Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 59

If she could, Chu Fengqiu wanted to press Song Man onto the sofa right now and kiss her fiercely, to make her understand what it meant to play with fire and get burned.

But the situation didn’t allow it; she couldn’t scare Song Man like that yet.

Song Man was waiting to see Chu Fengqiu blush. She found Chu Fengqiu incredibly pure. Last time, when she spoke close to her ear, Chu Fengqiu’s ears turned red, yet she still acted tough. Her reactions were really amusing.

Chu Fengqiu was originally suppressing her surging emotions, but seeing Song Man’s playful expression, she decided she absolutely couldn’t be outdone by Song Man. She raised her hand and pinched Song Man’s chin.

Song Man was just about to tease Chu Fengqiu for blushing again when she saw Chu Fengqiu lean in, her fingers pinching her chin, practically pinning her against the sofa. The person above her had an extremely calm expression, only the blush on her cheeks revealing her not-so-calm inner state.

Song Man sensed a bit of danger; this posture felt a little too intimate.

“Lao Chu, Lao Chu, stop messing around, I’m wrong, I’m wrong!”

Song Man immediately begged for mercy, but Chu Fengqiu ignored her.

Song Man watched that beautiful face get closer and closer, feeling the air grow thin. She was held in an extremely vulnerable position between Chu Fengqiu’s body and the sofa. Chu Fengqiu’s eyes were like a deep, dark lake, making her see only her own reflection, causing a momentary blankness.

In that instant, she even thought Chu Fengqiu would kiss her.

Heaven knows how much Chu Fengqiu wanted to kiss her. The person she longed for was in her arms, looking at her with those innocent, bewildered eyes.

She wanted to stain that soft spot with a captivating, rosy wetness. The urge made her want to throw caution to the wind, but she couldn’t.

Chu Fengqiu forcibly locked the beast back inside her heart, telling herself that day would come.

She merely restrained herself, placing a kiss on Song Man’s face.

The kiss was so light, so light that Song Man thought it was just a hallucination.

Time seemed to snap back from slow motion to its normal pace. In an instant, all the hazy feelings dissipated like a receding tide. Chu Fengqiu sat up and extended her hand to her.

“Lao Chu, you really are…”

Song Man took Chu Fengqiu’s hand and sat up, the warmth of Chu Fengqiu’s palm seemingly still lingering on her face.

“You kissed me first.”

Chu Fengqiu raised an eyebrow, a hint of mischievous smile in her eyes.

“Didn’t you just kiss me back?”

You took advantage of me, I took advantage of you, isn’t that fair? Perfect.

“If there’s a next time, I’ll kiss you twice. Double payback.”

“Wow, are you that perverted?”

Look, is that something a goddess should say? It’s so childish.

“Shall we go back into the exam area? Do you want to stay outside?”

“No, let’s go in.”

Song Man was pulled by Chu Fengqiu back into the exam area. For some reason, she felt a subtle, indescribable feeling in her heart.

And she kept feeling like she was supposed to tell Chu Fengqiu something, but she had forgotten what it was, and she couldn’t remember no matter how hard she tried.

When they returned to the innermost part of the exam area and saw someone sitting there, Song Man finally remembered what she wanted to tell Chu Fengqiu.

Not many people could enter the innermost part of the exam area. The space was quite large, and one person sitting in one spot wasn’t very noticeable, but the person sitting there was particularly eye-catching.

It wasn’t because of her overly thin body or the hat she wore, but because she gave off a particularly quiet feeling.

Just looking at her, Song Man had the illusion that she was about to disappear into the sunlight.

That person seemed to notice her gaze, turned her head, met her eyes, and smiled kindly at her.

It was like a lake bathed in sunlight, with a gentle breeze blowing across it, making people feel particularly calm and peaceful.

Song Man was sure it was Lingnan, yet she was also confused as to why such a person would be the extremely shameful person she described herself as.

