I Woke Up and Found Myself Married to the Dean - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Si Nanyu, Do You Want Me?

“Then it’s a deal. I’ll send you the location.” Yang Miao struck while the iron was hot, sending the WeChat message directly to Wen Qingyan. After greeting them both, she headed back into the classroom.

Xu Jinghao had been standing there like a mannequin, barely saying a word beyond the initial greeting. Once Yang Miao was inside, she finally asked Wen Qingyan, “Are you really going?”

Though it wasn’t exactly of her own free will, Wen Qingyan had technically given her word. Looking at the address Yang Miao sent, she could only let out a small sigh. “We’re at the same school… it wouldn’t look good if I didn’t go.”

Xu Jinghao sighed along with her. “Sigh, true.”

“The school is only so big. Teacher Yang isn’t a bad person, but her mouth is incredibly fast. If you don’t go today, there’s no telling what rumors will start tomorrow.”

While Wen Qingyan’s brow was furrowed with worry, Yang Miao was in a fantastic mood, feeling quite proud of herself. When she returned to the classroom, the piano music had just stopped. Si Nanyu was saying with a smile, “Alright students, that’s all for today. Practice hard, and next Friday we’ll…”

Although the choir had plenty of rehearsal time, the previous dissatisfaction had left the students somewhat discouraged. After this extra session, the students all had smiles on their faces.

Specifically, Tan Jing, the girl on piano accompaniment. When her eyes met Si Nanyu’s and she heard the words “practice hard,” her cheeks flushed. She stared at Si Nanyu without blinking. She was, after all, one of the students who had praised Si Nanyu earlier, specifically commenting on how her “fingers” were perfectly suited for the piano.

The students standing near Tan Jing couldn’t help but tease her. Tan Jing’s face turned even redder, and she didn’t dare look at Si Nanyu again.

Si Nanyu was oblivious to all of this. She didn’t let her gaze linger on the students because Yang Miao had walked in, looking unable to hide her joy. Si Nanyu was curious, but before she could ask, Yang Miao was already gesticulating wildly as soon as they left the music room.

“This quarter’s Zhennan social mixer is going to be top-tier! Nanyu, do you know? Wen Qingyan is attending!”

Yang Miao was so excited she forgot her formal titles and called her by name. She didn’t notice Si Nanyu freezing in place. “It’s been four or five years! I’ve organized this gathering dozens of times and invited her at least seven or eight times—she never agreed. I didn’t expect it to happen this time, hahaha!”

Lost in her own delight, Yang Miao didn’t notice Si Nanyu’s face turning paler by the second. After a few steps, Si Nanyu summoned the courage to interrupt: “Teacher Yang, are there still spots left for today’s mixer?”

Si Nanyu was stunned by her own words as soon as they left her mouth, but it was too late to take them back. Her heart raced as she waited for the answer.

“Yes! If both you and Teacher Wen go, this gathering I organized will be so prestigious!” Yang Miao looked thrilled and even gave an exaggerated clap. Then, feeling something was off, she whispered, “Nanyu, didn’t you say… you had a girlfriend?”

Si Nanyu’s expression tightened, and she said awkwardly, “We broke up.”

Yang Miao, of course, wouldn’t pry too deeply into Si Nanyu’s relationship issues. She sent the address over right then and there. Before leaving work, she patted her shoulder: “Good luck, Nanyu!”

A sense of déjà vu…

Si Nanyu nodded dryly and began packing her things at lightning speed. This was the first time she had been so eager to leave work.

She jogged downstairs, grabbed her bike, and checked the address again—along with the WeChat message Wen Qingyan had sent before leaving. Wen Qingyan told her she had “something to do” tonight and couldn’t give her a ride home.

One didn’t need to think twice to know Wen Qingyan was heading to the mixer. After reading it, Si Nanyu pedaled with even more vigor. However, since school let out late on Fridays and the distance was significant, it was already past seven by the time she arrived.

The mixer was mainly for socializing, so they had chosen a hot pot buffet. It was packed—so crowded that Si Nanyu stood at the entrance for a long time without being able to spot the Zhennan group.

Seconds later, she locked onto the second-floor seating and rushed upstairs. In her haste, she missed a car brushing past her.

Inside that car, Wen Qingyan’s expression was terrifyingly cold. She had watched Si Nanyu enter, take a seat, and accept a drink from a female teacher without the slightest hesitation.

Only then did she slam the gas pedal and leave the hot pot restaurant behind. Her mind was a mess, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony about her marriage to Si Nanyu. She had come here to maintain professional relationships, but what about Si Nanyu?

She hadn’t forgotten that Si Nanyu told Yang Miao she had a “girlfriend.” Clearly, Yang Miao wouldn’t have invited her if she thought she was taken. She also hadn’t forgotten that the female teacher who toasted Si Nanyu was named Zhao two years older than Wen Qingyan and in the same office.

That teacher had once openly praised Si Nanyu in the office. Coincidentally, Si Nanyu had been there to see her, heard it all, and had even played along with her usual “tricks,” flirting back with Teacher Zhao.

Back then… Wen Qingyan would sulk alone. Si Nanyu would see it, but she would only drag her to bed to “coax” her. Eight out of ten times, that was how it went. And every time, Wen Qingyan would deeply despise herself, yet find it as sweet as honey. Because in those moments, Si Nanyu’s possessiveness was at its strongest.

