After Failing To Tame The Scumbag - Chapter 9

“How can you be so good?”

“…It should be caused by excessive fatigue over the past two days combined with emotional agitation. It’s nothing serious; just go back and get some good rest.”

“But she looks like she’s in a lot of pain,” Ji Jin’s brows were knitted tight. Even while speaking to the doctor, she couldn’t stop glancing sideways. Every time her eyes landed on Yun Chuxiu’s pale face, her expression grew more tense. “Maybe we should do a full body checkup. I think…”

“Miss Ji!” The doctor, who had been woken up from a nap, finally reached her limit. She pushed up her glasses in frustration. “You’ve said the words ‘she’s in a lot of pain’ three times already! I’ve already prescribed her medicine. She’ll be fine once the IV is done.”

“…If you truly care about her, pay more attention in your daily life. Don’t let her emotions get so strained.”

The doctor sighed. The “gossip” regarding these two always traveled fast in their social circles, even a busy person like her knew a thing or two.

Truthfully, she felt quite sorry for Yun Chuxiu. Had her partner been anyone other than Ji Jin, Yun Chuxiu wouldn’t have become the subject of idle teatime chatter over such issues.

Words are fearsome things. No matter how powerful Ji Jin was, or how much she tried to suppress the rumors, she ultimately couldn’t stop the growing number of gossiping mouths.

“Ji Jin,” Yun Chuxiu opened her eyes dizzily. Before her emotions could even catch up, her hand instinctively reached out.

In less than three seconds, the warmth of another person met her touch.

Ji Jin sat by the edge of the bed, heart aching as she warmed the other woman’s ice-cold hand. She gently pressed her back into the bed, coaxing her in a soft, whispering voice: “I’m right here. If you’re uncomfortable, just lie down. I’m not going anywhere, don’t be in a hurry to get up.”

Doctor: “?”

The doctor recalled the urgent, machine gun like tone Ji Jin had used to wake her up, not a single polite word in sight, a barrage of questions that felt like she was interrogating an AI.

Was that the same person as this woman who was now afraid to even speak a word too loudly?

Doctor: …Even with years of friendship, this is actually a bit nauseating.

“…Why are your eyes red?” Yun Chuxiu took a breath. She still grabbed Ji Jin’s wrist to pull herself into a sitting position. The needle in her hand vibrated with the movement, bringing a dull, stinging pain.

Ji Jin pursed her lips, staring intently at the increasingly visible blue veins on Yun Chuxiu’s hand. Her remorse reached an irrepressible peak.

Yun Chuxiu raised her hand to touch Ji Jin’s face. Speaking felt exhausting, and she couldn’t muster much strength, so she simply gave a lock of Ji Jin’s hair a gentle downward tug.

Ji Jin was very cooperative. She silently leaned her face into the touch, her voice muffled as if squeezed through her teeth, “A-Xiu… you should hit me.”

Yun Chuxiu: “?”

The doctor, who hadn’t left yet: “?”

The doctor choked on those words, erupting into a world-shaking coughing fit.

“Cough, cough, cough” She gave Yun Chuxiu an extremely deliberate look. Once she confirmed the other had seen her, she tilted her chin and “accidentally” knocked her water glass against the table with a clink.

She said, “I see you’re quite good at taking care of people, Miss Ji. It’s early morning now, so I’m going back to sleep.”

“…The clinic keys are on the table. I recall you know how to remove an IV needle. You can leave once her bag is empty. Remember to lock the door for me.”

With that, she turned and left, determined not to accidentally witness anything she shouldn’t.

…She couldn’t stay in this damn place for another second!

The door opened and closed with a “thud.” The sheer curtain hanging nearby fluttered, tracing a soft arc in the air.

Ji Jin, her back to the door, remained motionless.

Yun Chuxiu let out a faint laugh. After emerging from the swamp-like heaviness of her consciousness, she felt unexpectedly relaxed. She said in a half-joking, half-coaxing tone, “That won’t solve the problem, it only disposes of the person causing it.”

Ji Jin’s hand clutching the quilt tightened imperceptibly. She remained silent for a few seconds, feeling an intense resistance toward the “result” that joke might imply.

