After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 49

Qin Xiangxi’s early rebirth was somewhat beyond Yan Guiqiu’s expectations.

According to her original assumption, since she and Jiang Xuehe were already together, Qin Xiangxi shouldn’t have had any reason to be reborn.

But then again, considering the various “coincidences” forcibly orchestrated by the plot’s influence over the years, it didn’t seem all that surprising.

With things like transmigration and rebirth already existing, parallel worlds or similar concepts might very well exist too.

After Yan Guiqiu returned to school, her roommate pulled her aside and mysteriously brought up Qin Xiangxi’s situation.

She said that recently, Qin Xiangxi seemed to have lost her mind, she was now asking about Yan Guiqiu’s whereabouts.

Previously, Yan Guiqiu’s “secret crush” on Qin Xiangxi was practically common knowledge across the entire school. Now that Qin Xiangxi was showing interest in return, it seemed as though she had suddenly come to her senses after Yan Guiqiu found someone new, wanting to rekindle an old flame.

As a result, the tangled web of love and resentment between Yan Guiqiu and Qin Xiangxi was dragged out and dissected all over again.

“No wonder everyone’s been staring at me like that since I got back…” Yan Guiqiu’s lips twitched. “What else did she ask?”

“Just whether you were around and if she could have your phone number,” the roommate replied. “But I didn’t give it to her. Who knows what she was really after?”

The roommate was quite cautious. Having lived with Yan Guiqiu for over three years, she knew the so-called secret crush was pure nonsense. Besides, she wasn’t very familiar with Qin Xiangxi’s personality, so her first reaction to the rumors was to suspect some kind of scheme.

“Weren’t people saying a couple of days ago that she spent the night with some guy and was dropped back at school in the morning?” the roommate reminded her. “I bet she’s using you as a new target to divert everyone’s attention.”

The roommate went on to fill Yan Guiqiu in on the recent gossip at school.

Yan Guiqiu had been away during that time, so she hadn’t experienced it firsthand. But her roommate had heard about it for days on end even when she left campus to have meals with friends from nearby schools, she couldn’t escape the whispers.

It was said that the man in question was a notorious playboy in the area, with ex-girlfriends counted by the dozen.

Given that Qin Xiangxi had spent a night out with him, it was no surprise that people jumped to conclusions.

Some who claimed to be the man’s ex-girlfriends referred to Qin Xiangxi with venomous disdain, practically branding her as a promiscuous troublemaker with a chaotic personal life.

As the rumors fermented and eventually made their way back to the school, even Qin Xiangxi’s own classmates, who had spent years with her, couldn’t help but look at her differently.

“If I were her, I wouldn’t even dare to show my face in public,” the roommate sighed, though her sympathy was fleeting. She quickly regained her serious expression. “But no matter how pitiful she is, you’d better watch out and not get dragged into this haven’t you noticed how no one’s talking about her and that guy anymore?”

Everyone had shifted their attention to the drama between Yan Guiqiu and Qin Xiangxi.

On one side, there was an experienced, flirtatious man from the outside world; on the other, a deeply infatuated classmate who had pursued her for years.

Any fool could tell which story sounded better.

But since the roommate wasn’t close to Qin Xiangxi, no amount of pity could outweigh her irritation at Yan Guiqiu being used as a pawn.

After all, Yan Guiqiu now had an official girlfriend.

In reality, it was likely that Qin Xiangxi’s parents’ threats to the school had taken effect, while the latter situation was purely coincidental.

With Tan Xiangxi’s intellect, she probably couldn’t have come up with such a convoluted plan.

But Yan Guiqiu had no intention of taking the initiative to approach Tan Xiangxi just yet, so she simply nodded in agreement to her roommate’s sincere warnings.

The following days remained uneventful.

So calm that Yan Guiqiu almost began to think the whole incident with Tan Xiangxi was just her imagination. However, she rarely gave the matter much thought, and after a brief moment of puzzlement, she quickly put it out of her mind.

It wasn’t until after the Qingming Festival had passed that Yan Guiqiu heard about Tan Xiangxi again, this time from Jiang Xuehe.

It came up casually during a meal together.

“I asked someone to look into it. It was my mother who sent that person,” Jiang Xuehe said. “He used me as an excuse, saying I had my reasons for rejecting her and that if she wanted to know the details, she should meet him privately.”

“And she believed it?”

“Judging by the outcome, yes. After all, only a handful of people knew about her confession and my rejection.”

The people at the hospital were strangers and clearly wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters.

Excluding her own parents, Tan Xiangxi probably didn’t think Jiang’s mother, who clearly harbored animosity toward her, would be so “kind.”

By that logic, it seemed it could only be Jiang Xuehe herself who had sent the person.

But the main reason was that Tan Xiangxi still held onto hope for Jiang Xuehe.

“Was your mother just trying to ruin her reputation?” Yan Guiqiu asked.

“Not just that. She also told him to seduce Tan Xiangxi. But she didn’t dare cross the line into anything illegal. She made it clear that it had to be consensual, and if he couldn’t manage it, he could introduce his friends. If he succeeded in winning her over, she’d pay extra.”

Clearly, he hadn’t succeeded that night.

In that regard, Tan Xiangxi was at least loyal.

Jiang Xuehe: “They originally planned to meet again, but the rumors spread too quickly and drew the attention of Tan Xiangxi’s parents.”

And it also caught Jiang Xuehe’s notice.

Yan Guiqiu: “What about your mother now…”

Jiang Xuehe: “I called my father. In matters like this, he’s a bit more level-headed.”

