Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 16

Zhong Yingzhi reached out to pull her chair from under the desk, but halfway through, she was blocked by Mu Cheng, who was standing right in front of the table.

Zhong Yingzhi cast a glance at her; the girl was just standing there in a daze, shaking her head one moment and nodding the next, acting more like a lunatic than a normal person.

“You’re blocking my chair. Don’t stand by my desk. Move,” Zhong Yingzhi commanded, trying to shoo her away.

Mu Cheng didn’t budge. Instead, she suddenly blurted out something weird. “Xiao Ying-ying, looking at my personality, do I seem like the type of person who would get depression?”

Zhong Yingzhi: “I don’t know about depression, but you certainly look like the type of person who would lose their mind.”

Mu Cheng’s lip twitched. “How many different illnesses do I have in your eyes? You call me sick every single day. I’m telling you, even a clay man has three parts earthiness—don’t push me too far, I’m warning you.”

Zhong Yingzhi lost her patience, pushed her aside, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

Mu Cheng stumbled from the shove, catching herself on the bed frame to keep from falling. “Can’t you be a bit more gentle? I almost fell!”

Zhong Yingzhi acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. She took a book from the shelf, flipped it open, and began to read.

Mu Cheng didn’t hold a grudge. She leaned back in with a cheeky grin. “I’ve always been a happy-go-lucky person. I rarely get stuck in a rut; overall, I’m pretty optimistic. For example, you snub me every day and I rarely get truly angry with you. A person as easygoing as me just doesn’t seem like someone who’d get depression…”

Mu Cheng babbled on and on. Zhong Yingzhi kept her mind entirely on her book, flipping from one page to the next, treating Mu Cheng’s words like wind passing her ears.

As she spoke, Mu Cheng suddenly hopped up and sat right on Zhong Yingzhi’s desk. “I don’t get it, I really don’t get it. How could I possibly get depression?”

Zhong Yingzhi looked up, her gaze cold. “Get off my desk.”

Mu Cheng stuck out her tongue. “No.”

Zhong Yingzhi closed her book with a loud thud and stood up expressionlessly, looking as if she might shove her off the desk the next second.

A wise person knows when to fold. Before Zhong Yingzhi could explode, Mu Cheng scrambled down. Once on the floor, she didn’t forget to add: “Acting like you’re gonna hit someone just ’cause I sat on your desk… who are you trying to scare? I’m not afraid of you!”

Despite her words, she had already retreated over a meter away.

Mu Cheng walked over to her calendar, picked up a pen, and drew a circle around the 9th. She tapped the circle with her finger and murmured, “Tomorrow is the 9th.”

Her phone suddenly rang. Annoyed by the interruption, Mu Cheng frowned. She picked it up and saw it was Jiang Zhengzhi.

She pouted and hung up without hesitation.

Since her failed confession, Mu Cheng and Jiang Zhengzhi had cut off all contact. For some reason, Jiang Zhengzhi had been acting up the past few days, either sending messages or calling to “check in” on her.

Mu Cheng found it incredibly bothersome and blocked him on WeChat. Unfortunately, he was persistent and had moved on to calling her.

The phone rang again almost immediately. Before she could add him to her blacklist, he called back.

Mu Cheng answered irritably, her tone sharp. “Jiang Zhengzhi, what do you actually want? You keep calling—is there something wrong with you?”

At the mention of “Jiang Zhengzhi,” Zhong Yingzhi, who had been concentrated on her book, suddenly pricked up her ears. Mu Cheng wasn’t speaking loudly, so Zhong Yingzhi could only catch the gist of it.

“Why did you block me on WeChat?” Jiang Zhengzhi’s voice was clear, but he was deliberately lowering it, making it sound somewhat seductive.

Jiang Zhengzhi was a master of pretense. He even knew exactly what tone to use to make girls like him. It was because of this act that Mu Cheng had been “blinded by pig lard” and rushed to confess to him.

But no matter how well he acted, ever since Mu Cheng saw his true face, all his seductive tactics had lost their effect, leaving behind nothing but disgust.

“I blocked you because I felt like it. Does it need a reason? I’m blocking your number too. Don’t call again.” With that, Mu Cheng prepared to hang up.

Jiang Zhengzhi hurriedly called out, “Wait! I have something to tell you!”

“Tell it to a fart,” Mu Cheng cursed.

Jiang Zhengzhi ignored the curse and continued, “Didn’t you tell me you weren’t close to Zhong Yingzhi? How come I heard from classmates that she carried you to the infirmary and got into a fight with Liu Sihui for you? Your relationship doesn’t seem bad at all.”

“So?” Mu Cheng sneered. “Want me to help you chase her again?”

Jiang Zhengzhi rubbed his nose and smiled with full confidence. “If you’re willing to help me, I’ll agree to date you for a month. How about that?”

Mu Cheng rolled her eyes.

Jiang Zhengzhi: “If one month isn’t enough, then two. As long as you help me get her, I’ll date you for three or four months. Everything is negotiable…”

Mu Cheng interrupted him with a laugh. “What are you thinking? Do you really think I’m so brainless for you? Or do you think you have some kind of charm that makes me want to die for you? You really are narcissistic. You think just because you’re a bit handsome, everyone has to revolve around you? I’m telling you one last time: beat it. Get as far away as possible.”

Mu Cheng hung up decisively, fuming. “That idiot has some nerve. Agreeing to date me for a month? Who does he think he is? How was I so blind? I must have been blind; only a blind person could have liked him.”

Mu Cheng looked over at Zhong Yingzhi. The person who had been eavesdropping immediately sat up straight and flipped through her book several times in a clumsy attempt to hide her actions.

