Fighting For My Wife With Myself After Being Reborn - Chapter 21

The trip came to an end on a morning graced by a brilliant sun.

During this week in Dali, Shen Huaixu and Gu Yinghuai had abandoned the crowded, popular tourist spots. Instead, they slept in until they woke up naturally at the hotel. At the urging of the sun and the wind, they drove their car without any set plan, crashing into a scroll of freedom in a manner that could only be described as wild.

Green meadows, rolling mountain ranges, and lakes scattered everywhere.

They ran across the grass and managed to climb the nearest mountains. At the summits, amidst the sea of clouds and as the sun rose, they kissed each other.

Their cameras were stuffed with photos. The leisurely yet fulfilling trip meant that Shen Huaixu often couldn’t find the time to export the photos to post on her WeChat Moments. Gu Yinghuai had heard her complain several times before bed that she would “definitely” export them the next day.

As it turned out, Shen Huaixu would get distracted by other things the following day and simply give up.

Today was their last day in Dali. Shen Huaixu and Gu Yinghuai unanimously decided to spend their final holiday hours at the hotel.

The hotel featured a private swimming pool.

Opening the room door revealed a small pool; across from it lay the lake, shimmering under the sunlight, and a sky where clouds rolled and unrolled.

Shen Huaixu wore a floral shirt she had scavenged from who-knows-where and lay on a beach chair under a parasol, wearing sunglasses.

Her silver-gray eyes were hidden behind the lenses, observing Gu Yinghuai, who had changed into a swimsuit and was dipping her toes at the edge of the pool to test the water temperature.

Two nights ago, Gu Yinghuai had lied to her.

Shen Huaixu had lost a segment of her memory in the middle of a massage.

She remembered her hands, covered in essential oil, patting Gu Yinghuai’s bare back. The smooth, delicate skin felt top-tier, like a piece of fine mutton-fat jade that one couldn’t bear to let go of.

Shen Huaixu pressed down on the areas where Gu Yinghuai usually felt sore in her daily life to relieve her fatigue.

The next second, her vision went black. She lost consciousness instantly and then regained it just as quickly.

To Shen Huaixu herself, it seemed like this only happened because she had been a bit tired from playing over the last couple of days.

However, Gu Yinghuai’s reaction gave Shen Huaixu a very strong sense of eeriness.

She’s dodging my gaze, Shen Huaixu thought. She stroked Gu Yinghuai’s tense back. The essential oil that she hadn’t had time to spread across the whole back earlier had somehow been evenly applied to every inch of Gu Yinghuai’s skin.

Shen Huaixu’s eyes darkened. She tentatively asked Gu Yinghuai why she was still nervous after having been massaged so many times.

Gu Yinghuai stammered, giving a loophole-riddled excuse.

She’s lying. Shen Huaixu saw through it instantly.

However, Shen Huaixu didn’t expose Gu Yinghuai on the spot. She followed Gu Yinghuai’s lead and changed the subject.

If her Huai didn’t want to tell her, Shen Huaixu wasn’t willing to force it out of her.

She preferred the sense of accomplishment that came from solving the mystery herself.

The person testing the water temperature by the pool slowly entered. The cool pool water submerged Gu Yinghuai’s elegantly curved body, leaving only her slender shoulders and the back of her head, styled in a bun, exposed.

It was almost criminally cute.

Shen Huaixu reached for an iced drink on the side table. The sweet, sour, and icy beverage had a negligible effect on suppressing the expanding heat in her heart.

She sighed, her silver-gray eyes slowly closing, as if doing so could alleviate her emotions.

“Axu, stop lying there! Come down and swim with me!” The culprit behind all this was completely oblivious. She was dripping wet, her shoulders and collarbones glistening in the sun after being splashed by the pool water.

Even through the lenses of her sunglasses, Shen Huaixu was almost stung by that smile, which rivaled the sun itself.

Too dazzling, Shen Huaixu thought, and a desire to monopolize Gu Yinghuai sprouted in her heart.

