Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 26

Xu Yingran’s sudden harsh tone evidently startled both of them. Fu Qiao and Zhou Wan both turned back to look at her, confused as to why she had suddenly become angry.

“What’s wrong?” Fu Qiao carefully reached out and tugged on Xu Yingran’s sleeve, leaning in to look at her. “Everything was fine just a second ago, why are you angry?”

Xu Yingran looked down at Fu Qiao’s fingertips gripping her sleeve, then thought back to the way Zhou Wan had been looking at her. Feeling a wave of irritation, she flipped her hand over, grabbed those pale, delicate fingers, and looked up at Zhou Wan.

“Fu Qiao and I have things to do. We’ll be leaving now.”

Without waiting for Fu Qiao to agree, she pulled her along and walked out of the broadcasting station. Zhou Wan watched them go, blinking in confusion.

Fu Qiao was dragged by Xu Yingran all the way toward the school gate. Her pace was naturally slower, causing her to stumble slightly, but she still hurried to keep up with Xu Yingran’s stride.

“Xu… Xu Yingran…” Fu Qiao panted from behind her, confused and anxious. “Slow down, I can’t keep up.”

Xu Yingran slowed her pace slightly but still didn’t turn back to look at her, keeping a firm grip on Fu Qiao’s wrist as they crossed the road. As they walked through the pedestrian crossing, Fu Qiao noticed the light was about to turn red. If they didn’t hurry, the cross-traffic would start moving. She stared at the back of Xu Yingran’s head and quickened her steps.

They finally reached the other side two seconds after the light turned red. Fu Qiao was out of breath from the brisk walk from the broadcasting station. She stood behind Xu Yingran and asked, “Xu Yingran, what is wrong with you? Why get angry for no reason?”

Xu Yingran bit her lip and turned to face her. “Why are you getting so close to a stranger?” she demanded. “Are you really going to go to some broadcasting class with her on Saturday?”

“Um… nothing’s set yet, she only mentioned it to me,” Fu Qiao explained. “I’m just interested and wanted to take a look. Didn’t you say you’d support me?”

Xu Yingran had said that, but she hadn’t expected this junior named “Zhou Wan” to be so attentive toward Fu Qiao. So attentive, in fact, that it was an eyesore to Xu Yingran.

Fu Qiao was young and didn’t understand such things yet, but Xu Yingran saw it clearly. That girl Zhou Wan was obviously interested in Fu Qiao. Having seen so many people in her previous life, Xu Yingran could see right through someone’s motives with a single glance.

“You can go try out a broadcasting class, no problem,” Xu Yingran said stiffly. “But you can’t go with that Zhou Wan.”

“Why?” Fu Qiao still didn’t understand. “Is there something wrong with her?”

How was Xu Yingran supposed to explain it? She couldn’t exactly say she was jealous.

Frowning, Xu Yingran simply said, “In short, I don’t like that Zhou Wan. Don’t hang out with her anymore.”

Fu Qiao stared at her with clear, searching eyes. After a long silence, she asked, “What’s gotten into you? You were never like this before. Is it… did you know Zhou Wan from before?”

Xu Yingran didn’t answer.

Fu Qiao continued, “If you don’t like her, I’ll try my best to avoid her. But I really am interested in that class. I want to go see it on Saturday.” She looked at Xu Yingran tentatively and asked softly, “Can I go?”

Perhaps it was Fu Qiao’s placating attitude that made Xu Yingran feel awkward. In her memory, Fu Qiao was someone who docked her allowance and nagged her to go to sleep; seeing her act so submissively was rare.

Xu Yingran didn’t actually want to make things difficult for Fu Qiao. She just hated the way Zhou Wan looked at her. But since Fu Qiao was genuinely interested in broadcasting, Xu Yingran fell into a long silence, debating whether she should let her be exposed to that world.

“…I’m not telling you not to go,” Xu Yingran said, turning her head away. “I just don’t like you being so close to Zhou Wan.”

Fu Qiao stared at her curiously, tilting her head. “Xu Yingran, are you jealous?”

Xu Yingran whipped her head back to look at her, a look of pure shock on her face. Fu Qiao laughed, squeezing Xu Yingran’s hand. “Don’t worry. Even if I go to Zhou Wan’s class, she’s just a junior to me. We’ve known each other for so many years; you should trust me.”

