You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt! - Chapter 54

So much had truly happened today.

By the time the two of them came to their senses, the sky had turned completely dark. Outside the window, the evening breeze blew, bringing with it waves of coolness.

Lin Konglu stood up and closed the window. “Is there anything you want to eat?”

Xu Qingqiong suddenly recalled how, just a few months ago, they weren’t this familiar. They had been like strangers living in the same room.

She felt a momentary surge of emotion.

In just a few short months—though the scene of her first meeting with Lin Konglu was still vivid in her mind—their relationship had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

Standing by the kitchen door, Xu Qingqiong watched Lin Konglu methodically wash vegetables, chop them, and stir-fry…

It felt as if the rhythm of their relationship hadn’t changed at all—waking up in the morning, happily heading to the music festival together, then driving home together at dusk. Now, as the night lights flickered on, they would finish dinner and lean against each other to look at the beautiful photos they took during the day. Time felt quiet and gentle, like a silent stream of water.

At that moment, the phone Xu Qingqiong had left on the living room table vibrated twice.

Opening it, she saw a message from Sister Rui. She was currently on a scenic little island picking out souvenirs for friends and had sent several photos of local handmade rugs, asking which one she preferred.

The previous message had asked how the music festival was today and if she was having fun.

But she hadn’t had the chance to reply then.

Xu Qingqiong’s gaze fell on the phrase “How was the music festival?” and she couldn’t help but sigh. She thought to herself that today’s festival should have been wonderful.

Lively and novel, and most importantly, the two of them were together.

It was a pity it was wasted.

It was a lingering regret of missing out, a lost opportunity that could never be reclaimed—much like the countless times she and Lin Konglu had brushed past each other in the past without her knowing.

Standing in the kitchen, Lin Konglu noticed she wasn’t there and paused her movements, her gaze searching for her across the living room.

Xu Qingqiong turned and met her eyes. She held up her phone to show her and explained with a smile, “It’s a message from Sister Rui.”

So much had happened today, all of it unexpected; she only now had the time to reply to messages.

Xu Qingqiong casually opened her social feed, and the latest post happened to be from Sister Rui—a selfie.

It was Sister Rui and her wife.

The background featured a high, azure skyline and massive, rolling white clouds. The two of them were leaning head-to-head, looking at the camera with smiles. A natural sense of happiness almost overflowed from the screen.

They had been together for many years. When chatting in the office, Sister Rui would often speak of the little details of their life together in a tone that was half-complaining and half-sweet.

The other ladies in the office would often pretend to be disgusted, ordering Sister Rui to stop showing off her love.

But Sister Rui was an “unrepentant offender,” drawing the ire of the whole office while looking genuinely bewildered, saying, “Not really, do you call this showing off?”

Xu Qingqiong later realized that Sister Rui truly wasn’t doing it on purpose.

It was more of an unconscious expression, because love had permeated every inch of her daily life, like air and water. To them, these were all ordinary matters. But speaking of those warm, loving details in such a matter-of-fact tone was actually more touching.

Xu Qingqiong couldn’t help but “like” the post.

She stared at the photo for a long time. After a moment of contemplation, she first sent a message to Auntie Chun.

As for why Grandma hadn’t given her those letters, perhaps she had her own reasons. Maybe she felt the timing wasn’t right, or perhaps she felt the letters weren’t suitable for her to see… regardless of the reason, it was impossible to know now.

But… maybe Auntie Chun knew something? After all, Grandma had been so close to her during her lifetime.

After thinking it over, she also sent a message to Cong Yun.

Cong Yun had attended the same middle school as them. Even if it was only for a year, Cong Yun should know many things.

Even if it was from a third-person perspective, she wanted to know what had actually happened.

In fact, ever since Lin Konglu had spoken those words to her earlier, this thought had been hovering in her mind. That memory shouldn’t belong to Lin Konglu alone; it was too unfair to her.

She also wanted to know exactly what she had forgotten.

It was their shared memory; it couldn’t be left out like a missing puzzle piece, abandoned in isolation.

But as she opened the chat box, she realized that she didn’t know what Cong Yun was busy with—there had been no messages lately.

