Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 37

When school let out at noon, Fu Qiao was called to the office for some business. Xu Yingran and Yao Jin leaned against the hallway railing outside, chatting idly to kill time.

Their conversation drifted from one topic to another, mostly centering on how incredibly boring school was.

“Memorizing so much stuff every single day… I feel like a stuffed duck,” Xu Yingran said, propping her head on her hand. “When will this ever end?”

As soon as she said it, Xu Yingran had a flash of memory—she had definitely said those exact words at some point in her “past” life.

Yao Jin leaned her back against the railing, tilting her head back to look at the world upside down. “There is no end,” she hummed. “If you get into college, that’s another four years. If you don’t, you repeat senior year. Where do you see an end?”

Xu Yingran sighed and glanced at Yao Jin’s awkward posture. “Hey, did those two stocks I told you to buy yesterday go up?”

“They did.” Yao Jin pulled herself upright and leaned over the railing. “No joke, they started climbing the very next day. Usually, I buy things and they plummet immediately. It’s the first time I’ve seen a red line on my screen.”

“Don’t make yourself sound so pitiful. You were just throwing money around randomly before.”

“It’s all because of my dad.” Yao Jin narrowed her eyes, looking as lethargic as a cat. “He’s in the middle of a lawsuit with my mom. While they fight, they’re both busy transferring assets. Since I’m an only child, a lot of things are being put under my name.”

She turned her head slightly toward Xu Yingran and grinned. “To be honest, I currently have three or four office buildings, over a dozen villas, and five companies of varying sizes under my name. After you graduate, just follow me. You won’t even have to work; just come shopping with me and carry my bags every day.”

Xu Yingran knew Yao Jin was just talking tough. Having parents go through a messy divorce while using you as a vessel for asset shifting couldn’t be a pleasant experience. Yao Jin just didn’t want to show weakness; inside, she was probably crying like a little kid.

“Sure,” Xu Yingran replied, not wanting to dampen her spirits. She smiled faintly. “Can I bring a plus-one when we go shopping?”

“If it’s Fu Qiao, then yes.”

Just then, Fu Qiao emerged from the office. Hearing them mention her name, she asked curiously, “What are you two taking me to do?”

Yao Jin turned and laughed. “Taking you shopping.”

“?” Fu Qiao approached them. “Wasn’t the plan rice noodles? Why shopping? We only have an hour for lunch; where’s the time for that?”

Xu Yingran’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “Don’t listen to her. She’s saying she’ll take us shopping once we’ve graduated and started working.”

“Oh.” Fu Qiao blinked and smiled. “That’s a long way off. Let’s go eat; I’m starving.”

“Let’s go,” Xu Yingran said. “The place we usually go to is about a ten-minute walk.”

The three of them left the school gates and headed for the shop.

Yao Jin wasn’t used to roadside stalls. The first time she’d tried one was when Xu Yingran dragged her to the barbecue stand run by Fu Qiao’s parents. Before this, she had attended an international school where leaving campus for lunch was forbidden; their cafeteria was a high-end buffet where you could pick whatever you wanted.

At the international school, the food was top-tier—Yao Jin usually had steak and a glass of lemonade, which kept her full all afternoon. At home, she had a professional chef. She had genuinely never eaten at these “unhygienic” roadside spots.

The rice noodle shop was tiny. The owner had just finished wiping down a table when Xu Yingran led them in. They ordered three bowls and sat down. The table was a cheap folding one, and the stools were hard and uncomfortable.

Yao Jin looked around the cramped room, her eyes landing on the business and health permits hanging on the wall. After a while, she leaned in and whispered, “Is this place… clean?”

Xu Yingran glanced at the owner boiling noodles in the back and whispered back, “It won’t kill you.”

Fu Qiao translated: “She means it’s clean enough. We’ve been eating here for a long time; there’s no problem.”

Yao Jin nodded hesitantly. “Oh.”

Three bowls of steaming rice noodles were served. As the fragrant steam hit Yao Jin’s nose, she saw the other two already snapping their disposable chopsticks and stirring their noodles.

Xu Yingran picked up the vinegar bottle. “Want some?” she asked Fu Qiao. Fu Qiao nodded.

Yao Jin watched as Xu Yingran poured some vinegar into Fu Qiao’s bowl and then her own. Finally, Xu Yingran looked up. “Do you want any?”

“…No,” Yao Jin said. “I don’t like vinegar.”

“Noodles without vinegar have no soul.”

“Still no.”

Xu Yingran let it go and set the bottle down. “If you change your mind, it’s right here.”

