After Running Away From Her Wedding, The Tsundere Young Lady Went Crazy - Chapter 10

“Liking is just liking”

“I was able to travel abroad by myself when I was nine years old,” Shang Keyu said expressionlessly.

She glanced down at Yiyi, and the little girl immediately stopped her crying.

“Don’t scare the child.” Ji Songshu stood in front of Yiyi, feeling a small spark of anger at Shang Keyu’s attitude.

“You have a driver, a nanny, and bodyguards; you can go wherever you want because there’s always someone there to catch you. But you can’t demand that from everyone. Yiyi is just a little kid raised by her grandmother.”

Shang Keyu remained silent. She raised an eyebrow while sizing up Ji Songshu, glanced at Yiyi hiding behind her, and then turned to leave.

Ji Songshu’s eyes widened, and she suddenly panicked. Had her tone been too harsh? Had she driven Shang Keyu away in anger?

“Hey! Where are you going?” she shouted at Shang Keyu’s retreating back.

Shang Keyu looked back at her with a strange expression. “To the place where I can find this child’s grandmother, obviously.”

Ji Songshu beamed with joy and quickly hurried after her with Yiyi in tow.

They arrived at the visitor center together and made an announcement over the broadcast system. What followed was a long wait.

Waiting idly was boring, but there happened to be a souvenir shop right in the visitor center. Ji Songshu led Yiyi into the shop, and Shang Keyu followed them.

“Yiyi, do you like Toast Cat or Bagel Rabbit more?” Ji Songshu asked, pointing to a row of character keychains.

“What are those two?” Yiyi looked up, confused.

Ji Songshu froze for a moment before realizing that the Toast Cat and Bagel Rabbit animation had been off the air for a long time. It had long since exited the childhoods of kids born after 2015 and 2020.

The reason the girl was likely here was simply because this place was a “children’s amusement park.”

Ji Songshu changed her approach: “Which of these little animals do you like?”

Yiyi chose a carrot with protruding front teeth. Looking at the full row of Toast Cats and Bagel Rabbits left behind, Ji Songshu felt a tightness in her chest, as if her friends were being abandoned.

Thus, she bought one Toast Cat and one Bagel Rabbit keychain. Holding one in each palm, she held them up before Shang Keyu’s eyes. “Left hand or right hand?”

“Right hand,” Shang Keyu said.

Opening her right hand revealed a small orange cat holding a piece of toast.

Ji Songshu handed the cat keychain to Shang Keyu. “This is for you. May the Toast Cat God bless you with eternal happiness.” She balled her hand into a fist and held it against her cheek in a “beckoning cat” gesture—the signature move of Toast Cat.

Shang Keyu was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until Ji Songshu pressed the keychain into her hand that she snapped out of it and reached out to take it. The keychain still carried the warmth of the girl’s palm. She gripped it tightly.

“Why do you like Toast Cat and Bagel Rabbit so much?”

Ji Songshu lowered her eyes. “Liking is just liking. I will love the things I liked as a child for a lifetime.”

Actually, that wasn’t quite it.

Initially, she just thought the little fat, soft cat and rabbit on TV looking for their mother were cute.

Until she lost her own mother.

She was too young then to understand death; she thought her mother was just lost, just like Toast Cat’s mother.

So, she stayed by the television every day, hoping Toast Cat would find his mother. If he did, her mother would come back too.

But she couldn’t watch cartoons at her aunt’s house.

In a world where profit is paramount, cartoons that don’t make money cannot survive either.

Toast Cat and Bagel Rabbit was canceled.

Much later, when an eighteen-year-old Ji Songshu worked a part-time job to buy her first cell phone, she felt nostalgic for her childhood one late night and only then learned the news.

Ji Songshu kept her eyes downcast, appearing as if she were shrouded in rain and mist. Looking at her trembling eyelashes, Shang Keyu felt a wave of sadness. That sadness actually infected her, making her waver on the decision she had made.

Neither of them spoke. Yiyi was looking down, squeezing the carrot keychain. Perhaps because it had been hanging on the shelf for too long, the carrot’s bulging eyes suddenly loosened and fell to the ground.

Before long, an old grandmother arrived leaning on a cane. Her steps were shaky as she pulled Yiyi to her side, repeatedly thanking Ji Songshu and Shang Keyu, even attempting to bow.

Shang Keyu quickly supported the grandmother. She then went to the front desk and spoke to a man who looked like a manager. She gave him a few instructions, telling him to escort the grandmother and granddaughter home, specifically reminding him to slow down and be mindful of the grandmother’s legs.

Ji Songshu looked at Shang Keyu in surprise. “You seem to know how to take care of the elderly very well.”

“When I was in Italy, I lived with my grandmother.”

Recalling her previous words, Ji Songshu stepped closer and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Shang Keyu asked, puzzled.

“I shouldn’t have said Yiyi was a child raised by her grandmother while you were a young lady surrounded by bodyguards. You are also a very good and kind person.”

“Don’t talk about me like that,” Shang Keyu’s expression turned somewhat strange. “It’s getting late. I’ll take you back.”

