My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 156

Chapter 156: A New Home

After washing up, Jiang Xue wrapped Jiang Xue’s wet hair in a towel and dried it for her first.

Xiao Luohan didn’t refuse her kindness. Although her health had improved significantly thanks to Dr. Qi’s care, her constitution was still weak. If her hair wasn’t dried immediately, she would easily catch a cold.

She also didn’t ask why Jiang Xue didn’t borrow a hairdryer from Instructor Ma, who was staying nearby, so they could dry their hair together—this was something A-Xue had probably wanted to do for a long time, but hadn’t had the opportunity at home.

As the warm air blew, she felt Jiang Xue’s fingertips gently scratching her scalp, occasionally using the disposable comb provided by the hotel to style her hair and prevent it from becoming frizzy.

For some reason, looking at Xiao Luo’s increasingly shiny and healthy hair, Jiang Xue was reminded of A-Xi’s white cat.

A few years ago, the white cat had been sickly and almost died. A-Xi had put in a lot of effort to save it.

But its originally sleek fur had become rough, not returning to its smooth, silky state until A-Xi had cared for it for six months.

Jiang Xue now felt a similar sense of satisfaction, like having “nursed a cat back to health.”

A healthy cat always made you want to cuddle it. After drying Xiao Luohan’s hair, she turned off the hairdryer and, as Xiao Luo turned to face her, leaned in and kissed her forehead.

Xiao Luohan wasn’t surprised. She even stood up slightly, raising her chin to meet Jiang Xue’s retreating lips.

But it was just a light peck—she hadn’t forgotten that A-Xue’s hair was still wet.

Taking the towel from Jiang Xue’s head, she took the hairdryer. “My turn.”

After drying their hair, the two sat on the bed, reviewing the exam details they had recorded in their phones.

Since they were both taking the second driving test, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but mutter as she read, both to consolidate her own knowledge and to remind Xiao Luohan:

“Remember to stop after going downhill, but don’t stop when you hear the ‘right-angle turn’ prompt.”

“For the S-curve, align the front of the car with the thin yellow line next to the blue marker, then turn the steering wheel one full rotation to the right.”

“Shift into reverse, when the line aligns with the bottom of the left side mirror, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right, then adjust the distance based on the right side mirror…”

She mentally went through the entire process, then searched for videos of the second driving test online for reference. When she came back to her senses, she found that Xiao Luohan had somehow found paper and pen and had even drawn a diagram of the course and the reference points.

“…You even remember this?!” Jiang Xue’s eyes widened, showing Xiao Luohan her own notes. “I even had to take pictures of the actual course and put them in my notes to remember!”

“Just short-term memory,” Xiao Luohan said with a smile. “I also want to pass on the first try.”

If it weren’t for the limited time for the road test, she would also have liked to take both tests in one go, like Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue opened her mouth, wanting to tell her there was no need to rush, but then she felt that saying this was like jinxing her, so she simply closed her mouth, nodded, and showered her with compliments.

Xiao Luohan enjoyed studying with Jiang Xue, especially now that they were reviewing the same material.

Even though she wasn’t taking the third test this time, it was still good to hear about Jiang Xue’s experience and supplement her own notes for the road test.

With the exam tomorrow morning, the two reviewed their notes and then went to bed.

Instructor Ma was generous and had booked a room with a double bed, but they both squeezed into the same bed.

Before going to bed, to ease her nervousness, Jiang Xue put on a relaxing anime and watched an episode with Xiao Luohan.

The hotel bed was much softer than the one at home, and the pillows were slightly higher, so neither of them was used to it, barely managing to sleep through the night.

The next morning, they woke up to find themselves in an awkward position.

She didn’t know who had hugged whom first, or whose leg was hooked around the other’s, but they had turned ninety degrees. Fortunately, the bed and quilt were large enough, otherwise, either their heads or their feet would have been hanging off the edge.

Jiang Xue woke up first and instinctively wanted to move them back to their original positions, but Xiao Luo, a light sleeper, opened her eyes as soon as she moved.

Their eyes met, and Jiang Xue, embarrassed, blurted out a terrible idea, “Why don’t we sleep separately next time we’re at a hotel?”

Seeing Xiao Luohan’s gaze instantly sharpen, she immediately knew she had misspoken and hurriedly leaned in, nuzzling against her. “Sleep together, sleep together!”

It was fine if they moved around in their sleep. Since Xiao Luo didn’t mind, then she didn’t mind either!

But this commotion completely woke them up, so they simply got out of bed, brushed their teeth, and washed their faces, then asked the smart assistant to project the hotel’s breakfast menu onto the TV screen, deciding what to eat.

“I’m thinking…” Jiang Xue said, looking at the menu, “Can we also get a smart assistant like this for the apartment we rent near N University? It seems so convenient.”

Xiao Luohan was silent for a few seconds. This question was beyond her knowledge, but she still tried to answer, “We would probably have to connect the circuits of all the switches and appliances in the room to it?”

“Hmm… it would be quite troublesome to renovate,” Jiang Xue nodded, resting her chin on her hand. “And we would have to discuss it with the landlord…”

While she was lost in thought, Xiao Luohan finished packing the things she needed for the exam and said, putting on her shoes, “Let’s go, take me to the hotel breakfast.”

The breakfast was a buffet, with both ready-made dishes and ingredients like noodles, rice noodles, and even plain rice in large bowls, for them to choose and add toppings as they pleased.

