Returning to High School to Save My Wife - Chapter 33

After sending those messages, Liang Qi didn’t wait for Jiang Yuan’s reply.

Whether Jiang Yuan agreed or not, she was going to give them to her regardless. After a moment’s thought, she added one last message.

[Cookie Biscuit: I’m heading to sleep now. Goodnight, see you tomorrow. No need to reply.]

After sending the message, Liang Qi put down her phone and looked at the pile of supplements she had brought back from Lin Ruoyan sitting on her desk. She hopped off the bed and specifically swapped the original packaging for ordinary plastic bags from her home.

This way, Jiang Yuan wouldn’t be as likely to get suspicious.

The sound of the front door opening drifted in from the living room most likely Liang Jingsong and Tao Huijuan returning. Liang Qi tucked the supplements into her backpack, stepped into her slippers, and went to open her door.

“Dad, Mom, why are you back so late?” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost 10:30. Oh? Mom, you’re back alone? Where’s Dad?”

Tao Huijuan explained while changing her shoes, “We ran into an old colleague of your father’s on the way back. He invited your dad over for a bit.”

“Uncle Chen?”

“No, it’s that girl from your school, surname Yue. Her father used to work under your dad, remember? I mentioned it to you a while ago.”

Only then did Liang Qi realize she was talking about Yue Suxin’s parents.

“I thought you said Dad hadn’t been in touch with them for a long time?”

“He wanted to ask your father for a favor regarding work.”

“What kind of favor?” Liang Qi asked, surprised.

“Work business, don’t ask too much,” Tao Huijuan quickly noticed the fruit gift box by the door. “Qi Qi, where did this box come from?”

“A classmate gave it to me.”

“You let a classmate come over? Oh, Qi Qi, you shouldn’t let them give you such expensive things.”

“I didn’t ask her to give it. I’m actually planning to bring some things to see her tomorrow.”

“Then take a bit more… She’s still a student and bought such exquisitely packaged fruit; it must have cost quite a bit, right?”

“Yeah. Mom, last New Year, didn’t Dad bring back two boxes of supplements? Is there any left?”

“There’s a bit left. Why? You want to give that to a classmate? Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

“My classmate’s mother is in the hospital, and she wanted to buy some supplements. Mom, if you still have some, let me have them.”

“I think they’re in the cabinet…” Tao Huijuan walked over to the cupboard, opened the door, and pulled out a bag of supplements. “Here, this is all that’s left. Take it all.”

“Thanks, Mom!”

“Which classmate is this? Why didn’t you tell me she was coming over?”

“She’s my desk-mate. She’s a bit shy, so I brought her over to sit for a while first.”

“Bring her over again another day; introduce me to her.”

“Will do!”

The next day, Liang Qi brought the supplements to Jiang Yuan.

The bag was quite large, so she kept it in her backpack until after school when everyone had left before handing it over. Jiang Yuan’s mother was in poor health; while supplements might not be a miracle cure, they represented Jiang Yuan’s heart, and Liang Qi didn’t want her to be sad. If others found out about this, they would inevitably gossip behind her back, so Liang Qi wanted to keep it private.

As expected, when she gave them to Jiang Yuan, the girl immediately offered to pay.

“Liang Qi, I can’t just take your gift for nothing. Even if your mother doesn’t need them, they belong to your family. I can’t just take them without a reason.”

“How is it without a reason? We’re friends. Besides, my mom told me to get rid of them. If you don’t take them, they’ll just be thrown away—they won’t turn into money either way. So why give me money?”

“Even so, these are quite expensive…” Jiang Yuan didn’t have much cash to give, but she wasn’t someone who liked taking advantage. Even if it was on credit, she didn’t want to owe such a massive favor. She wasn’t friends with Liang Qi for benefits; she didn’t want too much inequality between them.

“Really, no money. If you really feel bad about it, just let me come to your house next time and you can cook a meal for me yourself.”

Liang Qi knew Jiang Yuan was an excellent cook. Perhaps because she had to shoulder the pressure of the entire household in high school, Jiang Yuan knew how to do many things Liang Qi couldn’t. She knew niche life hacks and even understood how to wire a lamp.

Compared to Jiang Yuan, Liang Qi felt like a “life idiot.” Because many things couldn’t be solved with money, one was forced to learn skills most peers wouldn’t master.

When they first met in their past life, Jiang Yuan had lived on takeout just like her. Later, when they moved in together, Liang Qi had a whim to cook but almost blew up the kitchen because she was so unskilled. It was Jiang Yuan who saved the day. Only then did Liang Qi realize how delicious Jiang Yuan’s cooking was.

Back then, she had asked Jiang Yuan, “Your cooking is so good, why don’t I ever see you do it?”

Jiang Yuan had replied, “It’s inconvenient to cook for one. If I cook too much, no one eats it, and there are leftovers.”

Liang Qi knew she had touched upon a past Jiang Yuan didn’t want to mention, so she let the subject drop.

“How can that be equal?” Jiang Yuan knew roughly how expensive these were. “Cooking a meal only takes a few dozen minutes. How can it compare to the value of these supplements?”

Unlike Lin Ruoyan, who gave her a discount, Liang Qi wasn’t asking for a single cent. Last night, when she got the message, she thought it would be a small amount, but Liang Qi had brought two large bags this morning.

