My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 38.1

Xue Shuangxi awkwardly took a step back, just about to say something, when she saw Zuo Xian push open the door and stride in.

The two people in the hospital room were startled. Tao Ran slapped the woman’s hand away and looked at Zuo Xian, subconsciously saying:

“A Xian, why are you here so early?”

Zuo Xian curved her lips, unable to really smile, her gaze fixed on the unfamiliar woman.

She looked a bit older than both her and Tao Ran, with a smile on her face. When she met Zuo Xian’s eyes, she smiled even more cheerfully, a hint of curiosity and intrigue flashing in her eyes.

“Early?” Zuo Xian glared back, refusing to show weakness, “I think I’m too late.”

“And me, I’m here too. I’m neither early nor late,” Xue Shuangxi quickly followed, trying to ease the stiff atmosphere with a joke.

Hearing Zuo Xian speak, the woman paused, then her smile grew even more knowing, as if she recognized Zuo Xian.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me, Ranran little sister?” Tao Ningxue raised an eyebrow, looking at Tao Ran.

Ranran little sister?

Zuo Xian could barely suppress a laugh.

Tao Ran’s heart sank at the address, knowing that Tao Ningxue was testing her.

She was curious if Zuo Xian was the girl from that night, the one who was Tao Ran’s “little girlfriend.”

Although Tao Ningxue was capable and currently bound by a temporary mutual interest, Tao Ran didn’t completely trust her.

“Zuo Xian, Xue Shuangxi, my classmates.”

Xue Shuangxi’s heart skipped a beat and she secretly glanced at Zuo Xian.

Oh goodness, Zuo Xian looked like she was about to shatter.

Zuo Xian forced a smile as she faced Tao Ningxue, only daring to keep her gaze on Tao Ningxue, afraid to look at Tao Ran.

Everything around her seemed to spin, making it hard for Zuo Xian to breathe.

Classmate, classmate, classmate.

She was Tao Ran’s classmate.

Actually, that wasn’t quite right. They weren’t in the same class, so they were schoolmates.

Schoolmates.

Heh.

“This is… Ningxue, my colleague.”

Tao Ningxue smiled, “Zuo Xian, is it? I feel like your voice sounds very familiar.”

Ningxue.

Zuo Xian remembered that name. She was the overseas partner who had helped Tao Ran a lot.

“Familiar?” Zuo Xian’s hand, hanging by her side, clenched tightly. She pretended to be unconcerned, smiling, “Maybe we’re fated, Ningxue-jie.” (Sister Ningxue)

“Aiya, little sister is so cute, much cuter than Tao Ran.” Tao Ningxue chuckled and glanced at Tao Ran in distaste, “Asking her to call me jie (sister) is like asking for her life. She calls me by my name all the time.”

Xue Shuangxi secretly widened her eyes, thinking of a famous quote: If the junior doesn’t call her ‘jie,’ her intentions are a little wild. (A common slang phrase in certain contexts).

“Don’t you have something to do?” Tao Ran’s cold eyes fell on Tao Ningxue, “Do you have so much time to waste on idle chatter with us?”

“Fine, used and discarded, now you’re rushing me out.” Tao Ningxue stood up and headed for the door, stopping when she reached Zuo Xian.

She tilted her head and looked at Zuo Xian with her fox-like eyes. As the light shifted, Zuo Xian even felt her eyes truly looked like a beast’s vertical pupils.

Maintaining her side-on stance, she lightly traced Zuo Xian’s hand, saying with interest, “I just noticed, little sister is quite lovely. Would you like my contact information?”

Out of the corner of her eye, a dark shape flew towards them. Tao Ningxue immediately stepped aside, and the hospital bed’s soft pillow grazed her head and landed on the floor.

Tao Ran, who had thrown the pillow, clicked her tongue.

“A slip of the hand, sorry.”

Tao Ningxue wasn’t angry, instead she understood, “So that night…”

“Are you leaving or not?” Tao Ran said, attempting to get out of bed. Seeing her urgency, Tao Ningxue immediately slipped away.

