Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 18

Purpose

When it comes to judging people, CEO Mother Cong has always been very confident.

Apart from the incident in Father Qiao’s car, she had also seen Qiao Yu a few times at business gatherings that Father Qiao had brought her to. It was easy to see that Qiao Yu was filled with the impatience and rebelliousness typical of young people.

It was precisely because of this terrible impression that Mother Cong was so worried when Lin Qing mentioned Qiao Yu.

At this moment, Mother Cong stood at the front door of the house, holding her hand and listening to the faint voices coming from outside the door.

“Um, is it not appropriate for me to come in my school uniform?”

“No, going to school requires wearing a uniform. Look, don’t we all do the same?”

“Then, is this outfit inside not formal enough?”

“What does formality have to do with having dinner? Qiao Yu, you’re dressed like you’re going for an interview, and you still think it’s not enough?”

“And, what about my hair—”

“Will you ever stop! Qiao Yu, what’s wrong with you now! Can’t you just fix your messy hair!”

“Don’t listen to him talking nonsense. You already look neat enough. Don’t be nervous—alright, alright, let me tidy it up for you.”

The gentle and elegant voice belonged to her lovely daughter, Qingqing, while the grumpy and arrogant voice belonged to her ill-fated son.

But the trembling and unabashedly nervous voice—

Mother Cong raised an eyebrow.

She really didn’t resemble the Qiao Yu she had seen before.

There was a moment of silence outside, followed by noise again. It sounded like Qiao Yu was getting tangled up in the issue of a gift, almost leaving to buy something, but being stopped by the two outside. They chattered away for a while without entering the house.

…Should she open the door or not?

Qiao Yu had been restless all day today.

Or rather, it started since she heard Cong Ye’s voice last night. She was filled with a sense of mission to show Mother Cong her new image of being reborn. With determination, she went straight to the study to find Father Qiao and blurted out, “Does Auntie Cong have any favorite things?”

Father Qiao, confused, thought for a moment and hesitated, “It seems like she doesn’t have any particular favorites… Ah, does eating fish count?”

Qiao Yu’s eyes lit up, “Then let’s go fishing now!”

Father Qiao: ?

Her overheated engine calmed down under Father Qiao’s soothing. She explained the whole situation, omitting the part where Mother Cong spoke ill of her to avoid trouble. She only mentioned going for tutoring and having a meal on the side. Then, under Father Qiao’s guidance, she sincerely learned the etiquette of being a guest at someone’s house.

Even after thorough learning and a whole day of psychological preparation, Qiao Yu couldn’t help but let out a startled cry when Mother Cong stood at the front door of the house, unexpectedly opening it.

Mother Cong stood there with a cold expression, her black wavy hair covering half of her face, exuding a fierce aura.

Startled, Qiao Yu forgot all the prepared ways to gracefully greet and hastily bowed, extending the item she was holding.

“Auntie Cong, hello! I apologize for disturbing your home today. Please accept this small gift first…”

… It didn’t feel like a young person invited for a meal, but more like a subordinate giving a gift to their superior.

Qiao Yu’s confused mind gradually calmed down, deeply hating her own incompetence.

Fortunately, Mother Cong didn’t leave her hanging. She calmly took the bag from Qiao Yu’s hand and saw two snack boxes inside.

“What is it?”

Qiao Yu quickly straightened up and finally managed to employ what she had learned yesterday, offering a humble and gentle smile to Mother Cong.

“It’s pineapple pastry. I heard that you and Mother Lin both love these.”

That’s right, it was the key point Father Qiao taught her: don’t bring anything too valuable, bring something that shows thoughtfulness!

After all, the Cong family was wealthier than theirs, and they didn’t need something small from her. It was the thought that counted. So, with the help of Lin Qing and Cong Ye, Qiao Yu successfully discovered a shared interest between Mother Cong and Mother Lin. After school, she hurriedly went to a well-established pastry shop and picked up the snacks she had ordered in advance.

Mother Cong’s expression showed surprise—Qiao Yu had actually done her homework? She looked at the youthful and bright Qiao Yu and couldn’t help but feel that it was difficult to match her with the Qiao Yu she had in mind before.

“Thoughtful of you,” she pondered, nodding slightly, and opened the door, gesturing for the three of them to come in.

Qiao Yu walked in with lowered eyes, feeling that she had achieved a temporary victory and couldn’t help but clench her fist in a small celebration.

Lin Qing, who had been closely watching her, squinted her eyes and silently smiled.

