She’s Just Too Hard to Win Over [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 30

In that moment, Ning Xue felt as if something was tearing through her heart, and all the years of unspoken, unreturned love turned into a suffocating ache.
Her stomach churned violently, nausea clawing up her throat, yet her face remained expressionless as she looked at Jing Ling.

Jing Ling’s gaze was lowered, long lashes casting shadows over eyes that hid too much. Her red lips pressed into a thin line, the corners trembling as if she might cry.

It was always you who gave up on me first.
So why do you look more heartbroken than I am?

Supporting herself against the car door, Ning Xue’s lips trembled. “Thank you for the offer, but I’ll go home myself. After all, we barely know each other, President Jing.”

She never even got the chance to confess before being pushed away. They weren’t lovers just two people who happened to share a bed once.
“Just… friends who slept together.”
The words sounded absurd, almost laughable, cruel in their irony.

Her body ached so much she couldn’t tell whether it was from her heart or her stomach or both twisting together until she could hardly stand. Her steps faltered, light and unsteady, as if she could collapse any moment.

Jing Ling hid every trace of pain behind a calm mask, shut the car door hard, and went after her.

“What are you doing? We don’t have any connection anymore, do we?”

“Even if it’s just a regular employee who’s sick, I wouldn’t ignore it,” Jing Ling said.

Ning Xue forced a pale smile. “President Jing really is a caring leader.”

Jing Ling knew she was being mocked, yet even in sarcasm, Ning Xue’s gentleness was something she couldn’t stop loving.
Only now, that bright smile no longer belonged to her.

Moments later, Fang Ningchen arrived. The sight of Jing Ling beside Ning Xue made his expression darken. He rushed forward and pulled Ning Xue protectively to his side.

“I told you to stay away from her!”

Ning Xue blinked in confusion. “You two… know each other?”

Fang Ningchen sighed. “That night, she was the one who sent you to the hospital. You were so out of it I didn’t want to upset you.”

So that’s why Jing Ling had seemed familiar the “kind stranger” was her.

Jing Ling ignored Fang Ningchen’s hostility and kept her gaze fixed on Ning Xue, silently pleading.
Ning Xue, don’t leave me.

Ning Xue looked away. “Thank you for taking me to the hospital,” she said faintly, then murmured to Fang Ningchen, “Let’s go.”

He helped her leave, while Jing Ling stood frozen, eyes blurring as her vision filled with tears.
Her chest felt hollow, the emptiness bleeding through her heart until she could hardly breathe.

Why does it hurt this much?
Isn’t love supposed to be sweet?
So why does it feel like dying?

Back home, Ning Xue took her medicine and tried to sleep. Fang Ningchen hovered at her door, worrying aloud until she finally muttered, “You’re too noisy.”

Defeated, he went to make chicken soup for when she woke.

She drifted into uneasy dreams and woke with a wet pillow. Turning away, she buried her face into it and wept quietly.

If she had known it would hurt this much, she never would have accepted this mission.
Jing Ling’s eyes before she left the look of someone clinging to a cliff’s edge, begging for a hand that would never come, kept flashing in her mind.

Her muffled sobs turned into open crying. Outside the room, Fang Ningchen sighed in relief.
At least she was crying this time. It was better than pretending to be fine while breaking inside.

Later, her phone rang it was Lu Yue, an old friend she hadn’t spoken to in years.

“Xue’er, I’m back!”

Ning Xue smiled faintly. “Really? Then dinner’s on me when you come to Jiangcheng.”

They had grown apart over time and distance, but to Ning Xue, Lu Yue was still her only true friend.

Lu Yue laughed softly. “You said it don’t you dare back out! I’ll finish some school paperwork, then I’ll come find you.”

“Alright,” Ning Xue said.

Before hanging up, Lu Yue’s tone grew gentler. “Take care of yourself, Xue’er. Don’t cry over someone who isn’t worth it.”

Her heart tightened. Lu Yue must know something, even if not everything.
Everyone told her Jing Ling wasn’t worth it yet she kept walking this road alone.

Fang Ningchen later urged her to quit her job. “You haven’t even graduated. Take a break, travel, breathe. Don’t torture yourself like this.”

She hesitated but knew he was right. Staying would only mean seeing Jing Ling again sooner or later.

She decided she would resign.

The next few days blurred together sleepless nights, empty days. Then, Lu Yue arrived earlier than expected.

When they met outside Ning Xue’s office, Lu Yue was surrounded by admiring fans. Her beauty and grace were dazzling as always.

When she saw Ning Xue, her eyes brightened. “Xue’er, over here!”

“She’s someone very important to me,” Lu Yue told her fans with a soft smile. The words made Ning Xue’s heart ripple with complicated feelings.

As they walked together, Lu Yue said, “You’ve gotten even more beautiful.”

Ning Xue smiled faintly. “That’s your line. You’re the country’s youngest principal dancer now your fans are everywhere.”

Lu Yue giggled. “Still so good at teasing me.”

They fell into an easy rhythm, the years between them fading away little by little.

When they finished dinner, Lu Yue took her hand gently. “Saturday morning, ten o’clock. Changle Park. I have something to tell you.”

Ning Xue nodded. “Alright.”

Lu Yue hugged her tightly before leaving, her voice trembling slightly. “See you then.”

That night, Fang Ningchen confronted her. “If the person you like is Lu Yue, I can’t support it!”

“What are you talking about?” she said, stunned. “We’re just friends.”

He turned away, muttering something under his breath before leaving the room, frustrated.

Later, in a half-dream, half-nightmare, Ning Xue found herself face-to-face with memories she’d buried—Jing Ling’s voice echoing:

Do you love me?

She jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.

“I don’t love you,” she whispered. “Not anymore.”

But her tears wouldn’t stop.

“I don’t want to do this mission anymore,” she told the system.
It hesitated, warning that quitting meant everything would reset.
Ning Xue only laughed bitterly. “You’re useless.”

By Friday, her emotions swung between despair and anticipation—until, suddenly, Lu Yue’s name appeared on social media’s trending list.

Her “relationship” had been exposed, and the photo circulating online was of her and Ning Xue.
The picture wasn’t even intimate, yet rumors spread like wildfire.

Ning Xue’s heart sank. For Lu Yue, this could be devastating. She tried calling, but no one answered.

Later that night, when she stayed late finishing a report, Jing Ling appeared behind her—eyes bloodshot, pale, trembling.

“President Jing.”

Before she could finish, Jing Ling kissed her, desperate and trembling.
Ning Xue froze, then pushed her away. “This is the office!”

“I know,” Jing Ling whispered. “I just… missed you.”

Ning Xue’s voice shook. “Do you remember what you said before?”

“I do,” Jing Ling said quietly. “But please, stay away from Lu Yue. She’s not who you think she is.”

“Why do you care who I’m with?” Ning Xue snapped. “You let go first so what right do you have now?”

“I won’t allow it!” Jing Ling’s voice cracked. “That photo, the post years ago it was she who leaked it!”

Ning Xue’s mind went blank. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not. I traced it. The IP address led back to her house.”

Her world tilted.
That post wasn’t meant to humiliate Jing Ling? Had Lu Yue… used her too?

Her legs weakened. Jing Ling reached to steady her, but Ning Xue shoved her away, eyes filling with tears.

“Don’t touch me! You’re both liars!”

She grabbed her phone and fled, leaving Jing Ling standing alone, her tears falling soundlessly to the floor.