After Becoming Roommates with My Flirty Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 14

The crowd of onlookers included some with their hands in their pockets, eating melon seeds; others craning their necks to get a better view; and still others whispering to their companions. Hearing the little girl’s words, they all chuckled, and some even began advising Zhang Hui to give up, saying it was obvious the girl wasn’t interested.

The crowd had grown from four or five people to seven or eight, and more were approaching.

Yu Xia noticed the growing crowd and frowned. She wanted to leave with Zheng Yun, not wanting to be gawked at like a monkey in a zoo.

Zhang Hui’s face flushed crimson, then paled to a sickly green. His expression darkened, but when Yu Xia met his gaze, he quickly masked his hostility with a forced smile, abandoning his pretense of seriousness. His tone became flippant: “So what if you’re prettier than me? You’re still a girl. You’ll have to find someone to marry eventually.”

He leaned closer, raising an eyebrow. “Or… have you fallen for me?”

He was so close that Yu Xia could smell the cheap cologne he wore, barely concealing his body odor. She stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. “Do you really think you’re that charming?”

Yu Xia’s smile was striking. Her beauty, usually masked by a cold demeanor, blossomed like spring after a long winter, revitalizing everything around her. Zhang Hui, standing closest, was momentarily stunned, even his oily expression softening slightly.

“I thought everyone had some self-awareness,” Yu Xia said, delivering the longest sentence Zheng Yun had ever heard her speak since they met. “Your family clearly didn’t teach you that. Looking in the mirror more often would do everyone some good.”

She stepped back to stand beside Zheng Yun, adding mockingly, “Change to a better-smelling perfume. Don’t suffocate others.”

With that, she ignored Zhang Hui’s livid expression and tugged Zheng Yun away, intending to end this farce and leave.

Zheng Yun obediently let Yu Xia lead her, following her steps.

Zhang Hui’s mother, having listened to Yu Xia’s scolding of her son the entire time, finally snapped. She took a large step forward, her voice shrill with anger, and blocked their path. “If you can’t even see the worth of my son, who could you possibly be interested in? Are you two… those lesbians they talk about online?”

Her face twisted with disgust. “You can’t even carry on the family line! Two women together? How disgusting! If your mothers found out, they’d beat you to death!”

Furious, she spat out insults, glaring at the two women with clenched teeth. Without waiting for a response, she had already convinced herself of their relationship and was on the verge of unleashing the most vulgar curses upon them for rejecting her and her son’s almost harassing advances.

Even Yu Xia, who had encountered her fair share of oddballs, rarely witnessed such brazen arrogance.

Throughout her life, whether among family friends or schoolmates, most people she knew were decent and well-mannered. While some might have displayed princess-like or young master-like temperaments, they always maintained decorum in public, mindful of their families’ reputations.

Zheng Yun, however, remained remarkably calm. She took Yu Xia’s hand and stepped forward to face Mrs. Zhang, asking softly, “So what if we are?”

Her voice retained its usual gentle tone, like that of a gold-medal kindergarten teacher who, even when angry, would swallow her frustration and calmly lead away a mischievous child.

“No wonder you look down on my son! You’re disgusting! Immoral! Do your families even know?” Mrs. Zhang finally found an outlet for her rage. She raised her finger, nearly jabbing it into Zheng Yun’s forehead, but Yu Xia slapped it away.

“What business is it of yours?” Zheng Yun smirked. “It’s perfectly normal to look down on your son.”

She began counting on her fingers.

“Your son isn’t as tall as her, not as good-looking, doesn’t have her poise, and doesn’t seem to have much money,” Zheng Yun sighed, lowering her hand. “He’s inferior to my girlfriend in every way.”

A mall security guard approached with a baton to restore order, dispersing the crowd. As the onlookers slowly dispersed, Zheng Yun added one last remark before the guard could speak to them: “So, isn’t it perfectly normal that I look down on your son?”

With the security guard’s intervention, Yu Xia and Zheng Yun were eager to leave immediately. Neither of them enjoyed being the center of attention; today’s confrontation had been entirely unexpected and unavoidable.

