After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 33

The shop was so busy that evening that Shen Xiaojiang didn’t even have time for dinner.

Lin Qianqian had ordered takeout early on, but Xiaojiang only managed to eat half of it. The ice in her milk tea had long since melted, and she had only taken a few sips. She even transferred her share of the money to Lin Qianqian via “AA system” (splitting the bill). She didn’t want to owe Lin Qianqian anything or have any deeper complications between them.

It wasn’t until she finished grooming the last dog that she could finally sit down.

“Ow, my waist…” Shen Xiaojiang let out a long stretch, hoping to relax, but her neck, shoulders, and lower back only felt more sore.

Sensing an opportunity, Lin Qianqian quickly put down her phone and scurried over to Xiaojiang, asking softly, “A-Jiang, should I give you a massage?”

Shen Xiaojiang paused at the name “A-Jiang.” Her expression chilled instantly.

Noticing the shift, Lin Qianqian quickly corrected herself: “Shengjiang (Ginger), I’ll call you Shengjiang just like Sun Jiabao does, okay?”

Shen Xiaojiang sighed helplessly, distanced herself from Lin Qianqian, and said coldly, “I’ll be fine once I get some sleep.”

Lin Qianqian muttered an “oh” but continued to stand by her side.

As Shen Xiaojiang prepared to input member information, she glanced sideways and said flatly, “This is confidential information; it can’t be made public.”

Lin Qianqian “oh” again and turned away dejectedly to return to the sofa.

After finishing the data entry, Shen Xiaojiang prepared to head back to the dormitory with Lin Qianqian. On the way to the bus stop, there was very little interaction between them. Lin Qianqian did most of the talking, while Xiaojiang listened absentmindedly. She didn’t initiate any topics or offer much commentary. In truth, even in high school, Xiaojiang hadn’t spoken much to her; the conversation only flowed back then because Sun Jiabao was there to bridge the gap.

Chen Yi “happened” to be driving by. She pulled over and cut the engine. She watched Xiaojiang turn off the lights and lock the shop she saw Lin Qianqian waiting nearby; and she watched the two of them walk side by side toward the bus stop.

After her dinner meeting tonight, Chen Yi had gone to inspect a brand’s winery production line. The pet shop where Xiaojiang worked was in the east, and the winery was in the west, it wasn’t on her way at all. Yet, unconsciously, she had driven here.

Even if she didn’t speak to Shen Xiaojiang, even if she only saw her from a distance, Chen Yi felt a sense of peace. To Chen Yi, Shen Xiaojiang was a unique existence. She was the first kindness the world had ever granted her, the only purity in a filthy society.

Suddenly remembering Sister Meng at the hospital, Shen Xiaojiang turned to Lin Qianqian and said, “I need to go to the hospital now. I’ll call a car for you to go back to school. Jiabao will meet you at the gate.”

She pulled out her phone to call a ride.

Lin Qianqian looked devastated. “Shengjiang, are you abandoning me?”

Shen Xiaojiang chose to ignore the nonsensical remark. “We are just ordinary friends. The word ‘abandon’ is inappropriate. Please mind your phrasing.”

“Shen Xiaojiang!” Lin Qianqian suddenly shouted.

Xiaojiang was startled.

“How can you say that? Is it because you hate me? Is that why you didn’t come back to the dorm yesterday, and today you’re planning to sleep out again?” Lin Qianqian’s eyes turned red instantly. Her tears seemed to come cheap, flowing at a moment’s notice.

Shen Xiaojiang froze for a second, then offered no excuse: “Yes, I hate it.”

“Wha… what?” Lin Qianqian was stunned. She was delusionally confident and never expected Xiaojiang to say something that completely rejected her as a person.

“How can you talk like that?” Tears fell like broken strings of pearls.

Shen Xiaojiang disliked this meaningless entanglement. She wanted to make things clear tonight.

“Lin Qianqian, I’ll say it again: we are high school classmates, ordinary friends, and nothing more,” Xiaojiang said, pulling further away. “Don’t waste your acting cute or your tears on me, because I don’t care. And if you keep acting like this, I really will find it loathsome.”

“Shen Xiaojiang…” Lin Qianqian’s eyes were bloodshot. “Think carefully. Do you really hate me? Didn’t you always yield to me in high school?”