“A-Xiu…” Her lips trembled, her eyes looking like they held a handful of sand she refused to let scatter. “I’m sorry… I’m the one who made you suffer like this.”

“If you still want to get married, can I say yes now…”

“Shh,” Yun Chuxiu cut off the answer that was about to burst forth. Her smile gradually faded, leaving only a thin layer like a sheet of white paper hanging loosely on her face.

“Do not mention this matter again,” she said. “I am not as fragile as you think, and I don’t need you to force yourself to compromise over and over for my private whims.”

Ji Jin nodded obediently. Her hair, tied back with a single hair tie, had mostly come loose during the night’s chaos. Strands fell, swaying with the draft as her gaze dropped.

…She looked even more like a puppy waiting to be petted.

Yun Chuxiu gave a light chuckle and beckoned with her hand. Only when Ji Jin’s cheek was pressed against her palm did she continue: “Have you forgotten even what it is you want? I warned you, don’t lower your standards just because the person you’re facing is me… Weren’t you doing quite well before?”

You did so well that your A-Xiu is now lying weakly in a hospital bed.

The emotions Ji Jin had been suppressing finally flooded out. Touching Yun Chuxiu’s gentle gaze shattered the last of her defenses, she had no emotional strength left to resist.

Tears fell with a “patter,” large droplets rolling into Yun Chuxiu’s open palm, both burning hot and freezing cold.

“A-Xiu, how can you always be so good?”

Ji Jin hugged her waist and nuzzled her, burying her head against Yun Chuxiu’s stomach, feeling both ashamed and completely overwhelmed by emotion.

Yun Chuxiu’s eyelashes slowly lowered. Looking at the back of Ji Jin’s head, the faint trace of a smile in her eyes finally vanished completely.

Yun Chuxiu’s discomfort didn’t last into the next day. Just as the doctor said, it really only looked scarier than it was.

As the “patient” herself, she didn’t take it to heart much.

Ji Jin, however, clearly didn’t believe it. She stayed awake all night, full of worry, watching over her. It wasn’t until Yun Chuxiu opened her eyes the next morning looking just as she usually did that Ji Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Once the tension broke, physical exhaustion caught up with her.

“Look at the dark circles under your eyes,” Yun Chuxiu hadn’t expected this. She picked up a mirror from nearby and shoved it in front of Ji Jin, then pushed her back onto the bed without allowing for argument. “Don’t go out today. Get a good sleep. I’ll go ask the maid to prepare some simple meals, you can eat when you wake up hungry.”

Ji Jin was indeed exhausted, but that didn’t stop her from tightly grabbing Yun Chuxiu’s wrist as she tried to get out of bed. “Where are you going?” She forced her sleepy eyes open wide. The moment her gaze disconnected from the person in front of her, the unpleasantness of the previous night rushed back to her mind.

“Are you going to look for Jiang Fanyin again?” Ji Jin’s aggrieved voice was tinged with the dampness of the early morning pitiful, yet somehow indescribably cute.

The name “Jiang Fanyin” was indeed a double-edged sword.

The moment Ji Jin spoke it, the room suddenly contained two people wounded by the “night.”

Yun Chuxiu was stuck between exasperation and amusement. However, seeing as this woman had stayed by her side all night without daring to sleep, her heart softened. She turned back to face her, stroking the fluffy head and pinching the downturned corners of Ji Jin’s mouth.

“Didn’t I already say? I’m going to ask the auntie to make breakfast.”

“Rest assured, I won’t go anywhere until you wake up.”

Yun Chuxiu stepped onto the floor barefoot. The curtains in the room were drawn, allowing only a sliver of stolen light to peek through the gaps. Because of this, it wasn’t until she stepped outside that she noticed something slightly unusual.

The sleeves… were a bit too big.

When Ji Jin bathed her and changed her clothes last night, she had clearly grabbed the wrong pajamas.

Yun Chuxiu raised her hand against the sunlight. Her naturally pale skin formed a sharp contrast against the ink-black fabric. The cuffs were loose, allowing the cool air from the air conditioner to circulate freely, a sensation that was actually quite comfortable in the heat of approaching summer.

