The Eldest Lady always wants to have a double O Relationship with her old enemy - Chapter 10

“What’s this?”

Tang Yanzhao stopped applying the medicine to her hand and pursed her lips, unsure of how to answer.

Shen Jianxi gritted her teeth, read the contents, and asked in a questioning tone, “Who told you to write this?”

“It’s not important,” Tang Yanzhao evaded.

“Tang Yanzhao! I’m asking you, who told you to write this?” Seeing her indifferent attitude, Shen Jianxi also got angry.

“…”

“Was it Xu Hui?”

She looked at Shen Jianxi and answered expressionlessly, “Yes.”

“Why would you admit to something you didn’t do?” Shen Jianxi’s breathing became hurried. “I told you I’d handle it. What are you so afraid of?”

“I was just restating what was in the video you posted on the forum. Shen Jianxi, isn’t this what you wanted?” Tang Yanzhao spoke calmly, as if she were a bystander.

After a couple days of cooling down, she’d wanted to treat the incident as a prank. After all, when Shen Jianxi got playful, she couldn’t stop her. The only thing she could do was wait—wait for her to lose interest, wait for her to stop finding amusement in her.

Shen Jianxi’s rising anger suddenly halted. “The forum? When did Xu Hui talk to you?”

“Last Friday.”

Shen Jianxi had thought that after the incident was exposed, Xu Hui, in desperation, came to Tang Yanzhao hoping to resolve the matter and asked her to help calm things down. It turned out it was earlier, before the full story was even clear, that Xu Hui had already jumped to conclusions, identifying Tang Yanzhao as the culprit.

Xu Hui, you’re something else.

Shen Jianxi now understood why Tang Yanzhao’s attitude toward her had suddenly reversed. Someone had been stirring up trouble.

Shen Jianxi laughed angrily, pulled up the video from the anonymous post, and put it in front of her. She asked, “So you moved into the school dorm without a word the next day because you saw this video?”

Tang Yanzhao felt the atmosphere inexplicably relax. A look of suspicion flashed in her eyes as she frowned and said, “Mmm.”

“If I hadn’t had my hand smashed in the door, would you have given me the silent treatment forever?”

Tang Yanzhao closed her eyes tightly.

Shen Jianxi saw through her silence and continued to expose her hidden thoughts. “Later, you ran off to the library early every morning because you didn’t know how to face me. You felt guilty about my hand injury, but also thought I was two-faced, right?”

“…”

How could Tang Yanzhao reply? She couldn’t deny it; that was exactly what she had been thinking.

Shen Jianxi touched her back teeth with her tongue, then put the clarification video in her hand. “Look, take a good look, am I a hypocrite or not?”

Tang Yanzhao had never had the habit of Browse forums. If Xu Hui hadn’t shown her, she might never have known about it. After she did find out, she could guess there’d be a storm of criticism in the forums and didn’t want to upset herself, so she never went to look. Thus, she naturally hadn’t seen the video Shen Jianxi later posted.

Now the public opinion had completely reversed, and many people were apologizing for their previous comments.

Tang Yanzhao’s grip on her phone tightened unconsciously, her eyes as deep as a black hole.

Shen Jianxi could read her emotions this time and let out a scoff. “So, what kind of person do you think I am now?”

Tang Yanzhao was silent for a long time before saying solemnly, “I’m sorry.”

Shen Jianxi ground her teeth. “I remember looking for you that Friday. Since you thought I was the problem, why didn’t you confront me?”

“Shen Jianxi, I’ve said it many times—we’re different. You’re a high-and-mighty young lady, destined to be the center of attention. You have the luxury to be willful; I don’t. I don’t know what you were thinking, and what right do I have to question you? If this was what you intended, how was I supposed to act?” Tang Yanzhao also seriously explained her point of view.

“So you just sentenced me in your heart without even giving me a chance to explain, is that it?”

Tang Yanzhao’s lips became a straight line. “You and I only met by chance because of our elders. At the end of the day, we’re just strangers who’ve known each other for less than half a month. We’re not related, so there’s no need for that.”

“No need? Is it you who has no need, or do you think I have no need?” Shen Jianxi was furious, her eyes reddening at the corners. “Can’t you just choose to believe me for once?”

As her words fell, two large teardrops rolled down her cheeks and hit the floor, resonating with Tang Yanzhao’s heartbeat for a moment.

“Ye Tao said you have no one to rely on and would easily be bullied at Rongqing. She used people’s love for gossip to guide the narrative they wanted to see, then reversed it at the peak of its popularity to let everyone know you have the Shen family, and me, backing you up. That way, no one would treat you like Yang Yuhan did again.”

Tang Yanzhao’s hand at her side clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her palm and causing a sharp sting.