Originally, Lin Qing was quite angry about Mother Cong making casual judgments about Qiao Yu without getting to know her. When she heard that she was inviting Qiao Yu to their home for dinner as an apology, she also felt confused. She was afraid that it would be a feast where Qiao Yu would be mistreated in person, so she hesitated, wondering what to do next.

However, Qiao Yu herself didn’t have any of these concerns, and she didn’t even care about Mother Cong’s dislike towards her.

“After all, I might not have been very good before,” she laughed carefree, and even turned around to console Lin Qing. “Auntie Cong wouldn’t speak ill of me for no reason. Maybe she just doesn’t understand the current me yet, and that’s okay.”

“But I’m different now.”

She looked at Lin Qing with gentle and bright eyes, her tone as if she was coaxing a child.

“This is a perfect opportunity for Auntie Cong to get to know me better. Misunderstandings can be cleared up.”

“Does Qingqing lack confidence in me?”

Qiao Yu’s eyes, which usually appeared cold if she didn’t smile, now looked pitifully downcast, making it impossible for Lin Qing to say anything to stop her. She could only blush and softly scold Qiao Yu for being impulsive.

Lin Qing had thought that Qiao Yu was confident, but it turned out she was just pretending to be calm.

Suppressing her laughter, Lin Qing went to pour a glass of water for Qiao Yu and gently passed it over, soothingly stroking the back of her hand.

Qiao Yu’s hand trembled, almost spilling the water.

“Is Qiao Yu here?”

Before she could make sense of why Lin Qing suddenly touched her, Mother Lin, who had been busy in the kitchen, came out. She was still wearing an apron, indicating that she had been cooking.

“Yes, it’s me. Hello, Auntie.”

Qiao Yu nervously put down the water and stood up. She knew that this must be Mother Lin. Her entire demeanor was truly in line with expectations.

“Qingqing mentioned you yesterday,” Mother Lin smiled warmly. “I feel relieved knowing that Qingqing has a good friend like you at school.”

The two of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, and it seemed that Mother Lin quite liked Qiao Yu. It was only when she remembered that there was still meat stewing in the pot that she returned to the kitchen. Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.

Cong Ye, who had been sitting on the sofa watching with cold eyes, sneered twice and ridiculed her.

“You don’t look like someone who’s here for a meal. You’re so nervous, it’s like you’re here to borrow money. Watching you is more entertaining than watching TV.”

Qiao Yu’s mouth went dry, and she gulped down the water Lin Qing had just poured for her, choosing to ignore Cong Ye.

Mother Cong, who had been attentively watching an idol drama on the TV screen, suddenly spoke up in a serious tone.

“I don’t think she looks like someone here to borrow money.”

The other three people on the sofa all turned their heads towards her. Mother Cong glanced at Lin Qing and Qiao Yu, who were sitting side by side, and her gaze lingered for a few seconds on their hands that were intertwined at some point. She continued speaking expressionlessly.

“…She looks more like a daughter-in-law visiting for the first time.”

The atmosphere in the living room became subtly tense after Mother Cong’s words. Cong Ye burst into laughter and patted Qiao Yu’s back, exclaiming that she was now his sister-in-law. Lin Qing, on the other hand, let go of Qiao Yu’s hand abruptly, as if she had been scalded. She hurriedly said she would fetch some fruits and only returned when it was time for dinner.

She sure is thin-skinned.

Qiao Yu sat at the dining table and sighed. She glanced at Lin Qing, whose ears were still slightly red, and appreciatively took the piece of spare rib that Lin Qing considerately served her.

She wondered why Lin Qing was so nervous and couldn’t bring herself to look at her. Qiao Yu ate it with small bites.

Cong Ye, who had a thicker skin, felt a little unhappy. He felt as if he was being left out. He scooted his chair closer to Qiao Yu and slapped his bowl onto the table, staring at her eagerly. However, Qiao Yu treated him as before and scooped a large piece of ginger into his bowl.

He didn’t dare to cause trouble in front of Mother Cong, so he angrily moved back to his original spot silently.

Mother Lin smiled and remarked how well the children got along. Mother Cong responded with a pensive “hmm” and looked at Qiao Yu, narrowing her eyes slightly.

After dinner, Qiao Yu ate the post-meal fruit that Lin Qing had brought, carefully going over her evening actions in her mind. She felt that apart from appearing a little nervous when she entered, she had behaved decently.

As she pondered whether this would improve her impression, she heard a deep woman’s voice calling her.

“Qiao Yu.”

She looked up to see Mother Cong standing up from her seat, pointing towards the yard.

“Can we have a chat?”

…Where did this ominous feeling come from?

Qiao Yu felt a chill down her spine, forgetting to chew the apple in her mouth. She felt like a frog being stared at by a snake.

