Do you want to go on a trip?
“So, it’s true that you and Lin Qing are really dating?”
“…Me? Didn’t I just mention that the rumors are so rampant that I’m thinking? Thinking of a solution? It’s exactly because we are not dating that it’s considered a rumor. Use your brain, classmate Song Wawan.”
Qiao Yu leaned on the window sill, deeply worried about the young miss’s comprehension abilities.
She was also worried for herself—this rumor had even reached Song Wanwan from Class 7 upstairs. Just how far and wide had it spread?
“Oh…”
Song Wanwan, who came to play with her during the break, nodded slowly with a drawn-out tone, seemingly a bit regretful.
“I heard from people in our class that you two are really, really compatible. What’s the word they used? It’s like a matter of… who’s attacking and def—”
“Who taught you to say such things?!”
Startled, Qiao Yu hurriedly interrupted Song Wanwan’s words, realizing from her confused look that she didn’t understand the meaning of what she was saying, her mind a mix of emotions.
…What are these people thinking? Don’t teach the innocent young lady such strange things, alright?
“It seems that stopping the rumors has become a matter of urgency.”
But whether to explain or ignore, it seems that both would only add fuel to the fire. Qiao Yu’s face is full of worry, unsure of where to begin.
“If you hate it, couldn’t you just do what you did before?”
“Before? What?”
“You know, spread the word at school to have those who gossip come to you to apologize, or else you’d take your thugs to their door, like that time.”
“…I never said anything about bringing thugs to their doors.”
Song Wanwan blinked in confusion and said, “Really?” Indeed, rumors can become truths if repeated by many, just like the idiom ‘a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.’ Qiao Yu once again realized the true nature of rumors.
“Forget about that, wasn’t the outcome of that time really good? Why not just learn from that and do it again?”
Faced with Song Wanwan’s innocent suggestion, Qiao Yu was left speechless.
Indeed, the previous time she had capitalized on the fierce reputation she had gained from a recent fight to deal with the gossips, and it worked extraordinarily well. Now, there was no more gossiping about the three of them in the entire school—Cong Ye had been completely cleared out, and now the hot new scandal was about her and Lin Qing, whose momentum was too strong to be ignored.
“…But, but the situation this time is different from last time…”
“? Where?”
Naturally, the rumors from last time had upset Qiao Yu, whereas this time they made her quite happy.
However, she couldn’t possibly say that; it would just be serving her own desires…!
“This time, when everyone is spreading the rumor, it’s not filled with malice like last time.”
With some effort, she still found a justifiable excuse. Qiao Yu earnestly explained the difference to Song Wanwan.
“Look, they don’t avoid talking about me and Lin Qing.”
It’s more like this bunch excels at being brazen to one’s face, acting as if they’re certain the person involved won’t retaliate.
“Feels like using overly brute force methods to make a clean sweep is also a bit too much…”
Qiao Yu tried to justify her stance with difficulty, while Song Wanwan nodded, seeming still somewhat unable to let go.
“Are you and Lin Qing really not together?”
“No. How many more times do you need to ask?”
“Because you seem really happy.”
“…Hmmph.”
Upon receiving a sudden strike that caught her off guard, Qiao Yu let out an odd noise. She desperately tried to contain her wavering emotions, reflecting profoundly on the fact that even Song Wanwan could see she was different from usual. She truly had been too careless.
“Ah, so it was all fake…”
Song Wanwan finally accepted Qiao Yu’s explanation and sighed regretfully.
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“I really thought you two were together, that’s why I came to ask how things were going, like what it feels like to have a first kiss and all that…”
“…”
“I didn’t expect it to be all fake; that means we’re the same, both with zero experience in that department, haha.”
“………”
“Forget it, coming down for a chat is pretty nice too—Qiao Yu? Is your face a bit red?”
It was more than just a bit red; Qiao Yu was blushing from ear to ear, looking like steam could start coming out of her head any moment.
“What’s going on with you—”
“I-I just remembered there’s a pop quiz next period on the text we were supposed to memorize, and I haven’t memorized it yet, I need to go back!”
Leaving behind a bewildered Song Wanwan, Qiao Yu turned her head and bolted away as fast as lightning, with her face embarrassingly flushed.
She could hardly tell Song Wanwan that although she really wasn’t with Lin Qing, her first kiss had indeed already—
Qiao Yu came to an abrupt halt and vigorously shook her head to scatter the chaotic thoughts swirling in her mind.