This wasn’t like Cong Yun. She was usually very talkative; often, when Xu Qingqiong woke up, she would see a pile of links and videos Cong Yun had sent while surfing the web late at night.

But recently… Xu Qingqiong scrolled up through the messages and couldn’t help but frown. Cong Yun hadn’t sent her a message in a week.

With a sense of doubt, she sent a message to Cong Yun.

There was no immediate reply.

Her eyes rested on the phone, her mind wandering for a moment. When she came back to her senses, Lin Konglu was standing behind the sofa, leaning over slightly with both hands resting on her shoulders.

“What are you looking at?”

But Xu Qingqiong heard the subtext: Why are you ignoring me?

Xu Qingqiong set her phone aside and reached up to take her hand.

It was magical; Lin Konglu’s hands weren’t particularly hot in the summer, but as the weather turned colder, they gradually became warmer, wrapping her hand in a cozy heat.

Standing behind her, Lin Konglu leaned her head against her shoulder.

Xu Qingqiong suddenly said, “I was just messaging Auntie Chun and Cong Yun.”

“Cong Yun went to the same middle school as us, so I wanted to ask her about some…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Lin Konglu already understood.

Xu Qingqiong looked at her and asked, “Do you want me to remember?”

Lin Konglu froze for a second, nodded, but then quickly shook her head.

If she said she didn’t want it, she’d be lying.

Of course she wanted her to.

But it didn’t matter.

There must be a reason why Xu Qingqiong forgot. No matter what it was, she could accept it.

If it were before, she might have felt some pain or resentment, but Xu Qingqiong had given her confidence.

The fact that Xu Qingqiong hadn’t completely forgotten her meant that Xu Qingqiong wanted to remember her—that she was important to Xu Qingqiong. That was enough.

So it didn’t matter.

Whether she remembered or not didn’t matter.

Xu Qingqiong: “What if I never remember for the rest of my life?”

Lin Konglu gently stroked the back of her neck. There was a scar there, and Lin Konglu would never forget the reason it existed.

“It still doesn’t matter. Because you are here.”

As long as Xu Qingqiong was there, and with a whole lifetime ahead of them, they could create countless new memories. Looking at it that way, those few short years didn’t seem so important anymore.

Hearing her finish, Xu Qingqiong couldn’t help but smile, lightly squeezing her finger. “How are you so easy to coax, guai guai (good girl/sweetie)?”

“…” Hearing those words, Lin Konglu was stunned for a moment. Her brain felt as though it was being flushed by overlapping streams of information to the point of crashing. It took a long time before she could blankly utter a single word: “Oh.”

Xu Qingqiong was just about to stand up when she realized Lin Konglu had suddenly gone silent. She looked over in surprise. Seeing Lin Konglu’s bright red ears, she finally realized what she had just said.

She was suddenly stuck between laughter and tears.

It had been a casual remark, and she hadn’t thought much of it; she never expected it to trigger such a massive reaction from Lin Konglu.

When she was a child, her grandmother used to call her that all the time—guai guai, guai bao… Just now, as Lin Konglu looked at her with such earnestness while saying those things, Xu Qingqiong’s heart softened, and the nickname slipped out almost subconsciously.

Xu Qingqiong observed her reaction and said playfully on purpose, “Can’t I call you that? Do you not like it?”

“Then I won’t call you that next time.”

“No!” Lin Konglu blurted out. Meeting Xu Qingqiong’s amused gaze, she realized her reaction was a bit excessive. She pressed her lips together, trying to restrain her emotions.

Xu Qingqiong asked, knowing full well the answer, “No what?”

Even though Lin Konglu’s ears were completely red, she still pretended as if nothing was wrong, looking at her with forced composure.

“I don’t… dislike it.”

Xu Qingqiong stood up, pinched her ear, and smiled. “Okay.”

The heat on Lin Konglu’s face spread instantly until her entire face was flushed. After a moment of speechless silence, she tried to change the subject: “Let’s eat first.”

Xu Qingqiong: “Mhm.”

However, Xu Qingqiong felt as if she had discovered a new continent and had no intention of letting her off. Throughout dinner, sitting across from her, Xu Qingqiong kept at it with a beaming smile, sentence after sentence:

“Guai guai, could you pass me a tissue?”

