I Woke Up and Found Myself Married to the Dean - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Si Nanyu, Are You Crazy?!

Qin Hua had rushed back from the factory in Yunzhou. The high-speed rail trip took nearly three hours, followed by a trip to the market to buy groceries and cook dinner. After a long, busy day, she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, nodding off on the sofa in front of the TV…

It wasn’t until she heard the doorbell that she sat up straight and looked back. Her brow furrowed instantly because Si Nanyu was acting like an ostrich again, following silently behind a stony-faced Wen Qingyan.

When they had left earlier, the two had been holding hands. As an old mother, Qin Hua had been deeply gratified.

She was very, very satisfied with Wen Qingyan. Otherwise, she wouldn’t treat her better than her own daughter. She had firmly believed that her daughter’s shortcomings could be compensated for by her own sincerity as a mother-in-law.

But looking at them now, the effect seemed negligible. Si Nanyu was simply “rotten wood that cannot be carved”—unable to live up to expectations!

With no other choice, she forced a smile and stood up to fuss over Wen Qingyan. “Xiao Wen, you’re back? It’s cold out, isn’t it? I’ve already prepared the bathwater, go have a quick wash~” She gently pushed Wen Qingyan’s shoulder, stepping between the two to block Si Nanyu’s path.

Si Nanyu heard her mother speak, but since she kept her head down, she didn’t realize how close she was. She braked hard just in time to avoid colliding with Qin Hua. Her gaze, however, remained fixed on Wen Qingyan, who was smiling back at Qin Hua.

Subconsciously, Si Nanyu pouted…

Before she could finish pouting, she was dragged away by Qin Hua’s powerful arm.

Qin Hua could be gentle at times, but she was mostly dominant, especially toward Si Nanyu. She practically backed her into the corner of the sofa. She glanced at Wen Qingyan, who had already entered the bathroom, and asked, “Did you provoke Xiao Wen again during that walk?”

Si Nanyu protested her innocence. “I didn’t! We were watching the stars perfectly fine just now, then suddenly she…”

“Suddenly she was unhappy.”

As she spoke, Si Nanyu pouted again. Seeing this, Qin Hua pinched her lips together in annoyance. “What are you pouting for?”

“If you ask me, Xiao Wen is the one who’s wronged. Her partner of many years married for several, at that—suddenly doesn’t remember her. Do you think she can be in a good mood?!”

Si Nanyu’s eyes darted around as she weakly argued, “I didn’t ‘not remember’ her…”

“I remember she is my teacher…”

“You are so stubborn! How did I give birth to such a stubborn thing? It’s all your father’s fault…” Qin Hua started to scold her by bringing up Si Xueyi, but she stopped halfway through. Si Nanyu shot her a confused look.

In her eighteen-year-old memories, Qin Hua and Si Xueyi had gone from comrades-in-arms to mutually loathing each other to being utterly incompatible. Especially after the divorce, it was not a relationship that could be brought up so casually.

Si Nanyu felt it was strange. Many things were incomprehensible to her, but she vaguely sensed something was off. Like the current state of Qin Hua, Si Xueyi, and Si Jiamu.

Something must have happened in those years of missing memory!

“Mom… are you hiding something from me?”

“About my dad, and Si Jiamu…”

Si Nanyu prepared to press the issue, but the moment she called out “Mom,” Qin Hua looked guilty. However, she didn’t confess; instead, she put on a stern face. “Since you claim you’re eighteen, then adult matters are none of a kid’s business. Just listen to Xiao Wen.”

“Behave yourself and focus on your work and life!”

“Mom, I will!” Si Nanyu promised first, but she wasn’t ready to give up. Looking at Qin Hua’s shifty eyes, she said airily, “If you don’t tell me, then I’ll call my dad.”

“You—!” Qin Hua shouted, but then went silent.

Si Nanyu thought she would say “Don’t you dare!” like she used to, but she only managed that one word. Si Nanyu looked at her suspiciously, knowing that if she kept asking, she’d definitely get a reason out of her.

Just like when they first divorced.