Shen Jianxi sniffled and continued, “Knowing your personality, I thought you wouldn’t likely be on the forum, and I didn’t want you to see those unsavory things. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I just never expected Xu Hui to get involved. If I hadn’t seen this ‘confession letter,’ I might never have known that I was burdened with such a baseless accusation in your heart. That’s not fair to me, Tang Yanzhao, it’s not fair.”

As she spoke, Shen Jianxi began to sob uncontrollably.

Tang Yanzhao couldn’t deny the strange feeling in her heart seeing Shen Jianxi cry like this. She pulled out two tissues and gently dabbed at her eyes.

Shen Jianxi suddenly threw herself into Tang Yanzhao’s arms, her hands tightly wrapped around her neck, mumbling, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why? That’s not fair, Tang Yanzhao…”

Why did you never tell me what you were thinking? Why were you willing to like me even when I wasn’t good to you? Why did you even lie to me about your death in the end? Tang Yanzhao, why did you do all those things without letting me know? It wasn’t fair to me.

Tang Yanzhao was stunned, her blood seeming to freeze. She stiffly raised her arms and held them suspended over Shen Jianxi’s back. Only when she heard Shen Jianxi’s ragged breathing did she finally lower them, gently rubbing her back while comforting her. “I’m sorry. I was being self-righteous.”

Shen Jianxi didn’t know how long she cried. She cried until she was a little breathless and her eyes were swollen.

Tang Yanzhao brought her a hot towel. “Put this on, you’ll feel a little better.”

Shen Jianxi took the towel and put it on her eyes. She propped her elbows on the desk, turning to face Tang Yanzhao. Her voice was stuffy with a nasal tone, sounding quite pitiful. “Are you laughing at me?”

Tang Yanzhao shook her head without a word. “No.”

Shen Jianxi peeked out with one eye and looked at her again. Seeing her expression was indeed calm, she felt relieved. “Hmph! You wouldn’t dare.”

Tang Yanzhao’s lips curled up imperceptibly at her little bit of arrogance, and she let out a low “Mmm” from her nose in response.

Shen Jianxi cleared her throat and said again, “If you have something going on in the future, you have to tell me. If you don’t tell me, how am I supposed to know what you’re thinking? Misunderstandings are one of the biggest tools to hurt a relationship. I don’t want there to be a gap in communication between us. I’ve always wanted us to be on good terms, and I hope you know that.”

Tang Yanzhao lowered her eyes. “I know.”

“So, do you have anything you want to say to me now?” Shen Jianxi put down the towel and looked at her with a serious expression.

After a few seconds of silence, Tang Yanzhao spoke quietly, “I don’t like getting too much attention from others.”

The subtext was that while she was grateful for Shen Jianxi’s actions, the spectacle was too grand for her liking.

Shen Jianxi had anticipated this and calmly explained, “I know, but I need you to be tied to me. Don’t overthink it, I’m just worried about you. If someone were to bully you, you would never tell anyone. To prevent that from happening, I need them to think of me whenever they think of you, and vice versa.”

She paused, making eye contact with Tang Yanzhao, her eyes full of sincerity. “I need you to rely on me.”

She said “need,” not “want.” With that one word change, Shen Jianxi handed the initiative in their relationship over to Tang Yanzhao.

Tang Yanzhao’s emotions were a complicated mix. “Why?”

“Because you are very important to me.”

Shen Jianxi had wanted to say, “Because I like you,” but that word was too heavy for Tang Yanzhao. In a serious moment like this, she didn’t want to use it lightly, so she chose a different phrase that better matched her current feelings.

The air was faintly filled with the scent of fresh grapefruit and rum, which was Tang Yanzhao’s unavoidable scent from her heat. Shen Jianxi didn’t mention it, but silently released a hint of her own scent in response.

“Okay,” Tang Yanzhao finally decided after a long period of thought.

Shen Jianxi’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “Anything else you want to say?”

“No.”

A flash of mischief appeared in Shen Jianxi’s eyes. “Then it’s my turn.”

She looked ready to settle accounts.

“On Saturday, you broke our agreement. When I came to find you, you locked me out, lied to me about a stomachache. On Sunday, you escaped to the library and hung up on me. Oh, and you said you brought an umbrella, but today you have a fever and you’re in heat. Was the umbrella also a lie?”

Tang Yanzhao was rarely at a loss for words, as she was in the wrong. “What do you want me to do?”

Shen Jianxi scoffed and crooked her finger at her. “Come here.”

Tang Yanzhao leaned forward halfway, a look of confusion on her face.

“Let me hit you twice, and I’ll forgive you.”

“Okay.”

Shen Jianxi raised her arm as if to strike. Tang Yanzhao instinctively closed her eyes, but what she felt was her nose being pinched. She opened her eyes, puzzled, and looked at Shen Jianxi, who was right in front of her.

Shen Jianxi sighed regretfully. “Never mind. I can’t bring myself to do it.”

She tore the offending “confession letter” into pieces right in front of Tang Yanzhao.

“You just need to trust me.”

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