Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 25.3

King’s Game

Feeling that there was no movement from the person across for a long time, Lin Qing couldn’t help but slightly open her eyes. What she saw was Qiao Yu’s face leaning towards her.

Lin Qing’s heart skipped a beat, and as if possessed by a ghost, she leaned forward.

“——!!”

Qiao Yu jerked back dramatically, almost lying down on the couch, and subconsciously raised her hand to cover her mouth.

The chocolate from the biscuit’s outer layer slowly melted in her mouth, yet she couldn’t taste anything, her mind was a complete blank.

Her heart was thumping so fast that she was afraid it would leap out of her mouth. Qiao Yu’s hands were trembling as she tried to control them, but the soft touch on her lips felt like it had taken root, impossible to shake off.

—Just now … what touched was…

Her gaze wandered for a long time before she dared to look at Lin Qing. The girl sat very straight, like a statue, motionless, with her delicate face still holding the nervousness and unease from eating Pocky.

…It was as if she had frozen.

The fleeting hope in Qiao Yu’s heart that perhaps it was just a touch to the face was completely gone. The three people surrounding were all so stunned that they were silent, and the very breathless Qiao Yu could only muster up her courage, her scalp tingling with fear as she tentatively began to speak.

“… I just—”

Lin Qing suddenly stood up.

“I, I need to go to the restroom!”

Then she ran out with astonishing momentum, before anyone present could react, and by the time they noticed, Lin Qing had disappeared as the private room’s door swung open and closed.

She remembered to gently close the door, which made it seem like probably there isn’t a big problem… right?

Qiao Yu couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened; it was like a loop running uncontrollably in her mind. Overwhelmed, she lay down on the couch, lifted her hands to cover her face, and looked through her fingers as the colorful lights on the ceiling blurred into a dazzling mess before her eyes.

At this moment, both Qiao Yu and Lin Qing, who was squatting at the door of the private room covering her face, were thinking about the same thing.

…Oh, it was so soft.

It took Lin Qing a full fifteen minutes to return to the room, her expression back to normal as if nothing had happened. The room was lively, filled with the jubilant sounds of 《Happy Life》 as if they were celebrating the New Year.

As Lin Qing walked in, she was startled by the chorus of “Today is a good day.” She sat down next to Qiao Yu, looking somewhat dazed. Qiao Yu acted as if nothing had occurred and handed her a drink that Cong Ye had just ordered. Both of them kept to themselves about what had just happened, treating each other with mutual respect.

“Ah, Lin Qing is back,” said Mi Yi, who looked tired as she pulled off her headphones, and then immediately frowned. “…This song has been on loop since Cong Ye said ‘Since we have to wait for Lin Qing to come back to play the game, why not just play some song?’ and it’s been playing over and over until now.”

As she spoke, she yelled at Cong Ye, who was comfortably enjoying himself: “Enough! Change the song!”

Cong Ye, quite satisfied with himself, obediently changed the music.

But then, as 《Flowers in full bloom, and the moon is full》 started playing in the background, Mi Yi tried to continue speaking—she was cut off by Qiao Yu, who couldn’t stand it anymore. Marching past Lu Yao, who was sprawled on the couch breathing more out than in, she made a beeline for the karaoke. After a struggle with Cong Ye, she managed to change it to a song praising fatherly love.

“…Anyway, you guys just did a great job following through with what you were instructed to do.”

Mi Yi continued, seemingly unaware of her tendency to stir the pot, as she teasingly raised her eyebrows at Lin Qing.

“Although we didn’t measure to see if it was left at five centimeters—well, it’s been eaten up now, so there’s nothing that can be done. You’ve worked hard.”

Being teased like this, Lin Qing actually calmed down. She frowned slightly and looked at Mi Yi with a scrutinizing gaze.

“What are you really—”

“Alright, alright—now that everyone is here, let’s quickly get started with the next round.”

Mi Yi decisively interrupted what Lin Qing was about to ask, reshuffled the cards, and laid them out in a row on the table.

“It feels like the right moment has come; it’s time to get to the main topic.”

She drew out the last word lazily as she picked up a card first. Lin Qing studied the table for a while and then, without changing her expression, picked up a card as well, choosing not to pursue her question further.

