This book of yours is so strange
Lin Qing’s new home wasn’t far from Qiao Yu’s. Upon her invitation, Qiao Yu climbed the stairs and volunteered with enthusiasm.
“From now on, why not ride with me to and from school? After all, it’s on the way.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you?”
As Qiao Yu shook her head vigorously, showing her strong willingness to repay the many kindnesses Lin Qing had shown her at school, Lin Qing relaxed, smiled, and nodded.
“Mm, that would be nice.”
Mother Lin, while pulling out her key to unlock the door, chimed in.
“Originally, Cong Zhao suggested letting her family’s driver continue to take Qingqing to and fro. I felt it wasn’t quite right and was thinking about how to politely decline. Now that Yuyu is willing to help, it couldn’t be better.”
She said, turning to Qiao Yu with a smile, “Do come over for meals more often. Both Qingqing and Auntie welcome you.”
“Mm, mm.”
Even though she smiled so warmly and kindly, Qiao Yu couldn’t help but feel extremely nervous inside. She had this delusion that she needed to be constantly reminded of her place, and honestly nodded, following into the house and was taken aback by the familiar decor style.
“Uh?”
“Oh, this is actually Cong Zhao’s house.”
Seeing Qiao Yu’s puzzled look, Mother Lin explained, “I had looked at other houses before, but after Cong Zhao found out, she said since it’s all about renting, might as well rent hers. I thought about it and felt what she said made sense.”
She glanced around at the simple and somewhat austere decoration, and smiled helplessly, “This person really is something, always only liking black, white, and gray.”
This really was something, just a casual conversation with her felt like Qiao Yu was swallowing a ton of dog food.
Watching the adults navigate the complexities of romance oddly unsettles Qiao Yu, who quietly contemplates why she still hasn’t come to terms with the situation, obediently listening to the unacquainted Lin Qing and Mother Lin’s conversation.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the movers arrived, swiftly bringing up the luggage. Piles of boxes amassed at the doorstep, among which Qiao Yu estimated more than half were sealed by herself, secretly straightening her chest with pride.
“Hmm…it looks like tidying up will take some time.”
Mother Lin frowned slightly with a hint of distress. Although the house was clean, making the bed and such still required manual effort. Sorting out the necessary items from the mound of boxes seemed like a considerable task ahead.
As the day began to dim, Qiao Yu thought that if they started organizing now, Lin Qing might not even have time for dinner. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “How about coming to my place for dinner then? Ah, and you could also stay over for the night. We can start sorting things out tomorrow. I’ll come to help.”
Knowing that Qiao Yu was concerned about her, Lin Qing felt a warmth in her heart. She was somewhat moved by Qiao Yu’s proactive invitation to stay at her place. She looked at her mother with querying eyes, only to see her smiling and clapping her hands in agreement.
“Alright, alright, then Qingqing will be in your care today.”
“Eh, but you—”
Qiao Yu stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something and promptly shut her mouth. As expected, she saw the woman nod gently, her brows and eyes curving up in pleasure.
“I’ll just go stay with Cong Zhao.”
So, as the adults rushed towards love, the young people who had yet to break through the window paper arrived at Qiao Yu’s home.
Having informed her family in advance, Qiao Yu led Lin Qing into the house and was immediately met with Mother Qiao’s enthusiastic welcome. She was so warm towards Lin Qing that Qiao Yu almost felt sidelined.
“Qingqing is here! Is it cold outside? Moving must have been tiring, right? Come, come, have some hot water first to warm up.”
“Um… thank you.”
Seemingly taken aback by this unusual enthusiasm, Lin Qing responded politely and cast a helpless look towards Qiao Yu.
“Mom, don’t scare her.”
Feeling helpless, Qiao Yu touched her nose, stepped in between the two, and pulled Lin Qing behind her, hearing a muffled laugh from Father Qiao in the living room.
“Ah, look at me, it’s Qingqing’s first time at our home, I’m just too happy.”
Mother Qiao quickly explained with a laugh, passing a glass of water to Lin Qing.
“Yuyu always praises you at home, her father and I like you very much too. That time during the trip when you got upset with her, I was really worried. Fortunately, you two made up afterwards.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but show her tough love by patting Qiao Yu on the back, showing no favoritism in front of Lin Qing.
“Yuyu is good in every aspect, it’s just that, like her dad, she’s a bit clumsy with words. Please be more patient with her —”
“Mom!”
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Qiao Yu really didn’t know what to say — why did her mom have to bring up the most embarrassing things? Thinking back to the events of that trip, she felt like a fool and was filled with guilt towards Lin Qing.
Just when she thought they had moved past that issue, bringing it up again, what if it upset Lin Qing?
She anxiously looked towards Lin Qing, her amber eyes pitifully drooping, appearing damp and irresistibly touching.
