After Transmigrating into a Male-Centric Novel, the Female Lead and I Got a Happy Ending - Chapter 3

The voice behind Qin Yu startled her so much that she jumped. She quickly buried the soul jade, stood up, and laughed awkwardly, trying to brush the matter off. “Senior Sister Qingya, what brings you here so late?”

Yu Qingya looked straight at Qin Yu, her gaze revealing a probing intent.

Qin Yu’s mind raced a mile a minute, terrified of slipping up. It would be terrible if anyone suspected she was possessed by a malicious spirit.

With a quick roll of her eyes, Qin Yu let out a cheeky grin. “Senior Sister Qingya, I did all this for your own good! I hope you can forgive me for any offense I caused today.”

“Because of me?”

This was something Yu Qingya had never expected. She had her prize stolen from her, and it was because of her? That soul jade was the very key to unlocking a ruin within the ancient secret realm. Could there be some hidden story behind all this? Seeing the stunned look on Yu Qingya’s face, Qin Yu felt she had a chance and put on a deeply unfathomable expression. “Senior Sister Qingya, do you believe in foreseeing the future?”

Foreseeing the future? Yu Qingya was somewhat shocked. Remembering that Qin Yu specialized in spiritual power, could there be some connection there? “Go on. Tell me about it.”

Qin Yu cleared her throat. “Seven days ago, I had a dream. I dreamt that after you won the soul jade, you went to an ancient secret realm. But who would have thought that instead of a fairyland, opening the realm with this soul jade would release countless monsters, and then they killed you.”

After turning it over in her mind, she figured that if she told the truth—that her purity would be ruined by a man because of the soul jade—Yu Qingya’s personality being what it was, she probably wouldn’t believe it no matter what.

“It was just a dream; it can’t be taken seriously.”

Though Yu Qingya said that, her heart still felt a little warm. Looking at the other’s expression, it didn’t look like she was lying at all; instead, it radiated utter sincerity, frankness, and cuteness.

Seeing Yu Qingya treat her like a naive, clueless little girl, Qin Yu felt a bit stifled. Yet, anxious to make Yu Qingya believe her, she grabbed Yu Qingya’s wrist. “Trust me, all of this is real!”

Yu Qingya lowered her eyes to look at the hand on her wrist, her body freezing up. She had never had such an intimate physical interaction with anyone else before.

Realizing her action was inappropriate, Qin Yu quickly let go, but her mouth kept right on running. “You really will be in danger if you keep the soul jade!”

Yu Qingya watched the lips of the person before her opening and closing. “You care that much about my safety?”

“Of course!” Qin Yu declared righteously.

“Why? I’ve beaten your sister so many times; you should be hoping for something bad to happen to me. If that were the case, your Ancient Tree Sect would become the champion of the Sect Assembly every year.”

Yu Qingya had never understood beating around the bush, nor did she need to.

She had been gifted with extraordinary talent since birth, excelling in both looks and ability. She had never needed to act falsely courteous with anyone.

Qin Yu waved her hand dismissively. “My sister doesn’t care about things like that. She’s always regarded you as a target to chase, which is why she’s always had the drive to work hard. Besides, if we started killing each other over rankings, the Seven Great Sects would fall into vicious competition and stray from the original intention of founding the sects in the first place.”

When the Seven Great Sects were first established, their cultivation focuses were all different, aiming to provide every cultivator with the most suitable cultivation method. It was just that because the Lotus Pavilion had always held the top spot, people eventually joined it regardless of their actual cultivation focus.

Listening to Qin Yu’s words, Yu Qingya’s heart was filled with emotion. Over the years, the overt and covert competition among the Seven Great Sects had made everyone forget their original intentions. They were far less clear-headed than this little girl in front of her.

The founding of the Seven Great Sects had been a joint effort to resist foreign invaders in ancient times, yet she never expected that in recent years, they would also begin slaughtering their own.

A stir went through Yu Qingya’s heart. Thinking back to their bout during the day, she suddenly said, “Your foundation is unstable. Although your talent is extraordinary, if you keep cultivating in this lackadaisical way, one day it will lead to a catastrophe. During the Sect Assembly, would you be willing to cultivate alongside me?”

She thought to herself that it wasn’t for any other reason, simply out of an appreciation for talent, and because no one had ever shown her such straightforward concern.

Qin Yu’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

A wave of pleasant surprise washed over Qin Yu. Although she had buried the soul jade, who knew what else might happen in the future? If she could spend more time with Yu Qingya and increase their interaction, it might just provide more possibilities for eliminating future dangers.

