The freshman dating Lin Qing
Under Qiao Yu’s rare tough attitude, Lin Qing was a bit confused. She fumbled around for a bit, and had no choice but to listen to her and put down the regret she felt about the consequences of being exiled.
In contrast, Lin Qing had been very accommodating to Qiao Yu during that period, willing to do anything she asked for.
This directly led to Qiao Yu gaining more confidence, until one day when Lin Qing had to skip morning class countless times due to her, and felt a soreness in her waist when getting out of bed, she gradually started to reflect on whether she had been overly indulgent towards Qiao Yu recently.
But this reflection didn’t have much effect. When Qiao Yu affectionately approached her to give her a massage, most of her anger dissipated. However, Qiao Yu also realized that this was putting a strain on Lin Qing’s body, and from then on, she restrained herself a bit. After all, you need to take a break after eating.
So, without reaching a consensus with Lin Qing about taking risks, they both re-entered the right track of their lives.
During this period, the most noteworthy part was when Qiao Yu ran into an old acquaintance while waiting for Lin Qing to finish class.
At that time, she was standing outside Lin Qing’s classroom with two cups of milk tea, with less than five minutes left until class was over. She was leaning against the corridor wall, idly playing on her phone. Students passed by occasionally, but one person, in particular, walked past and then turned back with a puzzled sound, stopping in front of her.
Qiao Yu looked up and saw a tall, thin boy with glasses, giving off an intellectual vibe. Before she could say anything, the boy scratched his head awkwardly and hesitantly spoke up.
“…Excuse me, have we met somewhere before?”
“…”
The way he spoke sounded like he was hitting on her.
Normally, if she heard such a cliché line, Qiao Yu would have probably responded with a swift “Never seen you before,” “Who are you?” or “Don’t know you.” However, she now furrowed her brows thoughtfully and took a sharp breath.
It was strange, she also had a vague impression of having met this person somewhere before.
Both of them wore expressions of trying to wrack their brains, staring at each other with a sense of confusion and helplessness. In the end, when the system couldn’t bear watching anymore, it chose to intervene and help out. It muttered that maybe the host’s memory loss could be a result of sequelae, effectively revealing the answer for Qiao Yu.
“This is Li Hua, that Li Hua.”
“Ah.”
When the name was mentioned, Qiao Yu’s face changed drastically as she let out a disgusted sound, visibly recoiling and leaning back in a blunt manner. Unfortunately, there was a wall behind her, so she deliberately took two steps in the opposite direction from him, forcing a slightly awkward yet polite smile. She decisively opened her eyes and told a white lie.
“…Um, we probably haven’t met before, right? Are you mistaking me for someone else?”
“Ah! Your voice sounds so familiar!” However, her wishful thinking didn’t work out. Li Hua’s eyes lit up as soon as she spoke, and he suddenly clapped his hands together in realization. “Qiao Yu! It’s me! Don’t you remember me?”
Frankly speaking, she really wanted to completely forget. Qiao Yu despairingly closed her eyes, realizing that pretending to be clueless might not work in this situation. Dryly smiling, she mustered up the strength to respond, sounding particularly dejected, “Oh, it’s you. What a coincidence.”
She had absolutely no positive impression of Li Hua, and it was evident that Li Hua knew this too. In that moment, he displayed a very apologetic expression and quickly apologized to her repeatedly.
“Sorry, back in high school, I must have left a really bad impression on you. I was really out of line back then…”
Surprisingly, his demeanor was quite sincere, causing Qiao Yu to look at him with a mixture of belief and doubt. Li Hua awkwardly adjusted his glasses and continued to speak earnestly.
“I’ve been wanting to apologize to you for a while. I’m sorry that I never properly thanked you for helping me back then. I only caused trouble for you guys…”
It was truly a case of a dramatic transformation; over the years of not seeing each other, this person had turned into a sensible university student. Qiao Yu’s perception of Li Hua had completely changed, leaving her momentarily speechless, unsure of how to respond to this long-overdue apology. She could only nod silently.
“Don’t worry, I no longer have, have those feelings towards Lin Qing now, and I’m not continuing to bother her—.”
As Li Hua, who seemed to have been possessed by a ghost, was speaking, he suddenly stopped and showed a relieved smile.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Lin Qing is currently in a relationship, supposedly with a freshman.”
“…”
Qiao Yu silently closed her mouth and averted her gaze, instantly realizing that the person in front of her may not be so well-informed.
