Snuggling for Survival: A Quick Transmigration Tale - Chapter 27

As she thought about it, drowsiness washed over her. Yu Yu did not dare to disturb the female lead and Li Qing outside; she was afraid that running out there might make Li Qing angry. If Li Qing got angry, she might kick Yu Yu out, and then all the persistence she had shown during this time would be for nothing.

Even though she was just a string of data, she understood that liking someone made it impossible to give up so easily. At this point in time, Li Qing must certainly love the female lead to death.

Yu Yu never thought about replacing anyone; she only wanted Li Qing to treat her as a friend. She did not want Li Qing to be all alone like in the original plot, carrying all her sadness by herself. Since Li Qing could tolerate her staying in the same house, she must consider Yu Yu a friend to some extent, right?

Thinking about this felt quite wonderful. Rolling around on the bedsheets, Yu Yu fell straight into sleep, immersed in her own fantasies.

Yu Yu had been tidying her room for a very long time and had not come out. Li Qing had originally intended for the three of them to go out for a meal together. However, after waiting until almost the afternoon without seeing her emerge, Li Qing began to find it strange.

She walked directly over and knocked on Yu Yu’s bedroom door. She had originally intended to just call out from the doorway, but to her surprise, the door was not closed at all. With a light tap, the door swung open.

Having no interest in prying into others’ privacy, Li Qing called out from the doorway, “Let us go out for a meal together.”

Yu Yu was sleeping quite deeply, but she still heard a bit of sound. Feeling lazy and still immersed in her dreams, she was actually unhappy to hear the noise. She twisted on the bed and burrowed further into the quilt.

Seeing the movement inside and fearing that the girl might smother herself, Li Qing frowned and walked in. The room was very dark; only by getting closer could she see Yu Yu’s pinkish lips pouting in displeasure through the light filtering from the gap in the curtains. Her brows were tightly knit, appearing irritated at being disturbed.

An unusual emotion stirred in Li Qing’s heart. She knew the most polite thing to do right now was to walk out and close the door, letting the girl sleep peacefully. But a sudden impulse to betray that politeness arose within her. This new thought made Li Qing feel that something was not quite right with her, yet before her brain could process it, her hand had already moved to act.

By the time she realized it, her hand was already on Yu Yu’s cheek. Li Qing was startled by her own behavior. She was not someone who enjoyed pinching people’s faces, yet she had already done this several times to the person before her—though the previous times had occurred while she was drunk.

She pinched that soft cheek. The lingering sensation on her fingertips made Li Qing’s heart race. Because she had not controlled her strength well and it was a somewhat unconscious reaction, the pressure was uneven. Even though she could not see clearly, she felt that this pinch would likely leave a red mark on Yu Yu’s face.

Waking up unexpectedly from her dream, Yu Yu practically bolted upright. Clutching her cheek, which had been attacked for who knows how many times, Yu Yu’s tone was somewhat annoyed. “That really hurts.”

Even though her tone was very annoyed, her voice lacked any real sting because she had just woken up. Instead, it carried a bit of softness and lacked even half an ounce of intimidation.

With a light chuckle, Li Qing turned on the bedside lamp, and as expected, she saw the slightly reddened cheek. Seeing the other person laughing made Yu Yu even angrier. Her eyes widened. “Why do you keep pinching me? It has happened several times now!”

“I am waking you up to take you out to eat.” Li Qing guiltily skipped over the topic. Regarding why she had pinched Yu Yu’s face, she had no answer in her heart. It seemed to be a subconscious act, but she did not understand why she would do such a thing to a stranger—no, to someone who was essentially just a chance acquaintance.

It was as if she were subconsciously controlled by some thought deep within her. Even if she admitted to herself that she was not exactly a good person, she did not have a tendency to bully others. Generally speaking, even she could not explain this phenomenon.

Fortunately, Yu Yu did not think too much about it. She simply pouted and got out of bed with a face full of resentment to grab clothes and change. Being called to go out for a meal was likely a big step forward for someone like Li Qing, who did not have many friends. Normally, she did not want to bother with anyone except the female lead.

Yu Yu gave herself some mental counseling, and by the time she emerged from the bathroom, the expression on her face had softened. “What are we going to eat?”

In fact, she had not even decided what to eat, but when Yu Yu asked, Li Qing said casually, “Let us eat Japanese food. Ye Zi said she wanted it.”

Only after saying it did she remember that Ye Zi wanting Japanese food was something from the last time. However, she had not gone last time, and it seemed Ye Zi had gone with Liu Xu afterward.

Yu Yu nodded and gave an affirmative response. She did not mind what they ate; she was not picky.

