Chapter 23: I Obey You (II)
This farce didn’t last for long. Just when Dong Ci was at a loss as to what to do, Jing Rong appeared from the other end of the corridor.
He didn’t care about the two teenagers who were displaying their intimacy for all to see. Walking straight towards them, he took hold of An Cheng Feng’s collar’s back and dragged him away from the girl.
Jing Rong’s expression was unclear. It was unknown what he said to his friend, but An Cheng Feng suddenly glanced in Dong Ci’s direction and, taking Chen Wan Wan’s hand, hurriedly walked away.
“Isn’t it time for you to finally come out?” Jing Rong called out when An Cheng Feng left his sight. With a few steps, he approached Dong Ci and casually leaned against the wall, slightly raising his chin. “Xiao Ci, come out. Believe me, it is better if you do it yourself than me finding you.”
‘Do you want to come out?’ Dong Ci silently mouthed while staring at Yan Ning Shuang. But she was completely ignored by the other girl, so there was no choice but to slowly go out by herself.
“You saw them?”
When Dong Ci approached, Jing Rong grabbed her wrist and brought her closer.
Dong Ci nervously licked her dry lips and subconsciously glanced behind her. Her unnatural response and small movements would have been clear for anyone who bothered to take a closer look.
Jing Rong squinted slightly, his eyes flickering back, then laughed as though nothing has happened.
“Let’s go,” he commanded, unbothered. There was no need to continue staying in this place.
Jing Rong dragged Dong Ci out of the bar, but before they could completely walk away, they heard rapid footsteps from behind.
Dong Ci suspiciously glanced back and saw Yan Ning Shuang’s brisk approach.
“Jing Rong!”
Yan Ning Shuang’s expression was indifferent when she finally caught up to them. Bypassing Dong Ci, she stood right in front of the other teenager and coldly asked, “How long have you known about An Cheng Feng and Chen Wan Wan?”
“You are asking how long has it been?”
Jing Rong wasn’t surprised in the slightest about seeing Yan Ning Shuang, as though he knew that she would come to find him with this question. He sneered contemptuously and, placing his hand around Dong Ci’s shoulder, tauntingly asked, “How long do you think?”
“That’s what I am asking!” Yan Ning Shuang shouted, losing control of her emotions. She raised her hand and brushed it against her hair with shaking fingers.
Dong Ci felt the arm around her tightening. When she looked up, she realized that Jing Rong’s expression was unusually cold.
Jing Rong seemed to have noticed her curious gaze because he directed a reassuring smile in her direction, but she still felt uneasy.
“Ever since we were children, you always looked down on Chen Wan Wan. But An Cheng Feng grew up with her, and he liked playing with her the most. Now, you are asking me when they fell in love… how do you want me to answer?”
Jing Rong’s voice was clear, and he was completely indifferent to Yan Ning Shuang’s pale complexion. With an unnatural smile, he cruelly said, “An Cheng Feng doesn’t like you – he never liked you. Ever since he was small, up to now that he has grown up – the one he liked has always been Chen Wan Wan.
“Are you satisfied with this answer?”
“Jing Rong…” Dong Ci lightly tugged on the boy’s clothes, trying to stop him from continuing. As a bystander, she felt self-conscious listening about this matter. Yan Ning Shuang, whom the words were directed at, was probably even more uncomfortable.
“I don’t believe this.”
Even in such a situation, Yan Ning Shuang didn’t lose control. Her eyes widened as she struggled to contain her tears, her chin stubbornly rising, as though to resist the invisible blows.
“If he didn’t like me, why did he agree to be engaged with me?”
“Did he?” Jing Rong asked, tilting his head. “Ning Shuang, please don’t delude yourself: from the beginning to the end, was there ever a time when An Cheng Feng felt anything to you, except for disgust?”
Indeed, this was something that caused her the biggest heartache from early childhood.
Yan Ning Shuang closed her eyes, thinking back to the various experiences she had with An Cheng Feng before. Finally, the tears could no longer be contained.
“You are too proud. Even when you know that An Cheng Feng doesn’t like you, you still can’t accept that he has feelings for Chen Wan Wan, whom you looked down upon all your life.”
“No…”
“But even if you are reluctant to accept it, he still won’t like you. No matter what you do, he will never like you.”
“No! That’s not true! Stop it! Stop talking!”
Yan Ning Shuang’s straight back finally bent down. She squatted on the ground and cried, her voice getting progressively louder. There was no trace of her prideful bearing with which she carried herself in the past.
Dong Ci was distressed by the sight, but she was pulled back by Jing Rong when she moved to approach the crying girl.
“Leave her alone,” Jing Rong muttered while poking her face. “Such a prideful person like Yan Ning Shuang wouldn’t like for others to see her fragile side. Right now, you will only be pushed away by her.”
As Jing Rong pulled Dong Ci past the squatting person, Yan Ning Shuang suddenly stopped crying. First, she glanced at the boy, then at the girl whose arm he was holding. One after another, fierce words left her lips, “Jing Rong, there will be a day when Dong Ci will cry even worse than me. Then, I don’t think that you will be as indifferent as you are today!”
