Chapter 69

Lin Qimian was heading back, and Xu Yueliang had no reason to stay any longer either.

The two wrapped up everything in B City that very night and boarded a flight back to S City.

Her nerves had probably been wound too tight these past couple of days. Once the plane took off and leveled out into the stratosphere, Lin Qimian drowsily closed her eyes.

Xu Yueliang fetched a blanket from the flight attendant and draped it gently over her. “Doctor Lin, get some rest~” she said, her voice soft and tender.

Feeling utterly at ease, Lin Qimian leaned back in her seat and slept deeply.

She woke as the plane was preparing to land.

Dawn light pierced through the clouds, streaming in through the window and painting the world in brilliant shades of orange.

Lin Qimian turned to look at Xu Yueliang. She was just as she always was—those big, beautiful eyes wide open, her smile sweet and adorable, like something out of a warm dream.

She twisted open a bottle of water and passed it over. “Doctor Lin, we’re almost home~”

“Mm.” Lin Qimian took it and drank a couple of sips.

Xu Yueliang stretched her arms. “Vacation’s over. Time for you to get back to work properly, Doctor Lin—and for me to buckle down on my streams~~”

Lin Qimian’s lips curved faintly. “Doesn’t performing count as work? You’ve been at it nonstop, while I’ve been the one hogging all the holiday.”

“Anything’s fine as long as Doctor Lin’s with me.” Xu Yueliang lowered her gaze, fiddling with the little embroidered bear on her jacket. “I’m just really happy when we’re together~~”

Lin Qimian didn’t know quite what to say.

When Xu Yueliang had kept her distance, closing the gap had been straightforward enough. But now, with all these signals of affection coming her way, Lin Qimian felt like a thief who’d stumbled into a vast treasure vault, overwhelmed and unsure what to claim.

“I’m… happy too,” was all she could manage. It came out so plainly, almost like polite deflection.

The plane touched down, and after traversing the long jet bridge, they went their separate ways.

Xu Yueliang needed to head home for some sleep and squeeze in her evening stream if she could. Lin Qimian, meanwhile, decided she required another full day off—just to do nothing, clear her head, and properly mull things over.

She spent the entire morning lost in that near-catatonic reflection.

At lunchtime, Huang Xiaoyi posted a photo on Moments: a milk tea in pristine white packaging, with the bold characters “Just Drink Something” printed near the cap. Lin Qimian’s brow arched slightly, and she rose to head out.

She made her way to that milk tea shop.

The one near Huang Xiaoyi’s company—infamously awful, and thus unforgettable.

Her last visit had sparked a heated discussion with Huang Xiaoyi, resolving a knotty issue at the time.

She hoped for similar results now.

The place was as deserted as ever when she arrived.

A two-story shop, utterly empty.

Even the owner only materialized after Lin Qimian stepped inside, emerging from a corner shrouded in deep shadow.

She wore a ragged denim jacket and was tucking into a steaming plate of fried sauce noodles that smelled divine.

Her phone was propped on the table, blaring a raucous variety show.

Lin Qimian glanced at it. “One… lemon water.”

The owner snorted with laughter, paused the show, and hopped up to prepare it.

Lemon water took no time at all—just two minutes.

She handed it over, and Lin Qimian asked, “Got any more noodles?”

The owner ducked into the back and returned with another plate.

Lin Qimian took the seat closest by, right next to the owner’s table.

The owner resumed slurping her noodles and watching, the guests’ voices spilling from the phone: “Oh man, what a charmer. Lucy knows how to flirt…”

Lin Qimian’s eyes drifted toward it once more.

After a few such glances, the owner abruptly stood, flicking on the screen mounted above the counter—the one usually reserved for ads.

She mirrored her phone to it. The feed was crisp, the audio clear; Lin Qimian could watch effortlessly.

Head tilted back between bites, the owner chuckled along with the onscreen antics.

Lin Qimian smiled. “Thanks.”

It was a dating variety show, and Lin Qimian only realized that day how far the format had come—now featuring everyday folks coupling up.