…Thinking about strange things again, this really isn’t too good for the heart.
As a result, Qiao Yu got caught by the disciplinary director for running in the hallway and was dragged into the office for a lecture.
The disciplinary director also made some insinuating comments, speaking in vague terms. The gist was that students should focus on their studies and the like. Qiao Yu wasn’t sure if she was just being overly self-conscious, but she listened with her heart pounding in fear.
When she finally came out of the office, the bell for class had long since rung. Qiao Yu closed the office door with mixed emotions, only to turn around and see Cong Ye, who also had a bitter look on his face as he emerged from the office across the way.
The two encountered each other in an unexpected place, both wearing blank expressions.
“…Why are you here too?”
“I was just playing with sandbags in the hallway with classmates, and then… the sandbag I threw knocked off the wig of a teacher passing by.”
“…”
What a disaster.
After getting scolded and seeing that her friend was also rebuked, they both felt some shared consolation in their mutual misfortune. The two of them, like a pair of misfortunate brothers and sisters, slowly made their way to the classroom—after all, they were already late for class, so a few more minutes didn’t matter much.
Qiao Yu listened to Cong Ye venting his bitterness, complaining about how his classmates, who were throwing sandbags with him, ran off too fast and didn’t stand with him. In her mind, she thought, who asked you to have such good aim? Yet, she still hummed and hawed in agreement with him.
“Speaking of which, why were you running in the hallway? Didn’t you go to talk to Song Wanwan? Is it because you were trying to beat the bell for class?”
For someone who was throwing sandbags in the hallway to ask why she was running there, Qiao Yu couldn’t help but twist her mouth wryly. Hearing him mention Song Wanwan reminded her of that embarrassing incident.
“…Cong Ye, let me just confirm something.”
Feeling quite embarrassed but still asking in a low voice just to be sure, she inquired, “About that thing in the KTV the other day… you didn’t tell anyone else, did you?”
“What thing?”
“You know… when we were playing the King’s Game…”
“Uh huh, and then what?”
“…”
Qiao Yu’s brows silently furrowed as she looked at Cong Ye, whose face was glowing with an urging glint in his eyes, a surge of annoyance welling up in her heart.
This guy must be pretending not to know what she’s talking about, right?
With an expressionless face, she continued, “I’m talking about when you and Lu Yao were holding hands for five whole minutes.”
“Don’t make me think about something so nauseating!”
Cong Ye’s fur bristled instantly, his face twisting into an indescribable expression of disgust.
“You haven’t told anyone else, have you?”
“I haven’t! Why would I go around broadcasting that kind of thing? I haven’t said a single word about that day’s events to anyone!”
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Good, Qiao Yu got the answer she was looking for, and she nodded in satisfaction.
The wounded Cong Ye wilted beside her, like a withered little bok choy.
“Why are you suddenly asking about this? Do I look like the kind of person who would blab all over the place?”
He quickly perked up again and is about to interrogate her, when Qiao Yu subtly shifted her gaze away. “Um—do you have any plans for the winter break?”
“That’s such a lousy attempt at changing the subject!”
Cong Ye made a ruckus in the corridor, and Qiao Yu could only try her best to calm him down, to prevent the two of them from being dragged into the office by a teacher for another scolding.
“…Forget it, I won’t stoop to your level.”
Her efforts were effective; Cong Ye calmed down a bit. Although he still looked huffy, he did not continue to press the issue and instead followed her change of topic.
“It just so happens that I do indeed have some plans for the winter break. I was going to firm them up before telling you, but since we’re on the topic now, I might as well spill the beans.”
“Hmm? Are your plans somehow related to me?”
Cong Ye nodded at a befuddled Qiao Yu, visibly brightening up.
“Qiao Yu, do you want to… go on a trip?”
The two of them were actually discussing the possibility of traveling together during the winter break. Qiao Yu was left in profound shock upon learning this news from Cong Ye.
After school, when she returned home, she also got confirmation from her parents. She heard that the invitation originated from Mother Cong’s side, and currently, they were checking whether each party’s schedule could align to make the trip happen. That’s why they hadn’t mentioned it to her yet.
“So, you’re saying that it’s still possible that this trip might not happen?”
“Yeah, after all, Dad is really busy even during his holidays… But President Cong says that as long as Yuyu wants to go, she’s always welcome, so Yuyu shouldn’t worry about our side. You can decide for yourself whether you want to go or not.”
