Chapter 9

Bo Ranying’s protests were all silenced by Nan Qi’s forceful kisses, drowned out by waves of overwhelming affection.

They kissed for a moment, and Bo Ranying gradually warmed to it. She arched her back, tilting her face upward in response. Emboldened, Nan Qi returned the kiss with even greater passion, leaning in until her body pressed against Bo Ranying’s torso.

The hair clip atop Bo Ranying’s head wobbled precariously, bumping against Nan Qi’s forehead and getting in the way.

Nan Qi reached up, nudged it aside, and tossed it carelessly onto the foot of the bed.

The poor limited-edition Star Dew clip met a heartless fate.

In the instant the clip came off, Bo Ranying’s bound locks of dark hair tumbled free, cascading over their faces and necks like a natural veil that sealed them away from prying eyes.

The chair groaned under the weight of two bodies. It swayed backward, tilting dangerously until—with a sharp, grating screech—the legs scraped across the floor.

Scraaaape.

The sound was piercing and loud.

Dazed from the onslaught of kisses, Bo Ranying finally snapped out of her fog. She blinked open her watery almond eyes and pushed at Nan Qi, who was leaning heavily against her.

She bit her lip, mumbling incoherently as she used her tongue to shove Nan Qi’s intrusion away. Then she clamped her teeth shut, denying any more kisses.

“You—you, stop kissing already…”

“We’ll wake the others… Besides, you’ve kissed long enough.”

“I want some water… Go get me a glass.”

Bo Ranying coquettishly bossed Nan Qi around with practiced ease.

After spending time together, she’d come to understand Nan Qi deeply. A little whining could melt her resolve on almost anything. Disagreements didn’t need logic—just one kiss from Bo Ranying, and Nan Qi would give in to whatever she wanted.

This time, Bo Ranying was certain it would be the same.

But she had miscalculated.

Nan Qi ignored the request entirely.

She persisted, licking at Bo Ranying’s lips before gently sucking on them. Her breathing grew heavier as she coaxed in a soft voice, “Be good… just a little longer, okay? Open your mouth…” Her usually cool, snow-pale face was flushed with pink, and the words clashed so wildly with her image that her classmates would have been floored to hear them.

“No—kissing~” Bo Ranying pressed her lips together, her voice trembling from the pressure.

Nan Qi hugged her once more before finally releasing her in disappointment. Obediently, she fetched a glass of cool water and brought it over.

Bo Ranying gulped it down, her ragged breaths steadying at last.

She shot Nan Qi a surprised, reproachful look. “What’s gotten into you today? I hadn’t even finished explaining the problems before you started kissing me—and you kept going forever, even after I told you to stop.”

As she spoke, she set the cup absently on the desk, ready to resume the lesson.

Nan Qi said nothing. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, nails digging viciously into her palms. She felt the sharp sting as they pierced the soft flesh, a sudden prick of pain as warm beads of blood trickled down, hidden within her grip.

Her heart thundered restlessly, a frantic declaration of her barely contained turmoil.

She stared intently at the girl before her, her eyes brimming with a surging rush of emotion. Vivid color bloomed across her cool, beautiful features, betraying the attraction she could no longer hide.

Nan Qi stepped forward until her knees pressed into the crook of Bo Ranying’s legs, looming over her.

From her seated position, Bo Ranying’s gaze landed squarely on Nan Qi’s chest, where the uneven rise and fall was impossible to miss.

Something about Nan Qi’s demeanor set off alarms in Bo Ranying’s instincts. Before she could dwell on it, Nan Qi’s voice emerged—slightly hoarse and thick with unspoken weight.

“The reason I kissed you, Ranran… you should know.”

The nickname lingered on her lips, tender and entwined.

“What?” Bo Ranying blinked.

Nan Qi fell silent for a beat, then closed her eyes. She went for broke.

With the resolve of someone facing the gallows, she lobbed a straight pitch: “I like you, Ranran.”

“If we imagine the space around us as a universe, then you’re my flight path—and I’m the little planet that orbits only you.”

Nan Qi’s heart hammered wildly. She fought back her shyness and poured out her heavy feelings with utter sincerity. Her starry eyes gleamed, yearning for Bo Ranying’s reciprocation.

She felt confident enough already, but without a firm answer, anxiety gnawed at her all the same.

“What?!” Bo Ranying shot up from the chair in shock, her head spinning.

For a close same-sex friend to suddenly confess like this was a bombshell—like her entire worldview shattering and reforming in an instant. Bo Ranying had never even heard of such a thing.

Caught completely off guard, she panicked, her face twisting in horror.

Why on earth?! How could Nan Qi even think something so absurd?

Bo Ranying’s reaction plunged Nan Qi into her own pit of unease.

Her heart dangled precariously, unable to find solid ground.

Miserably, she probed, “Ranran, you like me too… right?”

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you? Don’t joke like that.” Bo Ranying desperately hoped Nan Qi would take it back.

Nan Qi grew solemn, offering a childish vow. “We’re young now, sure—but I know the difference. You’re the one who makes my heart race, the one I like. I’ve thought about this for ages; it’s not some whim or prank. I’ve weighed it all—we’re already friends, so slipping into something romantic won’t need any adjustment. It’ll feel natural. I promise I’ll treat you right, take responsibility for you, and cherish what we have—”

“The Tarot Cards said we’d have great luck today if we did our homework in order. I followed that, so… does that mean good luck for me?” Nan Qi clung to mysticism in her desperation.

Clumsy and urgent, she laid her heart bare, hoping Bo Ranying would recognize her seriousness.

“If you didn’t like me, why would you kiss me?” she murmured.

“Kissing between friends is totally normal, isn’t it?” Bo Ranying was on the verge of losing it. In her mind, they could hold hands, hug, link arms, share family secrets, even hit the bathroom together. Kissing felt like a seamless next step for friends that close.

To her, it was pure platonic chemistry—nothing that could veer into romance.

“Where’s that normal?” Nan Qi retorted, her body trembling. Her pupils swam with dense affection, laced with a fierce hunger to devour Bo Ranying whole.

The surge of passion, the blazing intensity, the despair of potential rejection—it all played out vividly across Nan Qi’s frame.

“We’re girls! How could two girls be together like that?” Bo Ranying had wrestled with the question forever before blurting it out.

She simply couldn’t fathom why her friend would think that way.

In her world, couples were always boy-girl.

She couldn’t picture stepping into romance with a same-sex friend.

Even their biology teacher had said it: opposites attract, likes repel.