“…It’s okay. She’s fine.”
And Lin Qing had always been soft-hearted towards her.
Seeing Qiao Yu’s sincere apology, Lin Qing merely gently pinched her hand, the force so light it felt like she was merely scratching the palm of her hand.
“Why bring up the matters between the kids again? Besides, my mouth isn’t clumsy.”
Caught off guard, Father Qiao could no longer sit still. He stood up from the sofa in the living room and walked over, greeting Lin Qing with a warm smile and a nod.
“Let’s eat first, the kids are all hungry.”
Although Father Qiao was probably the one who was actually hungry, Qiao Yu was still grateful for his timely intervention. It would be even better if he could avoid constantly engaging in small talk with Lin Qing at the dinner table, subtly inquiring about their relationship.
These two were exceedingly interested in Lin Qing. During the previous trip, the presence of more people allowed for some restraint, but now that Lin Qing had come to their home, they seized the opportunity to be especially attentive, one outdoing the other.
…Qiao Yu felt that she was also part of the problem, possibly mentioning Lin Qing too often at home, which led to the current situation.
Reflecting now might be too late, but—
“Eat! Don’t! Speak! Let her eat in peace!”
But it wasn’t too late to stop them. Qiao Yu firmly slammed the table, startling the two overly enthusiastic adults back to their senses, then met Lin Qing’s gaze in the middle, who was smiling.
Her eyes gleamed with mischief, and she leaned slightly closer to Qiao Yu, whispering.
“So, you often talk about me to Uncle and Aunt at home, huh.”
“…”
It wasn’t something embarrassing, it was perfectly alright… !
Qiao Yu buried her head and hurriedly shoveled down two big mouthfuls of rice, not daring to even glance in Lin Qing’s direction.
…It turns out, having your parents talk about how you usually behave at home in front of the person you like is such an embarrassingly shy affair.
At the dinner table this night, Qiao Yu learned something new.
After finishing the meal, Qiao Yu planned to take Lin Qing back to her room, but they hadn’t walked two steps before Mother Qiao called out.
“You can take Qingqing to the guest room next door; it’s fully equipped, and I just tidied it up again.”
“…”
Seeing Mother Qiao’s expression without any anomaly, Qiao Yu was bewildered, opening and closing her mouth without saying anything.
…Oh right! Her home does have a guest room!
Her face slowly reddened, feeling utterly embarrassed about the thought that had always seemed natural to her from the beginning to the end.
That is the assumption that Lin Qing would share a room with her.
Thankfully, Mother Qiao reminded her in time! It would have been terribly embarrassing if she had already brought the person into the house! It would make her seem like she had ulterior motives!
Qiao Yu heaved a sigh of relief, pretending as if nothing had happened and led Lin Qing upstairs with a calm demeanor.
Lin Qing had brought just a change of clothes and the bare essentials. Qiao Yu carried her bag for her and placed it on the stool in the guest room, then softly said to her, “I’m right next door if you need anything, just come and find me.”
After seeing Lin Qing nod, Qiao Yu then stepped out of the room, gently closing the door behind her, and returned to her own room without saying a word. She rushed to the bathroom to wash her face.
…Sleeping together before was because Lin Qing wasn’t used to being abroad! Now that we are back, what am I even thinking! It’s so inappropriate!
After scolding herself in front of the mirror with a grimace, Qiao Yu finally let herself off the hook. She busily took a shower, washing off all the fatigue and distracting thoughts.
After the shower, feeling refreshed, Qiao Yu finally had some time alone to deeply think about the shocking secret she learned today.
“Hey, system, about the mothers of the male and female leads getting together, do you have anything to say?”
“Na… Namo…”
It sounded like there was nothing to say, probably meaning a desire to retreat and enter Buddhism, perhaps.
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Qiao Yu massaged her forehead with a headache, frowning as she said, “The thing that matters most isn’t that they are actually dating… but that this situation definitely wasn’t influenced by me.”
“…What do you mean?”
“That is to say.”
Facing the system that hadn’t yet fully understood, Qiao Yu explained patiently.
“Lin Qing and Cong Ye don’t like each other mutually, and it might be because of me—after all, I have always been with both of them, and it’s reasonable that I would influence them.”
“But my interaction with those two mothers is minimal, to the point where I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve even had a casual chat with them. It’s simply impossible for me to have influenced their choice in love. What’s more, the love story between these two started back in high school, which makes it even less related to me.”
“Putting it bluntly,” she paused, then said incisively, “This situation is almost certainly just the original plot of the book.”
“…”
The system temporarily crashed, unable to speak for a while.
