CH 55

Qin Juran led Ruan Nan back to the car. The winter weather was very chilly, and Ruan Nan’s flats were still damp from the naughty child before. When Qin Juran reached out to feel them, they were as cold as ice.

Ruan Nan lowered her head, staring down at Qin Juran’s own flats.

Qin Juran laughed, brandishing her brand-new driver’s license from her bag: “Dare to give it a go?”

Ruan Nan stared at her bright smile: “If you’re not afraid, then neither am I.”

Qin Juran climbed into the driver’s seat while Ruan Nan got into the passenger seat. Once Qin Juran secured her seatbelt, she took a deep breath, then began to shift the gear into drive.

The car slowly exited the parking lot, driving steadily away from the stadium and back towards the city. At first, Ruan Nan sat stiffly in the passenger seat, gripping the handbrake with her left hand just in case. Later on, Qin Juran turned on the car radio, and the charming blues tunes intermingled with the warmth inside the car, creating a sense of coziness. Ruan Nan relaxed more and more as the night sky turned darker and darker.

Once they reached a traffic light, Qin Juran stretched an arm out to ease Ruan Nan’s seat back a little, turning to say: “If you’re sleepy, then take a nap. I’ll wake you once we arrive.”

In the dim lighting within the car, the two girls could only barely make out a faint outline of each other’s faces. Ruan Nan stared earnestly at Qin Juran in the dark: “Professor Qin really is the most gifted driver I’ve ever seen.”

Qin Juran froze for a moment. Without saying a word, she merely flashed a mysterious smile.

On the way back, one of the roads was blocked off, so Qin Juran followed the detour that the navigation system suggested. Ruan Nan had been trying to stay awake at first, but she eventually became more and more sleepy, and as Qin Juran’s driving carried on in a steady cruise, she soon drifted off to sleep.

Once they reached the apartment complex, Qin Juran saw that the small stray cat in her passenger seat was still asleep, and her face was pink from the warmth of the car. From the times before, Qin Juran had realized that Ruan Nan was generally a deep sleeper. She grabbed her hat from the car and carefully fixed it atop Ruan Nan’s head. After she parked the car, Qin Juran walked over to the passenger side and opened the door, then eased Ruan Nan out of the seat and carried her in her own arms.

Qin Juran walked briskly into the apartment. Ruan Nan’s eyes seemed to blink open groggily during the elevator ride, but Qin Juran patted her softly: “No need to wake up, Ah-Ruan; just keep sleeping.”

""

Perhaps because had been staying up the past few nights, Ruan Nan continued to sleep very soundly. Once Qin Juran brought Ruan Nan into her bedroom and onto the bed, she helped her take off her coat, then went into the kitchen to pour her a glass of warm water.

Qin Juran glanced at the time. If she called a cab back to her dorm now, the main entrance would probably be locked by the time she arrived. With a sense of familiarity, she walked into the spare guest room and opened the wardrobe to see, much to her surprise, a few sets of new underclothes folded neatly inside.

Qin Juran examined the designs of the clothes, then with a smirk, she chose a gray set and went to shower.

By the time she finished showering and changing, Ruan Nan was still sleeping deeply. As Qin Juran walked up to the bed to fix her blanket, Ruan Nan’s phone vibrated with a notification. Qin Juran picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was a WeChat message from her father that read:

【Nannan, did you have fun at the concert today?】

Qin Juran saw that the time was already 23:40. Although Qin Juran’s fingerprint could unlock Ruan Nan’s phone, she didn’t want to open it without her permission. She stared at the screen in hesitation for a long while, but just as she was able to nudge Ruan Nan awake, another message came in:

【There’s another concert in City A next month, I heard it’s a very popular group. Aunt Gu and your brother have been wanting to go, why don’t I buy you a ticket too?】

Qin Juran immediately put the phone on mute and placed it back on the bedside table.

The minimalist bedroom was very quiet and dim, save for the cat lamp and the fairy lights on the balcony emitting faint lights. Around 20 minutes later, the antique clock on the wall rang softly, and Qin Juran turned to see that it just struck midnight.

