Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: “Who Are You Thinking About?”

 

The moment the thought, “She is going to leave sooner or later,” arose, her mood was overcast with a cloud, heavy and dull.

 

“Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi!” Lin Anran’s noisy voice pulled her thoughts back.

 

Jiang Zhi looked at the person who had come to the cash register without her noticing.

 

Lin Anran stood with her hands on her hips, dissatisfied: “I called you several times, why didn’t you answer? Are you deliberately pretending not to hear me? Are you ignoring me? What’s so great about you that you can ignore me?”

 

Jiang Zhi rubbed her forehead: “No, I was just thinking about something else, I was distracted.”

 

Lin Anran narrowed her eyes, immediately pressing: “Thinking about what? Who are you thinking about?”

 

Jiang Zhi: “…”

 

She couldn’t possibly tell her that she was feeling a bit melancholic about their future separation, a little reluctant. That would sound strange and sentimental.

 

“You called me just now, was there something you needed?” Jiang Zhi subtly steered the conversation away from the previous topic.

 

Lin Anran tilted her head in thought. The distraction made her forget what she had called Jiang Zhi for…

 

“Oh, I remember. It’s time! You get off work at eleven, why aren’t you off yet? I want to go home. This dump.” Lin Anran irritably kicked the cash register counter twice.

 

That counter is going to be ruined by her sooner or later…

 

Jiang Zhi checked the time. It was five past eleven. It was indeed time to get off work, but Xiao Man, the person taking over, hadn’t arrived yet.

 

She looked towards the door, and the person finally showed up, running late.

 

Xiao Man rushed into the convenience store, her forehead slightly sweaty, her breathing hurried. She must have been running the whole way: “Sorry, Sister Zhi Zhi, I was delayed on the way. I’m a little late.”

 

Jiang Zhi waved her hand: “It’s fine. Come over and check the accounts for handover.”

 

Xiao Man took a breath, looked at Lin Anran, and politely nodded in greeting.

 

Lin Anran acted as if her eyes were fixed to the ceiling, giving Xiao Man an arrogant side-glance.

 

Xiao Man: “…”

 

The first time Xiao Man saw Lin Anran, she thought the girl was too beautiful to be from this place, but… she was extremely impolite.

 

A very rude person. This wasn’t the first time Xiao Man had greeted her, but she always had this attitude.

 

Lin Anran ignored Xiao Man and looked at Jiang Zhi: “Hurry up and come out. I want to go home. This rotten place.”

 

With that, she turned and waited outside the door.

 

Jiang Zhi naturally noticed Lin Anran’s impoliteness toward Xiao Man and felt a bit awkward. She explained:

 

“Don’t mind her. Don’t greet her in the future either. That’s just her personality. Sometimes she’s quite annoying, but she doesn’t have a malicious heart. Don’t take it to heart.”

 

Xiao Man didn’t seem too bothered and joked: “If she were only like this to me, I might have an issue, but she seems to treat everyone this way. It’s kind of a ‘universal equality’ thing. Thinking of it that way, it’s nothing.”

 

Jiang Zhi: “…”

 

It was true. Lin Anran was equally rude to everyone, including herself.

 

After finishing the handover with Xiao Man, Jiang Zhi took off her uniform and pushed open the glass door.

 

At eleven at night, the city quieted down. The empty streets and dim streetlights created a rare sense of peace.

 

Lin Anran stood next to the electric scooter, illuminated by the streetlight.

 

Seeing that Jiang Zhi had finally come out, her eyes initially brightened, but she immediately started scolding: “You’re so slow! Are you a snail? Why are you dawdling?”

 

Jiang Zhi chuckled softly, walking over with her hands in her pockets: “My apologies, apologies. I kept our young lady waiting.”

 

As she spoke, she squatted down to unlock the scooter’s wheel lock, saying while unlocking it: “Next time someone greets you, I’m not asking you to respond enthusiastically, but at least smile at her.”

 

She placed the unlocked wheel lock on the foot pedal and looked back at her: “Completely ignoring someone like you just did is a little inappropriate, don’t you think?”

 

We should be a polite child.

 

Lin Anran pouted and scoffed, not speaking, likely not having taken it in.

 

Jiang Zhi handed her the helmet: “Alright, get on. Let’s go home.”

 

Lin Anran put on the helmet and sat in the back seat, pinching a corner of Jiang Zhi’s clothes. The wind whistled in her ears. Since it was now autumn, the night wind carried a chill.

 

“Are you cold?” Jiang Zhi asked her.

 

The wind was too strong, and Lin Anran didn’t hear clearly. She leaned closer, asking near Jiang Zhi’s ear: “What did you just say?”

 

Her breath rushed into Jiang Zhi’s ear, causing a tingling sensation that made the smoothly moving scooter wobble slightly.

 

Lin Anran, who was only pinching the corner of her clothes, was startled by the wobble and instinctively wrapped her arms around Jiang Zhi’s waist.

 

She pressed against her completely. The warm body heat transferred through the fabric, feeling like a faint current running through her, briefly jarring her heart and making her body briefly stiffen.

 

Jiang Zhi was not used to being hugged like this by the person behind her. The excessive intimacy felt awkward.

 

Fortunately, the person behind her had only hugged her reflexively after being startled and had already let go.

 

Jiang Zhi let out a sigh of relief, yet felt an unconscious sense of emptiness that she didn’t even notice herself.

 

She cast aside these confusing thoughts and said: “I asked if you were cold.”

 

Lin Anran: “No.”

 

Jiang Zhi: “Good, as long as you’re not cold.”