That feeling was contradictory, because in Lingnan’s words, she seemed like a desperate person struggling in a confined space, someone difficult to understand. But now, she gave off a feeling of clarity and openness.

“Hi, hello.”

Lingnan initiated the greeting, appearing exceptionally friendly.

“Hello, I’m A Man, and this is Ah Q.”

They knew Lingnan’s secret, and saying their names felt like giving a secret code.

“Ah, it’s you two. So you’re two girls, and you look so young.”

Lingnan was a little surprised, a look of realization on her face.

Most people who heard that Song Man was A Man were astonished. After all, everyone implicitly assumed A Man was a simple, rough, straight iron man, probably an unromantic engineering student. They didn’t expect such a huge contrast.

“Are you feeling better?”

Lingnan looked much the same as she did in her live streams, but seeing her up close, they realized just how thin she was, which was alarming.

“Yes, I feel very good now. I can even compete. Want to have a match?”

“Sure, don’t blame me for not holding back.”

“Of course not. Winning or losing is normal.”

Lingnan had almost no competitive spirit left. Winning was fine, losing was fine; it was just a friendly match.

In this face-to-face PK, the onlookers couldn’t see what questions they were competing on, so they didn’t just stand around watching blankly. Everyone picked up the same practice papers and started their own thinking.

The result was, of course, that Song Man won. Lingnan gave her a thumbs-up and put down her pen.

Song Man looked at her, expecting her to ask Chu Fengqiu about Ke Lingyu, but she didn’t say anything, as if she had never told them about that matter.

The Question Bank had a unified exam. A hundred people meeting offline for an exam wasn’t just talk. At 1:50, the announcement came over the loudspeaker, notifying examinees who wanted to take the test to quickly enter the designated area in the exam zone. The test would start promptly at 2:00 and the exam zone would be closed. Within these ten minutes, those taking the test needed to enter quickly, and those not taking it needed to leave quickly. The top three in each area would receive rewards.

As soon as the announcement finished, someone nearby shouted “Devil!” After all, coming out specifically to take an exam on a weekend was truly moving to heaven, heartbreaking to hear, and tear-jerking to witness.

“Lao Chu.”

Song Man sat in her seat and called Chu Fengqiu’s name. Chu Fengqiu turned around at the sound, giving her a questioning look.

“I’ll be first.”

Song Man’s eyebrows lifted, looking incredibly arrogant.

Song Man had thought during the previous two exams what kind of expression Chu Fengqiu would have if she scored higher than her and snatched her first place.

But each time, she only thought about it and didn’t put it into practice.

Now, she finally had a chance to put it into practice. Although she had just lost to Chu Fengqiu by a slight margin of two seconds, it didn’t mean she would lose again.

Chu Fengqiu particularly loved this youthful, spirited look of hers, as if her whole body was shining.

“We’ll see.”

“Let’s see.”

Their eyes met, reaching a silent consensus.

Lingnan watched them, hiding the envy in her eyes.

How nice. She and the person she liked were like this once, perfectly in sync. It’s a pity now…

Lingnan lowered her head, forcing herself not to think about those things.

The exam consisted of ten mixed-subject questions. The difficulty varied depending on the area. The time limit was one hour. When the bell rang, everyone started writing.

The slight sound of pen tips rubbing against paper had a calming effect in the quiet environment.

Song Man stopped thinking about anything else; her eyes were only on the questions on the paper. Her brain worked rapidly, her pen outlining the steps on the scratch paper, following the logic step by step. Formulas and theorems appeared one by one in her mind.

When fully immersed, time passed quickly. Song Man didn’t wear a watch, so she had no idea how much time had passed. She was engrossed in her own world, unable to hear sounds from the outside.

When the last stroke was finished, Song Man placed her paper on the desk and watched the staff member stop the stopwatch.

When she returned, Chu Fengqiu was still unhurriedly checking her paper, even having the leisure to smile at her.

Song Man stood there, waiting for her to finish.

