Gloves - Chapter 35

“You say it again,” Xu Yuer’s voice was equally soft. She lifted her head to look at Shang Zhuoxi, her hand holding the cup frozen in mid-air. The transparent liquid inside the cup swayed, refracting the sunlight onto the pale face of the person across from her. The bright tremors were slightly dazzling, and Shang Zhuoxi uncomfortably moved her body back a little.

“I’ve already made it clear, Yu’er. Let’s just be friends,” Shang Zhuoxi crossed her arms defensively.

“Friends?” Xu Yuer sneered, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Shang Zhuoxi. She stood up, holding the wine glass, and walked up to Shang Zhuoxi:

“You took away the most precious thing from me, and now you want me to be your friend?” Xu Yuer’s voice had a subtle change. In this moment, she was no longer a stubborn little girl, but a wounded woman. She suppressed the burning sensation inside her and defiantly tilted her head back, swallowing the entire glass of wine with a loud “clank” as she forcefully slammed the glass onto the table.

“What makes her better than me?!” Xu Yuer stared straight down at Shang Zhuoxi, from the top of her head to her chin. Her eyelashes trembled, and her perfectly arched nose made her appear cold and proud.

“I’m sorry,” there was simply no comparison between them. Shang Zhuoxi leaned on the table, her fingers tightly intertwined.

“Look at me!” Xu Yuer raised her voice.

“…Yu’er,” Shang Zhuoxi poured herself another glass of wine and drank it, still refusing to look up at Xu Yuer.

“I don’t want to hear you say I’m good!” Xu Yuer reached out to grab Shang Zhuoxi’s face, forcing her to look at her. She despised Shang Zhuoxi’s indifferent and uncaring attitude towards her.

“Yu’er, calm down!” Shang Zhuoxi stood up, equally repulsed by Xu Yuer’s tendency to resort to physical aggression.

“It’s you who needs to sober up, isn’t it?! She’s not coming back!” Xu Yuer let go of Shang Zhuoxi’s face, filled the empty glass, and without a word, splashed the entire contents onto Shang Zhuoxi’s face, catching her off guard.

The sudden chill caused every pore on Shang Zhuoxi’s body to contract. The cool liquid dripped down her chin and neck, stimulating her skin and nerves. But Shang Zhuoxi didn’t feel cold, because the fire in her heart surged up like a wildfire. The corners of her lips trembled, causing not only extreme discomfort in her body but also erasing any trace of dignity from her face. Shang Zhuoxi struggled to control her anger, and after a few seconds, she calmly took the disinfectant wipes from the table and wiped herself clean, apologizing with a smile to the startled waiter:

“Yu’er, let’s eat and then leave.” She gently took hold of Xu Yuer’s wrist and walked out of the restaurant.

No matter how bright the sunshine may be, it cannot bring warmth. It is only our tears and anger towards each other that scorch and burn. After leaving the restaurant, Shang Zhuoxi’s grip on Xu Yuer’s hand grew tighter and tighter, until they reached the cold underground parking lot. Shang Zhuoxi forcefully pushed Xu Yuer onto the car, gripping her wrist and lifting it high. Her usually serene blue eyes became clouded and murky.

“What do you want from me?” Shang Zhuoxi leaned in close, her voice filled with hostility.

“Let me go! Ah~ It hurts!” Xu Yuer cried out, her brows furrowed in pain.

Shang Zhuoxi released her grip, but her gaze was like an invisible hand, firmly holding Xu Yuer in place.

“Tell me, huh?!” Shang Zhuoxi’s breathing became rapid, her chest heaving up and down. She was fed up.

“What can I do to you?” Xu Yuer clutched her injured hand, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. “What can I do to you, Shang Zhuoxi?” Xu Yuer’s voice cracked as she cried. In her heart, there was no sense of self. She was a complete failure. What can a failure do?

Shang Zhuoxi slammed both hands forcefully against the car behind Xu Yuer, and spoke each word with intensity.

“If you continue like this, we won’t even be able to be friends.”

“What gives you the right? What gives you the right to control our relationship? Who are you to say yes or no?” Xu Yuer sobbed uncontrollably, her voice torn and raw.

“I’m tired,” Shang Zhuoxi’s eyes unexpectedly carried a plea, as if begging Xu Yuer to spare her. Xu Yuer’s heart grew cold as she looked at Shang Zhuoxi’s face. Wasn’t she tired enough for Shang Zhuoxi? And now Shang Zhuoxi had the audacity to say she was tired first.

Every time Xu Yuer saw that weary expression on the face she loved, how could she not feel heartache?

At this moment, Xu Yuer’s demeanor softened as she cried and said, “Zhuoxi, I know I can be stubborn at times. I’ll try my best to change. Would that be okay?”

“It’s not your fault, Yu’er,” Shang Zhuoxi responded. If she loved her enough, there would be no need for Xu Yuer to change.

“Then is it your fault? Have you ever loved me, Zhuoxi? Just even for a brief moment,” Xu Yuer stared at Shang Zhuoxi without backing down, continuously sniffing and her shoulders trembling. “Answer me, yes or no.” Xu Yuer mustered up the courage to ask this question. She didn’t want to deceive herself anymore. She just wanted to hear Shang Zhuoxi say it herself.

“No,” Shang Zhuoxi answered truthfully and quickly. That was always how she was—never willing to give you any buffer time even when she hurt you.

Xu Yuer began to tremble all over. “So, that day in the car, you felt nothing at all?” Xu Yuer cried out in pain. In this moment, all she could hear in her mind was the sound of Shang Zhuoxi’s breath in her ear and the way she looked at her with lowered eyes… She had never felt this miserable before.

As expected, Shang Zhuoxi fell silent. After a while, she calmly said, “I mistook you for her.”

