Got away
As Qiao Yu spoke of pain, Lin Qing couldn’t help but cry, and the more Lin Qing cried, the more pain Qiao Yu felt.
The situation fell into a delicate impasse.
Finally, Qiao Yu felt that continuing this way was not a solution. She couldn’t bear to watch Lin Qing cry anymore, so with a bit of forcefulness, she took Lin Qing’s face in her hands, lifting it up to reveal her delicate features soaked with tears.
“Lin Qing…”
Qiao Yu softly called Lin Qing’s name, reaching out to wipe away her tears. Without paper, she had to make do, awkwardly and carefully dabbing at the corners of Lin Qing’s eyes with a bandage, her movements as gentle as if she were handling a treasure.
Lin Qing felt embarrassed by her actions, grasped Qiao Yu’s hand to stop her movements, and said softly, “Don’t just use the bandage; if it gets wet, it’s not good for the wound.”
“To get it wet enough to harm the wound, how hard must Qingqing have been crying?”
Seeing signs that her tears might stop, Qiao Yu seized the opportunity to cheer her up, tilting her head and smiling at her.
“If it really came to that, then I wouldn’t care whether the bandage was wet or not.”
The sudden sourness that had overtaken Lin Qing caught her off guard and made her cry in front of Qiao Yu. Now that she had calmed down a bit, feeling both embarrassed and concerned for Qiao Yu, she gradually stopped crying. Collecting her emotions, she replied, “…How can you not care? You were just saying it hurts. Where does it hurt? Your hand or your face?”
Speaking, she lifted her head and, with concern, touched Qiao Yu’s swollen left cheek and injured lip corner, seeing how Qiao Yu smiled at her carefreely.
“It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” She accidentally stretched the wound while smiling, frowned slightly, and then corrected herself, saying, “Now it just hurts a tiny bit.”
“Then what was that just now—”
“That, that was…”
Qiao Yu’s gaze drifted, she stuttered, and her ears turned red with rare embarrassment.
“…Anyway, it only hurts a little bit now.”
Lin Qing’s heart suddenly stirred, and a bold and astonishing thought surfaced in her mind.
She felt somewhat at a loss, her mind racing as she covered the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat and asked calmly.
“Do you know why I was crying just now?”
“Ah, I, I think…”
The change in topic was so sudden that Qiao Yu was caught off guard, her response coming out in fits and starts.
“It’s because… you were worried about me… right.”
Her voice grew fainter and fainter. Lin Qing did not miss the stiffness of her body or the unnatural shift of her gaze. The right side of her pale face, embarrassingly, reddened, all of which did not escape Lin Qing’s eyes. Lin Qing’s heart pounded, everything before her seemed to point towards one answer, that dream Lin Qing had longed for day and night yet seemed so out of reach.
Is she…
About to be caught?
After answering, Qiao Yu started to feel vexed, deeply regretting her narcissistic remark that now made her feel extremely embarrassed.
Not good, not good, her mind was a whirl of emotions, making her face feel like it was turning into something strange.
She took deep breaths to cool down her overheated brain but then saw a complex emotion flicker through Lin Qing’s still-red eyes.
“…Indeed, it was because I was worried about you.”
“You’ve stood up for me too many times.”
“Why… why would you go to such lengths for me?”
“Qiao Yu?”
Lin Qing spoke while catching hold of her school uniform, slightly lifting her head to look at her. Qiao Yu was forced to look directly into those shimmering eyes, which at this moment were not as clear as usual but rippled, making them difficult to see through, her gaze drawn instead to the slight redness at the corners of Lin Qing’s eyes.
Her voice was gentle, her appearance pitiful, like a siren from the sea.
Ah, this is not good.
Qiao Yu felt as if her heart had leaped to her throat, leaving her mouth dry and tongue parched.
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She couldn’t keep looking at her.
“…No, it’s not that.”
Qiao Yu heard herself speak, her voice steady and calm.
“Those two people, they also spoke ill of me and Cong Ye. Don’t take it too much to heart.”
“I reprimanded them because it’s what I wanted to do.”
“Because we are friends.”
It was as if only at this moment did she finally regain control over her voice. She paused for a moment and then added softly.
“…Close friends.”
Yes, that’s right, that’s exactly what she thought.
So, that’s why.
Qiao Yu’s hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, feeling pulses of pain from the wound underneath the bandage.
So, heart, stop beating so fiercely.
She got away.
After returning to the stands and reuniting with her companions, Lin Qing watched Qiao Yu’s retreating figure, who was walking ahead and chatting with Cong Ye, with only this thought in her mind.
