|

Chapter 43 – Win You Over

By

Previous | Table of Contents | Next


Shen Wenxin asked again, “I mean, do you think you might like her?”

Jin Hanshuang said, “Ah…”

So that’s what Shen Wenxin meant.

“What’s wrong? Why are you asking so suddenly?”

Shen Wenxin sighed. “Lu Yunshu came to talk to me today. She said I should ask how you feel, otherwise I’ll be just like my father.”

“How?”

“Unreasonable. Someone who believes that as long as they hate another person, everyone else has to hate this person too.”

As soon as Jin Hanshuang heard this, she dropped the dog plushie’s paw and pulled her daughter into a hug. “No, you’re not like that at all. I understand why you’ve been feeling this way lately. Don’t overthink it, play?”

Shen Wenxin had never liked how Shen Minghai used her as an emotional outlet. Now that she was older and capable of standing on her own, she could break free from that role. Naturally, she no longer wanted to go back to how things were.

More importantly, she didn’t want to repeat Shen Minghai’s path in life. Especially when it came to love.

Jin Hanshuang knew all of this.

Shen Wenxin couldn’t help but smile helplessly when she saw that her stepmother’s first reaction was to comfort her.

It was true. Her stepmother loved her and understood her.

Even so, she had chosen to ignore her stepmother’s feelings these past few days…

She let herself fall into Jin Hanshuang’s embrace, and like a child who had done something wrong, said, “Mom, I’m sorry…”

“For what?” Jin Hanshuang patted her back. “Why are you apologizing? You are nowhere near as bad as your father, okay? Don’t overthink things. Right now, what you can’t accept is that your classmate likes me, that’s all. Take your time to digest it.”

Shen Wenxin was silent for a moment. Then she sat up and looked into Jin Hanshuang’s eyes. “So you might like Lu Yunshu?”

Jin Hanshuang studied her expression. “Maybe…?”

Shen Wenxin held her forehead and sighed. She did not want to face this.

Jin Hanshuang laughed and put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Do you dislike Yunshu that much? Well then, how about I get together with her and toy with her feelings just to get revenge for you—how about that?”

Shen Wenxin let out a weak laugh. “That’s not necessary.”

She sighed again, like she was finally ready to admit something. “The only crime she committed was liking you. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

Did Shen Wenxin hate Lu Yunshu?

Not necessarily.

It was just that she had followed in her father’s footsteps for so long that treating Lu Yunshu as a sworn enemy had become a habit.

This was probably the same for Lu Yunshu.

They competed with each other, but they also understood each other.

It was just like Jin Hanshuang said. They might be sworn enemies in name, but at their core, they were the same kind of person.

To be honest, Shen Wenxin’s resistance came from feeling out of place, not from an inability to accept it.

Her sworn enemy suddenly confessing that she liked her stepmother? Love was really outrageous.

Someone gently patted Shen Wenxin’s head twice.

Jin Hanshuang leaned closer.

Their heads touched.

“I’m so proud,” Jin Hanshuang said. “My Wenxin has grown up to be so kind-hearted, just like her aunt and uncle.”

Shen Wenxin’s biological parents were both university professors, dedicated to teaching and nurturing students.

Although they had entrusted their daughter to Shen Minghai, her father’s younger brother, they had never been absent from her life.

Shen Minghai raised Shen Wenxin to be a brilliant business talent, while her parents taught her how to be a good person and navigate the world. As a result, Shen Wenxin never became another Shen Minghai, she just became a better person of herself.

Shen Wenxin and Lu Yunshu were both very good kids.

“Wait a minute. Mom, didn’t you resist a little in your heart?” Shen Wenxin grew confused again. “I mean, Lu Yunshu is my archnemesis. My archnemesis is pursuing you. Didn’t you feel even a little conflicted?”

Jin Hanshuang replied, “Of course I did.”

Shen Wenxin waited.

Jin Hanshuang continued, “When I first found out she liked me, I really couldn’t accept it. I’m seven years older than both of you, I’m your stepmom, and I know you two are sworn enemies…I just couldn’t believe it. How could someone who seem so well-behaved fall for her rival’s mom?”

“And then?”

“Then I accepted it.”

“…Ah?”

“Haha, not right away,” Jin Hanshuang laughed. “I resisted for a while, but then I was moved by her perseverance, and I also saw a different side of her. For example, she’s really cute.”

“Huh???”

“Aiya, you are also cute. You’re both adorable~”

“…”

Shen Wenxin fell silent again.

