Chapter 67: Does Xiao Luo Want to Try Too?
After listening attentively to Jiang Xue’s patient explanation, Xiao Luohan finally relaxed.
It seemed she had taken things too quickly, worrying those who cared about her.
She thought for a moment, looked into Jiang Xue’s eyes, and said, “I understand your kindness. Perhaps I’ve rested for too long during the past seventeen years, so when I finally started moving again, I couldn’t help but want to take more steps, walk faster.”
Jiang Xue patted her back. “I understand.”
“But I rarely change my mind about things I’ve decided on,” Xiao Luohan continued. “For example, I believe that going to bed early is good for my health. Unless I change my mind, I won’t agree to stay up late no matter who asks.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xue was also relieved. She could sense that this was something Xiao Luo deliberately said for her and Elder Sister Red Fox to hear.
“Rest assured, I lived with my mother in the cold palace for so many years, and survived until now with such a frail body, so I definitely know how to rest and relax.” Xiao Luohan also patted her shoulder. “You… no, you all don’t have to treat me like a delicate flower.”
She knew her elder sister was also listening.
Just as Jiang Xue had taught her today, if she felt that someone close to her wasn’t being entirely truthful, she should express her own feelings clearly, so that the other person would remember.
Jiang Xue repeatedly agreed, thinking that if Xiao Luo were a flower, she would definitely be a plum blossom, capable of “blooming alone in the cold.”
Just as she thought this, she saw something falling from above. She instinctively looked up and saw a red plum blossom.
Before she could react, Xiao Luohan reached out and caught it.
“Elder Sister understands,” she said, smiling and holding the petal, even though the red fox hadn’t appeared.
After this small interlude, they stayed in the mindscape for a while longer, until the wake-up bell rang, and they both woke up from the dream.
The wake-up bell for lunch break at Si Ling rotated through several instrumental music pieces. Today, it wasn’t A Wish Across Time, but a more upbeat melody.
Seeing Xiao Luohan lying there, listening curiously with her eyes open, Jiang Xue softly explained, “This is Croatian Rhapsody. The theme is anti-war.”
Xiao Luohan thought of her home country.
According to the definition in this world, she had been living in the “Warring States period” before crossing over. The world wasn’t unified, with stronger countries annexing weaker ones, only to be conquered by even stronger countries. No one knew when it would end, and there had never been a true “era of peace.”
However, after seeing Beiliao’s victory in the mindscape, she started hoping that Beiliao could become a powerful nation capable of “ending all wars.”
After the afternoon English class, Xiao Luohan planned to borrow Jiang Xue’s books and test papers and try attending a biology class.
According to Jiang Xue, biology was “the liberal arts of science,” with more memorization and comprehension than calculation.
The reason she had initially found it difficult to understand was mainly because she had rarely encountered related knowledge points before, and even if she had, many of the terms used in biology in ancient times were different from those used in modern times.
So Xiao Luohan decided to give it a try.
But as soon as class started, she noticed the teacher’s gaze. Looking over, she found that the biology teacher, nicknamed “Homozygote,” was looking at Jiang Xue.
…Why was she looking at Jiang Xue?
The only reason Xiao Luohan could think of was that Jiang Xue was distracted, but the class had just started, and biology was a subject Jiang Xue liked and excelled at. She shouldn’t be distracted, right?
But she was still worried and couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Xue.
Jiang Xue, suddenly the focus of two gazes: ?
She was confused for a moment, then, noticing the fluffy cat keychain on Xiao Luohan’s backpack, she suddenly realized.
It could only be this. That night, after evening self-study, she had been “claimed” by Xiao Luo, who had transformed into a Ragdoll cat. She had carried the cat and searched the entire senior year office area with Xie Xitong, looking for the cat’s owner, and had asked “Homozygote.”
Since she had a good relationship with “Homozygote,” she had held up the cat for her to see.
Putting herself in the biology teacher’s shoes, Jiang Xue cringed, feeling that it must have been terrifying.
She was a biology teacher, and late at night, after everyone had left, a student suddenly entered the office, holding nothing in her arms, and asked her which teacher owned the cat.
Either it was really haunted, or the student had delusions, or the pressure of studying had caused hallucinations—none of the conclusions sounded normal.
And she couldn’t explain it!
Jiang Xue covered half her face and sighed deeply. For the rest of the class, she listened attentively, afraid that “Homozygote” would worry about her again.
But as soon as class ended, the biology teacher called her over.
“Jiang Xue, your biology grades have been good since your sophomore year. As long as you continue to listen attentively in class, do your homework, and correct your mistakes, I believe you can maintain them. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself!”
Jiang Xue: …
Now there was no way to explain.
Seeing her dejectedly return, Xiao Luohan asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Xue opened her mouth, thinking about how to explain the situation, when Xie Xitong walked over with a smile. “Xiao Luo, do you want to join us for PE too?”
Staring at the “culprit” for three seconds, Jiang Xue sighed and stood up. “Of course! I also want to introduce Xiao Luo to the school store!”
As they walked down the stairs, she said casually, “Can I play table tennis with you today?”