“Then how about this,” Liang Qi thought for a moment, “Consider it that you owe me a favor. If I ever get into trouble in the future, you have to help me.”

“Help…?” Jiang Yuan hesitated at the word. Would Liang Qi ever truly need her help? Wasn’t she just saying that to make her feel okay about accepting…?

“Yeah,” Liang Qi said as if it were a matter of course. “If I ask for your help later, you’re absolutely not allowed to refuse.”

“If you have trouble, of course I’ll help you,” Jiang Yuan said. In fact, even without these things, she would help if Liang Qi were in trouble. “But… give me a deadline.” She still felt Liang Qi was just saying this to ease her mind.

“One semester,” Liang Qi said without hesitation. “I’ll definitely make you pay back the favor by then, so don’t worry!”

Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but want to laugh. Liang Qi was the one helping her, yet the conversation sounded like she was the one threatening Liang Qi.

Jiang Yuan felt very lucky. In the past, she had only a couple of distant friends and always maintained a formal politeness. She never dared to tell anyone anything. Because her family situation was so different, she rarely participated in school activities. Her part-time job made her study time much tighter than most, so she had to use every second at school to finish homework and every spare moment to review, just to keep her grades at the top.

Consequently, her high school life lacked fun. It was like a piece of paper occupied by black and white, thin and oppressive. She often felt like an outsider to the “normal” world.

But Liang Qi’s appearance felt like a tether to the world. It wasn’t just black and white anymore; there were colors she had longed for. She liked the feeling of being with Liang Qi relaxed, happy, and comfortable despite the gap in their family backgrounds.

“Then… Liang Qi, make sure you don’t forget by then.”

“Of course.”

Only then did Jiang Yuan put the bags into her backpack. “Then I’ll take them for now. Next time—”

Before she could finish, her phone buzzed.

[Jiang Mu: Sis, come to the hospital.]

Jiang Yuan froze, her heart suddenly pounding. Jiang Mu had gone to the hospital right after school. For him to message so quickly… did something happen to Xu Chengyu?

Jiang Yuan gripped her phone tightly, trying to stay calm as she told Liang Qi, “Liang Qi, I have to go to the hospital to see my mom today, so I won’t be going with you.”

“You’re going to see her? How about I go with you?”

“No need, you go on ahead. If anything happens, I’ll call you.”

“Okay, take care on the road.”

Jiang Yuan packed her bag and, after Liang Qi left, tried to call Jiang Mu, but the call wouldn’t go through. Her heart beat faster and faster. She grabbed her bag and hurried out, but was stopped at the school gate.

“Jiang Yuan!”

Jiang Yuan stopped and saw Cheng Zhuocheng standing there, grinning at her with his jacket in hand. He walked over quickly. “Why are you leaving so late? I just happened to—”

“I’m sorry, I have an urgent matter. Let’s talk tomorrow…”

“Hey, Jiang Yuan…!” Before he could finish, Jiang Yuan had already hurried away, leaving him staring at her back.

Cheng Zhuocheng knit his brows, a flicker of displeasure crossing his mind. He had made overtures to Jiang Yuan many times. Initially, he thought a beauty like her being a bit aloof was normal, and he enjoyed the chase, but it had been over a year. Even if it was playing hard to get, shouldn’t it be over by now?

He had helped her so much last week; he thought her attitude would improve, but she didn’t seem to care at all. If that was the case, why did she come to him for help in the first place?

As he was thinking this, a voice came from behind him.

“Cheng Zhuocheng!”

He turned and saw Yue Suxin. She was wearing her designer backpack with two red clips in her hair, looking as pretty as a doll.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I…” Cheng Zhuocheng hesitated, not telling the truth. “Just some things delayed me after school.”

“Then let’s walk together,” Yue Suxin said. She had stayed behind specifically to wait for him, having heard from friends in Class 5 that he would be leaving late. “I was delayed too.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

“Oh,” Yue Suxin suddenly noticed something, a look of mock surprise in her eyes. “Was that Jiang Yuan just now?”

“Yeah.” Cheng Zhuocheng looked at the distant figure, his face dark.

“You came to see her? For what?”

“Nothing, just returning something I borrowed. I didn’t expect her to rush off so quickly.”

“Sigh, you don’t understand Jiang Yuan. She’s just like that, cold to everyone. Don’t let her ‘indifferent’ act fool you; she actually has someone she likes already.”

“She likes someone? Who?” Cheng Zhuocheng’s dissatisfaction grew. So, she was acting this way because of some “sweetheart”? He was the school hunk; if she didn’t even like him, who could she possibly like?

Yue Suxin hesitated. “I… I really shouldn’t say.”

Cheng Zhuocheng suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, asking word by word, “Yue Suxin, tell me. Who is it?”

Yue Suxin’s expression became even more pained. “Cheng Zhuocheng, I really can’t say… it involves Jiang Yuan’s and a teacher’s reputation, Ah!” She realized she had slipped up and her face went pale with panic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to let that slip…”

“Yue Suxin,” Cheng Zhuocheng sensed something was wrong. “Tell me. What exactly is going on? How is it connected to a teacher’s reputation?”

“I… I really can’t.”

“Just say it. I promise I won’t tell anyone. I won’t let it involve you.”

“Then, I’ll tell you. It’s Jiang Yuan. She used to like Old Xie. There’s a ‘special’ reason she was able to get into the Rocket Class.”

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