She Is Such A Jerk, And Yet She’s The One Crying! - Chapter 34

After Qiang Ning calmed her emotions and returned to the room, she saw Lin Dongruan lighting something on fire. She intended to go over and take a look, but saw the other woman already discarding even the ashes.

What exactly was that?

What secret was Lin Dongruan hiding from her?

Qiang Ning had never seen Lin Dongruan look so secretive and inscrutable, which only heightened her curiosity. “Sister, what did you just burn?”

“Just a painting,” Lin Dongruan replied without looking at her. “It wasn’t anything particularly important.”

Qiang Ning did not suspect any ulterior motive and chose to believe her.

“A-Ning, you didn’t sleep last night. If you feel weary now, why not go and rest for a while?” As soon as Lin Dongruan spoke, she returned to her usual gentle demeanor.

Qiang Ning agreed and obediently went to the couch to rest.

After watching Qiang Ning fall asleep with her own eyes, Lin Dongruan walked to the bedside with a heavy heart and watched her for a long time.

“A-Ning…” Lin Dongruan called her name.

Qiang Ning gave no reaction whatsoever.

Lin Dongruan sighed silently as if she had made a firm decision, then turned and walked toward the study.

Hearing the person by the bedside leave, Qiang Ning opened her eyes calmly. There wasn’t a trace of sleepiness in her gaze. Ever since she saw Lin Dongruan hurriedly burning that object, a sense of unease had taken root in her heart; she felt that Lin Dongruan was hiding something from her. Lin Dongruan’s current actions only intensified that suspicion.

Qiang Ning thought: How can I not overthink this? Is there something Lin Dongruan must keep from me?

Because her mind was preoccupied, it was difficult for Qiang Ning to fall asleep. The more she thought about it, the more awkward and uncomfortable it felt. For someone as transparent as Lin Dongruan, the moment she harbored a secret, it became exceptionally unsettling. Qiang Ning didn’t want to create a rift between them, but why did the other woman insist on waiting until she was “asleep” to go to the study?

Now completely unable to sleep, Qiang Ning rose decisively and masked her footsteps as she headed toward the study…

Inside the study, Lin Dongruan looked at the ashes from earlier, and her mind inevitably drifted back to Qiang Ning’s appearance the previous night.

Since leaving the capital, she had rarely thought about actively seeking the antidote left by the late Emperor. Given that the new Emperor was using her personal feelings as leverage for blackmail, she hadn’t even made a move to save herself—until recently. She realized she could no longer sit idly by and wait for death.

Whether out of selfishness or not, she had to obtain the antidote left by the late Emperor.

Of course, before that, she had to ensure the antidote would actually be effective.

Considering various reasons, Lin Dongruan decided to write a letter to the new Emperor. She ground the ink herself, took up her brush, and wrote:

“Your servant, Lin Dongruan…”

“Servant?” Qiang Ning appeared behind her at some unknown moment, her voice startling the woman.

Lin Dongruan’s brush trembled, instantly smudging the letter.

Qiang Ning looked at her with a fake, cold smile. “Sister, haven’t you been in Wusang Town all these years? Why do you still refer to yourself as ‘Your servant’? Or are you merely living in seclusion in the mountains while actually working for the new Emperor?”

Lin Dongruan quickly regained her calm composure. She picked up the brush to start again while asking, “Is A-Ning no longer sleepy?”

“Don’t write anymore.” Qiang Ning snatched the brush away and forced Lin Dongruan to face her, locking eyes. “Sister, why are you hiding from me to write these things in the study alone?”

“It wasn’t an intentional concealment; it’s just that I didn’t have time to tell A-Ning about the matters from the other day,” Lin Dongruan said. “A-Ning has been hardworking lately; you don’t need to trouble yourself with every little thing.”

