Did the Tsundere Miss Get Slapped in the Face Again Today? - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: “I Love You.”

Because she was crying, Lin Anran’s shoulders trembled with each sob. Her voice was hitched, delivering a tearful accusation. There was anger in her tone, but even more so, a profound sense of grievance. Tears fell, one after another, tracing wet paths down her face.

Jiang Zhi cupped her face, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears. She felt helpless and heartbroken; she simply could not bear to see Lin Anran cry. Seeing her like this made Jiang Zhi want to cry along with her, and her own eyes inevitably began to redden.

“On what grounds… do you discard me every time? Every time there’s a problem, you give up on me, you give up…” Her crying was so intense that she couldn’t even speak smoothly, gasping for air between words. “On what grounds… do you just leave me…”

Jiang Zhi patted her back, offering a gentle comfort. “Don’t cry. You can’t even get the words out. Stop crying, okay? Tell me slowly.”

“You don’t love me at all!” Lin Anran yelled.

This sentence, however, came out perfectly clear, without a single stutter. Jiang Zhi was stunned by the outburst, feeling a mix of frustration and amusement.

In this relationship, Lin Anran had always been the one in the driver’s seat. Jiang Zhi had started the relationship according to her whims and ended it when she felt Anran no longer cared. How did it turn out that she was the one who had supposedly betrayed Anran?

“Am I wrong?” Lin Anran wiped her tears away with a rough hand, looking at Jiang Zhi with a mix of resentment and hurt. “The things you misunderstood… did you even ask me?”

She paused there, suddenly getting stuck. Jiang Zhi had asked, but it seemed she herself hadn’t taken it seriously at the time.

Regardless! Even if she hadn’t taken it seriously, that wasn’t a reason for Jiang Zhi to just give up. Couldn’t she have asked a second time? If she still didn’t take it seriously, couldn’t she have asked a third, fourth, or fifth time? If she couldn’t get an answer, couldn’t she throw a tantrum? Couldn’t she fight? Why did she have to be so “gentle” and just break up?

Anyway, it was all Jiang Yi’s fault.

“Apologize!” Lin Anran glared at her with red, swollen eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Zhi apologized immediately.

She apologized so quickly and cooperatively that Lin Anran wasn’t satisfied at all.

“You don’t even know what you did wrong.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you want me to apologize, I will.”

“See? This is exactly why! It’s because of this attitude—because you never get angry at me—that there are so many misunderstandings.”

Jiang Zhi’s expression froze for a moment, a flicker of hope appearing in her eyes. “There are… misunderstandings between us?”

Jiang Zhi had seemed decisive when she cut things off, but in reality, she hoped more than anyone that there was a misunderstanding. To have a misunderstanding meant the feelings were still there. What had made her despair were the dozens of hints and tests she’d performed that led her to be 99% sure the love was gone.

But now, Lin Anran was saying there was a misunderstanding. Could that tiny 1% chance be real? Jiang Zhi’s breathing grew heavy, her heart skipping a beat.

“Of course there’s a misunderstanding! You were just bothered by the Chu Yuening thing, weren’t you?”

“It’s not just her…”

Lin Anran cut her off. “It is her! Don’t deny it. I can tell you very clearly: there is nothing between me and her.”

Jiang Zhi: “I know there’s nothing between you.”

Anran: “No, you don’t. Don’t interrupt me.”

Jiang Zhi sighed and listened quietly.

“Did I not tell you from the beginning that she was your fan? Because she was your fan, I was willing to talk to her a bit more. Didn’t I tell you that right away?”

“Yes, you did.”

A look of annoyance flashed across Anran’s face. “But then I found out she wasn’t actually your fan at all. She was a liar.”

Jiang Zhi remained calm. “You’re not surprised?”

“Why should I be? Even just hearing your occasional conversations with her over the phone, I could tell she wasn’t a fan. Her goal… was you.”

The fan excuse was just a way to get close to Lin Anran. Jiang Zhi had never exposed this because she didn’t know what right she had to say anything—especially since Anran seemed so happy talking to her. Jiang Zhi didn’t want to interfere with her making friends. By the time her jealousy was unbearable and she tried to intervene, Anran had just laughed it off.

“I don’t care who her goal was. She’s a liar regardless. I’m completely innocent with her. I only befriended her because of you. Once I found out she was lying, I never contacted her again.” Anran looked pained. “You can’t sentence me to death because of a liar like her. I’m a victim too…”

Jiang Zhi looked at her, unsure how to respond. She sighed. “Our problem isn’t her.”

Chu Yuening was just the fuse. The real issues had been accumulating long before her. With or without her, the conflict would have erupted eventually; it was only a matter of time.

“I know. You’re blaming me because I contacted you less, called you less, and texted you less, right?”

Jiang Zhi was surprised. Anran was usually so oblivious; how had she noticed those details?

“I’ve been busy lately because I truly was busy. I needed money. I was just a little bit short of being able to buy a big courtyard—one close to the city so I can work, but big enough for you to film your videos comfortably…”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“I… I hadn’t saved enough yet. How could I tell you?”

Jiang Zhi’s emotions were a tangled mess, eventually settling into a sigh. “Have I ever told you that before making a decision, you need to discuss it with me? You need to ask my opinion.”

