Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: “I Almost Thought You Were in a Relationship.”

 

Lin Anran sat on the bed, hugging a pillow. She had sent Jiang Zhi dozens of messages but hadn’t received a reply yet.

 

“Is she that slow at typing?” Lin Anran saw the “typing” notification but no message came through.

 

She kept refreshing the chat interface, complaining: “Why is this pauper so slow to reply? Is my phone broken?”

 

She patted the phone left and right, but there seemed to be no issue.

 

After waiting for a long time, the message finally came through.

 

Lin Anran’s eyes lit up. She looked at the message with anticipation and happiness.

 

It was concise and clear, just two words.

 

“Pay back.”

 

Lin Anran’s smile froze. Her chest heaved violently, and her hand gripped the phone until it creaked.

 

Compared to Lin Anran’s anger, Jiang Zhi was completely relaxed, even counting to herself.

 

“Three, two, one.”

 

As the count of one finished, the phone rang.

 

Jiang Zhi smiled, knowing she would definitely call.

 

Jiang Zhi even anticipated that her voice would be loud, so she held the phone slightly away while answering, to protect her ears from the high-pitched sound waves.

 

Just as expected, even with the phone far from her ear and without turning on the speaker, she could clearly hear the shouting from the other end.

 

“Money, money, money! Are you obsessed with money? I sent you so many messages, and you didn’t reply to a single one, not even a word of greeting! The first thing you say is ‘Pay back’! That’s barely any money! Do you think I’d default on your little debt?”

 

“Baa baa baa…”

 

“Baa baa baa…”

 

Lin Anran cursed for a full five minutes. Jiang Zhi listened quietly. The familiar voice, though noisy, was also especially comforting.

 

Lin Anran, mid-rant, suddenly fell silent.

 

“Are you listening? Did you mute me? Jiang Yi?”

 

Jiang Zhi stifled a laugh, struggling to keep from bursting out loud.

 

“If you really weren’t listening, if you really muted me, I won’t pay you back the money,” Lin Anran threatened.

 

“I’m listening,” Jiang Zhi laughed out loud.

 

Lin Anran was silent for two seconds, then suddenly exclaimed, “Aha! You don’t respond to anything else I say, but the moment I mention not paying back the money, you reply immediately! I see right through you, you pauper whose eyes are only fixed on money.”

 

Jiang Zhi: “Alright, calling me in the middle of the night just to curse me out. Aren’t you bored?”

 

Lin Anran: “You started it.”

 

Jiang Zhi lay flat on the bed, looking at the ceiling, a faint smile on her lips: “Fine, fine, I started it.”

 

The person on the other end scoffed. As if remembering something, she changed the subject: “Where is my bear?”

 

Jiang Zhi was a little slow to follow her train of thought: “Huh? What thing?”

 

“My bear, the pink one bought at the street stall.”

 

“Oh, that one…”

 

Before she could finish, Lin Anran’s irritable voice cut her off: “Did you think I left and immediately returned it?!”

 

Jiang Zhi: “…”

 

Actually, Lin Anran knew her quite well sometimes. Jiang Zhi had genuinely wanted to return it at the time.

 

Seeing Jiang Zhi’s silence, Lin Anran exploded again: “I knew it! You stingy person was just plotting to return my bear! That’s my bear, mine! How dare you return it? You have to give me back my stuff…”

 

Jiang Zhi quickly interrupted her tantrum: “No, it’s still here. I didn’t return it.”

 

Lin Anran: “I don’t believe you.”

 

Jiang Zhi was stuck: “Should I take a picture for you?”

 

“Take one.”

 

“You really want me to take a picture?”

 

“Hurry up, or I’ll assume you returned my stuff.”

 

Fine, take the picture. This little sovereign was the type to stir up trouble. She wouldn’t stop until she got her way.

 

Jiang Zhi climbed out of bed, went to the living room, snapped a picture, and sent it over.

 

“What’s that thing on its head?”

 

“A helmet.”

 

“It arrived?”

 

“Yes, it arrived right after you left.”

 

Lin Anran zoomed in on the picture, examined the helmet carefully, and “Tsked”: “It’s very ordinary. It’s ugly. I don’t like it.”

 

Jiang Zhi: “That’s good. It has a seven-day no-questions-asked return policy. I’ll return it tomorrow.”

