I Married an Athlete Who is 1.85 Meters Tall, and We Fell in Love After Getting Married - Chapter 2

As it turned out, Kuang Qingshang’s sense of distance wasn’t just reflected in the height difference between her and Sang Xiao; it permeated every aspect of their lives.

For instance, after they got their marriage certificate that day, Kuang Qingshang never appeared again. She was constantly busy with her competitions. The subsequent arrangements were all handled by both sets of parents. Sang Xiao had no experience with marriage? Please, her parents were more invested than she was, having long since become close with Kuang Qingshang’s mother, calling each other in-laws.

Sang Xiao wasn’t surprised by this at all.

Kuang Qingshang was half a public figure, and news of her marriage wasn’t convenient to make public. Coupled with her recent competitions, they didn’t even have a wedding. The entire process felt rushed and perfunctory.

Sang Xiao felt like she had only met Kuang Qingshang once, had dinner with her family once, and then simply registered their marriage.

Yes, it was that simple.

After the marriage, Sang Xiao began moving out of her parents’ home and into the new house Kuang’s family had prepared for Kuang Qingshang. When Sang Xiao was moving, Sang Qi, her younger sister, was teary-eyed and reluctant to let her go: “Is Sis not going to live with us anymore?”

Sang Xiao was most reluctant to leave this sister. Sang Qi was only four years old this year but had some mild autism. She had been undergoing intervention therapy for years, and the results were good. Now she looked no different from a typical child, but her dependence on Sang Xiao was extremely high.

Sang Xiao tried to explain to her, saying, “Because Sis got married.”

The little one didn’t understand what ‘married’ meant, so Sang Xiao carefully explained the meaning of marriage, such as leaving one’s original family to form a new one. Finally, the little one asked, “Then why is it Sis who is moving there, and not her moving here?”

Sang Xiao: “…”

Uh, she had seriously considered this question too. In the end, thinking about Kuang Qingshang’s tall stature, and then her own small stature, she figured it was better for her to move there. Anyway, it was all the same.

In fact, it wasn’t the same. It was a difference in the strength between the two families, and not something that could be casually dismissed with a simple matter of marrying in or out.

After moving into the new house, Sang Xiao tacitly chose the second-floor secondary bedroom, preparing to sleep in separate rooms from Kuang Qingshang. None of the people involved in the move had any objections. Everyone knew they had no emotional basis, so they weren’t surprised.

“Sister-in-law, my sister has been quite busy lately. It won’t be like this after a while.” The person speaking was Kuang Xun—Kuang Qingshang’s younger sister.

At first, Sang Xiao found the term ‘sister-in-law’ very awkward. Kuang Xun and Kuang Qingshang were indeed sisters. They looked somewhat similar and appeared equally aloof, though in Sang Xiao’s aesthetic view, Kuang Qingshang was more attractive. Kuang Qingshang belonged to the more heroic and refined type, while Kuang Xun’s appearance was sharper, with a natural poker face.

Hearing such an aloof, poker-faced sister call her ‘sister-in-law,’ besides a deep sense of incongruity, she also felt a mistaken sense of Do I deserve this?

“Mhm, I understand.” Sang Xiao was slowly adapting to her new identity.

After Sang Xiao returned to her room, Kuang Xun unhurriedly took out her phone and turned to send a message to her sister, seeking credit: “Sis, I told her.”

Kuang Qingshang: “Mhm.”

Just as Kuang Qingshang put away her phone, her teammate Zhuang Zhe popped up from the side: “What did you take leave for last week? I heard the coach talking about you.”

Kuang Qingshang calmly said, “I took leave to get married.”

Zhuang Zhe: “…”

Zhuang Zhe: “Y-y-you got married???”

Kuang Qingshang only gave her an Is there a problem? look and got up, preparing to go find the coach.

Zhuang Zhe: “I’ll keep your secret.”

Kuang Qingshang: “Suit yourself.”

Zhuang Zhe: “How did you get married? We haven’t even made it to the national team together yet. Although getting into the national team at twenty-four is a bit late, a person has to have dreams!”

Kuang Qingshang had always had the ability to enter the national team, but didn’t go due to personal reasons. She had long been immune to Zhuang Zhe’s constant chatter about it.

Zhuang Zhe was curious: “Is your partner a man or a woman? Tall or short? Good-looking?”

She switched on her gossipy, talkative mode.

She thought Kuang Qingshang would continue to ignore her, but unexpectedly, Kuang Qingshang answered seriously: “A woman, a bit shorter than me.”

Zhuang Zhe: ” Wow.”

Zhuang Zhe: “I always said you must like women! You’re the only one in our team who has always hidden your sexual orientation so tightly. I’m suddenly curious, what would you be like if you were dating?”

Kuang Qingshang didn’t respond to Zhuang Zhe again.

It was marriage, not dating.

