Chapter 36: 36

For a good minute, Qin Juran could only stand stupidly in place, her palms burning with the feeling of skin-to-skin contact. After a few moments, she finally snapped back to reality and quickly helped Ruan Nan zip up.

Ruan Nan’s burning face turned. Her eyes were full of wrath as she looked at Qin Juran, and she was biting her lip firmly. She seemed to want to say something, yet the words wouldn’t come out.

No way…

Qin—the little vixen—Juran looked at her own open palm, rubbed her nose, then coughed out softly: “Would you believe me if I said that I derive pleasure from helping others?”

“Do you think this is ‘pleasurable’ for me?” Ruan Nan retorted through grit teeth.

Qin Juran laughed softly. As if she were recalling the moment again, her left hand drew an arc shape in the air and she pinched her fingers a few times. Before turning and walking out of the stall, she replied, “Well, I know it was for me.”

Ruan Nan remained in the bathroom a little more to fix up her clothes and make sure everything was in place. As she washed her hands, she glanced at herself in the mirror and quickly proceeded to turn the faucet to cold water in order to cool her body temperature.

After about two minutes, Ruan Nan supposed that Qin Juran already made it back to the classroom. As she moved to dry her hands, she noticed a girl walking up behind her from the mirror’s reflection. “Sister Nan, do you remember me?”

Her eyes were rimmed with red as if she’d been crying. Since Ruan Nan was in the furthest stall down, she hadn’t heard the encounter between Qin Juran and the female student.

“I don’t.” Ruan Nan replied coldly, grabbing a paper towel as she brushed past her.

“Once, when your band performed, I was the show host.”

From her first year of university to her third year, Ruan Nan’s band had performed at least dozens of shows, both within and outside the school campus. Now, in the middle of the exam, the two girls were the only people standing in the otherwise empty bathroom. Ruan Nan looked closer at the girl from the mirror: “Is something the matter?”

“Sister Nan.” The girl hesitated briefly, seeming embarrassed. She continued to explain the conversation between her and Qin Juran, adding, “Sister Nan, I know that you and Qin Juran have a good relationship, can you please ask her to help me? I can give her money – even more than the scholarship amount.”

After listening to her spew, Ruan Nan stood silent for a moment, then sneered, “You don’t think I can afford Qin Juran myself?”

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that – please help me, Sister Nan…”

Ruan Nan was done listening to her rubbish. Right when she turned to walk out, she heard the girl call out from behind her in a much more insidious tone: “Ruan Nan!”

“Everything that you guys were just doing in the bathroom – I got it all on tape! If you don’t want all your nasty business to be broadcasted on the school forum, then you better help me – you don’t want to fucking try me!”

The girl held her phone up as she spoke. The stress of her exam must’ve hit her hard, as her entire state of mind seemed to be helpless beyond reason.

Upon hearing her exclamation, Ruan Nan turned to meet her eyes, stepping closer.

The girl inched back: “You better not do anything funny. I – I’m telling the truth.” She pressed play on the recording in her phone:

“Lift up a bit”

“Bend over”

“Are you finished?”

The stall door had a slight muting effect, making Ruan Nan’s flustered voice sound all the more questionable. Moreover, the girls’ two voices were clearly distinguishable.

If the female student was eavesdropping from outside the stall, then she must’ve not known what was actually going on inside. Yet, she purposely whipped out her audio recorder, planning on using it to her own benefit. As Ruan Nan listened, she curled her lips in disgust, flicking a piercing gaze to the girl: “If only you were this careful about your studies; maybe you could’ve actually gotten that graduate studies position.”

Seeing Ruan Nan’s nonchalant manner and hearing the words “graduate studies,” the girl suddenly became even more hysterical. Eyes widening, she leaned closer to Ruan Nan and spoke in a deep, threatening tone, “Don’t pretend to be high and might now – you sounded pretty soft in there with Qin Juran just moments ago. I even heard your fucking moans – “

Before she could finish her sentence, Ruan Nan kicked the girl’s calf, causing her to stumble and topple forward, knocking the phone out of her hands and onto the floor a few feet away. Before the girl could react, Ruan Nan quickly walked in front of her and grabbed the phone, then immediately tossed it out the window.

They were on the seventh floor for the exam, and right outside this bathroom was a dense growth of trees. Ruan Nan’s series of movements were so quick that the girl couldn’t even react for a long moment. When she finally registered what happened, she could only let out a low cry. Just before, she had all the cards in her hands, but now, she couldn’t even muster anything in response.

The girl staggered back onto her feet. Red circles rimmed her eyes as she exclaimed, “What’d you break my phone for?! What’d you kick me for?!”