Only three people remained in the room. Sensing the tension, Xue Shuangxi excused herself for a bathroom break and also fled.

Zuo Xian looked calmly at Tao Ran, but a careful observer would notice that the surface calm was like cracked ice, extremely precarious.

“A Xian,” Tao Ran called to her, her voice softening.

Zuo Xian just stared at her, without even a hint of a smile. Tao Ran grew a little panicked and tried to get out of bed. The large movement pulled at her wound, making her wince in pain.

Zuo Xian’s gaze finally softened. She walked over in silence and helped her, “Don’t move around, why are you trying to get out of bed?”

“A Xian…”

“Aren’t I just your classmate? Why call me so affectionately?” Zuo Xian turned to pick up the pillow on the floor, her voice flat and muffled.

“No, listen to me explain.”

Zuo Xian paused while holding the pillow. After a moment, she walked up to her and looked at her.

“Explain then.”

Tao Ran was startled, then smiled.

Zuo Xian’s mood was still low. She glanced at her, “I gave you a chance to explain, and you’re using it to smile?”

She believed Tao Ran wasn’t the kind of player who had a whole pond full of fish, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that she and that Ningxue woman were close.

Zuo Xian trusted Tao Ran, so a decent explanation would allow them to move past this.

“Hiss… it hurts a bit.” Tao Ran braced herself on the bed, “A Xian, could you come a little closer?”

“…Why?” Zuo Xian reluctantly walked over.

“A little closer.”

Zuo Xian had to lean her ear almost to Tao Ran’s lips. She felt sullen inside. If it weren’t for Tao Ran, she wouldn’t have been so patient waiting for an explanation.

Sunlight streamed into the room. Tao Ran could clearly see Zuo Xian’s chin slightly raised, her brow faintly furrowed, still maintaining an appearance of being upset.

Yet, she was obediently leaning in close. In the light, the girl’s skin was fair with a hint of pink, with tiny downy hairs on her face, like a ripe, alluring peach.

Cute.

Suddenly, a soft, moist touch pressed lightly against Zuo Xian’s cheek. Zuo Xian froze on the spot.

After a long while, she slowly raised her hand and touched the side of her face, her pupils trembling, unable to speak.

“A Xian, stay away from that Ningxue. She’s not a good person. Don’t add her contact information. Pretend you don’t know her if you see her later.” Tao Ran’s very self-serving answer sounded in her ear.

Zuo Xian was a little disappointed. She touched her face and whispered, “Is that all?”

“Hmm?”

Zuo Xian lowered her head, looking down at Tao Ran, “Is that the complete explanation?”

Tao Ran’s eyes flickered and avoided hers. She couldn’t say too much about Tao Ningxue, as saying more would involve Tao Yizhang.

Especially since Tao Ningxue’s return this time was under Tao Yizhang’s orders, to ‘comfort’ her.

“I’m sorry, A Xian. I can’t reveal too much about Ningxue. She’s very dangerous. If I could, I wouldn’t want the two of you to meet.”

Zuo Xian crouched down, meeting Tao Ran’s gaze face-to-face.

“Only this much?”

Tao Ran gritted her teeth and looked away, “Only this much.”

Zuo Xian pinched Tao Ran’s chin and turned her face back. With her other hand, she lightly tapped her own cheek, “If the explanation is only this much… it’s not enough.”

The girl didn’t react for a while. Zuo Xian let out a soft huff, “If you don’t want to, forget it. I’m going home.”

Zuo Xian let go and was about to leave, but Tao Ran grabbed her wrist and pulled, “Crouch down a little more, my back hurts.”

Feeling a bit of belated shyness, but relieved that they were alone in the room, Zuo Xian awkwardly but quickly crouched down, her bright eyes looking at Tao Ran.

Tao Ran cupped her chin with her right hand, her gaze moving over Zuo Xian’s face, seemingly considering where to offer comfort.

