Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 5

Before Jian Hao could ask anything, Jian You was called away by a classmate coming out of the room.

That classmate looked familiar to Jian Hao—another “Auntie” she knew, though this one hadn’t been nearly as close to her family as Auntie Tan.

Watching the two of them walk away, Jian Hao sank into confusion.

Based on how she knew the adult Jian You and Tan Yanqing interacted, Jian Hao’s first instinct was naturally that Jian You liked Tan Yanqing. After all, in her world, it was impossible for them to be enemies. Besides, Auntie Tan was loved by everyone; how could anyone possibly hate her?!

But the reality was different.

After a few days, as Jian Hao got better acquainted with her classmates, she learned from them that the entire grade knew: Jian You and Tan Yanqing did not get along.

Jian Hao: Huh?

They don’t get along? That was the joke of the century. They were clearly as close as if they’d grown up wearing the same pair of pants! If not “joined at the hip,” they were at least “mutually respectful”… wait, why were her descriptors getting so weird? Regardless, her mom and Auntie Tan had the best relationship possible—otherwise, how could Tan Yanqing be her godmother?

If they didn’t get along now, was there some misunderstanding? Did things only get better after the misunderstanding was cleared up later? What kind of misunderstanding was it? Was it because one was the Class Monitor and the other was the Sports Rep? Or because one was a top student and the other was at the bottom? Or was it a case of unrequited love turning into resentment?

Jian Hao’s gossip-loving soul began to burn.

She tossed aside the “great business of making money” (which is what any time-traveler should do) and set two new goals:

Find out what’s really going on between Auntie Tan and Mom.

Investigate who broke Auntie Tan’s heart! (This one is very important.)

The tricky part was that Jian You seemed to sense her “traitorous” intentions. Every time the bell rang for break, Jian You would be at her desk, leaving her zero opportunity to speak with Tan Yanqing.

She tried passing notes to Tan Yanqing during class, but she was ignored.

She tried following Tan Yanqing to the restroom to stage a “chance encounter” greeting, but she was given a sidelong glance and treated like a creep.

She even tried going to the snack shop with Zhu Xinsui to buy Tan Yanqing’s favorite “Sour Girl” candies. But when she placed the candy on Tan Yanqing’s desk, Tan Yanqing said nothing, while Zhu Xinsui spoke up instead: “Yanyan doesn’t like candy, and she doesn’t like sour things.”

Jian Hao was baffled. How could that be? Growing up, the one snack Tan Yanqing’s house was never without was “Sour Girl.”

She remembered leaning on Tan Yanqing’s coffee table, looking at the colorful bags of sour candy in the snack box, and asking: “Auntie, do you like Sour Girl this much?”

At that time, Tan Yanqing was sitting on the sofa behind her, wearing a beige sweater. The warm midday sun washed over her, making the usually icy woman look soft and radiant. Tan Yanqing had smiled slightly, picked up a pink bag, tore it open, and fed a piece to Jian Hao’s lips. After Jian Hao ate it, she popped one into her own mouth and asked: “Is it good?”

Jian Hao had nodded vigorously; she loved those sweet and sour candies.

Tan Yanqing hadn’t said much then, only fed another to Jian Hao, her voice cool but full of warmth: “Eat less, or your teeth will ache, and your mom will say I’m spoiling you again.”

Recalling that, Tan Yanqing clearly liked them.

Yet now, the candy she placed on the desk was put right back by Tan Yanqing.

This scene happened to be caught by Jian You.

Jian You let out a cold laugh. Standing beside Jian Hao, she didn’t even bother with sarcasm and went straight to the point: “Did my mom give you allowance money just so you could suck up to other people?”

Jian Hao shifted her gaze from the sour candy and pulled two “Zai Zai” lollipops from her pocket. Holding them up to Jian You’s face, she said with a grin: “One must learn to share~”

Jian You took the candy, tossed one onto Zhu Xinsui’s desk, and asked: “Xinsui, are you really not going to sign up for an event?”

