The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 44

Huang Xi couldn’t hold back any longer. With one hand reaching for Xiao San’s neck and the other clenched into a fist, he was about to swing it at her face.

Xiao San was no fool. She had been prepared all along. The moment Huang Xi raised his hand in anger, she swung her bag hard at his lower body. But she didn’t stop there. As Huang Xi stumbled in pain, Xiao San quickly grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it at him, aiming for the same area.

Fortunately, Huang Xi dodged in time, or it might have led to a medical emergency.

Xiao San had noticed the rocks earlier. After throwing one, she picked up another. Watching Huang Xi writhing on the ground in agony, she sneered triumphantly, “Think you can mess with me? Dream on!”

With that, Xiao San hastily fled the scene.

She was terrified that Huang Xi would come after her again once he recovered.

But she had underestimated Huang Xi’s stubbornness.

The very next day, he cornered her once more.

Spotting Huang Xi standing on the road from a distance, Xiao San immediately halted, wishing she could dart back into the company building.

“Haven’t you learned your lesson from last time? Want a repeat?” Xiao San raised her bag defensively, eyeing Huang Xi warily.

Huang Xi didn’t respond. He was holding a cigarette, and when he saw Xiao San approaching, he tossed it to the ground. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he glanced to the side, where a man taller than Huang Xi, with a stern and upright face, stepped forward.

The man was holding several bottles of drinks and seemed taken aback to see Xiao San there.

“Hello, I’m Qi Yan, a friend of Shen Lin and Zheng Qi.”

“You’re A Qi’s friend?” Xiao San kept her hand inside her bag, her phone screen already lit up. If they tried anything, she could dial 110 immediately.

“Zheng Qi might not have mentioned me, but we are indeed close friends. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”

Compared to Huang Xi, Qi Yan’s appearance and demeanor were several degrees more pleasant, which made Xiao San lower her guard slightly.

“If you’re here to ask me to write a letter of forgiveness, I won’t do it,” Xiao San stated firmly. The more they pushed, the more determined she became not to write it.

If she did, it would be as if everything Huang Xi said was true as if she, Lin Nuanyan, had done something to cause her current situation.

Ha, what a joke.

She was the victim here. How had she suddenly become the villain?

“Xiao Xi isn’t very good with words, but he means well.”

Hah.

Xiao San responded with an eye-roll.

What did “Xiao Xi isn’t very good with words, but he means well” even mean?

He was clearly rotten to the core, so nothing good could come out of his mouth.

“What do you want from me? I’ve already said I won’t write the letter. If you keep this up, I’m calling the police.”

“Why waste words on her? This woman just needs to be taught a lesson. A good beating will sort her out,” Huang Xi snapped irritably.

“See? See?” Xiao San pointed at Huang Xi. “Does he seem like a good person to you?”

Qi Yan pulled Huang Xi back. “There are people coming and going here. Why don’t we find a place to talk properly?”

Xiao San shook her head. “Why should I go with you just because you want to talk? Don’t be ridiculous!”

Huang Xi let out a cold laugh. “Weren’t you the one who said you’d persuade her? Is this the result of your persuasion?”

Qi Yan took a step forward, and Xiao San hurriedly raised her bag defensively. “You… don’t think you two are so great. I already filed a report at the police station yesterday. If anything happens to me, Huang Xi will be the first to run, and since you’re Huang Xi’s friend, you won’t get away either.”

“Xiao San, I’m not trying to do anything to you. We really just want to talk with you.”

“If you want to talk about anything, you can talk to me too.”

Li Ailun descended like a god from the heavens, appearing beside Xiao San. He pinched the collar of her shirt between his thumb and forefinger, pulling her back slightly as he faced Qi Yan directly.

“Mr. Qi Yan, I think forcing a lady like this is hardly something a gentleman should do.”

Xiao San looked at Li Ailun with starry eyes, never expecting him to be so reliable.

Qi Yan pursed his lips. “Li Ailun… why are you here?”

Li Ailun adjusted his sleeves and said calmly, “You can pretend to be my boss’s friend, yet you don’t know why I’m here beside her best friend, who also has her special assistant?”

Qi Yan’s face reddened at Li Ailun’s sarcasm. “Did Zheng Qi send you?”

Detecting a hint of expectation in Qi Yan’s tone, Li Ailun was quick to shatter it. “Miss Xiao seemed a bit off yesterday, but the boss was a bit busy, so she asked me to pick up Miss Xiao today.”

His reply seemed to address the first question but felt more like a mockery of the second.

Huang Xi said irritably, “What are you dawdling for? Even if you are Zheng Qi’s assistant, so what? You’re just her lackey.”

“A lackey, when angered, can still bite off one of your arms,” Li Ailun replied, still calm, though his tone carried a hint of menace. Suddenly, he shifted gears. “But while I’m a lackey, you’re not even that, at best, you’re a backup, and one nobody even cares about at that.”

“You!” Huang Xi raised his hand to strike again, but Qi Yan grabbed him immediately. He leaned close to Huang Xi and warned, “Remember what you promised me. If you keep this up, I’ll have to tell your family!”

