Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 57.1

The next second, Song Yingshi shook her head and threw the thought out of her mind.

Impossible. I only recently found out Huai Xu is a lesbian. How can I possibly get bent so quickly?

It must be because I've been paying too much attention to Huai Xu's behavior, giving me the illusion that I have feelings for her. Plus…there are the system's suggestive missions…

Yes, that must be the case.

Song Yingshi lowered her head as her mind raced, not daring to look at Huai Xu.

As Song Yingshi was absent-mindedly eating some boiled shrimp balls, some trainees came to join her at her table, asking, "Boss Shi, has your team decided on what punishment to give to Huai Xu's team? The punishment Lu Xuewen received nearly killed me with laughter."

After swallowing her food, Song Yingshi replied, "Not yet. I've been watching you all this whole time."

Because of the punishment system letting victorious teams give their opponents one order, the restaurant was filled with laughter.

Some teams were asked to perform a square dance medley, while some got off easy, simply being required to call their opponents "dearest big sister." Some ruthless teams also ordered trainees who disliked coriander to eat coriander.

Song Yingshi and her teammates had differing opinions.

Yan Ran wanted to let her opponents off easy, Quan Yuanyuan demanded maximum suffering, and Qiu Zhixin could only think of making her idol do this and that…

Ultimately, everyone decided to do their own thing, and each person was assigned one member from the opposing team. Those interested in the punishment game were free to command away, while those uninterested could choose not to get involved. After all, it wasn't mandatory to give out punishment. At most, they would get less screen time.

Song Yingshi was assigned Huai Xu.

This pairing made sense. After all, they were both the leaders of their respective teams. They were also roommates who spent most of their days together…

But at this juncture, just after Song Yingshi had finished questioning whether she might have been bent, and then recalling how everyone had tacitly left Huai Xu to her without asking, she couldn't help but be bothered by this situation.

It was as if everyone felt something was going on between them…

Stop!

Song Yingshi quickly stopped her train of thought. After all, hadn't she just told herself to stop thinking about this matter?

Not to mention, Tao Qin and the others shouldn't know about the secret between her and Huai Xu. It made no sense for the others to suspect anything was happening between them.

Song Yingshi couldn't help but laugh at herself for jumping to conclusions.

After having her fill of food, Song Yingshi looked around and took shelter on the restaurant's open-air terrace, escaping the room filled with the smell of food. There were also seats on the terrace for her to stargaze.

However, as Song Yingshi approached the terrace with a glass of plum juice, she overheard several people talking:

"I'm going to have Zhouzhou give me a 100-word autograph, hehe!"

"You might as well ask her to write you an 800-word essay."

"I can do that?!"

"Oh, I'm sure she'll write it for you, but she'll also hate you afterward."

"Uh, nevermind… Who else hasn't been punished?"

"Our leader. But I doubt Little Shi can bear to punish her precious. Do you want to bet on it?"

"Have you never been in a relationship? Let big sister tell you: this is the source of interest for old couples! I bet they will act as if they don't care about the punishment game on the surface, but once they return to the dormitory and turn off the camera…"

"I understand now! Little Shi will be on top tonight!"

"Who knows? The loser may be responsible for doing the work."

Quan Yuanyuan, Qiu Zhixin, Tao Qin, and Wan Jiao had gathered on the terrace for a discussion, their eyes darting around as they laughed in tacit understanding.

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded behind them, "What work?"

"Handiwork, of course," Tao Qin answered reflexively. However, as soon as she finished speaking, she realized the question came from behind her. And this voice…?!

Tao Qin quickly swept her gaze across her three stunned companions. Gasping, she turned around to look who was behind her.

Song Yingshi entered the terrace, slamming the French windows behind her. Arms crossed, she leaned against the glass, her smile gone, her pupils cold as a tundra.

As Tao Qin looked at Song Yingshi's beautiful and aggressive legs, her knees buckled, and she nearly knelt in submission.

The other three also turned to look at Song Yingshi, embarrassment coloring their faces.

It wasn't good to be caught gossiping behind someone's back, even if the gossip wasn't malicious. Faking a cough, Wan Jiao said, "Little Shi, about this… We apologize. We didn't mean to learn about the secret between you two. We just happened to learn about it… We also had a little too much fun today and forgot to control our mouths. If you're mad—"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Song Yingshi interrupted Wan Jiao's sincere apology. Feeling puzzled, she asked, "The secret between us? Do you mean me and Huai Xu? What secret do we have?"

Everyone was silent for a while. Then, Tao Qin cautiously said, "You and Huai Xu are secretly lovers."

Song Yingshi: ?

