Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 11

After Xie Jing had read for about ten minutes, the senior motioned for her to stop and take a break before continuing. The senior played a song, turned off her microphone, and looked at Xie Jing. “I didn’t expect you to be so talented. You weren’t nervous or stuck at all.”

Xie Jing smiled. “Thank you for the compliment.”

“But junior, were you part of the broadcasting club in high school? That’s why you’re so skilled, right?”

“No, I was just a guild leader in a game.”

Xie Jing was nothing like Zhou Yan’s so-called “naive bunny.” Online, she could command 24 team members to fight for the top five rankings in writing, and in voice chat, she could criticize actors
so fiercely that they quit the group. She was known as the “domineering flower.”

Well… after all, since elementary school, she had fearlessly used her mic to command teammates in military uniforms during big battles. In middle school, she went even further—using a crisp and
cute loli voice to command a bunch of uncles and aunties in dungeon raids.

Back then, strangers would often ask if she was using a voice changer. Her voice sounded like a child’s—no older than twelve. Tired of explaining, Xie Jing simply let them believe she was a voice
card warrior and even claimed to be a “thirty-something loli fan who only loved loli voices.”

Her close friends who played with her used to laugh like crazy whenever they heard that. They had even helped the “thirty-something loli-voiced guild leader” do homework in group chats. Middle
school homework, to be exact. She couldn’t have been more than thirteen.

Later, as she played longer, she often asked those friends for help with English after entering high school. She even tried giving dungeon commands in English. She cleverly combined studying with
gaming—learning while playing.

Thanks to her early exposure to the online world, Xie Jing was never nervous in front of a crowd. Reading a script for a school sports day livestream was as easy as drinking water for her.

“No wonder. If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have had you wind cables for so long. What a waste of talent,” the senior said with a look of regret.

Winding cables really was a test of endurance. At first, Xie Jing thought it was boring—wrapping them up just to unwind and wind again. It required no skill. She almost quit the club. But luckily,
she stuck with it. After a month of winding cables, her endurance had improved significantly. She could be called the “Cable Queen.”

After chatting with the senior for a while, Xie Jing continued reading the script.

As noon approached, the senior offered to buy her lunch as a thank-you for helping out. Xie Jing politely refused but ended up secretly sending a message in her dorm group chat.

One Big Family (4)

Fourth (Xie Jing): Senior Le from the broadcasting club is treating me to lunch. You two don’t have to wait for me.

@First (Zhou Yan) @Third (Qin Ning)

Third (Qin Ning): 1

First (Zhou Yan): You’ve abandoned me for someone new and forgotten your old love.

Seeing Zhou Yan’s reply, Xie Jing couldn’t help but laugh and sent a sneaky dog emoji in response.

First (Zhou Yan): Now you don’t even bother to explain. Just sending a cutesy emoji?

First (Zhou Yan): Let’s divorce, you heartbreaker.

First (Zhou Yan): I’ll take the kids.

Fourth: Divine metal.

Once she’d given them the heads-up, Xie Jing turned off her phone. She usually ate and went to class with Zhou Yan. But after that day she had a fever and Qin Ning took care of her, they started
spending more time together—including meals—so she mentioned both of them in the group.

As for Chen Yuan, she was still the lone wolf who only cared about credit points. Except for some brief chats before bedtime, they barely talked.

“Were you just chatting with your boyfriend?” the senior asked casually, noticing the faint smile on Xie Jing’s lips.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” Xie Jing shook her head quickly. “I was just messaging my roommates, telling them not to wait for me for lunch.”

Hearing this, the senior looked her over and asked, surprised, “Aren’t you in the computer science department? That department has way more guys than girls. With your looks, how could you not have a
boyfriend?”

Xie Jing laughed awkwardly and lowered her head shyly. “Well… I just haven’t met the right person yet.”

The senior studied her a bit more, thinking she must have high standards, and didn’t say anything else.

They had clay pot rice on the second floor of the cafeteria. The food at that stall was really good. Xie Jing had eaten there once before with Qin Ning, and it reminded her of home.

As she was eating, someone suddenly patted her shoulder. She looked up and unexpectedly saw Shen Xinghe’s face.

He was holding a tray and smiled down at her. “Xie Jing.”

Xie Jing’s eyes lit up. “What a coincidence! You’re having clay pot rice too?”

“Yeah.” Shen Xinghe nodded, then looked at the seat across from her. “Senior Le, can I sit here?”

“Sure. You two know each other?” Le Shiyu looked surprised, glancing between them.

“We were classmates in middle school. Hehe. Fate really brings people together, even across great distances.” Xie Jing scooted over to make room for him.

Shen Xinghe was in the dance club. During club activities, he had borrowed audio equipment and microphones from Le Shiyu a few times, so she remembered him clearly.

Both Shen Xinghe and Xie Jing had the typical southern girl appearance—big eyes, pointed chin, oval face, fair skin, gentle and refined demeanor. Even their tone of voice was soft and pleasant, like
stepping into a watery Jiangnan scene.

Le Shiyu, being a true northerner, couldn’t help but find the two of them visually delightful.

“The photos and videos from last time are all edited. They’ll be posted on the school’s public account next week,” Shen Xinghe said. “Xie Jing, make sure to check them out.”

