Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 2
by Little PandaMy Name is Lin Qing, Please Take Care of Me
As expected of a romance writer!
The System was thoroughly impressed by Qiao Yu’s expertise. Indeed, every profession had its specialists. Filled with admiration, it decided to stop disturbing her.
“…What are you doing?”
That wasn’t me speaking! Startled, the System and the equally shocked Qiao Yu turned their eyes toward the source of the sound. There stood a boy in a school uniform, staring at Qiao Yu with a look of utter speechlessness.
He had sharply defined brows and handsome eyes, but his expression was cold and distant, radiating an aura that practically screamed, “Stay the hell away from me.” Qiao Yu let out a soft gasp of realization and quickly stood up straight. She quickly covered her mouth, checking to see if there was any commotion inside the classroom before letting out a sigh of relief.
With this presence, he was undoubtedly the male lead!
Qiao Yu felt a surge of excitement, like a fan suddenly coming face-to-face with their favorite idol. She sized up Cong Ye, nodding repeatedly. Yes, romance novel male leads are indeed incredibly good-looking. Even in his teens, he was tall with long legs—quite a treat for the eyes.
Uncomfortable under her intense gaze, Cong Ye swung his backpack and tossed it at her. “Qiao Yu, is there something wrong with you? Are you still half-asleep?”
His backpack was practically empty, so it didn’t hurt at all when it hit her. Realizing she’d stared a bit too intensely just now, Qiao Yu offered a sheepish chuckle. “To be honest, I kind of am. If I hadn’t overslept this morning, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
Although this was her first time meeting Cong Ye since transmigrating, memories of their years together flashed through her mind, making her feel quite familiar with him.
Despite Cong Ye’s sour expression, Qiao Yu didn’t feel intimidated in the least. She even tried to fish for information. “How did you end up late today too? Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?”
…Who wants to share a coincidence with you!
Cong Ye knit his brows in disgust. He felt Qiao Yu was somewhat different from before, but he didn’t dwell on it. With a cold snort, he said, “An outsider came to the house. I didn’t want to see them this morning.”
The underlying meaning was, “I’m not like you, who just overslept.” As he spoke, he lifted his chin proudly, only to see the girl in front of him instantly beam with joy.
“…”
Even someone as cold and aloof as Cong Ye began to genuinely worry about Qiao Yu’s sanity.
He decided not to waste any more time tangling with this strange Qiao Yu. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he jerked his chin toward the classroom. “What were you doing squatting out here anyway? You looked like a chicken thief. It’s just being late, what’s there to be afraid of? Let’s go.”
He’d clearly assumed her odd behavior was because she was too scared to enter after being late. Having said his piece, he walked toward the front door.
Qiao Yu was overjoyed. Speak of the devil—the male lead, the very person who could interrupt the female lead’s self-introduction, had arrived right on cue! She happily followed Cong Ye, intending to walk in with him. But in a flash, it struck her: this was the school meeting of a handsome couple destined to be together. What would it look like if she, a bystander, was tagging along right behind them? If she wrote this down, wouldn’t she be flamed to death by her readers?
That was a close shave. She’d almost inserted herself right into the middle of the plot.
Qiao Yu patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. While Cong Ye was reaching to push the door open, she prepared to slip away first.
Unexpectedly, Cong Ye was quick. He grabbed her backpack and hauled the stumbling Qiao Yu back, clicking his tongue in annoyance. “Qiao Yu, what on earth is wrong with you today?”
Isn’t this all to set up a good scene for your romance!
But Qiao Yu couldn’t say that out loud, so she had to swallow her anger and roll her eyes.
Before she could come up with an excuse to avoid entering the classroom, the front door swung open without warning. The teacher stood at the doorway, looking in surprise at Cong Ye and Qiao Yu, whose backpack he was still clutching as she wore a thoroughly aggrieved look.
Their commotion was so loud that it finally drew the attention of those inside.
Seeing that the situation was beyond saving, Qiao Yu craned her neck to look inside with a last sliver of hope. Seeing that the figure at the podium was still standing there, she could only sigh in despair.
It seemed she was destined to play the role of the nuisance wedged between the leads today. After enduring a few mild, half-hearted scoldings from the teacher, Qiao Yu dragged her feet and slowly followed Cong Ye into the classroom. She had barely taken two steps before she bumped hard into him when he came to a sudden halt.
The impact made her nose sting. With teary eyes, she looked up to see what on earth Cong Ye was doing, only to find him staring fixedly ahead, his face ashen. His thin lips parted as he spat out words laden with displeasure: “…Why are you here?”
Oho.
Qiao Yu blinked, a sudden wave of understanding washing over her.
