Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: “Being Reckless and Selfish Just Once.”

 

The colleague was heavily intoxicated, unable to stand straight on her own, swaying and leaning with almost all her weight on Jiang Zhi.

 

Lin Anran’s gaze was fixed on the two people leaning together, her brows tightly furrowed.

 

But she only frowned and did not speak.

 

If it were in the past, with her easily irritable temper, she would have certainly caused a scene right then. After all, before, when Jiang Zhi only got slightly close to Xiaoman, Lin Anran would immediately rush over to demand an explanation.

 

But times were different now.

 

The cold wind howled, painfully stinging their faces. Jiang Zhi’s hands, exposed to the air, were slightly stiff from the cold.

 

One person sat in a warm car, exquisitely made up, while the other stood on the chilly roadside, supporting someone, looking quite disheveled.

 

During their gaze, there was silence. Neither spoke.

 

The silence was ultimately broken not by Lin Anran or Jiang Zhi, but by the colleague’s drunken ramblings.

 

“I’m so miserable! I’m so bitter! I might as well have stayed single. What kind of miserable life is this? I work myself to the bone for this family, but the kid won’t listen, and the husband won’t take responsibility. Ah, woo-woo-woo…”

 

She cried and wailed, tears and snot running down her face.

 

Jiang Zhi’s forehead was lined with exasperation.

 

She wished she had refused the colleague’s invitation to dinner. Sometimes, being a loner and unsociable was actually quite good…

 

Listening to her colleague’s wails, Lin Anran’s frown tightened further, a look of impatience on her face.

 

The bodyguard, who was constantly by her side, immediately understood and got out of the car.

 

He stepped forward to help Jiang Zhi hold the colleague: “Miss Jiang, I’ll help you with her.”

 

Jiang Zhi truly couldn’t hold the person up anymore and quickly said thanks: “Thank you.”

 

The bodyguard took the colleague, and Jiang Zhi moved away, no longer leaning against her. Lin Anran’s tightly furrowed brows slightly relaxed.

 

The bodyguard then said: “I’ll help send her back.”

 

Jiang Zhi quickly waved her hand: “No need, no need. That’s too much trouble for you. I’ll send her myself—”

 

Before Jiang Zhi could finish her sentence, the bodyguard was already walking away with the colleague, bending down to ask the colleague where she lived.

 

Jiang Zhi was about to chase after them when Lin Anran, who had been silent, spoke: “The bodyguard will send her back safely.”

 

Jiang Zhi’s steps halted.

 

She looked back at Lin Anran, falling silent once again.

 

Jiang Zhi didn’t speak, and Lin Anran didn’t speak. The only sounds were the howling wind and the rush of passing cars.

 

Jiang Zhi bit her lip, breaking the stagnant atmosphere: “Did you happen to be passing by?”

 

This was pretending to be ignorant, as Lin Anran couldn’t have just been passing by. The world was too big. Even in the same city, without deliberate effort, there wouldn’t be so many ‘passings’ or ‘chance encounters.’

 

Unless one party deliberately sought a re-encounter, they would likely never see each other again in a lifetime.

 

Lin Anran looked at her with complex eyes and countered: “Do you think I was just passing by?”

 

Jiang Zhi avoided her gaze: “Of course. It must just be passing by.”

 

She forcefully defined the deliberate encounter as a chance passing.

 

Lin Anran’s eyes held a trace of annoyance. Her lips parted, about to speak, but Jiang Zhi spoke first, interrupting her: “Don’t pass by again in the future.”

 

Don’t pass by again in the future. Don’t like me.

 

These two phrases, separated by several days, conveyed the same meaning.

 

Lin Anran’s fingers, resting on the seat, curled up. Her proud gaze lowered, and mist began to spread in her eyes: “Jiang Yi.”

 

“Okay, go back. I should go back too,” Jiang Zhi turned away.

 

She never looked into Lin Anran’s eyes again, avoiding her gaze, afraid of revealing too much, afraid of failing to be cruel.

