Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Qiao Wan was also very excited at first; after all, this was an open opportunity to receive a teacher’s support and stand up against the school. But then she realized something wasn’t right: today was the 19th, the Mid-Autumn Festival, a Thursday, and it was already night. Saturday was the day of the showdown with Class 8 meaning that the time left for Qiao Mei and the others to prepare was only tomorrow, Friday?

The problem was that there were still classes on Friday. If that were the case, wouldn’t they have no time even to look at their books?

Qiao Wan: “…” Thinking about how panicked she usually was when taking an exam without studying, Qiao Wan suddenly felt very sorry for Qiao Mei. What a mess! She had originally hoped that Qiao Mei could use this opportunity to fight a beautiful “turnaround battle” so that even if Qiao Mei remained “ugly” in the days to follow, she would have the protective hat of a “Top Scholar,” and others wouldn’t dare be too brazen.

But the result?

The competition was only a day away.

Forget about Qiao Mei, who was actually competing; even Qiao Wan herself felt a bit flustered.

This strange feeling of “I think I just repaid kindness with enmity” caused Qiao Wan to look at Qiao Mei frequently during the second self-study period, and always with an apologetic gaze. Having finally endured until the end of class, Qiao Wan felt like the tape had been ripped off her mouth and spoke impatiently: “Qiao Mei, did you know all along that the competition was only a day away?”

Qiao Mei calmly closed the Physics textbook in her hand. Her eyes showed a hint of fatigue from reading for a long time, but for the most part, she remained indifferent. “I knew.”

“In that case, there’s basically no time to review…” Qiao Wan’s brow furrowed into a knot. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

She was sprawled across the desk as she spoke. Being such a small person, when she lay there with a frown, she looked exactly like an exquisite and lovely porcelain doll. Qiao Mei looked at her for a good while, then couldn’t help but reach out to smooth the wrinkles in her brow, laughing despite herself: “Don’t frown; it’s easy to age that way, and then you’ll be as ugly as me.”

Her fingertips were cool. Because her right hand would be stained with ink from the exam papers while writing, Qiao Mei reached out with her left hand to touch her. Thus, Qiao Wan watched as the jade-green bracelet grew larger in her vision, and then a touch of coolness spread across her brow. In this sweltering summer, she actually felt that being touched by someone was quite a happy thing.

“You haven’t answered me yet. Why didn’t you tell me Saturday was just one day away?”

Qiao Mei knew she couldn’t dodge this topic, so she smiled and explained in a soft voice: “I knew they would lose. Everyone only has one day to prepare, don’t they?”

“Then why are you so sure they will definitely lose?” Qiao Wan looked into her eyes, puzzled. “Have you become overconfident?”

“Because you were the one who recommended me,” Qiao Mei’s voice was still soft, like the breeze blowing through the treetops outside the window. “If you believe I can do it, then I definitely can.” Saying this, she blinked, withdrew her slender white fingers, and asked: “Do you want some mooncake?”

“No need. I don’t like eating them.” Her mouth was always one step faster than her brain; refusal was always quicker than consideration.

However, the rejected Qiao Mei did not show any signs of anger or embarrassment. She only lowered her eyes slightly and pursed her lips: “It was my lack of consideration.”

“…But I think maybe I can try one now. Is it egg yolk and lotus seed paste?” Qiao Wan’s family wouldn’t eat such “low-level” mooncakes, but she remembered seeing on TV that kids Qiao Mei’s age all liked egg yolk and lotus seed paste. She assumed the one Qiao Mei brought her was the same Qiao Mei always wanted to share the things she thought were good, just as Qiao Wan listened to many songs every day but always picked out the best ones to share with Qiao Mei.

In the purest form of social interaction, one always chooses to give the best to the other.

Qiao Mei’s eyelashes lifted slightly as she gave her a surprised look. In the end, she didn’t expose Qiao Wan’s kind gesture and smilingly took out the mooncake she had specifically brought for her from her backpack, handing it to her: “It doesn’t matter if you eat it or not. You can share it with the people in your dorm; these things can easily cause ‘internal heat,’ so tell them not to eat too much.”

When Qiao Wan took the mooncake, her eyes were full of Qiao Mei’s light-colored eyes, and those eyes were full of her just as her own eyes were full of Qiao Mei.

She forgot that she truly didn’t eat mooncakes; they were very oily and far too sweet.

She placed it casually into her small schoolbag and then stayed with Qiao Mei for self-study until after ten o’clock before returning to wash up. Only after everything was done and she was packing her textbooks for the next day did she pull out that rather heavy mooncake from her bag, feeling a bit at a loss for a moment.

She stared at the large mooncake in a daze for a long time, still unable to figure out how she, as one person, was going to deal with a mooncake that was large enough for five or six people. Throw it away? But this was the first Mid-Autumn mooncake she had ever received from someone in her life; to be honest, she was a little reluctant to part with it.

Eat it? She really couldn’t eat that much by herself.

