Chapter 28

“Frustrating” was not enough to describe Si Nanyu’s mood, so she poured all that restless energy into Ribs.

Happily, she led Ribs home, then pampered the dog until she was utterly comfortable, even packing up all the gear for her trip to the pet shop.

Everything was ready. All that remained was for Wen Qingyan to wake up.

Si Nanyu arranged the steaming xiaolongbao on the dining table and sat waiting like a well-behaved student.

Wen Qingyan, who had slept in, looked a little dazed when she saw her.

She hadn’t slept well the night before, drifting through dreams until morning, and now the culprit responsible for it all was gazing at her with pleading eyes.

Wen Qingyan said nothing at first. She went to wash up, and after dressing, sat down at the table with her eyes fixed straight ahead, going straight for the xiaolongbao.

She’d only eaten a few before Si Nanyu’s staring became too much to ignore.

Before she could help it, she remembered the sight of Si Nanyu’s flushed cheeks last night.

The traces of eighteen years old were written all over her, and Wen Qingyan felt even more dazed.

Putting on an air of calm, she looked over and asked, “What is it?”

Si Nanyu had been dying to talk, but the table had been too quiet, so now she stopped and tried her best to look utterly natural as she made conversation. “When I went out to buy xiaolongbao this morning, I found out the two owners of the shop are actually a couple.”

“At their age, getting together back then must have been so hard…” As she went on, Si Nanyu actually did relax, and her voice grew wistful.

Wen Qingyan’s expression barely changed, though the hand holding her xiaolongbao paused.

The question slipped out of her. “What relationship is ever easy?”

Getting together wasn’t easy, and staying together was even harder.

She didn’t say the rest aloud, and it took Si Nanyu a moment to catch the meaning. Then she nodded solemnly. “Teacher Wen is absolutely right!”

“Love is never easy. But… being in love is wonderful too, isn’t it?” Si Nanyu blinked innocently, adding her own limited insight.

For a moment, Wen Qingyan had no words. She lifted her eyelids slightly, unsure how to answer.

Because to that question, she had no correct answer.

Normally, after breakfast, Si Nanyu was the one to clear the table, since Wen Qingyan had more things to prepare than she did. Today was no exception. But just as Si Nanyu reached out, Wen Qingyan’s hand arrived first.

When their hands touched, Si Nanyu gave a tiny shudder.

It was a crisp autumn day, the temperature not yet low, but Wen Qingyan’s hand was so cold.

The shudder was mostly something Si Nanyu simply couldn’t hold back, though a small part of it came from being in such close contact with Wen Qingyan.

Given the nature of their relationship, even a light brush of fingertips was an intimate gesture, okay?!

Very okay.

A smile tugged at the corner of Si Nanyu’s mouth. Wen Qingyan noticed it and found it strange. She had seen the shudder too, and assumed Si Nanyu had been chilled by her cold hand. So what was there to smile about?

Whatever the reason, Wen Qingyan still offered an explanation. “I just washed my hands.”

‘Washed her hands.’

Now that was an even more suggestive phrase. Si Nanyu blushed to the roots of her hair.

According to her own memories, she had only just come of age, but she was a bad kid who had been exposed to everything she shouldn’t have touched before turning eighteen.

And “washing hands”… well, wasn’t that exactly the kind of thing that carried a whole other meaning?

“One minute you’re smiling, the next you’re blushing. Do you still want to get to work on time?”

“What… exactly are you thinking about?”

Wen Qingyan couldn’t make sense of it, but she had her own theory. Especially after yesterday, she was holding a bit of a grudge. She figured that after deciding Si Nanyu thought she was too old, Si Nanyu now disliked touching her at all.

Deep down, she vaguely knew the answer might be different from what she imagined, but Wen Qingyan shut that thought out.

She simply waited quietly for Si Nanyu to answer.

Realizing she couldn’t dodge the question, Si Nanyu swayed in place and admitted, twisting with embarrassment, “You… you touched my hand.”

“And my hand touched you too.”