She had technically answered, yet it felt as if she had answered nothing at all. Hearing this response, Qiang Ning felt an inexplicable, stifling frustration. She knew Lin Dongruan had been the Imperial Preceptor, but Lin Dongruan’s current act of writing to the new Emperor truly infuriated her.

The problem was that Qiang Ning was also hiding her own true identity. Currently, she didn’t even have the standing to question the other woman. Even though she was so angry she felt like she might explode, she had no legitimate reason to lose her temper.

Qiang Ning gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger, asking, “Sister, what are you going to write to the new Emperor?”

Lin Dongruan replied that it was just some personal matters from the past, and that A-Ning “did not need to know.”

What a fine “did not need to know”! This was already the third “need not” Qiang Ning had heard today. First, when burning the object, she said it was an “insignificant” matter; then she said A-Ning “need not” be weary; and now, she didn’t even bother looking for a reason, offering a direct “need not know”!

“Personal, past matters, need not know…” Qiang Ning laughed out of sheer anger.

The years before she met Lin Dongruan were a permanent sore spot for her. Now, perceiving that Lin Dongruan shared some unknown past with the new Emperor was like rubbing salt into her wounds.

It was as if Lin Dongruan was intentionally mentioning exactly what Qiang Ning dreaded most.

“Sister, you never used to hide anything from me before.” Seeing that she remained silent, Qiang Ning pulled her closer. “Why are you treating me like this now? Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Lin Dongruan explained to her. ” A-Ning, it is impossible for people to tell each other everything. Even between the closest of individuals, there are secrets that are difficult to voice.”

Qiang Ning looked at her with distress. “But Sister, I don’t want you to have secrets from me.”

Lin Dongruan was silent for a moment, her voice growing a few degrees colder. “Then, does A-Ning truly have nothing hidden from me?”

“I am naturally devoted and open to Sister,” Qiang Ning answered naturally. “Can Sister not see how sincere my feelings are?”

Lin Dongruan looked into her eyes and said seriously, ” A-Ning, you must not lie to me.”

When deception becomes a habit, it no longer makes one feel guilty. It was as if Qiang Ning had even deceived herself as she answered firmly, “I will never lie to Sister.”

Lin Dongruan said “Alright,” then pressed her hand to her forehead, speaking with an air of exhaustion. “I am weary today and do not wish to argue with A-Ning further. A-Ning, please go out for a while.”

Qiang Ning didn’t really want to leave. Thinking of that irritating letter about to be written to the Emperor, she felt like tying Lin Dongruan up.

Thus, Qiang Ning tried to act shamelessly to stay.

Lin Dongruan: “Go out.”

“Oh.” Qiang Ning rarely saw the other woman act so resolutely. To prevent truly angering her, she could only follow instructions and leave the study.

It was now fundamentally impossible to sleep.

Qiang Ning’s mind was a mess. She could only go outside to see how the shadow guards who were running laps were doing. Assuming Lin Dongruan would stay in the study for a while, she walked out without lowering her guard.

“Call Song Luo over.” Seeing that several shadow guards had returned, Qiang Ning gave the order to find Song Luo. “Didn’t I cancel his time off? Why is he not here on standby?”

The shadow guards said that Song Luo was waiting nearby and would arrive shortly.

Qiang Ning: “Lin Dongruan is busy and won’t be coming out. Let him walk over openly.”

The shadow guards quickly passed the message, and Song Luo indeed walked down the main path “openly.”

In the study, Lin Dongruan still felt her heart in turmoil. She couldn’t find peace, especially when she thought of A-Ning’s aggrieved expression when she told her to leave… she rarely treated A-Ning that way. Would A-Ning be sad?

In the past, A-Ning was always tirelessly acting spoiled and clingy, but today she had left without a word; she must have been hurt.

Ultimately, Lin Dongruan was uneasy. After some thought, she decided to go out and coax her. But just as she reached the vicinity of the door, she saw a familiar figure not far ahead.

This person… wasn’t he the medical clinic manager, Song Luo?

Why had he come here?