Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 78

The rain showers are turning the day cloudy

Occasionally, Qiao Yu would dream of Lin Qing.

In her dream, Lin Qing was wearing a familiar school uniform, raising HER hand to hug her neck. She would shyly lower her head, but Lin Qing would playfully dodge with a smile.

Then, Lin Qing would intimately lean close to her ear, whispering softly.

—Why haven’t you come back yet?

And then she would wake up from the dream, back in this desolate world, struggling to distinguish which was worse – the dream or reality.

The unchanged world had started to take a toll on Qiao Yu’s spirit, despite her best efforts to maintain a stable mindset. As time passed, she began to feel overwhelmed.

She had been stuck in this world for what felt like an eternity.

At least, that’s how it felt to her. Perhaps the unbearable circumstances made time seem endless, just like how holding a plank for ten seconds feels longer than lying in bed for the same duration, Qiao Yu thought.

She recalled the scene from her dream and let out a sigh.

There is a saying that when you dream of someone you haven’t seen in a long time, it means they are forgetting you.

Qiao Yu didn’t know if she and Lin Qing could be considered as having not seen each other for a long time, but she knew that Lin Qing must have already forgotten about her. Therefore, there was no waiting, no anticipation.

She dreamt of Lin Qing simply because she missed her.

Once she fell into this emotional state, she would become weak, a fact that Qiao Yu was well aware of. Fortunately, a new round of reader comments timely sounded in her mind, allowing her to break free from her thoughts and let her heart grow cold and hard again.

Qiao Yu quickly let go of that unrealistic dream.

The timing of these comments was irregular, ringing and then falling silent on its own. But in recent days, it seemed like the voices were getting louder, and Qiao Yu wondered if she was heading in the right direction.

【Can the main character be changed like this?】

【Is this author seeking revenge on society?】

After hearing so many, Qiao Yu also felt quite sorry. This was probably a very dishonest event for the readers, but from the comments, it seemed like the readers’ quality was not bad. At least, she didn’t hear any vulgar insults.

【Haha, am I the only one who thinks Qiao Yu and Lin Qing are a good match?】

—Huh?

Qiao Yu suddenly widened her eyes and quickly looked up.

But her words were soon drowned out by the following criticisms, and she didn’t hear similar voices again.

On one hand, Qiao Yu suspected it was her own auditory hallucination, while on the other hand, her heart began to beat uncontrollably.

…Could it be that these comments were not just released to torment her?

When the first snow fell in winter, Cong Zhao and Lin Jing publicly announced their relationship to their children.

“Mom, weren’t you just stealing in the name of guarding the vault?”¹

Cong Ye asked with a stunned expression, looking at Cong Zhao with a skeptical gaze, receiving an unusual intimidating glance in return.

“No, I wasn’t.”

Cong Zhao swiftly denied, then looked at Lin Qing, emphasizing once again.

“I really wasn’t.”

“Yeah, because we were already interested in each other before that.”

“?! Can you just say that?”

Upon hearing Mother Lin’s gentle voice, President Cong involuntarily shrank her neck, cautiously looking at Lin Qing’s expression. After confirming that there was nothing to worry about, she breathed a sigh of relief.

This should have been a groundbreaking event, but to the surprise of the two mothers, the children remained unusually calm.

“We bless you, we think it’s great.”

Lin Qing smiled sincerely. She was genuinely happy for her moms and surprisingly had almost no internal conflict about Mother Lin finding a female partner. Instead, she felt a faint sense of joy.

As she was puzzled by her unusual reaction, Cong Ye enthusiastically clapped his hands and said excitedly.

“So from now on, Lin Qing is my sister! She has to call me brother, right?”

“…”

Lin Qing really didn’t want to call him that, and looked helplessly at Cong Ye. However, he was relentless, his eyes sparkling with delight as he blurted it out.

“And then Qiao Yu also has to call me brother!”

“…!”

The air suddenly fell silent for a moment.

“….Who?”

