Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: “Bring Her Back.”

“Miss Jiang!” Director Lu caught up with the person running out of the company doors. “Why are you running so fast? I almost couldn’t catch you.”

Jiang Zhi kept her eyes downcast and her head low, terrified that the woman would see her tear-swollen eyes.

“Is there something else?” Jiang Zhi tried her best to suppress the sob in her voice, struggling to appear presentable.

“Tomorrow, there is an industry exchange banquet for video content creators. Many famous bloggers and influencers will be attending. The banquet only invites creators with over a million followers—it’s a high-level event.”

“Originally, you weren’t on the guest list, but the company fought for this opportunity for you. Here is your invitation.”

Director Lu pressed a pink envelope into Jiang Zhi’s hand.

Jiang Zhi stared at the envelope, her first instinct being to refuse. Before today, she might have been interested in networking and deepening her career as a vlogger, but now…

She had no motivation left. She just wanted to go home and escape this place. She had to admit that the reason her life was a failure up to this point was likely her inability to handle pressure. At the slightest blow, she felt like the sky was falling.

But before she could decline, Director Lu added, “We’ve already secured the spot for you. You must be there on time; no being late.”

The refusal died in Jiang Zhi’s throat.

“Oh, and all guests for the exchange have been assigned a designated hotel. We’ve pre-booked a room for you. Here is your key card.”

Director Lu shoved the key card into her hand, giving her no chance to say no.

Holding the invitation in one hand and the key card in the other, Jiang Zhi stood in a daze for a moment. Her plan to flee had been forcibly halted by this event.

Why is it so hard just to run away?

Jiang Zhi sighed. If she had known signing would lead to this, she wouldn’t have done it for anything in the world. But it seemed she never had a choice from the start; this was all a result of Lin Anran’s arrangements. She had no way to escape; she could only fall into the trap.

Even though Lin Anran seemed to have lost interest in her revenge halfway through.

The invitation felt like a hot potato in her hand—a dilemma she couldn’t avoid. Jiang Zhi looked up at the skyscraper. On the exterior wall, the company name was written in bold pink letters: ZAR. The harsh sunlight reflected off the glass, stinging her eyes.

She was so tired. She had never been this exhausted—physically and mentally drained.

In a place Jiang Zhi couldn’t see, Lin Anran stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the small figure below. Her expression was unreadable.

Lin Yishu walked over and followed her gaze. Seeing the despondent figure below, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid she’ll run away again?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Lin Anran replied. “She’s been running for two years already. Where else can she go?”

“You went through so much effort to get her here,” Lin Yishu noted. “It can’t really be just for revenge, can it?”

Knock, knock.

Director Lu entered the office. “President Lin, the invitation has been delivered.”

Lin Anran gave a cold hum of acknowledgment, acting as if she didn’t care. However, as the Director prepared to leave, Anran couldn’t help but call her back to check on the details: “Is the hotel booked for her?”

The exchange event didn’t actually provide hotels for guests. Jiang Zhi’s accommodation was a special instruction from Lin Anran.

“As you ordered, the key card has been given to her,” Director Lu said.

“Understood. You may go.” Lin Anran waved her off.

Once the Director left, Lin Yishu leaned in again. “A hotel? Hidden agendas? Is that it??”

Lin Anran gave her a look of utter disgust. “What on earth are you talking about? I’m just worried she has nowhere to stay.”

Lin Yishu tsk-tsked. “Listen to you. You were spitting harsh words just now, yet here you are worrying about her sleeping arrangements and booking her a hotel.”

Lin Anran kicked the sofa irritably. “Just thinking about it makes me angry. It’s not like she has no money, yet she insists on staying at a youth hostel. Three or four people to a room… how can anyone rest with that much noise? She’s a ‘deathly stingy’ person. Does she think saving pennies will make her a billionaire? It’s like she’s sick.”

“Fine, fine. You can curse all you want, but you still can’t let her go.” Lin Yishu sat cross-legged on the sofa and resumed eating, teasing her between bites. “You mentioned how poor she is—it’s not like she can’t afford a hotel. Yesterday, she wouldn’t even spend money on a proper meal. She was sitting there pitifully eating instant noodles.”

“So, does the hotel you booked include three meals a day?”

“Obviously. Do you think I’d trust her to spend her own money on food?”

Lin Yishu chewed a piece of vegetable. “Oh my, since when did my little sister become so considerate? Worried about her sleep, worried about her food… Hey, when I was away for competitions in foreign countries, why didn’t you care if I was eating or sleeping well?”

Lin Anran pretended not to hear.

Lin Yishu set down her chopsticks and turned to her. “Why the silence? Your ‘wife’ is more important than your sister, is that it?”

“My wife is obviously the most important,” Lin Anran said as if it were common knowledge.

Lin Yishu was momentarily speechless. She hadn’t intended to argue, but Anran’s matter-of-fact attitude made her want to prick her bubble. “Your wife is most important, but your wife doesn’t want you anymore~”

Lin Anran’s eyes widened.

Lin Yishu, enjoying the chaos, prodded again: “Your wife doesn’t want you~”

Lin Anran was in front of her in an instant, her eyes blazing.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll stop!” Lin Yishu raised her hands in surrender.

