Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 21

“Qiao Yu, how can you be straddling two boats!”

No one responded to her words. Cong Ye strode over, twisting his wrist, forcefully pulling Song Wanwan off of her. His tone was furious.

“Qiao Yu, how can you be straddling two boats!”

“…What nonsense are you spouting as soon as you arrive!”

She doesn’t even have one boat! Stop making baseless accusations! Can’t you see Song Wanwan’s changed expression!

“If you can’t control yourself, you’ll create chaos here! In the next monthly exam, you’ll be going to the examination hall for me!”

“That’s too much! Besides, I didn’t create any chaos!”

Cong Ye had no intention of listening to her explanation, accusing her with full force. His words were absurd, making her seem as if she was caught cheating.

Qiao Yu couldn’t keep up with Cong Ye’s train of thought. She choked after exchanging just a couple of sentences with him. Seeing Song Wanwan’s increasingly strange expression, Qiao Yu felt that if she didn’t stop him, her reputation would be ruined by his words. She hurriedly cut him off.

“What are you here for, anyway? What’s with this grand entrance…”

She was feeling guilty, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong!

Cong Ye felt like his good intentions were being taken for granted and shouted at her with wide eyes, “I came here with Lin Qing for your sake, and this is what I see when I arrive!”

…What is he referring to?

Qiao Yu always felt like their brainwaves were not on the same frequency, but at least she understood that he and Lin Qing came to console her as her teachers. She looked towards the entrance and saw Lin Qing still standing there, not coming inside. Judging from the way she tightly held her bag strap, it seemed like she wasn’t calm inside.

Qiao Yu, who was unaware of the truth, felt worried and poked Cong Ye, lowering her voice to ask him, “Why does Lin Qing seem to be in a bad mood? Did she not do well in the exam? Or did you do something to upset her again?”

Cong Ye became furious, his voice rising instead of lowering, and he slammed the table with a loud bang.

“You have the nerve to ask! What have you done yourself, what’s in your heart—”

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, a flash of insight in his intelligent mind.

Lin Qing, who had an unclear relationship with her before, saw Song Wanwan sitting on Qiao Yu’s lap and became unhappy.

Isn’t this, a good thing?

Rounding it off, isn’t it time for their feelings to progress into a romantic relationship?

Suddenly, Cong Ye’s mind became incredibly clear. He felt like he was the only one in the room who could see the complex dynamics behind this event. Qiao Yu, with her airheadedness, had no idea what was happening, even if the pie was right in front of her and trying to fit itself around her neck. What would happen if he wasn’t there?

Cong Ye looked at Qiao Yu as if she were a lower life form, his gaze softening slightly, leaving Qiao Yu utterly confused.

Now was not the time to scold Qiao Yu—there would probably be plenty of opportunities for that in the future. The immediate priority was to quickly make Qiao Yu hold onto Lin Qing’s heart. Cong Ye thought very clearly and found a chair to sit on, holding his hands with great dignity.

“You explain.”

After more than eight hundred words, he finally remembered to let Qiao Yu explain.

The topic changed so quickly that Qiao Yu blinked in confusion.

“I was just asking why Lin Qing is not happy—”

“Why ask? Once you explain it clearly, Lin Qing will be happy. Think it through before you speak.”

Although Qiao Yu didn’t know where his confident words came from, she was convinced by his threatening tone. She looked at Lin Qing and hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Then, should I explain?”

Lin Qing, who had been silent all this time, lifted her head. The pitch-black eyes revealed no discernible emotion.

She slowly walked over from the entrance and stood beside Qiao Yu, placing her backpack on the nearby table. The sound of the impact was faint, but for some reason, Qiao Yu shuddered upon hearing it.

“Mm.”

Lin Qing uttered only this one syllable and remained silent, standing quietly by the side.

However, Qiao Yu felt her presence overwhelmingly, as if there were only the two of them in the room.

“Well, it’s…,” Qiao Yu started stuttering, trying to figure out how to explain clearly. “It’s about Song Wanwan—”

“Qiao Yu!”

