After Dreaming That the Top Student in My Grade Was My Wife - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Way of Making Friends

Tao Shuran was shaken awake.

She was sleeping soundly when she felt a figure leaning over. One hand rested on her waist, while the other stroked her face.

Beside her ear was a somewhat familiar voice: “Baby, wake up. We’re here.”

What was going on? Wasn’t she lying in bed sleeping? Why was she leaning back in a car now?

While Tao Shuran was still trying to figure out the situation, she opened her eyes in a daze and looked directly into Jiang Hanqi’s face, which was tilted extremely close to her own.

Jiang Hanqi was wearing makeup. Her brow peaks were drawn slightly higher, giving her whole person a touch of aggressiveness, yet her eyes were full of smiles as she gazed at her. She spoke soft, tender words, her cherry-colored lips opening and closing, her breath like orchids. The extreme proximity allowed Tao Shuran to clearly see the skin on her neck—white to the point of transparency and glowing—and smell the faint, lingering dark fragrance wafting from her collar.

With a whoosh, Tao Shuran knew her face had turned red again.

“The Great Scholar condescended to give me academic pointers just yesterday, and yet I’m fantasizing about her in my dreams again!”

Jiang Hanqi thought her wife looked absolutely adorable while dazed from sleep. She couldn’t help but repeatedly pinch and knead Tao Shuran’s face. She leaned her head against the back of the passenger seat, resting against Tao Shuran’s head: “Baby, you’re so sleepy. Do you want to sleep a bit longer?”

Tao Shuran, desperate to escape the current situation, nodded frantically as if receiving a decree. Just as she was about to close her eyes and prepare to return to reality, she saw Jiang Hanqi smiling and leaning down slightly to flatten her seat for her.

“No, no, no! How can we be this close!”

Tao Shuran hurriedly scrambled up, wanting to send Jiang Hanqi away.

They were in a parking lot. If they were already home, Jiang Hanqi would definitely have told her to hold on for a moment and sleep after getting inside. Therefore, this must be an outside parking lot. Jiang Hanqi was also wearing makeup; it must be because there was something important to do.

After finishing her deduction, Tao Shuran spoke up: “I’ll just sleep here by myself. You go go ahead and do your business.”

Unexpectedly, Jiang Hanqi suddenly let out a laugh: “Baby, you finally saw reason. I said last week that I’d have someone handle getting the supplies, but you insisted that Rui-rui’s things must be picked out personally by you.”

Jiang Hanqi brushed back her bangs, her voice gentle: “Then sleep well. We’re going home now. I’ve had Xiao Wu pack the luggage for the winter camp; it’ll be sent over later.”

As she spoke, she restored the seat to its original position and buckled the seatbelt, intending to drive back.

“No, no, no.” Tao Shuran quickly made a judgment by reflex. “It’s better to pick them out ourselves. Let’s make it quick.”

Stop joking. Going home meant the two of them being alone. By comparison, she was much more willing to browse a mall with Jiang Hanqi; it wouldn’t be as awkward in public.

As for this “Rui-rui,” it sounded like their child. However, she clearly remembered that in yesterday’s dream, Rui-rui had already gone to winter camp. Why wasn’t the luggage ready yet?

Tao Shuran quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door, urging Jiang Hanqi to set off. The world outside was spacious and bright; the winter wind was moist and slightly cool, relieving more than half of Tao Shuran’s nervousness.

Jiang Hanqi walked beside Tao Shuran and naturally took her hand, their fingers interlocking. While talking, she liked to restlessly scratch Tao Shuran’s palm with her thumb: “It just so happens the project on my hands is about to wrap up. It’s rare to send the little ancestor away once every six months; let’s pick a place to have some fun too.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Tao Shuran thought it sounded fine, so she nodded.

“Last time you said you wanted to eat Tongcheng noodles. I really can’t manage to make that topping. How about we take this opportunity to go again? I promise to find a master and learn properly this time.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Tongcheng was a famous water town scenic area near Shencheng. They indeed were in Tongcheng yesterday. She continued to nod.

