Chapter 59: I Want to Go to School With You
Uncle Seuss’s estate had grapes year-round. Jiang Xue didn’t know the specifics of how they were cultivated, but she remembered him saying “feel free to pick any grapes in the garden” during her last visit.
It was the same this time, even Xie Xitong, an outsider, took a bunch of ripe grapes.
Fresh grapes didn’t last long, and Jiang Xue was thinking of other uses for them.
Like making grape juice for Xiao Luo, or asking Sister Cheng to make them into preserves, or even baking them into raisins for snacks and baking.
As she mentally planned the fate of the grapes, she snipped them with her scissors.
Xiao Luohan followed beside her, holding the basket. After observing for a while, she knew that Jiang Xue had a good eye, picking only the best-looking grapes.
But Jiang Xue wasn’t completely confident. A few bunches made her hesitate. Instead of picking them immediately, she first picked a grape and tasted it.
“Although there are differences within a bunch, since they grow together, the taste shouldn’t be too different.” After explaining, she peeled the grape in her hand. “Want to try?”
Xiao Luohan was about to reach out when the juicy grape was brought to her lips.
“Thank you.” She didn’t refuse, lowering her head and gently taking a bite.
A warm, moist softness brushed against Jiang Xue’s finger. It was just a momentary contact, but it made her shiver.
But she quickly recovered, covered the faint mark left by Xiao Luohan with her thumb, and quickly wiped it away, lest Xiao Luo feel embarrassed.
But the ripples from that moment still lingered in her heart.
As she walked towards the next bunch of grapes, she felt like she was floating.
Fortunately, despite feeling lightheaded, she remained composed and filled the basket with high-quality grapes.
Xiao Luohan also peeled and tasted a few. They were sweet, sour, and juicy, and would probably be delicious no matter how they were prepared.
They returned to the house with the basket of grapes.
Uncle Seuss, who was feeding apples to his horse, smiled at the sight of their “bountiful harvest.” “A-Xue, if you’re free during the summer vacation, bring Xiao Luo here to help me pick grapes and make wine. I’ll pay you double!”
“Okay!” Jiang Xue readily agreed, then explained to Xiao Luohan after entering the house, “That was just polite talk, not a binding agreement.”
Worried that Xiao Luohan wouldn’t understand, she added, “My uncle casually asks whenever he feels like it, and I, being happy at the time, would also casually agree. But we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Everyone understands that.”
Although life went on as usual every day, plans never kept up with changes. Sometimes it was due to unexpected events, sometimes whims, and sometimes sudden work or school arrangements.
“It’s the same with everyone else in the family. Only truly important matters are repeatedly emphasized. Don’t feel too pressured,” she further explained.
Xiao Luohan thought about it and agreed—as for how to interact with her new family, she would consider it when she met them. There was no rush.
Uncle Seuss’s kitchen was fully equipped for processing fresh grapes. Jiang Xue sorted the grapes according to her plan: some for juicing, some for baking, some for preserves, and some for Xiao Luohan to deal with as she pleased.
While the juicer and oven were running, Xiao Luohan sat there, staring at her portion of grapes.
“I want to make them into a mixed drink, like milk tea,” she said after a moment. “Do you have any recipes for that? And how should I process the grapes?”
“Yes, of course,” Jiang Xue washed her hands and searched for related videos. “Some videos have recipes, some don’t. If you prefer text and pictures, you can search in another app.”
Jiang Mei, coming downstairs during her work break, saw the two girls together, surrounded by a cutting board, a fruit knife, a muddler, and a shaker. A large glass of sparkling purple grape juice had already been filtered and placed next to a lemon, ready to be used.
She didn’t interrupt their enthusiastic exchange, only taking a picture and sending it to her two mothers.
【Sword: Getting along well.】
Not only were they getting along well, but they also shared the workload and took care of each other.
Ms. Jiang simply replied with a thumbs-up emoji, but Ms. Wei was overjoyed.
【Cai Wei: [cat holding a heart.gif]】
【Cai Wei: Both my babies are so well-behaved!】
She truly liked Xiao Luohan.
During the process of making the drink, Jiang Xue took care of the tasks that required more strength, while Xiao Luohan was responsible for picking grapes, slicing lemons, and controlling the amount of juice, ice, lemon slices, soda water, and other ingredients.
In the end, it was Jiang Xue who drank the resulting iced grape soda. Xiao Luohan said that her health was poor and cold drinks would upset her stomach.
“Then I have to ask Dr. Qi to come more often,” Jiang Xue said, holding the cold glass. “Today’s grape soda is so delicious. It’s a pity you can’t drink it!”
“No rush, there will be opportunities in the future,” Xiao Luohan smiled faintly, recording her thoughts and the process in the phone’s notes app.
The notes app was truly a good thing. She was an ordinary person, only having read a few more years of books than others. Even with her “photographic memory,” there were too many things to learn, so it was best to write them down.
Seeing her open the notes app, Jiang Xue remembered that there were still some speculations she hadn’t shared with her.
But those speculations still lacked concrete evidence. Even if she could explain her thoughts, they wouldn’t necessarily be the truth.
It was better to just look at the results. Good results were all that mattered.
If Xiao Luohan became curious, she would find a way to explain it when she asked.