Zhu Xinsui picked up the lollipop and thanked her slowly. She didn’t eat it but gripped it in her hand, looking at Jian You. “I’m not good at anything. I don’t know what to sign up for.”

The school was organizing a sports meet. To celebrate the Olympics, even the seniors—who usually didn’t participate in anything except studying—had to sign up. Each class needed at least ten people.

As the Sports Rep, this task naturally fell to Jian You. She asked around, but almost no one wanted to join.

Jian Hao was press-ganged by Jian You into the long jump.

Hearing them talk, Jian Hao looked at Zhu Xinsui: “Why don’t you do the long jump like me? Just jump once to make up the numbers.”

Jian You: “How can you think like that? If you enter, you should aim for first place and break records.”

Zhu Xinsui was about to agree, but hearing Jian You say that, she immediately hesitated. “Then I can’t. I’ll just embarrass our class.”

Jian You was at a loss for words, totally unprepared for that reaction. She scrambled to fix it: “As long as you try your best, it’s not embarrassing whether you get first or not.”

“Exactly, exactly!” Jian Hao echoed.

Zhu Xinsui hesitated, then nodded. “Then I’ll sign up for the long jump.”

Jian You smirked. “Got it.”

While the three of them were chatting heatedly, Jian Hao’s gaze fell on Tan Yanqing’s lonely back in the front. She looked up and asked Jian You: “What other events are there? How many people are you short?”

“The usuals are covered. Only the 1,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs have no takers. Think about it—half our class is out of breath after an 800-meter run; who would volunteer for long distance?” Jian You leaned against the desk, speaking lazily. “Every event needs a representative, so I signed myself up.”

Jian Hao: “How about I find someone for you?”

Jian You looked her up and down. “If I can’t even get someone, you can?”

Jian Hao grinned and poked Tan Yanqing’s back with her finger. “Tan Yanqing, how about we sign up for the 5,000-meter together?”

Jian You: “…” She stood up and slapped Jian Hao’s hand away. “Are you sick or something?”

Jian Hao blinked innocently. “No.”

Jian You propped one hand on the desk and the other on her hip. “Then what do you mean by asking her to sign up?”

“She runs fast.”

“How do you know she runs fast?”

“Because she has a good build and long legs.” Jian Hao turned to ask Zhu Xinsui, “Right?”

Zhu Xinsui nodded.

Jian Hao looked back at Jian You, only to see her wearing a broad “smile.”

Jian You: (^_^)

It was a teeth-gritting smile that translated to one sentence: You are so dead.

Since she was a child, whenever she messed up and Jian You looked at her with that smile, Jian Hao knew a spanking wasn’t far off.

Jian Hao blinked cutely in self-defense. “You said you didn’t have enough people. I’m just trying to help!”

Acting cute was shameful, but effective. Jian You stopped bickering and scoffed. “She won’t run.”

Tan Yanqing hadn’t participated in the sports meets in tenth or eleventh grade. Now in senior year, with studies being so intense, long-distance running required practice time. A “study demon” like Tan Yanqing—who wished a day had 28 hours so she could borrow 4 from the next day to study—would never participate.

But as soon as she finished speaking, a cold response came from the front seat: “I’ll run.”

Jian You raised an eyebrow, staring at her back. She was certain Tan Yanqing was doing this just to spite her.

She laughed. “Fine. Then I’ll run the 5,000, too.”

Jian Hao asked worriedly: “Won’t it be bad if you run the 1,000 and then the 5,000?”

“They aren’t on the same day.”

Tan Yanqing stood up and turned to look at Jian You.

Jian You lifted her chin provocatively. “A new KFC opened on the corner. Whoever runs slower has to buy the burgers.”

Tan Yanqing’s lips twitched—it was only a tiny curve, but Jian Hao swore it was the first expression other than a “cold face” she had seen from Tan Yanqing since traveling here.

In that eye contact, Jian Hao smelled a thick scent of gunpowder. She leaned back and whispered to Zhu Xinsui: “They won’t start fighting, will they?”

