The Lady I Flirted With Is Here - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Misunderstanding

Lin Xian returned to the dormitory just as dinner time approached. Her roommate, the girl from Northeast China, was in front of her computer with messy, bird-nest hair, fiercely slaying enemies in a game. On Lin Xian’s desk sat a pre-ordered pack of sweet and sour pork ribs.

Hearing the door, the Northeast girl gave a Pavlovian response: “Back pretty early this time. Left your food on the desk; by the time you got back, the canteen would’ve been closed anyway.” She followed this immediately by yelling at the screen: “Learn how to look at the road, you noob!”

It was clear the roommate wouldn’t be asking questions for a while. Lin Xian took a breath, sat down to finish her meal, and then began the process of removing her colored contacts and makeup. Her nearsightedness was over 500 degrees—a habit from staying up late to read as a child. By the time she regretted it, she was already a “four-eyes.” If there was one thing Lin Xian envied most, it was perfect vision.

She found colored contacts somewhat uncomfortable, so she only bought daily disposables for important occasions—though “important days” only happened a few times a year.

After removing her makeup and showering, it was already evening. Lin Xian unpacked the throw pillow and looked at the little chibi figure riding a wooden horse. Liu Liu’s design was truly adorable. Her eyes crinkled into a smile; she couldn’t bear to actually use it, so she repackaged it and tucked it safely into her cabinet.

As she lay in bed resting after a busy day, she inevitably recalled the racing heart and the encounter from earlier.

That person was truly beautiful. She had the face of a youthful middle schooler; from afar, she seemed elegant and cool, but up close, her features were delicate and intriguing. She said she had graduated two years ago, yet she didn’t seem to carry a trace of worldliness, like a slender youth stepped out of a manga.

You could tell at a glance she was a girl, yet there was a heroic air between her brows—an indescribable blend of traits that felt comfortable and gentle.

This “masterpiece” didn’t fit any of the usual lesbian tropes Lin Xian had seen: there were the “T” types who dressed completely masculine and cool (whom Lin Xian only noticed if they were exceptionally handsome); the “long-haired older sisters” (the yujie) with their dashing aura, who usually attracted the most followers; the soft and obedient “lolita” types who triggered a protective instinct; or the slender, artistic girls who were perennial favorites…

But her? Lin Xian had never encountered this type, nor had she seen anyone similar among the famous figures in the community. At their first meeting, she was wearing black casual straight-leg pants, a simple dark blue plaid shirt over a white T-shirt, and a pair of Converse. Such a simple outfit—something a middle schooler might wear—somehow made her stand out in the crowd.

She was clearly low-key, yet it was impossible to look away.

She was a masterpiece, someone so top-tier that Lin Xian—who had been single for seven years and was constantly mistaken for being straight—didn’t even dare to add her on WeChat.

What was she worried about? Simply that the other person wouldn’t like her. Lin Xian couldn’t even guess her profession; it felt too dangerous.

Unwillingness mixed with drowsiness. Just as Lin Xian was about to fall asleep, she bolted upright and opened the fan meeting WeChat group. The chat history showed “999+.” Lin Xian patiently scrolled back page by page, hoping to find a few stray crumbs of information from the masterpiece.

Lin Xian’s thumb went numb and her eyes ached. She put down her phone to apply eye drops and then continued the battle.

Why are Liu Liu’s readers so chatty? Lin Xian grumbled, forgetting she used to be one of them.

Finally, among over a thousand comments, she found a post from the masterpiece:

Jiu Wu: Mm.

Mm? Just an “Mm”? Lin Xian scrolled up for a long time before she saw a group member named “Cherry BABY” tagging her:

Cherry BABY: I’m back in Shanghai now @Jiu Wu

So? What was the relationship between this “Cherry Baby” and the masterpiece? Could she be that glamorous girl? Lin Xian clicked on her profile and was surprised to find her latest “Moments” photos were visible.

“Little Cherry met Hubby Liu Liu today, so happy!” Several of the photos were the ones Lin Xian had shared in the group. For some reason, Lin Xian felt a surge of inexplicable anger. She blurted out a complaint: “Using someone else’s photos without saying a word. How rude!”

She huffed and returned to the chat interface, only to realize the chat had jumped back to the most recent messages.

Scroll back again? Impossible.

Angrily, she typed “Mm” into the search bar. A mountain of “Mm” results appeared. Frustrated, she typed: I’m back in Shanghai.

Is the air conditioning off? Why do I feel so heated?

Lin Xian looked up. The AC on the opposite wall was humming with cold air. Finding no scapegoat, she continued sliding through the chat. She didn’t find the masterpiece, but she found a tag from Cherry BABY:

Cherry BABY: The photos the little lolita took are amazing! Can I post them to my Moments? @Microscope Girl. I’m the girl who was sitting to your right.

