After Being Betrayed by Bai Yueguang, She Said She Wanted to Keep Me as a Mistress (Pure Yuri) - 02 Nightmare

02 Nightmare

During a festival holiday in a big city, at a women-only event. Zhou Pinyue left her booth with a friend and wandered casually. She then caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure.

A clean, bright smile, curved eyes, lively tone—the hairstyle had changed from a standard school ponytail to neat shoulder-length hair. The venue’s lights flickered through the gaps in her hair as she enthusiastically introduced products to people stopping by her booth.

It was a CP from the MMO game 《Vynx》, a relatively niche one.

After the last person left with a paper bag, Zhou Pinyue approached and curiously examined the table.

“Hello, hello! Want to check out our Mei Fen Mei?” 

The vendor picked up a sample. She was pointing to two embracing women on the cover. 

“And over here, we have some…”

Before she finished, Zhou Pinyue suppressed a smirk and said abruptly, 

“You’re Cheng Yafei, right?”

“Oh, you…”

Seeing her face, Cheng Yafei’s complexion turned pale instantly. It was as if she’d seen a ghost.

No wonder—reuniting with an estranged old classmate at a convention was more than just a pale face for Zhou Pinyue; it was a life-altering, heart-stopping incident.

Cheng Yafei’s lips seemed glued shut. She struggled to speak.

“W-Well, long time no see…”

“Long time no see. Almost ten years, huh! I didn’t know you were into yuri.”

“Uh, well, you’ve changed a lot.”

“Have I? Haha, you too. I didn’t recognize you at first. Did you recognize me? Do you know who I am?”

“I-I know. Zhou Pinyue, right?”

Seeing the expression on that face, Zhou Pinyue felt even more smug.

Her pupils dilated with fear. And her trembling lips barely maintained a polite smile.

“Really? You still remember me. Too bad I changed my account, or we wouldn’t need to re-add each other as friends,” 

Zhou Pinyue said.

“Haha… I thought you deleted me,” 

Cheng Yafei said. A thin layer of sweat was on her forehead. Her fingertips were white from gripping the book tightly. 

“So, uh, you here for the con?”

“I have a booth too.”

“Oh, oh, right, makes sense. Your art was always so good.”

“Here, let me scan you?”

Zhou Pinyue pulled out her phone.

“Huh? What?”

“Add… oh, we don’t call it that, right? Anyway, add as friends? And maybe follow each other?”

“Uh, y-you wait a sec.”

Cheng Yafei frantically searched her pockets for her phone. She forgot it hung around her neck. Zhou Pinyue didn’t remind her. She just watched her fumble until she realized, awkwardly pulled up the QR code, and got the friend request approved. Her other hand still held the sample. It was as if her brain was overloaded and couldn’t manage it.

“Can I see that book? I play Nini too,” 

Zhou Pinyue said. She used 《Vynx》’s nickname.

Cheng Yafei was still dazed. She took a moment to respond before handing it over. 

“Huh? Oh, sure, take a look.”

Zhou Pinyue took it with both hands. They brushed fingers in the process.

It was a common thing—her fingers touched delivery people’s all the time. And she’d brushed hands with fellow fans countless times that day. But Cheng Yafei froze.

This reaction was too amusing.

Zhou Pinyue grinned and flipped through the pages. It was a novel with occasional illustrations.

“Wow, your writing’s still great, class literature rep.”

“No, no.”

“‘This kiss is our secret, okay, sister?’ Wow, incest Pa…”

The book was snatched from her hands.

“Please, I beg you, don’t read it out loud,” 

Cheng Yafei said, covering her face. Her voice was so embarrassed it sounded like it might break.

“Haha, what’s wrong? It’s well-written. Hey, you free for dinner later? Wanna eat together?”

Afterward, Zhou Pinyue returned to her booth, stayed until closing as planned, packed up, and headed straight to the meeting spot.

Seeing her approach, Cheng Yafei stood up. She was overly enthusiastic. 

“Wanna grab something at a nearby restaurant? There’s a good one 300 meters away. Man, you’re doing so well now. I always said you had talent, totally cut out for this…”

Her chatter filled the air. She was avoiding the elephant in the room. Zhou Pinyue had no chance to interject, nor did she want to. She wanted to see how Cheng Yafei would keep up the facade. So she just hummed along until they arrived at an expensive seafood restaurant.

Of course—Cheng Yafei was a rich second-generation kid.

“…The quality here’s great. I come every holiday. You love seafood, right? Eat up, my treat.”

The stream of small talk to keep things lively finally stopped. Zhou Pinyue pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up the menu.

Even her bone-conducted voice sounded clearer than usual.

