Rebirth in the 90s: Her Counterattack and Redemption

Chapter 1520: Chapter 887: Rejection

"Bro, tell me the truth, who exactly is the one you like?"

As soon as Qian Xia picked up, he heard his cousin fire this off out of nowhere. He froze for a second, then gave an awkward cough. "Xiao Ru, you... already know?"

"So what they said was true? Bro, your feelings sure switch fast. Weren’t you saying you kinda liked Luoluo before? How come it suddenly turned into Lianlian?

Oh, I get it, you studied abroad, saw too many foreign girls, so now you like Lianlian’s long hair and classical vibe. Am I right or not?..."

Listening to his cousin’s rapid-fire questions, Qian Xia snuck a glance at Luo Lian sitting in the back seat. He’d practically begged and badgered his way into being her driver, and his phone leaked sound a bit; he had no idea if she could hear...

"What are you sneaking glances for like some shady perv?" Luo Lian glared at him, then quickly turned her gaze to the window.

The voice on the other end instantly dropped a lot. "Bro, are you with Lianlian right now?"

"Yeah."

"Bro, you’re really something. I won’t bother you, I’m hanging up." As soon as she finished, the receiver turned into a dead tone.

"My cousin and I have been close since we were kids. She’s really kind, just a bit unfiltered sometimes." Thinking about it, Qian Xia still felt the need to explain to Luo Lian.

"I know." Luo Lian pulled her gaze back from the window, gave him a light glance. "We’re all adults now, I don’t like beating around the bush.

There’s no way it’s going to happen between us. First, I don’t like your dad. Second, I don’t like you either. So if you’re helping me because you’re trying to chase me, you’d better give up now.

Of course, if I’m just being self-indulgent and totally misunderstanding you, then pretend I never said any of this."

"But you already said it." Qian Xia chuckled. "Luo Lian, why are you rejecting me like you’re on high alert? Acting like this just makes me feel like you’re guilty, like you’re scared."

"What would I be guilty of? What would I be scared of?"

"Afraid you’ll fall for me, obviously." Qian Xia laughed. "Otherwise, this is only our first time meeting—why are you so desperate to push me away?"

"I just don’t like trouble..." After a pause, Luo Lian went on, "There was a time I also longed for beautiful love, but then a man who liked me gave me a loud slap across the face. Even now, I haven’t fully recovered.

The reason I’m in such a rush to make my stance clear is that I don’t want to cause you any trouble. Whether you appreciate that or not is up to you."

"You’re very kind." Qian Xia glanced at her. "The reason you finally agreed to let me be your driver was so you could tell me all this and make me give up, right?"

"There was a period when I completely lost my mind. I couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything, and my family and friends worried about me nonstop.

Luckily, in the end I walked out of that dark patch in my life. But for the time being, I can’t accept anyone, so I don’t want to create any misunderstandings for anyone."

The flash of pain in Luo Lian’s eyes happened to be caught by Qian Xia, and he blanked out for a moment. "Turn right! Turn right!" Distracted, he reflexively yanked the steering wheel to the right, barely skirting past an oncoming huge truck.

"Screech!" Under the emergency brake, the friction of the tires against the ground threw off sparks. Snapping out of it, Qian Xia shivered, then quickly sped up again—he really didn’t want to face the truck driver’s rage. He was sure the guy was mad enough to skin him alive.

"I remembered that truck’s plate number. I’ll have someone check later whether we caused him any damage." Worried that Luo Lian would misunderstand it as a hit-and-run, Qian Xia hurried to explain.

Luo Lian stared at him, expressionless. "Stop the car!"

"I... I really will compensate him for any damage."

Luo Lian glared at him. "I still want to see my dad, still want to visit my grandpa and grandma. I don’t want to die on the road like this."

"I’ll focus on driving." After saying that, Qian Xia really did shut up and drove with total concentration—only, he couldn’t help sneaking looks at Luo Lian through the rearview mirror from time to time, making it obvious that whether he talked or not, his mind was elsewhere.

Luo Lian just sighed. "Keep your eyes on the road."

"Yes, ma’am!"

Luo Lian shook her head, amused, then turned her gaze to the window and ignored him.

A quarter of an hour later, the car arrived at the airport. Luo Lian gave Qian Xia a calm look. "We’re here. Park in the parking lot and then grab a taxi back yourself."

Qian Xia grinned shamelessly. "I want to wait until the plane takes off before I leave. Is that okay?"

"No." Luo Lian refused without a second thought. "I already explained myself very clearly to you on the way here. Oh, right, you used to study abroad—don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to understand China’s language now?"