141: Talk-no-jutsu

Watching An Zhengjun pick up the landline on the other end of the call, Jiang Ye clicked his tongue and propped his phone against the tissue box on the coffee table, the lens steadily aimed at the "battlefield" in the center of the living room.

He reached out and gently tugged Lin Wanxing, who was still confronting Zhang Wenhai, signaling her to step back a few paces and create a safe distance.

The two locked in the standoff showed little reaction to Jiang Ye's intervention, their attention entirely focused on each other.

It was like when two people are arguing in a shopping mall and an auntie pushing a cleaning cart suddenly walks between them—present, but completely ignored.

Once the safe distance was secured, Jiang Ye turned back, grabbed a piece of apple from the fruit bowl on the coffee table, and entered spectator mode while munching away.

This Zhang Wenhai, how to put it... a classic case of self-indulgent personality, always treating Lin Wanxing like a goddess, thinking he's sacrificed so much, ridiculously devoted, yet unable to control his lower half, fooling around with other women.

When trouble hits, he only sees his own "sacrifices" and "grievances," completely unaware of where the real problem lies.

From what they were saying, it seemed that after being publicly humiliated at the gym entrance last time, this guy still wouldn't let go, changing numbers to continue harassing Lin Wanxing.

As a result, Lin Wanxing didn't indulge him this time and directly called the police. The situation escalated, costing him his job.

So this bastard completely spiraled, getting angrier the more he thought about it, convinced he was the world's number one victim, and decided to come for revenge with a knife.

Tsk... Jiang Ye looked at Zhang Wenhai's seemingly fierce but actually shifty-eyed, blustering appearance and curled his lip in exasperation.

Truly a standard cannon fodder villain.

He'd been inside for so long just running his mouth, perfectly fitting the "waiting to be subdued by the protagonist or police" plot setup.

But that's fine too. Best to keep talking until the police uncle arrives, saving me the trouble of getting involved.

"Zhang Wenhai! Breaking up with you was absolutely the right decision! You're utterly unreasonable!"

Lin Wanxing suppressed her anger, trying to protect her roommate: "This has nothing to do with Xiao Su! How could you drag her into it? Before, friends warned me to be careful of you, to guard against you, but I always thought... even though you're scummy in some ways, deep down you should still have some principles, at least not a completely bad person. I never imagined you'd sink this low!"

"I'm unreasonable?! Huh?!"

Zhang Wenhai's ferocious expression froze, as if struck on a sore spot, and he roared: "You drove me to this! When I humbly admitted my mistakes and apologized, did you listen? When I texted begging you, did you reply?! Huh?! It's all your fault for pushing me to this!"

"You...!"

Lin Wanxing took a slight step back at his agitation, her voice suddenly softening a bit:

"Wenhai, did I really push you... Do you remember that night when I found you at the bar, what I said to you before leaving?"

Zhang Wenhai's knife-wielding hand paused, and he didn't make a sound.

Lin Wanxing looked at him, sighed softly, her tone tinged with regret:

"I said, let's both cool off for a couple of days, then we could have a proper talk. I gave you a chance, wanted to give our relationship a... possible opportunity. But you, what did you do?"

"Wenhai, it's not that I didn't give you a chance, nor that I didn't want to continue with you, but you didn't give me any time to process my emotions or rethink things. You pushed me away faster than I ever imagined."

She paused, her gaze fixed on Zhang Wenhai, her tone even gentler: "What will happen to us in the future, I really don't know right now. Maybe it'll take a long time to figure out. But think about what you did—was it fair to me? Do I need time? Is that too much to ask?"

Jiang Ye: "..."

Listening from the side, he was practically sucking his teeth, even forgetting to take a bite of his apple.

Impressive! Coach Lin!

This is the legendary PUA, isn't it?!

First show weakness, bring up the "chance" once given, then pivot to voice her grievances, emphasize needing "time" and "space," all while hinting that "there might still be a future."

Jiang Ye would bet his yet-to-be-acquired Deterrence Aura that if Zhang Wenhai could be fooled into leaving today, the moment he stepped out the door, Lin Wanxing would call the police without a second's hesitation—delaying even a second would be disrespecting her own safety.

Sure enough, Zhang Wenhai's eye muscles twitched, his anger still evident, but his voice wasn't as loud:

"Yes! I did wrong! But didn't I apologize? Didn't I beg you? What more do you want from me?!"

"So what?"

Lin Wanxing's voice actually rose a bit: "You did something wrong, apologized, and that means it has to be instantly forgotten? I can't even be angry or sad? I can't have a little time and space for myself?"

"..."

Jiang Ye picked up his phone and glanced at it. The video feed had switched to a car roof, probably meaning Officer An had gotten into the car and was on his way.

Jiang Ye: [Brother An, how long until you get here? This place is turning into an emotional mediation show.]

An Zhengjun quickly replied: [I'll be there in about half an hour. I've already notified the nearby patrol car—they'll definitely arrive within ten minutes! Keep him calm, don't provoke him!]

Jiang Ye: [Don't worry, it's under control. Miss Lin has almost talked this bastard into a daze. By the way, Brother An, could you grab me a cola from the supermarket downstairs? The canned kind—watching this show is making me thirsty.]

An Zhengjun: [...Get lost!]