The date on the phone switched to the next date, and Qin Juran stood up, reaching out to turn off the kitten lamp on the bedside table. Then in the dark, she planted a soft kiss on Ruan Nan’s forehead.

With only about a month left until the final provincial competition, the clock was ticking. As per regulation, Qin Juran participated in the weekly two-day training events hosted by the school. In addition, she met with the journalism students who the counselor had suggested the other day. The students were all third-years with an interest in entrepreneurship, and combined with Qin Juran’s professional finance knowledge, they all felt pretty compatible with each other after two meetings.

There was a female student in the broadcasting club who had already produced a few media videos and garnered a good reputation for herself not only within S University but also on the Internet. Like Qin Juran, she was also offered some collaboration opportunities by various companies. She had originally wanted to enter that company as well, but right as she was about to sign the contract, she’d realized that she was the one being exploited.

After the group discussed amongst themselves, they decided to work together as a team. Each individual had their own skills, but they decided to give Qin Juran the responsibility of making the main decisions.

During one meeting, the girl in the broadcasting club asked Qin Juran whether she wanted to be featured in front of the camera with her. Especially with Qin Juran’s outstanding visuals, whether they chose to broadcast live streams or short videos, they definitely could attract a large audience quickly. The other members also agreed that having Qin Juran make a screen appearance would be a good idea.

Qin Juran smiled and asked, “Like in a live stream discussing financial expertise?”

The student froze, not knowing how to respond.

Qin Juran leaned back in her chair: “These days, the attraction value of media isn’t solely based on pure ‘visuals.’ In fact, these kinds of videos with only visuals as the selling point are like short flowering seasons; they’re only popular for a short while. The type of videos that really attracts people and keeps them interested in the long run are the ones that can provide informational value or eye-catching points. This kind of foundation is necessary, then having good visuals on top of that would be an added bonus.”

“So everyone, I hope we can all stick to the original plan, and keep working our best.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Within the team, there was one male student who appeared to be a rich second-generation heir, whose family had several connections within S City. Lately, he’d been busy looking for potential investors.

After the meeting, Qin Juran received some messages from Ruan Nan. She had sent over two promotional articles that she had written and told Qin Juran to post them on her account.

Qin Juran felt a warm sensation in her chest, and replied: 【So this is what you were secretly working on these past few days?】

During the past few days, asides from attending classes, most of Qin Juran’s time was spent studying and training. She occasionally went with Ruan Nan to the library for a few hours, but Ruan Nan always sat across from her and didn’t let her see what she was working on.

Ruan Nan responded: 【It’s not that well written, you should probably edit it.】

Qin Juran: 【It’s really good. I’m tempted to go try that restaurant you wrote about with Ah-Ruan right now.” 】

The two continued to chat for a bit. Each Monday and Wednesday morning, Qin Juran routinely picked Ruan Nan up for class. Soon, there was only one week remaining until the provincial competition as well as the final exams. Worried that she was wasting her precious time and energy, Ruan Nan tried to tell Qin Juran that she didn’t need to pick her up. However, Qin Juran expressed that if she couldn’t even take care of Ruan Nan over a small matter like this, then her wife would have to suffer a lot more once she became President Qin.

When Qin Juran dropped Ruan Nan off at her apartment on Wednesday, Ruan Nan asked whether she wanted to stay over. Qin Juran considered the offer, her heart stirring with excitement. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough time, so she merely gave Ruan Nan a quick goodbye kiss and then returned to her dorm.

Ruan Nan entered her apartment and rested in her living room for a while. Not long after, the doorbell rang, and Zhou Ziqing and Lin Wei walked inside. As he walked through the doorway, Lin Wei called out for Qin Juran to hide, as if she were Sister Nan’s secret mistress.

Ruan Nan pursed her lips, telling him to stop fooling around. She grabbed the pairs of car keys from where they were hanging on the wall and held them out: “If you can’t comply with the rules of the road, then it won’t just be your car that you’re going to be at risk of losing.”

