Flirting Under Favor (GL) - Chapter 23

Spring was setting in, and the weather was gradually warming up, though the increase in temperature was still not significant. The air in the north still held a biting chill, but Wang Lin’s feelings for Mu Fan were clearly heating up. Spring is the season for love; it seems that animals and humans alike become restless.

In this age of advanced internet, even two strangers can easily develop feelings over time by chatting and playing together, let alone Wang Lin, who already harbored ulterior motives toward Mu Fan.

During the day, they were both busy. They only exchanged casual chatter via QQ: talking about the weather, what they were planning to do, or funny things that happened that day… Wang Lin was usually the one to initiate the conversation; she constantly missed Mu Fan and wanted to talk to her, having endless things to say. Mu Fan always replied patiently. Sometimes it took more than ten minutes, sometimes a few hours, but no matter how long, she would eventually reply. Although Wang Lin also had classes during the day, her total free time was still much greater than Mu Fan’s. She entertained herself by drawing, depicting the Mu Fan she missed, stroke by stroke, on clean white paper. She drew so many without realizing it: all kinds of Mu Fans—front view, profile, bending over, turning around… aloof, smiling, melancholic…

When she didn’t want to draw, she played the game, wandering around the game world with her Little Flower Girl [Wanhua Loli spec], doing daily quests, running dungeons, and then idling to admire the scenery or join in the vulgar banter in the world chat channel…

In the evening, they would talk on QQ calls. Even when they ran out of things to say, they wouldn’t hang up until Wang Lin fell asleep. At first, Mu Fan would hang up after Wang Lin fell asleep, but later, Wang Lin wouldn’t let Mu Fan hang up even after she slept. Fortunately, they had internet calling now, or the phone bill would have been astronomical.

When Mu Fan had more free time, they would play games together.

Mu Fan was more lively when playing games. She would nervously call for Wang Lin to save her, shouting, “Give me the Spring Mud [a Wanhua skill] quickly!” Mu Fan was usually calm and composed, so Wang Lin particularly loved hearing her urgent tone, finding the contrast extremely adorable. At times like this, Wang Lin would deliberately drag her feet for a few seconds, but sometimes, half a second’s delay would result in Mu Fan lying on the ground. Whenever that happened, Mu Fan would gasp, utter an “Ah,” and then calmly say: “I died.”

Wang Lin would apologize while simultaneously trying not to laugh. Once Mu Fan was revived by the team’s Xiu Xiu [Jian Chun Yang – healing spec], Wang Lin would stop messing around and focus seriously on Mu Fan’s health. As the healer, she was even more reluctant to see Mu Fan die.

So dialogues like this were frequent:

“Your Listening to the Wind [a Wanhua skill] was used on my Sword Aura.”

“Your Spring Mud and the Xiu Xiu’s Wind Sleeve [a Jian Chun Yang skill] overlapped.”

“You used Folded Leaf [a Wanhua skill] during my Cloud Life [a Wanhua skill].”

At times like this, she would pout and say: “I was just worried about you.”

Separated by a great distance, they could only rely on being together in the game for comfort, yet people are greedy and always want more. Wang Lin’s emotional dependence on Mu Fan was deepening, and she urgently longed to see Mu Fan, but Mu Fan wouldn’t be back for at least another half a month.

In the past, when reading poetry, she didn’t know the bitterness of lovesickness [相思 – xiāngsī]. Now, she finally understood what lovesickness felt like.

When she finally mustered the courage to confide in someone, Li Ruhuan’s mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a lightbulb.

“Holy sh1t!”

Li Ruhuan’s vulgar exclamation was exceptionally jarring in the quiet restaurant. Everyone around them turned to stare. She quickly covered her mouth, her eyes full of disbelief.

“What are you doing? Keep your voice down.” The fact that everyone was staring at their table made Wang Lin extremely embarrassed.

Li Ruhuan forcefully suppressed her inner excitement and confirmed again: “Seriously? You really like a girl?”

Wang Lin bit her lip and nodded.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! The little people in Li Ruhuan’s heart ascended to heaven. I’m shipping it! I’ve shipped a real-life lesbian couple! Ah, I’m dead, I’m dead!

Looking at Li Ruhuan’s wonderfully expressive face, Wang Lin calmly said: “Is it that surprising?”

“Who is it? Tell me who it is! Is she pretty? Do you have a photo?”

Wang Lin quietly said: “It’s the one whose profile picture I showed you before.”

Li Ruhuan was shocked again.

“She’s gay! She also likes girls! Are you two already together? Oh my heavens! You’ve finally gotten a partner!”

Wang Lin slumped onto the table, shaking her head listlessly: “No. I don’t know if she likes me.”

Li Ruhuan immediately understood. Wang Lin was looking for her for relationship advice.

“Oh, come on, tell me how you met, what stage you’re at, and what her attitude is towards you. I’ll help you figure it out.”

Wang Lin organized her thoughts and recounted everything about her relationship with Mu Fan to Li Ruhuan.

Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see clearly. Li Ruhuan quickly came to a conclusion.

“She definitely likes you! You’re already this intimate, and you even sleep on a voice call together.” Li Ruhuan rubbed her shoulders, finding the behavior excessively mushy.

“Those were all my requests.” Wang Lin lowered her eyes. “She’s just exceptionally nice to people. If it were anyone else, she probably wouldn’t refuse them either.”

Li Ruhuan said: “A central air conditioner [a term for someone who is nice to everyone].”

