You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt! - Chapter 9

One of the clauses in their prenuptial agreement was: Both parties have the obligation to inform each other of their whereabouts when going out.

At the time, Xu Qingqiong found it strange but accepted it nonetheless. She privately speculated that Lin Konglu was probably afraid she lacked “contractual spirit” and might go back on her word, thus wanting to keep a strict handle on her movements.

But how should she put it? Xu Qingqiong felt this rule was quite unnecessary.

Even though the agreement looked formal, it actually carried no legal weight. If Xu Qingqiong truly wanted to renege on the deal, there was nothing Lin Konglu could do about it.

Consequently, she later surmised that the equity Lin Konglu promised her in the contract was both a temptation and a restriction.

It tempted her to sign; however, if she were truly a greedy person who took the shares, sold them for cash, and ran away, she would surely be sued—and could end up rotting in prison until the end of time.

Fortunately, she was a person of decent morals and a man of her word.

Scrolling up through their chat history, she suddenly realized that Lin Konglu had been strictly adhering to this rule.

In a meeting, from X time to Y time; at a dinner party, location is Z… She sent her whereabouts in almost exhaustive detail.

It was… weird.

It made Xu Qingqiong feel like she was raising a real-life version of Tabi Kaeru (Travel Frog).

But over time, it became a habit. She couldn’t help but check where Lin Konglu had gone now.

She also had to admit that, to a large extent, this had brought them closer. Familiarity requires communication, even if this particular form of communication felt a bit… odd.

This time, Xu Qingqiong had assumed she’d return to the office quickly, so she hadn’t given it much thought. She hadn’t expected Lin Konglu to be so anxious about her, fearing she might have run off.

The more Xu Qingqiong thought about it, the guiltier she felt. Her expression betrayed her as she sent another message: “I really didn’t do it on purpose…”

This time, Lin Konglu actually replied. She sent back a single: “Oh.”

Xu Qingqiong: “…”

Auntie Chun noticed her expression and asked tentatively, “Are you in love?”

Startled, Xu Qingqiong scrambled to turn off her phone, instinctively denying it. “No, it’s not like that…”

Lin Konglu sent another message: “I’ll come pick you up.”

Without giving her a chance to refuse: “Send me the address.”

Xu Qingqiong didn’t dare say no: “…Okay.”

After sending the address, she faced Auntie Chun’s knowing smile. She didn’t know how to explain and felt a sense of panic. She silently prayed that Lin Konglu wouldn’t actually show up—she remembered Lin had a chauffeur; surely she’d just send him.

If Lin Konglu came in person, she’d have to explain Lin’s identity to Auntie Chun. She didn’t want to… and she didn’t even know how to explain it.

Her mind remained a chaotic mess for the next twenty minutes.

Just as she and Auntie Chun settled the bill and stepped out of the restaurant, a silver-white car pulled up slowly in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing a beautiful, cold face.

Caught off guard, Xu Qingqiong took a step back in surprise.

“…” She didn’t understand how a thirty-minute drive took Lin Konglu only twenty. She arrived so fast that Xu hadn’t had any time to mentally prepare.

Sighing in resignation, Xu Qingqiong hung her head, looking a bit wilted. “This is Auntie Chun.”

Lin Konglu’s gaze swept over her carefully, looking her up and down as if checking for injuries. Seemingly relieved, she finally turned to Auntie Chun. She reached out her hand with the poised grace of a polite junior. “Hello, Auntie Chun.”

“Hello.” Auntie Chun took her hand, then turned her eyes toward Xu Qingqiong, signaling for an introduction. “And this is?”

“Uh…” Xu Qingqiong hadn’t figured out how to answer. Suddenly put on the spot and terrified of exposing their secret, she stammered, “This is… this is…”

Lin Konglu couldn’t help but speak first. “I am Qingqiong’s…”

“Friend!” At the critical moment, fear took over and Xu Qingqiong interrupted loudly. “Auntie Chun, this is my friend…”

The atmosphere suddenly fell into a delicate silence.

Auntie Chun looked her over a few times, sounding skeptical. “Oh… I see.” She clearly didn’t believe it.

Lin Konglu was visibly stunned for a moment. Her expression dimmed slightly, and she lowered her eyelashes to hide her emotions. She gave a faint smile and said, “Actually, we’re not exactly friends.”

“Qingqiong and I were classmates in middle school. We only got back in touch recently after she returned to the country. So, strictly speaking, we are classmates.”

Auntie Chun studied her face closely, seemingly trying to recall something. Lin Konglu added, “My name is Lin Konglu. You can just call me Konglu.”

Auntie Chun’s attitude immediately became much warmer. “What a beautiful name.”

Lin Konglu smiled politely. “Your name is lovely as well.”

Listening to them chat, Xu Qingqiong’s mind drifted. Her gaze landed on Lin Konglu, out of focus.

She suddenly noticed that Lin Konglu hadn’t changed clothes; she was still wearing the same suit and shirt she’d worn to the office that morning.

Suddenly, Auntie Chun asked, “I remember Qiongqiong transferred schools once during middle school. Which school were you at?”

Xu Qingqiong snapped back to reality instantly. Her heart leaped, thinking their cover was about to be blown.

