Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 4

The next day.

Jian Hao was a restless sleeper, always prone to kicking her quilt off the bed, let alone while sleeping on a narrow sofa. In her daze, she felt someone drape a blanket over her. The sofa, filled with the scent of home, was as soft as a cloud. With the warmth provided by the blanket, Jian Hao drifted off again.

When she woke up once more, it was to a delicious aroma.

Jian Hao got up from the sofa and shuffled to the kitchen door in her slippers. Watching Jian Sihong busy herself at the gas stove, Jian Hao’s lips curled into a smile. She walked to her grandmother’s side and saw a pot of handmade tomato and egg noodles.

This was Grandma’s specialty. Ever since Grandma passed away, Jian Hao had never tasted that exact flavor again.

The white steam from the pot misted Jian Hao’s eyes. Faking a “just woke up” look, she let out a yawn, squeezing a few tears from the corners of her eyes.

Jian Sihong smiled at her. “Awake? How did you sleep?”

“Very comfortably,” Jian Hao said, stretching. “Just like being in my own home.”

Jian Sihong’s eyes crinkled; she liked that this child wasn’t shy at all.

Jian Hao edged closer to her intentionally. “Is there anything I can help with?”

She remembered when Grandma used to make noodles, if she was standing nearby, Grandma would give her a piece of dough to knead and play with…

Forget helping; it was good enough if she didn’t cause trouble.

Jian Sihong stirred the noodles with long chopsticks, the kitchen filling with the scent of tomato soup.

“No need, I’m almost done here. Go brush your teeth and wash your face. If you can, help me wake up Youyou.” Jian Sihong gave her a little wink. “My daughter is great in every way except for one bad habit: she loves to sleep in. She’s not easy to get out of bed.”

Jian Hao smiled. “Don’t worry, I have a way!”

Usually, it took Jian Sihong ten minutes to wake Jian You. Today, Jian Hao got her out of bed in less than a minute.

Jian Sihong asked Jian Hao in amazement how she did it.

A freshly washed Jian You stepped up behind Jian Hao and said indignantly, “If you ever dare to tickle the soles of my feet again, you’re finished!”

Jian Hao shared a knowing smile with Jian Sihong across the table and lowered her head to slurp her noodles contentedly.

Jian You sat at the table. “And! Without my permission, you are not allowed in my room!”

“I asked Xiao Lai to wake you,” Jian Sihong spoke up to draw the fire away from Jian Hao. “Hurry up and eat so you can get to school.”

Jian You stared at Jian Hao, speechless.

Jian Hao finally put down her chopsticks and said softly, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Since she was a child, whenever she made a mistake, she’d act like this, and Jian You could never stay mad at her. It was the same now. Not only did Jian You stop bickering, but noticing Jian Hao was still in pajamas, she found a set of clothes for her and pulled a spare school uniform out of the cabinet.

Jian Hao wasn’t surprised at all that Jian You had a second uniform. From childhood to adulthood, whenever Jian You ordered uniforms for her, she always ordered two—though the second one was usually a size larger.

Jian Hao was 170cm tall, and Jian You’s second uniform fit her perfectly.

Wearing the uniform, Jian Hao followed Jian You to school.

Gao Jing took her to see the principal. The principal wasn’t the one from 2025, but she was a very kind elderly woman.

“Teacher Gao called me about your situation yesterday. Regardless of what happened, your desire to learn is excellent. However, we don’t know what grade you’re in or your academic level. Follow Teacher Gao back to the office and take a set of exams. We’ll assign you to a class based on your scores.”

Jian Hao was stunned. She hadn’t anticipated this. She thought she’d just be put in Gao Jing’s class directly.

She spoke up: “I… I think I’m in the senior year. What I told Teacher Gao yesterday about being in Senior Class 2 wasn’t a lie; images of it flashed in my mind at the time.”

The principal smiled kindly. “Fine. But we still need to see your level so Teacher Gao can assign you a seat partner.”

