After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 26

Yan Guiqiu’s voice was icy, carrying a faint undercurrent of anger.

An invisible pressure descended like a giant hand abruptly swinging down, making one’s heart skip a beat and instinctively hold their breath, not daring to make a sound.

The surrounding crowd also fell silent involuntarily, leaving only the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops.

As a result, for a moment, no one noticed the words “girlfriend” in her statement.

Jiang Xuehe quickly realized that Yan Guiqiu was genuinely angry.

No wonder Yan Guiqiu had been able to command respect in the company since she was just over ten years old.

Even Jiang Xuehe, who was standing closest to her, felt a momentary palpitation, but she quickly regained her composure.

Yan Guiqiu’s anger wasn’t directed at her; rather, it was because of her.

Yan Guiqiu hadn’t forgotten the incident where Jiang Xuehe was dragged into the water.

But that was an instinctive reaction when fighting for survival, and it couldn’t entirely be blamed on the child. If anything, if Yan Guiqiu hadn’t jumped in to save the child, Jiang Xuehe might not have suffered this undeserved misfortune.

So, Yan Guiqiu actually felt somewhat guilty.

But that didn’t mean the family of the drowning child could brazenly exploit the situation to make a scene.

Yan Guiqiu saw right through the woman’s intentions.

It was simply a case of the family being in difficult circumstances and worrying about potential aftereffects for the son, fearing that hospital expenses would drain their savings.

That was why they shamelessly targeted two young women who seemed easy to manipulate.

On any other day, Yan Guiqiu would have rolled her eyes and walked away, but this time, with Jiang Xuehe nearly getting involved, she couldn’t let the woman provoke and cause trouble as usual.

The woman finally realized she might have picked a fight with someone formidable and didn’t dare to speak anymore.

“A mother can be shameless, but she shouldn’t make her son shameless too, right? Otherwise, how will he stand in society in the future?”

For someone like Yan Guiqiu, this was already an extremely sharp and cutting remark.

Jiang Xuehe tugged at her hand, concerned about her injury.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Xuehe said. “It’s too cold.”

She shivered, as if genuinely feeling the chill.

Yan Guiqiu snapped back to reality and glanced at her, the pressure dissipating instantly.

“Oh, then let’s go,” Yan Guiqiu said, paying no further attention to the person on the ground.

The ambulance had already entered through a special route and stopped on the main road outside. Doctors rushed over with a stretcher, and the crowd parted, instinctively keeping their distance from the woman. No further shouts from the woman were heard.

Yan Guiqiu and Jiang Xuehe walked back the way they came. Fortunately, the sun was high in the sky, and walking under its rays wasn’t too cold. They asked for directions to the nearest hospital, which was less than two kilometers away, a ten-minute walk if they hurried.

Seeing that Yan Guiqiu seemed to have calmed down, Jiang Xuehe asked, “Do you often run into situations like this?”

“Not really,” Yan Guiqiu shook her head, recalling the mother and son with some exasperation. “Most people are quite reasonable.”

“Most” implied that there were still some who would turn things around and blame others.

But Yan Guiqiu didn’t intend to bring up those exceptions.

“Once, I encountered a situation where the child’s sister handed me a bank card on the spot and even told me the password directly.”

That time, it wasn’t a drowning incident. A young girl was leaning against a railing on an overbridge to take photos when the railing, weakened by age, broke in the middle. The girl happened to be small enough to slip through the gap and fall.

Yan Guiqiu happened to be passing by. While waiting for someone at the entrance, she noticed something off about the railing. Seeing the little girl walking over, she intended to warn her, but just as she reached out, she ended up pulling her back.

Below the overpass, trucks of all sizes sped by incessantly. The consequences of falling would have been unimaginable.

The woman who had been taking photos of her younger sister was so frightened her legs went weak. It wasn’t until Yan Guiqiu led the little girl back to her that the woman, after checking her sister all over, finally snapped out of it.

The little girl only had a long gash on her arm from the sharp edges of the broken railing, bleeding profusely.

The older sister, heartbroken, wept as well, but kept exclaiming how fortunate they were. Turning to Yan Guiqiu, she expressed endless gratitude.

