Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The events of the circus were in the local newspaper the very next day, and it was the headline with the font enlarged, bolded, and darkened. It was filled with official rhetoric, such as condemnations and statements about banning such traveling circuses. Finally, the reporter stated that the matter had been handed over to the “relevant departments” for handling.

The most dreaded phrase is “handed over to relevant departments.” Which specific departments those were, and exactly how they would handle it, was something no one actually knew.

In any case, as long as one quietly waited for the incident to pass, everything would be fine.

As for whether this incident could pass quietly, that depended on fate.

An incident like the circus fire was destined not to be glossed over quietly. Because both Qiao Wan and Yuan Tianci were inside, and their lives were worth a fortune; in the future, there were “thrones” in their families for them to inherit. The Qiao and Yuan families declared that they would not let the matter rest, and in such a small place, no one dared to defy the will of these two families.

Thus, under immense pressure, people worked overtime to uncover the ins and outs of the entire event. By the time the National Day holiday ended, a report was successfully submitted to the Yuan and Qiao families. It served as an account for the two big bosses. The circus, however, was in a miserable state; the fire was bad luck enough, and now they were being targeted by these two families.

But everyone knew that the circus itself bore a great deal of responsibility for the accident.

Aside from the circus itself, no one in Longting Town felt it was innocent in any way.

…

When the National Day holiday ended, the next day was the official opening ceremony for Longting No. 1 Middle School. Since there had been seven days to prepare, basically all the students dutifully wore their school uniforms. Most had tried them on long ago to see if they fit, but Qiao Wan’s situation was special; she put hers on directly that day.

The bicycle parking area for the tenth grade was not very far from the dormitory building. After Qiao Mo rode her bike over and parked it that morning, she took the school uniform straight up to Qiao Wan’s dorm. Qiao Wan was a bit surprised when she heard the knocking, and even more so when she pulled open the door: “Why are you here so early?”

Usually, she left at 6:30 AM. For Qiao Mo to manage to knock on her door before she left, how early must she have woken up to get here?

Qiao Mo had arrived already wearing a full set of the school uniform. The blue-and-white hat was properly buckled on her head, and the two ribbons hanging from the back of the hat to her back were not in the least bit messy. Qiao Mo was always calm and unhurried; this wasn’t strange at all. Aside from a slightly hurried breath indicating she had run all the way up, one couldn’t tell how rushed she was.

“I brought it over early for you to change into, so you won’t have to change in the toilets at the teaching building it’s very dirty there. The clothes have been washed clean and the size has been adjusted for you; you can put them on directly and go to the assembly.”

The class assembly time was 6:45 AM, and Qiao Wan had originally been worried she wouldn’t quite make it.

She hadn’t expected Qiao Mo to make it in time. For a moment, she blushed as she took the two sets of clothes packed in clean paper bags from Qiao Mo’s hands. She turned around and went into the bathroom, specifically telling Qiao Mo, whose foot was already stepping out of the dorm door: “Wait for me to change, and we’ll go buy breakfast together. My treat today, thank you.”

Qiao Mo was slightly stunned, but her expression soon returned to normal, and she happily accepted the breakfast invitation.

Qiao Wan quietly closed the bathroom door. While changing, she kept thinking: Does Qiao Mo have some kind of magic? Every time, she appeared right when Qiao Wan needed her just like that time she was cornered by the perverted teacher, Qiao Mo had appeared holding a large bouquet of sunflowers to help her out of the predicament.

To this day, Qiao Wan still remembers that bouquet of sunflowers; held by Qiao Mo, they were like little suns that could emit light.

She had returned to the dorm by herself quite early yesterday afternoon. Staying at Yuan Tianci’s house was indeed uncomfortable not because the Yuan family treated her poorly, but because they treated her too well. She felt extremely apprehensive. Being treated like a future daughter-in-law with such obvious intent, how could she not feel uneasy?

Qiao Wan felt she wasn’t that thick-skinned.

So, as the holiday was ending, she quickly found an excuse to leave the Yuan house and return to the dormitory, which she had originally felt had an atmosphere akin to a graveyard. When she mentioned it to Qiao Mo on the way, the latter laughed out loud, looking quite smug: “Do you know what reason I used to leave the Yuan house? I said the opening ceremony is on October 7th but I forgot to bring the school uniform back to wash. Hahaha, they even wanted to ask Yuan Tianci to come back with me and take it to the dry cleaners, but I wouldn’t do it.”

The campus paths in the morning were very quiet. Since summer had only just passed, the sun still rose early and set late. Therefore, even the paths shaded by layers of tree shadows were beginning to glow dimly, though it was still far from the point where one could see faces clearly.

Only, the students were wearing their school uniforms, and the snowy-white uniforms reflected the light, making them look like snowy-white lambs amidst the hazy campus paths.

Very conspicuous.

Inside the school, bicycles didn’t go fast, but Qiao Mo still unobtrusively guided Qiao Wan to the side of the road, as if afraid she might be knocked down again.

“Don’t come over so early next time.” Remembering the scene of seeing Qiao Mo this morning, Qiao Wan felt a bit of a blush. Normally, she felt a bit embarrassed when classmates from the same floor saw her in her pajamas while visiting her dorm, but she didn’t feel the slightest bit of embarrassment when seen by Qiao Mo, only a special kind of happiness.

It was as if once someone was labeled as a “desk-mate,” they were no longer an outsider.

Qiao Mo turned her head slightly and asked in a low voice: “Why?” After a pause, she asked again, “Are you afraid of me seeing how you look when you just wake up in the morning?”

“No.” Qiao Wan added in her heart though there was a little bit of that “It’s more that I feel bad for you having to wake up so early. Actually, it would be the same if I changed a bit later…”

“It’s not the same.”

“…Eh?” Qiao Wan was dazed. Not the same? What’s not the same?

“Changing a bit earlier or later is different. I couldn’t wait to see you in this outfit.” Qiao Mo looked into the distance, her light-colored pupils filled with an unknown emotion. “I knew it would look good, but I just wanted to see it a bit sooner. I wish that when I wake up in the morning and open my eyes, I could see you just as you’ve woken up. It must be very cute.”

“It could make me happy for the whole day.”

In a daze, Qiao Wan recalled what Qiao Mo had once told her in the office: If I could see someone as beautiful as you first thing in the morning, I’d surely be happy for the whole day, right?

Yes, happy for the whole day.

Seeing you makes me very happy, too.