She had assumed that when Cong Ye said “I didn’t want to see them this morning,” he merely meant he didn’t want to walk to school with the female lead. Now it appeared he had absolutely no idea she was transferring into his class, and had naively believed that hiding at home would keep her out of his sight forever.
It was obvious that when his mother had told him, he had stubbornly refused to listen, letting the words go in one ear and out the other. Qiao Yu quietly clicked her tongue twice. Having long forgotten the sting in her nose, a sense of joy bubbled up from the bottom of her heart at being right on the front lines of the drama.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
Before he received an answer, Cong Ye narrowed his long eyes dangerously. Taking a step forward with a face as dark as water, he looked utterly menacing, like someone who was not to be trifled with.
…Brother, could you please settle your business behind closed doors at home? There are so many eyes watching. She just transferred here; at least consider the female lead’s feelings.
Qiao Yu pursed her lips in disapproval. Only then did she belatedly realize she still hadn’t seen what the female lead looked like; whether through the window glass or that brief glance earlier, she had only caught a vague silhouette. Sparked by curiosity, she hastily poked her head out. As she looked up, her gaze collided directly with that of the girl standing before the podium.
She wore the same school uniform as Qiao Yu, but unlike Qiao Yu’s casual style of just draping it over herself, she’d zipped hers all the way to the top. The oversized uniform wrapped her slender frame snugly. Qiao Yu’s gaze drifted naturally upward from the girl’s only exposed skin—her delicate, snowy-white neck—to her makeup-free, delicate and pretty face. Bright, clear eyes were looking right back at her, and the girl tilted her head slightly. A lock of dark hair slipped from her shoulder with the movement, its soft curve making Qiao Yu’s heart tickle inexplicably.
Qiao Yu’s mind buzzed, and she quickly shrank back behind Cong Ye in a spineless manner.
As expected of a romance novel’s female lead, she was indeed such a beautiful little white flower1. Qiao Yu, who hadn’t seen much of the world, felt her heart pounding wildly, her mind turning completely blank.
Meanwhile, Cong Ye noticed that the person opposite him was not only ignoring him but even seemed to be zoning out. The young master’s pride, having never been treated like this before, flared up instantly. He took another angry step forward. “Lin Qing! I’m asking you a question!”
The shout startled Qiao Yu back to her senses. She watched Cong Ye, who was relentlessly trying to demand an explanation from Lin Qing in front of the entire class, and ground her teeth in frustration.
I’ve written plenty of guys like you; in the future, you’re going to end up in a chasing wife in the crematorium2 scenario.
Cong Ye was truly acting without a brain, but out of a minor character’s self-cultivation to avoid interfering with the plot, Qiao Yu held back and didn’t intervene.
Having finally gotten its wish of seeing the leads meet, the System had already begun to chatter happily in her head. Its rapid, mechanical voice gave Qiao Yu a headache. While she fiercely told the System to quiet down, she leaned casually against a desk in the front row. Though the System fell silent, the quiet whispers of the students below reached her ears.
“What kind of drama is this?”
“From the sound of it, did this transfer student chase Cong Ye all the way here?”
“No way, so she’s actually a stalker?”
“She looks so quiet and gentle. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Indeed, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Who knows what she’s actually like in private.”
…Sure enough, there was no shortage of busybodies no matter where she went.
Qiao Yu felt that listening to these people was even worse than listening to the System’s endless chatter. Feeling incredibly annoyed, she simply cast a fierce, cold glare over them. The students at the front two desks immediately shut their mouths obediently under her gaze.
At that moment, Lin Qing finally made a move. She sighed and looked at Cong Ye with a helpless expression, saying softly, “I transferred today. The school was decided after discussions between Aunt Cong and my mother. It’s not that I wanted to come.”
Those words were surprisingly firm.
Qiao Yu’s eyelids twitched. She recalled that in the original novel, Lin Qing was a girl with a resilient streak, far from the fragile and easily bullied weakling her appearance suggested. Looking at Cong Ye, who was left speechless by Lin Qing’s blunt response, she actually felt a surge of schadenfreude.
The moment this thought arose, she quickly shook her head to dispel it. Oh, this is bad. I haven’t even started writing this story yet, and I’m already being biased. This won’t do, absolutely not.
While she was busy correcting her attitude, Cong Ye—who had never had his pride wounded in public like this before—brushed off the teacher who was trying to pacify him. He took a few strides to stand directly in front of Lin Qing, firmly grasping her wrist, and asked mockingly, “Then why didn’t you just refuse?”
