Chapter 65: She Would Hold Her Tight
After a morning of classes, Jiang Xue realized she had underestimated Xiao Luohan.
When encountering a class she didn’t understand, Xiao Luohan would find something else to do and focus on it for the entire class, neither disturbing Jiang Xue nor getting distracted.
As for liberal arts subjects like Chinese, English, and history, even if Xiao Luohan couldn’t keep up with their pace, she could still grasp a clear understanding of the course content by listening to the lectures.
After looking at Xiao Luohan’s notes, Jiang Xue felt that she didn’t seem like a student at all, but more like a trainee teacher observing a class!
However, after the “Crown Prince assassination” incident, she could understand why Xiao Luohan was so different from them.
They had both learned how to use a gun from Uncle Seuss, but she had learned it to teach Xiao Luo, while Xiao Luo had learned it to kill the Crown Prince. If she couldn’t kill him quickly, she herself might be the one who died.
Xiao Luo, despite lacking a sense of security, had a much stronger sense of danger than she did.
Under these two invisible pressures, her thirst for knowledge… no, perhaps it was her “survival instinct” that drove Xiao Luo to find the best shortcut to reach the peak.
—This was a situation she couldn’t change no matter how much she tried to persuade her. It was up to Xiao Luo to figure it out and overcome it herself. Moreover, for Xiao Luo, it probably wasn’t the time to completely relax and “move on.”
But since Jiang Xue had noticed, she couldn’t just ignore it.
She couldn’t solve this alone. She still had Xie Xitong.
She always went to the cafeteria with Xie Xitong for lunch. Today, with Xiao Luo joining them, the three walked side by side. Although it was their first time, it felt as natural as if they did this every day.
However, this naturalness might also be because Xie Xitong deliberately walked on one side, with Jiang Xue in the middle, so she could talk to either of them.
“Today is Xiao Luo’s first time ‘eating in the cafeteria.’ Should we go to the window and order dishes, or have noodles?” Xie Xitong asked as they approached the cafeteria entrance.
Xiao Luohan asked in surprise, “Noodles? Old Cat Noodle Shop?”
She remembered reading in the diary that Jiang Xue and Xie Xitong were regulars at this noodle shop, and the beef noodles she had eaten were also from there.
After receiving confirmation, she nodded readily. “I like noodles for lunch.”
As soon as the three arrived at the window, they saw the dairy cow cat owned by the shop owner lying in its special nest, its belly rising and falling as it slept soundly.
“You’re here? What would you like to eat?” The owner, having just served a bowl of beef noodles, turned to them with a smile. “Oh, you’ve brought a new girl.”
“Xiao Luo is a distant relative of mine. She just came back from abroad and will be attending school with me.” Jiang Xue gave a brief introduction. “She’ll have a bowl of clear soup beef noodles, uh… as for the garlic chives and cilantro…”
“A little bit of both is fine,” Xiao Luohan said.
While the owner was preparing their noodles, Xiao Luohan’s gaze naturally fell on the sleek and shiny dairy cow cat, then, not wanting to disturb its sleep, she quickly looked away, her gaze landing on the various condiments.
“The pickled radish, fermented chili, and chili oil are all homemade by the owner,” Jiang Xue said, taking a small dish and scooping a large spoonful of light pink pickled radish. “Pickled radish helps cut through the richness. You can also try the two types of chili if you’re interested, but they’re really spicy.”
Before she could finish, Xiao Luohan saw Xie Xitong scoop a large spoonful of fermented chili and then cover the other half of the small dish with chili oil.
“…Don’t follow her example, A-Xi can practically eat chili peppers as a vegetable!” Jiang Xue quickly explained.
Xiao Luohan nodded, took a small amount of fermented chili, added a few drops of chili oil, and went to find a seat with her small dish.
“Before you came, we would sit there and send you noodles,” Jiang Xue whispered, taking advantage of the smaller crowd, and pointed in a direction.
“You went through so much trouble,” Xiao Luohan lowered her head and was about to bow when Xie Xitong stopped her.
“Don’t worry about it, we were just having fun!” Xie Xitong said with a smile. “One keeping watch, the other delivering food, it was quite interesting!”
“Yes, yes, we treated it as a daily activity!” Jiang Xue quickly agreed, hoping this reason would prevent Xiao Luo from dwelling on the favor.
She had considered whether to simply not mention the things she had done for Xiao Luo, but thinking of Xiao Luo’s sensitive nature, she was afraid that if she didn’t mention them, Xiao Luo would just keep them in her heart, letting them snowball into a “mountain of gratitude.”
She really felt that she hadn’t done much for Xiao Luo, just ordinary, everyday things, which shouldn’t become a burden for her.
Because of this, she still decided to tell Xiao Luo, one by one, that her presence had simply become a part of their lives, and they had helped her because they wanted her to be well.
Xiao Luohan vaguely understood what they meant, but understanding was one thing, and being grateful for their kindness and wanting to repay them was another.
However, repaying kindness was also an ordinary thing. She would find opportunities and do it gradually.
—For now, she just needed to enjoy her noodles.
The clear soup beef noodles at Old Cat Noodle Shop were light but flavorful. Xiao Luohan never got tired of them, and today, with the pickled radish and chili, they tasted even better.
