Chapter 40: 40

Ruan Nan returned to her car, all the while thinking of the reckless kiss just then. Soon, she began to feel a dull pain on her forehead and realized that she must’ve accidentally used too much force and hit Qin Juran’s nose.

Did she end up hurting her?

A sense of guilt plagued her as she slid into the driver’s seat and buckled her seat belt. Her heart would not stop pounding in her chest.

She had just kissed Qin Juran.

Not just that, she had taken the initiative to kiss Qin Juran.

She didn’t quite understand why herself, but somehow, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her that Qin Juran was actually too frail and helpless at the time.

Yet despite this, she had forced a smile and told her not to worry. Despite this, she had even helped her button up her jacket before parting.

Ruan Nan had thought that maybe if she just gave Qin Juran a kiss, then she would feel better.

It was a chilly November night. As Ruan Nan turned on the heating, she accidentally turned on the radio in the process. An old Cantonese song suddenly pulsated from the speakers:

“I cannot bear to see your back turned against me, please don’t miss me too much when you leave”

“The tides of people are like the undulating waves, how could there be no memories…”

As the sports car drove through the streets, lit up with neon lights from both sides, the heart-wrenching melody trailed along like a dim shadow. Ruan Nan flicked a glance in the rearview mirror – it was as if all the tall buildings behind her were blurring together on this chilly night.

After arriving back at her apartment, Ruan Nan poured herself a glass of warm water. Ever since the last time Qin Juran came over, she had followed her instructions and began to drink less bottled water, instead opting for warm or hot water.

She proceeded to take a quick shower, blow-dry her hair, and change into pajamas, then plopped onto the sofa. She switched on her phone to see nearly 99 unread messages in the group chat, most of which were directed towards her. Zhou Ziqing and the others were still at the club, and they kept complaining about how their squad was missing one member.

Ruan Nan sent a brisk message saying that she was too tired tonight and wouldn’t be joining them, omitting the exact details of the occurrences that night. Knowing that Zhou Ziqing still held some animosity towards Qin Juran, he probably would’ve blamed Qin Juran if he found out about what happened.

Soon after, Lin Wei sent her a private message. In it was a picture with the caption: “Bros before hos.”

【Sister Nan, I suddenly forgot, could you please explain to me the meaning of that saying?】

Ruan Nan chuckled, replying with:【What do you mean you forgot? Did you hit your head or something? Do you need to get it checked out?】

【…..That’s not the point. Where did you and Qin Juran go off to today?】

Ruan Nan gave Lin Wei a quick rundown of what had happened that day. As he listened, he replied with numerous variations of “Oh my God” and “Fuck.” periodically between texts, and even sent a reaction picture of a giant whale with its mouth hanging wide open. Finally, he followed up with:

【Sister Nan, Qin Juran seriously is something else, huh? Her driving ability is comparable to even a truck driver with 20 years of experience, and she hasn’t even taken the subject 2 exam yet! But this is Qin Juran we’re talking about. 】
After reading this message, Ruan Nan paused, thoughtful. Initially, Qin Juran didn’t want to practice with her, and when they first got in the car, she seemed like a total newbie, even forgetting to put on her seat belt and confusing the gears.

However, when the swerving truck came rushing towards them, Qin Juran had deftly shifted gears, switched on the indicator lights, and accelerated. From the beginning up until the moment she had slowed down and parked the car on the side of the road, she demonstrated incredible skill and familiarity, nothing like that of someone who had just begun practicing subject 3.

Also, she had mentioned something about “last time” and “this time” in her ramblings afterward.

“This time,” she didn’t want Ruan Nan to get hurt – then does that mean that “last time,” she herself was hurt?