“This book of yours is so strange,” she finally said. “Ordinary romance novels wouldn’t have the protagonists’ mothers end up together…”
Qiao Yu couldn’t help but feel perplexed, unable to find the rationale behind such a setup.
“Could it be that in the world the author lives in, writing romance novels in this manner is considered a normal practice?”
“I, I don’t think that’s the case…”
The system, having restarted, spoke weakly, its heart filled with emptiness.
At this point, it, which had thought itself to be fully in control of the plot, proved to be utterly useless. For instance, it knew nothing about this secret from more than twenty years ago, feeling its entire worldview being shaken.
The discussion did not lead to any clear conclusion, ultimately ending with Qiao Yu’s remark, “This is baffling.”
The only certainty is that the events unfolding in this world have all but departed from the realm of romance novels.
Indeed, the occurrences Qiao Yu has been dealing with are precisely the sort that, if written into her stories, would earn her three pages of scathing criticism and a halving of her satisfaction ratings. It seems her book is irrevocably heading down the path toward becoming a Yuri novel.
She silently criticized these developments in her mind, then took her homework out of her bag and began to work on it earnestly. She had only been at it for a short while when she heard a knock on the door.
Feeling a sudden urge, Qiao Yu quickly ran to the door and opened it. As expected, she saw Lin Qing, who had changed into pajamas after freshening up, seriously holding up a sheet of paper towards her.
“Have you finished this? If not, do you want to do it together?”
It never occurred to Qiao Yu that Lin Qing would bring homework to her place for a sleepover… This was the difference between a top student and her.
Shocked and overwhelmed, Qiao Yu eagerly nodded, letting her in. She added another chair at the table, and suddenly, the room was filled with a strong atmosphere of studying.
Given the late hour, this study atmosphere couldn’t last long. Qiao Yu sneakily checked the time on her mobile phone; it was almost 11 PM. She hesitated about whether to bring up that it was time to sleep. Turning her head, she met Lin Qing’s eyes, full of unspoken words.
After many experiences and some growth, Qiao Yu suddenly felt inspired in a moment of clarity, blurting out: “…How do you find the guest room in my house? Are you getting used to it?”
Don’t ask; the answer is that it’s not comfortable.
Thus, as if by her own wish (?), Qiao Yu ended up sharing the same bed with Lin Qing again, lying straight without daring to make a move.
“Qiao Yu, are you asleep?”
But Lin Qing clearly didn’t plan on just quietly going to sleep. With some rustling sounds, she moved closer to Qiao Yu. The half of Qiao Yu’s body that was closer to her went numb at the sound of her name being called with a breathy voice. She didn’t dare to turn her head even slightly, just hummed in response and stared at the ceiling, reciting mantras in her mind.
“I have something I want to ask you.”
…Qiao Yu had only a bad feeling about this.
Her mind was ringing alarm bells, with no room left to wonder, “Why ask so close to me?” She was fully convinced that the question must definitely be about the romance between the moms!
If she was asked, she couldn’t possibly reveal it, right? But what if Lin Qing had guessed it herself, would it be okay to tell her then? No, why should this matter be brought to her? Was the real question indeed about this matter?
Her expression underwent rapid changes. Lin Qing, tilting her head and observing Qiao Yu’s serious look, blinked in confusion and asked directly.
Lin Qing said something completely unexpected, catching Qiao Yu off guard. “I heard from Cong Ye that at the start of last semester, you wanted to switch seats with him, right?”
“…Eh?”
The words Lin Qing uttered were worlds apart from what Qiao Yu had anticipated. She blinked in surprise, turning her head to look at Lin Qing, only to be dazzled by the beauty before her eyes.
With her mind screaming, “So close!” amidst a whirlpool of complex emotions, Qiao Yu struggled to recall the incident, averting her gaze as she responded.
“Yeah, it seems there was such a matter…”
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Lin Qing stated decisively, with a serious expression, “That is indeed the case. And it was mentioned that it would be a tremendous benefit to Cong Ye.”
“…”
Qiao Yu started to regain her composure, beginning to feel that there was a trap hidden within this question.
“I just want to ask one thing.”
Without giving her much time to think, Lin Qing asked directly.
Qiao Yu was taken aback, finally understanding what Lin Qing wanted to ask.
“Have you been trying to set me up with Cong Ye since then?”
The answer, of course, was yes, but the subsequent question waiting for her, without a doubt, would be “why.”
After all, at that time, she hadn’t even spoken a word to Lin Qing, and it’s likely she didn’t even know Lin Qing was living in Cong Ye’s house—so where did that matchmaking intention come from?
…Obviously, it came from the system, but that probably shouldn’t be mentioned.
Hmm…?
Qiao Yu suddenly relaxed her furrowed brow, blinking thoughtfully.
…Should it not be mentioned?
LP: Yes, yes, tell her!