Chapter 142 – My Feelings for You Aren’t Sudden at All

Lin Xi thought Zhao Xinning had left something behind and come back to get it.

But the person standing at the door was Shi Yu.

“You came over and brought a bundle of firewood with you?” Lin Xi asked, baffled. “I have a gas stove. I don’t burn wood.”

Shi Yu said, “This isn’t firewood. These are thorny branches I went to great lengths to gather.”

“Thorny branches???”

“Yes. I’ve come bearing thorns to beg your forgiveness.”

Lin Xi: “…”

“Could you not be so ridiculously extra?”

Shi Yu countered, “May I come inside?”

Lin Xi stared at her in astonishment.

The old Shi Yu had treated this place like her own home!

She had even acted like a tyrant, loudly declaring that she was going to take it over!

But now… had the tyrant suddenly turned over a new leaf???

“Leave the firewood outside, then you can come in,” Lin Xi said.

“First of all, these are thorny branches,” Shi Yu said. “Second, if you make me throw them away, does that mean you still won’t forgive me even after I’ve come bearing thorns to apologize?”

Lin Xi: “…”

“Why do you have so much nonsense to say? Throw them away, or don’t come in.”

“Fine. I’ll throw them away.” Shi Yu did as she was told.

After coming inside, she didn’t flop onto the sofa as usual and order Lin Xi to bring her snacks and drinks.

Instead, she sat upright and proper, as well behaved as if she were visiting a stranger’s home for the first time.

Lin Xi was bewildered. “Did Sister Lin repair your personality along with your body???”

“No. I realized on my own that I treated you terribly before,” Shi Yu said sincerely. “So I intend to spend the rest of my life making up for my past mistakes.”

Together for life again?! Lin Xi had come to loathe that phrase with every fiber of her being.

“Don’t,” Lin Xi said. “You already apologized before, and now you’ve apologized again in this bizarre way. Most importantly, you paid me compensation. You’ve apologized and made amends, so I forgive you.”

“Huh?! Really?!” Shi Yu’s eyes lit up as she exclaimed excitedly, “Thank you! Thank you for forgiving me! Thank you for accepting my confession!”

Lin Xi: “???”

“Wait! I said I forgive you! When did I accept your confession?!”

“Confession???!!!” Thor, who had been serving them tea, exploded. “Shi Yu! You made a move behind my back?!”

Before the situation could spiral out of control, Lin Xi shouted them down.

“The next person who makes a fuss is getting kicked out of this house!”

Shi Yu: “…”

Thor: “…”

Lin Xi told Shi Yu to speak first and explain what she meant by Lin Xi accepting her confession.

Shi Yu said, “Didn’t you forgive me? What better proof could there be that you’ve accepted my confession?”

“Thank you for promoting me from backup girlfriend to official girlfriend. I promise to love you forever and ever-“

“Stop!” Lin Xi cut off Shi Yu’s acceptance speech before she could get carried away. “Shi Yu, did that bullet actually damage your brain?”

Shi Yu’s brain was the only part of her entire body that wasn’t made from artificial materials.

That left Lin Xi with no choice but to suspect that something had gone wrong with it.

“I did forgive you, and we can be friends.”

“But don’t you think you’ve taken this misunderstanding a little too far?”

“Jumping straight into a romantic relationship? What the hell are you thinking?”

“And the biggest problem is-you like me? What the hell? Why would you like me?”

“This is way too sudden!”

“If a novel had an emotional turn this abrupt, the readers would tear it to shreds!”

Faced with Lin Xi’s interrogation, Shi Yu remained perfectly calm.

“Lin Xi, we live in the real world. Novels need logic. Reality doesn’t.”

“Cut the crap.” Lin Xi only wanted an answer to one question. “Why did you suddenly start liking me?!”

“It wasn’t sudden,” Shi Yu said. “My feelings for you aren’t sudden at all. Lin Xi, do you remember last year’s School Sports Festival-“

Lin Xi interrupted her. “You know I have amnesia. How could I remember anything from last year? Just start from… that day you called me into the office and threatened to make me take off my clothes.”

Thor, who was sitting nearby, could no longer hold herself back. “Take off your clothes???!!! Master! Shi Yu! You two were getting that wild at school?! You can’t do thaaat-“

Lin Xi pointed at the door. “Thor, you may leave now.”

Thor: “…”

She clapped both hands over her mouth and shook her head, tears welling in her eyes as she tried to get by on cuteness alone.

Lin Xi’s heart softened, and she allowed Thor to remain in the room.

Shi Yu continued, “All right. I’ll start from that day.”

“I threatened to make you take off your clothes and become my illustration model because… I’d already started lusting after your body!!!”

Lin Xi: “…”

When it came to being a pervert, Shi Yu could always outdo herself.

No one could dethrone Shi Yu from the pinnacle of perversion.

“Threatening you was the only way I could see how shy and adorable you looked in your underwear!!!”

“Hey, hey, hey! Stop shouting that so loudly, you pervert!”

At Lin Xi’s vehement insistence, Shi Yu lowered her voice.

“All the bullying that followed happened because I’d chosen the wrong approach from the very beginning.”

“Since I’d started by threatening and intimidating you, I had no choice but to keep going further and further down that mistaken path.”

“Besides, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it at the time. After all, just look. My threats successfully got me into the same bed as you.”

“What?!” Lin Xi demanded. “Didn’t you sleep with me because you were scared of cockroaches?! Were the cockroaches just an excuse?!”

