Chapter 168: I Don't Need Your Feelings (2)

"Hello."

"Open the door and talk to Jian Cishu."

"I don't have anything to talk to her about," Came Zhao Chengning's straightforward reply.

"Then are you just going to let her continue knocking on your door from the outside?"

"This hotel's soundproofing is pretty good, she won’t disturb the other guests."

"Zhao Chengning, you should set things straight between the two of you to avoid any future trouble."

"I don’t want to give her any false hope."

"Then say it to her face and reject her directly without beating about the bush," Zhao Chengan said as he carefully intoned each word.

Zhao Chengning's gaze hardened. "Bro, I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"Do you have feelings for Jian Cishu? It feels like you treat her differently," The other party suddenly fell silent, so Zhao Chengning continued, "The Jian family only wants a political marriage with our Zhao family. It doesn't matter whether the one getting married is you or me."

"Don’t talk about such nonsense. What you need to do right now is to open that door and talk to her," Zhao Chengan said as he brought their conversation back on topic.

"Okay, I’ll have a good talk with her for your sake."

After hanging up, he set his laptop down and walked over to open the door.

When the door opened, he found Jian Cishu standing outside in her pink pyjamas.

Jian Cishu looked different from how she was in the day. She'd let her long hair down, allowing it to gently drape over her shoulder, while the pink pyjamas she wore made her skin look especially fair and delicate. Bathed beneath the warm wall lights, she exuded an air of enticement.

"What is it?" Zhao Chengning asked with an unperturbed look on his face.

"Can we talk inside?"

To Jian Cishu, the most familiar expression that Zhao Chengning would wear was his expressionless, yet handsome one. All this while he'd never looked at her kindly… No, that’s not right. He'd treated her very kindly in the very beginning when he knew her as only his junior in school. However, ever since he’d learnt about the marriage between their two families, his gentleness had dissolved into solemness, drawing them apart. She'd initially felt sad about this for a very long time, but she'd gotten used to it as time went by so she wasn’t cowed by his current expression.

Despite that, she was overcome with bitterness when she recalled how he looked at Shen Jingbin with tenderness in his eyes.

Zhao Chengning looked at her with some annoyance. "Why can't we talk outside?"

"Other people might come to a misunderstanding if we talk outside. Brother Chengning, I’m sure you wouldn’t want other people jumping to conclusions about our relationship, would you?"

Jian Cishu's words hit home. Indeed, Zhao Chengning didn't want other people drawing the wrong conclusions about his relationship with her, especially at a time like this.

Coincidentally, the door to the room next to them was suddenly opened and a young man walked out. Upon seeing the two of them, he gasped before he hurriedly covered his eyes and retreated back into his room as he apologised.

Goodness gracious, all he wanted to do was to go out to get some fresh air. Instead, he'd walked into such an exciting hallway play. People these days sure were open-minded!

But, it looked like they hadn't begun yet, so he probably wasn't interrupting them, right?

After the man returned to his room, Zhao Chengning's face fell even more. He stepped back and pushed the door open. "Come in."

Jian Cishu obediently entered after him, even attentive enough to help him close the door. Once done, she locked it.

The instant the door was locked, the door of the room diagonally opposite theirs slowly opened. Zhao Changan stood by the doorway, his gaze complicated as he looked towards their room.

Once they were inside, Zhao Chengning lounged on the sofa while Jian Cishu sat on the edge of the bed across from him.

Scrunching up the edges of her shirt, Jian Cishu asked, "Brother Chengning, you… like Ms Shen right?"

The moment she spoke, it was immediately obvious to Zhao Chengning that Jian Cishu was trying to sound him out. Zhao Chengning crossed his legs, making them appear especially slender and straight.

"Yes," He replied very straightforwardly.

Jian Cishu, who hadn't expected such a blunt reply from him, felt her breathing turn sluggish. Quite some time passed before she finally found her voice again and said, "But the two of you haven’t known each other for long. Neither of you really understands how the other person is like."

Zhao Chengning snorted, "Feelings have nothing to do with how long we've known each other for. If you like someone, you’ll like that person regardless of how long you’ve known each other; time isn't an obstruction. If you don’t like someone, you won’t like them no matter how long you’ve known each other for; just like you and me."

Zhao Chengning didn't beat around the bush. As Zhao Chengan had said, he gave her a straightforward rejection before she had a chance to confess her feelings.

He'd long known, however, that it wouldn't have made a difference whether he said it or not.

"But, Brother Chengning… I really, really like you. Why aren’t you willing to look at me?" Jian Cishu's bright, intelligent, rabbit-like eyes that made her look adorable were now dyed red.

Unfortunately, Zhao Chengning paid no attention to how cute she looked. "Because I don’t like you."

Zhao Chengning's flat-out rejection lacked the slightest bit of sensitivity behind it. The walls in Jian Cishu's heart, which she'd formed by hypnotising herself time and time again, came crashing down with a bang and caused tears to instantly roll from her eyes. "Brother Chengning, I’ve followed you around ever since I was young. I've walked the path you’ve walked, seen the same scenery you have and have experienced the same things as you. There is no one in this world who understands you more than I do; I know all the things you like and dislike, and I know all your subconscious gestures and habits. I thought that by doing this, you’d be able to feel my sincerity. I thought…"

"That's just what you thought. I've never asked for you to walk in my steps, nor do I need you to understand me. You trying to understand me is meaningless. In fact, it's a burden. Moreover, even I don't fully understand myself, and you yet you have the gall to say you do? What I need isn't for someone to understand me. What I need is for me to understand the person I like and for me to slowly open myself up to that person on my own."

"Then what about my feelings?" Tears streamed down Jian Cishu's face as she cried.

Zhao Chengning's eyes glinted. "I don’t need your feelings either."