Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Qiao Mo’s fingertips seemed to possess magic. Every time she explained a problem, Qiao Wan’s gaze couldn’t help but chase those fingertips as they hopped and skipped along. Then, she would accidentally get “stuck” on them, no longer knowing what Qiao Mo was saying or where she was pointing.

Qiao Wan’s heart stirred; it was as if she finally knew why she had made no progress despite listening to Qiao Mo explain problems for so long.

It turned out it wasn’t that she was too stupid, nor was it that Qiao Mo’s level was insufficient; rather, it was those fingers that “bewitching concubine” making her mind wander that seriously interfered with her pace of absorbing new knowledge.

She wasn’t a dedicated “hand lover.” Usually, she wouldn’t even notice what kind of hands others had. But this rule was different when it came to Qiao Mo, perhaps because the green bracelet on Qiao Mo’s wrist was so conspicuous. After all, they were all young people, and one rarely saw someone wearing such an old-fashioned bracelet; in her impression, bracelets were usually worn by people of their mothers’ generation.

“Why do you wear a bracelet?” Finally, Qiao Wan couldn’t help but drop the current problem. She reached out directly to touch the slightly cool jadeite bracelet on Qiao Mo’s hand. In the heat of summer, it was truly a treat chilly and a very comfortable temperature. “Don’t young girls usually prefer those kinds of bracelets (chains)? Delicate ones that look full of youth.”

Qiao Mo also stopped, teasing her half-seriously: “A dowry. My family only has this little bit of dowry. If someone is willing to marry me in the future, I’ll just give them this bracelet directly. Do you want it?”

“Since it’s a dowry, keep it safe yourself. Maybe it’s some ancestral treasure. Never mind, school has been out for so long; you should go home and eat first.” As Qiao Wan spoke, she stretched and sat up straight. At this moment, half of the people in the classroom were still studying ever since the teacher said this morning that there would be an exam in two months, this group of young people seemed to have rediscovered the meaning of life and started a long journey of learning.

She didn’t know what Qiao Mo’s family was thinking. If it were up to Qiao Wan, since the distance between home and school was so far, she wouldn’t go back for every meal. Lunch was understandable, since there was plenty of time, but what about dinner?

With only an hour or so, having to bike back, eat, and bike back again wouldn’t that feel incredibly rushed?

Clearly, the Qiao family didn’t think so, and even Qiao Mo herself didn’t think so. After all, she could finish eating, take a shower, and then come back.

Qiao Wan felt that while others had an hour and a half after school in the afternoon, Qiao Mo probably had about three hours.

“But, I guess this isn’t an heirloom? Or rather, does everyone in your family have such thin wrists like you?”

Qiao Mo laughed out loud. “You’re quite clever, aren’t you? Indeed, this bracelet isn’t our family heirloom. My grandmother specifically took me to find a craftsman to have it custom-made. A Buddha image is carved on the inner ring, said to ward off evil as for whether it works, I don’t know.” Qiao Mo took off the jade bracelet to show Qiao Wan; there was indeed a Buddha carved on the inside. “I was especially afraid of ghosts when I was little, so Grandmother gave me this jade bracelet, saying that with it, ghosts and spirits wouldn’t dare come near me.”

As for whether that was true, no one really knew.

“So you’re not afraid of ghosts now?” Qiao Wan originally intended to head out, but suddenly she wanted to tease her, so she turned back, preparing to wait for her to finish packing her things so they could leave together. Although the two would take different paths once they left the teaching building, walking a few extra steps was still good.

Qiao Mo had no intention of answering that question directly, only smiling with pursed lips: “The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, feats of strength, disorders, or spiritual beings.”

“I’m not Confucius!” After Qiao Wan said it, she felt something was slightly off, as if she had said it before, but she couldn’t quite remember. She was a very lazy person, so she quickly stopped dwelling on it. “Hurry up, I feel like there might not be anything left in the cafeteria.”

“Do you like the fish from the cafeteria?”

Qiao Mo suddenly came out with this non-sequitur.

“It’s fine, it tastes good, and it’s not expensive.” It was completely different from the things her father usually took her out to eat; you could get one for just a few yuan. It made her seriously suspect that what she used to eat was actually gold.

The smile on Qiao Mo’s face became even more obvious, making Qiao Wan feel a bit flustered: “What! If there’s something, just say it. It’s annoying to leave me hanging like this.”

“Actually, it’s nothing. There’s nothing wrong with those fish,” Qiao Mo said slowly, tidying the things on her desk. She came out holding her keys and wallet it was just a quick trip back, and the time wasn’t enough for studying anyway, so bringing a schoolbag would just be masochistic. Thus, she simply didn’t bring it. “When you have time, you should take a look at our school’s biological garden. Maybe there’s a bit of… well, an unexpected discovery.”

