Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 24

Jian Hao didn’t have much luggage: pajamas, slippers, and the school uniform Jian You had lent her.

As she tucked her slippers into a plastic bag, she looked up at Tan Yanqing, who was standing by the sofa packing away Jian Hao’s pajamas.

Jian Hao felt a daze wash over her: Am I really moving in with Tan Yanqing?

When Tan Yanqing suggested she stay at her house, Jian Hao knew she couldn’t refuse. Not to mention, Tan Yanqing called her Lailai!

So intimate.

So ambiguous.

So… happy.

Besides, Tan Yanqing was right. Her current identity was a missing person with amnesia, not yet Grandma’s granddaughter or Mom’s daughter. Living there did cause some inconveniences.

But was this inconvenience only a recent development? Fine, the truth was she simply couldn’t resist the temptation of living with Tan Yanqing. She’d have to ask Grandma and Mom for forgiveness and let her stay with Tan Yanqing for a few days first…

At the sound of “Lailai,” she was bashful for only a second before nodding. Tan Yanqing accompanied her to the shopping mall to find Jian Sihong and tell her about moving out.

“Why move out? Lailai, I don’t mind you staying. With you home, Youyou has company. Just stay, okay? Move out when you remember something or when your parents find you.”

She opened her mouth, unsure how to respond. Tan Yanqing spoke up for her: “Her amnesia makes it hard for her to retain certain knowledge points. If she stays at my house, we can study together anytime.”

Jian Sihong: “I see. Studying is important.” She paused, pulling 500 pesos from her bag. Jian Hao saw it and immediately shook her head, “I can’t take this, Auntie.”

But no matter what she said, Jian Sihong stuffed the money into Jian Hao’s pocket and whispered, “When living in someone else’s house, you can’t just spend their money all the time. Come back and ask me for more when this is gone.”

On the way back with the 500 pesos and the house keys, the excitement of moving in with Tan Yanqing had slightly dimmed. Compared to living with Tan Yanqing, she also wanted to spend more time with Grandma.

Tan Yanqing seemed to notice her internal conflict. “It’s just staying at my house. You can come over whenever you want.”

Hearing this, the knot in her heart suddenly loosened. She even felt her mindset was a bit like “getting married but being reluctant to leave home”…

At that thought, Jian Hao’s face flushed slightly.

The house was empty. When she went to ask Jian Sihong for the keys, she heard that Jian You had also stayed at a classmate’s house last night. After packing her simple luggage and leaving the keys with the grandmother downstairs, the two took the bus back to Tan Yanqing’s house.

Jian Hao put her luggage in the first-floor room. When she came out, Tan Yanqing brought two glasses of water from the kitchen and handed her one. “Are you hungry?”

Jian Hao shook her head.

“Then shall we do some homework?”

“…Mhm.”

Just as Tan Yanqing said, moving in was supposedly just for studying.

An experience like last night—sharing a bed—surely wouldn’t happen again! Was she supposed to pray for a storm every day in Nanqing? Her prayers were useless anyway. If they actually worked, she’d pray for Tan Yanqing to inexplicably kiss her! Where would be best? The cheek? Forehead? Nose? No, not the nose, it gets oily. She’d have to wipe it with a tissue first, or it would be bad if Tan Yanqing saw. Then… the lips?!

Sitting at the coffee table, Jian Hao took out all her homework and stacked it to the side, stealing a secret glance at Tan Yanqing. Only after ensuring Tan Yanqing wasn’t noticing did she dare let her gaze fall on Tan Yanqing’s lips.

Lips without lipstick, no added color, just a natural pale pink. Tan Yanqing’s lips were neither thick nor thin—a perfect M-shape with a slightly protruding cupid’s bow. If she kissed her, they would surely be very soft.

Jian Hao’s face felt hot. She lowered her lashes, not daring to look further, and took a sip of water to suppress the rising heat in her body.

But she couldn’t help but wonder: what would Tan Yanqing look like while kissing?

Would she still have that expressionless face and cold gaze? That would be too… too hot.

Would Tan Yanqing be shy during a kiss?

Would her body go soft?

Would her eyes be misty with the blur of passion?

Or would the corners of her eyes turn red? Would low, soft moans escape her lips?

Jian Hao had never kissed anyone. She had only read about it in novels, so she could only use those descriptions to imagine Tan Yanqing’s reaction.

But as she thought, she recalled watching TV and reading novels, where she’d often wondered:

What does kissing feel like?

On TV, the two would have their mouths open, gnawing at each other. Jian Hao felt nothing then, even thinking: Aren’t they just eating each other’s spit? How gross.

But then, she would think: What would it feel like to kiss Auntie Tan?

Jian Hao’s eyelashes couldn’t stop trembling. Every physical reaction mirrored the delicate descriptions in novels. A flushing face, a pounding heart, blood surging, and a prickling sensation all over her body like ants crawling. Spring was blooming inside her.

The corners of Jian Hao’s mouth tilted up slightly. Regarding kissing Auntie Tan, she only dared to imagine it in her mind, but every visualization allowed her to experience those romantic emotions from novels. And then… she liked Auntie Tan even more.

The heat in her face was becoming unnatural, and even her body seemed to radiate restlessness. Jian Hao lifted her water glass and took a huge gulp of warm water. When she put the glass down, her eyes were still curved into crescents.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Kissing you.”

An instinctive answer to a sudden question.

Jian Hao’s brain stalled for two seconds before she snapped her head up, meeting Tan Yanqing’s surprised eyes.

“No, it’s not—” she bit her tongue. “I just thought about a TV drama where the two leads kissed and all their anger vanished. I was wondering if a kiss really has that much power? I wasn’t thinking about anything else, not about you, not…”

Her voice trailed off, losing all confidence.

The more she spoke, the more she exposed her fantasy about Tan Yanqing.

Jian Hao stood up abruptly. “I drank too much water.”

Not daring to look at Tan Yanqing, she turned straight around and hurried into the bathroom.

Sitting on the toilet, Jian Hao silently performed a frantic series of air punches.

So—awkward!

She bent over, burying her head in her arms.

What would Tan Yanqing think of her? She wouldn’t take her for a creep, would she?

This kind of talk would be normal in front of Jian You, because Jian You’s brain worked similarly and it would just seem like playful banter. But in front of Tan Yanqing, it felt like a delinquent flirting with a model student.

“…”

Staying in the bathroom too long would also be awkward. After pulling herself together, Jian Hao stood up to leave. But seeing her bright red face in the mirror, she squatted back down with a glug.

When she finally gathered enough courage to walk out, she found an extra person in the living room.

Jian You heard the movement and glanced at her. “You were in there so long, are you constipated?”

“…” Jian Hao. “Why are you here?”

“To study.”

Jian You hadn’t just brought her backpack; she had three glass bottles of Coca-Cola. She handed one to Jian Hao. “My mom said you’re moving in with this dead block of ice?”

Jian Hao only dared to steal a tiny glance at Tan Yanqing. Seeing her head down with no reaction, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Tan Yanqing likely just took it as a joke and didn’t think much of it.

“Mhm.”

“That’s good, you have a bed now. Otherwise, I was thinking about sleeping with my mom so you could have my bed.”

Jian Hao sat down beside Jian You. “Auntie said you didn’t go home last night. Where were you?”

“Did you tell Xinsui where I was?”

Jian Hao nodded. “Who else?”

Jian You scoffed. “I knew it, you little traitor.”

“It was raining so hard last night, we had to spend the night at an internet cafe.”

“Huh?” Taking the top-ranked student to pull an all-nighter at an internet cafe?

Her ears felt hot. Jian You brushed her ear and flipped through a book. “Where else could we go?”

Jian Hao: “What about Xinsui? Why didn’t she come with you?”

“She went home; she has things to do.”

As she spoke, Jian You suddenly hooked her arm around Jian Hao’s neck, pulling her into an embrace and whispering in her ear: “Speaking of which, how did you know which internet cafe I was at? Tracking me?”

Jian Hao laughed. “I didn’t tell Auntie.”

“Mhm.” Jian You patted Jian Hao’s cheek. “Good girl.”

“You two.”

Tan Yanqing’s gaze swept over them, resting on Jian Hao’s face. She questioned in a low voice: “Can we start studying now?”

Perhaps because she was in the thick of it, Jian Hao never quite realized what the atmosphere was like when she, her mom, and Auntie Tan were all together. Sometimes she even looked forward to being alone with Auntie Tan.

But today, Jian Hao was incredibly grateful Jian You was there.

It made the awkwardness between her and Tan Yanqing—no, her awkwardness toward Tan Yanqing—fade significantly. With Jian You acting as a bridge, Jian Hao spoke here and there, gradually becoming less flustered. The atmosphere was quite harmonious—at least harmonious enough that Jian You didn’t notice anything was wrong.

But once Jian You left, the house suddenly went silent. Perhaps because the sun had set and the light had left the room, Jian Hao felt a chill. She put on her school jacket (her only outer layer), felt the 500 pesos in her pocket, thought for a moment, and pulled out 400.

Tan Yanqing was wiping the coffee table. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jian Hao come out of the room. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Noodles.” Jian Hao walked over and handed the 400 pesos to Tan Yanqing. “Here.”

Tan Yanqing slowly straightened up, looked at the money, and didn’t take it.

“This is for rent, for food…” Jian Hao blinked. “I can only give you this much. I want to keep the other hundred to see if I can buy a few changes of underwear and shoes at the market.”

“I have a few pairs of shoes I bought but never wore; you can see if you like any of them.” Tan Yanqing turned toward the kitchen, not even looking at the money in Jian Hao’s hand. “As for rent and food, I wasn’t planning on taking any from you.”

Jian Hao followed her. “That wouldn’t be right.”

“Why not?”

Tan Yanqing placed the rag under the faucet to rinse it. When the sound of running water stopped, she turned to Jian Hao. “Isn’t Jian You a stranger to you too? You stayed at her house; why didn’t you think of giving her money?”

True. Jian You was her mom, and Tan Yanqing was her godmother. If it weren’t for wanting to leave a good impression on Tan Yanqing, she might not have offered money at all.

She grinned and stuffed the money back into her pocket, edging closer to Tan Yanqing. “Then I’ll just be thick-skinned and stay for free.”

The light that had left the living room appeared in the kitchen.

A beam of light passed between Tan Yanqing and Jian Hao; half of each of their faces was illuminated. The other half was lit up by the other person.

“It doesn’t have to be for free.”

A look of confusion flashed in Jian Hao’s eyes.

Tan Yanqing: “Tell me in detail about the matter of you kissing me.”