The noodles were piping hot. Xu Yingran blew on them before taking a large bite. Fu Qiao was more refined, lifting the noodles and blowing on them repeatedly before taking a slow bite, letting the rest fall back into the rich broth.

Watching them, Yao Jin finally snapped her chopsticks and took her first bite. The noodles were chewy, and the broth was incredibly savory—a perfect mix of spicy, salty, and a hint of sweetness. Yao Jin had expected “hole-in-the-wall” food to be mediocre, but this was actually delicious.

Halfway through, she glanced at the vinegar bottle and, mimicking Xu Yingran, added a tiny splash. It tasted even better.

By the time they finished, they had just enough time to head back. They each bought a grilled sausage on a stick to eat on the walk back to school. Yao Jin’s face was a bit greasy, but she looked genuinely happy.

“We have to come back,” Yao Jin said, savoring the taste. “I saw they have wontons too. I wonder if they’re good.”

Xu Yingran bit into her sausage. “The wontons here aren’t as good as the noodles. If you want wontons, we’ll go to the place on the opposite street next time. Theirs are amazing.”

Fu Qiao turned to her. “The one near No. 7 High School?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“Good! The pork tenderloin patties next door are great too, and so are the soup dumplings.”

“Then the three of us will go there next time.”

Listening to Xu Yingran and Fu Qiao plan their future food trips, Yao Jin suddenly felt a bit dazed. Xu Yingran noticed her mood shift. “What’s up? You’ve been a bit quiet this afternoon. Not like your usual self.”

“It’s nothing,” Yao Jin said softly. “I just feel like you two are so lucky. Your lives are so simple and happy.”

Fu Qiao looked confused, but Xu Yingran understood. Yao Jin might be a wealthy heiress, but her parents didn’t seem to love her much—they had spent years fighting and were now tearing the family apart for money.

“Don’t say that,” Xu Yingran comforted her. “You’ll be happy in the future too. You have to look on the bright side.”

Having lost her parents herself, Xu Yingran understood Yao Jin’s pain. If not for this rebirth, she would have spent her life haunted by regret. A warm home and a peaceful life—that was the ultimate wish.

Yao Jin lowered her eyes and nodded. Her youthful pride made her reluctant to show weakness, even to friends. She wanted to present her best side.

Fu Qiao didn’t fully grasp the depth of the conversation, but she was sensitive enough not to interrupt. The three of them switched topics, making plans to go to the training center on Saturday morning to sign Fu Qiao up.

Early Saturday morning, Fu Qiao got up early. She hadn’t mentioned the sign-up to her parents yet.

It was late October, and business was slowing down. In the past, people would eat at the barbecue stall until 3:00 AM, but now it was dead by 10:00 PM. Since there were no customers, her parents had been closing up at midnight and coming home early.

Around 7:00 AM, Hu Mei heard noise in the kitchen. She threw on a coat and found Fu Qiao boiling congee. “It’s Saturday, why aren’t you sleeping in? Where are you going so early?”

Fu Qiao looked back, feeling a bit guilty. “I’m meeting Xu Yingran and the others at the bookstore.”

“I see.” Hu Mei was relieved it was with Xu Yingran; the two were practically inseparable. “Do you need money?”

Hu Mei went to the coat rack, pulled a few hundred-yuan bills from her pocket, and pressed them into Fu Qiao’s hand. “If you see a book you like, buy it. You’ve almost finished your current practice books; buy a couple more if you need them.”

Fu Qiao looked at the money. She knew business had been slow; this was likely the entire profit from the night before. She refused to take it.

“Mom, I don’t need it,” Fu Qiao said. “I still have practice books at home, and I don’t really want any others. I’m just going to look.”

“You still need bus fare, don’t you?”

“I have change for the bus. Big bills won’t help.”

Fu Qiao stood her ground. Hu Mei sighed and tucked the money away. “Fine. But if you need money for anything, tell us. Don’t keep things to yourself.”

“I know,” Fu Qiao smiled. “I will.”

Breakfast was over by 7:30 AM. The broadcasting class started at 8:30, and the bus ride would take about half an hour. Fu Qiao packed her bag and went to knock on Xu Yingran’s door.

Xu Yingran had clearly just woken up; she looked groggy as she wished Fu Qiao a “morning.”

“Yao Jin said she’ll meet us directly at the training center,” Xu Yingran said while putting on her shoes. “Let’s head out.”

“Okay.”

Fu Qiao watched as Xu Yingran grabbed a set of keys from the hook.

“What are those for?” Fu Qiao asked. “Aren’t your parents home for the weekend?”

“They are.” Xu Yingran jiggled the keys with a grin. “That’s why I borrowed my mom’s electric scooter. No need to squeeze onto the bus today!