I Woke Up and Found Myself Married to the Dean - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: She is Not a Lone Brave.

Wen Qingyan had watched the movie 2012 five or six times; she revisited it almost every two or three years.

The first time it was released, she went to the theater alone. The second time, she watched it at home when she had nothing to do. Every time after that, she watched it with Si Nanyu.

The two had different personalities, but their tastes in this area were similar: both liked disaster movies and films with intense, grand scenes. Thus, even though Wen Qingyan knew the general plot, she was still drawn in.

Naturally, she assumed Si Nanyu felt the same.

But as the scenes shifted, Wen Qingyan noticed that the person beside her was restless. Not only was Si Nanyu getting closer and closer, but her hand was nearly within reach.

Wen Qingyan’s breath hitched. She shifted her gaze to Si Nanyu’s face, baffled by her shifty, secretive expression. “What are you doing?!”

“I—I—I’m not doing anything!” Si Nanyu acted like an ostrich, guiltily scooting further away.

Inside, she was howling: I got caught!!! How embarrassing!!!

But thankfully, she denied it. Otherwise, if Wen Qingyan knew she wanted to poke her cheek, what would she think?

Respect! The! Teacher!

Si Nanyu lowered her eyes and repeated these words like a mantra, deleting all the inappropriate thoughts from her mind. Once the “cleanup” was complete, she finally dared to look at Wen Qingyan again.

A tsunami hit the screen…

Wen Qingyan was watching intently. Si Nanyu didn’t dare let her mind wander again and turned her focus back to the movie.

She didn’t notice that Wen Qingyan’s ears, hidden beneath her hair, had quietly turned red. Something was scratching at Wen Qingyan’s heart, leaving it in a mess. Her eyes, veiled in a light mist, were slightly dazed; the movie screen grew blurry.

She suspected she knew exactly what Si Nanyu had wanted to do…

The movie lasted nearly two and a half hours. Despite the gripping plot, Si Nanyu found it hard to sit still. Toward the end, she stole a glance at Wen Qingyan and saw her still maintaining that posture of arms crossed over her chest.

Si Nanyu marveled: As expected of Teacher Wen. So impressive, being able to sit still for so long.

Even though Wen Qingyan’s back was actually resting lightly against the sofa cushions, it didn’t hinder Si Nanyu’s admiration. Granted, the admiration was a bit blind. But the mere thought of sitting on the sofa with Wen Qingyan made Si Nanyu’s heart bloom with joy, magnifying every emotion.

So what if it was blind admiration? Her Teacher Wen was the best!

As Si Nanyu’s thoughts grew more and more “beautiful,” her eyes began to wander… and they landed on Paigu, who was lying by Wen Qingyan’s legs.

An alarm bell rang in her mind. She pointed at Paigu and asked Wen Qingyan in disbelief, “Why is Paigu here?!” When did… he get here?

“Paigu has been here the whole time.”

Wen Qingyan answered as if she had heard the unspoken second question. And Paigu was a total pro—hearing his name, he even gently rubbed his head against Wen Qingyan’s leg…

That’s cheating!!!

Paigu was taking advantage of being a dog to… touch her wife!

Si Nanyu’s eyes widened in fury. She was consumed by jealousy, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just called Wen Qingyan “wife” in her head and equally oblivious to Wen Qingyan’s suspicious and shocked expression.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to bite him!” Si Nanyu blurted out without thinking. The moment the words left her mouth, she froze.

She looked up to see Wen Qingyan’s half-smile.

What did she just… say? She, a human, was going to bite a dog?!

Her face instantly flushed a violent red; Si Nanyu felt like she was being boiled alive. Dizzily, she thought she had been a bit too aggressive these past two days. She had done all sorts of messy things without any plan and had… too many bold ideas.

She thought of how she had just referred to Wen Qingyan as “wife” in her heart. She was now officially “cooked through.”

“Go ahead and bite him then.”

“I’m going to take a shower.”

Wen Qingyan’s tone was light. She even gave Paigu a little nudge, sending him toward Si Nanyu.

Si Nanyu snapped back to reality and found herself eye-to-eye with Paigu. Paigu, of course, had no idea what she had said and was just tilting his head at her.

Si Nanyu… Si Nanyu… wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She covered her face with both hands, yet couldn’t stop herself from peeking at Wen Qingyan as she walked away.

As she looked, Wen Qingyan happened to turn back with a smile full of mischief. Feeling her cheeks grow hotter beneath her hands, Si Nanyu threw herself face-down onto the sofa…

Can’t see me, can’t see me. If I don’t look at her, she can’t see me.

She muttered this to herself, ignoring Paigu’s confused stares. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of Wen Qingyan’s footsteps fading into the distance that she finally relaxed.

Let’s just pretend… nothing happened!

But she still couldn’t hide her emotions. She covered her face again, twisting and turning on the sofa.

While she was in a complex mood due to embarrassment, Wen Qingyan’s situation in the bathroom was even more complicated. She had been so amused by Si Nanyu’s “biting the dog” comment that when she entered the bathroom, she forgot to bring her nightgown.

Halfway through the shower, steamed until her whole body was glowing with heat, Wen Qingyan realized she needed Si Nanyu to bring her the gown. Her cheeks flared up even more.

But what could she do? Her casual house clothes were already in the washing machine and couldn’t be worn. Going out like this would be… even worse.

Indecision flashed in Wen Qingyan’s flushed eyes. Finally, she called out softly: “Si Nanyu…”

But Si Nanyu, who was still rolling around on the sofa, didn’t hear her.