Young men and women dropped onto a deserted island, stripped of all gadgets and distractions, left to one pursuit: getting to know each other and falling in love.

Punishments and rewards were masterfully calibrated, survival instincts tangled with raw desire in a heady mix.

In this episode, the second female lead and third male clicked instantly, earning a plush sea-view suite for two. But it came with a catch: a “no physical contact” curse.

For those Western twenty-somethings, it was pure agony.

Lin Qimian felt an unexpected pang of recognition.

By the time the half-episode wrapped, she and the owner had polished off their lunches.

The shop boss came over to clear Lin Qimian’s plate. Lin Qimian leaned back against her chair, showing no signs of leaving anytime soon.

The boss fiddled around behind the counter for a bit before bringing over a cup of beverage for her.

The drink was a garish swirl of colors. The boss lifted her chin toward it. “Freebie for a regular.”

Lin Qimian smiled. She knew the boss probably saw her as a guinea pig for her experiments, but she didn’t mind a bit.

She didn’t even ask what was in it before lifting the cup to her lips and taking a sip.

How to describe it? Spicy sesame paste? Lin Qimian set the cup down. “Thanks, Boss. It’s good.”

The boss didn’t rush back to work. Instead, she plopped down in the seat nearby. “So, which male guest do you like?”

“Hmm?” Lin Qimian paused. The boss wasn’t off-base with her line of questioning—it was Lin Qimian’s own brain that was lagging. The question struck her as bizarre because she had zero interest in any of the guys.

That hesitation made the boss chuckle knowingly. “I’ve got no interest in men either.”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Boss: “I like the Lucy type. Little wildcat—sexy and cute.”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Boss: “How’d that last heartbreak go? Huang Xiaoyi’s at work—why not spill to me?”

Lin Qimian fell utterly silent.

Of course she wouldn’t spill.

She wasn’t the type to casually bare her thoughts and feelings. Besides, the boss’s relaxed expression screamed that she just wanted to treat her like a live episode of that dating show.

Still, Lin Qimian could toss a few questions back—gather some data, maybe.

“You’re not into the guys on the show, or…?” Lin Qimian lowered her eyes, stirring the mystery drink.

“Neither.” The boss answered bluntly. “I only like women.”

Lin Qimian: “Oh.”

Boss: “My gaydar’s spot-on, but you… I can’t quite peg you.”

Lin Qimian: “Hmm?”

The boss grinned. “But in our circle, you’d be super popular. The aloof ice queen type.”

“Ohhh.” Lin Qimian drew out the word. “So if a girl likes girls, she’s probably into me?”

The boss nodded. “Exactly.”

Lin Qimian dropped her straw and fixed her with a look. “What about Huang Xiaoyi?”

Boss: “Huang Xiaoyi’s straight as they come. Obvious steel-straight girl.”

Lin Qimian: “What’s your criteria?”

The boss tapped her temple. “Too much hassle to codify standards for everything. It’s gut instinct.”

Lin Qimian wished she had that kind of instinct.

The conversation wrapped up there. Lin Qimian had no desire to reveal more, and the boss had only brought it up on a whim.

They soon settled into companionable silence. The boss retreated behind the counter to play games, while Lin Qimian, at loose ends, pulled out her phone and queued up the early episodes of that dating show.

The video app was the one Moon—Xu Yueliang—had downloaded on her phone the last time she’d come over.

She watched right up until Huang Xiaoyi got off work.

Knowing Lin Qimian was waiting for her, Huang Xiaoyi came fluttering in like a giddy butterfly, wings beating wildly as she dashed from the office building straight to the milk tea shop.

She hadn’t even sat down before the questions tumbled out. “What’s the deal? Big news? Weren’t we all grinding at work these past couple days? Did you two make progress behind my back???”

Lin Qimian glanced up at her. This had to be Huang Xiaoyi’s famous instinct—her nose for gossip sharper than a bloodhound’s.

“You keep grinding.” Lin Qimian saw no point in hiding it from her gossip-hound advisor. “I took a trip to B City.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “To B City? For what?”

