Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 62

Being praised for her beauty did nothing to alleviate Fu Qiao’s nerves.

Clutching Xu Yingran’s hand, she nodded toward Yao Heng. “Hello, Uncle Yao.”

The middle-aged man standing beside Yao Heng sized Fu Qiao up, then turned to Yao Heng and remarked, “A very delicate and pretty young lady; she looks like she would be quite photogenic.”

Yao Heng smiled. “As long as you find her suitable, Professor Chen. Please, let’s take our seats first. I’ll have the tea and snacks brought up.”

Professor Chen did not stand on ceremony. Once the four of them were seated, he turned his focus entirely to Fu Qiao.

Truthfully, Fu Qiao was not particularly tall—just barely hitting the standard height—but her proportions were excellent. She had a slender neck and the “right-angled shoulders” that modern girls envied; she would look stunning in either a suit or a formal gown. In terms of physical appearance, Professor Chen gave her a high score at a glance, considering that part of the evaluation passed.

After the tea was served, Professor Chen’s expression softened. Perhaps realizing Fu Qiao was still just a child, he casually asked about her family situation, and Fu Qiao answered each question clearly.

“Alright, I’ve prepared a script here.” Professor Chen pulled up a file on his phone and handed it to her. “Take three minutes to look this over. Then we’ll go into the inner room, and you’ll read it for me.”

Fu Qiao took the phone, scanned the document, and nodded. “Okay.”

Xu Yingran served purely as an observer. She watched as Fu Qiao studied the phone with intense focus for three minutes before following Professor Chen into the adjacent room.

Noticing that Xu Yingran’s eyes were glued to the door, Yao Heng placed a peach blossom pastry on her plate. “Don’t worry. Professor Chen is a person of integrity with an excellent reputation. It’s clear he’s satisfied with Fu Qiao; the chances of her passing this interview are very high.”

Xu Yingran nodded. She knew Fu Qiao was exceptional, yet she couldn’t help but feel nervous on her behalf.

Though the door to the inner room was closed, Fu Qiao’s voice could still be heard. After she finished reading the script, Professor Chen seemed to ask several follow-up questions. While the specifics were muffled, Fu Qiao’s responses sounded fluent and steady.

About twenty minutes later, the door opened, and Professor Chen emerged with Fu Qiao.

If Professor Chen had looked stern when he first arrived, he was now practically beaming. He sat back down, poured a cup of tea for Fu Qiao, and said with a smile, “You must be thirsty, child. Have some water.”

Yao Heng glanced at the professor and remarked, “It seems Professor Chen is quite pleased with young Fu Qiao?”

“Very pleased,” Professor Chen replied. “There are many students with good looks and nice voices these days, but it’s rare to find one who is both bright and quick-witted. Just now, she answered my questions with total ease. Although there are areas that still need polishing, she is already outstanding for someone her age.”

Yao Heng let out a soft laugh.

Xu Yingran looked at Fu Qiao. When their eyes met, she secretly took Fu Qiao’s hand under the table and mouthed the words: [You’re amazing].

Fu Qiao’s face flushed slightly, but she was clearly delighted. If Professor Chen was this satisfied, perhaps she had officially passed the interview?

“However, you mentioned earlier that you haven’t discussed this in detail with your parents yet,” Professor Chen said thoughtfully. “A person cannot be detached from their family. You must communicate well with them regarding this. Without parental support, subsequent training and future employment will be very difficult.”

Fu Qiao nodded solemnly. “I understand, Professor Chen. I will explain everything to them clearly.”

“Good. But there is one more issue,” the professor continued. “If your academic grades are too poor, it will be hard to get into a prestigious media academy. Take the Broadcasting and Hosting major at our university, for instance—the admission cutoff is around 470 points. Do you think that will be a problem for you?”

“That won’t be a problem,” Fu Qiao replied. “My academic scores have always been stable. The Gaokao should be fine.”

“Is that so? What do you usually score?”

“Around 680,” Fu Qiao said.

Professor Chen thought he had misheard. Frowning, he asked, “How much?”

Fu Qiao paused before clarifying, “For the senior year mock exams, I got a 683 on the first one and a 691 on the second. We had midterms last Friday; the results come out Monday, but I estimate it’ll be above 680.”

Even if school exams were sometimes inflated, this score was undeniably high. Professor Chen was stunned. With a 680, she could essentially choose any university in the country—and this girl wanted to take the arts route?

Was she sure she wasn’t playing a joke on him?

“Which school do you attend?”

“The provincial key high school in this city.”

Professor Chen fell silent for three seconds, then abruptly stood up. “Wait here a moment. I need to step out and make a phone call.”

As they watched the professor hurry out with his phone, Yao Heng gave a dry laugh and handed Fu Qiao another snack. “Jin only told me your grades were good; I had no idea they were that good.”

Fu Qiao smiled. “They’re alright.”

“If only my Jin could be as excellent as you,” Yao Heng lamented.

“Yao Jin’s grades are good too. Her school ranking was quite high last month.”

“Still not as good as yours, though.”

As a devoted father, Yao Heng worried constantly about his daughter’s grades, spending a fortune on prep classes every year. Hearing that Fu Qiao basically never took extra lessons and used to help out at her family’s barbecue stall, he couldn’t help but feel that some people were simply born to excel.

