I Helped My Best Friend with Her Romance—and Fell for the Enemy’s Strategist - Chapter 38

“Is it that bad?”

Lin Yue glanced at her daughter before turning her gaze to her wife.

Lu Shi appeared calm and composed on the surface.

She took two tissues and wiped her lips slowly after finishing the meal.

“It’s alright.”

Lin Yue rarely cooked, but theoretically, her culinary skills should have improved somewhat.

Lin Ruocheng also took a bite.

She almost spat it out immediately. To be honest, it wasn’t bad… just kidding!

But it wasn’t so terrible that she had to spit it out, it was just a bit bitter.

What on earth did her mom put in it?

Lu Shi pulled the dish her wife had cooked in front of herself and pushed the more normal dishes toward their two daughters.

“You two, eat this. I made this one.”

Lin Shuyi quickly pulled the dish closer, took a few bites, and felt completely revived.

Now, this is what you call a meal! So delicious!

Especially after tasting the disastrous dish, this one seemed even more delicious.

It was practically banquet-level quality.

“If you think it’s bad, don’t eat it. I’ll stick to making desserts from now on. Maybe I’m just better suited for desserts.”

Lin Yue ended up throwing the unpalatable dish away.

It was just a bit of wasted food, better than sending the whole family to the hospital.

She did have some talent when it came to making desserts.

It would be better for her to focus on perfecting desserts in the future.

“It’s alright, dear. I’ll handle the cooking from now on.”

Lu Shi wrapped an arm around her waist and comforted her softly, leaning in to give her a kiss.

Lin Yue had no choice but to agree.

Even after twenty-five years together, the two were still deeply in love.

It felt like they were still in the honeymoon phase.

“Xiao Chengzi, there’s something I need to tell you about the Fu family.”

“But, Mom, she likes girls. She’s a lesbian. I heard she had a crush on a girl before, and she’s also a voice actress for yuri content. The Stream-sensei I’ve loved since I was a child is her. I think she still likes girls. I do have a little bit of a crush on her, but not much…”

“She likes girls too?”

Lin Yue and Lu Shi exchanged a glance.

They weren’t sure how to broach the topic, but it was something they had to discuss.

“Yeah, we’re kind of friends now.”

Lin Ruocheng quickly took a sip of water.

Her mom’s cooking really wasn’t great, but it was fine, as long as one of her moms could cook.

“About the Fu family, I think you should consider this: Fu Yanxi’s mother was in a marriage where her husband was gay. He had a boyfriend outside and hid it from her, making her an unwitting ‘tongqi’.”

“I heard that when they were dating, the man and his boyfriend kept it a secret together. It wasn’t until after they had a child that his true nature came out.”

“She was still in her postpartum confinement period but acted decisively to divorce her husband. The two men were traveling and died in a car accident on their way back.”

“The man was also a live-in son-in-law. That year, her parents passed away. She had hoped to build a life with her husband, but then this happened…”

“It’s really tragic… so she hates homosexuals. She despises them deeply.”

As a mother, Lin Yue could empathize with how the other woman must have felt back then, even relating to it on some level.

Fortunately, she had found herself a wonderful wife.

Lu Shi gave her an overwhelming sense of security.

She would share almost everything about her daily research and work with Lin Yue.

Of course, at first, this person was also a block of ice.

Similarly, I was the one who pursued them first.

And of course, they liked me too.

“I… understand.”

Lin Ruocheng knew that Fu Yanxi liked girls, this was something she had said herself.

There was a girl she had a crush on.

A girl she had liked for a long time.

But with a family like hers, coming out must be incredibly difficult, right?

She heard that Fu Yanxi was going home tonight.

Would something happen to her?

But even if something did happen, what did it have to do with her?

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

After dinner, Lin Ruocheng returned to her room.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

She sent Fu Yanxi a text message.

[Lin Ruocheng]: Um… how did it go when you went home today?
[Lin Ruocheng]: Did your mom find out about you being the voice actor Xi Liu? Are you okay?
[Lin Ruocheng]: Xiao Xixi?

…

Fu Yanxi took an ice pack from the fridge and pressed it against her slightly swollen face through a towel. The sudden cold sting made her grit her teeth, her body trembling slightly. She knew her mother was angry this time.

Very angry. Furious.

In all her life, this was the first time she had seen her mother so enraged.

There was no perfect solution to this situation.

Someone was bound to get hurt.

But she had to attend the matchmaking meeting tomorrow, even if nothing came of it.

She had to go through the motions.

Why did her mother despise homosexuality so much? It seemed to have something to do with her late father.

Her attraction to girls wasn’t about genetics, it was simply about liking someone, and that someone happened to be a girl.

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

She hadn’t hidden anything from anyone. She wasn’t like her father.

She glanced at her phone.

There were a few messages from Lin Ruocheng.

After reading them one by one, she replied to each message, specifically circling the questions Lin Ruocheng had asked.

[Fu Yanxi]: I’m home, and it’s fine.
[Fu Yanxi]: She probably doesn’t know yet. She doesn’t like this kind of thing.
[Fu Yanxi]: I’m here. What’s up, Xiao Chengzi?

Fu Yanxi held the ice pack to her swollen face with one hand while typing replies with the other.

A faint smile touched her lips. It hurt, but she still felt happy.

[Lin Ruocheng]: Really… nothing happened? Is it because of me?
[Fu Yanxi]: No, you’re fine.

The reply came quickly.

As expected of a voice actor, she replied swiftly.

And sincerely.

She also knew that not everyone in the world could accept their child being gay. She had heard that even her own grandmother had initially disapproved. It took her mother over a year of persistent efforts, plus the fact that her mother was well-educated, good-looking, treated her well, and could cook, before her grandmother finally relented.

Now, things were completely different.

Her grandmother believed that as long as her child was happy, nothing else mattered.

[Lin Ruocheng]: Fu Yanxi, we used to be classmates, right? Middle school classmates. You can tell me anything. Were you hit? I want the truth. You know my personality, don’t you?

Lin Ruocheng had heard her own mother talk about Fu Yanxi’s mother’s past relationships, and it made her even more worried about Fu Yanxi.

Although she hadn’t said a word, he could sense something off from the way she was typing.

It still felt a bit strange.

She had always trusted her intuition.

[Fu Yanxi]: “Yeah, I got hit, but it’s not serious.”

She knew she couldn’t hide it from Lin Ruocheng.

It was better to be honest.

She liked Lin Ruocheng… really, really liked her.

There was no way she would ever let go.