Chapter 7: I Also Want Cake (7)
“Delicious.” Jiang Zhiyan licked the cream from the corner of her mouth and smiled with her eyes narrowed.
“Eat it yourself.” Liang Xi was a little uncomfortable, putting the cake in Jiang Zhiyan’s hand and taking out a pack of tissues from her pocket, placing it beside her.
“Thank you.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at the tennis court below, scooping up a spoonful of cake.
At some point, the game below had paused. Yan Yanzhuo was surrounded by people offering him water. He pushed them away impatiently, picked up the water bottle on the ground, and looked up in this direction.
Jiang Zhiyan took another bite of cake, licking the cream.
The distance was a bit far, so Jiang Zhiyan couldn’t see the expression on his face clearly, but he was definitely not pleased.
Yan Yanzhuo being in a bad mood put Jiang Zhiyan in a good mood.
How despicable, when someone was solely devoted to him, he didn’t care. But when another person appeared, trying to compete, he started to notice.
Jiang Zhiyan leaned against Liang Xi: “Do you want some?”
“Can’t you finish it?” Liang Xi asked.
“No, it’s just that I feel bad eating alone.” Jiang Zhiyan, like a lazy cat, rubbed against Liang Xi’s shoulder, then scooped up another spoonful of cake. She didn’t speak, just looked at Liang Xi, her eyes like little hooks.
Liang Xi leaned in.
“What are they doing?” Yang Xiao looked at Liang Xi in the distance with shock. “She wouldn’t even eat from my bowl! She’s eating Jiang Zhiyan’s? Jiang Zhiyan’s! She’s actually eating Jiang Zhiyan’s!”
Yang Xiao’s voice got louder with each exclamation.
Lin Shenyu, standing behind her, also had an unpleasant expression, glancing at Yang Xiao, not understanding why her reaction was even bigger than his own.
He thought of Jiang Zhiyan’s coldness these past two days and frowned.
Jiang Zhiyan ate the cake clean, not leaving a single bit of cream.
Liang Xi looked at the empty box in surprise and glanced at Jiang Zhiyan.
Yang Xiao sat not far from them, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with resentment.
She originally wanted to see how long it would take for Liang Xi to notice her sitting there, only to realize that she probably wouldn’t be noticed until the end of time.
The two of them didn’t talk much. Liang Xi’s gaze wasn’t on the tennis court but would occasionally glance at Jiang Zhiyan.
Yang Xiao stared at Jiang Zhiyan’s back. Compared to Liang Xi, this person was even more unusual. The way she looked at Liang Xi was even more clingy than how she used to look at those boys.
“Your friend seems to have arrived.” Jiang Zhiyan turned to look at Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao’s sharp gaze instantly turned awkward, but Jiang Zhiyan’s expression remained unchanged.
“Huh?” Liang Xi turned around. “Xiao Xiao, why didn’t you come over when you arrived?”
“Because I couldn’t seem to intrude on the atmosphere between you two.” Yang Xiao’s expression was flat, her voice devoid of inflection.
“I’ll go first, I suddenly remembered I still have some classwork to finish.” Jiang Zhiyan stood up with a smile. “You guys chat.”
Yang Xiao looked at Jiang Zhiyan in shock. Although she didn’t say anything, she could sense a strong green tea vibe from her—that reluctant look, that slightly compromising tone.
“Bye.” Jiang Zhiyan gently flicked Liang Xi’s hair.
“Okay, will there be a review of today’s dessert?”
“I’ll write it for you tonight.” Jiang Zhiyan glanced at Yang Xiao again and nodded.
Her smile hadn’t changed, but Yang Xiao clearly felt that when Jiang Zhiyan looked at her, her eyes instantly became completely disinterested. She couldn’t even be bothered to feign politeness.
Yang Xiao looked at her with dissatisfaction. As soon as she left, Yang Xiao quickly sat next to Liang Xi: “You looked like your soul was about to be hooked away just now!”
“What are you talking about?” Liang Xi patted Yang Xiao’s arm. “We barely said two words.”
Yang Xiao clenched her fists, wanting to describe Jiang Zhiyan’s look, but she couldn’t. Simply saying “clingy” couldn’t fully capture it.
She tried to imitate the look, and immediately made Liang Xi laugh.
“Do you know what you look like right now?”
“Huh?”
“Like prey unaware that it’s fallen into a trap.”
Liang Xi covered her mouth and laughed.
“Laugh, laugh, laugh! All you do is laugh, you have no sense of crisis at all… Where’s Yan Yanzhuo? You weren’t watching Yan Yanzhuo? Who were you looking at?”
Liang Xi glanced at the tennis court: “He must have left, I didn’t notice.”
