Chapter 123 : You're the Tsundere! Your Whole Family is Tsundere!
The Next Day.
Because sleeping with her daughter the previous night had been so comforting, Ling Ning found herself reluctant to get out of bed the next morning. Between everything that had happened over the past few days and the fact that her phone was gone—meaning her alarm was, too—Ling Ning almost overslept.
Thankfully, Ling Ye was meticulous and had set an alarm on her own phone, knowing her mom had lost hers. That was the only reason Ling Ning managed to avoid completely missing her day.
After washing up, Ling Ning sat in front of her vanity, gently combing her hair. She suddenly felt that having long hair was quite a hassle. Washing it every day was a chore, it took forever to dry, and it was unbearably hot during the summer. In her previous life, she always thought long hair looked beautiful on other girls, but now that she had it herself, she realized the trouble that came with it.
Of course, Ling Ning had no intention of cutting it short. At most, she'd trim it to keep it from getting too long—she was, after all, a long-hair enthusiast.
Once she was finally ready, she realized time was running short. If she didn’t leave right away, she'd be late for sure. As for breakfast, grabbing some steamed buns from a street stall would have to do.
While munching on a steaming hot bun, Ling Ning arrived at the school gate, only to find Xia You standing there quietly. Before she could say anything, Xia You ran straight to her and hugged her tightly.
"Huh!? Xia You?"
The night before last, Xia You had been inexplicably uneasy, as though she were about to lose something incredibly precious. She wanted to call Ling Ning to chat, only to find that Ling Ning's phone had been turned off at some point.
Unable to sleep all night, Xia You came to Qin Qing's place early the next morning, hoping to catch Ling Ning before school. But when classes started, there was still no sign of her, and her phone remained unreachable. Xia You was terrified, fearing that Ling Ning would vanish just like her mother had.
Just as she was about to start searching for Ling Ning herself, she received a call—Ling Ning explained that an emergency had come up and that she'd lost her phone.
Sensitive as she was, Xia You could hear the exhaustion in Ling Ning's voice, sensing that whatever had happened was far from simple. But as long as Ling Ning was still there, that was all that mattered to her...
It was still early, and there were plenty of people at the school gate. Two girls hugging right in front of the gate naturally drew quite a bit of attention, especially since they were both so pretty.
"Wow~ isn't that Ling Ning from senior year? There've always been rumors that she's into girls, and it sure looks that way right now~"
"But wasn’t she with Li Qian before? How come she's with someone else now? Could it be... Ling Ning's actually two-timing? Or maybe even N-timing?"
"Cut it out, everyone, I'm so excited!"
"..."
Feeling the strange (and somewhat eager) gazes of the passersby, along with their bizarre remarks, Ling Ning felt incredibly awkward. She quickly turned to Xia You. "Xia You, what's wrong?"
Realizing how inappropriate her actions were, Xia You reluctantly let go of Ling Ning, her face flushed red. Stammering, she said, "N-nothing. I just... wanted to hug you. Is that... not okay?"
Seeing Xia You's pitiful expression, Ling Ning sighed internally. That face—it was just cheating, plain and simple.
"We're almost late. Let's get to class first, alright? Once we have time, you can hug me as much as you want, okay?" Ling Ning said as she gently pulled Xia You towards the classroom.
As for why Ling Ning had missed an entire day of school, the school's admin had already handled it. She didn't know how they managed it, but when she arrived, everything was just as usual. No teachers questioned her absence, no school officials pulled her aside for a talk—it was perfect.
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Noon, after class.
Li Qian was about to pack up and leave when she looked up and saw Ling Ning standing next to her desk, smiling at her.
"What do you want?"
"Did you forget what you told me yesterday?" Ling Ning's gaze at Li Qian was almost accusatory, like she was staring at a heartless scoundrel. Even her tone carried a tinge of grievance.
The classroom had just emptied after the bell, and there were still a few students left, so Ling Ning's words immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Stop saying things that are so easy to misunderstand in such a misleading tone," Li Qian groaned. It had taken her so long to convince her classmates she wasn't into girls, and now Ling Ning's words were probably shattering that image entirely.
"Did you really forget? Our promise, the one between us~" Ling Ning's voice took on a hint of a sob, her expression a mixture of wanting to cry but desperately holding it back.
Li Qian could feel her classmates' piercing gazes. If she didn't figure out what promise Ling Ning was talking about, she'd be doomed.
After racking her brain, Li Qian finally remembered. She had told Ling Ning back at the traffickers' hideout: "If we get out of here, I'll treat you to free lunches for the rest of your life—whatever!"
Given Ling Ning's shameless love for freeloading, this so-called promise had to be referring to that.
"I'd rather starve, jump out of this window, than buy you lunch!"
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"Wow, this beef is amazing."
Ling Ning was happily devouring the stir-fried beef with green peppers. She had to admit, this restaurant's green pepper beef dish was truly remarkable.
Li Qian sat across from her, eating in silence, her face expressionless. Once again, she felt her understanding of Ling Ning's shamelessness reach a new low. The only proper solution for a person like this was to drag her out and put her out of her misery.
"You say no, but your body is honest enough~ I told you, you're such a tsundere, but you just won't admit it."
"You're the tsundere! Your whole family is tsundere!" Li Qian couldn't hold it in anymore. She yelled at Ling Ning, and the entire restaurant turned to look at her. Their gazes seemed to say: "Ah, a tsundere."
Fighting back the urge to punch every single person in the restaurant, Li Qian noticed Ling Ning reaching for her favorite sweet and sour ribs, almost finishing them off. That was the final straw.
"Stop right there, Ling Ning! Put down that rib—if there's anything to fight over, let me do it!"
"In your dreams! Everyone knows that this rib belongs to Ling Ning!"
"Ling Ning, I'm going to kill you!!!"
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Author's Note:
So today, a strange thing happened—I saw Gaben smiling at me. And suddenly, somehow, I found myself with a few hundred yuan less in my WeChat account. What do I do now?
TN: Gaben is Steam and Valve CEO.