Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 16

The next evening, Xie Jing had her regular video call with her parents. Once the video connected, her elegant mother, Ms. Xie Ruzhuo, appeared in the center of the screen, while her father only took up a small corner at the bottom right.

Just as Ms. Xie was about to remind Xie Jing that her birthday was in five days, her father noticed something was off about her expression.

“Baby, you don’t look well.”

“Mom, Dad, good evening! Dad, I’m fine. I just had a bit of an allergic reaction recently.”

Xie Jing rolled up her pajama sleeve and showed her arm to the camera. “I saw the doctor yesterday. They gave me three IV bags. The rash is almost gone now.”

“Oh dear, how did you suddenly get an allergy like that?” Ms. Xie said with a pained look. “Don’t scratch it, no matter how itchy it gets. Just apply some ointment. Tomorrow I’ll have your dad go to
the store and pick out a few jars to send to you.”

“No need, Mom. Jinghai is such a big city—if you have money, you can buy any kind of ointment here.” Sending things back and forth is too much trouble. Hopefully her mom wouldn’t airship them over
like last time.

“That’s not the same,” Ms. Xie replied. “Ointment from our own pharmacy is always better than something from outside. It’s more reliable.”

Xie Jing thought to herself, Aren’t the ointments from our store bought from suppliers too? What’s the difference? But to avoid worrying her mom, she still nodded and said, “Okay.”

“Your birthday is next Friday. The seasons are changing and there’s a flu outbreak. Your dad is short on staff at the pharmacy, so he might not be able to get away. I’ve been busy at the company
too, so we can’t come to Jinghai to see you. Take care of yourself, buy a cake, and have a meal with your roommates, alright?”

Xie Jing nodded sweetly. “Okay~”

After her mother finished nagging, she transferred several tens of thousands of yuan to Xie Jing as spending money. Seeing the notification at the top of her phone, Xie Jing’s smile deepened. She
sweet-talked her mom until she beamed with joy.

“Alright, little money-grubber. That’s enough for today. Go to bed early, don’t stay up late playing games.”

“Mm, mm, got it. Goodbye, dear Mom and Dad. Good night.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Jing didn’t hesitate to end the call.

It was only after she hung up that she suddenly realized—she had never seen Qin Ning call her family.

Xie Jing remembered that Qin Ning was from the south, and she always stayed in the dorm on weekends, unlike Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan who went home. But if she lived so far away, why didn’t she even
call her family?

Could it be… something she couldn’t talk about?

“What’s wrong? Did I interrupt your call with your family?” Qin Ning asked when she noticed Xie Jing staring at her.

“No, no,” Xie Jing quickly waved her hand. “I just find it a little strange that you never call home.”

Qin Ning was stunned—she hadn’t expected that question.

After a while, she said awkwardly, “There’s nothing to talk about.”

Xie Jing nodded. “Oh. I call on Sundays in the dorm. Will that bother you?”

Qin Ning answered firmly, “No.”

“Good.” Xie Jing relaxed and hummed a tune as she climbed into bed.

The next day was Monday. A full schedule.

Half-asleep, Xie Jing hugged her notebook as she walked toward the academic building. Qin Ning kept an eye on her, afraid she might stumble and fall.

“Whoever invented 8 a.m. classes… I want to curse their whole family,” Xie Jing yawned, looking completely miserable.

Qin Ning was confused. “Didn’t you go to bed at ten-thirty last night?”

“I got in bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about confessing to Shen Xinghe. I was so nervous.”

Last night, Xie Jing had tossed and turned for two hours before she finally got drowsy.

“Why are you nervous?” Qin Ning asked.

“Because it’s my first time. No matter what it is, the first time is always nerve-wracking. Especially something big like confessing.”

Xie Jing said seriously, “If it goes well, I’ll have a girlfriend. If it doesn’t, I’ll be heartbroken.”

“Have you heard the saying, ‘One thought leads to salvation, another to damnation’?” Xie Jing continued. “That’s exactly how I feel right now.”

Qin Ning looked down at her and said calmly, “I don’t really understand.”

“Then put yourself in my shoes,” Xie Jing said, staring up at her. “Imagine you’ve had a crush on me for three years and now you’re about to confess. Wouldn’t you be nervous?”

Qin Ning suddenly said, “Six years.”

Xie Jing tilted her head. “What?”

“Six years,” Qin Ning repeated. “Crushed for six years.”

Xie Jing said, “Fine. Then imagine I’m the person you’ve had a crush on for six years, and you’re about to confess. Wouldn’t you be nervous?”

Qin Ning thought for a moment, then nodded honestly. “Yes.”

“Exactly!” Xie Jing said. “That’s how I feel—nervous, can’t eat, can’t sleep, thinking about it all the time.”

Qin Ning had no advice to offer. She even had a slightly wicked thought—What if Shen Xinghe really is straight?

At lunch, they ran into Shen Xinghe again. Zhou Yan and Xie Jing sat on one side, Qin Ning sat across from Xie Jing, and Shen Xinghe sat opposite Zhou Yan.

To test Shen Xinghe’s attitude toward same-s3x relationships, Xie Jing deliberately pulled out her phone to watch anime while eating.