…Why is Song Wanwan yelling? She shouldn’t be shouting.

Qiao Yu looked at Song Wanwan in distress, and the young lady clearly panicked, afraid that her own secret would be exposed in front of Cong Ye. She glared at Qiao Yu with a mix of threat and pleading in her eyes.

…If it weren’t for Song Wanwan’s little act just now, would we be in this situation? And now she’s making it difficult for me not to speak up. Why is it always me who’s unlucky?

Oh well, Qiao Yu didn’t have any plans to make this matter clear from the beginning anyway. She sighed and turned back, earnestly explaining to Lin Qing.

“It’s just that I found out a secret about Song Wanwan that she doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“And Song Wanwan was threatening me just now, not to reveal it.”

“The means she used were… well, intense, but we weren’t fighting.”

Qiao Yu used her clever mind to think for a moment and felt that Lin Qing must be unhappy because she thought Qiao Yu and someone else were fighting when they were tangled up. Otherwise, why would Cong Ye ask her to explain? He’s still pretending to be angry as if we’ve never fought before. This time it’s all because of him!

As long as they explain that they weren’t fighting, everything should be fine. Song Wanwan’s secret is not the main point here; it would be a big trouble if it were revealed.

Qiao Yu’s mind was racing, but there was no response after she finished explaining. Lin Qing remained standing quietly, her gaze fixed on… Qiao Yu’s neck?

Could it be that Song Wanwan used too much force when she grabbed her? Qiao Yu thought to herself that this was clearly the trace of a fight. She was about to reach out and touch it when Lin Qing grabbed her wrist.

Lin Qing walked slowly in front of her before letting go of her hand. She raised her hands and gently smoothed out the wrinkled collar of her shirt, gradually undoing the first button that was already undone, covering up the unpleasant red mark on her neck.

After tidying up Qiao Yu, Lin Qing finally lifted her head and met Qiao Yu’s gaze.

Qiao Yu felt the air around her become thick as Lin Qing approached. Lin Qing’s eyes, as dark as the night, slowly lifted, and the twilight sunlight shone into them, reflecting Qiao Yu’s bewildered face. It made Qiao Yu realize just how close she was to Lin Qing.

A complex and surging emotion flashed in her eyes, but Qiao Yu couldn’t grasp it. She had an impulse to bend down and take a closer look.

The elegant and cold fragrance that belonged to Lin Qing gradually enveloped her, like a dense web that tightly trapped Qiao Yu within Lin Qing’s territory. It felt like an obscure invitation, as if they could get even closer.

Qiao Yu’s throat tightened.

“… Your clothes are all messed up.”

Just as she felt something about to break through the threshold, Lin Qing suddenly retreated as if she had been electrocuted. She quickly moved the back of her hand, which had been resting on Qiao Yu’s collar, behind her back and turned her head away to explain.

“Ah… ah.”

That tense feeling instantly dissipated, catching Qiao Yu off guard. She could only respond with two dumb syllables.

The room fell into silence, and no one spoke for a while.

In Cong Ye’s heart, drums were beating and trumpets were blaring.

Great, it looks like this situation is about to be resolved!

He didn’t care about the specific reason why Song Wanwan was sitting on Qiao Yu’s lap, as long as it wasn’t Qiao Yu having feelings for someone else. Now that everything has been clarified, not only has Lin Qing’s misunderstanding been cleared up, but he also made a profit. Cong Ye was overjoyed and stood up, taking on the role of peacemaker.

“It’s all good now, as long as everything is explained, haha.”

…Wasn’t it him who accused Qiao Yu of playing both sides without any reason in the beginning? In the end, where did this first boat of hers come from?

Thanks to him, Qiao Yu’s slow brain started working again, and she gave him a resentful glare, feeling inexplicably exhausted.

Lin Qing even buttoned your buttons for you. This is such a great thing, brother! Let’s celebrate!

With this joyful mood, Cong Ye patted her back, injecting her with vitality. The pain made Qiao Yu grimace, not because she wanted to argue with Cong Ye, but because she thought he was crazy.

