Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 47

The emotions of youth are always written plainly on the face. When Fu Qiao saw Xu Yingran walk in still sniveling and sobbing, she was genuinely startled.

Ever since the first grade of elementary school, she hadn’t seen Xu Yingran cry this tragically.

What on earth is she so heartbroken about?

Fu Qiao didn’t understand. She was the one who had technically been rejected, wasn’t she? She wasn’t the one making a scene, yet this person was wailing away.

Perhaps sensing Fu Qiao’s gaze, Xu Yingran instinctively looked up. Their eyes met for a fleeting second before Fu Qiao lowered her head, picking up her pen to start on a newly distributed mock exam.

Waaaah… my wife really is ignoring me…

Xu Yingran wanted to start crying again, but Yao Jin reached from behind and gave her waist a sharp pinch.

“Stop crying,” Yao Jin hissed with a look of disdain. “You’ve been at it for nearly an hour. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

My wife is gone—am I not even allowed to cry?

Xu Yingran truly had a bitterness that was hard to voice; she felt both wronged and miserable. That was her wife! How could someone like Yao Jin, who didn’t have a wife, possibly understand her heart?

Feeling her scalp tingle slightly under the other girl’s stare, Yao Jin recalled the pact they made in the office. She leaned in and whispered something into Xu Yingran’s ear. Upon hearing it, Xu Yingran actually stopped crying. She wiped her tears with her school uniform sleeve and returned to her seat with a newfound, albeit shaky, sense of determination.

What Yao Jin had said was: “Fu Qiao won’t like someone who cries all the time. Don’t make her even more upset with you.”

Xu Yingran thought about it and realized she was right. She forced herself to gather the shattered pieces of her heart and sat at her desk pretending to study, though she couldn’t process a single word on the exam paper.

Being the senior year, academic pressure was high and life was dull. It was rare for such juicy gossip to happen right next to them. The students of Class 5 kept stealing glances at Xu Yingran and her red-rimmed eyes. As soon as the bell rang for the break, they swarmed her, asking a flurry of questions: Who did she confess to? Who dumped her?

Xu Yingran felt even more aggrieved.

Through the gaps in the crowd of onlookers, she stole a glance toward the front. Fu Qiao seemed completely unresponsive to the commotion, her head down as she focused on her homework, without the slightest desire to look back.

This is the first evening self-study where my wife is ignoring me. I miss her…

At this moment, Fu Qiao was also feeling helpless, as she was currently trying to solve the final bonus question on the math paper.

She knew she should be able to solve it, but she couldn’t quiet her mind enough to organize her thoughts.

Not far behind her, people were chirping away with questions. She heard Xu Yingran answer in a voice raspy from crying: “There was no confession… you all misunderstood…”

The tone was so piteous it sounded like she might burst into tears again the next second.

So, even this blockhead has days where she’s in a bad mood.

Fu Qiao’s mind wandered for a moment, but she quickly tapped her forehead to force herself back to the paper. She had to finish this question; her progress today was already slow. She couldn’t let an “irrelevant person” prevent her from finishing her work.

…But did Xu Yingran really cry for half an hour?

What is she crying for? What can shedding “little golden beans” possibly fix? Besides, if anyone should be crying, shouldn’t it be me?

I really don’t understand her.

The more Fu Qiao thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Feeling that Xu Yingran’s desk was being far too noisy, she simply covered her ears and stared intensely at the problem in front of her.

Throughout the entire evening self-study, Fu Qiao focused on her work, acting as though Xu Yingran’s emotions and reactions had absolutely nothing to do with her.

At 9:30 PM, it was time for the commuters to head home. Fu Qiao packed her bag as usual. As she stood up, she instinctively glanced at Xu Yingran.

That one look was all it took. Xu Yingran reacted as if she’d received a high-level signal. She sprang up and rushed over, looking at Fu Qiao with puppy eyes. She opened her mouth and whispered, “Fu Qiao, let me carry your bag for you?”

Fu Qiao thought to herself: Am I some kind of delinquent boss? Why do I need someone to carry my bag?

“No need.” Fu Qiao didn’t look Xu Yingran in the eye, saying calmly, “Aren’t you going home? It’s late.”

“Yes, yes! Wait for me, I’ll pack up and we can go right now!”

Seeing Xu Yingran frantically throwing things into her bag, Fu Qiao didn’t want to linger in the classroom. She walked out to the corridor and waited, just like they always did, for Xu Yingran to finish so they could walk home together.

Actually, whether there was a confession or not didn’t seem to make much difference. One thing Xu Yingran said was right: they should focus on their studies for now. Being ordinary friends was perfectly fine.

Before Xu Yingran could come out, Yao Jin emerged from the front door with her backpack. She leaned against the corridor railing like a boneless snake next to Fu Qiao and said, “I know all about what happened between you and Xu Yingran.”

Fu Qiao glanced at her but said nothing.

Yao Jin shrugged helplessly. “Actually, I think there might be some misunderstanding between you two. You have no idea—after you left, she cried so tragically…”

Before she could finish, Fu Qiao interrupted: “Xu Yingran told me she likes women with ‘hot’ figures.”

Yao Jin: “?”

“She said that herself?” Yao Jin was curious. When Xu Yingran was sobbing about the details in the office earlier, she hadn’t mentioned that part.

Fu Qiao nodded, her face as calm as if she had transcended worldly desires. “I can understand. Everyone likes someone beautiful with a good figure. It’s perfectly normal for that to be her ‘ideal type’.”