“Inviting me—is this your apology?”

Her tone shifted from friendly to cold. As the words landed, Cheng Yafei’s smile froze.

Silence spread through the air.

Coincidentally, the waiter arrived. Both quickly switched modes. They were ordering casually as if nothing happened.

But you can only dodge the first punch, not the second. After ordering, they poured water, set utensils, and wiped hands with towels—everything possible was done. Zhou Pinyue spoke slowly again. 

“Actually…”

“I get it! This can’t just be swept under the rug. I didn’t expect a meal to mean forgiveness,” 

Cheng Yafei said quickly. She was not looking at her. It was as if she was rushing to spill a rehearsed draft. 

“It was my fault. Back then…”

“I don’t care anymore,” 

Zhou Pinyue interrupted flatly. 

“Whether you apologize now doesn’t matter. You had plenty of chances in high school. But you never bothered, right? Besides, it’s not a big deal. We’re adults now. No need to be so petty.”

“It was becau…”

Zhou Pinyue didn’t want to hear her talk and cut in again. 

“But I don’t get it. Why agree to eat with me? Didn’t you say I was too clingy to shake off?”

More than sweet dreams, Cheng Yafei appeared in her nightmares. It was more often than even her college entrance exam scenes.

‘—Don’t you think girls who are into this stuff are kinda crazy? You still hang out with her? Her art’s so ugly. Two girls leaning together like that? What, lesbians? Tofu-grinding? Ugh, I’ve got no issue with gays—our country’s always been inclusive, not like the West with their hypocritical political correctness—but putting it on a blackboard? So embarrassing.’

‘—She seems kinda pitiful, no friends and all. We were desk mates. So I couldn’t just ignore her, right? I just chatted with her, gave her a half-hearted compliment on her art, and she took it seriously, got all clingy, and wouldn’t let go. Nobody wanted to do the blackboard anyway. So, whoever volunteered got picked. It’s whatever. It’s not like it’s full-on lesbian stuff, just leaning together. Don’t worry, I’m in charge. I won’t let that kind of thing show up.’

“…I’m sorry. That wasn’t my true feelings. I always wanted to apologize. But I was too scared,” 

Cheng Yafei said. Her fingers were twisting nervously like tangled yarn. 

“I didn’t dislike your art. Really, I always thought you were amazing.”

“Words that slip out unintentionally might be the truest ones,” 

Zhou Pinyue said, unconvinced. Her tone was flat. 

“It’s fine. It’s in the past, really.”

She saw the woman across from her lower her eyes. Her mouth was opening and closing. She hesitated before saying, 

“I know you probably don’t want anything to do with someone like me…”

“Yeah,” 

Zhou Pinyue replied quickly. 

“But thanks for the meal.”

Cheng Yafei shook her head, still staring at the table. She then muttered. 

“But I really want to be friends with you again.”

“My fanbase isn’t big enough for you to need to network with me.”

“No, I want to start over with you. I hope you can forgive me.”

“It’s really a small thing. No need to talk about forgiveness.”

“Then can we be friends now?”

It was like a confession in a prayer room. People like this were the most selfish. They cared only about easing their own guilt, not the victim’s feelings.

How absurd.

“I said it already—I don’t plan to deal with you anymore.”

“Right, right, that’s normal. But, call it selfish, can you tell me what I need to do for you to forgive me, to be friends again?”

Why was she getting more worked up?

A ruined relationship couldn’t be fixed. So forget it and move on. It wasn’t even that deep. They were friends for just a year, even if some moments crossed into more than friendship. Call it a vague romance, it didn’t last long. A month? Two months? Probably two, stopping at kissing. Then Cheng Yafei refused to continue. Maybe her homophobic side kicked in.

Two months—even compared to her friends’ online flings, it was shorter than their flirting phases.

That’s how it was for Zhou Pinyue. She approached her partly to mess with her old “friend” for fun. It was partly to find closure. Maybe cursing her out, talking it through, or fully disillusioning herself would be better than this limbo.

Impulsively, she mocked, 

“Heh, friends? Impossible, unless pigs climb trees or you become my girlfriend.”

It was a jab combining the situation with an idiom. It was a bit petulant, hinting at their past. It fell flat, not even rhyming.

But Cheng Yafei went eerily silent.

The silence made Zhou Pinyue uneasy. She looked up and met a pair of wide, sincere, eager eyes.

“Really?”

What?

“I’m willing.”

Huh?

“Okay, I’ll be your girlfriend. Whatever you ask, I’ll do.”

At that moment, Zhou Pinyue laughed out loud at the absurdity.

This woman was insane.