Online Love, Based on the Real Object - Chapter 34

“……”

Qi Ning was suddenly at a loss for words. She hadn’t expected Chu Yunjing to actually double down like that.

No matter how thick-skinned she usually was, she didn’t dare crack raunchy jokes in broad daylight. She pretended to admire the scenery, looking left and right to change the subject. “If you’re so curious, why don’t you just Baidu it? You can find whatever you want to see there.”

Chu Yunjing let out a short, mocking laugh, as if she were scoffing at her, but she didn’t press the matter further.

The chef at this seafood stall wasn’t particularly skilled. The two of them only ate until they were half-full, their appetites sustained entirely by the fact that the seafood was exceptionally fresh.

After finishing their meal, they weren’t in the mood to join the “boiling dumplings” crowd in the water just yet. Taking advantage of the lull in traffic, they headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, Qi Ning glanced at the beach from the balcony.

At six o’clock, the sky was still very bright. Some of the tourists playing in the water had already left, likely headed for dinner. Staying in the room was boring, so Qi Ning dragged Chu Yunjing down to the shore.

Chu Yunjing hadn’t planned on swimming, intending to just wear a t-shirt and shorts, but Qi Ning coaxed her into changing into a swimsuit. The suit was quite conservative, outlining a very slender waist, with three-quarter shorts that gave it a sporty vibe. She also draped a large red hotel towel over her shoulders.

Qi Ning sized her up, her gaze landing on the towel. “Why are you wearing that?”

Chu Yunjing looked at Qi Ning’s exposed waist and legs. “I’m afraid you’ll get cold.”

“Impossible!” Qi Ning denied it flatly, unaware that she was about to be proven wrong for the millionth time.

Stepping out of the air-conditioned room, they immediately felt the higher temperature outside. Qi Ning was still insisting that it was far too hot to ever be cold.

Coming out of the elevator, Qi Ning saw a family of three entering the lobby. The little boy was lugging a swimming float. The float was quite unique—a white unicorn with a solid middle you could sit on. It looked very whimsical.

Qi Ning tugged at the person beside her, her eyes sparkling. “Look at that kid’s float! It’s so pretty!”

Chu Yunjing saw it too, but she wasn’t particularly interested in floats. She glanced at Qi Ning. “And?”

“I want one!”

“It’s huge. It’ll take up so much space when we bring it back, and you only come to the beach a few times a year,” Chu Yunjing argued righteously. “Besides, it’s so childish.”

As they spoke, they came face-to-face with the family of three. Qi Ning instantly retracted her sparkling eyes, switching to her “cool older sister” persona in a second.

The two walked past them hand-in-hand, eyes forward, as they heard the son asking his dad what was for dinner.

“I think that unicorn is big enough for both of us. I could carry you across the middle of the ocean…”

“…” Chu Yunjing already had the mental image, and she made a slightly disgusted face. “Just buy a normal float. Why get something so flashy?”

“You don’t understand!” Qi Ning retorted. “It’s called having a ‘young heart’!”

“…That kind of float will flip the moment a wave hits it.” For safety reasons, Chu Yunjing did not advocate for buying such things.

Qi Ning poked her shoulder. “I think not only will you fail to find a boyfriend, but finding a girlfriend will be hard for you too.” With that, she stomped ahead in her flip-flops.

Too straight, she thought. Truly too ‘straight-man’ logic. Even a straight woman wasn’t this blunt.

Her retreating back radiated a clear sense of sulking.

Chu Yunjing had no choice but to catch up. “Fine, fine. I’ll buy it for you, okay?” She used the tone one might use to coax a girlfriend. If Qi Ning really got mad, who knew how she’d pester her later? This girl had quite a temper.

“I didn’t ask you to buy it for me.” Qi Ning shook off Chu Yunjing’s hand. “Don’t touch me.”

Chu Yunjing was the type to be moved by soft words but never by force, yet she was completely at the mercy of Qi Ning’s little tantrums.

“Yes, yes, you didn’t say it. I want to buy it for you…”

The two bickered back and forth.

The beach was close to the hotel, only about a hundred meters away. The road was lined with small shops selling swimsuits and renting out floats. Seeing tourists, the shopkeepers greeted them warmly.

“Beautiful ladies, do you need a float?” “We have waterproof phone pouches too!”

Inflated floats were piled up outside the shops, looking a bit haphazard. But Qi Ning didn’t see any of the rideable ones. Likely due to their popularity, they were all rented out.

Qi Ning suppressed her urge to ask about the unicorn and picked a standard float, asking the boss the price.

“Ten yuan for one rental.”

…That was quite expensive. You could buy one online for ten yuan with free shipping.

“Do you have the unicorn?” Just as Qi Ning was hesitating, Chu Yunjing spoke up.

The boss was a man in his fifties or sixties. He didn’t understand what a “unicorn” was. “What-corn?”

“…” Chu Yunjing gestured a horn on top of her head, using simpler terms. “A horse with a horn on its head.”

“Oh, oh! Yes, we do!” The boss nodded. “The rentals are all gone, but I have some unopened ones for sale only.”

