What's Wrong with Changing to a New Wife? [Rebirth] - Chapter 10

Halfway through the meal, rain suddenly began to fall outside. At first, it was just a light drizzle, but it gradually intensified.

The sound of raindrops hitting the window grew louder. Gu Ji glanced outside absentmindedly but froze abruptly upon seeing the pitch-black night. Memories of his final night in his previous life surfaced. It had been a rainy night just like this.

Although he had been granted a second chance at life, he had truly died once in that heavy rain.

The feeling of nearing death was far from pleasant, and even now, Gu Ji felt a lingering fear as he recalled it.

“…Gu Ji?”

Hearing the voice, Gu Ji snapped back to reality. Seeing the homely dishes bathed in warm light on the table and turning to see Yan Congyu beside him, he realized he had broken out in a cold sweat.

Yan Congyu, sitting next to Gu Ji, had noticed him staring out the window for a long time as if lost in thought, but his complexion didn’t look right.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Congyu asked softly.

Gu Ji let out a gentle sigh. “It’s nothing. It seems like it’s raining.”

Yan Congyu had observed Gu Ji’s earlier mood and felt it wasn’t as simple as “nothing.” Yet, aside from the sudden rain, there was nothing unusual outside the window.

…Rain?

Did Gu Ji dislike rainy days?

Cheng Zhuo, sitting across from them, saw everything clearly. Although he could be a bit slow at times, he wasn’t foolish. He could tell that Brother Gu wasn’t in the right state—there had been a moment when Gu Ji’s emotions seemed indescribably desolate.

Now, however, Gu Ji appeared normal again. Cheng Zhuo had considered saying something but ultimately decided against it.

Gu Ji indeed harbored some psychological trauma toward rainy nights. It wasn’t fear, but such nights repeatedly reminded him of the final evening of his past life, leaving him feeling oppressed and heavy-hearted, as if weighed down by a stone.

But with friends by his side now, it felt like a reminder that the past was behind him. Gu Ji breathed a slight sigh of relief, grateful he wasn’t alone.

After a while, Duan Chen came in with two umbrellas and reminded them, “It’s raining outside, and it’s quite heavy. You should leave soon after finishing your meal to avoid unsafe conditions on the road.”

They had almost finished eating anyway and were ready to go.

“Thanks, cousin,” Gu Ji said. “We’ll be off then.”

Duan Chen waved a hand. “Stay safe.”

Many of the diners in the hall had already left, while others were waiting for the rain to stop.

Once outside, the wind blew rain under the eaves, bringing a damp, chilly air. Gu Ji instinctively reached for his right leg before letting go.

The bone-deep pain associated with rainy days seemed to have become a physical reflex.

Yan Congyu, standing nearby, frowned with concern.

Had he bumped his leg earlier?

“I’ll go get the car,” Yan Congyu said, stopping Gu Ji. “You drank earlier.”

There was some distance from the door to the parking spot. Given what had just happened, Yan Congyu felt his concern was justified and didn’t feel comfortable letting Gu Ji go alone.

Gu Ji was taken aback. “I didn’t drink.”

To prevent Cheng Zhuo from making mistakes if he drank too much, they hadn’t ordered any alcohol for the meal. Gu Ji had only had two glasses of orange juice.

Yan Congyu replied, “You ate beer-braised duck.”

“…” Gu Ji fell silent.

Can you drive after eating beer-braised duck? Gu Ji hadn’t really considered this question before, but now wasn’t the time to pull out his phone and search it up.

Cheng Zhuo chuckled, “How could we let a new friend be the driver? I’ll drive instead.”

“Brother Gu isn’t in the right state, so he should rest. This meal was meant as an apology to Yan, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to drive either.” Among the three of them, only Cheng Zhuo was left. Fortunately, he had just gotten his driver’s license a few months ago.

Gu Ji hesitated for a moment, feeling reluctant to face the rain, and handed the car keys to Cheng Zhuo. “Be careful.”

Cheng Zhuo took the keys, opened an umbrella, and headed out. “No worries, wait for me to come back and pick you up.”

Before long, a black car pulled up steadily in front of them, deliberately slowing down as it stopped. Cheng Zhuo tried to roll down the window to say something but got drenched by the rain. He quickly closed the window again, his voice coming from inside. “So, how’s my driving?”

Gu Ji laughed, the heaviness in his heart gradually lifting. “Not bad.”

There weren’t enough umbrellas in the shop—his cousin had only given them two. Cheng Zhuo had taken one earlier, so now Gu Ji and Yan Congyu had to share one.

In his previous life, Gu Ji had spent over a decade with Lin Qingran and had grown accustomed to being the one who took care of others. So, when Yan Congyu held the umbrella, first escorting him to the back seat and opening the door for him before getting in from the other side, Gu Ji was momentarily stunned. He only managed to say, “Thank you.”

Cheng Zhuo noticed it too and remarked, “Xiao Yan, you’re so considerate. If it were me, I’d probably be fighting Brother Gu for the umbrella, and he definitely wouldn’t win against me.”

Gu Ji’s attention shifted at Cheng Zhuo’s words, and he laughed. “How could I not win against you?”

Cheng Zhuo shamelessly replied, “Because I’m stronger.”

Yan Congyu chuckled softly beside them.

The air inside the car was dry and warm. Gu Ji leaned lazily against the seatback, his mood gradually relaxing.

He was grateful to have friends by his side at a time like this. If he were alone, it would have been much harder to get through.

But sentimental thoughts were better kept to himself—Gu Ji still found it difficult to voice them aloud.

They soon arrived at the school. Cheng Zhuo asked, “Xiao Yan, which dorm building do you live in?”