“Huh?” Zhu Xinsui looked dazed. “Why would they fight? Aren’t they supposed to be running?”

Jian Hao: “…”

“Sign me up for the 1,000-meter as well,” Tan Yanqing said before turning to leave her seat. However, the moment she walked out, she glanced back at Jian Hao.

About ten seconds after she left, Jian Hao also got up. Jian You didn’t mind and sat down to talk to Zhu Xinsui.

When Jian Hao exited the classroom, she saw Tan Yanqing standing by the corridor window.

The trees outside swayed gently, their deep green stretching into the window frame. That surging greenery gave the “white iceberg” that was Tan Yanqing a touch of approachability.

Jian Hao smiled and walked over. “Look! We’re totally on the same wavelength.”

She knew a single look from Tan Yanqing meant “come out.”

She stood beside Tan Yanqing. “Can I call you Yanyan like Zhu Xinsui does? Or Qingqing? Or maybe…” Jian Hao found it hard to say “Yanqing” directly; it felt a bit like insubordination. She pursed her lips and changed it. “Tao Tao?”

The school playground was right behind the teaching building. Since standing at the window, Tan Yanqing’s gaze had been fixed on the track.

As Jian Hao said those last two syllables, Tan Yanqing turned to look at her.

Facing Tan Yanqing’s emotionless eyes, Jian Hao said with a smile: “Do you know you have peach-blossom eyes? The kind that look beautiful when they smile.”

Of course, she didn’t call her Tao Tao (Peach) just because of her eye shape. “Tao Tao” was the secret nickname she’d had for Tan Yanqing in her heart during all those years of her secret crush. Only she knew it. She was just taking advantage of the fact that Tan Yanqing wasn’t “Auntie Tan” yet to boldly use it once.

She stared at the expressionless Tan Yanqing and added: “But you look good even when you don’t smile.”

“You look good no matter what.”

And I could never get tired of looking at you.

After finishing, Jian Hao leaned on the windowsill and looked out at the playground. She didn’t ask Tan Yanqing why she’d called her out; if there was something, Tan Yanqing would say it. It was better to just cherish this time alone with her.

The noise from the playground swirled in through the open window along with the wind.

The breeze blew back the bangs on Jian Hao’s forehead. Beneath them, her squinting, smiling eyes shone like light into the cracks of Tan Yanqing’s heart.

Tan Yanqing, who usually ignored Jian Hao, finally spoke up of her own accord. But the question she asked made Jian Hao’s heart jump.

“Who are you exactly?” Tan Yanqing’s tone was faint. “Why are you faking amnesia?”

Jian Hao instinctively turned her head, meeting Tan Yanqing’s icy gaze.

“What are you talking about…”

She knew Tan Yanqing’s capabilities. Fearing exposure, she didn’t dare hold the gaze and turned back to the playground, trying to act natural.

No joke—the person in front of her would eventually become an elite officer in the Nanqing Police Bureau. Even the slightest slip-up would be caught.

Jian Hao acted speechless. “What would I gain by faking amnesia? I want to find my family and know who I am more than anyone.”

She glared at Tan Yanqing indignantly. “I gave you candy, and if you don’t want it, fine—but why suspect me?! Why are you so mean to me?”

Little did she know, her interrogation only made her look more guilty.

Tan Yanqing’s brow arched. “I didn’t ask you to buy it for me,” she said coldly.

“Why can’t I buy it for you if you like it?”

Jian Hao raised her arm to cover her eyes, pretending to wipe away tears. Sniffling, she said: “I just wanted to be friends with you…”

She looked quite pitiful.

For no reason at all, Tan Yanqing’s heart skipped a beat. Her lips moved, but her brow remained furrowed and she didn’t say a word.

Jian Hao waited two seconds, then continued whimpering: “Student Tan, you meanie!”

With that, Jian Hao ran away “crying.”

When she reached the corner and confirmed Tan Yanqing wasn’t following, Jian Hao let out a huge sigh of relief.

That was close.

Almost didn’t pull that off.