The boss rummaged through the shelves and asked, “Do you want the big one or the small one?”

“What’s the difference?”

“The small one fits one person. The big one you can sit or lie on; it fits three people at most. It’s thicker too, not as easy to flip… oh, and there’s the one with wings. Little ladies, which one do you want?”

“…How much?” As a shrewd (and stingy) accounting genius, Qi Ning was very concerned with the price.

“The small one is 100, the big one is 200.”

“!!!” Qi Ning’s eyes widened. The words “robbery” almost escaped her lips.

Thinking about it, those floats were expensive to begin with. In a beach shop, it wasn’t surprising to see the price doubled. This was too much; Qi Ning suddenly felt that the ten-yuan rental was actually quite nice.

Just as she was about to say they wouldn’t buy it, hoping the sweating boss wouldn’t kick them out after he’d worked so hard to find the stock, the person beside her spoke.

“We’ll take the big one.”

Qi Ning tugged her arm and whispered, “It’s so expensive! Don’t buy it. That ten-yuan one is fine.”

Chu Yunjing gave her a small smile. “I’m going to make you the coolest kid on this beach.”

Qi Ning was moved to tears, completely forgetting how much Chu Yunjing had teased her earlier. “Uwah, Jingjing, you’re so good to me…”

Little did she know, Chu Yunjing was just thinking that if they were going to carry such a “middle-schooler” and attention-grabbing float, buying a bigger one might turn people’s thoughts from “how childish” to “how enviable.”

Once the boss finished inflating it, it really was massive. They hadn’t even hit the water yet, but people on the street were already casting envious glances. Although the unicorn looked childish, Qi Ning actually made it look quite cool, riding the inflatable horse as if it were real.

Mainly because that unicorn was truly huge.

Chu Yunjing stepped into the seawater, letting the waves lap at her ankles. Watching Qi Ning’s silly, joyful face, her own lips curled up unconsciously.

“Auntie, can I ride your horse?” A little boy, having watched for a long time, finally walked over and asked timidly.

“…” Qi Ning was nearly struck dead by the word “Auntie.” She suppressed the urge to swat his bottom and said sternly, “Call me ‘Sister’.”

The little boy froze, looking at the unicorn’s head, his big eyes filled with confusion. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Auntie, can I ride your ‘Sister’?”

“…………” Qi Ning was silent for a full minute. “Which kindergarten do you go to? I’m going to report you to your teacher.”

The kid was cute, but he was a little airhead!

Chu Yunjing couldn’t help but turn away and purse her lips to hide her laughter. To keep from laughing out loud, her stomach actually started to hurt.

“What are you laughing at!” Qi Ning glared at the spectator.

The little boy was startled by her fierce look, putting his hands behind his back and looking lost. He felt a bit wronged, not knowing what he had said wrong. The teacher said to call girls a few years older “Sister,” and much older ones “Auntie” to be a polite, good child. He had been very polite, so why did the Auntie look so mean?

Seeing his dejected look, Qi Ning figured he realized his “mistake.” She got off the unicorn and let Chu Yunjing hold the “steed” so it wouldn’t be swept away by waves. She walked two steps and crouched in front of the child. “Where are your parents?”

Leaving a kid by the sea without supervision—how careless.

“Over there.” The child pointed to a man near a sand sculpture about a dozen meters away.

The parent only just realized his child was missing and began looking around frantically. He soon spotted the little guy next to Qi Ning, let out a sigh of relief, and hurried over.

“I told you to stay by Daddy’s side! Why did you run off?” The man picked up his son and began scolding him.

The boy pointed at the unicorn. “I want to ride…”

The man looked up, quickly realizing Qi Ning was the owner. He offered a placating smile. “I’m sorry, my son caused you trouble.” He then turned to his son. “Quick, say sorry to the ‘Sister’.”

“Sorry, Sister,” the boy said in a milky voice.

Qi Ning’s wounded heart from being called “Auntie” was slightly healed.

“It’s fine,” she said, then added a reminder: “The seaside is dangerous, keep a close eye on him.”

“I will.” The man nodded repeatedly, scratching his head sheepishly. “It’s my first time taking him out, I wasn’t careful enough. Thank you.”

Just as the man finished speaking, the boy chimed in: “Sister, Mommy and Daddy just got divorced. Do you want to be my mommy?”

Qi Ning: “???” Chu Yunjing: “…”

The smile on the man’s face froze. He crinkled his nose at his son before turning back. “Sorry, kids say the craziest things, please don’t mind him.”

“It’s okay.” Qi Ning looked at the boy, thinking about letting him ride the unicorn since his guardian was right there.

Suddenly, she heard the man say, “But I really did just get divorced are you here alone? Or with a friend? I thought maybe we could keep each other company.”

The man looked quite earnest as he said this.

Qi Ning: “…” Her previous thought of being nice vanished instantly.

“That wouldn’t be appropriate.” A fourth voice cut into the conversation.

As soon as the words were spoken, Qi Ning felt a slender yet firm hand rest on her waist, pulling her toward the speaker. She was then held firmly.

Chu Yunjing said, without a trace of emotion, “My girlfriend and I are here for some private time.”

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