With their flight scheduled for 10:00 AM tomorrow, both went to bed early tonight.
But Jiang Xue couldn’t sleep. She was thinking about where Xiao Luohan would stay after she went to school.
There was an empty seat next to her. Her deskmate rarely came to school anymore, barring any major events. But she wasn’t sure if Si Ling allowed non-students to audit classes.
This was something she had never looked into. After much thought, she could only discuss it with her older sister.
【Sword: Ms. Jiang already asked the Si Ling administration today. If it’s just listening to lectures, you just need to inform the teacher, but ‘auditors’ aren’t allowed to take exams.】
In Xiao Luohan’s case, according to current regulations, she could only take the college entrance exam for adults, and before that, she had to obtain a high school equivalency diploma from a relevant institution.
【Sword: But you should still ask Xiao Luo what she wants. School is also a small society. If she doesn’t want to interact with too many people for now, she can stay at home.】
Jiang Xue immediately told Xiao Luohan.
Xiao Luohan was reading an English novel borrowed from Uncle Seuss, with a translation app open on her phone, looking up unfamiliar words.
Due to her frail health since childhood, she had spent most of her life indoors, mainly reading and drawing. She had unconsciously developed a photographic memory.
She had already considered the things Jiang Xue was thinking about several times. After listening, she said without hesitation, “If it won’t trouble you, I would like to go to school and attend classes with you.”
She wasn’t incapable of socializing, but due to her status and health, besides her mother, elder sister, the late Empress, and the palace servants and eunuchs, she had barely any social opportunities.
Although school was also a “small society,” at least the students at Si Ling Foreign Language School had the same goal, and besides studying, they rarely needed to worry about other things. Even if they joined the student council or clubs and became leaders, they had to step down in their senior year. Relatively speaking, it was a pure environment suitable for transition.
“Of course it won’t trouble me!” Jiang Xue immediately perked up. “But you should wait a day before coming to school. I need to clear the empty desk next to mine. I’ve been using it as storage since my deskmate went abroad!”
“It’s alright, I can help you tidy up,” Xiao Luohan said. “I can tidy up the bedroom and study, so a desk is no problem.”
Jiang Xue was speechless.
She actually wanted Xiao Luo to study in a clean and organized environment from the start, but since Xiao Luo was willing to help, she couldn’t refuse her kindness.
After all, for Xiao Luo, this was probably also part of “repaying her kindness.” Perhaps by doing these chores, Xiao Luo could fulfill her insistence on “repaying her kindness” sooner.
“Okay, then we’ll go to school a little early that day,” she agreed, then remembered something else. “By the way, where do you want to sleep on school nights?”
“The rent for the apartment is paid until the month of the college entrance exam. I usually sleep there, so I can sleep in a little longer in the morning. The downside is that it’s definitely not as comfortable as home, and the bed is smaller…”
Although they could squeeze together—that night when Xiao Luohan came over as a cat and then turned into a human, they had slept together—the space was small, and they couldn’t stretch out, so the sleep quality might be affected.
“I’ll go with you,” Xiao Luohan said after carefully considering the pros and cons.
Not wanting to trouble Jiang Xue’s family was one reason, and another was that she didn’t want Sister Cheng to work harder.
High school students left early and came home late, with morning and evening self-study at opposite ends of the day. If she lived separately from Jiang Xue, Sister Cheng would have to make two trips.
Even though she had sent Shizhu away before crossing over, and had seen her safely arrive at her mother’s side in a dream, even entering the service of the late Empress’s maternal family, Xiao Luohan still felt guilty towards her.
Shizhu would have wanted to witness her going to Jiang Xue’s world, but she had still sent her away for her safety, without explaining the reason beforehand, afraid that Shizhu wouldn’t leave if she knew.
They hadn’t even said a proper goodbye.
“Don’t worry about troubling us!” Jiang Xue said, sensing her thoughts. “Your health is poor now. Until Dr. Qi gives you the all-clear to stop taking your medicine, it’s best to maintain your usual schedule.”
She remembered that Xiao Luohan usually went to bed before Xu Shi (7-9 PM). Her sleep schedule had been disrupted these past two days because of the severe cold. Sleeping more during the day meant staying up later at night, and she would definitely have to adjust after returning home.
“Sister Cheng and I plan to pick you up from home every day during dinner time at school, or you can have dinner with me and then go back. Anyway, you don’t have to stay up late with me for evening self-study. There are no classes to attend at night.”
Sitting up straight, Jiang Xue looked into Xiao Luohan’s eyes and said seriously, “Only this matter is non-negotiable for now. I apologize! I’m very afraid of Dr. Qi.”
Her tone was much firmer, but Xiao Luohan felt more at ease.
This family and Dr. Qi were all sincerely thinking about her well-being. They respected her habits and tried their best to give her the best possible experience as soon as she arrived.
“Okay, okay, we’ll discuss the details with Sister Cheng when we get back. It’s time for bed!”
Jiang Xue’s words interrupted her thoughts. The next second, a light purple, candy-shaped pillow was placed in her arms.
“I asked my uncle to find this… cough, it’s Wei Mommy’s old pillow. I’ll hug the blanket tonight, and you can hug this.”
Xiao Luohan: …
That wasn’t necessary.
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