Song Man unsurprisingly took first place because she finished the fastest and had the highest accuracy. Song Man didn’t even check the one question she got wrong first; she went to check on Chu Fengqiu.

“You finished at the same time as me.”

Song Man didn’t understand why Chu Fengqiu didn’t submit her paper with her, but instead wasted some time there.

“But I need to check it once.”

“Weren’t you serious enough when you were writing?”

Song Man was simply curious. She never went back to check her papers because she felt she was very serious when doing problems and couldn’t possibly have calculation or practical errors. As for the problems she couldn’t figure out, checking again would be useless.

“It’s just a habit.”

Chu Fengqiu had always been a steady person. Even if she was focused enough while doing problems, if there was enough time, she would check again to make sure there were no mistakes.

Of course, she was just as cautious in her plan to pursue Song Man.

“You’re a little like her. She was also like that, saying she never needed to check back.”

Lingnan looked at Song Man and spoke unconsciously.

“You still haven’t contacted her?”

Song Man couldn’t help but ask.

Lingnan shook her head.

The others didn’t know what riddle they were speaking in and looked confused nearby.

“Then you…”

“Since there’s no outcome, why bring up old matters?”

Lingnan shook her head, unwilling to talk about it anymore.

Song Man pursed her lips. Relationships were inherently a matter between two parties that couldn’t be forced.

Due to her health, Lingnan couldn’t stay long, so she left after the exam.

Before leaving, she gave Song Man and Chu Fengqiu each a small gift.

They were a pair of knitted dolls, one sending a heart and one receiving a heart, looking very cute.

“I didn’t prepare any good meeting gifts this time. These two dolls are handmade by me. I hope you like them.”

“We like them very much, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I also want to thank you for listening to my story.”

Lingnan left the area, the light stretching her shadow long until it slowly disappeared.

“I wonder what Ke Lingyu is thinking.”

Song Man was very curious about the other protagonist of the story. Then she suddenly remembered that Ah Q knew Ke Lingyu, which meant Chu Fengqiu knew Ke Lingyu.

“Lao Chu, did you talk to her?”

Song Man put her arm around Chu Fengqiu’s shoulder, asking curiously.

“Her feelings towards Lingnan are less about dislike and more about avoidance.”

As an outsider, Chu Fengqiu saw clearly from Ke Lingyu’s account.

Ke Lingyu wanted to continue being good friends with Lingnan, but she was afraid that if she appeared, Lingnan would regain her passion, cling to her relentlessly, and place the meaning of living on her, which would make it difficult for her to breathe.

Ke Lingyu might not have been without feelings for Lingnan; in Chu Fengqiu’s opinion, Lingnan’s move was just too poorly executed.

“Tsk.”

Song Man clicked her tongue and stopped discussing the matter.

Love is so complicated; it’s better to just beat up the test setters.

After the exam, there was an award ceremony for the top three. Song Man didn’t go up. She didn’t need the money and asked the Question Bank to donate it to those in need.

Besides the exam, the Question Bank also had online question-setting and problem-solving activities. In short, they firmly implemented the philosophy of “study until you die, then study harder,” which moved the examinees present and subjected them to a spiritual beating.

Even Song Man, who entered the activity center full of energy, came out looking like her essence had been drained.

Xiang Ziling next to her looked pale, feeling he had suffered immense torment.

“I can’t do it anymore. I need hotpot kisses to recover.”

“Let’s go, Sis will treat you.”

Song Man patted Xiang Ziling’s shoulder, hung onto Chu Fengqiu, and raised her hand to hail a taxi.

She had originally told Ah Q that if she came, she would treat her to good food and drinks. She didn’t expect Ah Q to be Chu Fengqiu, so that polite process wasn’t needed. They were sisters who had slept in the same bed; there was no need to distinguish between them.