She wanted Gu Yinghuai to smile only at her.

“Okay, I’m coming.” Shen Huaixu took off her sunglasses with a composed face. From her expression, it was impossible to tell that dangerous thoughts were brewing in her mind.

At Gu Yinghuai’s second urge, she shed the floral shirt she was wearing, revealing a black tank top underneath and arms with smooth muscle lines.

“Here I come.” Shen Huaixu curled the corners of her mouth. Under Gu Yinghuai’s startled gaze, she leaped into the pool, creating a beautiful splash.

The splashed water drenched Gu Yinghuai. Her fluffy bun got soaked, losing its usual spirit and drooping listlessly.

Gu Yinghuai didn’t even have a chance to rush over and punch Shen Huaixu, because Shen Huaixu grabbed her waist from beneath the surface, pulling her down into the pool to kiss and embrace underwater.

It wasn’t that Gu Yinghuai hadn’t kissed Shen Huaixu underwater before, but it had never been like today—biting and tangling together as if they wanted to exhaust each other’s oxygen and drown in the water together.

Just as they were about to run out of air, Shen Huaixu and Gu Yinghuai broke the surface with a “splash,” sending water flying.

Both had their hair dripping over their faces and scalps. Gu Yinghuai’s bun had come undone during the kiss, but they didn’t care. They simply trod water, holding each other’s shoulders and smiling.

Gu Yinghuai wiped away the water droplets falling from Shen Huaixu’s brow. Even though she had been dragged underwater, she wasn’t angry with Shen Huaixu. Her almond-shaped eyes looked at Shen Huaixu with indulgence and helplessness.

“You’re truly crazy, aren’t you?” Gu Yinghuai laughed softly.

Taking advantage of how much Gu Yinghuai spoiled her, Shen Huaixu gave a light peck to Gu Yinghuai’s lips, which had become cold from the water. “I thought this was romantic?”

Gu Yinghuai pinched Shen Huaixu’s cheek and pulled. “If you didn’t say so, I would’ve thought it was attempted murder.”

“Mm-hm.” Shen Huaixu flashed a mischievous smile that Gu Yinghuai knew all too well. Gu Yinghuai mentally noted that things were going south—whenever Shen Huaixu made that face, it meant she was up to no good.

Gu Yinghuai tried to escape, but the moment she turned around, Shen Huaixu repeated her previous trick, grabbing her by the waist and dragging her back into the water.

The pool water, reflecting the blue sky, gurgled as strings of bubbles rose. they swirled upward and finally vanished at the surface with a “pop.”

Shen Huaixu’s lips pressed down. Dense bubbles drifted from their intertwined lips.

The kiss wasn’t as intense as the previous one, though they were forced to taste several gulps of pool water smelling of disinfectant as their teeth and tongues tangled.

Gu Yinghuai lightly bit the tip of Shen Huaixu’s mischievous tongue, ending the kiss that tasted of chlorine.

She floated to the surface, but before she could scold Shen Huaixu for her childish behavior, she saw Shen Huaixu emerge from the water with a “splash,” kissing the corner of her mouth with a smile and dripping wetness.

The belly full of anger vanished instantly, leaving only helplessness.

Gu Yinghuai tugged at Shen Huaixu’s cheek again, saying coyly, “I didn’t call you down here to play like this!”

Shen Huaixu grinned and let Gu Yinghuai pinch her face to vent. She rested her hand on Gu Yinghuai’s back and wrapped the other around her waist, acting spoiled. “Don’t be mad. I was wrong.”

Gu Yinghuai pinched Shen Huaixu’s mouth, turning her into a little duck. “Coaxing is ineffective.”

Afterward, the two swam in the pool for a while longer. It wasn’t until lunchtime approached and their stomachs began to protest that they reluctantly left the water.

Lunch and Social Media

Lunch was settled at the hotel restaurant.

An array of dishes filled the table. While eating, Gu Yinghuai opened her WeChat, which had been neglected for a week. The red “99+” notification for group chat messages was eye-catchingly bright.