“Mhm.” Without offering further explanation, Li Qing walked out of Yu Yu’s room. “Let us go.”

On the way out, aside from being close to Li Qing while taking a car, the distance between Yu Yu and Li Qing was the kind where they maintained a close proximity, yet Yu Yu felt the pain of being unable to touch her. She did not dare to brazenly hold Li Qing’s hand, nor could she keep leaning against her. Yu Yu gazed at this giant “power bank,” and even though she was salivating, she did not dare to touch her randomly.

She followed them to the Japanese restaurant in an orderly manner, not daring to say an extra word. In fact, Ye Zi did all the talking along the way. Li Qing was naturally someone of few words, and Yu Yu purely did not know what to say and did not dare to interrupt others, silently acting as a background character.

“There were many dishes Liu Xu and I did not get to choose when we came here last time. This time, I will recommend the ones we thought were delicious last time. Hehe.” Ye Zi took a photo of the menu. Yu Yu’s sharp eyes saw the female lead sending a message to the male lead.

Seeing this scene, Yu Yu stole a glance at Li Qing’s expression. Whether the person hid it too well or simply did not see it, Li Qing showed no further reaction other than seriously looking at the menu.

“Are you allergic to seafood?”

Yu Yu was dazed for a moment and only realized after a while that Li Qing’s gaze was fixed on her. Her nerves immediately tightened, and Yu Yu shook her head. “I am not allergic.”

Li Qing nodded and returned her gaze to the menu. “Mhm. Then I will just order as I see fit.”

Yu Yu let out a sigh of relief. Li Qing and the female lead had grown up together; how could she not know what the female lead was allergic to? Clearly, it was Yu Yu herself who had not reacted just now.

After ordering a few skewers and some sushi, Li Qing handed the menu to Yu Yu. Her tone had softened significantly. “See if there is anything else you want to order. Add some things you would like to eat.”

Yu Yu nodded and looked at the items Li Qing had ordered; they were all things she did not particularly want to eat. It was not that they were not delicious, but she had eaten them before and had little interest. However, her mouth watered when she saw the raw salmon and seafood on the page.

Leaning over to look at the menu, Ye Zi recommended with a smile, “Hehe, the salmon sashimi here is very delicious. And this wasabi octopus—I ate two portions by myself last time! Also, these sweet shrimp—I think we can have two portions.”

Yu Yu suddenly felt that the female lead was like an angel at this moment!

Looking at the two heads huddled together, Li Qing’s brow furrowed. “Order fewer raw items.”

“It is fine. The items in this shop are very fresh, and it is not like we eat this every day.” Ye Zi placed the order straightforwardly, not taking Li Qing’s words to heart.

Although she said nothing, the expression on Li Qing’s face was clearly one of disapproval. Yu Yu remained silent, quietly accepting the female lead’s “feeding.”

Having eaten here once before, Ye Zi was quite familiar with ordering this time. When the food arrived, it was first moved in front of Yu Yu. Under Li Qing’s gaze, Yu Yu braced herself and ate everything Ye Zi handed over. The soft silkiness of the salmon and the crisp elasticity of the wasabi octopus were such wonderful flavors that Yu Yu slowly began to ignore Li Qing’s stare.

“Eat some rice.” Li Qing frowned as she watched Yu Yu eat many raw items and handed her a bowl of rice.

Gazing longingly at the sweet shrimp in front of her, Yu Yu felt some disdain for the rice. Shifting her hips slightly toward Ye Zi’s side, Yu Yu’s resistance was already very obvious. She quickly picked up another piece of salmon and did not even spare a glance for Li Qing. She even secretly cursed in her heart: Humph! You want me to eat rice in a place like this? In your dreams!

Watching the person ignore her actions, Li Qing was inexplicably a bit angry, yet she also felt this surge of anger was mysterious and unnecessary.

Ye Zi was in an excellent mood today, as if she had met a friend with the same hobbies. she desperately recommended the good things she had eaten last time to Yu Yu.

“There is also a plum wine that is very delicious! It has very little alcohol and is sweet! I was fine even after drinking two bottles last time.” Ye Zi quickly ordered two more bottles of plum wine and smilingly poured a large glass for Yu Yu.

Before drinking, Yu Yu cautiously stole a look at Li Qing’s expression. It was obvious that the person was unhappy, but it was unclear whether it was because Yu Yu was too close to Ye Zi or for some other reason. After thinking it over, Yu Yu still felt it was exactly what she suspected.

Feeling a bit stifled in her heart, and relying on the fact that Li Qing would not lose her temper with Ye Zi, Yu Yu took the glass and drank half of it in one gulp. The sweet wine flavor was much better than what she had drunk last time; it did not have that spicy sting and instead felt a bit like soda. This immediately lowered Yu Yu’s guard.

