Extra 2: Ah Ran x Taotao [Bonus Extra]
B City First Middle School, Class One of the eighth grade.
During the first class of the afternoon, the lazy, warm sunlight was thick with the drowsiness of just having woken up from a nap.
The history teacher’s low, raspy voice drifted in and out of focus. Taotao propped her chin on her hand, her eyes half-closed.
Her head bobbed up and down as she dozed off, and after one bob failed to come back up, it fell straight onto the desk, where she slept sweetly.
Ah Ran’s pen paused, and she turned her head to cast a light glance at Taotao.
The girl had been doted on and spoiled since she was little, and her bright, lovely features held a natural innocence and purity. With her eyes closed now, her thick lashes cast a shadow, and her pink lips occasionally murmured, letting out a nearly inaudible “Ah Ran.”
The corners of Ah Ran’s lips curved up slightly. She adjusted her position just enough to block the harsh ray of light that was disturbing Taotao’s sleep.
“Yu Feng.”
This history teacher had always been strict. Seeing the girl sleeping soundly below, he immediately looked displeased and called on her with a heavy voice to answer a question.
Taotao stood up in a daze, sleepily repeating the answer Ah Ran had whispered to her.
The history teacher’s brow furrowed. He was even more unhappy now.
“Yu Ran, you stand up too.”
Ah Ran looked up and stood, perfectly composed.
“Since you like helping people answer questions, why don’t you tell us…”
The history teacher tried to trip her up several times, but Ah Ran answered like flowing water1.
Finally, amidst his dark expression, the bell for the end of class rang.
Once that stern figure had departed, the classroom instantly erupted in noise.
Like she had no bones, Taotao collapsed limply onto Ah Ran, nuzzling her shoulder and whining coquettishly, “Thank you, baobao.”
Ah Ran reached out and smoothed down the errant lock of hair2 that was sticking up from the girl’s nap. “Remember to copy the notes.”
“Also, call me Jiejie,” she added.
Her physical age was three years younger than Taotao’s, yet she had the air of a miniature adult, her elegant features filled with a serene calm.
Taotao huffed softly and burrowed her head into the crook of Ah Ran’s neck.
“No way. You’re three years younger than me. I practically raised you through shit and piss3. When you were little, you used to trail after me, calling me ‘Jiejie’ with those big, pleading eyes. It was super cute…”
Ah Ran’s pale cheeks instantly flushed pink. She scrambled to cover Taotao’s mouth, emphasizing with perfect enunciation, “I’m six years older than you! Mommy and Mama told you that themselves!”
Taotao started laughing, her warm, moist breath puffing against Ah Ran’s palm.
“Is that so?” She pulled Ah Ran to her feet, and the height difference between them was suddenly obvious.
Kids grow fast during their teenage years, changing from one day to the next. And Taotao was developing especially quickly; she was already half a head taller than Ah Ran. She looked down at Ah Ran, raised an eyebrow, and began ruffling her hair without asking.
As she happily ruffled, she deliberately teased, “Jiejie, if what you’re saying is true, does that mean you’re already 20 this year? Then how come you’re not in college yet?”
As her hair was ruffled, an even deeper pink bloomed on Ah Ran’s skin, and a shimmering moisture welled up in her eyes.
She wasn’t strong enough to break free, so in the end, she could only puff out her cheeks indignantly. “I’m going to tell Mommy and Mama you bullied me when I get home tonight.”
Taotao’s eyes went wide, but she couldn’t bear to take her hand off the top of Ah Ran’s soft hair. “How am I bullying you? I spend all my allowance on buying you Doraemon stuff!”
“Books say you can’t trust sweet talk; control over the finances is what really matters…”
She muttered, then leaned down and gave Ah Ran’s cheek an appeasing little mwah. “Jiejie, don’t tell on me, okay?”
Ah Ran pressed her lips together and pinched Taotao’s cheek. “Then will you listen to me?”
Taotao immediately nodded, blinking her eyes like a little puppy. “I’ll listen.”
SPACE LINE
A girl in middle school is like a green plum4 on a tree—a flower bud just beginning to open, innocent and unripe, faintly steeped in fragrance.
