Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 23

Find someone who can only speak the truth to ask her

After the monthly exam is over, the students always have a few days of joy; even if the results come out in just a few days, it doesn’t affect their good mood, especially since the October 1st holiday is fast approaching, filling the school with a lively atmosphere.

Qiao Yu was no exception. After all, she hadn’t been having the smoothest time lately, but now things were mostly resolved. She had advanced her relationships with the male and female leads a step further, and even the usually difficult Cong Ye was cooperating with her. When she tentatively inquired about his interactions with Lin Qing in the same exam room, he laid everything out on the table.

“I hardly communicate with Lin Qing, aside from going to find you together after the exams each day. Don’t worry about it!”

Why should she be worried! She should be encouraging them to interact!

Then, when it came to the question of why he previously accused her of two-timing, Cong Ye put on a very annoying expression as if he had no idea what she was talking about, playing dumb.

…It’s really too much effort. But being able to ask about his and Lin Qing’s interactions is a good start; it would be nice if, in the future, they have communication and she can ask just as smoothly.

At least for now, they are ordinary friends. Qiao Yu diligently records their upright interactions in her notebook, planning to sweeten her readers’ experience with rich psychological descriptions—after all, the artificial sweetener can turn into real sugar once things work out later on.

Overall, everything is going smoothly, even the exam results she hasn’t got yet can’t disturb Qiao Yu’s happy mood.

If one must say there’s an unstable factor, then it’s only—

“Qiao Yu, someone’s looking for you.”

“Oh, coming!”

This is really an instance of “speak of the devil, and he shall appear.” Qiao Yu hurriedly stood up and walked towards the doorway to the petite figure with curly hair and upturned eyes.

Indeed, it has only been Song Wanwan who’s been oddly visiting her frequently of late.

Initially, she claimed she was just concerned that Qiao Yu, who knew her secret, might let something slip. Then, as visits continued, she would rave about how incredibly good Cong Ye is. After two such visits, the purpose of her coming became murky; often, she’d talk about trivial matters and then, as an afterthought, toss in a line like, “You haven’t spoken to Cong Ye about this, right? That’s good.”

“Look, Qiao Yu! I pulled this card in the game! It’s the one I’ve always really wanted!”

See, just like this.

“Oh… pretty awesome.”

Qiao Yu stood aside, puzzled, but still clapped supportively.

“Not sincere at all!”

And just like that, the young lady still got mad, glared at her like a cat puffing up its fur, and said unreasonably.

“Why don’t you come down and play this game too, so I don’t feel like I’m talking to a brick wall when I tell you about it.”

“Ha…”

…then why bother coming to her and saying that?

Qiao Yu lied to her by claiming her phone was broken, ignoring how Song Wanwan raised her voice in outcry, accusing her of talking nonsense while her mind wandered to the skies.

Games, huh…

Would Lin Qing enjoy playing games? It always felt like she had something on her mind lately; maybe playing games together could cheer her up?

But Lin Qing didn’t seem like someone who’d get addicted to mobile games, what to do then…

While Qiao Yu was absentmindedly humming in response to whatever Song Wanwan was saying, her gaze kept drifting toward Lin Qing. She saw the girl focused on reading her book, resembling a beautiful yet enigmatic portrait.

Girls are truly difficult creatures to understand.

In the classroom.

“…Again? How many times has it been now?”

“If we’re counting after the monthly test, probably the fifth time.”

“But it’s only been three days since the test?”

As Lu Yao spoke, he stretched his neck, sneaking peeks toward the doorway. Seeing Qiao Yu and Song Wanwan standing together sent his heart racing with excitement.

In comparison, Mi Yi was much calmer. She glanced outside only briefly before returning her gaze, seemingly nonchalant, to Lin Qing who was seated quietly at the diagonal front. Then, feeling around her desk, she pulled out a lollipop and turned her head to place it on Lu Yao’s desk.

“I bet a lollipop that Song—what’s her name again? The girl outside, she has a soft spot for Qiao Yu.”

