Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: “Jiang Zhi Is Missing.”

The dreamscape was bizarre and ever-changing.

One moment, a monster looking exactly like Lin Anran was roaring incessantly; it seemed like Lin Anran, yet also like herself back in her senior year of high school.

The next moment, it became her grandmother squatting in front of her, stroking her head lovingly and asking: “Is little Zhizhi really sure she wants to go with Grandma? If you go with Grandma, there won’t be a big house to live in, and no pretty little dresses to wear. Life in the countryside is very hard.”

Little Jiang Zhi was resolute, nodding her head with absolute certainty: “I don’t need a big house, I don’t need pretty dresses. Grandma, take me with you.”

The scene shifted. Grandma was gone, replaced by Lin Anran.

Jiang Zhi was analyzing the pros and cons for her: “If you choose me, you won’t be able to collect the bags you like at will. There will be no driver to pick you up. We’ll have to move back into a small rental apartment. It will be very bitter.”

Just like the young Jiang Zhi, Lin Anran was unwavering and determined: “Why so many words? You’re so wordy. I don’t need those things. I only need you.”

At this moment, Lin Anran and the young Jiang Zhi seemed to overlap into one person.

They both chose love without hesitation, and in the end, both turned into unrecognizable monsters.

Lin Anran’s face showed deep sorrow: “I don’t want to live this kind of life anymore. I regret liking you. Please let me go.”

Lin Han’s words still echoed in her ears.

“A person as realistic as you, do you really think love can overcome all obstacles? In the end, how did you treat your grandmother?”

“You couldn’t even choose love over money yourself, so why drag Anran into the same situation you were in?”

“Aren’t you afraid Anran will blame you one day? That she will question you just like you questioned your grandmother? Aren’t you afraid?”

“Why wear love down until it’s unrecognizable? It’s better to end it here.”

Jiang Zhi bolted upright, jolting awake from the nightmare.

Her breathing was rapid and uneven, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her back was drenched.

Lin Anran, who had been fast asleep, was awakened by the commotion. Rubbing her bleary eyes and propping herself up, she asked, “Did you have a nightmare?”

Jiang Zhi looked at her sideways, her expression dazed.

Lin Anran reached out, wanting to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, but Jiang Zhi jerked her head away quickly, avoiding her hand as if in fear.

The hand missed, hanging awkwardly in mid-air.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lin Anran was fully awake now. She sat up and joked, “Why look at me like that? Did you have a nightmare about me? Did I turn into a monster and chase you in your dream?”

Jiang Zhi was speechless.

By a stroke of luck, Lin Anran was right. In the dream, Lin Anran really had become a monster—a monster who used words to pierce a person’s heart.

Jiang Zhi stared at her fixedly. She was smiling at her, a bright and charming smile. What a beautiful person.

How could Jiang Zhi bear to drag her into the mire? How could she bear to see her one day tormented by the trivialities of daily life?

A princess should always have such a bright smile, untainted by the dust of the world.

Lin Anran reached out again to wipe the sweat from her forehead. This time Jiang Zhi did not hide; she just watched her without blinking.

“What on earth did you dream about to scare yourself into such a sweat?” Lin Anran leaned in and sniffed: “But there’s no sweaty smell. Jiang Yi, you still smell sweet.”

Jiang Zhi smiled. Her emotions had adjusted, and she embraced the person who had leaned in to sniff her.

Lin Anran rested her chin contentedly on Jiang Zhi’s shoulder: “You still haven’t told me what you dreamed about.”

Jiang Zhi rubbed her hair longingly, which carried the fresh scent of peach shampoo. It was the scent of Lin Anran.

“I forgot. I just remember the dream was very scary, but I don’t remember the details.” Jiang Zhi lied.

“What?” Lin Anran lightly nipped her shoulder. She didn’t use force; the bite was more like an expression of affection.

Lin Anran whispered in her ear: “Let’s go brush our teeth.”

Jiang Zhi raised her eyebrows, understanding instantly.

Lin Anran jumped out of bed and ran “thump, thump, thump” toward the bathroom in her slippers. Halfway there, seeing that the person on the bed hadn’t followed, she put her hands on her hips in dissatisfaction.

“Hurry up. Let’s brush our teeth together.”