“Sure,” Xie Xitong, oblivious to her ulterior motives, readily agreed.
Although playing table tennis also required moving around quickly, it was much less strenuous than badminton for Jiang Xue.
Most importantly, Xie Xitong was terrible at table tennis, and she loved playing despite being terrible. In the entire class, only Jiang Xue was willing to play with her.
Jiang Xue decided to take a little revenge during this PE class.
Not telling her was too much! If Xie Xitong had just given her a heads-up, she wouldn’t have run around the office area at night, holding what others saw as “air cat”!
Xiao Luohan followed behind them, feeling that Jiang Xue’s gaze towards Xie Xitong carried a hint of… resentment?
She suspected she was mistaken, but after arriving at the gymnasium and watching Xie Xitong go get the table tennis balls and paddles, Jiang Xue explained, “Do you remember when you came to me as a cat?”
Xiao Luohan: …
She seemed to understand where the resentment came from.
“A-Xi knew something was unusual about the cat, but didn’t tell you?” she asked tentatively, then received a helpless sigh in response.
“It’s not a big deal, it’s just that I made the biology teacher worry, and I feel a little bad, but I can’t explain it, so I’m taking it out on the ‘culprit’.” Jiang Xue whispered, “Besides our homeroom teacher, ‘Homozygote’ cares about us the most.”
After all, this was high school. Students had their own independence, and unless there were obvious abnormalities, or if a student actively sought help from a trusted teacher, generally, other teachers wouldn’t notice such details—they had too many students to deal with, and teachers also had limited energy.
After Xie Xitong returned with the balls and paddles, Xiao Luohan followed them to a table tennis table and sat nearby, watching their intense “battle of the noobs.”
She quickly realized that Xie Xitong was completely unskilled and just hitting the ball randomly, while Jiang Xue, who could actually play, was now even serving with spin, making Xie Xitong chase after the ball repeatedly.
She felt a little guilty. Regardless of the original intention, the incident that night had led to today’s situation, and she was also partly responsible—she could have spoken, but she had pretended to be a cat the entire time.
But seeing the two happily playing, with Xie Xitong even trying to imitate Jiang Xue’s “spin serve,” Jiang Xue’s initial resentment had also dissipated. She thought for a moment, deciding to wait a little longer before mentioning it.
She watched for half the class, and in the end, it was Xie Xitong who invited her: “Xiao Luo, do you want to try too? A-Xue can’t exercise for too long, she needs to rest.”
“Xiao Luo doesn’t know how to play yet, don’t bully her!” Although Jiang Xue said this, she handed her paddle to Xiao Luohan.
But before resting, she explained to Xiao Luo in as much detail as possible how to serve, receive, and the rules of the game.
Xiao Luohan nodded obediently, listened attentively, took the paddle, and carefully wiped her palms and the handle with a tissue to prevent slipping.
Then she adopted the exact same stance as Jiang Xue.
Five minutes later, Xie Xitong pulled Jiang Xue, who was resting, from her seat. “Did you two practice last night?”
Jiang Xue: …
“Of course not! I was so tired last night that I went to bed early! Who has the energy and stamina to play table tennis after a long flight?!” she defended herself loudly. “Xiao Luo is just naturally talented and observant, right? She’s never seen table tennis before today!”
“Then she’s too amazing!” Xie Xitong exclaimed sincerely. “It feels like I’m still playing against the same person!”
This piqued Jiang Xue’s curiosity. She waited for another five minutes, then couldn’t help but replace Xie Xitong and play against Xiao Luohan.
…It was exactly the same, their habits and movements almost identical.
It was Jiang Xue’s first “mirror image” experience. As they played, she became engrossed, even experiencing the joy of “playing chess with both hands.”
But she remembered that Xiao Luohan’s health wasn’t good, and Xiao Luohan also remembered that she couldn’t exercise for too long, so after just five minutes, they both put down their paddles.
After putting away the paddles and washing their hands, they went to the small store inside the gymnasium together.
“That day, I just wanted you to choose a drink, but I didn’t expect you to not only choose ‘Scream,’ but also the red one, which is widely considered the worst,” Jiang Xue said as they walked along the shelves, taking a can of mulberry yogurt drink and handing it to Xiao Luohan. “I actually wanted to recommend dairy products, especially yogurt, which is said to be good for the stomach, and it’s probably not common in your world, right?”
Xiao Luohan carefully thought about it and nodded. “Indeed, I’ve only seen ‘cheese’ in travelogues.”
Jiang Xue thought for a moment. “After the college entrance exam, if your health improves, why don’t we go on a trip to the grasslands, where there are many dairy products?”
Xiao Luohan instinctively wanted to agree, but then remembered that she had just made a promise to Uncle Seuss to help him pick grapes and make wine during the summer vacation.
No wonder Jiang Xue had said “it’s not a binding agreement.” Seeing something interesting, she would always have new ideas, and making promises too early would restrict her actions. It was best to make arrangements closer to the actual time.
“If I’m free, I’d like to,” she replied to Jiang Xue, opening the mulberry yogurt drink and taking a sip.
…Delicious! Sweet and sour! She wanted to visit the grasslands even more now.
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