My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 12

You have to take half the responsibility.

Xue Shuangxi’s words kept spinning in Zuo Xian’s head all afternoon, and she was still brooding over them even after she got home.

After dinner that evening, Zuo Xian sat on the living room sofa, spacing out, while a variety show played on the television in front of her.

The guests inside were roaring with laughter, but Zuo Xian outside looked utterly miserable, causing Grandma Liu, who was mopping the floor nearby, to glance over repeatedly.

Is this child okay? Maybe the pressure from school is too much.

A little while later, there was a sound at the entrance, and Grandma Liu quickly set down the mop and hurried towards the foyer. Sure enough, it was Tao Ran.

“Good evening, Grandma Liu,” Tao Ran greeted her.

However, Grandma Liu was too preoccupied to return the greeting today; she pointed behind her.

She whispered to Tao Ran, “Rannan, Xianzai has been distracted today. I’m guessing something happened at school. But I’m just an old lady and don’t understand anything. Could you please help me ask her and show some care, okay?”

Tao Ran paused, her gaze going past Grandma Liu.

In the spacious living room, the girl was leaning against the sofa. The face that always wore a bright smile now had the concept of ‘looking utterly miserable’ actualized, with her brows deeply furrowed.

Even Tao Ran was startled by this. Zuo Xian had been perfectly fine just yesterday, so how did she become so depressed after leaving the house today?

“See, Rannan, I wasn’t mistaken.”

Tao Ran became serious, looking at Grandma Liu. “I’ll go ask her what’s going on.”

“Good, good. Xianzai always listens to you. I’m relieved knowing you’re here.”

On the other side, Zuo Xian watched the variety show and couldn’t help but sigh again.

Why couldn’t her relationship with Tao Ran be as pure and steadfast as a reflexology mat and a jump rope?

“A Xian.” Tao Ran suddenly appeared next to her, giving Zuo Xian a fright.

She clutched her wildly beating heart and subconsciously said, “Rannan, you scared me.”

The next second, she remembered the clever advice Xue Shuangxi had given her, so she looked away and cleared her throat lightly.

She said in a flat tone, “Is there something you need me for?”

Tao Ran: “Didn’t you say you were worried about falling behind in high school and asked me to come over every Saturday at 7 PM to tutor you with your homework?”

“I almost forgot,” Zuo Xian stammered, only now recalling the arrangement.

She led Tao Ran to the study, which was equipped with two sets of desks and chairs, side by side.

Originally, Zuo Xian had thought that since she couldn’t be Tao Ran’s desk-mate at school, she could be one at home.

She hadn’t realized how clingy she was before, but now, after Xue Shuangxi’s suggestion, Zuo Xian felt she was perhaps being a bit excessive.

Only Tao Ran could tolerate it.

The two sat down at their spots. Zuo Xian took out her homework, while Tao Ran only brought one book.

Zuo Xian glanced at it casually; it seemed to be about economics or something. She had zero interest in these extracurricular professional books and slowly shifted her gaze away.

Regarding the clever advice, Zuo Xian had already figured out how to implement it.

She planned to do her homework all by herself this entire evening and absolutely would not ask Tao Ran for help.

However, the plan was beautiful, but reality was harsh.

She was stuck all the way through the math paper, felt drowsy writing the English paper, and was completely lost on the chemistry one.

Zuo Xian chewed on her pen, stubbornly completing the subjects she was relatively good at—Chinese and Biology—first, then just managing to fill in English, History, and Political Science. Finally, she was left with the cursed Math, Physics, and Chemistry.

She stared at the paper for ten minutes, almost burning holes in it, but the solutions were still playing hide-and-seek with her.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Tao Ran turned a page in her book, and her peripheral vision paused as she glanced at Zuo Xian.

The study was brightly lit. Normally, sufficient light is perfect for maintaining a good mental state for reading and studying.

But there are always exceptions.

Tao Ran looked at the sleeping Zuo Xian, a wry smile playing on her lips.

Zuo Xian held her pen in her right hand, her left arm was bent, and her head was resting on her left forearm. Her cheek was squeezed into a slight pout, and she was sound asleep with the back of her head facing Tao Ran.

