57 Chapter 57: Some
After a very filling hotpot dinner, Su Ning and her two buddies bid goodbye to the rest of the cast and crew. Since Su Ning had become rather close with Qing Mei, she decided to stop by her friend's table before leaving for the hotel with Li Youqing and Lin Miao.
"MeiMei, you were awesome as Andrina today! The blond hair suits you," said Su Ning.
"Thanks, NingNing! QingQing, MiaoMiao, long time no see," Qing Mei spoke with a bland smile.
"Hey Qing Mei! Yep it's been a while! Wow you cut your hair! It looks nice," Li Youqing cheerily responded.
"You sang very well today, Qing Mei," Lin Miao commented.
Author's Note: Qing Mei's character in the play Andrina had blond hair so the makeup department colored her hair with temporary cream blond dye powder like Su Ning.
"Thank you." (Qing Mei)
"MeiMei, we are heading out first. I'll see you in school next week." (Su Ning)
"Alright. Bye~ QingQing, MiaoMiao let's catch up when you are free." (Qing Mei)
Once the trio were out of earshot, Li Youqing couldn't help but comment on how Qing Mei had changed, to which Su Ning happily agreed. Li Youqing recalled that Qing Mei never took the initiative to speak with them back in Chang Yue. Accompanied by her lackeys, Ma KeLi and Qiu Wei, the girl would also often make snide remarks about her NingNing. However, it appears Qing Mei's experience at Chang Yue really did help her change for the better. 'I guess she learned from her mistakes after her friends turned their backs on her,' thought Li Youqing.
Throughout the entire conversation, Lin Miao remained silent and simply listened actively. 'Can a person really change that easily?' she wondered.
.......
Before checking into their hotel, the trio decided to stop by the convenience store to buy some snacks. They bought several bags of honey butter chips, egg potato chips, pork jerky, stinky tofu, konjac strips, tea eggs, brown sugar boba ice cream bars, calpico soda, pocari drink, and jia duo bao.
Author's Note: Jia duo bao is a Chinese herbal tea that is believed to help prevent illness by lowering body heat. It's one of this author-nim's favorite beverages to drink when eating mala hotpot and skewers. (*￣▽￣)d
Upon arriving at their room, the girls quickly took turns to shower and looked for dramas to watch while they chatted. They finally decided on a modern romance drama called "Use for My Talent" (Wo Qin Ai De Xiao Jie Pi) and they happily caught up on each other's personal lives.
Surprisingly, it was Lin Miao that brought up the topic of school crushes. With a soft blush on her cheeks, she admitted to liking a senior in Kunshan School. Contrary to what Su Ning had expected, Lin Miao's crush was actually a carefree and athletic boy named Lu Kai.
"That is so surprising! I thought you would like someone intellectual and artistic like Song Yu," mentioned Su Ning.
"Heh. I was surprised when I heard it the first time too. Senior Lu is really popular in school; he's known for being a prankster. Who would've thought this was our MiaoMiao's type," Lin Youqing joked while nudging her friend.
In response, Lin Miao simply swatted away her friend's elbow and jammed a slice of beef jerky into Li Youqing's mouth.
"What about you QingQing? Is there anyone you are interested in?" Su Ning asked while munching on some honey butter chips.
"Mmm. Not really. There's a lot of good looking boys but…," Lin Youqing answered after some thought.
"But she's much more interested in reading BL manhua and moderating the Gu-Lin fan club forum," Lin Miao said with a deadpan expression.
"Hehehe" (Lin Youqing)
"What?! You're the moderator of that forum?! No wonder you kept asking me for photos of Gu YuChen and Lin JinYan!" Su Ning exclaimed flabbergasted.
"Hehehe" (Lin Youqing)
"Aiii, I should start charging you for those photos," Su Ning spoke with feigned displeasure.
"Aiyoh, come on nah. We are best friends! We don't need to be so calculative on money matters!" Lin Youqing cackled with a shake of her shoulders.
Lin Miao and Su Ning looked at each other and burst out laughing at their friend's secret hobbies.
"Anyways, since we are on the topic of school crushes. NingNing-ah, I'm really curious. Are you and Lin JinYan in a 'some' relationship?" Lin Youqing asked as she cast Su Ning a furtive glance.
Author's Note: Some is an ambiguous relationship between two people where there is something going on but it is not clear exactly what that something is. You're not my boyfriend, you're just my some. Ouch! ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
"Ah?! I told you lah. JinYan-ge and I, we don't have that kind of relationship," Su Ning said with a soft laugh. These kids really think too much. 'Although Lin JinYan will turn 18 in a few months and will be legally considered an adult in C Country, to someone like myself who has lived 34 years in both lifetimes he is still a child. Plus we may be close friends now but his life trajectory is completely different from mines, being the son of the prestigious Lin family and all. I just hope in the future if we end up meeting after uni, we can be friendly and share a cup of coffee to reminisce about the past. That will be enough for me.' thought Su Ning with a small smile.