Xiao Luohan took a little bit of everything she was interested in and could finish. When she arrived at their table, she found that Jiang Xue only had a large plate of shredded pork with Sichuan noodles and a bowl of “immortal soup” with preserved vegetables and dried bamboo shoots.

“I travel a lot, so I’m not as excited about hotel buffets as I used to be,” Jiang Xue explained sheepishly. “Just something filling is enough.”

Staring at her for a few seconds, Xiao Luohan asked, “Is it really not because you’re too nervous and can only eat familiar food?”

She remembered that Jiang Xue had this “habit” of losing her appetite when she was nervous, so during major exams, she would ask Sister Cheng to make a few specific dishes for her.

Her attempt to hide her nervousness seen through, Jiang Xue coughed awkwardly. “Well… it’s a little embarrassing…”

She just didn’t want Xiao Luo to worry about her.

Xiao Luohan, now also a little more carefree due to Jiang Xue and the warm and peaceful environment, simply respected her choice and didn’t ask further, focusing on finishing her food.

Their exam times and locations were different, but fortunately, the waiting area was the same, saving Instructor Ma the trouble of making two trips.

“After Xiao Xue’s exam, she still has to register for the third test. Xiao Luo, if you don’t want to wait in the car, you can go back to the hotel, but remember to send a message,” Instructor Ma instructed before leaving.

Both girls had prepared thoroughly for the exam. They both passed the second test on their first try, although Jiang Xue, due to nervousness, had forgotten to turn off the turn signal during the right-angle turn and lost five points, but this minor deduction didn’t matter much.

Returning to Instructor Ma’s car after the exam, hearing Xiao Luohan’s perfect score, Jiang Xue excitedly hugged her, “Our Xiao Luo is the best!!!”

Noticing that she was only hugging her and hadn’t mentioned her own score, Xiao Luohan knew that she must have lost some points, but since Jiang Xue wasn’t upset, it meant she had passed.

There was no need to mention it if she had passed.

Instructor Ma probably also understood this, or perhaps she was respecting her students’ pride, so the topic was glossed over.

The third test was the road test, but the starting point was still within the test venue. While Jiang Xue was waiting, Xiao Luohan returned to the hotel to pack their things.

She declined Instructor Ma’s offer to drive her back, opened her parasol, and walked alone on the street.

Actually, since arriving here, she had barely had any opportunities to be alone.

Being picked up and dropped off by Sister Cheng or others, and Jiang Xue’s constant company, were one reason, and another was her own inner fear.

After all, in the world she lived in before crossing over, it was dangerous and frowned upon for young women to be out alone, even though they hadn’t done anything wrong.

The sun was strong today, and it was almost noon, the hottest time of the day, but as Xiao Luohan walked along the crowded street, feeling the heat, she felt an inexplicable sense of security.

She could finally walk freely under the sunlight.

This world was safe.

Perhaps because she had been driving on the road every day during practice, even venturing into nearby rural areas and mountains, Jiang Xue wasn’t nervous at all while executing the maneuvers on the main road.

She performed normally and got a perfect score, as she had wished.

This time, she could finally tell Xiao Luo her score!!

But she didn’t return immediately. After receiving her score report and signing it, she asked Instructor Ma, “Can I try the fourth test without studying?”

What if she was lucky and guessed correctly?

“Then tell Xiao Luo,” Instructor Ma said, happy to have her finish and get her license. “But if you don’t pass the fourth test, you’ll have to wait ten days before taking it again.”

Jiang Xue immediately sent a message to Xiao Luohan, asking her to entertain herself at the hotel. After receiving Xiao Luohan’s reply, she went to the registration desk outside the fourth test venue with her score report, and when it was her turn, entered the exam room.

…She failed, unsurprisingly. The question bank for the fourth test was larger, and the scenarios were more detailed.

But Jiang Xue, looking at her score, which wasn’t far from the passing mark, gritted her teeth and tried again.

Just in case!!

But she failed the second time as well.

Jiang Xue wasn’t discouraged. She had only been trying her luck. Having failed twice without studying, it proved that she had to study the questions, her knowledge was clearly insufficient.

After leaving the exam room, she talked to Instructor Ma.

“Even if you passed, I would still have to give you ‘extra lessons’ during the subsequent practice period,” Instructor Ma said seriously, as expected. “The test is one thing, but you’ll be actually driving on the road in the future! Knowing more will help you react better in case of accidents, minimizing casualties.”

Jiang Xue nodded vigorously. “I understand! I’ll definitely study hard and memorize the rules when I get back!”

This was a matter of life and death!

After the exam, she returned to the hotel and picked up Xiao Luohan. Instructor Ma treated them to lunch at a popular malatang (spicy hot pot) chain restaurant. Jiang Xue ordered all her favorite ingredients, making up for the less satisfying hotel buffet breakfast.

By the time they arrived home, it was already 3:00 PM. Ms. Jiang, who was home, called Jiang Xue over as they were about to go upstairs. “The new house passed the formaldehyde test. If you’re free tomorrow, ask Sister Cheng to take you and Shizhu to take a look. You can also buy any furniture or appliances you need.”

Jiang Xue: ?

“What new house?” she asked, puzzled.

“Mommy bought an apartment near N University. The renovation was finished four months ago, and it’s ready to move in. It’s about a ten-minute walk from N University,” Ms. Jiang said calmly, as if she had just gone grocery shopping. “We bought it six months ago, after you decided to apply to N University after your birthday party.”