Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 8
by Little PandaBecause You’re Different from Him.
Qiao Yu had been doing quite well lately.
Two days had passed since she’d talked things through with Cong Ye. He’d grudgingly made peace with her, and no longer had much to say about her friendship with Lin Qing.
Thanks to her efforts, Cong Ye had even accepted Lin Qing occasionally joining them for lunch. Though he still didn’t talk to Lin Qing much, the fact that he hadn’t tried to drive her away was already huge progress.
Qiao Yu heard from Lin Qing in private that Cong Ye was now occasionally eating meals with her at home too, which gave Qiao Yu a sudden rush of gratification, like watching a child finally grow up.
Something else rather important had happened in the last couple of days: her ready-made parents had come home.
She’d heard from the household staff that the two of them had gone off on a trip together, and Qiao Yu hadn’t given it much thought. Until one night, while she was racking her brain over an English reading assignment, she heard the front door bang open downstairs, followed by an unfamiliar middle-aged man’s voice carrying from afar: “Yu Yu! Where’s Yu Yu? Mom and Dad are home!”
Yu Yu poked her head out of her room, crept downstairs warily following the voice, and was immediately engulfed by a woman who threw her arms around her, ruffling her hair like petting a dog while exclaiming that after just two weeks apart, Yu Yu seemed to have grown even taller.
The man beside them looked thrilled and rushed over to join them.
The three of them stood clustered in the living room in a group hug. Wedged in the middle, Qiao Yu could barely breathe—and got a pretty good idea of what kind of family this was.
Father Qiao and Mother Qiao cherished her like the apple of their eye, fussing over her endlessly, which made Qiao Yu feel a bit guilty. But when they noticed how stiff and reserved she was, they assumed their daughter was hitting her rebellious phase and pulling away from them. Mother Qiao’s face drained of color as she wiped away tears and scolded Father Qiao: “I said we should ask for leave for Yu Yu and take her with us! But no, you wouldn’t allow it! Look at her now!”
The suave and elegant Father Qiao broke into a nervous sweat, soothing Mother Qiao while smiling at Qiao Yu with almost desperate humility: “Yu Yu, Dad might have something on tomorrow morning—so how about Dad picks you up from school tomorrow evening? Does that sound good?”
Seeing how worked up they were, Qiao Yu didn’t dare say he shouldn’t bother if he was busy. She nodded quickly, and to show goodwill, even added, “Thanks, Dad.”
Both of them recoiled in alarm and immediately began exclaiming over how Yu Yu was being so formal with Dad all of a sudden. The atmosphere, which had just barely stabilized, was thrown into turmoil again.
Yu Yu—Qiao Yu couldn’t help it. She could only figure she’d gradually learn how to interact with them over time.
The next day passed without incident. After school, Qiao Yu had been in a rush to leave and bumped into the homeroom teacher, who gave her a thorough scolding. By the time she managed to escape, ten minutes had already passed.
She trudged to the school gate, and before she could even look for which car was theirs, Father Qiao’s voice rang out: “Yu Yu! Over here! Over here!”
The other students at the gate all turned to look. Qiao Yu’s face flamed in an instant, and she scrambled into the passenger seat, silently marveling that in her lifetime she too could experience the luxurious affliction of being loved too much by one’s parents.
Father Qiao was clearly dressed up today—polished and refined. He started the car happily, chattering about whether Yu Yu wanted Dad to take her to buy a few things on the way back, “and of course don’t tell Mom.” Qiao Yu racked her brain trying to figure out how to respond, but when she glanced out the window, she spotted a familiar figure walking out through the school gate, and immediately forgot all about Father Qiao.
Lin Qing?
Lin Qing was always particularly eye-catching. That crisp, ethereal quality made people warm to her at first sight. Her expression was composed, her posture graceful—amid the noisy high schoolers, she was like an orchid growing silently in an empty valley1.
She seemed accustomed to the gazes people cast her way, and walked without pause toward the right side of the school gate.
Qiao Yu stared at her for a long while before a belated confusion set in.