Lin Youqing remained unconvinced after witnessing Lin JinYan's tender gaze and affectionate behavior towards Su Ning. However, Su Ning's eyes were clear and devoid of deception; her friend spoke in a candid manner. 'Ah..could it be, Lin JinYan is in an unrequited love with my NingNing?' Lin Youqing thought, her eyes piquing up with interest.
"QingQing-ah, you've got a scary expression on your face," Su Ning commented with a hint of disgust as she reached to open a bag of salted egg potato chips.
"Don't mind her. She always has a lewd expression on her face. It's all the BL manhua she's reading. It's gotten to her head. NingNing-ah, here, have something to drink. You're eating as if you've been starved for weeks," Lin Miao spoke as she handed Su Ning a can of jia duo bao.
"Sniff! MiaoMiao, you love me best! I had to be on a diet for the musical but it's over now! Finally, I am free. By the way your manhua is on hiatus after a successful first season ah. Congrats." (Su Ning)
"Mm. Thank you. I owe alot to you for providing me with material." (Lin Miao)
"Excuse me guys! I'm still here! What lewd expression!? I'm not a pervert! I'm just a proud fujoshi! I keep telling MiaoMiao to create a secondary BL couple in 2Love ah. But she doesn't listen to me. Mm mff mmh." Lin Miao simply rolled her eyes and stuffed another slice of beef jerky into Li Youqing's open mouth as the latter spoke mid sentence.
Author's note: Fujoshi is a term to describe a female fan of yaoi (stories depicting romantic relations between two men) ~(˘▾˘~)
"Yah! Xiao-Miao! You will regret not listening to me! My ideas can make your manhua go viral ah! Hmph! Anyway, NingNing what do you think about Gu YuChen then?" (Li Youqing)
"YuChen-ge?" (Su Ning)
"Yeah. You two are still in contact right?" (Li Youqing)
"Mm. We do regular video calls." (Su Ning)
"Ohoo. So would you say you prefer Gu YuChen over Lin JinYan?" Li Youqing asked while wiggling her eyebrows.
"MiaoMiao ah, can you feed QingQing some stinky tofu? She's spouting nonsense again," Su Ning said with a blank face.
"Stop, stop! I can eat by myself. NingNing don't think you can escape from answering this question," Li Youqing exclaimed as she grabbed the stinky tofu packets off the table.
"I told you ah. Gu YuChen is like an older brother. I like them both equally, just not in the way you think. Plus, those kids are different from us. The type of relationship you are asking about isn't even a possibility. Alright?" Su Ning responded with a hint of resignation.
'I'm not a normal 16 year old. So there's no way I can tell them that Cinderella stories like that don't have happy endings in real life,' Su Ning mused as she recalled what happened to her coworkers who had affairs with their bosses. There was no whirlwind marriage at the end of the relationship, just a signed non-disclosure agreement and a quiet reinstatement to another department or worse a notice of termination. 'I'm not looking for a glamorous love in this life. I just want an ordinary love with an ordinary man whom I could spend a quiet future with.'
"Ahh, but NingNing is so talented and pretty! Why would you think that?! Are those rich girls in M Academy giving you trouble for being close to Gu YuChen and Lin JinYan?!" (Li Youqing)
"It's not like that. I just have my own sense of measure." (Su Ning)
"Xiao Qing, don't ask anymore. NingNing already told you what's on her mind," Lin Miao mediated, perceiving that Su Ning didn't want to delve deeper into the topic at hand.
"Aiyoh, I understand. It's just we are 17 yr olds at the prime of youth! It's normal to have crushes and be dating at this time! Don't you think it's weird someone as pretty as NingNing doesn't have anyone in mind?" Li Youqing muttered petulantly.
"You're one to talk, aren't all your crushes 2D?" Lin Miao asked with an impassive expression.
"Pfft! Alright, Alright. If there is anyone I am interested in, I'll let you guys know first. It's just I wasn't planning on having puppy love in senior high. Maybe I'll consider being in a relationship in uni." Su Ning chuckled as she gave the matter some thought.
And so the trio remained in comfortable silence watching dramas and eating snacks when out of the blue Lin Miao spoke.
"NingNing, you consider Lin JinYan and Gu YuChen like your siblings but are you sure that they feel the same way?" she asked with a calm, even voice.