“I’ll get up two hours early tomorrow to do some overtime, then go to the office after taking Rui-rui to school. I’ll hold the summary meeting tomorrow. If there are no problems after watching over things for a bit the morning after, we’ll head out in the afternoon.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Tao Shuran had no clue what project she was talking about. In short, nodding was the right answer.

“Then, look…”

Before Jiang Hanqi could finish her sentence, Tao Shuran suddenly felt herself being pulled away from the space by a violent force.

At 5:20 AM, the bed-lounging Tao Shuran was woken up by Mother Tao. She climbed up with a bitter face, repeatedly rubbing her eyes, scolding herself inwardly.

At 5:40 AM, under Mother Tao’s supervision, Tao Shuran drank every last drop of her noodle soup before finally being released.

At 5:45 AM, Tao Shuran walked to the entrance like a wandering ghost to change her shoes. Her consciousness cleared up a bit as she tied her laces and ordered a dish from Mother Tao: “Mom, I want two cartons of yogurt.”

During lunch break yesterday, she found a carton of yogurt stuffed in her bag. At the time, she thought about giving one to Jiang Hanqi as a thank-you for the notebook. But there were others in the class, and Jiang Hanqi had that ‘keep away’ vibe. She had spent the whole lunch break agonizing and hadn’t summoned the courage to go over.

So, she would make it up to her today.

Thinking this, Tao Shuran stepped out the door clutching two cartons of yogurt.

The house she lived in now had been allocated to Mother Tao by the district education bureau decades ago, and they had never moved. Furthermore, when choosing a high school, she had aimed for No. 5 High School solely for its ranking. Consequently, the walk from Tao Shuran’s home to the school took twenty minutes, crossing two intersections.

Halfway there, Tao Shuran suddenly caught sight of a figure ahead: long hair draped over the shoulders, wearing the No. 5 High School winter uniform.

Although No. 5 High School didn’t have explicit rules regarding girls’ hairstyles, after being advised by homeroom teachers, they usually chose cleaner, more student-like styles. Like Tao Shuran, who always wore a ponytail to school and got her bangs trimmed as soon as they reached her eyes.

In Tao Shuran’s mind, there were indeed many students in other classes who followed their individuality and didn’t want to be restrained, but in the Demonstration Classes, the only one who dared to keep long hair over her shoulders was Jiang Hanqi. The homeroom teacher had emphasized it once during enrollment, but she had dismissed it with a casual “It’s a hassle.”

Tao Shuran knew about Jiang Hanqi’s fear of hassle.

As the physics class representative, Tao Shuran was considered a minor class official. From time to time, she would hear teachers and classmates mention this overly self-centered student. Probably in Jiang Hanqi’s mind, everyone was a hassle, and going to school was just because she was too lazy to find an alternative path for higher education herself.

Tao Shuran compared the figure and estimated the probability of being able to call out to her halfway.

“Jiang—Jiang Hanqi!” Tao Shuran jogged up.

Hearing the voice, Jiang Hanqi stopped her pace and turned to look at her. She only gave a faint “Morning” in return, her voice devoid of any surprise.

Perhaps it was because the person in the dreams had been too gentle for two days in a row, giving her many false impressions. Even though the other party’s features were still and her face was expressionless, Tao Shuran remained composed.

Her finger traced a circle on the smooth yogurt lid. Summoning enough courage, she took half a step forward. she flashed a smile, her eyes curving into little crescents.

“Here, have some yogurt.” Tao Shuran handed a cup out.

Jiang Hanqi looked at her face, then back at Tao Shuran, without speaking.

A matter of mere seconds felt like an awkward stalemate to Tao Shuran. Just as she felt she was making a fool of herself and wanted to withdraw her hand, Jiang Hanqi had finished her deliberation.

According to a reference book she had flipped through last month, if one wants to establish an intimate relationship with others, one should create opportunities when none exist. If taking the initiative seems too difficult, one should at least be active enough when in a passive position, giving the other person further subconscious hints.

For example, the commute to and from school is usually a relatively relaxed environment; walking the same path is a great time to start a pleasant topic. And when faced with an invitation or help from the other party, it is best to accept. On one hand, it can bring emotions closer; on the other hand, it lays the groundwork for a second narrowing of the distance when returning the favor.