And so, Jian Hao miserably followed Gao Jing to the office.

She wasn’t a bad student, but she wasn’t top-tier either; she was average for her grade. Her instinctual reaction to a test was dread.

Once Gao Jing handed her the paper, she could only accept her fate.

Gao Jing was a math teacher, so naturally, the test was math—Jian Hao’s worst subject.

Gao Jing went to teach a class after handing her the paper. By the time she returned, Jian Hao had finished. When Gao Jing reviewed it, she looked at Jian Hao and said tactfully, “It’s alright, brain injuries aren’t that easy to recover from. Tell you what—the desk mate of our top-ranked student is moving out because they’re an arts student. You can sit with her and learn from her.”

Jian Hao nodded, wondering who the top-ranked student was.

Her mom? Anyway, Jian You had bragged more than once that back in high school, her grades were great, she was a sports star, a class officer, and so quiet and elegant that many people pursued her—even people from other schools had heard of her.

Aside from the “quiet and elegant” part which Jian Hao didn’t believe, she hadn’t really believed the rest either.

Growing up, whenever she asked Jian You for help with homework, Jian You would look at it, frown, let out an “Ai,” and say, “I’m busy, go message Tan Yanqing and ask her.”

All her life, every problem she couldn’t solve was taught to her by Auntie Tan…

Auntie Tan was a top student.

A smile tugged at Jian Hao’s lips. Would her new desk mate be Tan Yanqing?

Jian Hao followed Gao Jing to the classroom. Standing on the podium for her self-introduction, she clearly saw where Jian You and Tan Yanqing were sitting. One was in the second-to-last row, and the other was in the second row from the front. The seat Gao Jing assigned her was in the third row, right behind Tan Yanqing.

Jian Hao’s attention was entirely on Tan Yanqing. It was only after she sat down that she realized her desk mate…

Was also a familiar face.

It was Auntie Zhu, Zhu Xinsui, who lived next door to them.

So Auntie Zhu was the top-ranked student?! Her mom had never mentioned that.

Zhu Xinsui had moved in next door when Jian Hao was ten. The first time Jian Hao saw her, the word “stunning” was the best description. But right now, wearing thick black round glasses and looking a bit dorky, Jian Hao couldn’t find a trace of the fashionable Auntie Zhu.

“Hello,” Jian Hao took the lead to greet her.

Zhu Xinsui pushed up her glasses. “Hello to you, too.” She spoke a bit slowly, like she was set to 0.5x speed. “Your name is Jian Lai, but if I remember correctly, you were the one who came looking for Jian You yesterday in strange clothes.”

“Those were pajamas,” Jian Hao interrupted.

Zhu Xinsui went “Oh” and asked, “Are you a relative of Jian You’s?”

Jian Hao whispered, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yeah, I have amnesia. I only remember her; I don’t remember our relationship.”

“Amnesia?” Zhu Xinsui’s eyes went round as saucers, her mouth hanging open.

Anyone hearing a plotline that usually only happens in TV dramas would react this way. No one noticed that Tan Yanqing, sitting in the row in front of Jian Hao, gave an almost imperceptible frown.

After greeting Zhu Xinsui, Jian Hao’s gaze fell on the back of the person in front of her. Specifically, on the tips of Tan Yanqing’s high ponytail.

In the future, Tan Yanqing usually wore her hair up in a bun; she rarely saw her with such a youthful, light hairstyle.

This made Jian Hao feel mischievous. She wanted to gently tug the end of Tan Yanqing’s ponytail.

Would Tan Yanqing scold her?!

“If you need help with anything later, you can ask me,” Zhu Xinsui interrupted her thoughts.

Jian Hao glanced at her. “Okay.”

She leaned in closer to Zhu Xinsui and lowered her voice: “Actually, there is something I want to ask you about.”

Zhu Xinsui: “What is it?”