“Sorry for scaring you.”

Cong Ye turned to Song Wanwan, who had been a background character all this time, and kindly said,

“Our Qiao Yu is a bit silly, especially good at making girls angry. Everyone else avoids her when they see her.”

“…What are you doing, spreading rumors about me in front of me?”

Qiao Yu was on the verge of laughing out of frustration. Cong Ye was clearly trying to ruin her image by getting in her face. She couldn’t even avoid arguing if she wanted to.

In that moment, she took a deep breath and confronted Cong Ye, scolding him for talking nonsense. But as soon as she started speaking, Song Wanwan silently grabbed her bag and ran out of the tenth exam room, her wavy hair swinging and firmly landing on Qiao Yu’s shoulder.

…It actually hurt a bit.

Qiao Yu rubbed her shoulder, feeling a bit pitiful.

Feeling that his advice had taken effect so quickly, Cong Ye’s nose was practically in the air, and only then did he notice Lu Yao crouching behind them.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Qiao Yu looked at Lu Yao, whose expression was still twisted, with a complex gaze and lightly replied, “Probably experiencing unbearable pain in life.”

This commotion took up quite a bit of time, and by the time the four of them walked out of the school gate, there were hardly any people left in the school.

Cong Ye whispered in Lu Yao’s ear as they walked, mumbling and giving him instructions.

“You need to keep an eye on Qiao Yu and Song Wanwan these next couple of days. If there’s anything unusual, we’ll contact each other through our phones.”

“…Why?”

The only outsider who knew nothing about the situation expressed great confusion. Cong Ye, who guarded his feelings for his friends like a locked safe, came up with a random excuse to brush him off.

“Just look at their relationship, it’s so complicated. Qiao Yu even got choked just now. If something else happens in the future, I want to be able to come and help her quickly.”

Help her get rid of any rotten peach blossoms in her love life, no problem.

Lu Yao nodded in a dazed manner, realizing that he might not be able to handle Song Wanwan on his own. Women could be truly terrifying at times.

Qiao Yu and Lin Qing, on the other hand, became more silent.

Being able to break the silence and move forward boldly in such situations had always been one of Qiao Yu’s strengths. She secretly glanced at Lin Qing’s hand hanging by her side and quietly reached out her hand, hooking her little finger with hers.

Lin Qing’s hand twitched for a moment but didn’t pull away.

Qiao Yu felt a surge of happiness and took advantage of the situation by holding her entire hand, shaking it playfully to please her.

“I really didn’t fight with Song Wanwan, it was just a misunderstanding.”

I didn’t think you were fighting with her either.

Lin Qing didn’t say these words out loud, she just shook her head and changed the topic, “How did the exam go today?”

Qiao Yu immediately became energetic, and once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. Lin Qing listened as she complained about the strange essay topics in Chinese, how she almost didn’t finish the final physics question, and so on. It felt like the crack in her heart that appeared when she saw Song Wanwan sitting on Qiao Yu’s lap in the classroom was slowly being filled up, and the inexplicable chill was no longer surging out.

She knew that Qiao Yu was accustomed to physical contact with people, but it was the first time Lin Qing had seen someone sitting on her lap.

Fortunately, it wasn’t what she had imagined.

…Why did she use the phrase “fortunately”?

Lin Qing pursed her lips and gently tightened her grip on Qiao Yu’s hand.

There were more and more things that she couldn’t understand.

She still hadn’t figured out Qiao Yu’s intentions towards her, and now she had this inexplicable… possessiveness towards Qiao Yu.

Was this normal? Was it because she had never had the experience of making friends with someone like Qiao Yu before, that she was now feeling so uncertain?

Lin Qing, who had always been an outstanding student, was experiencing this level of confusion for the first time.

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LP: “脚踏两条船” (jiǎo tà liǎng tiáo chuán) directly translates to “stepping on two boats”. This phrase is used to describe someone who is trying to maintain two relationships at the same time, similar to the English idiom “two-timing”.

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