Time Travel Begins the Moment I Divorce My Wife - Chapter 18

The five of them split into two rows to board the roller coaster.

One row had three seats. Ji Xunchi sat in the middle, with a stranger to her left and Hua Jiangyu, who was fastening her seatbelt, to her right.

Ji Xunchi couldn’t help but glance at Hua Jiangyu again.

That one glance suddenly sparked an epiphany in Hua Jiangyu: “Are you scared?”

Ji Xunchi: “…”

Heh.

She raised her eyes to meet Hua Jiangyu’s innocent, unbothered expression.

Ji Xunchi smiled. “I’m not scared.”

Hua Jiangyu: “Oh.”

A staff member nearby was checking the safety measures. Behind them, Zhou Qingyi leaned forward and patted Hua Jiangyu’s shoulder for a final reminder: “Do you have tissues ready?”

Hua Jiangyu nodded. “And wet wipes too.”

Zhou Qingyi gave an OK sign. “Good, then we’re prepared for any accidents.”

Ji Xunchi had no idea what cryptic exchange the two were having. She glanced down at Hua Jiangyu’s slightly bulging pocket before looking away.

Honestly, Ji Xunchi found it rather novel and surreal to be riding a roller coaster with Hua Jiangyu.

After all, back when they were dating, they had visited amusement parks together, but their usual rides were always the tamer ones—carousels and Ferris wheels.

The staff member gave a final announcement: “We’ll be starting in ten seconds, everyone, please get ready.”

“10, 9… 3, 2, 1!”

“Whoosh!”

“Clang, clang!”

The train gradually picked up speed, the fierce wind roaring in their ears as Ji Xunchi’s hair whipped wildly around her.

“Ahhhh—ahhhh!”

“—Ahhh, ahhhh!”

Nearly everyone on the ride was screaming.

The wind rushing against them made it hard to breathe, but Ji Xunchi stubbornly refused to scream.

She had expected to hear Hua Jiangyu’s shrieks, but in reality, the stranger to her left was yelling enthusiastically while the person to her right remained completely silent.

Ji Xunchi couldn’t resist turning her head.

Hua Jiangyu was pursing her lips, eyes tightly shut, her face flushed from holding back. Her expression was slightly contorted, but her natural beauty still shone through.

Ji Xunchi: “Why aren’t you screaming?”

Behind them, Zhou Qingyi’s voice was the loudest, almost piercing their eardrums.

Hua Jiangyu opened her eyes, looking dazed.

Ji Xunchi leaned closer and shouted, “Why aren’t you screaming?”

Hua Jiangyu: “What about you? Why aren’t you screaming?”

Ji Xunchi: “Because, I have an image to maintain.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ji Xunchi felt like an idiot.

It wasn’t as if the person beside her was the Hua Jiangyu she knew and even if she were, they were long past the honeymoon phase. What kind of embarrassing moments hadn’t her wife seen? Why bother preserving her image now?

Especially when they were about to get divorced!

Ji Xunchi paused for a moment before finally letting loose, screaming along with the other riders like a normal person.

The unanswered question was naturally forgotten in the chaos.

The wind stung her eyes, and the seat beneath her jolted violently as the coaster raced forward. Hua Jiangyu frowned, lips pressed tightly together as she endured the thrill of the moment.

Truth be told, she had an image to uphold too.

After getting off, Ji Xunchi stood still for a few seconds, waiting for the world to stop spinning. Just as she turned to look for the others, a figure suddenly dashed past her.

Ji Xunchi frowned as she watched someone bend over by a tree.

“You’re just going to leave her alone?”

She asked Zhou Qingyi, who was still standing in place.

Zhou Qingyi took it in stride: “That’s just how she is loves thrilling activities, but sometimes she can’t help getting sick afterward. She’ll be fine in a bit.”

Ji Xunchi gazed at her flushed profile and asked softly, “Does she often get like this?”

Zhou Qingyi glanced sideways at her. “Yeah.”

Ji Xunchi quietly watched Hua Jiangyu pick up a wet wipe to dab her cheeks.

At that moment, the feeling in her heart was like tending to a flower field with meticulous care, watching over it day and night as the blossoms gleamed golden under the sun, radiant and beautiful. She had grown accustomed to believing they were meant to bloom in brilliant yellow.

But on an ordinary afternoon, the caretaker arrived a little late after dozing off. Tiptoeing to the field, she unexpectedly caught a glimpse of its hidden side flaming red petals, just as dazzling.

Yes, who said beautiful flowers couldn’t bloom in two colors, one facing forward, the other hidden behind?

After all, both were equally splendid.

But why? Why would such beautiful flowers secretly conceal half of themselves from their caretaker, refusing to reveal their other side in her presence?

A trace of confusion flickered in Ji Xunchi’s eyes, and as time passed, that confusion even morphed into a lingering hurt.

Zhou Qingyi noticed her odd expression and asked sharply, “What? Got a problem?”

Ji Xunchi lowered her gaze. “Why would I have a problem?”

Zhou Qingyi scoffed. “Because some people are just weird. They think someone as ethereally beautiful as a fairy shouldn’t have mundane needs like eating, drinking, or even throwing up.”

“Fairies aren’t allowed to have any behavior that ruins their image, you see.”

Ji Xunchi was taken aback. “Not even vomiting?”

Zhou Qingyi mocked, “Oh, you can do it, just don’t let them see. Otherwise, it’s a total image collapse.”

Ji Xunchi paused. “Wait, Hua Jiangyu isn’t even a celebrity yet, is she?”

Zhou Qingyi caught the odd phrasing but didn’t dwell on it. “No, but that doesn’t stop some people from ‘admiring’ her just because she’s beautiful.”

