After Dreaming That the Top Student in My Grade Was My Wife - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Surplus Every Year

As a representative of a modernized metropolis, the New Year atmosphere in Shanghai is much lighter than in other places.

Since there is no custom of celebrating the “Little New Year,” it wasn’t until the afternoon of New Year’s Eve that Tao Shuran finally felt the festive atmosphere.

First, she was called by her mother to wash her hair, bathe, and change into new clothes. When she came out, she found that the house had already been fitted with new couplets; the upside-down “Fu” (Blessing) character pasted on the door looked quite out of place with the modern interior design style.

Tao Shuran sat on the sofa watching her parents busy themselves in the kitchen for the New Year’s Eve dinner, while her mind was filled with the tragedy that school would start in ten days and she was still short four essays.

She plucked the stems off the strawberries on the coffee table one by one, intending to take them into her room so she could eat while writing her essay.

Noticing the movement, Tao’s father poked his head out from the kitchen, his face full of festive smiles: “Nand囡 (daughter), it’s the Lunar New Year! Stop studying, watch TV! Let’s watch TV!”

Always watching TV, what’s there to see.

Tao Shuran popped a strawberry into her mouth and waved her hand as a greeting before going into her room to write her essay.

Since chatting with Jiang Hanqi yesterday, Tao Shuran felt as if she had been completely transformed; her whole person felt incredibly light and airy.

The essay was a themed assignment: “A Special Fondness,” with no restriction on literary style.

“The river wood fire is soft, the barbarian felt is warm; the cat and I shall not go out the door.“

She recited Lu You’s famous lines, and the more she thought about it, the more appropriate they felt. So, she spread out the essay paper and picked up her pen, feeling a surge of inspiration and a grand momentum.

Tao Shuran intended to write a narrative poem, using the perspective of that little Ragdoll from the cat cafe to write about their past half-month.

She wrote extremely seriously, revising many times. From rhymes and syllables to sentence patterns, she carefully compared and selected, trying to make each stanza well-spaced and catchy, yet balanced and harmonious overall. Regarding the phrasing for certain images, she repeatedly overturned and rewrote them.

Except for two or three hours in the middle spent accompanying her parents for New Year’s Eve dinner and watching a bit of the boring Spring Festival Gala, Tao Shuran spent the rest of her time sitting under the lamp, polishing her little poem—the little poem saturated with her feelings.

At exactly twelve o’clock midnight, the phone started dinging with incoming messages.

Tao’s mother had annual targets for educational poverty alleviation, so for many years, she would go to sleep early on New Year’s Eve.

Only a single desk lamp was lit in the room. Fireworks were banned in the city area, and the night outside the window was deep.

Tao Shuran sat tucked up on her chair, replying to messages one by one. Scrolling all the way down the list, the message at the very bottom was actually from Jiang Hanqi.

“Out with the old, in with the new. May all your heart’s desires come true.”

Despite it being a short, simple greeting, Tao Shuran rested her chin in her hands and started grinning foolishly at the screen.

Considering this was their first conversation online, the tone had to be controlled perfectly. Being too cold was definitely not okay, but being too enthusiastic might bother the big boss.

Thus, Tao Shuran replied rigorously: “Winter departs and spring arrives. May all your wishes be granted.”

Nanyuan sat silently within the city that had shed its prosperity.

Jiang Hanqi never had the habit of celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Since she could remember, her parents had rarely visited Nanyuan, let alone for the New Year.

Her mother, the respected Dr. Jiang—now the director of Shanghai’s best dental hospital—had once been a colleague of her father’s at the same hospital. During a subsequent promotion, she was suppressed due to gender disadvantage, only to watch her father, whose strength and qualifications were inferior to hers, promoted to director. In a rage, she chose to resign and founded a private hospital by herself.

She set up a fully equipped, spacious lounge in her office and moved her home there from then on.

Her father followed suit after being transferred to a branch hospital to become a high-level leader, buying a separate apartment near the hospital for himself.

As for the affection between them as husband and wife, it probably consisted only of the realization that “finding someone new would be a real hassle and unnecessary.”

