Lin Jiage was too choked up to speak for a long while before he managed to squeeze out some words: "That belongs to Liang Jiusi, it's not mine…"
Thinking back, it seemed like he had never explained himself so meekly to others before... But the main point was that he was speaking the truth, so why did he feel so unconfident?
Lin Jiage tried to keep himself composed before continuing, "... Just a few days ago, he came to my house and brought that over, and then forgot to take it with him when he left."
The red-faced Shi Yao replied with an "Mm" before falling silent. She had no idea what to say in a situation like this.
And to Lin Jiage, Shi Yao's response sounded like she didn't believe his words.
This left him feeling even less confident. While 'greeting' the eighteen generations of Liang Jiusi's ancestors, he turned to Shi Yao and explained himself, "I'm not interested in that woman in the manga."
As soon as he said those words, Lin Jiage immediately regretted it. If he could, he would have severed his tongue right there and then.
What kind of explanation was that? I'm only sinking deeper into the swamp...
By saying that I'm not interested in that manga woman, isn't that basically telling her that I've read it before?
But I've never read it before! These past two days, I've dug a pit for Han Jing, Shi Yao, Grandfather, the driver, and all of the housekeepers in the old residence. Did I dig so many pits that I'm going to end up falling into one myself?
Lin Jiage's head swiftly churned into action as he anxiously tried to correct himself, "No, that's not what I meant. What I meant is that I don't like women…"
Pui!
By saying that I don't like women, isn't that just saying that I like men?
Is there anyone else who would sully his own name like this?
Without any hesitation, Lin Jiage hurriedly pointed to the bare-breasted woman on the manga cover and said, "T-that's not what I meant. It's not that... I don't like women... What I mean is that I don't like…"
Before he could say "the woman in the manga", Lin Jiage suddenly felt stupefied.
How did he end up looping back to the same topic while trying to explain himself?
The heck! Where did his usual intelligence go to? Did a dog eat it?
And more importantly, not only did his intelligence vanish, even his head seemed to have stopped functioning altogether. He actually found himself at a loss on how to explain himself...
Just as Lin Jiage was panicking, Shi Yao suddenly spoke up, "Actually... I understand…"
Understand?
She actually understands that jumbled explanation I just made?
Lin Jiage suddenly felt his agitated mind calming down a little.
He was just about to say "It's good that you understand" when the red-faced Shi Yao suddenly continued with a soft voice, "... I-Isn't it normal for men like you to like looking at s-such things?"
In the end, it turned out that she didn't understand a single word that he just said!
Out of a moment of agitation, these words blurted out of Lin Jiage's mouth: "I am not a man!"
Screw that, I'm just making things worse!
Liang Jiusi, you're dead meat #%@￥#%&@*#$%%...!
As he stared at Shi Yao, who was clearly trying to smother her laughter, Lin Jiage cursed Liang Jiusi furiously. He tried to explain once more, "No, what I'm trying to say is that I'm different from normal men…"
Heck, did I just imply that I'm abnormal?
How in the world am I going to explain this?
The exasperated Lin Jiage finally gave up. He decisively stood up, walked over to Shi Yao, grabbed the magazine, and furiously ripped it into pieces before dumping them into the trash can.
Before he turned around to leave the room, he paused in contemplation for a moment, and unwilling to leave his reputation in shambles, he turned to Shi Yao and said, "All in all, that book isn't mine and I'm not interested in women!"