Chapter 382 : Sudden Shenanigans
“Looks like I’ll have to come here more often with Xiao Qing Qing in the future~” Ling Ning said cheerfully, holding up the 50%-off membership card with a bright smile.
With this discount card, the restaurant’s otherwise pricey menu became far more reasonable. The catch was that the discount only applied when both she and Xu Qing visited together.
But that was only fair. If the card worked for anyone, the restaurant would probably go bankrupt.
“Of... of course, we can!” Xu Qing stammered, blinking her wide eyes. She would love nothing more than to go out with Ling Ning more often. If possible, she wished she could spend every day with her.
As if remembering something, Ling Ning turned to the waitress. “By the way, can we use this discount card for today’s bill?”
“Absolutely,” the waitress—who was actually the manager—replied with a nod.
“That’s wonderful!”
Ling Ning’s face lit up with joy. If they hadn’t already finished eating, she might have considered ordering a few more dishes to celebrate.
“Oh, I almost forgot—I have something for you!” Ling Ning said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a beautifully wrapped book. She had prepared it the night before but had forgotten to give it to Xu Qing until now.
“This... what is it?”
“It’s a book I wrote. Didn’t you say you love reading? So, here you go!”
“A book written by Ling Ning? You’re a writer?” Xu Qing blinked in surprise. She had never heard of Ling Ning writing books, nor had she ever mentioned liking Ling Ning’s work. After all, she hadn’t even known about it until now.
“Didn’t you know? What did you think I was doing on my phone during class? I was writing, of course~” Ling Ning said matter-of-factly.
Hearing this, Xu Qing suddenly recalled how Ling Ning had often been glued to her phone during lessons. She had assumed Ling Ning was gaming, but it turned out she was typing away at her novels.
As Xu Qing opened the book, she gasped. This was the same captivating story she had been reading online daily! She hadn’t expected it to be published already. Wait—was Ling Ning really the author?
“Is this... really written by you, Ling Ning?” Xu Qing asked, stumbling over her words.
“Of course! Is something wrong?”
“N-No, nothing at all.”
Xu Qing’s mind reeled. She had assumed Ling Ning’s novels would be fluffy, romantic reads aimed at women, but this one was... decidedly risqué. How did Ling Ning even know about such things?!
“Wait, didn’t I ever mention it to you?”
Ling Ning frowned slightly, thinking it over. She was sure her classmates all knew about her writing.
“No, you didn’t.”
“Well, now you know~”
“Eh~”
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“This movie is so sweet it’s giving me cavities~”
Ling Ning muttered under her breath.
She was sitting in a movie theater, watching a romance film with Xu Qing. After their meal, they decided to escape the summer heat by catching a movie.
Being Qixi Festival, the theater was showing mostly romance films. Ling Ning had initially wanted to see the epic FFF Chronicles, but seeing Xu Qing’s interest in the romance movie poster, they decided to watch that instead.
The film’s plot wasn’t anything special—just a typical love story. But the sheer amount of sweetness in it was overwhelming. Ling Ning felt like she was drowning in sugar.
What made it worse was that the audience consisted mostly of couples, many of whom were unabashedly affectionate. The pair sitting next to Ling Ning, in particular, couldn’t stop kissing and cuddling, seemingly oblivious to the existence of single people like her.
“Something wrong?” Xu Qing asked, noticing Ling Ning’s discomfort.
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
Ling Ning replied, glancing at Xu Qing before suddenly grabbing her arm and leaning her head on her shoulder.
If everyone else was flaunting their affection, why shouldn’t she? Even if their affection was fake, with added special effects!
“Eh?!” Xu Qing froze, completely caught off guard by Ling Ning’s sudden intimacy.
She turned her head slightly to look at Ling Ning, who seemed engrossed in the movie. The faint scent of Ling Ning’s shampoo drifted into her nose.
Whatever had prompted Ling Ning to do this, Xu Qing decided it didn’t matter. She liked this.
Meanwhile, the man sitting next to Xu Qing looked on in despair. He had hoped to meet a single woman at the movie, bond over their shared “singlehood,” and maybe even spark something.
But seeing these two beautiful women together crushed his hopes entirely.
As if that weren’t enough, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he was greeted by a burly man with a friendly smile.
“Hey, buddy. Want to grab dinner after this?”
“N-No thanks!”
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“I can’t believe the movie ended like that.”
“Yeah, who would’ve thought...”
The movie’s ending had been a complete twist. The male lead turned out to be a woman in disguise, and the female lead was revealed to be a cross-dresser. The unexpected revelations nearly gave the two a metaphorical whiplash.
Ling Ning replayed the plot in her mind. She had felt something was off when the male lead seemed a bit too convincing as a woman. But the female lead being played by a man? That was even more surprising!
She shook her head, feeling like the world had lost all sense of logic.
“So, what should we do now?” Ling Ning asked softly after a moment.
“Let’s stroll around a bit more, then head home.”
“Alright.”
Neither noticed that they were still holding hands as they walked out of the theater.
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Author’s Note:
Salted fish just pulled the Starry Knight and Celestial Enchantress. Today’s a lucky day!