I Woke Up and Found Myself Married to the Dean - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: I’ll Have to Ask My Teacher!

“Then you… probably don’t like me anymore either.”

As she drifted off, a dazed Si Nanyu carried those words into her dreams.

In her dream, she was still eighteen, but Wen Qingyan didn’t look the way she used to. She looked the way she did now at the bedside except she wasn’t crossing her arms, she wasn’t distant, and she didn’t lean in to ask what kind of game Si Nanyu was playing.

She was right there, yet she felt worlds away.

Her tear-filled eyes seemed to be accusing her of something; her lips were parted, moving occasionally.

But Si Nanyu couldn’t hear a thing. She shook Wen Qingyan’s arm, but Wen Qingyan refused to make a sound.

Si Nanyu’s shaking grew more frantic, and hot tears began to soak her cheeks at some unknown point…

“Wen… Wen Qingyan!”

Si Nanyu jolted awake from the nightmare, instinctively wiping away a tear.

Her cheeks were damp. She wasn’t sure if she had actually cried or if it was just the remnants of the dream, but her heart felt shriveled and incredibly uncomfortable.

After a few seconds, she regained her senses and glanced out the window.

The sky was just beginning to pale; the sun hadn’t risen yet.

The hospital bed, which had felt crowded before sleep, was now exceptionally spacious.

Wen Qingyan wasn’t in the bed.

Si Nanyu scanned the room and spotted her on the small cot nearby.

Wen Qingyan had covered herself with her jacket and curled into a ball, her back toward her.

As the lingering dread from the dream faded, Si Nanyu stared blankly at the window for a moment before tiptoeing out of bed.

Seeing the blanket Qin Hua had brought yesterday lying on the sofa, she picked it up and walked toward Wen Qingyan.

She thought her footsteps were light, but she didn’t realize Wen Qingyan was an even lighter sleeper. Before she was even a meter away, Wen Qingyan snapped her eyes open. Startled, Wen Qingyan sat up quickly and scrambled backward, nearly falling off the edge of the narrow cot…

Ignoring everything else, Si Nanyu threw the blanket at the foot of the bed and lunged to catch her.

In her haste, Si Nanyu grabbed Wen Qingyan’s shoulder. Her grip accidentally tugged the collar open, revealing a glimpse of the red marks on her collarbone. Si Nanyu suddenly remembered something.

Her face instantly flushed hot, and her body went stiff.

She didn’t dare move an inch, staring wide-eyed at Wen Qingyan, trying her best to keep every breath… silent.

“Done pretending?”

In contrast to her tension, Wen Qingyan was calm and composed. She offered a thin smile as she asked the question.

But when she turned to look, she saw Si Nanyu’s face and neck were beet red. Si Nanyu stammered: “I’m… I’m not pretending…”

“Teacher Wen, I’m sorry!”

The speed of her apology matched the speed with which she retracted her hand. Then, fearing the other might fall, she used her other hand to steady Wen Qingyan’s arm.

Si Nanyu had always been stronger than her. After a few movements, Wen Qingyan was sitting securely.

She stared directly at the increasingly red-faced Si Nanyu, who kept her head down and said in a muffled voice: “…Be careful.”

“I… I was just afraid you’d fall.”

“You can sleep a bit longer. I’m fine.”

Thinking about how Wen Qingyan had been squeezed onto such a small cot because of her, Si Nanyu felt terrible. She draped the blanket over Wen Qingyan, backed away silently, paced in a small circle, and sat back on her own bed.

This time, it was Wen Qingyan who fell silent.

She looked at Si Nanyu’s back and said, “I’m going to go buy breakfast. Still want the fried pancake?”

“Yes!” Si Nanyu nodded vigorously with her back turned, then remembered something and spun around: “Thank you, Wen—”

“No spice.” Wen Qingyan looked up, cutting her off. She casually pinned up her hair and headed to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Wen Qingyan walked out, looking refreshed.

Si Nanyu watched her expectantly and followed her to the door.

Before closing it, Wen Qingyan looked at her and asked, “Want to come with me?”

Si Nanyu’s eyes lit up. “Can I?”

She hadn’t left this room for a whole day; she was desperate for some fresh air!! Besides, she felt she wasn’t injured at all and didn’t need.

