After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 44

“A house cannot have two control freaks.”

In the end, they returned to the hotel together in silence.

Yun Chuxiu packed her bags, preparing to return to Yucheng overnight. Looking at the newly delivered items, Ji Jin helped move a flourishing pot of phalaenopsis orchids. She spoke in a low voice, feigning ease while unable to tear her eyes away: “I’ll head over tomorrow. If there’s anything you need brought back, you can still find me. At any time, I am very willing to help you.”

“There’s likely no need for that,” Yun Chuxiu replied, lifting her eyelids slightly. Knowing the other woman was deliberately avoiding her, she acted as if she hadn’t heard the subtext. “Yucheng is quite large. Our paths won’t cross so conveniently anymore, it’s best not to trouble you with extra trips.”

Ji Jin was momentarily lost for words. Her eyelashes trembled as she stood there for a long time, finally squeezing out a half-sentence of protest: “…This wouldn’t be called a ‘trouble’.”

“What did you just say?” Yun Chuxiu was busy packing, the clattering noise distracting her. She only noticed Ji Jin’s lips moving.

Ji Jin leaned against the wall and rubbed her face, masking her disappointment. “Nothing. I just almost accidentally bumped into something.”

Seeing her so tense, Yun Chuxiu crouched on the floor, thought for a moment, and offered a half-hearted consolation: “It’s fine. There’s nothing here that absolutely must be taken away.”

“None of it is important.”

Ji Jin: “…Is that so?”

Yun Chuxiu fell silent again briefly, buried her head back into her packing, and casually added: “Well, not exactly… I still quite like that pot of phalaenopsis.”

“By the way,” she refocused her gaze on Ji Jin, her tone bright and direct: “Do you have anything else? If not, I’m ready to leave.”

Ji Jin tried to hold back but eventually failed: “Actually…”

“Don’t say what shouldn’t be said,” Yun Chuxiu reminded her kindly. She gave a polite smile and spread her hands. “Mm, now you can continue.”

Ji Jin: “…”

Ji Jin’s rationality returned to its threshold. Her gaze remained locked on the other woman as she slowly shook her head. “I have nothing more to say.”

“Then, goodbye.”

Yun Chuxiu bypassed her, traveling light and leaving without a hint of nostalgia.

The rare peace and quiet lasted only for the duration of the return journey.

The moment Yun Chuxiu stepped out of the airport, before she could even steady herself, she was pulled into a tight embrace by a sprinting Lin Xing.

“Sister Xiu,” Lin Xing held her, touching her and spinning her around, letting out a massive sigh of relief. “It’s good that you’re okay. I heard the Ji family went looking for you. They are too much! How can they bully people like this!”

“I’m fine,” Yun Chuxiu patted her shoulder, indulging the unspoken anxiety of the other girl, and comforted her with a smile. “This time it was my oversight. You did really well. Don’t be afraid, these things won’t haunt us anymore.”

Lin Xing sniffled. She had originally managed to pull herself together, but at the sound of comfort, her tears became uncontrollable. “Why do you have to say things like that? I wasn’t going to cry. We’re in public; crying now looks so ugly…”

“It’s not ugly,” Yun Chuxiu brushed away the tear-soaked hair from Lin Xing’s face and pulled her closer into her arms, soothing her. “If you cry in front of your sister, you cry. I’ll shield you.”

Lin Xing sobbed even harder.

“You two,” a voice called out, slightly distorted by distance.

Yun Chuxiu looked toward the sound. Jiang Fanyin poked her head out, her slender white fingers gripping the frame of a black car. She greeted them with a beaming smile: “I happened to be passing by. Do you two want a ride?”

“Don’t worry, my driver is very steady. Miss Yun just got back at this hour and probably hasn’t had time to eat. Coincidentally, I’ve already booked a restaurant.”

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Yun Chuxiu caught a glimpse of flowers through the window, pink bellflowers of excellent quality. To say they were just plucked from a roadside green belt was impossible.

Lin Xing straightened up momentarily. “Maybe not. I can…”

“Didn’t Miss Lin have some drinks at noon? Besides, I saw something else when I passed the bar earlier. Hmm… Miss Lin might want to check her phone.”

“…They wanted to organize a gathering to comfort me,” Lin Xing bit her lower lip, feeling both moved and uneasy. She instinctively turned her gaze to Yun Chuxiu, hesitating. “But Sister Xiu… maybe we should go together.”

“The people at the bar are more used to spending time with Lin Xing. If an ‘unplanned’ person like me goes, it might only make them feel awkward and constrained.”

Besides, Jiang Fanyin was clearly well-prepared.

“Get in,” Yun Chuxiu decided. A free ride was a free ride. She quickly composed herself, pushed Lin Xing to the front, and sat in the back seat herself.

“It suits you well.”

Large blooms of pink bellflowers were suddenly thrust into her arms. Yun Chuxiu instinctively leaned back, but space in the car was limited; there was nowhere to hide.

“There’s no need to be so wary of me,” Jiang Fanyin signaled the driver to raise the partition, her expression unchanging. “I did, after all, solve quite a big problem for you.”

“…This meal is on me,” Yun Chuxiu replied. Even though she knew the other woman’s words were heavily embellished, she was too tired to argue.

She was truly exhausted from the day’s events. Rather than wasting energy refusing a meal, it was easier to simply agree. She had to eat anyway.

Jiang Fanyin pushed her luck: “How about taking me off your blacklist?”