Ruan Nan tossed the paper towel that she’d wiped her hands with into the trash, then spared a cold glare back at the girl: “If you try using Qin Juran again, then your phone won’t just be the next thing I break.”

“Another thing – you think just because I’m soft to Qin Juran, I’d be soft to you?”

Ruan Nan laughed with disdain and a cold expression passed over her face. When she reached the bathroom doors, she turned her head back: “After class, find a way to get my WeChat; I’ll compensate you for your phone.”

“Since you like talking about money so much.” With this, she strode out of the bathroom, her high heels clicking against the tiles.

Soon, the school bells rang, signaling the end of the second-to-last exam of the season. Qin Juran nodded in Ruan Nan’s direction from afar, then returned to her dorms without eating lunch.

Qin Juran ordered some takeout then proceeded to work. The original protagonist was very well-organized: all her awards and certificates were collected together and were recorded in a single spreadsheet on her laptop. In addition to her outstanding academic honors, she even led a team in a national competition. However, she was only in her third year, so she was a bit lacking in internship experience.

Qin Juran looked at the original owner’s resume and grimly deleted the line, “Fluent in Spanish.”

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There was one small peculiarity: the spreadsheet was organized in chronological order, and in the last line, she had written the year, but no specific award honors. It seemed as if she knew in foresight that she was going to win some award this year.

Was there supposed to be an important project or competition later this year?
Qin Juran didn’t think any more of it. She began typing up a new resume according to her previous format, tacked on a new, refined electronic ID photo, then sent it over to the email address she received this morning. By the afternoon, she received a reply. The other party expressed that her resume looked excellent, and the articles she had previously written were also great, so if she was interested, they could meet to discuss further in depth. Additionally, since there were only two months left until the university’s break, Qin Juran was welcome to begin interning during the holiday if she liked.

It turns out that this company was located in the same city as S University. Qin Juran looked up some info on the company; although it wasn’t a top or well-known firm, Qin Juran felt that someone who was willing to actively recruit people from these new platforms was worth talking to.

Once she set up a meeting time and place, Qin Juran suddenly realized an issue. Huang Ying also saw the sudden change from her smiling expression to a now dubious one and walked over. “What’s wrong, Juju? Didn’t you say during noon that you were sending out your CV?”

Qin Juran murmured in affirmation, then turned to ask, “This HR representative found me through my article posting. But JuJu Tavern is located in A district, yet the company is located in the S University area – how did they know that I was a student at S University?”

Huang Ying pondered for a moment: “Maybe it’s because there are few schools in A district, and S University is a top university, so they blindly guessed that you attended here?”
Qin Juran considered her words. That was certainly a possibility.

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“Or maybe someone knew that JuJu Tavern is my family’s?” Qin Juran asked.

Huang Ying nodded. “That’s also possible. But overall, you’re quite famous. From high school to now, from A District to S University, there’s a lot of people who know who you are. If you just search your name up on the internet, there will be a bunch of articles with your picture and name.”

Qin Juran agreed with her points and didn’t think much more of it. Afterward, she gave Qin Haotian a call. Her family was doing just fine, and moreover, after Qin Juran’s promotion tactics, the restaurant had an influx of tourists who specifically came to seek them out.

There were also plenty of fine food bloggers who came to explore and take pictures. Qin Haotian decided to spend some money and redecorate the courtyard, allowing the young customers to freely take pictures. The married couple was also both down-to-earth and generous, and adding on Qin Haotian’s kind appearance and persuasive way with words, JuJu Tavern’s business was quickly peaking.

Qin Juran could hear Qin Haotian’s absolute joy from her end of the receiver. She warned him to not work too hard, and that they should hire more staff if needed. Qin Haotian promised to do so, and after they hung up, he sent over 5000 dollars for “living expenses.”

Qin Juran let out a laugh but didn’t accept.

The meeting date was in two weeks, so she planned on using the remaining time to do some research and brush up on some relevant knowledge.

After reading for a long time, Qin Juran turned to Huang Ying and asked, “Have you signed up for driving lessons?”

Huang Ying shook her head: “We only have a motorbike at home, so there’s no point. Are you signing up?”

Qin Juran: “The previous generation didn’t have the opportunity, so the new generation should take advantage. Only that way can society progress.”

Huang Ying waved her hand: “Aiya, enough with the philosophy. I just won’t make the investment for the time being. But I have a few coupons if you want to use them.”

Huang Ying pulled out a few pamphlets from her folder of small cards and fliers. The one for “Longteng Driving School” seemed to show that it was the cheapest. With the student discounts, the price for learning shift stick came down to under 3000.

