Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 22

“Qingwan? Impossible!”

Chu Qingqing immediately dismissed her suspicion. “Qingwan sleeps to my left every night. She’s very well-behaved, unlike someone who likes to make moves when the lights go out.”

Cui Jinqi blushed and said, “But she has combat lessons with Jinyang every afternoon. They’re constantly in close contact. Isn’t that suspicious?”

“Don’t be jealous. Qingwan isn’t like that; I know her well,” Chu Qingqing said irritably.

“Your judgment is based on her character?” Cui Xiaoniang sneered. “Can you really tell if someone likes someone just from their character?”

Cheng Jinyang had just returned from his office and was planning to get a document from his study when he overheard Cui Xiaoniang talking about this. He immediately stopped and listened.

Chu Qingqing was stumped by her question and, after a while, retorted, “Then why do you like him? You’re a girl from a prestigious family with a quirky and overbearing personality. Shouldn’t you have high standards?”

“That was in the past!” Cui Jinqi glared at her, her heart sinking. Wait, does Jinyang think that too? But that was before! I’ve changed and reformed now!

“It was that time…” she muttered quietly.

“What time?” Miss Qingqing frowned.

“At the end of Wang Chuzhong’s rebellion, when he single-handedly held off a large number of enemies to protect me,” Cui Jinqi said shyly.

“Really? Hero saves damsel in distress?” Miss Qingqing scoffed. “Such a cliché plot, and you fell for it? Let me put it this way: if someone else was in your place—Xing Yuanzhi, me, Miss Wang, even Xiao Wangshu or Little Lingjiang—he would have done the same. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Cui Jinqi was silent for a while before saying, “That doesn’t matter. At that moment, in that place, it’s normal for a girl to fall for him.”

“I didn’t realize you were such a romantic,” Chu Qingqing said coldly.

“Better than being a bloodthirsty savage like you,” Cui Jinqi retorted. “Why do you like him then? Because he’s weak and easy to bully, and he tolerates your violent tendencies?”

“Don’t be silly.” Chu Qingqing snorted. “It’s not that he tolerates it; he genuinely doesn’t mind my issues. Being with him, I can be completely free, and that’s how I gradually developed feelings for him. Your hero saves damsel and instant crush thing is just a fleeting passion that will fade in a few months.”

“Absolutely not,” Cui Xiaoniang argued. “A sudden love is real love! Your so-called gradually developed feelings are probably the result of careful observation, rational consideration, and comparing all aspects before deciding he was a viable future husband… Calling that love is an insult to love!”

“Only children worry about whether feelings are pure and untainted by any other factors,” Chu Qingqing said disdainfully.

“If being mature means being as hypocritical as you, I’d rather stay childish forever!” Cui Jinqi said angrily.

Hearing that the argument inside was escalating, Cheng Jinyang hurriedly pushed the door open and said to the two startled girls, “Stop arguing! Whether it’s love at first sight or love that grows over time, I won’t despise either of you…”

A few minutes later.

“So, how should we deal with him?” Cui Jinqi asked through gritted teeth.

Cheng Jinyang was lying on the bed, his hands and feet bound with metal shackles. Cui Xiaoniang sat on his back, seemingly venting her anger by “trampling” his back with her small feet. But in terms of force, it was more like patting than trampling.

“Are you punishing him or rewarding him?” Miss Qingqing asked, giving her a sideways glance.

“Of course I’m bullying him!” Cui Jinqi blushed.

“Let me go!” Cheng Jinyang said, straining to lift his upper body. “Stop messing around; I have to fly to Jingkou for an inspection this afternoon.”

“What time do you leave?” Miss Qingqing asked.

“Around 1 PM,” Cheng Jinyang replied.

“That leaves an hour and a half,” Miss Qingqing said, checking the time. “Play with us for another half an hour, then we’ll give you an hour for lunch.”

Cheng Jinyang was stunned for a moment, then cursed inwardly:

Damn, I should have said I was leaving at noon.

“Then get off me first,” he turned his head and said to Cui Xiaoniang.

“No way!” Cui Xiaoniang said stubbornly, her face flushed and eyes gleaming with pleasure, as if she was enjoying bullying him. “I’ll keep pressing on you! Who told you to say such nasty things just now, hmm?!”

“Flip like a fish!” Cheng Jinyang suddenly twisted his body like a beached whale, catching Cui Xiaoniang off guard and tossing her off.

“Oh, you dare to resist!” Cui Jinqi, her ponytail undone and hair disheveled, scrambled up in a mess. “I’ll bite you!”

“Then I’ll hold him down!” Miss Qingqing also pounced, pressing down on him hard to prevent him from struggling. “Jinqi! There’s a whip under Yang Wangshu’s bed, get it and teach him a lesson!”

“A whip?” Cui Jinqi quickly got off the bed and started searching by the other bed.

Cheng Jinyang was terrified and began struggling wildly. Chu Qingqing pinned him down with her body, when suddenly, Xing Yuanzhi’s voice came from the doorway:

“What are you doing? Having fun, hmm?”

…

“I’m the victim here,” Cheng Jinyang said seriously after being freed from his restraints.

“Shut up, no one asked you.” Xing Yuanzhi glared at him and then turned to the two guilty-looking girls. “You… were you planning to force yourself on him behind everyone’s back?”

The two girls immediately protested their innocence. Cui Jinqi angrily said, “What do you mean, force ourselves? Are we those kinds of promiscuous women? Xing Yuanzhi, don’t slander us!”

“I heard you say you were going to teach him a lesson,” Xing Yuanzhi said coldly. “Explain yourselves. Otherwise, Yuexian might be very interested to know that someone in the clan is plotting to secretly kill the Cheng family head.”

“That was just a joke.” Seeing that Xing Yuanzhi was making a big deal out of it, Chu Qingqing smiled and said, “Yuanzhi, don’t blow this out of proportion. It’s the New Year; causing misunderstandings would be bad, right?”

“She’s right,” Cheng Jinyang added from the side. “Come on, Yuanzhi, let it go. It’s the New Year, let it go.”

“Fine, I won’t mention this for now,” Xing Yuanzhi said, glaring at him. “But what about Zheng Qiupei? Are you planning to explain that to us?”

“Huh?” Cheng Jinyang was puzzled, but Chu Qingqing exclaimed, “See, I knew she was up to something!”

“Impossible, what could Sister Xiaopei be up to?” Cui Jinqi still didn’t believe it.

“Didn’t you notice that no one entered dreams last night?” Xing Yuanzhi asked her in exasperation.

Cui Xiaoniang: !

Finally realizing, she looked at Cheng Jinyang in disbelief.

“Oh, I entered her dream last night,” Cheng Jinyang said, also catching on, and laughed. “This morning, she came to talk to me for a while.”

“If nothing goes wrong, you’re about to gain another sister.”