After Dreaming That the Top Student in My Grade Was My Wife - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Found You

Since Arbor Day fell on a Sunday this year, the school arranged the planting day for Friday. Because the location was set within the school grounds, it naturally followed that this year’s freshmen lost a day of travel holiday.

During the early self-study period, even the students in the freshman experimental class were distracted one by one. The homeroom teacher was playing with his phone on the podium, understanding the students’ mood perfectly and having no intention of interfering.

Tao Shuran spent the entire class period in a daze. Propping up her head, she stared down at her textbook, her right hand clutching a pen and drawing aimlessly in her sketchbook.

Last night’s dream was very long and did not end abruptly.

In the dream, that day was actually November 13th—her birthday.

After picking up Rui Rui, the driver took them directly to a holiday villa Jiang Hanqi had prepared. Jiang Hanqi stood waiting at the door, reaching out a hand to Tao Shuran with a smile.

Before Tao Shuran could place her hand in hers, Rui Rui excitedly grabbed Tao Shuran in a big hug, hanging onto her waist and shouting: “Mommy Darling, Happy Birthday!! Rui Rui is the first to give a blessing, and today I’ve held Mommy Darling for way longer than Jiang Jiang has!”

Tao Shuran saw Jiang Hanqi exchange a helpless smile with her.

However, Rui Rui didn’t get to savor her victory for long. After the family of three finished dinner, they watched a classic movie together in an outdoor cinema set up in the small garden. The little girl didn’t care for such things and fell asleep from boredom right at the beginning of the movie. Jiang Hanqi, very satisfied, had the assistant carry their daughter upstairs to bed.

In the cool, water-like night, only she and Jiang Hanqi remained.

Tao Shuran had never had the habit of celebrating her birthday since she was a child.

Her mom and dad didn’t like remembering dates, and schoolwork was usually busy; birthdays were nothing more than exchanging gifts with a good friend or, at most, a single meal.

This was the first time Tao Shuran truly felt the importance of a sense of ritual.

From the moment she walked into this decorated venue, her mood had been rising and falling, and even the chaotic thoughts from reality were smoothed away.

“Ranran.” Jiang Hanqi’s voice, full of laughter, rang in her ear. “You’re holding it a bit crooked.”

Tao Shuran was pulled back from the scenes of memory, only to see Jiang Hanqi squatting on the ground looking up at her, her own silhouette clearly reflected in those clear eyes.

“Oh, oh.” Tao Shuran felt a bit embarrassed, holding the sapling upright in the soil to make it easy for Jiang Hanqi to measure the size of the root ball.

“Ranran,” Jiang Hanqi, busy with her work, spoke again, “I’m just a little worried so I wanted to ask if you feel offended you don’t have to say lately, your state seems to have been not quite right. You’ve spaced out many times today.”

Tao Shuran hid her face behind the branches and leaves of the sapling to prevent Jiang Hanqi from seeing her reddened face.

Since waking up today, she had been somewhat absent-minded, embarrassed to look at Jiang Hanqi yet having her mind completely filled with her. It just so happened that there was no important coursework today, so her soul started leaving her body from time to time.

Jiang Hanqi was truly excessive, running into her dreams to give her surprises on one hand, while asking her if she felt offended on the other.

“I, I—I didn’t sleep well last night.” Working in dreams is too exhausting. Tao Shuran gave a reasonable explanation.

“Is it… that you’ve slept poorly all week?” Jiang Hanqi, having measured the distance, began marking points on the ground, her question sounding a bit hesitant. She couldn’t be sure if this sentence was an excuse from Tao Shuran or if she truly hadn’t slept well; if it were fake, she shouldn’t press further, but if it were true, she ought to do something.

Tao Shuran lowered her eyes. Returning from the dream world to reality, it was indeed time to think about that question.

She was silent for a while, weighing how to speak: “Jiang Hanqi…”

“Mm, I’m here.” Jiang Hanqi finished marking the points, stood up, and steadied the sapling.

The weight in Tao Shuran’s hands was instantly halved. Due to the closing distance, Jiang Hanqi’s lowered voice was still extremely clear: “No matter what you want to say, I am always here to listen.”

Tao Shuran instinctively picked at the tree bark, speaking in a low voice: “Jiang Hanqi, I’ve heard that both your parents are PhDs who studied abroad. Do they have any expectations for you? Hmm, for example, hoping you’ll follow in your mother’s footsteps, becoming a leader among people because they accomplished it, so they naturally feel you should too, or even do better.”

“These past two days, I’ve also been recalling the evaluations I’ve heard others give of you. People say how outstanding Jiang Hanqi is, rather than saying ‘Dr. Jiang’s daughter’ is this or that. I think it’s because you are especially, especially amazing that you can break away from this initial identity and become yourself. And you toward Rui… er, no.” Tao Shuran braked just in time, trying hard to recover, “And you can do slightly difficult things very well; you’ll definitely surpass your parents in the future, so you won’t be defined by others, right?”

“Did you hear… some specific words?” Jiang Hanqi’s brow furrowed, her expression looking somewhat displeased.

“Last week when I recommended the plan to the Youth League Committee teacher, that’s what they said. Roughly like, ‘Ah, truly worthy of being Director Tao’s daughter,’ and such. Actually, I’ve heard this kind of thing so, so much since I was a child. Every teacher and student in every school knows my mother is in the Education Bureau.

Teachers give me extra care and little positions to hold, and that truly is because of my mother. But every exam I took to enter primary school, middle school, and high school every step was one I walked through my own hard work. Yet, from time to time, there are still people who say…”

Tao Shuran bit her lip, her voice turning dry as she continued: “…say that people with connections are just different, say that I’m in the experimental class because of my relationship, even say that the exam questions were leaked to me, haha.”

