Are You Allergic To Romance? - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Fierce Love

Jing Yuan had completely not expected Xie Mianzhi to ask her such a strange question.

Lonely?

She had been living here alone for over two months and hadn’t really felt that way. Perhaps it was her innate nature, allowing her to endure solitude for long periods.

Otherwise, how could her mother, the deep-sea elder, sleep alone at the bottom of the ocean for so many years and still enjoy it?

But did she truly like being alone?

After pondering for a few seconds, she blinked her golden eyes, walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and took out a bottle of mineral water, drinking a few sips alone.

Xie Mianzhi wasn’t annoyed that the other woman remained silent. She had spent enough time with her to know her personality.

She would talk about what she knew, and for everything else, silence was her answer.

A mouth of gold on such a young girl.

“If I didn’t know you were just quiet, I’d think you weren’t bothering to talk to me,” Xie Mianzhi also walked to the refrigerator, facing Jing Yuan.

“No, I was just thinking.” Jing Yuan couldn’t let Miss Xie label her. Not talking meant being impolite, and she had never been accused of lacking manners. Her family elders, except for the mother who occasionally tossed her into the ocean, had taught her well.

Xie Mianzhi countered, “Thinking?”

“I was thinking about whether it would be considered abnormal if I didn’t feel ‘lonely,’ or something like that,” Jing Yuan shared her internal thought process, which was why she hadn’t replied immediately.

Xie Mianzhi couldn’t help but be amused, hearing the other woman state her concern so seriously.

If she had a subordinate like this in the group, she would be exasperated and, given her short temper, would absolutely fire them. Was this person playing word games with her?

She would have absolutely no patience for a person like that.

But for some reason, she found Jing Yuan’s current demeanor a little endearingly naive…

“I just asked a simple question. You could have answered casually. I didn’t require you to think about it so formally and worry about your wording. You’re so cute.”

Xie Mianzhi couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing after saying it.

Jing Yuan frowned, watching Xie Mianzhi laugh happily, and could only reply, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I really mean it. I rarely call people cute; you’re the first one I truly meant it for.” Xie Mianzhi stopped laughing, the blush on her face making her look even brighter and more charming. She reached out her beautiful hand and patted Jing Yuan, indicating her sincerity.

Jing Yuan could have avoided the touch, but her gaze met Xie Mianzhi’s beautiful smile, and she surprisingly stood still, letting the woman pat her.

“What would a compliment that wasn’t genuine sound like?” Jing Yuan was curious about the various forms of human emotional expression.

“Like seeing certain people in the business world—being polite and smiling on the surface, but secretly wishing to blow their brains out with a gun,” Xie Mianzhi sneered, openly describing some of her psychological traits and her troublesome work environment.

Jing Yuan pursed her lips, looking at the suddenly cold Xie Mianzhi.

Was the woman really that aggressive?

Perhaps realizing her words were a bit over-the-top, Xie Mianzhi quickly explained: “I’m just exaggerating. My family runs a legitimate business; we just own a few department stores, so we deal with all sorts of unsavory characters.”

That was also why she had taken a break to relax.

She, Xie Mianzhi, as the second daughter of the Xie family, had dutifully worked for the family business, and now they were talking to her about some marriage nonsense. They claimed that after the marriage alliance, they would give her a quarter of the family’s real estate shares and had set up a lousy blind date for her.

What the hell.

She wasn’t gentle and obedient like her eldest sister. Being naturally hot-tempered, she simply failed to show up at the last dinner, infuriating her dear elders, which resulted in all her cards being frozen.

But she wasn’t afraid at all.

“You said earlier that you bought those things at a nearby convenience store, right?” Xie Mianzhi asked Jing Yuan. She wasn’t familiar with the area’s geography and hadn’t seen any amenities nearby last night.

“Mhm,” Jing Yuan nodded.

“Is it the convenience store near Fēngpíng Road?” She remembered driving past a large store on the way but hadn’t stopped to buy anything.

“Mhm.”

“That’s quite far,” Xie Mianzhi mumbled. Immediately, a bottle of mineral water was handed to her—it was the Ice Deity brand she had mentioned earlier.

“You bought this?” Xie Mianzhi was astonished.

Jing Yuan nodded. She had made a mental note of the brand when Xie Mianzhi mentioned it last night. Theoretically, a high-end brand like this shouldn’t be available here, but the owner, Mr. Chen, had recently stocked a batch of high-end brands in the warehouse, and coincidentally, there was a box of Ice Deity brand water.