Lin Qing felt a sting of pain but couldn’t break free. She bit her lip slightly and looked up at him without backing down, weary of his erratic young master temper.
She had no idea Cong Ye was here; otherwise, she would have refused long ago. Their interactions over the past few days had shown her that he had completely forgotten her, even treating her tentative inquiries about their childhood memories as a clumsy pickup attempt. Since their relationship was far from amicable, Lin Qing had no desire to invite a snub.
But even if she said all this, he probably wouldn’t believe her. Feeling a heavy weight in her chest, Lin Qing simply shook her head and remained silent.
Just as the two fell into a tense standoff, an abrupt “Ouch!” echoed from the doorway. Lin Qing turned her head to look, only to see a figure stumbling over from that direction. Right as the person was about to crash to the ground, they flailed wildly and grabbed onto Cong Ye’s backpack.
Taken completely by surprise, Cong Ye hastily let go of Lin Qing to break the person’s fall, only to be dragged down with her as they both lost their balance and crashed onto the floor.
“…Qiao Yu!”
His anger flaring up, Cong Ye sat up and barked at the person who was lying on the ground, groaning and crying out. “What are you up to now?!”
Qiao Yu groaned as she sat up, pointing aggrievedly at the boy sitting nearest the door. “You tripped me!”
The boy, who had kept his feet perfectly tucked under his desk, stared blankly. “?”
The completely unreasonable Qiao Yu stood up and brushed the dust off herself, turning immediately to complain to Cong Ye. “You were blocking the doorway forever, and just as I tried to walk in, this guy stretched his leg out so far and tripped me.”
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves, walked over to the unfortunate boy, and slammed his desk with a menacing expression. “Why did you stretch your leg out so far? Are you going to apologize? If you apologize, Cong Ye will let you off! If you don’t, you’ll get beaten up!”
Although he still couldn’t understand why Cong Ye was going to beat him up, the boy shrank back at the sight of Cong Ye’s face, which was as dark as a pot’s bottom. He trembled and apologized repeatedly, “My mistake, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Only then did Qiao Yu withdraw her hand in satisfaction. With a grin, she walked over, picked up Cong Ye’s fallen backpack, and handed it to him. “Alright, alright, he’s already apologized, so don’t hold a grudge against him anymore. Hurry up and head back to your seat.”
…Since when was I holding a grudge against him?
Cong Ye’s handsome face shifted through a spectrum of emotions, but in the end, he refrained from scolding Qiao Yu, who was smiling far too brightly. He turned his head with a grim face to glance at Lin Qing. He felt that after such a farce, the atmosphere was no longer suited for demanding answers.
Having been interrupted like this, his mind cooled down, and he finally realized that Lin Qing’s transfer must indeed have been his mother’s idea.
Thinking of this, he felt a bit annoyed at his own impulsiveness just now. Since Lin Qing’s transfer was already a done deal, making a scene like this brought absolutely no benefit.
But even if he thought so, it was impossible for Young Master Cong to back down and show weakness.
Intending to let the matter slide, Cong Ye didn’t speak to Lin Qing. He snatched his bag from Qiao Yu’s hands with a cold snort and strode over to his seat, making the desk and chair clatter loudly as he sat down. Then, he turned his head to stare out the window, radiating an aura of: “Do not approach, do not disturb, even if someone dies right behind me, I won’t turn back.”
Qiao Yu secretly cursed romance male leads for having mouths that were better off unused. She picked up her own backpack and walked toward her seat. After taking a couple of steps, she turned her head back to look at the stunned teacher and waved at him warmly.
“Wake up, teacher. You haven’t finished arranging things for the transfer student yet, right?”
The teacher gave a sudden start as if waking from a dream. He quickly pushed up his slipping glasses and cleared his throat before saying to Lin Qing, “Right, right. Your self-introduction isn’t finished yet. Why don’t you continue—”
“No need,” Lin Qing said, shaking her head. “There isn’t much to say anyway.”
As she spoke, she looked over at Qiao Yu. Qiao Yu, who was planning to slip away quickly, was pinned in place by her gaze, her body freezing up.
She thought in a daze: Huh? Why am I unable to move just because she’s looking at me? Couldn’t I just walk away?
Before she could put the thought into action, those smiling eyes suddenly crinkled, and Lin Qing’s soft, gentle voice rang out, “But I should still say it for the person who didn’t hear it.”
Lin Qing gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face, which had been somewhat cold and distant, softened completely. She smiled at Qiao Yu, a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek.
“My name is Lin Qing. Please take care of me.”
Lin Qing is a flirt. She knows who she wants already. 🤣 They were set from the start.
tsk tsk teenage boy
tsk tsk teenage boy