Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 7

Yao Jin gazed at this unfamiliar classmate. She remembered that this person had invited her out for River Snail Rice Noodles at lunch—an offer she had rejected—only to be cornered again after school with a request to “chat.”

As for the nature of this chat or what would be discussed, Yao Jin wasn’t sure, but she didn’t intend to reveal much.

She had transferred here for a specific reason and didn’t know when she might leave. Why would she go out with a stranger she had only just met? What if this girl was a delinquent?

“I’m sorry, but my driver is already waiting for me at the gate,” Yao Jin said, tilting her aloof head and looking down her nose at Xu Yingran. “If there’s something to talk about, let’s do it another time.”

There were still students in the classroom. Hearing Yao Jin mention having a driver, many heads turned.

“She really is a rich second-generation kid. Her family even has a driver?” “What’s a rich girl doing at our school anyway?” “Who knows?”

The whispers made Yao Jin very uncomfortable. She looked back at the gossiping group, opening her mouth to speak, but remembering her father’s instructions, she closed it again. She turned her head, pretending she hadn’t heard a thing.

Xu Yingran, however, couldn’t stand such talk. She glanced at the group and noticed it was the same crowd that had been gossiping about her and Fu Qiao earlier. Truly a boring bunch.

“What does it matter to you if her family has money or not?” Xu Yingran asked, looking at them sideways. “Are you planning to apply as her nanny?”

Chen Yu and the others sitting in the corner were stunned. Chen Yu frowned. “Xu Yingran, are you sick? You’re sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“I’ll stick it wherever I want,” Xu Yingran shouted back. “You’re badmouthing her, and she hasn’t even settled the score with you yet.”

Yao Jin looked at the person in front of her, just as Xu Yingran looked up to meet her eyes. Xu Yingran stood up, grabbed her things, and took Yao Jin’s hand. “Don’t mind these people. Let’s go.”

With that, she pulled Yao Jin out of the room under the watchful eyes of the entire class.

Chen Yu huffed and muttered a few curses. She then looked over at Fu Qiao, who was slowly packing her bag. “Fu Qiao,” she mocked, “your ‘wife’ just ran off holding another woman’s hand without even looking at you. Aren’t you angry?”

Fu Qiao’s movements paused for a split second, but she didn’t turn around.

Chen Yu was annoyed by her silence. Crossing her arms, she continued, “I thought you two were childhood sweethearts and were so close. Turns out she just sees a pretty rich girl and runs off with her. Maybe she doesn’t have a heart for you at all.”

Fu Qiao’s eyes flickered. she turned to look at Chen Yu.

“What are you looking at?” Chen Yu challenged. “Did I say anything wrong?”

Fu Qiao didn’t see the point in arguing with someone like her. She picked up her bag and walked straight out.

Meanwhile, Xu Yingran had led Yao Jin to the end of the hallway. There was an empty classroom there that no one visited—a perfect place for a conversation.

Yao Jin shook off Xu Yingran’s hand, her delicate brows knitted together. “What do you want to tell me?”

Xu Yingran looked back at her. “Actually, I have a secret.”

Yao Jin glanced at her. She was certain now that this girl wasn’t a delinquent; delinquents didn’t use opening lines like that. This person was likely just mentally unstable.

“I’m not interested in other people’s privacy,” Yao Jin said. “I’m going back. My driver really is waiting.”

“A-Jin.”

Yao Jin froze at the name. She turned back and asked, “How do you know that name?”

A-Jin was a nickname used only by her family. No one else called her that unless they were extremely close. Looking at this stranger, Yao Jin began to feel that she really did have a secret.

Xu Yingran smiled. “I know a lot about you. I know you transferred from an international school to hide from your mother. I also know your parents are currently in a divorce lawsuit, and you haven’t decided which one to live with yet, right?”

Yao Jin’s frown deepened. She looked at Xu Yingran suspiciously. “Who are you?”

“My name is Xu Yingran,” she replied. “I’m from ten years in the future, and I’m your best friend.”

Yao Jin: “…”

So she’s not just a fool; she’s a lunatic.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “I don’t know how you found out about my situation, but I don’t know you, and I don’t want anything to do with you. Stop pestering me.”

“How can we not be close?” Xu Yingran countered. “I know your home address. I know you still wet the bed in the third grade. I even know the first person you ever liked was your homeroom teacher in the eighth grade… Mmph!”

Fearing she would say more, Yao Jin lunged forward and covered Xu Yingran’s mouth with a death grip!