Lin Xian, who had just been cursing the girl for “stealing” photos, was instantly slapped in the face by reality: “…”

She tried to reclaim some dignity, huffing to herself: “Well, I hadn’t agreed yet, and she posted them anyway.”

Even though no one could see her through the screen, Lin Xian’s ears turned red. She had a severe case of “embarrassment-phobia”; she hated being proven wrong or having her secrets exposed.

Scanning further up, there were only a few messages left, including the one from the masterpiece that afternoon: Good image quality.

Lin Xian had assumed the other person was just a frequent “lurker” who complimented her out of social politeness, but now she regretted not thanking her at the time.

Serves you right! Not only did she ignore the masterpiece’s compliment, but she also ignored the tag from that Cherry Baby. Wouldn’t that seem rude? Like she was being petty? Lin Xian immediately imagined a drama where the glamorous girl misunderstood her, leading to a wave of overthinking and regret.

After a thousand messages, replying now seemed pointless.

Lin Xian tapped around the screen regretfully and suddenly switched to her “Contacts.” To her surprise, there were many friend requests, all from the fan meeting group.

Sanni friend request: “Little sister, you’re so pretty. Liu Liu even called you out. If it weren’t for Liu Liu, I wouldn’t have known your nickname, and I would have missed out on you.”

Hu Bababa friend request: “Lolita, add me. I’m the girl who was behind you. I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

Xiao Xi friend request: “Can I get to know you? Just as friends, I won’t bother you.”

…

Among the pile of requests was Cherry BABY: “Cutie, you didn’t seem to see my tag. Can you add me? I have something to tell you.”

Lin Xian felt a bit guilty. She had said so many bad things about Cherry Baby in her head. It was uncomfortable. In truth, if anyone else had posted her photos, she might not have been this angry.

Lin Xian realized her behavior today was abnormal. Could it be? Was she… jealous?

Impossible, absolutely impossible! She immediately denied the terrifying thought.

She just appreciated the masterpiece, that was all. And since the other woman likely had a girlfriend, how could she be jealous? They didn’t even know each other; at most, they had chatted for a tiny bit.

To deny her inner thoughts, Lin Xian convinced herself with a self-directed script. She first accepted Cherry Baby’s friend request. Before the other party could even speak, she rushed to apologize: “I’m Microscope Girl. You can use the photos however you like. I’m really sorry, I didn’t look at my phone this afternoon.”

Lin Xian could practically hear her own pride cracking.

Less than half a minute later, the other person replied with a cute emoji and a message: “That’s great! I was so worried because I posted without permission. My ‘net friend’ even scolded me for it. I got lectured for so long.”

That serious?

Lin Xian assumed the “net friend” was someone from the fan group. She joined in the complaining: “I’m sorry for causing you trouble. But your friend is making a mountain out of a molehill. I don’t mind at all. Even if I did, it was for personal use and didn’t hurt my interests.”

The Lin Xian who was aggressively defending the girl now was a completely different person from the one who was fuming a moment ago.

Cherry Baby sent a screenshot: “Right? I’m telling you, her brain has a hole in it. It’s so unlucky to have a friend like this~” followed by a cute bunny emoji.

Lin Xian didn’t open the full image; she just glanced at the thumbnail, which seemed to be comments on Cherry Baby’s Moments. She was charmed by the bunny emoji; more than that, she felt like the other person was acting “coquettish.”

The thought of a glamorous, sexy, yet cute girl acting spoiled toward her made Lin Xian’s inner “manly” traits erupt. Ignoring everything, she let out a dorky grin: “Don’t mind her! You’re a little fairy; you should be pampered! You can use my photos whenever you want from now on!”

Cherry Baby replied: “Thanks, Xian-Xian.”

She added a super cute kitten emoji.

Xian-Xian… Lin Xian’s health bar was instantly depleted by the nickname. She felt like she could send a whole mountain of Liu Liu photos to Cherry Baby! She could have as many as she wanted!

Her head spinning, Lin Xian began dumping her private photo collection into the chat, praising the other girl as she did: “Actually, I saw you on the way to the meeting. From the first time I saw you, I thought you were—too beautiful!”

Well, it was the truth from the bottom of her heart.

Cherry Baby had exquisite makeup, a beautiful dress, and high heels. In those heels, she was slightly taller than the masterpiece, naturally drawing Lin Xian’s eye first.

Lin Xian, who hadn’t chatted with a pretty girl in years, forgot her original purpose and accidentally ended up talking to Cherry Baby all night. Cherry Baby was indeed beautiful and sweet-voiced, and she knew how to act spoiled. She caught all of Lin Xian’s jokes, sending back recordings of her bell-like laughter.