 

“You’re telling me to go back again.” Lin Anran’s voice rose.

 

Jiang Zhi’s departing steps felt heavy.

 

Lin Anran’s voice came from behind her again: “You taught me that we should say goodbye when we part. You taught me to be polite. Why aren’t you saying goodbye now?”

 

Jiang Zhi lowered her eyes and gave a bitter smile, because there would be no more goodbyes.

 

“Jiang Yi.”

 

“Jiang Zhi!”

 

In the cold wind, her voice trembled, sounding like a plea.

 

Such a proud person shouldn’t speak to anyone in that tone. Lin Anran didn’t seem like herself anymore.

 

“Jiang Zhi, I will only come looking for you this one time. If you leave, you’re really leaving. If you don’t turn back, I won’t turn back either.”

 

Jiang Zhi’s hand, hanging by her side, slowly clenched into a fist. Because she squeezed so tightly, her nails dug into her palm, bringing a faint, sharp pain.

 

Her steps felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move, yet she still walked away, step by step, without looking back.

 

After this, Lin Anran would never come back. Just as Lin Anran said, if you don’t turn back, I won’t turn back either.

 

Her heart was hollow. With every step she took, her heart emptied a little more.

 

She wrapped her cotton coat tighter around herself. It was so cold. No matter how thick the clothes were, they couldn’t seem to block the chill.

 

The pervasive cold made her body icy.

 

She was supposed to ride her scooter home, but she kept walking forward, aimlessly.

 

She didn’t know how long she walked, but she eventually walked into a park by the side of the road.

 

The streetlights were dim, the lake reflected the neon lights, and scattered around the lake were small groups of people taking a stroll after dinner.

 

Most of the people walking here were families, with children laughing happily and couples chasing and playing.

 

Jiang Zhi was among the crowd, yet she couldn’t blend in at all, remaining isolated.

 

Why did others have family? Why did they have companionship, while she was always alone?

 

She rarely had such thoughts, but today, looking at the diverse people walking in the park, sadness welled up.

 

Perhaps what made her sad wasn’t that others had family, or that she lacked companionship, but rather…

 

But rather what?

 

Jiang Zhi stopped walking forward.

 

She stood frozen in place, motionless, thinking about nothing in particular, as time slipped away minute by minute.

 

Suddenly, without warning, she spun around and ran back.

 

She ran so fast that she bumped into a passerby. She quickly apologized, then continued sprinting back.

 

She thought, If Lin Anran is still there, if Lin Anran hasn’t left, then I’ll try.

 

Then she would be reckless and selfish just once.

 

Her heart was racing as she sprinted back, faster than it ever had before. Thump-thump-thump, it felt like it was going to leap out of her chest.

 

Sweat beaded on her forehead, she was breathless, and she ran back to the roadside without stopping.

 

Too rushed to rest, she looked around everywhere.

 

She searched in circles, looking again and again.

 

Not resigned, she ran to the end of the road, to the traffic light, wondering if she could still catch her.

 

She circled the road for an unknown amount of time, until she ran out of strength. She bent over, hands resting on her knees, breathing heavily.

 

“Haha.” She laughed out loud, unsure if it was from happiness or sorrow.

 

In the end, they were fated, but not meant to be.

 

Lin Anran was gone. She didn’t wait, and rightly so—she shouldn’t have waited any longer.

 

Jiang Zhi straightened up, took a deep breath, and felt a sense of release. Running back was an impulse, a moment of recklessness.

 

This was already very good, even if the result was the same.

 

Jiang Zhi turned to leave.

 

Perhaps in novels or TV shows, in this situation, things would take a dramatic turn. At the moment of her turning away, Lin Anran would suddenly appear behind her, and they would look at each other and smile, leading to a perfect, happy ending.

 

But reality was reality. Until Jiang Zhi left the road, Lin Anran never appeared.