Lin Anran glared at her like a cat with its fur standing on end, ready to scratch at any second. While staying on guard, Lin Yishu couldn’t help but add sourly, “Anran, do you remember the last time you held your Second Sister’s hand?”

“It was when you were in sixth grade—a little brat. You haven’t held my hand since. You only grabbed my hand just now to show your wife, didn’t you?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

Lin Anran kicked her out without mercy. “Finish eating and leave. Don’t bring me food tomorrow.”

Lin Yishu clutched her heart theatrically. “How can you be like this? You specifically called me today to come at this exact time to deliver food. I played along with your little act, and this is how you treat me? Kicking me out as soon as the show is over?”

Lin Anran ignored her, offering zero comfort, and returned to the window to watch the street.

“Stop looking. She’s long gone.”

“Second Sister, are you annoying? Just leave, okay?”

“You’re making me sad. Very sad! Extremely sad!”

“Go be sad at home. Don’t be sad in my office. I don’t like it.”

Lin Yishu tsked again. “‘I don’t like it’—how long has it been since you used your catchphrase? You haven’t said it once since your wife left. Now that she’s back, the catchphrase is back too. Does she really have that much magic over you?”

Lin Anran remained focused on the street below, even though Jiang Zhi was long gone. Lin Yishu gave up on her heart-broken act after receiving no sympathy.

“A grown girl can’t be kept at home; she forgets her sister the moment she has a wife.”

Lin Anran continued to stare.

Lin Yishu: “…”

She wiped away non-existent tears with a tissue and turned serious. “I know you want to provoke her to make her realize things—to stop her from always trying to hide. But I have to warn you: be careful not to overdo it. You might actually scare her away for good.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

Lin Yishu tossed the tissue in the trash and stood up, smoothing the slight wrinkles in her qipao. “You think you know? A little provocation might work, but too much and she’ll just retreat into her shell. Take it slow; ‘hurry makes waste.'”

Lin Anran finally turned away from the window. “If I were truly in a hurry, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble. I wouldn’t have scouted her, arranged a fake coincidence, or brought her to the office for a ‘contract talk.’ I certainly wouldn’t have put on that act with you or given her that invitation.”

“If I were really in a hurry, I would have just charged into the countryside and dragged her back myself.”

Lin Yishu fell silent. To bring Jiang Zhi back, Lin Anran had laid out a massive, intricate plan.

“You chose this media company for your bet with Eldest Sister because you guessed Jiang Zhi would keep being a vlogger, didn’t you? You were paving the road for her all along,” Lin Yishu realized.

“Don’t mention Eldest Sister,” Lin Anran’s face went cold.

Lin Yishu sighed. “Still mad at her? Eldest Sister has already stepped back; you should give a little too.”

“How has she stepped back? I found Jiang Zhi myself! If she hadn’t interfered back then, Jiang Zhi and I never would have been apart for two years!”

Lin Yishu opened her mouth but decided against speaking. For the past two years, the relationship between Lin Anran and Lin Han had dropped to freezing point with no signs of thawing. Lin Yishu was caught in the middle—an endless headache. The Eldest Sister wasn’t easy to deal with, and the youngest was just as difficult.

“So, after that little performance you put on in front of your wife… do you really think she’ll attend the banquet?”

“She will.”

Lin Yishu arched an eyebrow. “Why so certain?”

Lin Anran was full of confidence. “Since she already signed the contract, she’ll follow the company’s arrangements. She’s incredibly ‘stingy’—she would never be able to bear paying the penalty for a breach of contract.”

On this point, Lin Anran was exactly right. Jiang Zhi was indeed held back by the exchange event and couldn’t leave Mucheng immediately.

In the five-star hotel, Jiang Zhi felt out of place the moment she stepped into the lobby. She felt “country-bumpkin-ish”; the grand hotel made her feel cautious and clumsy.

“Your room is on the eighth floor. Let me show you the way.” The receptionist led the way. The service in a five-star hotel was worlds apart from a youth hostel.

Jiang Zhi shook her head. What am I thinking? There’s no comparison.

Inside the room, she had no heart for sightseeing. She sat on the sofa, her mood sinking. She didn’t want to remember, but her mind kept replaying the intimate actions between Lin Anran and the beauty in the qipao. Every time she remembered, it felt like a needle pricking her heart, making it hard to breathe.

Ring, ring!

Pulled out of her suffocating thoughts, she took out her phone. It was Grandma Li from her village. Jiang Zhi tried to make her voice sound cheerful.

“Xiao Jiang, didn’t you say you’d be back today? It’s late and I haven’t seen you. Your Lucky came to find me, meowing like crazy. I think it misses you and wanted me to call.”

“There’s still some business to handle. I can’t come back today; it’ll have to be tomorrow. Please look after Lucky for me, Grandma Li.”

Grandma Li agreed with a laugh. Jiang Zhi could faintly hear a kitten’s cry on the other end.

“Lucky,” Jiang Zhi called into the phone.

“Meow!” it responded.

“I won’t be back for another day or two. Guard the house properly, okay?”

“Meow!!”

Jiang Zhi’s rock-bottom mood lifted slightly at the sound of the cat. But once the call ended and the world returned to silence, she fell back into gloom.

She lay exhausted on the sofa, staring blankly at the crystal chandelier above.

Her lips moved, unconsciously whispering a name.

“Lin Anran.”

Support