The Crybaby Mistress GL - Chapter 8

When Luo Jing thought about how she ended up in her current situation, she found it difficult to remain calm. Although she knew she could not truly blame anyone else, she still instinctively wanted to draw a clear boundary between herself and Li Cheng. The experience of being deceived had left a shadow in her heart.

The apartment arranged by Chen Xin was also located in City B, but it was still somewhat distant from the campus. Luo Jing figured she would probably have to live there until she graduated. As a result, she decided to withdraw from her dormitory. Her belongings were few and easily packed into a single suitcase. Most of the clothes inside were those she had brought at the start of her freshman year. Given her limited finances, she never bought clothes on a whim. The only new garments she owned were those her family added to her wardrobe during her yearly visits home.

However, the books and other supplies made her luggage considerably heavy.

After boarding the bus, she checked the route and saw that there were still forty-five minutes left in the journey. From the bus stop, she would need to walk uphill the rest of the way. She frowned and glanced at her suitcase.

The suitcase was already old. Each year, she avoided taking it home out of fear that it would be damaged during travel. She preferred to store it with her roommates and carry multiple bags by hand instead. Earlier on the bus, she had noticed that one of the wheels was about to fall off. If she tried pulling it up the hill, the suitcase would probably become unusable.

After some internal struggle, she finally pulled out the phone Chen Xin had given her. When she opened the contact list, she found that the driver’s number was already saved. After hesitating for ten minutes, she made the call.

She felt uneasy, thinking she was troubling someone. The distance she walked in forty-five minutes would only take a few minutes by car. The driver not only picked her up but also helped carry her suitcase all the way to the elevator entrance. Luo Jing thanked him repeatedly, finding it hard to believe. The man looked middle-aged, yet he still bowed and remained deferential, which made her feel uncomfortable.

That was the only time she asked the driver for help. Afterward, she continued commuting by walking and taking the bus. Luckily, none of her classes for the semester were scheduled in the first period, so she did not need to wake up too early. Each day, she made a short call to Chen Xin. Their conversations were brief, consisting of casual small talk. Seeing that Chen Xin was often busy with work, Luo Jing occasionally expressed concern. During video calls, Chen Xin always seemed buried in paperwork.

Several days passed, and Chen Xin still had not visited. Luo Jing began to feel as if she was not being kept at all. It felt more like she had simply moved to a new place to house-sit.

Life continued peacefully for two weeks. During this time, Luo Jing kept wrestling with one problem. She wanted to send money back to her family, but she was unsure of the amount.

Should she send the full one million? Her eldest sister would definitely come asking questions, and Luo Jing would have no way to explain.

On the other hand, if she sent too little, it would not do much to help her family. She counted on her fingers, knowing that her two older sisters were busy and lived in different cities. The three sisters rarely had the chance to gather together.

While she was calculating the amount with a furrowed brow, her phone suddenly rang.

She looked at the screen and saw that the caller was Assistant Li. Since that day, the cold-faced assistant had not contacted her again. Luo Jing answered the call.

The voice on the other end was as icy as ever. “Miss Chen will be coming over tonight at eight. Please make the necessary preparations.”

Luo Jing felt nervous. It was time to fulfill her role as a kept woman. Holding her phone, she anxiously asked, “May I ask what I should prepare?”

Assistant Li replied, “I am sorry. I believe this falls under your area of expertise, Miss Luo. I am unable to offer any suggestions. I will let you get on with your preparations.” With that, the call ended.

Luo Jing stared at the phone in confusion. What exactly was she supposed to prepare? Did she need to clean or cook?

She looked around the apartment. A cleaning lady came every three days, and today had been the scheduled day. Luo Jing had just seen her off. The place was now so clean that the floors reflected like mirrors.

As a novice lover, Luo Jing felt like she was facing a complicated puzzle.

At that moment, Chen Xin had just finished dealing with a large volume of work. Things in the office had finally calmed down. She had no idea why all the tasks had piled up at once, but now she was in a good mood. As she reviewed the remaining documents, she hummed a soft and tuneless melody.

Just before the end of the workday, Chen Xin’s personal phone rang. Seeing that it was her mother calling, she paused her work and picked up. “Mom, is something wrong?”

Her mother, Xu Fangting, had just finished saying goodbye to a group of well-dressed friends and had returned to her room to make the call. “You have not come home in several days. You should be visiting your father regularly.”

Chen Xin smiled, switched the phone to her other ear, and leaned back in her chair. “Don’t we see each other at the office every day? I have not been avoiding him.”

Xu Fangting was displeased with her daughter’s tone. “Stop brushing it off. Think about how your father feels when you stay away for so long. As a daughter, shouldn’t you be more filial? You never take the initiative to have meals or conversations with him. That is not how a father and daughter should interact.”

Chen Xin smiled bitterly in her heart. It only worked if her father actually wanted to have a meal or a conversation with her.

“Say something,” Xu Fangting urged, taking off her gloves and placing them in a nearby box.

“Mom, you know how Dad is. When we talk, it is always me doing all the talking.”

“Even if that is the case, you still need to talk!” Xu Fangting snapped. “You went abroad once and now you act like your wings have grown. Are you ignoring your mother now?”

Hearing that her mother was genuinely angry, Chen Xin quickly replied with a sigh, “I understand, Mom. I will come home for dinner tomorrow evening. Yes, I will bring the tea that Dad likes. Also, Mom, can you cook my favor—hello?”

The call had already been disconnected. Chen Xin had not even had the chance to mention sweet and sour fish. Her face turned a little awkward. She did not call back. Instead, she returned to her paperwork. The humming had stopped, leaving only the sound of her pen moving across the page.

Not long after, another call came through on Chen Xin’s private line. This time it was from her adorable little lover.

Chen Xin was a little surprised. Luo Jing usually called during lunch or around eight or nine in the evening. She once explained that she wanted to avoid disturbing Chen Xin’s working hours. Why was she calling so early today?

Chen Xin had already asked Assistant Li to inform Luo Jing that she would be visiting tonight. Why was Luo Jing still calling?

She answered the call and heard Luo Jing’s gentle voice greet her. “Miss Chen.”

“What is it? I am coming over to see you tonight. Why are you calling me now?” Chen Xin restrained her urge to tease and asked seriously.

“I am sorry to disturb your work. I just wanted to ask, since you are coming, what should I prepare?” Luo Jing had given it a lot of thought but still could not decide. As a diligent student, she believed the most accurate way to find out was to ask Chen Xin directly. “I was thinking of cooking. Will you be eating here?”

Chen Xin rested her chin on one hand. She tried to resist the urge to tease Luo Jing, but in the end, she could not help herself. With an extremely serious tone, she said, “There is nothing special to prepare. Just take off all your clothes and wait for me.”

“Huh?” As expected, Luo Jing froze. She looked down at her clothes and stammered, “Take them off?”

Chen Xin closed her eyes. Why was it so fun to tease Luo Jing? She could not even tell when someone was joking. “I will be finishing work soon. I might come over a little earlier than planned. Do you know how to make sweet and sour fish?”

“I do,” Luo Jing answered. While she might not know much else, she had learned to cook by her mother’s side. “Is there anything else you would like to eat? I can make it for you.”

Chen Xin liked the sound of that. She replied, “Just sweet and sour fish. You can decide the rest.”

After the call ended, humming returned to the office.