After Dreaming That the Top Student in My Grade Was My Wife - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Never Knew

Within the cramped space, steam rose. Two girls with completely opposite temperaments were gazing at each other—one with a high ponytail, a rounded nose, and eyes like shimmering water; the other with long hair over her shoulders, exquisite features, and a cold expression, yet both carried a special affection in their eyes.

Jiang Hanqi’s eyes held a hint of a smile and a slight touch of confusion, waiting for Tao Shuran to say something more.

Tao Shuran cleared her throat. She felt that if she didn’t speak now, the little deer in her heart would crash to its death: “You…”

An abrupt vibration disrupted the moment. Tao Shuran, in a sensitive emotional state, sharply noticed that the vibration was coming from Jiang Hanqi’s coat pocket. The atmosphere suddenly cooled by half. She coughed and reminded her: “Jiang Hanqi, your phone.”

Jiang Hanqi nodded, turned off the showerhead, wiped her hands with a towel, and then took the phone from her pocket, appearing somewhat displeased: “Hello.”

“Jiang Hanqi, everyone is here. Why haven’t you arrived yet?” Shao Zhuorui’s voice rang out.

“Isn’t everything already arranged?” Jiang Hanqi frowned. She recognized the caller’s voice and spoke with extreme impatience toward this uninvited intruder who had spoiled the mood.

“An unexpected situation came up. Get over here quickly.” The voice on the other end paused, then added, “Not a single person from No. 5 has shown up. Where is Tao Shuran? Or tell her to come over.”

“Fine, I’m coming over.”

Jiang Hanqi made a decision instantly and hung up the phone. When she looked up, Tao Shuran was still watching her. Her milky voice spoke: “Is it Shao Zhuorui? I heard his voice.”

“Mm.” Jiang Hanqi stroked the tips of Tao Shuran’s hair, her tone apologetic. “Ranran, I’m sorry. They need a representative from No. 5 downstairs. I can’t help you with the massage for now.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Tao Shuran waved her hands repeatedly. This tone was too familiar; she always felt this “Ranran” should have another alternative form of address…

“Make sure to rinse for a while longer, otherwise it will be very uncomfortable tomorrow. When your feet feel better, call me. I’ll come up immediately to apply medicine for you.” Jiang Hanqi’s fine brows knitted slightly. She continued to massage Tao Shuran for a while until the waiter knocked with the noodles and medicine. She went to set the items on the table, then wiped the water from her body with a towel and went downstairs.

The sky had darkened. The room, suddenly missing one person, became empty. Tao Shuran rinsed for a few more minutes but lost interest; she put the showerhead back and began to dry her feet.

Whimper.

She accidentally rubbed one of the blisters raw. Tao Shuran’s entire little face crumpled. She hung the towel casually on the sink and then, curling her soles, slowly hobbled over to the desk.

A bowl of ordinary beef lamian was steaming.

Ah, it tastes terrible.

Tao Shuran picked up the chopsticks and slurped a bit, managed to eat less than half a bowl, drank a few gulps of broth, and put the chopsticks down.

She checked the time. It was less than half an hour since the opening. According to the time Jiang Hanqi told her, it should still be early. So, Tao Shuran went back to the bathroom, took a shower, and then came out to apply the medicine.

Looking at the iodine, erythromycin ointment, and band-aids laid out on the table, Tao Shuran fell silent.

She had never had blisters before and had absolutely no idea how to handle them now. She took out her phone and hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not dial Jiang Hanqi’s number.

A girl should be independent; don’t rely on others for such a small thing.

Tao Shuran scratched her head, took a toothpick from the disposable utensil bag, and pricked the blisters one by one, making herself grimace in pain. Then she dabbed a few times with an iodine cotton ball—disinfection complete and applied band-aids to each one.

After putting on socks and walking a few steps—mm, it doesn’t feel particularly painful anymore Tao Shuran felt she was a total little genius.

The little genius Tao Shuran changed her clothes and went downstairs, slipping into the venue through the back door. From afar, she saw Jiang Hanqi standing at the side of the stage. Seeing her, Jiang Hanqi’s eyes showed surprise; she took a step forward but stopped, pulling her phone from her pocket as if to send a message.

