My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 34.1

The thin light of early morning filtered through the sheer curtains. The girl on the bed turned over, half-awake. The unfamiliar sensation of her skin rubbing directly against the soft bedding startled the girl into opening her sleepy eyes.

Zuo Xian squinted, lifted the blanket, and looked beneath it—she was stark naked.

Hmm?

Does she have a habit of sleeping nude when she’s drunk?

Her slow-to-start brain booted up. Zuo Xian’s hand, holding the blanket, froze mid-air as memories from last night flooded back.

“Ranran, you’re back?!”

A knock sounded, and then Tao Ran pushed the door open. “A-Xian, did you call me?”

Zuo Xian abruptly pulled the blanket tight, her face flushed crimson. “N-No… Get out!”

Tao Ran, who had just passed by and heard her name, was chased out again, standing by the bedroom door as if she were facing a wall in punishment.

Inside the room, Zuo Xian, clutching the blanket, her mind a mess, realized she needed to put on clothes first. She got up, haphazardly slipped into a nightgown, and ran to open the door before even putting on shoes.

She flung the door open. Tao Ran was still standing there.

Seeing Tao Ran in front of her, Zuo Xian’s formerly chaotic heart suddenly calmed, as if she had found her refuge.

She didn’t speak, but threw herself into Tao Ran’s arms, holding her tightly.

Her voice, choked with a sob, muffled as it came out, “You’re finally back. I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

The soft, warm embrace took Tao Ran by surprise for a moment, then her eyes softened, and she circled the girl’s lithe waist.

“I’m sorry. I made you wait.”

Zuo Xian said nothing, sniffing Tao Ran’s scent almost greedily, wishing she could coat herself completely with her aroma. Her fingers tightly clenched the fabric of the clothes on Tao Ran’s back.

She held on so hard that her fingertips turned white and veins faintly bulged on the back of her hands, yet she refused to let go.

Tao Ran gently patted her lower back, a comforting gesture like soothing a child. The girl in her arms was trembling slightly with excitement.

Neither of them spoke first, quietly savoring the moment. Grandma Liu, who had just walked out of the kitchen, saw this and retreated back into the kitchen.

The two children had always been close since they were young, and she had watched them grow up. An embrace after a long separation was normal.

However, the duration of the embrace was a bit unusually long, and the two people locked in the hug also sensed this abnormality but chose not to break the silence.

Two hearts beat closely, synchronizing their rhythm. The fragile rice paper of certain boundaries was trembling from the heartbeats, on the verge of tearing.

Zuo Xian rubbed her nose against Tao Ran’s neck, like a kitten, taking one last deep sniff.

She whispered, “I’m going to change my clothes.”

She had been too hasty, rushing out in just a nightgown with nothing underneath. After the intense emotional wave passed, shame belatedly arrived.

The thin, smooth silk fabric was a perfect choice for a nightgown—light as air, close-fitting, and slippery. But these advantages now became the source of Zuo Xian’s embarrassment.

The nightgown felt almost non-existent, and the warmth of Tao Ran’s hands pressed against her skin felt scorching, making Zuo Xian feel like she was catching fire.

She was thankful that Tao Ran was quite bundled up today; otherwise, Zuo Xian would have been practically… under siege.

“Wait.” Tao Ran didn’t let her go. She said, “Close your eyes.”

Close her eyes…?

Zuo Xian looked up at Tao Ran, seeing her own reflection in the deep black pupils. Anticipation came faster than shyness.

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, her raven-feather-like lashes trembling like butterfly wings.

The wait felt a little long, but soon Zuo Xian felt Tao Ran draw closer. A warm hand touched her neck, sending a small patch of goosebumps across her skin. Zuo Xian instinctively held her breath.

A cool, thin chain touched her skin. Zuo Xian suddenly opened her eyes and looked down—a necklace adorned with pink diamonds was clearly visible.

Tao Ran smiled. “Happy Birthday gift. Do you like it?”

Zuo Xian blinked, her eyes a little moist. “I thought seeing you yesterday was the birthday gift.”

Tao Ran shook her head, correcting her. “That was the birthday surprise. This is the gift.”

“I love it. I especially love it.” Zuo Xian pursed her lips, so touched she felt like crying. She raised a hand to lightly stroke the necklace. “I love both the surprise and the gift.”

“I’m glad you do.” Tao Ran smoothed down her slightly messy hair. “Go change now. I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

Zuo Xian nodded, turned and went back to her room. After washing up and changing, she came out. She had specifically chosen an off-the-shoulder dress to easily pair with and show off her new necklace.

The pink diamonds were of excellent quality, the color pure and beautiful. The necklace design was also quite new and clever. In short, it was definitely selected with effort and expense.

She checked herself from left to right in the mirror, confirmed that both she and the necklace were perfectly beautiful, and nodded in satisfaction before exiting the bedroom.

Tao Ran was sitting on the sofa replying to messages.

“Ranran.” Zuo Xian smiled, sitting down beside her. “Does it look good?”

Tao Ran put her phone away and turned to look at her, her gaze drifting between Zuo Xian’s face and the necklace.

“It looks great. The necklace goes well with the dress, and it suits you perfectly.”

Zuo Xian feigned modesty and nodded, signaling with her eyes that Tao Ran could praise her more.

Tao Ran chuckled but indulged her, complimenting her on everything from the outfit and color coordination to Zuo Xian’s exceptional facial features, using a calm and gentle tone to praise her from head to toe.

