After Being Bent by Reader

Chapter 44: Pt.1

Xu Chuanchuan was mad for real this time. Murong Shi's sneer especially irritated her. So, without mentally processing her words, she said, "I really think it's bad for you to act this way."

"What's bad?" Murong Shi asked, her expression remaining nonchalant as she looked at Xu Chuanchuan.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Chuanchuan said, "It was you who kissed me out of the blue, yet you want me to start dating you for some reason? Don't you think you're taking this too casually?"

Murong Shi frowned at Xu Chuanchuan's words. Then, as if holding back the anger within her, she asked in a cold voice, "Do you think I'm such a willful person?"

Xu Chuanchuan nearly lost the courage to keep her eyes on Murong Shi when she heard the other party's cold voice. Then, she said in a quiet tone, "At the very least, I wouldn't use alcohol as an excuse to kiss another person arbitrarily."

Sighing, Murong Shi said, "I've already apologized to you for that matter. What else do you want me to do?"

Upon hearing Murong Shi's words, Xu Chuanchuan, too, found her action of bringing up past problems to be shameful. Biting her lower lip, she quickly turned her head away and said, "Nothing."

Subsequently, silence enveloped the car for several seconds as neither Xu Chuanchuan nor Murong Shi continued speaking.

Then, Murong Shi suddenly broke the silence and said, "I thought your reaction meant that you weren't disgusted at the prospect of dating. I didn't think... Sorry, just pretend as if I never said anything."

Xu Chuanchuan didn't know how she eventually arrived back at her dormitory. As the alcohol made her head feel dizzy, she lost all motivation to move her body as soon as she laid on her bed. Meanwhile, amidst the silence, her mind kept thinking about Murong Shi's words to her in the car.

If Xu Chuanchuan were to be honest, she didn't dislike Murong Shi in general. However, she couldn't stand Murong Shi's attitude.

Unfortunately, Xu Chuanchuan only dared to curse at Murong Shi in her heart. After all, quarreling was not her forte. Had she been able to fire back a few sentences, she wouldn't be feeling so depressed right now.

However, after Xu Chuanchuan's anger subsided, she suddenly thought of a serious problem. Now that she had rejected Murong Shi's approach, wouldn't Murong Shi retaliate against her?

With that person's vengeful personality This isn't an impossibility! The more Xu Chuanchuan thought about this possibility, the more afraid she became. Immediately, she pulled out her phone and conducted an online search: "What are the consequences of offending a Scorpio?"

The answers Xu Chuanchuan found online were shocking, and she couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. Then, the following scene suddenly emerged in her mind

Murong Shi had called her to the office. Then, Murong Shi tossed a sheet of paper in her face and contemptuously said, "You're fired."

Xu Chuanchuan shuddered at this thought, and she immediately snapped out of her daze.

Then, Xu Chuanchuan hurriedly climbed out of bed, pointed at the empty space in front of her while imagining Murong Shi was standing there, and said, "Fine, then! I've long since wanted to quit!"

After saying so, Xu Chuanchuan hiccuped and felt her momentum disappearing. Then, her shoulders crumbled, and she listlessly made her way to the bathroom to take a shower.

In reality, Xu Chuanchuan knew that she was doing nothing but scare herself. Xu Chuanchuan knew that while Murong Shi might have a domineering personality and was adept at messing with people, the woman wouldn't do anything to her for a silly reason such as rejecting her confession.

At most, Murong Shi would pretend as if the confession had never happened, just like how she had previously acted as if the kissing incident had never happened.

What Xu Chuanchuan couldn't understand was what Murong Shi was trying to do. If Murong Shi was simply trying to mess with her, then once should've been enough. Was there a need for a second time?

Yet, if Murong Shi was serious about her confession, her kiss was simply too whimsical in Xu Chuanchuan's opinion. Through the kiss, Xu Chuanchuan felt as if Murong Shi treated relationships like nothing but a joke.

While Xu Chuanchuan was showering, she accidentally got some foam into her eyes. After trying to wash it out and suffering from the stinging pain for some time, she found that her eyes had reddened as if she had just cried.

By the time Xu Chuanchuan had dried her hair, she was already getting sleepy. Out of habit, though, she started fiddling with her phone and reading unread messages before going to sleep.

Ange: "Are you not writing anything today, either?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "It's my little sister's birthday today, so I went out to celebrate it with her."

Ange: "Tang'er, you've been acting out of the norm recently."

Xu Chuanchuan: "What do you mean?"

Ange: "Only now did you reply to the message I sent at eight o'clock. This means you didn't look at your phone the entire night. Is that not abnormal?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "But I was in a pub at the time."

Ange: "Apart from tonight, you've been acting abnormally for the past few days as well. You don't write when you have the opportunity to do so, you also sound apathetic when I try to chat with you. Out with it. You must've found a dog outside, right? You must've abandoned me after finding new love, right?!"

Xu Chuanchuan: "No, I only have you. I love you, muah~"

Ange: "Why do I feel as if you've started dating someone?"

Xu Chuanchuan's heart thumped when she saw this message.

Unfortunately, while Xu Chuanchuan might not be in a relationship, her recent troubles were indeed related to it. Murong Shi was all to blame for making a mess of her heart.

