Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 14

A monotonous ringtone broke through Zhong Yingzhi’s chaotic thoughts.

She took out her phone and answered. Her voice was cold. “Speak.”

Lin Zhuo looked at the information he had just gathered. “The group led by Liu Sihui that you asked me to check has been identified. There are nine of them in total, all juniors at Xuanfeng. They’re used to acting like tyrants, and regular students don’t dare mess with them. As long as they don’t cause major trouble, the school leadership tends to turn a blind eye to their petty bullying…”

Zhong Yingzhi interrupted him. “I’m not interested in that. I only have one thing to say: starting tomorrow, I don’t want to see anyone who laid a hand on her in that alley today appearing in front of me again.”

Lin Zhuo caught her meaning and asked, “How far do you want me to take this?”

“As far as you possibly can,” Zhong Yingzhi said flatly.

Lin Zhuo hesitated. “It’s just kids messing around; it could be a big deal or a small one. There’s no need to go overboard. A little disciplinary action to make them behave should be enough…”

Lin Zhuo wanted to persuade her, but Zhong Yingzhi hung up the phone directly.

Looking at the disconnected screen, Lin Zhuo let out a long, weary sigh.

Mu Cheng clutched her stomach as she walked back to the dorm. A journey that normally took five minutes took nearly half an hour today, as she limped along step by step.

The moment she entered, she glared at Zhong Yingzhi with a look of deep resentment. She had told the woman to wait for her, yet the person had walked faster and faster, leaving her behind all alone. How excessive!

Mu Cheng pouted. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Zhong Yingzhi didn’t even lift an eyelid, acting as if she hadn’t heard a word.

Xiao Xiaoli was at the balcony washing an apple. Hearing the commotion, she poked her head out. “You’re back? Want an apple? I’ll wash one for—”

Before she could finish, she saw Mu Cheng’s face—scratches on her forehead and a bruised, swollen mouth. She looked like she had been severely beaten.

Xiao Xiaoli dropped the apple and ran over. “What happened to your face?! Did someone hit you? Was it Liu Sihui? It must have been that unreasonable psycho! Damn it, this is completely intolerable. I’m going to get revenge for you!”

Fuming with indignation, Xiao Xiaoli rolled up her sleeves, looking ready to seek justice.

Mu Cheng watched her walk toward the door but didn’t stop her.

Sure enough, as expected, Xiao Xiaoli stopped right at the doorway.

She was even more cowardly than Mu Cheng. How could she actually dare to look for a fight? She was just talking big. Mu Cheng knew her all too well.

Mu Cheng raised a hand and gestured. “Go on. Weren’t you going to get revenge for me? Go, hurry up.”

“Don’t be like that,” Xiao Xiaoli coughed twice in embarrassment and slunk back. “How are you? Is it serious? Did you go to the infirmary?”

“I’m fine, just some superficial injuries,” Mu Cheng said. As she spoke, she looked at Zhong Yingzhi. “It’s all thanks to Zhong Yingzhi today. If she hadn’t helped, I’d probably be lying in a hospital bed right now.”

Hearing this, Xiao Xiaoli also looked at Zhong Yingzhi.

With both their gazes fixed on her, Zhong Yingzhi thinned her lips uncomfortably. “I was just passing by. I didn’t help.”

“Right, right. You were just passing by and didn’t help. I get it, I get it,” Mu Cheng nodded, offering a perfunctory agreement.

Mu Cheng finally realized: this person was stubborn—extremely stubborn.

Zhong Yingzhi looked displeased, let out a cold snort, and stopped talking.

Xiao Xiaoli said worriedly, “Yingzhi was there this time, but what about next time? I’m afraid Liu Sihui won’t let this go.”

Mu Cheng shook her head, walked over to Zhong Yingzhi, and deliberately draped a hand over her shoulder, saying teasingly, “I’ve got a big boss covering for me now. How would Liu Sihui dare to cause trouble again? Right, am I right, Xiao Ying-ying?”

Xiao Ying-ying?

Zhong Yingzhi’s eyebrows shot up. Her only review for this nickname was two words: “Get lost.”

“So mean!” Mu Cheng giggled and pulled her hand back.

Since the woman didn’t like being touched, Mu Cheng took pleasure in teasing her—patting her back or draping an arm over her shoulder whenever she felt like it.

Of course, the reaction she received was always “Get lost” or “Crazy”—hardly friendly vocabulary.

Mu Cheng’s living expenses for the month were hitting rock bottom. It wasn’t because she was a big spender, but because the hospital check-ups and medications had cost quite a lot.

Her monthly allowance was 2000, which was usually more than enough. But after the hospital ordeal, her wallet was empty.

Fearing that her grandmother would worry, Mu Cheng didn’t dare tell her. Her days became tight, and she started living on instant noodles and bread.

At noon, Mu Cheng brewed a cup of noodles, yawning listlessly.

Zhong Yingzhi, who was about to head to the cafeteria, paused and looked back at her. Her gaze eventually landed on the noodle cup. “Why are you always eating instant noodles?”

Mu Cheng poked the noodles with a fork. “Would you believe me if I said I like them and think they’re delicious?”

Zhong Yingzhi frowned. “Since you’re out of money, why did you insist on paying at the hospital?”

