Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: “What if I Insist on Liking You?”

 

For two people like this, becoming friends was already incredibly unbelievable, let alone becoming lovers.

 

“Didn’t your eldest sister only allow you to be out for an hour? You’ve come back and seen that I’m fine, and I’m not in a bad mood. You should go back quickly,” Jiang Zhi collected all her emotions and flashed a gentle smile.

 

Lin Anran tilted her head, observing her closely.

 

Jiang Zhi’s acting was quite good; at least, it prevented Lin Anran from noticing anything amiss.

 

“Are you really not unhappy?” Lin Anran asked hesitantly.

 

“How could I be unhappy? It’s rare for you, my little shadow, to be gone for a day. I get a day off. I couldn’t be happier,” Jiang Zhi teased.

 

As soon as Lin Anran heard this, her face fell, and she was immediately ready to flare up.

 

Jiang Zhi interrupted her tantrum, placing the woolen coat from the sofa over her shoulders: “It’s cold. Although there’s heating in the car, you might still catch a cold going up and down the stairs for these few minutes. Next time, remember to put on a coat as soon as you get out of the car.”

 

Lin Anran’s ruffled feathers instantly smoothed down. She snorted twice: “You’re so naggy, like an old mother. My health is excellent; I won’t catch a cold.”

 

Despite saying that, the action of wrapping herself tightly in the coat was very honest.

 

Lin Anran turned to leave, but half-way, she looked back and scanned Jiang Zhi’s attire up and down.

 

“You’d better throw away the clothes you’re wearing, and those ugly glasses of yours. Don’t wait for me to throw them away. Don’t wear such ugly things anymore. They’re hideous.”

 

She left after finishing her scolding.

 

Jiang Zhi walked to the staircase, watched her go downstairs, then turned back to the window, watching Lin Anran get into the car. She watched the luxury sedan, which normally wouldn’t appear here, start up and drive away.

 

Jiang Zhi didn’t retract her gaze for a long time. She leaned against the windowsill, letting the cold wind blow. The wind seemed to penetrate her body, chilling her heart as well.

 

Is your method actually working? I feel like she’s been avoiding me lately and doesn’t want close contact anymore.

 

Lin Anran sent a message of doubt to Relationship Expert No. 2.

 

The expert replied quickly, with a first-rate service attitude for money: Avoiding you isn’t necessarily withdrawal. It might be a sign of success.

 

Lin Anran frowned: What do you mean?

 

Relationship Expert No. 2: Listen to my analysis. If she only treated you as a friend and had no other thoughts about you, why would she avoid you? If she felt nothing for you, she might not even realize you’re tempting her. It’s precisely because she has feelings that she’s avoiding you and trying to hide. This is a great signal. You must press the advantage…

 

Lin Anran didn’t have the patience to read the long analysis and only grabbed the keywords.

 

“She has feelings for you” and “press the advantage.”

 

Lin Anran lightly tapped her phone on the table, thoughtful, muttering to herself: “Press the advantage.”

 

She wondered if this so-called relationship expert was actually an expert. It felt unreliable.

 

Although she didn’t completely trust the expert, it didn’t stop Lin Anran from putting the advice into practice.

 

At midnight, Lin Anran emerged from the bathroom after showering. Her hair was wet and clinging to her shoulders, her skin was rosy, and there was a faint steam rising from her body.

 

She looked like a beauty emerging from her bath… and a peacock displaying its feathers…

 

Jiang Zhi avoided eye contact: “I’ve told you many times, it’s cold. There’s no heating here. It’s not appropriate for you to come out dressed so lightly. Put on some clothes immediately.”

 

Not getting the reaction she wanted, Lin Anran pouted in displeasure and snapped: “I’m not cold!”

 

Jiang Zhi didn’t care whether she was cold or not and wrapped a piece of clothing directly around her.

 

Lin Anran stomped on Jiang Zhi’s foot in annoyance, angrily turned her head, and left.

 

Looking at the closed door, Jiang Zhi sighed quietly.

 

Jiang Zhi was trying to return the relationship to a purely platonic one, but Lin Anran seemed incredibly stubborn and refused to give her any breathing room.

 

Lin Anran was constantly closing in, and she was constantly retreating, caught in a dilemma.

 

With this kind of interaction, every extra second meant an extra degree of reluctance to part. The longer it dragged on, the harder it would be to let go.

 

Cutting the knot quickly was the best choice.

 

Moreover, Lin Anran’s recent actions were becoming too much for Jiang Zhi to handle.

 

One moment, she would pretend to stumble and fall into her arms, and the next, she would forget her clothes after showering and ask her to bring them in…

 

Her little schemes were incredibly obvious, without even a hint of concealment. Yet, the overly obvious schemes didn’t make people dislike her; instead, they made her seem clumsy and cute.

 

Jiang Zhi realized she had truly been blind before. How did she only notice her intentions now?

 

But now that she noticed, it might have been better to remain clueless.

 

Although she knew she should end the overly ambiguous relationship as quickly as possible, Jiang Zhi dragged it out for a long time.

 

She dragged it to the end of the month, then into the winter, and finally, she thought maybe they should wait until after the New Year.

