After Running Away From Her Wedding, The Tsundere Young Lady Went Crazy - Chapter 24.1

I don’t like the scent of others on your body

At the end of the street sat a stretched black sedan. The driver, Xiao Tang, stood by the vehicle and opened the door. Ji Songshu, pulled along by Shang Keyu, stumbled into the car.

The rear space of this car was immense, featuring two rows of seats facing each other. Ji Songshu quickly adjusted her posture to sit upright, facing Shang Keyu as the partition board to the driver’s seat slowly rose.

Shang Keyu remained expressionless. When she was truly angry, her face became like a still surface of water, incapable of letting any emotion leave a mark.

This only served to highlight Ji Songshu’s guilty conscience. She nervously tucked her thumbs into her palms, hung her head, and said weakly, “I’m sorry.”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”

“In this entire world, you’re the only one who smells like a honey jar stolen by a black bear.”

“What black bear? What honey jar?” Ji Songshu raised her eyes in confusion, only to shrink back upon encountering a pair of icy, pitch-black eyes.

Shang Keyu pressed closer to her.

“Did the experience of being a maid and chopping onions awaken some sort of incredible fetish in you? It compelled you to come here every single day of the week without fail, even personally serving customers.”

“I just… wanted to experience life…” Ji Songshu stammered. Even as she said it, she felt the excuse was absurd.

“Experience life? You have time to experience life at a maid cafe every day, but no time to come out with me?”

“That… well… distance creates beauty.”

“Are you saying I’m ugly?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” Ji Songshu waved her hands frantically to clarify.

“Do you know,” Shang Keyu’s tone was displeased, “that you are currently covered in the smell of cheap perfume and powder, as well as that person’s scent.”

“That person?”

Shang Keyu didn’t explain, only asking, “Why are you getting so close to that fellow?”

“Who on earth are you talking about?” Ji Songshu didn’t understand.

Shang Keyu gritted her teeth: “Shen. Wei. Yi.”

“You know her?”

“You don’t know her?” A mocking smile curved at the corner of Shang Keyu’s mouth. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who she is.”

Ji Songshu was stunned for a moment. Belatedly, she realized—Dr. Shen’s surname was Shen, the Shen of the Shen Corporation. There might be some conflict between them that she wasn’t aware of.

She had never thought of it that way. There were several people named Shen at every subway and bus station; she thought the world wasn’t that small, but she never expected her luck to be this “good”!

Seeing Shang Keyu’s expression, she knew some things should not be said.

“She is just a friend of mine,” Ji Songshu forced herself to answer, “An ordinary friend.”

“How long have you known your ‘or-di-na-ry’ friend?”

Ji Songshu did the math. Shen Weiyi had been handling Chaoxi’s treatment for a year, but for the sake of her own safety and Shang Keyu’s blood pressure, she answered, “A bit over half a year.”

“Roughly around the time before I returned to the country.” Shang Keyu nodded, then moved her face close to Ji Songshu’s.

Ji Songshu was nervous and kept shrinking back until her back hit the seat with nowhere left to hide. Shang Keyu had a cold face, and her aura carried a sense of aggression; her breath fanned across Ji Songshu’s face.

“Can I understand this as: as long as you marry the heir of the Shen family, even if the partner isn’t me, your mission will be complete?”

Ah? Ji Songshu’s brain went blank for a second.

This statement was half-right, but the other half was spectacularly wrong. She didn’t know how Shang Keyu had made that connection. She instinctively wanted to deny it, but the other woman gave her no chance to rebut.

“I never play the role of someone else’s backup.”

“Go back and tell your parents that if they want to climb the social ladder, they shouldn’t be half-hearted. I can cancel the engagement at any time.”

The threat in those words was blatant.

Ji Songshu was stunned, then regained her composure and told a slight lie: “You’ve really misunderstood. Shen Weiyi and I met during a physical exam; she is my doctor.”

“Don’t be too naive.” Shang Keyu sneered. “Fengyuan City is so big, and the Shen family has their own hospitals. Why would Shen Weiyi specifically go to work at your Pei family’s hospital and just happen to become your doctor?”

Ji Songshu froze.

“What do you think she’s after?”

The answer was obvious.

Ji Songshu quickly reflected on herself. No, she couldn’t let herself be led by Shang Keyu’s train of thought anymore. A clumsy and blunt way to change the subject popped into her mind.

Ji Songshu licked her lips, feeling nervous; she wasn’t good at doing things like this.

Then, using a tone that was almost like acting spoiled, she leaned toward Shang Keyu and said, “But I don’t like her,” she lied with a smile, “I like you.”

