I Woke Up and Found Myself Married to the Dean - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: You’re Only Allowed to Watch with Me!

“In these past years of ours—”

“The thing we’ve lacked least of all is ‘liking’—”

It felt like a punch landing on a bale of cotton. For a moment, Si Nanyu was utterly helpless. She forgot how to speak and could only watch as Wen Qingyan, leading Paigu, gradually walked away.

And Wen Qingyan clearly had no intention of waiting for her.

Si Nanyu followed without hesitation.

However, Wen Qingyan’s mood seemed to have taken a sharp downturn. A relationship that had managed a few words of conversation just moments ago suddenly turned strange again. It felt like a cold war. Even their daily interactions became sparse.

On Sunday, Si Nanyu thought they would both be idling at home, but Wen Qingyan woke up very early. She took Paigu out for a long walk and left the house without even eating breakfast.

“Wen Qingyan.”

“Where are you going~?” Si Nanyu deliberately softened her tone.

Wen Qingyan did indeed turn her head, saying in a flat voice, “Going to the school for a bit.”

“Can I come with you?”

“No.”

That was how it was. Dealing with Wen Qingyan always brought a sense of being resisted. If it happened enough times, eventually…

Eventually, what?

Si Nanyu was startled by the thought that suddenly popped into her head. She caught a faint, flickering trace of a memory, but when she tried to grasp it, there was nothing, and her head began to throb.

“What’s wrong?”

At Si Nanyu’s slight motion of pressing her temple, Wen Qingyan returned before she had even finished changing her shoes. She asked anxiously, her hand gently touching Si Nanyu’s head.

The feeling of being cared for made Si Nanyu’s heart tremble. She took the opportunity to grab Wen Qingyan’s hand, saying coquettishly, “Teacher Wen~~ my head hurts.”

Wen Qingyan was so worried she ignored the deliberate daintiness in her voice, allowing her hand to be held.

“Do you want to go to the hospital? Even if it’s not time for your check-up yet…” The tender words slipped out unintentionally.

After saying it, Wen Qingyan froze. She realized Si Nanyu was acting spoiled and that her headache probably wasn’t as severe as she had imagined. She let go of Si Nanyu’s hand and stepped back slightly.

Si Nanyu pursed her lips in disappointment but told the truth: “It was just a sharp pain for a second, I’m fine now.”

“But…” She shifted her tone, putting on a pitiful expression: “Can I please accompany you to school? I’m afraid my head might hurt again when you’re not around.”

Wen Qingyan had never been able to refuse Si Nanyu’s dependence. In the moment of her hesitation, Si Nanyu had already prepared everything. Her ability to take action was formidable.

She even made a promise: “Let’s go, I’ll definitely be good! I’ll lighten your load.”

And indeed, she did. Si Nanyu gave her a light nudge with her elbow, urging her to move, then picked up Wen Qingyan’s bag and umbrella, and even led out a very reluctant Paigu.

“We should drop him at the pet shop, right? Since neither of us will be home…”

Faced with this momentum, Wen Qingyan could only agree: “Fine.” She reached for Paigu’s leash, but Si Nanyu wouldn’t let her. Despite carrying the bags, she insisted on holding the dog. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it, you just lead the way.”

She was currying favor. Wen Qingyan was absolutely certain now: Si Nanyu was currying favor.

After dropping Paigu off at the pet shop, Wen Qingyan drove to the school. She intended to keep her eyes on the road, but she couldn’t help being drawn to Si Nanyu, who was in a remarkably good mood.

A thought that had been circling in her mind for a while finally found its way out: “You… do you have something going on today?”

“No?”

“Does accompanying you to work count? If so, then yes.”

Si Nanyu suddenly seemed like a different person again. Or rather… having passed the initial period of confusion after losing her memory, she was becoming more like the Si Nanyu of ten years later, yet still retained a spark of her eighteen-year-old innocence.

“Everything I said yesterday was true. Although my physical condition is a bit restricted and my memory has issues, I—”

“Stop talking.”

Speaking of which, she really was naively persistent. Wen Qingyan held onto the same thought: they hadn’t lacked “liking” over the years. It was just that this “liking” had long since turned sour.

“If you don’t like it, I won’t say it.” Failing at everything else but being the first to learn how to behave, Si Nanyu gripped her seatbelt and whispered this one sentence, then actually became quiet.