Watching that hand grab her wrist once more, Yu Qingya didn’t pull away. She softly hummed an affirmative response.

Qin Yu threw her arms around Yu Qingya, jumping up and down. “Senior Sister Qingya, you’re the best!”

Looking at Qin Yu, who was acting like a monkey, Yu Qingya thought: The best? How is she the best? Once she gets to know me deeply, she will probably realize how cold and unfeeling I really am. Truly, she was still just an innocent child.

The next day, Qin Yu came to meet Yu Qingya as agreed, only to see a gorgeously dressed woman chattering endlessly beside her.

Seeing Qin Yu, Shu Shu frowned in disgust. “What are you doing here? Did you think that just because you won a round through crooked ways, you could come show off in front of the Senior Sister? You…”

“Shu Shu, I told her to come. Do not be impudent.”

Just as Qin Yu was about to snap back, Yu Qingya directly and bluntly issued a warning to Shu Shu.

“Senior Sister, she’s the one who made you lose so much face yesterday!”

“I said, go back.”

For once, Yu Qingya’s voice carried a hint of sternness.

She is so domineering, Qin Yu thought. I love it! But speaking of Shu Shu, this character had always followed Yu Qingya blindly in the book and later even joined the male protagonist’s harem. However, because Shu Shu always felt that the original owner was constantly competing with Yu Qingya for favor, she had set up countless traps for the original owner.

Among these were many vicious methods, and she had even tried to find male cultivators to ruin the original owner’s purity.

“Senior Sister Qingya, I’m not here to show off, I…” Qin Yu put on a deeply aggrieved expression, looking utterly pitiful.

Yu Qingya’s voice softened. “I know.”

“Senior Sister, she is…” Shu Shu wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Yu Qingya once again.

“Shu Shu, mind your words and actions. This is not the Lotus Pavilion.”

Yu Qingya’s voice grew completely cold, carrying a warning edge.

Only then did Shu Shu glare resentfully at Qin Yu, looking as though she wished she could crush Qin Yu to death before turning to leave.

Qin Yu rolled her eyes. Little thing, trying to match wits with me? In the original book, you even used Yu Qingya’s name to run around committing all sorts of outrages.

Remembering that Yu Qingya was still standing nearby, she quickly recovered her expression and asked with an innocent, clueless blink, “Senior Sister Qingya, when are we going to do dual cultivation?”

Hearing Qin Yu’s words, a faint flush spread across Yu Qingya’s face. She rebuked angrily, “Such a young age, who taught you these kinds of things?”

Remembering Qin Yu’s teasing remarks from yesterday, she thought: So young and unteachable, why is she picking up all these bad things?

Qin Yu was stunned by Yu Qingya’s roar. Did I think wrong? Obviously, Yu Qingya said she wanted to cultivate with me yesterday.

“But didn’t you say we’d cultivate together?” Qin Yu continued to stare blankly at Yu Qingya, her voice still laced with grievance.

Only then did Yu Qingya snap back to her senses. Qin Yu was barely nineteen years old; what did she know about such things?

“That’s not what I meant. I meant I will guide your cultivation. You’re still young; you shouldn’t understand these things.” Yu Qingya wore an awkward expression.

I am not young at all, Qin Yu thought. But considering Yu Qingya treated her like someone who didn’t understand anything, she could just use this persona to play the role of a good younger sister by Yu Qingya’s side.

Being able to stay with someone she admired and held affection for, even if it meant playing the role of a good sister, was probably an extremely happy thing.

Within just a few days, Qin Yu deeply regretted her invitation to cultivate alongside Yu Qingya. This wasn’t cultivation at all; this was pure living hell!

Books always described how hard Yu Qingya trained, but she hadn’t expected reality to be even more terrifying.

Qin Yu was forced into bitter, grueling daily cultivation without even a moment’s rest. Accustomed as she was to being a lazy slacker, how could she possibly endure this kind of suffering?

She had thought transmigrating into a book would allow her to reach the pinnacle of life, but she never expected to become an even more miserable corporate slave than actual corporate slaves.

“Senior Sister Qingya, just give me a day off! Besides, aren’t you going to watch the disciple selections tomorrow anyway?” Qin Yu hugged Yu Qingya’s arm and acted coquettishly.

Thanks to the past few days of cultivation, the distance between them had closed significantly. At the very least, Yu Qingya no longer resisted Qin Yu’s touch.