Mu Cheng didn’t realize she had been listening. She walked over and said indignantly, “You absolutely cannot agree to Jiang Zhengzhi’s pursuit. Of course, I know you probably look down on him, but I still have to warn you: he’s a total freak. He might be handsome, but how should I put it… he’s like a red-painted toilet. No matter how nice the outside looks, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s full of crap.”

Mu Cheng meant well, but to Zhong Yingzhi’s ears, the message took on a completely different flavor.

Zhong Yingzhi thinned her lips and said displeasuredly, “No need for the slander. If you like him, just like him openly. I won’t steal him, and I certainly don’t want him.”

“No,” Mu Cheng was speechless. “I don’t like him. I’m warning you with total sincerity. Every word I said about him comes from the bottom of my heart. It’s not slander because I’m afraid you’ll take him away, okay?”

“Is that so?” Zhong Yingzhi sneered. “If you don’t like him, why did you confess? Or is it that you like him even if he’s that terrible? From another perspective, can I understand this as: you just enjoy finding boyfriends in a trash heap and you’re terrified I’ll steal your garbage?”

Mu Cheng shook her head in exasperation. “I’ve realized I can’t communicate with you. Fine, believe whatever you want.”

For several days, Zhong Yingzhi would order two deliveries and then use a random excuse to give the extra one to Mu Cheng.

Today, she ordered two again. She deliberately opened both, letting the entire dorm fill with the delicious scent of food—but she pointedly did not give the other portion to Mu Cheng.

Mu Cheng looked at her piteously.

Zhong Yingzhi remained unmoved. With a stern face, she said, “Don’t you like Jiang Zhengzhi? Weren’t you so in love that you were afraid I’d take him? Since you like him so much, ask him to order delivery for you.”

This topic just wouldn’t go away.

Mu Cheng looked at the table full of food and swallowed. “My dear sister, I already told you, I don’t like him. It’s been a whole day; why are you still hounding this topic? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous from your tone.”

Zhong Yingzhi’s face fell instantly as if her secret thoughts had been hit. In a fit of pique, she dumped all the food directly into the trash can.

Mu Cheng watched the wasted food with an aching heart.

Left with no meat to eat, Mu Cheng let out a long sigh. She stood up to brew a large cup of instant noodles, muttering to herself while she worked: “I don’t know what’s wrong with this girl, acting all crazy and snapping at me for no reason. Like I did something horribly wrong. I just gave a friendly warning that Jiang Zhengzhi is no good. Kindness treated like a dog’s liver and lungs! Fine, you just have to be caught by Jiang Zhengzhi and then get your heart broken. I hope you cry your eyes out over a heartbreak, so a girl like you who doesn’t understand human nature can finally get a taste of the world’s harshness.”

Zhong Yingzhi squinted at Mu Cheng. Mu Cheng was tearing open the noodle packaging while talking to herself.

Even though she was talking to herself, there was a sense of “gritting her teeth” about it. She couldn’t tell exactly what she was saying, but it looked like she was cursing someone—and there was a high probability it was her.

Even knowing she was being cursed didn’t stop Zhong Yingzhi from thinking she was cute.

The moment the thought of “cute” popped up, Zhong Yingzhi’s brow furrowed, and she forcefully suppressed the idea.

Mu Cheng’s noodles were ready. Just as she was about to eat, Zhong Yingzhi walked over and took them away.

Mu Cheng glared at her, angry. “What are you taking my noodles for? Give them back!”

“New delivery arrives in half an hour. Eat then,” Zhong Yingzhi said.

Mu Cheng was still fuming and snapped back, “Why are you always changing your mind? Why did you dump the food just now then?”

Zhong Yingzhi raised an eyebrow. “I wanted to see if your Jiang Zhengzhi would order for you.”

Mu Cheng put her hands on her hips. “What’s with you? You can’t go three sentences without mentioning him. Have you fallen for him?”

“Don’t worry,” Zhong Yingzhi mocked. “I’m not like you. I don’t like trash.”

Mu Cheng snatched her noodles back. “Not only do I like trash, I love eating junk food too! I’m not eating your delivery; I’m eating my noodles.”

Despite her words, once the delivery arrived, Mu Cheng compromised quite pathetically.

Eating with great relish, she even made a finger-heart at Zhong Yingzhi. “Xiao Ying-ying, you’re the best to me.”

Zhong Yingzhi glanced at her and said, “Save your finger-hearts for Jiang Zhengzhi. He’d probably like them.”

Mu Cheng was speechless.

After eating and drinking her fill, Mu Cheng lay on her bed. She checked the time: it was 11:59 PM. One minute until midnight.

Once midnight hit, it would be the 9th. Mu Cheng closed her eyes and waited patiently.

After a sensation of the world spinning, Mu Cheng opened her eyes. The scene changed instantly, just like before.

Mu Cheng belatedly realized something serious: she had spent a month in the nine-year-ago timeline. Logically, a month should have passed in this nine-year-later timeline as well.

But she found that this time, the time here hadn’t moved. Not at all. It picked up exactly at the last scene from when she left.

What happened when she left last time? Mu Cheng’s brain whirled to recall.

Zhong Yingzhi had pinned her in the corner, asking if she remembered who she was, and then…

No need to recall. It was happening right now.

Zhong Yingzhi’s face was right in front of her, moving closer, pressing in. Mu Cheng’s back was against the wall, with no room to retreat.

“I’m not just your roommate. Since you don’t remember, I’ll help you recall.” With those words, Zhong Yingzhi tilted her head, and her lips pressed against Mu Cheng’s.

Mu Cheng’s eyes widened. She was frozen.

The soft touch of their lips meeting sent a sudden jolt through her heart.