Extra 2 Part 2
Qiao Yu x Lin Qing in the Parallel World
Looking back, Lin Qing realized that Qiao Yu always seemed to be following her.
It was a proper distance. Close enough that Lin Qing could see her with a glance, but not too intimate.
They had spent a long time together, yet they always maintained this ambiguous distance.
Lin Qing always knew that she wasn’t as friendly as she appeared. Beneath her gentle exterior was a somewhat indifferent heart, and she only engaged with people superficially. From childhood to adulthood, she had many friends, but the only one she could call a close friend was the unique Qiao Yu.
But Qiao Yu was different. Qiao Yu was genuine, naturally liked by those around her, and she interacted with others with the same enthusiasm. Although no one’s place could surpass Lin Qing’s in Qiao Yu’s life, this sometimes left Lin Qing feeling inexplicably uneasy despite being satisfied.
Fortunately, she could tell that Qiao Yu cared about her the most. Qiao Yu was so good to her, it was obvious. Qiao Yu wasn’t a traditional good student, but under Lin Qing’s influence, the most rebellious thing she did during her school years was to sneak out during evening self-study, climb over the wall and back, to bring Lin Qing a bright camellia.
Lin Qing was satisfied with this kind of goodness and gradually took it for granted.
Over time, many people approached Qiao Yu because of Lin Qing, but similarly, some approached Lin Qing because of Qiao Yu.
‘Aren’t you and Qiao Yu… lovers?’
The first person to gather the courage to ask her this question for Qiao Yu’s sake was a girl. Lin Qing initially wanted to ignore this frequently heard question and leave directly, but she inexplicably felt anger when she saw the girl’s shy and nervous expression.
Qiao Yu seemed to always attract girls.
‘If that’s the case, Lin Qing, could you help me—’
‘No.”‘
The inexpressible irritation made Lin Qing rudely interrupt the girl. She packed up her books, stood up, and coldly looked at the stunned girl.
‘Qiao Yu won’t like you.’
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Cutting off the girl’s unfinished words, Lin Qing had no intention of staying any longer. She silently left the library, the fire in her heart burning even stronger.
She had always been a self-centered person; she never denied this. Maybe tomorrow, today’s incident would spread among the students. Perhaps people would gossip behind her back about why she made decisions for Qiao Yu or speculate once again that their relationship was more than just friends.
But it didn’t matter. Even if it reached Qiao Yu’s ears, it didn’t matter.
She always had the highest authority when it came to Qiao Yu. There was nothing about Qiao Yu that Lin Qing couldn’t decide.
Call her arrogant if you will, but Lin Qing had that much confidence in matters concerning Qiao Yu, growing increasingly uncontrollable with Qiao Yu’s daily silent consent.
During their high school graduation, the atmosphere at school was heavy with sadness. It became popular among students to write farewell letters. Qiao Yu received letters from almost everyone in the class and seriously wrote back on each piece of paper. Lin Qing received letters too but didn’t plan to reply. She just sat beside Qiao Yu, watching her write intently.
She remembered Qiao Yu feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, looking up and smiling at her.
‘Do you want me to write something for you?’
What was there to write?
Lin Qing thought casually at the time and didn’t write to Qiao Yu because for the two of them, it was unnecessary.
‘No.’
‘Anyway, we’ll still be together in the future.’
Her tone was certain back then, with not a hint of doubt.
When did it start to change?
Lin Qing suddenly felt a bit dazed. Her hands paused, almost ruining her experimental data. She quickly lifted her hands and stepped back two steps.
The office was very quiet. Besides the sound of her movements, there was no other noise.
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For the first time, she felt that being alone in the office could be so unsettling.
Work… right, work.
Lin Qing’s breathing became rapid, her body trembling uncontrollably. She recalled the scene when they were about to graduate from university.
‘Do you have any plans?’
At that time, Lin Qing was intimately leaning on Qiao Yu, asking casually.
‘If not, I have some options. Whether to pursue further studies or work, we can consider them together.’
When she asked the question, she never expected a definite answer from Qiao Yu, because Qiao Yu had always made her decisions based on Lin Qing’s, never deviating from her path.
It had always been like this, following her closely.
‘Well… I’ve almost decided.’
So when she heard this answer, Lin Qing could hardly believe her ears. She turned her head to look at Qiao Yu in a daze, but Qiao Yu avoided her gaze, not looking at her.
‘I’m going to Xingyu… to do research on parallel worlds. I’m quite interested in this.’
‘I only recently finalized it, and I’ve been thinking about when to tell you.’
