“Dear Miss Liu Qinnuan, what a coincidence.”
“Yes, dear Xu Lin, didn’t you say you had something to do? And now you’re here secretly playing with two pretty sisters~”
Xu Lin couldn’t help but laugh at Liu Qinnuan’s tone and gently patted her head.
“Everyone knows I’m out today with these two ladies; you’re the only one who didn’t know.”
“Really?”
Liu Qinnuan glanced at Ji Yun, whom she believed liked Xu Lin, but Ji Yun nodded in agreement.
“That’s my fault then. By the way, the Nine Dragon Relic Pagoda is quite beautiful, though we can’t go inside today.”
“You can only go in during certain times of the year; normally, you can just admire it from outside.”
“Is that so? Did you all make a wish?”
To be honest, she thought Ji Yun and the others would take her shopping. She didn’t have high expectations for the malls in a small city. But surprisingly, once they left the city, the surroundings were quite beautiful.Although there weren’t any special flowers or plants, the natural growth was lush and pleasant to look at.
“We made our wishes and even got a fan.” Xu Lin opened the fan, and Liu Qinnuan immediately leaned in.
“Can I see? Just now, none of us guessed correctly. It turned out to be an African hyena; who could guess that?”
“This is the twelve zodiac signs. Since he painted many animals, I guessed one with many animals, and it turned out right.”
“We didn’t bring a bag, so you hold onto it.”
Xu Lin put the fan into Ji Yun’s small backpack and then took the bag off her hands.
Seeing many boyfriends around carrying bags for their girlfriends made Ji Yun feel a bit happy.
“Mine.”
But as soon as Xu Lin put on the bag, Su Qingwan poked him and handed him her purse.
“You can carry that in your hand.”
“…”
Su Qingwan just looked at him without saying anything, so Xu Lin had no choice but to take it. Then Qin Yunhe handed him her small crossbody bag, and Liu Qinnuan gave him her handbag too.
Suddenly, Xu Lin was holding four bags.
Fortunately, Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t bring a bag. Since the other bags only contained phones and wallets, Xu Lin put all three into Ji Yun’s backpack.
Inside, he found two bottles of water, some compressed biscuits, and chocolate.
“You guys really just came here to hike, huh?”
“Yes, and then we’ll go to the shopping street to buy a necklace for Senior Bai.”
“I really don’t need it. The school doesn’t allow jewelry anyway.”
“Just wear it normally.”
“Then don’t buy anything too expensive.”
“We won’t.”
Ji Yun held Bai Xiaoxiao’s hand. Honestly, every time she saw Bai Xiaoxiao looking so pitiful, she felt that if someone as ‘ordinary’ as herself could be confident, Senior Sister Bai, being tall and beautiful, should have no reason to lack confidence.
“By the way, where are you all headed?”
“We plan to go to Qinglong Lake.”
Xu Lin didn’t intend to reveal their destination, but Su Qingwan casually mentioned it.
“Qinglong Lake?”
Liu Qinnuan had searched for many local attractions on her phone last night but didn’t find anything about Qinglong Lake.
Bai Xiaoxiao spoke up, explaining Qinglong Lake to her, similar to what Xu Lin had told them earlier, but adding a local legend that even Xu Lin hadn’t heard.
“The name Qinglong Lake wasn’t randomly chosen. It was originally a mountain called Qinglong Mountain. Later, a dragon took it away, leaving a depression behind.”
“And then underground water surged up, filling the depression and forming Qinglong Lake and Qinglong River.”
“That’s too far-fetched,” Su Qingwan and Qin Yunhe said in unison after hearing the story.
“How did you know about this? We were born and raised in Linshui and never heard this story.”
Ji Yun also looked at Bai Xiaoxiao. To be honest, she hadn’t heard it either. Her father had told many stories when she was young and visiting Qinglong Lake, but never this one.
“My mom told me, she heard it from my grandma.”
“Senior Bai’s mother is from Linshui. There are many legends; we certainly haven’t heard all of them.”
“That’s true.”
“Shall we head out then!?”
Liu Qinnuan, excited, raised her arm. While no one else had heard this legend, she was very interested in dragons.
“Let’s go together, but the car might not fit everyone. How did you get here?”
Xu Lin looked at the group, realizing there were six people, meaning someone wouldn’t fit in the car.
“Teacher Su, we took a taxi here. We’ll take a taxi there as well.”
Ji Yun glanced at Su Qingwan. Xu Lin had told her he was acting as a shield for Su Qingwan, so he might as well keep doing it.
For some reason, she found herself increasingly lenient toward Xu Lin’s actions lately, or maybe she was just more confident?
Su Qingwan was momentarily stunned, seeing Ji Yun’s calm demeanor. She suddenly felt they weren’t on the same level.
It was frustrating, but Ji Yun’s suggestion was well-intentioned, so she couldn’t really argue.
As the group split, Qin Yunhe teased her friend, nudging her.
“Hey, getting shown up by a student doesn’t feel good, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. Does it feel good for you? She doesn’t even see you as a threat!”
“That’s because I haven’t been discovered by the enemy yet.”
“If your relationship with Xu Lin gets exposed, it will be a mess~”
“What do I have to fear? The advantage is mine.”
“You’re such a braggart…”
Su Qingwan looked at her friend and then thought for a moment. No matter how many people liked Xu Lin, the decision ultimately lay with him. Qin Yunhe was much further along in her relationship with him than anyone else. When she said the advantage was hers, she might be right.
“You could try to make progress yourself. I won’t stop you.”
“Qin Yunhe, why are you so shameless!”
Su Qingwan blushed instantly. To be honest, she’d hardly watched any romantic movies, having only a surface-level understanding of such things.
“It’s a normal thing; why avoid it?”
“I’m not avoiding it! It’s just that people usually worry about their boyfriends cheating, but you’re actually encouraging me to pursue him?”
“Aren’t we on the same team?”
“Qin Yunhe, you’ve become so brazen lately. Fine, I’ll go for it, but don’t blame me later!”
“I won’t blame you. Go ahead.”
Qin Yunhe laughed and pushed Su Qingwan towards Xu Lin. Startled, he quickly embraced her, feeling the softness of her arm, quite different from Qin Yunhe’s.
“She pushed me.”
“Qin Yunhe, you two can argue all you want, but don’t get physical.”
“I didn’t get physical. She said…”
“Shut up!” Su Qingwan, blushing, interrupted her friend and then took Xu Lin’s arm.
“Teacher Su, what are you doing?”
“Aren’t you my boyfriend? Even if it’s fake, can’t I hold your arm?”
“Sure, hold on as much as you like.”
Qin Yunhe watched the two of them walking ahead, arm in arm, sensing a hint of danger.
II was just joking around; Su Qingwan wouldn’t actually… She can’t be that foolish, right?
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