Drinking happily, Yu Yu’s lips were made shiny by the wine, her cheeks were slightly red, and her gaze became dazed. However, Yu Yu felt she was not yet drunk.

“Drink less.” Rubbing her temples, Li Qing felt she could not restrain these two right now. Especially Yu Yu; her state right now was as if she were using Ye Zi as a shield. She would not listen to any advice. She did whatever Ye Zi told her to do, ate whatever she was told to eat, and drank whatever she was told to drink, completely forgetting that her constitution was different from others. Eating so many raw and cold things and drinking so much wine…

“It is fine. It is not like we drink every day.” Ye Zi was also feeling a bit of a buzz, but her alcohol tolerance was decent. At most, she was just slightly slowed down.

Yu Yu felt like the people around her were spinning. But her consciousness was still a little clear. Since she was still angry with Li Qing, she did not want to talk to her and simply called out to her system.

[Sys-System… I think I am a little bit drunk.]

[Host, last time was also because you were drunk that you obtained an opportunity to get close to Li Qing!]

The little system believed that all of this was its host’s scheme! She had already learned to use a good thing like alcohol to obtain energy; she was already a very clever host.

The alcohol content of plum wine is not high. Although she had already drunk several glasses, Yu Yu was actually not drunk to that extent. As the alcohol took effect, she only felt a bit dizzy. However, as soon as the system spoke, she felt there was some truth to it.

Li Qing had now slowly included her in her circle of friends. Perhaps she could be a bit more pushy. To verify this idea, Yu Yu used the buzz from the wine to tilt her head and lean against Li Qing. Her hot breath hit Li Qing’s arm, making Li Qing momentarily uncomfortable. She frowned with some disdain but still controlled herself and did not push Yu Yu away.

She was not that drunk at all. Yu Yu smiled sillily, feeling a sense of gratification that her scheme had succeeded.

“She got drunk so fast.” Ye Zi propped her chin and glanced at Yu Yu, then lowered her head to play with her phone. The screen showed she was chatting with someone. One did not even need to ask to know who it was.

Turning her head to look at the smiling Yu Yu, Li Qing reached out and pinched Yu Yu’s fair and tender face again. This time, she controlled her strength, making it feel like a tickle.

“Mhm…” Yu Yu twisted her head but did not move it away.

“I… I am preparing to confess to Liu Xu.” Looking at the two of them in this state with a smile, Ye Zi still felt a bit jealous. She felt her best friend was truly being snatched away. Clearly, Li Qing had never been this intimate with another person before.

Ye Zi felt her emotions were a bit off right now. A sense of possessiveness over her friend suddenly emerged. However, thinking that if she really succeeded in her confession, Li Qing would also maintain a certain distance from Liu Xu, it also indirectly deprived her of her friend. So, she suppressed this uncomfortable emotion again.

It did not matter. No matter what, she was still Li Qing’s best friend. After all, she had known Li Qing for so many years and understood her personality perfectly. Li Qing was not someone who opened her heart easily to others. Perhaps it was because she had neglected Li Qing lately that Li Qing felt bored and also wanted someone to accompany her.

“Mhm. I wish you success.” Having heard this several times in a row, Li Qing had gone from being uncomfortable at the beginning to slowly adapting now. It felt as if a long time had passed, but calculating carefully, it seemed not even a month had gone by. Clearly, at the start, it was painful to the point of heart-wrenching agony; how could she calm down so quickly?

Looking back, it was a level that Li Qing herself found unbelievable.

After pretending to be drunk and leaning on Li Qing for a while, Yu Yu felt her stomach become uncomfortable and her face turned a bit pale. She shifted and twisted, slowly sitting her body upright. She even tilted her head slightly to get close to Li Qing’s ear, her voice soft and carrying a bit of heat. “I… I feel a bit uncomfortable.”

There was a scent of plum wine at the tip of her nose, and Li Qing’s ear became several degrees warmer. She also roughly guessed what the situation was with this person. Her physical constitution was poor to begin with, and with all the things she had eaten today, they would have to go to a pharmacy to buy some medicine later.

Looking at Yu Yu’s face crumpled into a ball, Li Qing felt that this person would not have a pleasant night. That was what she got for not listening to her tonight—not eating a single piece of the cooked food she ordered, eating all those raw and cold things, and even daring to drink.

Li Qing snorted coldly in her heart. What she thought was that Yu Yu should learn a lesson and remember firmly that her weak body could not just eat anything.

“Mhm… I want to go back.” Clutching her stomach, Yu Yu was almost breaking out in a cold sweat.