When the wind blows, it rustles and sways, as if already possessing a burgeoning vitality on the verge of igniting.
“Yu Feng!”
“Go, Yu Feng!”
The sports meet opened with the 400-meter dash. The girl’s long, flexible figure was nimble and strong, and beads of sweat slid down her fair cheeks, glinting brightly in the sun.
Seeing Taotao be the first to burst through the red finishing line tape, Ah Ran’s eyes shone like stars, and the corners of her lips lifted.
“You were amazing!”
She handed a bottle of mineral water to Taotao. The girl grinned at her, raised an eyebrow, and took it, downing several gulps and tilting her head back to reveal the elegant line of her jaw.
Ah Ran was about to say something else when a huge crowd of people swarmed over, excitedly praising Taotao and surrounding her like she was the most dazzling pearl.
Taotao was pretty and had a cheerful, lively personality, so she had always been extremely popular.
At this moment, she was surrounded not only by her classmates, who loved to stick close to her, but also by many students from other classes who always pretended to be passing by the window when they were actually sneaking a peek at her.
In the midst of the excitement, a pink envelope was even passed silently into her arms.
Ah Ran watched Yu Feng, who was chatting and laughing with ease in the crowd, and felt an inexplicable sense of loss, feeling that the girl was just like her name—a gust of wind that couldn’t be caught.
The next second, however, that gust of wind blew toward her——
Yu Feng’s brow suddenly furrowed, and she hurried out of the crowd to stand before her.
But not to talk to her.
“Please don’t stand so close to her.” Yu Feng’s gaze darkened as she looked at the girl next to Ah Ran. “You got Ah Ran hurt last time.”
Ah Ran turned her head and only then noticed a girl standing beside her.
The girl wasn’t happy either. “I already went to your house to apologize…”
That just made Yu Feng even more unhappy.
She has the nerve to bring that up! Last time, this girl took it upon herself to visit with a gift, and she even went into Ah Ran’s room, which made her unhappy for a long time.
She pressed her lips together, and without another word, she took Ah Ran’s hand and walked away, leaving the entire group of classmates behind.
“They have such a great relationship for biological sisters,” someone remarked with envy.
“Speaking of which, they really don’t look alike at all… Yu Feng’s features have traces of Qi Song and Yu Luo, but Yu Ran doesn’t.”
“But they’re both so pretty. Just what you’d expect from Qi Song and Yu Luo’s kids.”
Yu Feng held Ah Ran’s hand, instructing her earnestly as they walked, “Jiejie, don’t hang around people like that. You skipped three grades, so people are always trying to bully you because you’re younger. If you run into her again, you have to call for me right away. I’ll protect you.”
Ah Ran glanced at her, pondering for a few seconds before she said:
“But, Xiao Yun didn’t bully me. Me getting hurt that time was an accident.”
Yu Feng got anxious and squeezed her hand, her earlobes turning pink. “What do you mean she didn’t? I saw it. She tried to kiss you last time.”
“Mm.” Ah Ran bit her lip for a moment before speaking slowly. “…You kiss me all the time, too.”
The words on the tip of Yu Feng’s tongue stumbled, and she suddenly fell quiet.
The two of them wandered the campus for half the day without saying a word. Neither broke the silence, having fallen into a sudden and inexplicable stalemate.
When school let out that evening, Qi Song and Yu Luo came to pick them up by car.
The two little kids, who were usually all affectionate and chatty in the back seat, were today sitting at opposite ends, each staring out their own window.
Qi Song and Yu Luo exchanged a look, each seeing the curiosity in the other’s eyes.
“So, my little kiddos, did you have fun at the sports meet today?” Yu Luo asked gently, turning around.
“It was fun.”
“It was fun.”
They answered one after the other, each sounding more listless than the last.
Qi Song couldn’t help but smile and decided to just ask directly, “What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?”
Two more unconfident “no’s” sounded from the back seat.
When they got home, Auntie Zhang had already made dinner.
The two kids went to wash their hands one after the other but were taking a long time to come out of the bathroom. Qi Song pulled Yu Luo over to eavesdrop5.
“…How about this.” Yu Feng’s voice sounded, holding a girl’s unripe determination. “From now on, you only let me kiss you, and I’ll only kiss you.”
