Chapter 63: Warming Feet
During the cold winter months, Jiang Xue loved nothing more than a hot bath followed by a warm sleep.
This was something Xiao Luohan couldn’t have imagined in the past. However, while staying at Uncle Seuss’s house, after recovering from her cold, she had tried it once.
She didn’t particularly love it, but the feeling of snuggling into a warm bed was indeed very comfortable, and she was willing to make it a new habit.
While Jiang Xue was still tidying up the room, Xiao Luohan took her pajamas and change of clothes into the ensuite bathroom, removed her winter clothes, and tied up her long hair.
…It was truly too long.
She thought about this while washing her hair under the shower.
She would ask Jiang Xue about Dr. Qi’s friend who specialized in hairstyling when Jiang Xue was free.
She showered and changed into her pajamas as quickly as possible. Before leaving the bathroom, she also tried the electric toothbrush.
There were only disposable toothbrushes at Uncle Seuss’s place, but in Jiang Xue’s home, everything had already been prepared for her.
But she hadn’t expected the electric toothbrush to be so powerful. The same amount of mint toothpaste produced an overwhelming amount of foam.
She quickly spat out the cold foam and rinsed her mouth several times with warm water, but it still felt tingly.
She should ask Jiang Xue to get a less intense toothpaste.
After lying down in the soft bed, Xiao Luohan still felt the mint scent lingering in her mouth and nose.
It was refreshing, and although she had been sleepy after her bath, she was now wide awake.
She heard Jiang Xue rummaging through the cabinets, and soon, Jiang Xue came to the bedside with a few tubes of toothpaste.
“These are the only flavors we have for now. Do you want to try each one?”
Xiao Luohan sat up and glanced at them, but just by reading the descriptions, she couldn’t be sure what they actually tasted like.
“Okay, I’ll use less next time,” she thanked Jiang Xue and lay back down.
She watched as Jiang Xue returned to the bathroom with the toothpaste, heard the electric toothbrush whirring, then the sound of the shower.
Perhaps because she had recovered from her cold, her senses had become more acute, and Xiao Luohan felt that she could hear sounds she hadn’t noticed before.
These subtle sounds painted a picture of Jiang Xue’s movements for her. Finally, with a soft click, the room was plunged into darkness, and a warm presence slipped into the separate covers beside her.
“Goodnight, Xiao Luo.”
“Goodnight,” Xiao Luohan replied softly.
She could sense that this wasn’t Jiang Xue’s usual bedtime. Jiang Xue had other plans, not really going to bed early to wake up early tomorrow.
It was only because it was her first night staying here, and she had the habit of going to bed early, that Jiang Xue had put aside her other tasks to accompany her.
She hoped this was just a “first-night privilege,” but she couldn’t help but wish for this special treatment every day.
“Get well soon,” she told herself. “I want to synchronize my sleep schedule with A-Xue every night.”
Jiang Xue had been on a five-hour flight, spent a long time reading lecture notes, got carsick on the way back, introduced Xiao Luohan to the bedroom and study after arriving home, and even found textbooks for her. She had originally thought she still had some energy left, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep within minutes.
Asleep, she was quiet and still, lying on her back obediently, without moving.
Xiao Luohan, having suffered the “mint toothpaste ordeal,” couldn’t sleep for now, so she tried counting Jiang Xue’s breaths to lull herself to sleep.
As she counted, she felt Jiang Xue move closer, but the thick quilt greatly hindered her movements.
Xiao Luohan didn’t disturb her, just waited patiently, continuing to count.
Like a patient hunter, hidden in the darkness, observing the habits of its prey.
However, she also underestimated her own energy and stamina, unconsciously drifting off to sleep at some point. When she woke up the next morning, she felt something extra in her covers.
…It was a pair of feet.
Jiang Xue’s hands were probably trapped by the quilt, but her feet had stretched out in her sleep—after all, this was the large bed she had slept in alone for many years. Stretching her limbs in her familiar territory was perfectly normal.
Xiao Luohan, who usually curled up in her sleep, instinctively placed her own cold feet against the warm ones.
But her body was weak, and she wasn’t as “warm-blooded” as Jiang Xue. Even after turning on the electric blanket and taking a hot bath before going to bed, her feet were still cold when she woke up.
This contact startled Jiang Xue awake.
Realizing where her feet had strayed, she quickly retracted them, embarrassed, apologizing and asking, “Did I wake you?”
“I should be the one asking that,” Xiao Luohan said, also a little embarrassed. “My feet were cold, and half-asleep, I instinctively reached for the warmth.”
This was clearly a lie, but Jiang Xue believed it without a doubt and even started thinking of solutions. “I remember there are special socks for sleeping in winter. If you wear them, your feet won’t be so cold. Or…”
She had just woken up, her mind still a little fuzzy, and the words after “or” were a bit careless: “Actually, it’s okay like this. I know it’s you. If I’m woken up by the cold again, I’ll know it’s you trying to warm my feet. Anyway, once I know, I won’t be startled awake again. And even if I wake up, I can just go back to sleep!”
Xiao Luohan: …??