“No, I really am afraid of cockroaches. Of course, that also gave me an excuse to sleep with you.” Shi Yu sounded deeply nostalgic. “Sleeping with you was so warm. And your body was incredibly soft-“

Lin Xi: “…”

“Holy crap! You even felt me up in secret?!”

“You bastard! You turned around and spread rumors to Lu Yi and the others, claiming I was the one secretly touching you!”

Seeing Lin Xi’s face burn bright red, Shi Yu asked, “Should I go fetch those thorny switches from outside, strap them to my back again, and keep talking to you like that? Would it make you feel any better?”

Thor’s face was burning too. Even she had never dared to secretly feel Lin Xi up!!!

Lin Xi poured herself a glass of water and drank it to cool down.

“Other than secretly touching me, what other perverted things did you do behind my back?”

Shi Yu shook her head. “I wanted to kiss you in secret, but I decided against it. That’s something we should only do after becoming a couple.”

“That’s why I later suggested that we become ‘contract girlfriends.'”

“I really did want to draw lovey-dovey manga with you, but more than that, I wanted to use the plan to get lovey-dovey with you!!!”

“I told you not to say it so loudly, you schemer!” Lin Xi said, her face flushed. “What is actually wrong with your brain? Sure, everything you did got you close to me, but didn’t you notice that I was starting to hate you more and more?”

“I did,” Shi Yu said, lowering her head. “It was precisely because I realized I’d become the person you hated most that I finally saw the light!”

“Tsunderes are out of fashion!!!”

“If I kept acting like a hopeless tsundere, I’d lose everything!!!”

“That’s why I’m going to make a comeback against all odds!!!”

“My fate is mine to decide, not heaven’s!!!”

“What are you suddenly getting so fired up for?!” Lin Xi retorted. “Shi Yu, if you keep shouting nonsense, you can get out right now.”

Shi Yu poured herself a glass of water as well and took a drink to calm herself down.

“Actually, what finally made me decide to confess to you was what you said when you came to visit me that day. You said you were a witch and didn’t want to drag anyone else down, so you weren’t going to fall for anyone or accept anyone else’s feelings.”

“That was when I realized how lonely you really were…”

“So I made up my mind to confess to you.”

“I can’t let you stay lonely.”

“I want you to know that I’m not afraid of being dragged down by you. I like you, and you’re allowed to accept my feelings.”

“After everything I’ve said… Lin Xi, do you still not believe that my feelings for you are real?”

Lin Xi: “…”

She fell silent.

Had Shi Yu really bullied her all that time just because she was a perverted, hopeless tsundere???

Lin Xi couldn’t accept it so easily.

She still believed reality, just like fiction, had to make some kind of sense…

“I know you can’t accept it right away,” Shi Yu said. “That’s exactly why I didn’t ask to become your official girlfriend straight away.”

Lin Xi couldn’t resist scoffing. “Hah. You say that as if I’d agree if you did ask.”

Shi Yu continued, “It’s perfectly normal that you didn’t agree. I understand. Because of my hopelessly tsundere personality, I approached you and tried to get close to you in all the wrong ways, and I hurt you deeply.”

“So I’ll accept any beating or punishment you give me. Lin Xi, hit me.”

Lin Xi had only just raised her hand when Shi Yu said, “You can’t bring yourself to do it, so curse me instead.”

Lin Xi had only just opened her mouth when Shi Yu said, “You can’t bring yourself to do that either, so give me a hug instead.”

Lin Xi: “…”

“Hmph! Don’t try your tricks on me.” Lin Xi wasn’t falling for that routine. “I more or less understand why you bullied me now, and I more or less understand how you feel about me.”

“But sorry. A hopeless tsundere is destined to lose everything.”

“It’d be out of character for you not to lose.”

“Shi Yu, you’ll always be my backup girlfriend. You’ll never be promoted to the real thing!”

“Huh? Really? I can really be your backup girlfriend for the rest of my life?” Shi Yu exclaimed in delight. “That’s wonderful! A backup girlfriend is still a girlfriend! I thought you wouldn’t even let me keep that position.”

Shi Yu’s sheer absurdity broke through Lin Xi’s defenses.

Completely and utterly.

“Shi Yu, have you been lurking in my fan group for too long? Don’t start acting this unhinged!”

Shi Yu: “…”

“Your fan group is full of talented people who are so nice to talk to. They’re not unhinged at all.”

“I’m happy that so many people like and support you.”

“I’m also worried someone else will steal you away.”

“Maybe someone eventually will, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll be your backup girlfriend for the rest of my life!”

There was that “issho ni1” again. Lin Xi stared ahead with the dead eyes of someone who had lost all hope.

Am I cursed by that phrase or something???

“Forget it, Shi Yu. Think whatever you want…”

Lin Xi had never understood the way Shi Yu’s mind worked, and she still couldn’t understand it now.

With complete sincerity, Shi Yu asked, “Now that you know my feelings for you are real… can I stay the night here like I used to?”

Lin Xi smiled faintly. “Nope.”

Shi Yu asked again, “Then can I have a hug before I leave? Just one…”

“Sigh-” Lin Xi stood up. “Fine. Just one.”

(One bonus chapter… Haki-Liao kneels before you! I can never repay my esteemed readers for all your kindness! You’ll forever be the sun in Haki-Liao’s heart. Loyal! Orange-!)

Footnote:

• Issho Ni(一緒に): Japanese for “together” or “with you,” used here as a recurring romantic phrase.