Love Rival Turned Lover - Chapter 8

When the girl closed the door, Gongliang Bingyi’s gaze darkened.

He didn’t even know why. Ever since last night, he had been restless, unable to sleep. His dreams were filled with Qian Xun’s silhouette, leaving him irritable and on edge.

Originally, he’d planned to visit her early in the morning. After all, he had secretly followed her before and knew where she lived. But he hadn’t expected to walk downstairs and see Lu Yun sitting perfectly straight and presentable in the living room—polite, smiling, and greeting him as though he were a well-behaved gentleman.

Gongliang Bingyi’s heart had collapsed on the spot.

Because he was so desperate to see Qian Xun, he couldn’t help being perfunctory toward his childhood friend. He knew Lu Yun had specifically come to the Gongliang family estate to persuade him to accept the family’s arrangements and stop returning to the remote Hai City. He hadn’t agreed back then, and he certainly wouldn’t agree now.

After brushing off his still-overbearing parents and leaving the house, Gongliang Bingyi hadn’t expected Lu Yun to insist on following him all the way to Hai City. It seemed his parents were determined to force him into the family’s arranged marriage.

Thinking back to Qian Xun’s appearance just moments ago, Gongliang Bingyi—for the first time in his life—felt the urge to hide his sweet, pretty girlfriend away and keep her all to himself. And when he noticed Lu Yun’s gaze lingering a little too long on Qian Xun’s slender, fair legs, he felt an irrational spike of resentment toward his friend.

Listening to the faint sound of running water from the bathroom, Gongliang Bingyi’s handsome face flushed. His throat bobbed almost imperceptibly.

Why did she suddenly seem so soft and tempting today? He felt an absurd impulse to pounce and take a bite.

“Gongliang? Gongliang?”

Lu Yun’s annoyed shouting snapped him back to reality. Staring at the wooden door that was being pounded so violently splinters were flying, he had the sudden urge to tape Lu Yun’s mouth shut.

“Stop knocking. Qian Xun is taking a shower. You can’t come in.”

Gongliang stepped to the door and tapped it lightly with his finger, signaling for Lu Yun outside to quiet down. “If you can’t wait, you can go back first.”

Gongliang, you lust-blinded traitor!

Stoked by Gongliang’s utterly indifferent attitude, Lu Yun almost kicked the door down. But that was only “almost.” If he really kicked it, he was certain Gongliang would beat him into the floor.

“You’re in there too,” Lu Yun muttered through clenched teeth, leaning close to the door.

“With you in the room, Ye Qian Xun would be the one in danger, wouldn’t she?”

Hmph, don’t think I didn’t see the way you looked at her—like you were going to eat her alive!

Gongliang raised a perfect eyebrow, and his cool tone—at least to Lu Yun—sounded infuriatingly smug.

“I’m Qian Xun’s boyfriend. Naturally, that makes me her guardian angel. Why would anything be ‘dangerous’? Hmm?”

“Anyway, I’m done talking to you. I’m papering this wall.”

“Gongliang? Gongliang?”

This guy!

When Gongliang truly ignored him, Lu Yun felt a mouthful of blood choke in his throat—unable to swallow it down or spit it out. He had come with a promise from the family. If not for wanting to give Gongliang one last buffer period out of personal sentiment, the one coming today would have been An Yu herself.

“Seriously, what an inconsiderate bastard.”

Loosening his tie, Lu Yun leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Sweat beaded on his nose from the blazing sun outside.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long. Soon, freshly showered and changed, Qian Xun opened the door and let him in.

“You’re still here?”

Gongliang Bingyi—who was in the middle of pasting wallpaper—glanced at Lu Yun with mild surprise before immediately ordering him around.

“Good, you’re just in time. Hand me the wallpapers on the table.”

Lu Yun, face sunburned red and shirt soaked through: “…”

He really wanted to beat up this women-before-bros bastard. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?

Obediently passing the wallpapers over, Lu Yun stared at his pampered childhood friend—now working with expert skill at pasting wallpaper. He couldn’t help sighing.

For the sake of “love,” his friend had truly fallen. Completely lost himself.

Qian Xun sat at the edge of the bed, looking up at the two strikingly handsome boys who looked completely out of place in this tiny room. Her brows drew together slightly.

It seemed, ever since she transmigrated, the entire plot of this world had gone off the rails. The original host hadn’t been assaulted, nor had she gotten into a heated argument with the male lead. But Qian Xun couldn’t shake a deep sense of wrongness.