The rest of the group shuffled over, each taking a card with muted excitement. More than two hours had passed since they entered the private room, everyone lounging on the sofas in disarray. After some hesitation, Qiao Yu leaned against Lin Qing just like before, and only relaxed when she didn’t encounter any resistance.

She thought that she should find a chance to be alone with her later to explain what had happened before—it was all because she hadn’t judged the distance correctly. How could she have ended up eating seven centimeters in one bite? That was quite a mouthful, wasn’t it?

Qiao Yu’s memories of that time had become blurry, with only that fleeting touch etched in her memory, exceptionally distinct. She was reflecting on how she could have such an appetite when she heard Mi Yi’s voice rise.

“Lucky me, I’m the king again.”

Yeah, yeah, she wished her luck could be as good, to at least eat one centimeter less—

“So Number One has to choose someone among everyone present. This person will have the right to ask a question, and Number One must give a truthful answer.”

Eh, but what if someone asks a weird question? Like, if someone asks her how it felt just now to—cough—with Lin Qing, she wouldn’t be able to say it. Ah, but it really felt so soft at that time; can human lips be that soft? She touched her own and it didn’t feel quite the—

“Hey, Number One.”

A hand waved in front of her, snapping Qiao Yu out of her trance as she realized everyone at the table was staring at her.

Only then did she remember that she hadn’t even looked at her card to see which number she was, and she quickly flipped it over.

“Alright, Number One player Qiao Yu, who do you choose to ask you a question?”

…Isn’t this just the wheel of fortune turning? Just before, she was laughing at how Cong Ye was singled out. Is this instant karma?

Qiao Yu looked at the cunningly smiling Mi Yi and immediately ruled her out.

In a nutshell, she had to choose the person amongst the crowd most likely to ask her a harmless question. For instance, the question she mindlessly pondered earlier was definitely off-limits, as it was far too damaging.

…Doesn’t that mean there’s really only one option left, someone who certainly couldn’t ask that troubling question?

With a look of troubled hesitation, Qiao Yu followed her heart and extended an olive branch to Lin Qing.

“Lin Qing… do you have anything you want to ask me?”

Feeling the eager gazes of the others settling on her, Lin Qing inwardly sighed.

Qiao Yu had no idea that, in reality, whoever she picked would lead to the same outcome. The previous rounds of the King’s Game were almost like laying the groundwork for this moment, all leading up to unveiling the results of that wager.

Despite this, the fact that Qiao Yu chose her still sparked a faint sense of delight in Lin Qing.

“So,” Lin Qing pondered her words, “what is your relationship with Song Wanshan?”

The atmosphere within the private room tensed with the delivery of this question.

The person in question, Qiao Yu, seemed utterly oblivious, putting on a face that implied, “Huh? That’s it?” and said in an even tone, “… Probably counts as friends, I guess.”

“Eh, what—??”

Lu Yao slammed the table and stood up, his face full of disbelief.

“Friends? What kind of friends?”

“Just the regular kind…”

“No way—”

Amid Lu Yao’s wail of despair, Cong Ye, feeling vindicated, burst into towering laughter, “That’s why I’ve said all along it was impossible! What a fool—uh!”

“But, but I clearly heard them say that day…”

“That day?”

Qiao Yu, still not fully grasping the situation, pricked up her ears attentively and looked towards Lu Yao with suspicion.

“…Could it be that ‘that day’ refers to the stairwell—”

“Yi?!”

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Lu Yao hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was already too late, Qiao Yu rolled up her sleeves and approached with an imposing air, their shouting voices intertwining.

“No no no Qiao Yu, listen to my explanation—”

“Did you eavesdrop that day?? What exactly did you misunderstand, you—?!”

Still unaffected, Cong Ye happily took a packet of chips, tore it open, and while munching, he made a call to the front desk.

“Bring up some more of the drinks we had earlier, mm-hmm, we have a good occasion to celebrate.”

“How boring!”

After hearing Lu Yao explain the eavesdropping incident, Qiao Yu was fuming with rage, standing akimbo (with hands on the hips and elbows turned outward) and gulping down her drink to quench the fury in her heart. She stood up with a formidable aura and pointed at Cong Ye who was sitting beside her.

“So why did you make Lu Yao keep an eye on me, huh?!”

“…It was for your own good anyway.”

“I call BS!”

