Try Saying You Don't Like It - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

He Xinglan couldn’t quite remember how she and Yin Qiuman ended up on the bed. She only recalled hugging Yin Qiuman back and seemingly saying the word miss once. Then, Yin Qiuman led her to touch faces, touch noses, kiss the forehead… and finally, they were kissing on the mouth?!

Oh my god, Yin Qiuman must be a fox spirit.

He Xinglan scrambled and rolled off the bed. Her posture was not graceful, but since her legs were weak, escaping from Yin Qiuman’s side was extremely difficult. Could she still care about appearances?

Her lips were aching. He Xinglan stumbled toward the door, thinking that if the doorbell hadn’t suddenly rung, she would probably have been stripped naked by now?!

He Xinglan was panicking intensely, yet felt a mix of excitement and regret.

Regret? Why? Shouldn’t the doorbell have rung?!

The moment this thought popped into her head, He Xinglan wished she could strangle herself.

Oh no, maybe strangle Yin Qiuman instead. She was the one who started the seduction.

Standing by the door, He Xinglan didn’t know who was knocking. After taking several deep breaths, she finally opened the door.

“Who is it?”

The two words had just left her throat, and before He Xinglan could clearly see who the person was, she was embraced in a full, sudden hug.

“Surprise, my dear Ms. He.”

This familiar voice… He Xinglan’s body instantly froze.

The person in her arms didn’t seem to notice He Xinglan’s stiffness at all. After speaking, she swiftly planted a kiss on He Xinglan’s cheek.

The smacking kiss sound made He Xinglan’s soul tremble, and a chill crawled up her spine.

“You better get…” The words out didn’t leave He Xinglan’s mouth before the person let go of He Xinglan and walked past her straight into the room.

Her feet didn’t stop, and neither did her mouth.

“I bet you missed me, or why else would you book a hotel room near mine instead of going home?”

“But it’s okay, I’m glad you came.”

“Did you bring up the red wine I asked the front desk to prepare? The location of this room is excellent. When night falls and the lights come on, we can enjoy wine by the floor-to-ceiling window, kiss, and do…”

“Do what do? Is your mouth only for spouting nonsense?” He Xinglan rushed after the person, wishing she could glue that chattering mouth shut.

He Xinglan was anxious, naturally ignoring the tone of her voice. The clear hostility in her voice made the newcomer frown unhappily.

“He Xinglan, you’re yelling at me.”

“You never yelled at me before. You said you would only love… wait, do you have a guest?”

Yin Qiuman, inside the room, was finally seen.

He Xinglan breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately felt her heart drop again.

She was relieved because she knew Song Zhiya wouldn’t spout nonsense anymore. Her heart dropped because she was doomed. If Yin Qiuman’s ears were fine, she must have heard everything that was just said. Given Yin Qiuman’s temper, He Xinglan’s life was in danger.

“Friend?” Song Zhiya asked He Xinglan.

He Xinglan muttered “Uh-huh.” Although it was the truth, it was hard to say: “A friend.”

Song Zhiya said “Oh,” and looked at Yin Qiuman with an appraising gaze. Then, a particularly bright smile bloomed on her face: “Hello, pretty lady. I’m Song Zhiya, Ms. He Xinglan’s… ex, um, I think that makes it two ‘exes’ ago. Her ex-ex-girlfriend.”

He Xinglan: “…”

I am definitely going to die today.

At this moment, He Xinglan didn’t even dare to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

She looked at Yin Qiuman’s increasingly dark face and wanted to explain, but how could she explain? Song Zhiya was indeed her ex-ex-girlfriend.

“But I never slept with her,” He Xinglan finally found a point to explain and said hastily.

Her gaze was so sincere. He Xinglan felt she had never been this honest in her life.

Yin Qiuman glanced at He Xinglan upon hearing this. Her look was hard to decipher, as if asking He Xinglan, Are you implying you still want to sleep with her?

He Xinglan shrunk her neck. No, she didn’t.

Song Zhiya looked at He Xinglan, then at Yin Qiuman, then back and forth. Her eyes gradually clarified, and then anger climbed onto her cheeks.

“Alright, He Xinglan, what do you take my territory for?”

“Bringing the girl you picked up here to spend the night?”

Song Zhiya exploded like a lit firecracker, perfectly illustrating the meaning of turning hostile instantly.

“He Xinglan, even if you don’t like me anymore, you don’t have to insult me like this, do you?”

After saying this, Song Zhiya actually started crying in front of both of them.

He Xinglan felt a terrible headache.

She couldn’t stand to see a woman cry and subconsciously wanted to comfort her, but Yin Qiuman’s gaze was fixed on her. He Xinglan’s instinctive movement immediately turned into the action of burying her head in the sand.

Forget it. Women are made of water. A few tears won’t hurt.

He Xinglan stood there like a piece of wood, completely still. Song Zhiya cried for a bit and then stopped.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and her gaze toward He Xinglan was extremely resentful.

“He Xinglan, you’ve changed.”

“If you saw me crying before, you’d willingly die for me.”

He Xinglan’s mouth twitched, speechless, but she had to refute: “It wasn’t that exaggerated. I’m quite fond of my life.”

Song Zhiya: “…You won’t even comfort me now.”

He Xinglan rubbed her forehead. She needed the guts to do so!

Scholar Yin’s death glare is no joke.

Unable to find fault with He Xinglan, Song Zhiya turned her attention to Yin Qiuman.

Just as she was about to speak, Yin Qiuman beat her to it.