Using her shaky legs as an excuse, the older sister asked Yan Guiqiu to help her downstairs. At the roadside, she hailed a taxi, settled her sister inside, then quickly pulled a bank card from her bag, shoved it into Yan Guiqiu’s hands, recited a string of numbers as the password, and without waiting for a reaction, turned and got into the car, urging the driver to step on the gas.

Her face was pale, her tone rushed so much so that the driver almost thought she was fleeing a robber and nearly called the police on the spot.

This was what the police later told Yan Guiqiu.

When her friend returned and heard the story, she found it both amusing and touching, and even went with Yan Guiqiu to visit the sisters in the hospital.

Of course, Yan Guiqiu didn’t keep the card. Before going to the hospital, she had already worked with the police to retrieve the account information and returned it.

While boarding the train back, she received a reply from the police, informing her that the card had been sent to their local colleagues for return. They also casually mentioned that the card contained over a hundred thousand yuan.

A few years ago, that amount was a small fortune for an ordinary family.

Of course, such generosity was a one-of-a-kind occurrence.

Yan Guiqiu often found herself in situations where she could act heroically, though life-threatening ones were rare. On two such occasions, she happened to be witnessed by Jiang Xuehe.

Most of the time, she simply lent a hand without the involved parties even realizing she had helped.

Yan Guiqiu truly sought nothing in return; it was more like a habit or an instinct.

“Guiqiu is such a good person,” Jiang Xuehe said.

“…” Yan Guiqiu glanced at Jiang Xuehe’s expression before realizing she was being sincere, not implying anything else.

After a moment’s thought, Yan Guiqiu replied seriously, “You shouldn’t say things like that so casually.”

Jiang Xuehe smiled and continued, “Just like four years ago.”

Yan Guiqiu: “What?”

Jiang Xuehe: “Four years ago, you gave me a windbreaker. Do you remember?”

Yan Guiqiu looked puzzled, clearly not recalling the incident.

To her, it was probably just a trivial matter.

Jiang Xuehe guessed that she still hadn’t figured out where they had met before.

“That child fell into the water, and I gave her my coat,” Jiang Xuehe said. “At the time, I didn’t even feel cold myself, but it seemed like you had already sensed it.”

It likely wasn’t a gesture of goodwill aimed specifically at anyone.

Perhaps it was because she noticed another Asian face that she paid a little more attention, and then her innate thoughtfulness took over.

Yet that bit of attention wasn’t even enough to leave an impression in her memory.

But Jiang Xuehe happened to see her and remembered her.

“When you jumped into the water, I thought to myself, ‘This girl is so brave,’” Jiang Xuehe said. “Later, when you specially came to give me your coat, I thought, ‘You’re truly remarkable.’”

Yan Guiqiu tilted her head, seemingly unable to grasp the point. “Why is giving clothes impressive?”

“Good observation, empathy, and initiative,” Jiang Xuehe listed casually. “…Unconcerned with fame and fortune, brushing off her sleeves after a deed, concealing her merits and reputation.”

She had intended to say “without seeking anything in return.”

But the words stuck in her throat, and for some reason, she couldn’t utter them.

Yan Guiqiu listened for a while, her expression shifting from confusion to understanding. “Sister Xuehe!”

Jiang Xuehe: “What?”

Yan Guiqiu: “Were you actually just finding ways to praise me?”

Jiang Xuehe: “…”

“You caught me,” Jiang Xuehe turned and smiled. “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it,” Yan Guiqiu said. “It’s just that too much praise makes me embarrassed.”

As she spoke, she covered her face with her hands, as if genuinely flustered.

Jiang Xuehe fell silent for a moment, then turned away, unable to hold back a laugh.

Yan Guiqiu drawled, “Sister Xuehe, are you laughing at me?”

Jiang Xuehe replied, “No.”

Yan Guiqiu asked, “Then why are you laughing behind my back?”

“Because you’re adorable,” Jiang Xuehe said with a straight face. “But I was afraid you’d be embarrassed if I laughed in front of you, so I had to turn away.”

