Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 110

I’ll be back soon

“…My head hurts.”

“Oh, so even if you don’t get drunk, you can still get a headache when you wake up? I learned something new.”

Lin Qing coldly drank water, showing no intention of helping Qiao Yu, who was lying pitifully on the sofa.

“After all, I did have three glasses of wine…”

“Really? You seemed quite energetic last night, so why not today?”

Her attitude was so cold that it made Qiao Yu feel dejected. She really wanted to go over and act pitiful in front of Lin Qing, but every time she felt the urge to do so, Lin Qing’s sharp gaze would push her back. She could only look at Lin Qing pleadingly, seeking forgiveness with her eyes.

As for the reason for the rare situation in front of her—

…Well, in simple terms, she might have overstepped a bit last night.

Rubbing her slightly aching temples, Qiao Yu remembered the various enchanting scenes from last night. In addition to the regret of making Lin Qing angry, there was also a faint sense of satisfaction in her achievement.

But of course, she couldn’t show that. She tried to straighten her attitude and apologize to Lin Qing properly.

“…I didn’t realize last night that you were seriously saying ‘no,’ I’m sorry.”

“—”

Lin Qing gritted her teeth, a mix of embarrassment and anger flooding her face. It was unclear which feeling was stronger.

“I will listen to you next time, I promise. I’ll stop whenever you say ‘no’—”

“Well, for now, listen to me and shut up! Stop talking!”

The person in front of her was speaking seriously about strange things. Lin Qing couldn’t bear it anymore and lunged forward, covering Qiao Yu’s mouth. Qiao Yu nodded frantically, shortening the distance between them. She blinked her watery eyes, looking at Lin Qing with a pleasing and innocent gaze.

Alcohol was not a reliable thing; indeed, Lin Qing should not let Qiao Yu drink in the future.

After this experience, Lin Qing deeply realized this point and sighed in defeat.

“…Forget it, we should talk about something serious.”

“What kind of serious matters?”

Qiao Yu remembered that she had also brought up this opinion before drinking last night. She subconsciously interrupted and asked. She remembered Lin Qing’s response at that time—

“Serious matters!”

Lin Qing was so embarrassed and angry that she pinched Qiao Yu’s waist slightly. After seeing her expression of pain, she retrieved her hand with a huff.

“Don’t change the subject! We agreed before that you would tell me about that thing you were hiding on my birthday, but my birthday has passed now!”

“No, we didn’t agree on that. And yesterday, it was clearly you, Qingqing, who didn’t want me to bring up that matter and forced me to drink…”

Skilled at reading between the lines (self proclaimed), Qiao Yu glanced at Lin Qing’s expression. Her voice gradually softened, and she lightly glossed over the topic before clearing her throat and returning to the main point.

“I’m all set.”

She walked back to her room and returned holding an envelope, which she solemnly handed to Lin Qing.

“…A love letter?”

“No—it’s not that. If you want a love letter, I’ll write one for you today. This is what you mentioned earlier.”

Qiao Yu held Lin Qing’s hand, stopping her from opening the envelope, her expression turning serious.

“Inside are all the secrets of this world that I’ve never told you.”

“…”

Using the term “secrets of the world” in such a serious atmosphere sounded a bit out of place, but Lin Qing could see the sincerity in Qiao Yu’s eyes, so her demeanor softened.

“What’s wrong? Can’t I see it now?”

“No. If you can see it now, why would I bother writing a letter? I’d just tell you directly.”

Qiao Yu shook her head, took a deep breath, and confessed to Lin Qing.

“If you agree— I plan to take action in these next few days to try to contact the ‘god’.”

“Do you already have a method to successfully make contact with it?”

“Probably.” Qiao Yu’s words carried some uncertainty, but she reaffirmed calmly, “I have discussed it with my observer, and we are at least 80% sure it will work.”

After all, the god was very concerned about the secrets she knew. Saying so, she gave Lin Qing a comforting smile.

“As for this envelope, I hope that in a situation where I haven’t contacted you for… a long time, if at that point you still want to see it, then open it.”

“…”

Seeing Lin Qing visibly frowning in disagreement, Qiao Yu squeezed her hand tightly and stepped forward with a serious expression.

“This is already the biggest compromise I can make.”

“If I can successfully negotiate with the god and return to your side, at that time, I will tell you everything completely on my own.”

“But if it ends up with a different outcome, by then…”

Qiao Yu felt her throat dry up, paused, and continued, “Honestly, I actually feel that by that time, you wouldn’t even need to know about this matter.”

