After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 20

In the end, Yan Guiqiu placed an order under Song Anchen’s indescribable gaze.

The delivery was estimated to arrive in about two days. Yan Guiqiu thought it over but didn’t pay it much mind.

It was just a psychological comfort, nothing more than that.

But the psychological comfort clearly had little effect. Yan Guiqiu spent the entire night pondering whether it was more important to wait for the “right day” or to strike while the iron was hot and win the person over sooner.

The former was based on the idea of “a lifetime,” while the latter stemmed entirely from a restless, impatient heart.

The next morning, Yan Guiqiu drifted out of her room like a ghost, dark circles under her eyes, nearly causing Song Anchen to spit out her mouthwash all over her face.

“Were you out stealing last night?” Song Anchen asked.

“I gave it serious thought yesterday,” Yan Guiqiu replied, ignoring her friend’s teasing and speaking earnestly. “A matter of a lifetime can’t be taken lightly.”

“You’re still hung up on this?” Song Anchen’s lips twitched.

“I believe Sister Xuehe isn’t the type to change her feelings so easily,” Yan Guiqiu said, nodding to herself. “She probably won’t get impatient over such a short time.”

“…” Song Anchen closed her mouth and retreated into the bathroom to rinse.

Fortunately, by the time she finished washing up, Yan Guiqiu seemed to have returned to normal. She had already changed her clothes, brushed her teeth, and washed her face with astonishing efficiency. As Song Anchen stepped out, Yan Guiqiu asked about the day’s plans.

“What do you want to eat today?” Yan Guiqiu asked. “There’s a new restaurant in the mall near the school. Want to try it?”

She still remembered her promise to treat Song Anchen to a meal.

Song Anchen, however, had lost most of her appetite by then and replied casually, “Whatever.”

“We shouldn’t be too busy today,” Yan Guiqiu glanced at the time, it was only nine in the morning. “We can book a table two hours in advance. That should be fine.”

Song Anchen nodded and turned back to her room to change.

Just as she put on her jacket, her phone beside her started buzzing incessantly. Thinking it might be something urgent from the school, she picked it up and realized she had been added to a gossip group by friends from her family circle.

Assuming it was about some young master or lady running away from an engagement or cheating, she casually opened it and was taken aback.

The group was discussing Qin Xiangxi.

Yan Guiqiu was outside calling the restaurant to make a reservation. Just as the call connected, Song Anchen poked her head out and waved at her. “Cancel it, cancel it! Something’s happened with Qin Xiangxi.”

Qin Xiangxi?

Hearing the name, Yan Guiqiu jolted, her heart skipping a beat.

A bad feeling washed over her.

The polite voice on the other end of the line was asking about her dining preferences. Yan Guiqiu hurriedly declined, “Sorry, something urgent came up. I’ll visit another time.”

As soon as she hung up, Song Anchen came over with her phone.

“They said she was in a car accident last night and is in the hospital now,” Song Anchen said, glancing at Yan Guiqiu’s expression and instinctively lowering her voice. “I heard Jiang Xuehe is involved too. Both families are already arguing at the hospital.”

Hesitating for a moment, Song Anchen asked, “Do you want to go see?”

Yan Guiqiu cut straight to the point: “Which hospital?”

Song Anchen checked the group chat records and said, “Seems like it’s the Third Hospital.”

Yan Guiqiu froze. “That far?” It was practically on the other side of the city.

Song Anchen scrolled up a bit more and nodded. “They all said it was there, so it should be correct.”

Yan Guiqiu had never gotten a driver’s license, let alone owned a car. She usually relied on buses, taxis, or rides from friends to get around. So, Song Anchen dutifully took the driver’s seat and followed Yan Guiqiu’s navigation to the Third Hospital.

Yan Guiqiu sat beside her, scrolling through the gossip group chat on her phone.

After a while, she felt slightly relieved.

Qin Xiangxi’s car accident had nothing to do with Jiang Xuehe or her friend Zhong Heyi.