Wen Qingyan raised her voice: “Si Nanyu!”

After two shouts with no response, her shy embarrassment turned into impatience. She shouted at full volume: “Si Nanyu! Bring me my nightgown!”

At the same time, a thought echoed in her head: We are a legally married couple. It’s no big deal. What part of me has she not seen?

Despite the thought, when she actually directed Si Nanyu to bring the gown, Wen Qingyan’s eyes were darting around. When she saw Si Nanyu—who looked even more red-faced than she was—she felt even more unsettled.

She didn’t open the door all the way, and with the steam as a veil, she naturally assumed Si Nanyu couldn’t see much. So, she grew a bit bolder, looking at the clearly visible Si Nanyu outside. Seeing her face flushed red, Si Nanyu slowly handed the gown over.

Si Nanyu remained silent. As Wen Qingyan fully took the gown, Si Nanyu said urgently, “I’m leaving now!” Then, she slammed the door shut…

Outside the door, Si Nanyu was in a state. Her face was red because… she had always had excellent eyesight.

So, when Wen Qingyan reached out, the view of that place swaying and trembling slightly had been seen clearly by her. And right before the door shut, she saw Wen Qingyan biting her lip in shameful redness.

She faintly felt that Wen Qingyan hadn’t realized how much was visible, which gave her a tingling, one-sided sense of “voyeurism.” Even though it wasn’t truly that, this was Wen Qingyan—someone Si Nanyu had never imagined she could interact with in such a way.

Reality told her they were wives, and their occasional interactions confirmed it, but… but this was different! She was the first person Wen Qingyan thought of when she realized she’d forgotten her gown!

That night, Si Nanyu was destined to sleep poorly.

She woke up early, feeling very thoughtful as she went to walk the dog and buy breakfast. Paigu hadn’t seen much of her over the weekend and was a bit uncooperative at first, but the desire to go outside soon won out, and he happily followed her.

It wasn’t even 7:00 AM yet. She walked Paigu half a lap around the artificial lake before turning toward another gate to buy breakfast. At this hour, street stalls were everywhere. There were two or three food carts selling Jianbing Guozi, one of Si Nanyu’s favorites.

But remembering that Wen Qingyan didn’t seem to like her eating that, the light in Si Nanyu’s eyes dimmed. Actually, she wasn’t a picky eater; she just had preferences. Small steamed buns (Xiaolongbao) would be fine too.

There wasn’t a specific bun shop at their complex gate, but the shop she usually visited sold a variety: buns, wontons, savory pies, and fried dough sticks. Si Nanyu liked variety, but she knew Wen Qingyan had a favorite. After a moment of hesitation, she pointed to the hot buns: “Ma’am, two orders of Xiaolongbao, please.”

“Sure thing, just a moment!” The owner was a middle-aged woman with a simple, honest face and a pleasant personality. As she handed over the packed buns, she smiled and said, “I’ve seen you buying here often lately. Buying for your wife?”

Although it was the kind of comment that made her blush with embarrassment, it gave Si Nanyu a boost of courage. She took the buns and nodded, face reddening: “Mm, yes!”

Her answer was so firm that the owner was momentarily stunned before letting out a chuckle. The laugh was a bit suggestive. Even as Si Nanyu left the queue, the owner was still smiling at her, almost forgetting to serve the next customer…

Si Nanyu was about to remind her, but then heard a sharp, irritable voice from behind the counter: “Luo Jiao! The customers are waiting…”

A woman stepped out from behind the owner. She looked a few years younger, was petite, and the way she looked at Si Nanyu was a bit… unusual?

Being on the same “path,” Si Nanyu immediately realized their relationship was far from ordinary. While her smile faded slightly under the gaze, she also thought: Given their age, things must have been very difficult for them back in the day.

She had a habit of worrying about things out of her control, but remembering that same-sex marriage had passed, her mood brightened again. Before leaving the shop, she turned back, waved, and smiled: “Goodbye, Owner! Goodbye, Mrs. Owner! See you next time!”

Luo Jiao, the owner, reacted quickly and waved back with a smile: “See you next time!”

The “Mrs. Owner” stared at her with a look that said a thousand words, while her hand seemed to secretly pinch the owner’s waist.

Si Nanyu burst into a smile and led Paigu back home. How wonderful is it to be happy over small things every day? she thought. The shadows in her mind gradually cleared.

Before going upstairs, she pulled out her phone and looked at the chat box from Qin Hua, who had been messaging her for several days. Though Si Nanyu had replied to every message, she hadn’t put much heart into it. Qin Hua’s messages were full of worry—worry that she was overthinking, worry that she couldn’t move on.

Despite Si Nanyu explaining her thoughts, Qin Hua hadn’t changed. So, fueled by the morning’s joy, Si Nanyu felt inspired. She sent a message to her mother, Qin Hua, stating her intention to pursue Wen Qingyan all over again. She even explained her mental journey.

Qin Hua was likely still asleep or busy, as she didn’t reply immediately. But Si Nanyu grew more excited as she typed, her fingers flying over the screen…

Mom, courage is like a sponge—if you squeeze hard enough, there’s always some there!] [I’m going to walk toward a brand new life!

It didn’t matter if Qin Hua didn’t reply; Si Nanyu had made up her mind. Of course, the most important source of her courage was Wen Qingyan.

That night, Wen Qingyan had asked her… if she still wanted her. And last night, the shy Wen Qingyan! All of it proved that she was not a lone brave!

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