Yao Jin was silent for a long moment before trying to patch things up. “Actually, I think an ‘ideal type’ is just an ideal. Xu Yingran definitely has feelings for you.”

Fu Qiao shook her head and turned to look at Yao Jin. ” I can tell she treats me very well.”

Back when Fu Qiao had the sudden whim to study broadcasting, almost no one supported her. Only Xu Yingran agreed with her, helped her, and even borrowed money from Yao Jin to sign her up for classes. She could feel Xu Yingran’s kindness and her meticulous care.

But that kind of feeling leaned more toward family and friendship, not romantic love. Fu Qiao was eighteen; she could distinguish between the two.

“You don’t need to say anything on her behalf. I’m going to forget everything that happened this evening,” Fu Qiao said with downcast eyes. “She and I are still friends.”

“But do you know that she likes you?”

“…Perhaps when she actually meets a ‘hot’ beauty, she’ll realize that what she feels for me isn’t love.”

Yao Jin felt that Fu Qiao’s logic was flawed. What one thinks they want and who they actually love don’t have to be identical. Just because Yao Jin liked “gentle older sisters” didn’t mean she would necessarily find one. Who’s to say fate wouldn’t throw a “destined person” her way when she least expected it?

“I think you—”

Before Yao Jin could finish, Xu Yingran finished packing and bounded out of the classroom, interrupting her. She said to Fu Qiao, “I’m ready! Let’s go home!”

Fu Qiao retracted her gaze from Yao Jin and nodded at Xu Yingran. Yao Jin could only swallow her remaining words and walk toward the school gate with them.

As it turned out, Fu Qiao’s emotional stability was truly remarkable.

Any ordinary person who had gone through that would likely have chosen not to walk home with Xu Yingran that night. Yao Jin observed them as they walked; Xu Yingran appeared flustered and chaotic, while Fu Qiao was her usual self, as if the events of the evening hadn’t affected her at all.

Yao Jin couldn’t help but sigh. Poor Xu Yingran…

Once Yao Jin was picked up by her car, only Xu Yingran and Fu Qiao were left again.

“Fu Qiao, about what happened today…”

Xu Yingran felt she needed to strike while the iron was hot and clear things up. She had thought about it all evening and realized her speech might have been misinterpreted. She shouldn’t have delivered a whole lecture; she should have just said “yes” immediately like in her previous life!

But Fu Qiao didn’t seem to want to hear another word about it. She stopped in her tracks and looked at her. “Xu Yingran, can we just not talk about this anymore?”

Xu Yingran: “?”

“Why can’t we talk about it?” Xu Yingran rushed over and grabbed Fu Qiao’s hand. “I—I spoke too fast today. Actually, I do like you. Truly.”

“I know.” Fu Qiao’s dark eyes were very calm. “We’ve known each other so long. If you didn’t like me, you wouldn’t spend so much time with me.”

Xu Yingran felt there was something “off” about the way Fu Qiao said that.

“Let’s just be friends for now,” Fu Qiao concluded. “As for anything else… let’s wait until after the college entrance exams.”

Although Fu Qiao’s words were ambiguous, they at least aligned with Xu Yingran’s original plan. She and Fu Qiao had plenty of time; there was no need to rush into a formal relationship right this second.

“Alright then.” Xu Yingran breathed a secret sigh of relief and said tenderly, “Then we’ll wait until after the exams to talk about this.”

Fu Qiao nodded, withdrew her hand, and turned to continue walking home under the dim yellow streetlights.

Along the way, Xu Yingran kept trying to find topics to talk about—family gossip, school events, how difficult a certain exam question was. She talked the whole way. Fu Qiao occasionally hummed in response, using phrases like “is that so,” “I haven’t heard of that,” or “I see” to keep the conversation going.

When they reached her door, Xu Yingran looked at Fu Qiao longingly, finally waving her hand. “Well, see you tomorrow.”

Fu Qiao nodded. When she opened her front door, she was surprised to find the living room lights were still on.

At this late hour, a lit house was rare for the Fu family. She saw her parents sitting on the sofa watching TV and asked curiously, “Mom, Dad? You didn’t set up the stall today?”

Fu Jun was watching TV while eating peanuts. “We’re not setting up the stall from today onwards. There’s no business anyway.”

Hu Mei had finished slicing some fruit. Seeing Fu Qiao, she beckoned her over. “I saw someone selling melons near the new house today. I remembered you like them, so I bought two. Put your bag down, wash your hands, and have some melon before you go to sleep.”

As Fu Qiao put her things in her room and washed her hands in the bathroom, she heard her parents discussing the new house outside.

Over the past few years, the Fu couple had worked from dawn till dusk. It was grueling, but they had saved up some money. They had bought a new apartment and a large storefront nearby. This way, they wouldn’t have to deal with the wind and rain while doing business anymore. Moreover, since they owned the property, they wouldn’t have to worry about rent hikes every year. Most importantly, they could do BBQ in the summer and switch to a Hot Pot restaurant in the winter.

Hu Mei was discussing with her husband how to set up the Hot Pot place, how to simmer the soup base, and how they couldn’t run it like a small workshop anymore—they’d need to hire a couple of proper chefs.

As they were discussing this, Fu Qiao finished washing her hands and came out. She looked at them and suddenly said, “Mom, Dad, I want to discuss something with you.”