During this time, Sang Xiao lived alone in the spacious new house. It was said that the house’s décor was designed by Kuang Qingshang herself. She had to admit, Kuang Qingshang’s taste was quite good.

Kuang Qingshang was never home. Currently, only Sang Xiao lived in the marital home. Although there was a cook and a housekeeper, she still felt isolated and quite unaccustomed to it.

Initially, Sang Xiao was very nervous. She, a person who had never even dated, got married directly, while Kuang Qingshang seemed to be very experienced. If Kuang Qingshang had any ideas one day, what should she do? But because there was no opportunity for them to be alone, Sang Xiao slowly relaxed from her initial panic and tension. Her pre-marriage fear of Kuang Qingshang also gradually decreased.

They had each other’s contact information, but they had never contacted each other. Sang Xiao could only see the schedule of events from the club’s official Weibo account. She figured Kuang Qingshang had unilaterally decided they would each go their separate ways.

After her family’s company troubles settled down, Sang Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. She felt this was perfect; after all, she didn’t know how to interact with a stranger, especially since Kuang Qingshang’s character and private life might be questionable.

One month after the marriage, the summer vacation ended, and Sang Xiao happily moved back to her small apartment to start her kindergarten teaching journey. Single life was beckoning to her once again.

She was still free.

With a loud CRACK, the sky was mercilessly torn in two by lightning, followed immediately by the rumbling of thunder. The children of the Jumping Class at Chenxi Kindergarten sat in rows. Sang Xiao and her partner, Teacher Kang, maintained order nearby, while also giving the children a lesson on: What to do and what not to do during thunder and rain?

The children chimed in with answers.

“Don’t hide under a tree.”

“Listen to Mommy.”

“Mommy says not to watch TV when it’s thundering.”

Chenxi Kindergarten was a private kindergarten, demanding high standards from its teachers and maintaining the practice of pairing male and female teachers to ensure the maximum physical and mental health of the children.

Sang Xiao’s partner, Teacher Kang, was a tall young man, 1.8 meters tall, with the aura of a boy-next-door. He was approachable but a bit immature. However, immaturity made it easier for him to bond with the kindergarten children.

The two of them conducted a health knowledge and education class for the children. The rain came quickly and left just as fast. The sky after the downpour was clean and washed, and the air became fresh.

At the kindergarten gate, Sang Xiao watched the children of the Jumping Class be picked up one by one by their parents, leaving only four-year-old Su Chengcheng and herself staring at each other.

Su Chengcheng was the “troublemaker” of the Jumping Class. She wouldn’t nap when others did and often caused group disturbances, like leading others to be picky eaters, which forced the principal to constantly ask the cafeteria to innovate and strive for a healthy and delicious, nutritionally balanced menu to eliminate opportunities for the children to be picky. But little Chengcheng had an extremely adorable face, large eyes, plump cheeks, and a sweet, childlike voice, making the young teachers both love and hate her. Even teachers from the next class couldn’t help but come in and tease her a little when they passed by.

Seeing Su Chengcheng reminded Sang Xiao of her sister, Sang Qi.

“Teacher Sang, hasn’t Chengcheng’s mother arrived yet?” Teacher Kang squatted down, poking Chengcheng’s plump cheek. As expected, he was rewarded with a roll of Chengcheng’s eyes.

“Mhm, it’ll probably be another half hour.” Sang Xiao was used to a few parents in the class being busy with work and being late to pick up their children every day. Chengcheng’s mother was one of them. According to little Chengcheng, her mother was a company boss who was always on the phone at home, so being late to pick up her child was normal.

Sang Xiao looked at the stone-faced Chengcheng and patiently said, “Chengcheng, your mother will be here soon. Should Teacher play a game with you?”

Chengcheng stared at her silently and posed a profound question: “What else can Teacher Sang do?”

Sang Xiao: “…”

What a thing to say! As a professional kindergarten teacher, she knew quite a few games, such as… “Eagle Catching Chickens” or “Drop the Handkerchief.”

But Chengcheng was clearly not an ordinary child.

Sang Xiao said, “Let’s play with the Rubik’s Cube.”

Sang Xiao took out the Rubik’s Cube she practiced with in her spare time. She thought it looked cool when others played it but couldn’t do it herself. She would just twist it around in her free time and didn’t understand the formulas online. It was most suitable for amusing children.

Chengcheng took the Rubik’s Cube.

Sang Xiao was thinking that by the time she played for a little longer, her mother should be arriving.

However, Chengcheng’s two small hands moved quickly, and in a short while, the previously chaotic six-by-six Rubik’s Cube was solved.

Sang Xiao: “…”

Was her height the only thing she could use to suppress this little girl?

Sang Xiao was a little embarrassed. Chengcheng looked up at her, quite proud of herself. Fortunately, this awkwardness didn’t last long, because Chengcheng’s mother arrived. She was a refined woman in a business suit, looking around thirty, and seemed very gentle.

