Picked Up the Female Lead When She Was Young (GL) - Chapter 50

It was past 9 PM when they arrived back in Tongli.

Xia Wanshuang and the others, carrying their backpacks, parted ways in front of the train station.

Lin Qiushui’s family driver was there to pick him up, and Jiang Wan had also come to meet Zhao Tianhang.

Lin Qiushui’s driver and Jiang Wan arrived almost simultaneously.

The autumn evening wind was cold, seemingly penetrating deep into their bones.

“Aunt Jiang.”

Xia Wanshuang and the others greeted Jiang Wan and chatted briefly.

Zhao Tianhang took the electric scooter from Jiang Wan, put her on the back seat, and waved goodbye to Xia Wanshuang and the rest.

“Aiya, why did Aunt Jiang come all the way out here to pick him up? It’s so cold late at night. Well, they’re gone. Shuangshuang, Little Vinegar Pot, let’s get in the car.” Lin Qiushui mumbled. He wasn’t wearing much and shivered in the night air.

Since Lin Qiushui’s family had a car, Xia Wanshuang and Zhou Qinglang didn’t need to call a taxi.

“Okay.”

Zhou Qinglang and Xia Wanshuang got into the back seat, and the driver quickly started the car.

The sedan was much faster than the electric scooter.

Even though Zhao Tianhang had left first, they caught up to them on the straight road.

Xia Wanshuang even waved across the window.

There was a traffic light at the intersection.

After the crossing, one car would turn left and the other right.

Zhao Tianhang went first, turning right.

Zhou Qinglang watched the car gradually drive away and suddenly felt that Zhao Tianhang and Lin Qiushui were like those two cars—initially parallel, then turning in opposite directions, drifting further and further apart, with no possibility of turning back.

What about her and Xia Wanshuang?

Zhou Qinglang felt a sudden sense of confusion.

The car’s air conditioning was on to ward off the chill, wrapping their bodies in warm air, yet Zhou Qinglang’s fingers remained icy cold.

With few cars and no traffic congestion at night, Lin Qiushui’s driver quickly dropped Xia Wanshuang and Zhou Qinglang off at their apartment near the high school.

“See you tomorrow!” Lin Qiushui waved.

Xia Wanshuang waved back, then remembered something.

“Lin Qiushui, have you finished your homework?”

For the three top students—Xia Wanshuang, Zhou Qinglang, and Zhao Tianhang—the assigned work was quickly completed.

But for Lin Qiushui… it was questionable.

“Ah ah ah ah, Xia Shuangshuang, are you a devil?!”

“Remember to do your homework. It’s still early. Try not to copy.”

As a teacher, Xia Wanshuang naturally didn’t want students to copy, but she was also a former student.

In her current youthful appearance, she had seen Lin Qiushui rush through homework countless times.

She wouldn’t be a rigid old-fashioned teacher forbidding him from doing this or that.

She would gently supervise and only become strict in urgent situations.

“Got it.”

Lin Qiushui replied mournfully, recalling the time Xia Wanshuang had supervised him while he studied for the Zhongkao (high school entrance exam).

His expression was increasingly dismal.

Lin Qiushui’s antics amused Xia Wanshuang.

She waved, watching Lin Qiushui roll up the window.

“It’s really getting colder and colder. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

Xia Wanshuang naturally took Zhou Qinglang’s hand and started walking up, completely missing the sudden flush on Zhou Qinglang’s ears.

It wasn’t until they entered the house and took off their shoes that Xia Wanshuang noticed the girl’s unusual silence.

“Langlang, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m a little tired from playing. I’m sleepy.”

Zhou Qinglang answered obediently, even raising her hand to fake a yawn.

“Then go take a hot shower and go to bed. Remember to dry your hair.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Qinglang agreed, looking at Xia Wanshuang with a smile, her eyes full of warmth.

She looked incredibly sweet and well-behaved.

The feeling she exuded was unmistakable.

Xia Wanshuang pinched Zhou Qinglang’s nose.

“Why are you smiling so happily?”

Had her daughter become a sweet, gooey dumpling because of a sweet romance?

Xia Wanshuang felt both relief and reluctance, a sense of “a daughter grows up and leaves the nest” sorrow.

“I think it’s so nice to be with Sister. It’s really, really nice.”

Zhou Qinglang suppressed the excitement in her heart, hugged Xia Wanshuang, lowered her head, and rubbed her face against Xia Wanshuang’s neck, inhaling the familiar warm scent.

“You’re too old to be so clingy.”

Although Xia Wanshuang said this, she still ruffled Zhou Qinglang’s hair and curved her lips.

Her eyes were clear and gentle like a spring, and the dimples that appeared when she smiled were deep, tempting Zhou Qinglang to sneak a taste.

But it was only a thought.

She only dared to poke the dimple with her finger to satisfy her craving.

She would never dare such a bold move.

If she did, even her sister would find it strange.

Zhou Qinglang was momentarily annoyed that she was so tall.

If she were shorter, and coupled with her age, she might get more sweet rewards from being cute with her sister.

Zhou Qinglang went to her room to find clothes for a shower with this regretful thought.

Xia Wanshuang also went to the master bedroom to find clothes.

Opening her closet door and seeing her wardrobe was quite empty, Xia Wanshuang suddenly remembered that Zhou Qinglang had moved many of her clothes into her own room.

Taking autumn/winter clothes and pajamas wasn’t even the worst of it.

The worst was that she even took her underwear!

The lower-half items couldn’t be mixed and worn, and their cup sizes were different for the upper-half, so Zhou Qinglang couldn’t wear them even if she wanted to.