She clicked into the small group with Jiang Yulan and Chen Miao. Two or three thousand messages were impossible to scroll through, and after forcing herself to read a few hundred, Gu Yinghuai gave up.

[The World’s Top (3) Billionaires]

Gu Yinghuai: [Hi.]

Jiang Yulan: [?]

Chen Miao: [?]

Chen Miao: [You have the nerve to say ‘Hi’!]

Jiang Yulan: [Yinghuai, you kept us in the dark so cruelly. Are we no longer your favorite cuties?]

Chen Miao: [Cuties? The two of us are currently like resentful wives in the inner chambers, waiting for Lord Gu to find her conscience and favor us. Understand?]

Jiang Yulan: [Well said.]

Gu Yinghuai: [I was wrong quq]

Chen Miao: [Apologies are useless. We’re unfriending you for five minutes, unless you ‘V me 50’ (Transfer me 50 RMB) this Thursday.]

Jiang Yulan: [Apologies are useless. We’re unfriending you for five minutes, unless you ‘V me 50’ this Thursday.]

Although the official announcement post Shen Huaixu made on Weibo didn’t show Gu Yinghuai’s full face, Jiang Yulan and Chen Miao were familiar enough with her to recognize that the person in the photo was the Gu Yinghuai they knew.

Furthermore, during their previous gathering, Chen Miao had caught sight of Shen Huaixu’s silver-gray eyes in the rearview mirror—eyes that were as unique as a security watermark.

It was obvious who the person in the announcement photo was.

Chen Miao had shared her compelling evidence with Jiang Yulan. The two formed a united front and, during the week Gu Yinghuai was secluded from the world, they had engaged in heated “discussions” (gossip) in the group.

Please, this was a celebrity dating scandal involving people they actually knew!

The front lines of gossip, a definitely first-hand source.

No middleman to spread rumors or exaggerate; just pure, natural, pollution-free “melon farmers” (gossipers).

Unfortunately, the party involved was too busy being lovey-dovey with the other party involved and had no time to mind the two hungry gossip-seekers in the group.

Gu Yinghuai was amused by the two of them and sent a Red Packet in the group.

Gu Yinghuai: [[Good luck and prosperity!]]

Chen Miao: [Thank you, boss. We’re made up now.]

Jiang Yulan: [Thank you, boss. We’re made up now.]

Gu Yinghuai: [[Cat acting cute.jpg]]

Chen Miao: [No acting cute. When you get back, I want the first-hand gossip, OK?]

Jiang Yulan: [(Nods) (Nods) I’m dying of curiosity. If I hadn’t wanted to avoid disturbing your ‘world of two,’ I would have called you long ago. Hurry up and thank me.]

Gu Yinghuai: [Haha, thanks to our Yulan then.]

Gu Yinghuai: [Got it, I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.]

“Eat first, play with your phone later.” Shen Huaixu placed some of Gu Yinghuai’s favorite food onto her empty plate, reminding her to focus on the meal.

Gu Yinghuai stuck out her tongue and poked the food away.

“Has Jiang Rui contacted you again?” Gu Yinghuai thought about it and realized she was still a bit worried. She was concerned that Shen Huaixu’s career might be affected by this.

Even though Shen Huaixu would occasionally complain to her about work trifles after shifts, Gu Yinghuai knew that Shen Huaixu loved this job.

She didn’t want to see her Axu’s career suffer.

Shen Huaixu shrugged, her face wearing an indifferent expression. “Probably, I haven’t checked.”

What gives? I’m over here worrying so much, and Axu isn’t nervous at all! Gu Yinghuai glared at the nonchalant Shen Huaixu. “That won’t do! No matter what, Axu, you should at least pay a little more attention!”

Shen Huaixu raised her hands in surrender, her silver-gray eyes full of helplessness. “Fine, fine, fine. I’ll check right now.”

Under Gu Yinghuai’s supervision, Shen Huaixu logged into her work WeChat for the first time during the holiday.