My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 15

“Failed again!?”…

“Failed again!?”

On Zuo Xian’s first day back at school after her three days of sick leave, she delivered the news to Xue Shuangxi that the second “brocade pouch” strategy had also failed.

The class had just ended, and the math teacher was still at the podium. Startled by Xue Shuangxi’s loud exclamation, he subconsciously looked up.

He saw Xue Shuangxi grabbing the collar of Zuo Xian’s sweater in the last row and shaking her vigorously.

The math teacher didn’t pay much attention, assuming Xue Shuangxi was just talking about Zuo Xian falling asleep in class again. He picked up his lesson plan and left the classroom.

“Zuo Xian, did you really do what I told you to?” Xue Shuangxi stared straight into Zuo Xian’s eyes, seriously suspecting the problem lay with Zuo Xian.

Zuo Xian avoided her gaze. “I definitely did what you told me. These past few days, I’ve either been being completely unreasonable or ordering Tao Ran around. But she wasn’t mad at all. In fact,”

“In fact, what?”

Zuo Xian felt a little embarrassed, mainly because she realized that if she told Xue Shuangxi that Tao Ran had called her cute, Xue Shuangxi would definitely ask her for her reaction.

It was too mortifying.

So Zuo Xian hedged, “Nothing. Anyway, she just wasn’t angry and kept smiling.”

Xue Shuangxi’s eyes widened. “…This girl is terrifying!”

“In that case, I have a third plan, which is the final trump card. You…”

“Let’s just drop it,” Zuo Xian suddenly interrupted. Before Xue Shuangxi could ask, she explained, “The final exams are coming soon. Let’s focus entirely on preparing for the test first.”

“You’re right.”

Soon, the bell for class rang. Xue Shuangxi returned to her seat, and the portly history teacher walked in with his hands behind his back, beginning the lesson.

“Take out your test papers from the last exam. Does anyone have questions about the multiple-choice section…”

The sound of the teacher’s lecture gradually became background noise. Zuo Xian stared at her history paper, but her mind was preoccupied with Tao Ran from the class next door.

She was starting to feel confused.

What exactly were her feelings for Tao Ran?

Zuo Xian had never thought much about it before. She naturally assumed that she and Tao Ran were friends who grew up together, so her feeling for Tao Ran was firm friendship.

It was even an existence close to family.

But recently, with the appearance of that pink box and the repeated failures of the clever stratagems, Zuo Xian’s emotional definition of Tao Ran was gradually beginning to waver.

Did she really only feel friendship for Tao Ran?

After the winter solstice, the temperature dropped day by day.

Just as spring brings drowsiness, autumn brings fatigue, and summer brings napping, winter is no exception. Zuo Xian, who already loved to sleep in, became a total “difficulty-in-getting-up” case.

Her alarm clock rang twice, and Zuo Xian hit the snooze button both times. The extremely light-blocking curtains were tightly drawn, not letting in a sliver of light.

The entire bedroom exuded a peaceful dimness, pulling Zuo Xian toward sleep, locking her securely in the warm duvet.

The bedroom door cracked open, and a slender girl in a school uniform tiptoed in. She stood by the edge of Zuo Xian’s bed, bending slightly.

“A Xian, if you don’t get up now, we’ll really be late.”

Zuo Xian’s eyelashes fluttered, but her eyelids felt glued shut, completely unable to open.

Tao Ran grabbed the remote control from the bedside table and pressed the button to open the automatic curtains.

Dazzling sunlight poured in. The sudden brightness of the room made Zuo Xian flip over and bury her head in the quilt.

She had just managed to burrow in when Tao Ran pulled her out.

After several unsuccessful struggles, Zuo Xian got up to wash with a heart full of resentment. Tao Ran waited for her on the sofa.

Once Zuo Xian was completely ready, she came out, clutching the sandwich that Grandma Liu had made for her and yawning.

The two went downstairs together and got into Aunt Li’s car.

Usually, Zuo Xian would catch a few more minutes of sleep in the car, but unfortunately, she didn’t get the chance today.

As soon as she got in, her phone started vibrating.

She hung up twice, but the person on the other end was persistent.

“Hello, what’s wrong?” Zuo Xian answered the phone, her tone not very polite.

