The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 86
by Little PandaExtra IF-Line – Modern Arc
Romantic interest
This public lecture didn’t end until 11:50 AM. During that time, Song Linlin was almost completely clueless the entire time. Sitting in the back row, she had tried very hard to listen to what the professor at the front was explaining, but in the end, she still didn’t understand a thing.
Song Linlin usually only half-understood things in her Advanced Math class anyway, and now, throughout this entire lecture, she was even more so just spacing out1.
She felt like she and the teacher on stage weren’t even from the same country; she completely couldn’t understand what he was saying.
The thing was, Song Linlin herself had asked to come here. Now, sitting next to Chi Qianning, Song Linlin couldn’t possibly openly take out her phone to slack off2 in front of her; that would be way too bold.
So, Song Linlin could only sit upright the entire time, her eyes fixed on the blackboard, looking as if she were really listening attentively, when in reality, her mind was a complete blank.
After enduring for almost two hours, Song Linlin was struggling to keep her eyes open, fighting to keep herself from dozing off and slumping over asleep. She felt like every minute and every second was passing incredibly slowly. Luckily, just when she was about to give up, class was finally dismissed.
Song Linlin instantly felt a great sense of relief. She now regretted insisting on coming. If she had known it would be like this, it would have been better not to come at all. She would have been perfectly comfortable playing on her phone alone at Teacher Chi’s place. Instead, she’d had a brain fart3 and run off to attend an Advanced Math class she couldn’t understand.
Chi Qianning packed her things, picked up her bag, and stood up. Pretending not to notice Song Linlin’s drowsy eyes from fighting off sleep, she patted Song Linlin’s shoulder and said lightly,
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat.”
“Okay.”
Song Linlin nodded and immediately stood up from her seat. She was sitting on the aisle side, so it was easy to get out.
Song Linlin asked, “Aren’t we going back to cook?”
The two walked out of the classroom side by side. Chi Qianning made an ‘Mm’ sound. “Isn’t cooking every day tiring? Let’s just eat out today.”
“Alright then.”
Song Linlin agreed. Actually, she quite enjoyed cooking for Chi Qianning every day, but her skills definitely couldn’t compare to what chefs in restaurants made. Eating out occasionally for a change of pace wasn’t bad either.
“What do you want to eat?” Chi Qianning turned her head and asked.
“Me?” Song Linlin wasn’t a picky eater; on the contrary, Chi Qianning was very particular about her food. So she said, “Anything is fine with me! It depends on what Teacher Chi wants. I’m not picky.”
Chi Qianning nodded. “Then let’s go to the place I usually go to.”
Then, the two of them walked out of the school gate. Song Linlin once again sat in Chi Qianning’s front passenger seat. With Chi Qianning driving beside her, Song Linlin looked at the scenery outside the car window, not knowing where they were going next. However, just going out to eat with Chi Qianning was exciting in itself.
Chi Qianning took Song Linlin to a fancy restaurant. Their table was next to an entire wall of glass. Through this huge window, they could see various buildings and skyscrapers of all sizes below. If it were nighttime and all the lights were on, the view would probably be even better.
“Let’s order.” Chi Qianning handed Song Linlin a menu. A staff member in a black and white uniform stood quietly waiting nearby.
Song Linlin took the menu and habitually said, “Thank you.”
Chi Qianning, opposite her, had already started ordering. Only then did Song Linlin open the menu. The first thing she noticed were the prices, and she sat there, utterly shocked.
Were these prices really in Renminbi4 and not Japanese Yen? How could it be so expensive!
Song Linlin flipped a few more pages, but the prices didn’t get any lower.
By now, Chi Qianning had finished ordering. Song Linlin was still in a daze. Chi Qianning asked, “Aren’t you ordering?”
Song Linlin looked up, a bit embarrassed. She felt that the cost of just one dish here could pay for an entire Manchu Han Imperial Feast5 elsewhere.
“Never mind, I’ll order for you.” Chi Qianning saw what Song Linlin was thinking, reopened the menu she had just closed, and chose Song Linlin’s lunch for her.