Jiang Zhiyan left the tennis court and saw Lin Shenyu standing at the entrance. He seemed to have been standing there for a long time.
She glanced at him and walked straight past him.
Lin Shenyu: ?
“You’re just leaving like that?”
“Do you need something from me?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
Lin Shenyu laughed in exasperation: “Do I have to need something to look for you?”
“Not necessarily, but you didn’t say anything to me, so I thought you weren’t waiting for me anymore.” Jiang Zhiyan said.
Lin Shenyu looked at Jiang Zhiyan’s indifferent eyes: “What is this? Are you tired of me?”
“I don’t know, but you look tired of me.” Jiang Zhiyan bit her lip, took a deep breath. “I thought you found me annoying, so I’ve been trying to appear less in front of you.”
How to turn the tables with one sentence.
Jiang Zhiyan lowered her head, took a deep breath, and tears started falling: “Sorry, I’m a little out of control. I’ll go first, I don’t want you to see me like this.”
She wiped her tears and turned to run. Lin Shenyu called out twice, but she didn’t look back.
Lin Shenyu: ???
Once out of Lin Shenyu’s sight, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Host, this… is a bit too obvious, isn’t it?” The system felt like it was about to master Jiang Zhiyan’s art of brushing people off.
“As long as he believes it.”
“Whether he believes it or not, he’s definitely confused.” The system glanced at Lin Shenyu, who was still standing there, frowning, looking in the direction Jiang Zhiyan left, motionless.
Jiang Zhiyan didn’t return to the classroom but went directly to the cafeteria. It was already dinner time.
While taking a shortcut, she saw Yan Yanzhuo sitting in the pavilion. She quickened her pace, preparing to leave. If she had known the male lead was there, she would never have gone near that path.
In a sense, the male lead equaled trouble. He was a ticking time bomb, only slightly normal around the female lead. Before reaching the death point, she didn’t want to have any conflict with the male lead.
“Jiang Zhiyan.”
“Hello, is there something I can help you with?” Jiang Zhiyan stopped, smiling politely.
*******
Chapter 8: I Also Want Cake (8)
Hearing Jiang Zhiyan’s tone, Yan Yanzhuo looked her up and down, seemingly probing for something.
“Hmm?” Jiang Zhiyan smiled, her tone friendly.
“What tricks are you playing again?”
Not a question, but a statement.
“Hmm?” Jiang Zhiyan continued to smile.
The two single-word replies made Yan Yanzhuo uncomfortable. His expression darkened, and he walked out of the pavilion, stopping in front of Jiang Zhiyan, looking down at her with an oppressive gaze.
“You’re not going to hit me, are you? Have I offended you recently?” Jiang Zhiyan didn’t move, her gaze calm.
“I don’t like talking to stupid people. You know what I mean.”
Jiang Zhiyan looked at him questioningly: “Liang Xi? She’s very cute, so I want to be friends with her. Are you jealous of her? Because I’m spending time with her instead of you?”
Yan Yanzhuo looked as if he had heard a joke, immediately taking two steps back, distancing himself from Jiang Zhiyan.
“Men shouldn’t be so jealous, it’s not attractive.” Jiang Zhiyan took a step closer to him, curling her lip, staring into his eyes, her smile a bit greasy.
Yan Yanzhuo’s gaze was like he was looking at a lunatic. As if thinking of something unpleasant, he distanced himself from her again: “Jiang Zhiyan!”
“Bye, I’m going to eat.” Jiang Zhiyan swept her gaze across Yan Yanzhuo’s face, her eyes as unsettling as his initial look.
“Host, you said you wouldn’t provoke him.” The system was speechless. Jiang Zhiyan was clearly dancing wildly in Yan Yanzhuo’s minefield.
“Disgust him once, peace for half a year.” Jiang Zhiyan said casually. “This level of disgust is nothing.”
She took out her phone and opened the chat with Liang Xi.
[Jiang Zhiyan: I think Yan Yanzhuo cares about you. He just stopped me and gave me a warning, probably afraid I’d bully you (*cat feeling wronged emoji*).]
“Host, you…”
Liang Xi frowned as she read the message from Jiang Zhiyan.
[Liang Xi: Are you okay?]
[Jiang Zhiyan: I’m fine, just disgusted him a bit (cute emoticon)]
Liang Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
[Liang Xi: That’s good, I’m sorry.]
“What’s wrong?” Yang Xiao looked at Liang Xi’s expression.
“Yan Yanzhuo went to find Jiang Zhiyan.” Liang Xi pursed her lips, showing her the message.
“Huh?” Yang Xiao froze for a second, then laughed, her tone a bit excited. “Is it because he’s worried about you? Ah, finally seeing some progress!”