Tao Shuran chose a table in the No. 5 Middle School section where she saw acquaintances and sat down. She gripped her phone and checked it but didn’t see a message from Jiang Hanqi. When she looked up, she found Jiang Hanqi had been intercepted again. A tall boy was standing beside her, holding a folder and pointing something out to her.

It was Shao Zhuorui. Tao Shuran remembered it was he who had called Jiang Hanqi just now.

Tao Shuran tilted her head to look toward the front of the stage, dazed for a moment, when she suddenly felt someone poke her elbow. She turned her head and saw Qi Wenwen.

“What are you looking at?” Qi Wenwen popped a piece of fruit into her mouth, teasing Tao Shuran. She knew that Tao Shuran and Jiang Hanqi had been assigned to the same dorm.

Tao Shuran realized her loss of composure. Her face turned slightly red, and she opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she heard gossip from others at the same table.

“Look, look! That boy next to Jiang Hanqi is so handsome. Is he her boyfriend?”

“Definitely. Have you ever seen Jiang Hanqi walk with anyone usually? Being that close, there’s definitely something fishy.”

“What do you mean fishy?” A helpful “insider” popped up to speak. “That’s Shao Zhuorui, the young master of the Shao family. The Shao family’s century-old family business goes without saying, and everyone knows the Zhuo family, right? Real estate giants. It’s all thanks to Young Master Shao that we’re staying in such a high-end hotel for this activity.”

“As for the Jiang family, they’re also a major family in Shanghai. Arranged marriages are inevitable. The Shao and Jiang families made a child-betrothal agreement long ago. Surely no one still doesn’t know that? Surely not, surely not?”

The “insider” winked and nudged until everyone at the table believed it, except for Qi Wenwen, who let out a scoff: “Then why did the Jiang family let Jiang Hanqi come to No. 5?”

Though the Qi family had mostly emigrated by Qi Wenwen’s generation and her parents had little social interaction left in Shanghai, Aunt Jiang’s stubborn donkey-temper was well-known since the last century. How could she possibly let her daughter enter an arranged marriage?

The “insider,” being countered, wasn’t annoyed but looked at Qi Wenwen with a hint of pity: “This is where you don’t understand. Distance creates beauty. Besides, Jiang Hanqi’s grades are so good and her personality is so cold; how much pressure would the boy be under if they were in the same school? Think about it, she refused when the school wanted her to be the Student Union president at the start of the term, so why is she planning a tiny Youth Day activity now?”

“It must be because of Shao Zhuorui. Heavens, that’s so wonderful.” A girl at the table couldn’t help but interject, and others chimed in with sentiments like “childhood sweethearts,” “a talented man and a beautiful woman,” and “a match made in heaven.”

“Insane.” Shipping people right in front of the official pairing, do you know that’s asking for a world of trouble? She had been paying close attention to her best friend’s heart and their recent dynamics. Where did this eighteenth-tier stinking younger brother Shao Zhuorui even come from?

Qi Wenwen felt very uncomfortable listening to this groundless gossip. She viciously stabbed a piece of fruit and bit into it, then yanked Tao Shuran’s sleeve, instructing: “Shuran, don’t listen to their nonsense. Don’t you know what kind of person Jiang Hanqi is?”

“Mm…” Tao Shuran nodded blankly, her mind wandering.

So Jiang Hanqi’s background is that big? Didn’t they say her family runs a hospital and makes a lot of money? Why did it suddenly turn into some ‘major family’?

She knew about the Shao family—they had made their fortune in daily chemicals last century and were now among the top tier of wealth in Shanghai. Shao Zhuorui was indeed very handsome. Just now, seeing him in a white shirt standing beside Jiang Hanqi, she also thought they looked quite well-matched.

They had started a group chat after their first meeting. For any questions, they would just find people in the group for private windows or send information via email. She hadn’t added anyone else, yet just now upstairs, Shao Zhuorui had called Jiang Hanqi’s phone directly…

Tao Shuran suddenly realized that she truly didn’t know what kind of person Jiang Hanqi was.

Why? Just a little while ago, she was looking at her, calling her ‘big friend,’ holding her hand to take her to eat delicious food, calling her ‘baby,’ her eyes full of tenderness.

Ah, right. That was a dream. That was only her dream.

Then why was it so real? So real it felt like a presence in memory rather than a fiction?

“Why?” Tao Shuran’s eyes held confusion, and her words carried an imperceptible grievance.

