Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 45

When Jian Hao returned with the water, Tan Yanqing was still leaning against the sofa with her eyes closed; it was unclear if she had fallen asleep.

She sat down beside Tan Yanqing and whispered, “Auntie?”

She waited, but there was no response. Her right hand reached out to Tan Yanqing’s knee, giving it a gentle nudge.

The woman slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing Jian Hao, she closed her eyes for a brief moment to adjust. When she opened them again, they were as clear as the mist at daybreak.

“Tangtang,” she called out.

“Mhm,” Jian Hao replied, handing her the glass. “Have some water.”

She didn’t hold the glass to Tan Yanqing’s lips. She didn’t dare be too intimate—this was a silent rule between them.

When she was a child, Tan Yanqing would mind if she kissed others; as she grew older, Tan Yanqing began to mind if Jian Hao kissed her. According to Tan Yanqing, as she grew up, she had to learn to keep her distance and not be casually affectionate with others. By “affectionate,” she meant contact with ambiguous undertones. Because Jian Hao was naturally warm and demonstrative, she sometimes forgot her boundaries.

Tan Yanqing led by example; she was very good to Jian Hao, yet she maintained a proper distance.

To Jian Hao, this was torture.

Clearly, the woman cared for her so much, yet she wouldn’t even hold her hand. This psychological warmth paired with physical coldness—this “push and pull” state—meant that by the time Jian Hao realized it, her heart was entirely occupied by Tan Yanqing.

Tan Yanqing sat up straighter, took the glass, and tilted her head back to take a sip. She set the glass on the table and scanned the room. “Where are your mom and the others?”

“Gone to Auntie Zhu’s to see the puppy.”

“You’re not interested?”

Jian Hao glanced at her and muttered, “I’m already a puppy (liar), why would I need to see another one?”

“Mhm?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? You said I lied to you, and that liars are puppies. Weren’t you pointing out that I’m a puppy?”

Tan Yanqing wore no makeup; her lips were a pale pink. When she smiled, she looked like peach blossoms blooming in early spring, adding a touch of color to the drab November.

She crinkled her eyes and said, “Then give me a bark.”

“…”

Jian Hao laughed out of sheer annoyance. She turned her body away, ignoring Tan Yanqing.

Tan Yanqing’s gaze lingered on her for a couple of seconds. She reached for the bag she’d left on the sofa, pulled it onto her lap, and took something out. She looked at Jian Hao, who was being temperamental and refusing to look back.

She used the package to tap Jian Hao’s arm.

The plastic packaging felt cool against her skin, and the crackle-crackle sound broke the silence between them. Jian Hao turned her head and saw Tan Yanqing’s habitually cold eyes curved with a smile, her eyebrows arched in a coaxing manner. Only then did Jian Hao look down to see what was hitting her.

It was a package of strawberry-patterned steam eye masks, and inside the bag was a box of… eye drops?

Jian Hao looked up in confusion. “For me?”

“Mhm.”

The expression on Tan Yanqing’s face had returned to its usual calm. Jian Hao was used to this—concern one second, distance the next.

She took the eye masks. “What are these for?”

Tan Yanqing said, “Did you look in the mirror when you got up today?”

Jian Hao was holding the bag, reading the name of the eye drops one character at a time, but she couldn’t figure out what they were primarily for. Just as she was about to ask, Tan Yanqing said: “Your eyes are swollen like pig liver. We could slice them off and sell them.”

Jian Hao sat up straight instantly, slapping the eye masks onto her lap and glaring at Tan Yanqing with wide, rounded eyes.

How mean! Who talks to people like that?!

But Jian Hao quickly realized something. “When did you prepare this?”

Tan Yanqing hadn’t left the house since she arrived. How did she know her eyes were swollen?

Tan Yanqing said, “You cried so hard; I expected your eyes to swell.”

Jian Hao’s heart hammered against her ribs. She stared fixedly at Tan Yanqing. “Were you following me yesterday? Why were you following me?”

