Visa On Arrival Chapter 18
byI can be the P
Nine o’clock in the evening.
Qi Ranyue was walking slowly on the treadmill at home when the familiar sound of a connection came through her earphones.
“Yueyue, what’s up?” the voice on the other end answered.
Her pace didn’t stop, and her breath was slightly labored. “Rongrong, Mom must have told you too! Tomorrow is the fifteenth, and we have to go home for dinner.”
There was an affirmative sound from the other side.
Qi Ranyue reached out to slow down the treadmill, a hint of a helpless smile in her voice. “I’ll go pick you up in a bit. You’ll definitely be busy until the early hours again. Uh… when you finish work, just sleep at my place. We can go over together tomorrow morning to save all the trouble.”
The other end of the phone was quiet for a second.
Then came a low, “Mhm, I got it. Be careful driving later.”
“Okay, I know! Bye, see you later.”
Qi Ranyue waited for two seconds, and after hearing the other side hang up, she took off her earphones and tossed them onto the nearby shelf.
The treadmill was still turning slowly, the belt making a faint rustling sound. She pressed the buttons a few more times, the speed gradually picking up, and her footsteps became rhythmic again.
Qi Ranyue parked the car under the school’s laboratory building and turned off the engine.
The surroundings were so quiet that only the occasional sound of insects could be heard in the distance. The streetlights illuminated small patches of dim yellow on the ground.
She pulled out her phone and took a look.
One thirty-four.
It seemed she had arrived early.
Qi Ranyue pushed open the car door, and the night wind poured in, carrying the unique chill of late night.
A few windows in the laboratory building were still lit, white squares embedded in the darkness.
After locking the car, she walked toward the building.
Her soles stepped on the floor tiles, making soft footsteps in the empty hall. She subconsciously lightened her pace as she headed toward the stairs.
When she reached the second-floor corridor, before she even turned the corner, she suddenly heard voices coming from upstairs.
She frowned.
Wasn’t this place supposed to be kept quiet?
Qi Ranyue reached the door of the laboratory, which was slightly ajar.
Through the narrow crack in the door, Qi Ranyue saw several desk lamps lit in the lab, illuminating a table full of instruments and papers.
There was also a girl circling around Chen Rong.
The girl stood beside Chen Rong, poking her head out to look at the computer screen. One hand rested on the edge of the table while the other was casually placed on the back of Chen Rong’s chair, her whole body very close.
She was chattering about something, sometimes frowning and sometimes smiling. At one point, she even gently tugged on Chen Rong’s sleeve, looking a bit like she was acting spoiled.
Meanwhile, Chen Rong sat there, looking down at the screen and responding occasionally, her expression calm and natural.
There was no impatience.
No deliberate attempt to pull away.
Qi Ranyue watched silently at the door for two seconds.
They must be classmates.
Her fingers tightened slightly as she pushed the door open.
The slight creak was exceptionally clear in the quiet laboratory.
The two people in the lab turned their heads at the same time.
Almost at that exact moment.
Qi Ranyue saw Chen Rong move her chair back, creating a half-step of distance from the girl. The movement wasn’t large, but it was crystal clear in her eyes.
?????
The girl’s eyes crinkled, and her voice was as crisp as a bell. “Hello! Are you Chen Rong’s good friend?”
Qi Ranyue spoke calmly, “Yes, hello.”
The girl tilted her head, the smile on her face deepening, as if she had finally found the chance to say what she had been holding back for a long time.
“My name is Wen Xinyao. Sister, did you know…” She leaned forward half a step, her voice sweet and her eyes bright. “Sister Chen Rong is very popular here. Many people like her.”
Wen Xinyao paused, glanced at Chen Rong, and then looked back at Qi Ranyue’s face. A hint of innocent provocation lingered between her curved brows. “I like her too. I’m pursuing her!”
Those words fell softly, yet they felt like something exploding in Qi Ranyue’s ears.
She stood there stunned.
There was a buzzing in her ears, and she couldn’t hear the words that followed. Only the sentence “I like her too, I’m pursuing her” echoed over and over.