Cong Ye was always the fastest to run off after school, and Lin Qing hadn’t been around then either. Qiao Yu had assumed the two of them had gone home together—so why was Lin Qing only coming out now?
She rolled down the window and looked around, but couldn’t find Cong Ye’s family car.
To the right of the school gate was the bus stop.
…Put it all together, and the answer was obvious.
Qiao Yu’s head started hurting again. She slapped her own forehead.
Nice going, Cong Ye. Can’t believe someone with that honest face of yours is still pulling stunts!
Father Qiao, who was about to drive off, was startled by the slap. He leaned over anxiously: “What’s wrong, Yu Yu? Why are you hitting yourself? Was school bad? Oh, look, your forehead is all red.”
Qiao Yu lowered her hand in frustration. She looked out the window at Lin Qing getting farther and farther away, then turned to Father Qiao with an expression that clearly said she wanted a favor: “Dad, I need to ask you something.”
Lin Qing was walking toward the bus stop with a newly borrowed book from the library when she heard a car engine rev behind her and then stop. A familiar, bright voice called her name urgently. She couldn’t help but smile, turning around with a hint of pleasant surprise.
“Lin Qing!”
Qiao Yu shut the car door and jogged over to her. Lin Qing turned at the sound, surprise on her face and a soft gleam in her eyes that made Qiao Yu silently marvel once again at how the female lead of a romance novel looked impossibly good at all times.
“How come you’re here? Cong Ye took off the second class ended.”
She said it tentatively, watching Lin Qing’s face for a reaction. But there was no trace of the hurt or grievance she’d expected—Lin Qing simply shook her head with an unchanged expression. “We don’t go to and from school together. I’ve always taken the bus.”
Lin Qing said it matter-of-factly, but Qiao Yu’s reaction was far more intense than that of the person actually involved. Her eyes went wide with fury as she launched into a tirade against Cong Ye: “That dog thing—I’m going to teach him a lesson!”
She thought she sounded fierce, but Lin Qing only found her adorable. She couldn’t resist reaching out to pat her fluffy head, and said gently, “It’s fine. The bus is convenient too. Don’t get into another… conflict with him.”
“For my sake”—those three words circled on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them.
A faint flush crept up Lin Qing’s face. She tugged her school uniform zipper down a little, pretending it was just too hot.
Qiao Yu was completely oblivious to her internal struggle. Still fuming, she nonetheless remembered why she’d come over. She took Lin Qing’s hand and said, “Let me give you a ride home. Our two families are on the way.”
“Huh?” Lin Qing blinked in confusion. Before she could protest, Qiao Yu grabbed her hand and towed her to the car, opening the door and nudging her inside.
“Qiao—Qiao Yu, this is too much trouble, you don’t have to—”
“No trouble at all.” Father Qiao turned around from the driver’s seat with a warm smile, looking every bit the reliable elder. “Just like Yu—Little Yu said, we’re on the way. No need to be so formal. I’m old acquaintances with President Cong—Cong Ye has ridden in my car before too. Don’t worry.”
Lin Qing, who’d assumed the person in the driver’s seat was a chauffeur, tensed up, her fair face flushing red again. “U-Uncle, hello.”
In that moment of flustered distraction, she forgot to resist, and Qiao Yu easily slipped an arm around her waist and guided her into the back seat. Qiao Yu climbed in right after, closing the door and locking it in one fluid motion, then dusted off her hands with satisfaction—though there was nothing on them.
With the deed done, Lin Qing could only give up the struggle. She gave Father Qiao a small, cooperative smile. “Then thank you for the trouble, Uncle.”
Father Qiao waved his hand cheerfully, turned around, and started the car. Qiao Yu was in a great mood too, chuckling to herself. Lin Qing bit her lip and gave Qiao Yu’s arm a light pinch—so gentle it didn’t hurt at all, more like a soft touch.
Qiao Yu grinned at Lin Qing and met a pair of autumn-water eyes2 caught between a scowl and a smile. Her heart went soft. Bold-faced, she leaned in and pressed close to Lin Qing’s ear.
