Forbidden to Flirt and Run 40p1

Chapter 40 p1

The heating in the room was stifling, like a spring breeze, but Xu Qingtang felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, cold to the bone.

She pursed her lips. “Mom, you know.”

Teacher Qi threw the half-peeled orange into the trash can, her face gloomy. “Shouldn’t I know? How long did you plan on hiding it from me? Do you know what others are saying? Do you know how ugly those words are?”

“I thought you two hadn’t known each other for long. After a business trip, you would calm down and eventually figure it out. Now it seems I was wrong. The more I indulge you, the more you don’t know how to repent.”

“I’m not wrong. Why should I change?” Xu Qingtang was neither servile nor overbearing. “Is it wrong to like someone?”

Teacher Qi didn’t want to argue with her either. Her voice was stern, and she directly gave her an order. “Qingtang, you’re still young and don’t know any better. I can understand that you’re pursuing novelty and excitement. But Gu Yizhi is so much older than you. I don’t believe she doesn’t know any better either. You’ve been bewitched by her. This is not something you can’t turn back from. Now, you make it clear to her, end all this, and move back in with me in the future. After a while, you’ll understand.”

Xu Qingtang wanted to laugh. “When you were forcing me to go on blind dates, you said I was not young anymore and should get married. Now that you’re forcing me to break up with her, you’re saying I’m still young and don’t know any better.”

Xu Qingtang was considerate of Teacher Qi, but hearing her push all the so-called “blame” onto Gu Yizhi, she continued, “Mom, to be honest with you, I don’t think being gay is wrong. And, it has nothing to do with her. I already liked women before I met her. I was the one who provoked her first.”

“You!” Teacher Qi’s gaze turned cold. She felt that her daughter in front of her was very strange, and the anger in her heart was unbearable. “Xu Qingtang, you’ve never talked back to me. Now, for a Gu Yizhi, you’re starting to mock me, is that it!”

Xu Qingtang sighed. “I’m just telling the truth.”

Teacher Qi’s tone was cold and non-negotiable. “Whether you provoked her first or she provoked you first, this matter ends here. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

“Mom, you also like Gu Yizhi, don’t you? She’s your student. You know best what kind of person she is. What’s wrong with me being with her?”

“If she were just my former student, then of course I would like her,” Teacher Qi’s face was ashen, her fingers trembling, her voice sharp and harsh. “But I absolutely cannot accept her seducing my daughter, pulling you along to ruin your own life, and willingly degrading yourself!”

“Mom, can we talk properly? You’re not this kind of person. Why do you have to say such things?” Xu Qingtang found it very harsh. “It has nothing to do with her. I hope you don’t insult her like this.”

“Talk properly, alright,” Teacher Qi’s tone was decisive. “You make a clean break with her!”

Xu Qingtang was also resolute. “Except for this matter.”

“Xu Qingtang!”

Teacher Qi was so angry that she raised her hand high. Xu Qingtang didn’t dodge, standing there like a sharp monument, and said stubbornly, “Hit me. As long as you can vent your anger, you can hit me however you want. But this matter, I hope you won’t bring it up again in the future, Mom.”

In the end, her hand couldn’t fall. Teacher Qi was so angry that she coughed. When Xu Qingtang went forward to pat her back, she pushed her away and sneered, “You’ve already taken her surname, Gu. Why do you care if I live or die?”

“Mom,” Xu Qingtang poured a glass of water, very helpless. “Don’t say angry words. Don’t ruin your health.”

Teacher Qi calmed down. She took a deep breath, her throat feeling cold. “Qingtang, I know you’re stubborn. The more I say, the more you’ll go against me. But this is not a child’s play. It doesn’t matter if one person knows, it doesn’t matter if two people know. If everyone knows, if everyone understands that you, Xu Qingtang, are a homosexual, this absurd matter of liking women, you won’t even have a chance to regret it, you know!”

“This is not absurd, nor is it a child’s play. Mom, I’m serious.” Xu Qingtang’s words were firm. “Mom, I can’t accept men just like you can’t accept me liking women. You find it disgusting, and I also find it disgusting. Do you want me to live an unhappy life, a life worse than death, just to walk on the so-called right path?”

Teacher Qi was so angry that she smashed the water glass in front of her and pointed at Xu Qingtang, speechless for a long time. “A life worse than death? Do you know what a life worse than death is? To be like a rat crossing the street, everyone shouting to beat you, to be pointed at and never be able to hold your head up, that’s what a life worse than death is!”

“It’s not just me who can’t accept you. It’s that everyone can’t tolerate this kind of thing! You go out and ask around. Who is like you, who is like her, seducing her own teacher’s daughter!”

Xu Qingtang’s mouth was full of bitterness. “Mom, you really can’t tolerate it? If you can’t, why did you turn a blind eye to Sister Qingyue’s matter back then?”

The moment she said this, Xu Qingtang began to regret it. This scar had always been a pain in Teacher Qi’s heart…

“Alright, alright! You have a reason to lecture me now!” Teacher Qi’s gaze became heavy and sharp, and she almost roared, “I regret now that I didn’t persuade her back then. Xu Qingtang, a living, bloody lesson is right in front of you. Are you still going to be so stubborn!”

