I’m A Scumbag Woman—I Flirt, But Never Marry [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 9

Wang Jianfei climbed out of bed with a splitting headache and reached for his phone.

It was now 5:38 p.m. He had several missed calls, all from clients.

None were from Xu Tinglan.

Wang Jianfei felt somewhat regretful. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have let the phone ring twice before hanging up. Why had he tried to play hard to get?

Now Xu Tinglan had gone the entire day without returning his call. If he called her again at this point, he would lose far too much dignity.

Irritated, Wang Jianfei got up.

The living room remained exactly as he had left it the previous night. Beer cans were scattered everywhere, and the air reeked unpleasantly of alcohol.

He kicked aside the can near his foot and entered the bathroom with a frown. He had eaten only half a piece of bread since morning and was so hungry that his head felt heavy and his legs weak.

After washing, he came out yawning and searched the refrigerator.

Other than fruit, there was nothing ready to eat.

Xu Tinglan cared greatly about quality of life. They generally didn’t keep prepared food at home, only fresh ingredients. Even the bread had been baked by Xu Tinglan for his breakfast the previous day, and half of it had been left over.

Wang Jianfei opened the wardrobe and prepared to change before going out to eat. He had already pulled out his clothes when he suddenly stopped.

He was currently so hungry that his voice would sound weak and exhausted. If he called Xu Tinglan now, she would feel sorry for him, and the whole incident would be over.

Wang Jianfei took out his phone and found Xu Tinglan’s number.

After considering it repeatedly, he decided against calling.

No matter how badly they had argued in the past, Xu Tinglan had never gone this long without contacting him. It was even more impossible for her to see his call and resist returning it for an entire day.

That little bitch Ma Yanzhi had to be interfering.

What if he called while the little bitch was still there, and she urged Xu Tinglan not to answer?

Then he would lose face without even managing to speak to his wife.

Why should he put himself through that?

Wang Jianfei rubbed his temple.

This was so fucking irritating.

He had merely lost control for a moment and slept with another woman. How serious was that?

Look at the ridiculous fuss she was making!

As his wife, she had actually dared to stay away from home for an entire day and night. This was completely unacceptable!

No. He absolutely couldn’t indulge her!

If he yielded this time, she would only become more demanding in the future!

Wang Jianfei glanced at the wall clock. It wasn’t yet six, and the gallery generally closed at seven thirty. It was definitely still open.

As long as Ma Yanzhi wasn’t standing beside her and sowing discord, Xu Tinglan would obediently reconcile with him.

But how could he lure Ma Yanzhi away?

Wang Jianfei scratched his hair.

He had it!

An hour later, Wang Jianfei drove to the apartment building where Professor Xu lived.

He glanced at his watch. It was only seven. He still had plenty of time.

Carrying some fruit he had casually purchased along the way, he went upstairs.

Mrs. Xu was sixty this year. After hearing that he would be visiting, she had hurried to the supermarket, bought a free-range chicken, and put it on to stew. She had also purchased a live fish, had it killed on the spot, and brought it home to braise.

Professor Xu was sixty-one and had retired the previous year. Since retiring, he and his wife had spent their time tending flowers, growing plants, and practicing tai chi for seniors. Their days were leisurely and pleasant.

He was reading the newspaper with his glasses on. The moment Wang Jianfei entered, he immediately put it down.

“You’re here? Come, sit down and rest.”

Still holding a cooking spatula, Mrs. Xu leaned her head out of the kitchen. The fish remained on the stove, so she didn’t dare leave.

“There are some pastries on the table. Eat a couple to tide yourself over. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Wang Jianfei responded affirmatively.

He was genuinely starving, so he picked up a pineapple cake and began eating. Professor Xu reached over, poured him a glass of hot water, and placed it beside his hand.

The professor chuckled.

“Don’t eat too much, or you won’t have room for the good food later.”

Still chewing, Wang Jianfei’s cheeks bulged. He picked up the glass, blew across the surface, and took two sips.

