Twist of Fate (GL) - Chapter 7
After eating and drinking her fill, Xie Jing felt drowsy.
Damn it, she had clearly slept all night—how was she already tired again?
Xie Jing let out a yawn.
“Qin Ning, you can head back first. I still have a long IV to finish. I probably won’t be back to the dorm until noon.”
“I don’t have anything else to do,” Qin Ning said as she sat down, showing no intention of leaving.
Xie Jing’s eyelids started to droop, and before long, her head tilted to the side as she dozed off against the bedpost.
“She took cold medicine. It’s normal for her to be sleepy,” the doctor said as he came over to check the IV drip.
“Mm.”
Xie Jing ended up sleeping for almost three hours. When she woke up, the doctor was removing the needle.
“That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow if your fever returns,” he instructed.
Xie Jing nodded vigorously. “Got it!”
As they left the infirmary, Qin Ning handed her a face mask.
Xie Jing suddenly recalled that Qin Ning had also been wearing a mask the first time they met.
“Were you sick back then too?”
Qin Ning paused for a second before answering, “I had my wisdom teeth removed.”
“Oh.” That made sense—cheeks often swell after a wisdom tooth extraction. No wonder Qin Ning had been wearing a mask.
“What do you want for lunch?” Qin Ning asked as they walked toward the cafeteria.
“Anything’s fine. I can’t really taste anything right now anyway,” Xie Jing replied, her mouth tasting bitter and her appetite lacking.
In the end, she ordered a bowl of century egg and lean pork congee, but only managed to eat half of it.
Back in the dorm, Xie Jing logged into the game, planning to finish her daily quests.
Qin Ning logged on too. “Wanna team up?”
Xie Jing nodded. “Invite me.”
Maybe it was because she was still sick, but Xie Jing’s reflexes were slower than usual. She got killed several times while doing tasks and was ready to rage-quit when she suddenly saw Qin Ning switch her skill specialization. Moments later, the team chat lit up with kill messages:
[The road to the underworld is long. Take care!]
[Take that!]
[One more hit!]
[Your kill, accepted.]
Xie Jing’s anger instantly vanished. She looked at Qin Ning in surprise. “You’ve mastered all four specs?”
“Mm. I can do a bit of everything—PvP healer, DPS, PvE too.”
A bit? With DPS skills like that, she was on par with Xie Jing’s best moments.
“Why do you like playing healer?” Xie Jing asked, curious.
“At first… it was to protect someone,” Qin Ning said. Over time, she had grown to enjoy the feeling of pulling teammates back from the brink of death.
Qin Ning continued, “Because of a person.”
“Ooh~ Someone you like?” Xie Jing grinned. “What class do they play? Also a healer?”
“No, same class as you,” Qin Ning said, not denying the first part, only correcting the second.
“What a coincidence!” No wonder Qin Ning healed her so naturally—clearly, practice makes perfect.
“Next time, bring the person you like to play with us. It’s more fun with more people,” Xie Jing said casually.
Qin Ning smiled faintly. “Sure, once I’ve won her over, we’ll queue together.”
“Deal.”
After that, Xie Jing sneakily switched her spec to healer and clumsily threw a few major heals toward Qin Ning, who was still in combat. But it was useless—she’d forgotten to change her gear.
Xie Jing clearly had no talent for healing. She gave up after a few minutes and switched back in frustration.
“Want to nap?” Qin Ning glanced at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
“I’m not sleepy. If you want to, I’ll mute the game.” After sleeping all night and most of the morning, Xie Jing felt quite refreshed. She planned to finish her dailies and then play something else.
It was the holidays, after all—perfect for gaming.
“I’m not sleepy either.” Qin Ning waited for Xie Jing to turn in her quests after finishing her own.
“Wanna play a few rounds of auto chess?” Xie Jing suddenly suggested.
“Sure.”
Xie Jing hadn’t played this season much and was still using an older meta. Qin Ning coached her while casually dominating with a 3-star, five-cost Draven, finishing the game at full health.
Xie Jing: “!!!”
Why was Qin Ning so good at every game she played?!
Xie Jing was a little shaken. She had always considered herself naturally gifted at gaming, but next to Qin Ning, she clearly had a long way to go.
“Do you play Steam games? I want to try some co-op ones.” In dorm 211, Xie Jing was the only one who liked games, and she’d never found a proper partner. She had bought several co-op games that just sat there unused. Now that she’d finally met someone like-minded, she wanted to go through all of them together.
“Send me your friend code,” Qin Ning said, opening her VPN.
The campus Wi-Fi was slow, so Xie Jing opened her own VPN too. By the time she logged in, Qin Ning had already sent her a friend request, which she accepted immediately.
Co-op games require coordination—but strangely enough, despite it being their first time playing together, their teamwork was seamless.
It felt like they’d been playing together for years.
They completed the game flawlessly, and Xie Jing felt like she’d been carried by a pro.
“You’re amazing at games!” she praised sincerely. “Do you play often?”