Lin Wei waved his hand: “I got it, I got it. You sound just like Qin Juran right now, saying such threatening things.”

Ruan Nan ignored him. Meanwhile, Zhou Ziqing looked around the apartment and noticed that Ruan Nan was alone, then raised his car keys in the air: “Sister Nan, we’re planning on going straight to BLUE HOUSE in a bit, you want to join?”

Lin Wei followed up: “That’s right, Sister Nan! Once you and Qin Juran got together, you never go partying all night with us anymore! If we didn’t know any better, we’d think you’re being henpecked!”

Ruan Nan typically hated being manipulated into doing things, so their words seemed to strike a nerve for a second. In the end, she subconsciously looked towards the table and shook her head: “I’ll wait until Qin Juran is done with her competition.”

Zhou Ziqing noticed Ruan Nan’s subtle flick of the head and took a closer look at the table to see what she was staring at. There were pages of A4 paper with test bank questions printed, and lined up beside them were printouts of graphs and breakdowns of exam scores.

In particular, Qin Juran’s exam scores.

Ruan Nan tried to hide the contents on her table, but her movements were too slow. Zhou Ziqing immediately raised an eyebrow and asked: “Sister Nan, you’re looking at the questions for the academic competition?”

Lin Wei’s eyebrows also jumped up in surprise: “Sister Nan, are you trying to win from behind the scenes or play on the field?”

Zhou Ziqing elbowed him: “She’s obviously doing this for Qin Juran. Tsk tsk, Sister Nan, I really underestimated your feelings for Qin Juran. If you’re even studying for her sake, then this must be a whole other level of affection.”

“……”

Ruan Nan found the two of them particularly annoying today.

Once she finally shoved them out the door, Ruan Nan returned to the coffee table and glanced at the printed question bank once again. Earlier, when Qin Juran was studying at the library, she didn’t pay much attention herself, but in recent weeks, she deeply empathized with Qin Juran’s insane amount of pressure.

She had the responsibility of bearing the honor of the entire department, and maybe even the entire university. Although Qin Juran didn’t say anything, Ruan Nan knew that she was someone who was true to her word.

So ever since last week, Ruan Nan began secretly studying the test bank as well. Using Qin Juran’s exam scores, she compared her strengths and weaknesses. If she could even assist Qin Juran in any little way, then the payoff would be worth the effort.

As the provincial competition was just around the corner, Qin Juran had pulled two all-nighters studying since returning home on Thursday night. When she returned on Saturday morning, Huang Ying encountered  Qin Juran with dark circles drooping below her eyes. She couldn’t even speak, and merely made gestures with her hand in reply to Huang Ying.

However, Huang Ying didn’t give up. She ran up to Qin Juran and wouldn’t relent until she understood what was wrong with her. Qin Juran frowned and opened her mouth: there was a large ulcer inside her lower lip.

Once Huang Ying saw, she was about to notify Ruan Nan right then, but Qin Juran immediately waved her hands and spoke through the pain: “You absolutely cannot let Ah-Ruan see me like this.”

Huang Ying was not appeased. She accompanied Qin Juran to the nurse’s office to buy a bottle of oral spray. Since Qin Juran’s mouth hurt so much that she couldn’t even eat, she could only take her medicine, then decided to lie down and make up for her lost sleep.

This upcoming Monday was the day that she was supposed to go with the team to represent the university at the provincial competition. Qin Juran only meant to sleep for a little, but Huang Ying couldn’t bear to see her wear herself out like this. As soon as her alarm clock went off, Huang Ying secretly shut it off, then left Qin Juran to continue sleeping.

By the time Qin Juran drowsily blinked her eyes open after sleeping for who knows how long, the light in the room had darkened significantly. She could vaguely make out voices speaking near her. She flipped her hair and sat up to see a girl standing beyond the bed curtain, staring straight at her, arms folded across her chest.

Chi Ying.