Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“Qiao Mo.” That person was calling her again, in a tiny, low voice that sounded a bit coaxing, as if she had something to discuss with her. “Can I be like Yuan Tianci and call you Qiao Mei (Little Sister Qiao), too?”

“Why?” To avoid “crossing the line with her gaze,” Qiao Mo started consciously turning her head away, deliberately not looking in Qiao Wan’s direction. If I don’t look, I can’t cross the boundary, right? As for Qiao Wan the girl was so cute, what could Qiao Mo do but indulge her?

Besides, from the look of things so far, Qiao Wan hadn’t done anything particularly excessive.

However, precisely because Qiao Mo wasn’t looking at her, she didn’t notice the snickering expression on Qiao Wan’s face: “Just say if you’ll let me call you that or not?”

It was just a name, a mere title, so Qiao Mo didn’t take it to heart. Thinking of how many people found the “Mo” in her name awkward to say and just called her Qiao Mei anyway, she figured Qiao Wan simply found it hard to pronounce. So, she said softly: “As you wish.”

Anyway, whether they called her Qiao Mo or Qiao Mei now, she would realize they were calling her; it didn’t matter.

“Then… I’m really going to call you that.” That person whispered behind her, “Qiao Mei?”

“Mm.”

Qiao Mo indeed responded, and then she heard the person let out a “pfft” of laughter. Class had already started by then, and this sound drew the dissatisfaction of the English teacher. But seeing it was Qiao Wan, her prize student, the teacher found it hard to lose her temper and simply cleared her throat as a warning. Others didn’t dare turn around to look, so Qiao Wan’s loss of composure passed easily.

For the rest of the period, both of them listened to the lesson seriously without any little tricks. But as soon as the teacher said class was over, Qiao Wan couldn’t sit still. She leaned over again and whispered her name in Qiao Mo’s ear naturally, not Qiao Mo, but Qiao Mei. Yet Qiao Mo continued to respond; every time she called, Qiao Mo answered without the slightest neglect or sign of impatience, let alone asking what she wanted by calling her like that repeatedly.

“Qiao Mei, are you really not angry that I call you that?” Qiao Wan asked cautiously.

“Not angry.”

“Then you can’t be angry at what comes next, either.”

Qiao Mo turned her face back and gave her a deep look. Just as Qiao Wan was about to accuse her of “crossing the line with her gaze,” she turned her face away again and said indifferently: “Not angry.”

Qiao Wan: “…”

Acting like it’s for real.

“You promised not to be angry, so I’ll say it—” Qiao Wan took a deep breath and whispered while leaning on her shoulder, “Call me ‘Sister’ (Jiejie).”

In return, she received a cold look from Qiao Mo: “Why?”

“There are only two people with the surname Qiao in this class. Since you’ve admitted you’re ‘Qiao Mei’ (Little Sister Qiao), then I am naturally ‘Qiao Jie’ (Sister Qiao)!”

So she had dug a pit and was waiting for her to jump in. No wonder she looked so cautious just now. Qiao Mo slowly put down the book in her hand, a trace of interest in teasing her rising: “No.”

“Didn’t you already admit you’re Qiao Mei? There are only the two of us named Qiao here. If you say you’re the little sister, then I’m naturally the big sister. Since we share the same surname, it’s not like you’re losing out by calling me that, right?” Qiao Wan tried her best to persuade Qiao Mo, “Hurry up, call me Sister.”

Qiao Mo pursed her lips and said, “That still won’t do. I admit to being ‘Qiao Mei’ because the ‘Mo’ in my name is very similar to the ‘Mei’ in little sister; if you all really see it as the same character, I have no objection. But, what about age?”

“Age?” Qiao Wan frowned. She could only act smart with her words; if it came down to actual age, she didn’t have much of an advantage. “I was born in 1997.” Most people in the class were also born in ’97. If Qiao Mo happened to be from ’97 or even ’96, Qiao Wan would have no advantage at all.

To her surprise, Qiao Mo clicked her tongue and, with a reluctant and not very sincere tone, called out to her: “Sister.” While Qiao Wan was stunned, she quickly explained, “I accept the loss. I was born in 1998.”

“You’re so tall, yet you’re actually a year younger than me?”

Qiao Mo smiled faintly and said, “Maybe I just developed earlier.”

In fact, as soon as the words left her mouth, Qiao Wan began to regret them. The other girl could have easily said, “More than half the girls in class are taller than you,” but she didn’t. She just brushed the topic aside with a nonchalant “maybe just developed early.”

Height was an eternal pain in Qiao Wan’s heart. She had been short since childhood, and combined with her naturally curly, fluffy long hair, she stood among her peers like an outlier; others were real people, while she was perhaps an exquisite porcelain doll that had accidentally blended into the crowd.