The last question Qiao Yu answered didn’t have any problems; indeed, it was the kind of answer she would usually give.
But—
Lin Qing lowered her gaze.
…Is that really all there is to it?
She couldn’t help but wonder if the thoughts she had at that time were illusions born from her own longing, yet Lin Qing, no matter what, didn’t want to deny them so readily.
If Qiao Yu’s feelings for her were more than just friendship…
Just thinking about this made Lin Qing shiver uncontrollably, like a sweet poison.
Even if it was drinking poison to quench thirst, she wanted to grasp this possibility.
Lin Qing was timid. She feared that taking too big of a step would break their relationship, and if Qiao Yu had no romantic feelings toward her, she would undoubtedly lose Qiao Yu forever, even the identity of a friend.
But at the same time, she was brave. As long as she could find the slightest bit of evidence that they loved each other.
By that time—
Lin Qing’s eyes gradually deepened as she imperceptibly pressed her lips tightly together.
The fight eventually caused quite a stir, firstly among the parents of the three families involved.
Father Qiao, dressed in a suit, came straight from his company to the school. Seeing Qiao Yu’s condition, he was both distressed and furious. An adult’s authority is much more intimidating than theirs; using her father’s influence, Qiao Yu successfully got the two shivering bears, Bear One and Bear Two, to spit out the name of the person at Yaohua who had sent them those messages.
Mother Cong was on a business trip out of town, and although she couldn’t be there in person, she was very strict over the phone with the homeroom teacher. The teacher had no choice but to repeatedly assure her that a fair and just decision would be made.
It’s worth mentioning that she even had Qiao Yu take the call personally, where she praised the youngster for being strong and capable of fighting, and then took the time to explain things to her.
‘Qingqing’s mom pays me rent every month,’ she said, ‘So now their relationship with our family is basically that of tenant and landlord.’
‘So don’t worry, everything between them is legitimate. Go ahead and slap those gossipers in the face. If they have any objections, let them come to me directly.’
Qiao Yu hung up the phone, feeling that Auntie Cong must not be easy to deal with.
It wasn’t long before Mother Lin arrived. She was probably the most gentle in demeanor among the parents. The homeroom teacher glanced at the several burly bodyguards that Lu Yao’s family had brought along and was very appreciative of the soft-spoken parent like Mother Lin.
Bear One and Bear Two had never seen such a scenario before and quickly shrank into a corner, not daring to say a word. They were fortunate that Qiao Yu was the type of person who would let bygones be bygones after a fight and didn’t go for the kill. After the two tearfully apologized several times, Qiao Yu no longer paid them any mind; they still had to face the consequences back at Yizhong.
The teachers from Yizhong arrived belatedly, having received this shocking piece of news on their way, and each of them was sweating profusely and continuously apologizing, looking quite miserable.
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“I had previously heard that Yizhong had the best academic achievements…”
Mother Lin’s face was etched with deep worry as she hesitated to speak further, yet the implication of her words was clear to everyone. The faces of Yizhong’s teachers grew even more troubled.
“No, not at all, this is just a one-off incident! Every school is bound to have such individuals, our other students are not like this at all! Auntie, please do not be mistaken!”
Upon realizing that the woman present was Mother Lin, Li Hua, who had been playing dumb all along, suddenly sprang into action as if he had been injected with chicken blood, frantically explaining himself, terrified of being tainted by association with a bad impression.
“Yes, yes.”
Cong Ye had long found him distasteful and now coldly chuckled in response.
“Apart from those at Yizhong who are the scum that bully the weak and fear the strong, spouting nonsense, isn’t there also you, who are—hmm, how should Mr. Li Hua be described, Qiao Yu, what do you think?”
“Ah, I think it should be—greedy for life and afraid of death, ungrateful and disloyal… petty person. Mr. Li Hua, how do you find that description?”
Li Hua was at a loss for words, unable to come up with a retort for a long while. Qiao Yu suppressed her laughter and stealthily fist-bumped Cong Ye.
“Hmm, it seems that Yaohua’s language education is quite good.”
Mother Lin nodded in approval towards the homeroom teacher with a pleasant expression, as if the eloquent words of Qiao Yu and Cong Ye were not insults but rather a display of rhetoric.
Faced with this situation, the people from Yizhong didn’t dare to stay long, repeatedly apologizing and promising to come up with a solution that would satisfy Yaohua before leaving in a disheartened manner.
As for the punishment of Qiao Yu and the others, the homeroom teacher was inclined to be lenient. Stroking his chin and thinking it over, he asked Qiao Yu, “They were the ones who started the physical altercation, right?”