Longting No. 1 Middle School is a century-old public school. Many of its basic facilities are more complete than those of other schools. The thing they are most proud of is the school’s biological garden. Its design is very ingenious, with a “small but complete” feel. Aquatic, terrestrial, things you’ve seen, things you haven’t all are present to some extent. In any case, it’s much better than the weed-filled yards of other schools in Longting; at least it was the first biological garden to have a pond.

The pond was covered with a thick layer of plankton, and in some places it was even deep green. The whole pond looked like a witch’s cauldron, filled with a magic potion of unknown effects.

“No. 1 Middle School releases fry every spring and drains the water to catch fish every autumn. You can look at it as raising fish; it’s more or less the same thing.” Qiao Mo glanced at her. “Don’t be afraid, it’s not poisonous.”

But at the thought of that pool of green water, Qiao Wan decided she would never eat fish again.

By this time, Qiao Mo had almost reached the classroom door. Qiao Wan caught up and gave her head a light swat: “You’re too much.”

“Just joking.” Qiao Mo caught her hand in hers and said softly: “The fish in the biological garden are actually released in the end; they can’t be eaten because they don’t taste good. They are released into the small river in front of the cafeteria, which is connected to the river channels outside.”

However, there were actually many people fishing in the small river outside. As for whether those fish were doing well or had already been caught and eaten, no one knew for sure.

On weekends, Qiao Wan often saw people stealthily fishing by the school’s small river. As soon as the school guard came, they would scatter, but once the guard left, they would slowly return, sit down again, and calmly toss a piece of bread into the water.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen people catch anything, but most of the time they couldn’t catch anything. Even if they did, there were no facilities in the dorms to cook and eat them, so they eventually had to be put back.

Yet the students never tired of it; every weekend, someone would come to tease the fish.

Gradually, Qiao Wan felt a bit tempted. Now that Qiao Mo had mentioned it, she said to Qiao Mo as if possessed: “Do you know how to fish?”

“You want to fish? You can’t even eat them.” Qiao Mo looked at her with a smile.

“I just want to see the process! I’m not thinking about eating them.” Qiao Wan usually wore her hair in a high ponytail at school, but because she had naturally curly hair, a single ponytail still managed to twist into a hundred different charms, standing out from everyone else. Qiao Wan’s natural curls were very beautiful; every strand of hair had a curl, but it was a gentle curve, not dense. Whether in a small wisp or a large bunch, it gave off the vibe of a foreign girl.

On the forum, someone had even seriously looked into whether Qiao Wan had lineage from other countries. After digging through eighteen generations of her ancestors, the final conclusion was still she was a natural beauty.

Qiao Mo tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said: “I don’t know how, but it seems my brother does. If he does, shall we come to fish this weekend?”

Qiao Wan’s eyes widened in horror: “Aren’t you a ‘good student’? A good student would actually do something that violates school regulations.” If caught, one could very likely receive a demerit. For a top student in the eyes of the teachers like Qiao Mo, it clearly wasn’t worth it.

“Actually, it’s not checked that strictly,” Qiao Mo said. “I’ll consider it as ‘risking my life to accompany a gentleman’ (a friend). Besides, my brother is here; there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

As they walked out of the classroom door, Qiao Mo saw a slightly familiar face. Back when she met her brother’s underlings, she seemed to have seen this person. So, Qiao Mo hesitated for a moment and finally nodded to that senior sister, who looked quite unfriendly.

“Stop.” The senior sister’s expression really couldn’t be described as good. It was the kind of gloominess where everyone who saw her knew she was in a bad mood. But she seemed to realize this quickly and also felt she was being a bit too jumpy. She waved her hand somewhat dejectedly and said: “Never mind, you can go.”

So Qiao Mo pulled Qiao Wan and left without a word.

Once they reached the stairwell, Qiao Wan couldn’t help asking: “Do you know that girl? Does she have a grudge against you?”

“This isn’t a martial arts drama; what grudge?” Qiao Mo smiled and said, “I’ve seen her once, but I don’t know her name at all.”

“Then why did she come looking for you?” And she looked like she wanted to swallow Qiao Mo alive: “I almost thought you owed her millions.”

Qiao Mo deliberated for a moment and said: “She thinks I’m her love rival.”

“Huh?” Today was getting surreal; that girl actually thought a top student would date.

“My brother is very good to me, so she, who likes my brother, thinks I’m her rival,” Qiao Mo said softly. “Actually, I’m not.”

“How do you know she likes your brother?” Although she was the school beauty and pursued by many, Qiao Wan actually couldn’t tell whether someone liked her or not. “Does liking someone have any specific characteristics?”

“There are no characteristics, but it can’t be hidden.”

Qiao Wan subconsciously glanced back at her own classroom door on the fifth floor. That girl was still standing by the railing, staring at the darkened Class 11 classroom, thinking about who knows what. When she looked again after finishing her meal, the girl was gone.