“How’s this one?” Qin Juran asked.

“Hold on, let me ask my sisters.”

Huang Ying picked up her phone and speedily texted back and forth for a while, then returned and nodded, “They said that many students attended there. Apparently, the owner’s relative is also a student at S University, so they treat S University students very well.”

Qin Juran nodded: “Is it far?”

“A little, but the instructor will drive here to pick you up. The driving range and vehicles are all newer than other driving schools.”

Qin Juran nodded a word of thanks, then sent a WeChat message to the phone number listed on the flier. She looked at some images and videos and quickly confirmed her registration.

Just thinking about driving…

Qin Juran felt a bit sick. Although she had died from a car accident in her previous life, she couldn’t let her fear stop her. Moreover, if it weren’t for that accident, she might still be struggling in that life that she hardly had any attachment to.

And she wouldn’t have had any chance of meeting Ruan Nan.

After the exams, there was a three-day rest period. On the second day, Qin Juran went straight to the driving school. Although she got into a car accident in her previous life, her driving skills were otherwise quite good. Forget the driving exam – she even participated in a good amount of races of varying levels.

On the first day, Qin Juran couldn’t help showing off her expertise. The instructor with her kept on complimenting her skill.

Since there was a time minimum for driving lessons, no matter how adept she was, she’d still have to practice for a certain amount of time. For a full week, right after her lessons, Qin Juran would drive in the Volkswagen around the academy for practice; Huang Ying rarely even saw her at the dorm anymore.

One time, right when Qin Juran arrived at the entrance of the school, she heard another student call her name. Qin Juran only looked at her and nodded in greeting.

However, the student continued to stand in front of her, looking bath and forth from Qin Juran to the black Volkswagen next to her. Giggling, she asked, “Juran, are you going out to play with your friends?”

From the window, Qin Juran glanced at the bald driving instructor. She replied in an ambiguous manner: “Yep, I’m going to play with your friends.” She then proceeded to climb into the car.

The female student stared at that Volkswagen that was always coming and going and stood thoughtfully for a moment. She turned and sent a message to Wang Yuanyuan:

【Yuanyuan, has Qin Juran been hanging out with you guys lately? I don’t want to be a blabbermouth, but some of us Juran x Ruan Nan fans have seen Qin Juran go off in a black Volkswagen for three days straight – don’t tell me it’s already a ‘bad ending’? 】

Wang Yuanyuan had just gotten out of the shower when she saw the message. She paused for a second, then continued to ask Lin Wei:

【Have you guys been in class with Qin Juran recently? One of my friends saw her go out a lot lately, does Sister Nan know?】

When Lin Wei received the message, he stared at his phone for a long while. Finally, he turned to ask Ruan Nan: “Sister Nan, has Qin Juran contacted you recently?”

Ruan Nan’s hands froze in midair. She raised her eyes towards the guy who was leaning by her door: “What is it?”

Lin Wei quickly shook his head: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I’m just wondering.”

Ruan Nan considered this for a moment. In fact, it had already been two months since her confession. Ruan Nan observed that Qin Juran had a good grasp of how to express her way of “liking” someone. She sticks close when the time calls for it, but she isn’t clingy when it isn’t necessary.

The only time she spoke truthfully, the night when she confessed, “I really do like you,” she wasn’t even ashamed in the face of her rejection.

Ruan Nan opened her phone and saw that the last conversation they had was the one ending with “Good night.” She shut her phone in a daze, then looked towards Lin Wei with a somewhat chill expression: “Did something happen with her?”

Lin Wei paused, then quickly shook his head. “Not at all, not at all. Well, Sister Nan, I’m going to get going now. I’ll try to make it to the show tomorrow.”

As soon as Lin Wei stepped out, he gave Qin Juran a call. In a long ramble, he asked her why she hadn’t been contacting Sister Nan recently, whether they were having a fight, or if she actually had another chick on the side.

Neither Zhou Ziqing nor Wang Yuanyuan were very close with Qin Juran, but everyone in Ruan Nan’s circle had known at the time that the forum posts they sent were a joke purposely made to provoke Secretary Yan. Only Lin Wei was kept in the dark, leaving him to believe that Qin Juran and Ruan Nan were really hiding a secret relationship.

Meanwhile, Qin Juran didn’t reveal anything on her end, only muttering that she’d been busy before hastily hanging up on him.

Lin Wei was enraged. Finally, he scratched his head and sent her a notification for a show:

【Tomorrow is Ruan Nan’s band performance competition. Up to you whether to come or not.】

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