She was stunned, and it wasn’t until she saw Jiang Xue close her eyes again, still drowsy, that she composed herself, deciding to pretend she hadn’t heard those words.
When the alarm rang and Jiang Xue woke up completely, the first thing that came to mind were the words she had mumbled to Xiao Luohan in her half-asleep state.
“…” She didn’t know whether to treat it as a dream or to frankly tell Xiao Luo that she could warm her feet anytime if they felt cold.
But Xiao Luohan didn’t mention it at all until they went downstairs for breakfast, and Jiang Xue felt that Xiao Luo probably didn’t want to bring it up, or perhaps she felt it was better to just silently let it go.
She decided to let it go for now. If it happened again, she would ask about Xiao Luohan’s wishes then.
At 6:10 AM, they got into Sister Cheng’s car and went to school.
Jiang Xue had heard from Ms. Wei during breakfast that Ms. Jiang had personally called each of her teachers and informed them of the situation.
Once they arrived at school, Xiao Luo just needed to sit beside her and listen to the lectures, and follow the school rules. Even if she got tired and wanted to rest, the teachers wouldn’t say anything.
While waiting at a red light, Xiao Luohan couldn’t help but look out the window.
This was the scene from her first dream.
Even though it was early morning, the streets weren’t empty. There were “workers” going to work and parents sending their children to school.
The bus announcements rang out from time to time, and the buses were packed with people.
The rice ball stall across from the school was also crowded with students, the owner quickly adding various fillings to the rice balls, while the flat griddle beside her was filled with cooking pancakes.
Xiao Luohan rolled down the window and immediately smelled the aroma of food.
She patted her slightly rumbling stomach with a hint of regret, closed the window, and said to Jiang Xue, “Can I have a pancake from that stall tomorrow morning?”
“Of course,” Jiang Xue nodded. “But if we leave from home, we might have to leave as early as today…”
“Then I’ll live with you in the rented apartment,” Xiao Luohan said.
She had finally found a reason to live with Jiang Xue in the rented apartment.
Although it sounded childish and absurd, just to buy a pancake from a street vendor in the morning, it was something Jiang Xue could understand and accept.
“Then Sister Cheng, please pick up Xiao Luo this afternoon,” Jiang Xue said to Sister Cheng. “I’ll take her to the school cafeteria for dinner these two days. If Xiao Luo doesn’t like the food there, I’ll let you know in advance.”
“Okay, no problem,” Sister Cheng readily agreed.
Soon, the car stopped at the school gate.
As soon as Xiao Luohan got out of the car, she looked up and saw the eight-character motto of Si Ling Foreign Language School.
Students in winter uniforms arrived from all directions, like streams converging into a river.
Those who lived far away came by car, driven by their parents or family drivers, while those who lived nearby walked, and some, who weren’t afraid of the cold and wanted to be quick, rode bicycles or electric scooters.
As Jiang Xue led her through the school gate, Xiao Luohan instinctively looked at her winter uniform and the embroidered school badge.
—This was Jiang Xue’s other set of winter uniform, which she was temporarily wearing. During the long break today, Jiang Xue would take her to the logistics department to have her measurements taken for a new uniform.
Si Ling’s uniforms had three sets: spring/autumn, winter, and summer. She had to wear them on school days, so wearing Jiang Xue’s clothes wasn’t a long-term solution.
They weren’t early. The boarding students who were in charge of the keys had already been studying for a while. Jiang Xue deliberately entered through the back door of the classroom and quietly tidied up her things at her desk.
“These test papers are extras, we don’t need them anymore. You can put them in the storage bin in the storage room, and someone will collect them later. The money from selling them will be used for class funds.”
As she explained, she lowered her voice and leaned closer to Xiao Luohan’s ear, afraid of disturbing the students who were studying.
It was then that Xiao Luohan truly felt the pressure of senior year.
When morning self-study officially started, this pressure doubled.
Her “transtemporal pen pal” was right beside her now. Jiang Xue felt that she had to set a good example, and since she was already behind in her studies, she focused entirely on reviewing, without any distractions.
While she was memorizing key points, Xiao Luohan took out her freshman year Chinese textbook from her backpack, planning to quickly skim through all the texts and then familiarize herself with the reading comprehension questions based on the key points.
Her backpack was a newly bought canvas bag with a fluffy white cat keychain, a gift from Jiang Xue after she had glanced at it a few times last night.
Both had a fulfilling morning self-study.
After class, Xiao Luohan started preparing for the next class—she could still keep up with history, so she wanted to listen attentively.
But the students who came to refill their water bottles unconsciously crowded behind her.
Some were truly there for water and left immediately after filling their bottles, while others, noticing the new “classmate,” came over to take a closer look, using getting water as an excuse.
Dan Yuanyuan was one of the latter. Taking advantage of her good relationship with Jiang Xue, she huddled behind Jiang Xue’s seat with her water bottle and sighed regretfully, “If I had known you were bringing a new classmate, we could have asked her to join the group dance! Look, her looks and temperament are perfect for an ‘ancient person’!”
Jiang Xue smiled but didn’t say anything, not mentioning that in one of her dreams, Xiao Luo had actually danced with them.
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