Flirting Under Favor (GL) - Chapter 32

When Wang Lin woke up in the morning, she habitually checked her phone. Seeing the “Good morning” Mu Fan sent her, and pursing her lips to reply with a “Good morning” as well, the negative emotions caused by Mu Fan not paying much attention to her last night were instantly tossed to the wind. She figured Mu Fan must have been too tired from drinking a little, so she went to bed early.

She arrived at school as usual and began her day of studies, though she was often distracted. Her mind was brewing over how to confess her feelings to Mu Fan: should she be subtle, or be direct? If subtle, what kind of situation and atmosphere would be best? Should they go to the cinema to watch a romance film, take a stroll on a tree-lined path, or simply be in the hotel, and she would quietly whisper it into her ear at night… If she was direct, what gift should she prepare? She needed to polish her speech too…

As she thought, she imagined what Mu Fan would do after a successful confession. Would she gently press her against the wall and then kiss her, or would she softly hold her in her arms, cup her chin, and kiss her…

She thought and thought, blushingly…

“That student, please discuss the characteristics of Impressionism! Yes, you, the one with the silly smile!”

Wang Lin’s mind went blank. Where did the teacher get to?

Li Ruhuan nudged her: “Page 49, page 49…”

She quickly flipped the pages, cleared her throat with two coughs: “Uh, the characteristics of Impressionism are…”

“Sit down.” The teacher at the podium moved on past her.

When class was finally over, Li Ruhuan poked her with a pen: “How’s the progress from last week?”

Wang Lin was a little embarrassed, nodding: “It’s okay.”

“What stage are you at?”

Wang Lin was obviously too shy to say they had already kissed. She said: “I don’t know either.”

Li Ruhuan was exasperated: “Aiya, what do you mean you don’t know? It’s your own business, how can you not know?”

“We went to a scenic area over there to play and took some photos. I’ll show you.” The photos were taken extremely well, and Wang Lin wanted to share them. She found them on her phone and handed it to Li Ruhuan.

Li Ruhuan’s eyes went wide, almost drooling.

This is yuri, huh?

A flutter stirred in Li Ruhuan’s heart: I want a yuri romance too!

“Wow, if you refine this, it could be a wallpaper. Tsk tsk, look at this! Your mouths are almost touching! This one, this one! That look in her eyes, so gentle and so indulgent. Holy crap, this older sister, I’m down!”

Wang Lin looked at her exaggerated expression, but since she was praising her own Mu Fan, she was naturally delighted.

“I just thought of an emoji!” Li Ruhuan said excitedly. “Wait, I’ll send it to you now!”

Wang Lin opened her phone and saw the emoji Li Ruhuan sent her: “I’m moving the Marriage Registry here. Please get married on the spot!”

What the…?

Wang Lin muttered in her heart, We can’t get married here.

But then she quickly thought, given her conditions, she could take Mu Fan abroad.

Next, her mind couldn’t help but fantasize about their future life together.

Then, they would adopt a child. Mhm, a girl. Girls are obedient and affectionate. As for the name, it should take Mu Fan’s surname. What should they call her? I’ll have to think about this carefully.

The time that followed was undoubtedly torturous for Wang Lin. She couldn’t help but fantasize about the distant fragments of life with Mu Fan, wishing time would speed up to the weekend immediately.

They continued to talk about fragmented trivial matters every day and played games on the phone at night. Mu Fan guided her through the virtual world of the martial arts game and introduced her to her friends. One of them, a man named Mo Yi (literally “Silent One”), often played with them. Mu Fan called her Lao Yi (“Old Yi”), and Mo Yi called her Teacher Fan. Wang Lin was very curious.

She asked: “Why does everyone call you Teacher Fan?”

“I used to work part-time as a tutor. They just started calling me that and got used to it.”

Teacher Fan. Wang Lin silently repeated it a few times in her mind. She thought it suited Mu Fan quite well. She usually looked so serious; she did resemble a teacher.

The three of them went to raid Qin Huang Ling. Mu Fan said she wanted a Xuan Jing (a rare item), Mo Yi said she wanted a Small Iron (another rare item), and only Wang Lin didn’t ask for anything, obediently playing the role of a support healer.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want anything. The equipment dropped by the boss was given to her, selling for a gold or two.