Ruan Nan stared puzzled at her screen, then finally replied to Lin Wei:  【Lin Wei, do you believe in things such as supernatural occurences?】
【For instance, one person becoming another. Same voice and appearance, but the personality and spirit of someone else.】

Lin Wei: 【Are you referring to Qin Juran?】
【You think so too?】

【Yes! Actually, it’s not just me – Zhou Ziqing even suspects so as well, although he doesn’t want to admit it. The old Qin Juran was so pretentious and only cared about Fan Chuan, but now, her personality changed and she has better taste – she has realized the excellence of our Sister Nan, what an upgrade!】

【Did you lose your sense too when you hit your head?】

【…..】

Lin Wei:【Sister Nan, you’ve changed.】

Ruan Nan stared at her screen, silently raising a brow: 【How so?】

Lin Wei: 【You’ve become more sharp-tongued. Ever since you and Qin Juran got together, you sound just as clever as she does, especially today.】

Ruan Nan wanted to reply with “We’re not together yet,” when an immediate follow-up came from Lin Wei:

【Such a contagious spread. Don’t tell me you guys have already kissed?】

Upon reading the words on her screen, Ruan Nan nearly flung her phone across the room.  She quickly shut off the screen and ignored Lin Wei, curling up into her sofa, her mind racing with thoughts of that fleeting kiss from earlier. The aftertaste still lingered on her lips: a soft and cool sensation.

After a long time, her phone chimed with another message. It was from Qin Juran, a picture of a candy with a corresponding message:

【Next time I want to taste the lime-flavored Ah-Ruan good night.】

There was no other punctuation.

Qin Juran was never one to be precise about punctuation marks. She was probably trying to express a double meaning: “Next time I want to taste the lime-flavor, Ah-Ruan, good night” as well as “Next time I want to taste the lime-flavored Ah-Ruan, good night.”

Sure enough, she was still as cunning as a fox.

Ruan Nan’s face flamed and she once again resumed her curled-up position on the sofa. The dim lights seemed to flicker with bouts of drowsiness, and a dead calm permeated the rest of the large apartment. After a long while, Ruan Nan opened her phone and created a private post:

【If I were given another chance, I think I would say yes.】

Qin Juran woke up early the next morning, quickly washed up and did her makeup. She pulled out a crisp new shirt and pencil skirt from her wardrobe, a nice autumn outfit that exuded elegance.

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She hummed a song the whole time while applying her makeup, and she couldn’t control her giddy smile.

Meanwhile, Huang Ying was still half-asleep in her pajamas. After she brushed and washed up, she asked while nibbling on a piece of toast: “Aren’t you going to take the subject 2 test today, Juju? Why do you look so happy; shouldn’t you be nervous?”

Qin Juran laughed: “When have I ever been nervous for a test?” She dabbed some blush onto her cheeks, adding a sense of vitality to her look.

Huang Ying looked over from the reflection of the mirror: “Woah, Juju. You look different today.”

“Different how?”

“You seem more girly somehow, full of energy and life.” From the doorway, Huang Ying made a wafting gesture with her hands and sniffed: “All around you seems to be exuding the flavor of love~”

In response to Huang Ying’s dramatic display, Qin Juran ordinarily would’ve mocked her by now. But today, she really was just as Huang Ying said. She merely curled her lips into a sweet smile and began tidying her makeup bag, replying, “Huang Ying, let me ask you – hypothetically speaking, if the boy you’ve always liked suddenly confessed to you, what do you think would be the most romantic scenario?”

Huang Ying shook her head: “There’s no boy that I particularly like.”

“…I’m saying hypothetically.” Qin Juran bit down on her teeth.

“Hmm, hypothetically…” Huang Ying paused. “Juju, you’re confessing to Sister Nan? Aren’t you two already together?”

Qin Juran responded unabashedly: “The atmosphere last time wasn’t very good, so I think we’ll try it again. I think that every step in our relationship together is worth commemorating.”

“Woah, Juju, you’re so cool!”

Huang Ying leaned against the doorframe and continued thoughtfully, “If it were me, I would want them to take me to Turkey, and then confess to me atop of a hot air balloon ride; Or perhaps we can go to a lavender field in Provence, and he would court me in his European-style outfit…Or, or, a luxury cruise, like Jack and Rose, a confession amidst the sea breeze – also…” 1

As Huang Ying spoke, she made dramatic, self-indulgent gestures. By the time she opened her eyes, Qin Juran was gone.

“I wasn’t done yet~”

When Qin Juran went downstairs, the ostentatious Porsche was already parked outside. Numerous female students flicked strange glances towards Qin Juran as she walked past, but she ignored them all, climbing into the passenger seat with a familiar ease.

The weather was not sunny at all, yet Ruan Nan still sported a pair of shades over her eyes. She acted rather unnaturally upon Qin Juran’s arrival, as if bracing herself for an incoming storm.