The water scalded his mouth and teeth but quenched his thirst.

He set it down, continued chewing, and joked, “Mom tells me to eat, but you tell me not to. So should I eat or not, Dad?”

The elderly couple had been nearly forty when they finally had Xu Tinglan, their precious treasure. Naturally, they adored her with all their hearts. By extension, they also treated their son-in-law like their own son.

Professor Xu leaned back against the sofa and lightly patted the armrest, smiling warmly.

“I’m not telling you not to eat. Those pastries are incredibly dense. Each one must weigh at least three liang—nearly five ounces. If you eat several, will you still have room for the braised fish your mother made?”

Professor Xu’s eyesight wasn’t particularly good. After removing his glasses, he hadn’t noticed the scratches on Wang Jianfei’s face.

Mrs. Xu, however, saw them the moment she carried the braised fish to the dining table and turned around.

“Oh! Jianfei, what happened to your face?”

Wang Jianfei touched it self-consciously.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was at fault and made Lan Lan angry.”

Only then did Mrs. Xu look around.

“Lan Lan didn’t come with you? Did the two of you have an argument?”

Wang Jianfei nodded.

“Lan Lan didn’t come home at all last night, and she hasn’t returned today either. She won’t answer my calls. It seems she’s genuinely angry with me.”

Mrs. Xu lifted her apron and wiped her hands, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Lan Lan has a very good temper, and I’m not merely saying that because she’s my daughter. She doesn’t become angry easily. Can you tell Mom what happened?”

Wang Jianfei put down the pineapple cake and straightened his back. He placed both hands properly on his knees, looking sincere and remorseful.

“It was all my fault. I finished work early yesterday but didn’t pick her up. After going home, I drank beer while watching a soccer match and spilled two cans, so the living room became rather messy.

“When Lan Lan returned, she became angry and told me to clean it immediately. I wanted to wait until the match ended, so she grabbed me and demanded that I clean it.

“If I had listened and cleaned up immediately, everything would have been fine. But I don’t know why I became so stubborn. The more she told me to clean, the more determined I became to wait until the match was over.

“After going back and forth like that, she became angry, turned around, and left.

“I knew I was wrong, so I hurried after her. She ignored me and called Ma Yanzhi, saying she would sleep at her house. I didn’t dare stop her too forcefully because I was afraid of making her even angrier. I could only watch her enter Ma Yanzhi’s home before returning.”

At this point, Wang Jianfei released an affected sigh.

“Ultimately, everything was my fault. I was in no state to work today, so I specifically took the day off and cleaned the apartment while waiting for her to return.

“But she never came back and wouldn’t answer my calls. I didn’t dare visit the gallery either, in case Ma Yanzhi was there.

“And Ma Yanzhi… She refuses to marry anyone herself, yet she constantly fills Lan Lan’s head with ideas, telling her that I’m bad in this way and that. I don’t know what she hopes to accomplish. Would she only be happy if Lan Lan divorced me?

“I admit that I have many flaws, but I’ve been working hard to change. Besides, Lan Lan and I have been living quite happily. For Ma Yanzhi to keep sowing discord between us is truly… inappropriate.”

Seeing that his grand deception was about to turn into an entire denunciation of Ma Yanzhi, Wang Jianfei hurriedly pulled himself back.

“I’m genuinely out of options now. Lan Lan won’t speak to me, so I could only come here and apologize to Mom and Dad. I hoped you might put in a few good words for me.

“I know I was wrong. I promise I’ll never make such a mess of the apartment again.”

After hearing his explanation, the elderly couple sighed with relief.

Mrs. Xu said, “Lan Lan is acting childish too. This was such a small matter. Did she really need to make such an enormous issue of it?”

Professor Xu agreed. “Husbands and wives quarrel at the head of the bed and reconcile at the foot. No matter what happened, she shouldn’t have stayed away from home overnight.

“We spoiled her too much growing up. Please be a little more tolerant of her. I’ll call her and tell her to come over right now.”