Considering Chu Fengqiu didn’t eat much spicy food, Song Man ordered a split pot. They went home smelling of hotpot. As soon as she entered the house, Song Man ran to her room to shower. Chu Fengqiu was a beat slower, amused by the sight of Song Man rushing back to shower in two steps. She also slowly returned to her own room.

When Chu Fengqiu finished showering and came back, she found Ke Lingyu had sent her a message.

【Chu Fengqiu】: The missing person is back?

Ke Lingyu hadn’t been contactable for at least twenty days.

【Ke Lingyu】: Don’t even mention it, you really almost didn’t get to see your sister anymore.

【Chu Fengqiu】: What happened?

【Ke Lingyu】: Bad luck.

Ke Lingyu was participating in an academic event in Europe. When she went shopping, she unluckily ran into a desperado. She was so unlucky that she was taken hostage and ended up getting shot in the abdomen. She was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment and only recently woke up. Now she didn’t dare to move easily in her hospital bed.

【Chu Fengqiu】: …

That was quite tragic, so tragic that Chu Fengqiu didn’t know what to say.

【Chu Fengqiu】: Are you okay now?

【Ke Lingyu】: I’m fine now. I’ll be bouncing around again after a period of recovery.

【Ke Lingyu】: Oh right, did you go to that Question Bank offline event?

【Chu Fengqiu】: You still have the mind to think about that?

【Ke Lingyu】: If it weren’t for this, I was originally planning to return to China to attend.

【Ke Lingyu】: You know, when a person walks through the gates of hell, don’t they figure out a lot of things?

【Chu Fengqiu】: Of course.

Lingnan also went into surgery a while ago and clearly figured out a lot of things. Chu Fengqiu felt that in this regard, these two were tragically in sync.

【Ke Lingyu】: Like when I fell down, I thought, I might really not be able to see her one last time.

【Ke Lingyu】: Thankfully, I woke up.

【Chu Fengqiu】: Are you planning to see her?

【Ke Lingyu】: Yes, as you said, don’t leave yourself with regrets.

【Chu Fengyu】: You’re injured and can’t move for now, right? Call her?

【Ke Lingyu】: Yes, I’ll contact her first, then arrange a day to meet when I can walk and return to China. Otherwise, if she knew I was like this, she’d definitely be worried and want to rush over, but she’s still seriously ill.

【Ke Lingyu】: I used to think some things didn’t need to be said because there was no need, because the outcome was clear at a glance. I didn’t dare to give her hope. I felt some things were bound to change sooner or later.

【Chu Fengqiu】: And now?

【Ke Lingyu】: Some things, if you don’t say them, really won’t work out.

【Chu Fengqiu】: Then I wish you a speedy recovery and an early return to China.

【Ke Lingyu】: Okay, maybe we can have a meal together then. After all, it’s been a long time.

【Chu Fengqiu】: Okay.

Chu Fengqiu exited the chat interface. Just as she was about to take out her homework, there was a knock on her door.

Chu Fengqiu opened the door and saw Song Man, her face beaming with happiness, pounce into her arms.

“Lao Chu! Lingnan just excitedly told me that the person she likes wants to meet her! That’s great!”

Song Man was also happy after seeing it and couldn’t wait to share the news with her good friend.

If everything in the world could be perfect, that would naturally be the best.

“That happy?”

“Of course! Although I think what she did wasn’t right, the person involved has forgiven her, and I also hope things can get better. After all, Lingnan she…”

She really didn’t look like she had long to live.

“Yeah.”

Chu Fengqiu was just about to take the opportunity to ask Song Man about her thoughts on two girls being in love, since Song Man didn’t seem to be against it and was even happy for others, when she heard Song Man’s voice, interrupting what she was about to say.

“Oh right, what were you doing just now?”

After being happy for a while, Song Man curiously peeked inside.

“Getting ready to do problems.”

“Still doing problems? Haven’t you had enough after doing them all afternoon? Let’s go play games, okay?”

Song Man would absolutely not let Chu Fengqiu have another chance to secretly do problems behind her back!

Don’t even think about it!