 

“What?! You’re not allowed to return it! That’s my stuff.”

 

“Did you hear me? You’re not allowed to return it.”

 

Jiang Zhi smiled and lay back down on the bed. Before she could get comfortable, Lin Anran started causing trouble again.

 

“Where are my coffee and instant noodles? Go take a picture. I want to see if they’re still there.”

 

“I just lay down…”

 

Lin Anran became completely unreasonable: “Those are my precious reserves! I went to great lengths to hoard so much. You didn’t secretly sell them on a second-hand platform while I was gone, did you?”

 

Unbelievable. The young lady actually knew about second-hand platforms.

 

“No, who sells instant noodles and coffee on a second-hand platform? Who would buy that?” Jiang Zhi was filled with helpless amusement. Only Lin Anran would treat instant noodles and coffee like treasure.

 

Lin Anran: “I don’t care. I don’t trust you at all. Get up from the bed right now and take a picture of my instant noodles and coffee. I need to see if they’re all there. I’m checking the count.”

 

Jiang Zhi rubbed her forehead: “Fine, I’ll take a picture. I must take a picture for you.”

 

Jiang Zhi strongly suspected Lin Anran was just messing with her for fun, but she had no choice. She got up again to take pictures for her.

 

What was surprising was that Lin Anran really did have a count. Her “checking the count” was serious.

 

After carefully comparing the picture, she asked the existential question: “Why is one packet of instant noodles missing?”

 

Jiang Zhi: “…”

 

Why else would one packet be missing? Because she ate one.

 

Jiang Zhi: “I sold one packet on a second-hand platform and already mailed it out.”

 

Lin Anran scoffed: “The instant noodles aren’t even as expensive as the shipping fee. How could a stingy ghost like you do such a loss-making business?”

 

Jiang Zhi sighed: “I think you just want to mess with me. Are you done yet? It’s so late. Aren’t you tired?”

 

“I’m not tired.”

 

“When I ask that, what I really mean is that I’m tired.”

 

“What does your tiredness have to do with me?”

 

Jiang Zhi sighed again, put the phone aside, and turned on the speakerphone. Since the young lady wanted to chat, she would chat with her. What else could she do?

 

The chattering voice echoed in her ear. Sometimes Jiang Zhi was amazed that anyone could talk this much.

 

It was very hypnotic. Listening to her, Jiang Zhi slowly drifted off to sleep.

 

She had a dream that Lin Anran suddenly rushed in, started counting the instant noodles, discovered one was missing, confronted her, and scolded Jiang Zhi for secretly eating her instant noodles.

 

It was a nonsensical and comical dream.

 

Waking up in the morning, the phone by the bed was still connected, but the incessant chattering was gone. Leaning closer, she could hear the light, shallow breathing on the other end. Lin Anran was sleeping soundly.

 

A sleeping Lin Anran was very well-behaved—neither noisy nor troublesome.

 

Jiang Zhi held the phone close to her ear, listening to her breathing for a while. A smile unconsciously spread across her lips. Her heart seemed to beat rhythmically with Lin Anran’s breathing.

 

She softly said “Good morning” into the phone.

 

At the convenience store, Jiang Zhi was cheerful and humming a little tune, completely shedding the gloominess of yesterday.

 

Xiao Man secretly looked at her: “Sister Zhi Zhi, did something good happen today?”

 

Jiang Zhi was currently wiping the glass on the outside of the convenience store. She replied casually: “No, why?”

 

Xiao Man didn’t believe her: “You’re so happy.”

 

Jiang Zhi turned to look at Xiao Man behind the counter, looking confused: “Do I look very happy?”

 

Xiao Man nodded vigorously: “You don’t just look happy, I almost thought you were in a relationship.”

 

Jiang Zhi was startled: “What? Where did you get that idea?”

 

Jiang Zhi turned back to continue wiping the glass, observing her reflection in the glass. She was wearing the green work vest, a low ponytail, and black-rimmed glasses. Looking closely… she did seem to be… constantly smiling.

 

Was she really that happy?

 

“Thump, thump.”

 

Someone tapped lightly on the glass window, interrupting Jiang Zhi’s thoughts.

 

She looked up. Through the glass, as if breaking through dimensions, she saw a delicate and perfect face.

 

Against the dim yellow streetlights, the person outside the window tilted her head and smiled faintly at her.