The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 75

Holding Hands

Song Linlin suddenly understood why, back then in the qinglou, the leading man among the four at that table had smiled so lewdly when he was fed grapes. Having a considerate beauty by one’s side, proactively feeding fruit, was indeed a dual enjoyment for both the eyes and the soul.

Chewing the grape pulp without truly tasting it, the sweetness spread through her mouth, making it momentarily difficult to distinguish whether the grapes were sweeter, or the beauty’s fingers.

            

Seeing Song Linlin finish the grape she had fed her, Chi Qianning peeled another and continued to feed it to her. Feeding Song Linlin gave Chi Qianning an inexplicable sense of accomplishment, and she enjoyed it immensely​¹.

Besides grapes, there were many other fruits in the carriage. Chi Qianning wasn’t interested in these things, so she fed them all to Song Linlin in one go.

Watching the enthusiastic Chi Qianning beside her, Song Linlin was captivated by the other’s beauty and felt too embarrassed to refuse, so she could only accept one bite after another.

            

When the horse carriage arrived at a large city near Yishui City as night fell, Song Linlin had already been continuously fed by Chi Qianning for the entire afternoon. Today, she unusually didn’t even have the appetite for dinner; just eating those fruits and pastries had made her feel stuffed.

The carriage stopped outside an inn. Song Linlin jumped down first and stood there, surveying the surroundings. This was one of the best inns in the city.

Chi Qianning lifted the curtain and stepped out of the carriage. The carriage floor was about three or four steps high from the ground. This height was naturally a small matter for her. Just as she was about to lift her leg to step down, a fair hand suddenly appeared beside her.

            

“Come down, I’ll support you. Be careful,” Song Linlin said, extending her hand.

Chi Qianning paused for a moment, still somewhat unaccustomed to such things. She stared at the upturned palm, then looked up at Song Linlin.

Finally, Chi Qianning smiled faintly at the person opposite her and reached out, lightly placing her hand on Song Linlin’s palm. Song Linlin’s hand wasn’t large, but it was warm every time they touched. The next moment, those warm fingers closed around the back of Chi Qianning’s hand.

            

Song Linlin felt the icy touch in her palm. She gripped Chi Qianning’s hand tightly, her own fingers enveloping the other’s, her body heat being drawn away by the cold hand, bringing a bit of warmth to the person opposite her. Song Linlin asked with concern, “Are you cold? Your hand is so chilly.”

The weather wasn’t cold now; in fact, summer was approaching, and the temperature was rising day by day. Song Linlin wondered why Chi Qianning’s hand felt as if it were a snowy day, all icy and cool.

Chi Qianning stepped down from the carriage and stood firmly on the ground. She first thanked Song Linlin, then lied without batting an eyelid​², “It is a bit cold now that night has fallen.”

            

“Then do you want to put on a thicker outer garment?” Song Linlin suggested.

Chi Qianning frowned slightly, looking troubled. “Wu… but I didn’t bring any thick clothes. I came directly to the Jiangnan region from Piaoxue City through a teleportation array.”

“I had only heard that the Jiangnan region is like spring all year round, so I didn’t prepare any thick clothes for this trip.”

            

Song Linlin was surprised that the other person had actually come to Jiangnan via a teleportation array. Such a long distance must have cost a considerable amount of spirit stones.

She was also at a loss​³ regarding the clothing issue. Song Linlin didn’t have any thick clothes; she wore light fabrics every day that offered no warmth.

Just as Song Linlin was vexed, Chi Qianning, who was beside her, took the opportunity to slip her fingers between Song Linlin’s, intertwining their hands.

            

Chi Qianning smiled gently and said considerately, “It’s okay, your hand is very warm. I won’t be cold if I hold your hand.”

“E… this will do?” Song Linlin felt that these words sounded a bit strange, as if something was off.

“En, my hands are just a bit cold. Holding something warm will be fine.”

            

Song Linlin was still in a dazed state. However, since the other person had said so, and it seemed she wasn’t at any disadvantage—besides, what was wrong with girls holding hands?! It was just a very innocent act.

Song Linlin couldn’t think of any downside to this. Coupled with being mesmerized by the other’s smile, she muddle-headedly agreed to Chi Qianning’s actions. Although she felt deep down that something was amiss, she didn’t delve into it further.

With their fingers intertwined, Song Linlin walked ahead, leading Chi Qianning into the inn. As soon as they entered, someone immediately came up to greet them.

            

“You two young ladies, are you here for lodging at our establishment?” A man walked over with a beaming smile to attend to the two new arrivals.

His face was initially wreathed in smiles, but his eyes quickly noticed the tightly clasped hands of the two women opposite him. He had originally thought these two, who were so intimate, were friends, but now he couldn’t quite understand their relationship.

“Yes, arrange the best rooms for us directly.”

            

Song Linlin nodded, not noticing the subtle change in the other’s expression. She currently had more money than she knew what to do with and didn’t care about this bit of lodging expense at all.

“Hao lei​⁴!”

The man’s eyes lit up upon hearing this reply. It seemed these were two wealthy young misses ah!

            

“That’s certainly possible! Then… shall I arrange one room for the two of you?” The man guessed at their relationship, finding it more and more ambiguous the longer he looked, so he asked with some uncertainty.