“I heard it from someone else as well. You should know more about her than I do, since you two are close. I only heard that it’s a girl… Oh, please don’t misunderstand, I don’t really have any opinions on such matters, I’m just making a casual observation.”
His expression turned serious as he thoughtfully said, “I wonder what kind of person could win the affection of someone like Lin Qing… Do you know anything about this?”
“…”
Qiao Yu couldn’t have been asked a better question. She knew everything there was to know about the situation, having searched high and low throughout the entire school and not finding anyone who knew more than her, except for Lin Qing.
Feeling troubled, Qiao Yu struggled to organize her thoughts in her mind. She hesitated, shifting her gaze around, and just then, the bell for the end of class rang, startling both of them as they stood there in a daze, listening to it chime to completion.
“Li Hua.”
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Qiao Yu’s tone sounded strangely awkward for some unknown reason, prompting Li Hua to turn his gaze towards her. He noticed the complexity in her expression and gestured towards the classroom behind him.
“Firstly, the person I’m waiting for is here, so I’m ready to leave.”
“Oh, okay.”
Not quite understanding the meaning behind this “firstly,” Li Hua instinctively stepped aside. As he turned his head, he caught sight of a familiar face. The person who had just been mentioned in their conversation was now staring at him and Qiao Yu with a look of surprise.
“…Secondly.”
Qiao Yu let out a sigh and walked past Li Hua, taking Lin Qing’s hand. She glanced at him with a hint of difficulty, trying to keep her tone neutral.
“The freshman you heard about who is dating Lin Qing… well, that’s actually me.”
“…”
This time, it was Li Hua who found himself speechless. Lin Qing, puzzled, looked at the two of them as Qiao Yu awkwardly cleared her throat and stiffly said goodbye to Li Hua before hastily leading Lin Qing away. Standing motionless, Li Hua watched from afar as she handed the milk tea she was carrying to Lin Qing. The girl took it, smiling tenderly and brightly at her.
“Well, Ah Hua, surprised, huh? Surprise.”
Similarly emerging from the classroom, Cong Ye approached him in a manner of an experienced person, adopting a senior’s demeanor as he struck up a conversation with him.
“I told you that you need to have eyes that can spot surprises. Looks like you didn’t recognize Qiao Yu on the day of the freshmen orientation.”
“…No.”
Only now did Li Hua begin to reflect, responding somewhat slowly as he carefully recalled the events of that day, showing a look of realization.
“I see. Have they been… together all this time?”
“Mm.”
Cong Ye carefully considered what exactly the definition of “all this time” meant and, after a moment of thought, nodded firmly.
“Yes, they have been together all this time.”
“It was like that before, and it will be like that in the future.”
He stated decisively, patting Li Hua’s shoulder with a sense of seriousness before giving a sly smile.
“Young man, now you understand, right? Unrequited love has no future.”
“But there is one thing that will always bring happiness.”
Cong Ye’s tone became mysteriously ambiguous. He lowered his voice, speaking in a secretive manner as if conducting a covert operation.
“—That is shipping couples.”
On that day, a new door was opened for Li Hua.
“…I guess he didn’t know that I was in a relationship with you all along.”
After listening to Qiao Yu recount her conversation with Li Hua, Lin Qing’s expression became somewhat complex.
“It seems like my popularity in your grade hasn’t reached the level where people would know my name.”
Qiao Yu had already returned to her usual self and shrugged nonchalantly.
“I wonder if he’s feeling too shaken… but at least he knows now.”
“Huh? Are you eager for him to know? Weren’t you indifferent about whether our relationship was public or not before?”
Lin Qing glanced at Qiao Yu with a hint of surprise, observing her sudden pause before she finally managed to utter a few words.
“…Not really, it’s just, even though he said he doesn’t feel that way now, didn’t he mention before that he liked you…”
“…”
Lin Qing stared at her intently for a moment, raising an eyebrow knowingly, and her tone carried a hint of teasing.
“What’s wrong? I thought you didn’t care about this kind of thing. Even back in high school when he came to talk to me face to face, I didn’t see much of a reaction from you.”
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“…How is that possible? It can only mean my acting skills are better.”
Qiao Yu said somewhat awkwardly, her tone a bit dull. Remembering how she cried during that time, she vowed never to tell Lin Qing about this incident and stirred the straw in her milk tea as if venting her frustration.
“I’ve always cared a lot. After all, you’re so… likable.”
Caught off guard by this unexpected blunt remark, Lin Qing blushed, quickly covering up her sudden accelerated heartbeat by taking a sip of her milk tea. Although she knew Qiao Yu wasn’t deliberately complimenting her, a sense of sweetness arose in both her mouth and heart.