The young always believe friendship is a lifelong affair—that the people and things they love now will remain loved through the long years ahead. Just like the current Fu Qiao, she never imagined her relationship with Xu Yingran would ever change. She believed they would be together forever.

But then again…

“Even if we have a great relationship, we’ll both get married eventually,” Fu Qiao remarked, looking at Xu Yingran. “Will we still be as close as we are now when that happens?”

Xu Yingran froze. Her face turned pale instantly.

It was only at this moment that Xu Yingran finally realized that if she chose to be “just friends” with Fu Qiao this time, someone else would eventually appear by Fu Qiao’s side in the future. Someone nameless, unknown—a man or a woman who would fall in love with Fu Qiao, call her “wife,” live in her house, and sleep with her woman!

The more Xu Yingran thought about it, the worse her expression became.

Xu Yingran didn’t even remember how she walked home. She and Fu Qiao remained silent the entire way. Fu Qiao didn’t know which specific word had upset her, and the silence continued until they reached their respective doors.

At dinner, Zhao Yu nudged her husband, Xu Chunjian, with her elbow, gesturing toward Xu Yingran, who was dazed and poking at her rice.

“Ran-ran,” Xu Chunjian cleared his throat and placed a piece of fish in her bowl. “What’s so interesting about the rice? Eat while it’s hot. Your mom and I are going for a walk by the river later, do you want to come?”

“No,” Xu Yingran snapped back to reality and shoved a mouthful of rice into her mouth. “I have to do homework after dinner.”

Xu Chunjian gave up, shooting his wife a look that said, I tried.

Zhao Yu glanced at him, then said to Xu Yingran, “Ran-ran, I saw you come back with Qiao-qiao today. Why don’t you go do homework with her tonight? Aren’t you two very close?”

Mentioning Fu Qiao made Xu Yingran uncomfortable. She finished a few bites and set down her chopsticks. “I’m full. I’m going back to my room.”

The parents watched her leave, exchanging perplexed glances. What was wrong with the child?

After cleaning up, Zhao Yu still felt uneasy about her daughter’s mood. She decided to have a chat with her before going for the walk.

Knock, knock—

Entering the room, Zhao Yu found Xu Yingran sitting at her desk, staring blankly out the window.

“What are you thinking about?” Zhao Yu placed a plate of cut fruit on the desk and sat on the edge of the bed. “Did something happen today? You look so gloomy.”

Xu Yingran looked at her mother but didn’t speak. She wasn’t used to heart-to-heart talks with her parents; after all, they had been gone from her life for ten years in her “future.” She was still adapting to being a family of three again.

“It’s nothing,” Xu Yingran finally said after a while. “I’m just thinking about something.”

“What is it?” Zhao Yu asked curiously.

Xu Yingran listened to the wind outside and the distant bustle of the old street. It all reminded her of Fu Qiao—how they hadn’t been apart for over twenty years. Now that she was back in Grade 12, she was forced to re-examine everything.

“Mom,” Xu Yingran whispered. “What kind of people can stay together forever?”

Zhao Yu looked at her, guessing her daughter might be facing some sort of separation. It made sense; they were in their final year of high school, and many close friends would drift apart after this year.

Zhao Yu thought it over and said, “Actually, there’s no feast that doesn’t end. Parents, relatives, friends—even your children will leave you one day. Only a partner stays with you through it all.”

“You have many friends, but only one partner,” Zhao Yu continued. “So don’t be too sad. People come and go in your life. This might be your first experience with parting, but there will be many more.”

Xu Yingran had already experienced it all—the death of her parents, the parting of friends. She understood that one is born alone and dies alone. But she wasn’t actually an eighteen-year-old; she was an adult who felt a profound sadness.

Fu Qiao’s words today made her realize: if she truly intended to remain just “childhood friends,” someone would eventually replace her in Fu Qiao’s life.

Could she accept that?

She was already throwing a fit just because Zhou Wan looked at Fu Qiao. If Fu Qiao actually fell in love with someone else, could she stand it? Could she watch Fu Qiao hold hands and kiss someone else while Fu Qiao introduced her as “her best childhood friend”?

Best childhood friend? Her head throbbed.

Xu Yingran was conflicted. This was exactly what she had wanted when she first woke up—to just be friends and live separate lives. Her logic told her she couldn’t repeat her past life and needed a new start. But her heart told her that if she didn’t want Fu Qiao, Fu Qiao would eventually become someone else’s wife.