Handing the menu back to the server, Chi Qianning said, “Alright, that’s all.”
Since Chi Qianning had already decisively ordered for her, Song Linlin could only close her menu and hand it back, silently calculating in her head how much this meal was going to cost.
“What are you thinking about?” Chi Qianning asked, seeing Song Linlin looking lost in thought.
Song Linlin leaned forward, moving a bit closer to Chi Qianning. She glanced around to make sure no servers were nearby, then whispered, “Teacher Chi, the food here is way too expensive.”
Chi Qianning didn’t argue, simply saying, “The food here is quite good, and the atmosphere is nice too.”
Song Linlin couldn’t deny the point about the atmosphere. Eating in a place dozens of stories high, even she felt the illusion of becoming a successful person.
It would be outrageous for it to be this expensive and taste bad, so the food was surely good. Even though it wasn’t her money, Song Linlin still felt a pang for Teacher Chi’s wallet.
“What are you worried about? One meal won’t make me poor.” Chi Qianning chuckled. “Just eat and relax. Don’t think so much.”
“Mm… Okay, thank you, Teacher Chi.”
Chi Qianning shook her head. “No need to be so polite.”
Then she suddenly asked, “During class, did you understand anything the professor was saying?”
Song Linlin’s expression immediately turned sheepish. She was the one who had asked to come, yet her mind had been blank the entire time. “I’m sorry, Teacher Chi, I didn’t understand.”
“You didn’t understand anything at all?” Chi Qianning asked.
Song Linlin couldn’t even continue, lowering her head in shame. She mumbled, “Yes… I didn’t understand anything.”
“Alright.”
Chi Qianning sighed and said with a smile, “Perhaps this level is indeed a bit too difficult for you. You almost fell asleep listening.”
Song Linlin felt even more embarrassed. She had thought Chi Qianning hadn’t noticed her struggling to keep her eyes on the blackboard. So she had seen her dozing off…
“I’m sorry… It’s my fault I couldn’t understand. Plus, I went to bed rather late last night, so I started feeling sleepy in class.” Song Linlin felt a wave of embarrassment. She didn’t try to make excuses and quickly admitted her fault.
“It’s okay.” Chi Qianning didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she reassured her, “You haven’t learned that material before, so it’s normal not to understand. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
The restaurant served food quickly. Just then, the server brought out the appetizer plates, placing the food in front of each of them. The appetizer portions were small; Song Linlin felt she could finish hers in just two or three bites.
Chi Qianning picked up her utensils. “Go on, try it. The food here is quite good.”
Song Linlin was feeling touched by Chi Qianning’s reassurance. Hearing her words, she picked up her spoon and tried the appetizer.
A small piece of fresh, sweet, and tender fish slipped into her mouth. Miraculously, there was no fishy taste at all; instead, it had a hint of savory sweetness, like eating a mouthful of ice cream. It practically melted in her mouth as she chewed.
“So delicious!” Song Linlin’s eyes lit up. She looked at Chi Qianning in pleasant surprise; Chi Qianning had ordered all her dishes.
“As long as you like it.”
Chi Qianning had tried most of the dishes at this restaurant, so it was easy for her to pick a few tasty ones for Song Linlin. After confirming that Song Linlin enjoyed the food she’d ordered, Chi Qianning returned to their previous topic.
She took a bite of her own food, then looked at Song Linlin and asked, “Since you’re not very good at Advanced Math, why did you want to come to class with me?”
If someone else had said this to her, Song Linlin might have suspected they were deliberately mocking her. But Chi Qianning was calm and composed when she spoke; Song Linlin could see she had no ill intent and was simply asking out of curiosity.
For a moment, Song Linlin didn’t know whether to answer, or how to answer.
She couldn’t very well tell Teacher Chi that she’d lost sleep out of curiosity about who she had met yesterday, and that’s why she wanted to go out with her today.