Huang Xi shook off Qi Yan’s grip resentfully, glaring at Li Ailun with defiance.

Li Ailun smirked. “Ah, how I love that look of yours hating me but unable to do a thing about it.”

Huang Xi was about to erupt again, but this time Li Ailun anticipated it and quickly pulled him back, addressing Li Ailun, “We just want to talk with Xiao San. After we’ve spoken, if she still refuses to write the letter of understanding, we won’t bother her again.”

Just as Li Ailun was about to refuse, Xiao San spoke up, “Fine, but Assistant Li has to stay with me.”

Qi Yan glanced at Huang Xi, who was clearly against the idea, but Qi Yan agreed anyway.

They found a quiet café, and with Assistant Li by her side, Xiao San felt relatively at ease.

“Miss Xiao, I think you should let the boss know you’ll be back late,” Li Ailun reminded Xiao San as soon as they sat down in the café.

Xiao San thought it made sense, so she briefly described the situation and sent a message to Zheng Qi.

A reply came quickly: 【Okay, be careful [heart]】.

Xiao San showed her phone to Li Ailun, indicating she had updated the boss.

Li Ailun shivered, feeling as if the pen refill contained poison and sharp blades.

The boss was not to be trifled with, and the boss’s wife was even more unapproachable.

LiAilun cast a resentful glance at Xiao San. Truly, ignorance is bliss. The more one knows, the more one suffers.

“Alright, we’re seated now. If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

Qi Yan had already ordered coffee. Although Xiao San and Li Ailun didn’t want any, Qi Yan had coffee brought for them as well.

Qi Yan remained silent for a long time. Just as Xiao San was growing impatient, he held his coffee cup and said, “Nuanyan grew up with us. She has liked Shen Lin since childhood, and her dream has always been to marry him.”

Xiao San listened quietly.

To summarize what Qi Yan said:

Lin Nuanyan and Shen Lin grew up together, childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were young.

Until Shen Lin met Xiao San, he fell in love with her and even began to distance himself from Lin Nuanyan.

Even after Lin Nuanyan and Shen Lin confirmed their relationship abroad, Shen Lin abandoned Lin Nuanyan because of Xiao San and returned to the country.

By the end, Xiao San couldn’t help but laugh, signaling her dismissal of this absurd topic.

“Do you even have any empathy, woman? How can you still laugh?” Huang Xi looked as if he were about to cry. He pointed at Xiao San, almost wishing she would shed tears herself.

Xiao San replied, “From your story, all I hear is how terrible Shen Lin is, how terrible Shen Lin is, and how terrible Shen Lin is. So, what does any of this have to do with me?”

Xiao San refused to take the blame.

She had no memory of the events before the two worlds merged. Even if she did, Lin Nuanyan liked Shen Lin, and Shen Lin treated Lin Nuanyan terribly, what did that have to do with her?

It was simply a case of “those who fall for scumbags suffer, and those who sympathize with scumbags suffer.”

“If it weren’t for you, Shen Lin wouldn’t have returned to the country, he wouldn’t have broken up with Nuanyan, and Nuanyan wouldn’t have had a miscarriage. You’re the root of all this, and yet you can say such cold-hearted things. I don’t know what Shen Lin sees in you!” Huang Xi shouted.

The café had been entirely reserved by Qi Yan. Anyone trying to enter was stopped by the staff at the door.

Xiao San narrowed her eyes slightly. She should have been angry, but looking at the two fools in front of her, she couldn’t muster any anger at all.

“Oh, really? After hearing what you said, should I feel guilty? Should I cry a few times to satisfy you?” Xiao San snorted. “You say Shen Lin likes me? I’ve known Shen Lin for quite some time now, and he has never confessed to me. I’ve never felt any affection from him. So, why should I bear such a huge blame for some so-called ‘liking’?”

“You think I’m cold-hearted? I think I’m the unlucky one. How can your 36-degree lips utter such freezing words? With a mere opening and closing of your mouths, you accuse me of being liked by Shen Lin. Did my family’s ancestral grave get turned into a latrine? Why does every unlucky thing get pinned on me?”

Xiao San looked at Huang Xi and Qi Yan, “You’re Lin Nuanyan’s friends. When you saw her getting involved with that scumbag Shen Lin, you didn’t think to intervene. Now you come blaming me? You’re so eager to have me write a letter of understanding, why didn’t I see you demanding answers from Shen Lin when he abandoned Lin Nuanyan back then?”

Xiao San said mockingly, “You’re just a couple of wealthy people looking down on us who aren’t as well-off. You think Shen Lin is in your social class, while Lin Nuanyan is a step below. So, when Shen Lin wronged Lin Nuanyan, you stayed silent. When Lin Nuanyan bullied me, you said nothing. But now that I’m standing up for my own rights, you have all sorts of criticisms. Tell me, if Lin Nuanyan were to resent Shen Lin in return, would you be urging her to be more broad-minded too?”

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