Ji Songshu looked up. Night had completely saturated the sky, pitch-black like a lingering shadow that wouldn’t dissipate.

As they walked toward the park exit, they encountered the manager-like man from before walking back. Upon seeing them, he suddenly changed direction and approached.

Shang Keyu looked away and spoke quickly to Ji Songshu: “Go back to the car first. I have something to discuss.”

“Oh, okay.” Ji Songshu nodded. Just as she was about to leave, the employee reached them and asked directly:

“Boss, when will the specific plans for the demolition be released?”

Shang Keyu said nothing.

Ji Songshu froze in place. She had heard it.

She could hardly believe her ears. She rushed back to Shang Keyu’s side in two or three steps and grabbed her sleeve. “What do you mean? Is this place going to be demolished?”

Shang Keyu gazed at the girl’s urgent face. After a moment of hesitation, she admitted, “If nothing unexpected happens, this place will soon become a research institute.”

“Why?”

“Because this place isn’t profitable and has no value. And I am a businesswoman.”

Ji Songshu bit her lip and remained silent.

“…Furthermore, the facilities here are outdated, the food pricing is unreasonable, the IP is obsolete, it doesn’t fit the positioning of a children’s park, and there are safety hazards…”

Shang Keyu suddenly felt her throat go dry. She didn’t know why she was saying so much. She had never liked explaining her decisions.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make. She knew this perfectly well.

“I see.” Ji Songshu’s face was filled with disappointment. She tried her best to hide it but failed. Finally, she couldn’t help but ask:

“But since you think this place is so bad, why did you bring me here for a date?”

“I never said this was a date.” Shang Keyu’s voice was cold and rational.

“My original schedule for today was to come here for an inspection, spend two hours, and do a final assessment before the demolition.”

Ji Songshu retreated a few steps, feeling a tightening sensation in her heart.

So it was just her own wishful thinking…

She took a deep breath and said quickly, “Then I must have misunderstood. I’m sorry. I thought you liked Toast Cat and Bagel Rabbit; it must have been annoying listening to me talk so much.”

“It’s quite late now. I’ve already wasted so much of your time. I won’t bother you anymore; I’m going back now.”

With that, Ji Songshu turned and left.

“Wait a minute,” Shang Keyu called out.

Ji Songshu didn’t stop for a second, plunging headlong into the night where the path ahead was unclear.

Watching that receding figure, Shang Keyu felt a massive shock to her inner self.

She never thought she was wrong, but at this moment, she wished a butterfly would flap its wings and stir up a storm, so that her morning self would have abandoned the plan to bring the girl here. Then, the girl wouldn’t have had to face any of this.

She had been too impatient, too eager.

She wanted to see her. Within her packed schedule, an amusement park was a more acceptable choice than a conference room or the office, so she brought her here—she didn’t want to call such a rushed, makeshift arrangement a date.

She hadn’t expected the girl to have such deep feelings for this place, nor had she expected her to find out about the demolition on the spot.

She looked up; that slender figure had already disappeared into the vast night.

Fortunately, this was the outskirts, a very remote location with only one main road leading back to the city. Therefore, she could still catch up.

Shang Keyu jumped into the car and hurriedly gave chase.

The black sky pressed down heavily. On the empty highway, Ji Songshu walked alone.

Her shadow hovered behind and in front of her, lengthening and shortening under the streetlights, fluctuating like her state of mind.

She had already taken off the DeepLove device. It had entered standby mode because she had fallen asleep earlier, and now it was useless anyway.

This “substandard” date had ended in total failure.

At this moment, she felt a desperate need to talk to someone.

The call she placed went through quickly. Then, an enthusiastic voice rang out:

“Moshi moshi~ This is your exclusive customer service, Qingqing No. 1. May I ask the most, most, most beautiful and cute Ji Songshu, did the date go smoothly?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Ji Songshu’s nose turned sour. All the accumulated grievance and sadness overflowed, falling to the ground in pitter-patter tears.

Her voice was choked with sobs: “Qingqing, I messed everything up…”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry! What happened? Tell me slowly.”

“I don’t know how to say it… She didn’t want to date me at all. It was all in my head. I’m such a fool… and, Beletopia is going to be torn down…”

Ye Qingyu was filled with righteous indignation:

“I can handle the Beletopia matter… As for that person you’re with, anyone who makes our Niannian angry is nothing good! At worst, just dump them! I’ll introduce you to my rich socialite childhood friend; they’re definitely better than that blind fool.”

The last sentence sent a shiver through Ji Songshu. It reminded her of something, pulling her quickly out of her surging emotions.

Dump them? No!

She had no choice. She had to date Shang Keyu!

How could she have forgotten that? What right did she have to lose her temper at Shang Keyu? Chaoxi was still lying in a hospital bed. How could she be so selfish and put her sister’s safety out of her mind?

How could she just leave in a huff? Was Shang Keyu going to come and coax her? Stop dreaming! Shang Keyu had made it clear from the start: she was the one who had to please Shang Keyu, not the other way around!

Ji Songshu slapped her own cheeks with her hands and quickly pulled herself back together.