Jin Hanshuang observed Shen Wenxin’s expression, which was quite calm.

So she asked, “Does that mean you approve of Yunshu pursuing me now?”

Shen Wenxin didn’t say anything for a while.

After a moment, she said, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t. This whole thing is still just so ridiculous. Let me think about it some more.”

Shen Wenxin turned and headed in the direction of her room. Then she stopped again. “If you like that dog, just keep it. No need to return it.”

Jin Hanshuang watched her daughter’s door close, then turned her gaze to the giant dog plushie in the living room. She walked over to it and gave it a big hug, then she patted its head with a big smile.


When Shen Wenxin said she needed to think, she didn’t really know what she needed to think about. Every day, she still ate, drank, slept, and went to work as usual. It was more like she was waiting for things to naturally unfold.

On Saturday morning, she was holding a glass of water in the kitchen when she saw Jin Hanshuang come out of the dressing room. Jin Hanshuang had changed into a beautiful outfit and styled her hair into soft and smooth curls.

Clearly, she was going out.

“Where are you headed?”

“Yunshu asked me out for dinner.” Jin Hanshuang stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter with a bright smile. “Well? Can I go?”

Shen Wenxin laughed. “You’re my mom. Why are you asking me for permission now?”

Jin Hanshuang said, “I’m just asking my precious daughter for her opinion~”

Shen Wenxin replied, “You’ve already changed your clothes.”

Jin Hanshuang intoned, “Then I’ll go change back into my pajamas and ask you again.”

“Enough.” Shen Wenxin stopped her stepmother from turning right back into the dressing room. “She’s pursuing you, not me. If you want to go, then go.”

Shen Wenxin walked past Jin Hanshuang with her mug of hot water. She reminded Jin Hanshuang, “Come back early.”

Then she stopped at her door, turning around and looking at Jin Hanshuang with a conflicted expression. “Mom, can you try…not liking her or at least not liking her so quickly? If you come back today holding her hand and telling me you two are together, I’ll be horrified.”

Jin Hanshuang couldn’t help but laugh. “Then I’ll try…to slow down a bit?”

“Do your best.” Shen Wenxin shut the door behind her, no longer trying to stop Jin Hanshuang.

Jin Hanshuang gazed at her daughter’s bedroom door, barely suppressing her smile. The fact that Shen Wenxin hadn’t stopped her from seeing Lu Yunshu was already a huge improvement.

Jin Hanshuang tapped on Shen Wenxin’s door. “Text me if you want anything to eat. I’ll bring it back for you.”


Lu Yunshu drove over to pick up Jin Hanshuang.

As soon as Jin Hanshuang sat down in her passenger seat, Lu Yunshu let out a huge sigh of relief. Her expression immediately became soft and tender.

She finally got to see her girlfriend.

Lu Yunshu took Jin Hanshuang’s hand and brought it up to her face, softly calling, “Hanshuang…”

So pitiful.

Like a lost little puppy, who after being battered by wind and rain, had finally found her way home soaking wet.

Jin Hanshuang’s heart instantly melted into mush.

She stroked Lu Yunshu’s face and leaned forward, kissing her eyebrows and then her lips, full of gentle love and affection.

“Our Yunshu has been waiting for such a long time. You poor thing.”

Lu Yunshu kissed her palm. “That’s right, I’ve been very patient. Later, you have to give your puppy lots of kisses.”

Jin Hanshuang poked Lu Yunshu’s cheek. “Okay, I’ll give you all the kisses I’ve saved up these past few days!”

Lu Yunshu’s eyes curved into a smile.

Every time she saw Jin Hanshuang, her mood improved a lot.

They were still holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes.

Lu Yunshu wasn’t in a rush to start the car. “Shen Wenxin isn’t home?”

“She is.”

“Does she know you’re coming to see me?”

“Yes.” Jin Hanshuang held her girlfriend’s face. “She told me to take my time falling in love with you.”

“Why?” Lu Yunshu frowned.

Jin Hanshuang couldn’t help but smile when she remembered the scene. “Because she’s not ready to see us together yet. For her, it’s like a horror movie.”

“…”

Lu Yunshu said, “Shen Wenxin has no taste. We are obviously perfect together.”

Jin Hanshuang chuckled and patted her face. “Come on, we can be more considerate. Give Wenxin a little more time. She’ll come around. She already let me see you, didn’t she?”

Lu Yunshu relented, “Okay.”

She stretched out her hand, her slender fingers catching the back of Jin Hanshuang’s neck over the texture of a soft scarf.