At this time, her roommates returned one after another, laughing and chatting. Walking at the very front was Qiu Liannan, and then this “big mouth” saw the Great School Beauty Qiao staring at a large mooncake under the fluorescent light.

Holding a transparent plastic knife in her hand Qiao Mei had been quite thoughtful, bringing along the knife and fork used for cutting mooncakes. She looked completely lost, as if what sat before her wasn’t a delicious mooncake, but some kind of bomb.

Qiu Liannan didn’t care about Qiao Wan’s silly look; her nature as a foodie made her let out a “wow” and pounce on the mooncake: “Wow, Great School Beauty Qiao, which handsome little brother gave you this Mid-Autumn tribute? How thoughtful he even knew we didn’t have mooncakes to eat. Let this young lady see holy crap, isn’t this the best-tasting kind from our local area? It’s quite expensive… anyway, I can’t afford it. Who is being so generous?”

“Qiao-mei.”

“Who?” Qiu Liannan’s brain couldn’t quite process it; there didn’t seem to be anyone in their class named “Qiao-mei.”

“Qiao Mei,” Qiao Wan answered.

“…” That nickname is a bit flashy. “Do we get a share of the mooncake?”

Qiao Wan stood up somewhat listlessly and said: “Sure, you guys just cut it up; one piece for everyone. I don’t really like eating it; it’s too sweet.”

If it were anyone else, the host not eating might make them feel a bit embarrassed, but not Qiu Liannan. While being warm-hearted, she also lacked a functional brain; no matter how many layers of subtext you had, she always understood it as the most obvious meaning: “Great! Then we’ll split it. Thanks, Great School Beauty Qiao! I thought I wouldn’t get to eat any mooncakes this year…”

And split it they did. Each of the seven remaining girls in the dorm got a small piece. Those seven girls who benefited hesitated for a moment, took the small piece of mooncake, and thanked Qiao Wan this was the first time since school started that they had proactively spoken to Qiao Wan. Usually, they felt that since Qiao Wan came from a wealthy family, she must be very unapproachable, so they never initiated any conversation with her.

Looking at her now, she actually didn’t seem any different from a normal girl, except that Qiao Wan really loved wearing skirts and looked a bit more exquisite than the average high schooler.

Qiu Liannan felt a burst of happiness after one bite: “Being able to eat mooncakes on Mid-Autumn Festival is pure bliss! Qiao Wan, your desk-mate is really good to you. She tutors you in Physics, she’s so obedient, and she even brings you mooncakes! We aren’t even familiar with our own desk-mates yet. I bet you’re the first person in our class to receive a mooncake for Mid-Autumn. School Beauty Qiao’s charm is indeed extraordinary…”

“Is that so…” Qiao Wan still had a look of lacking interest, her eyes half-closed as if she were sleepy or something. Qiao Wan also felt she was a bit tired; she thought back to the morning of Teacher’s Day, when Qiao Mei appeared at the office door holding a large bouquet of sunflowers, shouting “Reporting in” loudly.

The sun had come out then, right behind her, plating her in a layer of gentle golden light.

Her entire being was as golden and shining as the sunflowers in her arms.

Thinking about it now made her want to laugh, but back then she couldn’t see the face clearly; Qiao Wan truly found it a bit stunning. “…Maybe she just likes giving things to people in general.”

Qiu Liannan laughed loudly: “I’m her front-seat neighbor too, why doesn’t she give me anything or tutor me in Physics? Great School Beauty Qiao, no one is naturally born liking to give things to unrelated people. Even if they do, it’s just an excuse only to deliver the sentiment they most want to give into the hands of the person who should receive it.”

After thinking, she added: “When I was in 9th grade, in order to give an apple to a ‘little brother’ I liked who lived on the floor above me, I prepared an apple for everyone living on my neighbor’s floor and the floor below of course, the one for him was the biggest, reddest, and best-tasting.”

Qiao Wan let out a laugh: “How did you know? Have you eaten it?”

Qiu Liannan’s face instantly turned red, and she said somewhat bashfully: “I secretly picked off a bit of the skin and licked it; it was very delicious.”

Qiao Wan became even happier: “I hope he doesn’t know about this.”

“He definitely doesn’t know.” Qiu Liannan’s smile collapsed. “He’s in college now. A few days ago he emailed me saying he found a girlfriend pretty ugly, not as good-looking as me. Such a fine head of cabbage, how did it get rooted up by a pig?”

Qiu Liannan sighed half-truthfully and half-falsely, then continued, “Great School Beauty Qiao, listen to me: if you want to pursue someone in the future, don’t be a coward. Believe in your own charm. If you want to give him something, give it directly, then tell him loudly that it’s specifically for him and no one else, so he understands he is unique in your heart. Anyway, even if you fail, there’s no loss; it just means that person never belonged to you.”

“Give me a small piece of the mooncake.”

The suddenly food-robbed Qiu Liannan: “????” School Beauty, didn’t you say you wouldn’t eat it? Why the sudden betrayal?

“I want to try it,” Qiao Wan said in a low voice. “The taste of being unique.”