“It was my doctor visit; of course I should pay,” Mu Cheng slurped a mouthful of noodles. “Thinking about it makes my heart ache for the money. I told you not to do so many tests, but you insisted on a full-body check-up. It cost several thousand, and the result was that I’m perfectly healthy. I’m dying of regret over the money.”

Zhong Yingzhi sneered. “Are you disappointed that you aren’t sick? The check-up was actually missing a brain scan. There’s likely something wrong with your head; I suggest you go check it.”

Mu Cheng took a sip of the soup and said nonchalantly, “I’ve realized that you feel uncomfortable if you don’t snub me when you talk. Go ahead, whatever. I’m used to it anyway.”

As Mu Cheng ate, she propped one foot up on the stool, acting quite unrefined. She talked with her mouth full, looking very unladylike. Yet, in Zhong Yingzhi’s eyes, this behavior somehow seemed… a little cute.

The more she looked, the cuter it became.

Zhong Yingzhi thinned her lips and said insincerely, “Eat properly. Don’t talk while eating.”

Mu Cheng didn’t care. “Isn’t it better to live a bit more freely? I call this being ‘genuine and unpretentious’.”

Zhong Yingzhi huffed. “I call this ‘clinging to bad habits’ and it’s quite an eyesore for others.”

Mu Cheng perked up at this, ready to argue. “You shouldn’t throw the term ‘bad habit’ around. A bad habit refers to something crude, ugly, and uncivilized that ruins social morality. I don’t think my talking while eating has reached the level of social morality yet.”

“I don’t know about social morality, but ‘crude and ugly’ is quite accurate,” Zhong Yingzhi shot back using Mu Cheng’s own words.

Mu Cheng put down her noodles. “Are you saying I’m crude and ugly?”

Zhong Yingzhi nodded.

Mu Cheng bared her teeth at her, fuming. “Oh, so only you’re refined? Only you’re beautiful? Well, I’m going to talk while I eat! It kills me not to talk! I’m going to say it—I’m specifically going to talk to you while I eat!”

Zhong Yingzhi: “Unreasonable.”

Mu Cheng stuck out her tongue. “Didn’t you call me a chatterbox? If I don’t chatter for you, I’d be letting you down.”

Zhong Yingzhi: “You’re sick.”

Mu Cheng exhaled a long breath and laughed out of anger. “I say, are you trying to start a fight with me?”

The person who was supposed to go to the cafeteria didn’t go. Instead, she took out her phone and ordered delivery.

Half an hour later, the delivery arrived.

Mu Cheng looked at it curiously. “Why did you order so much?”

This was definitely not a portion for one person. To be precise, these two large bags were enough for four or five people.

Zhong Yingzhi said coldly, “None of your business.”

It really was none of her business, but once the containers were opened, the aroma was so enticing that Mu Cheng swallowed several times. Suddenly, her cup of noodles felt tasteless.

Mu Cheng couldn’t help but wonder: Was Zhong Yingzhi doing this on purpose? She usually only ate at the cafeteria and never ordered delivery. Why today, and why such fragrant food?

Could it be…

Could she be doing this just to spite me?

Definitely! Absolutely!

That stingy girl. Just because I talked to her while eating, she goes and orders delivery specifically to annoy me? How petty, Mu Cheng complained inwardly.

After eating a few bites, Zhong Yingzhi picked up a delivery box and tossed it onto Mu Cheng’s desk. “It’s not good. Throw it away for me.”

“Am I your lackey? Throw away your own trash,” Mu Cheng huffed. Then she glanced at the box and realized it hadn’t even been opened.

This wasn’t asking Mu Cheng to throw it away; it was clearly ordered specifically for her to eat.

Mu Cheng finally understood. Zhong Yingzhi hadn’t ordered delivery to spite her, but to find an excuse to give her a meal.

Mu Cheng asked, “You ordered this for me?”

Zhong Yingzhi said nothing. She turned back to her seat and continued eating her own portion with her head down.

Mu Cheng looked at the food, then at Zhong Yingzhi, and smiled.

She opened the box—it was braised pork. The aroma hit her instantly, and she couldn’t wait to take a bite.

After eating instant noodles for days, the taste of meat was a long-awaited luxury. She said happily, “Xiao Ying-ying, you’re so good to me! This meat is delicious!”

Zhong Yingzhi frowned. She hated the nickname, yet Mu Cheng insisted on it. “I told you, we aren’t close. Don’t use such sickening names.”

With a mouth full of meat, Mu Cheng’s speech was muffled. “Then if Xiao Ying-ying is no good, how about Xiao Zhi-zhi? If that’s no good either, Xiao Zhong-zhong works too!”

Zhong Yingzhi stood up and walked over, silently moving to take away the food she had ordered for her.

“I was wrong! I’m sorry! I won’t call you that anymore!” Mu Cheng shielded the box. “I know my mistake, really… Xiao Ying-ying.”

Zhong Yingzhi: “…”

Seeing that Zhong Yingzhi wasn’t snatching the box anymore, Mu Cheng let out a sigh of relief. She giggled and continued eating contentedly, murmuring under her breath, “I’m still gonna call you Xiao Ying-ying.”

Watching her eat so happily, the corner of Zhong Yingzhi’s mouth couldn’t help but curve into a smile.