Tao Shuran calling out to her on the road proved that the opportunity created by leaving half an hour early was reasonable. In the appropriate scenario, accepting the other party’s gift… if this logic holds…

“Thank you.” Jiang Hanqi raised her hand and took the yogurt, her expression unruffled.

Now that she had accepted the gift, their relationship should have made some progress.

Jiang Hanqi lowered her head slightly, pretending to casually glance at Tao Shuran walking side-by-side with her, performing self-affirmation in her heart: “The fact that we are going to school together right now is exactly a sign of progress in our relationship.”

Next, she should consider returning the favor.

The silent atmosphere maintained until they reached the teaching building. Miraculously, neither of them felt awkward.

Jiang Hanqi was thinking seriously, her brow slightly furrowed, because she felt she couldn’t send a return gift that was full of heart and happened to be something the other party needed and would like.

Meanwhile, Tao Shuran had already begun mentally reciting the biology textbook. When her thoughts drifted, they occasionally strayed back to the dream scene: “Is it because we aren’t holding hands right now that Jiang Hanqi has become silent?”

Of course, this thought only flashed through her mind before being immediately chased away by Tao Shuran.

Tao Shuran signed for the keys. When they went in, the manager auntie was still watching her drama, nestled in her chair with a cup of goji berry tea. She stopped watching the show and just went “Oh-ho-ho-ho” as she watched the two of them sign for the keys, smiling at who-knows-what.

Tao Shuran had actually noticed that Jiang Hanqi glanced at her from time to time along the way. It wasn’t until the signing that she was certain Jiang Hanqi was looking at her hand.

Because it had been exposed to the wind the whole way, her fingers had turned a bit red, and the blue veins on the back of her hand were more obvious.

“Um, it’s not very pretty.” Tao Shuran’s hand that wasn’t holding the yogurt secretly retracted into her sleeve.

The door lock clicked. The two walked into the classroom one after the other. Tao Shuran sat in her seat and began organizing her backpack.

Jiang Hanqi’s voice suddenly rang out: “Your water bottle seems to be a straw bottle.”

“Uh, yeah, it is.” Tao Shuran found it a bit strange but answered honestly. Straw bottles were pretty and didn’t break easily; was there a problem?

Jiang Hanqi nodded, not considering whether Tao Shuran’s position allowed her to see it.

When Tao Shuran took out the physics test paper she had done last night, intending to review her mistakes, Jiang Hanqi suddenly sat in the seat in front of her. She handed her a glass water bottle filled with hot water, encased in a cotton sleeve: “Hold this for a while. The classroom needs ventilation; turning on the air conditioner is bad for the body.”

Jiang Hanqi was a bit nervous. She had rehearsed these words in her head several times before speaking, yet they still weren’t smooth. But Tao Shuran immediately understood the situation, and so she smiled again, her eyes curving completely.

“Mhm, I don’t like using the air conditioner either.” She said thank you and took the water bottle. Cradling it in her arms, for some reason, her heart felt a bit warm too.

But the atmosphere immediately fell back into silence. Tao Shuran rubbed the water bottle, pretending to look at the test paper on her desk, not understanding why Jiang Hanqi was still sitting in front of her.

After another moment, Jiang Hanqi spoke again: “Questions 13 and 17 are the same type. You don’t need to transcribe them twice.”

“?” Tao Shuran looked up blankly.

“I… I’ll mark them for you.” Jiang Hanqi pointed at Tao Shuran’s exercise book, indicating she could help categorize the question types.

Tao Shuran waved her hands repeatedly. Although having a Big Boss mark the key points was a good thing, having been educated in the way of self-restraint and propriety, she could never get used to receiving help from others.

She picked a random reason to refuse, saying her review plan was full and she didn’t need it.

Jiang Hanqi followed the gesture of Tao Shuran’s finger to look at the jam-packed schedule. She gave a “Good” and returned to her seat.

“Sigh. I thought that since we talked yesterday and went to school together today, the relationship could have a qualitative leap.”

“So hard. Much harder than studying.”

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