Hearing this, Lu Yao perked up even more, his eyes sparkling like an eager puppy. He rummaged through his things, found a packet of potato chips that had been at the bottom of his bag, and hurriedly placed it next to Mi Yi’s lollipop.

“I bet a bag of chips! Qiao Yu and Song Wanwan are going to be an item!”

He was elated, believing he had the scoop and that his bet was a sure win, when suddenly a hand stretched out and smacked his desk with a thwack, the gust of the motion sending Lu Yao’s chips flying to the floor.

“I bet a hundred bucks! Those two, no way—not—possible—!”

Cong Ye was fuming mad, his eyes bulging like brass bells.

Thinking to himself “Cong Ye, why trouble yourself breaking up lovebirds,” Lu Yao silently picked up the chips, dusted them off, and placed them back on the desk, showing his resolve not to back down from the bet.

Mi Yi looked at the real deal hundred-yuan note on the table, knitting her brows in all seriousness.

“Gambling is against school rules.”

“Then I’ll bet my life.”

“Let’s stick to betting money.”

Feeling the bet of Cong Ye’s life was too heavy a stake to take, Mi Yi deftly gathered everyone’s belongings and stowed them away in her own desk. Then she tapped Lin Qing’s back in a casual manner, smiling faintly at Lin Qing as she turned her head.

“We have a bet going on now, do you want to join in the fun?”

After a couple of good days, Qiao Yu felt something was off in the atmosphere again.

Every now and then she had the sensation of being watched, but when she looked back, Lu Yao and Cong Ye were busy with their own things. She told herself that they had no reason to keep an eye on her, which led her to second-guess everything daily.

Once again failing to catch someone in the act, Qiao Yu glanced around in confusion, murmured to herself, and turned back.

Under the desk, Cong Ye’s fingers flew over his phone as he passionately texted in a group named “The First Gambling King Contest.”

Cong Ye: Qiao Yu is definitely getting suspicious!

Mi Yi: So I said why don’t we just ask her directly…

Lu Yao: No way! What if Qiao Yu is too shy to tell the truth? She is a girl after all!

She blurted out her feelings in front of Mother Cong and you say she’s shy? Bullshit! If we followed her advice and asked Qiao Yu directly, this crazy betting game would have ended long ago!

Cong Ye started to get angry again and glared fiercely at Lu Yao, who was too busy typing to notice, leaving him just glaring helplessly.

Lu Yao: We need to beat around the bush, beat around the bush! It’s been two days already, hasn’t anyone managed to wring out a bit of truth?

Mi Yi: I asked her what she chats about with Song Wanwan every day.

Lu Yao: And then?

Mi Yi: She said they talk about everything.

After saying that, she heard a dull thump from under the table behind her, probably Lu Yao hitting his knee in his excitement.

Lu Yao: You see!! Talking about everything!!! That’s love!!!

Cong Ye: Love your mother.

Mi Yi: Personal attacks are not allowed.

Cong Ye was so angry that his hands shook; he wanted nothing more than to pry open Lu Yao’s concrete-filled head and loosen the soil.

Lin Qing: When she chatted with me, she mentioned that Song Wanwan came to look for her.

Qiao Yu, who was seriously copying from the blackboard, was startled by a loud noise and Cong Ye’s muffled groan from behind. Turning her head to see him clenching his teeth and gesturing to her, she turned back around, puzzled, and decided to ignore it.

Even a good student like Lin Qing was sending messages during class time; she must really care about this bet!

When Mi Yi first pulled Lin Qing into this, he thought it was unreliable—wasn’t this just tearing down Qiao Yu’s house? But now he was utterly convinced by Mi Yi’s foresight. Nicely done! Sometimes you need to use a heavy hand to get good results!

Cong Ye, with tears welling up in his eyes, rubbed his knee, wishing he could grab Lu Yao and shout into his ear: “This is love, you idiot!”

Mi Yi: What did she say?