“No.”

Wen Qingyan’s cold, flat word shattered her hope.

The door closed, and a dejected Si Nanyu returned to the bed.

Wen Qingyan was gone for about half an hour. When she returned, she didn’t give Si Nanyu a chance to speak; she set the pancake down and walked right back out of the room.

She didn’t give her a single opening to strike up a conversation.

It was still early. Si Nanyu dawdled over her breakfast and then began waiting for Wen Qingyan.

After about an hour, instead of Wen Qingyan, a stranger arrived a woman wearing heavy makeup and revealing clothes.

In a tiny camisole and a miniskirt, the woman plopped down on the edge of the bed and said in a cloying voice, “Nanyu (Sister)~ I heard you were hurt. It nearly broke my heart!”

“Come here, let me see where you’re injured…”

“Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move…” Si Nanyu raised her hands to stop her, scooting backward. She emphasized: “Don’t touch me. Stay back.”

“My… my wi…”

She wanted to say that Wen Qingyan would be back soon, but the word “wife” felt stuck in her throat. The woman in the miniskirt clearly knew what she wanted to say. She looked indifferent and frowned: “Nanyu, why are you so afraid of her?”

“She’s straight! We’re just good friends!”

“Good friends can touch each other like this?”

Wen Qingyan was standing at the door at some point, looking coldly at the two who were positioned so closely. Finally, her gaze settled on the woman in the miniskirt, and her lips curled slightly.

Si Nanyu instinctively felt guilty. She jumped off the other side of the bed, ran over, and hid behind Wen Qingyan in three quick steps, whispering: “I don’t know her!”

Wen Qingyan glanced at her. “This is the ‘girl’ who was sitting on the back of your motorcycle the day before yesterday.”

Wen Qingyan used the word “girl” literally; under the heavy makeup, the woman looked very young, twenty at most. Si Nanyu glanced at her and turned back, muttering, “How can she be so bold?”

She, Si Nanyu, at eighteen, was still timid in front of Wen Qingyan, only daring to confess while drunk…

Speaking of which, where was her confession text?

If Wen Qingyan was her wife ten years later, then… the text must have been sent?!

It was sent??!!

Embarrassment, shame, and a sliver of joy swirled in Si Nanyu’s heart. She followed Wen Qingyan with stiff limbs as they stood before the woman. She heard Wen Qingyan say: “Thank you for your concern for Nanyu. Nanyu doesn’t need any so-called ‘straight’ friends.”

“See you next time at the Traffic Police Department.”

The woman in the miniskirt looked at Si Nanyu, and seeing that Si Nanyu only had eyes for Wen Qingyan, she stomped her foot in anger and turned to leave.

Before opening the door, her bravado vanished, and she said to Wen Qingyan: “I just graduated from university… my parents don’t know I go out racing…”

“Please leave. Do not disturb Nanyu’s rest.”

After the woman left, Wen Qingyan spent the time packing things up, preparing for discharge.

During this time, she didn’t say a single word to Si Nanyu. Several times Si Nanyu tried to help, but she was rejected.

“Just rest. It’ll be ready soon.”

She said “soon,” but it actually took quite a while. About forty minutes later, Wen Qingyan handed Si Nanyu some clothes: “Your clothes. Go change.”

“Are we going home?”

“Yes.”

“To—”

“To our home. Mom is on another business trip. She specifically told me you are not allowed to go to her place alone. If you want to see her, wait until she returns, and I will take you.”

Wen Qingyan answered all of Si Nanyu’s doubts before she could even ask.

Si Nanyu had nothing left to say and obediently went to change.

However, the clothes were a bit hard to understand they were barely different from what the miniskirt girl had been wearing!

The only difference was that the miniskirt was replaced by super-short shorts!

Si Nanyu didn’t want to wear them. She cracked the door and poked her head out to ask Wen Qingyan: “Is… is there anything else?”

She still didn’t know what to call Wen Qingyan, so she just omitted the name. Wen Qingyan didn’t mind and answered directly: “None of yours.”

“I have mine, though. Do you want to wear them?”

Si Nanyu had changed a lot over the years.