“I choose to leave this letter because I want to respect your opinions.”

“But out of my sincere consideration, I hope the time for you to open this letter will never come.”

Her voice lowered, she held Lin Qing’s hand, and gazed at the ring on her ring finger which she had slipped on last night, kissing it devoutly.

Feeling the slight chill of the metal and the warmth of Lin Qing at the same time, Qiao Yu lingered for a moment, then lifted her head to meet Lin Qing’s complex gaze.

“Grant me your permission, Lin Qing.”

“Just say ‘don’t go’, and my courage will completely vanish.”

“But likewise, just say ‘go early, return early’.”

“Even if I were exiled to the ends of the earth, I will definitely find my way back to your side.”

With a firm tone, Lin Qing’s lover had a pair of gentle eyes, brightly shining, reflecting only Lin Qing’s figure.

Lin Qing let out a slow breath and spoke.

“You said this is the biggest compromise you can make, well then, I can also make my biggest compromise.”

“I can choose not to read this letter right now, Qiao Yu.”

Lin Qing placed the letter on the table and turned back to Qiao Yu, her expression serious.

“You said you needed my permission, and I can give it to you.”

“But.” Lin Qing’s tone shifted, her gaze chilling, “You said I can only open it if you haven’t contacted me for a very long time— What kind of joke are you playing?”

Her anger rose belatedly, furrowing her brows and glaring at Qiao Yu, “Very long time? How long are you talking about? Two years?”

“…No.”

The familiar time reference point pricked at Qiao Yu, her expression slightly dim. She shook her head gently, but still didn’t relent.

“I just wanted to say that unpredictable things might happen, so at least give me some time—”

“Sure, I’ll give you time.”

“Until the moment I feel you should come back.”

Lin Qing smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She didn’t provide a definite deadline in her words, leaving it very vague.

“And also, wherever you need to go to contact the god, whatever you need to do, I will go with you.”

“The last person you see before you leave must be me, and the first person you see when you return must also be me.”

“I won’t go anywhere, I’ll just wait for you to come back.”

“No matter how long it takes, Qiao Yu. No matter how long.”

Lin Qing’s voice gradually softened, murmuring to herself, causing Qiao Yu’s throat to tense up.

The system in her mind had already started to entertain thoughts of backing out, muttering that from the current perspective, life didn’t seem so dangerous after all. Should they really both take on unpredictable risks in exchange for true freedom?

Qiao Yu knew Lin Qing wasn’t joking. Her eyes burned with a relentless flame, a slightly mad paranoia, and a fragile appearance despite the tough exterior.

It was the Lin Qing that only she could see.

“I see.”

Qiao Yu remained composed, nodding in agreement, with a gentle smile on her lips.

“Then I must… find a comfortable place for you, right?”

“What do you mean, I’m not saying that.”

“I know, I know.”

The lover who always took things seriously was getting irritated by her playful teasing again. Qiao Yu smiled, holding her hand, and after thinking for a moment, she spoke slowly.

“Alright, I’ve also thought about it—sooner or later, I have to take you there. It’s fine to go together this time.”

“Go… where?”

Lin Qing became puzzled, seeing Qiao Yu’s expression turn somewhat melancholic, she lowered her eyelids.

“—To meet my… grandmother.”

They didn’t delay for too long, after all, this was something that couldn’t be prepared for extensively. All they could do was mentally prepare themselves repeatedly, but psychological preparation always seemed to become more unsettling the more they did it.

The next day, Qiao Yu took Lin Qing out of the house.

Silent all the way, the end of the drive led to a cemetery.

Walking side by side, under Qiao Yu’s guidance, they stopped in front of a gravestone. The grave was well maintained, with fresh flower arrangements, indicating that it was regularly tended to.

“…Grandmother.”

The placement was different from what was done for her grandmother in her original world, but the name on the gravestone was the same.

The incredibly familiar name twisted her heart into a knot. Qiao Yu’s voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing the old lady, the speculation in her chest about to be revealed.

This was her first time coming here since arriving in this world.

“Sorry, grandmother, I haven’t come to see you in these past few years.”

Qiao Yu crouched down, placing the new bouquet of flowers she held in front of the grave. A lump of bitterness formed in her throat.

“I only realized this recently… honestly, I don’t know if you would be happy to see me, because I—”

—I am Qiao Yu, but also not the Qiao Yu you knew.

Before she could utter those words, they suddenly stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken, as if some unseen force was preventing those syllables from coming into existence in this world. Qiao Yu didn’t try again, instead, she closed her eyes slightly.