The two others rushed to the next boss after defeating one, leaving Wang Lin puffing and panting behind to pick up the trash.

Mu Fan asked Mo Yi if she had found a partner yet, intending to tease her.

Mo Yi honestly replied: “No.” Then she countered: “Did you find one?” Her voice suddenly rose a few pitches: “It wouldn’t be this Little Flower Luo (Wang Lin’s in-game model), would it?”

Wang Lin stayed silent, wanting to see Mu Fan’s reaction.

But before Mu Fan could speak, Mo Yi continued: “Teacher Fan, didn’t you like the Hua Jie (an adult female model in the game)?”

Knowing that her body type wasn’t what Mu Fan liked, Wang Lin felt a little disappointed.

Can’t the adult female model get with a younger female model? Isn’t the younger female model okay?

Mu Fan didn’t answer Mo Yi.

“You two hurry up. I’m already in front of An Lushan (the final boss).”

Mu Fan clearly avoided Mo Yi’s question. Wang Lin’s heart sank further and further, hitting rock bottom. She followed behind without a word.

Sigh, sometimes Wang Lin thought, Love is such a pain. Liking someone is such a pain. That feeling of being so easily affected by the other person’s emotions was very uncomfortable. Yet, she had no reason to complain; after all, they had no established relationship. She could only bottle it up, and bottling it up made it even worse.

She came to a realization: instead of wearing herself out like this, it would be better to clarify things. Her resolve to confess to Mu Fan on the weekend strengthened considerably.

Mu Fan didn’t play the game for long since she had to work the next day. After coaxing Wang Lin to sleep, she was about to turn off her computer and go wash up when her instant messenger rang with a “beep beep beep.”

She opened the message. It was Mo Yi, who had sent her three messages in a row.

Lao Yi: [“It’s really her, huh?”]

Lao Yi: [“When did you guys start?”]

Lao Yi: [“How old is she? Where is she from? Are you the top or the bottom?”]

Mu Fan was helpless: [“Are you conducting a census?”]

Lao Yi: [“I care about you, you know.”]

Mu Fan replied: [“Care about yourself.”]

Lao Yi: [“I’m not in a hurry. I’m just concerned about you. So, is it true?”]

Mu Fan: [“No.”]

Mu Fan sent another message: [“It is and it isn’t.”]

Lao Yi: [“Oh, I get it. The ambiguous stage, huh?”]

Mu Fan was silent for a while. Wang Lin and her were indeed very ambiguous. The peak moments of ambiguity felt exactly like love.

Lao Yi: [“She’s very cute.”]

Seeing Lao Yi praise Wang Lin, Mu Fan couldn’t help but curve the corner of her mouth. She felt a strange sense of pride.

Mu Fan: [“She is very cute.”]

Lao Yi: [“Have you exchanged photos?”]

Mu Fan answered honestly: [“We met three times.”]

Lao Yi: [“Holy crap!”]

Lao Yi: [“Do you have a picture? Show me!”]

Mu Fan hesitated. It seemed inappropriate to send someone else’s photo without permission. But in the end, she picked a picture and sent it. Wang Lin had sent her all the photos Si Qing had taken last time. She sent it to Mo Yi partly because Mo Yi wasn’t an outsider—their relationship was good. The second reason was a little, tiny bit of “vanity” that Mu Fan herself didn’t even realize. When the person you like is so beautiful and cute, who would want to hide it? She wanted to announce it to the world.

Mo Yi saw the photo and sent her an emoji.

“I’m moving the Marriage Registry here. Please get married on the spot!”

Lao Yi: [“This is absolutely incredible! She’s too good-looking.”]

Lao Yi: [“How long have you known each other?”]

Mu Fan was silent. Counting, it seemed it hadn’t even been two months yet.

