Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: “A Kiss Found Again.”

Jiang Zhi’s lips parted repeatedly, but for a long time, she couldn’t produce a coherent sound.

Lin Anran waited, watching her struggle in silence. Eventually, she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Forget it. Getting a word out of you is like asking for your life. It’s ridiculous. I don’t like the way you are right now, so don’t even think about getting your hand-cord back.”

With that, Lin Anran slammed the fountain pen she was holding onto the desk. The pen rolled across the surface, fell to the floor, and finally stopped at Jiang Zhi’s feet.

Jiang Zhi bent down to pick it up, staring at the pen in a daze. Lin Anran’s gaze followed, but she wasn’t looking at the pen—she was looking at Jiang Zhi’s arm. Because of the elevator incident, there was a visible purple bruise on the outside of her arm.

Lin Anran withdrew her gaze. Expressionless, she began tapping on her keyboard, typing into a search engine: What to do if an arm is pinched and bruised? Is a hospital visit necessary?

After searching for a bit, she suddenly became irritated. She hit the keyboard with her hand—thump!

I’m so pathetic, she thought. I’ve said so much, and this idiot Jiang Yi still won’t take a stand. She says nothing, yet here I am, worrying about her arm. Why? I shouldn’t care about her.

Anran snapped her laptop shut. The movement was aggressive, and the noise was loud. Jiang Zhi worried for a moment that the screen might have cracked; clearly, her focus was on the wrong thing.

Lin Anran continued to kick and fuss. She had changed a lot, but this fiery temper seemed to have stayed perfectly intact.

“I have nothing more to say to you right now.” With a cold face, Lin Anran stood up, grabbed her blazer from the back of the chair, put it on, and headed for the door.

Jiang Zhi didn’t know how to react. Should she call her back? Should she follow?

Lin Anran seemed to read her mind. “What are you standing there for? Come on.”

Jiang Zhi gave a soft “oh” and trotted after her. “Where are we going?”

“To eat.”

“I don’t need to eat.”

“I do!” Lin Anran turned back and glared at her.

“Don’t be angry. I’ll eat with you,” Jiang Zhi said softly.

“Are you sick in the head? Who said I wanted your company?”

Being scolded by her felt familiar—a nostalgic sensation that was actually quite nice.

They went to a Cantonese restaurant and were seated in a private room. The decor was classical and elegant, with black-and-white landscape murals on the walls. A simple vase sat on the table with a single branch of red plum blossoms—very tasteful.

Jiang Zhi wasn’t used to such exquisite places. She sat at the table, fidgeting with her clothes. If she had known she’d be seeing Anran, she would have at least worn a T-shirt that wasn’t wrinkled.

Lin Anran sat opposite her, flipping through the menu. “Poached shrimp, pineapple sweet and sour pork, salt-baked chicken…” She rattled off seven or eight dishes.

Jiang Zhi wanted to speak up—how could two people eat so much?—but she didn’t stop her. After the waiter left, Anran looked at her coolly. “Do you know how much this meal costs?”

Jiang Zhi: “It’s fine. I’ll pay, no matter how much.”

“Who asked you to pay? Stop pretending to be generous. I’m just telling you that I have money. I can afford this meal, and every meal after this. Not with my family’s money—with money I earned myself.”

She closed the menu and tossed it onto the table.

“I’m not that useless person relying on her family anymore. The clothes I’m wearing, the watch on my wrist, and the car outside—I earned every cent myself.”

Anran stood up and looked down at the person sitting across from her. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

Jiang Zhi lowered her eyes. “I understand. You’re outstanding, much stronger than I am. A meal like this is daily life for you; for me, it’s a feast I might only have once a year.”

Lin Anran nearly choked on her indignation. “Is that what I’m saying? You listened all that time and that’s all you got?”

Jiang Zhi gave a bitter smile, lost in her own thoughts. “Isn’t it true? In the same two years, I’m still like this, while you’ve opened a company and taken charge. You can do so much on your own now. I…”

“Stop,” Anran raised a hand, cutting her off. “Our starting points were different. How can you compare us? The Lin family can provide me with infinite resources. Just the title of ‘Third Miss Lin’ can bring in investments.”

“But you had nothing. Every step you took was on your own. No one guided you, no one taught you, and no one paved the way. To get where you are today, building a video account from scratch—you’ve already beaten so many people.”

“If I were in your position, I might not have done as well as you. I just enjoyed a more privileged environment and had the luxury of making mistakes. It doesn’t mean I’m more ‘outstanding’ than you.”

“I don’t understand why you always put yourself so low. You have every right to be proud. At the very least, you shouldn’t feel inferior to me.”

“I’m just a second-generation rich kid who relied on her family. Any success I have now is thanks to my background. It’s no big deal.”

Jiang Zhi frowned. “Don’t talk about yourself like that.”

Anran: “Then how should I describe myself? It’s the truth. I’m just stating facts.”

Jiang Zhi’s brow furrowed tightly. “I don’t think those are the facts. Your excellence is a fact. My ordinariness is also a fact. Those are the real facts.”

“What kind of bullsh*t are you—”

“Who taught you to use such language?!”

“I’ll say what I want!”

Jiang Zhi fell silent for a moment. “Even if you’re right, your eldest sister won’t agree to us being together. The gap between us is an objective reality.”

Lin Anran walked around the table and came to her side. “So what if she doesn’t agree? She can’t use financial sanctions against me anymore.”

Jiang Zhi looked up at her. “I don’t want you to fight with your family because of me.”

“I’ve already been fighting with her for two years. What’s left to fight about? If she weren’t my sister, I would have cut ties already.”

Before Jiang Zhi could say more, Anran grabbed her chair and turned it. She leaned down, bracing her hands on either side of the chair, trapping Jiang Zhi in the middle.

Face to face, one standing and one sitting, they looked at each other at close range.

Anran gritted her teeth. “What else do you want to say? What are you still worried about? Say it all at once, and I’ll answer it all at once.”

Jiang Zhi looked up at the person inches away. “Aren’t you angry? Shouldn’t you have given up on me? I broke my promise. I’m not worth this.”

Anran’s expression turned serious. “What is ‘worth’ and what is ‘not worth’? Is there a definition for that? I think it’s worth it, so you are the most worthy person.”

“When you first left, I was angry. I was furious. I even thought about never talking to you again,” Anran sighed, looking resigned to her fate. “But I couldn’t do it. I simply couldn’t.”

Anran leaned down and bit Jiang Zhi’s shoulder. She bit hard, as if venting her frustration; the thin T-shirt was no match for her sharp teeth.

It hurt. But Jiang Zhi smiled.

The “kitten” bit her again, and then whispered in her ear: “Liar.”

Jiang Yi was a liar. She had said she wouldn’t leave, but she had been gone for two years, impossible to find. And when she was finally found, she hid in her shell, refusing to come out.

“Yes, I am a liar.”

“Then… don’t lie to me anymore, okay?”

“Okay,” Jiang Zhi’s voice choked up. “I won’t lie to you anymore.”

The person who had been hiding, who had been retreating, finally took a step forward.

Jiang Zhi tilted her head up and kissed her lips. It was a kiss filled with two years of longing and the tears of something found again.

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