She Is Such A Jerk, And Yet She’s The One Crying! - Chapter 26

“Sister.”

Qiang Ning pushed the door open, making no move to close it behind her. She stood in the doorway, framed by the light from outside, looking at the distressed Lin Dongruan inside the room. “Are you really not going to let me in?”

Lin Dongruan had not explicitly forbidden her from entering. In her previous moment of frantic helplessness, she had only uttered the harsh words, “Go sleep at the clinic tonight,” but whether that was her true intent remained unknown—especially given the current circumstances.

Now that Qiang Ning had arrived, Lin Dongruan’s temperament dictated that she could not possibly shut her out. Yet, Qiang Ning refused to step inside, insisting on a verbal invitation while standing at the threshold. “Can I come in?”

Lin Dongruan spoke with great difficulty: “You… come in.”

Qiang Ning crossed her arms, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Sister, do you know? There is a type of ghost in this world limited by thresholds. Unless invited by the master of the house, they cannot enter. They disguise themselves as someone you know, enter the door, climb into bed, and suck the—”

Before Qiang Ning’s unfiltered mouth could utter whatever filth was coming next, Lin Dongruan promptly covered her lips. “Words carry karmic obstacles. A-Ning, do not speak such nonsense and commit the sin of oral karma.”

Qiang Ning pulled her hand away, smiling so broadly her eyes crinkled.

Immediately after, Lin Dongruan realized she could not withdraw her hand. Qiang Ning possessed a strength that came from nowhere, clamping down on her hand and unreasonably intertwining their fingers.

“Sister, why did you change your clothes?” Qiang Ning asked, knowing full well the answer. “Were your previous clothes… soiled?”

Unable to endure the pressure in her words, Lin Dongruan knit her brows slightly. “If you refuse to let this matter, go today, I shall certainly not speak to you again.”

Qiang Ning asked, “For how long?”

Lin Dongruan was solemn. “A whole day.”

Qiang Ning pressed further: “And if I take the initiative, will you respond?”

Lin Dongruan naturally ignored such a childish question. She forced herself to disregard Qiang Ning and their tightly locked hands, rising to tidy the bedding. If Qiang Ning remained relentless today, she would take a thin quilt and spend the night at the clinic.

However, she ultimately underestimated Qiang Ning’s malice. Just as she turned her back, the person behind her suddenly struck, pinning her onto the couch.

Qiang Ning propped herself up on her elbows, looking down at her. “Sister, if you didn’t like the last story, let me tell you another… do you prefer the story of ‘Nurturing a Wolf to One’s Own Peril’ or ‘Leading a Wolf into the House’?”

In her silent struggle, Lin Dongruan’s dark hair became disheveled. A long, soft strand fell across her face, accidentally caught in her mouth. At that exact moment, Qiang Ning seized both her wrists and pinned them above her head, leaving her unable to move the hair.

“A-Ning, do not push me anymore.”

Lin Dongruan said, “You have learned bad ways.”

“How can you say I’ve learned bad ways? I have always been like this. Besides, I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart.” Qiang Ning looked at her with a beaming smile. “Sister, tell me the truth, do you not want me? My fingers, my… everything.”

The ghost invited into the house finally cast off its mask. The malice in Qiang Ning’s heart poured out unrestrained. No one knew how satisfied and happy she was at this moment; the suppression she had endured and the desires that had long gone unfulfilled were finally being satiated. That surge of joy was enough to drown her, making her drunk without a drop of wine.

Lin Dongruan usually restrained her emotions, rarely showing extreme joy or sorrow. But this time, she could not hold back. The corners of her eyes were tinged with a faint red—whether from irritation or being forced, her pale face gained a touch of vivid color.

She looked more animated, and even more beautiful.

She stubbornly refused to speak. Once she opened her mouth, that strand of hair caught in her teeth would torment her. More importantly, if Qiang Ning saw it, she would surely make a scene and subject her to more flippant remarks.

“Oh, Sister, you are so careless.” As if guessing her thoughts, Qiang Ning leaned down maliciously to inspect the strand of hair. “It must itch, right? Let me help you get it out.”

Lin Dongruan closed her eyes and turned her head away, expressing her refusal through action.

Qiang Ning was in no hurry. She kissed along the curve of her face bit by bit, personally catching the strand of hair and her lips, bestowing a few light pecks. Only then did she catch the hair in her own teeth, tilted her chin up slowly, and pulled it out.

Lin Dongruan spoke from beneath her; her body seemingly drained of strength: “A-Ning, if you take this step, how will you turn back? How will you end this?”

How would it end? Qiang Ning didn’t care about the ending.

Her craving for Lin Dongruan was largely a desire for her body. She thought that once she possessed her completely, she wouldn’t pursue a lasting result. Perhaps… she would discard the “boring” Lin Dongruan like a worn-out shoe.

Thinking of this, Qiang Ning did not answer her. She lowered her head, breathing laboriously against the other’s neck. “I don’t know. Future matters will be considered in the future.”

Lin Dongruan was pressed back into the couch. Her fingers curled, trembling as she gripped a corner of the quilt.

Judging others by her own standards, Qiang Ning assumed Lin Dongruan might try something in her desperation. Thus, she warily watched her hands—the other was not hiding anything. The quilt before them was the one they used daily; its corners had been mended many times, feeling hard and uneven.

Seeing the shabby quilt, Qiang Ning felt all the more that her recent days of hardship had been difficult. To make it worthwhile, she had to get something from Lin Dongruan.

Qiang Ning bit down like a wolf cub, leaving a bloody mark on Lin Dongruan’s neck.

Lin Dongruan gasped in pain, her fingers clutching the quilt corner tightly—gripping and releasing, over and over.

If the room hadn’t been so dilapidated and lacking in atmosphere, Qiang Ning had intended to take Lin Dongruan right then and there. But she reconsidered; this was her first time, after all. If she was to take advantage of Lin Dongruan, and the setting was too wretched, it wouldn’t be a memory worth cherishing for either of them.

She restrained herself and finally let go of Lin Dongruan.

Lin Dongruan closed her eyes, her messy hair scattered across the bed, her pale lips betraying her despair.

“Sister, I’m going to boil some water to wipe your sweat.” Qiang Ning rose reluctantly, stepping away from the bed for fear she wouldn’t be able to control her impulses.

Lin Dongruan did not answer. As her chest heaved, a single clear tear escaped the corner of her eye.

Qiang Ning turned and left.

It was only after she had walked a few paces away that the hand Lin Dongruan had hanging by the edge of the couch slowly and weakly relaxed. Several thin, resilient needles fell silently to the floor.

If Qiang Ning had been more observant, if she had searched the daily bedding, she would have discovered that those hard, “uneven” corners of the quilt—mended so many times—actually concealed numerous needles.

How could a doctor with profound medical knowledge lack the means to make someone fall unconscious? Lin Dongruan’s light sleeping was real, and her difficulty falling asleep was real.

It was just that Qiang Ning had never deeply considered the connection between these facts.

Before boiling the water, Qiang Ning went outside and beckoned. Several shadow guards, who had been hiding nearby, quickly appeared.

“Is the matter settled?”

“Xu Zhang was improper; he has been dealt with.”

Qiang Ning straightened her sleeves and said with satisfaction, “Very good. Find someone to notify Lin Dongruan.”