Dong Ci didn’t understand the meaning of Yan Ning Shuang’s words. She only felt the tightening of Jing Rong’s arms around her, to the point that her shoulders hurt from the sudden pressure.
Jing Rong’s original small smile faded away as the dark eyes looked at the person on the ground.
“Yan Ning Shuang…” he lightly called the girl’s name. “Today, I will give you a bit of sincere advice – you better not worry about my affairs. Otherwise, I can’t be certain that something even worse won’t befall you in the future.”
After this incident, Yan Ning Shuang did not come to class for a whole week. After returning, she adjusted the sitting arrangements by moving her seat away from An Cheng Feng, with whom she previously shared the desk.
An Cheng Feng was indifferent as he watched her walking away with arms full of stacking textbooks. From his face, it could be seen that he was exhausted, and it didn’t take him long to finally close his eyes and rest on the table.
“I will help you,” Dong Ci offered when she noticed a textbook slipping out of Yan Ning Shuang’s hands. She quickly reached out to help take some of the load off the other girl.
Snap—
A red leather book slipped, its pages scattering on the ground. Dong Ci bent over to help with picking them up but was stunned when she inadvertently read a few words written on them.
“Ridiculous, right?”
Yan Ning Shuang picked up the fallen book with a blank expression, seemingly wanting to laugh, but the corner of her mouth was stiff. She pulled on Dong Ci’s clothes and whispered, “Follow me to the rooftop.”
“Alright.”
Even the most prideful person will have their weaknesses – no one is an exception.
Dong Ci didn’t like to gossip, and she had no other feelings when it came to such matters. To begin with, she had no interest in listening to explanations which were none of her business, but she always held a special affection for Yan Ning Shuang. It was really hard to see the proud girl so sad.
“I have already made it clear to my family that the older generation shouldn’t interfere with the younger generation’s marriage, even if it was promised in the past. I won’t have anything to do with An Cheng Feng in the future.”
After the pair of girls reached the rooftop, Yan Ning Shuang leaned against the railing and breathed in some fresh air. Seconds later, she took out a cigarette and smoked it with an intensity that easily betrayed her true emotions.
The smoke quickly spread, soon reaching Dong Ci and making her cough.
“You are so squeamish. Or is it called ‘delicate’ nowadays?” Yan Ning Shuang directed a contemptuous glance the shorter girl’s way. Her fingers rose to point at the other side, which had less smoke spreading. “Don’t just stand there, quickly come here.”
“Smoking is a bad habit, why take it up?” Dong Ci asked, wrinkling her nose. She disliked the smell of a burning cigarette the most, so she fanned her hand in front of her face whilst staring at the other girl.
“What’s wrong with smoking? Why don’t you bother your family’s Jing Rong, who smokes every day, instead?” Yan Ning Shuang refuted while squinting at her through the white circles. As the stick in her hands shortened, her expression gradually relaxed.
Knowing the other girl’s bad mood, Dong Ci didn’t jump out with arguments. Instead, she quietly commented, “I only saw him smoke once.”
Yan Ning Shuang froze for a moment. Then, she inquiringly looked at the shorter girl, and elatedly said, “It means that he genuinely likes you. After all, he can’t stand making you even slightly uncomfortable.”
When the cigarette was extinguished, Yan Ning Shuang threw the book in her hands onto the ground. Then she stretched her foot and trampled all over it, leaving a few very obvious dark shoe marks.
“What Jing Rong said that day was heart-wrenching, but his words also helped me to wake up.”
After stepping all over the book, she squatted down and picked it up, opening it.
Page after page was filled with her handwriting – rushed, slow, beautiful. This little book was full of her emotions for An Cheng Feng, full of her love and sadness.
Yan Ning Shuang quickly blinked, but she couldn’t quite stop the lone tear that still left her eye. She quietly sniffed her nose, shaking her head. Then, without any hesitation, she tore the notebook in half.
“I know that I will be able to let him go. Although the heart is hard to convince, I will do my best – I won’t like An Cheng Feng any longer.”
Crackle—
A lighter suddenly released a weak flame, which quickly grew as it consumed the notebook. Yan Ning Shuang threw the ignited book on the ground and clapped her hands, stepping away.
“This is the best outcome – my black history will be erased by myself.”
‘Yan Ning Shuang likes An Cheng Feng.’
‘An Cheng Feng is mine.’
‘An Cheng Feng will eventually love me as well.’
‘An Cheng Feng, you will like me… right?’
Dong Ci’s eyes were bright as they reflected the orange flame. She remembered the words scribbled on one of the papers, and her chest felt sore. Without noticing her own movement, she reached out and hugged Yan Ning Shuang, whispering, “It doesn’t matter. Everything will pass.”
“You…”
Yan Ning Shuang was startled by the sudden embrace. Her body stiffened, and Dong Ci was quickly pushed away. With slight embarrassment, she straightened out her clothes. But when her fingers stopped moving, she still gently muttered:
“Dong Ci, you are an idiot.”