“You bought it specifically for me,” Xie Mianzhi pursed her lips. She felt a little guilty that the other woman had gone so far out of her way for her.

Jing Yuan seemed to sense Xie Mianzhi’s thoughts and spoke to alleviate her concerns: “I work part-time at that convenience store, and this morning was also when I had to return the scooter to Sister Jin.”

“Oh? You work at a convenience store? Every day?” Xie Mianzhi was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected the woman in front of her to work at a convenience store. Her aloof demeanor seemed quite inconsistent with the role of a store clerk.

Jing Yuan was quite willing to answer the woman’s rapid-fire questions and didn’t mind. “Weekends.”

Xie Mianzhi scrutinized Jing Yuan. Which young person didn’t want to rest or have fun on weekends? Working on Saturdays and Sundays, and in a 24-hour convenience store, likely meant night shifts for all the clerks, which was exhausting.

Was Jing Yuan very short on money?

Yet, she had bought so many things for Xie Mianzhi—items that were quite expensive for an ordinary person—and had even bought the Ice Deity mineral water just because Xie Mianzhi had mentioned it in passing, despite having water at home. Xie Mianzhi felt even worse.

Xie Mianzhi wanted to ask, but considering it was personal privacy, she couldn’t. The words caught in her throat.

“Do you have to go to work today?” Xie Mianzhi suddenly remembered it was Sunday.

“Mhm, I switched to the afternoon shift.” Jing Yuan nodded. She had indeed swapped shifts with someone else this morning. She wouldn’t go in the morning, but she had to be at the store from the afternoon until 9:30 PM.

Xie Mianzhi looked at this incredibly kind woman. She must have switched her shift for her sake—

Countless bubbles of affection and pity rose in her heart.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re like a little savior?” Xie Mianzhi couldn’t help but ask.

“Hm?”

Seeing Jing Yuan’s bewildered expression, Xie Mianzhi wanted to do something, and the most direct way she could think of was—

To give her money.

“Jing Yuan, could I borrow your phone again? I didn’t make the call last night, so I’ll contact them today.” Xie Mianzhi leaned close to Jing Yuan, gazing at her. She never liked being indebted to anyone. She planned to call her subordinates to tow the car and arrange for them to bring enough cash to repay this seaside benefactor.

Being stared at in this way made Jing Yuan uncomfortable. She even remembered the scene last night when Xie Mianzhi, wearing that silk dress, had suddenly leaned in like this.

She immediately handed the phone to the woman, keeping a safe distance.

“Don’t worry, I’m just making a call. I won’t look at your other little secrets,” Xie Mianzhi said with a teasing smile after taking the phone.

Little secrets?

How would her little secrets be recorded on her phone?

This Miss Xie seemed to enjoy speaking to her in such an intimate tone and liked getting close to people. Did she treat everyone else this way too?

Jing Yuan pretended to pour herself a glass of juice, quietly observing Xie Mianzhi operating the phone.

A faint feeling of inexplicable irritation welled up in her heart.

“Okay, I’m going to make the call now.”

With the call connected, Xie Mianzhi stood up with a smile and walked into an adjacent room, gently closing the door. It was clear she didn’t want Jing Yuan to hear anything.

Jing Yuan automatically withdrew her gaze. The juice in her hand no longer tasted sweet.

However, after a few seconds, even with the door closed, it couldn’t completely muffle Xie Mianzhi’s sudden, high-decibel outburst.

(“…What the actual f does the old lady’s talk matter? If you don’t want to be sent to Siberia to catch seals, then now! Right now! Immediately! Get over here! If you dare tell anyone else, you are dead!! And…”)*

Jing Yuan’s eyes widened, listening to Xie Mianzhi’s furious threats from the next room. She even noticed the water glass on the table vibrating slightly due to the woman’s high-decibel voice.

The water surface violently trembled.

Lion’s Roar?

Jing Yuan stared at the vibrating glass, her mind conjuring up a term only seen in movies. She decided to retract her foolish assumption that Xie Mianzhi used an intimate tone with everyone else.

Because the Miss Xie right now was truly loud, aggressive, and terrifying—the most formidable woman she had ever met.

Jing Yuan swallowed hard, placed her hands on her knees, and sat up straight.

However, she recalled what her mother used to say: Women with bad tempers are usually kind at heart. (Jing Lian’s Mom: I never said that.)

So, it was fine that Miss Xie was fierce.