Chapter 70. Troublesome Entourage I
Liu Zihan truly did not want to see Liu Fengying get mixed up with Hu Ning. After all, the latter was an extremely troublesome person — how could she let her play around with someone she cared about? Well, at least that was the justification she had found for her own reaction.
However, she realized she had overreacted out of anxiety. In the end, whether something would develop between the two of them did not depend solely on Hu Ning's will, but also on Liu Fengying's.
Zihan had no way of knowing how attractive Hu Ning was in her sister's eyes. Honestly, the closer she looked at her, the more advantages she found. Even if she wasn't strikingly beautiful, her face, whose features were perfectly harmonized — likely following the golden ratio to the millimeter —, retained that distinguished aura of classical beauties.
Because of this, the modern makeup she wore not only failed to enhance her appearance but actually did her a disservice; by emphasizing certain features, it interrupted that fluid grace reminiscent of the detachment with which gods are depicted—those who can smile even when facing the greatest horrors.
In addition, besides having a voluptuous body, she was also very tall, probably the tallest girl in the entire school. The clothes she usually wore, baggy and in glaring colors, did her no favors at all; if she stood flat against a wall, it wouldn't be surprising for someone to mistake her for a section of extravagant wallpaper, provided her head wasn't visible. Still, Zihan thought that if Hu Ning were to dress in clothes that accentuated her body — for instance, a tight-fitting cheongsam —, she would undoubtedly turn heads.
As for Hu Ning's lack of expressiveness, Liu Zihan could not guarantee that this would be a deal-breaker for her sister; for some people, it might actually be attractive, as it aroused a desire to conquer.
'Or more fittingly in this case, a fetish for bullying wicked women...', Liu Zihan said to herself; after all, Hu Ning was not someone indifferent, but someone who hid her malicious thoughts.
However, regardless of how she looked, Hu Ning started with a major disadvantage if she were to try and get close to Liu Fengying: the fact that she belonged to Zihan's own entourage. Since their argument, Liu Fengying had had countless conflicts with the people Zihan had started spending her time with, so she was almost certain that her sister did not have a high opinion of any of them.
"If you are so confident, go ahead and try. Still, don't expect it to be easy; after all, you are far from being her favorite person...", Liu Zihan finally said.
It wasn't that she was pleased to see Hu Ning trying to win Liu Fengying over, but she was well aware of her character: the more opposed she showed herself to Hu Ning's plan, the more likely the other was to pursue it. So, she decided to adopt as neutral an attitude as possible.
One could say she had applied the exact same strategy regarding how she reacted upon hearing the erotic scenes Hu Ning had imagined — or rather, regarding her total lack of reaction. She was convinced that if Hu Ning had read even the slightest sign of discomfort on her face, she would have instantly doubled down with even more pornographic details.
But theory was one thing, and practice was another. Liu Zihan was no undiscovered acting genius, so it was impossible for her to mask her emotions perfectly. To make matters worse, she was facing Hu Ning, an extremely perceptive person. Just as one must be careful not to spill even a single drop of blood around a shark to avoid being attacked, in front of this girl, Zihan should not have shown any trace of frustration.
In addition, without knowing it, through her attempts to counter Hu Ning, she was making the situation even more exciting for her; for certain predators, like a cat, the more the prey struggles, the more fun they have. Therefore, it didn't even cross Hu Ning's mind to stop.
"How so? I'm sure I haven't done her any harm, not even indirectly...", Hu Ning reacted, looking downright offended; it was as if she suspected Liu Zihan of planning to slander her.
Liu Zihan had no way to contradict Hu Ning; since the two of them had started spending time together after she and Liu Fengying had ended their hot war and entered a cold one, Hu Ning hadn't really had the chance to interact with Liu Fengying. Also, Hu Ning was more interested in causing trouble for those who, in her opinion, "had it too good," not those who were already down; consequently, until now, Liu Fengying had not been an attractive enough target for her.
However, she wasn't worried that she might be mistaken in her assumption; in her opinion, it was enough for a person to appear to have a good relationship with one of her enemies for Liu Fengying to have a bad opinion of them as well.
On top of that, even if she hadn't had any conflict with Liu Fengying, Hu Ning had witnessed several conflicts between her and others in her entourage—moments during which she had a good time, enjoying the show. A good example of this was the very last conflict between Liu Fengying and Zhang Mei, which resulted in Liu Fengying suffering a head injury.