“He Xinglan, check out.” Yin Qiuman’s voice was cold and commanding, allowing no refusal.

“Check out? Besides my place, which hotel has a room as good as this one?” Song Zhiya interrupted, unconvinced.

“He Xinglan, isn’t that right?!”

He Xinglan chose to listen to Scholar Yin and obediently went to push Yin Qiuman’s suitcase.

Song Zhiya: “Hey, I’m serious. There’s no other hotel room with conditions as good as this one, except mine.”

“Yes,” Yin Qiuman stopped her exit, turned to Song Zhiya, and asked, “But you’ve also stayed in this room with He Xinglan before, haven’t you?”

“I’m sorry, I have a hygiene complex.”

After saying this, Yin Qiuman turned and left without hesitation. He Xinglan quickly followed, but Yin Qiuman’s last sentence echoed repeatedly in her mind.

‘I’m sorry, I have a hygiene complex.’

So, was Yin Qiuman talking about the room, or… her?

In the room, Song Zhiya belatedly realized the meaning of Yin Qiuman’s words.

“He Xinglan, the new girl you picked up thinks I’m dirty? Damn it! If you won’t stay, then don’t! I didn’t want to give it to you anyway!”

Song Zhiya’s voice finally faded away completely when the two entered the descending elevator.

The elevator was very quiet, quiet enough for He Xinglan to clearly hear Yin Qiuman’s breathing, which was a little fast. So, Yin Qiuman was still angry?

He Xinglan hesitated for a few seconds and repeated what she had said before.

“Yin Qiuman, Song Zhiya is indeed my ex-ex-girlfriend, but I really never slept with her. You have to believe me.”

“Seriously, believe me.” Seeing that Yin Qiuman wasn’t looking at her, He Xinglan grew anxious.

“Yin Qiuman, you… don’t look down. Look into my eyes. Didn’t you say that by looking into my eyes, you would know if I was lying? Look at them!” He Xinglan bent down, trying to make Yin Qiuman look into her eyes.

It doesn’t matter if she won’t lift her head. I can bend over, as long as the final result is that she believes me.

“Yes.” He Xinglan’s effort paid off. Yin Qiuman finally raised her head, her gaze level with He Xinglan’s. He Xinglan saw that her eyes were filled with disappointment and lack of confidence.

“I can tell if the eighteen-year-old He Xinglan is lying to me, but you are the twenty-five-year-old He Xinglan.”

“The twenty-five-year-old He Xinglan probably stopped loving me a long time ago.” Yin Qiuman spoke, her gaze dropping. The disappointment in her eyes was covered by her eyelids just as He Xinglan caught a glimpse of it.

A wave of silence washed over the elevator.

The silence was finally broken by the sound of the elevator door opening.

Yin Qiuman stepped out and walked straight to the hotel front desk with the room card.

“Check out,” Yin Qiuman said concisely. The front desk attendant didn’t say anything, likely having already received a call from Song Zhiya, and quickly processed the check-out for Yin Qiuman.

He Xinglan silently followed behind Yin Qiuman, pushing her suitcase.

Neither of them spoke. The silence made them seem like strangers.

It wasn’t until they walked out of the hotel entrance that Yin Qiuman reached for the suitcase from He Xinglan. He Xinglan swiftly hid the suitcase behind her, stared at Yin Qiuman, and after several attempts, managed to open her mouth: “Yin Qiuman, let’s talk properly.”

Yin Qiuman tilted her head to look at He Xinglan: “Haven’t we been talking properly?”

“Honestly, no,” He Xinglan said seriously. Thinking about their previous interactions, a suspicious flush crept onto He Xinglan’s face. “You were… always a little inappropriate.”

Yin Qiuman looked at He Xinglan’s face with a contemplative expression: “Oh, I was always thinking about how to trick you into bed.”

“But unfortunately, I failed again.”

Yin Qiuman was referring to today.

If Song Zhiya hadn’t knocked on the door, she and He Xinglan would have already…

However, Yin Qiuman only felt a slight regret. The moment she thought of Song Zhiya as He Xinglan’s ex-ex-girlfriend, all other thoughts vanished.

He Xinglan: “…”

Hearing Yin Qiuman’s noticeably lighter tone, He Xinglan’s heart suddenly felt a little more settled.

“Yin Qiuman, then we should…”

“Find a hotel to stay in first. Let’s not be so picky about the requirements, just to avoid…” Yin Qiuman glanced at He Xinglan, “running into your ex-girlfriend or your ex-ex-ex-girlfriend again.”

He Xinglan rubbed her nose upon hearing this and mumbled: “Am I that much of a playgirl?”

Yin Qiuman snorted coldly: “You weren’t before, but now? I don’t know.”

He Xinglan: Her ears are too sharp.

He Xinglan didn’t dare to make a decision alone this time. She held out her phone to Yin Qiuman, and they chose a hotel together.

Yin Qiuman ended up booking a hotel about a kilometer away from the previous one.

The price was cheaper, and the environment, as Song Zhiya said, was worse.

But at least they hopefully wouldn’t encounter such a troublesome situation again.

He Xinglan felt embarrassed: “I promised to let you stay at a hotel on the Bund with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a river view…”

Yin Qiuman raised an eyebrow, scanning He Xinglan with the corner of her eye: “Still talking about that?”

“Well, we can talk about it slowly once we get to the hotel.”

Didn’t He Xinglan say they needed to talk properly? I’ll give her the chance.