Back to Auntie’s School Days - Chapter 9

Tan Yanqing exhaled softly, and the emotion in her eyes reverted to its original state.

She turned and began walking forward, her voice low. “No need.”

Jian Hao let out an “Eh!” and scooted the bike forward with one foot on the ground, keeping pace beside her.

“Don’t be like that~”

“Xinsui only let me borrow this bike once. I want to ride it a bit longer, so just let me take you home~”

Her tone was soft and wheedling, but not obnoxious. It sounded piteous instead, making one want to grant her request immediately.

Tan Yanqing glanced between the bike and the girl. “Where is Suisui?”

“My mo—”

Jian Hao’s tongue slipped. Meeting Tan Yanqing’s slightly arched eyebrow, she let out a cough to cover it up. “I mean… since I’m riding her bike, she naturally has nothing to ride. What’s she to do? Well~” She drawled like she was performing a comedy routine. “Naturally, Jian You has to take her back.”

Tan Yanqing’s gaze remained flat.

It seemed the whispering in her ear this morning was indeed about swapping the bike.

“But Xinsui told me not to tell you,” Jian Hao said, blinking. “She was afraid you’d mind.”

Tan Yanqing: “But you told me anyway.”

Jian Hao laughed and patted the back rack. “If you get on, I’ll tell you why.”

Tan Yanqing followed her gesture. Jian Hao had somehow found a cushion to pad the back seat of the bicycle.

One could see the effort she’d put in.

But—why?

“Come on, come on!” Jian Hao urged. “We’re blocking the way.”

We. Jian Hao had bundled herself and Tan Yanqing together.

Tan Yanqing looked up, gazing at Jian Hao’s face. Jian Hao seemed unable to see her resistance and was smiling at her quite happily.

She wondered if Jian Hao was simply scatterbrained, a bit dim, or something else entirely.

The path behind them was indeed showing signs of a bottleneck, and partly to find out what Jian Hao was up to, Tan Yanqing moved.

Watching Tan Yanqing get on, Jian Hao felt the sudden weight on the bike. Her lips quirked up as she pedaled forward. “Sit tight. If you’re afraid of falling, just hold onto me.”

Tan Yanqing, naturally, did not hold onto her.

Jian Hao didn’t mind. The person was behind her anyway. One step at a time.

Jian Hao knew exactly where Tan Yanqing lived. Tan Yanqing hadn’t moved for over thirty years; she lived in the same place now as she would in the future.

Back in 2025, Jian Hao also biked to school and sometimes stayed at Tan Yanqing’s house. She knew the route from school to the house so well she could tell you where the lights were and where to turn with her eyes closed; she had even explored all the winding back alleys.

Even though it was 2008 and the roads had changed slightly, Jian Hao wouldn’t lose her way.

But she had overlooked one problem.

As she familiarly navigated a turn at an intersection, a toneless voice sounded from behind her:

“How do you know where I live?”

Jian Hao’s heart skipped a beat.

She gave a light cough and cleared her throat. “I don’t.”

She didn’t stop, continuing to pedal. “It’s just that Xinsui mentioned where you live. I just headed in the direction she told me. I forgot to ask you.”

Jian Hao thought up an excuse lightning-fast, but Tan Yanqing still caught a hint of unnaturalness.

Tan Yanqing: “So, being amnesiac, how do you know which road leads to which intersection?”

“…”

Agh!!!

Jian Hao screamed like a marmot in her head, but her face remained calm. She stopped by the roadside and turned to look at Tan Yanqing.

Tan Yanqing lifted her gaze, her eyes full of suspicion regarding the amnesia.

Jian Hao looked helpless. She pointed at the side of the road and chuckled. “My Miss Marple, I have amnesia, not a cognitive disability.”

Tan Yanqing looked at the street sign Jian Hao was pointing to. She was silent for two seconds before turning back. “If you didn’t remember, it would be impossible to be this familiar with the route.”

“I have a natural sense of direction,” Jian Hao said.

Tan Yanqing’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t say anything more. She looked away, avoiding Jian Hao’s gaze.

“So, can I keep riding now?”

A few seconds after she asked, a toneless “Mhm” reached her ears.

Jian Hao’s eyes curved in a smile. She stepped on the pedals again and continued toward Tan Yanqing’s house.

But this time, she didn’t act so familiar. Whenever they reached a turn, she would check the street signs, acting a bit unsure, and even asked Tan Yanqing for her specific address.

