Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 28

Jian Hao had wondered several times what her first kiss would look like.

Would it be in front of a flower wall covered in roses at the small western-style house? Or on a park bench where the leaves rustled softly in the wind? Perhaps in a car stuck on the road during a sudden rainstorm? Or even when their hair turned white together in a heavy snowfall?

Of course, in all these scenarios, the person she fantasized about was Auntie Tan.

She had thought of any season—spring, summer, autumn, or winter; she had thought of any scene—mountains, lakes, grasslands, or a sea of flowers; she had thought of any weather—wind, rain, snow, or fog… she imagined her first kiss to be as romantic and wonderful as a fairy tale.

Yet, she never imagined that her actual first kiss would take place in Auntie Tan’s kitchen.

In a space filled with the smell of instant noodles, Tan Yanqing kissed her lips.

Amidst the fireworks exploding in her head, Jian Hao slowly closed her eyes.

Thump-thump—

Thump-thump—

Aside from the strong smell of instant noodles, she also caught a gentle scent of body wash. Both she and Tan Yanqing carried this scent, and for a moment, she couldn’t distinguish if she was smelling it on Tan Yanqing or herself.

But why bother distinguishing?

The moment they kissed, weren’t they one and the same?

Just like the taste of toothpaste she sensed, she couldn’t tell if it was Tan Yanqing’s or hers. Oh, it was Tan Yanqing’s. Because her own toothpaste was strawberry-flavored, while Tan Yanqing’s was orange. What she felt was the sweetness of orange.

So sweet.

So soft.

When imagining the scene of her first kiss in the past, Jian Hao had also wondered: What if I don’t know how to kiss?

She didn’t want to make a mistake; what if she embarrassed herself and Auntie Tan laughed at her? So she had started looking for various learning materials online and spent a good while researching kissing techniques.

She became full of theoretical experience and confidence.

But it was all just “armchair strategy.”

Now that the moment had actually arrived, her hands hanging by her sides were at a loss, not knowing where to go or what posture to take. So Jian Hao gripped the hem of her pajamas tightly, her head moving slightly, responding clumsily.

Fortunately, she at least knew to open her mouth.

Tan Yanqing was just as inexperienced, but Tan Yanqing’s learning ability was strong; after kissing for just a while, she mastered the technique and took the lead, starting to guide her.

After kissing for a long time, Jian Hao’s brain—which had stalled from the sudden kiss—began to function. She recalled all the knowledge she had seen before and put it into practice like a student copying a master. Even the hands that had been gripping her hem somehow found their way to Tan Yanqing’s shoulders, hooking together behind her neck.

When a person cannot hear or see, they lose track of whether time is passing quickly or slowly.

When a hazy, lingering kiss ended and the two opened their eyes for a momentary glance at each other, Jian Hao’s face flushed. She leaned weakly against Tan Yanqing’s shoulder, and as she caught her breath, all she could see before her were Tan Yanqing’s pink cheeks.

Tan Yanqing was shy too. But she was used to being calm; she wouldn’t let her emotions show outwardly.

The corners of Jian Hao’s mouth couldn’t help but tilt up. She buried her head, sniffing the gentle scent of soap on Tan Yanqing’s pajamas… and the smell of instant noodles.

A bubble in Jian Hao’s bubbling brain popped with a snap.

She didn’t move, her cheek pressing against Tan Yanqing’s shoulder as she whispered into her ear:

“The noodles must be soggy by now.”

“The water just finished boiling,” Tan Yanqing’s voice was hoarse.

Jian Hao straightened up in surprise and looked back at the pot. The water in the pot indeed hadn’t reached a boil yet.

Jian Hao blinked. She thought she had been kissing Tan Yanqing for a long, long time, but it turned out…

She withdrew her arms from Tan Yanqing’s neck and stepped out of her embrace. Turning around, she stirred the noodles twice with her chopsticks, then turned off the heat and began scooping them out. “Just right. I like them a bit firm.”

“Mhm.”

Jian Hao took the bowl to the coffee table, turned on the TV, grabbed a cushion, and sat down to eat while she watched. Tan Yanqing sat on the sofa beside her, holding a high school English vocabulary booklet to memorize words.

Jian Hao glanced over, remembered an online meme, and laughed. “Have you memorized abandon yet?”

Tan Yanqing looked up at her. “Mhm.”

Jian Hao burst out laughing.

Tan Yanqing didn’t know why she was laughing, but she curved her eyebrows slightly. “What is it?”

Although a meme isn’t funny once explained, since Tan Yanqing wasn’t from her era, Jian Hao explained it to her and then lowered her head to eat. “A meme like that definitely wouldn’t happen to you; you’re serious about everything you do.”

Meme?

Tan Yanqing didn’t understand what that meant. She looked toward Jian Lai, but Jian Lai was already eating while watching TV. Her gaze fell on Jian Lai’s lips—lips that were rosy and moist from the noodle soup.

…Would the sensation of kissing them be different from just now?

After eating half a bowl of noodles, Jian Hao cleaned up the kitchen and brushed her teeth again. When she came out of the bathroom, Tan Yanqing was still sitting on the sofa memorizing words.

They were both only wearing their pajamas—the two-piece sets. The pajamas she was wearing were given to her by Auntie Tan, but the style was different.

The ones Auntie Tan gave her were a cute style covered in strawberry prints. But Tan Yanqing was wearing a cooler gray set with no patterns at all; only the white lace trim on the collar added a touch of girlhood.

Even so, Tan Yanqing, dressed in gray and sitting there, carried an aura of solitude.