The first to react were the mothers, they exchanged puzzled looks and then turned to Cong Ye for an explanation.

Cong Ye, the one who mentioned the name, looked even more confused than the two of them. Blinking in bewilderment, he gasped and muttered to himself, “….Huh? What did I say? Is there really such a person?”

Then, all three of them chuckled helplessly, teasing Cong Ye about his forgetfulness. Cong Ye awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, his expression still somewhat unsettled.

Meanwhile, Lin Qing’s heart was stirred up like a raging storm.

The faceless figure in her dreams suddenly had a name. It seemed so fitting, so precise – but, but.

Like an incense firework lit in the night, flashing brightly for a moment before quickly extinguishing, Lin Qing couldn’t grasp it in time. The area was once again enveloped in darkness.

The words she had just heard quickly blurred in her memory at an astonishing speed. Lin Qing couldn’t remember the two syllables she had heard, only leaving behind a vague impression, like a secret written on the beach that was washed away by the waves, leaving faint traces.

Suddenly, a scene flashed in her mind.

‘You’re here.’

‘I am 【——】, pleased to meet you.’

The person speaking was facing her, with the harsh light streaming through the window behind them, enveloping the person inside it, making it difficult for Lin Qing to see their face clearly. She only remembered the person’s voice, clear and bright, mixed with sunlight.

Just recalling that person’s voice, a surge of emotions flooded Lin Qing’s heart like moist mist rising in front of her eyes, making her feel like crying.

There was once a person, a person like that.

But it seemed that she had forgotten that person.

Lately, there seemed to be some changes in the exiled world.

Firstly, there were changes in the usual criticism time. Now, approximately every three rounds, there would be a neutral or even favorable evaluation – this was really important to Qiao Yu. Hearing positive feedback here made her happier than anything else, as she gradually felt a glimmer of hope.

Furthermore, Qiao Yu began to encounter some people in this world.

To call them people might not be entirely accurate; perhaps it’s better to refer to them as remnants.

Take, for example, the brother currently swaying in front of Qiao Yu. His silhouette was vague, movements sluggish, and he had a pair of lifeless, inert eyes. There was no trace of vitality whatsoever.

Initially, seeing this kind of figure startled Qiao Yu. It didn’t look too dissimilar from an actor in a horror movie, and she initially thought that maybe the “God” had come up with some new tricks to play with her, throwing monsters into the world.

But after mustering up the courage to approach them, she realized they weren’t hostile. If she didn’t actively engage with them, they would ignore her, like quiet wandering spirits. As for their identity—

“Hello.”

Qiao Yu confidently walked up and greeted them with a nod. The man slowly turned towards her, blinked his eyes in response, and even tried to awkwardly smile, displaying a friendly demeanor.

“Are you my… target for conquest?”

“Oh, no.”

Qiao Yu waved her hand dismissively, and the man showed a disappointed expression, dejectedly lowering his head.

“Who’s next, who’s next? Where are they? Just give me another chance, I swear—”

He fell into a world of his own, starting to mutter in anguish, and Qiao Yu’s attempts to engage with him went unanswered.

Realizing there was probably no way to continue the conversation in this state, Qiao Yu waved goodbye and walked away. She glanced back from a distance, seeing the man still standing there, staring blankly into the distance, not knowing what he was fixated on.

It seemed like that person’s previous mission was to conquer someone.

It sounded more challenging than her own task. Qiao Yu thought carefully and felt that the difficulty level depended on the type of person designated as a conquest by the system.

Yes, the “people” she encountered on her journey were likely former hosts who had been exiled.

Uncertain if they were illusions or tangible beings, Qiao Yu shuddered at the thought that these individuals might have transformed into their current state after years of exile. Her heart sank a little.

Most of the people she encountered couldn’t communicate effectively. A small fraction could exchange a few words with her before falling into sudden madness, speaking incoherently and running away.

“Look at my sword, isn’t it handsome?”

The person who spoke mysteriously spread their hands to show an empty grasp.