“Guai guai, could you help me pick up some food?”

…

With every sentence, Lin Konglu’s ears turned a shade redder.

Eventually, bordering on exasperated shame, Lin Konglu turned her head away. “Sister, don’t call me that.” Her tone sounded fierce at first, but she didn’t dare look at her the entire time she spoke.

Xu Qingqiong had never seen Lin Konglu like this; she found it novel and incredibly cute. It felt as if she was gradually discovering Lin Konglu’s true essence, seeing her most authentic self bit by bit.

Xu Qingqiong knitted her brows, pretending not to understand, and questioned her: “But you just said I could.”

She teased her intentionally: “Do you want me to call you that or not? Were you lying to me just now?”

Hearing this, Lin Konglu suddenly looked up and gave her an unreadable glance without saying a word.

Xu Qingqiong didn’t understand the meaning of that look and felt she had gained the upper hand.

But to her disappointment, Lin Konglu seemed to become immune after that. Although her ears remained red, she stopped reacting when called by the name.

Xu Qingqiong put down her chopsticks, feeling a subtle sense of regret. She hadn’t expected her to adapt so quickly.

After dinner, Xu Qingqiong checked her phone. Cong Yun still hadn’t replied. She set the phone down and decided to head to the bathroom to shower first. Turning around, she saw Lin Konglu standing by the door frame, hand resting on the door, watching her quietly.

Xu Qingqiong laughed and teased her casually: “What is it? Guai guai, do you want to shower with me?”

Lin Konglu’s hand didn’t move from the door; it was as if she had been waiting for those exact words. Upon hearing them, she silently took half a step into the bathroom.

Now it was Xu Qingqiong’s turn to be stunned.

Lin Konglu: “I want to be with you.”

Xu Qingqiong: “…”

Lin Konglu: “Is that not allowed?”

Xu Qingqiong’s brain stalled.

Even though they had been married for several months and had been intimate many times, this was still pushing the limit.

Xu Qingqiong’s scalp felt a bit numb. “I’ll go to the other bathroom.”

Lin Konglu: “But I want to be with you.”

Xu Qingqiong was momentarily speechless. “I…”

Lin Konglu looked at her without speaking, using a silent, accusing gaze that said: You were the one who asked if I wanted to shower together, and now you’re going back on your word.

Xu Qingqiong: “…”

“But…” Xu Qingqiong still tried to resist. She looked around, her eyes lighting up as she finally found an excuse: “But the bathroom is too small. It’s inconvenient for two people to shower together.”

“Even though I want to shower with you too, let’s make it next time…”

“It’s okay, I can overcome that.” Lin Konglu took a step toward her. “But you just said we could be together.”

“Sister, do you want me to be with you or not? Were you lying to me just now?”

Why did those words sound so familiar?

Xu Qingqiong finally realized—weren’t those the exact words she used to tease her during dinner?

She had truly shot herself in the foot.

Before her unfinished words could escape, they were swallowed whole. Lin Konglu cupped her face and kissed her, gently biting her lip. Her soft tongue pushed inward inch by inch, blocking any further speech.

…

The mist drifted as droplets of water fell.

Her back suddenly hit the cold wall, sending a shiver through her. Xu Qingqiong snapped back to reality.

Lin Konglu stood behind her, looking up at their intimate embrace in the mirror. Gently yet firmly, she grabbed her wrists and guided them to hold onto her own shoulders. With eyes clouded like a dark mist, she whispered softly, “Sister, can you hold on a bit tighter?”

…

…

Xu Qingqiong didn’t quite understand how someone could act this way.

Clearly, she was the one… yet it felt as if she was the one being bullied.

Lin Konglu buried her face in the crook of her neck. Warm tears fell one by one, carrying a searing heat. They landed on her skin, making her tremble from the warmth.

In a daze, she saw Lin Konglu kissing her, the corners of her eyes flushed red, as she said syllable by syllable: “Sister, I like you so much.”

With teardrops clinging to her eyelashes, Xu Qingqiong weakly raised her soft arms. Through the hazy mist before her eyes, she responded, “Me too.”

Support You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt!