Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 80

Ever since He Qiao moved to the classroom next door, Fu Qiao had been sitting at a desk all by herself.

The students of Class 7 didn’t seem to feel much of a difference with one less classmate; everyone continued to study hard and attend classes as usual. Although Fu Qiao often went to find He Qiao, the academic intensity was high. Even though they were in adjacent rooms on the same floor, finding time to meet was difficult, usually limited to brief lunch dates.

However, there was good news: Fu Qiao successfully passed her finals for the arts admission.

Upon seeing her name on the acceptance list, Fu Qiao snapped a photo and sent it to He Qiao and Xu Yingran; she even sent a copy to Yao Jin. Xu Yingran was the quickest to react, immediately creating a group chat and pulling Yao Jin in to form a trio.

[Congratulations on passing the exam!~]

Yao Jin sent a digital red envelope and said in the chat: [Fu Qiao is officially the first among us to secure a school spot, right?]

Xu Yingran also sent a red envelope: [Exactly. The rest of us still have to fight through the Gaokao.]

Fu Qiao: [You guys make it sound like I don’t have to take the Gaokao. Thanks for the big red envelope, Jin!]

Xu Yingran: [I sent a red envelope too, why didn’t you thank me?]

Fu Qiao: [You only sent 6 yuan. So stingy! I’m not thanking you.]

Yao Jin: [Hahahaha, how cheap! Why only 6 yuan?]

Xu Yingran: [That’s literally all the money I had on my phone. I’ll go to the supermarket tomorrow and ask the boss to exchange some cash so I can send a bigger one.]

Fu Qiao: [Forget it, I don’t need your pocket change.]

Xu Yingran sent a sad face emoji.

Fu Qiao continued: [I missed a lot of schoolwork because of the arts exam. I want to go to the bookstore tomorrow to buy some practice papers. Xu Yingran, are you coming?]

Xu Yingran: [I’m in! Should I come pick you up?]

Fu Qiao: [Let’s just meet at the bookstore entrance. The one we usually go to.]

Xu Yingran: [Sure. What time?]

Fu Qiao: [8:00 AM?]

Yao Jin: [The bookstore won’t even be open at 8:00.]

Xu Yingran: [It’s finally the weekend; 9:00 is better.]

Fu Qiao: [I can’t sleep in on weekends anyway. I’ll do a practice paper at home first, and let’s meet at 9:00 at the bookstore.]

Xu Yingran sent an [OK] emoji and asked Yao Jin: [Are you coming?]

Yao Jin: [No. Staying with ‘Older Sister’.]

Xu Yingran: [?] Fu Qiao: [?]

Yao Jin sent a photo. In a dimly lit room, a person could be seen lying on a bed with a cooling fever patch on their forehead.

[Sister has a fever.] Yao Jin said: [So you two go ahead. Don’t call me for the next couple of days; I’m busy.]

Xu Yingran rubbed her chin and sent an emoji to Yao Jin: [I wish you success.]

After exiting the group chat, Xu Yingran called Fu Qiao. Fu Qiao looked at the screen, thought for a moment, paused, and then begrudgingly answered.

“Why were you so slow to pick up?” Xu Yingran whined. “Did you not want to talk to me?”

“How could that be?” Fu Qiao lied through her teeth. “If I didn’t want to talk, why would I pick up at all?”

“Then do you not want to see me?”

“If I didn’t want to see you, why would I ask you to go to the bookstore tomorrow?”

Xu Yingran felt her “wife” made a lot of sense and was instantly won over. “Fu Qiao, you mentioned your little desk-mate transferred classes. Are you two still in touch?”

“Yeah, but not much,” Fu Qiao said, scratching her head with her pen while looking at the test papers on her desk. “We don’t see each other often; we just run into each other at lunch.”

Xu Yingran asked tentatively, “She hasn’t said anything… strange to you, has she?”

“Strange? What counts as ‘strange’?”

Xu Yingran stammered and couldn’t explain clearly, but based on Fu Qiao’s tone, He Qiao likely hadn’t confessed yet.

“Nothing. 9:00 tomorrow at the bookstore. Are you not sleeping yet?” Xu Yingran hurriedly changed the subject.

“I haven’t finished my problems. I’ll sleep once I’m done with this paper,” Fu Qiao said. “It’s the weekend tomorrow, so I’m not in a rush.”

Xu Yingran babbled for a few more minutes before reluctantly hanging up.

On Saturday morning, Xu Yingran woke up early. When Zhao Yu came out and saw her daughter simmering congee, she was so surprised she walked around her several times.

“Ranran, did the sun rise in the west today? You’re actually cooking?” Zhao Yu looked at the bubbling rice congee and asked curiously, “Your father and I never taught you to cook. How do you know how?”

Xu Yingran couldn’t exactly say she’d lived for 28 years and learned the hard way. She could only tell her mother, “How hard can it be to cook rice? There are so many tutorials online. Besides, your daughter is fast at learning anything—except studying.”

