She Is Such A Jerk, And Yet She’s The One Crying! - Chapter 7

“Sister, why did you leave me in the room all by yourself?” Qiang Ning pretended as if nothing was wrong, lightly pushing the door open and closing it behind her. She walked to Lin Dongruan’s side and said, “You go home. This matter started because of me, and it should be settled by me.”

“Nonsense.” A hint of worry appeared in Lin Dongruan’s eyes. “You go back.”

Not far from the door, the notorious butcher Zhou Xingeng and his accomplices stood with bone-chopping knives, looking at the two of them with faces full of hostility. “Robbery! Hand over all your money.”

This time, without waiting for Lin Dongruan to speak, Qiang Ning took the initiative to provoke them: “Is this how thugs rob people these days? So simple? Coming directly with knives, not even a word of polite greeting—just opening your mouths to demand money.”

Zhou Xingeng raised the knife in his hand and threatened, “If you don’t want to see blood today, stop the nonsense. Throw the money over, and I can let you two go.”

Qiang Ning did not have a good temper. When she scolded someone, she didn’t just stick to the matter at hand. Seeing the situation, she immediately began to sneer: “No wonder you’ll be nothing but peddlers and porters your whole lives, like beasts stepped on underfoot, never able to turn your lives around. Look at your own pathetic selves; even after leaving the slaughterhouse, you carry the stench of animals. Even if you get the money, you’ll never wash away that filth. Even with a little money, you’ll still be dregs.”

It was as if Zhou Xingeng had been poked in a lung; the flesh on his face twitched instantly, and he roared: “You actually dare to curse me, saying I’ll never turn my life around!”

Qiang Ning laughed scornfully: “Not just never turning your life around. Although people are born into different social strata, peddlers and porters are not inherently lowly. But a person like you, who bullies the weak, has no ambition or ability to seek fortune through the right path. You can’t become an official, you can’t lift a pen; you can only use a pig-butcher’s knife to scare people. When you return home at night, I imagine even your family must loathe your filth.”

There was a reason for her biting words. With a quick glance, she saw there were only three newcomers. Besides Zhou Xingeng, two others stood behind him. Forget the fact that her secret guards and subordinates were always present—even if they weren’t, she alone could deal with three men holding knives.

Of course, she couldn’t win on pure strength alone, but Qiang Ning liked to use underhanded tricks in a fight. These three were certainly no match for her. It was just that Lin Dongruan by her side was a bit of a hindrance; if she stayed close, it would be easy to get distracted or accidentally injured.

Wait—thinking of Lin Dongruan, Qiang Ning suddenly realized: when she was scolding them just now, the other woman hadn’t interrupted her. According to Lin Dongruan’s usual temperament, she should have stepped in immediately to settle the matter and stop her from further provoking the enemy’s anger.

Her palm, which had been hit earlier, was still stinging. Qiang Ning moved closer to Lin Dongruan and asked, “Eh? Sister, you’re actually not lecturing me?”

Lin Dongruan: “When people have bullied their way to our doorstep, we should no longer avoid them. If we hand over the money this time to settle things, then these people will surely repeat the same trick later.”

Hearing this answer, Qiang Ning was somewhat surprised. It seemed Lin Dongruan wasn’t a complete “bleeding heart”… Perhaps this person was simply noble and didn’t covet wealth, rather than being weak and easily bullied.

Qiang Ning looked at her. Because Lin Dongruan had gone out to practice medicine today, she had changed out of her narrow-sleeved skirts and wore a plain, pale white robe with wide sleeves. At this moment, she showed no sign of panic, standing calmly in the courtyard. Her long, elegant sleeves trailed slightly, concealing her hands, making her look like a celestial statue enshrined in a divine temple.

“So—Sister, you hit me just because you were worried that I, being flashy and provocative alone, wouldn’t be able to protect myself and would be bullied by bad people outside?” Qiang Ning seemed to understand the reason the other had been angry earlier. Taking advantage of the standoff between the two parties, she found a moment to ask, “You were feeling sorry for me, caring about me, weren’t you?”

Lin Dongruan did not answer her, which was a different form of silent admission.

“If a conflict breaks out later, try to stay as far away as possible. Poisons don’t distinguish between people; it would be very uncomfortable if you were accidentally affected.” Lin Dongruan didn’t drive her away this time, but she was equally worried that she wouldn’t be able to protect Qiang Ning while being occupied. “If you’re afraid, you can find a place to hide. Watch out for the knives in their hands; don’t get hurt.”

No wonder she had changed into wide-sleeved clothes today; she had hidden poisonous powder in her sleeves for self-protection… It seemed that for Lin Dongruan to have lived so long in this place where “the mountains are poor, the waters are malicious, and the people are unruly,” she wasn’t entirely a “beautiful idiot.”

Qiang Ning stood beside her, staring at her fair, slender neck. Her throat moved slightly. Suddenly, she felt that being hit hadn’t been in vain; her palm didn’t hurt anymore, and her mood brightened. It was like a gentle spring rain—her heart felt more comforted than it ever had before.

Even being hit was worth it!

“Alright, Sister, I understand what you mean. It’s okay, you go back inside. Give that to me, lest you get your hands dirty.” Qiang Ning was still worried about Lin Dongruan getting hurt. The other woman’s frame was so thin it seemed a gust of wind could blow her away—how could she fight several butchers with knives? She reached her hand into the other’s sleeve without a word of explanation, snatched the medicine bottle, and took the opportunity to lightly brush against her, taking a small liberty.