“It has nothing to do with him.” Liang Xi interrupted Yang Xiao. “What does he mean by this? He doesn’t accept me, he’s so cold every day, and then he goes to find trouble with my friend. What right does he have to warn her?”
Yang Xiao opened her mouth: “Well, if you don’t look at it from that angle…”
Liang Xi remained silent, staring at Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao immediately shut her mouth. After three seconds, she nodded: “I just said this morning, don’t get hung up on one person. An unclear attitude is really annoying.”
“But it’s really strange…” Yang Xiao smacked her lips, glancing at the screen. “I always feel like her tone when messaging you is weird. You’ve only known each other for a few days, and she speaks so casually.”
“We just clicked.”
“Clicked with Jiang Zhiyan?” Yang Xiao gave a dry laugh.
It didn’t sound like a good thing.
Jiang Zhiyan enjoyed her dinner. Returning to the classroom, she heard Yan Yanzhuo’s lackey persuading him to eat dinner.
She chuckled and pulled a tissue from her desk, carefully wiping her mouth.
Seeing Jiang Zhiyan’s actions, Yan Yanzhuo threw the bread back into his lackey’s hand.
“Host, you’re currently at 1% plot progress, but the male and female lead’s relationship progress has regressed by 3%, down to 27%.” The system was speechless. “Although you’re here to break them up, you can’t actually break them up!”
“It’s not my fault that I’m too good at being the vicious female supporting character.” Jiang Zhiyan sighed softly. “I’m so wronged. I get criticized for working hard, and I get criticized for taking a break.”
System: …
“Forget it, the day after tomorrow, you need to sabotage Liang Xi’s speech at the grade assembly where she’ll be speaking as a student representative.” The system paused, asking warily, “Host, you won’t go soft, will you?”
“Go soft?” Jiang Zhiyan chuckled. “What does that word have to do with me?”
“You better not.”
Jiang Zhiyan flipped through the script. Sure enough, the brainless vicious female supporting character’s method of framing someone was extremely boring and unoriginal. The ending was also the typical scenario of the supporting character shooting herself in the foot and being ridiculed.
“This scene isn’t good, it’ll disrupt my current plans.”
“Then what do you want to do?” The system was on high alert.
“I’ll handle it, don’t worry.”
The system gave a dry laugh, trying to calm its racing mechanical heart. It always felt like it would become the first system with heart disease. Oh well, if it really happened, it would at least be recorded in history.
After school, Jiang Zhiyan didn’t see her mother. She asked and found out that her mother had left ten minutes before school ended, with no indication of when she would return. It was clear that last night’s conversation had a significant impact on her.
Jiang Zhiyan had her cello lesson as usual. The teacher was a bit surprised. These past two days, she had made almost no mistakes while playing, paying attention to all the details. However, the teacher could only praise her playing as “good.” Her music always seemed to lack soul, like a cello-playing machine without emotions.
When the lesson ended, a genuine smile finally appeared on Jiang Zhiyan’s face. After saying goodbye to the teacher, she quickly returned to her room.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“The draft for Liang Xi’s dessert review, I’ve outlined it in my head.”
System: ?
Jiang Zhiyan glanced at the time and typed rapidly. Two hundred short and concise words, deleted and revised several times. Thirty minutes later, the final draft was complete. The system watched, speechless. To call it a review was less accurate than to say it was a very sincere outpouring of praise.
[Liang Xi: Are there no areas for improvement?]
Liang Xi read the content Jiang Zhiyan sent several times, the gloom in her heart dissipating considerably. A smile she hadn’t even noticed herself appeared on her lips. No one had ever praised her so seriously.
[Jiang Zhiyan: After making it sweeter, it’ll be the perfect dessert in my mind. I don’t think I can help you improve any further.]
[Jiang Zhiyan: Fortunately, I’m thick-skinned (cat acting cute).]
[Liang Xi: Do you want to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning?]
[Jiang Zhiyan: Hmm… will Yang Xiao be there?]
[Liang Xi: Usually not. I apologize for her behavior today. I’ll have a good talk with her.]
Jiang Zhiyan frowned.
[Jiang Zhiyan: Don’t apologize for her.]
Jiang Zhiyan looked at the sentence, feeling that it was too blunt, and added another sentence.
[Jiang Zhiyan: I understand why she doesn’t like me. Actually, I don’t really care what others think of me, so there’s no need to force her to change her opinion of me. As long as you don’t misunderstand me, it’s fine. I don’t want to run into her because you two are long-time friends. If something goes wrong between you because of me, I’ll feel guilty.]
Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her chest.
She couldn’t seem to feel where her conscience was. It would be nice if she were alone.
Leave a Reply