“Miss Yun,” the auntie working downstairs called out with a smile. Having just returned from a vacation yesterday, she looked refreshed, bathed in the morning sun.

“Isn’t Miss Ji coming down to eat? I specially prepared crab roe soup dumplings today; she mentioned she wanted them a few days ago.”

“She didn’t sleep well last night,” Yun Chuxiu pinched the bridge of her nose. Not wanting to disturb Ji Jin, she detoured to the guest room to freshen up.

Click. The sound of running water filled the room, the splashing gradually clearing her lingering sleepiness.

With a mouthful of toothpaste foam, Yun Chuxiu recalled the chaotic scenes from the night before and picked up her phone.

The moment she turned it on, the screen was flooded with message after message.

The most anxious was Lin Xing, followed closely by the well-informed Jiang Fanyin.

Yun Chuxiu thought for a moment, ignored them both, and tapped on the photographer’s chat box to express her request.

The photographer was indeed easy to talk to or perhaps Jiang Fanyin had already given secret instructions. She not only deleted the negatives but also offered an explanation for the video’s origin.

Her appearance at that scene wasn’t entirely a coincidence. Part of the reason was an invitation from Ji Jin’s mother to record events. The Ji couple shared a house but lived separate lives. Ji Jin’s father stayed abroad and didn’t want to be a step behind in receiving first-hand news about his daughter, though it was hard to say how much of that was actual “care.”

The focus was entirely on “not being a step behind,” rather than “news about Ji Jin.”

The photographer knew this well but kept such speculations out of her explanation, though she did slip in a few good words for her cousin, Jiang Fanyin.

Yun Chuxiu responded politely, though she didn’t truly take any of it to heart. After finishing with the photographer, she once again ignored Jiang Fanyin’s messages.

Just then, Lin Xing called.

The young girl had been scared out of her wits. Having received no response from Ji Jin, she let out a long sigh of relief when the call finally connected.

She asked a few questions about last night. From the sound of her voice hoarse and sluggish, she hadn’t gotten much rest either.

Feeling a touch of warmth in her heart, Yun Chuxiu explained a few details she felt comfortable sharing.

On the other end of the line, Lin Xing was silent for a moment. She sighed first, then let out an emotional, sharp remark: “So you were literally sickened with anger?”

Yun Chuxiu: “…No, it wasn’t that serious.”

Lin Xing added gloomily: “I still feel like she’s a jinx for you.”

Yun Chuxiu: “…”

Yun Chuxiu looked at the phone screen to make sure she hadn’t misheard, feeling even more helpless.

It felt like watching a cat and dog fight at home after coaxing one, she had to soothe the other. After this series of chores, any desire to dwell on deeper thoughts was forced offline.

Yun Chuxiu decided to let herself off the hook.

She hung up and sat down at the dining table. The sun was pleasant, the air was fresh, and the beautiful soup dumplings on the table were steaming with a warm aroma.

They were truly tempting.

Yun Chuxiu realized she was hungry and was about to enjoy the auntie’s cooking when the silent front door was suddenly knocked upon.

Yun Chuxiu: “?”

Her chopsticks hovered in mid-air, neither moving forward nor being put down.

After two seconds of silence, considering that anyone who could find this place must be someone of importance, she stood up and walked toward the door.

Soon, the door opened, and sunlight flooded in. Yun Chuxiu squinted at the brightness. When the visitor removed her sunglasses, she finally matched the face to the name in her head.

“…Auntie?”

An answer that was unexpected yet logical. Given the sensitive timing, Yun Chuxiu could guess the purpose of her visit. She pursed her lips, feeling the weight of the coming trouble.

“I was ill yesterday, and Ji Jin watched over me all night. She isn’t awake yet,” Yun Chuxiu explained, pouring a cup of hot tea to hand over. Her demeanor was poised and neither humble nor arrogant as she said, “If you’re looking for her, you might have to wait a while.”

“I’m not looking for her,” the woman, who exuded refinement from head to toe, smiled. Her eyes swept over Yun Chuxiu from top to bottom before she spoke slowly: “I’m here to see you today. It’s actually better if she isn’t here.”