After crying, her eyes were still wet with tears, but wiping them away wasn’t a big deal. The rise and fall of her chest couldn’t be controlled, but it would naturally calm down.
It had to be said, after venting, her mood was indeed better. But soon, regret followed.
As everyone knew, when people are angry, they aren’t rational. They often do foolish things in the heat of the moment.
That was exactly Jiang Cheng’s situation now. She had been bold enough to snap at Lin Shuangxue while she was angry, but now that she had calmed down, she realized she was in trouble.
Oh my god!
If this girl got angry, would she actually take a whip or something and hang her up to beat her to death?
Jiang Cheng shivered. She didn’t want to imagine that scene.
So what should she do? Apologize?
No. No way. Jiang Cheng immediately rejected that option.
Lin Shuangxue was the one in the wrong first. She had only snapped a couple of words at her… no, she hadn’t even snapped. She had just said she wasn’t happy. How was that bullying?
She wasn’t going to apologize. Absolutely not.
‘I won’t apologize. Absolutely not!’
Jiang Cheng knew perfectly well that in a relationship, you shouldn’t argue about who’s right or wrong. The first one to sober up should be the first to apologize.
But she really couldn’t swallow this anger.
Think about it: Lin Shuangxue came home every day and held her while she slept. Had she ever cared about Jiang Cheng’s feelings?
‘But she gives you money.’
A girl needed comfort. She needed to be treated gently. She couldn’t just be used and thrown away!
‘But she gives you money.’
Clearly she was the weaker party. Lin Shuangxue should be the one to apologize!
‘But she gives you money.’
The demon in her head was furious. It pinned that annoying angel to the ground.
“You bastard! Is that all you can say?!”
So the angel changed its tune.
“Little Orange, you still owe eight million.”
***
‘You’re no angel. You’re the real demon here!’
Jiang Cheng thought bitterly. It seemed she really had no choice but to apologize.
If Lin Shuangxue got angry and dumped her, she would end up on the streets with Little Tang, begging for food from rich ladies.
But who could she turn to?
Yao Yao’s situation was clearly bad. Going to her might be worse than wandering the streets. As for going to Xiao Xiqiu’s place…
Although Xiao Xiqiu had been making some money from streaming recently, it wasn’t nearly enough. She still needed to treat her own illness. Besides, the cat streaming site’s popularity came and went fast.
Jiang Cheng hadn’t released any new songs for a while because she was afraid of getting canceled. Xiao Xiqiu also streamed sporadically due to her health. They couldn’t save much money at all. There was no way she could support Jiang Cheng and Little Tang.
Jiang Cheng finally came to a humiliating conclusion—if she didn’t cling to Lin Shuangxue’s leg, she really wouldn’t be able to eat.
Even if warming a cold surface with a warm face was soft, it still lacked something. But even so, apologizing was her only option…
Jiang Cheng silently wiped her tears and glanced at the girl in front of her.
Lin Shuangxue stood there, not leaving.
That surprised Jiang Cheng. She had thought Lin Shuangxue would just ignore her, since she hated whiny, troublesome people the most… Or maybe she was holding back a stomachful of anger, ready to beat her up?
The thought made Jiang Cheng tremble. She didn’t dare look up, afraid of seeing an impatient face. Even more afraid that her gaze might be seen as a challenge.
But she couldn’t just stand there forever.
So she steeled herself, pushed herself up on her knees, and stood.
“Classmate Lin Shuangxue…”
Jiang Cheng forced her breathing to steady, but her body, still trembling from crying, hiccupped involuntarily. Her voice sounded like a little white flower brutally crushed by a demon lord, yet still refusing to submit.
“I was wrong,” she said. “I was completely wrong.”
“I shouldn’t have resisted you. I shouldn’t have gone against your will. Yes, you are the master. I’m just a small maid, a prisoner in debt. How could I compare to you?”
Wait. That wasn’t how an apology worked!
After she finished, Jiang Cheng realized something was off.
No matter how you heard it, that sounded like giving up in anger. There was no apology in it at all!
Let me start over…
“From now on, I won’t complain anymore. If you want to dominate me, go ahead. Whether it’s sleeping together, bathing together, or even more excessive things, I’ll accept them all, alright?”
Th-this is even worse!
Jiang Cheng panicked. She realized her language skills seemed to be failing her. But why now of all times?
“Classmate Lin Shuangxue, I—”
“Enough!”
“Ugh…”
Jiang Cheng whimpered, instinctively shrinking back, closing her eyes tightly, looking like she was ready to take a beating.
But that only made Lin Shuangxue more upset instead of calming her down.
“Jiang Cheng, what do you think you’re doing?!”
She suddenly grabbed the girl’s shoulders and shook her hard.
“Do you think I’m going to hit you?! Is that how you see me?! So unreasonable?!”
Jiang Cheng was startled by Lin Shuangxue’s sudden outburst. She let out a small cry and took half a step back.
“I’m sorry, Classmate Lin Shuangxue…”
She was still apologizing! Still apologizing!
Lin Shuangxue grew inexplicably irritated again. She felt that whenever she was around Jiang Cheng, she got easily annoyed. No, even just thinking about Jiang Cheng annoyed her.
It was all this girl’s fault!
Lin Shuangxue didn’t recognize this feeling as excessive concern, nor did she realize that its source was her own twisted personality. She just instinctively hated emotions she couldn’t control.
“Why are you apologizing?!”
She tightened her grip on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders.
“What did you do wrong? Tell me!”
“Classmate Lin Shuangxue, I—”
“Stop calling me Classmate Lin Shuangxue!”
She suddenly leaned in, pulling with both hands, leaving less than a foot between their beautiful faces.
“You could easily drop the word ‘classmate’! Or you could call me ‘Little Shuangxue’! You used to like that name, didn’t you? Why don’t you say it anymore?!”
“Ugh… let me explain…”
“What’s your relationship with that woman—that Su family woman?! Why are you so close to her?! Isn’t it enough that you’re this close with me?! Why do you have to go to someone else?!”
“Classmate Lin Shuangxue,” Jiang Cheng gritted her teeth and lowered her head. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes again.
“You’re hurting me…”
As soon as Jiang Cheng spoke, Lin Shuangxue reflexively let go and stepped back, almost stumbling.
But she paid no attention to her own clumsiness. Instead, she stared intently at Jiang Cheng’s eyes.
That look was too piercing. The girl felt a pang of guilt and dared not meet her gaze.
By now, Jiang Cheng couldn’t say that it hadn’t actually hurt earlier.
But Lin Shuangxue thought Jiang Cheng was afraid of her.
Afraid of the Lin Shuangxue who had no sense of boundaries, was unpredictable, and didn’t know how to cherish a girl.
Realizing this, she fell silent. No, it was more like a speechless, oppressive state that was about to overflow.
They stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, like two statues.
“Jiang Cheng…”
Just as the girl was about to find an excuse to flee from the stares of passersby, Lin Shuangxue finally broke the silence.
“Wh-what is it…”
Lin Shuangxue’s voice was strangely hoarse. Jiang Cheng had never heard her make such a sound. It made her afraid.
Her fear was seen by Lin Shuangxue, stabbing her heart even more.
“What are we to each other?” she said.
Jiang Cheng froze for a moment, then understood.
“Classmate Lin Shuangxue, we’re friends, best friends, sisters, aren’t we?” the girl said softly.
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”