Knowing that wasn’t a good term, Wang Lin didn’t want her to describe Mu Fan that way: “No!”

“You said she wouldn’t refuse anyone else. That kind of behavior is exactly a central air conditioner.”

Wang Lin became anxious, baring her teeth like a cute little kitten: “You’re not allowed to say that about her!”

Li Ruhuan shrank her neck in fear. Wang Lin was usually as quiet as a refined lady. This was the first time she had seen Wang Lin so fierce.

“I won’t say it. I was wrong. I’ll slap my own mouth.” She lightly slapped her cheeks a couple of times to appease Wang Lin’s emotions. Her mind raced, integrating relationship knowledge from the countless novels she had read, and cut straight to the core: “You just can’t be sure if her kindness to you is special and unique, or rather, that her kindness is because she likes you, and not for any other reason.”

Wang Lin nodded, feeling that Li Ruhuan was reliable after all. She had clearly articulated her inner worry. “Being kind to someone doesn’t necessarily mean you like them, right?”

“That’s also true.” Li Ruhuan rested her chin on her hand, surprised that Wang Lin could utter such a profound relationship maxim. “But you have to consider this: she already likes girls. Generally speaking, lesbians would deliberately avoid suspicion with other women, but she hasn’t with you, and she’s being this intimate. Taking everything into account, she definitely likes you. Besides, you are so cute and beautiful. If I were gay, I would too.” Li Ruhuan grinned at Wang Lin, looking like a wolf seeing a lamb.

Wang Lin wasn’t angered by Li Ruhuan’s teasing. Instead, she looked at her seriously and asked: “Really? If you were gay, would you like me?”

Li Ruhuan sighed inwardly, lamenting the mysterious nature of love. Someone with Wang Lin’s impossibly good looks and status was cautiously asking if others would like her. Did she not know that the line of boys pursuing her at school stretched to the gate? Out of every three posts on the confession wall, one was a confession to Wang Lin. If Wang Lin didn’t have her bodyguards to deter those guys, she would have been harassed to death long ago.

“Yes, of course I would. Who wouldn’t like a beautiful, cute little rich girl like you? If all else fails, why not just ask her yourself?”

Wang Lin placed her hands obediently on the table, answering honestly: “I don’t dare.”

Ugh, Li Ruhuan had a splitting headache. Relationship counseling truly was difficult. It seemed so simple to outsiders, yet the person involved was terribly timid. Things that were obvious to outsiders, the person involved refused to believe.

“Then test the waters carefully! Right now, you know she’s gay, but she doesn’t know you are too. The enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light. The initiative is in our hands!”

“How do I do that?”

“We can use one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems! The Beauty Trap! You just tease her… seduce her…”

When they parted, Li Ruhuan patted Wang Lin’s shoulder solemnly, her eyes full of expectation, like a parent addressing a child.

“Go for it! When it comes to relationships, you have to take the initiative yourself. Be confident and brave!”

/

The sunset in Taiyuan [a game zone] is beautiful, Wang Lin thought. Although many maps in Jian San [the game] had sunset scenery, Wang Lin liked Taiyuan the best, perhaps because it was the place where she and Mu Fan spent the most time.

It was almost eleven at night. The two of them came out of the dungeon and idled in Taiyuan.

It was time to sleep. Wang Lin was feeling down and hadn’t said much. Her Little Flower Girl [Loli] was circling Mu Fan’s Qin Niang [Wanhua Adult Female spec]. She thought the Little Flower Girl was the cutest loli in Jian San, and the Qin Niang was the best-looking cheng-nü [adult female] in Jian San.

Mu Fan gave her a candied hawthorn stick [an in-game item] and said: “Time to go to bed.”

Saying “Oh” in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum, Wang Lin suddenly felt terribly sad. On the screen, the Qin Niang stood still, and the Little Flower Girl leaned against her obediently. But she and Mu Fan were separated by a huge distance. The game was, after all, just a game; it was all fake.

Mu Fan targeted her and clicked the Hug emote. She agreed. They always hugged before logging off, and Wang Lin was usually very happy. But tonight, Wang Lin couldn’t be happy. She didn’t want to hug game characters anymore; she wanted to hug the real person.

After the Little Flower Girl and the Qin Niang hugged for a while, Wang Lin separated them and ran away in a huff.

Normally, Wang Lin loved hugging the most, always clicking the hug emote with Mu Fan as soon as they stopped moving. The fact that she actively broke the hug so quickly and ran away was unusual, and she had also spoken less, seemingly in a low mood. So, Mu Fan asked: “What’s wrong?”

Wang Lin made her Little Flower Girl run back and stand next to Mu Fan. She said: “No more hugging. It’s too tiring for you to kneel.” In the game, when an cheng-nü hugs a loli, she doesn’t lift the loli; she kneels on the ground to hug them. So Wang Lin used this as an excuse.

She heard Mu Fan chuckle, and then say: “Actually, I don’t need to kneel. The first generation Qixi [a holiday event] outfit allows for a princess carry.”

Wang Lin’s mind wasn’t focused on how to hug; she simply didn’t want to hug data anymore. So Mu Fan’s words didn’t really register. She felt like crying because she couldn’t hug the person she liked.

Her heart was restless. A bold idea was brewing inside her, growing rapidly like a sapling, irresistibly breaking through all obstacles, demanding to be acted upon.

Her breathing became rapid and heavy due to the bold idea. The thought in her mind grew stronger and stronger. She stared at the computer screen, and soon made a decision, letting out a few words firmly and clearly:

“I want to hug you.”