Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 10

“I didn’t mean to do that just now.”

Xie Jing suddenly spoke out of nowhere.

Qin Ning: “Hm?”

Xie Jing glanced at Qin Ning, who looked completely clueless. She lowered her head guiltily and mumbled in a low voice, “I accidentally licked my finger just now… and then used it to feed you a
chip.”

Qin Ning was silent for two seconds, then said, “Oh, it’s fine.”

Xie Jing let out a sigh of relief and whispered, “I thought someone as cool and distant as you might be a bit of a clean freak.”

Most people would feel uncomfortable with something like that. Even Xie Jing herself didn’t like eating food touched by someone else’s saliva—especially since they weren’t close.

Qin Ning: “Depends on the person.”

Xie Jing was stunned by her response. She lowered her head, trying to figure out what Qin Ning meant. Depends on the person?

Did that mean she didn’t mind because it was her?

No, no—she was definitely overthinking it. Qin Ning was probably just trying to comfort her.

After all, the chip had already been eaten. Even if she minded, it was too late now.

Xie Jing: “You—”

“Hi, classmate. Can I add you on WeChat?”

Before Xie Jing could finish her sentence, someone interrupted her. She looked up at the boy who had spoken and saw him standing nervously in front of Qin Ning, holding his phone awkwardly.

A few other boys were messing around not far behind him, glancing over sneakily.

It looked like they were all friends.

Xie Jing frowned slightly as she stared at the boy.

His face was a little red, his skin was fair, and he wore black-rimmed glasses.

That face… looked familiar.

She tried to remember, then suddenly her eyes widened.

Wasn’t this the guy who had confessed to her before?

Xie Jing looked at Qin Ning, then back at the boy. She couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

If he ended up with Qin Ning, that would be so awkward for her.

“I don’t use WeChat,” Qin Ning said coolly.

It was clearly a gentle rejection, but the boy seemed not to get the hint and stepped forward excitedly.

“Then can I add you on □□?”

Qin Ning replied flatly, “I don’t use □□ either.”

The boy’s face turned bright red. “Then…”

Xie Jing watched Qin Ning lie with a completely serious face and suddenly felt like laughing.

She didn’t show it, but inside, she was laughing like crazy. How could Qin Ning lie so casually?

But her amusement quickly disappeared, because Qin Ning suddenly reached out and draped an arm over her shoulder, looking a bit impatient.

Xie Jing was pulled close into Qin Ning’s arms, and the jacket draped over her head slipped down like a veil with the movement.

Now the boy could see her face clearly.

“You’re… Xie—Xie Jing?”

The boy looked shocked when he recognized her standing next to Qin Ning.

Xie Jing curled her lips into a small smile. “Yep, that’s me.”

The boy pointed at the two of them. “You… you two?”

“I like girls,” Qin Ning said suddenly.

The boy’s face went pale in an instant. Maybe because he had just been rejected in front of his friends, his expression twisted as if his pride had taken a huge hit.

He looked back and forth between Qin Ning and Xie Jing, then angrily said, “You two girls… are seriously messed up!”

“You’re the one who’s messed up,” Xie Jing immediately fired back. “You confessed to me not long ago, and now you’re hitting on my roommate? Your so-called ‘love’ is cheaper than toilet paper. Take
it and scram, bye~”

Though Xie Jing was usually gentle, she wasn’t the type to just take insults quietly.

“Stop flattering yourself, you average girl,” the boy muttered sarcastically.

Xie Jing sat up straight, about to unleash a barrage of words, when Qin Ning pressed down on her arm.

“Throwing a tantrum just because your confession failed? I think you’re the average one,” Qin Ning said coldly. “Who says you have to say yes just because someone confesses? What are you, some kind
of magical golden gourd?”

Xie Jing silently gave her a standing ovation in her heart. Nice one!

After being scolded, the boy spat on the ground and stormed off.

Thanks to all that drama, Xie Jing’s good mood was ruined.

She glanced at Qin Ning’s serious face and carefully said, “Don’t mind him. He’s the one with the real problem—serious issues.”

Qin Ning: “Mm.”

“What year is it? The Qing Dynasty’s long gone. What’s wrong with being gay? It’s not like we’re eating his rice.”

Xie Jing said angrily.

Qin Ning was finally amused and nodded. “Exactly. Such a small mind, yet he wants to control everything.”

“Right? I think he just saw you were pretty and got ideas, that’s why he came over to ask for your WeChat,” Xie Jing rolled her eyes. “Has he even looked in a mirror? If not, at least there’s a
puddle somewhere.”

Qin Ning: “…”

She had clearly underestimated Xie Jing’s sharp tongue.

Even if she hadn’t helped scold the guy, the girl wouldn’t have lost that battle.

“And he’s way too shallow. You can’t just judge people by looks when dating,” Xie Jing muttered.

Qin Ning: “Then what do you think matters?”

“Character, personality, hobbies, family background…”

Xie Jing started counting on her fingers.

“Good character, high moral standards; compatible personalities, or you’ll have trouble communicating; shared interests, so you’ll have something to talk about… haha.

As for family background, I don’t really care. As long as someone better than me doesn’t look down on me, and someone worse—I’ll help them if I can…”

She kept talking and talking.