“Do you still care now?”
“…Saying I don’t care is deceiving myself. But I know our relationship is already semi-public, so if someone falls for you now, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Qiao Yu sighed softly, her tone filled with complexity.
“Because— you see, back then, I also fell for you under the assumption that you liked someone else.”
“After all, you’re so great. Other people also have the right to like you.”
This statement was almost hypocritically magnanimous. Before Lin Qing could even respond, she heard Qiao Yu deliberately raise her voice with a faux fierceness.
“But, if someone makes a move on you, I would genuinely be angry at that person.”
“I might even end up in a fight— oh, fortunately, university seems to be less strict about these things compared to high school. I hope my bones are still strong enough to fight off your… admirers.”
Lin Qing couldn’t help but chuckle at Qiao Yu’s serious expression, in a good mood as she playfully took her hand or arm, intentionally or unintentionally leaning in closer.
“No fighting. And, do you really like me that much?”
“…Yes.”
Qiao Yu looked at Lin Qing with a bemused expression as if to say, “What are you even talking about?” She saw her lover’s face beaming with a smile, eyes shining mischievously.
“Then tell me the secret of that world?”
“Don’t poke fun at me all the time.”
Qiao Yu humorously refused outright, causing Lin Qing to instantly pout, feigning a look of distress.
“What should I do— my lover doesn’t seem to like me that much—”
“I protest, Your Honor, this is definitely slander.”
The two engaged in another round of banter, playing a non-combative game of wit, truly engaged in a battle of wills.
Knowing that if they didn’t come to a conclusion on this matter, they would continue debating endlessly, Lin Qing felt helpless at her lover’s stubbornness and sighed, “You’re so stubborn.”
“Yes, you could even call me pigheaded, but I won’t reveal that matter until you agree to let me ‘test the waters’ first.”
“And my stance is, if you don’t tell me everything, I won’t let you ‘test the waters’— it’s a vicious cycle.”
Lin Qing huffed and pinched Qiao Yu’s arm, giving her lover a not so genuine wince of pain as she issued an ultimatum.
“At least before winter break— before my birthday, we need to resolve this matter.”
“…How should we resolve it…”
Qiao Yu chuckled bitterly, feeling at a loss for a solution that would satisfy both of them. However, Lin Qing ignored her, calmly saying.
“Listen, Qiao Yu.”
“My perspective, I’ve explained it many times already, but now I’ll add a new angle.”
“You think that telling me will burden me with unknown risks, but not telling me will also burden me with the risk of losing my lover without understanding the reasons behind it.”
“Can you guarantee that you’ll come back to me? Or that I won’t lose my memory of you this time?” Lin Qing’s smile faded gradually as she stopped in her tracks, gazing deeply into Qiao Yu’s eyes. “I detest my memories being manipulated by unknown forces.”
“…”
Unable to make a definitive guarantee, Qiao Yu pursed her lips, hearing Lin Qing suddenly adopt a more relaxed tone.
“Fine, if you insist on not telling me, I’ll have to think of a solution and take some precautionary measures myself.”
“For example, choosing a special day to tattoo myself—how about if I tattoo your name on my back? Hmm, but then it would be hard for me to see it, maybe I should tattoo it on my hand instead…”
“…Don’t do that, it will hurt.”
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Even though Qiao Yu knew she was mostly joking, she couldn’t just let it slide. She tightly held her hand, trying to persuade Lin Qing to abandon this strange idea.
“So, what should I do?”
Lin Qing knowingly looked at Qiao Yu and put on a puzzled expression.
“You refuse to tell me the truth, can’t guarantee that you’ll come back, and now you won’t let me find a way to remember you on my own.”
“This is too much, Qiao Yu.”
Facing her lover’s half-serious complaints, Qiao Yu furrowed her brow in perplexity, sighing resignedly after a moment.
“…I understand, I will seriously consider this matter.”
“Is that so.” Satisfied with the response, Lin Qing smiled brightly. “Then I’ll be looking forward to my birthday, okay?”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Seeing her visibly brightened mood, Qiao Yu suddenly remembered something untimely, recalling the words Lin Qing had said to her before her birthday last year.
‘By next year’s birthday, I’ll come back to you with interest.’
Unable to contain her laughter under Lin Qing’s perplexed gaze, Qiao Yu felt a subtle sense of anticipation growing within her.
At that time, Lin Qing had been thinking about what it meant to come back with “interest”—she was actually quite curious to find out.