Watching Tan Yanqing’s profile, Jian Hao suddenly stood still by the bathroom door.

She felt that just like her time travel, the kiss just now was so real it felt unreal.

She actually kissed Tan Yanqing?

Why? Was it just “trying it out”?

But the words Tan Yanqing said before kissing her undoubtedly indicated that she understood that Jian Hao’s feelings for her were “different from her feelings for Jian You.”

So what did Tan Yanqing mean? And what were her thoughts?

“Are you going to sleep?”

Tan Yanqing noticed her standing still and looked over.

Jian Hao gathered her thoughts and shook her head. “I can’t lie down right after eating a full meal.”

“Then watch a bit more TV?”

Jian Hao walked to the sofa and sat on the cushion by the coffee table, looking back at the person on the sofa. “Are you going to sleep? I’ll turn the volume down.”

The soundproofing in the house wasn’t great; even with the bedroom door closed upstairs, a loud TV could be heard.

“No need.” Tan Yanqing said, “I’ll wait for you.”

Tan Yanqing paused, then added, “I can’t sleep.”

“Oh…” Jian Hao felt a little disappointed, thinking Tan Yanqing wanted to keep her company. But she still asked with concern, “Insomnia?”

“Sort of.”

“Huh?”

Insomnia is insomnia; what does “sort of” mean?

She looked back in confusion. The vocabulary booklet was still open in Tan Yanqing’s hand, but Tan Yanqing’s gaze was fixed on her.

“To be precise, I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about things.”

Tan Yanqing fixed her gaze on her and said softly, “When I couldn’t sleep earlier, I was thinking about those two times you kissed me during the day.”

Caught off guard, Jian Hao’s face instantly went hot.

“Now I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about just now.” Tan Yanqing lifted her eyelashes and looked down at Jian Hao. “Aren’t you thinking about it?”

Jian Hao quickly turned her head, her gaze landing on the TV.

It was Star TV, showing Cardcaptor Sakura. It was an anime Jian Hao loved, and it was at an exciting moment, but Jian Hao couldn’t focus on it at all.

Her eyes flickered, and she gave a light cough. “I…”

I…

I…

Jian Hao pursed her lips, took a slight deep breath, then licked her lips. “Mhm.”

“Look at me.”

Hearing Tan Yanqing’s words, Jian Hao instinctively turned her head.

The moment she turned, the distance between her face and Tan Yanqing’s was less than ten centimeters.

Jian Hao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Are you just thinking?”

Even though Tan Yanqing’s gaze hadn’t changed, Jian Hao felt enticed.

“…”

Two seconds later, Jian Hao leaned forward and kissed Tan Yanqing’s mouth.

It was just a touch, but when she opened her eyes to pull back, she saw Tan Yanqing’s eyes were closed. She closed her eyes again and kissed her once more.

At the same time, she took off Tan Yanqing’s glasses.

“…”

It wasn’t until a very loud sound came from the TV that the two lingering figures separated.

Jian Hao’s eyes were slightly open, and her tongue instinctively swiped over her lips, adding a glint to her already moist mouth.

She was still sitting on the cushion, and Tan Yanqing was still on the sofa. She lifted her eyelids, meeting Tan Yanqing’s eyes at close range.

Without the barrier of the lenses, the moisture in those peach-blossom eyes was clearly visible.

Jian Hao saw herself in Tan Yanqing’s eyes.

A face as red as Tan Yanqing’s, and a youthful bashfulness.

Jian Hao cupped her own face; it was very hot.

She then cupped Tan Yanqing’s face—mhm, the same temperature.

It turns out even the cold Tan Yanqing has fiery moments!

She lowered her hands and wrapped them around Tan Yanqing’s waist, resting her head on Tan Yanqing’s lap. She kept her head down, smiling secretly.

Tan Yanqing closed her vocabulary booklet, put back on the glasses Jian Hao had removed, and pressed her hand against the back of Jian Hao’s neck. Unlike her face, her room-temperature hand felt startling against the hot neck, making Jian Hao shrink back slightly.

Tan Yanqing: “It’s time to sleep.”

Jian Hao looked up, her chin resting on Tan Yanqing’s knee. Her large, round eyes held a galaxy of stars, sparkling as she stared at Tan Yanqing. “Okay.”

Tan Yanqing withdrew her hand and rose to walk upstairs.

Jian Hao turned off the TV and headed to her bedroom.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

One walked to the stairs, the other around the sofa; they both stopped at the same time and turned to say it to each other.

“…”

Jian Hao laughed, her eyes curving into crescents. “Goodnight.”

Tan Yanqing lowered her eyes and nodded. “Mhm.”

Jian Hao walked to her door and pushed it open, but didn’t enter immediately. She watched the figure on the stairs disappear around the corner. Only after waiting a few seconds until she couldn’t hear footsteps did she turn off the living room light and enter her room.

Upstairs, hearing the sound of the door closing below, Tan Yanqing’s downcast eyes rippled with a smile. Her naturally pursed lips curved upward as she pushed open her bedroom door.

Downstairs, Jian Hao climbed into bed. She first rolled around once while clutching the blanket, then looked up at the window.

Because she was a bit afraid of the dark, she had left a sliver of a gap when she drew the curtains.

The moonlight shone in faintly, carrying a cold blue and a touch of indifferent white, yet it gently kissed the darkness.

Just like Tan Yanqing’s icy personality… her kiss was unexpectedly… warm.

Jian Hao hugged her blanket tightly.

So, this is what it feels like to kiss Tan Yanqing.