Wen Qingyan usually wore professional shirt-and-trouser sets. Si Nanyu would occasionally complain that she had no sense of romance, as she wore formal wear 360 days out of the year.

Then, Si Nanyu would buy her all sorts of clothes according to the season. Some were okay to wear out, but others were…

Wen Qingyan was stubborn and almost never wore them of her own accord.

Knowing her own clothing was “disliked,” she asked politely. To her surprise, Si Nanyu agreed without hesitation: “I’ll wear them!”

Wen Qingyan’s lips twitched instinctively, and then she heard Si Nanyu ask: “Is… is it okay if I wear them?”

“It’s fine.”

“They are part of our shared marital property. There’s nothing you can’t wear.”

Wen Qingyan spoke in a low voice and pulled out an extra set of clothes.

She had originally planned to change into these after dropping Si Nanyu off and heading to school. Now she had no choice but to go home, find something else, and then head back out.

It was a similar outfit—a shirt and slacks—very similar to what she had given Si Nanyu. The colors were almost identical, both a moon-white.

Only the brands and the slight shade of the color were different.

When Wen Qingyan finished changing and came out, Si Nanyu was looking around the living room. She stood up immediately upon seeing her.

“It’s your own home. Make yourself comfortable.”

“If the clothes are uncomfortable, you can go to the bedroom and change into loungewear.”

“I have to go to school. Will you handle dinner yourself? Actually, never mind, I’ll order delivery for you.”

Out of professional habit, Wen Qingyan spoke very quickly. Only after she finished did she realize something and glanced at Si Nanyu.

During a fight last year, Si Nanyu had accused her of still treating her like a student and never asking for her opinion.

So, Wen Qingyan paused and asked: “Is 5:00 PM okay?”

“Yes!”

Si Nanyu replied instantly, but then she corrected herself: “Don’t go to so much trouble. I can cook for myself. You focus on your work!” Her eyes couldn’t help but steal a glance at Wen Qingyan, looking like she wanted to say something more.

Wen Qingyan saw the small movement. She didn’t plan to ask, only saying: “There aren’t many ingredients in the house.”

But Si Nanyu kept glancing at her—peeking with a shy, almost theatrical look.

Losing her patience with the staring, Wen Qingyan frowned and asked: “What are you looking at me for?”

“Um… I realized these two outfits are so similar!” Si Nanyu said with a bashful, fidgety smile. In her heart, she was screaming: It looks like a couple’s outfit!!!

But all she got was a casual: “They’re both my clothes. Of course they’re similar.”

“If you don’t like it, change,” she added, twisting the knife.

The smile on Si Nanyu’s face froze.

Wen Qingyan had mentioned changing twice now. She must… not want her wearing her clothes. She had been too forward.

“I… I’ll go change right now.”

If Si Nanyu had a tail, it would have been wagging when she thought they were in couple’s outfits, but now it was tucked between her legs as she scrambled to find a room and clothes to change into.

Wen Qingyan couldn’t read her emotions but felt something was off. She called out: “No rush. Why don’t you play with your new phone for a bit?”

Si Nanyu’s phone had been smashed in the accident. Wen Qingyan had bought her a new one online—the same Huawei model she used.

Technology had advanced rapidly. Si Nanyu stared at it curiously. As she looked, Wen Qingyan’s phone rang. It was the school. She took the call and prepared to leave.

She gave Si Nanyu a few instructions on what to look out for, and Si Nanyu nodded repeatedly.

Once she was gone, Si Nanyu started playing with the new phone.

She had never seen this model, but…

She had seen clearly just now it was a matching set with Wen Qingyan’s!

A wave of romantic obsession washed over her. Si Nanyu was dizzy from all the information. She slowly opened the phone, staring at the unfamiliar interface, unsure of what to do…

Ten minutes later, Si Nanyu who had finally managed to log back into WeChat and was relieved her number hadn’t changed—frantically answered an incoming call.

“Hello, is this Ms. Si Nanyu? The ‘Wind Forest Iron Cavalry’ you ordered six months ago has arrived at the store…”

Si Nanyu’s eyes went wide with confusion. She said to the person on the other end: “Wait a second, I have to ask my teacher!”

She had to ask her… what on earth a “Wind Forest Iron Cavalry” was.

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