Lin Dongruan was uneasy: “How can you…”

“Sister, I am younger than you, and my movements are much more agile.” Qiang Ning forcefully ushered her inside and said, “Leave it to me.”

This wasn’t something that could be solved by a simple argument. Qiang Ning was afraid Lin Dongruan would see things she shouldn’t, so she simply locked the door from the outside.

After settling Lin Dongruan, the Princess’s shadow guards, who had been hidden in the shadows, revealed themselves.

“Holding a knife doesn’t necessarily mean you dare to kill.” Qiang Ning walked slowly toward the three butchers, smiling. “Do you dare to kill?”

The butchers were intimidated by her nonchalant manner. Immediately lifting their knives, they shouted, “Why wouldn’t we dare? Stretch your neck out here.”

“Well said. If I die by your knives today, before dawn breaks, your heads will be separated from your bodies. Of course, it wouldn’t be as simple as just dying. Our dynasty has many forms of cruel punishment; your nine generations of relatives can share in the glory, trying every single one.” Qiang Ning spoke as if joking, walking toward the direction of the knives. “The truly brave either do not reveal their weapons, or once the sword is drawn, it must see blood.”

One moment, the butchers thought she was a fool talking big; the next, they were staring wide-eyed, clutching at the ropes around their necks. Unbeknownst to them, shadow guards had appeared behind them, silently strangling them. The butchers, who possessed only brute strength, stared up with bulging eyes, wanting to struggle but unable to break free. They could only be dragged away like slaughtered livestock by the people behind them.

Qiang Ning instructed: “Be quiet when you act. Clean it up thoroughly; don’t let the smell of blood waft over here. Her nose is sharp; she’ll be able to smell it.”

It was already late, and Qiang Ning had no desire to watch further. She quickly returned home and opened the door to see Lin Dongruan.

Lin Dongruan had not yet changed out of that white robe. This was perhaps her only relatively new garment. Although the style wasn’t particularly beautiful, when worn by her, it was like a celestial garment made of crane feathers. There was no candlelight in the room; dressed in white, her whole being seemed to glow.

When Qiang Ning saw this scene, for a moment she thought she had encountered a beautiful spirit in the mountains—a spirit that had just transformed into human form, indifferent to the world, only lost in thought under the moonlight.

Lin Dongruan sat in the room for a moment, and Qiang Ning did not disturb her. Then, the other woman spoke to her, saying, “A-Ning is back,” and proceeded to slowly unfasten the collar of her outer garment.

Qiang Ning’s brows tightened, and her heart rate accelerated frantically.

Then, she saw Lin Dongruan quietly untie her hair ribbon, brushing her black hair to one side of her shoulder, revealing a section of her long, slender neck.

“Sister, you…” The words Qiang Ning was about to say were instantly forgotten. Her feet seemed fixed to the spot, but her eyes wished they could be glued to the other woman. “What are you doing?”

Lin Dongruan said that the fabric was coarse and was rubbing uncomfortably.

Compared to the previous ones, this garment was already considered quite comfortable, Qiang Ning thought.

“A-Ning, help me see if there is anything unusual here.” Lin Dongruan looked back with a charming smile, her eyes clear and her expression gentle. “It hurts a bit; it might be bleeding.”

“Okay.” Qiang Ning stared at her neck without blinking. Her thoughts seemed to have snapped; whatever the other said, she followed.

She didn’t even know how she walked to the front of Lin Dongruan. Her heart and eyes were full of that beautiful neck. She secretly measured it; it was so thin she could easily encircle it with her hand. Three years of hardship in Wusang Town had not eroded Lin Dongruan’s beauty; if anything, it had evolved into an even more plain and elegant aura. Perhaps it was also because Lin Dongruan understood medical texts, so even though she performed hard labor personally, she left no calluses.

The white garment was already made of relatively soft material, but in the end, it couldn’t compare to the high-quality fabrics of the capital. Just because the stitching on the inner lining of the collar was somewhat crude, it had injured Lin Dongruan. Qiang Ning knew this person’s skin was fine and white, unable to withstand even the slightest bump, but she hadn’t expected it to turn red so easily.

Lin Dongruan was thinner than ordinary women, with tight shoulder and neck lines and a smooth silhouette. Ordinary clothes didn’t suit her figure; if they were even slightly ill-fitting or the stitching was rough, they would end up like this—from the vicinity of the shoulder socket to the collarbone, it was all rubbed red.

It looked exactly like… a hickey.

Qiang Ning was already feeling restless, and as soon as this thought popped up, sweat broke out on her forehead, and her imagination ran wild.

“Sister, why didn’t you change out of this garment just now? You wore it for so long that it’s all rubbed red.”

In fact, what Qiang Ning wanted to ask was: Why are you changing in front of me?

She knew she couldn’t ask that, and Lin Dongruan didn’t have the intention of seducing her, but she still couldn’t help but think in that direction.

“I was waiting for you to come home,” Lin Dongruan said. “If you hadn’t come back in one piece, I would have been too uneasy to do anything else.”

Qiang Ning swallowed again, her fingers lightly gripping the corner of her own clothes. She hadn’t expected to have a day where she was looked forward to and waited for.

Lin Dongruan pulled her collar, preparing to put it back on: “If it’s just rubbed red, then it’s no matter; there’s no need for medicine.”

Qiang Ning was staring at the red mark in a daze when she was suddenly interrupted. She immediately pressed down on Lin Dongruan’s hand with some displeasure.

Don’t move.

“Hmm?” Lin Dongruan sensed something was not quite right. She looked up and reminded her softly, “Let go.”