“Yes.”
Qiao Yu nodded honestly, indeed, it was those two who hadn’t been able to restrain themselves and rushed towards her first.
“So, you were merely exercising self-defense against an attack from someone outside the school, right?”
And just like that, both the school authorities and the parents peacefully accepted this explanation, and the incident officially came to a close with “self-defense” as the given reasoning.
On the way home, Father Qiao looked at the injuries on his daughter’s face and felt heartbroken.
“It’s really pitiable, our little Yuyu’s face; those two brats really did a number on you. Luckily, it’s just swelling and no other issues. Otherwise, I would’ve made sure to—”
“I’m fine, Dad, just focus on driving and stop looking at me all the time!”
Qiao Yu clutched the seatbelt with her heart pounding, terrified that any mishap could further mar her already damaged face.
With her reminder, Father Qiao stopped glancing over so frequently, but he still frowned deeply and couldn’t help but talk. “Right, I heard you got a few names out of them. Do they have accomplices? Should Dad prepare some… convenient ‘tools’ for you?”
“…Tools?”
“Like brass knuckles, knuckle dusters, that kind of thing… ah, but not a knife, that’s not okay, you can’t just use that willy-nilly.”
“I would never use those?!”
Does her family’s home education have a problem!
Qiao Yu looked at her father in horror and shook her head desperately, indicating she didn’t need either brass knuckles or knuckle dusters.
“I don’t need to fight those people again! I just think they should at least be pulled out to apologize, instead of skulking around and complaining behind our backs without paying any price.”
“Oh, I see, no more fighting this time.”
Father Qiao nodded understandingly, sighing.
“Right, right, Yuyu’s hands are still injured, so you definitely can’t do any vigorous exercise. Yuyu, are you upset because of the rumors about you and Cong Ye? Is it because you dislike him that you’re so angry about the rumors?”
“……This……”
Qiao Yu was at a loss for words for a moment. Indeed, from her father’s perspective, her seriousness must seem to be for her own reputation, but to mistakenly say she dislikes Cong Ye didn’t seem quite right either.
“It’s not about disliking him,” explained Qiao Yu, “I just don’t appreciate people gossiping behind my back.”
She disliked being the subject of gossip, and she also disliked it when others were talked about.
Qiao Yu wrinkled her brow, promptly steering her thoughts away from veering in an odd direction.
“Mm-hmm, that’s good, Yuyu has really grown up. Her temperament takes after me.”
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Father Qiao’s face was alight with satisfaction, nodding contentedly, his eyes almost brimming with tears.
“I didn’t expect Yuyu to be quite formidable in a fight, you get that from me too!”
…Not sure if he was boasting, Qiao Yu stayed silent, listening to him continue with his musings.
“Ah, this puts my mind at ease. With Yuyu being so capable of defending herself, nobody will dare to bully you in the future, it’s a good thing indeed.”
Qiao Yu raised an eyebrow, teasingly retorted: “Since you say you’re also good at fighting, how come I’ve never seen Mom bully you any less?”
“This, this is different!” Father Qiao spluttered, his face turning red as he tried to explain.
“To your mother, I am full of respect and love. So when she ‘bullies’ me — can that even be called bullying? That’s her showing her love for me!”
…Oh, to flaunt their affection so openly in front of their child, what a free-spirited family atmosphere.
“When Yuyu finds someone she likes, she’ll understand that being able to fight is utterly useless. A lover’s frown can turn even the steely resolve into tender compliance.”
Father Qiao happily continued with his off-topic ramblings, quickly starting to recount the romance he had with Mother Qiao. Qiao Yu looked uninterestedly out the window, occasionally responding half-heartedly, absorbed in thought except for the phrase “even the steely resolve turns into tender compliance,” not much of what was said afterward truly registered with her.
She couldn’t help but recall the tear that fell from Lin Qing’s eye, silently sighing to herself.
Indeed, if everyone were like Lin Qing, let alone hardened steel, not even diamonds could withstand it.
LP: If Qiao Yu wasn’t so concerned with following the OG author’s plot of pairing Lin Qing with Cong Ye, she would have already admitted to herself that she’s in love ૮₍ ˶>⤙<˶ ₎ა
My God, does she have some sort of brain parasite? Otherwise you’d think she’d realize her feelings by now.
She still have the mindset of being an outsider, so her mental block is still pretty strong
My God, does she have some sort of brain parasite? Otherwise you’d think she’d realize her feelings by now.
She still have the mindset of being an outsider, so her mental block is still pretty strong