As for whether they loved her—a product that hindered the development of their careers—Jiang Hanqi didn’t know, and didn’t want to know.

Jiang Hanqi had been raised by housekeepers since childhood. However, shortly after she started primary school, she redefined their work, requiring them to stay out of the main house at all times except when performing their duties.

In the past, she had never felt a longing for anyone, feeling that relationships between people were simply a troublesome affair.

But now, looking at the new dialogue box popping up on her phone screen, Jiang Hanqi’s breath hitched, followed by a smile.

Wishes granted, huh.

She placed her phone back by her pillow without replying and lay back down into her grey down duvet, murmuring, “That would be good.”

The phone screen timed out and turned off; the only light source in the room disappeared.

Perhaps because her mood wasn’t calm enough before sleep, Tao Shuran slept very lightly. While sleeping, she was woken up by movement outside the door.

It was the sound of Tao’s mother walking in the living room.

Tao’s mother went to the countryside for visits every New Year’s Day. To be able to spend the countdown with her family, she chose to leave by car at three in the morning every New Year’s Day; Tao’s father would usually accompany her.

After being woken up, Tao Shuran felt her sleepiness vanish completely. She lay there for a while, then couldn’t help but pick up her phone.

Jiang Hanqi hadn’t replied. Tao Shuran wasn’t surprised; it was just a New Year’s blessing after all, nothing much to reply to.

But for some reason, Tao Shuran really, really wanted to message her right now, to talk to her.

Well, anyway, we said it yesterday, we’re good friends.

“My parents have gone to the countryside again. They leave at this time every year; it’s so tiring.”

Tao Shuran finished typing rapidly and curled back into her quilt. The house didn’t have floor heating, and her mother felt that turning on the air conditioner was bad for the body, so every winter, Tao Shuran’s room was chilly.

She didn’t actually expect Jiang Hanqi to reply to anything, considering it was so late; she probably had fallen asleep long ago.

Unexpectedly, in less than half a minute, the phone rang.

Tao Shuran felt her heart jump. When she picked up the phone, she couldn’t help but curl her toes; she was a bit shy.

“Ranran, don’t be afraid. I’m here.” Jiang Hanqi’s clear voice was very low and raspy, with a slight nasal tone. She must have just woken from sleep and called her immediately after seeing the message.

Tao Shuran felt her heart beating even faster. Actually, she wasn’t afraid; she had spent every New Year’s Eve like this for many years. She just suddenly wanted to talk to Jiang Hanqi, but she still gave an obedient “Mm.”

Rustling sounds came from the other end; Jiang Hanqi must have sat up. She seemed to shake off the tiredness very quickly, and her gentle voice rang in Tao Shuran’s ear: “Is there anything you want to do?”

“No,” Tao Shuran lay on her side, knees tucked up, hugging her quilt, and answered honestly, “I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Mm, okay.” Jiang Hanqi waited for three or four seconds, and seeing that Tao Shuran didn’t seem to have anything to say, she took the initiative to find a topic, “What did you have for dinner?”

“Hmm, just very ordinary dishes, made by my parents themselves.”

Tao Shuran’s gaze drifted as she began to reminisce: “We boiled matsutake and fish maw chicken. I told them I liked bamboo fungus, but they actually forgot to buy it. Though, my dad’s cooking isn’t that great anyway; I thought the flavor was a bit light.”

“We steamed large crabs, one for each person. But as expected, the New Year isn’t the season for crabs; they’re a bit lacking compared to autumn. And peeling them yourself is such a hassle; stuffed crab shells are much better.”

“My mom even seared steaks this year! She bought them online and seared them herself, making the sauce herself too. Sigh, she thinks young people like that, but you have to look at the cooking skills too. Still, I finished it all. My dad watched her char them, and he even warned me while my mom was in the kitchen making a fruit platter, telling me I had to act like I really liked it, hahahaha.”

“Ah, and fermented glutinous rice balls. The taste? Just so-so. We eat them every year; no matter how good they are, you get tired of them. Jiang Hanqi, do you like them?”

Tao Shuran chattered to Jiang Hanqi about the menu for over half an hour. Jiang Hanqi listened intently while taking notes on her phone’s memo app, chiming in occasionally.