Unfortunately, the portion was too large. Perhaps seeing how thin she was, the owner had given her more noodles than Jiang Xue and the others had sent before.
Even a normal portion was too much for Xiao Luohan to finish. In the ancient world, she would share with Shizhu. Now, looking at the half-bowl of noodles left, she felt a little troubled.
“Do you… mind if I take some of your noodles?”
She suddenly heard Jiang Xue ask, then Xie Xitong added, “A-Xue gets hungry quickly, sometimes she even takes some of my noodles!”
“Yes, yes!” Jiang Xue nodded repeatedly, putting on an embarrassed expression.
So the remaining noodles ended up in Jiang Xue’s bowl.
Jiang Xue felt that this wasn’t the most elegant solution, but it was probably the best way for Xiao Luohan to give her the leftover food without feeling burdened.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she ate the noodles, and it wasn’t until she finished and met Xie Xitong’s almost “knowing smile” that she suddenly realized what a strange choice she had made.
“We’re family, we’re family…” she repeated in her mind. “There’s nothing wrong with family members eating each other’s leftovers…”
That was fine, but on the way back to the classroom, she heard Xie Xitong whisper in her ear, “Incorrect program execution, but correct result~”
Jiang Xue: …
Correct my foot! Wouldn’t this be misunderstood by Xiao Luo?!
She was about to glare back when she heard Xiao Luohan say regretfully, “That cat is sleeping so soundly, I wonder if I’ll be able to pet it next time.”
“You want to pet it?” Jiang Xue immediately turned to her. “Just tell the owner next time, and you can go in and pet it directly. It’s an old cat and a light sleeper. It’s actually pretending to be asleep most of the time. If someone pets it, it’ll wake up immediately.”
“But it’s very aloof,” Xie Xitong added. “Even if it enjoys being petted, it’ll deliberately act resistant.”
“It seems like it doesn’t want to acknowledge you, but if you really leave, it’ll peek and look for you.”
This was the experience they had accumulated petting the dairy cow cat since high school.
Xiao Luohan suddenly understood. “Its personality is very different from Xixi’s.”
The large white cat was very clingy, even rubbing against people while complaining, and would immediately run away from people it didn’t like. It was very straightforward.
“Of course, Xixi has been with us since it was a kitten. It can be said that it was spoiled by our whole family. Even when it’s angry, it still likes being close to humans.” Mentioning her cat, Xie Xitong became serious. “But the old dairy cow cat is different. The owner found it as a stray near a trash can. It had a hard life before becoming a house cat.”
“Cats and dogs actually have a period that’s most suitable for ‘socialization.’ If they’re not treated well during that period, or if something bad happens to them, it’s difficult for them to truly trust and be close to humans later on.”
The speaker was unintentional, but both listeners, because of the difference in the cats’ personalities, thought of people.
Especially Jiang Xue, who had been wanting to discuss with Xie Xitong how to help Xiao Luo relax.
But after hearing this explanation, Jiang Xue suddenly felt that there was no need to do anything extra.
Since Xiao Luo lacked a sense of security, she just needed to be there for her as much as possible when she needed care and encouragement.
She just needed to hug her, be her support, and give her enough warmth to dispel her fear when she felt discouraged.
Xiao Luo wanted to grow into a strong and independent person, so she would be the support she needed during her growth.
This was simple. It was like when you first brought a stray cat home, you had to let it adapt to the environment. During this time, the stray cat might hiss at people or refuse to eat, but as long as it felt safe, it would naturally come out of hiding and accept the kindness of its adopter.
Having made up her mind, Jiang Xue felt her steps become firmer.
They parted ways at the bottom of the teaching building. Xie Xitong returned to the classroom for her lunch break, while Jiang Xue took Xiao Luohan to the library to get her textbooks and workbooks.
According to the rules, each registered student had two opportunities to receive free books. If they lost them again, they would have to pay.
Jiang Xue had always cherished her textbooks, so she gave both free opportunities to Xiao Luohan.
Before the lunch bell rang, she helped Xiao Luohan get all the required and elective textbooks and workbooks for Chinese and history, from freshman to senior year.
The librarian had never seen this before, but she was busy and didn’t bother asking why. After registering, she even gave them a plastic bag to carry the books.
Jiang Xue instinctively wanted to carry the books herself, but Xiao Luohan took the other end of the plastic bag first.
“I also want to try and build up my strength,” Xiao Luohan explained. “Can I carry it with you?”
Her frailty manifested in various aspects. Since she had arrived in an era with good medical care, she wanted to gradually regain the physical strength of a normal person.
“Sure, just tell me if you get tired,” Jiang Xue didn’t refuse, taking the other end of the bag.
She deliberately slowed down, walking towards the classroom with Xiao Luohan, stopping every now and then to rest for ten or twenty seconds.
“You learn things so fast!” she couldn’t help but exclaim when they reached a secluded spot. “Understanding the system makes it easier to comprehend why certain events happen at each stage, and why it’s necessary to move on to the next stage.”
“You flatter me. I owe it all to your textbooks,” Xiao Luohan said. “I treated them like storybooks. Perhaps it was ‘subconscious learning,’ so when I actually started studying them, it wasn’t that difficult.”
Jiang Xue: …
Xiao Luo, who treated textbooks like storybooks, was strangely endearing.
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