Qin Ning stared at her, a bit surprised.

She didn’t expect someone as young as Xie Jing to be so thoughtful.

“Have you dated before?” Qin Ning asked.

“Nope. I learned all this from online gossip.”

When she was bored, Xie Jing would browse forums from her favorite game. There were tons of posts about love, drama, and scandals.

Plus, she had a friend who loved gossip and always shared the juiciest news in group chats.

After hearing so many bizarre breakup stories, she developed her own views on love.

She didn’t need a perfect lover—just someone who passed her personal filter.

“If you want, I can organize some posts for you to read later,” Xie Jing offered.

“Sure,” Qin Ning nodded. “Thanks.”

Xie Jing waved it off. “But even though I’ve always known you liked girls, I didn’t expect you to say it so openly just now.”

There were so many people around, yet Qin Ning said it out loud like it was nothing. So bold.

Qin Ning looked at her and said meaningfully, “Didn’t you do the same?”

Xie Jing had a blank look. “That’s different!”

Qin Ning: “How’s it different?”

Xie Jing took a deep breath and tried not to sound too smug.

“I had no choice. And I’m too lazy to reject every confession I get—it’s so annoying. That’s the only reason I said it.”

Qin Ning calmly replied, “Same here.”

Xie Jing choked on her next words.

Yeah right. I don’t believe you.

The air grew a little quiet.

“Let’s go. Zhou Yan’s done running,” Qin Ning stood up and offered her hand to Xie Jing.

Xie Jing took her hand and used it to steady herself, then quickly let go.

Her palm was a bit sweaty. Even though it was just a light touch, her heart was racing again.

At this rate, she was starting to wonder if she had some kind of illness.

Heart disease.

“How much did you spend on snacks?”

Xie Jing pursed her lips and looked at Qin Ning’s profile. “I’ll send you the money on WeChat.”

Qin Ning: “No need. Consider it a reward.”

“Huh?”

“For helping me out earlier.”

Only then did Xie Jing remember how Qin Ning had put her arm around her shoulder and said she liked girls.

“Oh… alright then.”

Xie Jing popped a lollipop into her mouth. “No need to thank me—it was nothing.”

She turned her head back and started scanning the field for Zhou Yan.

Qin Ning glanced sideways at her puffed-up cheek and the corner of her lips lifted ever so slightly.

By the time they found Zhou Yan, she had already finished her race.

Xie Jing handed her a bottle of water and reminded her, “Wait a bit before drinking.”

“I know.”

Still catching her breath, Zhou Yan grabbed Xie Jing’s hand and started gossiping.

“Phew… when I was running near the edge just now, I think I saw a guy talking to you and Qin Ning. Tell me the truth—what happened? Was someone bothering you again?”

“How did you even notice that?”

Xie Jing looked speechless.

“Wait a minute—were you seriously paying attention while running? Who gossips while running a race?”

Zhou Yan ignored her and turned to Qin Ning.

“Qin Ning, you tell me. Was another loser trying to hit on our Xie Jing?”

Qin Ning raised her eyelids, looked at Zhou Yan, and slowly nodded. “Yeah.”

Xie Jing: “???”

She got thrown under the bus for no reason!

That guy clearly came for Qin Ning!

How could she lie like that with a straight face?!

“I knew it!!”

Zhou Yan looked over Xie Jing as if she were worried a shady guy had tricked her.

“With that cute face of yours… coming from the South to the North is like a little bunny falling into a den of wolves. They’re all circling, just waiting to drag you away.”

The little bunny looked up at the sky, resisting the urge to argue.

“My metaphor was spot on, wasn’t it?” Zhou Yan said proudly.

Xie Jing: “…”

If you don’t know how to make metaphors, maybe don’t try. What kind of bunny has a mouth that sharp?

“I did some sports training back in high school,” Zhou Yan said. “Our Chinese teacher was also the PE teacher, haha.”

Xie Jing: “That explains it.”

Zhou Yan kept gossiping and holding onto Xie Jing until her phone rang.

Finally, she escaped.

The call was from a senior at the school radio station.

Apparently, the person reading the announcements had an emergency and she was asked if she could fill in.

Xie Jing had only practiced coiling cords for a month and had never read a script on-air before.

When she explained this, the senior said it was fine—it was just motivational messages. Just read it like a textbook.

Left with no choice, Xie Jing agreed, said goodbye to the others, and headed to the broadcasting area.

The senior was surprised to see her arrive so fast. “You had a race today?”

“Yeah, but it’s already over.”

Xie Jing sat down and asked, “Which ones do I need to read?”

The senior moved a stack of A4 papers next to her and said apologetically, “All of these still need to be read.”

Xie Jing looked at the pile, calmly took a sip of water, then started adjusting the microphone.

“One drop after another of sweat falls on the green track.

Each drop is a sign of belief that drifts through the clear blue sky…”

“This is a new beginning…”

…

“Damn, just hearing her voice makes me wanna run ten more laps!

If I’d known, I would’ve asked Xiao Jing to read to me while I was running.

I would’ve flown!”

Zhou Yan, who hadn’t left the field yet, looked regretful as she listened to the booming broadcast echoing across the stadium.

Qin Ning also glanced toward the stands.

There, two figures sat side by side—but their faces were too far away to make out.