After Dreaming That the Top Student in My Grade Was My Wife - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Cats and Coffee

The next morning, while eating breakfast, Tao Shuran was somewhat distracted.

Although she had wanted to look up some information yesterday to resolve the trouble of her dreams, when Jiang Hanqi truly didn’t appear in her dreams again, Tao Shuran felt a trace of inexplicable loss.

The winter break of her freshman year was nearly a month long; she wouldn’t see her for a whole month…

As Tao Shuran was lost in thought, her mother’s phone rang.

“Ah, little Jiang,” Tao’s mother answered the phone with a polite, formal tone. Tao Shuran figured it was one of her subordinates, but then heard her say, “Yes, yes, Ranran is already eating breakfast. Haha, she’ll need a little longer, I’ll hurry her up.”

Putting down the phone, Tao’s mother tapped the ceramic bowl with the tip of her chopsticks, making a crisp sound: “Why are you dazed? Eat quickly, don’t keep people waiting.”

“I didn’t know there was anything scheduled…” Tao Shuran recovered from her confusion, complained a bit, and lowered her head to finish eating quickly.

“It was too late yesterday, so I didn’t get a chance to tell you,” Tao’s mother stood up to help gather the clothes Tao Shuran would wear out, explaining briefly, “Your homeroom teacher wants you and some other students to write a comprehensive summary for all subjects. Since you got first place in chemistry, you’ll handle the chemistry part. Little Jiang is coming to pick you up this morning; she’s already downstairs. Remember to get along well with your classmates.”

Tao Shuran felt like her eyes were about to pop out of her head.

Li—Little Jiang.

It couldn’t be Jiang Hanqi, could it?

The sun would have to rise from the west before Jiang Hanqi would do something so selfless for the class. It sounded like she was the leader, and she even came to pick her up at her house—and a student gathering??

Besides, since when was Tao Shuran first in chemistry? She did get an A+, but she didn’t believe for a second that a monster like Jiang Hanqi didn’t get a perfect score; there was no way it would be her turn to write the summary.

Even as she changed clothes and went downstairs, Tao Shuran still felt like this must be a dream. When she stood downstairs and saw the girl sitting upright behind the car window, she felt a renewed sense of certainty in her heart.

This was the first time she had seen Jiang Hanqi in a private car.

Although she had always heard that her family ran a hospital and had enough money to last for generations, she always wore her school uniform at school and always walked, so in Tao Shuran’s eyes, Jiang Hanqi was just a smart and beautiful senior.

Until today, when she saw Jiang Hanqi sitting in the back seat of a luxurious, grand sedan, looking at her faintly.

It was truly hard to feel like it was real.

Seeing Tao Shuran arrive, the driver hurried to open the door and invited her in. The air inside the car was very fresh, without any of the aromatherapy scents that Tao Shuran disliked.

“Morning. We’ll be there in five minutes; rest for a bit first.” Today, Jiang Hanqi was wearing a light-colored coat over a delicate brown shirt, looking much more mature than usual. When she spoke, her tone was a bit cold, but it saved Tao Shuran the trouble of thinking about what to say.

Tao Shuran nodded and looked out the window, watching the street scenes flow past.

She had assumed Jiang Hanqi would choose a classroom or a study room in the library, but once they arrived, she discovered it was actually a cat cafe at the corner of a commercial street.

It wasn’t even nine in the morning yet, and they were the cafe’s first customers. In the warmly and cutely decorated coffee shop, before Tao Shuran even walked in, she saw two tiny kittens on the first-floor booths leaning against the glass window watching them. Their pink paw pads tapped the glass, and they let out ambiguous, delicate meows, as if welcoming them.

Ahhhh.

Tao Shuran felt her heart melting. The shadow brought by the setback of the final exams was swept away; she only wanted to rush in and rub the little babies’ soft bodies, using that soft touch to fill her day.

Seeing Tao Shuran’s wide-eyed expression as if she might pounce at any moment, a trace of expression finally appeared on Jiang Hanqi’s cold face.

They walked into the cat cafe together and indicated they wanted a seat.

She thought the shopkeeper would let them choose any booth on the first floor, but unexpectedly, they were led to the top floor of the cat cafe.

Opening the door, what met her eyes was an exquisitely decorated little attic.