Xiaojiang shook her head. “In high school, you didn’t act as annoyingly as you have these past two days. Back then, I was simply showing the politeness due to an ordinary friend. If you continue to act crazy and disgust me, we won’t even be friends anymore.”

Lin Qianqian’s face turned pale, then red. Choked by Xiaojiang’s words, she even forgot to cry.

“Shen… Shen Xiaojiang…”

As Xiaojiang turned to leave, she was suddenly hugged from behind. Lin Qianqian clung to her back, sobbing hysterically.

“Shen Xiaojiang, why are you so cruel to me? Scumbags lied to me, Sun Jiabao treats me like an enemy, and now even you hate me? I’m so miserable!”

Shen Xiaojiang was trapped. The more she struggled to break free, the tighter the other girl held her.

“Lin Qianqian! Let go of me!” Shen Xiaojiang was truly angry now. Her friendly features hardened into a layer of frost, her eyes sharp as ice.

“Don’t say it, don’t push me away, please…”

If they were just close friends, this kind of hugging wouldn’t be an issue. But because the other person had ulterior motives, it made Shen Xiaojiang feel violated. She didn’t want to use force against another girl, but Lin Qianqian was being completely unreasonable.

Too much!

Shen Xiaojiang jerked her elbow back, striking out ruthlessly to force her away. Lin Qianqian, her lungs nearly bursting with frustration, lost her balance and fell to the ground, her face smeared with tears.

Watching this from the car, Chen Yi’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Her foot, which had been on the brake, suddenly shifted to the gas pedal.

BANG!

A loud crash was followed by the wailing of car alarms. Not far away, a car had slammed into a roadside planter.

Both Shen Xiaojiang and Lin Qianqian froze. A crowd began to gather, obscuring much of the vehicle. Xiaojiang couldn’t see the license plate or the driver yet, but her heart rate suddenly spiked. She had an intuition.

That car looked familiar.

She desperately hoped her intuition was wrong. It was late. Chen Yi hadn’t contacted her, so she shouldn’t be here. Nancheng was a big city anyone could own a white car, and anyone could have an accident.

“Shengjiang…” On the ground, Lin Qianqian’s lips trembled, her eyes still full of burning expectation. She grabbed Xiaojiang’s right hand. “Shengjiang, you pushed me? I never thought you’d treat me like this. Is there really no sentiment between us? Answer me! You know you’ve always been important to me, I’ve always…”

Suddenly, several passersby ran past them.

“Look! A luxury car hit the planter!” “Damn, it really did. Looks like a Bentley.” “It is a Bentley! Look at that plate, it’s all the same digits! Badass!”

A white Bentley? A “leopard” (repeating) license plate?

Shen Xiaojiang’s ears rang; she couldn’t hear a word Lin Qianqian was saying. The evidence was mounting.

Suddenly, Shen Xiaojiang coldly shook off Lin Qianqian’s hand and sprinted toward the accident site without looking back. No matter how Lin Qianqian screamed after her, she didn’t stop. She finally understood the cliché from TV: “Only death can stop me.”

Just one look, she thought. If it’s not Chen Yi, I’ll let Lin Qianqian call me whatever she wants. But if it IS Chen Yi and I just stand here at the bus stop doing nothing, I’m the world’s biggest idiot.

She caught a glimpse of the “77777” plate. She still hoped maybe someone else was driving?

“Who are you?” “Why are you pushing?” “Hey, watch it!”

Shen Xiaojiang ignored all manners. She pushed through the crowd and reached for the car door. It was locked from the inside. She pressed her face against the window, but the heavy privacy tint made it impossible to see inside.

She was frantic. If Chen Yi were conscious and saw her, she would open the door. The only explanation was that she was injured or unconscious. The thought of Chen Yi bleeding made Xiaojiang’s heart feel like it was being gnawed by ten thousand ants.

She dialed Chen Yi’s number.

“Call 120 (emergency services)!” Xiaojiang roared at the onlookers while pounding on the glass with one hand, trying to wake the “comatose” person inside. Her hand was already bruising.

Just as someone nearby started to call for an ambulance, the driver’s door opened from within.

Chen Yi’s pale, slender arm emerged. Against her dark red nails, her fingers looked like fine white porcelain. Her white jade bracelet slid down to her forearm, reflecting the city lights. She stepped out of the car in her dark red cheongsam, standing before a distraught Shen Xiaojiang. Her eyes looked haggard, but she still wore a faint smile.