Jian Hao: “How is your relationship with Jian You?”

Even though Zhu Xinsui lived next door, Jian Hao didn’t actually know much about her. Jian You only said they were high school classmates, but after Zhu Xinsui went abroad to study, they lost touch. Thinking about it, their relationship probably wasn’t that close.

Sure enough, after a pause, Zhu Xinsui said, “We’re just classmates.”

“Oh.” Jian Hao coughed lightly. Luckily she had asked something a classmate would know. She asked, “Then do you know if she’s dating anyone?”

Zhu Xinsui pushed her glasses. “…I don’t think so? I’m not sure.”

Jian Hao: “Is there anyone who likes her?”

Zhu Xinsui: “…”

She looked at Jian Hao strangely. “Why are you asking all this?”

Jian Hao said, “Curiosity.”

She looked at Zhu Xinsui and smiled. “Just like I’m curious—are you dating anyone?”

Zhu Xinsui shook her head.

Jian Hao didn’t stop. She pointed a finger toward the front and continued, “Then is she dating anyone?”

“Huh?”

Zhu Xinsui looked at Tan Yanqing. After confirming Jian Hao was indeed asking about Tan Yanqing, she said, “Yanyan, Jian Lai is asking if you’re dating anyone.”

Jian Hao: “…”

Is it really okay to ask the person directly like that?

Whatever, she had intended for Tan Yanqing to hear it anyway.

Tan Yanqing turned around. Under the reflection of her lenses, the chill in her eyes was like winter morning mist. Her crow-feather lashes flickered, but they couldn’t brush away the coldness.

Jian Hao instantly lost her nerve. She opened her mouth to explain, but Tan Yanqing didn’t even look at her. She just said to Zhu Xinsui, “Wasn’t there a problem from last class you didn’t understand? Which one?”

“Oh.” Zhu Xinsui picked up a worksheet. “This one.”

Tan Yanqing began to explain the problem to Zhu Xinsui. Jian Hao, being ignored, didn’t mind at all. She leaned her head in. “I want to listen too.”

No one acknowledged her.

Jian Hao looked at Zhu Xinsui. “Aren’t you the top of the grade? Why are you asking someone else for help?”

Zhu Xinsui replied, “I don’t know how to do every single one.”

Jian Hao’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “But I feel like Student Tan definitely knows everything because she’s amazing!”

This comment finally made Tan Yanqing, who had been ignoring her, sweep a glance over her.

Jian Hao gave her a broad, toothy grin.

Tan Yanqing frowned.

Jian Hao’s smile grew even brighter.

Tan Yanqing had a cold personality; even when she was being good to her, there was a sense of distance. Especially after Jian Hao turned thirteen, Tan Yanqing’s attitude had grown much colder. Jian Hao was long used to it.

In fact, after that, Jian Hao enjoyed acting spoiled with Tan Yanqing even more. Because Tan Yanqing had basically watched her grow up, no matter how cold she acted, she would never fully push her away. Instead, there was a sense of helpless indulgence.

And Jian Hao thrived on the special feeling that Tan Yanqing was cold to everyone else, but she was the exception. It satisfied the vanity stemming from her crush on Tan Yanqing.

Jian Hao’s flattery didn’t make Tan Yanqing happy, but it did reach the ears of the person coming over to find her, whose face instantly darkened.

Jian You swept a flat gaze over the three heads huddled together and reached out to pat Jian Hao’s shoulder. “Come out with me for a second.”

Hearing it was Jian You, Jian Hao didn’t ask why. She followed Jian You out of the classroom to the window in the hallway.

Before Jian Hao could ask “What’s wrong?”, Jian You turned back to her, her expression grim. “You can hang out with me, but there’s one rule you must follow.”

Jian Hao was confused. “What?”

Jian You said in a low voice, “You are not allowed to play with Tan Yanqing.”

Why?

Could it be that my mom also likes Auntie Tan?!!