Zhao Yu was amused and shook her head helplessly. “You… I really can’t tell if you’re smart or silly.”

In addition to the congee, Xu Yingran enthusiastically made three pancakes. The family of three enjoyed the fragrant pancakes with congee and some spicy pickles—it was quite a nice meal.

By the time Xu Yingran cleared the table, it wasn’t even 8:00 AM. The bookstore Fu Qiao suggested was in the city center; it was convenient to get to and, most importantly, huge—roughly the largest bookstore in the city.

After a quick tidy-up, Xu Yingran left early. She planned to browse the bookstore first. It was crowded for a weekend, but after wandering aimlessly, she finally made it to 9:00 AM and happily sent a message to Fu Qiao.

Xu Yingran: [Where are you?] Fu Qiao replied a moment later: [At the entrance!~]

Seeing the tilde at the end of the text, Xu Yingran felt her heart itch, wishing she could rush over and give her wife a couple of heavy kisses right then and there.

Tucking her phone back into her pocket, she hurried to the entrance. She saw Fu Qiao in casual clothes, looking around the escalator area—likely wondering why Xu Yingran hadn’t appeared yet.

“Fu Qiao!”

Xu Yingran appeared suddenly behind her, giving her a start.

“Why are you coming from inside?” Fu Qiao looked at her curiously. “Doesn’t the bookstore open at 9:00?”

“Who said that? This shop opens at 8:30. I came in with the staff.” Xu Yingran smiled and proactively took her hand. “I’ve been wandering around for half an hour. I would’ve died of boredom if you hadn’t come.”

Before Fu Qiao could react, she was pulled into the bookstore. Instead of heading straight for the test papers, they browsed the various shelves and checked out the bestseller lists. If something looked interesting, they’d flip through a couple of pages. However, they knew they couldn’t spend too much time on non-academic reading, so they usually just read the opening.

“Should we go see a movie today?” Xu Yingran asked suddenly. “I saw a popular suspense film recently with great reviews. I’ve wanted to see it but haven’t had the time.”

Previously, Fu Qiao had classes every weekend, but now that the pressure had eased, Xu Yingran dared to ask. Fu Qiao shook her head. “A movie takes two hours. I could finish a whole test paper in that time. Let’s pass.”

Xu Yingran hurriedly stepped in front of her. “It’s been so long since we saw a movie together. What’s the harm in a quick one? Just two hours. We can head upstairs right after buying the papers.”

Fu Qiao stopped and narrowed her eyes. “Xu Yingran… you haven’t already bought the tickets, have you?”

Xu Yingran grinned, showing her two small tiger teeth. “My wife knows me best.”

Fu Qiao gave her a glare of mock-disgust and walked past her. “Don’t call me that in public. What if someone hears?”

“Can I call you that in private then?”

“No.”

Even though she was rejected, Xu Yingran knew Fu Qiao was just being stubborn. She caught up and said, “We’ll go up after buying the papers. We can have a meal right after the movie.”

Fu Qiao was helpless; since the tickets were already bought, it would be a waste not to go. Besides, she had planned to spend the morning out anyway—the location had just changed from a bookstore to a theater.

After buying the papers and watching the movie, the two had a hot lunch. Since Xu Yingran paid for the movie, Fu Qiao naturally treated her to lunch. Due to a limited “treasury,” they ate Malatang at the food court on the first floor.

Fu Qiao was on her phone while they ate. Xu Yingran brought over a plate of fried skewers and, seeing Fu Qiao smiling at her phone, asked sourly, “What are you looking at? Who messaged you to make you so happy?”

Fu Qiao rolled her eyes but kept smiling. “It’s Professor Chen. He’s back at his home base now, but he heard I passed the finals and sent me a gift. He also told me to work hard on the Gaokao.”

Hearing it was Professor Chen, Xu Yingran relaxed. She placed Fu Qiao’s favorite fried “starch sausage” into her bowl. “What kind of gift did he send? Is it going to your house?”

“He told me after he sent it, so I don’t know what it is yet,” Fu Qiao said after swallowing a bite of the crispy, savory sausage. “He sent it directly to the school. It should arrive Monday or Tuesday.” Since she spent more time at school than at home, shipping it there made sense.

Seeing Fu Qiao eating with sauce on her face like a little kitten, Xu Yingran shook her head helplessly, pulled out a tissue, and handed it over. “Wipe your mouth. It’s covered in sauce.”

After eating their fill and buying milk tea, their money for the day was officially spent, and they prepared to head home. At the bus stop, Xu Yingran saw that Fu Qiao really wouldn’t let her escort her home, so she said reluctantly, “Message me when you get home.”

“I know, I know.” Fu Qiao tucked her face into her scarf, looked at Xu Yingran, and said with a huff, “You’re more of a nagger than my mom.” She shook a small fist at her playfully.

Xu Yingran was moved to laughter by the gesture. Just then, the bus arrived, and Fu Qiao hopped on, waving goodbye.