Xie Jing nodded eagerly. “Mm-hmm, I’ll definitely look when I have time.”

Shen Xinghe smiled but said no more, focusing on his food. Meanwhile, Le Shiyu kept glancing at Xie Jing. Ever since Shen Xinghe arrived, she hadn’t stopped smiling—grinning from ear to ear. She
looked genuinely happy.

“I’m full,” Xie Jing said, putting down her spoon. She pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe her mouth. Le Shiyu and Shen Xinghe also put down their utensils one after the other.

Xie Jing didn’t need to help with script reading that afternoon, so after lunch, she returned to the dorm.

It was Friday, and Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan were packing to go home for the weekend. Qin Ning was sitting in a chair, arms crossed, watching a documentary.

When Xie Jing entered, Qin Ning didn’t even look at her—just silently handed her a drink.

Xie Jing paused and looked at the bottle. On the label were four big characters: Rock Sugar Snow Pear!

“For you,” Qin Ning said calmly.

“Oh my god, that’s so thoughtful! I was just thirsty—the clay pot rice had too much soy sauce,” Xie Jing said, moved. She slung her arm around Qin Ning’s shoulder and peeked at her colorful profile.

“How did you know I like rock sugar snow pear drinks?”

“Girl~ admit it, you’re totally into me too~”

Qin Ning: “…”

Seeing Qin Ning go silent, Xie Jing went full drama queen. She stood up straight, raised the drink above her head like making a vow, and declared seriously, “From today on, Qin Ning is officially my sworn sister!”

The dorm fell silent.

Chen Yuan: Divine… divine metal.

Qin Ning: My silence is deafening.

Just then, Zhou Yan came out of the bathroom and heard Xie Jing’s “blasphemous” declaration. With a blank face, she pulled out a bottle of the exact same drink from her drawer, slammed it on the
table, and pointed at it. “Qin Ning gave one to all of us. She said the campus store was having a sale, she bought a bunch, couldn’t finish them, and didn’t want them to expire.”

Xie Jing: “…”

Her face instantly turned tomato red. So she had misunderstood—thinking Qin Ning specially bought it for her because she’d been reading scripts all morning.

But that wasn’t the case.

Trying to stay calm with her tomato-red face and neck, Xie Jing took a sip of the drink and told herself, It’s fine. Life passes quickly anyway.

So… does anyone know where to buy a ticket to Mars?

“Hahahaha, I’m dying! Xie Jing, you’re too cute!” Zhou Yan’s serious expression cracked. She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as tears streamed down her face.

She looked up and saw Xie Jing sipping her drink in tiny gulps, and couldn’t help but hug her tightly with overflowing affection.

She even ruffled Xie Jing’s bangs, making a single hair stick up like an antenna. Xie Jing looked like she’d lost all hope, and after glancing at them a few times, she fled to her bed to nap.

She ended up sleeping for nearly two hours. When she woke up, Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan had already packed and left.

The dorm was quiet. The curtain on the balcony was half-drawn, dividing the room into a light and shadow space. Xie Jing lifted her bed curtain and saw Qin Ning reading in the lit half of the room.

“Aren’t you taking a nap?” Xie Jing asked, her voice still a bit hoarse.

“I napped for ten minutes.” Qin Ning glanced at her, then got up and opened the curtain fully. The afternoon sunlight rushed in eagerly.

Xie Jing hopped down from the bed and took a sip of her drink. Just as she was about to sit and turn on her computer, she suddenly heard a few meows.

Their dorm was on the second floor—there shouldn’t be any cats inside. Xie Jing ran to the balcony and leaned out. Sure enough, she saw an orange cat rolling on the grass.

“Qin Ning… Qin Ning, come look! Is that the orange kitten we saw that night?” Xie Jing leaned out the window and waved wildly.

Qin Ning walked over, glanced down, and nodded. “It’s the one.”

“The weather’s so nice today, and it’s the weekend. Let’s take it for a vaccination,” Xie Jing suggested.

The day after they first saw the kitten, Xie Jing had asked the seniors about it. She found out the kitten was less than a year old, hadn’t been neutered, and hadn’t received any shots.

“Okay.” Qin Ning pulled out her phone and started messaging people. She borrowed a cat carrier and ordered a box of cat food and treats via express delivery, planning to lure the orange cat into the
bag without getting scratched.

To their surprise, the kitten wasn’t afraid of people—probably used to being petted by students. Before Qin Ning could even open the treats, it had already rolled into the spacious cat carrier.

“Meow~”

“This cat is so well-behaved,” Xie Jing sighed. “So clever!”

Qin Ning quickly zipped up the bag. “Yeah.”

“Let’s give it a name!” Xie Jing stared at the kitten for a while, then suggested, “It’s so obedient. How about we call it ‘Xie Guai’ (Little Good One)?”

Qin Ning had no objections and nodded. “Sure.”

“Then it’s settled.” Xie Jing tapped the carrier window with her knuckle and said excitedly, “Xie Guai, let’s go get your vaccine!”

To show her sense of responsibility, Xie Jing insisted on carrying the cat herself. But she was sweating all over before they even reached the school gate. Her shirt clung to her body, outlining her
slim waist.

Qin Ning took one look, grabbed the cat without a word, and carried it herself. Then she boarded the bus first and swiped both of their cards.