Troublesome – Chapter 78

Walked Wrong

Qiuqiu, you’ve taken the wrong path.

Jin Shuilan and she looked at each other. In the quiet living room, the two people’s four eyes met. Maomao sat by Lu Zhenqiu’s side, rubbing its head to get Lu Zhenqiu to pet it. Lu Zhenqiu’s palm was full of fur, itching terribly. She reached out and gave Maomao a rub, averted her gaze, lowered her head and said to Maomao: “Don’t be naughty.”

Jin Shuilan, from the other end of the sofa, walked over. Following her posture, she also squatted down, right opposite her. Lu Zhenqiu’s eyelids didn’t lift. At the tip of her nose was a faint fragrance. Jin Shuilan asked her: “Why aren’t you talking to me anymore?”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her eyes, clutching Maomao’s long fur tightly. “Say what?”

Jin Shuilan said: “Didn’t you say you would entrust Maomao to me? Aren’t you going to tell me the things to pay attention to?”

Lu Zhenqiu: ……

Is this person doing this on purpose.

When she was here, she was even more meticulous in her care than I was, and she’s asking about things to pay attention to. Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip and said: “There’s nothing to pay attention to.”

Jin Shuilan nodded: “Oh.” She asked again: “Then what about me?”

Lu Zhenqiu raised her eyelids, a fine sweetness spreading from the tip of her heart. She asked: “You what?”

“I just now…” She deliberately paused, provoking Lu Zhenqiu to shoot her a glare. Jin Shuilan said: “I didn’t misunderstand, right?”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and said: “I was just thinking, maybe we could give it a try.”

I didn’t misunderstand.

It’s just that my action was too fast.

So what she meant was to give it a try.

Jin Shuilan nodded and said: “Then it’s still not wrong.”

Lu Zhenqiu was thin-skinned and couldn’t stand her continuously chasing her with questions. She took Maomao to go blow-dry her hair. Jin Shuilan watched her slender back disappear at the doorway, a smile on her face.

She soaked in the bath for half an hour. Lying in the bathtub, she saw the small group chat that had just been created.

Xiao Yu: 【What kind of person, to actually send a virus link, how shameless!】

Hua Luo: 【Exactly. The thought of my computer getting a virus, I’m afraid I’d have a cerebral hemorrhage!】

Ji Zibo: 【I wonder if Qiuqiu’s computer is fixed yet.】

Jin Shuilan: 【It’s fixed.】

Ji Zibo: 【??】

Bai Mao: 【When did you pop up?】

Jin Shuilan: 【I’ve been here all along.】

After she finished speaking, she dropped five 200-yuan red envelopes in the group chat at once. Xiao Yu and Hua Luo first sent question marks, then “Thank you, boss.” They also tagged Lu Zhenqiu to come grab them.

Lu Zhenqiu put down the hair dryer, saw the red envelopes being sent in the group chat, casually tapped in, and snatched one worth 88.

Xiao Yu: 【Whose luck is as good as Qiuqiu’s? The last one to arrive, and still the king of luck.】

Hua Luo: 【Shedding wealth to avoid disaster, great fortune is at hand¹. Qiuqiu’s situation now is shedding wealth to avoid disaster. What comes next is great fortune at hand.】

Only then did Lu Zhenqiu see the many red envelopes Jin Shuilan had sent in the group. She asked: 【Why did you send so many?】

Jin Shuilan: 【I’m happy today.】

Lu Zhenqiu: ……

She held it in.

Ji Zibo sent: 【What’s made you so happy? Say it so we can be happy too?】

Bai Mao: 【What’s made you so happy? Say it so we can be happy too?】

Lu Zhenqiu’s fair cheeks began to flush with heat. She bit her lip and put down her phone, no longer in the mood to blow-dry her hair. When Jin Shuilan came out of the bathroom, she saw Lu Zhenqiu’s door was closed. She walked over and knocked. Lu Zhenqiu jumped and turned her head to look at the door. Jin Shuilan said: “Qiuqiu, is Maomao in your room?”

Hearing its own name, Maomao ran joyfully to the door. Lu Zhenqiu said: “It is.”

Jin Shuilan said: “Can it come to my room? To adapt in advance.”

