Chapter 8: Meeting My Wife: Day 8

“Wanwan, that was awesome!” Guan Shaorong flashed Jiang Wan a thumbs-up.

Others might not know Jiang Wan well and assume she was the patient type, but Guan Shaorong knew better.

Jiang Wan might seem gentle on the surface, but she was tough as nails inside. From childhood onward, she had always yielded to kindness but never to force.

So Guan Shaorong wasn’t surprised at all that Jiang Wan had dumped a bowl of soup on someone’s head.

That was exactly the kind of thing the Jiang Wan she knew would do.

“Still, Wanwan, is your arm okay? That soup was scalding hot.” Guan Shaorong eyed Jiang Wan’s arm with concern.

Jiang Wan was wearing long sleeves, so it was impossible to see the damage underneath.

“It’s fine. It’ll be better soon. I’ll go change clothes.” Jiang Wan smiled and patted Guanguan’s hand reassuringly.

Her clothes were covered in food stains and scraps—hardly fit to wear out in public. Luckily, she’d brought her training outfit. It was form-fitting, but throwing her school jacket over it would do the trick.

“As for my clothes, I’ll leave it to you to wash them clean, Xu. Or if you’d rather buy a new set, that’s fine too.” She turned to Xu Xiaozhi, who hadn’t dared slip away, her tone polite yet distant—impeccably courteous.

“O-okay.” Xu Xiaozhi nodded hurriedly.

“Then Wanwan, let me grab you some food later,” Guan Shaorong said, not sparing Xu Xiaozhi a glance.

“No need. I’ve got no appetite right now. If I get hungry this afternoon, I’ll hit the school convenience store.” Jiang Wan shook her head.

“You can pick up your clothes from Year 2 Class 6 later. Or not—up to you.” She gave Xu Xiaozhi a cool glance.

Once Jiang Wan’s figure vanished from the cafeteria, Bei Huai rose to her feet.

“I’m heading out.” She dropped the words and left.

“Hiss, doesn’t Sister Huai seem kinda off lately?” Tong Baifeng muttered under her breath.

The others nodded in agreement.

Cen Jin let out a scoff. Under their curious stares, she tapped her lower lip and drawled, “Your Sister Huai… she’s probably… falling in love.”

