After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 56

[Sun Jiabao: Where is my Ginger? Why aren’t you replying to my messages?]

[Sun Jiabao: Ginger, Ginger… cry.jpg]

[Sun Jiabao: @Shen Xiaojiang @Shen Xiaojiang]

Shen Xiaojiang’s phone vibrated incessantly. She initially didn’t want to check it, but perhaps the annoying rain outside forced her to look down at the screen.

Every finals week, Sun Jiabao would inevitably complain bitterly. Fortunately, this only happened twice a year; unfortunately, it lasted for a very long time.

Shen Xiaojiang tapped the screen and sent a reply.

[Shen Xiaojiang: What do you want with your Sister Shen?]

[Sun Jiabao: My god, am I seeing things? You actually replied?]

[Shen Xiaojiang: Forget it, pretend I didn’t.]

[Sun Jiabao: Hey, hey, hey, don’t be like that. Do you really have the heart to watch me fail?]

[Shen Xiaojiang: Yes, I do.]

[Sun Jiabao: Damn, you… you have such a cruel heart.]

A cruel heart?

Who?

The face that flashed through Shen Xiaojiang’s mind was Chen Yi’s.

Politely composed, sometimes intimate, sometimes distant. Always keeping her guessing now that was a cruel heart.

She turned off her phone and stopped replying. Since she was heading back to the dorm anyway, whatever it was could wait until she got there.

From the corner of her eye, Chen Yi glanced at Shen Xiaojiang, whose expression had dimmed slightly.

“Want to listen to some music?” she asked.

Shen Xiaojiang looked out the window and gave a faint “Mm.”

“What do you want to hear?” Chen Yi asked again.

Shen Xiaojiang bit her lip and slowly turned her head. She couldn’t bring herself to be cold to Chen Yi, so her expression softened once more. “Auntie, what do you want to hear?”

Chen Yi’s expression visibly relaxed as well. She pointed to her phone. “You choose. I’m fine with anything you want to listen to.”

With a face beautiful enough to cause the downfall of nations and a voice that could stir anyone’s heart strings, anyone would be moved. At least, Shen Xiaojiang was.

She looked at Chen Yi’s phone. After a few seconds of hesitation, she remembered the time back in her hometown, Hai City, when she had answered Chen Yi’s phone… overall, that experience hadn’t been pleasant.

So, she wavered.

As if reading her mind, Chen Yi said gently, “It’s fine, take it. The password is your birthday.”

Shen Xiaojiang’s hand paused.

My birthday?

Shen Xiaojiang thought back and realized she had never actually told Chen Yi when her birthday was.

Chen Yi looked calm, but a second later, she added a bit sheepishly, “Jiabao told me.”

“Oh.” Shen Xiaojiang was half-convinced. “Oh?”

“Yes,” Chen Yi said. “Don’t ask so much. Aren’t you happy that I set my lock screen password to your birthday?”

Shen Xiaojiang’s heart trembled violently.

Happy? Of course she was happy. Her previous gloom was tossed to the winds, leaving nothing but a lingering sweetness in her heart.

Chen Yi watched her through the rearview mirror, her own expression relaxing. “Alright, go ahead and pick a song.”

“Okay!”

0328.

It really unlocked.

Shen Xiaojiang’s heart pounded. Having her goddess’s phone password be her own birthday was a magical and wonderful thing. This joy far outweighed the moment she had received her admission letter to Nancheng University.

She opened the music app and went to the “Recently Played” list. The last play time was from a week ago, and it was still that melody Shen Xiaojiang loved.

Did Chen Yi not usually listen to music, or… did she only listen to what Shen Xiaojiang liked?

A smile instantly reached Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes; she couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Is it really that exciting?” Chen Yi’s voice drifted over.

Shen Xiaojiang was startled into pursing her lips. “Huh?”

Chen Yi leaned one hand against the window frame while the other rested on the steering wheel. “I said, does having your birthday as my password really make you that happy?”

Shen Xiaojiang swallowed, trying to steady her breathing and keep her voice calm. “Mhm… a little bit, I guess.”

In truth, the happiness came from two things: the password was one, and the fact that Chen Yi liked her music was the other.

The next second, a silver bell like laugh rang out.

“Shen Xiaojiang, you’re a terrible liar.” Chen Yi’s voice was soft and sweet.

Shen Xiaojiang instinctively looked up, her gaze landing on Chen Yi’s snowy white neck. There, marks remained from their recent frenzy like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.

Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes heated up. She hurriedly looked away and murmured, “I… I really am very happy.”

Real, sincere, unpolished, and honest. Every word carried the purest heat.

Chen Yi had intended to tease her more, but the flirtatious words got stuck in her throat. Shen Xiaojiang was too good her love was too sincere and pure for Chen Yi to want to taint it with light words.