Lin Qing couldn’t hear anything Qiao Yu said after that. She could barely pay attention, vaguely remembering that company seemed related to Cong Ye’s family.
Was Qiao Yu going there to work because of Cong Ye? Were they very close? Why had Qiao Yu never mentioned it to her?
‘I remember you wanted to pursue further studies, right? Good luck. If I have vacation time, I’ll visit you often.’
…Why didn’t Qiao Yu show any intention of wanting her to go along?
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What she had thought was a given suddenly collapsed. Lin Qing was caught off guard, overwhelmed by fear and anxiety far beyond her expectations.
The subsequent events were unexpected yet logical. Lin Qing couldn’t tell if she was overheated or calm, feeling like she was floating on a cloud. It was only after she successfully joined the same company as Qiao Yu that she finally felt grounded.
‘E-Eh? Lin Qing? You… you also came here to work?’
‘Yes, just happened to have an opportunity.’
She brushed off all the hardships with a casual tone. Lin Qing had deliberately not told Qiao Yu about this in advance, so she got to see Qiao Yu’s most genuine reaction.
Panic, hesitation, guilt, and a bit of barely concealed delight.
That was the first time Qiao Yu tried to escape from her.
But Lin Qing had long been spoiled; she realized she couldn’t let Qiao Yu go. Just like when she presumptuously rejected the girl who had feelings for Qiao Yu, it was simply because she couldn’t bear the thought of Qiao Yu loving someone else, of those gentle amber eyes looking at someone else. She used to find excuses to deceive herself—
Qiao Yu surely wouldn’t like someone like that.
As for what kind of person Qiao Yu would like, Lin Qing never thought about it. She instinctively rejected the question, merely paying close attention to anyone who got close to Qiao Yu.
Among these people, she hated Cong Ye the most. That man was too close to Qiao Yu, almost as if they were sharing some secret, a secret that even when Lin Qing asked, Qiao Yu would brush off ambiguously.
This was unprecedented. Lin Qing never thought she could hate someone so much. She couldn’t stop herself from speaking ill of him to Qiao Yu. The baseness in her heart was magnified, and those obsessive thoughts surfaced.
Qiao Yu couldn’t leave her.
This should have been a given, so why did it now feel so uncertain?
Perhaps it was luck that, before Lin Qing’s fear reached its peak, Qiao Yu confessed her love.
But what followed was the second attempt to escape. For the first time in her life, Lin Qing was at a loss. She subconsciously saw love as a lifeline, holding onto it tightly, refusing to let go no matter what.
Anything was fine—love, hate—as long as Qiao Yu didn’t leave her, anything was fine.
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And now it was the third time.
Lin Qing’s vacant eyes could no longer focus on the screen in front of her. She trembled as she turned around, took the coat hanging on the back of the empty chair beside her, and slowly put it on, hugging herself tightly.
‘Qiao Yu? She, she told me last night that she was going to take some time off… but she didn’t tell me why.’
‘…You didn’t know about this?’
She recalled Cong Ye’s words, the confusion after not seeing Qiao Yu at the company, the panic when she was told Qiao Yu had taken leave and was unreachable, and the pain of losing Qiao Yu once again. All of it surged in her heart at that moment.
Once again, Qiao Yu had left her.
Why? Just last night, she had touched her so aggressively, so why did she leave without warning today?
Was it… because she was angry that Lin Qing had gone on a blind date without telling her?
Lin Qing had never considered blind dates important.
To her, they were just formalities. She would have erased all memory of them during the recent memory sorting, but that day, she couldn’t let Qiao Yu go alone, so neither of them went. It was only at the dinner table when it was brought up that she realized, belatedly, that Qiao Yu would be upset about this.
But Lin Qing didn’t know how to explain to Qiao Yu that her indifference wasn’t as Qiao Yu thought. Just as she never understood why, before she knew Qiao Yu liked her, she never mentioned her occasional blind dates to Qiao Yu.
It was as if some subconscious force stopped her from mentioning it, making Lin Qing instinctively choose to hide it.
Qiao Yu must be mad at her, leaving without a word.
Lin Qing’s chest tightened painfully. She clutched her coat, trying to distinguish the lingering scent and warmth of Qiao Yu, as if this would give her the illusion of being hugged by Qiao Yu.
Where did you go? Don’t be mad at me, it’s all my fault. I really want to see you.
Her chaotic thoughts were fragmented. Lin Qing’s heart was engulfed in a silent storm, dispelling the lingering fog. In her daze, a thought suddenly emerged.
All along, was it Qiao Yu following her, or was she chasing after Qiao Yu?
Lin Qing lifted her head in a daze, her gaze scattering and then focusing again.