Wen Qingyan didn’t speak again either, but she was extremely unaccustomed to such a submissive and quiet Si Nanyu. She stole several glances at her while driving. On the two occasions their eyes met, Si Nanyu’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she gave her a sweet smile.

Wen Qingyan’s mind was a mess. Upon reaching the school, she got out of the car and left immediately without a word.

Si Nanyu hesitated. Should she follow her out? This time, Wen Qingyan hadn’t dropped her at the subway entrance but had parked directly in the school lot. Although no one was around… Si Nanyu was still cautious. She waited until Wen Qingyan had walked a few paces before calling out, “I’ll wait for you here.”

She leaned against the window, her hand propped against her face. Her loosely tied hair fluttered in the wind lazy, yet with a hint of something pitiful.

Wen Qingyan’s gaze locked onto her. After a long silence, she said, “You can move around freely if you want.” Then, carrying her bag, she turned and left.

But the image of Si Nanyu just now kept flashing in her mind. It took a great effort to stop herself from going back to pinch Si Nanyu’s cheek.

Back when Si Nanyu was still in university, it was like this. She would drive Wen Qingyan to work on Mondays, saying, “Teacher Wen, don’t work too hard. Your little chauffeur will come pick you up tonight.” Her hand would be propped against her face just like that, making her lean face look round and cute.

Wen Qingyan would always find herself unable to resist going back to pinch her gently, only to be dominantly held down by Si Nanyu and kissed until she could barely breathe.

By the time she reached her office floor, Wen Qingyan had reined in her emotions. She unconsciously wiped a trace of moisture from the corner of her eye. She was the cold and heartless Dean of Students again, not the nostalgic Wen Qingyan.

She knew she was being difficult, but she just couldn’t let go. She thought that if she wore things down enough, eventually it would all pass, right? “Eventually it will pass” had become her psychological mantra. A mantra that led to numbness.

“Teacher Wen, you’re here so early today?”

As she walked toward her office, someone called out to her. She put on a polite social smile to respond, but then saw that the people approaching were Teacher Zhao (Zhao Qing) and Qu Yixuan, the ones from the mixer.

The one speaking to her was Qu Yixuan, with Zhao Qing trailing behind her. Clearly, Zhao Qing didn’t need to be at this meeting; she was just following Qu Yixuan.

Upon seeing her, Qu Yixuan put some distance between herself and Zhao Qing. Zhao Qing noticed but pretended not to, saying without even looking up, “I’m leaving.” She brushed past Wen Qingyan without a word.

Their relationship had never been good; they only spoke for the sake of professional harmony. This time, even that felt unnecessary. Neither spoke, and they didn’t even exchange a glance.

“Teacher Wen, it was a pity you left the mixer early the day before yesterday. Little Teacher Si came later,” Qu Yixuan said, striking up a conversation. At this moment, mentioning Si Nanyu was clearly an unwise move.

Wen Qingyan’s tone was sharp: “What’s there to be pity about?”

Qu Yixuan was visibly surprised by her response. A flash of a strange smile crossed her face as she said, “Oh, nothing much. It’s just that as soon as little Teacher Si arrived, she asked where you were.”

The point of the sentence was clear, but Wen Qingyan didn’t bite. Qu Yixuan fell silent for a moment. Not everyone had arrived for the meeting yet. After a while, Qu Yixuan spoke again: “Does Teacher Wen not like the type like little Teacher Si?”

It was getting even more obvious. Wen Qingyan had sensed her intent since the parking garage incident. Mentioning Si Nanyu now was clearly a probe. Not a probe into her relationship with Si Nanyu, Qu Yixuan hadn’t been here long enough to suspect that but a probe into Wen Qingyan’s attitude toward her and what “type” she preferred.

Wen Qingyan wouldn’t give anything away. Instead, she asked with a faint smile, “If I remember correctly, little Teacher Si is older than you, Teacher Qu?”

Therefore, calling her “little Teacher Si” was inappropriate. In school, only seniors referred to juniors that way. Si Nanyu was older than Qu Yixuan and had been there longer; it didn’t fit no matter how you looked at it.

Qu Yixuan was momentarily embarrassed. She gave a forced laugh: “I just heard everyone calling her that and it stuck.”

“Oh, I see.” Wen Qingyan gave a cold response and lowered her head to look at her documents, ending the conversation. Qu Yixuan couldn’t bring herself to keep talking, but her expression soured. She considered herself good-looking, with a trendy style and naturally smiling eyes. She was popular in her circles; why did she keep hitting a wall with Wen Qingyan? She was indignant. Truly indignant.