Shen Xiaojiang stole a glance and caught sight of Chen Yi’s reddening ears. She suddenly raised her hand but pulled it back, instead gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

“The music.”

“Huh?”

“I mean the music, you little dummy.”

Shen Xiaojiang realized her mistake and quickly re-entered the password to unlock the phone, playing her favorite melody: The Flowing Sadness.

She turned the screen off, then pressed the button to enter her birthday again. Then off. Then on. She did it at least four times. She never got tired of it.

As the soothing melody filled the car, Chen Yi glanced at the screen and smiled. What Shen Xiaojiang didn’t know was that Chen Yi now only liked this one song, the song Shen Xiaojiang had explicitly said she liked.

When they arrived at Nancheng University, the security guard recognized Chen Yi’s license plate and let them in. In the campus at nearly 11:30 PM, there was almost no sound except for the rain. Occasionally, a couple would be seen walking back to or out of the dorms under an umbrella.

Ah, university life, truly wonderful.

Shen Xiaojiang listened to the music and looked out the window, her heart feeling as sweet as honey. She was just that kind hearted quick to forget grievances and eager to dote on Chen Yi. As long as Chen Yi gave her a single piece of candy, she would hand over her heart without reservation.

She really, really liked her.

The car stopped, but Chen Yi didn’t turn off the engine. “We’re here,” she said.

Shen Xiaojiang looked at the locked dorm gate. Remembering she had a “special privilege card,” she wasn’t in a hurry.

“Not going in?” Chen Yi’s voice was soft and airy, like rain, wind, clouds, and dreams.

Shen Xiaojiang dazed for a few seconds before snapping out of it. “Oh, I… I’m going.”

Chen Yi leaned over and ruffled the top of Shen Xiaojiang’s hair, her eyes like water. “Good. Go on.”

Shen Xiaojiang looked at her, reluctant to open the door. Just looking at Chen Yi filled her with satisfaction. No, Shen Xiaojiang thought, Chen Yi still has to work. I can’t hold her up. The longer I delay here, the later she’ll have to stay up when she gets back.

Shen Xiaojiang took a deep breath, trying to keep the scent of the car in her lungs a little longer.

“Auntie, I want… a goodnight kiss.”

After saying it, she stared at the other woman’s red lips.

Chen Yi chuckled, cupped Shen Xiaojiang’s cheek with one hand, and planted a kiss on her face.

Shen Xiaojiang wasn’t satisfied. She took hold of Chen Yi’s chin and pressed her own lips against Chen Yi’s jawline.

Chen Yi seemed surprised. “Why did you kiss me there?”

Shen Xiaojiang puffed out her cheeks and muttered, “You didn’t kiss my lips either.”

Chen Yi found it amusing. “Oh? So you wanted me to kiss your lips?”

Facing Chen Yi’s verbal tug of war, Shen Xiaojiang didn’t want to lose. “Don’t you want me to kiss your lips?”

“I…” Chen Yi was defeated by her persistence. “Fine, fine. Move your mouth over here.”

Shen Xiaojiang kept her cheeks puffed. “Why can’t you be the one to move toward me?”

Chen Yi truly didn’t know what to say. She pinched Shen Xiaojiang’s earlobe. “Alright, alright, I’ll move toward you. Is that okay?”

Just as Shen Xiaojiang relaxed her cheeks and waited for the kiss, Chen Yi grabbed her collar. With a sudden tug, Shen Xiaojiang’s face was turned aside.

The kiss landed on Shen Xiaojiang’s neck. A red lip print hot and poignantly beautiful.

Shen Xiaojiang frowned, covering her neck with her eyes wide. “Auntie, you’re too mean! We agreed on the lips!”

Chen Yi grinned. “All is fair in love and war.”

Shen Xiaojiang’s pout was so deep you could hang a bucket on it. “Fine, I’ll remember this. Next time you’re crying and begging me, I won’t go easy on you.”

“I won’t! Go! Easy!”

Shen Xiaojiang repeated it word for word, sounding quite formidable.

Chen Yi thought back to their wild moments in the car earlier, and her face instantly flushed. Just a while ago, she had been sobbing and begging Shen Xiaojiang begging her to go faster, then slower, then to stop altogether.

“You… you wouldn’t dare!”

“Just you wait and see.”

With that, Shen Xiaojiang prepared to get out of the car.

“Wait,” Chen Yi called out.

Shen Xiaojiang turned back immediately. Chen Yi grabbed her collar and finally pressed that lingering kiss onto Shen Xiaojiang’s lips.

Satisfied, Shen Xiaojiang stepped out of the car. She stood under the eaves, watching Chen Yi wave goodbye from inside the car. She hated goodbyes they always felt so final.