“I shouldn’t, I shouldn’t have eaten him, but… can’t I? Is it not allowed? Can’t I?”

The trembling, huddled figure, indiscernible in gender, spoke dreamily, making Qiao Yu instinctively feel danger, so she kept her distance.

“…Potato-rib stew, dumplings, braised pig trotters.”

No matter what was discussed with this person, only dish names were offered in reply. Although not physically hungry, Qiao Yu felt increasingly burdened psychologically as she listened. Regretfully bidding farewell early, she rubbed her stomach and resumed her journey.

There was one person who couldn’t go unmentioned. Probably a new host not exiled for long, the only one able to engage in somewhat normal conversations with Qiao Yu. Despite being separated for a long time, Qiao Yu still had a deep impression of her.

“I remember my system saying my mission was to… change the doomed fate of the female supporting role, the destiny of the character I was in.”

“Then I thought it would be better to stay away from the male and female leads a bit, but… I didn’t expect…”

“What didn’t you expect?”

It couldn’t be falling for the male lead, could it? Qiao Yu sat with crossed legs, speculating on what mistake she made to end up like this. However, she noticed the beautiful woman slyly smiling.

“I’ve fallen for the female lead.”

“…”

Qiao Yu was dumbfounded.

What on earth was going on? She never expected to encounter a fellow host with a similar predicament in this place.

Before she could even share her own story, she heard the other person happily mention the next step.

“Then I killed off the male lead.”

“…”

Just as Qiao Yu felt her heart warm up at finding a companion, it sank again. She quietly shifted to the side.

Unaware of Qiao Yu’s reaction, the woman continued humming a tune, but soon let out a long sigh, her tone filled with lament.

“I thought I was really changing the female supporting character’s fate. Why did they judge my mission as a failure and exile me?”

…Maybe because you changed the fate right into a prison cell. Some things are better left unchanged.

Qiao Yu couldn’t say this to the woman’s face. She awkwardly chuckled a few times, listening as the woman expressed at length her deep affection for the female lead. Both of them have received harsh punishments from the system.

But the more Qiao Yu listened, the more uneasy she felt. Finally, gathering her courage, she asked, “Does the female lead like you too?”

The woman’s words abruptly stopped, and after a moment, she laughed softly, her smile radiant like a blooming flower.

“Of course, she likes me.”

“I made it so that in the world, she’ll be the only one to remember me—she will never forget me in her lifetime. Doesn’t that mean she loves me?” (LP: Crazy!)

“See, we love each other.”

The warmth in her smile didn’t reach her eyes, sending shivers down Qiao Yu’s spine. She hastily bid farewell and left.

Qiao Yu silently recalled what the system had once said: “I heard a senior mention that if our system works hard enough, we can help a person keep memories of the host.”

…That senior’s system was probably responsible for this person.

Qiao Yu didn’t know what to say. She entered the mist with a complex mix of emotions.

She didn’t want to blame anything. She just wondered, if that was also a form of love, could she even use the same word to describe her feelings towards Lin Qing?

For that person, love was like a piece of cloth, wrapping all the dirt and unspeakable dark thoughts tightly inside. As long as no evil leaked out from the seams, it was a flawless, dazzling gift that could be delivered to whoever wanted it, disregarding whether they wanted it or not.

But what was love to Qiao Yu?

She couldn’t quite put it into words, finding all the fancy descriptions inadequate.

However, seeing Lin Qing smile would always make Qiao Yu very happy.

Compared to when she first arrived here, things were much better now.

With these remnants accompanying her on the lengthy journey, Qiao Yu didn’t fall into extreme loneliness, maintaining her mental well-being.

Perhaps it was her illusion, but the dark grey mist around seemed to gradually lighten, reducing the heavy feeling of suffocation. Qiao Yu decided to take these as good omens.

One day, she encountered another person.

This person was very strange, unlike anyone she had met before. She was just a simple shadow, lying flat on the ground.

