Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 15

After Yang Wangshu left, the two girls began persuading Li Qingwan.

“Qingwan, going to the Central Plains is too dangerous,” Zheng Qiupei said gently. “And your family wouldn’t agree to it either.”

“Exactly,” Lu Qingyun chimed in, clearly unhappy. “He disappeared without telling us, leaving us behind like this. Obviously, he doesn’t want us involved. If we go after him, he might end up scolding us.”

“I can hide it from my family,” Li Qingwan replied softly. “As for Jinyang, if he gets mad, so be it. I’m not going there to make him happy.”

“Then why are you going…” Lu Qingyun began to ask, but Zheng Qiupei subtly tugged her sleeve under the table, signaling her to stop.

“Because I’m worried about him,” Li Qingwan said seriously.

Lu Qingyun hesitated, unsure of what to say.

“It’s not like I’m trying to compete with Yuanzhi and the others,” Li Qingwan said quietly, her head lowered as she stirred her milk tea with a small spoon. “I just feel that if something dangerous happens to him and I’m not there, I’d regret it later.”

“If he activates his demonization state, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re there or not,” Lu Qingyun muttered.

A voice in her head shouted incredulously, “Yunyun, how is that the point? She just wants to be with the person she likes!”

A long silence followed.

“Qingwan,” Zheng Qiupei asked cautiously, “when did this start? Was it… during that time we went to buy grain from the Longxi Li family?”

“A bit earlier than that, I think,” Li Qingwan shook her head. “I don’t know exactly when. It just happened… naturally.”

“Hmm, if I were to ask, ‘What do you even like about that scumbag?’ would you hit me?” Lu Qingyun asked, unable to resist.

“I would. Don’t ask,” Li Qingwan said, rolling up her sleeves as if ready to strike.

The girls couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Yunyun, it’s normal that you don’t understand—you’ve never been in love, have you?” Zheng Qiupei asked with a smile.

“No, but neither have you,” Lu Qingyun retorted indignantly.

“True, but I know that if you haven’t experienced something, you can’t fully understand or judge it,” Zheng Qiupei said kindly.

“You’re just biased against him,” Li Qingwan added seriously. “He actually has many good qualities.”

“I don’t deny his strengths,” Lu Qingyun sighed. “But aren’t his flaws just as obvious? For instance, when you girls show affection for him, he pretends not to notice even though he clearly understands. And when you fight over him, he plays the peacemaker but secretly enjoys it.”

“Yunyun, you’re reversing cause and effect,” Li Qingwan defended him. “It’s like a popular product that always has long queues and frequently sells out. Those might seem like flaws, but they’re actually due to its popularity. Do you see?”

“Jinyang is very popular and admired by many girls. That’s why he has to act clueless and mediate conflicts, but these aren’t really flaws. Put any other outstanding man in his position, and he’d probably handle it the same way—or worse.”

“Fine, fine,” Lu Qingyun grumbled. “I can’t argue with you. You like him, so everything about him seems perfect to you. I don’t like him, so everything about him seems terrible. Is that it?”

“Stop arguing!” Zheng Qiupei interrupted their bickering and, struck by an idea, said, “How about this: since everyone is so concerned about Jinyang, why don’t we all go together?”

Lu Qingyun: ???

The voice in her head cheered, “Yay, let’s all go!”

“Shut up! Not you… I mean, Sister Xiaopei,” she said, her expression perplexed. “When did I ever say I was concerned about him? If we go together and he lumps me in with Qingwan, thinking I like him too, what then?”

“What’s the problem with that?” Li Qingwan said indifferently. “If you do like him, there’s already a long line of girls who do. One more won’t make a difference. If you don’t like him, then no matter how he misunderstands, does it affect you?”

“Of course it does!” Lu Qingyun’s eyes widened. “At the very least, Yuanzhi, Qingqing, and Jinqi would see me as a rival!”

Li Qingwan paused for a moment, recalling the earlier hostility and confrontations among the three girls. She rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “True.”

“Yunyun, let’s not tell them about Qingwan for now,” Zheng Qiupei said with a wink.

“Of course I won’t,” Lu Qingyun replied, pouting. “Besides, there are already plenty of people who like him. Qingwan’s just one more.”

“It doesn’t matter if you tell them,” Li Qingwan said, stretching her arms lazily with her hands intertwined. “If they scold me, I don’t care. If they want to fight me… well, they can’t beat me anyway.”

“So, who do you think Jinyang will choose in the end?” Lu Qingyun asked, her curiosity piqued. “Or rather, who’s the closest to the finish line right now?”

“Hard to say,” Zheng Qiupei said lightly. “Jinyang’s too crafty. He never gives anything away on that front.”

“I can’t tell who’s closest to the finish line,” Li Qingwan said with a sigh, “but I do know one thing: if Wanrou decides to join the race, we’re all out of luck.”

At the mention of Miss Wang, Zheng Qiupei fell silent, and Lu Qingyun visibly shivered.

“Qingwan, I think I understand your unease now,” Sister Xiaopei suddenly said. “If, during the trip, Wanrou takes an interest in him…”

“Competing with Wanrou in palace intrigue and scheming?” Lu Qingyun nodded in agreement. “That’s nightmare mode for sure.”

—

“Ziwei Emperor prefers women?” At the restaurant, Cheng Jinyang blurted out in surprise.

“Keep your voice down!” Jiang Jiu hastily signaled him to lower his voice, nervously glancing around at the other diners. Thankfully, there weren’t any pretty girls nearby. “Yeah, I told you, didn’t I? Among high-level demons, many are biased against human males.”

“The reason is probably that ‘those who aren’t of our kind have different hearts,’ right?” Princess Sister speculated.

High-level demons not only looked down on the human thralls they controlled but also despised humans outright. Among them, women still had a chance of transforming into demons, while men had no such possibility, placing them at the very bottom of the discrimination hierarchy.

“Actually, both those who keep male companions and those who despise men are minorities among demons,” Jiang Jiu said casually while gnawing on a chicken leg. “Some keep it hidden, while others don’t bother to hide it but won’t admit to it outright. Ziwei Emperor is the latter. For example, the previous Northern Star Lord—there were rumors they had a… well, companion relationship. You get what I mean.”

“So that’s why she’s been hunting Ye Ru and Su Lili?” Cheng Jinyang suddenly understood.

“Exactly,” Jiang Jiu said with a grin. “It’s what you’d call a ‘spouse-killing grudge.'”

“Also,” she continued, her eyes gleaming with gossip, “rumor has it that Ziwei Emperor once pursued Lord Meng Zhang.”

“But Lord Meng Zhang didn’t like her,” she added with relish. “Meng Zhang is the mainstream type of demon—not interested in men or women, just a more independent personality.”

“And you?” Wang Wanrou suddenly asked. “Which type are you?”

“Me? Of course, I’m…” Jiang Jiu began instinctively, then abruptly caught herself and changed the subject. “Why would I ever need a companion? That’s something only weaklings who need to huddle together would want, okay?”