Tan Yanqing didn’t say anything else about it, but Jian Hao couldn’t help asking: “Why do you think I’m faking amnesia?”

“People with amnesia have a vacant look in their eyes, but you’re different—”

Far from having any fear, she looked like she had a goal she was determined to reach.

Tan Yanqing looked at Jian Hao’s back. “Your eyes are focused; they hold a certain light.”

Hearing this, Jian Hao was surprised by Tan Yanqing’s keen observation. She joked, “Maybe it’s because I’m a descendant of the Light?”

She was just kidding, but she didn’t expect Tan Yanqing to ask: “Is it moonlight or sunlight?”

Jian Hao found it funny. Was “Auntie Tan” this cute when she was young?

“What do you think it is?”

By now, the streetlights had come on. Cars on the road had their headlights on, and the surrounding shops displayed colorful neon signs.

Jian Hao rode at a steady pace. These lights flickered through Tan Yanqing’s eyes, making her say unconsciously:

“Everything that can glow.”

Jian Hao was incredulous, her face lit with pleasure. “You think that highly of me?”

But Tan Yanqing didn’t follow up. Instead, she changed the subject.

“How do you know about Marple? Do you like detective novels?”

Jian Hao had already raised her guard. Faced with Tan Yanqing’s attempt to trip her up, she replied slowly, “I don’t know. It just came out.”

She then asked with feigned confusion: “Who was Marple again?”

“Agatha Christie,” Tan Yanqing offered a hint.

Jian Hao pretended to think for a few seconds. “I can’t recall. No impression.”

As she finished, she heard a light chuckle from behind.

Jian Hao turned her head quickly.

She saw Tan Yanqing’s habitually cold peach-blossom eyes crinkled with a smile. It was as if the biting winter had passed, replaced by the blooming flowers of spring and summer.

But it was only for an instant. Noticing Jian Hao looking at her, the smile in Tan Yanqing’s eyes slowly faded.

Jian Hao thought it was a pity.

She asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Tan Yanqing lazily lifted her eyelids. “I’m not allowed to laugh?”

Jian Hao: “.”

She had a strong feeling Tan Yanqing was laughing at the fact that she was faking it—badly—yet insisting on continuing the act.

“Anyway, the police will find my family in a few days. Maybe my memory will return then.”

The person behind her didn’t respond.

Jian Hao felt more and more guilty.

If she’d known, she wouldn’t have told Zhu Xinsui she had amnesia. Wouldn’t it have been better to just present herself as Jian You’s cousin?

Jian Hao said, “If you’re really bothered by where I came from, you can just treat me as Jian You’s cousin.”

The person behind still didn’t respond. After a while, she asked, “Since you’re staying at Jian You’s house, you must know she dislikes me. So why did you give me candy?”

“She doesn’t dislike you. She just thinks…” Jian Hao stopped. She had promised Jian You to keep it a secret.

She paused and said, “As for why… it’s the same reason I’m taking you home.”

Just then, the bike stopped in front of the fence of a certain two-story detached house.

Tan Yanqing got off.

She didn’t head inside immediately, but stayed by the bike, waiting for Jian Hao to tell her the reason.

“I want to be friends with you.”

Jian Hao held out her right hand. “Tan Yanqing, let’s be friends.”

Tan Yanqing looked at Jian Hao’s extended hand, her lashes lowered as she thought about something.

Jian Hao waited for over ten seconds. Just as she thought Tan Yanqing wouldn’t take it, she gave a sheepish laugh, about to withdraw her hand and change the subject. Then she saw Tan Yanqing reach into her pocket and pull out two small bags. Before she could see them clearly, Tan Yanqing’s hand, holding the items, clasped hers.

She felt the chill of Tan Yanqing’s fingertips and the coolness of the plastic packaging.

Tan Yanqing looked up at her, her tone flat. “For you.”

With that, Tan Yanqing withdrew her hand and turned to walk home.

Jian Hao looked down at the two bags of “Sour Girl” candies in her hand and laughed.

She looked up. Tan Yanqing had already entered the house and closed the door.

But she still shouted toward the house, “Thanks! I really like them!!”

“See you tomorrow!!!”

Inside the dark house, behind the dim door, Tan Yanqing leaned her backpack against the door and rested her back against it.

Hearing the shout from outside, a tiny smile tugged at the corners of her lips on her pale face.