Lin Qimian: “Moon had a gig there.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Huang Xiaoyi froze mid-motion as she set down her bag, staying that way for a long moment.

The boss brought over her usual favorite lemon water. Huang Xiaoyi slurped down a big gulp before regaining her composure. “Give me the details. How does a respectable pillar-of-society doctor turn into a shameless, all-out stalker freak?”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Lin Qimian summed up the events in a couple sentences, though the messy knot of emotions in her head could have wrapped around the Earth three times over.

Huang Xiaoyi’s eyes went wide as she latched onto the crux. “Just a few hours out of touch, and you ditch work to fly over, wait on her hand and foot for two whole days before coming back? Moon didn’t think that was weird???”

Lin Qimian: “…”

Huang Xiaoyi: “What normal friend pulls that off? We’ve known each other forever—have you ever done anything half that impulsive for me?”

Lin Qimian: “If you ever need it, I can.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need it,” Huang Xiaoyi refused seriously. “What I want to say is, before this, when you showered Xu Yueliang with gifts and ended up in the police station, or when you set off fireworks to make her happy, you did all those things on the sly. Xu Yueliang didn’t know, so you two remained old classmates and new friends. But this time, you traveled thousands of miles to see her openly and boldly. I don’t even need to know the details to imagine how much of a lapdog you were, so didn’t Xu Yueliang have any special reaction? Didn’t she kick you away and say, ‘Hey girl, I don’t do girls???'”

Huang Xiaoyi was so excited that her wording became exceptionally bold. By the end, her voice rose, echoing clearly in the empty milk tea shop.

The shop boss lifted her head from behind the counter and glanced over.

Lin Qimian lowered her gaze, pondering this special reaction.

Everything Xu Yueliang did for her felt special.

Xu Yueliang accepted her help and kindness, which was the outcome Lin Qimian had hoped for, so Lin Qimian felt it was only natural.

But in ordinary people’s eyes—or even in Xu Yueliang’s own view—was this really natural?

Xu Yueliang had always been strict about separating public and private matters, yet she frequently bent the rules for her in the live streaming room. Xu Yueliang refused to be protected by anyone, but she didn’t reject the help from her. Xu Yueliang never batted an eye at luxury cars, yet after learning the car was hers, she actively asked to go for a drive with her.

Xu Yueliang lay in the car, eyes closed, saying she was enjoying the taste of money.

Xu Yueliang had proactively fulfilled her excessive requests and remembered that phrase word for word.

Lin Qimian only thought Xu Yueliang was pure and adorable, feeling like a devil who wanted to defile her.

But Lin Qimian forgot that Xu Yueliang was an internet streamer, one who had once been tagged with sexy dances. She was crystal clear about all the sexual hints hidden beneath actions and words.

That was her job, and she was the best at seducing people.

But it was just her job, so she was also the most sensitive to it.

For Xu Yueliang, refusing deeper relationships, excessive favors, and any fantasies they might spawn was her most normal state.

Revealing her own vulnerability and desires was her special treatment reserved for Lin Qimian.

Lin Qimian clenched her fingertips and said, “There was a moment when I really wanted to kiss her.”

The night breeze, the starlight, her tightly closed eyes, and her trembling eyelashes all kept tempting her, urging her to kiss her.

Huang Xiaoyi was already used to Lin Qimian’s way of expressing herself. She knew that when Lin Qimian said something like this, it was never just a fleeting moment.

She took a deep breath, leaned in closer, and whispered, “Tell me in detail what happened in that moment. I’m not trying to be pervy—I think this is really important.”

Lin Qimian fell silent for a long time before recounting what had happened.

As soon as she finished speaking, Huang Xiaoyi slammed her palm on the table with a thunderous bang, then yelped in pain.

The shop boss looked up and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Huang Xiaoyi ignored her, grimacing as she glared at Lin Qimian, squeezing the words out through gritted teeth: “Is there a possibility—I’m saying, is there any possibility at all—that Xu Yueliang never had that brother who was going to send you a love letter?”