After several days of matches among the various sects, the rankings had finally been decided, and today was the day the sects would select new disciples.

Though Qin Yu didn’t care much about watching, she didn’t want to keep cultivating either. Since this tournament happened to fall right now, she could use it as an excuse to skip a day of training.

“I’m going to participate in selecting disciples. Your Ancient Tree Sect has Qin Huan to preside over things; what are you sticking your nose in for?”

Yu Qingya knew Qin Yu just wanted to slack off, but after finally helping Qin Yu build a good cultivation habit over the past few days, she couldn’t let it go to waste just like that.

“Sister, Senior Sister Qingya, let me go take a look. I want to go with you…” Qin Yu tugged on Yu Qingya’s wrist, shaking it left and right as she begged.

For once, Yu Qingya secretly enjoyed the feeling in her heart, but kept up a stern exterior on the outside. “But you still have to cultivate tomorrow…”

Hearing the word “cultivate,” Qin Yu became all the more determined to go. “Sister, good sister, I like you the best, just let me go…”

Hearing that phrase regarding how much she liked her, Yu Qingya couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Sure enough, to achieve her little selfish desires, this girl would resort to any means possible.

Yet, for some reason, upon hearing those words, there was a strange flutter in her heart. Perhaps it was because, given her usual aloof demeanor, no one else ever dared to get so close to her.

Qin Yu was probably the first person who, despite seeing her cold and indifferent facade, still persisted in getting close to her regardless. Indeed, the first of anything always made people feel special.

“Alright, I’m really no match for you.” Yu Qingya granted permission with an air of bestowing great mercy.

The next day, Qin Yu woke up bright and early. To be fair, she couldn’t really be blamed for not wanting to sleep in, as after Yu Qingya’s demonic training over the past few days, she had already formed this lifestyle rhythm.

With no other choice, she tidied herself up and headed out to the selection grounds.

When she arrived, the place was an absolute sea of people. Every year, countless hopefuls came for the disciple selections, beating down doors to enter the Seven Great Sects, considering it a blessing even to be an outer-court chores disciple.

“Xiao Yu, you’re here. I haven’t seen your shadow the past few days; where did you run off to?” Seeing Qin Yu arrive so early, Qin Huan was somewhat surprised.

After all, she knew her younger sister well, knowing that if there was a chance to sleep in, she would never rush to be early.

Hearing her sister ask, Qin Yu, not wanting to sound like she was bragging, though she definitely was, immediately replied with pride, “I’ve been in seclusion working hard at my cultivation these past few days.”

Looking at this younger sister who seemed somewhat different from before, Qin Huan’s heart was filled with relief.

Thinking of that victorious match a few days ago, having watched it from the sidelines, she had to admit that compared to this younger sister of hers, her own talent fell significantly short.

As if remembering something, Qin Huan pulled Qin Yu’s hand and patted it. “Xiao Yu, since that’s the case, you will take charge of today’s disciple selection!”

Qin Yu was startled by Qin Huan’s decision. How did this differ from the original plot? Although Qin Yu’s strength far surpassed Qin Huan’s in the later stages, everyone still tended to listen to Qin Huan more when it came to leadership and communication skills.

Besides, between two sisters, what was truly mine and yours?

“Sister, this won’t do. How could I shoulder such a heavy responsibility?”

“Xiao Yu, ever since we were young, I knew your talent was better than mine, so the Ancient Tree Sect will definitely be handed over to you one day. Before, you were still too young and a bit playful, but that day I realized you’re already capable of standing on your own two feet. So, this rightfully belongs to you.”

Qin Yu knew Qin Huan might feel somewhat struck by this, but she never expected Qin Huan to still be looking out for her own interests.

Thinking of Qin Huan’s tragic end in the original book, and how the original owner’s outings with the male protagonist had brought a devastating disaster upon the Ancient Tree Sect, she swore she would never let her sister and father experience such tragedy again.

“Sister, when it comes to leadership skills, I am far inferior to you. Let’s oversee it together, alright?”

Even though her later-stage strength would exceed Qin Huan’s, her faction-management skills were still quite lacking.

She resolved to work together with Qin Huan to properly protect the Ancient Tree Sect.

Soon, the various disciples participating in the selection entered the grounds in an orderly fashion.

Qin Yu casually raised her gaze for a sweeping glance, and instantly froze in her tracks.

How did he end up here? Could this be a butterfly effect caused by her challenging Yu Qingya and altering the plot?