Qi Wenwen blinked. Tao Shuran hadn’t told her about the dreams. She was completely dazed by the direction of her friend’s emotions: “What?”

Others chatting at the table also stopped and looked toward Tao Shuran.

The more Tao Shuran thought about it, the angrier she got. Though it made no sense, she was simply going to be unreasonable: “What do you mean? Jiang Hanqi is going to marry me!”

A dead silence fell over the table for two seconds, followed by an explosion of laughter:

“Hahahahaha, Tao Shuran, you’re so fierce!”

“Did your family also make a child-betrothal agreement with the Jiangs? How did you meet?”

“Shuran, then hurry up and go catch them in the act; we want to see the drama of a love triangle.”

Tao Shuran was cute and soft-natured; most of her schoolmates had a good impression of her. At this moment, they only thought she was joking, but the laughter only felt piercing to the ears.

Tao Shuran regretted it the moment the words left her mouth. Her heart, which had been soaked in honey an hour ago, now held only acidity and bitterness.

Qi Wenwen was a direct person, but she had always known her friend was sensitive and prone to melancholy. Her action of stabbing fruit slices stopped. Holding her bowl with both hands on her knees, she looked at Tao Shuran with concern and whispered: “Shuran, are you okay?”

Tao Shuran pursed her lips tightly and shook her head, trying to keep her voice as low as possible so no one could see anything was wrong, speaking at high speed: “I’m going out for a bit.”

Then she rushed out of the venue in three steps. The crowd, seeing her run out like a gust of wind, erupted into another burst of laughter.

The No. 5 Middle School area was on the left, not far from the rostrum. Jiang Hanqi had been keeping an eye on the movement there. When the burst of laughter erupted just now, she looked over inquiringly, only to see her little girl with her head down, not knowing what she was thinking. A moment later, she saw her leave the venue, her steps so hurried they lacked any rhythm—those blisters on her feet must be hurting her to death.

Jiang Hanqi felt something was wrong. She didn’t give Shao Zhuorui a single glance. With a cold face, she placed the annotated folder and pen directly on the platform and walked toward the table where Tao Shuran had been.

“The top scholar is coming,” someone with sharp eyes at the table noticed Jiang Hanqi’s movement and whispered a reminder.

Though everyone was very open when gossiping and joking behind her back, after nearly a year as classmates, they all held a certain amount of awe toward this “God of Study” who always wore a cold face and was as unapproachable as an iceberg. The group at the table immediately went quiet—some drinking water, others playing with their phones.

“I heard you all laughing so happily just now. What were you chatting about?” In a social setting, Jiang Hanqi softened her expression, resting one hand on the back of Tao Shuran’s chair, her casual posture like that of a host greeting guests.

The group at the table remained silent. After all, it was somewhat awkward when the subject of the gossip personally came to question them.

Qi Wenwen rolled her eyes, put her bowl on the table, looked up at Jiang Hanqi, and gestured with her chin toward the exit: “Shuran left that way.”

Jiang Hanqi nodded and was about to head out when finally, an irrepressible curiosity-seeker spoke: “Jiang Hanqi, Jiang Hanqi, Tao Shuran just told us that you’re going to marry her in the future!”

“Hmm, is that so?” Jiang Hanqi’s steps halted. She lowered her eyes, her long lashes fluttering slightly, and gave a light laugh. “Yes, she’s right.”

???

Did the Big Boss Jiang just laugh? She laughed, didn’t she?

Jiang Hanqi can actually laugh! And she said “Yes”!

Yes??

The whole table was shocked, but they quickly reacted—it must be a joke, definitely a joke!

Only Qi Wenwen held her bowl and ate happily, her face full of the relief that her own pig had finally managed to push over the cabbage.

“Jiang Hanqi, hurry up and go after her. She ran out shyly just now, hahahaha.” The atmosphere at the table became lively again.

“When are you serving the wedding wine? Remember to invite us.” The teasing and joking came along with it, but one could tell from their expressions that they didn’t take the words seriously at all.

Jiang Hanqi, however, nodded seriously and began to think about the rationality of inviting high school classmates she wasn’t familiar with to the wedding banquet. Sigh, surely it’s better to discuss it with Ranran.

She turned and walked in the other direction, in an excellent mood.

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