She looked at Wen Xinyao’s face, at those curved eyes, and at the matter-of-fact expression on the girl’s face. Her mind went blank, and her mouth hung wide open.
Qi Ranyue’s face, which had been calm just a moment ago, now looked as if it had been struck by something. Her eyes were full of disbelief.
“You… the two of you…” Qi Ranyue let out a weak sound, as if squeezing it from the depths of her throat, carrying a cautious probe: “Aren’t you both girls?”
Wen Xinyao smiled and looked at Qi Ranyue. “So what if we’re girls?”
Her voice softened, but it was clearer than before, each word falling into Qi Ranyue’s ears. “I just like her.”
Wen Xinyao paused, her gaze looking straight over, a frank and even somewhat stubborn light in her eyes. “I’m a lesbian.”
The air froze again.
Qi Ranyue stood there, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
!!!!!!!!!!
If the shock from before was a stone thrown into water, this time, the entire river had frozen over.
Chen Rong snapped back to her senses, frowning as she grabbed Qi Ranyue’s wrist. “Yueyue, let’s go.”
Her voice was a bit tight as she pulled Qi Ranyue out, her footsteps hurried.
Being dragged by Chen Rong, Qi Ranyue stumbled a step. She hadn’t recovered from the two waves of shock yet, and her head was buzzing.
身後傳來文心瑤的聲音，清脆的，帶着笑意：“姐姐，我可以當P的哦！”
Qi Ranyue’s footsteps faltered for a moment.
Chen Rong’s grip on her hand tightened, and she walked even faster.
The pale lights of the corridor flashed overhead, but her mind was still in a daze.
Be the P?
What “be the P”?
Wait, what is a P?
Qi Ranyue was pulled into the elevator. The doors closed, cutting off the sentence: “Sister, actually I can be the P or the T, either is fine!”
The elevator went down.
Chen Rong finally looked up at her face.
As the numbers jumped on the elevator door, Chen Rong’s earlobes were so red they looked like they might bleed.
Chen Rong pulled her all the way through the corridor and pushed open the door. The cool breeze of the early morning rushed toward them.
She turned to look at Qi Ranyue, who was still in a daze, staring straight ahead with her mouth slightly open, as if she hadn’t recovered from that conversation. The expression of a crashed brain was hung on her face. Under the moonlight, she looked both silly and cute.
Chen Rong opened the passenger door. With one hand supporting the door and the other gently pressing on Qi Ranyue’s shoulder, she tucked her inside.
Qi Ranyue was pressed into the seat, still dazed, when she heard a “thud” as the car door was closed.
Chen Rong walked around the front of the car, opened the driver’s door, sat in, buckled her seatbelt, and started the car.
The engine vibrated slightly.
Chen Rong turned to look at her, reached over, pulled the seatbelt, and with a “click,” buckled it for her.
“Still haven’t processed it?” she said, her voice tinged with helplessness.
Qi Ranyue blinked and finally turned her head slowly to look at her.
The car drove out of the school. The streetlights slid past the window one by one, flickering across her face.
Qi Ranyue finally spoke. “She’s a lesbian!”
Chen Rong held the steering wheel and gave a soft “mm.”
“She likes you.”
She gave another “mm.”
“How could she…” Qi Ranyue frowned, her face full of confusion. “Like a girl?”
Chen Rong glanced at her, her lips twitching, but she didn’t speak.
Qi Ranyue continued to frown, as if she were seriously considering this question, unable to figure it out or understand it.
Chen Rong finally couldn’t help herself and teased her on purpose, “What, do you discriminate against lesbians?”
Qi Ranyue turned her head sharply, her eyes wide, shaking her head vigorously. “No, no, no!”
She defended herself earnestly, her hands gesturing along. “It’s just… it’s just very shocking. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it, really the first time! I’ve never… I’ve never seen it before, and I never thought about it… I just…” As she spoke, her voice weakened, finally turning into a small mumble: “I just can’t quite process it…”
The car stopped at a red light.
The cabin was quiet for a few seconds, with only the sound of the air conditioner blowing softly.
