Can't Possibly Fall for My Wife Again After Rebirth, Right? - Chapter 91

The news of Fu Qiao’s return had already spread through the class group chat. Consequently, on the first day of school after the New Year, her former friends swarmed around her, creating quite a crowd.

“Fu Qiao, why did you suddenly transfer back? We all thought we’d never see you again!”

“What are you talking about? We’re just busy with school; we would’ve seen each other anyway after graduation.”

“Right, right! Fu Qiao, I heard you witnessed the entire jumping incident with your own eyes. Can you tell us about it?”

Some thoughtless boy suddenly blurted out that question, and Fu Qiao, sitting in her chair, turned pale instantly. To be honest, even now, the memory of He Qiao’s mangled body hitting the ground right in front of her made her shudder.

Seeing Fu Qiao’s face turn white in a flash, Xu Yingran quickly spoke up: “Go on, get lost! Don’t start a commotion. Don’t you know Fu Qiao was so scared she ended up hospitalized? Why are you still prying into it?”

Someone muttered something about her being “faint-hearted,” and Xu Yingran wanted to stand up and scold them, but Fu Qiao grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

“It’s nothing,” Fu Qiao said to Xu Yingran. “Don’t be so angry; they didn’t mean any harm.”

“I think they did it on purpose.” Xu Yingran gritted her teeth and shooed the crowd away before saying to Fu Qiao, “Don’t think about that incident anymore. You finally got better; don’t go giving yourself another psychological shadow.”

Fu Qiao nodded obediently.

Since it was the first day of the semester, no one was seriously studying during morning self-study. Everyone huddled together chatting, waiting for Li Yuwen (Teacher Li) to come and give the opening remarks.

Before long, Teacher Li arrived. She scanned the class and, seeing Fu Qiao sitting next to Xu Yingran, said, “The seating will remain the same as last semester. Fu Qiao, you’ll sit next to Xu Yingran; she happens to be sitting alone.”

Fu Qiao gave an affirmative response, and her seat was officially settled. Her previous spot had been taken by another girl, and Xu Yingran’s former desk mate had moved elsewhere, leaving an empty space right where Xu Yingran wanted it.

Xu Yingran beamed and tried to hold Fu Qiao’s hand under the desk, only to be glared at and shaken off.

Teacher Li then discussed other key points—mostly the usual talk about working hard during the second half of senior year—which everyone had heard enough to grow calluses on their ears.

Once the morning classes ended, Xu Yingran dropped her pen and turned to Fu Qiao: “What do you want for lunch?”

Fu Qiao was still leaning over a test paper she hadn’t finished. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but lament, “You’ve been asking me that since the start of the third period.”

Xu Yingran replied, “But you never gave me an answer.”

Fu Qiao finally looked up from her paper and said, “We’re just eating at the cafeteria. We’ll eat whatever they have. What is there to think about?”

Yao Jin walked over just in time to hear this. She sat on a chair in front of them and smiled, “Eating at the cafeteria on the first day of school is so boring. Why don’t we go out to eat?”

Fu Qiao looked at her and asked curiously, “What do you want to eat?”

Seeing Fu Qiao address Yao Jin but ignore her, Xu Yingran said huffily, “Fu Qiao, how can you answer her but not me? I asked you first!”

“What you asked was nonsense. Is there a difference between asking and not asking?” Yao Jin said to them with a smile, “I’ve been craving the snail noodles (luosifen) at the shop by the entrance. Shall we go together?”

“Sure.” Fu Qiao’s appetite was piqued. Although snail noodles had a peculiar smell, once you developed a taste for them, they were quite addictive.

The three of them didn’t dawdle and quickly headed out the school gates.

The area in front of the school was liveliest at noon, packed with students looking for food. The snail noodle shop was open, but compared to before, it was significantly more crowded—every seat was taken.

“So many people,” Yao Jin blinked and asked the other two, “Are we still eating here?”

“Since we’re already here, let’s wait a bit,” Xu Yingran said, not minding. She looked at Fu Qiao. “What do you think?”

Returning to the cafeteria now would likely mean there was nothing left to eat. It was better to wait a few minutes for a table to open up.

“Let’s wait then,” Fu Qiao said. “You guys stay here to snag a spot. I’ll go next door and buy some fried chicken wishbones to bring back.”

Xu Yingran perked up at this and said, “I’ll go too, I’ll go too!”

Once the two left, Yao Jin was left alone, and she rolled her eyes helplessly.

The small shop selling fried chicken wishbones was tiny—just a small window with two deep fryers inside—but business was booming. The fried wishbones were fragrant, sweet, and crispy, making them a huge hit among students.

Fu Qiao ordered a portion with mild spice. Turning around, she saw Xu Yingran and asked, “Why did you follow me? Weren’t you supposed to wait for a table?”

“Ajin is there; she’s enough to handle it alone. There’s no need for me to wait there too.”

“You didn’t need to come looking for me either. I would’ve headed back as soon as I bought them.”

Xu Yingran didn’t argue. She leaned in and took Fu Qiao’s hand. Fu Qiao was startled; she looked around and, seeing no one was paying attention, she blushed slightly and whispered, “Let go.”

What are you doing, being so touchy at the school entrance? Don’t you know how to be discreet?