At that time, Si Nanyu was less than ten years old. She understood divorce in her own way: her parents just didn’t live together anymore, but their relationship with her hadn’t changed. Si Xueyi would still occasionally pick her up, take her out to play, and buy her treats. During that period, she had told Qin Hua several times that she was contacting her father. Qin Hua would always refuse sternly. She didn’t understand then, but later, she figured it out.

It was because of Si Jiamu.

They were ten years apart. Si Nanyu was already in middle school when she first met Si Jiamu. At that time, she was becoming more rebellious, while Si Jiamu was very small and a bit clingy. Although the child wasn’t ugly—cute, even—cloying children annoyed Si Nanyu. Especially since this child looked a bit like her.

It made her feel like her father’s love had been stolen. So, her emotions began to fluctuate; on one hand, she distanced herself from Si Xueyi, yet on the other, she couldn’t help but want to be close. Years passed in this tug-of-war. She moved past her playful years and entered high school. Between her studies and the melancholic sorrows of unrequited love, she would go long periods without seeing her father, and her meetings with Qin Hua also gradually decreased.

And in the blink of an eye, it was now.

“I didn’t want to hide it from you. It’s just that some things are hard to explain. Let me think about it…” Qin Hua turned her back to Si Nanyu, her voice uncharacteristically low and wavering. Then, she became firm again: “Let me think about it more!”

Si Nanyu didn’t want to force her. Seeing Qin Hua like this, she softened her stance and nodded. “Okay.”

But when Wen Qingyan came out from the shower to talk to Qin Hua, Si Nanyu’s mind began to wander again. She felt that whatever Qin Hua needed to “think about” before telling her definitely concerned Si Xueyi.

Bankrupt? Divorced again? Or sick?

Si Nanyu was secretly worried. Before she showered, she took out her phone and dialed the number she had memorized. Seeing “Si Xueyi (Dad)” displayed on the screen, Si Nanyu’s eyes flickered.

She quickly hung up. After all… she had promised Qin Hua. She would wait for her to speak and wouldn’t call him first. She couldn’t break her word.

Pushing her unease aside, she stripped and showered. Qin Hua’s house wasn’t small, and this bathroom seemed specifically prepared for her and Wen Qingyan. The items inside were all matching couple sets, including her favorite orange-scented body wash. Wen Qingyan had just used it, so the room was filled with the scent of oranges.

“I don’t know how to tell her that her father passed away.”

After Si Nanyu went to the bathroom, Qin Hua pulled Wen Qingyan to a corner of the sofa again. This time it wasn’t an interrogation; she was just afraid Si Nanyu would hear. She was truly worried. Even though she and Si Xueyi were divorced and the love was gone, it was different for Si Nanyu he was her biological father.

When the accident happened years ago, Si Nanyu had been devastated and took a long time to recover. Now, this… it would be a secondary trauma.

Wen Qingyan was also quite surprised. She still had doubts about Si Nanyu’s amnesia and found it hard to accept, so she hadn’t even thought of this complication. Seeing Qin Hua’s genuine distress, she patted her mother-in-law’s leg comfortingly. “Mom, Nanyu still needs to know.”

“I know, I know, but Nanyu…”

“She says she’s eighteen. At that age, as opposed to her twenties, can she handle it?”

A biological mother is a biological mother after all. No matter how much she complained about Si Nanyu, she couldn’t help but worry at the critical moment. In comparison, Wen Qingyan was much calmer.

“When Dad passed away, Nanyu was only twenty-one and hadn’t even graduated university.”

“This has nothing to do with age; it’s about the event itself.”

That was true. Qin Hua nodded, then remembered there was more than just one issue. She looked panicked as she grabbed Wen Qingyan’s hand. “And the matter with me and Yao…”

As soon as those three words came out, Wen Qingyan frowned. Qin Hua’s face went pale, and she quickly corrected herself: “The matter about me and your Aunt Mu… opening a factory together. How do I explain that?”