In her mind, Jiang Zhi translated the words simply: Hurry up, I want to kiss you, I can’t wait!!

The two exclamation marks were necessary; the translation had to be precise. They expressed her urgency plus her annoyance at Jiang Zhi’s slow movement.

After brushing their teeth, they leaned against the sink and kissed.

It was that familiar toothpaste flavor—specifically, peach-flavored toothpaste.

Their kisses often tasted like this, so familiar that Jiang Zhi felt she might never forget this taste for the rest of her life.

Toward the end of the kiss, a sudden surge of grief hit her.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have started this. If I had been firmer at the beginning and never looked back, would it be less painful now?

A warm sensation touched Lin Anran’s face; it was a tear falling from Jiang Zhi’s eye.

Lin Anran looked at her blankly, a trace of panic in her eyes: “Why are you crying? Stop it. I don’t like it.”

Jiang Zhi lied once more: “Your teeth caught me. It hurts.”

Lin Anran’s eyes darted around guiltily. She had indeed been nipping her on purpose just now, but she didn’t think she used much force; it was supposed to be very light.

“Since when are you so sensitive to pain? You need to toughen up. Crying just from a little bite—I don’t like that,” Lin Anran scolded while wiping away her tears.

After the lingering kiss, Jiang Zhi went to the kitchen to make breakfast as usual.

Lin Anran put on a matching apron and stood by to “supervise,” calling it “helping.”

After breakfast, they curled up on the sofa to watch TV.

It was a bland romance drama where the leads kept misunderstanding each other, making the viewer very frustrated.

With her short temper, Lin Anran had already pointed at the TV and cursed numerous times.

From time to time, Jiang Zhi fed her a piece of fruit: “It’s just a TV show, don’t get so worked up.”

Lin Anran: “Do you think the people who made this show are mentally ill? They made it specifically to annoy and disgust people.”

“Then let’s not watch it.”

“No. I’m angry, but it’s also quite good.”

Jiang Zhi shook her head and smiled, staying to watch with her. When she got angry and cursed, Jiang Zhi would offer comfort or join in the cursing depending on the situation.

“That car is quite cute. It’s pink. What do you think?” Jiang Zhi asked tentatively when a small pink car appeared on the screen.

Jiang Zhi had specifically looked into the small pink car shown on TV before.

She had always had the idea of buying a small car for transportation. After all, riding an electric scooter through wind and rain wasn’t a long-term solution.

When she was alone, she didn’t care; she could make do. Now that she had Lin Anran, she had to consider these things.

Thinking that Lin Anran liked pink cars, she had deliberately kept an eye on all pink models.

Jiang Zhi was quite fond of this pink sedan. Since it happened to appear on TV, she took the opportunity to test the waters.

“What’s so good about it? Driving a piece of junk like that on the road would be embarrassing,” Lin Anran replied casually while biting into an apple.

Jiang Zhi’s expression stiffened.

Is this car… embarrassing?

To Jiang Zhi, the car wasn’t cheap; it cost over a hundred thousand, which was within her budget.

But to Lin Anran, it truly could be described as “embarrassing.”

Jiang Zhi’s eyelashes lowered slightly as she stared at the floor, lost in thought.

On one hand, she was planning her departure; on the other, she was planning how they would live after Lin Han cut off Lin Anran’s allowance.

She wanted to do everything in her power to make her life comfortable.

For example, the plan to buy this car.

But reality slapped her hard, as if saying: What are you planning? You think she’ll like a pink car just because you bought it? There’s a huge difference between one pink car and another.

This kind of car… was embarrassing.

The living environment Jiang Zhi could provide for Lin Anran was equally “embarrassing” and not fit to be shown.

Jiang Zhi shook her head and smiled with resignation. The apple in her mouth lost its sweetness, leaving only a mouthful of bitterness.

In the dark night, by the dim yellow light of the bedside lamp, Jiang Zhi’s fingers brushed across her face, tracing her features inch by inch.

Her fingers passed over the exquisite eyes, the high bridge of the nose, and the pink lips.

She wanted to carve her image into her mind forever.

Jiang Zhi moved closer, her warm breath fanning against her ear: “Tonight, Jiang Yi belongs to you.”