Lu Zhenqiu couldn’t refute, so she had no choice but to open the door. When she pushed Maomao out, it even coyly refused a little. Jin Shuilan took out a snack, and Maomao happily went over, wagging its tail. Lu Zhenqiu wanted to laugh seeing its fawning² look. Jin Shuilan said: “Go in and sleep. Good night.”

Lu Zhenqiu raised her eyes to look at her. Jin Shuilan had just finished her bath, and there was a faint blush on her face. Her thin pajamas had traces of being wet, not obvious, with some edges clinging to her body, highlighting her fine figure. Lu Zhenqiu suddenly thought of the slender waist and flat, firm abdomen she had unintentionally seen that day. She averted her gaze and said: “Good night.”

Jin Shuilan pulled Maomao into the room.

Maomao hadn’t seen her for a good while and missed her quite a bit, licking the back of her hand. Jin Shuilan had just returned to her room when she received a message from Lu Zhenqiu: 【I forgot to ask you just now, what time are you leaving tomorrow morning?】

Jin Shuilan had to go to the company these few mornings, which Lu Zhenqiu also knew, but she didn’t know what time.

She fiddled with her phone with one hand: 【Seven o’clock. I’m going directly to the company.】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【En, got it.】

Jin Shuilan put down her phone, played with Maomao for a while longer, fed it two snacks, and then took it to sleep with her. The room was quiet. At seven in the morning, the sky wasn’t even light. Jin Shuilan guessed Lu Zhenqiu wasn’t awake yet and got out of bed very lightly. The moment the door opened, the kitchen light was on.

These past few days it had been either raining or snowing, and the weather was gloomy. Seven o’clock was no different from nighttime. It was dark outside, with only the streetlights on. After washing up, Jin Shuilan leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Lu Zhenqiu make breakfast.

A bowl of yangchun noodles³, a fried egg, and a steamer of xiaolongbao⁴. The fragrance could be smelled even from a distance. Lu Zhenqiu turned around and saw Jin Shuilan standing at the doorway. The hand holding the noodle bowl paused, and she lowered her head: “When did you wake up?”

Jin Shuilan walked to her side, took the noodles and placed them on the table, then also set down the xiaolongbao, and said to Lu Zhenqiu: “Just woke up.”

She suddenly realized that when Lu Zhenqiu had asked her last night what time she was leaving in the morning, it was because she was preparing to make her breakfast.

Jin Shuilan’s heart felt warm. She turned around, suddenly reached out and hugged Lu Zhenqiu, saying: “Morning.”

Lu Zhenqiu was caught off guard by her hug, her heart beating a few beats faster. All around her was a warm scent. She slowly steadied her mind, raised her eyes, and said softly: “Morning.”

Jin Shuilan was still hugging her. Lu Zhenqiu asked her: “Are you going to be staying at Auntie’s place for the next few days?”

“En.” Jin Shuilan said: “I have meetings at any time, so it’s more convenient to stay at home. I estimate the script will be revised by next week.”

Lu Zhenqiu listened to her muffled voice, the breath of her words sprinkling on her neck and earlobe, making it tingle. She subconsciously reached up and rubbed her ear; it was terribly hot.

Seeing them hugging, Maomao also squeezed over, its front paws on Lu Zhenqiu’s body, wanting her to hold it. Lu Zhenqiu picked it up, kissed Maomao’s head, then turned to see Jin Shuilan hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and was still looking at her. Lu Zhenqiu asked: “What’s wrong?”

Jin Shuilan said: “What about me?”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t react at first. It wasn’t until Maomao licked the back of her hand that she realized what Jin Shuilan was saying. She walked in front of Jin Shuilan, looked up, and quickly kissed Jin Shuilan’s forehead. She turned to leave, but was pulled by the wrist by Jin Shuilan, with a slight force, and ended up sitting down beside Jin Shuilan.

She lowered her head, her voice tense: “What are you doing?”

Jin Shuilan couldn’t help but laugh: “Eating breakfast.”

Lu Zhenqiu blinked. The steam from the noodle soup warmed her face, making it feel hot and flushed. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating the noodles. Inadvertently, her peripheral vision caught Jin Shuilan, and she found Jin Shuilan looking at her with a poised and natural gaze. Lu Zhenqiu choked on her noodles, her face completely red.

Jin Shuilan patted her on the back to help her catch her breath.