The male lead wasn’t reacting correctly. The female supporting character wasn’t reacting correctly either. According to the script, Ling Qiao’er should never have let her go last night.

What on earth was going on?

Was the system’s plot defective to begin with, or—

“Qian Xun?”

Finished with the papering, Gongliang Bingyi walked over with a soft smile. He pinched her pink cheek between his fingers.

“Little Qian Xun, why do you daydream so much, hmm?”

Why does this man keep touching her face?

Qian Xun lifted her chin and glared at the boy angrily. “Don’t call me Little Qian Xun again! We’re the same age!”

What she really wanted to say was that she was much older than Gongliang Bingyi. He and the original Ye Qian Xun were both fifteen or sixteen, while she had already been twenty when the system bound her.

“Pfft—Little Qian Xun is way too cute.”

Unable to resist, Gongliang Bingyi reached out and pinched her soft cheeks again. Then he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“Alright, little darling.”

His voice was so tender it didn’t just stun Qian Xun— even thick-skinned Lu Yun shuddered violently, his entire body breaking out in goosebumps. He jumped back dramatically.

“Can you not be so mushy? Please spare the feelings of us lonely single dogs!”

At that, Gongliang Bingyi gave him a cool, indifferent glance. Out of consideration for Qian Xun, he didn’t tear apart Lu Yun’s façade right then and there.

This guy changed girlfriends weekly. Forget being single—he stopped being a virgin eight hundred years ago. If he’s single now, he absolutely did that to himself.

“D-Don’t call me little darling!”

Qian Xun, who had never dated before, instinctively rejected such ambiguous endearments. Her eyes shone brightly, cheeks reddened in flustered anger—stunning, and more than a little tempting.

Gongliang Bingyi’s gaze dimmed. He held himself back for several seconds before he finally nodded.

He dared not look at her again—afraid that another second would make him lose control and embarrass himself. His throat bobbed hard. Staring at the wall, at the “masterpiece” he’d created, he spoke with a voice that trembled from suppressed emotion.

“Qian Xun, look—how do you like the poster wall I made?”

The originally uneven, dull-gray wall was now completely covered in light pink wallpaper. On top of the wallpaper, he had scattered posters of several popular idols. The soft pink and all those bright, smiling faces finally brought some color to the cramped, oppressive room.

Qian Xun nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad.”

Where she couldn’t see, Gongliang Bingyi’s lips curved upward. He covered his mouth and coughed lightly, then began asking for his “reward.”

“So, since I did such a good job, shouldn’t Qian Xun reward me?”

Reward? What reward?

Qian Xun was completely lost—she didn’t understand the little couple-world games at all.

Secretly glancing at her bewildered expression, Gongliang Bingyi’s eyes shimmered as he suggested softly, “For example, give me a kiss. One, two, three kisses. Or you could put my poster up on your wall.

Which one will you choose, Qian Xun? Hmm?”

“I.” Qianxun choked, hesitating. “The second one.”

Gongliang Bingyi easily heard the reluctance in her voice. His heart filled with amusement, his eyes already curved into crescents—yet his tone was full of theatrical regret.

“Tsk, what a pity. I thought you’d choose the first one.”

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.

Having taken in his friend’s every micro-expression, Lu Yun felt as if tens of thousands of wild horses were stampeding through his chest.

Who is this?

Is this still the stubborn, straightforward friend he grew up with? Where did this sneaky, teasing, soft-hearted version come from?

Looking at him now, Lu Yun suddenly wasn’t so sure An Yu could win his friend’s heart.

An Yu was beautiful, good-natured, smart and emotionally intelligent. Her family background matched Gongliang’s perfectly—they were practically made for each other.

But seeing Gongliang’s smiling eyes and the unmistakable happiness on his face, Lu Yun honestly doubted that anyone other than Ye Qian Xun could make him look like that.

So, the first choice meant she’d have to kiss him, huh?

Qian Xun rolled her eyes without mercy. “Weren’t you going to take me out to play?”

Author’s Note:
The “gong” (top) is basically a formless consciousness—appeared in Chapter 1.
This time, it possessed two people.
It wants to know whether Qian Xun likes men or women.
After this world, the “gong” will directly possess a female body.
Hehe, looking forward to watching the “gong” kill itself in this world.