As they exited the mall, the rain had subsided to a drizzle, and a gentle breeze brushed against their cheeks.

Yu Xia was still simmering with anger, frustrated that she hadn’t delivered a sharper retort to provoke the pair further. In her momentary distraction, she failed to notice something until Zheng Yun took her hand and led her forward. The identical warmth of their palms reminded her: their hands, clasped together, hadn’t been released for quite some time.

Zheng Yun hadn’t let go, and Yu Xia had forgotten to.

Now, as Zheng Yun pulled her forward, her expression remained unchanged, showing no trace of anger or frustration. She even turned to Yu Xia occasionally, teasingly asking, “What do you want to drink?”

“Lemonade,” Yu Xia replied.

The bubble tea shop on the mall’s ground floor had an outdoor counter sheltered by umbrellas. Zheng Yun led Yu Xia toward it, even jogging a few steps when they passed uncovered stretches of the walkway.

Yu Xia let Zheng Yun lead her, her lips pressed into a thin line as she replayed the key words in her mind:

“Girlfriend.”

By the time she realized it, the corners of her lips had already curved upward.

This smile was different from the mocking, disdainful one she had worn earlier. Now, it held a hint of youthful infatuation, as if the ice mixed in the gentle spring rain had melted away, leaving only a ground strewn with vibrant peach blossoms.

While Zheng Yun was focused on leading the way and hadn’t noticed her, Yu Xia discreetly touched the corner of her lips with her free hand, pressing them down.

Zheng Yun ordered drinks using her newly purchased phone, still holding Yu Xia’s hand tightly, as if afraid she might run away. A small crowd waited outside for their orders, chatting and laughing. Some glanced at the pair, their eyes lingering for a moment on their clasped hands before quickly looking away when Yu Xia noticed.

After collecting their drinks, they began walking back. Yu Xia finally found an opportunity to ask:

“Aren’t you angry?” she asked.

She hesitated to ask directly why Zheng Yun had called her “girlfriend.” Her mind raced with possibilities: perhaps it was a particularly infuriating way to reject someone, or maybe it was a direct and effective way to shut down further advances from someone so shameless.

Zheng Yun bit her straw, surprised by the question. “Why would I be angry?”

She tilted her head, gazing at Yu Xia, her steps slow and deliberate. “I’m so sorry for dragging you into this.”

They re-entered the mall, planning to cut through to hail a taxi outside.

The crowd had dispersed, replaced by fresh faces. Zheng Yun lowered her voice, whispering only within Yu Xia’s hearing range.

“This is the third time I’ve dragged you into this mess,” Zheng Yun said, her voice unusually subdued. “You came here to travel, and I feel terrible that you’ve had to deal with this.”

She made no mention of the fact that she was also a tourist from out of town, nor did she acknowledge that she was the one most harmed by the situation. After speaking, she looked up at Yu Xia, her usually affectionate eyes now filled with a hint of vulnerability and helplessness.

Caught off guard by Zheng Yun’s emotions, Yu Xia paused before replying, “It’s not your fault.”

She knew Zheng Yun had been trying her best to avoid contact with the man, but he kept pursuing her like a swarm of locusts, his shamelessness exceeding Yu Xia’s wildest imagination.

“But I don’t want you to be unhappy,” Zheng Yun said, meeting Yu Xia’s gaze, her voice deliberate and earnest. “At least, not because of me.”

After speaking, she turned her head but didn’t release their clasped hands.

Yu Xia lowered her gaze.

In the clear plastic cup, lemon slices bobbed up and down. A seed clung to the pulp at one end, while the other end swayed with Yu Xia’s movements, stubbornly refusing to detach.

“I’m not upset because of you,” she said, the cold wind brushing her cheek, slowly evaporating the warmth from her earlobe. “I just think they went too far.”

She simply couldn’t bear to see Zheng Yun’s helpless expression. If she hadn’t been there today, she shuddered to think how many things Zheng Yun might have been pressured into doing that she would disapprove of.

“Really?” Zheng Yun looked up, her eyes brightening.

“Really,” Yu Xia replied without hesitation this time.