As the conversation deepened, Cherry Baby (Yin Tao) couldn’t help but reveal her true feelings: “Men are all big pig trotters (scumbags)! Xian-Xian, let’s be besties. You’re pretty and have a great personality. I’ll come find you whenever I’m in Beijing.”

Lin Xian: Besties? Men?

Little Cherry is straight?

This realization suddenly cleared Lin Xian’s “meridians.” While she replied to Yin Tao: “Sure! Little Cherry is welcome to visit me in Beijing anytime!”

She also tentatively tested the waters: “Which ‘pig trotter’ dared to bully our Little Cherry?”

As soon as she sent that, Yin Tao was reminded of the scumbag who had cheated on her and stolen her money. A voice call came through in the middle of the night. As soon as Lin Xian picked up, she heard Yin Tao crying.

Lin Xian’s biggest weakness was girls crying. She was instantly at a loss.

She clumsily told her not to cry and quietly ran out to the hallway to talk, afraid of waking her roommate.

In the hallway, under a single cold light, Yin Tao choked out the whole story: Six months ago, she met an “uncle” at an exhibition who fell in love with her at first sight. He pursued her relentlessly. Having been hurt by scumbags before, she was cautious, but eventually gave in to his thoughtfulness. Their relationship was sweet at first; he gave her whatever she wanted and even picked her up in the pouring rain. Yin Tao thought she’d found true love. She quit her job in Nanjing to live with him in Shanghai, giving him all her savings. But less than six months later, she noticed her clothes were missing. The day before the fan meeting, she saw him cheating with someone in the stairwell. Because the elevator was taking too long and she was in a hurry to give him a gift, she climbed to the sixth floor, only to witness the scene.

“I’ve already moved my luggage out, Xian-Xian,” Yin Tao cried and cursed. “He’s a pig trotter! I hate him! He even used my savings to buy that woman LV. Can you believe it?”

Lin Xian slapped the hallway wall. “I don’t have class tomorrow. Let’s go! I’ll book a train to Shanghai tonight to help you get justice!”

Just a scumbag, right? Bullying Little Cherry because she’s alone in Shanghai.

Yin Tao didn’t expect Lin Xian to be so enthusiastic. She was stunned for a moment, then tears fell again. “You, who only met me once, are willing to stand up for me. We lived together for six months, and he showed no mercy. I see clearly now.”

Lin Xian replied: “It’s not that he has no mercy; it’s that he’s an animal. A beautiful girl gave up everything for him, and he didn’t cherish it. He’ll get what’s coming to him. Little Cherry, give me your address.” Lin Xian was dead set on getting revenge for her.

Yin Tao laughed softly. “Xian-Xian, you’re so good. But it’s okay, my friends have already settled everything. I got my money back.”

Oh. Lin Xian’s offer hadn’t been entirely impulsive; she had several high school classmates in Shanghai. Some of the guys were tall and well-educated, and one was even a lawyer. Strength in numbers—whoever that guy was, someone who steals a girl’s money isn’t anyone powerful. A simple legal threat would make him fall in line.

Since Yin Tao hadn’t lost her money, Lin Xian breathed a sigh of relief. She comforted her until dawn. Leaning against the wall, half-asleep, she heard Yin Tao say: “Xian-Xian, you’re so right. I’m not sad anymore. Go to sleep since you don’t have class tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” Lin Xian yawned and returned to her room, collapsing onto the bed.

…

As the first light of dawn appeared, Fang Daiyu (the masterpiece) opened her phone. Her contacts were still quiet. She couldn’t help but sigh: “I guess I really am getting old.”

Then, she noticed several messages from Yin Tao:

“Hey, ‘net friend,’ what do you think? She agreed! The little lolita said I can use them however I want! Hmph.” (Attached: a screenshot).

“Hahaha, I called you a ‘brain with a hole’ and the lolita didn’t argue. She even called me a little fairy! Lolita is so nice.”

“You asleep?”

“Daiyu, let me tell you, that lolita is a good one. Totally my type!”

“Could she be my long-lost sister?”

“Xian-Xian is so cute. She stood up for me just like you did. Such a good girl. It’s a pity… she doesn’t seem to know anything about ‘yuri,’ ‘lesbian,’ or ‘lace’ at all. If she were ‘bent,’ you two might have made a good pair.”

“Actually, forget it. Your bad temper isn’t worthy of Xian-Xian.”

Fang Daiyu finished reading. Her white fingers lingered on the text where Lin Xian called Yin Tao a “little fairy.”

“Heh—” She let out a long sigh from her nose. “Being this warm toward Yin Tao… there’s no way she’s not a lesbian!”

Her beautiful eyelashes fluttered slightly. “I was certainly fooled by her appearance.”