The Crybaby Mistress GL - Chapter 33

When Luo Jing returned home, a quiet sense of disappointment settled in her chest. Although she had no experience being a kept woman, she understood clearly that Chen Xin had gone far beyond what any sponsor was expected to do. Chen Xin had treated her with sincere care and support.

Even so, Luo Jing could not accept the idea of being financially supported by another woman for the rest of her life. That was not the kind of life she wanted.

After showering, she lay on her bed with a heavy heart. She was supposed to call Chen Xin before going to sleep. They usually spoke once or twice a day. However, the mood between them today was different. Luo Jing held her phone in hand but could not bring herself to press the call button.

Eventually, she curled up under the covers and slowly typed out a message. After sending it, she stared at her phone for a long time before finally turning off the light and going to sleep.

At that moment, Chen Xin had just arrived home. As she dried her hair, she noticed her phone screen light up with a message.

The message from Luo Jing was short. It said, “Miss Chen, no matter how much longer we are together, I hope our time can always be happy. I truly treasure every moment spent with you.” There was a heart emoji at the end.

Chen Xin did not reply. She tossed her phone onto the bed, and the corners of her mouth curled slightly into a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

Luo Jing understood things more clearly than she did.

Neither of them slept well that night. Chen Xin even had to take sleeping pills she had not touched in a long while. The next morning, she still felt tired.

Luo Jing arrived at school with her shoulders slumped. Her classmates had already become accustomed to the changes in her demeanor. She glanced at the empty seat near the back of the room and quietly walked toward it down the aisle.

She did not notice a foot wearing thick-heeled, open-toed shoes slowly sliding out from between the rows. Just as Luo Jing passed by, the foot suddenly extended. She had no time to react and stumbled forward, falling hard onto the ground. Her bag flew open, and pens and handouts scattered across the floor.

The noise drew the attention of the entire class. Before Luo Jing could turn her head, the foot had already been pulled back. Li Cheng stood over her with a smug and mocking expression. “You are way too careless. You even kicked me.”

Luo Jing immediately realized it had been deliberate. She was speechless. Tripping someone was such a childish prank that even kids in her hometown would not stoop to it, and yet Li Cheng had done it to her.

She pressed her lips together and said, “Li Cheng, you were the one who tripped me.”

She had no intention of getting into an argument. Her mind was preoccupied with more important concerns. Quietly, she began picking up her scattered pens and papers. One pen had rolled beneath another student’s desk. She murmured an apology and reached out to retrieve it.

The boy sitting there acted faster. He quickly picked it up and handed it to her. When he smiled, his sharp canine teeth gave him a playful and cheerful look.

“Thank you,” Luo Jing said, taking the pen.

It could have ended there, but Li Cheng raised her voice loudly. “No one tripped you. You fell on your own and now you’re blaming others. Luo Jing, your skin must be pretty thick.”

Luo Jing turned her head and looked at her. She understood Li Cheng was still angry about the money. She did not want to engage any further. Without responding, she turned back around and walked away, ignoring Li Cheng who had begun badmouthing her to other students.

Suddenly, the boy who had helped her spoke up. “Li Cheng, stop lying. I was right next to you. I saw you trip her on purpose.”

Luo Jing looked back in shock. She never expected anyone to speak up for her. Especially not Lu Ting, one of the most popular boys in class. Li Cheng often tried to hang around him, and it looked like she was chasing after him. Luo Jing had assumed they would never have anything to do with each other.

After defending her, Lu Ting winked at her playfully, as if they shared a private signal.

Li Cheng had not expected someone to side with Luo Jing. Lu Ting had many friends. Once he spoke, several others followed his lead. The atmosphere shifted. Many of the girls had never liked Li Cheng, and they could always tell who was pretending to be sweet. Quiet giggles and whispers began to fill the room.

Luo Jing said nothing. She returned silently to her seat. The teacher soon entered the classroom. The incident was quickly left behind, becoming nothing more than a short-lived topic for lunchtime gossip.

Only Li Cheng looked dissatisfied. She was too distracted to pay attention to the lesson. Instead, she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through it. A set of photos came into view. The angle made it clear they had been taken in secret. In the pictures, Luo Jing was standing beside a luxury car, leaning slightly inside and appearing to kiss the driver.

The photos were not entirely clear. The person in the car was especially hard to see. Only Luo Jing’s posture suggested a kiss. Other photos showed her standing beside the car and entering the school, and these clearly captured her full face.

Li Cheng stole a glance at Luo Jing sitting behind her. Luo Jing happened to look up while taking notes, and their eyes met. Li Cheng gave her a cold smirk. A wave of unease made Luo Jing furrow her brow.

Elsewhere, at the Chen family home, Xu Fangting was carefully sorting round green plums in preparation to soak them in alcohol later. Chen Zheng sat beside her, a newspaper resting on his lap, but his hands were busy texting on his phone.

Xu Fangting placed the cleaned plums into a glass jar. Looking at her husband, she smiled and asked, “What are you working on? You are rarely home, and still handling business?”

“Yes,” Chen Zheng replied in a low voice, without even glancing at her. His full attention remained on the messages he was sending.

Xu Fangting tried to start a few conversations, but each time Chen Zheng’s silence cut them short. Eventually, she gave up, picked up the jar that was now seventy percent full, and headed to the kitchen to start the soaking process.

After a short while, she came back out and saw Chen Zheng had finally put his phone down. Seeing an opportunity, she said, “Dear, next week I want to visit my sister’s memorial. Would you…”

She had planned to ask if he could drive her since the site was in the mountains and the visit fell on a weekend. After the memorial, the family could even take a brief outing.

Before she could finish her sentence, Chen Zheng interrupted. “Next week I need to go visit Weiguo. Since it is the weekend, you should go over and help him look after the child.”

Chen Weiguo’s wife had passed away during childbirth. He had become a single father and sometimes could not manage alone. However, Xu Fangting replied, “But isn’t Ruoya there to help?”

Liu Ruoya, Chen Weiguo’s stepmother, usually helped take care of the child. Even if she could not manage, there were nannies and housekeepers. Why did she need to go?

Chen Zheng gave her a look of disapproval. “No matter what, Chen An is the golden grandson of the Shen family. Ruoya said she is not feeling well this week. Can you really trust outsiders to look after him? It is only cooking a few meals and watching him for a while. Why is that so difficult?”

“But next weekend is the anniversary of my sister’s death!” Xu Fangting’s voice rose. She only visited the memorial once a year. How could she cancel something that important just to become a temporary nanny because her husband’s brother’s wife felt unwell?

“I know it is your sister’s memorial day,” Chen Zheng said, now clearly impatient. He seemed to believe this was not something worth arguing about. “But you married into the Chen family. You should prioritize our side of the family. I am not saying you cannot go. Just push it to the week after.”

“You—” Xu Fangting’s anger swelled. Every year she honored her sister on the same day. Now Chen Zheng had casually rearranged her plans without even asking. His tone had not left room for discussion. It was merely a notification.

As she fumed, Chen Zheng looked at her and added, “Are you going to let Chen An go hungry?”

There was no reasoning with him. Xu Fangting stood up without a word and went into the bedroom. This was the only way she could express her frustration.

The house fell into silence once more.