Chapter 233: Chapter 233: I Don’t Want to Be Friends with You
"You stole my parents, you even stole Mr. Shen Yi, and yet you still have the audacity to ask me why!" Chu Xi clenched her fists tightly, her emotions visibly intense.
"How laughable! Then I could just as well say that your parents stole me. Is it my fault that we were swapped at birth?" Sang Ning retorted.
It was the original author’s fault, the author insisted on setting things up this way. What did it have to do with her, the Book Traverser?
Chu Xi: "It’s not your fault, but you’ve occupied my identity for so long. Now that you’ve returned to the slums, you still haven’t recognized your true place and yet you’re still fixated on my parents."
"Oh? Li Sulan and Chu Tian?" Sang Ning shrugged indifferently. "What am I fixated on them for? Isn’t it them who are fixated on me? Back during the rural recordings, Li Sulan begged me to return to the Chu Family. I refused her flat-out on the spot. Is that still called fixation?"
What? Chu Xi was stunned.
Li Sulan actually secretly went behind her back and asked Sang Ning to return to the Chu Family.
It turns out everything Li Sulan said about feeling guilty toward her and spending the rest of her life making it up to her was fake, just a lie!
Why couldn’t Chu Xi be the one Li Sulan and Chu Tian favored?
"As for Shen Yi—" Sang Ning’s eyes sparkled, "Is he some kind of possession of yours, Chu Xi? Something I can just grab if I feel like it? The relationship between him and me is nothing more than ordinary friendship. Has your obsession with Shen Yi become so twisted that you won’t let a single woman appear around him?"
"Chu Xi, your animosity toward me is baffling, completely baseless!" Sang Ning concluded.
Chu Xi remained resolute, unaffected by Sang Ning’s words: "But many feelings of hatred, like love, come out of nowhere, without reason."
"Sang Ning, I admit it—I dislike you, and I don’t need a reason!"
In Chu Xi’s subconscious, there was a strange voice constantly reminding her.
In this world, Sang Ning was supposed to be her foil, her secondary character. But now, the supporting role had stolen the spotlight, taking away the brilliance that rightfully belonged to her.
Chu Xi didn’t want this, nor would she allow it to happen!
Sang Ning nodded. "You’re right, what you said makes sense—love can be irrational, and so can hatred. I suppose I should be glad that the feelings between us are mutual. You dislike me, and I don’t care for you either."
"There’s no such thing as ’burying the hatchet’ with me, nor do I have any intention of turning you into a friend.
But I want you to know this: Even though I don’t like you, I’ve never had any desire to harm you.
However, if you continue to hurt me, I can’t promise I won’t make public everything you’ve done before. Don’t you want to be a trendy influencer?
You probably don’t have the guts to handle the backlash that comes with all that dirt, do you?"
Sang Ning, holding her temper, rattled off a lot in one breath.
At first, Chu Xi tried to maintain composure and listen.
But when Sang Ning delivered her last sentence, Chu Xi suddenly panicked: "What do you mean? What dirt?"
Chu Xi was still pretending to be clueless as Sang Ning pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, and threw it to Chu Xi.
Chu Xi took the phone and glanced down—it showed evidence of her contacting intermediaries to bribe paparazzi into creating scandalous trending topics about Sang Ning.
Chu Xi froze completely, her hands shaking uncontrollably: "Where did you get these?"
Sang Ning was just as curious about which ’kind soul’ had done this.
The evidence had been sent to her through an anonymous email. Sang Ning initially worried the sender might have ulterior motives.
But after delivering the email, the mysterious individual disappeared without a trace, with no further contact or demands.
Sang Ning decided the sender must have been acting out of goodwill, and she didn’t bother digging into their identity.
"Chu Xi, I’m just telling you this—hate me, if you like, but there’s no need to play shady tricks behind my back. I’m aware of all your tactics.
The reason I haven’t crushed you is because I don’t believe in competing between women. Girls should be helping each other. As long as you don’t cross the line, I can overlook some of it."
Sang Ning spoke earnestly from the heart to Chu Xi, not because she wanted to be friends.
But to deter Chu Xi from being underhanded and scheming from the shadows.
Chu Xi could hate her, even curse her face-to-face—that was fine. Just don’t keep firing arrows from behind.
"Sang Ning, you’re threatening me, aren’t you?" Chu Xi was deeply uneasy. She didn’t believe Sang Ning was truly kind-hearted enough not to expose the evidence.
"Yes, you can consider it a threat." Sang Ning readily admitted. "As long as you stop scheming behind my back, I guarantee no one else will ever see this evidence."
Sang Ning pushed her feet against the floor and slid her chair forward slightly, leaning closer to Chu Xi: "And another thing—one woman can’t have two mothers. Rest assured, I have absolutely zero interest in being the daughter of the Chu Family."
"Plus, based on what I know about Shen Yi, he probably wouldn’t like someone who’s constantly pulling shady moves behind others’ backs. If you truly like him, you should show him the better parts of yourself."
Finishing her words, Sang Ning stood up from her chair and swiftly snatched her phone back from Chu Xi’s hand.
Sang Ning walked toward the door, turning the doorknob. Just as she reached the doorframe, she turned her head to look at Chu Xi: "Chu Xi, please be upfront and direct if you want to be my enemy!"
The door closed.
As the loud bang of the door shutting echoed, Chu Xi’s chest tightened unexpectedly.
The room was now empty of Sang Ning’s presence, and only then did Chu Xi begin to feel a pang of regret.
Regret? What was there to regret? What was the point of regretting?
**
Sang Ning arrived at the front hall, where Wang Qiuhong, Xi Meina, and Wen Jiu were waiting for her.
The three of them were sitting on the hall’s sofa. Upon seeing her, they simultaneously got up and waved in her direction.
Sang Ning walked over quickly, but before she could speak, Wen Jiu smiled and asked her: "We originally planned to treat you to dinner, but Qiuqiu and Nana mentioned you’ve already set something up. Do you mind letting me tag along for a free meal?"
"Huh? Wen Jiu, please don’t joke with us. Your presence would be our honor, how could we call that freeloading?" Wang Qiuhong waved her hand dismissively.
"Wen Jiu, as long as you’re willing to come, forget a single meal—we’d happily accompany you for a hundred meals." Xi Meina gazed at Wen Jiu with starry eyes.
Wen Jiu responded with a slight smile toward the two. "Alright, we’re off the show now. No need to be so formal; just call me Sister Wen Jiu, okay?"
Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina exchanged looks, and after a quick silent agreement, turned to Wen Jiu and shouted in unison, "Sister Wen Jiu!"
The hall was filled with the joyous laughter of the girls, as all four of them linked arms and headed out together.
Once the group had gone, someone who had been sneaking around behind the walls suddenly poked their head out of a corner.