“I have a lover now.”

When she finally spoke, she changed the subject, standing up and holding Lin Qing’s hand. The lover greeted her softly, with a gentle and soothing voice.

“I want to bring her here to show you. She’s wonderful, you’ll surely like her.”

“You always used to worry that I wouldn’t do well on my own.”

The memories in her mind were memories that didn’t belong to this world, making them seem like they were from a different lifetime.

Qiao Yu’s eyes sparkled, smiling with a sense of relief.

“…But I’m not alone now.”

“So, don’t worry, grandmother.”

These words should not have been said here. The person who should truly hear these words is the soul buried under the gravestone in front of them, originating from the same root but diverging at some point in time, ultimately ending up in a completely different world.

“…Let’s go.”

With more words trapped in her throat, Qiao Yu and Lin Qing finally lit incense in front of the grave, then left together.

Qiao Yu thought she could face her deceased loved ones in both worlds with equanimity, but after leaving the cemetery, she couldn’t help but feel her eyes welling up with tears.

“Let’s go back home.”

Her voice carried a quiet exhaustion, yet her tone remained resolute.

“I… understand now.”

After returning from exile, Qiao Yu had been pondering over the secret she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Overlapping worlds, unspoken words, entirely different futures.

The breakthrough always had to start from a common ground in both worlds.

She had hesitated to act before due to fear, but after seeing Lin Qing’s inner demons, she made up her mind to do something.

‘Dad.’

Finally, during a meal at the Qiao family house, Qiao Yu spoke up.

‘I… wanted to ask about… grandmother.’

From the man’s surprised expression, it was clear that it was the first time Qiao Yu had brought up this topic in this world. Then, Qiao Yu realized everything – she had never heard her parents mention her grandmother in this world, mirroring the situation in her original world where her grandmother also rarely mentioned her parents.

She had witnessed death with her own eyes.

At this moment, Qiao Yu and Lin Qing had already returned to their home. Before Qiao Yu could make it to the bedroom, she suddenly heard a loud buzzing sound in her mind, and her vision quickly turned white.

She instantly lost her strength and stumbled forward, but instead of falling onto the hard floor, she fell into a warm embrace.

“… Qiao Yu…!”

Lin Qing’s worried and excited voice seemed to come from a faraway place. In Qiao Yu’s mind, there was a constant sound like a machine malfunctioning, followed by a severe headache, causing her to clench her teeth tightly.

“…Host.”

The sound of the system suddenly rang out in her mind, crystal clear amidst the chaos.

【What do you】

【want to】

【say】

But its tone became extremely strange, completely different from the usual humanized machine voice. If forced to say, it now sounded more like… a person pretending to speak like a machine.

【Tell me】

It was no longer her system speaking those words.

Qiao Yu could almost imagine the person behind the voice now smiling, jubilant, gentle, and compassionate.

So she smiled back in the same way, opened her unwavering eyes, kissed the corner of Lin Qing’s lips amidst the intense headache, and reached out to smooth out the furrow on her brow.

“…Don’t leave me, Qiao Yu…”

The tearful voice caused a pang in Qiao Yu’s heart. She struggled to shake her head and gently leaned against Lin Qing’s forehead.

“I’ll be back soon.”

【Tsk.】

The voice in her mind gradually stopped disguising its identity and bluntly expressed its urgency with a click of the tongue.

Qiao Yu took a deep breath and, as her vision began to blur, addressed it.

“This world and my original world diverged from the accident when I was five years old.”

“The ones who died in the accident, were they my parents, or my grandparents—”

“That is the dividing point of this parallel world.”

【——】

As her words trailed off, the buzzing in her mind suddenly stopped.

Not only did she not hear the voice in her mind, but she also couldn’t hear any sound around her, and for a moment, all was silent.

【Impressive, huh.】

A stranger’s voice broke the silence, a voice Qiao Yu had never heard before.

Soon, indifferent applause echoed in her mind, accompanied by incongruous congratulatory music that sounded like completing a video game level, even interspersed with a few ceremonial cannon shots.

At the end of the music, the person spoke again, their voice drawling lazily.

【Congratulations. You have seen through the secrets of the world.】

【This is an achievement—so I can, as you wish, chat with you.】

【Oh, right, I haven’t introduced myself. Sorry, sorry, I forgot just now.】

【I am… yes.】

【I am a god.】

Then, Qiao Yu, like a light bulb suddenly losing power, lost consciousness.

---

---