 

Jiang Zhi didn’t go home. She went back to the park by the side of the road, standing on a stone bridge, staring blankly at the rippling lake water.

 

The bridge was exposed to the wind, and it was strong. It didn’t take long for Jiang Zhi to feel her face and nose freeze from the cold.

 

But she still didn’t want to go home. The house was full of Lin Anran’s shadow, yet Lin Anran wasn’t there.

 

She regretted letting Lin Anran decorate the apartment that way from the start. The person was gone, which was the end of it, but the decorations couldn’t be taken away, instead thoroughly “tormenting” the person living there.

 

She took out her phone, instinctively clicking into the pinned conversation.

 

She had never unpinned it, but she hadn’t sent any messages either.

 

The last message stopped on December 23rd.

 

She scrolled up, reviewing their past chat history. She didn’t know how many times she had read it over.

 

She clicked on her profile picture to check her Moments. The person who used to post over a dozen Moments every day hadn’t posted anything in a long time.

 

It showed “Visible for three days, no content.” She wasn’t sure if Lin Anran hadn’t posted or if she had been blocked.

 

While her mind was reeling, the red woven wristband on her wrist suddenly loosened.

 

Before Jiang Zhi could react, the plain wristband slipped off her wrist and plunged straight down.

 

Below was the lake water.

 

Jiang Zhi was startled and subconsciously reached out to grab it, but she was a moment too late. The wristband fell.

 

She watched helplessly as it floated on the water’s surface, then slowly sank into the water.

 

Jiang Zhi felt her breathing suddenly quicken. With almost no hesitation, she ripped off her cotton coat, threw her phone aside, and jumped down.

 

“Plop”, was the sound of a person jumping into the lake.

 

Passersby were startled by the commotion and gathered around.

 

“Oh dear, why would someone jump in when it’s so cold?”

 

“It looks like she dropped something and is trying to retrieve it.”

 

“What could be so important? In this cold weather, doesn’t she worry about freezing herself?”

 

Jiang Zhi had no mind to care what the onlookers on the bridge thought. She only wanted to find the fallen wristband.

 

The lake was not deep; the water only reached her waist when she stood up. But the mud was deep, and after jumping in, her feet were practically trapped in it.

 

She struggled to move and search in the mud, quickly stirring up the previously clear lake water until visibility was gone.

 

The lake water was icy, chilling to the bone. Her hands and feet quickly went numb, but she still didn’t stop searching.

 

The wristband was the last token left to her by her only relative.

 

But now, she had lost this last token.

 

She didn’t know how long she had been in the lake water or how long she had searched, but in the end, she couldn’t find it.

 

It should have fallen right in this area, but the wristband seemed to have vanished into thin air, nowhere to be found no matter how hard she looked.

 

She didn’t find the item, and she also fell ill. Staying in the icy lake water for so long made it impossible not to get sick.

 

She had a persistent high fever. Lying on the sofa, her throat was dry, her mind was hazy, and her body was weak. She had the illusion that she wouldn’t survive tomorrow.

 

She struggled to get up and took medicine, but it seemed ineffective.

 

She remembered the last time she had a fever and cold, Lin Anran stayed by her side, constantly checking her breathing, afraid she would die.

 

In her feverish haze, she thought she saw Lin Anran. She was gently patting her cheek, keeping her company.

 

The feeling instantly brought Jiang Zhi a sense of peace.

 

But when the high fever subsided and she became clear-headed, she realized it was all just a dream.

 

Lin Anran wasn’t there, and couldn’t be there.

 

Jiang Zhi had no time for self-pity. After regaining a little strength, she rushed back to the park without delay.

 

She hadn’t found the wristband yet. She had to go back and check. She planned to spend money to hire someone to help salvage it. As long as it could be retrieved, she didn’t care how much it cost.

 

She didn’t cherish many possessions, and the wristband ranked first.

 

She arrived at the park bridge in a hurry and leaned over to look down.

 

The sight before her caused Jiang Zhi to freeze in her tracks.