Tao Ran glanced at her. The only person Zuo Xian would treat with such an attitude was her father.

“I’ve already told you I don’t know. I’m just a student. How would I know about company matters? You’re so annoying. I’m going to school, bye.”

Zuo Xian hung up the phone decisively. To prevent Jiang Yuhai from calling again, she simply turned off her phone and tossed it into her bag.

“Your dad?” Tao Ran asked.

“Yeah, so annoying, asking this and that.” Zuo Xian frowned tightly, not wanting to talk about that man any further. Seeing this, Tao Ran didn’t press the issue.

They stepped through the school gate right as the bell for morning study was about to ring. By the time Zuo Xian reached the classroom door, the homeroom teacher was already inside.

The teacher glanced at her, motioning with her eyes for her to hurry up.

Zuo Xian shuddered, quickly slipped to her seat with a lowered stance, took out her textbook, and began silent reading.

It was early morning, dozens of people were in the classroom, the heater was on, and the background noise of the students was constant. Zuo Xian had only been looking at her book for a little while when she started dozing off.

Morning study ended, and the first class began. Zuo Xian changed her book and continued to nod off.

Suddenly, all the surrounding sounds stopped. Someone nudged Zuo Xian, and she immediately woke up.

She saw Teacher Su standing in front of her, so startled that her hair felt like it was standing on end. “I’m sorry, Teacher, I…”

“Zuo Xian, your parent is here to see you. They said there’s something urgent at home and they need to take you away.” Teacher Su’s eyes were filled with concern.

Zuo Xian was stunned. “Something wrong with my family?”

Her first reaction was to worry about Zuo Zhimi.

What major incident at home would make Zuo Zhimi so anxious that she needed to take her away immediately?

Zuo Xian thought, feeling a little anxious, and immediately stood up.

Teacher Su said, “I’ve already signed your leave slip. Pack up your things and go straight out. Your parent is waiting for you at the school gate.”

“Okay.” Zuo Xian moved quickly, slinging her bag over her shoulder and hurrying out of the school with the leave slip Teacher Su had given her.

The cold outside was biting. Zuo Xian was anxious and ran out of the campus, looking around but not seeing Zuo Zhimi.

She turned back and knocked on the window of the security office.

The security guard inside slid the window open with a shhhwup sound. He saw Zuo Xian. “Why are you still here? Didn’t you leave with your dad?”

Zuo Xian was taken back. “My dad?”

“That’s right, your dad. He only knew you went to Lushui No. 1 High School, but not which class you were in. He just asked me which class Zuo Xian was in. Good thing you and Tao Ran are often late, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to tell him.”

The words had just left his mouth when a man’s voice calling Zuo Xian’s name came from not far away. Zuo Xian turned her head and saw that it was indeed Jiang Yuhai.

Jiang Yuhai was good-looking, considered handsome among men, and even in middle age, he was remarkably neither overweight nor jowly. He was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with waxed hair, meticulously groomed.

Zuo Xian’s face turned cold. She turned around and started walking back into the school, but unfortunately, Jiang Yuhai was faster. He grabbed her school bag and yanked her back.

“What are you doing!” Zuo Xian twisted and struggled, glaring at Jiang Yuhai.

“What am I doing? Is it wrong for your dad to come and see you? What kind of attitude is that!”

“Are you sick? Dragging me out of school to see you.”

Jiang Yuhai straightened his suit. “I’m taking you out of school for a proper reason, of course. Don’t rush to go to school now; come with me.”

What “proper reason” could he possibly have? It was surely some malicious scheme to use Zuo Xian.

Zuo Xian’s eyes darted. She said, “Oh,” and did not directly refuse, but instead made a demand: “Then give me money.”

“Money, money, money! All you ever think about is money! How did I give birth to a daughter like you? What is that look on your face? I’ll give it to you. I must have owed you in a past life, you debt collector.”

As soon as money was mentioned, Jiang Yuhai dropped the act of the good father and stopped being polite to Zuo Xian. He let go of Zuo Xian’s school bag and turned around, saying, “Let’s go. I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

Jiang Yuhai walked a few steps, but there was no movement behind him. He turned his head and saw that Zuo Xian was nowhere to be found.