Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: “Did You Not Sleep All Night?”

 

Throughout the long night, the person lying in bed struggled to fall asleep, boredly kicking the blanket off and pulling it back on, only to kick it off again.

 

Finally, she threw the blanket aside and simply sat up.

 

No use. She couldn’t sleep at all.

 

She wanted to go brew some coffee…

 

She looked towards the door. Forget it. That pauper would catch her again. She was so stingy; she wouldn’t even spare her an extra cup of coffee.

 

She fumbled to turn on the light. Her eyes, adapted to the darkness, squinted uncomfortably against the sudden brightness, taking a while to adjust.

 

She glanced around the room.

 

The apartment was pitifully small—a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk—which practically filled the limited space.

 

The white walls were plastered with ugly and tacky anime stickers. Lin Anran naturally didn’t know what anime they were from, but they looked dated. She wasn’t sure if they were left by the previous tenant or put up by Jiang Zhi.

 

The floor tiles were ancient, looking like something from the last century.

 

Old, cramped, and noisy. Even in the middle of the night, she could faintly hear the clamor from the barbecue stall downstairs.

 

The only potential upside was that it was very clean. Although shabby, it was tidy.

 

Jiang Zhi’s room, like Jiang Zhi herself, was old-fashioned yet clean, and made one feel comfortable.

 

Lin Anran had been living here for a few days, but this was the first time she had scrutinized the place. Mainly, the space was so small there was nothing much to look at; she could see everything at a glance.

 

Lin Anran, unable to sleep, was bored. She put on her slippers and aimlessly paced around the room.

 

Her gaze finally fixed on the desk, where several books were stacked. The titles read: How to Get Rich, One Hundred Ways to Make Money, and I Love Money, Money Loves Me.

 

Lin Anran: “…”

 

Such a tacky and vulgar person. Even her reading material revolves around money. Is she that desperate for money? Is two jobs a day still not enough?

 

She noticed a photo album tucked between the books. The album cover was similar to the books, also thick, and she almost missed it.

 

A photo album? Does this mean there are many pictures of Jiang Yi in here? Pictures from when she was a child, too?

 

She was a little curious. Jiang Yi was so ugly now, she must have been even uglier as a child.

 

She immediately started to open it, but half-way through, she closed it with a slap.

 

Is it bad to look at her photo album without permission? Is it impolite?

 

The person who had never known the meaning of politeness was, for the first time, surprisingly concerned about things she utterly lacked.

 

Her eyes darted around, and she came up with a solution that served both purposes.

 

She tiptoed out of the room. Of course, this time it wasn’t to sneak coffee, but to…

 

Lin Anran stood by the sofa, glancing at the person sleeping curled up on it.

 

“Jiang Yi,” Lin Anran called her, arms crossed, chin raised.

 

Her voice was very quiet, barely a whisper, so low that someone awake might not hear it, let alone Jiang Zhi, who was sound asleep.

 

“I’m going to look at your photo album,” she continued in the pitifully small voice: “I’m going to look, okay? I’ve asked you, okay? Since you’re not speaking, I’ll take that as a yes, okay?”

 

After saying that, she peered at Jiang Zhi furtively.

 

Jiang Zhi, naturally, didn’t wake up…

 

She didn’t say anything, which must mean she implicitly agreed. Lin Anran’s eyebrows rose in triumph, and she tiptoed back into the room.

 

After this self-deceiving act of pretense, Lin Anran felt perfectly justified and guilt-free as she opened the photo album.

 

She looked on with anticipation, but the smile quickly froze on her face.

 

Swish, swish. She quickly flipped through the pages.

 

The more she flipped, the rougher her movements became, until she finally threw the album onto the desk.

 

“What is this? Why is it an empty photo album?” The album was spotless, without a single photo.

 

Lin Anran looked angrily at the door, as if she wanted to pierce through the wood and “stab” the person sleeping on the sofa outside.

 

“Wasting my time.” Lin Anran looked at the empty album in annoyance. She had thought she would see how ugly Jiang Yi looked as a child.

 

She turned to leave, but half-way, she walked back and picked up the album again.

 

Only upon closer inspection did she notice that although the album was empty, there were signs of use, with residual photo indentations. Every page showed signs of having held pictures.

 

Does this mean the album was originally full, but the owner later took all the photos out?

 

Lin Anran’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

 

The photos were fine in the album. Why were they all taken out? And why wasn’t there a new album?

 

She looked around. There was no second photo album in this small, unobstructed space.

 

Lin Anran suddenly thought of the plain red bracelet Jiang Zhi wore on her wrist all year round. She had previously speculated that the bracelet must have been a gift from someone important.

 

Otherwise, she wouldn’t wear it every day, even though it was faded. It must hold some special significance.

 

Is the person who gave her the bracelet that important? Important enough that she couldn’t bear to take off a simple bracelet for years?

 

Bang.

 

It was the sound of Lin Anran slamming the photo album onto the floor.

 

Her mood inexplicably became irritable.

 

It must be because she didn’t get to drink coffee and burned her hand, causing her to be in a bad mood.

 

No, that’s not right. If it wasn’t that, then what could it be?

 

I know! It must be because the room is too small, making her feel suffocated.

 

That’s right! That’s it! It’s all this broken, small house’s fault.

