13. It’s so romantic to fall in love by the seaside.

Qin Zhaoyi almost fled, trying to escape from the situation. As she left, she maintained her composure and said, “Just getting to know a friend better.”

Luo Yue waved behind her and continued teasing, “Zhaozhao, good night.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

Her ears felt like they were on fire.

After leaving Luo Yue’s room, Qin Zhaoyi’s heart continued to race. She went to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water to cool down. Once her body temperature dropped, her rationality slowly returned.

It suddenly dawned on her that tomorrow was Luo Yue’s birthday, and she was three years older than her. Only three years.

It wasn’t a big deal.

There was an old saying: “An older woman is like a golden brick.”

…

However, Qin Zhaoyi reached up and lightly slapped her own face.

It hurt a bit.

But she took good care of her skin and didn’t use too much force, yet there was still a red mark.

Her skin was a bit delicate, and even a slight bump would leave deep marks that took a long time to fade.

Once, Zhong Ling had teased her, “You’re in trouble. If you ever have a boyfriend, won’t you be afraid to plant strawberries on your neck?”

At that time, Qin Zhaoyi was quite innocent and asked, “What do you mean by planting strawberries on my neck?”

Zhong Ling couldn’t explain it to her, so she sent a video instead.

It was essentially about neck-kissing.

But the video was beautifully shot, and both people in it looked good.

Qin Zhaoyi patiently watched the entire video.

Zhong Ling shared her hidden treasures and eagerly awaited her evaluation.

Qin Zhaoyi replied casually, “If someone buried their face in my neck like that, I’d slap them all the way to the Pacific Ocean.”

Zhong Ling said, “…Your boyfriend would be in a tough spot.”

There was nothing she could do. Qin Zhaoyi wasn’t someone who liked to be close to others. The closest distance she could tolerate was holding hands. Even with good friends like Zhong Ling, the most she would do after a long time without seeing each other was give a polite hug before quickly stepping back.

But on this day, she couldn’t help but get closer to Luo Yue. What’s more, she initiated it herself!

She even wanted to get closer…

When Luo Yue asked if she was interested in her, Qin Zhaoyi almost wanted to write “Am I not showing it clearly enough?” on her face.

But she didn’t dare to.

After all, she didn’t know anything about Luo Yue.

She was genuinely interested, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to be in a relationship. At this moment, Qin Zhaoyi wasn’t even sure if she was truly attracted to women. So, she couldn’t irresponsibly say things that might lead to confusion.

The room was quiet. It was not yet 10 o’clock, and the entire small island had already fallen into silence. The lights in every house were extinguished. The sea continued to rise with the tide, and the waves crashed on the beach. The sea breeze swept over the surface, tapping against every window frame.

Qin Zhaoyi’s body finally cooled down, and only then could she start to think about things. However, she had no idea where to start.

After a while, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Zhong Ling: [How do you know if you like men or women?]

It was an age-old question they had discussed before.

A long time ago, she had asked Zhong Ling the same question.

This time, she asked again.

Zhong Ling didn’t dismiss it and replied seriously: [When you start asking this question, it means you’re feeling a bit uncertain.]

Qin Zhaoyi: “?”

On Zhong Ling’s end, there seemed to be some noise in the background, likely from a movie or TV show she was watching. But her voice message was hesitant: “Zhaozhao, when a normal person asks themselves whether they like men or women, it usually means they’re not entirely straight.”

Qin Zhaoyi: […]

She seemed to make sense.

But Qin Zhaoyi was still struggling: [Don’t people think about their preferences?]

Zhong Ling laughed, “Are you a philosopher? Do you spend your days pondering these questions? If you like someone, just go for it. Why bother with whether they’re male or female?”

Qin Zhaoyi: […]

That made sense too.

Zhong Ling laughed: “So you’ve really fallen in love? Damn! Who is it? Is it a girl?”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

Qin Zhaoyi didn’t know. All she did was type a few punctuation marks, and her message contained fewer than twenty words, yet Zhong Ling had somehow deduced so much from it.

Qin Zhaoyi continued to deny it: “No.”

Zhong Ling didn’t believe her: “Is it that you haven’t fallen in love, or you haven’t fallen in love with a girl? Let me tell you, Qin Zhaoyi, if you don’t tell the truth in a relationship, it won’t go smoothly.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

This was superstition.

Qin Zhaoyi had never believed in such things, but…

“I haven’t fallen in love,” Qin Zhaoyi cautiously replied, “I might just have a little crush.”

Zhong Ling: [Ooh!]

Zhong Ling’s romantic genes were starting to boil. “Yi Jie, did you experience love at first sight during your journey? Did you feel like Cupid shot an arrow through your heart at that moment?”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

This was the reason she didn’t want to discuss with Zhong Ling.

She could be teased inexplicably.

The key was that the teasing was accurate, making her feel at a loss, as if all her secrets had been discovered.

But she clearly wanted to keep them hidden.

However, by hiding them, she wouldn’t understand why her heart was pounding so wildly.

She had no experience in this area, and she just wanted Zhong Ling to teach her.

“Be serious,” Qin Zhaoyi said firmly, “Stop teasing me.”

Zhong Ling also laughed, “I’m serious.”

“Yi jie, I can’t help but laugh when you suddenly act so coy,” Zhong Ling tried to hold back her laughter, but it didn’t work well, “It feels like our Xiao Yi has grown up.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…”

“If you say one more word, I’ll block you,” Qin Zhaoyi threatened.

Zhong Ling: [….]

A few seconds later, Zhong Ling, on the brink of danger, tentatively said, “Yi jie, you’ve suddenly become so loveable.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “?”

Zhong Ling got what she wanted and entered Qin Zhaoyi’s blacklist.

In the long night, Qin Zhaoyi had no intention of sleeping.

She sat in her room, listening to the sound of the waves rolling in, seeing the dim streetlights not far away illuminating a winding path.

The sky was clear and the moon was gentle and bright, while the scattered stars filled the entire sky like ribbons.

Qin Zhaoyi pushed open the window and reached out with one hand.

After flipping out, she realized that she could have just walked out through the door, but it didn’t matter. The window was low, so she easily flipped out.

The cold wind blew, and her mind became clearer. She pondered over the things Zhong Ling had said in her mind.

In the end, she had to admit that Zhong Ling had a point.

Who would think about whether they liked men or women when there was nothing going on? Once you started thinking about it, it meant that your orientation was somewhat different from the norm.

But Qin Zhaoyi still felt that at most, she was just interested in Luo Yue. It couldn’t be considered as “liking” her.

Qin Zhaoyi thought long and hard but couldn’t make sense of it. Just then, Zhong Ling texted her from a new number: [Yi jie, it’s so romantic to fall in love by the seaside. Why don’t you take a walk with the person you like by the sea?]

Qin Zhaoyi: [I told you, I’m not in love!]

Zhong Ling: [Then why are you acting so coquettish?]

Qin Zhaoyi: [….]

She had already said she wasn’t in love! Ah!

Qin Zhaoyi stood under the moonlight, her face tense, as she messaged Zhong Ling: [I just kissed her, and then there was that feeling. Does that mean I like her?]

Zhong Ling: [What kind of feeling?]

Suddenly, Qin Zhaoyi’s blood surged, and she was about to scold Zhong Ling when she noticed bright red bloodstains on the frost-white ground.

Drip by drip… it startled her.

She touched her nose and found that her nose was bleeding, almost screaming, “Luo Yue!”

“Ah?” Luo Yue’s light and window opened in unison, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Zhaoyi tilted her head back, her voice trembling with fear, “I’m in pain…”