Tao Ran quietly got up and walked to the other side. Seeing the girl hadn’t woken up, she smiled softly.

The sleeping Zuo Xian seemed to be bothered by something. Tao Ran squatted down, looking at her slightly furrowed brows, and gently smoothed them with her fingertip.

The girl’s slender eyelashes fluttered, and after a moment, her eyes slowly half-opened, still hazy with sleep.

As her gradually focusing gaze registered the face so close to hers, Zuo Xian abruptly sat bolt upright, her heart pounding like a drum. She bit her lip, her eyes darting around in confusion.

Completely awake, she said, “You… you… what were you doing?”

She wasn’t trying to sneak a kiss, was she…?

Wait, did she already kiss me?

Zuo Xian instinctively wanted to touch her lips but forced herself to stop. She cautiously glanced at Tao Ran and saw that she still looked calm.

Tao Ran stood up, flexed her index and middle fingers, and tapped on the table.

“A-Xian, I think I should be the one asking what you were doing.”

Zuo Xian: “…?”

Shifting the blame?!

She immediately retorted, “I wasn’t doing anything.”

Tao Ran gave her a look. “I know you weren’t doing anything; you were just sleeping. Is the paper blank in so many places because you don’t know how to do it? If so, why didn’t you ask me?”

Because I had to follow the clever advice.

Zuo Xian scratched her cheek, looked away, and mumbled, “I can do it myself. I don’t need your help.”

Her voice was very soft, but it was enough for Tao Ran to hear.

Tao Ran, who had never been treated with this attitude by Zuo Xian before, was stunned at first, and then looked at Zuo Xian in disbelief.

“A Xian, what did you say?”

“I said…” Zuo Xian took a deep breath, preparing to look Tao Ran in the eye, and instead was met directly with Tao Ran’s deep eyes.

She pursed her lips, and even her breathing became shallow. It seemed that Zuo Xian’s answer was incredibly important to her, and a hint of hurt flashed in those gentle eyes.

Zuo Xian wanted to slap herself.

What kind of lousy advice was that?

Just by looking at Tao Ran’s eyes, Zuo Xian immediately surrendered.

“What I meant was that I wanted to try hard for a bit longer before coming to you.” Zuo Xian pulled at Tao Ran’s sleeve. “Now I’ve tried, and it didn’t work. Rannan, please help me.”

Pleading was Zuo Xian’s strongest skill, and it was virtually always effective against Tao Ran.

This time, the situation was different from before, but Tao Ran merely pursed her lips and then bent down to satisfy Zuo Xian’s request.

Her soft, long hair slid over her shoulder. Tao Ran leaned one hand on the desk and held the pen with the other. Her hair inadvertently brushed Zuo Xian’s cheek, bringing with it a familiar fragrance.

Tao Ran’s scent was pleasant, a faint and soothing aroma that brought a sense of peace.

Zuo Xian had asked her for the same brand of shower gel and body lotion before, but after getting them, Zuo Xian wasn’t quite satisfied.

The scent wasn’t the same.

As Zuo Xian was thinking, she started to drift off, her fingers unconsciously wrapping Tao Ran’s hair strands around her fingertip.

Tao Ran: “…”

The black pen was set on the wooden desk with a light clink. Tao Ran gripped Zuo Xian’s wrist, and once the girl was focused again, she said seriously,

“A Xian, if you have something troubling you, you can tell me or Aunt Zuo. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside, or you’ll end up making yourself sick.”

“I’m fine.” Zuo Xian lowered her head, feeling increasingly guilty about her previous intention to distance herself from Tao Ran.

Before Tao Ran could ask further, Zuo Xian let out a breath, looked up at Tao Ran, and apologized with pursed lips, “I’m sorry, Rannan. My attitude toward you was a bit poor today.”

Tao Ran looked earnestly into Zuo Xian’s eyes, making sure she wasn’t hiding anything from her, and the stone in her heart finally dropped.

Hearing the apology, she was unconcerned and shook her head. “It’s fine as long as you’re okay. I know you didn’t mean it.”

Then, she relaxed and smiled, moving on from the topic. “Alright, is there anything else you don’t understand now?”

“Um… this question. I can’t figure out how to solve it.”

“Let’s look at the question stem first…”