Si Nanyu had come to this mixer for Wen Qingyan. Since Wen wasn’t there, she couldn’t sit still. After thirty minutes, she prepared to leave. Teacher Zhao, who sat across from her and had toasted her first, pouted and said, “Oh my, I thought we were lucky today with both Teacher Wen and little Teacher Si here. I didn’t expect little Teacher Si to leave early too. How about a ‘penalty’ drink?”

Shortly after arriving, Si Nanyu had asked about Wen Qingyan. Upon learning she wasn’t there, she had become very quiet. Everyone at the table noticed, and most guessed why she had appeared. Naturally, some were unhappy about it.

Teacher Zhao handed over the glass. Not long after Si Nanyu drank it, another person next to her started a toast, placing a glass by her hand. “Teacher Si, we joined Zhennan in the same year but haven’t really interacted. I’ll drink first as a sign of respect!”

The reasons were sound. Si Nanyu had one glass, then two; the third was hard to refuse. So she didn’t. She drank it and left.

Whether twenty-eight-year-old Si Nanyu could hold her liquor was unproven, but eighteen-year-old Si Nanyu definitely could not. Just three glasses, and once she stepped outside into the wind, she felt even worse. She struggled to find her mountain bike and pedaled slowly toward home.

Luckily, the distance wasn’t as far as the ride from school. Her home was roughly at the midpoint. But her head was spinning, and she didn’t make it back until nearly nine o’clock.

She locked her bike and looked up at the tenth floor. The lights were off.

Si Nanyu’s heart tightened. Dizzily, she wondered… did Wen Qingyan not come home? The thought made her more anxious. She had tried calling her on the way, but no one picked up. Now she was desperate to check if she was inside.

She jogged through the door, dropped her keys, and shouted, “Wen Qingyan!”

The only response was a clatter. It came from the bay window—the sound of a bottle hitting the floor.

Si Nanyu immediately became alert. Without even changing her shoes, she grabbed an umbrella from the entryway and crept toward the bay window. Her steps were incredibly light, fearing she would be discovered by whoever was there.

She thought it might be a burglar, but as she got closer, she heard a familiar voice.

“Mm-nnh…” The voice was soft it was Wen Qingyan.

Si Nanyu relaxed, tossed the umbrella aside, and walked over quickly, flipping on the light. The brightness was harsh. Wen Qingyan instinctively shielded her eyes, then looked at Si Nanyu through her fingers, calling her name with a mix of annoyance and reproach: “Si Nanyu~!”

Si Nanyu rubbed her eyes and ears to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating before approaching Wen Qingyan, taking off her jacket as she walked. Wen Qingyan’s cheeks were flushed crimson, and her eyes watched her with a hazy, blurred gaze.

Si Nanyu didn’t dare look for long Wen Qingyan was wearing far too little, and the window was open. She wanted to move her or drape her jacket over her. Otherwise… Wen Qingyan’s already short hemline was nearly being blown to her waist by the wind.

She was worried and embarrassed. Stumbling forward, before she could grab Wen Qingyan’s arm, Wen Qingyan leaned into her first.

Their torsos pressed together; their breaths intertwined. In the darkness of her own mind, Si Nanyu kept seeing flashes of Wen Qingyan in that thin camisole nightgown, billowing in the wind.

She shook her head and spoke dryly: “Wen…”

“Why did you go to the mixer today?”

“Si Nanyu, I’m so cold. Can you carry me back to the room, please?”

Wen Qingyan was speaking somewhat incoherently; her words and actions were two completely different things. While saying she wanted to go to the room, her mouth bit down on Si Nanyu’s ear.

A tingling sensation swept through her entire body. Si Nanyu instinctively flinched, but Wen Qingyan let out a dissatisfied whimper. Tonight, Wen Qingyan was exceptionally charming and exceptionally clingy.

Her cheeks were flushed, and because she was so close, Si Nanyu could see that even her neck was red. Her voice sounded like she was acting spoiled, much like her eyes, both of them sweetly and stickily hooking into Si Nanyu’s soul.

Si Nanyu had been drinking too; she wasn’t exactly sober. By the time she realized what was happening, her lips were already pressed against Wen Qingyan’s collarbone.

She had kissed her until it turned red.

When she looked up, Wen Qingyan suddenly laughed a smile of devastating beauty. Her thumb traced Si Nanyu’s lips as she said with a vague, aggrieved slur, “It hurts.”

“Didn’t you forget everything? Why do you still like to kiss me here?”

As Wen Qingyan spoke, a faint mist gathered in her eyes, sticky and obsessed. This version of Wen Qingyan made Si Nanyu’s heart thud violently.

I like her so much. Those words suddenly popped into her head. She forgot to answer for a moment, but Wen Qingyan’s questions came one after another.

“Were the teachers at the mixer today good-looking?”

“Are they prettier than me?”

“Si Nanyu, do you want me?”

That last sentence sounded like a plea, as was her posture. She was sitting on Si Nanyu’s lap, her burning breath lingering by her ear, sweetly hooking every fiber of Si Nanyu’s mind.

She heard Wen Qingyan whisper clearly into her ear: “Right now.”

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