She placed her bag in a dry spot and walked back to the car door. Rain dripped from the roof edge into her collar, but she didn’t feel the cold at all.

Chen Yi stared at her blankly.

Shen Xiaojiang tapped hard on the window. Over and over, just like that day when Chen Yi’s car hit the flowerbed and Shen Xiaojiang had been so worried.

Worried about her.

Chen Yi’s gaze softened. She rolled down the window. “Silly girl, what are you doing? It’s raining!”

Shen Xiaojiang wiped the rain from her face and shouted, “It doesn’t matter! Don’t say ‘Goodbye’ to me. Say ‘See you later,’ okay?”

Chen Yi froze. The thing this girl braved the rain for was just to say this. Her eyes grew warm, and after a soft blink, she nodded gently.

“Okay,” she said.

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t leave yet, waiting obediently in the rain. Chen Yi felt a pang in her heart, but her voice remained casual. “Shen Xiaojiang!”

“Yeah!”

“See you later.”

Still, her voice lacked heavy emotion.

Only after the car drove away did Shen Xiaojiang retreat back under the eaves. She took out the special card and swiped it on the gate sensor. The door opened quickly.

The dorm mother was the same one as before. She had already lied down, but she got up when she heard the door.

“Shen Xiaojiang?” she asked softly.

Shen Xiaojiang, holding her gift box, walked up to her. “Thank you, Auntie.”

The dorm mother was a bit confused but soon gave her a kind smile. “Go back to your room and get some sleep.”

“Sure thing!” Shen Xiaojiang returned a clean, warm smile.

The lights were still on in the dorm room. As soon as Shen Xiaojiang reached the door, she heard wailing from inside. She didn’t bother with her keys and just knocked lightly.

“Who is it!?”

“Jiabao, keep it down, everyone’s sleeping…”

“Waaaah, everyone’s sleeping but me, waaaaah…”

As Sun Jiabao spoke, she walked to the door. The moment she opened it, her expression shifted, and she practically jumped three feet in the air with joy.

“Oh my god! Oh my god!”

Shen Xiaojiang had been prepared to praise her for studying hard, but seeing that exaggerated face, she gave up on the idea.

“Oh my god, who is this? If it isn’t my goddess, my savior!” Sun Jiabao reached out to hug her.

“Don’t touch me.”

At that moment, Liu Wei joined the chaos. Liu Wei pushed her headband up, put on her glasses, rolled up a book to use as a microphone, and began commentating like a volleyball announcer: “Come on, everyone, look! Athlete Shen Xiaojiang nimbly dodges Sun Jiabao! But Sun Jiabao isn’t easy to beat she lunges forward, staying only 0.01 meters away! The pressure is on Shen Xiaojiang… Hey, hey, hey! Athlete Shen, stop! Stop it!”

Before Liu Wei could finish, Shen Xiaojiang grabbed her by the shoulder and forced the “microphone” away.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Liu Wei made a pitiful face, and only then did Shen Xiaojiang let go.

Then, Shen Xiaojiang rolled her eyes and pulled out her chair to sit down. “Are you guys really that bored?”

Sun Jiabao, wearing a long, sorrowful face, walked over to Shen Xiaojiang and plopped down on the chair she had just pulled out.

“Which eye of yours sees me as ‘bored’? I’m about to go bald from the torture of calculus.” Sun Jiabao’s expression was rich and exaggerated.

Shen Xiaojiang felt like laughing. “Let me tell you, scientific research shows that we girls don’t have the gene for male pattern baldness.”

Sun Jiabao crossed her arms, slowly lifted her head, and shot her a resentful glare. “Ginger, is the ‘baldness’ really the point of my grievance?”

At that moment, the dorm door swung open. Chen Xingnan walked in, dangling a spicy gluten strip (latiao) from her mouth and tossing her head. “Who’s bald? Who’s bald? Exactly who is it? Who?”

Shen Xiaojiang stayed silent, stifling a laugh as she pointed at Sun Jiabao.

Before Sun Jiabao could even glare at Xiaojiang, she saw Chen Xingnan dancing and singing in front of her.

“The moon doesn’t sleep, and neither do you; you’re my little baldy headed baby…”

Sun Jiabao pursed her lips tightly and let out a “Tsk.” “Seriously, Chen Xingnan, did you get drunk on spicy strips? Why are you barking?”

Chen Xingnan laughed without a word, continuing to chew her snack and dance about.

Sun Jiabao covered her face with one hand and said coldly, “Chen Xingnan, screw you!”

While Sun Jiabao got up to chase and pummel Chen Xingnan, Shen Xiaojiang finally got to sit down.

“Chen Xingnan, I’m going to kill you!”

“Want a spicy strip? Straight from my mouth?”