Then she heard Lin Konglu say nonchalantly: “Shuren Middle School.” Her tone didn’t falter; she didn’t even have to think before the words left her mouth.

Xu Qingqiong breathed a sigh of relief. She was impressed by Lin Konglu—she must have done a background check to even know her educational history.

“Ah, middle school,” Auntie Chun said nostalgically. “I remember Qiongqiong was going through puberty back then and was a bit vain. She got a cartilage piercing and spent all day showing it off like a little peacock.”

Lin Konglu said, “It looked good. Quite cool.”

“But it also made Jiawei so angry. She was worried that the child’s bones hadn’t fully developed yet. Jiawei used to call me all the time asking what to do…” Mentioning the past, Auntie Chun fell silent for a few seconds before smiling. “Forget it, let’s not talk about it.”

Hearing them talk, even though she was the subject, Xu Qingqiong had no memory of this. She reached up to pinch her right ear, looking dazed. “Really?”

Lin Konglu, despite talking to Auntie Chun, seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. She reminded her: “The left ear, not the right.”

“…Oh, right.” Xu leaned over to use the car window as a mirror. She pinched her earlobe and looked closely. It was barely visible now; because she hadn’t worn jewelry for a long time, the hole had mostly closed up. It was very inconspicuous.

But… how did Lin Konglu know?

On second thought, Lin Konglu had kissed her the other night. It was probably normal for her to have noticed.

She also knew that Lin Konglu had a scar behind her shoulder—a fairly long one. She didn’t know how Lin had gotten it.

Midway through the conversation, Auntie Chun felt something was off again. “Had you two really not been in contact before this?”

Lin Konglu smiled, showing a hint of nostalgia, her tone sincere. “It’s not that we weren’t in contact at all. I went to visit her a few times while I was away on business trips.”

Xu Qingqiong was stunned. She thought to herself: She’s really good at making up stories.

If she weren’t certain her memory was fine, she would have believed she really had been classmates with Lin Konglu.

Seeing the conversation get deeper and fearing Auntie Chun might ask more questions, Xu stood behind Lin Konglu and tugged at her sleeve. She signaled for Lin to look at her phone, where she had sent a message: “Stop talking, we’re going to get caught. Let’s go back.”

To her surprise, Lin Konglu’s fingers closed around her wrist, sliding down to grasp her hand. Their fingers intertwined.

Xu Qingqiong was shocked. She tried to shake her hand loose twice but couldn’t break the grip. She glared at her, signaling: What are you doing?!

Only then did Lin Konglu let her go.

The commotion wasn’t small, and Auntie Chun seemed to pick up on something. Her suspicious gaze moved between the two of them.

Xu Qingqiong was already panicking. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t stay another second. She hurriedly said goodbye to Auntie Chun. As soon as they got into the car, she couldn’t help but say, “What were you doing back there? What if Auntie Chun had figured it out?”

She didn’t want to use such an accusatory tone, but a mix of guilt and anxiety made her words sound harsh.

Lin Konglu’s fingers gripped the steering wheel, tightening slightly. Her voice was low and somber. “…We are getting married.”

“I know that.” Xu Qingqiong was bewildered, not quite understanding her point. “But what does that have to do with this?”

She didn’t want Auntie Chun to know about her and Lin Konglu. After all, it wasn’t a marriage based on mutual love; surely the fewer people who knew, the better? Didn’t Lin Konglu think the same?

Lin Konglu fell silent.

Xu Qingqiong huffed, still brooding over what happened. She muttered under her breath, “And here I thought you couldn’t lie. You made it sound so real, even I almost believed it.”

After a few seconds, she added, “You must have secretly investigated me.”

The light ahead turned red. The car braked suddenly and sharply. Unprepared, Xu’s body jerked forward before being snapped back against the seat by the seatbelt. She was just about to snap, “What are you doing?” when Lin Konglu suddenly turned to look at her.

Lin’s eyes were a light shade, almost flaxen, like a deep pool of water—calm on the surface, but with a raging storm beneath.

The silence stretched. Xu Qingqiong felt uncomfortable under that gaze and shrank back slightly.

Lin Konglu stared at her for several seconds, searching her confused expression, seemingly investigating, or perhaps in disbelief. Finally, her emotions settled into a flicker of disappointment. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and turned back. “…I didn’t.”

Didn’t what?

Didn’t lie, or didn’t investigate her? Or neither?

Xu Qingqiong couldn’t follow the logic and stared at her, completely puzzled.

But Lin Konglu had already turned away.

The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy. The streetlights were a blurry, melancholy mess, and the summer heat intertwined with the sound of cicadas.

No one spoke again. The light turned green, and the car sped forward once more.

For some reason, Xu Qingqiong felt that Lin Konglu’s mood had turned sour. Was she angry?

Leaning back against the seat, Xu’s thoughts were a jumble. She thought to herself, baffled: I didn’t provoke her, did I?

Another thought occurred to her: Lin Konglu’s voice had sounded even stranger just now. Even though she had tried to suppress it, there seemed to be a hint of a sob—a tremor of choking back tears.

Xu Qingqiong pursed her lips, feeling a sudden, strange discomfort.

She didn’t actually cry, did she?

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