Chapter 36: I Never Spend Money To Get Love

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

"President Jiang, let’s go home." Ji Lianxing’s cheeks burned. She felt like she spoke without thinking tonight.  

"Alright, let's go home." The umbrella went back over Ji Lianxing’s head. Jiang Shu pulled her into her arms. "You’re so cute."  

The rain got lighter. They walked home along the street. Autumn night, fine rain falling. Raindrops tapped soft on the umbrella, making pattering sounds.  

They didn’t talk. It was quiet. Ji Lianxing looked down at the road. Her eyes fell on Jiang Shu’s feet. She saw Jiang Shu walking fast. People say those who walk fast are born proud and confident, and they do things clean and quick.  

"Little Hedgehog."  

"Mm?"  

"What plans do you have for the future?"  

"Plans?" Ji Lianxing thought for a few seconds, then said, "Make money. Go far away and live a quiet and easy life."  

"It seems you don’t like the big city much." Jiang Shu looked at her with a smile.

"Maybe because I grew up in a county town, I like small places more. Best would be, hm… go to a place where no one knows me, and live alone."  

Jiang Shu didn’t speak. She felt Ji Lianxing’s nature was actually cold, maybe even a bit withdrawn. Not like the chubby girl she met by Jin’e River long ago. Maybe things later changed her.  

"President Jiang, what about you?"  

"Me." Jiang Shu narrowed her eyes, like thinking hard. "I don’t know yet. But I’m like you. Most likely I’ll still end up alone."  

Ji Lianxing looked at Jiang Shu with more thought. She felt these words didn’t sound like Jiang Shu. Jiang Shu always gave the feeling that lovers were never lacking around her.  

They talked on and off, walked across a few streets, and came to the building. The rain almost stopped. Jiang Shu folded the umbrella. She asked Ji Lianxing, "Are you hungry? You sang all night and didn’t eat, right?"  

Ji Lianxing nodded. "A little."  

"I’ll cook you some late-night snacks."  

They walked into the lobby and waited for the elevator side by side.  

In the mirror Ji Lianxing saw her and Jiang Shu. Through the glass, their eyes met. It felt strange and she quickly looked away.  

"Little Hedgehog, you seem to like sneaking peeks at me."  

"I don't." Ji Lianxing’s cheeks turned faint pink. "If you say that, doesn’t it mean you’re also sneaking peeks at me?"  

Jiang Shu raised her brow. "I’m looking openly.”

The elevator door opened. They went into the small space. Jiang Shu put her arm around Ji Lianxing’s shoulder and held her close like it was natural.  

Ji Lianxing carried a scent. It was the smell Jiang Shu liked most. Holding her, that urge to protect her rose again.  

Jiang Shu’s eyes went to her ear. Small, pink, soft. Thinking that, the next second she pinched it. The touch was just as she imagined.  

Ji Lianxing was caught off guard. Her shoulder shook. She lifted her head to look at Jiang Shu, her eyes full of panic.  

"Little Hedgehog." Jiang Shu bent down and kissed her ear. "Why are your ears always pink?"  

Her eyes held a smile. Her gaze stuck to Ji Lianxing’s face. She didn’t say sweet words, but it still felt like flirting.  

Ji Lianxing, suddenly teased, panicked. She didn’t know where to put her eyes. Her voice stammered. "Pre-president Jiang, there’s a camera here."  

Ding.  

The elevator door opened. It saved Ji Lianxing from her fluster.  

"Then I’ll kiss you at home." Jiang Shu reached her hand, held Ji Lianxing’s, and led her out.  

Just as they stepped out, Jiang Shu stopped. Her smile vanished at once. Ji Lianxing stopped too and looked up. At the door stood a girl about her age. She was good-looking, the type with both purity and lust.  

The girl’s eyes went to Jiang Shu first, then to Ji Lianxing. The hostility in her look was too clear.  

"You have another girl." The girl leaned at the door, arms crossed, her tone full of questions.  

"Little Hedgehog, go inside first." Jiang Shu let go of Ji Lianxing’s hand.

Completely without warning, Ji Lianxing was confused. A flood of questions hit her mind, so she couldn’t make the right decision. She just followed whatever Jiang Shu said.  

"Don’t block the door. Let her in." Jiang Shu said to the girl at the door.  

Though the girl looked strong, she surprisingly obeyed Jiang Shu and stepped aside for Ji Lianxing.  

Ji Lianxing took the room card from her pocket. She could feel the hostility in the girl’s aura.  

She tapped the card on the sensor. Beep. At that moment, the girl sneered beside her, "I had that card before. Also, she calls you Little Hedgehog, and she calls me Little Rabbit, do you understand what I mean?”

Ji Lianxing lifted her eyes, cold, expressionless. "Sorry, I'm not interested. Maybe you should tell her yourself."  

The hand on the door turned white from pressing too hard, but Ji Lianxing stayed calm. She opened the door and walked in. The darkness of the hall swallowed her, and she didn’t look at Jiang Shu once, as if it didn’t concern her.  

Once the door closed, Ji Lianxing stood in the hall, eyes blank.  

She still cared. That line, "she calls you Little Hedgehog, and she calls me Little Rabbit," had a powerful impact. As if a dark cloud covered a rainbow. Ji Lianxing’s world felt like a storm.  

That strong unease rushed into her chest. Jiang Shu’s face, her words, the many intimate moments between them, all shattered. If before she felt like just a tool for sleep, now she added a prefix: ordinary.  

