Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 61

He Qiao’s words caused Xu Yingran to freeze for a moment.

She turned her head and stared at the short-haired girl sitting in the opposite chair for a long while. Then, tilting her head, she asked in return, “You could tell?”

Although Xu Yingran and Fu Qiao were physically close—hooking arms and leaning on each other’s shoulders—to any observer, they would simply look like very best friends. How did this girl see through it?

“The way you look at Fu Qiao is different,” He Qiao explained in a low voice, clutching her backpack. “You like her very much. When you look at her, your eyes literally sparkle.”

Xu Yingran reflected on this for a moment. Am I really like that?

Realizing there was little point in overthinking it, Xu Yingran leaned back against her seat and nodded candidly. “I do like her, but we aren’t dating.”

He Qiao looked at her, confused.

Xu Yingran gave a bitter smile. “Since you can tell I like Fu Qiao, surely you can also see that she’s been rejecting me, right?”

He Qiao blinked and lowered her head, remaining silent. In truth, she could see that Fu Qiao’s eyes also sparkled when she looked at Xu Yingran.

She had been Fu Qiao’s desk-mate for a long time. Though He Qiao was not one for many words, she could see that Fu Qiao wasn’t particularly happy at this school. Or rather, no one was truly happy under such intense academic pressure.

Yet, when the unhappy Fu Qiao saw Xu Yingran, she became a different person than she was at school. Her eyes would light up; she would stare intently at Xu Yingran while they talked, and occasionally, a word or two from the other girl would make her eyes crinkle with laughter, revealing two shallow dimples.

It was as if her previously lifeless spirit had been revitalized. It was only by Xu Yingran’s side that Fu Qiao laughed so joyfully, as if she were bathing in sunlight.

He Qiao lowered her gaze to the backpack on her lap and said slowly, “Is that what you think?”

Xu Yingran looked at her, puzzled, not understanding what this gloomy classmate meant.

“Otherwise?” Xu Yingran said. “We’ve been childhood friends for so many years. If she liked me, she would have been with me long ago. They say constant dripping wears away the stone, but I’ve only just started. I feel like I need to keep working hard.”

He Qiao lifted her head, looking deeply at Xu Yingran through the long, fragmented fringe of her hair. Just as Xu Yingran was becoming thoroughly confused, the bus announced a stop.

“I’m here.” He Qiao stood up, put on her backpack, and stepped down. She turned back to Xu Yingran and said, “Our school forbids students from dating. You probably can’t imagine it, but boys and girls aren’t even allowed to walk side-by-side. If you like her, don’t hold her back. Wait until after she finishes the Gaokao.”

As the bus doors opened and closed, Xu Yingran watched He Qiao depart, still not quite grasping her intent. She pondered uneasily: Could it be… she wants to report us to the teacher?

On Saturday, Xu Yingran waited as usual beneath the training center building for Fu Qiao to come out.

Shortly after 11:30 AM, students began trickling out of the building. Fu Qiao emerged, squeezing through the crowd. When she spotted Xu Yingran and her little electric scooter, her eyes crinkled into a smile, and she ran over quickly.

“How did you get down so early today?” Xu Yingran asked curiously as she helped Fu Qiao with her backpack. “Isn’t the elevator crowded right now?”

Usually, to avoid the elevator rush, Fu Qiao would wait ten minutes before coming out. Today, she had surprisingly rushed out the moment class ended.

“I ran fast today and was the first one in the elevator.” Fu Qiao sat familiarly on the back seat of the scooter, happily recounting how she had nimbly slipped into the elevator; if she had been a few seconds slower, she wouldn’t have made the first trip down.

Xu Yingran laughed helplessly. “There’s no need to rush like that next time,” she said as she sat on the scooter.

Fu Qiao blinked, grabbed onto Xu Yingran’s jacket, and gave an “Oh,” though her eyes remained full of mirth. She poked her head forward and asked, “What are we having for lunch? The rice bowls we had last week were so good. I want to have the squid rice from that shop again.”

“Sure, let’s go eat first.”

“Mm-hmm!”

Each ordered a rice bowl. Since Fu Qiao liked the shop’s sweeter dishes, Xu Yingran ordered a spicy one so they could balance each other out. After eating their fill, Xu Yingran bought two bottles of warm soy milk. They sat there cozily, holding the warm bottles as they drank.

Seeing that Fu Qiao was in a good mood, Xu Yingran nibbled on her straw and asked cautiously, “You haven’t run into any trouble at school, have you?”

Fu Qiao looked at her, puzzled. Releasing her straw, she asked, “What kind of trouble?”

“Nothing.”

Xu Yingran breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The words He Qiao had said before getting off the bus had left her feeling uneasy for days. She hadn’t known if the girl was kindly reminding her not to engage in “early love,” or if she intended to use her inside knowledge to tattle to the teachers. Consequently, Xu Yingran had been overthinking things for the past two days but hadn’t dared to ask Fu Qiao directly.

Besides, she and Fu Qiao had been wives for two lifetimes—how could dating your own wife be called “early love”?

Fu Qiao found Xu Yingran’s cryptic comment strange but didn’t press her. Instead, she spoke after a moment of careful thought: “Will you come to the teahouse with me this afternoon?”

“Of course,” Xu Yingran replied.