Too many rumors can spread wildly without needing verification, like sharp wood splinters, being driven into her heart one by one since ten years ago—small, yet difficult to remove.

Jiang Hanqi’s expression grew even darker. She had an impulse to take Tao Shuran’s hand, but looking at her own hands wearing work gloves and steadying the tree trunk, she could only remain silent.

“My parents’ expectations for me are especially high—of course, that’s just for me; Jiang Hanqi, don’t laugh at me. They hope I’ll get into Shanghai University or Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and in the future either become a university professor or go into politics and climb very high, haha.” Tao Shuran paused before continuing, “It feels as if I’m not worthy of being their daughter if I don’t achieve it.

And once I do achieve something, the praise that should be there becomes an evaluation of ‘You’ve finally fulfilled the obligation you were supposed to.’ But why? I’m the one waking up early and sleeping late, I’m the one rushing from one tutoring class to another, and we wrote that plan together—why is it all taken for granted…”

Tao Shuran’s voice gradually lowered. She stood there blankly, not knowing what she was thinking.

Jiang Hanqi blinked, remembering something. She gave a light laugh, gestured for Tao Shuran to start digging the hole, and then bent down herself: “Ranran, do you know when I first heard of you?”

As if she knew what she was about to say, Tao Shuran’s expression became embarrassed: “Was it last summer break when the experimental classes were being divided?” The family backgrounds of students who could enter No. 5 were all quite good, especially in the “double excellent” classes, so it wasn’t strange to know before even meeting that there was a student tucked in by the Education Bureau.

Thinking this, Tao Shuran pursed her lips even tighter.

“No,” Jiang Hanqi laughed even more happily, as if reminiscing about a very beautiful thing, “It was on the eve of graduating from primary to middle school, at a district arts performance.”

“You went on stage that day too, playing the adapted second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. When the performance was just being announced that day, I was thinking: Is this a piece for a primary school student to perform?” After Jiang Hanqi spoke, her lighthearted tone gradually became steady, “But the teachers chatting nearby started talking one after another, saying ‘That’s Director Tao’s daughter,’ ‘Director Tao’s daughter, no wonder,’ and ‘These kinds of galas are bound to have a few children of officials inserted.’ They chatted from the beginning to the end.”

Tao Shuran lowered her head, staring at a strand of Jiang Hanqi’s hair that had poked up as she squatted slightly, and said in a small voice: “What they said was the truth. If it weren’t for my parents, I wouldn’t have learned piano, nor would I have had the courage to recommend myself during the program preparation.”

“I remember you were wearing a pure white little formal dress that day. I was sitting too far back to see your face clearly, but you performed exceptionally well. Amidst the thunderous applause at the curtain call, I don’t know how much was sincere, but mine was certainly for you. That was the only time I’ve ever applauded.”

Jiang Hanqi’s hands didn’t stop while she spoke, appearing as though she were truly just having an idle chat while working.

She finished digging the tree pit, and Tao Shuran immediately suspended the sapling over it to make it easy for her to compare the size.

Jiang Hanqi nodded to indicate it was fine and stood up. She was about half a head taller than Tao Shuran, yet Tao Shuran felt like she was looking at her on an equal level: “So Ranran, actually those things you’re thinking about are not important. Their eyes are full of money, power, and wealth, their eyes are veiled and their ears are blocked—that is their regret.”

“You just spoke about me. My parents… of course they have expectations for me, but I don’t actually know specifically what they are. I won’t listen, because it has nothing to do with me. I have only ever done what I am willing to do.”

“The world has barriers. Your parents are both famous figures in the education world. Before you leave the education system, it’s like standing in the shadow of a large tree; regardless of the season or whether you need shelter from the wind or heat, there is interest to be paid. If I enter the medical field in the future, I will surely live under the name ‘Little Dr. Jiang’ for a long time. All adjectives are born for the sake of definition; this has never been your problem.”

“As for parents’ expectations, you have even less need to think about those. Just like this.” Jiang Hanqi used her eyes to point at the tree roots that had been unwrapped and the soil being filled in. “We dig a pit of suitable size for it, trample the soil firm after filling, cover it with leaves, and water it, hoping it grows into a towering tree. All expectations are merely feedback after investing costs and a longing for beautiful things. The one who needs to adjust their mindset should not be you.”

“So that’s why you are toward Rui…” Tao Shuran was silent for a moment, and as soon as she opened her mouth she almost bit her tongue.

“What is it?” Jiang Hanqi filled the last bit of soil, her clear eyes quietly looking at Tao Shuran.

Tao Shuran shook her head like a rattle. She thought it over and didn’t feel this was a good opportunity to discuss child education with Jiang Hanqi.

Clearly when other people are alone they are creating ambiguity or dating, why are she and Jiang Hanqi always acting like they are preparing a sociology or psychology debate topic…

“Then, what is it… that you are willing to do?” Tao Shuran thought for a moment before asking.

She felt that she definitely had to work a bit harder. Catching up to Jiang Hanqi was impossible, but at least she could walk on the same path as her, even if only watching her back.

Jiang Hanqi suddenly laughed. She carefully examined the wooden hanging tag issued earlier that morning engraved with her and Tao Shuran’s names, signaling Tao Shuran to hang it up with her, and answered slowly: “I have been searching for that too. Unfortunately, for a long time in the past, I couldn’t find it.”

Luckily, I’ve found it now.

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