“How—how do you know all that?!” Yao Jin was utterly shocked. Knowing about the divorce or her address was one thing, but the bed-wetting and her first crush? Those were things no one could know unless they were incredibly intimate!

Yao Jin was a proud person; she would never tell anyone about those things. Especially the crush—she had never told a soul. How did this person know?!

Could she… really be from ten years in the future?

At that thought, Yao Jin’s face turned even paler. Am I going crazy too?

Xu Yingran, however, was in a great mood. She looked at the petrified Yao Jin and gently pulled her hand away from her mouth. “So, you have to believe me. I really am your best friend in the future.”

Yao Jin felt her world crumbling. She looked at Xu Yingran, unsure whether to believe her or not.

“Now,” Xu Yingran said, “can we have a proper talk?”

Yao Jin gave her a long look. “My driver is waiting. If you have something to say… make it quick.”

“Great,” Xu Yingran said. “Actually, I really do need your help with something.”

It was after 8:00 PM, and the old street was bustling with people out for post-dinner strolls and young workers returning home.

Xu Yingran walked down the alley carrying a bag, humming a little tune happily.

Fu Qiao’s mother, Hu Mei, greeted her. “Ranran, here to see Xiao Qiao again? Have you eaten?”

“I’ve eaten, Mom—I mean, Auntie. Could you call her for me?” Xu Yingran smiled, nearly slipping up again.

“Oh, I’m busy here,” Hu Mei said. “She’s in the back kitchen. Just go on back and see her.”

“Okay!”

Xu Yingran found Fu Qiao with practiced ease. Seeing her sitting at a table skewering meat with iron tongs, she walked over with a grin. “What’s our little chef doing today?”

Fu Qiao looked up at her once, then went back to her work in silence, ignoring her.

Is she angry?

Xu Yingran tilted her head to look at her. After finishing her talk with Yao Jin, she had returned to the classroom only to find that Fu Qiao had left without waiting for her. Without a doubt, her “wife” was jealous.

In their married life, Fu Qiao had been prone to jealousy. She never admitted it; she would just get moody and stubborn. After so many years, Xu Yingran knew every facet of Fu Qiao, let alone the teenage version.

The girl’s feelings were practically written on her face.

“I went out with Yao Jin to talk about something else today. Don’t be mad.” Xu Yingran opened her bag and squatted in front of Fu Qiao. “Look, I bought you takoyaki. I specifically asked for extra ketchup. It’s still hot—try one.”

Fu Qiao didn’t want to pay her any mind, but Xu Yingran’s puppy-dog eyes were starting to make her feel guilty.

I’m the one who has known Xu Yingran since we were babies. Why is she so fixated on that Yao Jin the moment she appears?

Fu Qiao felt a sour, stinging sensation in her heart. She didn’t understand why, but the thought of Xu Yingran not even looking at her when school ended today made her feel terrible.

“She sees a pretty rich girl and runs off with her. Maybe she doesn’t have a heart for you at all.”

Chen Yu’s words echoed in her mind, making her feel even worse. She looked at the Xu Yingran in front of her, truly wondering if the girl had a heart.

Xu Yingran felt a bit nervous under Fu Qiao’s stare. She poked a takoyaki ball with a bamboo skewer and stuffed it into Fu Qiao’s mouth, then pulled her up from the chair. “You eat first. I’ll help with the rest of the skewers.”

Holding the warm takoyaki, Fu Qiao watched as Xu Yingran expertly rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands, and sat down to start skewering the meat.

Fu Qiao had wanted to ask if she even knew how, but seeing Xu Yingran’s movements—which were more practiced than her own—she was filled with curiosity.

After washing the meat smell off her hands, Fu Qiao pulled over a small stool and sat beside her. Watching Xu Yingran work, she asked, “How do you know how to do this so well?”

Xu Yingran stayed silent. She could hardly say, “After we got married, I did this every day and eventually opened a whole Barbecue City.” She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Fu Qiao sat obediently, eating the takoyaki. Perhaps she was hungry, because she didn’t mind that they were hot; she ate them one by one until the tray was empty.

Seeing her eat like that, Xu Yingran asked with a chuckle, “Good?”

Fu Qiao nodded, then poked the last little ball and held it out. Xu Yingran smiled and leaned in to eat it.

Just as they were feeding each other, Hu Mei pulled back the curtain of the kitchen. Seeing the two girls sitting together, she said, “Oh? Why is Ranran doing the work?”

“It’s fine, Mom—I mean, Auntie,” Xu Yingran said, her voice muffled by the food. “Did you need something?”