Professor Chen from the Academy of Media had arranged to meet at a teahouse. He was the contact Yao Jin’s father, Yao Heng, had reached out to. Professor Chen was in his fifties and was known to be a very strict teacher who had trained many famous media presenters. Originally, he didn’t take on high school seniors, but he apparently owed Yao Heng a favor, so he agreed to meet this girl who was “clutching at straws” at the last minute.

At 3:00 PM today, Fu Qiao was set to meet this reputedly stern Professor Chen. Whether or not she would be accepted for training depended entirely on her.

To say she wasn’t nervous would be a lie. Given Professor Chen’s status, he was more than qualified to teach graduate students; taking on a high school senior was truly a first for him. It made Fu Qiao feel as though she hadn’t even left the “starting village” yet had already encountered a high-level boss.

“Hey, don’t be nervous,” Xu Yingran comforted her. “Jin told me that the old man will definitely relax his standards for a high schooler. Besides, even if Professor Chen doesn’t take a liking to you, we’ll just find another teacher.”

Fu Qiao’s heart was still thumping, but she didn’t want Xu Yingran to keep running around for her sake, so she simply nodded. Either way, there was no escape. She was who she was; success or failure was up to fate. At worst, she would just work harder in the second half of the year; with her current grades, getting into a university wouldn’t be difficult.

After lunch, the two browsed a bookstore and bought some exercise books and study guides. By 2:30 PM, they arrived at the teahouse and found the private room Yao Heng had reserved.

The teahouse was massive, decorated in a traditional, elegant style. Looking down from the window of the private room, one could see a lotus pavilion in the courtyard. However, the lotus season had passed, leaving only rockeries and dark green evergreens.

“This room is quite big.” Xu Yingran wandered around, pushing open the door to a partition. She said to Fu Qiao, “There’s even a small side room here. This place is really well-done.”

Fu Qiao was so nervous she didn’t know what to do with herself. Seeing Xu Yingran pacing around the room only heightened her anxiety. She grabbed her hand and whispered, “Don’t move things around. What if someone sees?”

“It’s fine, I know what I’m doing.” Xu Yingran felt that Fu Qiao’s hands were cold and clammy with sweat, realizing she was exceptionally tense.

“Are you cold?” Xu Yingran asked. “Should I turn on the air conditioning?”

Fu Qiao shook her head. “I’m not cold. Just… stop touching things in here.”

Xu Yingran laughed softly, set the air conditioner to a comfortable temperature, and placed their backpacks on a nearby chair. She pulled out a seat for Fu Qiao to sit down, then half-knelt in front of her, looking up at her face.

Fu Qiao was incredibly tense. Looking down at Xu Yingran from her chair, she began to get cold feet.

“Maybe I should just go back,” Fu Qiao said with a frown. “I feel like a professor won’t think much of me. I… I shouldn’t set myself up for embarrassment.”

“You haven’t even met him yet, how do you know he won’t like you?” Xu Yingran comforted her. “Who knows, maybe we won’t even like him.”

Fu Qiao was so startled she immediately covered Xu Yingran’s mouth, saying fearfully, “You can’t let Professor Chen hear that, or you’ll get scolded!”

Xu Yingran’s eyes curved into a smile. She squeezed Fu Qiao’s hand and said, “I know. But you really don’t need to be nervous. There are many paths in life. Even if you don’t pass the arts exam or if you don’t get into a top-tier university, it doesn’t matter. Worst case, I’ll go back with you and we’ll set up a stall to sell barbecue.”

Fu Qiao blinked. “But I don’t know how to sell barbecue.”

“But your parents do,” Xu Yingran said with a grin. “When the time comes, we’ll be our own bosses. If we want to grill it spicy, we’ll grill it spicy; if we want it salty, we’ll grill it salty. The two of us will be just like your parents—taking it one step at a time. Life will always get better.”

Fu Qiao had been listening seriously at first, but the more she heard, the more she realized the other girl was talking nonsense. By the end, when Xu Yingran linked their futures together again, Fu Qiao couldn’t help but glare at her.

“Has that ‘curvy great beauty’ of yours agreed to this? You’re already planning to sell barbecue with me?” Fu Qiao gave a little huff. “Besides, I don’t like selling barbecue. My parents always smell of cumin and chili, and it gets all over the house.”

“Fine, then after I finish selling barbecue, I’ll definitely wash up at the shop before coming home.”

“…You’re talking nonsense again.”

Though she felt helpless against Xu Yingran’s ramblings, Fu Qiao found herself inexplicably less nervous. Xu Yingran was right; the arts exam was a sudden whim, and she hadn’t expected she would necessarily pass. Even if she failed, she could work hard in the second semester and strive for a good university. Even if she was truly unlucky and botched the Gaokao to end up at a “pheasant” (unaccredited) university, couldn’t she still go sell barbecue with Xu Yingran? That was the Fu family’s ancestral trade, after all.

At that thought, Fu Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, her tension finally dissipating.

Xu Yingran shared a few more words with her. Seeing her mood had improved, she prepared to stand up just as a sound came from outside the door. Then, Yao Heng walked in, accompanied by a middle-aged man with graying temples and a stern expression.

“Hello, Uncle Yao.” Xu Yingran stood up and pulled Fu Qiao along to greet him.

Yao Heng looked at them both. His gaze settled on Fu Qiao, and he smiled. “You must be Fu Qiao? Indeed, just as Jin said, you are a very beautiful young lady.”