When it came to these two people, Qin Hua, usually so bold, tended to lose her nerve. She could only look to Wen Qingyan for help. But Wen Qingyan didn’t know what to do either. Her own suspicions hadn’t been cleared, and now more complications were piling up.

Wen Qingyan pondered for a moment before speaking her mind: “I think it’s better not to keep these things from Nanyu. She doesn’t like it.”

“It’s also not appropriate.”

Qin Hua wanted to say more, but Wen Qingyan looked up and saw Si Nanyu emerging. She whispered, “Nanyu is finished. Let’s go to bed, Mom. Don’t think too much.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

With that, Wen Qingyan stood up, and Qin Hua followed. She was still feeling a bit guilty, but seeing Si Nanyu looking like nothing was wrong after her shower, her heart settled. This child’s strength was her forgetfulness and her big heart. She was happily admiring herself in her new pajamas in the mirror… while drying her hair.

“Si Nanyu, sleep.” It wasn’t until Wen Qingyan called her that Si Nanyu obediently said goodnight to Qin Hua and followed Wen Qingyan into the bedroom.

The room was clean and tidy, clearly used only for occasional visits. The sheets were purple and the pillows were cyan—the favorite colors of Si Nanyu and Wen Qingyan, respectively.

Si Nanyu had crushed on Wen Qingyan for so long that her observations were somewhat… detailed. She knew exactly what colors Wen Qingyan liked. The more she thought about it, the shier she became, shuffling toward the bed one step at a time.

Wen Qingyan, on the other hand, was quite direct. She was already under the covers, leaving only the bedside lamp on while waiting for Si Nanyu. After waiting for a while, she looked up tiredly. “I’m very tired.”

Hearing this, Si Nanyu moved faster. Once under the covers, she curled up like a shrimp. She reached out to turn off the bedside lamp. Before she could touch the switch, Wen Qingyan’s voice rang out: “I like to sleep with it on.”

“Oh, okay.” Si Nanyu responded obediently and turned over to sleep. But her movement was a bit too large, and she bumped into Wen Qingyan’s leg.

Both were wearing nightgowns; this touch was skin-on-skin. Si Nanyu felt both ashamed and excited; her face flushed instantly.

Wen Qingyan turned to look at her, speechless… and quite annoyed. She said crossly, “Move over a bit.”

“Okay!”

Si Nanyu, hiding under the blanket, replied in a muffled voice. Wen Qingyan ignored her and closed her eyes to sleep. In truth, she was also having trouble sleeping. Sleeping with Si Nanyu again after a week—and with such a clear divide between them—felt very unfamiliar. In the past, Si Nanyu would be like a clingy plaster, tightly hugging her waist…

However, Wen Qingyan, who had suffered from insomnia for some time, actually fell into a dreamland quite quickly because of Si Nanyu’s presence. But before she was deeply asleep, she was awoken by Si Nanyu’s phone ringing.

She opened her eyes sleepily and turned to look at Si Nanyu.

Si Nanyu clearly hadn’t expected her to fall asleep so fast—not even two minutes. Noticing her gaze, Si Nanyu froze in a half-sitting position and whispered apologetically, “I’m sorry… it’s my dad calling!”

“Who did you say…?” Wen Qingyan’s eyes, which had been half-closed, snapped wide open at those words. There was an imperceptible tremor in her voice, and her hand uncontrollably pinched Si Nanyu’s thigh under the blanket.

“Hiss…!” Si Nanyu winced in pain. Seeing Wen Qingyan looking terrified—thinking she had been scared by the ringtone she hurriedly hit the “end call” button. Reflexively, she leaned over to… hug Wen Qingyan.

But before she could complete the action, she was intercepted halfway by Wen Qingyan.

Wen Qingyan wrapped her arms around her shoulders, her knees overlapping Si Nanyu’s legs, and lunged into her embrace, bringing with her the heavy scent of orange body wash…

Under the dim light, Si Nanyu’s face turned red. As her hand hovered hesitantly over Wen Qingyan’s waist, she heard Wen Qingyan’s tearful, reproachful accusation: “Si Nanyu, are you crazy…!”

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