Yun Chuxiu glanced at her and did as requested.

“Senior…”

“Don’t call me Senior.”

Yun Chuxiu closed her eyes wearily, her voice lacking strength and sounding soft. “Behave yourself. I am really tired.”

Jiang Fanyin looked at her in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected to hear such a tone. It felt like being teased by the hook of a feather.

It seemed Ji Jin’s pursuit this time had been completely counterproductive, it had hurt Yun Chuxiu so much that she couldn’t even be bothered to hide her state of mind.

Truly, human joys and sorrows are not interconnected. Jiang Fanyin was genuinely happy right now.

The opportunity is right in front of me, Jiang Fanyin thought. If I don’t take advantage of this moment, I’d be a failure as a pursuer.

“I saw you visit this restaurant before and thought you liked it, so I made the reservation here.”

Jiang Fanyin stepped out first to open the car door. She looked at Yun Chuxiu under the darkening night sky for a while before gently tapping her shoulder and explaining in a soft voice.

Yun Chuxiu was truly tired. She didn’t listen to the specifics, she just nodded and followed her out of the car.

How nice, Jiang Fanyin’s hand hanging at her side itched. She almost couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the soft, red patch of skin on Yun Chuxiu’s face where she had been leaning against the seat.

It had to be said, a semi-conscious Yun Chuxiu was much easier to talk to than the normal one. She was like a kitten with its claws clipped, even if you annoyed her and got swiped, it wouldn’t hurt.

A pity, though. The “favorability” level wasn’t high enough yet. If she did it now, there would surely be a reckoning later…

“What are you looking at me for?”

“Looking at how beautiful you are.”

Jiang Fanyin was still daydreaming when she turned and met Yun Chuxiu’s calm as water gaze. The misty haze in Yun Chuxiu’s eyes had completely vanished. She frowned. “If you aren’t very hungry right now, we don’t have to eat this meal.”

Jiang Fanyin: “…”

Jiang Fanyin raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Alright, alright. Blame my lack of focus. But Miss Yun, aren’t you being too cruel?” She paused, feigning hurt. “You won’t even grant me a postponement, you go straight to cancellation?”

Yun Chuxiu gave a half-smile and calmly finished the thought: “I don’t like promising things I can’t do.”

“Truly, it’s a long and difficult road…” Jiang Fanyin muttered to herself, her smile quickly returning to normal. “It’s too early to say such things.”

Yun Chuxiu propped her head up, lacking energy, and looked out at the river view behind the glass.

Jiang Fanyin sighed silently. “They say out with the old, in with the new. Why is it that with you, it feels like a bone has been carved out?”

“Were you annoyed by the people the Ji family sent?” She continued the conversation herself, handing over a brightly colored drink. She deliberately brought up the past: “The Ji family is indeed troublesome. They won’t even give you time to have a proper meal. Miss Yun, don’t you find this scene familiar?”

“I wonder if anyone here can recognize us. But if they take photos this time, they’ll have to sell them to me.”

“I don’t drink anything with alcohol,” Yun Chuxiu said with a lazy lilt, almost sounding like a laugh. “Also, if President Jiang likes helping others make money so much, you could certainly find another way.”

“Why are you so harsh with me?” Jiang Fanyin complained with a beaming smile.

Warm light fell from above. In the blink of an eye, the person sitting opposite seemed to be covered in a soft-focus filter. Even her mildly accusatory words felt like flirtations hidden in the heart.

“You’ve been smiling all day,” Yun Chuxiu noted. Even when rejected, even when snapped at.

She brought her gaze back and looked at her quietly. There was a faint frost at the corners of her eyes as she frowned. “Don’t you think it’s very offensive?”

Jiang Fanyin didn’t react immediately. Her smile stiffened. “What?”

“That look, like you’re looking at a pet,” Yun Chuxiu unconsciously rubbed the water droplets on the glass. Recalling the other’s habitual “tolerant yet helpless” gaze, she didn’t hide her revulsion.

It was too different. In the past, Jiang Fanyin had shown some restraint. Now, it was as if the clouds covering the mountain peak had cleared, revealing the rugged interior. The closer one got, the more it felt like being looked down upon.

“Why would you say that?” Jiang Fanyin never expected such an answer. She honestly bowed her head and poured a cup of tea for the other woman, laughing helplessly. “That is truly an injustice. If it’s just because the drink isn’t to your taste, I’ll change it right now.”

“I thought my performance over the years was enough to prove my sincerity. Miss Yun, when have you ever seen me treat anyone else this well?”

“Is it just because you want to be with me?” Yun Chuxiu asked abruptly.

Jiang Fanyin was slightly frustrated. Knowing that any answer to this question would likely lead to rejection, she decided to drop the act and hit a “straight ball.” Her tone became reckless. “Yes. I told you long ago that you and Ji Jin aren’t a match. I can give you everything she can’t.”

The relationships in the previous generation of the Jiang family were far “cleaner” than those in the Ji family. Not only did they not demand matching social status or disrupt the affairs of the younger generation, but some elders even tried to help when they knew she liked someone, to say nothing of her parents, who were a model couple.

In every way, it was a much better environment than Ji Jin’s side.

“But you’re just stubborn, unwilling to give me a try,” she sighed, adding, “I’m not Ji Jin. If it really doesn’t work out, I won’t cling to you.”

“Can’t we just part amicably when the time comes?”