Yan Ning Shuang wasn’t apologetic about her unconscious reaction. She stepped closer to the other girl and buried her sullen face into the petite shoulder. Then, rubbing it gently, she sighed, “Xiao Ci, do you know why I said those words to Jing Rong that day?”
Dong Ci was startled by the change of topic. Confused, she asked, “What day?”
“The day I said that you would cry even worse than me in the future,” Yan Ning Shuang fiercely declared, and quickly moved away from the shorter girl, expressing her disgust. “You are so stupid – stupid and kind! People like you will be eaten up by Jing Rong sooner or later, with no chance of recovery!”
Dong Ci’s eyes flickered as she thought self mockingly:
Sooner or later? Why did she remember that she has been served on a plate ever since her first meeting with Jing Rong? He was already eating her – eating up everything that she was.
“I was embarrassed that day – he actually dared to spur me!” Yan Ning Shuang didn’t notice anything as she continued her angry rant. If she wasn’t clear that she was nothing in Jing Rong’s eyes, she would’ve really wanted to say a few more words.
She took a deep breath and finally noticed Dong Ci’s indifferent expression. This made her instantly amused, “Dong Ci, I am telling you – even if someone like Jing Rong likes you, he will hurt you sooner or later because of his character. That’s just who he is.”
“…”
“You will cry even worse than me one day, and I want to see whether he will be able to maintain his carefree expression then.”
Although she said everything she wanted to convey, Yan Ning Shuang was still afraid that Dong Ci wouldn’t understand her meaning. Hesitantly, she added, “I advise you to leave him as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will regret it.”
The weather seemed to be cooling down, and in a flash, another winter was about to be ushered in.
Dong Ci was chilled by the wind on the rooftop. She couldn’t help but tighten her hold on the clothes.
The passage of time was really fast. It seemed that in a blink of an eye, it has already been a year since she met Jing Rong.
When the seasons have changed, Dong Ci’s mother’s restaurant has also finished its renovations. Even the old sign was taken down from the shop’s door and replaced with a brand new design.
‘Dong Song Family Restaurant’
In a daze, Dong Ci looked at the new sign, and couldn’t recover her wits until she felt her mother’s approach.
“What do you think about this name? Xiao Wang said that the previous name was too old-fashioned, so it only attracted some adults. The youths of your age wouldn’t have been willing to come here to eat.”
“It’s pretty good,” Dong Ci absentmindedly replied. After all, the idea came from both father and mother. So now that the store was renovated according to their imagination, the name was also naturally changed.
It’s nice.
Dong Ci looked at the shop, which was about to be opened after the renovation, then turned to see her mother’s smiling face. Her heart suddenly softened.
In any case, everything is good as long her mother is happy.
The finishing touches were done by Dong Ci and her mother together. Perhaps because she sweated a little from the physical work and took off her coat, the next day she caught a cold.
On the road, there were many spots where the water has frozen during the night, and Dong Ci regretted not wearing a scarf when she went out. As she rode her bicycle, cold wind enveloped her bare neck. By the time she reached school, she was already frozen into an icicle.
Recently, Jing Rong has been frequently absent from school. Dong Ci could have cared less. She clearly remembered Yan Ning Shuang’s reminder from that day on the roof, and the more he was absent – the happier she was.
Hopefully, his interest in her would also wane as the days went by.
“Is it just me, or are you unhappy to see me?”
As soon as Dong Ci entered the classroom, she saw Jing Rong sitting in his seat. Any good mood that she still had quickly evaporated. Her expression dimmed as she slowly moved to her seat.
These subtle changes were easily grasped by Jing Rong.
He reached out and gently pulled her cheek. But as soon as he touched it, he felt cold.
Jing Rong frowned but didn’t speak.
“Ah—Ahchoo!” Dong Ci sneezed.
No matter how she tried to protect herself from cold, she was already used to getting fever as soon as winter came. She rubbed her nose and pulled out a large roll of paper, turning away to wipe her face.
She was sitting right next to the window, and the door also wasn’t too far behind. But even if they were tightly closed, there is still some cold coming through.
Dong Ci hid her neck in her clothes, her mind full of promises to herself about wearing a scarf next time.
But it seemed that her thoughts were going to turn into reality sooner than she expected – a scarf was suddenly wrapped around her neck. She looked up in surprise and saw Jing Rong retracting his hands.
“You are not allowed to take it off,” he commanded whilst staring at her. Seeing his scarf around her neck made him feel an inexplicable emotion. A dark light flashed through his eyes. He stretched his hand to stroke the embroidery on the scarf, his lips stretching into a secretive smile.
This was an off-white scarf made from soft material. It also carried Jing Rong’s unique scent and warmth. With it wrapped around her neck, Dong Ci also quickly warmed up.
The scarf was simple, with only one embroidery at the very end. As Dong Ci stared at it, she found that it was the same fancy pattern that she had seen last time. Unable to contain her curiosity, she picked up the end to look at it more closely.
Zefelina's Translations 
Hmmm we know he won’t be better for a long time, since even in marriage he is a dick. So yeah, that girl hit the bullseye.
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