The previous night, Zhong Heyi had taken Qin Xiangxi back to school, likely avoiding others intentionally. No one in the group mentioned it, and the discussions were all about what happened after Qin Xiangxi returned to school.

Qin Xiangxi had never gotten along well with her roommates, but the conflicts had never escalated openly. Last night, however, whether she was provoked or not, she snapped when one of her roommates gave her a dirty look. Feeling upset, she complained, but the other girl wouldn’t back down, and the argument quickly escalated.

But Qin Xiangxi wasn’t good with words, and within a few exchanges, she was completely overwhelmed.

The other roommates were either absent or silently watching. Unable to argue back, Qin Xiangxi stormed out with red-rimmed eyes, seething with frustration.

On her way out, she happened to run into a classmate from her school who had always had a crush on her. He often tried to get her attention, and they were somewhat familiar with each other.

After hearing her story, he suggested taking her to a bar to unwind.

Qin Xiangxi had never been to such a place before, but her classmate assured her it was a decent spot where young people just drank and chatted. Thinking it might help her relax and broaden her horizons, she agreed.

The car accident happened after she had gotten drunk at the bar.

Qin Xiangxi suddenly dashed into the road before the light turned green. A car driving normally slammed on its brakes, and an electric scooter swerving into the lane behind couldn’t avoid her in time. It crashed into the roadside greenery, knocking Qin Xiangxi down and trapping her between the two vehicles. It looked terrifying.

The classmate who had encouraged her to go to the bar, standing by the roadside, saw her disappear under the wheels and was so frightened he nearly had a heart attack. He even considered running away.

Bystanders quickly gathered to help, and someone called the police and an ambulance. Afraid the police would track him down later, the classmate nervously stayed behind. Before the police arrived to question him, he used Qin Xiangxi’s phone to call her parents.

Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured just some scrapes and bruises, and a bump on the head when she fell. She remained conscious and could open her eyes and speak.

The classmate wasn’t held responsible either. After giving his statement to the police, he was allowed to return to school.

But he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. As soon as he got back, he bragged about the incident to everyone around him.

To shift the blame entirely, he even brought up how Qin Xiangxi had a crush on a woman, confessed her feelings, and felt so hopeless that she went drinking to vent as if she had gone to the bar solely because of a broken heart.

Thankfully, the rumor that Yan Guiqiu was “hopelessly in love” with Qin Xiangxi had already spread all over the school. Otherwise, she would have been dragged into this mess as well.

Qin Xiangxi’s parents heard the same version of events from that classmate.

After all, they were their daughter’s long-time acquaintances, so Mr. and Mrs. Qin immediately knew who had rejected her.

Coincidentally, they were about to attend the same event as Mr. and Mrs. Jiang. After hanging up the phone, they stormed over to confront them indignantly.

There were quite a few onlookers in the hotel where they were staying. The Qins, overwhelmed with rage, didn’t even think to avoid making a scene. In the end, it was Mrs. Jiang who stepped in to mediate, suggesting they visit the child in the hospital together and summon Jiang Xuehe for a face-to-face confrontation.

The group drove overnight to Yunhua City and met up early the next morning at the hospital where Qin Xiangxi was staying.

For Jiang Xuehe, this was an undeserved calamity.

But since Qin Xiangxi had already been hospitalized and her parents were pointing fingers, practically accusing her to her face, she couldn’t continue avoiding the situation, lest others think she had a guilty conscience.

It was truly a bolt from the bluea nd a rather miserable one at that.

The only silver lining was that Jiang Xuehe’s friends weren’t dragged into it. The Qins were fixated on emotional grievances, while the driver and classmates who had nearly caused the accident were sidelined, reduced to mere bystanders watching the drama unfold.

When Yan Guiqiu and Song Anchen arrived at the hospital and were about to ask the front desk for the room number, they heard a commotion in the hallway.