It had a warm-toned decor, tatami-style cushions, and the central pillar was a large cat tree shaped like a tree. Beautiful glass bulb lights hung from the ceiling as light sources, and a round wooden electric heater was placed on the window seat. Beside the door was a wicker swing chair, where a little Ragdoll cat was originally napping quietly. Hearing the door open, it opened its azure blue eyes and let out a meow to greet Tao Shuran.

“Meow~”

This elven cottage instantly captured Tao Shuran’s heart. She placed her backpack on a round wooden chair beneath the central pillar and couldn’t help but approach the little elf on the swing.

She sat on the swing, and just as she opened the small snacks Jiang Hanqi handed her, the greedy little Ragdoll jumped directly onto her lap to start licking the food. Tao Shuran took the opportunity to rub its soft neck several times, feeling as if she were walking on clouds.

Seeing this scene, a hint of a smile appeared in Jiang Hanqi’s eyes.

Without needing a gesture from her, the shop manager turned and left the attic, hanging a small wooden “Do Not Disturb” sign on the stairwell outside.

She had picked this shop last night after her phone call with Tao’s mother.

Yesterday afternoon, she hadn’t been listening to what the teacher was saying; instead, she sat in her seat considering today’s arrangements.

If they walked, although it would seem like private space for the two of them where they could chat to get closer, Jiang Hanqi knew herself to be someone who wasn’t good at chatting, which would instead create an awkward atmosphere. Carrying her on a bicycle? It sounded like a good chance to get closer, but Ranran was a standard girl from the South soft-natured and shy and it might have the opposite effect and make her uncomfortable. Ultimately, she decided to have the driver pick her up; the five-minute drive would quickly pass the awkward period of silence.

Choosing a cat cafe was also carefully considered.

The atmosphere of a cat cafe is relaxed; as a sanctuary for stress relief, it was perfect for a beautiful girl in a low mood. Moreover, it would give her something to do, leaving a good impression for their first date (?).

She had contacted the owner in advance to book the fifth floor of the cat cafe for the day to avoid being disturbed. She selected the prettiest cat with the best and most clingy personality, instructing the owner to bathe it and trim its nails early in the morning.

Although she wasn’t interested in such creatures, don’t all cute girls like cute things?

Looking at Tao Shuran’s reaction, Jiang Hanqi felt satisfied with her preparation for the first time.

Jiang Hanqi sat down on the tatami, connected her computer to the power, and plugged in her digital tablet, intending to start working. Seeing this setup, Tao Shuran suddenly remembered the purpose of this trip, so she put down the little Ragdoll and sat across from Jiang Hanqi.

“Why would you do something like a final exam summary?” Tao Shuran threw out the question she had been wanting to ask.

“Hmm, is doing a final exam summary very difficult?” Jiang Hanqi answered matter-of-factly.

“No, no,” Tao Shuran waved her hands to explain, “I—I mean, you don’t look like someone who would be willing to do this kind of thing. Even if the homeroom teacher arranged it, why didn’t you refuse?” After all, she had refused so many times before…

“I requested it myself,” Jiang Hanqi said, just as a light knock sounded on the attic door.

A waiter entered carrying a tray, placing the desserts they had just ordered downstairs onto the table one by one.

Tao Shuran pinched her tea spoon and stirred the latte in her hand, the latte art being swirled into an unordered pattern. she spoke softly: “Why?”

“I said it yesterday,” Jiang Hanqi double-clicked to open the software, which contained the scanned answer sheets for the entire class. Her right index finger unconsciously rubbed the mouse, and her voice involuntarily softened, “I will take responsibility.”

“I… it’s my first time doing something like this, I don’t have much experience. The materials I gave you before the exam were made too hastily and didn’t consider practical factors, so your failure was my problem. I should take responsibility.”

“I’ve heard of your mother. Considering that asking you out directly might cause her to misunderstand, I went to the homeroom teacher to suggest making a science summary for the class finals. However, to prevent the summary from being too subjective, I said I needed a student with outstanding grades in chemistry and biology to collaborate. And then I got the phone number for your house.”

“Science section?” Tao Shuran noticed a blind spot, “Why only the science section?”

“Because I’m not good at liberal arts,” Jiang Hanqi answered as if it were a matter of course.

…You got an A+ in every subject; nowadays, not getting a perfect score in liberal arts equals being “not good,” right? Tao Shuran grumbled inwardly: “That’s what you told the homeroom teacher? How could she believe you?”

“Whether she believes it or not isn’t important.”