An ordinary tool for sleep.

She was no different from those girls, only her code name was Little Hedgehog, the other was Little Rabbit, maybe there was also a Little Fox that she doesn't know.  

So everything Jiang Shu said was fake. The person involved never took it seriously.  

Ji Lianxing didn’t turn on the lights. Her body was cold. She just stood there, eyes with no place to rest, from the hall to the living room, then to the window. The bright lights and neon outside didn’t belong to her. She was trapped in this darkness.  

Suddenly she remembered the past, the darkest days in college, living in admiration for Jiang Shu. Her beauty, confidence, excellent grades, seriousness, and persistence, all were deadly attractions. She was the perfect goddess in her heart, supporting her through countless hard times.  

But now it seems, maybe some people are better far away. Once close, some things are easy to break.  

Under her fancy, shiny appearance was a rotting face.  

Ji Lianxing started thinking seriously. Did she like Jiang Shu, or did she like the Jiang Shu in her imagination? Indeed, Jiang Shu was gentle, caring, dazzling, but also fake.  

Ji Lianxing hated this fake. This control linked with money made her feel her feelings were worthless and made her feel like a fool.  

A buzzing sound came from outside the door. It was Jiang Shu and the girl. She didn’t know what they were saying.  

She closed her eyes to block it out, but she still caught one clear sentence: "Isn’t the money I gave you enough?"

****

"Isn’t the money I gave you enough, He Lin?" Jiang Shu frowned, looking confused.  

"I don’t want money, I want you." He Lin’s eyes were red, she was about to cry. She stepped forward, trying to hug Jiang Shu.  

Jiang Shu immediately stepped back, looking disgusted. "It's a bit disgusting."  

"When you liked me before, you didn’t say that! You said you loved me!" He Lin raised her voice, crying, clearly losing control.  

Jiang Shu looked at her, not moved by her crying face, even cold to the point of scary. "You should know, I love many people lined up. You’re already past your turn."  

Past your turn.  

Who says that? He Lin felt so low, like a ticket she didn’t even matter. Jiang Shu actually said that.  

"What’s the point of crying? I already said, don't try to get sympathy from me." Jiang Shu looked at He Lin, watching her tears drop on the floor.  

Her voice was cold, like an ice cellar, making her seem to have two faces.  

"What’s the point? You're crying over a deal like this, it's pretentious."  

"A deal?!" He Lin completely lost it. She ignored Jiang Shu’s blocking, threw herself into her arms, holding tight, crying so loud it spread through the hall. "No deal, I don’t want your money, I only want you."  

"You’ll get my clothes dirty." Jiang Shu tapped He Lin, pulling her off.  

He Lin was heartbroken hearing this, she felt weak all over, collapsing to the floor, like ten thousand needles stabbing her. She loved a heartless person. She had told herself not to fall, but she still fell into her gentle trap.

"How can you be so cold?" He Lin looked up, still sobbing. "Doesn’t your heart hurt?"  

Jiang Shu crouched and handed her a piece of paper. "Stop crying. Crying like this doesn’t look good. Go home. I’ll give you another hundred thousand, but don’t come to me again."  

"Really, absolutely impossible?" He Lin cried harder, thinking of the past, the sweet moments, at least she thought she was special. "You said I was the cutest."  

Jiang Shu shook her head. "Not anymore."  

"Am I not your little rabbit anymore?"  

Jiang Shu shook her head again. "Little rabbit? You made me call you that before. And you heard, I have a Little Hedgehog now."  

"How is she better than me?"  

"Prettier than you. Can’t you see?"  

"Bastard!" He Lin lunged at Jiang Shu, raising her hand to slap her. Jiang Shu grabbed her wrist and shook her head.  

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Looking at He Lin, Jiang Shu felt a little pity, but she couldn’t feel any real heartache.  

Maybe Li Xiangyan was right, she really is a bad woman. Jiang Shu never expected this girl to fall for her.  

"Stop crying. I’ll give you another fifty thousand, making it a hundred fifty."

"Get lost!" He Lin looked up and shoved Jiang Shu hard. "In your eyes, I’m just a money-grubber!"  

Jiang Shu almost fell back, but the wall behind caught her. She was a little annoyed, no one had ever pushed her like that, but she couldn’t lose her temper, or He Lin might go wild.  

"Feeling better? Calm down." Jiang Shu lightly patted her shoulder, pretending to comfort her. "You’re young, don’t waste your time on me. I’m cutting off your thoughts right now. We’re impossible. I never liked you. Everything I said was fake. Take the money and live your life."  

Tears dripped from He Lin onto her jeans, soaking a big patch. She looked up, pointing at the door, unwilling to let go. "What about her? The one just now?"  

Jiang Shu shook her head. "The same."  

He Lin still wouldn’t let it go. "Do you like her?"  

Jiang Shu seemed to realize something. If she didn’t answer what He Lin wanted to hear, this would never end.  

"I don’t like her. You know it. I never spend money to get love “

"So we’re all just your sleeping tools?" He Lin’s eyes were swollen. She stared at Jiang Shu, refusing to stop until she got the answer she wanted.  

Jiang Shu hesitated, looking at He Lin. She saw the unwillingness and resentment in her eyes. Finally, she nodded, helpless.  

"Yes, all of you."

Author's Note:

Sorry, the update is late today. I went to do covid testing.