Online Love, Based on the Real Object - Chapter 38

These two had known each other for twenty-six years and had been side-by-side for just as long. While they had their share of petty bickers and minor squabbles, they had never truly turned against one another with real animosity. Even when they were at odds, they usually reconciled in a heartbeat.

But this time, it was clearly a different matter entirely.

Sitting across from each other, Chu Yunjing—who usually held the dominant hand in their dynamic—now felt a wave of guilt as she looked at the other woman’s expressionless face. She didn’t know how to open her mouth; she had only kept her there out of a sudden impulse. She just knew she couldn’t let her walk away, or this knot in their relationship would become impossible to untie.

It took Qi Ning several minutes to fully digest everything. Whether her online lover turning out to be her best friend was a shock, or whether her romantic expectations had been completely shattered, she just wanted to know: why had her childhood friend changed her orientation, likely a long time ago, without her knowing a single thing?

When she saw the dress on Chu Yunjing—the one she had praised but her friend had refused to wear—her expression grew even colder.

“Chu Yunjing.” She used her full name, a rare occurrence. “Why did you hide it from me?”

Chu Yunjing froze. What exactly had she hidden…? If she had known 70 was Qi Ning, she would never have agreed to meet in person.

Seeing her friend’s bewildered look, Qi Ning suppressed her anger and said in a low voice, “Your sexual orientation. Since when did it change?”

“…” Chu Yunjing furrowed her brows. She pondered for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It’s just… I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“What’s so hard to say?!” Qi Ning raised her voice, her face flushed with anger. “You could have just said you liked women! Did you think I’d discriminate against you?! If it weren’t for today, were you planning on hiding it from me for the rest of your life?!”

Chu Yunjing stared at her blankly. After a long silence, she lowered her head and said, “I’m sorry.”

She admitted to herself that she hadn’t trusted Qi Ning enough. She could share every secret except this one. To many straight women, homosexuality is a minefield; being a lesbian is the biggest mine of all. What she hadn’t expected was that Qi Ning had “turned” as well… also without her knowing.

When Qi Ning looked at the dress, her fury flared up again.

“When I asked you to wear this dress before, you refused no matter what. But now that you’re out for a ‘meeting,’ you’re wearing it quite readily.” Qi Ning’s cold words were sharp. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. I bought that dress, and you wouldn’t wear it on our trip, but for an online date, you’re all too happy to put it on? Am I not worthy?!

The shift in topic was so fast it left Chu Yunjing confused. She hadn’t wanted to wear it on the trip because it was crowded, cramped, and hot. She wore it today because Qi Ning had said she looked good in it, and she wanted to give 70 a good first impression.

She hadn’t realized she’d be caught in it… Hearing Qi Ning’s accusation, she realized she had indeed messed up. “…I’m sorry.”

“Is ‘I’m sorry’ all you can say?!” Facing Chu Yunjing’s submissive attitude, Qi Ning’s anger didn’t fade, though she wasn’t entirely sure why she was this angry.

“Forget it.” Qi Ning stood up. “That’s enough for today. We’ll talk later.”

Chu Yunjing watched her turn to leave. She felt that Qi Ning was too upset for a calm conversation anyway; perhaps a few days of sulking would fix it. Things had gone this far; there was no turning back.

The clack-clack-clack of high heels on the tile broadcasted the owner’s mood. Qi Ning walked a short distance but suddenly doubled back. Chu Yunjing thought she had forgotten something and instinctively looked at her seat, but saw nothing.

By then, Qi Ning was already in front of her. Before she could speak, Qi Ning leaned down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up.

Chu Yunjing: “???”

Before she could ask what her friend was doing, a kiss landed on the corner of her eye—right on the spot of her beauty mark.

“When have I ever been a coward!” After kissing the mole and seeing the shock on Chu Yunjing’s face, Qi Ning felt a tiny bit of her anger dissipate. Then, she turned and stomped away again.

“…” Chu Yunjing touched the corner of her eye. The spot that had been kissed felt like it had been branded by hot iron; it was burning.

The Aftermath

Qi Ning’s National Day holiday had been very… eventful.

—It would have been better if my online date wasn’t my best friend, she thought gloomily. She moped for several days, her mood incredibly irritable. Every time she looked at her chat history with Yun Yu, she felt like a fool. She thought she had finally found love, only to meet her Waterloo. This was worse than a bad “die on sight” meeting.

She wanted to delete Zuire, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She simply stayed offline. There was no need to go online anyway; she had planned to add her on WeChat after meeting, but why bother? Forget WeChat—she knew her phone number and her home address perfectly well.

“Boss~~” After work, Ding HeGuang approached her with a bright smile.

“What!” Qi Ning replied impatiently.

“Whoa, why the temper?” Ding HeGuang rubbed his nose. “We’re going to dinner, want to come?”

“No, I’m annoyed.” Qi Ning waved him off. But Ding HeGuang became even more enthusiastic. “Then you definitely need to come have some fun! After dinner, we’re going to karaoke. I guarantee you’ll forget all your troubles!”