Sang Xiao loved dealing with gentle people. Chengcheng’s mother offered a sincere apology and said, “I’ve troubled Teacher Sang again.”

“It’s no trouble, it’s my job.” Sang Xiao meant it when she said it was no trouble. She usually didn’t have much important to do, and she felt most relaxed when she was with the children. Moreover, Chengcheng was so cute, and she was raised in a single-parent family, which Sang Xiao could very much understand.

Chengcheng: “Goodbye, Teacher Sang.”

Sang Xiao: “Goodbye, Chengcheng.”

After seeing the child off, Sang Xiao returned to the office, tidied up, and walked out with her bag, only to find the sky had darkened again, and a fine rain was falling.

Teacher Kang hadn’t left yet. He held an umbrella and approached, saying, “I see you didn’t drive today? Let me drive you home.”

“No, thank you. I’ll just take a taxi home later.” Sang Xiao was actually very uncomfortable interacting with tall people.

Teacher Kang slowly moved, holding the umbrella, showing great courtesy: “It’s on my way, and the rain is so heavy. You might catch a cold.”

Sang Xiao looked down at her phone and didn’t answer him immediately because there was a message from Kuang Qingshang. It was just one sentence.

I’m waiting for you at the kindergarten gate.

Sang Xiao confirmed again that the message was from Kuang Qingshang. She glanced toward the parking area at the kindergarten gate and indeed saw a low-key black sedan. She didn’t know how long it had been parked there.

“Sorry, someone is picking me up.”

Teacher Kang followed Sang Xiao’s gaze. He had also noticed the luxury car before but hadn’t thought it was there to pick up Sang Xiao.

Sang Xiao approached the black car, and it really was Kuang Qingshang. Why was she here?

After Sang Xiao got into the car, it was very quiet. Besides the sound of the car itself, there was a faint scent of perfume in the air.

Sang Xiao: “Sorry, I didn’t check my phone just now.”

Kuang Qingshang had sent her the message an hour ago. She had actually made Kuang Qingshang wait for an hour.

Sang Xiao felt guilty. She fastened her seatbelt and sat up straight like a primary school student, but her peripheral vision secretly glanced at Kuang Qingshang on the side.

Kuang Qingshang glanced at Teacher Kang in the distance: “It’s fine, I just arrived not long ago.”

The air was very quiet. Sang Xiao didn’t know what to say. Did Kuang Qingshang know she had moved back to the apartment and deliberately came to catch her? She had to admit, first impressions were invincible. Because of Bian Yan’s information, Kuang Qingshang’s impression in Sang Xiao’s mind was that of an athlete who looked aloof but had a lot of gossip about her private life and was a vigorous athlete who attended those improper gatherings.

Sang Xiao had read many posts during this time, hearing that athletes, due to their abundant energy, had a higher need for that aspect than ordinary people.

She wasn’t so narcissistic as to think Kuang Qingshang would do anything to her without an emotional foundation.

She was just nervous, very nervous.

They were legally married wives.

If Kuang Qingshang wanted her to fulfill her wife-wife duties or something, she had no reason to refuse.

“Today is Grandpa’s birthday.”

Kuang Qingshang quietly stated the purpose of her visit.

Sang Xiao was stunned: “???”

Which grandpa? She had no memory of one.

Oh, it turned out to be Kuang Qingshang’s grandpa. Sang Xiao was still not used to her married status.

Sang Xiao: “I haven’t even prepared a gift.”

Kuang Qingshang said: “I’ve already prepared it. This birthday celebration is hosted by the second uncle’s family. We’ll go directly to the hotel later. Do you need to go back and change clothes?”

Sang Xiao looked down at her outfit. It was a bit casual. It wasn’t formal enough for meeting family. She cautiously asked, “I made you wait for so long; is there still enough time?”

Kuang Qingshang checked the time and said, “It’s fine, there’s still time.”

Sang Xiao gave Kuang Qingshang the address, and they rushed back to the apartment to change into a more formal outfit. During this time, Kuang Qingshang waited for her in the car.

Then the car drove toward a high-end hotel. Led by a waiter, Kuang Qingshang and Sang Xiao walked toward the private room together.

Sang Xiao knew she couldn’t match Kuang Qingshang’s pace, so she deliberately slowed down, following closely behind. But Kuang Qingshang suddenly stopped ahead.

Sang Xiao was confused.

Kuang Qingshang had already walked closer and taken her hand. The scent of her perfume became much clearer; it was a fresh, invigorating woody floral scent. She whispered, “Grandpa is old, and I don’t want him to worry. Please trouble Teacher Sang to cooperate with me in fulfilling our wife-wife duties later.”

Sang Xiao blinked. This wife-wife duty seemed different from what she had imagined.

Thinking of this, Sang Xiao felt her face flush and nodded in agreement: “Mhm.”

She looked again at their clasped hands.

She had to say.

Kuang Qingshang’s fingers were really long.