Liu Zihan didn't think that Hu Ning usually took anyone's side; if she did, it would be with the one at a disadvantage, just so the conflict would last longer. However, Liu Fengying had no way of knowing this; Liu Zihan expected that because she had seen Hu Ning smirking from the sidelines, she would assume Hu Ning approved of her opponents' actions. To make matters worse, Liu Fengying absolutely hated being looked down upon.
Was there also a hope deep inside Liu Zihan that, after all the conflicts between them, Liu Fengying still felt a sense of possessiveness toward her, thus seeing everyone around her as enemies and believing they had stolen her away? Well, yes. However, every time a thought about this crossed her mind, Liu Zihan felt ashamed, telling herself she was too conceited; after all, she couldn't make Liu Fengying's life any better, she could only bring her trouble.
But before attempting to explain to Hu Ning why Liu Fengying didn't have a good opinion of her, Liu Zihan realized a problem; specifically, Hu Ning was smart enough to draw the same conclusions on her own.
'She probably just wants to string me along, making me think I still have a shot...',, Liu Zihan said to herself. While it wasn't clear to her whether Hu Ning just wanted to amuse herself at her expense or wanted to gauge how deeply bothered she was by her intentions toward Liu Fengying, Liu Zihan was quite sure that she was deliberately putting her in a situation tailored to make her try and convince her to give up on the idea of getting close to Liu Fengying.
"Whether you believe me or not, that's your problem...", Liu Zihan said, refusing to play into Hu Ning's hands. She tried to reinforce her conviction that the best weapon against the girl was to remain as unaffected by her words as possible.
Although Liu Zihan's response had been somewhat rude, Hu Ning not only kept her temper but actually seemed amused; this reinforced Zihan's conviction even further that Hu Ning was merely playing with her.
However, the fact that Hu Ning did not insist on her providing an explanation was, in a way, a bad omen; Liu Zihan had a hunch that the other girl was already brainstorming a new strategy of attack.
Well, Hu Ning did not disappoint her; she found a way to bypass the problem Liu Zihan had pointed out relatively easily:
"Let's say you're right; after all, you know Fengying much better than I do. Still, even if she has a bad opinion of me now, it doesn't mean things can't change in the future.
Besides, that might actually be an advantage. Don't they say that hate and love are two sides of the same coin? Why couldn't Fengying and I be like a couple in the movies, who start out hating each other but eventually resolve their issues in bed? Yes, I am sure that if I let her pick on me to her heart's content, her feelings toward me will improve significantly..."
"…….", Liu Zihan barely managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes after hearing Hu Ning; it seemed the girl had developed a habit of using erotic scenarios to suppress her every time she felt at a disadvantage.
Thinking about how proud Hu Ning was of herself for managing to find her weak spot, Liu Zihan grew increasingly irritated.
"If you're so prepared, why did you even ask for my opinion?", she finally snapped; it was already clear to her that no matter what attitude she adopted, Hu Ning wouldn't stop trying to make her uncomfortable by describing her potential sex life with Liu Fengying.
Sure, she had no way of stopping Hu Ning—unless, perhaps, she stuffed a bun into her mouth. However, she figured she wasn't obligated to listen to her; if Hu Ning truly intended to try and win Liu Fengying over, the chances of convincing her to give up were extremely slim, so even if she cut the conversation short, she had nothing to lose.
Hu Ning realized she had pushed things too far by talking about matters of a sexual nature; after all, Liu Zihan seemed to be quite prudish. In addition, she didn't like acting like a magician who only knew one trick; when she played with someone, she liked to make the situation increasingly thrilling.
"HanHan, I don't know why you're so short-tempered. Is it because you don't want me as a sister-in-law?", she asked, feigning vulnerability; she could have probably played to perfection the role of a girl rejected by her sweetheart's family on the grounds of being too poor or because of some dishonorable rumors about her.
Of course, Hu Ning put in the effort purely for the sake of the performance; it wasn't as if she expected to actually move Liu Zihan. And judging by the lack of empathy with which Zihan responded, it seemed she had guessed correctly.
"Well, I don't see why there would be any doubt about that..."
Since she had already concluded that Hu Ning was well aware she wanted to stop her from trying to win Liu Fengying over, Liu Zihan saw no reason to deny it anymore, the battle already being lost.
'Or maybe the battle was lost from the very start. Yes, she probably knew from the beginning that I wouldn't agree to her being in a relationship with Liu Fengying...', Liu Zihan said to herself; after all, it felt as though she had been playing right into Hu Ning's hands all along.