It’s only been less than two months since she and Wang Lin met. She reviewed everything with Wang Lin in her mind, from the first meeting, adding friends, meeting in person, eating hotpot, bringing her home, sleeping together, teaching her to play games… When did Wang Lin become so clingy? She seemed quite clingy from the first meeting, even saying she was like an older sister. Later, she became more and more affectionate. What did she think of Wang Lin’s ambiguous words and actions? Were they unintentional or deliberate? What did she think of that kiss last Saturday night?

Mu Fan shook her head hard. What mattered wasn’t what Wang Lin thought, but what she thought.

What do I think?

Of course, I like her very much.

But…

Mu Fan said to Mo Yi: [“We have a huge gap.”]

Mu Fan: [“Her family background is very good. She even brings two bodyguards with her to college.”]

Lao Yi was clearly surprised: [“Oh my. A young lady from a wealthy family. Hiss.”]

Mu Fan: [“I don’t know what her family’s attitude will be.”]

Mu Fan: [“I’m quite scared.”]

Mu Fan: [“I’m afraid of her confessing to me.”]

Mo Yi was silent for a moment.

Lao Yi: [“If she doesn’t confess, are you just going to drag it out?”]

Mu Fan: [“That’s really awful (scummy), isn’t it?”]

Lao Yi: [“…”]

Mu Fan: [“Setting aside the huge difference in our circumstances, what if her family doesn’t agree?”]

Mu Fan: [“I don’t want to hurt her by leading her down this path.”]

Mu Fan: [“Regardless of whether she can withstand the pressure from her family, the result won’t be good.”]

Lao Yi agreed deeply: [“If she can’t withstand it, you’ll be the one hurt. If she does, and they fall out, you’ll be the one who harmed her.”]

Mu Fan: [“Mhm. She’s from a single-parent family, and her mother spoils her a lot. If she were to fall out with her family because of me…”]

Mu Fan: [“I don’t want to hurt her.”]

Lao Yi: [“What does she think?”]

Mu Fan: [“I don’t know.”]

Mu Fan: [“She probably hasn’t thought this much. Her world is very pure.”]

Lao Yi: [“Tough one.”]

Lao Yi: [“Sigh, she hasn’t even confessed to you yet. What if she doesn’t actually like you? Straight girls often don’t keep their distance. Don’t misjudge.”]

Mu Fan: [“I hope that’s the case.”]

Mu Fan: [“It would be best if she didn’t like me…”]

Mu Fan sighed softly. If Wang Lin didn’t like her, she was already starting to feel sad.

Humans are truly strange creatures. Mu Fan, Mu Fan, what do you really want?

Lao Yi: [“What if she really does like you?”]

Mu Fan: [“…”]

Lao Yi: [“I think, if you really like her, don’t overthink it. Why don’t you give the decision-making power to her? Whatever she chooses is her own business. Even if she falls out with her family, that’s her own business. She has the right to decide.”]

There were some things Lao Yi didn’t know. Mu Fan knew all too well the consequences of falling out with one’s family. What if Wang Lin’s family threatened suicide? What if something really, truly bad happened? She didn’t dare to think.

She leaned back in her chair, her head throbbing as if it were about to explode.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

Drag it out then. So what if I’m awful.

She didn’t reply to Mo Yi. Mo Yi also didn’t send any more messages.

That night, she had another dream.

She dreamed that Wang Lin was kicked out of her home by her mother, covered in bruises. She was wearing rags; all her usual high-end designer clothes were gone. She desperately wanted to run away with Mu Fan, crying and saying, “Mu Fan, take me away.”

Still asleep, Mu Fan cried. How could she take Wang Lin away, in her current state?

She and Wang Lin hugged and cried together. Then a tall building appeared. Wang Lin’s mother stood on top of it. She said: “If you leave, I’ll jump from here!” Wang Lin screamed, “No, no!” with tears streaming down her face. She left Mu Fan and slowly walked toward her mother. At that moment, a cliff appeared in front of Wang Lin. Wang Lin stopped at the edge…

Mu Fan woke up with a start, sitting up in bed, gasping for breath, soaked in sweat, with lingering tears at the corners of her eyes.

She was terrified. It was still pitch dark outside. She checked the time; it was only two in the morning.

She lay back down heavily, as if all her strength had suddenly left her.

It was just a dream.

Thank goodness.