Well, in the homeroom teacher’s eyes, Jiang Hanqi being willing to summarize the science section was probably already a blessing from the God of Study to them mortals. Tao Shuran lowered her head to take a sip of tea, and then suddenly remembered the phone calls from Tao’s mother yesterday and today: “So the person who talked to my mom for over an hour yesterday was you??”

“No,” Tao Shuran had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Jiang Hanqi say nonchalantly, “Not that long.”

“The homeroom teacher had talked it over with her in advance; I just called to reinforce it.” Jiang Hanqi noticed the cat had jumped to the second level of the cat tree and was staring at the desserts on the table, so she took another bag of snacks from beside her and handed it to Tao Shuran.

Tao Shuran tore open the seal, pulled the greedy cat onto her lap again, and continued the conversation: “Reinforce what?”

“I just gave her a simple report on my working ideas.” Jiang Hanqi rested her chin on her hand, watching Tao Shuran tease the cat, her gaze softening, “I told her that her daughter’s grades are outstanding and her foundation is solid; it was just excessive exam pressure that led to an abnormal performance. For the final summary, a high score in the single subject of chemistry is enough to prove her extraordinary learning ability and upright study attitude. At the same time, Student Tao’s excellent knowledge structure in chemistry can provide a good reference model for the class.

And for Student Tao herself, on one hand, she can consolidate her foundation through personal work to promote the internalisation of knowledge, and on the other hand, she can exchange experiences through student collaboration, learning from and helping each other.”

Tao Shuran was speechless: “My mom… she indeed likes hearing that kind of talk…”

No wonder her mother instructed her to have fun with her classmates when she left. She probably only knew Jiang Hanqi had good overall grades and didn’t realize she was first in every subject.

Tao Shuran was somewhat speechless, but her hand never stopped petting the cat: “Then what should I do now? Should I look at the whole class’s mistakes first?”

“You don’t need to do anything.” Jiang Hanqi’s browsing speed was extremely fast; while speaking, she had already finished reviewing the class’s math papers, selected the typical mistakes, and started sketching on the digital tablet. She thought for a moment, worrying Tao Shuran might feel bored, so she said, “Tell you what, I’ll add your contact info and send the answers to you.”

“Oh.” Actually, she could have sent them without adding a private account. Tao Shuran took out her phone, and seeing the friend request that popped up after clicking the red dot, it felt exceptionally natural.

After Jiang Hanqi sent the PDF file, she looked at the chat box and nodded with satisfaction: “Go through your own paper first.”

“Oh.” Tao Shuran responded obediently again, took her exam paper and a red pen from her backpack, and started looking through it from the first page on her phone.

Sure enough, she had made too many mistakes she shouldn’t have; she wondered if it was because her spirits weren’t good during the exam.

Tao Shuran looked through question by question. Her heart, which had originally relaxed due to petting the cat, began to sink bit by bit again.

When Jiang Hanqi finished organizing the summary, Tao Shuran had only just started the third paper.

She watched as Jiang Hanqi closed her computer and walked toward her, constantly marveling in her heart that this was the gap between a God of Study and mortals.

Jiang Hanqi sat down beside Tao Shuran again, glanced at the kitten napping on Tao Shuran’s lap, and reached out.

The little Ragdoll opened its round blue eyes the moment it felt Jiang Hanqi’s movement, staring at Jiang Hanqi without blinking. Just as its chin was scratched, it pushed its fuzzy little head into the newcomer’s hand, squinting its eyes while letting out a purring sound.

“Does that mean it’s comfortable?” Tao Shuran’s attention was immediately drawn over, and she also learned to rub the Ragdoll’s little head.

“Hmm, they indeed enjoy having their heads rubbed.” Jiang Hanqi recalled the cat-petting experiences from netizens she had looked up yesterday, “Have you ever raised a cat?”

“No…” Tao Shuran pouted, “My mom and dad don’t like them; they won’t let me raise one.”

“It’s okay, you’ll raise one in the future.” Jiang Hanqi lowered her eyes and stroked the little Ragdoll’s head.

It was a random sentence, and Tao Shuran didn’t pay it much mind, imitating Jiang Hanqi’s way of massaging the little master.

Jiang Hanqi watched her for a while, sat a bit closer, took Tao Shuran’s paper and pen, and signaled her to listen: “It’s my first time explaining questions; I might not explain well. If you have any problems, you must speak up.”

Tao Shuran nodded vigorously, leaned her head in, and her eyes curved into a smile again.

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