If things had escalated any further, the Tan family would have calmed down, figured it out, and realized it was the Jiang family’s doing.

Given that the two families still had some dealings with each other, it would be pointless to create animosity over something like this.

Jiang’s father probably didn’t see his daughter rejecting a woman’s confession as anything shameful.

But Yan Guiqiu guessed Jiang’s mother had done more than just that.

“Perhaps her actions were too conspicuous during that time, and my grandfather found out. He called her in and scolded her,” Jiang Xuehe added. “She’s currently grounded at home, reflecting. But my father dotes on her, so he won’t keep her confined for long. My grandfather asked me to come back for a meal when I have time.”

Yan Guiqiu pondered the connection between these two statements.

After some thought, she concluded it was likely meant to provoke Jiang’s mother.

After all, what Jiang’s mother feared most was her daughter threatening her son’s inheritance rights.

With Jiang’s grandfather still alive, changing the heir was as simple as a word from him.

A server knocked on the door, brought two dishes to the table, and then left.

Yan Guiqiu poured herself a glass of water and asked, “Sister Xuehe, haven’t you returned home since coming back to the country?”

“No,” Jiang Xuehe said. “Before going abroad, I angered my grandfather. He scolded me, saying I lacked ambition and didn’t want to see me anymore. He told me not to come back to visit him.”

Yan Guiqiu paused, nearly spilling tea on her hand.

Jiang Xuehe moved the overflowing cup away and handed her a few tissues. Fortunately, the tea wasn’t hot, and her hand wasn’t even reddened.

“It’s fine, it’s cool,” Yan Guiqiu wiped the water off her hand and set the teapot aside.

Jiang Xuehe even reached out to touch the belly of the teapot, confirming it was cooler than body temperature before letting out a sigh of relief.

“But we still talk on the phone occasionally,” Jiang Xuehe smiled helplessly. “Out of everyone in the family, if there’s anyone who cares about me the most, it’s my grandfather. It’s just that I really haven’t been ambitious, and I feel too ashamed to face him.”

Yan Guiqiu let out an “Oh,” then teased, “If you call that lacking ambition, then what does that make me?”

Jiang Xuehe looked at her face and laughed. “You just need to stay home and be as beautiful as a flower.”

Yan Guiqiu returned the compliment, “Even in terms of beauty, I can’t compare to Sister Xuehe.”

“Who says that?” Jiang Xuehe pinched her cheek lightly and said, “In my eyes, you’re the most beautiful.”

By the end of the meal, they had long forgotten about the earlier incident involving Qin Xiangxi.

As they prepared to leave after the meal, Jiang Xuehe suddenly remembered the earlier topic and added, “My mother is a bit sensitive and tends to overthink things, but when it comes to tactics, she only has a few tricks up her sleeve. She’s not particularly bold either. The only reason she dared to target Qin Xiangxi is because the Qin family isn’t as influential as ours yet.”

Yan Guiqiu thought for a moment and interpreted her words: “So, does that mean I don’t need to worry?”

Jiang Xuehe shook her head, pondered for a while, and slowly revealed some of her earlier vague thoughts: “I can’t quite figure out when she’ll stay rational and when she’ll suddenly act impulsively. But compared to my love life, she cares more about my brother. I know you can handle it, but sometimes it’s easier to avoid trouble at the source than to constantly be on guard.”

Yan Guiqiu rarely saw her so hesitant and couldn’t help but ask, “What do you want me to do, Sister Xuehe?”

“Do you have any photos with A’Luan?” Jiang Xuehe said. “My mother ran into her once before and has been fixated on getting closer to the Luan family. She even wants my brother to. Although it’s not particularly sincere, at least she’ll be polite on the surface.”

Jiang Xuehe added, “If you think it’s not appropriate, just forget it. She won’t be able to stir up trouble for much longer anyway.”

Yan Guiqiu understood immediately: Mrs. Jiang wanted to curry favor with A’Luan.

As A’Luan’s friend, even if Mrs. Jiang was dissatisfied, she wouldn’t dare offend Yan Guiqiu openly.

This didn’t even require A’Luan to step in personally it was just borrowing her name, so there was no harm in it.

Yan Guiqiu said it was fine and began scrolling through her phone while asking another question that concerned her more: “Sister Xuehe, are you saying your mother might come to see you again soon?”

Jiang Xuehe shook her head and said no.

“Next week, I’m going to visit my grandfather. Come back with me,” she said, referring to the family gathering she had mentioned earlier.

Yan Guiqiu hesitated slightly: “With your whole family there, wouldn’t it be, a bit too intense to go directly?”

She had already made arrangements with the Yan family, and since there was no competitive relationship between them, she had no worries about maintaining harmony within their small family.

But the Jiang family.

Even without having met them yet, she could already envision the scene of an epic battle.

Moreover, from Jiang Xuehe’s tone, it seemed the entire extended family would be present not only would she have to meet everyone at once, but she would also have to face the family patriarch directly.

What if she ended up upsetting the old man and causing him harm? The guilt would be unbearable.

“I’ve already told my grandfather,” Jiang Xuehe said, not seeing it as an issue. “When we go back for dinner, I’ll bring my girlfriend along. He said he wants to meet you too.”

As they spoke, they had already reached a quiet, secluded path.

Jiang Xuehe took Yan Guiqiu’s hand, her expression softening, almost taking on a fragile quality. Her deliberately slow and gentle tone carried a hint of pitiful charm.

“Just come with me, I’m scared to go alone.”

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