The distance between them vanished.

Their lips—so close together.

“We are not a horror movie, but a sweet romance.”

They kissed.

A sweet romance with two people running towards each other.


City A welcomed its first snow.

The snow blended and mixed with the night scenery.

Shen Wenxin had just finished hanging out with friends and quietly started walking home.

As she neared her apartment complex, she spotted two familiar figures.

They were once again standing downstairs talking.

Lu Yunshu said something that made Jin Hanshuang laugh, her face lighting up with joy. Lu Yunshu wrapped a scarf around Jin Hanshuang’s neck, loop after loop, as if afraid that the older woman would get too cold. Then she helped Jin Hanshuang adjust her coat and brushed the snowflakes off her hair.

Her gentleness was unparalleled.

It was the first time Shen Wenxin had seen Lu Yunshu treat anyone with such care.

She stood there with her hands in her cold pockets watching them smile at each other under the bright streetlights. She suddenly realized that seeing the two of them together wasn’t as horrifying as she’d imagined. It was worse. They actually looked good together.

Well, it was only a seven-year age gap, not seventeen…

Shen Wenxin didn’t move. Her feet were rooted to the ground.

She continued watching quietly as Jin Hanshuang and Lu Yunshu said goodbye to each other, and again as Lu Yunshu lingered at the doorway, reluctant to leave as she watched Jin Hanshuang head inside.

And then Lu Yunshu met her gaze.

The snowy night grew even quieter.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yunshu moved first.

She walked up to Shen Wenxin.

They stood face-to-face.

One of them should say something, but neither knows what to say.

It was an awkward, inexplicable tension.

Another stretch of silence passed.

Lu Yunshu opened her mouth first. “You saw me with Hanshuang.”

Shen Wenxin said, “Yeah.”

Lu Yunshu continued, “Did you see me wrapping her scarf around her?”

Shen Wenxin replied, “I’m not blind.”

Not only was she fully sighted, but she was also unusually calm, not rushing over to separate them like she had done before.

Lu Yunshu said, “Thank you.”

Shen Wenxin replied, “I haven’t given you two my blessings yet.”

Lu Yunshu smiled. “I know.”

Then Shen Wenxin watched with growing horror as Lu Yunshu took off her own scarf and wrapped it around Shen Wenxin’s neck. She instantly stepped back. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to win you over and make a good impression on my sweetheart’s family.”

“???”

“It’s cold. Don’t lose heat. Stay warm, drink more hot water.”

Shen Wenxin threw the scarf back at her. “Disgusting.”

Lu Yunshu looked at her calmly. “I think so too.”

Shen Wenxin: “…”

Shen Wenxin: “Then don’t do all these unnecessary things!”


The author (热到昏厥) has something to say:

Destined to be rivals, huh?


I just opened the pre-release for Wenxin’s novel.[1]

There’s no synopsis for now, and even the title isn’t finalized yet.

Everyone feel free to bookmark in advance. It will be another short and sweet story, as always~


The translator (AmEricaNo) has something to say:

Thank you to ntsai for the Ko-fi donation! Now we’re finally one coffee away from a bonus chapter, I’m so excited~


[1] Here, 热到昏厥 is referring to her (at the time) future novel 《她比直女还肆无忌惮》or She is Even More Shameless Than a Straight Woman. The novel follows a new MC who is convinced that Shen Wenxin is straight and shamelessly speaks to Shen Wenxin as she pleases. As of October 2024, this novel is completed. You can find it here on JJWXC.


Previous | Table of Contents | Next


If you’d like to support me, you can tip me on Ko-fi! For every $35, I’ll release a bonus chapter within 24 hours 😊


If you’d like to receive e-mail notifications for new chapters, please join the mailing list down below!

Loading

New to the Collection



0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe to Comments
Notify of
guest
3 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Kakumei
Kakumei
24 days ago

Ohhhhhh, Shen Wenxin has her own novel? Or rather she’s the love interested in another novel? *o*

Also, I kinda never thought about Wenxin’s sexuality was it ever mentioned in any way in this novel, I just remember her knowing about Hanshuang from pretty much the get-go ^^”

Are you planning on translating it as well afterwards perchance? 😀

(also, I’m kinda for Wenxin just being like “eeeww” whenever Yunshu is being overly nice to her and Yunshu just mirroring the sentiment D because at this point it’s just squabbeling rather than “a feud” xD)

Tenshi
Tenshi
18 days ago
Reply to  AmEricaNo

Quality over quantity.


3
0
Would love your thoughts!x