Ji Xunchi keenly noted the sarcasm in Zhou Qingyi’s tone when she said “admiring.”

She watched Hua Jiangyu straighten up, leaning against the tree trunk her figure slender and frail, yet standing tall and unyielding.

“Unbelievable,” Ji Xunchi muttered. “Those people must be insane.”

Zhou Qingyi snorted. “Most likely.”

Your likes are your business, and your dislikes are too. Why come barging in to tell someone, ‘Please mind your image in public’?

Owe you something?

None of your damn business.

If it were up to Zhou Qingyi, people like that should be shut down hard, scolded until they never dared to dictate others’ lives again.

Too bad Hua Jiangyu back then wasn’t quick with words. Fuming inside, she’d maintain a calm, dignified front in public, only to come home and sob into a pillow.

Just thinking about it made Zhou Qingyi furious!

Fortunately, the current Hua Jiangyu had grown a bit tougher in certain ways.

Zhou Qingyi shot Ji Xunchi a look. “Anyway, it’s good you don’t think like that.”

Ji Xunchi murmured, “How could I ever think that way?”

A thousand people, a thousand faces and even one person has many sides.

The first time they met, Ji Xunchi saw Hua Jiangyu as an elegant, distant beauty untouched by the mortal world, her clear eyes holding untold stories, drawing others in irresistibly.

She was snow on a branch, water in the clouds, the moon in the sky.

Ji Xunchi felt as though she had fallen into the depths of the heavens, weightless and adrift.

Ji Xunchi had witnessed her being placed on a pedestal, and had also experienced her unguarded, pure, and adorably innocent moments, like a child.

Shouldn’t loving someone mean loving every part of them?

No matter which side of Hua Jiangyu she saw, Ji Xunchi, who adored her, would love them all.

Unfortunately, later on, she had far too few opportunities to see Hua Jiangyu outside of that divine pedestal.

Hua Jiangyu tossed the tissues and used wipes into the trash before turning back.

When she looked up, she happened to catch Ji Xunchi’s gaze.

Deep and profound, as silent as snow, yet as ethereal as clouds.

It was as if she was looking through her, reminiscing about someone else.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Young girls could hardly resist being drawn to a pair of eyes filled with stories, especially when those eyes belonged to someone so strikingly beautiful, with an exceptionally outstanding aura.

Ji Xunchi carried a temperament entirely different from others her face was just as youthful and tender as theirs, yet she exuded an unexpected combination of steadiness and detachment.

Even when she smiled brightly, effortlessly cracking jokes and teasing, those who observed carefully could still see through the subtle barriers.

She seemed like someone who drifted beyond the mundane world.

Hua Jiangyu felt her heartbeat suddenly race violently under that calm, distant gaze, growing even more fervent.

Then, slowly, it settled back into its usual rhythm, as if that momentary anomaly had never existed beneath the gradually steadying pulse.

Only the breeze brushing past her ears knew it had been there.

“What were you talking about?”

Walking over, Hua Jiangyu spoke, steadying her heart along with her question.

Zhou Qingyi smiled. “We were just gossiping about some things, right?”

She shot Ji Xunchi a meaningful look.

Catching the hint about certain past matters, Ji Xunchi naturally played along. “Yeah, I didn’t expect your school to have so much gossip.”

Hua Jiangyu said, “Zhou Qingyi loves digging into these things.”

Hearing this, Ji Xunchi glanced at the grinning Zhou Qingyi.

She had assumed her penchant for gossip was a professional habit cultivated after becoming a manager, she hadn’t realized it was an early hobby.

The three of them walked side by side to regroup with the others.

Hua Jiangyu’s lips, freshly wiped, still carried a faint trace of lipstick, a delicate pink that accentuated her jade-like complexion. Jiang Yu couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.

Ji Xunchi noticed and, for reasons unknown, subtly glared at her twice.

The group of ten gathered, then scattered to enjoy various attractions, only leaving the amusement park after nightfall before going their separate ways.

Jiang Yu lived in the same direction as Ji Xunchi, and as they waited for the bus, she asked, “So? Isn’t she stunning?”

The only one who was truly stunning was that person.

Ji Xunchi raised a brow at her and countered, “Do you like her?”

Jiang Yu widened her eyes. “Of course I do! But don’t worry, it’s purely the kind of admiration one has for a beautiful woman.”

“What do I have to worry about?” Ji Xunchi shoved her hands into her pockets, watching the sunset.

Jiang Yu covered her mouth, laughing. “I saw it—you two got along really well. Honestly, if you’re not into guys, maybe consider a girl instead. Beautiful women should be with beautiful women.”

Then, remembering something, she asked, “Did you exchange contact info?”

The bus arrived, and Ji Xunchi stepped on first. “No.”

“Ah!” Jiang Yu sounded disappointed.

Ji Xunchi turned back. “Stop ‘ah’-ing and get on the bus!”

After returning home, Ji Xunchi ate the meal her grandmother had left for her, washed the dishes, and then headed back to her room while stretching her shoulders.

Finally having time to check her phone, she noticed a message from Strawberry Tip.

How rare.

Lately, aside from the nightly storytelling routine, Strawberry Tip rarely messaged during the day.

Though it wasn’t exactly daytime now, it was still clearly not the usual time.

Ji Xunchi absentmindedly swiped open the screen, only for her hand midway through massaging her neck to freeze in place the next second.

[Strawberry Tip: You mentioned before that you have a sexy figure. Would you mind sharing a photo of it?]

[Strawberry Tip: Don’t worry, it can be with clothes on.]

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