The two parents by the wall felt their pupils shake in unison, and a fine sweat broke out in their clasped palms.
“Why?” Ah Ran asked, her tone still serene.
Qi Song’s ears twitched. She also really wanted to know why.
“That’s how Mommy and Mama are,” Yu Feng said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Last time, that one auntie liked Mommy, and I was eavesdropping and heard Mama tell Mommy, ‘Jiejie is only allowed to look at me,’ and Mommy obediently agreed.”
The two eavesdropping parents felt their cheeks flush.
“Are you sure you’ll only kiss me from now on?” Ah Ran repeated.
“Mhm, mhm, mhm!”
From the sound of it, Yu Luo could just imagine Taotao nodding her head eagerly, exactly like Qi Song.
A light laugh came from inside. The girls had reached an agreement.
“Then can I have a kiss?” Yu Feng asked, smiling as she swayed Ah Ran’s hand.
There was no verbal reply from the bathroom; the girl must have simply given a demure nod.
The next second, a soft “mwah” sounded.
It was clearly the most natural sort of affection between sisters, but combined with all the recent signs, Qi Song and Yu Luo were starting to feel a little unsteady.
Qi Song cleared her throat lightly, and the two kids inside instantly fell silent.
As if nothing had happened, Yu Luo pulled Qi Song inside, pretending they had just come over to wash their hands before dinner.
Her gaze swept over her two kids’ reddened ears, and a soft sigh rose in her eyes.
Qi Song and Yu Luo had a tacit understanding not to address it directly. Instead, they had a very pointed conversation over dinner.
Qi Song: “When I was filming last time, an actor in the cast had a pair of daughters who said—a child’s words are without taboo6, of course—that they were going to marry each other when they grew up.”
Ah Ran’s chopsticks paused, her fingertips tightening slightly.
Yu Luo: “Oh? And then?”
Qi Song: “They’re biological sisters. You can’t even write about that kind of thing on Jinjiang (JJWXC). That’s why I said a child’s words are without taboo, you know.”
Taotao’s brow knitted, and she pouted a little.
Yu Luo: “It would be fine if they weren’t biological sisters.”
Taotao’s eyes lit up.
Qi Song: “But even if they weren’t biological sisters, if they’re on the same hukou7, that’s still a forbidden topic on Jinjiang (JJWXC).”
Ah Ran bit her chopsticks.
Yu Luo: “Mm, so if they establish their own separate households after they grow up, it would be fine, right?”
Qi Song nodded: “Exactly.”
Yu Luo smiled: “So, they still have to grow up properly first, and then make their choice freely and maturely. By then, who knows if they’ll still feel the same way.”
A quiet fell over the dinner table, broken only by the occasional clink of bowls and chopsticks.
Yu Feng quickly finished her food and went to the kitchen to get herself another bowl.
Qi Song and Yu Luo watched her, slightly surprised. Their two kids usually weren’t big eaters and would invariably eat only one bowl.
Yu Feng buried her head in her bowl and ate with determination. When she saw Yu Ran finish and get up to leave, she quickly stopped her. “Ah Ran, let me get you some more, okay?”
Ah Ran looked, mystified, at the fresh pile of rice in her bowl.
Yu Feng’s eyes curved at her. “Let’s eat hard so we can grow up faster.”
“Um… I’m really in a hurry, you know.” After a pause, she added in a small voice, her ears red.
Ah Ran’s cheeks also turned red. She was so shy she could barely hold her chopsticks steady, and she let out a low “mm-hm.”
Qi Song and Yu Luo exchanged a look and smiled silently.
The author has something to say:
Popping in out of nowhere~
Some of my little cuties said they wanted to see more Ah Ran & Taotao, so I wrote a little bit about their unripe, green plum days. I can’t write more; Jinjiang (JJWXC) doesn’t allow it.
Next up will be a chapter on Qi Song and Yu Luo’s sweet life, which I’ll post in a few days. If I get any more inspiration in the future, I might write more, hehe. Gotta give the readers who support the official version some more bonuses.
Happy New Year to all my darlings!
LP: Locking this chapter behind the APP is another sort of torture!
Also, I don’t know what to think of this chapter…
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