The moment their eyes met, something seemed to dawn on Wen Qingyan. Her cheeks burned, and she bit her lip and growled under her breath, “Si Nanyu, is something wrong with you?”

A little fierce, yet somehow soft…

Si Nanyu felt the wording was a bit harsh, but why did it come across as… coquettish? Flustered and embarrassed?

Oh no. Wen Qingyan must think she was hinting at something. But she really wasn’t!

Sure, she knew a little about everything, but only a little. Even her imagined scenarios were blurry and indistinct. Apart from a few soft hums, she couldn’t picture anything else.

And the blushing, well, that was purely because she’d been in close contact with Wen Qingyan.

How was she supposed to explain?

How could she explain without making it worse and worse…

Si Nanyu’s face turned grave, and she decided absolute honesty was the only way. “Teacher Wen, it’s because I like you! So even the smallest touch makes me happy and shy!”

“I didn’t mean anything else!” By the time she finished, her face was flaming red. She frantically gathered the trash, not daring to look at Wen Qingyan at all, and bolted for the door.

Only with her back turned did her wildly pounding heart finally seem to settle back into place.

She had no idea that behind her, the flush already coloring Wen Qingyan’s face was spreading in every direction.

Her feelings hadn’t fully settled, so Wen Qingyan was still somewhat reluctant to deal with Si Nanyu, and she didn’t invite her to go to school together.

Since Wen Qingyan didn’t bring it up, Si Nanyu could only sneak glances at her as they walked. When they reached the bicycles, she finally said, “I’ll ride to work today… I guess.”

There was a trace of probing, of unwillingness, in her tone.

Of course she still wanted to walk with Wen Qingyan. But Wen Qingyan gave no further response, just a soft hum of acknowledgment.

So Si Nanyu lowered her head and pedaled off quickly.

Cycling was slower than taking the car, but she had assumed they’d still be going to work together today, so… she hadn’t left herself much time.

Mondays were always busy, full of summaries and planning out the week’s schedule.

After the two parted in the parking lot, they had no contact at all until after lunch.

Si Nanyu had tried, but she couldn’t find Wen Qingyan in the cafeteria, and a deliberate pass by her office came up empty too.

Dispirited, she trudged back to her own office. Before she’d even warmed her seat, Yang Miao came sweeping in and dropped a sign-up sheet on her desk.

“Nanyu, here’s the registration form for the staff sports meet. Fill it out as you see fit.”

“Our office has fewer people, so don’t feel pressured.”

The office was mostly empty at the moment. Apart from them, only Jiao He, the dance teacher, was there. Yang Miao took one look at Jiao He’s impossibly slender waist and delicate manner, held out no hope, and turned her gaze back to Si Nanyu, changing her tune. “Nanyu, you really should give it a try, though.”

“Okay!” Si Nanyu nodded earnestly and studied the form carefully.

The moment she saw Qu Yixuan’s name, her pupils contracted. Qu Yixuan had signed up for both the hundred-meter dash and the five-thousand-meter run.

The staff long-distance events differed from the students’. For students, five thousand meters was the maximum, and even that was a boys’ event. Academics came first, and too much training would eat into class time, so the girls’ event was even shorter, just three thousand meters.

For teachers, the men ran ten thousand meters, and the women ran five.

The two events Qu Yixuan had chosen, the hundred meters and the five thousand, were obviously meant to show off.

Si Nanyu stared at the sheet for a long moment, then wrote her own name right underneath and handed it back to Yang Miao.

“Nanyu, are you serious?!” Yang Miao took the sheet, staring at her in astonishment. Si Nanyu was perfectly calm.

Her mind was entirely occupied by how Qu Yixuan had actually dared to invite her Teacher Wen out last time.

That was her Teacher Wen!

“Absolutely serious. Just those two events.” Determined to knock some of the wind out of Qu Yixuan’s sails, Si Nanyu spoke with total conviction, then even stood up to stretch…

The competition was only about a week away. She didn’t have much time.