“Occasionally,” Qin Ning replied, then added, “Because the person I like loves games.”
“Whoever you like must be so lucky. I can never find a partner who enjoys gaming as much as I do.” Xie Jing wasn’t shy, but she rarely socialized. Most of her time was spent gaming. If she ever dated, it’d have to be someone who shared that interest. But in all her years, aside from Shen Xinghe, only Qin Ning had matched her level.
Too bad Qin Ning already had someone she liked.
Xie Jing sighed quietly to herself.
________________________________________
The next day, her fever was gone, but the cold symptoms lingered. She still couldn’t taste much.
Qin Ning bought some oranges and gave one to Xie Jing when she returned to the dorm. The sweet citrus flavor helped her regain a bit of her taste.
That evening, Xie Jing had her usual weekly phone call with her parents. Since she had come to college up north alone, they worried constantly and made it a habit to check in every Sunday night.
Madam Xie Ruzhuo immediately noticed her daughter was sick and wanted to fly over on the next available flight.
Xie Jing quickly raised her hand. “No need, I’ve already recovered. By the time you got here, I’d probably be bouncing off the walls again.”
“Then I’ll at least send you some silk quilts from home. They’re light and warm—your dad’s been hogging them, and it’s a waste on that brute,” Madam Xie declared firmly.
Xie’s dad, visible in the background: “???”
Xie Jing surrendered. “Fine, fine, do whatever you want.”
After the call, she washed up and got ready for bed. Qin Ning turned off the lights and climbed into her bunk as well.
Xie Jing, still mentally active, broke the silence. “Qin Ning, what’s the person you like look like?”
A few seconds of silence passed in the dark.
Then Qin Ning spoke slowly:
“About five feet tall, wears two low ponytails tied with blue ribbons, carries a brown leather backpack, wears a gray-blue school uniform, a little baby fat on her cheeks, a mark on her nose—” She paused. “Her eyes light up when she talks.”
“Aww… she sounds adorable. But from that description, she seems pretty young?”
“Yeah. She’s not an adult yet,” Qin Ning said, describing her impression from six years ago.
Not an adult yet? Xie Jing wasn’t either—her birthday was December 8th, still a month away. She was a Sagittarius, not yet eighteen.
Wait a minute.
Suddenly realizing something, Xie Jing sat up straight in bed.
“Qin Ning, you like girls?!”
“Yeah, why?”
“No—nothing, it’s just… kind of rare,” Xie Jing said, stunned that Qin Ning had come out to her so casually.
Since she’d been so open, Xie Jing felt she should reciprocate.
“Actually… I like girls too,” she mumbled.
“I know,” Qin Ning said.
Xie Jing was shocked. “How do you know?!”
Compared to her reaction, Qin Ning remained calm. “I knew before you changed majors.”
Xie Jing wilted. “Oh… I guess word got out after I turned down that guy’s confession.”
Qin Ning chuckled—short and quiet, but Xie Jing caught it.
“I like someone too,” Xie Jing suddenly said.
“Are you asleep, Qin Ning?” she asked when she didn’t get a reply.
“No,” Qin Ning responded.
Xie Jing sensed something was off. Why did she sound so distant all of a sudden?
“Too bad I think she’s straight…” she said quietly.
Qin Ning seemed to perk up. “That girl you were walking with on the track?”
“Yeah, her,” Xie Jing said softly. “We knew each other since middle school. I had a crush on her for three years, but I was too chicken to confess. Then we went to different high schools and drifted apart. I didn’t expect to see her again in college.”
Qin Ning asked, “What do you plan to do?”
“I might try pursuing her,” Xie Jing murmured. “But I need to figure out her orientation first. I don’t want to come off as creepy.”
Qin Ning said, “If you two end up together…”
“I’ll treat you to a meal! And bring the girl you like too,” Xie Jing said excitedly.
“…Okay.”
Sensing Qin Ning’s disinterest, Xie Jing dropped the topic. She pulled the blanket over herself and, after saying goodnight, quickly fell asleep.
________________________________________
On Monday morning, they had an 8 a.m. class. Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan came straight from home, so Xie Jing naturally walked to class with Qin Ning.
Zhou Yan was surprised—just one weekend away and Xie Jing had already gotten close to Qin Ning.
She even invited her to sit in the same row.
There were only four girls in their class. Chen Yuan sat alone in the middle of the front row, while the other three sat by the window in the third row.
Xie Jing was still coughing frequently, not yet fully recovered.
Qin Ning used the curtain to block the draft from the window, idly twirling her pen as she listened to the lecture.
Zhou Yan, bored, played on her phone until the bell rang.
“Let’s go—I’m dying for the bathroom and need some fresh air too,” Zhou Yan said, dragging Xie Jing along.
On their way back, with five minutes to spare before class, Xie Jing planned to get hot water—only to find her cup already full.
“I got some for you while I was getting mine,” Qin Ning said.
“Oh! Thanks so much,” Xie Jing said gratefully, glancing at both Qin Ning and Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan: “???”