Xu Yingran didn’t care. She smiled at Fu Qiao and said, “Look around; who’s watching us? Isn’t it normal for us to hold hands?”

Fu Qiao glanced at her but still struggled to pull her hand away. Just as she withdrew it, she heard a voice call out from behind: “Senior Xu Yingran!”

The two turned together and saw Zhou Wan walking toward them, clutching someone’s arm. When she saw who was standing next to Xu Yingran, she froze, her eyes widening as she ran over.

“Senior Fu Qiao! Why are you here, and why are you wearing our school uniform?” Zhou Wan was shocked. She circled Fu Qiao three times before wondering aloud, “Didn’t you transfer to the provincial key school? Are you back?”

“Yes,” Fu Qiao smiled at her. “Today is the first day. I haven’t had the food from our school in a long time, so I came over. Are you guys here for lunch too?”

“Yes!” Zhou Wan said to her friend, “Let me introduce you. This is Senior Fu Qiao; she’s a top student. Senior, this is my desk mate, Ji Shi. We were going to get noodles nearby, but it was too crowded, so we came to see if any other shops had fewer people.”

The girl named Ji Shi nodded to Fu Qiao.

Zhou Wan smiled and grabbed Fu Qiao’s arm, saying, “Ji Shi is also an announcer at our radio station. Senior, I heard your Art Exam results were excellent. Would you consider joining our radio station?”

Fu Qiao was interested as soon as she heard “radio station,” but she still hesitated. “The second half of senior year is very busy. I don’t think I can participate in your activities.”

“Don’t worry!” Zhou Wan puffed out her chest and said to Fu Qiao, “I’m the head of the radio station now! I arrange all the activities. As long as you say the word, Senior, I promise to coordinate the schedule with your free time.”

“Station Head? You? Since when? You never mentioned it.”

“Hehe, it was settled at the end of last semester. I didn’t think it was a big deal, so I didn’t tell you.”

“I see…”

“Senior, please reconsider! If you join, you only need to come to the station once a week for half an hour. It definitely won’t interfere with your studies.”

Fu Qiao fell into thought.

The shopkeeper called out and handed over the chicken wishbones. Xu Yingran quickly stepped up to pay and took the food before saying to Zhou Wan, “You can’t expect Fu Qiao to agree just because you asked. You have to let her think about it, right?”

Zhou Wan looked at Xu Yingran and decided she had a point.

“Next week then,” Zhou Wan said to Fu Qiao with a smile. “If you make up your mind, come find me anytime. Even if you don’t want to join, remember to let me know~”

Fu Qiao nodded and turned back with Xu Yingran. On the way, Xu Yingran saw Fu Qiao still considering Zhou Wan’s offer and let out a long sigh.

Fu Qiao glared at her with dissatisfaction: “What is it? If you have an opinion, just say it. Don’t go sighing like that, okay?”

Xu Yingran stopped and looked at her. “I’ve noticed that every time Zhou Wan shows up and talks to you, she always manages to distract you. Are you seriously considering the radio station thing again?”

Having her thoughts exposed, Fu Qiao said with some embarrassment, “I—I—I am not. Stop making wild guesses.”

“Then why didn’t you just refuse her? When I said you needed to think about it, you actually agreed?” Xu Yingran said to her, “Just admit it, you want to go to the radio station. We’ve known each other for over ten years; do you think I don’t know you?”

“Don’t act like you’re the roundworm in my stomach.” Now that her thoughts were out in the open, Fu Qiao became candid. She tilted her head and asked Xu Yingran, “Tell me, should I go?”

“It’s the final semester of senior year. What do you think?”

“But…”

As soon as Xu Yingran heard that “but,” she knew Fu Qiao was hesitating again. She could only shake her head helplessly, take Fu Qiao by the arm, and say, “Let’s eat first. You have a whole week to think about it anyway. Let’s go.”

Before Fu Qiao could speak, she was dragged away by Xu Yingran.

Inside the snail noodle shop, Yao Jin had just secured a table. After the staff cleaned it, the three sat down and ordered their noodles, munching on the fragrant and crispy fried chicken wishbones.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they headed back to school. Fu Qiao looked at the basketball courts lining the green path; many students were taking advantage of the break to play. There were even girls standing by the sidelines holding someone’s jacket and cheering, looking full of youthful energy.

Fu Qiao hadn’t seen this kind of scene for months. Looking at the young people running and jumping in the sunlight, she felt this was exactly what youth should look like. She couldn’t help but wonder—if He Qiao had attended school here with her, she probably wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing.

Xu Yingran felt no one was behind her. Turning around, she saw Fu Qiao standing still, unable to take her eyes off the boys playing basketball. Feeling a pang of jealousy, she called out, “Fu Qiao!”

Fu Qiao turned back and saw Xu Yingran and Yao Jin waving from a few meters away. Xu Yingran shouted, “We’re going back to the classroom! How much longer are you going to watch?”

“Oh, right!” Fu Qiao answered quickly and jogged over to squeeze between them. She said with a smile, “I thought they looked so cool playing basketball. Should we play a game too?”

Yao Jin said, “I don’t know how to play basketball.”

Xu Yingran said, “I don’t either.”

Fu Qiao: “…Me neither.”

The small spark of youth that had just ignited was ruthlessly snuffed out.