Even a bowl of noodles could be eaten in a state of chaos⁵. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. After she finished breakfast and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, Jin Shuilan’s time was almost up. She didn’t have time to say much, just shook her phone. Lu Zhenqiu nodded and saw her to the elevator entrance. Only after Jin Shuilan got on the elevator did Lu Zhenqiu go back, holding Maomao. After tidying up the kitchen, she lay on the sofa fiddling with her phone, browsed Weibo and forums for a while, then returned to WeChat. Seeing the contact name “Teacher Jin,” she deleted it, renamed it “Jin Shuilan,” deleted it again, renamed it “Shuilan,” deleted it again, renamed it “Lanlan,” and so on repeatedly. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t even know how many times she had deleted it. Finally, she properly named it——Girlfriend.

Looking at these three characters, it inexplicably hit Lu Zhenqiu’s funny bone. She lay on the sofa holding her phone, unable to stop laughing. Hearing her laugh, Maomao came over and was pulled into Lu Zhenqiu’s arms for a session of rubbing and hugging. Maomao was also happy.

She fooled around by herself on the sofa for a little while, then took Maomao downstairs for a walk. With nothing to do when she got back, she took another nap, sleeping until noon before waking up. Eating at home alone meant just making do. She simply ordered takeout and started her broadcast early.

When the fans saw her go live, they were all concerned about her computer getting a virus yesterday, asking her if the computer was okay. Lu Zhenqiu smiled at the screen and said: “It’s fine.”

Xiao Yu also had to make up for her broadcast hours in advance because of the streamer’s annual meeting. The two of them started their broadcast early and decided to queue for a few games. The fans cried out: 【I want to see Teacher Jin come! Is Teacher Jin coming?】

【Is Teacher Jin coming or not!?】

【Am I finally going to see the legendary tacit understanding CP?】

Lu Zhenqiu looked at the bullet comments and smiled: “She’s been quite busy recently, maybe…”

Before she could finish, she saw Xiao Yu pull Hua Luo, Bai Mao, and also Jin Shuilan in.

The avatar in the bottom right corner of the computer screen flashed. She clicked it open. It was Jin Shuilan: 【Playing games?】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【En, why are you here? Didn’t you say you had to revise the script?】

Jin Shuilan: 【Just finished eating and am on a break. Xiao Yu pulled me in. You didn’t take a noon nap?】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【No, I ended the stream early yesterday. I’m making up the hours today.】

Jin Shuilan: 【So dedicated. I’ll reward you with a little red flower⁶.】

It was clearly an ordinary conversation, but Lu Zhenqiu felt a sweetness down to her core. She pursed her lips and smiled.

A wave of bullet comments scrolled by.

【Wifey, who are you chatting with?】

【Wifey Qiuqiu, why are you smiling so sweetly!】

【Qiuqiu, what’s made you so happy?】

Lu Zhenqiu cleared her throat, straightened her expression, and heard Xiao Yu say: “Queuing, queuing.”

Hua Luo turned on her mic: “My takeout just arrived, let me coast for a bit. I’ll take support.”

Xiao Yu was bottom lane, Bai Mao liked to solo top, so Lu Zhenqiu had no choice but to play mage. At the start of the game, Jin Shuilan said: “Follow me.”

Lu Zhenqiu subconsciously walked beside Jin Shuilan, following her into the jungle area, and crouched next to the blue buff, waiting for it to respawn. A mage, a support, and an assassin—three heroes standing together. Jin Shuilan called out: “Qiuqiu…”

Before she could speak, Hua Luo burst out laughing: “Qiuqiu, you’ve taken the wrong path! Aren’t you the mage? You should be going to the middle lane to farm the line⁷.”

Lu Zhenqiu blinked and instantly realized. She had actually made such a common-sense mistake. Lu Zhenqiu’s face flushed red, and she quickly said: “Sorry, I’m used to it.”

The others laughed so hard they were slapping the table.

Jin Shuilan comforted her: “It’s fine.”

After she spoke, she let out a very light laugh.

The sound traveled through the phone into her ears. Lu Zhenqiu gripped her phone tightly, her face even hotter than before. Even her exposed, fair neck was completely red.

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes me me da.

Hua Luo: Qiuqiu, you took the wrong path.

Jin Shuilan: Don’t you think it’s you who took the wrong path?

Hua Luo: ????

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