Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 26

“My calf really hurts. I think it’s a cramp.” Xie Jing was in so much pain that she almost wanted to cry. She had clearly warmed up on the shore earlier—how could she still get a cramp?

“Maybe you’re low on calcium,” Qin Ning said. She carried Xie Jing ashore, laid her leg flat on the ground, and gently massaged it. “How does it feel? Still hurting?”

Xie Jing was soaking wet, her eyes red like a little bunny. She nodded. “A little better.”

“Okay, relax.” Qin Ning looked serious and focused. Her hands moved smoothly, without hesitation or sloppiness.

“Oh my god, Xie Jing, what happened to you?” Zhou Yan came back after swimming a lap. When she didn’t see them around, she came to look.

“She moved too much and got a cramp.” Xie Jing regretted splashing around in the water for no reason. Now she was half-limping like an injured person.

“Oh… Let me help massage too,” Zhou Yan said, rubbing her hands together as she reached for Xie Jing’s leg.

But just as her hand got close, Qin Ning stopped her. “Only one leg is cramped.”

Zhou Yan awkwardly pulled her hand back. She watched Qin Ning’s massage technique closely and couldn’t help but praise her. “Qin Ning, why are you so good at this? Have you been secretly learning
behind our backs?”

“No,” Qin Ning said. “I have elders at home. After massaging a lot, I just got better at it.”

Zhou Yan nodded in understanding. “Ah, that makes sense.”

After about ten minutes of massaging, Xie Jing’s back stopped hurting, and her leg wasn’t sore anymore. But she didn’t feel like swimming again. She changed into dry clothes and came back out to
watch Qin Ning and the others swim—and to learn from them.

As she watched, her mind wandered. Qin Ning had such a great figure—curvy, long legs, pretty face. Everything about her was perfect.

As for Zhou Yan, Xie Jing squinted at her for two seconds, then quietly looked away. Zhou Yan was also very beautiful, but her fashion sense was just too unique. She wore a green seaweed-colored
swimsuit that made her look like a floating piece of kelp in the water.

Qin Ning didn’t swim for long before she came ashore. Zhou Yan went straight to her club after swimming.

On their way back to the dorm, Xie Jing suddenly asked, “Qin Ning, you never told me why you suddenly moved up north.”

Qin Ning had mentioned earlier while massaging her that she had elders at home. Was it because of her family?

Xie Jing wasn’t sure why, but she could clearly feel Qin Ning’s expression change slightly after she asked—like she’d touched on a sad memory.

Xie Jing was about to say, “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay,” but then Qin Ning unexpectedly dropped a bombshell that left her stunned.

“In my memory, my parents died in an accident when I was very young. My grandma raised me all by herself.”

“When I was fourteen, some people from Jinghai came and told me I was the long-lost daughter of the Fang family. They wanted me to return and reunite with them.”

Xie Jing was shocked. Qin Ning’s life was more dramatic than a TV show.

“Oh… I see… But wait, didn’t you leave Jiangcheng after graduating middle school?”

At fourteen, most people hadn’t even finished middle school.

Qin Ning nodded. “Yes, I refused them back then. But a year later, something happened to Grandma. They found me again and wanted me to go back with them to Jinghai.”

Back then, Qin Grandma was already over sixty and wasn’t as strong as before. One day while selling grilled corn at a stall, she collapsed on the roadside. A kind passerby took her to the hospital,
where they discovered a stroke. The doctors said she needed surgery, which would cost a lot of money.

So Qin Ning had no choice but to go to Jinghai. After her grandma’s condition stabilized, Qin Ning enrolled in a private high school there. But since she was switched at birth, the Fang family already had a daughter in place. Qin Ning never officially joined the Fang household and kept her surname, Qin.

Over the years, Grandma stayed in a nursing home to rest, and Qin Ning visited her whenever she could. But Grandma no longer remembered her.

“I didn’t expect your background to be so complicated.” Xie Jing used to think Qin Ning was just too cold, but now she realized that Qin Ning had lost her parents young and grown up relying on her
grandma. Then she had to leave her hometown and endure so many hardships. Her personality made perfect sense now.

Qin Ning looked at Xie Jing. Her eyes were as clear as glass, without any extra emotion. She smiled and said, “Actually, I don’t think it was that hard. At least that misunderstanding helped me meet
my family, my grandma—and you.”

If she hadn’t grown up in Jiangcheng, she wouldn’t have met Xie Jing. And now, Xie Jing wouldn’t be her girlfriend, and Grandma wouldn’t have become her grandma.

So all those twists and turns—they were meant to be.

Xie Jing was moved by her optimistic thinking and didn’t feel so sorry anymore. Even if Qin Ning had ended up in a small city, she was still outstanding. Gold would shine anywhere.

They returned to their dorm. Qin Ning had just taken off her coat when Xie Jing’s phone rang. It was Le Shiyu calling. After a quick conversation, Xie Jing said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Senior Le had called because there was another issue at the broadcasting station. Xie Jing stepped in at the last minute.

