Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 19

Isn’t this a roundabout way of proposing?

Lin Qing hardly paid attention to the subsequent conversation. She stood there in a state of mental turmoil for a while, only to snap out of it when it seemed like the discussion was coming to an end. She hurriedly retreated quietly.

She returned to the living room and slowly drank a glass of water, allowing her racing heart to calm down slightly.

Just then, the door she had just walked through to the courtyard opened again.

Lin Qing turned around and locked eyes with Cong Ye, who sneaked in stealthily, tiptoeing and hunching over.

“…”

“…”

The two of them stared at each other, their gazes carrying a complicated meaning.

Seeing his guilty expression, resembling someone who had stolen a chicken, Lin Qing quickly figured out what had happened and started calculating in her mind. She ambiguously asked with a tone that implied catching someone red-handed.

“…Did you overhear?”

Cong Ye’s body trembled, and he loudly protested, clearly feeling guilty.

“I didn’t hear anything!”

“Do you know what I’m asking?”

“…”

This was clearly a trap. Cong Ye, who had eaten a secret loss in just one glance, closed his mouth and promptly closed the door behind him. He cautiously leaned against the door and listened carefully for any signs of movement outside before continuing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

… It was obvious from a glance that he had also eavesdropped from outside. It was quite impressive that he still tried to deny it despite the situation.

Lin Qing didn’t bother arguing with him any further. She went straight to the point and asked, “What do you know about the things Qiao Yu said?”

“So I said I don’t know what you’re talking about-“

Cong Ye started to argue, but halfway through his rebuttal, he fell silent. His facial expression slowly turned strange.

“… Lin Qing, are you saying that you still haven’t understood?”

He incredulously retorted, adding quickly, “Although I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lin Qing had thoughts of her own, but it felt a bit embarrassing for her to say it out loud. So she pretended to remain calm and shook her head.

Cong Ye’s expression changed repeatedly, and he hesitated before finally opening his mouth.

The door behind him clicked as it was turned.

Lin Qing quickly sat back on the sofa, while Cong Ye, who was blocking the door, was startled and let out a loud cry. He moved away from the door, but before he could escape, Mother Cong and Qiao Yu walked in and caught him red-handed. He could only pretend to be looking at the scenery as he leaned against the window.

Fortunately, the two of them didn’t think much of it. Qiao Yu glanced at the time and bid everyone farewell. The gathering ended (somewhat?) satisfactorily.

However, because of Qiao Yu’s words, Lin Qing was preoccupied. It was clear that Cong Ye wanted to say something to her, but he was interrupted. Yet, when she asked him about it later, he denied it and played dumb. In any case, he refused to discuss anything related to Qiao Yu’s words.

Lin Qing couldn’t directly ask Qiao Yu about it, so she had to ponder on her own. Sitting at her desk, absentmindedly twirling her pen, she recalled Qiao Yu’s two sentences.

“I promise, my biggest goal is to make Lin Qing happy.”

The ballpoint pen fell onto the table with a snap, and Lin Qing touched her burning-hot face with both hands, feeling her heart cry out under the unbearable weight.

… Qiao Yu, this person, really has a knack for saying such strange things.

And because of her, she was starting to become strange too.

Cong Ye, exercising his right to silence in response to Lin Qing’s questioning, lay on his own bed, staring at the ceiling with no sleepiness in sight.

After dinner, he had seen Lin Qing casually make an excuse and walk into the courtyard. It was clear that she was going to find Qiao Yu and the others, which made him unable to sit still. He secretly followed them—what a guy! Qiao Yu and Mother Cong were having a conversation with two people lurking around, eavesdropping. Thankfully, they didn’t notice, but it felt like a scene straight out of a real-life Infernal Affairs.

Who knew that as soon as he followed, a big piece of news would unfold?

Cong Ye’s hiding spot was better than Lin Qing’s, and he could just barely see Qiao Yu’s profile.

He recalled the expression on Qiao Yu’s face when she was speaking, took a long breath.

Honestly, it was quite amusing to see that resolute and unwavering expression on Qiao Yu’s face. She looked like Chu Ba Wang, the king who was ready to sink the ship.

But when paired with the words she spoke, the whole situation completely changed.

He didn’t know how Lin Qing could hear such words and not react. It was so explicit that even his clever little brain didn’t need to think twice. After listening to half a sentence, he covered his mouth and stifled the exclamation in his throat.