After Tao Shuran finished complaining that “the Spring Festival Gala sketches are getting more and more boring,” she finally remembered to ask: “Jiang Hanqi, what did you have for dinner? Was it good?”

Tao Shuran’s voice naturally had a hint of milkiness. The way she spoke so seriously right now made her sound exactly like a “da-ya” (coquettish) younger sister. Jiang Hanqi chuckled and said: “I just ate something simple. The food you described sounds much better.”

“Aie, no way—” Tao Shuran elongated her syllables with an exaggerated tone, “I heard, well, just heard, okay, that your family is super rich. Lots of classmates guess that you normally have Michelin three-star chefs come home to cook, so New Year’s Eve dinner must seem particularly ordinary.”

Jiang Hanqi couldn’t help but smile: “Do you want to know?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You can come over and eat directly. I’ll have the chef cook whatever you like: bamboo fungus, stuffed crab shells, steak—whatever you want.”

“No, no, that would spoil my palate, and then nothing else would taste good later.”

“Then you can just eat here forever in the future.”

The two went back and forth, and the originally dark sky gradually began to show the light of dawn.

Tao Shuran’s phone had started to get hot long ago, and it gave a “beep” for a low battery warning. So she crawled out of the quilt and said to Jiang Hanqi: “Jiang Hanqi, wait a moment, I’m going to get a charging cable.”

“Then go to sleep, it’s getting late.” Jiang Hanqi sat leaning against the bed, raising her hand to press the button on the headboard to open the curtains a little.

Tao Shuran plugged in the charger, pouted, and replied: “I don’t want to, I’m not sleepy at all.”

“It’s dangerous to talk on the phone while it’s charging,” Jiang Hanqi coaxed her softly.

“Then, then, then,” fortunately Tao Shuran still remembered the most important thing. She looked at the battery level and continued, “Jiang Hanqi, then I’ll tell you one last thing.”

“I finished my long essay!” Tao Shuran’s voice was full of excitement, “When are you going to see it?”

“You want me to see it?” Jiang Hanqi only thought she meant she wanted some feedback for revisions.

“Mm-hmm,” Tao Shuran nodded repeatedly, “A lot of shops outside are probably closed. Come to my house, or I’ll go to yours!”

“I… I want to show it to you in person.” Tao Shuran felt a bit shy as she spoke, and after thinking about it, she added a sentence as if to bolster her courage, “You’ll definitely like it!”

“Okay.” Jiang Hanqi agreed immediately and subsequently opened her browser to start searching for information.

The first time going to a friend’s house… she hit backspace to delete it one by one. What gifts should a son-in-law bring to his father-in-law and mother-in-law for the first visit?

Jiang Hanqi thought about it and added: During the Lunar New Year.

Tao Shuran, on the other end of the phone, was completely unaware. She only thought about showing that poem to Jiang Hanqi as soon as possible: “Then what day are you coming? Tonight I have to go to my grandparents’ house for New Year greetings, so it’s not a good time.”

“You have to go out today and you’re still not sleeping?” Jiang Hanqi responded to her while continuing to search keywords.

Which day is most suitable for New Year greetings at a friend’s house?

Jiang Hanqi’s fingertips tapped twice on the screen—a habitual action when she was thinking. Then, she selected all, deleted, and retyped a line.

Which day should a son-in-law go for New Year greetings during the Lunar New Year?

After a quick scan, Jiang Hanqi finalized the time: “How about the second day? I’ll head over tomorrow.”

Tao Shuran thought about it. On the second day, her parents would be visiting relatives and friends and wouldn’t be home all day. She could take the opportunity not to go out and see Jiang Hanqi as early as possible. Thus, she was extremely satisfied with the time Jiang Hanqi chose: “Then see you on the second day! Jiang Hanqi, Happy New Year!”

“Mm, Happy New Year.” Jiang Hanqi responded as she got out of bed. She walked to the window, looking at the whitening sky outside through the narrow gap where the curtains had been pulled open, and said softly:

“Ranran, goodnight. See you tomorrow.”

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