She read the script with a senior student in his third year. Afterward, the senior, thankful for her help, bought her a milk tea. Xie Jing tried to decline, but in the end, she accepted it and
brought it back to the dorm.

After she left the station, the senior asked Le Shiyu for Xie Jing’s info and got her WeChat. As soon as Xie Jing walked into the dorm, a message popped up.

[Hello, I’m Chen Xincheng from the broadcasting station.]

No one else was in the room. Xie Jing put the milk tea on the table and, after hesitating for a couple of seconds, accepted the friend request.

[Xie Jing: Is there something else wrong with the station?]

[Chen Xincheng: I didn’t add you because of the station.]

[Chen Xincheng: I’ve seen your photos many times on the confession wall. You’re just as pretty in person.]

Xie Jing had a feeling his intentions weren’t right but worried she was overthinking it.

[Xie Jing: Thank you for the compliment.]

Just after she sent the message, Qin Ning came back. She must’ve just taken a bath in the public shower—her whole body was warm and steaming, and even her usually pale face was flushed red.

Seeing the milk tea on the table, Qin Ning paused, then asked, “A guy gave you that?”

Xie Jing widened her eyes in surprise. “How did you know?”

“If you bought it yourself, it wouldn’t be just one cup,” Qin Ning said. She knew Xie Jing too well and guessed it right away.

“Wow, Qin Ning, you’re amazing!”

Just as she said that, a new message popped up on her phone.

[Chen Xincheng: Are you free this weekend to see a movie together?]

Huh?? They had only talked a few times—wasn’t it too soon to go to the movies together?

Xie Jing was confused. She had just accepted the milk tea. How did it become a movie invitation? And he had basically forced the milk tea on her—she said no, but he didn’t listen.

Seeing how troubled Xie Jing looked, Qin Ning walked over and glanced at the message. She lowered her head and asked, “Do you mind if I reply for you?”

“I don’t mind. Do whatever you want.” Xie Jing handed her phone over with both hands.

Qin Ning took it, tapped the screen a few times with her slender fingers, then handed it back.

Xie Jing looked at the screen.

[Xie Jing: I have a date with my girlfriend this weekend. I’m not free.]

A date? Like a sword-fighting match? Was Qin Ning planning to help her climb the ranks? Well, that didn’t sound too bad either.

After getting her phone back, Xie Jing blocked the guy and didn’t bother replying again.

That night, Xie Jing climbed into Qin Ning’s bed again. Ever since she’d slept in Qin Ning’s bed once, she seemed addicted to it—she couldn’t help climbing in every time.

Qin Ning didn’t say anything and let her be.

The next morning, Qin Ning noticed something was off. Xie Jing’s face was flushed and her body felt warm. She must’ve caught a cold.

Qin Ning always kept cold medicine in the dorm. After mixing a packet of 999 Cold Remedy for Xie Jing, she messaged her advisor to ask for leave and stayed in to take care of her.

Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan went to class together, so the dorm was quiet. Only Xie Jing’s breathing could be heard. Qin Ning sat in her chair, wearing one earbud to watch online lectures. She paused the
video now and then to check on Xie Jing.

Ever since drinking the cold medicine, Xie Jing had been sleeping deeply without moving.

Around noon, she finally woke up from thirst. Still half-asleep, she sat up and said hoarsely, “Qin… Ning, are you there?”

“I’m here.” Qin Ning pulled back the curtain and handed her a cup of water.

Xie Jing took a few sips, and her throat finally felt better.

“Qin Ning, I realized I’m really weak. Yesterday I cramped while swimming and even caught a cold, but you and Zhou Yan are totally fine.”

Thinking about it made her upset. She hugged the blanket and rolled around on the bed, sounding a little disappointed.

Qin Ning noticed and stayed quiet for a few seconds, then said helplessly, “Exercise more.”

Just hearing the word “exercise” made Xie Jing nervous. She really didn’t like it. Except for mandatory campus runs, she never exercised voluntarily. Maybe that’s why her body was weak.

Xie Jing’s cold dragged on for half a month before she fully recovered. For the first week, she had no energy. Just as she started feeling better, a cold snap hit. Every time the weather got
extreme, she got sick—as if showing respect to nature.

She caught colds from getting rained on, from the wind—her entire second semester was basically spent being sick.

Luckily, after this semester she could go home for summer break. Jiangcheng, her hometown in the south, was over ten degrees warmer than Jinghai. Xie Jing hated the cold but didn’t mind heat, so the
warmer it was, the less likely she’d get sick. Plus, her parents ran a pharmacy. With them carefully taking care of her, she quickly regained all her lost energy.

By the time sophomore year started, Xie Jing was back to her lively, energetic self. But as soon as she landed in Jinghai, she immediately showed signs of not adjusting—nosebleeds, high fever. It
took her over a month to finally stabilize.