Everyone: !!!

~~~

When she changed clothes, Jiang Wan accidentally brushed her scalded arm. A burning pain spread through it bit by bit.

Gritting her teeth, she finished changing. By the time she was done, a thin sheen of sweat beaded her forehead.

She had already told Xu Xiaozhi to buy some burn ointment, but whether the girl actually showed up was another matter.

By the time Jiang Wan returned to the classroom, a few students had trickled back in.

They all gave her strange looks upon seeing her. Even Mi Shuyun didn’t greet her.

Jiang Wan ignored them and calmly took her seat.

Without her phone, she couldn’t keep up, but that also meant school gossip spread like wildfire no matter what happened.

Plenty of students had no doubt filmed the cafeteria incident and posted it to the forum. Anyone who followed it was probably done gorging on the drama by now.

But none of that concerned her. She had her own plan.

She would give Xu Xiaozhi a few more minutes. If the girl didn’t show, Jiang Wan would buy medicine herself—but Xu Xiaozhi would still face the consequences of her actions.

Jiang Wan wasn’t naive; she still had a backup of that rooftop video.

With that in mind, she stuffed the bag of soiled clothes into her desk. As her hand reached in, her fingers brushed a rectangular object.

She was certain nothing like that had been in her desk before.

Pulling it out, she saw it was a tube of burn ointment.

But who had bought it?

If it was Xu Xiaozhi, there was no reason for her to drop off the ointment without taking the clothes.

It was unlikely to be one of her classmates—they weren’t that close.

And definitely not Guanguan; that wasn’t her style at all. She wouldn’t just silently deliver ointment and vanish.

Jiang Wan lowered her gaze, pondering deeply.

She remembered catching a glimpse from the corner of her eye as she left the cafeteria: a figure lurking in the shadows.

That person had been watching her, eyes swirling with emotions Jiang Wan couldn’t quite read.

A bold suspicion suddenly flashed in her mind.

She gripped the ointment tube and turned to Mi Shuyun. “When you came back… did you happen to see Bei Huai?”

“Uh… I think so?” Mi Shuyun mumbled, head down, voice barely audible.

“Think carefully. Did you really see her?” Jiang Wan could tell Mi Shuyun was evading and brushing her off, but right now, she needed confirmation more than anything.

Seeing Jiang Wan’s urgent expression, Mi Shuyun swallowed hard and finally got serious. “Yeah… when I got back, I saw her coming out of the classroom.”

“Got it. Thanks.” Jiang Wan’s features softened into a gentle smile as she looked at Mi Shuyun.

“Yo, Mi Shuyun, you’re pretty bold, aren’t you? You actually dare talk to Jiang Wan? Don’t you know she pissed off Chen Keshan? Messing with Chen Keshan means messing with Brother Qin. What, you think your life’s too easy right now?”

The mocking voice shattered the quiet in the classroom.

Mi Shuyun’s face drained of color in an instant. No one else’s looked much better.

It was clear Brother Qin was someone they couldn’t afford to cross.

Jiang Wan glanced over. The speaker was the guy she’d shut down that morning. No wonder he was gunning for her.

“What’re you staring at? Am I wrong?” He crossed his arms, smirking smugly. If his friend hadn’t elbowed him, he might not have shut up.

Jiang Wan couldn’t be bothered. Right then, Xu Xiaozhi showed up.

She walked to the classroom door and handed over the bag of clothes.

To be honest, Jiang Wan hadn’t been sure she’d actually come.

“Um… this is ointment for the burn. Apply it once in the morning and once at night.” Xu Xiaozhi kept her head down as she pulled out the tube.

“No need for the ointment.”

Hearing that, Xu Xiaozhi didn’t press the issue. She just quietly tucked it away.

“Instead, tell me about that… Brother Qin.”

At those words, Xu Xiaozhi slowly lifted her head. A look of sheer terror crossed her pale face.

“He… he’s a really terrifying guy.”

According to Xu Xiaozhi, Qin Xiang was the big boss around these parts. He had a bunch of little bros under him and even dabbled in shady dealings. Some entertainment spots paid top dollar to have him watch the place—if he was there, nobody dared make trouble.

And Chen Keshan was one of Qin Xiang’s girlfriends.

That’s right—one of many.

Once Guan Shaorong learned about the kind of backup he had, she couldn’t help feeling a little scared herself.

Not for getting dragged in, but for what it might mean for Jiang Wan.

Strangely enough, though, things had stayed dead quiet in the days since the cafeteria blowup. Not a whisper about Chen Keshan getting revenge.

Jiang Wan was starting to wonder if she’d been too paranoid.

“We still need to stay on guard.” Guanguan had been hustling around these past few days, digging up info for her.

She’d even worked up the nerve to approach Cen Jin, and the first thing out of her mouth was asking about Qin Xiang.

Guanguan: I’ve done so much for you!

Jiang Wan: …You sure it was for me?

Somehow, it felt like she was just using Jiang Wan as an excuse to get close.

The sign-up sheet for the New Student Welcome Party had been turned in, and Jiang Wan had sorted out a practice space with the teacher.

With more than ten days until the big night, she pushed the Qin Xiang worries aside for now and threw herself into dance practice.

The room wasn’t huge, and other girls were practicing there too, but Jiang Wan didn’t mind.

That day, she’d just wrapped up and was about to head out when the rain started dumping outside—heavy stuff. She texted Guanguan to swing by with an umbrella after class.

In the meantime, she kept practicing indoors.

Then a figure stepped inside.

“Ajin!” One of the dancers rushed over and threw her arms around the woman’s waist.

“You here just to pick me up?” The girl tilted her head up at Cen Jin, eyes shining.

“You bet.” Cen Jin smiled and pinched her cheek fondly. “How could I let my good girl get soaked?”

“Hehe, see you later!” The girl turned and waved to her friends.

Cen Jin gave the others a polite nod, then slipped an arm around the girl and headed out into the downpour.

“Are they together?” Jiang Wan waited until they were out of sight before asking the girl’s friends.

She wasn’t tight with any of them—just exchanged polite greetings. The sudden question caught them off guard.

“Yeah, they just started dating a few days ago,” one said.

“Sigh, Cen Jin’s amazing, sure, but she’s no good for a real relationship. Way too flighty—swaps girlfriends like she changes outfits.”

“Totally. I tried warning Yuanyuan, but you know what they say: love turns a smart girl’s brain to mush.”

“…”

They were off to the races now, chatting nonstop.

Jiang Wan had only asked that one question and didn’t say another word.

When Guan Shaorong finally showed up to get her, she planned to fill her in.

After all, Jiang Wan had seen how head over heels Guanguan was for Cen Jin lately.

She knew it was the real deal. But right now, that crush was just an extra burden for both of them.

Still, watching Guanguan ramble on—griping about how nitpicky the teacher had been last class one second, then mourning her brand-new shoes getting drenched the next…

She suddenly felt a bit reluctant to say it, because she knew that once she did, the carefree smile on the girl’s face would vanish.

“What’s wrong, Wanwan? You don’t look too happy—did someone bully you?” Guan Shaorong was extremely sensitive to Jiang Wan’s emotions and immediately noticed that she had something weighing on her mind.

“Guanguan…”

“Hm?”

“Um… I want to tell you something.” After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Wan decided to just say it anyway—after all, a short pain was better than a long one.

“Cen Jin… she has a girlfriend now.”

After saying it, she carefully watched Guanguan’s expression.

The girl’s movements clearly paused for a moment, then she smiled, her tone very casual: “That’s good. Cen Jin is so excellent; isn’t it normal for her to have a girlfriend? Haha. That’s great.”

Jiang Wan pursed her lips, her gaze filled with heartache.

“Guanguan, you don’t have to hold it in. If it’s too painful, just let it out.”

The rain was pouring so heavily anyway—no one would hear.

She understood Guanguan so well, just as Guanguan understood her.

So how could she not know what it meant when she repeated a word twice like that?

Her Guanguan was truly heartbroken right now.