 

At that moment, the person behind her leaned closer again.

 

Jiang Zhi’s body involuntarily stiffened again.

 

But the person behind her didn’t seem to intend to hug her; she just leaned close to her ear and asked: “You work so late every day, are you tired?”

 

The question was abrupt, and Jiang Zhi was a little slow to respond.

 

Tired? Of course, she was tired.

 

She started work at 9 AM, finished at 5:30 PM, then went to the convenience store for her part-time job, standing at the cash register for five hours. She finished at 11 PM, and by the time she finished tidying up at home, it was midnight. She was like a spinning top, with no time to rest.

 

Oh, and recently, a new job was added: taking care of the young lady, which meant she had even less time to rest.

 

“Why are you asking that suddenly?” Because the wind was strong, she raised her voice slightly.

 

“I saw you when you were working,” Lin Anran said.

 

Jiang Zhi was puzzled: “What did you see?”

 

Lin Anran: “I saw you bending over and massaging your legs. Standing for five hours, your feet must hurt a lot, right?”

 

Jiang Zhi was silent for a moment, then hummed: “Standing for a long time naturally makes them a bit tired, but it’s fine. I can manage.”

 

Lin Anran rested her chin on Jiang Zhi’s shoulder. The warm breath fanned her neck, tickling her.

 

Jiang Zhi instinctively wanted to move away, but she bit her lip and ultimately didn’t dodge.

 

“Your salary isn’t low, so why do you still have to do such a tiring part-time job?” Perhaps it was because of the strong wind, but Lin Anran’s voice sounded muffled, like a mix of grievance and something else.

 

More accurately, Jiang Zhi sensed a feeling of concern from her.

 

Perhaps it wasn’t concern, but pity? Pity for someone so excessively poor.

 

Concern or pity, it didn’t matter. They were similar.

 

She worked two jobs a day, not because of a tragic backstory like in novels or TV dramas, or a sick family member needing expensive medical care. She simply liked money.

 

She wanted to make money, to save money. Watching her bank balance slowly grow gave her a fulfilling sense of security.

 

“Because I like money. I’m not a particularly capable person, so I have to use my free time to earn some hard-earned money,” Jiang Zhi answered honestly.

 

Lin Anran replied with an “Oh” and said nothing more. The head resting on her shoulder was also lifted.

 

For the rest of the journey, neither of them spoke. Jiang Zhi focused seriously on driving, undistracted. As for what Lin Anran was thinking, no one knew.

 

“Alright, we’re here,” Jiang Zhi said, stopping the scooter.

 

The person sitting behind her didn’t move for a long time.

 

Jiang Zhi took off her helmet and looked back at her: “What’s wrong? Aren’t you getting off? Are you planning to make me take you for another ride around town this late?”

 

Lin Anran looked straight at her.

 

Jiang Zhi was confused by her stare and touched her face: “Is there something on my face?”

 

Lin Anran took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and called out: “Jiang Yi.”

 

“What is it? Why so serious?”

 

“Don’t do these part-time jobs anymore. I’ll give you money.”

 

Jiang Zhi didn’t quite grasp her thought process. She first froze, then burst out laughing.

 

Lin Anran immediately glared at her, annoyed: “You don’t believe me?”

 

Jiang Zhi nodded with a laugh, saying perfunctorily: “I believe you, of course I believe you. I’m just waiting for you to give me the money.”

 

Lin Anran pouted: “You poor, good-for-nothing ghost.”

 

Jiang Zhi: “Alright, stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and get off. I’m tired. I still have to tidy up upstairs.”

 

Lin Anran angrily got off the scooter and walked to the entrance of the building, waiting for Jiang Zhi to park the scooter.

 

She watched Jiang Zhi park the vehicle, walking towards her with one foot dragging slightly. She was wearing a white shirt, a low ponytail, and black-rimmed glasses, looking tired—the look of a working person after a shift, an ordinary person among the masses.

 

But then again… she wasn’t so ordinary.

 

Although Jiang Zhi tried hard to act like her leg was fine, Lin Anran could still tell; she had a slight limp. She was “lame.”

 

For her job at the magazine recently, she had to run errands outside for a whole morning or afternoon, and then she had her convenience store part-time job, standing for five hours.

 

With such high-intensity work and no time to rest, how could her feet not hurt? She was truly risking her life for money.

 

Jiang Zhi reached her: “Let’s go, upstairs.”

 

Lin Anran looked at her leg and mumbled: “Lame.”

 

It was an insult, but Jiang Zhi somehow heard concern in it.

 

“It’s just a bit sore. It’ll be fine after a foot soak and a plaster back home,” Jiang Zhi explained.

 

“Why are you telling me this, lame person, poor ghost. Go away.”

 

With that, she tossed her head and walked off.

 

Jiang Zhi sighed and caught up: “Slow down. You know I’m lame, why aren’t you waiting for me?”

 

Lin Anran paused her steps, slowing down, but her words were still harsh: “Serves you right. You better become truly lame.”

 

Before going to sleep, Jiang Zhi applied a medicated plaster to her sore foot.

 

Lin Anran watched from the side.

 

Jiang Zhi reassured her: “It’s fine. It will be better tomorrow after wearing this.”

 

Lin Anran: “Really?”

 

Jiang Zhi nodded with certainty: “Don’t worry. It’s not a big deal, just muscle soreness from standing too long.”

 

Lin Anran stared at the plastered foot, with clear worry in her eyes, but her words were the opposite: “Who’s worried about you, lame person.”

 

Great. After “poor ghost,” “beggar,” “miser,” and “opportunist,” she had now acquired a new nickname.