Novel Turned Yuri – Chapter 88

What kind of sense of proportion do you need in pursuing someone!

“—This and that, the host did these things, do you remember?”

“I remember very clearly, please don’t repeat it.”

Quietly covering her face, Qiao Yu sat on the bed, feeling very overwhelmed by her bad behavior the day before.

Honestly, if it weren’t for Lin Qing’s nostalgia, she felt it was normal for her to be taken to the police station… after all, her behavior was really over the line.

Since she woke up, the system in her mind had been incessantly smirking, sounding very satisfied: “Hehe, the host is quite bold, huh, huh!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Can’t you voluntarily close your eyes at times like that?”

“I will voluntarily go into hibernation when the key moment arrives, the key moment.”

“What does this ‘key moment’ even mean? I don’t want to know.”

“Host, let me remind you, Lin Qing is now a real adult, oh?”

“So what?! Stop talking nonsense!”

Just recently waking up, Qiao Yu felt exhausted after arguing with the system, so she wearily got out of bed to freshen up, then regained her spirits.

Last night, after her frivolous behavior, Lin Qing had kept her distance, even zipping up her coat all the way to the top. Their conversations were scarce, concise, and efficient. They each sat separately in the taxi, with Lin Qing sitting in the front passenger seat and Qiao Yu in the back. When they arrived at the Qiao family’s residence, Lin Qing hurriedly let her out of the car and swiftly departed.

It seemed like she had indeed frightened Lin Qing with her actions. She needed to apologize to Lin Qing again.

“I think she’s just shy.”

“Can you please stop talking?”

Seeing Lin Qing after a long time brought about a surge of emotions, not to mention the system, which remained high-spirited despite being scolded by Qiao Yu several times. It still merrily sang, “I only have feelings for you.”

But perhaps its opinions had to be considered to some extent. After all, when Qiao Yu foolishly mentioned ‘ex-girlfriend’ yesterday, the system’s heart-wrenching screams upon hearing those three words proved that her slip of the tongue almost led to a disaster.

… As the saying goes, if it weren’t for Lin Qing’s sentimental feelings, she might have already been sentenced to death by Lin Qing.

Qiao Yu’s mind was in turmoil. She picked up her phone from the bedside table, intending to apologize to Lin Qing, but the first notification she saw upon unlocking the screen was a message of concern from Cong Ye.

Cong Ye: Hey! Everything okay? Uncle’s expression after hanging up the phone was quite strange!

Mi Yi: Hmm, with an expression as if he had just seen a pig fly.

Lu Yao: Without saying a word, he left shakily… Qiao Yu, what exactly did you tell Uncle?

“Ah.”

This messages were sent after their phone call last night, but at that time, Qiao Yu was completely focused on the infuriated Lin Qing, with no thought to spare for anything else, let alone checking her phone.

Upon seeing the messages now, Qiao Yu remembered there was still this matter to attend to.

As if following some predetermined timing, a gentle knock on her room door sounded, followed by the cautious voice of Father Qiao from the other side: “Yuyu? Are you awake?”

… Hmm, this part also requires some explanation.

This was the price she paid for her thoughtless words… Alcohol really needed to be avoided in the future, especially drinks handed to her by Mi Yi.

Sighing, Qiao Yu walked to the door and opened it. She nodded at the surprised Father Qiao across from her. “Awake.”

Seeing his nervous hand-wringing, she kindly gestured downstairs. “Should we go downstairs for a meal… and chat?”

After seeing Father Qiao nod vigorously, Qiao Yu followed him downstairs, silently lamenting that she never thought she would have to come out to her parents like this.

To say she wasn’t nervous at all would be a lie, as she lacked experience in this matter in any world. In traditional beliefs, parents usually have reservations about this topic, and even in this world, she couldn’t guarantee that Father Qiao and Mother Qiao would smoothly accept this situation.

But as for regrets – Qiao Yu had no remorse for being honest about it. If there were any regrets, it was only that she felt yesterday’s notification over the phone was too casual. She should have chosen a more formal occasion to reveal her true feelings, so her parents could see she was serious about this relationship.

After all, she should have come out to her parents two years ago.

With a sense of strange ritual, she went downstairs, took a seat, and faced her parents who appeared relaxed but were actually on high alert. She spoke solemnly, “I had a bit to drink when I called yesterday, but what I said was not a joke. I like Lin Qing, as in the romantic kind of like.”

“I’m serious about this.”

At that moment, her phone, left in the room, suddenly lit up. She had received a new message.

When Qiao Yu returned later, she would see that the message was from Lin Qing, saying, “I passed your friend verification request. Now we can start chatting?”.

In short, Qiao Yu and Lin Qing were now online friends.

“Why?”

“Shut up, I didn’t want this either.”