Xu Qingtang: “I’m not Qi Qingyue, and Gu Yizhi is not that person. And now is not ten years ago! Mom, it’s not the same as before. The tolerance for homosexuality is much higher now. Don’t force me anymore. If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it with time.”

“Prove? Prove what? Prove that you two being together is a mistake? Xu Qingtang, do you know how old you are now, and do you know how many chances a woman has to make mistakes? Everyone is walking on the same path. Why do you have to take a different one?”

Teacher Qi’s laughter grew cold. She took Xu Qingtang’s hand, squeezed it tightly, her knuckles turning white. “Qingtang, you’re still young. Do you think you can last long with just brute force? This temporary happiness is all fleeting. It will only make you hit your head and bleed in the future! Now, make it clear to her immediately. I’m not joking with you!”

Xu Qingtang neither struggled nor submitted, her eyes fixed on Teacher Qi, not backing down. “I won’t break up with her. Besides, what is the right path you’re talking about, Mom? Getting married and having children?”

“You say love is fleeting, but a person’s life is not long. Can men and women last long just because they like each other? A relationship can be broken up, a marriage can be divorced, and a remarriage can still be divorced. What does it have to do with whether it’s a woman or a man? Nothing. It only has to do with what kind of person it is.”

“You think I’m just seeking temporary pleasure now, but if I’m with other people, other men, then I won’t even have this fleeting happiness! Is this what you want to see?”

“I won’t stop you from not wanting to get married and have children for the time being, but you absolutely cannot be with a woman. Do you know what that means? You can shut my mouth, but can you shut other people’s mouths? Can you stop the rumors! You count your own weight. Can you bear the prejudice and stares of the world!”

The more Teacher Qi spoke, the more agitated she became, her eyes full of anger, her voice panting. But Xu Qingtang became more and more silent. Just when she thought her daughter was finally willing to bow her head, she heard her laugh softly.

Xu Qingtang looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. “Mom, how do you know I haven’t endured it?”

“Rumors, rumors! What damn things are rumors!” Xu Qingtang’s face was full of stubbornness. She held back her tears and sneered, “I wasn’t crushed by it before, and I won’t take it seriously now. Let others say what they want. If I die, will they care how I died? Why should I torture myself for them when I’m living a good life now?”

“Mom, I’ve tasted all the flavors you’ve experienced. Cold stares, ridicule, prejudice, what are those things? What are they?” Xu Qingtang lifted her pant leg. The scars on it were numerous, and Teacher Qi was shocked to see them.

“This one, because they said you were a murderer. This one, because they said I was a bastard… This one, from that year when I was recording a show to raise money for your medical expenses, I was cut by a steel wire…”

Xu Qingtang revealed the origin of her scars one by one in front of Teacher Qi. Teacher Qi’s heart ached, and tears blurred her eyes. In the end, her anger was replaced by regret. “Qingtang…”

Xu Qingtang’s tears couldn’t be controlled. She smiled bitterly. “Mom, I’m not saying this to blame you. It’s not your fault. I just want to tell you that I have the ability to bear all the possible things I might face. Not only that, but I’ve also met someone I really, really want to be with. In her eyes, I’m a very good person. I never knew I was so good. I’m really happy with her. This happiness can dilute the little bit of bitterness left from the past. I’ve never asked for anything, and I don’t complain about anything. I just beg you, don’t even leave me this little bit of happiness.”

At the end, Xu Qingtang was already sobbing uncontrollably. She half-knelt, half-leaned, and took Teacher Qi’s hand. “Mom, you can scold me however you want. Just please, please don’t go to Gu Yizhi. Don’t let her leave me.”

Teacher Qi had never heard her daughter mention these things. Her heart ached as much as it had when she first discovered her daughter and Gu Yizhi’s relationship.

In those years, she had been trapped in grief, timidly shrinking in a one-inch cage, deceiving herself into thinking that her daughter would not be affected…

But those pasts she had ignored were now laid out before her, bloody and raw, not allowing her to escape, and the guilt in her heart almost drowned her like the sea.

She was silent for a long time.

This time, there was still no result.

When Xu Qingtang went downstairs, she happened to run into Auntie Zhou, who was coming back. She asked Auntie Zhou to pay more attention to Teacher Qi’s situation and to call her if anything happened.

Auntie Zhou agreed, then took Xu Qingtang’s hand and sighed. “Qingtang, actually… your mother has known about you two for a long time. You’ve done a lot for your mother, and she’s felt very guilty towards you all these years. So when you used work as an excuse, she just let you get away with it. This time, if someone hadn’t mentioned it to her, it wouldn’t have… ai, don’t take it to heart. Whether she can figure it out or not, the bond between mother and daughter is deep, and her health is in such a state. You must not blame her.”

Xu Qingtang was so tired she barely had the strength to speak. She nodded. “I know.”

Auntie Zhou said, “Good child. Go back first. I’ll let you know if anything happens.”