My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 6

“I think the domestic education system isn’t necessarily inferior to the foreign one…”

“Lies!”

Jiang Ningxiu’s voice suddenly rose, her chest heaving with agitation as she stared directly at Tao Ran. “Tao Ran, look at me.”

Under the light, her thick eyelashes fluttered. Tao Ran raised her eyes, looking at her mother with feigned calmness, a hint of youthful confusion creeping out, not well-concealed due to her young age.

“Tao Ran, your mother brought you back to the country when you were young, not so you could henceforth live a predictable, ordinary life, but because I didn’t want you to suffer undue hardship before you’d grown up. You must know, you have many competitors.”

“…I know.”

“You know, yet what are you doing now? I’ve only been abroad for a few months…” As she spoke the emphasized words, Jiang Ningxiu tapped the armrest of the sofa a few times. She then realized she was being too hasty, took a deep breath, and calmed her emotions.

Jiang Ningxiu said, “Your mother doesn’t want to lose her temper with you; that solves nothing. Ranran, but you must know your situation. My assets are indeed sufficient to guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and ease, but is that all you aspire to? Are you willing to see your father hand over his fortune to those… those illegitimate children?”

When she mentioned the last three words, Jiang Ningxiu seemed to find them difficult to pronounce, almost hissing them out from between her teeth.

“Mother, I won’t let that happen.” Tao Ran looked directly at Jiang Ningxiu, her youthful face already filled with determination.

“That’s not something you can decide with an empty promise, child.”

“But Mother also knows that the Tao Corporation will inevitably move back to the country in the future. Since that’s the case, if I am excellent enough, why should I be afraid of not being able to compete with them, whether I gain experience at the subsidiary abroad or the subsidiary in the country?”

Jiang Ningxiu fell silent, considering Tao Ran’s words.

“Thud—”

A sound of a heavy object dropping suddenly came from the ceiling, catching the mother and daughter mid-conversation off guard.

It was well-known that the soundproofing in this building was excellent. For the sound to penetrate the floorboards and travel down, the commotion upstairs must have been even greater.

The thought that it was Zuo Xian upstairs, up to something again, surprisingly eased the expressions of both mother and daughter at the same time, their faces showing an identical look of helplessness.

Jiang Ningxiu shook her head. “Forget it, let’s eat first. You’ve had a tiring day at school.”

Fifteen minutes ago.

Zuo Xian hummed a tune, unlocked the door with her fingerprint, and pushed it open.

The aroma of food wafted through the air. Zuo Xian inhaled deeply and slipped into the kitchen without even putting down her backpack.

“Grandma Liu, what delicious food did you make today?”

Grandma Liu has been the housekeeper for the Zuo family since Zuo Xian was a child. Now that Zuo Xian was living alone, Zuo Zhimi also generously assigned Grandma Liu to be responsible for Zuo Xian’s daily meals.

The slightly plump woman smiled. “All your favorites. Go wash your hands and prepare to eat.”

“Got it.”

Zuo Xian returned to her room, tossed her bag onto the desk, sat down in her chair, and casually pulled open the drawer to take out her phone.

As soon as she opened it, she saw a friend request on Penguin.

Xue Shuangxi has requested to add you as a friend through “Grade 1 Class 2”

I’m Xue Shuangxi, I really have something very important to tell you!

The embarrassing memory she had just tried to forget now came rushing back. Zuo Xian wanted to throw her phone away.

But after reading the verification message again, she fell into hesitation.

Xue Shuangxi didn’t say that the important matter was related to the love letter. What if it was about something else?

Moreover, school had just started. It wouldn’t be appropriate to refuse a classmate’s active request to connect.

After several rounds of deliberation, Zuo Xian finally clicked “Agree.”

The moment she agreed, the nickname above the chat box immediately changed to “The other party is typing…”.

Zuo Xian changed her posture, sitting in the chair with her feet crossed, and carefully sent a “Hello” emoji.

The next second, Xue Shuangxi sent a line of text.

Xue Shuangxi: That box was given to me by Tao Ran from the next class to give to you.

“Tao Ran? That’s impossible… Ouch!” Zuo Xian, in a rush, straightened her back, lost her balance, and fell out of the chair.

Early the next morning, Tao Ran woke up early. Jiang Ningxiu was no longer in the house.

This was within her expectations; Jiang Ningxiu only occasionally came to see her and rarely stayed overnight.

Gathering her things, Tao Ran left the apartment, entered the elevator, pressed the fifth floor, got off the elevator, and immediately used the fingerprint lock on Zuo Xian’s door. With the cheerful music sound, she pushed the door open.

She happened to see Zuo Xian limping out of her room.

Tao Ran was stunned. “Ah Xian, what happened to you?”

“Nothing… nothing.” Zuo Xian avoided Tao Ran’s gaze, scratched her face, and felt vaguely guilty. “I accidentally fell last night.”

“Fell at home?”

“It was just… an accident.”

Tao Ran narrowed her eyes. “Why are your dark circles so heavy? Did you not sleep well last night?”

“A bit of insomnia, it’s nothing major.” Zuo Xian said, hurrying outwards. “Let’s go quickly, we’ll be late.”

Tao Ran watched Zuo Xian’s limping figure quickly walking away, momentarily suspicious. When did Zuo Xian ever look forward to school this much?

But unable to think of a reason for her unusual behavior right then, Tao Ran had to put her confusion aside and quickly caught up with her.

Zuo Xian, who had already entered the elevator, waited for Tao Ran to come in before pressing the button to close the door.

In the confined space, the presence of the person next to her felt particularly strong. Zuo Xian glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

Tao Ran had always been shorter than Zuo Xian when they were little, until the first or second year of junior high. Then, this girl shot up as if she had taken growth hormones, now soaring to one meter seventy-two.

However, Zuo Xian’s height remained at one meter sixty-eight throughout the three years of junior high, watching helplessly as Tao Ran grew like a mushroom after the rain.

The progression from looking down, to looking level, and now to looking up slightly, a feeling of inadequacy that only Zuo Xian herself knew.

Before, seeing Tao Ran half a head taller than herself only brought a feeling of defiance. Now, however, a subtle feeling had been added.

After learning from Xue Shuangxi last night that the pink box was sent by Tao Ran, Zuo Xian’s brain felt a little out of her control.

Normal interactions between good friends now took on a layer of bizarre filtering, thanks to the “love letter” buff.

Zuo Xian absolutely couldn’t figure out why Tao Ran would like her. Weren’t they childhood best friends with a revolutionary bond?

If she could, Zuo Xian really wanted to grab Tao Ran’s collar right now, push her against the elevator wall, and angrily shout at her, “Stop liking me.”

But she couldn’t.

Zuo Xian had taken out the love letter from the pink box and read it again yesterday.

The content of the letter was not handwritten but printed, and there was no signature at the end.

This clearly meant that Tao Ran did not want her to know that the sender was her.

Zuo Xian thoughtfully considered that perhaps it was because Tao Ran’s love for her was profound but she didn’t want to burden her, which was why she did it this way.

Since that was the case, she might as well pretend she didn’t know.