A crowd had gathered outside one of the doors, watching the spectacle.

Yan Guiqiu glanced over and had a rough idea. When the nurse at the front desk pointed it out, it was indeed that room.

Qin Xiangxi’s parents bore significant responsibility for her developing such a personality and enduring the events in the plot.

Yan Guiqiu took a few steps forward and heard voices coming from inside the room.

“She’s liked you for so many years, even a stone would have warmed up by now. How can you be so heartless!”

Mrs. Qin sat by her daughter’s bedside, looking up at the young woman standing by the door, and immediately launched into an attack. Her tone suggested she genuinely believed Jiang Xuehe had no right to reject Qin Xiangxi.

Jiang Xuehe had only just arrived. As soon as she stepped in, she was met with these words, and her footsteps faltered.

Mr. Qin was quieter than his wife, but he seemed to agree with her. He looked at Jiang Xuehe and sighed as if deeply disappointed. “I know you can’t force feelings, but Xiangxi is still young. As her elder, couldn’t you be a little more understanding? Why crush her like this to her face? She’s never faced any setbacks growing up, and she’s fixated on you. Acting like this, it’s like you’re asking for her life.”

Only Mrs. Jiang had come from the Jiang family.

Hearing this, before Jiang Xuehe could respond, Mrs. Jiang’s face darkened instantly. But she didn’t lose her temper right away. Maintaining a polite smile, she glanced toward the half-open door.

Outside, the silhouettes of onlookers pretending to pass by were still visible.

Mrs. Jiang deliberately let her gaze linger a moment longer. Those outside grew somewhat embarrassed and gradually dispersed. She closed the door, and the voices inside immediately softened.

Yan Guiqiu thought for a moment and still walked toward the room.

As she reached out to knock, she heard Mrs. Jiang’s voice from inside. It was deliberately hushed, making many parts unclear, but the gist was that Qin Xiangxi’s accident was due to her own recklessness drinking and wandering around and had nothing to do with Jiang Xuehe.

Of course, the actual wording was far more tactful.

Qin Xiangxi’s parents, on the other hand, had little to refute.

Strictly speaking, this car accident involving Qin Xiangxi was her own fault. The real victim was the sedan driver, who not only wasted time and money but also suffered psychological trauma, likely developing a fear of driving at night for quite some time.

However, in the eyes of Qin Xiangxi’s parents, their innocent daughter could do no wrong. If she had acted inappropriately, it must have been due to someone else’s mistake.

If Jiang Xuehe hadn’t outright rejected Qin Xiangxi’s confession, perhaps she wouldn’t have gone to a bar to drown her sorrows, and this accident would never have happened.

Just as Qin’s parents were still harping on the unrequited love, Madam Jiang’s sharp retort cut through the air like a hammer strike.

“With so many outstanding men to choose from, why must our Xuehe like a woman?”

Madam Jiang declared resolutely, “My daughter would rather fall for a beggar than be a homosexual!”

Her tone was dripping with undisguised contempt and disdain.

Yan Guiqiu’s hand, poised to knock, froze mid-air.

A deathly silence fell over the room, broken only by Jiang Xuehe’s voice.

She was likely still standing by the door, not having stepped further inside. Even through the closed door, her words were clear.

“I am,” Jiang Xuehe said calmly.

Another heavy silence followed.

Madam Jiang’s voice flustered, “What do you mean, ‘I am’? We’re discussing serious matters here. Save the jokes for later.”

Jiang Xuehe repeated clearly, “I do like women.”

Madam Jiang raised her voice unconsciously, “Xuehe! This is no joking matter!”

Jiang Xuehe replied, “I’m not joking.”

Madam Jiang refused to believe it, “How is that possible?! Why have you never told me before?”

Jiang Xuehe said, “I didn’t know before.”

She paused.

Even through the door, Yan Guiqiu could hear Jiang Xuehe let out a soft laugh as she added, “But now I know.”

Support