“…” Yan Guiqiu turned back and muttered under her breath, “Sister Xuehe, you’ve learned to be mischievous too.”

The corners of Jiang Xuehe’s lips lifted a little higher.

The two bantered as they walked, and about ten minutes later, they arrived at the nearest hospital. Just as they were about to enter, Yan Guiqiu patted her pockets and suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Sister Xuehe, did you bring any money?” Yan Guiqiu turned to ask.

Jiang Xuehe paused mid-step and fell silent for a moment.

In this day and age, who still carried cash?

Though it wasn’t that she had none at all, it was tucked in the pocket of another jacket inside her suitcase.

They had only brought their phones when they left. Yan Guiqiu’s phone had taken a thorough soaking and was basically ruined.

It was only then that Jiang Xuehe realized her own phone had suffered a similarly disastrous fate.

Yan Guiqiu was more anxious than Jiang Xuehe: “Was there anything important on your phone?”

Jiang Xuehe shook her head. “My work phone is with my computer, I didn’t bring it. The important things on this one are backed up.”

But without money or a phone, they couldn’t exactly walk into the hospital.

Yan Guiqiu glanced around but didn’t see any public telephones nearby. She checked the cut on her hand, it had mostly stopped bleeding.

“Should we go back first?” Yan Guiqiu tried to get her bearings. “It shouldn’t take too long from here.”

As they hesitated, a car slowly pulled over by the roadside.

The two were discussing whether to borrow a phone from a stranger and if Yan Guiqiu remembered her family’s phone number, completely oblivious to the low-key black sedan not far away.

It wasn’t until the person inside the car finally couldn’t hold back, rolled up a book, and tapped on the window, then coughed loudly.

Jiang Xuehe was the first to notice the girl in the car.

She appeared to be around twenty years old, with a neat, ear-length bob. Her features bore a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Yan Guiqiu’s, though her contours were softer. However, her deliberately stern expression made her seem serious and mature beyond her years.

Yet whether it was her poised posture or the meticulously coordinated outfit, this woman appeared far more like a wealthy young lady than Yan Guiqiu.

Yan Guizhou.

Yan Guiqiu’s younger sister, born from the same parents.

The name surfaced spontaneously in Jiang Xuehe’s mind, causing her to pause. Yan Guizhou, however, couldn’t hold back and called out loudly, “Sis!”

Yan Guiqiu was momentarily taken aback before turning around to meet her sister’s gaze. She didn’t seem particularly surprised and simply raised a hand in greeting, “Ah Zhou, what a coincidence.”

Yan Guizhou’s eyebrow twitched violently, and she ultimately couldn’t hold back, her composure crumbling in an instant. “Coincidence, my foot! I spotted you from way over there!”

It was only a few seconds ago that she had learned her sister was returning today.

If she hadn’t been sharp-eyed at the intersection earlier, she might not have known about it until her sister came home in the evening.

Coming back without staying home was one thing, but not even bothering to tell her in advance?

Yan Guizhou felt a bit irritated but suppressed it, asking, “You finally come home, and instead of resting, you come to the hospital? What for?”

Due to the angle, she hadn’t noticed the injury on her sister’s arm.

Yan Guiqiu deliberately hid her arm further behind her back.

“Can’t I just come for a check-up without a reason?” Yan Guiqiu began fabricating with wide-eyed innocence.

“Didn’t you just have one three months ago?” Yan Guizhou was momentarily stunned, a trace of concern appearing on her face as she unconsciously leaned forward slightly. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

As she spoke, she pushed the car door open to step out.

However, after glancing at Jiang Xuehe out of the corner of her eye, Yan Guizhou remembered her sister mentioning she would bring someone back. Taking a closer look, she noticed something amiss.

“Why are both of you soaked?” Yan Guizhou asked. “What have you been up to again?”

Yan Guiqiu’s eyes darted away for a moment, clearly still struggling in desperation and not ready to confess the truth.

“What do you mean, ‘up to again’?” Yan Guiqiu bluffed with a bold lie. “At most, you could call it bathing in the river of love with my girlfriend.”

Yan Guizhou: “…”

Do you think I’m a three-year-old?

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