 

After this self-analysis, Lin Anran felt even worse, and she angrily stepped on the photo album twice to vent her frustration.

 

Jiang Zhi, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by the photo album hitting the floor. She was both confused and bewildered, staring blankly at the person who stomped on the album and then went back to the room.

 

Lin Anran took a deep breath: “Hmph, stomping on it worked. I feel much better.”

 

Jiang Zhi looked at the closed door: “Is it really necessary? Just because I didn’t let her have coffee, she comes out in the middle of the night to hit me?”

 

The next morning, Lin Anran appeared at the dining table with dark circles under her eyes, like a giant panda.

 

Jiang Zhi was startled by her appearance: “Did you not sleep all night?”

 

Lin Anran scanned her up and down, her gaze finally resting on Jiang Zhi’s bracelet.

 

Jiang Zhi: “Don’t tell me you stayed up all night just because I wouldn’t let you have coffee? Is it worth it?”

 

Not only did she stay up, she also came out in the middle of the night to hit me…

 

Lin Anran withdrew her gaze and rolled her eyes at her.

 

Jiang Zhi sighed: “Have breakfast. I also brewed coffee for you since you were thinking about it all night.”

 

Lin Anran twitched her nose twice. Smelling the rich aroma of coffee, she immediately forgot her unhappiness, picked up the cup, and started drinking.

 

“Don’t just drink coffee. Eat some of the other things too,” Jiang Zhi reminded her.

 

“Don’t nag me like an old mother,” Lin Anran replied, showing no kindness.

 

Jiang Zhi twitched her lips.

 

On the table were youtiao (fried dough sticks), soy milk, and a fried egg—a very traditional Chinese breakfast. But Lin Anran didn’t like it. She liked…

 

Lin Anran: “What are all these messy things? I don’t like them. I want instant noodles. Change it to instant noodles for me.”

 

Jiang Zhi: “…”

 

Is she obsessed with instant noodles and coffee?

 

Since eating instant noodles for the first time a few days ago, she wanted instant noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She was practically turning into a package of instant noodles.

 

Of course, her favorite was still coffee; instant noodles ranked second.

 

“You can’t eat instant noodles every day. It’s unhealthy.” Jiang Zhi patiently tried to reason with her.

 

“I. Want. Instant. Noodles!” Lin Anran spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

 

Well, reasoning with her won’t work.

 

Jiang Zhi rested her hand on the table, her face darkening. She stared at Lin Anran expressionlessly.

 

Was Jiang Zhi angry? Of course not. She was just using this tactic against Lin Anran, a tactic that never failed.

 

Sure enough, Lin Anran’s aggression faded. She habitually pouted and stopped resisting. She picked up her chopsticks and began to eat her breakfast obediently.

 

Jiang Zhi wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, mainly afraid that Lin Anran would notice. If she was discovered, this pretense of seriousness to intimidate her would probably stop working.

 

She cleared her throat, suppressed her laughter, and picked up her glass cup to take a sip of soy milk to calm down.

 

As she moved, Lin Anran’s gaze followed.

 

Her look was intense, focused on Jiang Zhi’s wrist.

 

“Do you want my soy milk?” Jiang Zhi asked tentatively, feeling uneasy under her gaze.

 

“That bracelet on your hand is hideous. Can’t you just throw it away?” Lin Anran pointed to her wrist.

 

Jiang Zhi’s expression froze, and then her face genuinely turned cold; this wasn’t fake this time.

 

Lin Anran shrank her neck: “What? It’s just a bracelet. You treasure it so much. Can’t I say anything about it?”

 

Jiang Zhi’s voice was stern: “No, you can’t.”

 

The atmosphere instantly fell silent.

 

Lin Anran lowered her eyes, gave a small “Oh,” and buried her head, continuing to eat her breakfast without enthusiasm.

 

No one spoke throughout the meal. The silence was eerie.

 

Jiang Zhi finished her breakfast first, collected the dishes, and headed to the kitchen.

 

Lin Anran seemed unable to tolerate the atmosphere any longer and weakly called out to her: “Jiang Yi.”

 

Jiang Zhi’s back paused but she didn’t turn around, walking straight into the kitchen.

 

Soon, the sound of water could be heard from the kitchen, suggesting she was washing the dishes.

 

Lin Anran drooped her head, pouting, feeling incredibly wronged.

 

What was the matter? She usually cursed her a lot. She had said much nastier things before, but no matter how she cursed, she always laughed it off and didn’t take it to heart. Why was she ignoring her this time?

 

She didn’t want to eat breakfast anymore. The coffee she had been craving was only half-finished, and she pushed it aside. She slumped on the table, looking utterly deflated.

 

Jiang Zhi finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. She paused when she saw the untouched breakfast on the table.

 

“Not eating anymore?” Jiang Zhi asked.

 

The deflated person immediately sat up straight, staring at her, and answered obediently: “No.”

 

Jiang Zhi looked at the barely touched breakfast and coffee, her lips moving, but she didn’t say anything. She collected the dishes and returned to the kitchen.

 

Lin Anran slumped again, resting her head on the table, picking at the surface with her fingers, looking wronged and pitifully watching the busy, indifferent back in the kitchen.

 

Jiang Yi is a miser, and she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore.