Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 26

It had been a long time since she had kissed Auntie Tan. After such a sudden kiss, Jian Hao’s eyes were filled with fluster.

Feeling too embarrassed to sit side-by-side with Tan Yanqing, Jian Hao picked a single window seat toward the back after boarding. During the few seconds it took for Tan Yanqing to follow her onto the bus, Jian Hao turned her head to stare out the window, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

In her peripheral vision, she watched Tan Yanqing’s figure pass her seat—pass—pass?

Jian Hao looked up in surprise at the person standing by her seat. “?”

Aside from them and the driver, there was only one other passenger on the bus. Looking around, there were empty seats everywhere. Why was Tan Yanqing standing next to her instead of sitting down?

She even raised her hand and reached toward her.

She isn’t going to hit me, is she?

“You’re the one who said to give it a try!”

As the bus started moving, Jian Hao’s body followed the momentum and shrank back toward the window, dodging Tan Yanqing’s reaching hand.

“You can’t be a sore loser!”

Looking at the girl who resembled a startled squirrel, Tan Yanqing wondered if she would have jumped out if the window beside her were open.

Is she really that afraid of me?

Tan Yanqing’s clear eyes narrowed slightly as she plucked a tiny osmanthus flower that had fallen onto Jian Hao’s hair.

Jian Hao’s gaze froze on the girl’s fingertips. After a stunned moment, she rubbed her nose. “Oh… haha… that, huh…”

Tan Yanqing said nothing and sat down in the seat directly behind Jian Hao.

Jian Hao’s toes curled against the floor of the bus. Her neck felt stiff and she didn’t dare look back; she could only stare out the window to distract herself.

Clearly, she was the one who had initiated the kiss, so why was she the one feeling guilty and panicked?

At daybreak, the mist in the air slowly dissipated. Gazing at the azure sky, the scent of osmanthus seemed to drift through Jian Hao’s heart.

Life in the senior year seemed to consist of endless exam papers and an infinite list of knowledge points to memorize. It felt as if the sky was permanently a dull blue-gray. Jian Hao thought so, too.

There was a minor quiz after the sports meet, and when they arrived at school today, the whole class’s seating arrangement was shuffled. Jian Hao was now closer to Jian You, but much further from Tan Yanqing.

She could no longer see the slightly prominent, somewhat sexy shoulder blades beneath Tan Yanqing’s school uniform.

Don’t say shoulder blades aren’t sexy. To Jian Hao, every prominent part of Tan Yanqing’s body was sexy. Her collarbones, hip bones, wrist bones, ankles…

She once had a bold idea: to leave a trail of kisses on all those places on Auntie Tan. Sucking kisses, or light bites, leaving her faint teeth marks behind.

Unfortunately, Auntie Tan usually wore a police uniform. Every inch of her was covered. Even if Jian Hao left marks, no one would ever see them or know that Auntie Tan belonged to her.

She had been possessive of Auntie Tan since she was a child.

A former classmate of her mother and Auntie Tan had a daughter—a very cute little girl. Her mother often praised the girl for being pretty and well-behaved, and would bring her along to play. Little girls all like beautiful people. Whenever that girl clung to Tan Yanqing, calling her “Auntie Tan,” dragging her to play this or that, and asking for hugs, Jian Hao would get upset and angry. The kind of anger that couldn’t be soothed.

Jian You thought she was just being temperamental and would scold or swat her, but Jian Hao would remain silent, simply staring at Tan Yanqing with red eyes.

That was how her possessiveness manifested when she was little.

By middle and high school, when many people were pursuing Auntie Tan, she would cling to her whenever a holiday arrived. Even if Auntie Tan was meeting friends for dinner or a movie, she insisted on tagging along. She was happy to be Auntie Tan’s “little tail,” even if the woman’s friends found her annoying. Otherwise, someone would surely take the chance to introduce a blind date to Auntie Tan while she wasn’t around.

She was truly afraid that one day, Auntie Tan would pull a stranger in front of her and say, “Tangtang, this is my partner.”

No.

Not allowed.

Auntie Tan’s partner could only be her.

And right now, several people were gathered around Tan Yanqing’s desk, asking her questions.

After Zhu Xinsui left the school, everyone assumed that the top rank in the grade would belong to Tan Yanqing. However, when the exam results came out, Tan Yanqing was still ranked second.

During morning self-study, the teacher held the exam papers and told the whole class that Tan Yanqing was suspected of controlling her scores. Otherwise, why was her total score always exactly eight points behind Zhu Xinsui’s before, and now exactly seven or eight points behind the new first place? The person currently in first place had previously had lower scores than Tan Yanqing. But what was the point of controlling scores during an exam?

Tan Yanqing didn’t admit to it, and the teacher only had suspicions, so the matter wasn’t pressed.

But because the teacher brought it up, students who usually thought Tan Yanqing was too cold and unapproachable suddenly flocked to her to ask if it was true, or to ask for help with difficult problems.

Although Tan Yanqing was cold and a girl of few words, she was good-natured and well-bred. If someone asked her a question, she wouldn’t ignore them. This resulted in Jian Hao—who usually loved dragging Tan Yanqing to the school store or the restroom—being pushed to the outer circle.

During the break, Jian Hao lay on her desk, staring fixedly at the front row. Suddenly, she snatched up an exam paper from her desk with a movement so large it drew everyone’s attention. After spending time together lately, Jian Hao had become quite popular with her classmates. Seeing her looking so aggressive, someone asked, “Where are you going?”

“Asking a question.”

With that, she strode over to Tan Yanqing’s desk and squeezed through the three people surrounding her. She crowded in behind Tan Yanqing, resting her elbow on the girl’s shoulder. “Tao Tao~ I have a problem I don’t understand, too. Explain it to me~”

Her forceful entry had already caused people to gasp, and when they heard her voice—so sweet it practically dripped—everyone nearby broke out in goosebumps.

“Doesn’t the Monitor tutor you and the Sports Rep on the weekends? How do you still have questions?”

“If you eat today, does that mean you don’t need to eat tomorrow?” Jian Hao huffed. She rested her hand on Tan Yanqing’s other shoulder, clinging to her like a succubus, possessively declaring their intimacy to the outsiders.

A classmate said, “First come, first served. You have to wait in line.”

Jian Hao whined and slumped against Tan Yanqing’s shoulder. “I’m waiting right here.” She said to Tan Yanqing, “Hurry up and explain it to them.”

She was being a bit of a brat. But the three classmates only smiled, knowing that Jian Lai was close with the Monitor and meant no harm.

While Tan Yanqing was explaining a problem to one student, another student said to Jian Hao, “You’re clinging to the Monitor so much, you’re practically a poster.”

Someone nearby chimed in, “The kind you can’t peel off, too.”

Jian Hao let out a few laughs. Her breath as she laughed fell on the back of Tan Yanqing’s neck—warm and soft, triggering a wave of itchiness.

Tan Yanqing’s eyelashes fluttered. She looked up at the student at the desk. “Sorry, I need to use the restroom. I’ll finish explaining when I get back.”

“Sure thing.”

Tan Yanqing set down her pen and stood up. The “poster” clinging to her naturally stood up as well and followed her toward the restroom.

Tan Yanqing stopped at the stairwell and asked Jian Hao, “Which problem? I’ll explain it to you first.”

Jian Hao tilted her head, her eyes curving into crescents. “Going through the back door?”

Jian Hao hadn’t even had time to put down the paper in her hand.

Tan Yanqing took the paper from Jian Hao and saw it was a blank sheet without a single answer written on it. Her eyelid twitched as she asked, “Which one?”

“I don’t know.” Meeting Tan Yanqing’s gaze, Jian Hao shrugged. “I just grabbed a random paper.”

“…”

The corner of Tan Yanqing’s mouth quirked up slightly. A look of helplessness appeared in her eyes as she looked at Jian Hao. She handed the paper back and started to walk past her, heading back toward the classroom.

Jian Hao grabbed her sleeve. “Weren’t you going to the restroom? Why go back so soon? Stay with me for one more minute.”

Tan Yanqing stopped, her clear eyes looking at her. “They’re still waiting.”

Jian Hao blinked. “The break is ten minutes long. I’m only taking one minute of your time~”

Tan Yanqing: “They’re asking about schoolwork.”

“But I’m thinking about you.”

A sharp glint passed through Tan Yanqing’s eyes. Her dark pupils brightened, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.

Jian Hao pouted and shook Tan Yanqing’s sleeve. “Just one minute. Otherwise, I feel like they’re going to steal you away.”

“They won’t,” Tan Yanqing said. “They’re just asking questions.”

“But they’ve been around you for so long!” Under the sunlight, Jian Hao’s ivory skin was flushed pink. Her round eyes held only Tan Yanqing. “I haven’t had any time to talk to you.”

“Didn’t we talk enough at home?”

At home.

The phrase instantly pleased Jian Hao. She could have let go of Tan Yanqing then, but her stubborn streak made her reluctant.

She said, “Of course not enough. We have home topics at home, and school topics at school.”

Tan Yanqing said, “The minute is almost up.”

Jian Hao immediately hooked her arm through Tan Yanqing’s, hugging her and swaying. She complained in a soft tone, “Why does it go so fast?”

Tan Yanqing tilted her head and suppressed a smile. When she looked back at Jian Hao, she said seriously again, “You’re the one who said one minute.”

Jian Hao, who had been leaning limply on Tan Yanqing, immediately stood straight. “If what I say goes, then I want to say something else.”

Tan Yanqing looked at her. Jian Hao said, “I want to reserve your next break.”

Tan Yanqing arched an eyebrow. “Reserve?”

Jian Hao: “You have to promise to go buy popsicles with me during the next break, and then I’ll let you go back to the classroom right now.”

That’s it? Tan Yanqing felt like laughing internally, but she remained calm on the surface and nodded. “Mhm.”

Having received a response, Jian Hao hooked her arm through Tan Yanqing’s and led her back toward the classroom, a faint dimple appearing on her left cheek. “This is what best friends are like~”

The smile in Tan Yanqing’s eyes stiffened for a moment. Just as they were about to reach the classroom door, she suddenly said in a low voice, “You’re best friends with me. What are you with Jian You?”

Jian Hao answered without thinking: “Best friends, too.”

“If you can have two best friends, why can’t I have other best friends?” Tan Yanqing said.

Jian Hao’s expression froze. She stopped walking and stared at Tan Yanqing. “What do you mean?”

Tan Yanqing’s expression didn’t change. She looked at Jian Hao and said quietly, “It means it seems I can be ‘stolen’ away by them.”

Jian Hao’s hand on Tan Yanqing’s arm loosened and fell to her side. There was a visible sign of hurt in her eyes as she looked at Tan Yanqing.

Tan Yanqing remained unmoved.

“If you really thought we were your best friends, why don’t you go cling to Jian You?”

Jian You, who had been mentioned, was leaning against a window in the hallway, chatting animatedly with some classmates. Their heads were huddled together from time to time, whispering about some secret.

Tan Yanqing withdrew her gaze and looked back at Jian Hao, her voice soft: “She seems very happy.”

Jian Hao stood in silence, her hands at her sides picking at each other.

Tan Yanqing didn’t wait for her response and started walking back into the classroom.

Jian Hao spoke hoarsely: “So… I’m getting in the way of you making friends?”