Chapter 24: I Definitely Don’t Want to Be Your Third Wheel

“Oh~ it must be because of adult love!”

Tang Xiaohe dragged out the tone teasingly, making Lin Jing pretend to want to hit her. Actually, Lin Jing was the type who was bold and fierce online but timid and shy in real life. She dared to say anything behind a screen but got socially anxious face to face—though Tang Xiaohe was an exception.

Now that Tang Xiaohe was teasing Lin Jing to her face, Lin Jing couldn’t retort.

…Who told Tang Xiaohe she was telling the truth anyway?

Tang Xiaohe, being the gossip lover, she was, her beautiful eyes sparkling mischievously, urged, “Come on, tell me, I want to hear it.”

Lin Jing took a deep breath and braced herself, “It was really great. If you want to know, why don’t you just go ask your Officer Ji?”

Tang Xiaohe was nearly choked by her own spit from Lin Jing’s blunt words. “Cough cough cough, who asked you that?”

Zhaotaohua obediently squatted on the floor, her clear eyes blinking not once, watching the two of them without understanding what they were talking about.

Tang Xiaohe cleared her throat. “I meant, how did you meet? What’s next?”

Lin Jing, usually fearless, felt a bit shy being asked how she met Qin An and hesitated before answering, “We… just bumped into each other at school. Then we got to know each other.”

Hearing Lin Jing’s vague answer, Tang Xiaohe raised an eyebrow—oh, there’s some inside story.

She raised her chin and pretended to scratch Lin Jing, “Come on, confess!”

Lin Jing, afraid of being tickled and worried about Tang Xiaohe’s injured hand, quickly begged for mercy, “Please, stop! If you get hurt again, your Officer Ji will blame me!”

“He won’t.” Tang Xiaohe said confidently—Ji Yanli was very protective of her and listened to everything she said. If there was trouble, a little coaxing would fix it.

“Provided you don’t go tattling to him!” Tang Xiaohe watched Lin Jing suspiciously.

Lin Jing quickly assured her, “Don’t you trust my mouth?”

Tang Xiaohe doubted it, paused, then suddenly remembered what she was going to ask Lin Jing earlier—she nearly got sidetracked!

“Don’t change the subject. Spill the truth.”

“Well, I went with my roommate to play at the Beicheng University Sports Institute. By chance, we met him at the swimming pool. You know I can’t resist six-pack abs… Then it was the usual cliché—we drank some alcohol, then—”

“Stop stop stop! Your roommate dragged you to the sports institute?” Is it really that, or did you drag her there to see some handsome guy?

Tang Xiaohe was skeptical of Lin Jing’s explanation.

“Okay, okay, I dragged my roommate to the sports institute.” Lin Jing quickly corrected herself.

“In short, I was tempted by his looks, then we hit it off immediately, like thunder striking earth…”

Tang Xiaohe blushed listening and quickly stopped Lin Jing from continuing.

“But he hasn’t graduated yet, right? You’re back in Nancheng—what about him?” Tang Xiaohe genuinely wanted Lin Jing to be happy but worried about the distance and difference between Lin Jing and Qin An.

After all, he was still a student in Beicheng while Lin Jing was working in Nancheng, thousands of miles away…

“So, I requested a job transfer to Beicheng, and this time I’m here to hand over my work.”

No matter how calm Tang Xiaohe tried to be, she was stunned by this craziness. Lin Jing had already bought a house in Nancheng but now suddenly wanted to move to Beicheng—for love?

“What about your house?”

“You just live there and watch the house for me,” Lin Jing answered matter-of-factly.

“Then you’ll rent a place in Beicheng while still paying the mortgage here? Isn’t that a lot of pressure?” Tang Xiaohe, though from a well-off family and never having worried about money, had seen Lin Jing struggle all these years. Now that Lin Jing no longer accepts help from Tang’s dad, she had become more practical about things.

Lin Jing understood her concern. “Don’t worry, Xiaohe. I’m not the type to fall in love and forget everything else. The opportunity at Beijing headquarters is actually a promotion, good for my future career, so I decided to move there.”

“Besides, renting with Qin An won’t cost much more each month. Qin An brings me emotional support, and working in Beicheng brings me financial value. Why wouldn’t I go?”

Lin Jing rationally explained the pros and cons to Tang Xiaohe, who didn’t argue further.

“It’s just that Lin Xiang…”
“Don’t tell him too much. Just say it’s a work transfer.”

Tang Xiaohe sighed softly. She felt helpless about this sibling relationship.

Lin Jing’s parents favored boys over girls. Unlike her brother Lin Xiang, Lin Jing was never born with any particular expectations from them.

But the parental bias wasn’t a blatant oppression to force her to support her brother financially; it was a tedious, suffocating accumulation of trivial things.

Lin Jing undoubtedly loved her brother but could never devote herself fully to caring for him. Lin Xiang was very clingy and even tried to get closer to Lin Jing indirectly through Tang Xiaohe.

Perhaps Lin Jing’s resolute move to Beicheng wasn’t just for the reasons she gave—maybe Lin Xiang staying in Nancheng was also a factor.

Thinking of those defiant eyes, Tang Xiaohe sighed helplessly.

“You know I wanna be your destiny…”

Tang Xiaohe made a shushing gesture toward Lin Jing and answered her phone.

“Hello, Yanli.” Tang Xiaohe unconsciously lowered her voice.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping Jingjing pack.” Tang Xiaohe obediently replied.

“Come downstairs for dinner.”

Ji Yanli’s tone was casual, but Tang Xiaohe couldn’t help feeling happy. His tone sounded like they’d already been living together for a long time—calling her home for dinner as if it were completely natural.

“Can I bring the whole family?” Of course, she had to bring Nini—she’d already promised at the hospital.

Lin Jing’s sudden return meant Tang Xiaohe hadn’t told Ji Yanli in advance about having dinner there. She wondered if he would agree and felt a little conflicted. But if she only brought Nini to crash the meal and left Lin Jing alone, she’d feel guilty.

“Of course, Miss Lin is the ally I especially need to win over.”

Ji Yanli agreed quickly, and Tang Xiaohe breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re on our way!” Then she happily hung up.

“So, Officer Ji wants to call you over for dinner?”

Tang Xiaohe nodded. “Jingjing, you’re coming with me.”

“I definitely don’t want to be your third wheel.” Lin Jing refused straightforwardly.

“Oh, I’m bringing Nini, it’s not a date. One more person won’t hurt.”

Lin Jing sighed, thinking maybe Officer Ji wouldn’t mind.

Then she remembered she was about to leave Nancheng soon and they wouldn’t see each other often anymore. Taking this opportunity to get to know her best friend’s boyfriend better wasn’t a bad idea.

Though she trusted Tang Xiaohe’s judgment, she couldn’t help wanting to keep an eye out for her.

Thinking this way, Lin Jing agreed. “I’ll go change my clothes.”