Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 7

After eating and drinking, Xie Jing started to feel sleepy again.

How annoying. She had clearly slept all night—how could she be sleepy again so soon?

She yawned.

“Qin Ning, you can go back first. I still have a long time left on the IV. I probably won’t get back to the dorm until noon.”

“I don’t have anything else to do,” Qin Ning said as she bent down to sit. She didn’t seem like she planned to leave.

Xie Jing’s eyelids were getting heavier, and before long, her head tilted to the side and she fell asleep leaning against the headboard.

“She took cold medicine. Feeling sleepy is normal,” the doctor said, checking the IV and speaking to Qin Ning.

“Mm.”

Xie Jing slept for almost three hours. When she woke up, the doctor was taking out the needle.

“That’s it for today. If your fever comes back tomorrow, come again,” the doctor said.

Xie Jing nodded quickly. “Okay, got it.”

As they left the infirmary, Qin Ning handed her a mask.

Xie Jing suddenly remembered the first time she saw Qin Ning—she had also been wearing a mask back then.

“Were you sick that time too?”

Qin Ning paused for a second, then said, “I had a wisdom tooth pulled.”

“Oh.” No wonder she had worn a mask—your face does swell up after that.

“What do you want to eat for lunch?” Qin Ning asked as she led Xie Jing toward the cafeteria.

“Anything is fine. I can’t really taste anything anyway,” Xie Jing said. Her mouth felt bitter, and she didn’t have much of an appetite.

In the end, she ordered a bowl of porridge with preserved egg and lean meat but could only finish half of it.

Back at the dorm, Xie Jing opened the game to do her daily quests.

Seeing this, Qin Ning logged in too. “Wanna play together?”

Xie Jing nodded. “Invite me.”

Maybe it was because she was sick, but Xie Jing was reacting slower than usual. She got killed several times during the quests. Frustrated and ready to give up, she suddenly saw Qin Ning switch
skill paths. The next moment, the team chat lit up with kill messages:

【The road to the afterlife is long, take care!】

【One more hit!】

【Finish it off!】

【Your head—mine now.】

Xie Jing’s anger vanished instantly. She looked at Qin Ning in surprise. “You play all four builds?”

“Yeah. I know a bit of both PvP healing and DPS. Also PvE,” Qin Ning replied.

“A bit?”

Xie Jing thought that was an understatement. Qin Ning’s DPS skills were just as good as when she herself was in top form.

“Why do you like playing healer?” Xie Jing asked, puzzled.

“Because…”

At first, Qin Ning had chosen healer to protect someone. Later, she began to enjoy the feeling of pulling teammates back from the brink of death.

“Because of someone,” Qin Ning said.

“Oh~ Someone you like?” Xie Jing asked curiously. “What’s her class? Also a flower user?”

“No, she’s like you.” Qin Ning didn’t deny the first part—just corrected the second.

“What a coincidence!!”

No wonder Qin Ning healed her so naturally—it was all from experience.

“Next time, bring the person you like to play with us. It’s more fun with more people,” Xie Jing said casually.

Qin Ning replied, “Okay. Once I win her over, we’ll queue together.”

“Nice,” Xie Jing said, then sneakily switched her skill path and clumsily threw a few big heals toward Qin Ning, who was fighting hard. But they didn’t help at all… she had forgotten to switch her
gear.

Xie Jing wasn’t cut out to be a healer. In no time, she got discouraged and switched back.

“Want to take a nap?” Qin Ning asked, glancing at the clock in the corner of the screen.

“I’m not sleepy. If you want to sleep, I’ll mute my sound.”

Xie Jing had slept all night and all morning—she was full of energy. She planned to finish the dailies and then play something else. After all, it was a holiday—a perfect time to have fun.

“I’m not sleepy either.”

Qin Ning finished her daily quests and waited for Xie Jing to hand hers in.

Suddenly, Xie Jing suggested, “Wanna play some chess?”

“Sure,” Qin Ning replied.

This season, Xie Jing hadn’t played much of Golden Shovel, and she was still using her old build. Qin Ning explained things to her as she played and completely dominated with a three-star five-cost
Draven, winning the match with full health.

Xie Jing: “!!!”

How was Qin Ning so good at every game?!

Xie Jing felt a little defeated. She had always thought she was one of the naturally talented gamers—but compared to Qin Ning, she was clearly not in the same league.

“Do you play any Steam games? I want to try some co-op games.”

In their 211 dorm room, Xie Jing was the only one who liked gaming. She had been looking for someone to play with. She had bought a bunch of co-op games but never touched them—until now. Finally,
she had found someone who shared her interests. She wanted to go through all her games with Qin Ning.

“Send me your friend code,” Qin Ning said, opening her game accelerator.

The campus internet was slow, so Xie Jing opened her own accelerator too. When she got online, Qin Ning had already sent a friend request. Without thinking, Xie Jing accepted it right away.

Co-op games required good teamwork, but for some reason, even though this was their first time playing together, she and Qin Ning worked together surprisingly well.

It felt like they’d known each other for a long time.

They cleared the game perfectly. Xie Jing felt like she had been carried by a pro.

“You’re really good at games!” she said sincerely.

“Do you play games often?” she asked.

“Sometimes,” Qin Ning replied, then added, “The person I like loves gaming.”

“Whoever you like must be really lucky. I’ve never found anyone who loves gaming as much as I do.”