But who would have known that Chi Qianning was actually going to a lecture on a Saturday morning…
Song Linlin stared at her white plate, mulling it over for several seconds. Chi Qianning, across from her, didn’t rush her and just waited quietly. Finally, Song Linlin hesitantly began, her voice stuttering a little, “I-I was just curious where you were going, Teacher…”
As she spoke, Song Linlin looked up and voiced her suspicion, though her voice was very soft, “I thought you were going on a blind date or meeting someone similar…”
After saying this, Song Linlin even put down her spoon. She stopped looking at the unfinished fish on her plate and carefully watched Chi Qianning’s expression, trying to read something from her face.
Chi Qianning barely caught the last part of what Song Linlin said and was puzzled. Afraid she had misheard, she asked, “What did you say? A blind date???”
“Why would you think that? I’m not interested in that sort of thing, so of course I wouldn’t go.”
“Huh?” Song Linlin was also stunned. “Oh, so you weren’t?”
Chi Qianning, in turn, looked at Song Linlin with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn’t understand. She frowned slightly and said, “My parents don’t pressure me to get married. They advocate letting things happen naturally, and I’m not very interested in that sort of thing either.”
“What’s wrong? Are your parents pressuring you?”
If Song Linlin had been drinking water at that moment, she probably would have choked and sprayed it everywhere. She immediately waved her hands and said awkwardly, “No, no!”
I’m still in school, what parent would be so eager as to start pressuring me now? At most, they might just tell me to find a partner or something…
“My mom just tells me to focus on my studies; she hasn’t said anything like that,” Song Linlin explained.
Song Linlin paused, then, thinking about her mom’s personality, added, “Uh… but maybe a few years after graduation, she will.”
Many people from the older generation think this way: no dating while you’re studying, but as soon as you graduate, they wish you’d immediately find someone decent and get married right away.
However, this topic was still quite distant for Song Linlin. For now, at least, her mom always just told her to study hard.
Just then, the server came over again. He cleared the empty plates and arranged the new dishes. With an outsider present, their conversation paused temporarily.
It was still the appetizer course. Song Linlin tried the soup. Only after the server had walked away did she speak again, “Teacher Chi, do you…”
“Hmm?”
Chi Qianning also looked up. Their eyes met. Looking into those beautiful red eyes, Song Linlin’s heart inexplicably sped up a bit, and she suddenly felt nervous.
“Do… do you have a romantic partner?” Song Linlin blurted out, nervous and apprehensive, not even knowing why she felt so tense.
Chi Qianning was also taken aback for a moment and didn’t answer immediately.
Song Linlin felt awkward by the silence and quickly, flustered, said, “It’s okay, it’s okay! If you don’t want to say, that’s fine. I’m sorry, Teacher Chi, that question was a bit intrusive!”
She now buried her head in her food out of embarrassment, not daring to look at Chi Qianning. She wondered what Chi Qianning would think of her—prying into her private life when they had only just gotten to know each other. It was too impolite…
“I don’t,” Chi Qianning suddenly said.
“Huh?” Song Linlin looked up from her plate, still a bit puzzled.
“I’m answering your question,” Chi Qianning repeated more specifically. “I don’t have a romantic partner.”
Footnotes
- 打酱油 | dǎ jiàngyóu | Literally “to buy soy sauce.” A popular internet slang term meaning to be an uninvolved bystander, to be just passing through, or to indicate that something is not one’s business or concern. In this context, it means she was just physically present but not mentally engaged or contributing, essentially zoning out or not participating meaningfully.
- 摸鱼 | mōyú | Literally “to touch fish.” Internet slang for slacking off, goofing off, or doing unproductive things during work or study time.
- 脑抽 | nǎochōu | Literally “brain twitch” or “brain cramp.” Slang for having a moment of irrationality, doing something stupid or ill-considered; a brain fart.
- 人民币 | Rénmínbì | RMB, the official currency of the People’s Republic of China.
- 满汉全席 | Mǎnhàn Quánxí | Manchu Han Imperial Feast, a legendary and extravagant banquet from the Qing Dynasty, known for its opulence and vast number of dishes. Here, it’s used hyperbolically to express extreme expense.
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