 

But after the New Year, she might want to drag it until spring, or summer…

 

The moment of firm resolution would never arrive, because deep down, she couldn’t bear to let go.

 

“Look how pretty my new manicure is,” Lin Anran spread her hands in front of Jiang Zhi. “Can you tell what kind of flower it is?”

 

Jiang Zhi shook her head.

 

Lin Anran clicked her tongue in distaste: “Plum blossoms! Can’t you tell? Plum blossoms go best with winter. Isn’t it pretty?”

 

Jiang Zhi didn’t look at the manicure but raised her head to look at her face, which was so delicate that even her pores seemed non-existent, like a princess stepping out of an anime.

 

“I’m asking you, is the manicure pretty?”

 

“It’s pretty.”

 

Lin Anran raised an eyebrow and blinked playfully: “You’re looking at me while saying it’s pretty. Are you talking about the manicure or me?”

 

As she spoke, she deliberately leaned closer.

 

One step closer, and their noses might touch.

 

Lin Anran was constantly leaning in lately, catching people off guard and making their hearts tremble and pound ceaselessly.

 

She was deliberately flirting.

 

Jiang Zhi knew it clearly, but her throat still swallowed uncontrollably, her gaze fixed on Lin Anran’s lips.

 

Jiang Zhi was not a saint without desire; she had emotions and desires. Countless times, she had wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss her, just like now.

 

Desire surged in her eyes, as if she wanted to devour her completely.

 

This reckless urge seemed to reach a breaking point.

 

She thought the breaking point would be acting impulsively and kissing her, but only when this moment arrived did she realize that the breaking point was not impulsive action, but extreme calm.

 

She calmly backed away, calmly gazing at her, as if detached from everything, becoming an outsider.

 

Jiang Zhi took a deep breath: “Lin Anran.”

 

Lin Anran withdrew her deliberately flirtatious expression and instinctively straightened up. Jiang Zhi rarely called her by her full name, and when she did, it meant things were not good.

 

“What do you want?” Lin Anran’s mind raced. Could she be angry?

 

“You…” Jiang Zhi looked into her eyes, seemingly using all her strength to utter the complete sentence: “Do you like me?”

 

Lin Anran’s expression froze.

 

When she asked this, Jiang Zhi had already guessed how Lin Anran would respond. She would most likely deny the question subconsciously, saying something like, “I don’t like you at all.”

 

But Jiang Zhi didn’t even want to give her a chance to refute.

 

She was afraid that hearing her words—which seemed like a rebuttal but were actually an admission—would make her waver again.

 

So, Jiang Zhi spoke before her:

 

“You shouldn’t like me.”

 

Silence descended upon the living room, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

 

Given Lin Anran’s arrogant personality, hearing such words would most likely lead to her slamming the door and storming out.

 

According to the original plan, that’s what should have happened, but the plan seemed to have gone awry.

 

Jiang Zhi thought she understood her, but she didn’t understand her that well.

 

Lin Anran did not slam the door and leave. She just stood there and asked, word by word: “Why shouldn’t I like you? What if I insist on liking you?”

 

This shouldn’t have been Lin Anran’s reaction. She should have arrogantly tossed out a line like, “Am I even supposed to like you?”

 

Jiang Zhi felt like her heart was being pricked with needles, yet the pain was numb.

 

“You should go home. This place is not suitable for you to stay in any longer,” Jiang Zhi lowered her eyes.

 

“You want to kick me out?” Lin Anran looked at her.

 

Jiang Zhi did not speak, her head bowed. She didn’t dare to look at her from beginning to end.

 

Jiang Zhi was afraid that one extra look would bring back her weakness, afraid that her already shaky resolve would crumble.

 

“Jiang Zhi, if you take back what you just said, I won’t hold it against you.”

 

“You should leave.”

 

A silent standoff.

 

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

 

Lin Anran’s lips moved. There was hurt in her eyes, but she finally suppressed it and said cautiously, “Jiang Zhi, if you don’t like the things I’ve been doing lately, I won’t do them anymore…”

 

Jiang Zhi looked up, her tone final: “You should leave.”

 

“Where should I go? It’s night now. If you make me leave now, aren’t you afraid I’ll run into danger?” Lin Anran reached out, trying to grab the corner of Jiang Zhi’s coat.

 

“There are bodyguards on 24-hour standby downstairs. A driver will pick you up with one phone call. You won’t be in danger,” Jiang Zhi dodged her reaching hand and widened the distance. “Please leave.”

 

Separated by the distance, facing Jiang Zhi’s absolute determination, Lin Anran’s lips moved, but she had nothing more to say.

 

The privileged third young miss, Lin, didn’t know how to plead for her to stay or how to apologize. She didn’t even understand why Jiang Zhi had suddenly become this way. She could only stare at her, helpless and at a loss.

 

But Jiang Zhi seemed genuinely intent on driving her away, leaving no room for negotiation.

 

She turned, opened the door, and closed the door.

 

The person who loved to slam and kick doors when angry closed the door very softly this time when she left.

 

So softly, it didn’t sound like her at all.