Qin Juran suppressed a smile, speaking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened: “Are you alright today? If not, I can go myself.” Ruan Nan had sent her a message early in the morning that she would give her a ride to the test.

“I’m fine. Are you fine? Uncle said that it’s okay to take it slow if you can’t do it, you could always take the test on a later date.”

Ruan Longteng learned of the events of last night while he was eating dinner; by the time he raced back to the driving school, Ruan Nan and Qin Juran had already left. Thank goodness nothing serious had happened, otherwise he had no idea how he would’ve explained it to his brother.

After hearing about Qin Juran’s heroic feat, he even wanted to personally treat her to dinner to express his gratitude. Moreover, he was worried that she might’ve suffered some psychological stress that would hinder her from taking the test. Thus, Ruan Nan decided that she would accompany Qin Juran to her test.

Qin Juran leaned back into the seat: “At first I wasn’t feeling well, but then I thought about how the sooner I get my license, the sooner I could drive Ah-Ruan.”

“But don’t they say that driving without a license is even more exciting?”

What exactly was she trying to insinuate…

Ruan Nan blushed. However, now that Qin Juran was back to her teasing, Ruan Nan felt relieved that she seemed to have recovered. She quickly stepped on the gas to change the subject.

The two of them chatted casually along the way. There were only two months until the winter holiday, and Ruan Nan expressed her plans of going on an international exchange program. Since her classes were too busy during the semester, she wanted to take the opportunity to go this winter break. She then asked Qin Juran, who spoke of looking for an internship or starting her business. She wanted to move forward in her goal of becoming President Qin.

“So…” The two girls chimed simultaneously.

Ruan Nan clamped her mouth shut, while Qin Juran turned towards her and smiled: “So we won’t be able to see each other for those two months?”

“Ah-Ruan, have we ever gone that long without seeing each other?”

Throughout high school, they were in neighboring classes, so they would often run into each other whether they liked it or not. Additionally, their homes were both in District A, and they were in the same department in the same university. It must’ve been at least 6 years since they’ve been apart for that long.

Although neither of them realized before, in retrospect, those two must’ve interacted with each other more than anyone else in the past 6 years.

Ruan Nan expected Qin Juran to say something along the lines of “I’ll miss you,” but to her surprise, she only laughed and followed with: “Then I better utilize my time wisely.”

Soon, they arrived at the driving school. Since they were conducting both subject 2 and subject 3 tests there today, the entrance was barricaded off. The subject 2 test was conducted within the school grounds, and all the testers were currently sitting in the large hall, anxiously anticipating for their names to appear on the large screen above.

The driving instructor led Qin Juran and Ruan Nan to the VIP waiting area, offering them tea and snacks. He asked Qin Juran when she wanted to take the test so that he could arrange her desired spot. Qin Juran answered that she was fine with any time, and so around half an hour later, the words “Qin Juran” lit up upon the screen.

At the moment, Qin Juran was just coming back from the restroom. Ruan Nan jogged up to her, saying, “You’re up.”

The girl who took her test right before apparently failed again for the fourth time. As she walked back from the test course with her blotchy face and blaring crying, the waiting center immediately filled with a bleak atmosphere.

The two girls walked through a long corridor from the waiting room to the testing course. The entire time, Qin Juran hung her head and walked slowly. Right before they were about to go outside, Ruan Nan gently tugged on Qin Juran’s skirt and asked, “Will you be okay? Should we reschedule?”

Qin Juran took off her purse and handed it to Ruan Nan. She flicked a nervous glance outside, speaking in a low voice: “Ah-Ruan.”

Ruan Nan immediately inched closer: “What is it?”

Before Ruan Nan could react, Qin Juran used a hand to grab onto her, spun her around, then pressed her against the wall. She used her other hand to cradle her chin, leaned over, then planted a kiss directly on top of Ruan Nan’s pouting lips. This time, their noses did not collide, and unlike Ruan Nan’s quick peck from the other day, Qin Juran’s lips were firmly planted and she gently sucked.

“Mwah~”

The scent of freesias seemed to fill the air, along with a flirtatious kissing sound.

Qin Juran let go of her hands, fluttering her eyelashes: “Now I’m not nervous anymore.”

Footnotes

T/N: I’m screaming at Huang Ying’s dramatic ass romantic fantasies…she’s soo me

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