Without delaying too long, Li Qing directly propped the girl up. Carrying the small figure was like lifting a chick; though the girl weighed about eighty pounds, she felt even thinner than before when Li Qing held her.

“Have Liu Xu come and pick you up later. We have to go; she is not feeling very well.” Supporting Yu Yu, Li Qing looked at the sober Ye Zi.

At this moment, her heart carried a bit of blame. She had clearly tried to persuade them just now. Having been sick with Yu Yu last time, Ye Zi should have known that this little troublemaker’s constitution was different from others. She had also mentioned this matter while chatting on the phone. Yet, as soon as they arrived, Ye Zi ordered so many raw and cold items and even wine, not paying the slightest attention to Li Qing’s expression.

Although she herself was also somewhat at fault for not speaking out to stop it directly, Li Qing still pushed a bit of the responsibility onto Ye Zi’s head. Then, the one with the greatest responsibility was this little troublemaker, who did not know her own limits at all. She believed whatever others said and had even learned to avoid Li Qing’s gaze.

In short, all the anger flared up the moment Yu Yu said she was uncomfortable. However, Li Qing controlled it well and did not make it too obvious.

“Are you not going to wait here?” Turning off the chat screen, Ye Zi felt very unsettled. “You never used to treat me like this before…”

Li Qing’s heart skipped a beat. She looked directly over with a bit of confusion. “Then how did I use to be?”

Ye Zi’s heart stalled. She could not quite believe Li Qing would face her with such an attitude. A strong sense of grievance welled up in her heart, and Ye Zi’s voice even carried a hint of a sob. “You used to be very good to me. Whatever I said, it was done. Do you still remember when I was in high school and couldn’t get up every day? You brought me breakfast every single day. Also, in university, I didn’t want to eat alone, and you and Liu Xu always took turns accompanying me. When we were outside, you never let me be alone…”

She went on to say many more things cryptically. The more Ye Zi spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, but most of it was accusing Li Qing of being too cold toward her during this time.

If she had not said it, Li Qing herself would not have known that she had spent all these years revolving around Ye Zi. She had thought Ye Zi never knew about her silent contributions over the years. She also felt that with Ye Zi’s carefree personality, she might not remember.

Li Qing smiled. “So you knew all along…”

“So… can you please wait with me?” Looking at that smile, Ye Zi inexplicably felt a bit weak. She did not even dare to look at the reply Liu Xu had sent her on her phone.

“Then do you know why I had to be so good to you?” Without answering her directly, Li Qing’s mind was not quite sure what it was thinking, and she spoke the words in her heart directly.

“Because we are best friends.” Ye Zi’s heart was flustered; she felt a bad premonition.

An outcome as expected did not make Li Qing feel much pain. She had laid the groundwork in her heart for far too long. She had never thought she would say it out loud. Li Qing sighed, and after getting the answer in her heart, the words that followed were spoken with casual indifference. “None of those. It is because I have other thoughts about you. I have liked you for a long time, but I didn’t realize it before. I realized it recently, so I wanted to avoid you. This reason is quite logical, right?”

Ye Zi’s face turned pale. How could this be…

“But, we are…”

“Stop talking…” Yu Yu weakly interrupted their conversation. The sweat popping out on her head had already dampened her bangs, and her small face was deathly pale. Clutching Li Qing’s hand, the words she spoke were faint and lacked strength. “I… I want to go back… to the bathroom!”

“Th-There is a bathroom here.” Reacting suddenly, Ye Zi stuttered as she spoke to Yu Yu. Their conversation just now had been heard in its entirety; Ye Zi felt extremely embarrassed at this moment.

Shaking her head, Yu Yu was almost in tears. In this kind of public place, she… she just could not do it!

“Li Qing…” Tears welled up again, and Yu Yu added a hint of a sob. “Let go, I want to go back… Waaa.”

She did not want to hear any gossip anymore, nor did she care why the plot was happening ahead of schedule or why Li Qing had revealed the secret in her heart before the female lead had confessed to the male lead. She did not want to care about any of that. She very, very, very much wanted to solve her “major life issue” right now!

Waaa, she should not have ignored Li Qing’s words.

Reaching out to pull away Li Qing’s hand that was holding her, Yu Yu really wanted to say at this moment: You two can argue here; I have to go back first.

But she had no strength at all right now. That kitten-like force posed no threat. Looking at that deathly pale little face, Li Qing said nothing more. Holding the girl, she walked directly out.

She left behind only the embarrassed Ye Zi, who had not even been able to digest the fact that her best friend liked her. Li Qing did not seem like someone who would joke, so could everything she said really be true? Her best friend, her best “bestie,” actually liked her.

Yu Yu: My stomach hurts; I have lost the heart to listen to gossip!!!!