Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 38

Ten years ago, electric scooter regulations weren’t nearly as strict as they would become. There were no rules against carrying passengers, and at most, people just wore a basic helmet.

In her past life, whenever Xu Yingran was driving her car, she absolutely detested electric scooters that darted in and out of traffic or appeared out of nowhere. She used to have the urge to roll down her window and yell. But now that she was actually riding one, she suddenly understood the appeal.

It was just so easy to zip through everything!

It was Fu Qiao’s first time sitting on the back of an electric scooter driven by Xu Yingran. She gripped the back of Xu Yingran’s jacket tightly and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you going too fast?! We aren’t in a rush!”

Xu Yingran laughed. “It’s not fast! This isn’t even half the speed of my car!”

Fu Qiao was puzzled. “How did you drive a car without a license?”

Xu Yingran didn’t answer that one, but she slowed down anyway. “Though honestly, it’s pretty cold this morning.”

The weather had been fluctuating lately, swinging between hot and cold. This morning it was only about 10°C, and it wouldn’t hit 20°C until noon. Since it wasn’t even 8:00 AM yet, the wind from the moving scooter felt like a series of sharp, chilly slaps.

Fu Qiao, shielded by Xu Yingran’s body, didn’t feel the cold much, but she grew worried. “Is it really that cold? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m eighteen—young people have plenty of fire in them,” Xu Yingran teased lightheartedly. “Don’t talk, or you’ll swallow a mouthful of cold air. We’re almost there.”

Catching a green light, Xu Yingran carried Fu Qiao straight to the training institution’s building.

Once she parked the scooter, she jogged back to where Fu Qiao was waiting on the sidewalk. “Sorry, I had to park a bit far.”

Seeing Xu Yingran’s face flushed red from the morning wind, Fu Qiao stepped closer. She reached out to touch Xu Yingran’s icy skin and complained, “Next time let’s just take the bus.”

Xu Yingran lightly squeezed Fu Qiao’s hand. “The bus takes thirty minutes, the scooter takes fifteen. Which do you think is better?”

“But when it gets even colder, we’ll have to take the bus,” Fu Qiao murmured, holding Xu Yingran’s hand. “Actually, you don’t have to keep accompanying me. I’m old enough to go to a tutoring center by myself.”

Xu Yingran didn’t give her a direct answer. “We’ll see. Let’s go in first; Yao Jin should be here soon.”

“Wait.” Fu Qiao pulled her back. “You haven’t had breakfast yet. Let me buy you something.”

Fu Qiao ran to a nearby breakfast stall and bought two steamed buns and a cup of hot soy milk. Only then did she and Xu Yingran enter the building together.

Because they were quite early, there weren’t many people in the center yet. The receptionist told them to wait in the seating area until the teachers started at 8:00 AM. Sitting there, Xu Yingran ate the hot buns and felt her body finally warm up.

Soon after, people began trickling in. Yao Jin arrived right on time, spotting them and walking over quickly.

“Have you signed up yet?” Yao Jin asked. “There was some traffic; I’m not late, am I?”

“No,” Xu Yingran said. “The teacher just got here. You’re just in time to pay.”

Yao Jin rolled her eyes at her, but when the receptionist called them, all three went into the conference room.

Tuition was typically paid monthly, but there was a discount for paying in full. Yao Jin paid the whole amount upfront without hesitation. Including the cost of textbooks, it came to a total of 12,000 yuan.

Fu Qiao stared at the amount on the receipt in a daze. She felt a wave of uncertainty—she was just a normal student, and she had never seen that much money spent at once in her life.

After the transaction, Yao Jin turned to Fu Qiao. “It’s all paid for. Classes are every Saturday. If you feel like you’re falling behind, you can add extra training sessions, but those are paid monthly based on the number of classes.”

Fu Qiao shook her head immediately. “No, no, I’m sure the regular teacher is great. I won’t fall behind.”

Xu Yingran looked at Fu Qiao. “Have you thought about how to tell your parents? If you’re coming here every Saturday morning, they’ll notice eventually.”

“Um… I haven’t figured that out yet,” Fu Qiao admitted. “I’m afraid they won’t agree, so I want to wait until I’ve actually made some progress before telling them.”

Yao Jin didn’t mind. She checked the time. “Class is starting soon. Get going.”

Fu Qiao nodded and stuffed her things into her bag. “What are you two going to do? Go home?”

“We’re already here; why go home?” Xu Yingran crossed her arms and looked at Yao Jin. “A-Jin and I are going to the mall. Call us when you’re out of class.”

Since it was the weekend, they all had their phones on them for easy contact. As they stepped out of the finance office toward the broadcasting classroom, they ran into a very familiar face.

Zhou Wan clearly hadn’t expected to see Fu Qiao and the others here. Her eyes lit up instantly. “Senior! What are you doing here?”

Seeing Fu Qiao’s textbooks and receipt, she jumped excitedly. “Senior, you signed up too?”