Lin Anran’s body trembled slightly, her eyes sparkling with shock and anticipation.

They melted into this world. In the early spring, the moonlight outside was just right.

Heartbeats intertwined.

Jiang Zhi bit her lower lip, feeling her inexperienced movements. A single tear fell, disappearing into her hair, eventually vanishing without a trace.

She wanted to keep her, to hold her tight and feel her, yet she had to accept that everything would eventually slip through her fingers.

After things settled into silence, Jiang Zhi pretended to fall into a deep sleep, only to open her eyes in the middle of the night to watch her secretly.

She whispered to her in secret: “I love you.”

Jiang Zhi rarely used such direct words as “I love you.” It carried a sense of unspeakable shame.

But tonight, she said it many times, countless times.

Lin Anran, tasting this for the first time, was busy and curious, unaware that the expressions of love carried a hidden farewell.

“I love you,” Jiang Zhi repeated in her ear over and over.

The sleeping person made a dissatisfied “mhm” sound: “Jiang Yi, don’t be noisy, I’m sleepy.”

Jiang Zhi’s nose felt sour, and tears welled in her eyes. She took a deep breath, suppressed the tears, and finally choked out in her ear: “I love you.”

But I really am not worthy of loving you.

She and Lin Anran didn’t have a single proper photo together. Jiang Zhi had thought about leaving one, but in the end, she chose not to.

She was afraid she would look at the photo repeatedly in the days to come, afraid she couldn’t bear the longing. It was better to have nothing at all.

I’m sorry, Little Cat Lin. I am too cowardly, too realistic. I’m afraid that one day you will resent me, blame me, and I’m even more afraid you’ll regret it. I don’t want you to experience the cruel reality brought by poverty. I don’t want to love until everything is unrecognizable.

Thank you, Little Cat Lin, for giving me enough sweetness to savor for the rest of my life…

I hope you are happy and well for the rest of your life, continuing to be the carefree and headstrong Third Miss of the Lin family.

Jiang Yi left.

Jiang Zhi left.

In the early morning, sunlight fell on Lin Anran’s exquisite face. Her slightly curled eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes.

She instinctively reached out to the side of the bed, but felt only emptiness.

Lin Anran sat up groggily and looked around. She couldn’t find her; Jiang Zhi was not in the room.

Without much thought, she guessed Jiang Zhi must be in the kitchen making breakfast.

Lin Anran lazily lay back down to keep sleeping. In any case, Jiang Zhi would definitely call her once breakfast was ready.

After lying there for a while, she lost the urge to sleep. She wasn’t in a hurry to get up, so she picked up her phone. She rolled around on the bed laughing at funny videos and wiped away tears at sad ones.

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

Lin Anran blinked, realizing something was wrong. It was past nine o’clock. Was breakfast not ready yet? Why hadn’t Jiang Zhi called her?

Just as she was wondering, there was a “knock, knock” on the door.

Lin Anran’s doubts vanished instantly. She prepared to get out of bed happily.

But the voice that came through was not the familiar one: “Third Miss, are you awake? Breakfast is ready for you.”

Lin Anran’s movements froze.

After a moment of realization, she tossed her phone aside and hurried out of bed. Without even putting on shoes, she opened the door.

Standing outside was not Jiang Zhi, but the auntie who used to be responsible for cooking.

“Where is Jiang Yi?” Lin Anran asked her.

“Miss Jiang called early this morning and asked me to come and prepare breakfast for you. I haven’t seen her since I got here. I don’t know where she went,” the auntie answered truthfully.

Lin Anran stood dazed on the spot. She realized something but instinctively denied it.

She pushed past the auntie and headed downstairs.

“Third Miss, please put on your shoes first,” the auntie reminded her from behind.

Lin Anran turned a deaf ear. She searched the villa back and forth barefoot. She wasn’t in the bathroom, not in the kitchen, not on the first floor, not in the basement…

Nowhere, nowhere, nowhere. She was nowhere to be found…

Jiang Zhi was gone.

There was no sound around her; the world seemed to have lost its color.

Lin Anran stood in the center of the house barefoot, frantic and helpless. For a moment, she was lost; she didn’t know what she was looking for, or why she was looking.

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