Tan Yanqing glanced at her watch. “It’s late. I should head back.”

She took out her phone to call a designated driver and prepared to stand up, but Jian Hao grabbed her trousers. It was just a light tug; Tan Yanqing could have shaken it off and left at any time. Instead, her expression softened. Looking at Jian Hao, she said helplessly and softly: “You ran back home after getting out of the car. I wasn’t at ease.”

Jian Hao bit her lip.

So, while she was outside crying for so long, the reason Jian You said “Tan Yanqing messaged me two minutes ago” was because…

But what was there to be “uneasy” about regarding a short run home? What she was truly uneasy about was her state of mind yesterday, wasn’t it? Or, did Tan Yanqing really want to talk about something, which is why she had followed her?

She gazed at Tan Yanqing.

Outside, the sky had grown darker, making the lights in the room seem brighter. Under the intense white light, the eyes she hadn’t been able to see clearly suddenly became sharp and focused.

Jian Hao’s heart skipped a beat in shock.

Tan Yanqing’s eyes were crystal clear—where was the drunkenness? There wasn’t even a hint of sleepiness. Jian Hao couldn’t help but ask herself: Did I actually see how much Tan Yanqing drank? Did she even finish one glass?

A dedicated professional like Tan Yanqing wouldn’t allow herself to get drunk, even on a holiday. Her flushed cheeks were likely just from the heat and spice of the hotpot.

Jian Hao’s fingertips, which had been lightly holding the trousers, gradually began to grip the fabric until the bones on the back of her hand protruded.

She opened her mouth. After a long silence, once the emotions clogging her throat subsided, her voice emerged, tinged with a testing quality.

“Aren’t you curious why I was crying?”

Tan Yanqing’s expression remained unchanged, her voice and tone still calm. “Tell me if you want to.”

Jian Hao bit her lip. “And if I don’t want to?”

Tan Yanqing’s gaze dropped, her voice lowering. “Then you don’t have to. It’s up to you.”

This attitude only amplified the suspicion in Jian Hao’s heart. “What do you mean?”

“Tangtang, like I said, it’s up to you. Whether to speak or not, the choice is in your hands.”

Tan Yanqing brushed Jian Hao’s hand away, as if she didn’t care whether she spoke or not, and stood up. “The driver should be here soon. I’m leaving.”

But this behavior made Jian Hao even more certain.

How could Auntie Tan see her cry and not care? The more indifferent she acted, the more she was hiding something. Jian Hao’s lashes flickered, her eyes wide with shock—shock at her own internal deduction.

The sound of Jian You’s voice came from outside the door.

And from behind Tan Yanqing, Jian Hao’s voice rang out:

“You know, don’t you?”

An overcast day.

Jian Hao stood by the roadside at the entrance of No. 1 High School, her backpack on, quietly waiting for Tan Yanqing to pick her up.

This time, it wasn’t Tan Yanqing’s initiative. Jian Hao had messaged her: 【Are you working overtime tonight? If not, can you pick me up after school? I’m going to sleep at your place.】

Tan Yanqing replied:

【No overtime.】

【What about your mom?】

Jian Hao: 【She’s at home. I told her, and she agreed.】 (She hadn’t actually asked yet.)

Tan: 【Really?】

Jian: 【Mhm.】

It took a long while for Tan Yanqing to reply: 【Okay.】

Jian Hao didn’t know if she was busy with work or hesitating during that long gap. That day, she had suspected Tan Yanqing knew she was “Jian Lai” and asked her, but because Jian You and Guan Xinting walked in the next second, Tan Yanqing hadn’t been able to answer.

These past few days, she hadn’t dared message her to ask. Instead, she thought by herself: Does she know or not? If she does, when did she find out? If she doesn’t, is the only thing she’s waiting for me to tell her the reason I cried?

But would Tan Yanqing really not know why she was crying? If she assumed Jian Hao ran away because of a rejected confession, then she surely knew she was crying because of her. Not comforting her but waiting for her to speak? Jian Hao didn’t think Tan Yanqing was that cruel.

So she became even more convinced: Tan Yanqing knew she was Jian Lai. The reason her reaction was so calm when she “returned” after being missing was because… she knew she had gone to another time? That she would disappear and reappear suddenly?

If that were true, when did Tan Yanqing find out?

“Jian Hao!”

A voice from behind interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see a classmate from the neighboring class.

“Who are you waiting for?”

“My auntie.”

She gave a brief reply. The classmate didn’t leave but stood beside her. “I saw the quiz results. You’ve improved so much lately.”

“It was alright.”

“Did you listen to that song I shared with you?”

“I did, it’s quite good.”

Jian Hao replied politely. The other girl gave a shy smile and started another topic.

By the time Tan Yanqing pulled up in front of her, she was still chatting back and forth with the classmate. She got into the car, gave a polite smile, and said goodbye. The other girl smiled back. “Well… see you tomorrow.”

The car started. Jian Hao withdrew her gaze from the window and buckled her seatbelt. After the car had traveled for a bit and rounded a corner, Tan Yanqing’s voice came from beside her.

“Is that the one who likes you?”

Yes, that classmate liked her. And the reason Tan Yanqing knew… was because she had told her.

She wasn’t sure if everyone had these sudden impulses or if it was just her—intentionally mentioning someone likes you in front of the person you like, just to see their reaction.

One day, for no particular reason, she had looked at Tan Yanqing and suddenly said, “Auntie Tan, I’ll tell you a secret. I received a love letter.” She’d smiled and added, “Usually people either call me over to confess face-to-face or message me. This is the first time I’ve received a physical love letter. It’s a bit romantic.”

She said it on purpose. But when Tan Yanqing merely glanced at her and said, “No dating in school,” that flat reaction made Jian Hao feel miserable. She’d really just brought the pain on herself.

She thought Tan Yanqing didn’t care, but she’d remembered it. Her memory really was too good.

“She used to. Now we’re just friends.”

Tan Yanqing drove and didn’t reply. After a while, she asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“Let’s eat at home. I want your cooking.” Jian Hao sat in the passenger seat and turned to look at her. “Do you have groceries? If not, let’s go to the market.”

There were groceries, but none that Jian Hao liked.

They drove to the market. It was the same place as in 2008, not much had changed. The only change was the faces behind the stalls, which had swapped over and over.

But there were still familiar faces from 2008. For instance, the old lady selling fish at the third stall. During her time in 2008, Jian Hao had taken Tan Yanqing to buy fish there several times. Out of all the stalls, she chose that one because she had followed Tan Yanqing there since childhood.

Seeing the old woman, she said she wanted ribbonfish, and Tan Yanqing stopped to chat with her. Once she’d bought the fish, they walked on, passing a vendor she had also seen in 2008.

Jian Hao turned to look at Tan Yanqing.

“Do you always buy fish from that old lady because of me?”

Just like the “Sour Girl” candies that were always in the house.

Tan Yanqing glanced at her sideways. “Do you have shares in her stall?”

Jian Hao’s hands, which had been half-clenched in nervous anticipation, suddenly tightened. She followed Tan Yanqing, her eyes fixed on her. “I don’t have shares, and I don’t get the money from the fish. When I say ‘because of me,’ do you really not understand what I mean?”

Tan Yanqing: “I don’t.”

She stopped at a vegetable stall, picked up some green peppers, and asked the owner for a bag. “Chili pork or shredded potatoes?”

Receiving no answer, Tan Yanqing turned around. Seeing Jian Hao staring at her in silence, she gave a helpless smile. “What do you want me to understand? I buy from her because she’s old and I want to support her business.”

I don’t believe you! There were plenty of elderly people in this market; why only support her? Jian Hao’s fiery personality wouldn’t let it go. She said directly:

“Isn’t it because Jian Lai once took you to buy fish there?”