“You have very good taste too,” Zuo Xian said, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

She noticed Tao Ran was using her phone to reply to messages just now and was worried she had misheard yesterday. Unable to hold back, she asked, “Are you really staying in the country from now on, not leaving?”

“Yes.” Tao Ran thought for a moment how to explain it. She began, “Because my performance exceeded my father’s expectations, I managed to secure the opportunity to return home. I might still travel abroad occasionally, but those will be short trips. I should be able to stay in the country for a long time.”

Zuo Xian asked again, “Will you still go to school with me?”

Zuo Xian could clearly sense that Tao Ran’s life path and hers were completely different. Although Zuo Zhimi was wealthy, he was, at best, a new commercial elite, and at worst, a parvenu.

So, in Zuo Xian’s education, Zuo Zhimi was different from established families like the Taos and Xues, which could be called major houses. Zuo Zhimi continued to educate Zuo Xian the way Li Yugui had taught him.

Zuo Xian was still following the path of the vast majority of ordinary children, although she had much better resources and more confidence.

But it was limited to that. The path Tao Ran was on, Zuo Xian couldn’t even imagine. She only knew that Tao Ran had been very busy since she was a child, having to study many subjects whose names she couldn’t even understand.

Aunt Jiang was very kind and tolerant towards her, and she loved Tao Ran very much, but she was not only a loving mother but also a strict teacher, with extremely high demands on Tao Ran.

Now that Tao Ran was back in the country, their physical distance had shrunk, but Zuo Xian was afraid that the distance between their hearts would grow as their life paths diverged.

“Of course.” Tao Ran smiled, easily smoothing away the anxiety that Zuo Xian hadn’t even had time to fully develop.

“Not only will I continue to attend Lushi No. 1 High School, but I’ll take the college entrance exam with you and attend university in the country. The Tao Corporation might relocate back to the country in the future. I guess I’m scouting ahead?”

For the heirs of large domestic companies, alumni connections at top universities are a crucial part of networking.

Zuo Xian watched Tao Ran speak with wide eyes. She didn’t know if she absorbed everything, but in the end, all that remained in her mind was the “Of course.”

The Tao Corporation relocating back to the country? Scouting ahead?

She didn’t understand.

She only knew that Tao Ran said she would take the college entrance exam with her.

Zuo Xian felt certain that Tao Ran must like her too. Why else would she specifically rush back home for her birthday and say she would take the college entrance exam with her? If this wasn’t love, what was?

Zuo Xian sifted through the relationship advice she had read and came to a conclusion—she and Tao Ran should start their ambiguous phase.

“What ambiguous phase? Your top priority is preparing for the college entrance exam.”

Liu Xinyu’s voice, distorted by the phone, sounded a little unnatural. The middle school sister, who was preparing for her own high school entrance exam, used her usual sharp linguistic style to deliver a painful blow to her older cousin.

“Teenage dating leads nowhere. Women who are too love-struck will end up heartbroken.”

Each word directly stabbed Zuo Xian’s heart. She sat at her desk, repeatedly clicking the end of her mechanical pencil.

She retorted stubbornly, “I’m seventeen, just one year shy of being an adult, so it’s not teenage dating. And how am I love-struck? Don’t talk nonsense. Truly loving someone is like this.”

“When did I say only you were love-struck?”

Zuo Xian’s clicking stopped. She instinctively curled up the corners of her mouth. “You also think she likes me, right?”

“…She certainly cares a lot about you, but you can’t be sure she came back just for you. What if her feelings for you are purely friendship? What if she’s just a ‘friendship-over-everything’ type of person?”

Zuo Xian narrowed her eyes. “She kissed me.”

“A kiss on the corner of the mouth doesn’t count. Maybe she’s been abroad for too long and is used to cheek kisses.”

Liu Xinyu said, “Anyway, if you’re asking me, I’d advise you to break up.”

“We’re not even dating yet.”

“Oh, then I advise you not to date.” Liu Xinyu was not optimistic about the two of them. “Tao Ran’s family sounds very complicated, especially her father’s side. Tao Ran’s dad definitely has whole nests of illegitimate children.”

Zuo Xian knew Liu Xinyu’s nose was as sensitive as a police dog, but she still defended Tao Ran.

“Her dad is her dad; she is her. I don’t like her dad, so I don’t care if he has illegitimate children. Besides, even if there’s genetic inheritance, Tao Ran definitely got it from Aunt Jiang.”

“If her dad has nothing to do with her, why did she go abroad? Did the illegitimate children need a fourth person for a mahjong game?”

Zuo Xian was speechless. Liu Xinyu continued her sharp commentary.

“As a friend, fine. I advise you not to get too close to her, in case you’re separated by family objection. You’re the one who will get hurt.”

Zuo Xian found a silver lining. “You think we’re a pair of lovebirds?”

“…I’m hanging up. You’re not worried about the college entrance exam, but I only have a year and a half left until my high school entrance exam.”

After hanging up, Zuo Xian was completely unaffected by Liu Xinyu’s words. She hadn’t called Liu Xinyu for advice; she just wanted to vent her overflowing emotions.

As for why she didn’t call Xue Shuangxi, first, because Xue Shuangxi, as her classmate, was a little too close to her and Tao Ran’s lives, Zuo Xian inevitably felt a bit shy.

Secondly, Xue Shuangxi was too much of a gossip. If Zuo Xian told her, Xue Shuangxi would come daily to her to get updates on their progress.

Facts proved that Zuo Xian knew Xue Shuangxi like the back of her hand.

On Monday, Zuo Xian and Tao Ran had just gotten out of the car when they happened to run into Xue Shuangxi at the school gate.