“You bastard, Shang Zhuoxi! I, Xu Yuer, have never been treated so poorly in my entire life!” Xu Yuer swung her hand holding her bag without hesitation, aiming straight for Shang Zhuoxi’s head. A dull thud echoed in her ears, followed by an unavoidable throbbing pain. The white glove was stained red by a drop of blood. Only then did Shang Zhuoxi feel the fiery sting on her chin from the metal chain scraping across it.

Xu Yuer could barely stand steady. She leaned against the car behind her, sobbing with deep regret. It felt as if a giant stone was lodged in her chest. She regretted so much that she had fallen in love with such a scumbag.

“Shang Zhuoxi, someone like you doesn’t deserve love at all! I will make you regret it. I, Xu Yuer, will definitely make you regret it!” Xu Yuer didn’t say this out loud, but she hated the woman in front of her with all her being.

Look at her, dressed neatly and clean, with a halo of saving countless lives. But who would have thought that she would be such a depraved person in private? Xu Yuer stumbled out of that cold underground parking lot, her only desire was to get away from there.

As she watched Xu Yuer leave, her figure quickly blurred. Shang Zhuoxi immediately lifted her head. She wanted to cry, to cry out loud and unrestrained. But she couldn’t find a suitable embrace to release her emotions. She was still accustomed to letting her tears flow back into her heart.

The first person to lay a hand on her was An Chujie. She remembered the pained and regretful look An Chujie had in her eyes at that time. She gently touched herself, asking if she was hurt…

There were too many people who could do things for Shang Zhuoxi. Finding out where An Chujie was and what she was doing would only take a few phone calls. But Shang Zhuoxi was not willing to bow down and compromise so easily, especially when she had so much work to attend to.

Longing was like a raging beast, and it would eventually devour Shang Zhuoxi completely.

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As An Chujie walked alongside Qi Ruan, she couldn’t understand why the company had assigned her an assistant. In fact, she didn’t need him.

“What are you thinking about, An?” Qi Ruan lightly bumped his arm against the woman beside him.

“Oh, nothing,” An Chujie smiled at Qi Ruan and then the peacefulness returned to the tree-lined path.

Qi Ruan gradually grew accustomed to walking quietly by An Chujie’s side, occasionally catching whiffs of her fragrance. An Chujie seemed to have a magical power to calm him down and bring peace to his heart.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried high heels approached, and then Qi Ruan’s body abruptly leaned forward.

“Oh, Mr. Qi, you’re so charming,” a crazed woman forcefully pushed Qi Ruan from behind. She then glared at An Chujie with her eyes wide open. She grabbed An Chujie’s clothes and mockingly said to Qi Ruan, “I didn’t expect Mr. Qi to be interested in this kind of…”

“Let go,” An Chujie stared at the impolite woman without wavering, her eyes filled with resistance.

“This kind of scheming woman…” the woman said viciously, the sound of her black high-waisted skirt rustling in the wind.

“I told you to let go!” An Chujie’s voice carried clear anger. The woman finally turned her head to look at An Chujie. The commanding posture and the deep, intense gaze in An Chujie’s eyes sent a chill down the woman’s spine. It seemed that she wasn’t someone to be easily messed with. The woman wisely released her grip.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Qi Ruan stepped forward and pushed the woman away.

“You came at me for a reason,”

“Waaah, Qi Ruan, you actually laid hands on me! You actually laid hands on me for this bitch!” The woman began to cry, pointing at An Chujie, who was busy straightening her rumpled clothes, and cursing loudly.

“Are you the one who’s the bitch here?!” Qi Ruan wished she could slap her. She couldn’t stand anyone insulting An Chujie, especially someone who wasn’t exactly clean themselves.

“You’re nothing but a liar! You deceived me by saying you were going to pick up your mother’s company over there. But the truth is, you chased after her, and now that she’s here, you’ve come back here to be the boss again? You…” The woman was about to start physically attacking.

“Are you out of your mind? We haven’t had any connection for a long time, do you understand? Are you still stalking me? Let me make this clear for the first and last time, don’t annoy me too much, otherwise, I guarantee you’ll be the one playing with fire,” Qi Ruan detested this kind of entanglement, and this embarrassing scene was unfolding right in front of An Chujie.

The woman cried out rudely. She walked towards An Chujie, but was stopped by a hand.

“Do you truly love Qi Ruan?! Even if she doesn’t have any money, would you still love her?” the woman anxiously shouted.

An Chujie looked at the tear-streaked face and felt pity. She gently removed Qi Ruan’s hand and softly said to the disheveled woman, “My association with her has nothing to do with her money. I don’t know the details of your relationship with her, but as Qi Ruan’s friend,” An Chujie deliberately emphasized the last two words, “I hope you can show her respect.” The strong wind blew An Chujie’s hair, revealing her fair and clean face and neck, creating a stark contrast with the woman opposite her, whose makeup was smeared from crying.

“Friend?! You’re really fucking delusional,” the woman said, about to attack again, but was quickly stopped by Qi Ruan.

“I’ve never seen Qi Ruan pursue someone like this. What the hell does ‘friend’ mean?”

“You’ve really crossed the line!” Qi Ruan’s eyelids started to droop. The woman knew this was a sign of her anger. Qi Ruan’s gaze became unusually terrifying. She forcefully pushed away the disheveled woman.

“An, give me five minutes,” Qi Ruan steadied her voice, turned to An Chujie, and then pulled the woman back to a certain spot.

An Chujie didn’t want to get involved in their affairs. This wasn’t the first time she had been dragged into trouble because of Qi Ruan. The previous time wasn’t as intense, just a hateful and insulting email sent to her, but she didn’t know how the person obtained An Chujie’s email address.