“Don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to use my dad to pressure you.”
Lin Qing had never had anyone get this close before. Qiao Yu’s breath brushed against her ear, and her pale earlobe instantly flushed hot.
She pushed at Qiao Yu with her red face, but Qiao Yu—in a moment of sudden clarity—was determined not to back away. Lin Qing couldn’t do anything with her, so she could only shoot her a glare with zero intimidating power and say quietly, “You didn’t do it on purpose. You just knew I wouldn’t be able to say no if you did it this way.”
Inexplicably elated, Qiao Yu put on an exaggerated look of surprise. “Lin Qing, you’re so smart.”
…She really didn’t know what to say. Lin Qing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She hadn’t been angry at Qiao Yu in the first place, and now she couldn’t keep a straight face at all. She simply gave up and laughed.
She looked her best when she laughed. Her eyes curved into crescents, her long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings—all at once like spring water breaking through ice3, and it made Qiao Yu’s vision blur for a moment.
The System had long since grown accustomed to Qiao Yu’s tendency to be easily captivated by the female lead. At most, it wondered idly whether the male lead just wasn’t handsome enough. Familiar with the routine, it coughed twice in her mind, jolting Qiao Yu back to awareness.
Qiao Yu then remembered the real topic at hand and asked seriously, “Have you been taking the bus to and from school this whole time?”
“Mm.” Lin Qing nodded, then added, “I’m not just being polite. I genuinely think it’s fine this way.”
She said it sincerely, the implication being that Qiao Yu shouldn’t go pick a fight with Cong Ye over this.
But Qiao Yu was single-minded about it. No matter how she thought about it, a packed public bus couldn’t possibly be better than a spacious private car. She frowned in disagreement. “Why? Does his family’s car not have AC?”
…President Cong’s car without AC? Not possible.
Lin Qing hesitated for a long moment before admitting honestly, “If I ride in the car with Cong Ye… it feels uncomfortable.”
She guessed Cong Ye felt the same way, which was why they had an unspoken agreement never to mention it. Seeing the confusion on Qiao Yu’s face, and knowing that for some reason she’d been very invested in improving their relationship lately, Lin Qing added reassuringly, “Things are much better now. Cong Ye doesn’t deliberately avoid me and Mom anymore. Yesterday the four of us even had a meal together. He even asked me privately if there were still any rumors going around like before. Our relationship is actually pretty good right now.”
Knowing that Cong Ye had asked about this—well, at least the guy had a shred of conscience. He must still feel some guilt toward Lin Qing. Qiao Yu’s disdain for Cong Ye lessened by a fraction, but at the same time she found it strange. “Then… then why is it uncomfortable riding together?”
“It’s not just about riding together.” Lin Qing shook her head. “It’s about being alone together. The atmosphere gets awkward—maybe we haven’t known each other long enough. We might need more time.”
Anyone else wouldn’t know, but Qiao Yu knew perfectly well. The two of them had known each other since elementary school. Even if that idiot Cong Ye didn’t remember, Lin Qing certainly did, crystal clear. How could she say they hadn’t known each other long enough and that being alone together was awkward?
Qiao Yu, who had genuinely only known Lin Qing for a short time, looked around bewilderedly at the enclosed car interior, then pointed at herself. “We’re riding in a car together right now, and I don’t think it’s awkward at all.”
Lin Qing looked at her silly expression and was amused all over again. Ripples of light shimmered in her ink-dark eyes.
“Because you’re different from him.”
Footnotes
- A classical Chinese metaphor for a woman of exceptional, ethereal beauty and quiet grace — like a rare flower blooming unseen, untouched by worldly clamor.
- A classical Chinese poetic metaphor describing beautiful, luminous eyes — their clear, fathomless depth compared to the transparency of still autumn water.
- A poetic Chinese image likening a sudden, radiant transformation — such as a blossoming smile — to ice thawing and breaking apart in the warmth of spring.
What kind of different?😆