Qi Ranyue lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously picking at the seatbelt as if she were hesitating. She asked cautiously, “Then do you like it? Do you like girls?”
Chen Rong’s fingers on the steering wheel paused slightly.
“If she pursues you frantically, will you be moved? Will you be with her?”
Chen Rong turned to look at her. Her eyes were bright in the flickering light of the streetlamps. There was no interrogation, no testing, just pure, earnest curiosity.
She was silent for two seconds before turning back to look at the road.
“No,” she said softly.
“Why?” Qi Ranyue tilted her head. “She’s quite cute. Is it because you don’t like girls? Then is her chasing you like this considered sexual harassment?”
Chen Rong’s brow furrowed and then relaxed. She paused and glanced at her.
That glance was very short, so short it was almost imperceptible, before she turned back to the road.
“It’s because the person I like isn’t her.”
Qi Ranyue was stunned for a moment. She gave an “oh” and turned her head back to look at the road ahead.
?????!!!!!
Huh? Qi Ranyue’s brain crashed again.
The car was quiet for a while, with only the low hum of the engine.
After a long time, Qi Ranyue said softly, “Then the person you like, who is it? Is it a boy or a girl?”
Chen Rong didn’t speak. She reached out and turned the air conditioner down a notch.
“I need to take a breather when I get home.” Qi Ranyue looked out the window, talking to herself in a muffled voice. “Today… I’ve accepted too many new things.”
Qi Ranyue seemed to think of something and suddenly spoke up: “By the way.”
Chen Rong turned to look at her and noticed that the tips of her ears had quietly turned red.
“Today… my boyfriend asked me for a formal status.”
Chen Rong was stunned for a moment.
“Today…” Qi Ranyue began slowly, then paused again. “Today Xu Xingci asked me for a formal status. He told me to take him to meet my parents tomorrow.” As she spoke, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curl up, though she tried hard to suppress it. “And then I agreed.”
“And so?” Chen Rong’s hand on the steering wheel tightened a bit. Her voice was muffled, squeezed out from her throat as if she had been holding it back for a long time and finally couldn’t anymore.
Qi Ranyue turned to look at her.
She was staring ahead. The light from the streetlamps slid through the car window, flickering across her face. Her lips were pursed, and her jaw was tense.
Qi Ranyue leaned forward a bit, her eyes sparkling. “So, can you help say a few good words for him tomorrow?” She paused, her voice softening with a hint of a spoiled tone. “I’m afraid Mom and Dad will be too strict… and he won’t be able to handle it.”
The car stopped at a red light.
Her knuckles on the steering wheel turned slightly white.
Chen Rong still didn’t speak; she just looked at her.
There was a bit of redness in those eyes, a bit of grievance, a bit of resentment, and something else—like the look of a child whose favorite toy had been snatched away, aggrieved but refusing to say anything.
Qi Ranyue finally sensed that something was wrong. She stared at the side of her face for several seconds and asked cautiously, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Chen Rong didn’t reply.
The car slowed down at the intersection. The turn signal flickered, the steering wheel turned, and the car made a U-turn, heading in the other direction.
Qi Ranyue suddenly felt a surge of panic. “Huh? Are we not going home? Where are we going now?”
Chen Rong finally spoke. “I’m going home first.” Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “Tomorrow… I won’t be going to your house for dinner.”
Qi Ranyue was completely stunned.
“When I get home in a bit, you can drive yourself back. Be careful driving alone.” After Chen Rong finished speaking, her throat moved, but she didn’t make another sound.
Qi Ranyue looked at her blankly, her voice soft and carrying a slight tremble:
“Why?”
“Are you angry?”
“Why are you angry?”
…
Her string of questions was like stones thrown into a deep well, without even an echo. She kept her mouth open but didn’t ask anymore, pouting her lips as she began to sulk.
Chen Rong looked ahead, her grip on the steering wheel getting tighter and tighter, her knuckles turning white. The streetlights slid past the window one by one, shining on her face in a flickering pattern, causing the light in those eyes to dim bit by bit.