NOVEL NEXT 110. A Blessing to This Not-Quite-Yuri, Not-Quite-BL Wonderful World
“And who might this be?” The beautiful woman finally noticed that there was a young girl standing next to her daughter.
“Pretty big sister, she brought me back,” Xiaoxue said in a soft voice beside her.
Hearing that this was the person who had brought her daughter home, the woman grabbed Ling Ning’s hands in excitement. “Thank you, thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“N-no problem.” Ling Ning found herself overwhelmed by the woman’s enthusiasm.
“Oh, I haven’t even asked your name yet. I’m Yang Bing. Yang, like in ‘poplar tree,’ and Bing, like ‘ice cube.’ And this is my daughter, Dong Xue—though I usually call her Xiaoxue.”
“I’m Ling Ning. Ling as in ‘waves born of purity,’ and Ning as in ‘strings of a seven-stringed zither.'” With Yang Bing’s warm gaze fixed on her, Ling Ning felt a bit shy.
“Ling Ning? That’s a lovely name. How about you come to my place for dinner tonight?”
At that moment, the little girl tugged on Ling Ning’s skirt gently, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.
Ling Ning smiled slightly, reaching out to pat the little girl’s head. “It’s already getting late, and I still have to go home and cook for my two little ones. Maybe some other time, okay?”
The sun had already set, and Ling Ning estimated that her daughter and Qin Sirou were probably home by now.
Yang Bing looked at Ling Ning in surprise. She knew her daughter well—Xiaoxue would bite anyone else who dared to touch her head. It seemed like Xiaoxue really liked this girl, Ling Ning.
“Then let me drive you home.”
“Thanks, but there’s no need. I actually live right here, on the twenty-third floor, unit three.” Ling Ning pointed to the building next to them.
“Oh~” Yang Bing nodded knowingly, then smiled at Ling Ning. “Then you really should come to my place for dinner. You see… I live on the twenty-third floor, unit two. We’re neighbors now.”
“What!?”
Ling Ning was stunned. She distinctly remembered Qin Qing saying that the apartment next door was vacant. How did she suddenly end up with a neighbor? Now that she thought about it, there had been people coming over to renovate next door recently. So that was it—everything made sense now.
“The place was just recently renovated. I only moved in yesterday. Isn’t it fate? You should bring your two little ones along too. Come on, don’t say no. It’s a perfect opportunity to be neighborly.” Yang Bing smiled brightly.
“Alright, then I’ll accept your invitation.” Since Yang Bing was so insistent, Ling Ning couldn’t refuse anymore. Besides, it was just dinner, nothing major—and it saved her from cooking for the night.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Ling Ning found herself in Yang Bing’s newly renovated apartment, touring the place. Xiaoxue trailed behind her, clearly not fond of strangers.
Though her two little ones were eager to play with Xiaoxue, the little girl remained unmoved. After exhausting all their tricks to no avail, they gave up and resigned themselves to watching TV in the living room.
Ling Ning had tried coaxing Xiaoxue too, but the little girl was stubborn and wouldn’t budge. In the end, Ling Ning decided to let her be.
Ling Ning noticed a spot on the wall decorated with photographs. Most of them featured Yang Bing with another beautiful girl. Judging by the photos, Yang Bing seemed very happy. Some photos included Xiaoxue, suggesting they were family pictures.
There were also some photos taken on a runway, with Yang Bing wearing gorgeous outfits. Ling Ning wondered if she had been a model.
“Oh, there you are.”
Yang Bing had quietly walked over to where Ling Ning was standing, also gazing at the photos on the wall.
“These photos were taken quite some time ago, but it’s still a little embarrassing to have someone see them.” Though she said that, Yang Bing’s expression showed no sign of embarrassment.
“Were you a model, Sister Bing?” Ling Ning asked curiously, looking at the photos.
Yang Bing nodded. “Let’s eat first. We can talk while we eat—it’s not a short story.”
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
“Wow, Sister Bing, you’re amazing.”
Only after listening to Yang Bing did Ling Ning realize that she had once been a famous model, known even internationally.
“So why did you stop modeling?” Ling Ning was curious. Yang Bing was still young, so why quit all of a sudden?
Upon hearing the question, Yang Bing smiled warmly. “Because I met the love of my life.”
If Yang Bing hadn’t mentioned it, Ling Ning wouldn’t have noticed. Now that she thought about it, there hadn’t been a single man in any of the photos. Curious, she asked, “So, Sister Bing, where’s your husband?”
Yang Bing seemed taken aback. “Didn’t you notice? Those photos are all of me and her.”
“Her…?”
Ling Ning remembered the pictures on the wall—weren’t they all of two women…? Wait a second. Ling Ning felt like she had stumbled upon something huge.
Seeing Ling Ning’s shocked expression, Yang Bing chuckled. “You’re not wrong. The love of my life is a woman.”
“A blessing to this not-quite-yuri, not-quite-BL wonderful world,” Ling Ning muttered to herself. This was the second yuri couple she had encountered.
“You’re not surprised?”
“Not really. This isn’t my first time encountering something like this.”
“Oh~”
Suddenly, a serious thought crossed Ling Ning’s mind. If Yang Bing was into girls, then where did their daughter, Xiaoxue, come from? Could she have been adopted, like her own daughter?
“Our daughter is biological.”
Noticing Ling Ning glancing at Xiaoxue, Yang Bing could guess what she was thinking.
“What…?”
“Ever heard of iPS cells?”
“Of course, but…” Ling Ning wanted to say that while iPS cells could theoretically be used this way, the technology wasn’t advanced enough for something like that—not in this era.
“Wait a sec!” Ling Ning took out her phone, opened up a search engine, and started looking things up.
And there it was—turns out that technology really did exist. However, due to the high level of expertise required, only a handful of hospitals around the world were capable of performing such a procedure, not to mention the exorbitant cost that ordinary people simply couldn’t afford.
But come to think of it, wasn’t the technology in this world supposed to be roughly on par with her previous one? So how did this advanced tech suddenly exist here?
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Author’s Note:
Regarding iPS cells and all that, it’s just the ramblings of a salted fish—don’t worry too much about the details~
Release Message
Ahem! Yes, it’s me—the suave, dashing, irresistible, beloved-by-all, flowers-blooming-at-my-sight… (skip two thousand words) tentacle-bearing salted fish.
This book has been going on for quite some time, and finally, we’ve reached the point of release. I’m feeling a bit emotional.
Honestly, I never expected so many people to read this book. I never imagined I’d get this far either.
It all started with a random idea, and as I wrote, that idea just kept growing and wouldn’t stop.
I know my writing isn’t perfect, and getting this far has been thanks to all of your support. I sincerely thank you for that.
Now that it’s being released, I’ll work even harder. The story will only get more and more exciting from here… right?! After all, I’m the kind of person who used fifty chapters just to finish an introduction (haha).
I hope you will continue to support this salted fish’s book after it’s released. Your support is my motivation to keep writing.
The next goal is to grow eyes all over my tentacles. One day, I’ll become the oldest being in this world!
I don’t really know what else to say. I’m guessing not many people read these release notes anyway.
Lastly, I still want to say: “The salted fish loves you all~”
Alright, alright, I know what you’re thinking. I managed to make myself cringe too.
So, I’ve decided to go look in the mirror to calm myself down. Only when I see my own breathtakingly handsome fish face can my restless heart finally settle down.