It shouldn’t be; how could a real person be this beautiful, as if walking out of a painting? Qiao Wan’s face was somewhere between her peers and a first-year junior high student, the kind that looked like a “loli” at first glance, but upon closer inspection felt exceptionally delicate. There were many elegant components mixed into her cuteness, and occasionally she even looked a bit cold.

Not every boy liked the “loli” type, but Qiao Wan’s looks were truly so high that every boy believed firmly that during the three years of high school, she would surely “bloom” and become the most beautiful girl in the whole school. Thus, they all coincidentally cast their votes for her.

And so, the loli-type Qiao Wan defeated many mature-looking peers. Relying on her exquisite face which still had a bit of baby fat and her already developed chest, she was crowned the School Beauty among the freshmen. Because she didn’t like posting her photos online, she even attracted a significant number of people who voluntarily ran to the door of Class 11 just to spectate. The scene was even more spectacular than when Yuan Tianci was elected as the freshman School Hunk. Even many who claimed to have zero interest in the loli type changed their tune after seeing Qiao Wan from a distance:

“…Is this what you call a loli type? I think it’s pretty good; I want to find a loli-type girl to be my girlfriend, too.”

“Give it a rest. There’s only one loli-type girl as beautiful as Qiao Wan. Forget about getting Qiao Wan as a girlfriend; you’d be lucky to catch any girl at all. Look in a mirror before you speak. Hey, after class, you want to head over to the Class 11 door again?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? Even if I don’t see Qiao Wan, the other girls in her class aren’t bad; they’re all quite good-looking.”

“Except for the one next to the School Beauty, her looks are truly eye-searing. Why did the teacher insist on seating her next to Qiao Wan? To make Qiao Wan stand out?”

“She’s just unlucky to happen to have the same surname as Qiao Wan.” Facing the puzzled looks of those around him, the boy added, “Their class seating chart is arranged by pinyin. That girl just happened to have the surname Qiao like Qiao Wan, so she sits next to her. I heard their class monitor call her “I think her name is Qiao Mei?”

“Qiao Mei?” The boy who heard this snickered, flipping the gum in his mouth with his tongue. “The name is quite interesting, too. Did her parents see how ugly she was when she was born, so they didn’t even bother to give her a proper name? What a waste of such a nice surname.”

“She’s also wasting such a good seat. If I were sitting next to Qiao Wan, wouldn’t I get the ‘first look at the moon from a waterfront pavilion’ (get an advantage from being close) in minutes? By the time I win Qiao Wan over, you guys can just watch from the sidelines…”

The other boys pressed his head onto the table: “In your dreams! You think you’d get the advantage? She’s a second-generation rich kid! Understand? Fine, during the long break, we’ll use the excuse of looking for our bros in Class 11 to go take a look. Women like that, we can only look at; they don’t deign to play with us at all.”

After the second period in the morning, there was a twenty-five-minute break. It was originally intended for students to do morning exercises, but because the freshmen hadn’t learned the movements yet, the school had no choice but to let them play. It was also considered time for them to get used to the high school schedule.

Unfortunately, Class 11 was on the fifth floor, the top floor of the teaching building. Without enough time or a good excuse, it was truly impossible to get near. Could you really use the excuse of “going to the bathroom” to run from Class 9 on the fourth floor to Class 11 on the fifth floor?

A regular break simply wasn’t enough to mess around, but the long break was perfect. There was plenty of time to go up to the fifth floor.

“Ah, my princess in the high tower…”

“Don’t be downcast. Think about it: once the uniforms are handed out, won’t we be wearing ‘couple outfits’ with the School Beauty? Right? Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“By that logic, every boy in the whole school is wearing a ‘couple outfit’ with her. The green hat on my head would reach outer space by now.” The boy rolled over listlessly. “But I am really looking forward to seeing Qiao Wan in our school uniform.”

Another boy’s face stiffened: “…The flour sack? You’re looking forward to that?”

“What flour sack? Longting No. 1’s uniform is the most distinctive blue sailor suit among the nearby schools, okay?” Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so expectant.

As the best high school in the area, Longting No. 1 was better than other local schools in almost every way. The school grounds were the largest among all schools in Longting, including middle and primary schools. Even the uniforms were the best-looking blue-and-white sailor suits—the kind with sailor collars and hats. The skirts only reached the knees, and in summer, the girls wore sandals. The whole campus was filled with long legs; it was incredibly beautiful and romantic.

Could a “flour sack” compare?

The boys had observed that while Qiao Wan was short, her proportions were excellent. Her leg length definitely accounted for over 60% of her total height. Just thinking about it, they knew Qiao Wan would look like a female lead from a Japanese anime in that uniform.

“Bros.” The boy with the stiffened face put an arm around the other’s shoulder and said with a face full of sympathy: “Your information is outdated. I hate to be the one to tell you, but I’m afraid you won’t get to see Qiao Wan in a sailor suit. Because for our year, the uniform is being redesigned.”

“Evolution or devolution?”

“Devolution.” And it was devolving directly into the “flour sack” level.