The words Shang Keyu was about to say were swallowed back down. She gulped, remained silent for a while, and then said, “This trick won’t work on me. I’m not like those seven ex-girlfriends of yours.”

How was the matter of the seven ex-girlfriends still not over? Ji Songshu felt a bit discouraged and silently cursed Pei Jiyue in her heart, but she didn’t show it on her face.

She tilted her head, staring intently at Shang Keyu, and shifted her offensive:

“If I remember correctly, just now back there, in front of so many people, you said I was your fiancée.”

Shang Keyu remained silent.

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

“I am not.”

“You’ve fallen for me, haven’t you?”

“Completely incorrect.”

“Don’t be afraid to admit it.” Ji Songshu nudged Shang Keyu with her arm while trying to find any trace of lying or pretense on Shang Keyu’s face.

However, no matter how she looked—left, right, up, or down—she could never read any emotion from that face which was as calm as an ancient well, possessing only coldness and a lush beauty.

“I will keep my distance from Shen Weiyi, and I won’t come to the maid cafe again. I promise I will only like you for the rest of my life. I will take responsibility for you. Please don’t be angry, okay?”

Ji Songshu hugged Shang Keyu’s arm, leaning against her intentionally or unintentionally.

This was her final trump card.

She looked at Shang Keyu fervently and expectantly. However, what she received was a bone-chilling response.

“Don’t use your dull senses to arbitrarily decide that I am angry.”

Shang Keyu pulled her arm out of Ji Songshu’s grasp and looked at her askance.

“Why should I be angry? Are you someone important to me?”

“You just said I was your fiancée…”

“My Chinese isn’t very good. What ‘fiancée’ actually means is,” Shang Keyu paused, “I will not marry you.”

Ji Songshu froze there as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head. She bit her lip, unable to say a single word.

How could she be so stupid? If the engagement was broken off, what would happen to Chaoxi?

Her eyes blinked and blinked until long lashes were heavy with teardrops, which then trembled and fell.

“I’m sorry… you can lock me up. Lock me in your house so I can only see you. I will treat you like a Master…”

“Please, don’t discard me…”

Ji Songshu hung her head and was whispering softly when she suddenly felt two arms wrap around her shoulders. Shang Keyu gently embraced her.

Raising her eyes, she saw that face—as intense and gorgeous as red wine—approaching closer and closer. For a moment, she forgot to argue and forgot to breathe, as if time had stopped, merely staring in a daze.

The person before her had a low gaze, seemingly staring at her lips.

A surge of hope ignited in her heart again, making her close her eyes urgently, longing for a bit of intimacy or a kiss.

After waiting a long time, the kiss never fell.

Ji Songshu opened her eyes in disappointment. The look in Shang Keyu’s eyes was as heavy as a glob of ink that wouldn’t dissolve.

After a long while, Shang Keyu simply rested her chin on Ji Songshu’s shoulder, giving her an ambiguous hug.

“The gland… it’s right here, isn’t it?”

Ji Songshu felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck.

With a whimper, she felt sharp teeth pierce her skin. It felt as if something had been injected into her; her heart began to pound violently, and her blood surged and crashed. For a moment, she was submerged in an overwhelming tide.

Is this a “mark”?

What did Shang Keyu mean?

She didn’t plan to marry her, yet she bit her and “marked” her?

Ji Songshu felt dizzy and lightheaded for a good while, her expression dazed and her consciousness blurred. It took a long time for a conclusion to emerge from her hazy thoughts: it turned out Shang Keyu had such sharp canine teeth.

“I don’t like the scent of others on your body.”

Shang Keyu’s voice was very surreal, sounding as if it came from a distant place.

Ji Songshu was completely muddled. Did Shang Keyu hate her or like her? If she didn’t like her, why bite her? But if she liked her, why wouldn’t she admit it, and even say she wanted to break the engagement? That she didn’t plan to marry her?

“What exactly do you mean? I don’t—”

“Get out of the car. You’re home.”

Shang Keyu returned to that aloof attitude, looking straight ahead with total indifference, as if what had just happened hadn’t occurred at all and was merely Ji Songshu’s fantasy.

Cold wind swirled with fallen leaves; the torrential rain had already stopped, leaving only puddles on the ground reflecting the grey sky.

Ji Songshu was invited out of the car. She stood on the bleak street as the car door slammed shut before her eyes.

She chased after it for a few steps, watching Shang Keyu’s car drive away until its shadow disappeared around the corner.

The autumn wind brought a chill. She wrapped her coat tightly, smelling Shang Keyu’s scent on it, and fell back into those chaotic and tangled thoughts. She entered the residential building distractedly and stepped into the elevator; after a long time without movement, she realized she had forgotten to press the floor button.