When Professor Chen returned from his call, his attitude had done a complete 180-degree turn. He was determined to take Fu Qiao as his student, even going so far as to make her promise to take his graduate entrance exam after she finished university.

Both Fu Qiao and Professor Chen were overjoyed. Before leaving, he spoke to her with earnest gravity: “Though you have great talent, you must practice diligently.”

He continued, “I know the academic pressure at a provincial key school is immense, but one cannot have their cake and eat it too. Time is tight. Starting now, you must clear a day and a half every weekend for me to personally tutor you.”

Since Fu Qiao had classes on Saturday mornings, Professor Chen agreed she should continue those, scheduling his lessons for Saturday afternoons and the entirety of Sunday. The location would be at the Media Academy campus—not far away and accessible by a direct bus.

After exchanging contact information, Professor Chen gave her one final instruction: “Once those midterm results come out on Monday, you must tell me your score, understood?”

Fu Qiao agreed with a smile.

Yao Heng prepared to escort Professor Chen back. Before leaving the teahouse, he turned to Xu Yingran. “You kids are becoming more impressive by the day. I wonder, what are Student Xu Yingran’s plans for the future?”

Xu Yingran looked back at him.

Yao Heng smiled. “If there is an opportunity, please help Jin as much as you can. I’ve never seen her care so much about any friends before.”

Perhaps due to his unhappy marriage, Yao Jin had always felt she was merely a byproduct of a failed union—a burden to her parents. Consequently, she was often cold toward her family. In all these years, Yao Heng had never heard of her having many friends. These two girls were among the few she frequently mentioned.

“You are all of an age where you will soon grow up to have your own strengths,” Yao Heng said gently. “Jin is a good child. I hope you will remain friends in the future.”

Xu Yingran understood his meaning. She nodded. “Don’t worry, Uncle Yao. We will look out for her.”

With a smile, Yao Heng departed with Professor Chen.

Once everyone was gone, Fu Qiao asked in confusion, “What did Uncle Yao mean by that?”

Xu Yingran glanced at her. “Nothing much. He just wants us to be friends with Yao Jin for life and help her if she runs into trouble.”

“Oh?” Fu Qiao was still puzzled. “Is Yao Jin facing some kind of trouble?”

“Probably not,” Xu Yingran said. “If anything was wrong, she’d tell us. If she hasn’t said anything, it’s probably not the right time yet.”

Fu Qiao nodded, only half-understanding.

Xu Yingran looked at her and asked, “But have you really thought this through?”

“Hmm?”

“Starting weekend classes with Professor Chen… the pressure at your school is so high. Are you sure you can balance both?”

Fu Qiao pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

“I definitely won’t be able to balance them perfectly,” she said helplessly. “People there study like their lives depend on it. Even if the teachers don’t assign much homework, if you don’t use your rest time to work hard, you’ll be left behind in no time.”

“Then you…”

“But it doesn’t matter.”

Fu Qiao’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Xu Yingran. “I love broadcasting. I won’t regret the choice I’ve made. Besides, the arts exam is less than two months away. I have to work hard.”

Hearing this, Xu Yingran stepped closer, took her hand, and grinned. “Alright. Then I’ll pick you up and drop you off every Saturday and Sunday.”

“Don’t you need to study?” Fu Qiao said as they walked toward the scooter. “You come to school to see me on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and now you want to chauffeur me on Saturdays and Sundays… don’t you think that’s too tiring?”

“It’s not tiring. Seeing you gives me all the energy I need.”

Fu Qiao gave a muffled hum. Although she wore a reluctant expression, her heart was racing with joy. However, she still felt that Xu Yingran couldn’t go on like this.

“Stop coming to find me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Can’t you just rest at home? We’ll meet on Saturdays, and I’ll go to class by myself on Sundays.”

“But seeing each other once a week isn’t enough! We used to see each other hundreds of times a day.”

“No. The weather is getting colder. Even if you aren’t afraid of something happening, I am.”

Fu Qiao stopped by the flowerbed next to the teahouse and turned back to Xu Yingran. “We’ll only meet on Saturdays. We’ll have lunch, and then you’ll go.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts’.”

Fu Qiao stood her ground. A late autumn breeze swept between them, lifting the hair at her temples and making her look strikingly vivid and beautiful.

“You’ve done so much for me because you want me to be better and better,” Fu Qiao said. “I feel the same. Telling you not to run over here every day is for your own good, too.”

She continued, “We’re only eighteen this year. We have plenty of time ahead of us. While I think I’d be happy selling barbecue with you, I still want our future to be bright and glamorous. I want us to be our best selves in the best season of our lives—without the wind, the sun, or the smell of grease and smoke.”

Xu Yingran stared at her blankly. “Fu Qiao…”

“Isn’t meeting on Saturdays good enough? That way you can sleep in every day. Haven’t you noticed you’re starting to get dark circles under your eyes?”

Xu Yingran didn’t speak. she just looked at Fu Qiao with a slightly aggrieved expression.

“Alright now, don’t look at me like that,” Fu Qiao said with a beaming smile. “It’s decided.”

Xu: My wife doesn’t want me again, waaah!