Song Yingshi nearly jumped in anger. Raising her voice, she said, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"

After opening and closing her mouth a few times, Song Yingshi lowered her voice and said quickly, "Huai Xu and I are just friends. Are you drunk on shipping? Don't mix fantasy with reality."

Song Yingshi might have spoken with a powerful and sonorous voice, but her heart was tired.

Why were there so many CP fans around her? Can you people wake up to reality?

After catching her breath, Song Yingshi continued, "Don't spread such rumors again, okay?"

Tao Qin and the others promptly nodded:

"Please trust us, Little Shi. We will never tell anyone about this."

"We'll pretend we don't know about it."

Song Yingshi: ?

Straightening her posture, Song Yingshi glared at her supposed friends, asking, "You guys don't believe me?"

Wan Jiao, Tao Qin, and the others laughed awkwardly, their tone very tolerant as they said:

"We do, we do. We, of course, believe in our team leader."

"Whatever you say, baby."

"Mhm, mhm."

Song Yingshi: "..." At least try to act like you believe me!

Song Yingshi massaged her brows. She realized that these people were firm believers of Snow-Kissed Rose and that nothing she said today could change their minds.

Suddenly, Song Yingshi recalled another important point, asking, "How many more of you are there?"

The terrace momentarily fell silent. Then, Wan Jiao said softly, "Not many people knew about it initially; I'd say about 10."

"...Continue," Song Yingshi said with composure. She was already a mature adult, so she quickly accepted the present situation and decided to deal with it properly.

"I'm not sure, but I think everyone saw those clips with you and Huai Xu. After our two-day break, nearly everyone believes you two are a real couple. And because we got to support a CP in person…" Wan Jiao trailed off.

Meanwhile, Quan Yuanyuan added weakly, "We created a new chat group named 'Snow-Kissed Rose Support Group - Spring Star Branch.'"

Song Yingshi: "..."

She took back everything she said before. She was still a child. She couldn't handle the troublemaking of over 50 people.

Suddenly, a tapping sound came from the glass directly behind Song Yingshi.

Not wanting to face the grim reality before her, Song Yingshi turned around to see who was tapping on the glass.

Huai Xu stood on the other side of the glass, withdrawing her hand when she saw Song Yingshi turning around. Turning to look at the four people behind Song Yingshi, she opened the French windows, stepped onto the terrace, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Song Yingshi initially wanted to continue her conversation with Wan Jiao and the others, but she didn't expect Huai Xu to appear.

When Song Yingshi considered how Huai Xu might be put into an awkward situation if she learned how everyone else was looking at them, she took a deep breath and answered, "We were talking about Zhouzhou and Zhixin. We were just about to head back inside. What about you? What brings you here?"

Wan Jiao and the others were very sensible, pretending as if nothing had happened:

"Mhm, that's all we talked about."

"Xinxin's too funny."

Huai Xu hummed in response. Looking at Song Yingshi, she answered the other party's question, "Silan's looking for Yuanyuan."

Huai Xu's answer left Song Yingshi feeling strangely bitter.

Despite their seemingly shaky friendship, Dan Silan knew to look for Quan Yuanyuan. Wan Jiao and the others also gathered to discuss their ship. Yet, despite her and Huai Xu's familiarity, Huai Xu hadn't looked for her once tonight. And when she thought Huai Xu had finally remembered her existence, it turned out Huai Xu was looking for someone else.

This bitter feeling appeared so violently that it passed straight through Song Yingshi's heart, leaving a gaping hole behind. Brushing her hair aside, she put on a faux smile and said, "How thoughtful of you."

Turning around, Song Yingshi continued, "Yuanyuan, hurry over to Silan. I'm heading back as well."

After saying so, Song Yingshi walked back into the restaurant. Huai Xu's expression froze momentarily before she nodded to the others and followed Song Yingshi.

As soon as Song Yingshi and Huai Xu left, the four people on the terrace exchanged looks and sighed in relief.

Shaking her head in disapproval, Quan Yuanyuan said, "Tsk, tsk. Huai Xu's not even trying to hide it. She says she's here to look for me? Her eyes didn't even stay on me for a second. She even left as soon as Little Shi left."

As if obtaining evidence, Wan Jiao said, "If Snow-Kissed Rose wasn't real, couldn't Little Shi simply have Huai Xu deny it with her? Look at how guilty she looked. She even threw a fit because Huai Xu isn't keeping her company."

Tao Qin initially reacted to this situation joyfully, but she quickly grew worried, saying, "How can my baby look so cute when throwing a tantrum? Don't tell me she's a bottom…"

Meanwhile, Qiu Zhixin waved her fists excitedly, exclaiming, "Snow-Kissed Rose is real! Snow-Kissed Rose is real! Snow-Kissed Rose is real!"