Song Linlin, however, frowned. “Ah? You only have one best room left? There are two of us, of course we need two rooms ah!”

How could such a large-looking inn, with no special events in the city, only have one best room left?

            

“If you don’t have any, then let’s find another place ba,” Song Linlin turned her head and said softly to Chi Qianning.

Chi Qianning could only manage a forced smile. She had never realized before that Song Linlin was such an upright gentleman.

“Miss, you misunderstand! Of course, our inn has two rooms! I’ll take you up right now!”

            

The man was afraid Song Linlin would misunderstand and leave his inn. Not many people stayed in the heaven-grade rooms​⁵, let alone renting two at once.

After speaking, he immediately took the lead, guiding Song Linlin up the stairs to two adjacent rooms, and said, “Miss, what do you think of these two rooms? They are close to each other. Miss, you can go in and take a look.”

Song Linlin pushed open the door of one room and glanced inside from the doorway. The room was luxuriously decorated, and the interior space was vast. By comparison, it was much better than the room Song Linlin had stayed in at Lianxiang Lou.

            

So she nodded, “This will do then ba!”

Song Linlin paid readily, then dismissed the man who had shown them the way. She then turned to Chi Qianning and said:

“Lin Qianqian, you can stay in the room next to mine ba. We’ve been in the carriage all afternoon and are weary from the journey​⁶. Let’s rest for the night and set off tomorrow morning to find the person you’re looking for ba.”

            

“Alright then,” Chi Qianning nodded.

Song Linlin immediately loosened her grip on the other’s hand. Just as she was about to pull her hand out, she found that Chi Qianning was still holding hers tightly, so much so that Song Linlin couldn’t pull it away at all.

“Wu… you’re still holding my hand,” Song Linlin said, lowering her head to look at their intertwined hands.

            

Chi Qianning also lowered her head, met Song Linlin’s gaze for a moment, and then slowly, one by one, loosened her fingers. As they did, their fingerprints brushed against each other, bringing a slight tickling sensation, and an inexplicable feeling of ambiguity spread between them.

When her fingers were completely released, Chi Qianning’s fingernails, whether intentionally or unintentionally, lightly brushed across Song Linlin’s palm. The sensation of her fingertips grazing her skin made Song Linlin snatch her hand back as if she had received an electric shock.

“What’s wrong?” Chi Qianning asked, feigning ignorance.

            

Song Linlin shook her head somewhat unnaturally, her gaze drifting, her eyes darting around everywhere but not daring to look at Chi Qianning opposite her. “No… nothing!”

Her words sounded extremely suspicious. Saying “nothing” so guiltily only confirmed that there was definitely something.

Chi Qianning deliberately chose not to expose her. Seeing Song Linlin’s reaction, her originally not-so-good mood brightened considerably.

            

The corners of her mouth curved up slightly into a smile, her tone inexplicably profound. “En, good night then.”

“Good night!”

After saying this, Song Linlin immediately fled back to her room as if escaping a famine, yanked open the door, and then slammed it shut. Leaning against the door, this series of actions took less than five seconds in total.

            

Only when the door was closed, completely isolating her from the outside world and Chi Qianning’s smiling face, did Song Linlin quietly heave a sigh of relief. The pengpeng sound of her heartbeat echoed in her ears, and the ticklish sensation in her palm still lingered.

Song Linlin inexplicably started to blush, feeling that she had become strange. Wasn’t it just holding hands with a girl ma? In the past, this would have seemed like a very normal thing. How did it come to this, where her heart suddenly started racing uncontrollably?

This won’t do, I need to calm down!

            

Song Linlin walked further into the room, first poured herself a glass of water, and then drank all the water in the glass in one go. Only then did her unusually rapid heartbeat gradually calm down.

After completely calming down, Song Linlin extended her hand and looked at her palm. It was this hand that had been holding Chi Qianning’s cold hand just now.

Inexplicably, Song Linlin once again recalled that icy sensation, the loss of body heat as their palms touched, her warmth being absorbed by the other person, the unintentional friction of their palm lines, and the fineness of the other’s skin she could feel.

            

Song Linlin couldn’t help but let her mind wander​⁷. Several seconds passed before she snapped back to her senses. When she realized what nonsensical thoughts​⁸ she had been having, she was so shocked that she slapped herself.

No, no! How can I think about such things?

Renjia​⁹ has someone she likes! I’m here to help her find that person!

            

“I should just wash up and go to bed early ba!” Song Linlin muttered to herself after noticing her unusual state.

After taking a bath, though it was still early in the evening, Song Linlin went to bed early. Lying on the large, soft bed, she hadn’t slept this early in a month. Now, lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. She forced her eyes shut, but her mind only grew more restless.

An entire shichen​¹⁰ had passed, and Song Linlin was still tossing and turning on the bed. In the end, she simply lay there with her eyes wide open, staring blankly at the canopy above.

            

“Why can’t I sleep…”

Just then, a faint knocking sound suddenly came from the door. In the quiet night, this sound was especially distinct.

The sound startled Song Linlin. She immediately sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes warily fixed on the door, and she tentatively called out, “Who’s outside?”

            

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