“Teacher Yang, I’m off to practice!”

Seeing Si Nanyu seemingly pumped full of adrenaline, Yang Miao didn’t dare blink. There was no opening for a word of dissuasion, so she could only ask the equally fired-up Jiao He what she’d signed up for, along with Xu Jinghao, who had just returned and missed the whole scene.

Unless there was a special reason, every teacher had to register, and the deadline was Monday. So that evening, Wen Qingyan received the sign-up sheet.

Hundred meters: Qu Yixuan, xx, xxx, xx, Si Nanyu, xxx…

Five thousand meters: Qu Yixuan, xx, Si Nanyu, xxx…

Si Nanyu was serious?

Wen Qingyan asked herself the same question, and caught Si Nanyu cycling home after work.

“Get in the car.” The car was parked beside the subway entrance, and not by coincidence. Wen Qingyan had been following behind Si Nanyu ever since they left the school.

But how could Si Nanyu know that?

Having failed to find Wen Qingyan all day, Si Nanyu naturally assumed she’d been busy and hadn’t dared disturb her. Her plan had been to stop at the market for groceries first, then message Wen Qingyan on WeChat to check in. Instead, she’d run right into her here.

So she waved, brimming with delight. “Teacher Wen, what a coincidence! We’re truly fated to meet.”

Wen Qingyan looked at her, drenched in sweat, and her heart tightened without warning. Her voice grew urgent. “Get in the car. Now.”

“I’m covered in sweat, I really shouldn’t…”

“Do I need to say it a third time?” Wen Qingyan’s eyes were sharp, and the air around her brooked no argument from Si Nanyu.

Not that Si Nanyu wanted to argue.

How could she possibly not want to ride home with Wen Qingyan?

Cheerfully, she folded up her bicycle, placed it in the trunk, climbed into the front passenger seat, and curled herself into a ball.

Wen Qingyan gave her a light glance, frost in her eyes.

Si Nanyu hurried to explain. “I got sweaty. Before school let out… I mean, before work ended, I ran a couple laps around the track. Hehe~”

She thought she’d defused some of the tension, but Wen Qingyan just pressed her lips together, and concern spilled out of her before she could stop it. “Who said you could sign up for the five thousand meters? What are you trying to prove?”

The instant the words left her mouth, Wen Qingyan regretted them. She fell silent and pretended not to notice the way Si Nanyu’s expression grew more and more delighted.

They arrived home a little late. Seeing Si Nanyu drenched in sweat again, Wen Qingyan took matters into her own hands and ordered delivery.

It was a maocai place they both liked, along with the boneless chicken feet Qin Hua had brought back.

After getting home, Si Nanyu slunk off to shower, wriggling with embarrassment, while Wen Qingyan waited alone outside. But even after the delivery arrived, Si Nanyu still hadn’t come out.

Wen Qingyan finally went over to call her, and the closer she got, the more clearly she heard Si Nanyu singing.

Si Nanyu had studied music. Her timbre wasn’t anything remarkable, but to an ordinary ear it was quite pleasant, and her breath control was steady. Today, for some reason, it was all over the place.

“Oh~ oh~ I love bathing, my skin’s so nice, oh oh oh~~”

“Oh~ oh~ the body wash smells so good, oh oh oh~~”

After those two lines, she abruptly switched songs. “…Oh~ why is it the most charming ones are the most dangerous~~”

“In my eyes, you’re really~ something~ special~”

The trailing notes were lingering and syrupy with feeling. Wen Qingyan frowned without meaning to, thinking she’d better not interrupt her fun, and turned to leave. Just then, she heard Si Nanyu lapse into muttering to herself.

“Teacher Wen is so dangerous.”

“Because she’s the most charming!!”

“Because she cared about me today!!”

The lyrics were so corny they made Wen Qingyan’s face heat and her heart race. She quickened her pace without realizing it…

But once she was far enough away, a soft laugh escaped her all on its own.

Improvising love songs in the shower… only the eighteen-year-old Si Nanyu could get away with something like that.