But Lin Qing reacted much faster. She immediately stood up and stood in front of Qiao Yu, politely smiling at Mother Cong and saying, “Can I go along as well?”

Qiao Yu snapped back to her senses, knowing that Mother Cong had something to say to her. She quickly stood up, holding Lin Qing’s hand and giving her a reassuring blink when she looked over, telling her not to worry.

However, Lin Qing still remained somewhat cautious, hesitating and biting her lip, refusing to sit down. Mother Cong, feeling helpless, gently reassured her, “It’s okay. I really just want to have a chat with Qiao Yu, mainly to apologize for what happened yesterday.”

Mother Cong’s tone was sincere, and only then did Lin Qing sit back down and apologize to her in a low voice.

Mother Cong knew that it was her behavior yesterday that made Lin Qing guarded. She sighed inwardly, realizing that she would also need to apologize properly to Qingqing later. With Qiao Yu, she left the house and sat down on the stone bench in the yard.

She was still considering how to start the conversation when she saw Qiao Yu sitting upright opposite her, not daring to move, sitting attentively and waiting for her to speak. Qiao Yu’s nervous demeanor amused Mother Cong.

“No need to be so nervous. I no longer think of you as an ignorant rich kid.”

“Ah… Ah?”

…So that’s how she described her yesterday?

Qiao Yu, feeling detached from the situation, offered a little sympathy to the original associated with such a description.

“It seems you have indeed grown up a lot, completely different from how I remembered you.”

Mother Cong noticed that Qiao Yu didn’t show much change in expression, and she felt a sense of admiration for Qiao Yu’s composure.

“It was wrong of me to judge you based on old impressions. I apologize to you.”

“Oh, please, please, there’s no need for that!”

Seeing Mother Cong about to bow to apologize to her, Qiao Yu quickly stood up and waved her hands repeatedly. She wasn’t the one who was originally being talked about, and she genuinely didn’t take it to heart. It wasn’t just a polite remark.

“I’ve grown up a bit now, you didn’t know before, but now you do.”

Mother Cong and Qiao Yu exchanged a smile, and they let the matter pass.

“I’ll apologize to Qingqing later.” Mother Cong changed the subject, “Qingqing was quite angry yesterday.”

“Ah… I know.” Qiao Yu rubbed her nose bashfully, “She’s a good person, she’s just angry on my behalf. You should talk to her properly.”

Mother Cong calmly looked at her and suddenly asked, out of the blue.

“What do you think of Qingqing?”

Hmm?

Qiao Yu furrowed her brows in confusion. What kind of question was this?

“You had a good relationship with Cong Ye before Qingqing came.” Seeing Qiao Yu’s puzzled expression, Mother Cong explained, “I also know that Cong Ye didn’t quite like Qingqing when she first arrived, so why did you approach Qingqing back then?”

The woman changed her posture, exuding an elegant and subtle aura of authority, causing Qiao Yu’s heart to skip a beat.

Why did she approach Lin Qing…

Her gaze slightly darkened.

If she said it was simply because she found Lin Qing likable and wanted to establish a good relationship with her, that would be a lie.

At least initially, half of the reason was because Lin Qing was the female lead of this book. She wanted to observe her and Cong Ye’s love story up close and push things along when necessary.

Of course, she couldn’t tell Mother Cong this, and it would be easy to lie to her as well—who would have guessed the true reason?

But the woman’s gaze was sharp and probing, filled with a hint of playfulness, making Qiao Yu inexplicably feel that she already knew that something was amiss in her heart.

Under such scrutiny, Qiao Yu had nowhere to hide and involuntarily spoke up.

“…Though I can’t say it openly, I do have my own motives.”

The woman’s gaze shifted, and Qiao Yu clenched her teeth, bravely meeting her scrutinizing eyes.

“But you don’t need to worry. I promise you, my biggest goal is to make Lin Qing happy.”

At the corner of the courtyard, Lin Qing covered her chest tightly.

Her heartbeat was too intense, echoing in her head and even reaching the point where she feared the two people nearby might hear it.

She felt her lips trembling, taking silent deep breaths to calm herself down. While her heart gradually cooled, her confusion didn’t diminish in the slightest.

After Qiao Yu and Mother Cong left, Lin Qing couldn’t sit still. Still feeling uneasy, she hesitated for a moment before following them outside. As a result, she overheard Qiao Yu’s words just as she arrived.

Lin Qing tightened her grip on her clothes, creasing the fabric on her chest. Her usually clear eyes were filled with bewilderment and astonishment.

Qiao Yu approached her… with a purpose?

---

---