“It’s fine that you wanted to save for a house, and it’s fine that you were busy. But you can’t just make all the decisions on your own. We are partners. Major decisions need to be shared. Do you have any idea how much I overthink when you don’t talk to me? I can’t read your mind. I can’t guess what you’re thinking every second.”

“When you suddenly grow cold, regardless of the reason, I feel lost. I feel scared. I feel uncertain.”

Lin Anran lowered her head, her lip trembling as she cried silently. Jiang Zhi wanted to keep going, but seeing her tears, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more harsh.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about that. I only want to ask one thing.”

“Ask.”

“Do you…” Jiang Zhi took a deep breath. “…still love me?”

“Yes!” Lin Anran answered without a second of hesitation, no longer stubborn or awkward. Her response was urgent and certain.

The gloom surrounding Jiang Zhi began to lift with that one “yes,” revealing the light. But with that light came a sense of shame. What have I done? Something that could have been explained clearly had almost been lost because they both kept their mouths shut.

Lin Anran stared at her, waiting for a response. But Jiang Zhi just stood there, motionless.

“Say something! What does saying nothing mean? You don’t believe I love you? Do you need proof? How do you want me to prove it?”

A barrage of questions snapped Jiang Zhi back to reality. Just as she was about to speak, Anran started crying again. Today she was crying at the slightest provocation, her eyes swollen, her face and nose a bright red. It was heart-wrenching.

“Do I have to apologize? Second Sister said my problem is the biggest, and it’s mostly my fault. But I think you have problems too! Why am I the only one apologizing? I don’t want to apologize,” Anran muttered through her sobs.

Jiang Zhi could no longer stay calm. She pulled her into her arms. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s my fault. Dating someone as sensitive and insecure as me is what’s truly unfair to you. It’s exhausting to love someone like me.”

Lin Anran buried her face in Jiang Zhi’s neck. “It’s not exhausting. You’re not allowed to say that.”

“Don’t go wiping your snot on me.”

“I’m going to.”

Jiang Zhi laughed. “Fine, then wipe it.”

Lin Anran laughed too, then started crying again mid-laugh.

“Stop crying, okay? You’re going to cry yourself blind.”

“I’m sorry.” It was a tiny whisper, so quiet it was almost missed.

Jiang Zhi’s heart felt soft and aching. She rubbed her chin against the top of Anran’s head. “I’m the one who should say sorry.”

Anran looked up, tears still shimmering in her eyes. “Then let’s apologize to each other.”

Jiang Zhi: “Okay. Should I start? How do you want me to apologize?”

Anran tilted her head, thinking of a punishment, but before she could speak, her words were sealed away by a kiss.

“Mmm…” Anran gave a token struggle. To her surprise, the moment she resisted, Jiang Zhi pulled back.

Anran looked at her with a pout of resentment. Jiang Zhi chuckled, took off her glasses—which were getting in the way—and leaned down to kiss her again.

Their lips met in a familiar touch, but because it had been so long, and because they had nearly lost each other, this kiss felt incredibly precious. Jiang Zhi kissed her while whispering “I’m sorry” over and over.

Anran looked up, her arms around Jiang Zhi’s neck, responding to the kiss and the apology. Jiang Zhi said “I’m sorry,” and Lin Anran said “I love you.” Because of that “I love you,” the kiss grew more intense, as if they were trying to melt into one another.

When the kiss finally broke, they rested forehead to forehead, their breathing heavy and uneven.

“Where is your room?” Jiang Zhi asked hoarsely. “Let’s go to your room, okay?”

Lin Anran’s face flushed. She was just about to say “Mhmm.”

Knock, knock.

Someone tapped the stair railing twice.

“Don’t go to the room. Come down first,” Lin Han’s cool voice drifted up from downstairs.

Jiang Zhi stiffened and quickly pulled away from Anran, looking down over the railing. Lin Han was standing in the first-floor foyer.

No… is this huge house not soundproof at all? If she heard those whispered words, then surely she heard the kissing… Jiang Zhi felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.

“I’m waiting in the living room. Come down,” Lin Han commanded.

Jiang Zhi and Lin Anran looked at each other, both looking extremely unnatural. Then, Lin Yishu’s lowered voice came from below.

“Sister, why are you calling them down? They were kissing so happily. Let them go back to the room and continue. They finally made up, why bother them?”

The soundproofing really was terrible. Even though Yishu was whispering, the two upstairs heard every word. They stood in a long, awkward silence. It seemed Lin Han and Lin Yishu had heard the entire thing.

In the U-shaped sofa in the living room sat two women—one cold, one gentle. Lin Han sat perfectly straight, her gaze sweeping over Anran before landing on Jiang Zhi.

Jiang Zhi’s palms were sweating. She hid her hands behind her back and wiped them on her clothes.

“Sit,” Lin Han said, gesturing with her chin.

Jiang Zhi bit her lip and sat down on the very edge of the sofa, her back ramrod straight and her posture perfect. Even with Anran sitting beside her, she was so nervous her palms wouldn’t stop sweating. Her one previous brief encounter with Lin Han had left a deep impression; looking at her now felt like standing in a shadow.

Lin Han’s eyes remained fixed on Jiang Zhi, showing neither joy nor anger. Jiang Zhi felt like she was sitting on a bed of nails.

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