The meeting was to finalize plans for the National Day celebrations and the school sports meet. Someone had suggested that since it coincided with Zhennan’s 20th anniversary, the staff sports meet and the student sports meet should be held together over three days.

The meeting lasted nearly two and a half hours, breaking up just before lunch.

During a staff sports meet, the PE teachers were naturally the most popular. Zhennan had three PE teachers. Two were male; one was in his forties and busy climbing the career ladder, so he went straight to Vice Principal Li to catch up. The other was in his thirties, married to another teacher at the school, and mostly kept to himself.

That left Qu Yixuan. She was young, pleasant-looking, and a smooth talker. She was surrounded by several female teachers of a similar age, making her very popular.

Wen Qingyan silently packed her things and left, feeling a sense of relief. They were in the same school, after all; she didn’t want a hostile relationship with Qu Yixuan, but she couldn’t bring herself to be close either. After a general greeting, she left the office.

She didn’t know that Qu Yixuan, surrounded by people, was feeling a surge of vanity that erased the frustration of failing to charm Wen Qingyan. As soon as Wen Qingyan left, Qu Yixuan brushed off those around her and followed.

Wen Qingyan reached the parking lot, and Qu Yixuan was right behind her.

“Teacher Wen.”

When she heard the call, Wen Qingyan was looking at Si Nanyu in the passenger seat. She was curious about what Si Nanyu was doing and didn’t respond immediately. Qu Yixuan was already behind her.

She turned around, instinctively blocking Qu Yixuan’s line of sight so she couldn’t see Si Nanyu.

“Teacher Qu, is there something else?”

“Um… well, I wanted to invite Teacher Wen to a movie.”

Qu Yixuan spoke directly, her eyes fixed on Wen Qingyan, not looking past her at all.

Wen Qingyan felt relieved. Gripping her bag, she declined politely as usual: “I’m sorry, I have to take my dog out to play this afternoon. I don’t have time…”

“Teacher Wen has a dog? I happen to have an Alaskan Malamute. We could go together. It’s rare to have a weekend~” Qu Yixuan pushed on, seemingly unable to hear the rejection in Wen Qingyan’s tone. She continued her pursuit with a hint of playfulness.

Wen Qingyan was weary. She didn’t buy it. Shaking her head, she said, “My dog is wary of strangers and bullies other dogs.”

“It’s no—”

“That’s that, then. I’ll be going now, Teacher Qu.” Wen Qingyan gave her no room for further maneuvering and stated her departure clearly. Qu Yixuan was unwilling, but looking at the smiling Wen Qingyan, she felt both angry at the rejection and flustered. She could only nod and leave first: “Then Teacher Wen… goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Wen Qingyan kept her smile until Qu Yixuan was out of sight. Then she walked toward the car. She wasn’t looking at the car at first, but she felt a piercing gaze. Looking up, she saw Si Nanyu—who had been looking down—staring at her with a deep frown and puffed-out cheeks.

An instinctive panic flared up. But in an instant, Wen Qingyan regained her calm expression.

Si Nanyu was different. Her emotions were intense. As soon as Wen Qingyan got into the car, she saw her dark face and heard her ask: “Who was that? What did she want with you?”

Wen Qingyan didn’t take it seriously, saying casually, “A movie.”

Si Nanyu suddenly sat bolt upright, her volume rising significantly: “A movie?! She actually invited you to a movie???”

Wen Qingyan paused in the middle of starting the ignition, startled by Si Nanyu’s voice and feeling a bit irritated.

Si Nanyu didn’t care about that right now. She fumbled with her phone, and after a moment of frantic tapping, she shoved her phone screen in front of Wen Qingyan.

Geological Disaster

It was a disaster movie exactly the type Wen Qingyan liked. It had just been released, and she hadn’t had time to see it yet. The showtime was 2:40 PM.

Having read the information, Wen Qingyan looked at Si Nanyu and asked knowingly, “What does this mean?”

As expected, Si Nanyu’s eyes widened, then her shoulders slumped as she complained with an air of extreme grievance: “You haven’t even gone to a movie with me yet! What right does she have to invite you?”

Then, like a puppy guarding its food, she became fierce and bossy: “You are not allowed to go to a movie with her.”

“You’re only allowed to watch with me!”

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