Zuo Xian’s earlobes felt hot, and her eyelashes fluttered. She closed her eyes and hummed once through her nose, sounding like both a prompt and a hint.

A short, soft laugh.

Tao Ran leaned closer, their breaths mingling, and her soft lips gently brushed against Zuo Xian’s.

In that instant, both their souls seemed to tremble.

Very soft, very moist.

Zuo Xian’s throat bobbed. She felt a fire ignite inside her body, almost consuming her.

She quickly opened her eyes, backed away a bit, turned her back, breathing rapidly, the corners of her eyes flushed with crimson, her gaze shimmering.

“Is that enough?” Tao Ran’s voice gently sounded from behind her.

Zuo Xian felt like her tone was full of teasing, but when she turned back, she saw that Tao Ran’s ears were also bright red. The look in her eyes was shy and embarrassed, quickly looking away after a brief glance at Zuo Xian.

The two looked at each other, then silently lowered their heads, both feeling shy.

A moment later, Xue Shuangxi pushed the door open and looked around.

“Is it okay for me to come in?” Xue Shuangxi’s eyes darted about, trying to figure out if the conflict between the two had been resolved.

Zuo Xian: “Come in.”

Looks like it was resolved. Xue Shuangxi immediately came in, grinning, and sat on the chair by Tao Ran’s bed.

“I only just found out Tao Ran was hospitalized today, and I didn’t bring anything. How about this, I’ll come again tomorrow, I’ll make up for it tomorrow.” Xue Shuangxi said cheerfully, “I feel like your recovery ability is quite strong, Tao Ran.”

“Hmm?” Tao Ran didn’t understand and looked up at her.

“Your complexion looks great, rosy and glowing, full of life, quite… Hiss!”

Xue Shuangxi’s left foot was fiercely stomped on. She bent over and looked at Zuo Xian in disbelief.

Zuo Xian moved her foot away, “Oops, sorry, I accidentally stepped on you.”

Xue Shuangxi: ?

What exactly did she say wrong? Why did Zuo Xian have to stomp on her?!

Although completely bewildered, Xue Shuangxi at least became more cautious and dared not speak carelessly, choosing every word with care.

After chatting for a while, Xue Shuangxi planned to go home. Before leaving, she promised again that she would be back tomorrow.

The luxury VIP room in the private hospital was quite like a small one-bedroom apartment, with extremely complete facilities.

Because of the rush yesterday, they had to borrow the hospital’s public accompanying bed, but today, Jiang Ningxiu knew Zuo Xian would stay the night and specifically arranged a more comfortable single sofa bed.

Zuo Xian sat on the sofa bed, still in its sofa form, and asked, “Where is Aunt Jiang?”

She hadn’t seen Jiang Ningxiu since arriving at the hospital.

“She… went back to the company for something.” Tao Ran pursed her lips, omitting the reason.

Jiang Ningxiu was aware that Tao Yizhang had a group of illegitimate children abroad, but knowing didn’t make it any less disgusting.

The thought of several of that man’s illegitimate children being older than Tao Ran made Jiang Ningxiu feel genuine nausea.

So, as soon as she heard Tao Ningxue was coming, she simply returned to the company to avoid the sight of her.

“Oh,” Zuo Xian responded.

Tao Ran’s phone on the bedside table suddenly rang. Zuo Xian was about to get up to grab it when she saw Tao Ran reach out with her long arm, pick it up, look at it, and immediately hang up.

“Not going to answer?”

Tao Ran covered the phone with her leg, “Harassing call.”

Zuo Xian nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, speaking of harassing calls, I kept calling to harass Liu Xinyu a while ago. Did you know she’s already starting to worry about the high school entrance exam a year and a half in advance…”

Zuo Xian started chatting enthusiastically with Tao Ran about irrelevant but interesting little things.

Most of the time, Zuo Xian talked, and Tao Ran listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a sentence or two.