Xie Jing wasn’t shy, but she didn’t socialize much. She spent most of her time gaming, so if she were to date someone, it’d have to be someone who liked games too—otherwise, they’d have nothing to
talk about. But in all her life, aside from Shen Xinghe, Qin Ning was the only person she had truly clicked with.

Too bad… Qin Ning already had someone she liked.

Xie Jing sighed quietly in her heart.

The next day, Xie Jing’s fever was gone, but she still had a cold and couldn’t taste anything.

Qin Ning bought some oranges and gave one to Xie Jing after returning to the dorm. The orange was sweet and fresh, and Xie Jing finally felt like her sense of taste was coming back a little.

That night, Xie Jing made her usual phone call to her parents. She had come alone to the north for college, so her parents were very worried. They had agreed to talk on the phone every Sunday night.

Mrs. Xie Ruzhuo immediately noticed that her daughter was sick. She wanted to book a plane ticket and come right away. Xie Jing quickly raised her hand to refuse, “Don’t come. The fever is already
gone. You might still be on the way when I’m already back to jumping around.”

“Then I’ll send over a few silk quilts from home. Those quilts are light and warm. Letting your dad, that big rough guy, sleep in them is a waste,” Mrs. Xie said firmly and wouldn’t take no for an
answer.

Mr. Xie, sitting in front of the camera: “?”

Xie Jing gave in. “Okay, okay, do whatever you want.”

After hanging up, Xie Jing washed up and got into bed, ready for a good night’s sleep. Qin Ning turned off the lights and got into bed too.

When Xie Jing had just laid down, her mind was still very active. She started chatting out of nowhere, “Qin Ning, what kind of person do you like?”

In the darkness, there was a few seconds of silence.
Then Qin Ning’s voice came slowly, “She’s 150 cm tall, has two low ponytails tied with blue ribbons, carries a brown leather backpack, wears a gray-blue school uniform, has a slightly chubby baby
face, and on her nose—” She paused and changed her words. “Her eyes shine when she talks.”

“Ah… that sounds really cute. But from your description, she must be quite young?”

“Yeah, she’s not an adult yet this year.”

Qin Ning was describing her first impression from six years ago.

Not an adult yet… Xie Jing also wasn’t an adult. She was a Sagittarius, born on December 8. She still had a month before she turned eighteen.

Wait a minute. Xie Jing suddenly realized something and sat up in shock.

“Qin Ning, you like girls??”

“Yeah. Why?”

“No… no reason. It’s just rare.” Xie Jing didn’t expect Qin Ning to come out so openly right in front of her.

Since Qin Ning was so honest, should she say something too?

“Actually… I like girls too,” Xie Jing said in a small voice.

Qin Ning: “Yeah, I know.”

Xie Jing was shocked. “How do you know!??”

Compared to Xie Jing’s surprise, Qin Ning’s voice was calm: “I knew before you changed majors.”

Xie Jing was crushed. “Oh… so I became famous for rejecting that guy’s confession.”

Qin Ning seemed to chuckle. It was a short laugh, but Xie Jing still heard it.

“I also like someone,” Xie Jing said suddenly. “Are you asleep, Qin Ning?”

She didn’t get a reply for a long time, so she asked in a low voice.

Qin Ning: “No.”

Xie Jing felt something was off. Why did Qin Ning suddenly sound so distant?

“It’s too bad she seems to be straight,” Xie Jing said, a little troubled.

Qin Ning came alive again. “Is it that girl you were walking with on the field that day?”

“Yeah, it’s her,” Xie Jing said softly. “I’ve known her since middle school. I liked her secretly for three years, but I was too scared to confess. Later, we went to different high schools and lost
contact. I didn’t expect to see her again in college.”

Qin Ning asked, “So what are you going to do?”

“I might try chasing her,” Xie Jing mumbled. “But first I have to figure out if she even likes girls. I don’t want her to think I’m a creep.”

Qin Ning: “Yeah. If you two end up together…”

“If we get together, I’ll treat you to a meal. You can bring the girl you like too,” Xie Jing said excitedly.

Qin Ning: “…Okay.”

Xie Jing felt like Qin Ning wasn’t that into the conversation, so she didn’t continue. She lay down, pulled up the blanket, said “good night,” and quickly fell asleep.

On Monday, they had an 8 a.m. class. Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan came straight from home to the classroom, so naturally Xie Jing walked there with Qin Ning.

Zhou Yan didn’t expect that after just one holiday, Xie Jing and Qin Ning would become so close. Xie Jing even let Qin Ning sit with them.

There were only four girls in their class. Chen Yuan sat alone in the center of the first row. The other three sat by the window in the third row.

Xie Jing was still sick and coughed a lot during class. Qin Ning blocked the drafty window with the curtain and casually spun her pen while listening to the lecture.

Zhou Yan was bored and played with her phone until the bell rang and she suddenly looked up.

“Come on, go to the bathroom with me. I’m dying, and I need some fresh air,” she said, pulling Xie Jing with her.

When they came back from the bathroom, there were still five minutes before class. Xie Jing was about to get some hot water when she saw that her cup was already full.

“I went to get water earlier and filled it up for you too,” Qin Ning said.

“Oh, thank you so much.” Xie Jing looked at Qin Ning with gratitude, then glanced at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan: “???”