Zhou Yan caught her subtle cue and played along, steering the topic: “Xie Jing, did you finish Madoka Magica? What are you watching now?”

Xie Jing bit her chopsticks and blinked calmly. “This one… it’s Citrus.”

Zhou Yan seemed intrigued. “What kind of anime is that? Looks good.”

Xie Jing kept it short: “Yuri anime. Pseudo-incest.”

“What’s Yuri anime?” Zhou Yan asked innocently.

Looking into Zhou Yan’s pure gaze, Xie Jing slowly explained, “Uh… it’s about two girls being together.”

Qin Ning kept her head down and quietly ate, unfazed by their dramatic performance. But Shen Xinghe looked up when she heard them and asked, “A friendship between two girls?”

Xie Jing froze and instinctively corrected her, “No… it’s love.”

“Oh… I see.” Shen Xinghe nodded and didn’t comment further.

Zhou Yan and Xie Jing secretly observed her reaction. Seeing no strange expression, they exchanged a look—they could push the envelope more.

“Didn’t expect you to be into that kind of anime, haha,” Zhou Yan said, then whispered devilishly, “Xie Jing, don’t tell me you actually like girls?”

Xie Jing blushed and nodded honestly. “Mm.”

Hearing that, Shen Xinghe looked up again. Her pupils sparkled as she looked at Xie Jing.

“What is it? X-Xinghe…” Xie Jing clutched her chopsticks nervously under her gaze.

“Nothing,” Shen Xinghe said. “Just a little surprised.”

“What’s the big deal? I’m straight, but I think liking girls is fine,” Zhou Yan said bluntly. “Xinghe, what do you think?”

Shen Xinghe put down her chopsticks and thought for a few seconds. “I think… as long as both people like each other, gender doesn’t matter.”

Zhou Yan nodded knowingly. “So, you’re bi?”

“I don’t know,” Shen Xinghe blushed slightly. “I’m not very familiar with that stuff.”

“Oh…” Zhou Yan nodded and exchanged a meaningful glance with Xie Jing. They both saw satisfaction in each other’s eyes.

Looks promising. At least she’s not against it.

Xie Jing felt a bit more confident about her confession on Friday. Just as she lowered her head to eat again, she suddenly locked eyes with Qin Ning.

Xie Jing was stunned. When she came back to her senses, Qin Ning had already looked away.

Weird. Why did Qin Ning seem sad just now when she looked at me?

Could it be… she’s upset that I’m planning to confess to Shen Xinghe?

I should help her find a girlfriend too!

“I’m full. You guys go ahead. I’m heading back to the dorm.” Qin Ning stood up with her tray and left.

Zhou Yan stared at her back and thought, Could Qin Ning be homophobic?

Why else would she leave right after we talked about Xie Jing liking girls?

Better not bring that up in front of straight girls again, Zhou Yan thought, watching her go.

After lunch, Xie Jing, following Zhou Yan’s advice, went to the school store and bought a stack of foam paper.

Zhou Yan had said: Flowers will wilt, but love is eternal. Real flowers won’t last, so why not make your own? That’s more meaningful.

So Xie Jing decided to make a bouquet of eternal flowers for Shen Xinghe out of foam paper.

She spent a fortune on supplies and used her precious lunch break to fold… three roses.

“At this rate, you’ll only have twelve by Friday,” Zhou Yan said, about to help.

But Xie Jing stopped her and said firmly, “No, I have to fold them myself, or it won’t be sincere.”

“…” Zhou Yan felt rejected again.

“Fine, Miss Drama Queen. Do it yourself.” Zhou Yan flicked her hand dismissively. “I’m done helping you.”

Xie Jing replied calmly, “Thanks for understanding.”

During afternoon class, Xie Jing sneakily hid her hands under the desk and kept folding roses.

Zhou Yan just shook her head and sighed. “No wonder our homeroom teacher in high school said dating affects your studies. Now I get it. Someone’s so busy folding flowers for her crush that she’s not
even listening to the lecture.”

Xie Jing pretended not to hear and turned to Qin Ning with puppy eyes. “After class… can I borrow your notes?”

Zhou Yan huffed. “What, my beautiful scrawl isn’t good enough for you? You have to beg someone else?”

Xie Jing said, “I wouldn’t dare. It’s just… your writing is too sophisticated for us mere mortals. That’s why I’m asking the noble Qin.”

Zhou Yan was very pleased by the flattery and let it slide with a soft hum.

After class, Xie Jing got her wish and borrowed Qin Ning’s notebook.

But when she opened it… the sky fell.

Xie Jing stared at Qin Ning. “Why is it blank?”

Expressionless, Qin Ning replied, “I didn’t take any notes.”

“Why not?” Xie Jing felt hopeless. Did she really have to copy Zhou Yan’s crazy handwriting?

“I didn’t have time. What’s wrong with you, Miss Qin?” she asked.

Qin Ning had been watching the lecture closely earlier, not even glancing at Xie Jing. So how did she not take notes?

Qin Ning said, “I wasn’t in the mood.”

Xie Jing: “???”

You need to be in the mood to take notes? That’s your excuse? Seriously…

“Fine.” Xie Jing sighed and helplessly handed the notebook back.