I Fell In Love With My Rival (GL) - Chapter 21.2

Su Chunyin froze, then after a long pause, muttered, “You should’ve just said that.” After a beat, she added stiffly, “My condolences.”

Fu Erqiu remained quiet. Su Chunyin glanced back at the detailed study plan and asked, “What time did you get home last night? When did you even have time to make this? Don’t tell me you stayed up all night after getting back.” If that were the case, she might genuinely feel guilty.

Fu Erqiu seemed to guess what she was thinking. “It’s okay. My grandparents died in a car accident on the same day years ago. My mom and I now think of them as stars watching over us. We’re not as sorrowful anymore. And as for this study plan—it wasn’t made last night.”

She gave Su Chunyin a softer look. “I started working on it the day we came back from Qingchan Temple.”

The day they came back from the temple? That was the day Fu Erqiu had promised to tutor her.

Su Chunyin’s mood instantly lifted, the clouds in her expression clearing. Unaware of the small smile forming on her lips, she reached for a juicy peach from the fruit platter, took a bite, and happily squinted her eyes. “So sweet!”

Ten minutes later, Teacher Fu’s lesson officially began.

Once she slipped into teacher mode, Fu Erqiu turned incredibly strict. She first assessed Su Chunyin’s current level, then started the lesson according to her abilities.

Su Chunyin, used to slacking off, could hardly handle this serious approach. Less than thirty minutes in, she began to whine, “Qiuqiu-jie, can we take a break, please?”

Fu Erqiu thought for a moment and nodded. “It’s the first day of tutoring. I figured you’d need time to adjust, but I didn’t expect you to crash so quickly. We’ll take a 20-minute break. I’ll revise the later parts of the plan.”

To Su Chunyin, that translated to: I didn’t think you’d be this bad, so now I need to rework the entire plan.

Though usually unfazed by others’ opinions, Su Chunyin still felt a twinge of guilt. But then she reminded herself—she didn’t go through all this trouble to study. Her real goal was to spend time with Fu Erqiu and find opportunities to get closer to her. So why feel guilty?

With this logic, she quickly regained her confidence. She boldly stared at Fu Erqiu’s back as she bent over her notebook and casually asked, “By the way, how did my mom negotiate your pay?”

Fu Erqiu paused, then replied honestly, “Your mom said she was planning to pay me 70 yuan per hour.”

Seventy per hour? Su Chunyin compared it with her past tutors’ rates and couldn’t help but pout. That’s stingy.

“But I thought that was too high,” Fu Erqiu added. “So, after some discussion, your mom decided to pay me a monthly salary instead—three thousand yuan.”

Three thousand a month? Su Chunyin’s eyes widened. That’s even less!

“And honestly,” Fu Erqiu continued, “you already spent a lot supporting my food delivery business earlier. Three thousand is still too much.”

Too much? That’s too much??

“Come on,” Su Chunyin stood up. “Three thousand a month isn’t even enough for a professional listener nowadays!” She remembered her monthly three-thousand subscription to the chat buddy “Qiu Ye” and felt emboldened. “Think about it—those chat buddies only provide emotional support, and they still charge three thousand. You’re actually helping me improve my grades. What’s so wrong with that price?”

Fu Erqiu paused, seemingly deep in thought. “Alright.”

She added, “But I won’t accept a single cent more than three thousand.”

“Okay, okay,” Su Chunyin waved her hand and flopped back onto the couch to scroll through her phone.

Soon she came across a short video about a lesbian couple’s difficult love story. She scrolled past but then went back, thinking it might be educational.

Just as she got into it, a tap on her shoulder nearly made her jump.

She turned and saw Fu Erqiu, who had finished revising the study plan and had come over to resume the lesson.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” Su Chunyin hurried to exit the video. But she must have pressed something by mistake because the sound suddenly blared out:

“Look closely—these two women are kissing. Today, they’re taking responsibility for their lives…”

Panicking, Su Chunyin held down the power button to shut off the phone. She was too embarrassed to look at Fu Erqiu and grabbed the nearest book to pretend nothing happened. “Alright, alright, let’s get back to studying.”

Fu Erqiu resumed teaching her math.

After a while, the awkwardness finally faded. Su Chunyin relaxed and began sneaking glances at Fu Erqiu.

Fu Erqiu was focused on explaining a math problem. Her sharp side profile and serious gaze were captivating.

Su Chunyin couldn’t help wondering: What was her reaction when she heard that video? Did she stay calm like this? Or was she flustered?

She remembered Song Rao telling her that Fu Erqiu liked girls. If that’s true, then maybe… she actually liked the video?

Her mind wandered. Maybe she wanted to keep watching but couldn’t because I turned it off too fast.

Caught in this train of thought, Su Chunyin looked at her again. Without turning around, Fu Erqiu tapped the desk. “Focus.”

I want to, Su Chunyin thought, but there’s something I really need to know.

Unable to hold back, she asked, “Did you… just now… hear it? The two women…”

Fu Erqiu turned her head, the soft lighting reflecting in her eyes. “What?”

Su Chunyin faltered. “…Kissing.”

Fu Erqiu didn’t seem to understand her fragmented sentence. She leaned in slightly, listening intently.

The awkward tension came rushing back, mixed with a strange kind of nervous excitement.

“I mean… two women kissing—isn’t that weird?”

Fu Erqiu clearly paused. Su Chunyin noticed and thought smugly, Caught you off guard, didn’t I?

But then Fu Erqiu calmly flipped the page in her workbook. “No.”

“Huh?” Su Chunyin blinked, caught off guard herself.

“Whether it’s a man or a woman,” Fu Erqiu said, her voice steady, “everyone has the right to choose whom they kiss. Their choice of gender has nothing to do with others. And if it has nothing to do with others, why should it be considered weird or disgusting?”

“Oh.” Su Chunyin’s mind went a little fuzzy. She didn’t fully grasp the logic—she was too distracted by watching Fu Erqiu’s face. As she spoke, her head dipped slightly, and the soft light fell just right across her lips.

Those lips, slightly pink and glistening, moved with every word.

Su Chunyin found her gaze fixed, mesmerized.

She heard her own voice, dreamy and thick like she was tipsy:

“So… what does it feel like, when two women kiss?”