Qiao Yu, in a roundabout way, was basically proposing, right!

Cong Ye risked being discovered as he craned his neck to observe Qiao Yu’s expression, his eyes shining brightly. Meanwhile, he couldn’t help but recall the scenes of the male and female leads getting married in the idol drama he had just watched on TV, and he began to imagine them in their shoes.

Priest: Do you consent to enter into a marriage covenant with her? To love her, care for her, respect her, accept her, in sickness and in health, and remain faithful to her until the end of your life?

Qiao Yu: Yes, my biggest goal is to make Lin Qing happy.

It fits perfectly! There’s no sense of discord whatsoever!

Cong Ye wriggled around on the bed, unable to stop the smile on his face.

Well, you, Qiao Yu, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you have this kind of intention!

No wonder she’s been revolving around Lin Qing lately and even giving him unfriendly looks!

His expression suddenly changed, and he lowered his head with a guilty conscience.

After all, Lin Qing initially had a slight liking for him, and she even made up an excuse about their childhood playtime to get closer to him.

But he definitely didn’t do anything to betray Qiao Yu! Seeing how he didn’t say anything to Lin Qing today and kept her feelings hidden for her sake, Qiao Yu should forgive her, right?

Cong Ye solemnly clasped his hands, completely disregarding the fact that he wouldn’t have needed to hide anything from Lin Qing if he hadn’t eavesdropped.

He was on the verge of telling Lin Qing the truth before Qiao Yu arrived. Fortunately, Qiao Yu came just in time and prevented him from making a big mistake.

Does it fall on him to clarify this? Qiao Yu hasn’t even told Lin Qing herself! He couldn’t be the type of friend who blabs everything!

…Speaking of which, Qiao Yu is really bold. She told Mother Cong before confessing to Lin Qing, and judging from his mother’s reaction, she didn’t seem to have any objections. Why is she still worrying about Mother Lin rejecting their relationship?

Cong Ye felt some confusion, but when he couldn’t figure something out, he resolutely chose not to dwell on it. He didn’t have any particular views on same-sex relationships; his heart was simply filled with support for Qiao Yu’s secret crush as a friend and a slight urge to tease her. It was getting a bit uncomfortable keeping it all to himself.

But Lin Qing seems clueless—she didn’t even understand what Qiao Yu was saying.

Cong Ye thought about it without worry, silently making a decision in his heart.

Qiao Yu! Don’t worry! Now that he knows about this, he will do everything in his power to help!

With approval from Mother Cong, after-school tutoring resumed, and life returned to its normal track—it should have been like this.

But Qiao Yu has been feeling off lately.

It was the last day before the exams. She silently flipped through her textbooks, stealing glances at her two companions.

Following Mother Cong’s suggestion, they had decided to have their tutoring sessions at Cong Ye’s house, to avoid Cong Ye crying and begging to go to Qiao Yu’s house. Strangely, when Cong Ye heard about it, he seemed even less willing, mumbling that it would be better for Lin Qing and Qiao Yu to be alone together. But he didn’t dare to oppose his mother’s opinion.

Now the three of them sat around a table in the Cong family’s living room, with Qiao Yu in the middle. Judging from their lack of movement, it had been about half an hour since either of them had made a sound.

Qiao Yu slowly turned a few pages and picked a difficult-looking question, pushing the thick book towards the center of the table and pointing at the problem.

“I don’t know this question. Can anyone be kind enough to explain it to me?”

The two statues finally snapped out of their contemplative state, exchanging ambiguous glances above her book. They spent a good while without deciding who would explain the problem to her.

What on earth were they doing…

Qiao Yu was speechless, feeling like a neglected little cabbage.

This situation had started since the day they had dinner at Cong Ye’s house. Even at school, their behavior was strange. Cong Ye would now look at her with shining eyes, as if he had some inexplicable sense of duty, making her feel like she was being watched intently all the time during class. Even Mi Yi had noticed and privately asked her if she owed Cong Ye money.

Lin Qing wasn’t doing well either, although her behavior wasn’t as obviously strange as Cong Ye’s. But Qiao Yu could still tell that Lin Qing would intentionally or unintentionally avoid making eye contact with her, as if she was struggling with a sense of distance. As time went on, Qiao Yu also felt helpless, watching their relationship deteriorate back to the way it was when they first met.