After dinner, Qiao Yu buried herself in a stack of homework as tall as a mountain, franticly scribbling away, too preoccupied to pay attention to the system’s complaints.

The most accurate way to describe their relationship now would be as online friends. If she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to just chat with Lin Qing on her phone – and most of the time, she would say three or four things before Lin Qing replied with one. Of course, it was a different story when Lin Qing asked her questions. But as a high school senior, Qiao Yu was just too busy right now.

“Forget about going to class on weekdays, I even have to attend makeup classes on weekends… and I still have to write chapters.”

She had no idea how to pass these two vacant years, making her life seem utterly bleak. Qiao Yu let out a pained groan, covering her head.

“Uh, uh, the host does seem very busy lately…”

The system, completely useless in the realm of studying, honestly kept silent. It had been a week since seeing Lin Qing, and the system was concerned about the fact that they hadn’t been able to meet for the second time.

Even their conversations were bland!

Ever since the disastrous incident caused by drunkenness, the host had become very cautious about maintaining a “sense of propriety” with Lin Qing in their conversations. Most of their chats were polite and restrained – unacceptable! How can one pursue someone with such reservations? Merely exchanging lukewarm messages on WeChat wouldn’t capture the enemy’s territory!

The system pondered anxiously about Qiao Yu’s conversation with Lin Qing today, imagining it went something like this:

Qiao Yu: What are you doing?

Lin Qing: I’m in class.

Lin Qing: The courses in college are quite challenging.

Qiao Yu: Oh, I see. Are you busy, then?

… This was too polite! Has the host’s sense of propriety gone too far? Does this person only have two gears, too close and too distant?

“Um, host.”

All in all, the system felt that continuing like this was just not going to work. It decided to gently offer some advice.

“Uh?”

Qiao Yu was busy with her homework, absentmindedly responding, when she heard the system speaking with solemnity.

“Have you ever pursued anyone before, host?”

“…No.”

The pen paused abruptly, and Qiao Yu responded reluctantly, sensing that what the other party was about to say might not be good news.

“I think the way the host is pursuing Lin Qing is problematic.”

As expected.

Since the topic had been brought up, Qiao Yu lost all focus on her homework and decided to put down her pen, rubbing her sore wrist.

“…You may have a point.”

She sighed, furrowing her brow in distress.

Qiao Yu was aware that her progress was quite slow at the moment, so she didn’t resist the system’s advice too much. She humbly asked, “So, what should I do? My current study tasks are really heavy, but if I push myself, I should be able to make time. But if I don’t make plans with Lin Qing and just show up to see her, it will surely cause her inconvenience…”

She sounded anxious as she went on with a long string of worries. The system, feeling a little more relaxed, sighed inwardly, acknowledging that the host was making progress.

“Well, why not try talking to Lin Qing first? For example, mention that you’d like to visit her school and ask if she could show you around?”

“…Wouldn’t that be too obvious in terms of intentions?”

“Given the circumstances, how can you worry about being too obvious! Doesn’t Lin Qing already know your feelings for her?”

“You have a point.”

Reprimanded by the exasperated system, Qiao Yu deeply acknowledged her mistake, picking up her phone and opening the conversation with Lin Qing, beginning to carefully craft her words in the chat box.

【Are you free this Sunday? I heard your university is very impressive, so…】

No, no, this wording is a bit too indirect. Would it be better to be straightforward?

Qiao Yu deleted the latter part and started typing again.

【I’m interested in attending your university and would like to visit. If you’re free, could you show me around?】

She carefully reviewed it, deleted a part again, and the final result was simple.

【I’m interested in applying to your university. If you’re free this Sunday, could you show me around?】

“To be honest, I think the wording doesn’t really matter. Just send it quickly.”

“Is your attitude becoming more aggressive?”

While complaining about the system’s harsh teaching methods, Qiao Yu reluctantly pressed the send button, and both she and the system anxiously waited by the phone. Soon, they saw Lin Qing’s name change to “typing,” holding their breath in anticipation. However, after what felt like an eternity, they received a brief reply.

Lin Qing: I have something going on that day, sorry.

“”…””

Momentarily silenced, Qiao Yu’s tense shoulders slumped, quickly typing out a “It’s okay, don’t worry about it” before dimming the screen and turning the phone over on the table, silently covering her face.

“…System, the mission failed.”

“Yeah…”

The atmosphere in the room was heavy. The system rallied, trying to lift Qiao Yu’s spirits with a cheery tone, “Th-this must have been just a coincidence! Lin Qing must have had a genuine prior engagement! It’s just bad luck!”

“Hmm.” Letting out a long breath, Qiao Yu patted her own face and lowered her hand, smiling, “She has her own life after all. I’ll just wait for another chance to ask her out.”

