

“Suppress this one,” Ji Jin closed her eyes and made a quick decision. “Tell the monitoring team to be careful. Don’t cause trouble for Yun Chuxiu, and don’t let her be subjected to malicious speculation.”

“I will go up and clarify this matter myself.”

The assistant looked worried but offered a cautious reminder: “The press conference is coming up soon.”

Clarifying now was unnecessary, and this wasn’t just about one person… there were already whispers of blame. If this continued, those who disliked Ji Jin would surely use this against her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ji Jin laughed at herself mockingly, turning away as if she had made a final resolve. “There are some things I must do.”

She had a very bad premonition.

If she continued to let things develop without taking action, the things she was unwilling to let go of… would be lost forever.

Whether it was an explanation or a proposal, she was always making A-Xiu wait. This time, at the very least, she had to face it.

If she couldn’t even manage to admit it, how could she win back the person she had already disappointed?

Ji Jin covered her heart and took a deep breath. Characters were typed out and deleted. She stared at the screen for a long time, as if she were personally tearing open the bandage hiding a wound.

This time, she finally saw it, the hideous wound had never been healed, it was bleeding quietly, worsening because it had been left ignored.

Ding.

Yun Chuxiu’s phone chimed with a “Special Interest” notification.

She dazed for a moment, struggling to identify which app it was before unlocking the screen. She was about to reflexively block Ji Jin again, but first, she saw a statement the other had specifically posted.

Ji Jin V: We were in love for seven years and have broken up. I am currently trying to pursue her again. She did nothing wrong, the problem lies with me. I hope everyone will not disturb her.

Also, malicious rumors are wrong. You will receive a court summons.

The comment section had descended into total chaos.

Some questioned why they actually broke up, some felt this was just a cover-up, others were “shipping” them even harder, ignoring the past and only asking if they had a future.

Ji Jin picked the top comments and replied to them one by one.

Ji Jin, who was unwilling to admit the relationship was truly over no matter what, focused her replies on the third category of questions.

She said: “If I am fortunate enough. But the decision lies with her. She has the right not to forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made.”

Yun Chuxiu’s hand, which was about to block her, suddenly froze in mid-air. She stared fixedly at those words, and the daze she had just recovered from suddenly intensified.