Qi Ning decided he was right; moping wouldn’t help. She might as well find some fun to relieve the stress, so she joined them.

Chu Yunjing hadn’t messaged her these past few days, and Qi Ning hadn’t reached out either. They were at a stalemate. Fortunately, Qi Ning’s anger had subsided a bit. She tried to look at it from Chu Yunjing’s perspective. Hadn’t she also kept her thing with Yun Yu a secret? She had been worried Chu Yunjing wouldn’t accept it, which led to all those misunderstandings.

It was all understandable.

As for the dress… she wasn’t done with that yet! That woman was a total “romance over friends” jerk! Thinking of this, she grabbed the microphone in the karaoke booth and practically wailed her way through a song.

The others were stunned. The boss’s mood seemed terrible even her breakup with her boyfriend hadn’t made her this irritable. After the song, she downed several gulps of beer. Ding HeGuang tried to stop her. “You’re going to get drunk!”

“Leave me alone!” Qi Ning pushed him. “You’re the one who told me to come, and now you won’t let me drink? Do you not want your bonus anymore?”

“I want it! I want it!” No one else dared to stop her. You don’t mess with a drunk woman, especially not your direct supervisor.

When their time in the booth was up, no one dared to extend it. They had work tomorrow, and their boss was wasted. They looked at each other until they finally pushed Ding HeGuang forward to take her home.

Ding HeGuang accepted his fate. He didn’t know how it happened; she usually barely drank at team events, yet today she was completely out of it.

“Boss, where do you live? I’ll take you home.” He nudged her shoulder. Qi Ning lifted her head from her arms. “I’m not going back! Get me another dozen beers!”

“Let’s not. We have work tomorrow!” Ding HeGuang said. “Just tell me where you live.”

“I don’t need you to take me!” Qi Ning pushed him quite hard; the strength of a drunk person is surprising, and he almost fell off his chair.

“Then… should I call your best friend? What was her name, Ms. Chu?” he asked tentatively.

During a previous company event, Qi Ning had brought Chu Yunjing, so they all knew her. If she hadn’t been so cold and their supervisor hadn’t been right there, the guys in the department would have been lining up to talk to her.

“…” Qi Ning didn’t answer; her head dropped back onto the table.

The group looked at each other. “What do we do? Does anyone know where the boss lives?” “No clue.”

Finally, Ding HeGuang had no choice but to pick up Qi Ning’s phone from the table, unlock it with her fingerprint, and look through her call logs. Tsk… there are three people with the surname Chu.

“Do you guys know her friend’s name? I remember it started with Chu, but I forgot the rest.” “I think it was… Jing?” “Are you sure?” “Not entirely…” It had been a long time since the last team event.

Ding HeGuang was speechless. “Whatever, there’s a ‘Jing’ right here. This is the one!”

When the call connected, a familiar voice answered. “Qi Ning…”

“Um, I’m not Qi Ning…” He started to explain, but the moment the woman on the other end heard it wasn’t her and it was a man’s voice, her tone turned to ice. “Who are you? Why do you have her phone? Where is she right now?!”

She’s pretty scary, he thought. “Uh… I’m not a bad guy! I’m her colleague!” He glanced at the sleeping Qi Ning. “She’s drunk and we don’t know her address. Can you tell us where to take her?”

The other side was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her tone was less terrifying. She asked for their location and said she would come pick her up herself.

They waited in the booth for nearly half an hour before a woman appeared at the door. She looked a bit out of breath, and the tension on her face only relaxed when she saw the figure slumped on the table.

“How did she get this drunk?” Chu Yunjing furrowed her brows, her voice laced with accusation.

A colleague scratched his head. “We tried to stop her… but she seemed to be in a bad mood and just kept drinking…”

Ding HeGuang helped get her into the car, and Chu Yunjing drove her home. On the way, Qi Ning kept muttering something unintelligible, but Chu Yunjing felt it could only be about her likely scolding her.

Once they were home and Qi Ning was laid out on her bed, Chu Yunjing tried to listen closer, but her friend had already fallen into a deep slumber. Chu Yunjing instinctively checked her eyes; her makeup was intact, so she hadn’t been crying. She let out a sigh of relief.

She expertly removed Qi Ning’s makeup and wiped her face before kneeling by the bedside to look at her. These past few days, she had replayed everything in her mind. Qi Ning had been testing her stance on homosexuality ever since they met as Yun Yu and 70.

During their “cold war” online, Qi Ning had been truly troubled. She had developed real feelings for Yun Yu and genuinely wanted her best friend and her lover to get along. That was why she had said things that seemed to contradict her “straight” persona and had vented her relationship troubles to Chu Yunjing under the guise of a “friend.”

A soft sigh echoed in the quiet room. Chu Yunjing reached out and touched her hair.

“I’m sorry. I am Yun Yu.”

She wished so much that Yun Yu wasn’t her, so that Qi Ning wouldn’t be so disappointed.

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