Lin Qing: She said she doesn’t know why she keeps coming to look for her.

Cong Ye: You see!! She doesn’t know why!!! Qiao Yu doesn’t have Song Wanwan in her heart at all!!

This time, it was Lu Yao who glared at him. The two stood neck to neck, refusing to back down, like two roosters in a cockfight with their hackles up.

When the bell rang at the end of class, both of them were tired enough to cough. Unaware of the brewing war around her, Qiao Yu saw the teacher had left, poked Lin Qing’s shoulder, and pulled out her phone.

“Lin Qing, do you like playing games?”

She handed her phone screen to Lin Qing, pointing at a flashy icon on the screen.

“I heard this game is really popular lately, wanna play together?”

Lin Qing, who had just been chatting in the group, was a bit confused when suddenly called out by the main character of the bet, hastily gathered her composure and said, “I, I haven’t played before…”

“…Oh, I see.”

Qiao Yu’s eyebrows drooped, appearing quite disappointed.

“I even downloaded this game because Song Wanwan told me it’s popular among girls—”

“Huh? Song Wanwan recommended a game to you??”

Before Lin Qing could respond, Cong Ye, who had been eavesdropping intently, couldn’t bear it any longer. He stood up, pushed past Lu Yao, walked over to her desk, snatched Qiao Yu’s phone, and held it up high.

“How could you listen to her! Delete this game right now, delete it!”

“…Why?”

Caught off guard by the sudden phone-snatching, Qiao Yu couldn’t grasp the logic behind Cong Ye’s outburst and didn’t rush to grab it back, instead looking bewildered at the indignantly fuming Cong Ye.

“Be-because…”

…I obviously can’t say it’s because this could be taken as evidence that you like Song Wanwan, Cong Ye thought on his feet, spouting nonsense with his eyes wide open.

“Because if you install this game, your phone will get a virus and then explode!”

“What kind of game does that?!”

Cong Ye didn’t care about Qiao Yu’s reaction; with quick eyes and swift hands, he deleted the game before her phone could auto-lock. Only after getting rid of the game did he hand the phone back to Qiao Yu and nonchalantly return to his seat without any explanation.

Really, he just washes his hands of the matter and keeps his good deeds secret.

Qiao Yu didn’t understand his nonchalant attitude at this moment and simply thought Cong Ye was crazy.

Holding her phone, which had merely lost a game’s data but was now back in her hands, she couldn’t fathom what kind of misfortune she had created for herself.

But she thought, since she had downloaded the game just to play with Lin Qing anyway, and now that Lin Qing didn’t play it, she would have deleted it herself even if Cong Ye hadn’t done it. She decided to take it as Cong Ye being sensible and helping out, like he knew how to lend a hand to his father.

Thinking this, she gave Cong Ye’s desk a couple of bumps as a form of petty retaliation, then shifted her attention back to Lin Qing, showing concern and asking if she had been unhappy recently. Lin Qing had a lot of things weighing on her mind, and in the moment, she could only respond to the big issues with vague and evasive answers.

During this time, the group, which had been quiet for just a short while, started another intense battle.

Lu Yao: Why did you delete her game?! Didn’t we agree to respect the objective facts and not to intervene directly? You are destroying the evidence!

Cong Ye: What evidence are you talking about! Didn’t you hear what Qiao Yu said? She downloaded the game to play with Lin Qing!

Lu Yao: Then you shouldn’t have deleted it!

Cong Ye: Look, did Qiao Yu complain after I deleted it?

Mi Yi: Enough, stop bickering already, I don’t think this is the way to go.

Boys are really too childish, Mi Yi thought wearily, rubbing her brows.

Mi Yi: I still think asking directly is the best approach.

Mi Yi: If Lu Yao is worried Qiao Yu won’t tell the truth,

Mi Yi: Then we’ll find someone who can make her tell nothing but the truth.

The two boys looked up blankly at Mi Yi. The girl slowly unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into her mouth, a sly sparkle in her cat-like eyes.

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