Qiao Yu was very confused, but when she tried to ask the two of them, she couldn’t find the right words. Cong Ye insisted that she was overthinking things, and Lin Qing’s evasive and awkward gaze suggested that she was preoccupied with something. It was highly suspicious.

And now, even the atmosphere during their tutoring sessions had gradually become like this, giving Qiao Yu a sense of deja vu from the time when the two of them used to compete secretly.

But back then, at least both of them would eagerly explain the problems to her! Now, when she had questions, nobody would explain them to her! It was worse than before!

Qiao Yu was certain that something had happened between them that they couldn’t tell her. Maybe their relationship had progressed, and she, who wanted to write about everything, couldn’t find out anything. And there was nobody to explain the problems to her.

Feeling frustrated, she took a piece of fruit candy from the snack basket and popped it into her mouth, hoping to add some sweetness to her mood. Then, resignedly, she reached out to pull the textbook, which had been ignored for half the day, back in front of her.

But it didn’t budge. The book was held down by a delicate and fair hand.

“I’ll do it.”

Lin Qing whispered softly, using the opportunity of turning her head to fetch her draft notebook to cover her ears, which were starting to feel warm.

Qiao Yu didn’t notice her little gesture but breathed a sigh of relief. She realized that for the past few days, it was always Lin Qing who explained the problems to her, while Cong Ye, who was useless in this regard, never did. This made Qiao Yu glare fiercely at Cong Ye, only to see him smiling contentedly and giving her a thumbs-up in secret.

…Could it be that something is wrong with his head?

Qiao Yu’s frustration turned into genuine concern, and she listened to Lin Qing’s explanation with a worried heart.

During the explanation, they would inevitably be very close to each other.

Qiao Yu knew about Lin Qing’s recent odd behavior, so she cautiously moved a little closer, but immediately stopped when she noticed Lin Qing’s body tensing up.

She stopped too conscientiously, revealing Lin Qing’s apologetic expression.

She realized that it was because of her that Qiao Yu had been so cautious, and Lin Qing couldn’t sit still. She took the initiative to move closer to Qiao Yu’s side.

Pretending not to see Qiao Yu’s surprised and delighted gaze, she forcefully shifted her attention back to the problem.

In an instant, Qiao Yu’s grievances from these past few days vanished, like a sunflower finally basking in the sun after enduring the rainy season, her radiance quickly restored. She enthusiastically watched Lin Qing, nodding vigorously in sync with her pauses during the explanation. In reality, she wasn’t really absorbing anything, her mind filled with thoughts of how good Lin Qing was to her.

However, when Lin Qing let her hair fall from behind her ears, it often drooped in front of her eyes, blocking her line of sight, and Lin Qing had to repeatedly flick it away.

Unconsciously, Qiao Yu started staring at the swaying ends of her hair. Lin Qing’s hair looked unbelievably smooth, and when she flicked it away, those strands flowed like delicate gauze between her fingers, revealing her exquisite profile and long eyelashes.

And Qiao Yu inexplicably felt a tingling in her heart.

She finally couldn’t resist reaching out her hand and hooking onto that strand of stubborn ink-black hair, gently tucking it behind Lin Qing’s ear. As she pulled her hand back, her fingers accidentally brushed against Lin Qing’s earlobe.

It was hot.

Just as this thought vaguely crossed her mind, she saw Lin Qing freeze, her face immediately turning red, and the stagnant pen on the draft paper creating a blot.

Qiao Yu suddenly realized that she may have gotten too carried away. She quickly moved to the edge of the table and leaned against the corner, curling her arm to cover most of her face, leaving only apologetic eyes visible.

“…I’m sorry, I crossed a boundary.”

Lin Qing couldn’t bear seeing her like this.

She sighed inwardly, about to reach out and pull Qiao Yu, who had become a frightened bird, back. But Cong Ye, who had been calmly solving problems on the opposite side and hadn’t turned a page in his textbook for half an hour, suddenly closed it with a slap and stood up. He grabbed Qiao Yu’s shoulder.

“Qiao Yu, are you stupid?”

His face was filled with pained dismay, his expression like someone watching a fool who won the jackpot ticket tearing it into pieces.

“Why are you running away! Hurry up and solve the problem!”

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