A minor setback, nothing major. Qiao Yu regrouped, thinking that if she failed in matters of the heart, at least she could succeed in the workplace (referring to school). She decided to finish her current assignment before anything else. Just as she picked up her pen, her turned-over phone buzzed incessantly.

Startled, Qiao Yu quickly picked up her phone to see what was going on.

…Why was it Cong Ye calling again? What could this guy possibly want so late at night? Didn’t he have his own responsibilities to attend to? Why would he be calling a busy senior high school student?

Disappointed and annoyed, Qiao Yu redirected her frustration towards Cong Ye. After taking a few deep breaths to control her temper, she reluctantly answered the phone.

“…Hello?”

“Oh, Qiao Yu, you finally picked up—Huh? Why do you sound a bit low? Are you sick or something?”

“I’m perfectly healthy. Do you have something to say, please get to the point.”

Completely oblivious to Qiao Yu’s complex emotions, Cong Ye chatted away carefreely, continuing with idle talk. Qiao Yu responded briefly with “mm-hmm” while working on her assignment, demonstrating no intention of masking her indifference.

Surprisingly, the call lasted for about twenty minutes, with Qiao Yu eventually feeling that Cong Ye was merely rambling on aimlessly, struggling to keep the conversation going. Already irritated, she abruptly cut him off mid-sentence about “I accidentally killed the succulents in my room,” expressing her frustration curtly.

“Okay? If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

“W-Wait, no, no , no, don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m not sure what it is—”

Midway through his confused response, he suddenly fell silent, and after a few seconds, he tentatively spoke again.

“…Uh, so, Qiao Yu, have you been very busy lately?”

“…”

“Just this!? Just this!? Just say these last two sentences and then hang up!”

Honestly, Qiao Yu really didn’t want to continue the conversation with him, but upon hearing his desperate plea, she replied patiently with a hint of parental empathy, “Yes, I’m quite busy these days.”

“I, I see.” Caught off guard by her sharp response, Cong Ye cleared his throat, and there was a sense of hesitation in his voice when he continued, “Ah—well, college students are also very busy, you know.”

“…”

Qiao Yu’s patience was almost at its limit. She was about to press the disconnect button when she heard the other end suddenly shouting as if realizing her intention.

“Lin Qing is also very busy! Lin Qing is also very busy! She has to work every Sunday now! Ah, she’s really super busy!”

“…Hmm?”

Working part-time?

The hand poised to disconnect the call hesitated in mid-air as Qiao Yu raised an eyebrow, deep in thought.

Sometimes Lin Qing also felt awkward.

Initially happy when Qiao Yu invited her out, but explaining that she truly had other responsibilities instead of making excuses felt like conceding defeat for some reason. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to prove.

Furthermore, what if Qiao Yu truly just wanted to visit her school? Misunderstanding her intentions would be quite embarrassing, especially considering how unpredictable that guy could be.

Frowning, Lin Qing let out a sigh.

During this time, she had used her phone to ask Qiao Yu everything she wanted to know, including the most important point: the current situation of satisfaction.

Upon learning that satisfaction was slowly but steadily increasing, a weight lifted off Lin Qing’s heart. She secretly rejoiced that Qiao Yu wasn’t in front of her to see her current expression.

Maintaining a perfect balance of distance in front of Qiao Yu through the phone screen was easier than facing her in person.

However, as their online relationship progressed, things between Lin Qing and Qiao Yu seemed to enter a slightly delicate stage.

Lin Qing could sense Qiao Yu’s hesitation, and she herself was uncertain about where her feelings should stand at this moment.

Shaking her head, she knew this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She needed to explain to Qiao Yu about her need to work. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it directly—it was not an option.

So, Lin Qing contacted Cong Ye, asking him to “call Qiao Yu and see if she has anything to say to you. If she doesn’t, casually mention to her about my weekend work.”

…Lin Qing felt the request was difficult for him, deciding she would buy Cong Ye a milk tea or something as a thank you next time.

After a somewhat lengthy wait, when she was becoming impatient, a message finally came from Cong Ye: “Just finished the call. Qiao Yu didn’t say anything to me, but my mission is accomplished! Don’t worry!”

Feeling relieved, Lin Qing replied with a thank you and happily exited the chat interface. It seemed that Qiao Yu was not just interested in visiting the school, as she didn’t mention anything to Cong Ye. After all, if it was just for a visit, she could have asked Cong Ye to accompany her too.

Excitedly contemplating this, Lin Qing’s phone suddenly received two new messages from Qiao Yu.

She hurriedly opened the messages and her eyes widened in surprise.

Qiao Yu: I heard you are working part-time.

Qiao Yu: …Hmm, I want to ask, have you considered being a tutor for high school students?

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