After Being Targeted By A Sweet Girl With Big Eyes - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The End

“Are you happy?”

Jiang Ruyi’s brain was in a state of single-line processing at the moment. She assumed that Shi Yuyan’s smile meant she was willing to get back together. She took the smile as a signal for reconciliation, and her heart leaped with joy. “If you like it, I’ll buy you more and more later. Since that’s settled, let’s go inside to talk. It’s hot and full of mosquitoes out here.” She scratched the huge red welt a mosquito had left on her cheek.

Shi Yuyan didn’t answer but asked a question in return. “Do you think these high heels look good on me?”

Jiang Ruyi answered without thinking, “Of course they look good! My first thought when I saw them was that they would look amazing on you.”

“But only you like them. Because you like them, I wore them, even though they hurt so much. And because I like you, I wore them.”

Shi Yuyan lifted her front foot and repeatedly ground the seven-centimeter stiletto heel into the ground. “But darling, you like far too many things… I’m exhausted. I can’t constantly maintain a fondness for all the things you like, and I’m tired of bracing myself for your sudden disinterest.”

She looked straight into Jiang Ruyi’s eyes, as if trying to see through her entirely. “I hate that flicker of blankness in the corner of your eye when you see something that doesn’t meet your expectations. I loved the genuine affection that flowed in your eyes so much. Maybe this isn’t just your problem. Maybe it’s my own. I’m so tired. I really am too tired. I can’t accept it. I can’t accept it. We’re probably both pursuing the perfect lover in our hearts. I can’t just blame you; I have issues too. I have issues too…”

Jiang Ruyi opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

What should she say? That she didn’t, or that she wasn’t like that?

She had thought her love was so sincere and heartfelt, but in the eyes of the other person, it was just child’s play, trying to dress the partner up into the image she liked. But a relationship isn’t a solo endeavor. She had been too focused on her own experience and ignored the feelings of the co-player.

There are no perfect lovers in the world, only unilateral tolerance and concession. Clearly, Shi Yuyan couldn’t concede anymore.

Jiang Ruyi stood up, looked down at Shi Yuyan, and said with a sudden wave of rationality, “No, it’s not your problem. It’s mine. After breaking up, I shouldn’t have come to bother you. I’m really sorry for causing you pain. That… that can be a breakup gift. Deal with it however you want. I’m going now. You should rest well. Please rest well…”

In the very end, she couldn’t even manage a goodbye. She simply didn’t have the face to continue.

Leave. She had to leave here. Suffocation. She was suffocating. Wrong. Everything was wrong. She shouldn’t have come to see her. Sure enough, not bothering someone after a breakup is the only dignity left. Hahahah. Hahahahahahahaha.

Fan Ling had told her to go cry, but in that situation, she was like a dried-out fish—a fish that had been out of water for too long. She didn’t even have the energy left to flop and struggle.

…

“Jiang Ruyi? What are you doing here?” Fu Tian asked, surprised.

She had just finished her farewell dinner with her company colleagues and was heading home when she saw Jiang Ruyi squatting in the underground parking garage, inhaling exhaust fumes, looking utterly lost.

Jiang Ruyi looked up. It took a moment for her pupils to focus and recognize that it was Fu Tian. “I came to find my girlfriend. But… now she’s my ex-girlfriend.”

She leaned against the wall and stood up, asking weakly, “Why are you here? Where’s Fan Ling? Did she go home? I asked her to come keep me company today, but I left first. I should go coax her. She’s probably not angry, right?”

“No. She wouldn’t get angry over something like this.”

When Fu Tian heard that she had broken up completely, her face instantly lit up with evident joy, like a withered dragon fruit coming back to life and regaining its vibrant plumpness. Then, seeing Jiang Ruyi’s uncharacteristic state—a contrast to her usual boisterous self—she regained her composure and even felt a hint of pity.

“That’s good. That’s good.”

“The air in the underground garage is bad. Why are you squatting here?”

“Ah, I… I couldn’t find my car just now, and then… guess what?” Jiang Ruyi lifted her head, forcing herself to be spirited as she asked Fu Tian.

“You didn’t drive,” Fu Tian said, biting her lip, finally answering her question softly.

“Exactly! After searching for a while, I realized I didn’t drive here! I can’t believe myself.”

Jiang Ruyi laughed, but then, like a wind-up doll whose spring had run out, she started to squat back down. Fu Tian immediately wrapped her arms around her waist. “You’re not in a good state right now. Come to my place and rest for the night.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

“I’m just fine.”

“You’re very much not fine.”

…

Amidst the back-and-forth bickering, she was half-dragged, half-carried away by Fu Tian. Jiang Ruyi was also a willing participant; she felt it was a great thing to have a point of stability nearby where she could temporarily rest.

Fu Tian helped her out of the elevator, pulled out a key with many cute dangling charms—jingle, jangle—opened the door, and flipped on the warm yellow light. She retrieved a pair of black slippers for Jiang Ruyi from the shoe rack, while she put on the matching beige ones.

Jiang Ruyi changed her shoes and, without waiting to be invited, headed straight for the sofa like an animal returning to its den. She sprawled out across the couch and let out a sigh of contentment.