Xia Wanshuang closed the closet door, deciding to go to Zhou Qinglang’s room later and bring her clothes back.

She put the wet clothes from the rafting trip into the washing machine and walked into Zhou Qinglang’s room.

A familiar static sound echoed in her mind, surprising Xia Wanshuang.

“System, why did you wake up so quickly this time?”

[System]: I don’t know either. I just feel like my energy has returned a bit?

The System was also puzzled. It had its own energy system. When it fell below a certain threshold, it was prompted to enter hibernation.

When it had enough energy, it would wake up for a short while.

If the System were a small battery, the Headquarters was the continuous charging station.

When the connection was cut off, the System switched to its backup energy, which was limited and would gradually deplete.

The System could maintain a minimum charge by hibernating, and the backup energy could slowly accumulate over time, but the recovery speed was too slow.

Last time, the energy the System recovered after four months of hibernation was only enough to watch half an episode of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.

[System]: Did Headquarters find me?!

The System’s voice was filled with excitement, causing Xia Wanshuang’s heart to involuntarily jump.

[System]: Oh, wait, no, they didn’t.

[System]: I’ll try reconnecting again.

[System]: Host, it’s still not working

The System’s hopes were dashed, its excitement short-lived.

Xia Wanshuang quietly breathed a sigh of relief, though she couldn’t quite place her feelings.

She wasn’t entirely unwilling to leave, but she wasn’t absolutely determined to stay either.

After all, her original job was to complete missions in various worlds, not just this one.

The malfunction was the reason she was stuck here.

If there were a chance to stay, Xia Wanshuang would certainly choose to remain.

[System]: Shuangshuang, this room…

The System saw the wall covered with Xia Wanshuang’s photos and fell silent.

But the silence was only on the surface; internally, the System was screaming like a marmot.

Aah aah aah aah, the Female Lead!!!

How did this happen!

This looks too weird!

The System, which hadn’t been surfing the internet, hadn’t learned the word “stalker,” otherwise, it would definitely use that word for Zhou Qinglang.

“Langlang insisted on decorating it this way. I just let her. The child is happy, and that’s all that matters.”

[System]: That makes me very worried…

Xia Wanshuang glanced at the closed bathroom door and, to be safe, continued the conversation mentally with the System.

[Xia Wanshuang]: Don’t worry, the relationship is fine now. It’s a shame you weren’t here today, or you would have seen Hanghang tuck Langlang’s hair behind her ear.

[System]: Really? Things are moving that fast?

It was a good thing the System wasn’t present.

Otherwise, hearing what the two people outside were discussing, it might have spontaneously exploded and ascended in a spiral, perhaps reciting Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again.

Quietly I leave, just as quietly I came; I wave my sleeves, without taking a single cloud.

[Xiao Wanshuang]: How could it be fake? Ah, teenagers, it’s understandable for them to have their first crush.

Xia Wanshuang sounded like a teacher convincing a parent to accept their child’s early relationship, sincere and earnest in every word.

[System]: Then I can relax. When you turn twenty-four, you’ll just act out that one scene, and your mission will be complete.

[System]: If you can even leave.

Xia Wanshuang didn’t respond to the System’s last sentence.

She went to Zhou Qinglang’s closet and retrieved her clothes.

[System]: Shuangshuang… about that…

The System suddenly became awkward, feeling embarrassed.

[Xiao Wanshuang]: No.

[System]: But I haven’t even said anything

[Xiao Wanshuang]: Pleasant Goat is a no, Hutu Tu is a no, SpongeBob is a no, Spider-Man is a no. It’s very late now. All the other Systems are asleep.

[System]: Okay.

The System agreed, feeling a little disappointed.

It knew it was an incompetent, disconnected System and should just peacefully remain an ornament.

It felt it had failed its Host, but it really wanted to watch cartoons.

The System fell silent, making Xia Wanshuang feel a little guilty, as if she were bullying a child.

However, this feeling of guilt disappeared as she stepped into the shower; a shower was more important.

While showering, Xia Wanshuang kept hearing faint static noises, but when she listened carefully, they were gone.

She thought she was just imagining things.

In the mental space invisible to Xia Wanshuang, the System was stifling its laughter.

Since the Host wouldn’t let it watch cartoons, it decided to go internet surfing instead.

But even though watching cartoons was fun, the System didn’t forget its main duty.

It reviewed the timeline and informed Xia Wanshuang about the plot point concerning herself.

Xia Wanshuang was blow-drying her hair when the System spoke.

Hearing the news, she turned off the hairdryer, her expression solemn.

[Xiao Wanshuang]: The Male Lead is leaving so soon?

[System]: Yes, next month. If the plot fluctuates, there might be changes, but even then, it shouldn’t affect the Male and Female Leads’ relationship.

[System]: Our mission is to promote the development of their relationship and to enable the Female Lead to start the family background sub-plot in Haicheng. The plot is already chaotic anyway, so it doesn’t matter if the Male Lead leaves or not.

Xia Wanshuang thought about it, and it seemed to make sense.

After delivering this information, the System once again fell silent, entering hibernation.

When Zhou Qinglang entered Xia Wanshuang’s room, she saw Xia Wanshuang holding the hairdryer and spacing out.

“What’s wrong, Sister? What are you thinking about?”

“Thinking about you,” Xia Wanshuang answered instinctively.

She had indeed been thinking about Zhou Qinglang.

She was contemplating how heartbroken her daughter, who had just experienced her first crush, would be if her beloved left, following the original plot.