Approaching, Qiao Yu realized there was a human-shaped figure on the ground. Just as she was puzzled, the shadow moved, sat up, stretched lazily, looked around, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“What the heck is this place?!”

“…”

Even before coming to this world, it was rare to hear such a vibrant, strong-willed shout. From the sound of it, it seemed like a girl. Qiao Yu was momentarily caught off guard, standing there in confusion.

“Huh? Is there a shadow over there? Who are you?! Quickly state your name!”

“………”

What in the world? It felt like an actor who had just stepped off the stage of a Water Margin² theater play and hadn’t quite left the role yet.

From the way the other person spoke, it seemed like they could only see Qiao Yu as a shadow. Unable to comprehend, Qiao Yu tentatively greeted them.

“…Hello? Can you understand me?”

“Wowowowowow!”

Seemingly startled, Qiao Yu watched as the shadow, although sounding alarmed, appeared much calmer in actions, curling up in place.

Although a bit rude, in Qiao Yu’s heart, she automatically replaced the image of the shadow with Lu Zhishen (female).³

“Don’t mind my manner of speech. I’m only talking like this because I fell victim to a villainous plot. I can only communicate in this way for now—why am I still like this in this strange place? That despicable scoundrel’s cunning ways!”

“…I see, it sounds like your world is also in a dire situation.”

Surprisingly, this eccentric person turned out to be someone Qiao Yu could converse with easily. Excitement and surprise filled Qiao Yu’s heart as she sat down beside her.

“My world? Could it be that this sister here is also suffering under the system’s cruelty?”

“Huh? This is a world of exile. Don’t you know?”

“Wowowow! Exile! …What is that? I have never heard of it.”

“…”

The eccentricities of the odd person were becoming more prominent. Not only did she look peculiar, but she didn’t even know about exile. How did she end up here?

Feeling confused, Qiao Yu decided to explain her situation first, scratching her head before speaking, “I was captured by the system before to continue writing a book—”

At this point, there was no need to keep her guard up, so Qiao Yu simply spilled out her experiences succinctly, like pouring out beans from a bamboo tube.

Since coming here, this was the first opportunity she had to speak so much. Qiao Yu spoke with ease, feeling a sense of relief as if she had finally let out all the pent-up emotions, taking a long, satisfying breath.

“…How was that? Was what I said clear? If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.”

Qiao Yu kindly asked the shadow, but there was no response for a long time. If it wasn’t for the shadow’s hand seemingly deep in thought while touching her chin, Qiao Yu would have thought she had disconnected.

“May I ask, sister…”

After a long period of contemplation, the shadow finally spoke.

“The book you were continuing to write, is it named 《Love’s Unique Bell》?”

“Eh?”

Qiao Yu widened her eyes, realizing she hadn’t mentioned the title of the book earlier, nodding in confusion. Seeing the shadow clapping silently and puffing up her chest, she continued.

“To be honest.”

“The original author of this book—was none other than Sa Jia.”

LP: Who’s Sa Jia? No clue! Also, I changed the book title to “Love’s Unique Bell” but am too lazy to find and edit the previous translations… heh

1. Someone abusing their authority or position of trust to exploit or take advantage of a situation for their own gain, all the while claiming to be acting in the interest of protection or security.
2. “Water Margin,” also known as “Outlaws of the Marsh” or “The Marshes of Mount Liang,” is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It is a 14th-century epic attributed to Shi Nai’an and Luo Guanzhong, depicting the adventures of a band of outlaws who resist oppressive feudal authority during the Song dynasty. The novel blends historical events with fictional elements, showcasing themes of loyalty, rebellion, and justice.

3. 

   Lu Zhishen, also known as “Flowery Monk,” is one of the key characters in “Water Margin.” A former monk, he is known for his immense strength and fierce temper. Despite his physical prowess, he struggles with his inner conflicts and eventually joins the band of outlaws at Liangshan Marsh, where his loyalty and martial skills contribute significantly to their exploits.