Jiang Ruyi was mentally exhausted, while Fu Tian was physically tired. So, she walked around and lay on the other sofa, head-to-head with Jiang Ruyi.

Fu Tian asked thoughtfully, “Do you want me to join you for some drinks to drown your sorrows?”

Jiang Ruyi replied with a “no.” After that, neither of them spoke, simply scrolling on their phones. Neither found the other’s noise bothersome. Fu Tian felt a flutter in her heart. She thought her future life with Jiang Ruyi might just be this ordinary yet harmonious.

On Fu Tian’s phone, the recognizable voice of a marketing account was saying, “We will never forget this day. They announced their disbandment under this sunset…”

On Jiang Ruyi’s phone, the sound was, “Shocking! In a neglected corner, our 10 CP is having another sweet moment!”

Fu Tian…

“Do you want to shower first? I’ll get you a set of pajamas.”

“Thanks. You go first. I want to lie here a little longer.”

“Then I’ll play for a bit longer too.”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them played until two or three in the morning. Fu Tian finally couldn’t stand her makeup anymore and went to shower first. When she came out, Jiang Ruyi was still playing on her phone in the same position.

Fu Tian brought out the pajamas and urged, “Stop playing. Go take a shower now.”

Jiang Ruyi was getting more and more exhausted from playing. She finally sat up with a whine and went to shower.

As soon as Fu Tian finished drying her hair, Jiang Ruyi came out to take her turn. Fu Tian didn’t go back to the bedroom but sat on the sofa with a pillow, playing on her phone.

Jiang Ruyi finished drying her hair. Still feeling warm, she held her hair up with her hand to keep it off her back and asked Fu Tian, “Do you have any hair ties or clips at home?”

Fu Tian got up to look, asking casually as she searched, “My guest room hasn’t been tidied in a long time. Are you sleeping with me, or…?”

She handed the Hello Kitty claw clip to Jiang Ruyi. Jiang Ruyi said nonchalantly, “I’ll sleep on the sofa, of course. I can’t let the host sleep on the sofa.”

“You can sleep with me.”

Jiang Ruyi’s eyes swept over Fu Tian. “Get lost. You don’t mind appearances, but I do! Hurry up and go inside. Don’t hog my bed for the night.”

Fu Tian was unwilling but resigned. She shuffled into the room, pausing at the doorway to poke her head out. “If the sofa isn’t comfortable at night, just come in and sleep with me. I really don’t mind.”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm.” Jiang Ruyi nodded, vaguely brushing her off.

Because of this, Fu Tian, half-asleep in the night, was still anticipating a visit from the spoiled Jiang Ruyi.

But she never came.

It rained last night.

The air conditioning in the living room had been on all night, leaving the room cool and quiet.

Although Fu Tian had gone to sleep late, she woke up briefly to the sporadic sound of rain in the morning. Seeing Jiang Ruyi curled up on the sofa, sleeping soundly, she drank two sips of water and went back to sleep.

When she woke up again, it was 1:40 PM. She leaped out of bed and rushed to the living room with quick, light steps. Jiang Ruyi had only changed her posture and was still asleep.

The curtain had been hastily drawn by Jiang Ruyi and wasn’t closed tightly, letting a shaft of light into the dimly lit room.

Fu Tian quietly walked over and crouched in front of the sofa, gazing at Jiang Ruyi. Jiang Ruyi wasn’t a still sleeper. Half her face was buried in the soft pillow, and messy hair covered the other half.

When she was quiet and not talking, there was no trace of that infuriating arrogance. Instead, she looked very obedient.

She was obedient in her heartbreak. She was obedient in Fu Tian’s blue and white striped pajamas. She was obedient even when she was hiding in the underground parking garage, kissing her girlfriend.

Fu Tian had never imagined that she would one day be swooning from hearing others kiss, and that the person would be Jiang Ruyi.

She had recognized Jiang Ruyi instantly.

The squelching sound of the kissing… Jiang Ruyi really knew how to kiss.

She had initially hidden out of shock. Now, she was ready to leave, but then she heard Jiang Ruyi panting and calling out “Sister,” half-complaining and half-coaxing, a sound that made Fu Tian’s heart skip a beat.

Since that day, she couldn’t stop thinking about Jiang Ruyi. She thought about her during rehearsal in the day and when she slept at night. She repeatedly scrolled through all of Jiang Ruyi’s social media platforms, big and small, watching everything meticulously.

But it was too little. Too little. The content was too sparse. Not enough. Not enough at all. She wanted to know Jiang Ruyi. If only she could see her every day. If only…

Finally, unable to contain her wildly growing affection, she went to ask Fan Ling and learned that Jiang Ruyi had broken up. Hahahaha, this was simply fate assisting her!

She had carefully arranged that chance encounter, even with a divine teammate fanning the flames, just to get to know Jiang Ruyi. If only they could be more than just acquaintances, just a little more.

But she actually disliked her type. She even hated her type. She was so sad. Truly, truly sad.

Fu Tian traced every inch of Jiang Ruyi’s face. She’s so beautiful. I can never get enough of looking at her. Her left and right brain were wrestling. One side said, Stop looking, you pervert! The other side coaxed her to look twice more, just twice more. Once Jiang Ruyi left this place, they might genuinely never see each other again.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Ruyi opened her eyes.