Unable to expose the earlier eavesdropping incident and admitting fault, Cong Ye spoke vaguely and skirted the issue, leaving Qiao Yu glaring daggers.

“At the end of the day, wasn’t it you and Song Wanwan who were… you know! I was only looking out for you as a friend!”

“What do you mean, ‘you know’?! Can you not always talk so weirdly! This doesn’t sound like you’re treating me as a friend; I think you’re just—”

Before she could spit out the words “you’re treating me like an enemy,” Qiao Yu felt a wave of dizziness and started to sway, her figure blurring as she toppled to the side.

“Qiao Yu?!”

Lin Qing, who was already sitting close by, reflexes quick, stood up to catch her. Anxious voices reached Qiao Yu’s ears, but they sounded as if they were coming from afar, then close, her mind muddled as though shrouded in fog.

“Huh, what? That’s weird…”

“How come you’re like this, Qiao Yu? How did I not treat you as a friend—” Cong Ye seemed utterly unaware of the commotion, looking quite dissatisfied as he reached out for her. However, he aimed in the wrong direction, not even close to where Qiao Yu was, fumbling in the air before he suddenly got irritated, “Qiao Yu, how come… how come there are two of you now?”

“……”

The three sober people left in the room exchanged looks. Mi Yi was the first to walk to the table. She picked up the can of drink and scrutinized the packaging, her face going through a spectrum of odd expressions before she finally sighed in resignation.

“……This.”

She rotated the can to show the other two.

“It’s booze.”

The can they had assumed was a regular soft drink clearly stated “8% Alcohol Content” on it, which instantly made sense of the situation.

“We didn’t start with this, did we…?” Lu Yao fumbled around, searching the table for a normal drink, and scratched his head helplessly, “It was after you guys played the Pocky game… then Cong Ye just asked room service to bring over something more festive to drink, and we’ve been sipping on this ever since…”

No wonder she hadn’t noticed. As Lin Qing was regretting this, the person in her arms began to wriggle restlessly, murmuring and nuzzling into the crook of her shoulder.

“……Weird, I’m feeling kinda dizzy—Lin Qing, you… smell so good…”

She slurred, drunkenly sniffing around Lin Qing’s neck, her nose brushing against Lin Qing’s exposed skin, unabashedly behaving like a complete scoundrel.

Lin Qing’s body stiffened as she uncomfortably tried to nudge the other away, but Qiao Yu wasn’t having it. Wrapping her arms around Lin Qing’s waist, she pulled them both back onto the couch, encapsulating Lin Qing entirely in her embrace.

“Why are you pushing me away? Is Qingqing not caring for me anymore?”

Before Lin Qing could even start to settle scores, Qiao Yu was already playing the victim, her big misty eyes shimmering, almost creating an ethereal and enchanting vibe.

“…Is it because I did something bad?” Drunk Qiao Yu’s emotions switched gears rapidly, her amber eyes filling up with unease and a guilty shine, “Pocky, I didn’t mean to—”

Lin Qing’s reactions outpaced her thoughts. Before she knew it, her hand was already clamped over Qiao Yu’s mouth. Now, they were so close, their bodies almost pressed into one, making it impossible for Lin Qing to tell whose heart was thumping so wildly.

She wasn’t ready to talk with Qiao Yu about that matter, especially not with Qiao Yu being drunk off her face.

Her delicate feelings were becoming harder and harder to hide, and the whole thing had just come out of left field. No matter what she heard from Qiao Yu, her heart was going to point her towards where their relationship was headed, and any progress or change made her feel… scared.

Lin Qing’s mind was a mess, and the usually restless Qiao Yu, as if sensing her mood, finally settled down and let her hold her mouth covered.

Lin Qing, with her hand over Qiao Yu’s mouth, felt Qiao Yu’s lips part slightly, and without a sound, her lips moved as if to say something.

—Don’t hate me.

Lin Qing’s body, all tensed up, lost strength.

Hate.

If her mood back then was like how it is now, maybe things would be way better.

After Qiao Yu spit out those words, she didn’t move again, her warm and soft lips just stuck there against Lin Qing’s palm, triggering a flashback she couldn’t stop.

The rich, bittersweet scent of chocolate seems to be lingering on her taste buds again.

It was her first kiss.

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