“No need for the ambulance. I’m fine,” Chen Yi said calmly, hiding a trembling hand behind her back.

She whispered those last words so only Xiaojiang could hear. Seeing that no one was seriously hurt, the crowd began to disperse.

Chen Yi looked into Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes and asked in a low voice, “Were you… worried about me just now?”

Shen Xiaojiang swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on Chen Yi’s hidden hand.

“Show me!” she said with unshakable firmness. This was a side of her she only showed to Chen Yi.

Chen Yi’s eyes wavered. She stammered, “It’s nothing.”

Shen Xiaojiang gritted her teeth and stepped closer. “If it’s nothing, why are you afraid to show me?”

Chen Yi stood still, looking down at Xiaojiang’s tall shadow on the ground.

“Xiao Yi (Auntie),” Xiaojiang said. She knew she had been frantic; she tried to steady her voice. “Xiao Yi, if it hurts, if something is wrong, you can tell me.”

With the light behind her, Xiaojiang’s shadow enveloped Chen Yi like a protective barrier. Her sincere, tender gaze held only one person.

Chen Yi felt a daze. For years, she had been used to not crying out, not complaining, and swallowing her pain. She didn’t know how to show weakness. She had often imagined that on the day she died, she would be smiling. But looking at Shen Xiaojiang, the word “death” suddenly felt terrifying.

She was afraid of never seeing this girl again. Perhaps when that day truly came, she would beg the Reaper for mercy because of this one sincere, gentle look.

“Thank you.”

In the end, those were the only two words Chen Yi said. Shen Xiaojiang didn’t push further; if she didn’t want to talk yet, she wouldn’t force her.

She would protect her in her own way, staying by her side until she was ready to speak.

“Oh, right, the car…” Shen Xiaojiang changed the subject, looking toward the smoking hood.

Chen Yi glanced at it lazily, her expression indifferent, as if the person who had crashed into the planter wasn’t her, but someone else. “It’s fine. While I was sitting in the car, I already contacted the insurance company. They’ll send someone to handle it.”

That explained why she hadn’t gotten out immediately, and why she hadn’t answered Shen Xiaojiang’s call. Chen Yi’s composure was peaceful, yet frighteningly calm.

In that second, Shen Xiaojiang felt embarrassed by her previous panic. If she wanted to protect Chen Yi, she first needed to learn “calmness” from her. She stole a glance at Chen Yi, wondering what this woman had gone through to become so unflappable.

The wait wasn’t long. Every second spent with Chen Yi was precious.

“Little one, you haven’t answered me yet…” Chen Yi’s voice was as melodic as if she were flirting, tinged with a bit of playfulness.

Before she could finish, Shen Xiaojiang clenched her fists, raised her head solemnly, and looked directly into her eyes. “Yes,” she said seriously. “I was indeed worried about you just now.”

Chen Yi froze. Faced with such a straightforward, earnest answer, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Seeing the other woman’s expression stiffen, Shen Xiaojiang took a step toward her, her tone softening: “When I heard someone say a Bentley hit the planter, my mind went blank. I couldn’t care about anything else. I prayed in my heart that it wasn’t your car. Then, when I saw the license plate, I kept praying that you weren’t the one driving. Even when I saw you get out of the car, I was still praying, praying that you weren’t hurt, praying that you weren’t scared.”

Chen Yi tucked away her forced, playful smile, but she didn’t revert to her usual mask of effortless composure. She simply looked at the person in front of her, silent and expressionless.

Shen Xiaojiang’s words, though youthful, were heartwarming. They were like the winter sun, illuminating a lonely and cold soul. Chen Yi raised a slightly trembling hand and brushed Shen Xiaojiang’s hair, a gesture as light and slow as a night breeze rippling the tide.

“I don’t know what happened to me. My head was a mess, my heart was racing, and it felt like there was a time bomb inside me ready to go off at any moment,” Shen Xiaojiang’s voice dropped into a bright rasp. “Xiao Yi… I… I don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

After she spoke, both fell silent. The flashing headlights of passing cars, the pedestrians walking by, even a leaf falling in the wind everything seemed hushed. Shen Xiaojiang could hear her own heartbeat.

Several seconds passed.