Professor Xu took out his phone and searched for her number.

Wang Jianfei hurriedly added another hypocritical reminder.

“It was all my fault, so please don’t criticize her. I’ll already be thanking Heaven and Earth if she’s willing to forgive me.”

Professor Xu glared at him.

“You’re my student. Don’t you understand my temperament by now? I side with reason, not with family. She was indeed the one who went too far in this matter, so I need to speak to her properly.

“She’s already an adult and could become a mother herself at any time. She can’t continue being so willful.”

Xu Tinglan was tidying up and preparing to close the gallery when her phone suddenly rang.

Zhi Zhi had just returned from taking out the garbage and immediately entered a state of full alert.

“Is it him? Don’t answer! You’re far too easily persuaded. He’ll say a couple of sentences, and you’ll forgive him.

“I’m warning you: when it comes to cheating, there are only zero times and countless times. You absolutely can’t soften your heart and fall for his tricks! Otherwise, you’ll have plenty of reasons to cry in the future!”

Xu Tinglan sighed, turned the phone screen toward her, and shook her head.

“It’s my father.”

Zhi Zhi immediately closed her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

“Then hurry and answer it.”

“Dad, what is it?”

“Have you closed the gallery yet?”

“I’m just about to.”

“Good. Come home after you close.”

“Is something wrong?”

“We’ll talk when you arrive. Your mother just finished cooking, so come here for dinner.”

“All right.”

Xu Tinglan ended the call uneasily and collapsed into a candy-green lounge chair.

“Zhi Zhi, I’m a little frightened.”

Cold white light spilled over her head.

Xu Tinglan lowered her face slightly, leaving her features shrouded in shadow. Her expression was gray and desolate, her anxious eyes flickered uncertainly, and her long, lowered eyelashes fluttered continuously, revealing the unease spreading through her.

Zhi Zhi’s heart suddenly clenched in pain for no discernible reason.

It was the same pain she had experienced when she first learned that Xu Tinglan was getting married. Even she couldn’t explain why it made her feel so miserable.

She walked over and stroked Xu Tinglan’s head. The soft strands of hair brushed across her palm, suddenly making her want to cry.

Such a wonderful, wonderful woman.

How fortunate must someone be to have her?

Why did some scumbags simply refuse to treasure what they possessed?

“Don’t be afraid. That scumbag wouldn’t have the nerve to visit your parents. If he accidentally let something slip, he would be finished!”

“But my father didn’t mention asking him to come too. Logically, he should have told both of us to visit.”

“Isn’t it obvious? Whenever the two of you visit, you always go together. Why would your father need to mention it separately?

“Don’t overthink this. He definitely isn’t at your parents’ home—unless he has truly abandoned every last trace of shame.”

Although Zhi Zhi said this, she wasn’t confident either.

She had seen through Wang Jianfei completely. He was a scumbag without any moral limits, and she believed him capable of anything.

However, this was the only way she could comfort Xu Tinglan right now.

“If you’re really worried, why don’t you tell your father that a client wants to buy a painting or something and that you can’t make it?”

Xu Tinglan shook her head.

“If Wang Jianfei really is at my father’s home and I say that, my father will only become more worried. I should go.”

“Then why don’t I come with you? If he tries to bully you, I can help.”

Xu Tinglan sighed.

“You don’t need to come. In front of my parents, he won’t have the opportunity to bully me.”

Neither woman said it aloud, but they both understood the truth.

If Wang Jianfei was there, Zhi Zhi’s temper would inevitably lead to a fight. Professor Xu’s health was poor and simply couldn’t withstand such turmoil.

Exhausted, Xu Tinglan leaned forward and rested against Zhi Zhi’s embrace.

She still hadn’t sorted out her emotions and had no idea how to tell her parents what had happened. She had originally planned to wait several days and think everything through first.

What was she supposed to do now?

Zhi Zhi didn’t say anything else.

Xu Tinglan remained in her embrace for a while longer, steadying her emotions. Only then did she rise, close the gallery, and leave.