Regardless, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but feel guilty as she replied: "No, I'm still a single dog. Woof, woof~"

Xu Chuanchuan very much wanted to tell Ange about her troubles, yet she found herself unable to do so. Even until now, she still found it incredibly embarrassing that she had her first kiss stolen, and there was nothing she could do about it. Moreover, if Ange found out that Murong Shi was the person who forcibly kissed her, she would probably explode.

After making some lighthearted conversation with Ange, Xu Chuanchuan felt her mood brightening significantly. However, after bidding each other goodbye and turning off the lights, she had insomnia again.

Since Xu Chuanchuan didn't sleep well, her spirit the next day was naturally terrible. Xu Chuanchuan didn't have the habit of putting on makeup, and neither did she have a stockpile of cosmetic products lying around. So, she left for work after casually putting on a layer of sunscreen.

Ever since Murong Shi had stopped asking for her assistance, Xu Chuanchuan's work-life returned to normal. As she didn't have a lot of work to do, she slowly did them one by one.

At one point during the day, she visited the photography room. When she came out of the stuffy room, she was already drenched in sweat. Coincidentally, she also came across the Business Department's assistant.

"Oh, so you were here, Little Xu."

Stunned, Xu Chuanchuan looked at the other party and asked, "Were you looking for me?"

"Miss Murong has been looking for you all day."

Xu Chuanchuan's expression stiffened at these words. Then, forgetting even to wipe the sweat dripping down her forehead, she asked, "Why is she looking for me?"

"She didn't say, so how would I know?"

"...Alright, I got it."

"You should hurry. She happens to be free right now."

Xu Chuanchuan entered a trance as she made her way to the washroom. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she found that her face looked as white as a sheet of paper. Whether this resulted from her sunscreen being of poor quality or some other reason, she did not know.

Why is Murong Shi looking for me? Shouldn't she pretend as if nothing has happened like last time?

This situation was different from what Xu Chuanchuan expected. However, she also dared not waste too much time.

After just one night, Xu Chuanchuan could no longer look at Murong Shi with the same mentality as she had before. Although she would still get nervous like usual, she now found herself falling into a daze for no reason when she looked at Murong Shi. Clearing her throat, she softly asked, "Were you looking for me?"

Murong Shi hinted at Xu Chuanchuan to move closer. Then, she pulled out a wrapped gift box from a drawer and handed it to Xu Chuanchuan.

Confused by this situation, Xu Chuanchuan did not accept the box.

"This is a present for Xiangxiang. Help me pass it to her," Murong Shi explained.

Xu Chuanchuan breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard Murong Shi's words. Then, she accepted the gift box and hesitantly asked, "What is it?"

"It's the lipstick she wanted."

Murong Shi's gifts definitely wouldn't be cheap, and this was also what Xu Chuanchuan was concerned about. Xu Chuanchuan felt that she shouldn't accept it, yet she couldn't think up to refuse it., either. After all, this wasn't a gift meant for her.

Xu Chuanchuan also didn't think Murong Shi would prepare a gift for Xu Xiangxiang. However, while she was indeed surprised, she did not show it on her face. Then, lowering her gaze, she said, "Thank you."

Even until Xu Chuanchuan left the office, she did not see what kind of expression Murong Shi wore on her face.

When Xu Chuanchuan gave her little sister a call and told her about Murong Shi's present, the girl got so excited that she flew to the company on the same night to retrieve it.

When Xu Xiangxiang unwrapped the present and saw the item inside, she went crazy once more. While grabbing and shaking Xu Chuanchuan's shoulders, she screamed, "It's an Armani lip gloss!!! I only offhandedly asked Big Sis Shishi about it that day! I didn't think she would remember it!"

Xu Chuanchuan grew a little dizzy from being repeatedly shaken. Then, she rolled her eyes as she said, "Calm down."

Smiling from ear to ear, Xu Xiangxiang said, "There's no way I can calm down. Big Sis Shishi is such a kind person. I love her to death! How do you think I should thank her?"

"Up to you."

"Should I invite her to dinner again?"

"Ask her yourself if you want to. I won't be accompanying you this time."

At this time, Xu Xiangxiang finally noticed that something was amiss with her elder sister's tone. Then, she asked, "What happened?"

Xu Chuanchuan groaned for a moment before saying, "Xiangxiang, Miss Murong lives in a different world from us, so it would be best if you stopped bothering her in the future. Once or twice might be fine, but any more, and it'll become an annoyance."

Blinking her eyes innocently, Xu Xiangxiang said, "But Big Sis Shishi enjoys talking to me. She says she likes me."

"That's just her being polite. Do you understand what polite speech is? You've only met each other a few times, and you barely know her. Stop being so silly and innocent in the future. Asking someone you're not familiar with for presents is rude."

Putting on an aggrieved look, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I didn't ask her for a present. I only asked what lipstick she was using at the time. How would I know she would so generously give me one? Sis, I think you're too opinionated of Big Sis Shishi. I already noticed it the last time we went out shopping. So, what exactly happened between the two of you?"

Xu Chuanchuan's eyes flickered for a moment. Afraid that her little sister would pry too deeply, she quickly made up an excuse, "I just don't want her to think that I'm trying to curry favor with her."

Although Xu Xiangxiang still wanted to say something, Xu Chuanchuan refused to give her any opportunities as she said, "Now that you've got your present, hurry up and leave."