With that, Qiao Yu returned to her room, deeply shocked, feeling that something didn’t quite add up.
“…Why would their travel plans involve me?”
“I… I don’t know either…”
The system is just as baffled. Logically speaking, in the context of a novel’s plot, this is definitely a golden opportunity for the male and female leads to deepen their affection for each other. It makes more sense for sparks to fly when they are alone together. Who knew that now, out of the blue, they would extend an olive branch to the outsider Qiao Yu, and it sounds quite earnest at that.
“But since the invitation has already arrived, why doesn’t the host just accept it!”
“…”
…Strange, the system seems to be much more proactive than before. Shouldn’t it be letting her make her own judgements at times like these?
Qiao Yu pondered silently for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
“Why?”
“Because if the host doesn’t go, then you won’t know what happened and can’t write about it.”
An incontrovertible truth!
Qiao Yu felt ashamed of the suspicion she had harbored towards the system and, convinced, bowed her head in assent.
“That means I must go… Ah, I should say luckily they invited me. Otherwise, I would have had to think of another way to go or just follow them there on my own…”
Feeling relieved internally, Qiao Yu patted her chest and sent an OK response to Cong Ye. She quickly received an energetically spirited “Yay!!!” reply with three exclamation marks, which made Qiao Yu frown.
“System, I have a question.”
“Why does it seem like Cong Ye, this male lead, has no energy of someone who would go into a romantic relationship?”
Qiao Yu knitted her brows tightly, flipped through the chat record with Cong Ye that reeked of a primary schoolers’ tit-for-tat energy, and couldn’t bear to look directly at it as she turned off the screen.
“Um, um… Maybe the male lead, he’s the type who warms up slowly. Perhaps deep down, he actually already has a soft spot for Lin Qing——”
“I can’t see it… At school, he’s the one who teases me and Lin Qing the most fiercely…”
That’s right, Cong Ye takes advantage of his status as a good friend to both parties and acts without restraint at school. It’s become a daily routine for him to tease unscrupulously. Even borrowing a textbook from Qiao Yu turns into a melodrama where he exclaims, “Ah, why does this handwriting look like Lin Qing’s?” No matter how Qiao Yu explains that it’s from when Lin Qing helped her copy due to her injured hand, it’s futile. Nodding his head, he reveals a knowing smile that says “I get the deeper meaning,” irritating Qiao Yu enough to grind her teeth.
If he genuinely had affection for Lin Qing, would he still tease so tirelessly about the rumors concerning her and Lin Qing as if unleashing his true nature?
As someone who truly likes Lin Qing, Qiao Yu put herself in those shoes and thought about it, feeling she definitely wouldn’t be able to do that.
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Every day I might only force a smile, and at night while writing their sweet scenes together, I might even cry upon thinking that the whole world feels they are well-matched.
“Then… maybe…”
The system struggled to come up with a convincing explanation for quite some time, causing Qiao Yu to sigh heavily with a heart full of troubles.
“There will always be a way! Host, you have to believe in them! Although there may be no signs now, after all, he is the male lead…”
In the end, the system could only resort to using Cong Ye’s identity as the male lead as an all-purpose explanation card, saying it with such lack of conviction even it felt hollow.
Having followed Qiao Yu for such a long time, the system had developed a considerable understanding of Cong Ye and actually felt that it didn’t need to conduct a physical examination to see that when he was with Lin Qing, there was absolutely no dopamine secretion happening.
But as a system, it couldn’t say these things that would dampen the host’s spirits. Considering the host’s recent state wasn’t quite right, it had the responsibility to cheer up the host and give her the motivation to continue!
“…You’re right, he is the male lead after all.”
Huh? The host’s mood seems to have become even more despondent?
The system panicked, unsure if it had done something wrong again, and was flustered when it heard Qiao Yu muster a laugh with renewed spirits.
“Hopefully, this trip will be the moment when he has his epiphany. There’s no use in thinking too much about it right now.”
Holding on to the slim hope that Cong Ye might not fall for Lin Qing, how far could Qiao Yu get? She shook her head to dispel such an unrealistic thought.
This wasn’t a question she should be considering. What she should do now, presumably, is to look up travel guides for the upcoming winter break in over a month.
LP: Ever heard of a plot twist, Qiao Yu?
