“…” Yun Huizhou thought for a moment, then spoke tactfully. “I don’t think this is right. Figuring out whether I like the Lian Li who dresses as a woman or Lian Li himself doesn’t seem to have much to do with seeing Brother Zhao dressed as a woman. At most, it only proves that I’m not someone who falls in love just because I see a beautiful woman or someone looking particularly stunning in women’s clothing. And that is something I’ve always known.”
“Hmm?” Hearing him say this, Qu Tingquan also felt that was the case. Her slender brows furrowed slightly as she thought for a while, stopping Yun Huizhou once more before he could leave West Island.
“Brother Yun.” She looked at him with a subtle expression, as if finding her next words difficult to voice.
Yun Huizhou turned back to look at her. “Miss Qu, if you have something to say, just say it.”
“If… you really can’t figure it out, there is one more method—the clumsiest, yet most direct and effective one,” Qu Tingquan said hesitantly.
“Oh? What is it?” Yun Huizhou asked.
Qu Tingquan: “Why don’t you imagine a scenario where Junior Brother Lian is with someone else? Could you send a gift with a heart full of blessings?”
Yun Huizhou was silent for a moment, then said, “I would send a gift.”
He didn’t just say he would; he emphasized that he would send a gift, pointedly omitting the “heart full of blessings.”
“As for how you would send that gift, you only need to be clear in your own heart.” Qu Tingquan nodded. Having said this much, she felt that Yun Huizhou should have already clarified his feelings.
She paused, raising a hand to touch her own face, then spoke vaguely, “Furthermore, you said you’ve likely always liked women and never considered men. At this point, you should think about whether you can actually accept a man.”
“What do you mean by ‘accept’ and ‘not accept’?” Yun Huizhou didn’t quite understand her meaning. Since he already had such feelings for Lian Li, could it be possible that he didn’t “accept” it?
“It’s just…” Qu Tingquan’s expression became somewhat awkward. “Acceptance in terms of emotions and acceptance in terms of… physical contact… might be different. Some people can’t do it.”
Yun Huizhou’s expression went blank.
Qu Tingquan’s cheeks were also flushing slightly now, but she pressed on, though her words grew increasingly vague. “Brother Yun, perhaps you could go look at… some pictures, and then imagine that it’s… the two of you…”
Having spoken to this extent, she refused to believe Yun Huizhou still wouldn’t understand. If he really pestered her for more details, she wouldn’t mind reverting to how they were as children on Drunken Dream Island and coming to blows with him.
As a young woman, she had already spoken quite boldly.
Yun Huizhou: “…I understand. Thank you, Miss Qu. You should head back; Brother Zhao is still waiting to eat with you.”
To be honest, discussing such matters with Qu Tingquan made even the usually unflappable Yun Huizhou feel a bit awkward.
“Mhm, then I’ll be going back first.” Qu Tingquan breathed a sigh of relief. Then, realizing this involved two people—now that Yun Huizhou was figuring things out, there was still Lian Li to consider.
So she spoke up again: “But once you’re certain, what about Junior Brother Lian’s side?”
Yun Huizhou replied, “I know my limits. I won’t act recklessly.”
Qu Tingquan smiled. “Of course. For Brother Yun to think so much and deliberate for so long over this matter, you must surely cherish your Junior Brother very much.”
Seeing Qu Tingquan about to leave, Yun Huizhou frowned in hesitation for a moment before calling her back again. “Miss Qu, there’s one more thing I want to ask you.”
Qu Tingquan was just about to take flight with her Lightness Skill; being called back so suddenly nearly caused her internal energy to go haywire.
“Brother Yun, what other doubts do you have?”
Yun Huizhou hesitated for a while before speaking. “Those pictures… we’ve seen them…”
“You two?” Qu Tingquan immediately caught the key word.
At the same time, she was somewhat speechless. You’ve already looked at those pictures together, yet you can still agonize over this for so long?
Is this what they mean by “the spectator sees clearly while the player is lost”?
What normal man without those inclinations would go looking for pictures of men with men, let alone look at them together!
“I must say…” Qu Tingquan began, “If you’ve already looked at the pictures together, why are you still struggling with this?”
“It’s not what you think.” Yun Huizhou shook his head and explained, “It just happened last night. When I went back last night, I saw Lian Li mysteriously calling me over, and then he pulled out those pictures.”
“He said he was reading in the South Island Book Pavilion yesterday and actually discovered those pictures. He even said there were many other varieties in the pavilion.”
“He didn’t expect the Book Pavilion to have such pictures, so he specifically brought them out to show me what he’d found.”
Qu Tingquan: “…”
Qu Tingquan no longer knew what to say about these two. She took a deep breath. “Brother Yun, are you saying that Junior Brother Lian took those pictures out of the Book Pavilion yesterday and even called you over to look at them?”
Yun Huizhou nodded.
Qu Tingquan continued her questioning, “And you said Junior Brother Lian mentioned seeing many varieties in the Book Pavilion, meaning there were others besides those of men with men, right?”
“That’s right.” Yun Huizhou continued to nod. “He even listed them for me, though I won’t go into the details with you.”
A fake smile appeared on Qu Tingquan’s face. “Out of all those varieties, Junior Brother Lian only brought out the ones of men with men, correct?”
“Yes,” Yun Huizhou answered affirmatively.
Qu Tingquan was so speechless she almost laughed out loud. “Brother Yun, don’t you feel that something is… off?”
“Huh?” Yun Huizhou was puzzled. “What’s off about it?”
Qu Tingquan practically wanted to give both of their heads a good smack. “To be honest, our Qinghong Sword Sect has many disciples, and some of them sneak looks at those pictures. Not just the male disciples, but the female ones too.”
“But what they are interested in and what they look at are basically pictures of men and women. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t look at men with men, or women with women.”
“Of course, occasionally some male disciples will look at women with women, and female disciples will occasionally look at men with men. But those who look at their own gender are few.”
She looked up at Yun Huizhou and found him listening with an incredibly serious expression. Her heart stifled for a moment as she continued, “Generally, those who look at their own gender—if not all of them, then at least ninety percent—are… those who like their own kind, or who already have someone they like, and that person just happens to be of the same gender.”
“So you mean it’s very likely that Lian Li likes men?” Yun Huizhou asked hurriedly.
Qu Tingquan’s lip twitched. Brother Yun had indeed grasped the main point of her words, yet he failed to think any deeper. She didn’t know whether she should call him dense or not.