“So you’re not angry that I called you my girlfriend?” Zheng Yun’s eyes sparkled with laughter, the earlier gloom completely vanished.

Though the rain hadn’t stopped, Yu Xia felt a strange illusion of sunshine breaking through the clouds.

The car arrived. Yu Xia tossed her empty lemon water cup into a roadside trash bin and followed Zheng Yun forward. When Zheng Yun didn’t get an answer, she suddenly braked just before opening the car door.

The sidewalk trees dripped emerald green in the rain, raindrops coalescing at the tips of leaves before sliding down past Yu Xia’s eyes. Behind the falling water, Zheng Yun tilted her head slightly, gazing up at Yu Xia with a soft voice, “Are you still angry?”

Of course not.

Yu Xia was just uncertain whether Zheng Yun was, once again, merely saying things casually.

“Get in!” the driver called, rolling down the passenger window.

“No,” Yu Xia replied softly, pulling open the car door.

Their clasped hands finally parted.

The temperature was pleasant, so the car’s air conditioning remained off. Yu Xia cracked the window open, letting the breeze rush in.

The relentless rain finally showed signs of easing, dark clouds gradually dispersing, and the faint scent of summer began to fill the air.

The driver played a DJ track, completely absorbed in the music and driving with heightened enthusiasm, oblivious to his passengers’ preferences.

After listening for a while, Yu Xia expressionlessly pulled out her earphones from her bag and put them on.

Familiar music filled her ears, faintly drowning out the cheesy DJ track. Yet Yu Xia felt an inexplicable emptiness.

After pondering for a while, she realized with a start: their hands had been clasped for so long that she had grown accustomed to having her right hand held as she walked.

Zheng Yun remained silent after getting into the car, her eyes glued to her phone. She only put it down just before they arrived.

Yu Xia alternated between staring out the window, staring at the back of the passenger seat, and staring back out the window. Finally, as they neared their destination, she spoke up: “Don’t you get carsick from using your phone in the car?”

“Nope,” Zheng Yun replied, leaning forward to pay. “Do you get carsick?”

“No,” Yu Xia said, falling silent again.

The car stopped at the entrance of their guesthouse. Instead of parking in the low-lying area, the driver thoughtfully pulled over on higher ground. “I heard from my previous passengers that there’s severe flooding up ahead,” he explained. “I’ll drop you off here.”

Yu Xia opened the car door expressionlessly and waited for Zheng Yun to get out.

Zheng Yun thanked the driver. “There’s a spot up ahead that’s prone to flooding. Thank you, sir.”

It’s not even raining that hard today, so it might not be flooded at all, Yu Xia thought to herself, but she still took the umbrella Zheng Yun offered and opened it.

As Zheng Yun stepped out of the car, Yu Xia shifted the umbrella to cover her.

“Let’s go,” Zheng Yun said, taking a few quick steps under the umbrella.

Then, she naturally reached for Yu Xia’s free hand and took it.

The familiar warmth of Yu Xia’s palm pressed against hers, and the familiar citrus scent surrounded them.

A sudden gust of cold wind swept past from behind, but it failed to dissipate the heat radiating from Zheng Yun’s spine.

Leaning against Yu Xia, Zheng Yun murmured, “Actually, I was a little angry just now.”

“Hmm?” Yu Xia’s mood brightened, her voice softening unconsciously. She mistakenly assumed Zheng Yun was about to share the grievances she had been suppressing earlier.

“You spoke such a long sentence to him,” Zheng Yun sighed, turning to look into Yu Xia’s eyes. Her long lashes fluttered as she said helplessly, “You’ve never spoken such a long sentence to me.”

For a moment, Yu Xia couldn’t even process what she was saying.

“And you even smiled at him,” Zheng Yun pulled Yu Xia to a stop, forcing her to meet her gaze. “He hit the jackpot. I’ve never seen you smile like that.”

Yu Xia: “……”

Her brain short-circuited.

Who gets upset and then focuses on something so utterly nonsensical?

“But what I said was true,” Zheng Yun continued, pulling Yu Xia forward. The two women leaned close together, walking slowly under the umbrella through the rain.

“Every single word,” Zheng Yun emphasized.