“Mhm.” Fu Qiao actually liked this underclassman. She smiled. “I just registered. I’m starting today; I hope I can keep up.”

“You’re so smart and talented, Senior, of course you can!” Zhou Wan naturally linked her arm through Fu Qiao’s. “Even if you struggle, you have me! Sit with me, and you can ask me anything.”

Xu Yingran’s eyes fixed on where their arms were linked. Her gaze burned.

How did I forget about this one?

Back at school, Zhou Wan had been full of schemes to lure Fu Qiao away. Xu Yingran had managed to “reclaim” her then, but she hadn’t expected Zhou Wan to have the home-field advantage at the training center. If only the tuition wasn’t so expensive and she actually had an interest in broadcasting, she wouldn’t have left an opening for Zhou Wan to sit next to her wife.

The more Xu Yingran thought about it, the more annoyed she got. Still, she forced herself to maintain the “dignity of the main wife” and said magnanimously to Zhou Wan, “In that case, I’ll leave our little Qiao in your hands.”

Fu Qiao gave Xu Yingran a strange look. Her smile felt incredibly fake. And since when did she talk so… mushily?

‘Our little Qiao’?

Fu Qiao felt a shiver run down her spine. She turned to Xu Yingran. “Go have fun. I’ll meet you at the shopping center at 11:30.”

“Fine,” Xu Yingran said with a forced smile. “I’ll pick you up at noon, and we’ll go home together.”

Fu Qiao walked away with Zhou Wan, feeling that Xu Yingran was acting very odd today, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

Once they were gone, Yao Jin nudged Xu Yingran with her elbow. “Stop smiling. It looks deathly fake, and they can’t even see you anymore.”

Xu Yingran dropped the act, gritting her teeth. “I totally forgot about her.”

Yao Jin laughed and slung an arm around Xu Yingran’s shoulder. “Jealousy is useless. Fu Qiao isn’t even thinking in that direction. Isn’t it exhausting performing this one-man show?”

“Fu Qiao is my wife. What’s wrong with me being jealous?” Xu Yingran muttered unhappily.

Yao Jin was baffled. “When did she become your wife? Is this some ‘future’ thing again?”

Xu Yingran shut her mouth and waited a beat. “Just don’t ask. Let’s head to the mall; it should be opening soon.”

“Sure,” Yao Jin said. “I want some new clothes. If we find something that looks good on you, I’ll buy you an outfit too.”

“Really?” Xu Yingran glanced at her. “Then thank you, My Lady. I shall be your humble bag-carrier for the day.”

Yao Jin grinned. “Then let us depart, Little Ran-zi.”

The shopping center was large, but it wasn’t a high-end luxury mall; it was a standard commercial plaza. They wandered around for a long time. Yao Jin was incredibly picky—nothing seemed to quite meet her standards.

Xu Yingran wondered how she had ever agreed to the school transfer. The school uniforms were oversized and hideous, yet Yao Jin had never complained.

Hearing the complaint, Yao Jin explained, “Uniforms are uniforms, but clothes are clothes. You have to wear the uniform no matter how ugly it is, but for my own clothes, why would I settle for something I don’t like?”

“Right, right,” Xu Yingran sighed. “You’re always right. How about this shop? Looks decent.”

“That ‘pure and youthful’ style? No thanks.”

“This one? All black and cool, surely your type.”

“Too messy, it makes my head spin. No.”

“…This one is a luxury brand. You’ll like something there, right?”

“I’m a student. Why wear something that expensive? Do I want to be kidnapped? No.”

Xu Yingran was helpless. They trekked through almost the entire mall and only came away with a few items. As they realized the time was approaching 11:30, they headed upstairs to find a restaurant.

“It’s the weekend, it’ll be crowded. If we’re late, we’ll have to wait in line,” Xu Yingran said, checking her phone. She messaged Fu Qiao while asking Yao Jin, “What do you want for lunch? My treat.”

Yao Jin thought for a moment. “Hotpot?”

“We’ll come out smelling like oil and smoke,” Xu Yingran grumbled, though her own mouth began to water. “Fine, hotpot it is. But we need a split pot; Fu Qiao and I can’t eat too much spice right now.”

Yao Jin glanced at Xu Yingran’s lip and looked disgusted. Flaunting your affection right in front of me?

Just as Yao Jin was about to snap back with a witty remark, she froze. Her gaze fixed on a figure behind them.

A woman in her thirties, wearing a black wool coat and carrying a silver-grey handbag. She was elegant and refined, sharing a thirty-to-forty percent resemblance to Yao Jin. The woman was currently looking at a pair of stud earrings, turning to pull a younger woman beside her to try them on.

Xu Yingran noticed Yao Jin’s sudden stiffness and followed her gaze.

“What are you looking at?” Xu Yingran asked curiously. “Someone you know?”

Yao Jin’s eyes darkened. Her voice was low and hollow as she spoke.

“That’s my mother.”