Yan Congyu told him his dorm number.

Cheng Zhuo drove the car to the building’s entrance. “We’re here.”

Gu Ji smiled and said goodbye, “See you next time, Xiao Yan.”

“Goodbye.”

Yan Congyu got out of the car and stood under his umbrella at the dorm entrance for a while, not even noticing that the hem of his pants had gotten wet. He watched the black car drive away before finally stepping into the building.

…

In the middle of the night, a sudden clap of thunder echoed across the sky.

Gu Ji was awakened by the sound. The dorm was pitch black, with no lights on.

He closed his eyes, intending to go back to sleep, but his mind was restless. Listening to the rain outside, he felt no trace of sleepiness.

After a while, Gu Ji got up and walked out to the balcony.

Outside, it was equally dark, with only a few faint, hazy yellow streetlights visible. Occasionally, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Raindrops drifted in, carrying a chill, but Gu Ji seemed not to notice.

Since he had been given a second chance at life, it was time to let go of certain things.

In his previous life, he had made many regrettable decisions and carried numerous regrets, all of which had ended in a heavy downpour. Now, with the opportunity to change everything, Gu Ji still worried that he might not make the right choices.

He stood on the balcony for a long time, watching the rain outside shift from heavy to light until it gradually stopped. The distant sky began to glow with the pale light of dawn before he finally turned and went back inside.

–

Early morning, on days when there were morning classes, the entire dormitory was filled with an atmosphere of misery.

Xu Jingyin, eyes still closed, dressed himself while saying, “Is Xiao Gu up yet? Go wake him.”

Cheng Zhuo, his hair a disheveled mess from sleep, struggled to climb out of bed and shouted hoarsely, “Brother Gu, time for class.”

—No response.

Cheng Zhuo was puzzled. Ever since Brother Gu stopped bringing breakfast to Lin Qingran, he seemed unable to get up in the mornings, not even waking to his alarm clock.

Since he slept on the lower bunk, it was easy for him to get down. Rubbing his eyes, he walked over and pulled open the bed curtain. “Brother Gu—”

Cheng Zhuo’s voice cut off abruptly.

Xu Jingyin glanced over and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The black-haired boy lying on his side had half his face buried in the blanket, his eyes closed peacefully, his eyelashes casting faint shadows. The exposed skin, however, carried an unusual flush.

“His face is a bit red,” Cheng Zhuo said, finding it strange. He reached out and touched Gu Ji’s forehead, exclaiming in shock, “Oh my god, is he running a fever?”

“What happened?” Xu Jingyin climbed down to look for a thermometer. “It rained yesterday, but didn’t you guys drive back?”

“No idea,” Cheng Zhuo was equally confused. “We didn’t get caught in the rain. After we got back yesterday, we went straight to bed and didn’t go out again. I’m fine, so how did Brother Gu get sick?”

The dorm had a first-aid kit, but since it hadn’t been used in so long, no one knew where it was. Xu Jingyin searched for a while before finally digging it out from the back of a cabinet and retrieving the thermometer.

A few minutes later, Xu Jingyin stared at the reading of 38 degrees and fell silent. “It’s a fever.”

Cheng Zhuo gasped. “What do we do now?”

There was no point in dwelling on why he got sick; they had to find a solution first.

“We have class this morning, so let’s get Xiao Gu a leave note,” Xu Jingyin said. “I’ll make him some medicine.”

He took out the fever-reducing medicine from the kit and glanced at the expiration date. “…It’s expired.”

“…”

Cheng Zhuo was speechless. “When did we buy this?”

“I’ll go to the infirmary to get some now. It’ll be faster that way,” Xu Jingyin said. “You wake Xiao Gu up and have him drink some hot water.”

Cheng Zhuo nodded and sat by the bed, patting Gu Ji. “Brother Gu, Brother Gu.”

As soon as Gu Ji opened his eyes, he felt his eyelids unbearably heavy, his mind foggy and uncomfortable. Seeing Cheng Zhuo, he propped himself up slightly, his voice slightly hoarse. “…Did the alarm go off?”

“You have a fever,” Cheng Zhuo said, handing him a cup of hot water from the table. “We’ll get you a leave note for class, so don’t worry about it.”

Gu Ji reached up and touched his own forehead, not quite processing it. “…I have a fever?”

“Jingyin went to buy medicine for you. He’ll be back soon,” Cheng Zhuo said, still puzzled. “You didn’t get caught in the rain yesterday. Could it be from the cold wind? But it wasn’t for long. How are you so fragile?”

Hearing Cheng Zhuo’s words, Gu Ji remembered that he had gotten up in the middle of the night and stood on the balcony, exposed to the cold wind all night. He hadn’t expected it to give him a fever.

He paused, still not mentioning the awkward incident from last night when he went to the balcony to reflect on life and ended up getting sick instead.

After taking a few sips of hot water, Gu Ji felt too drained to keep his eyes open. He closed them and lay back down.

Just then, his phone on the table vibrated twice.

“Someone sent a message,” Gu Ji murmured, half-asleep and barely able to open his eyes. “Chengzi, could you reply for me?”

Cheng Zhuo walked over, picked up the phone, and unlocked it without needing a password. He saw a new message from “Yan Congyu,” saying that something seemed to have been left in the car yesterday.

Cheng Zhuo replied: This is Cheng Zhuo. Gu Ji is sick and resting in bed, so I’m replying on his behalf. I’ll let him know when he wakes up.

A reply came quickly: When did this happen? Is it serious?

Cheng Zhuo typed: He suddenly developed a fever this morning.

Gu Ji slept restlessly, drifting in and out of consciousness. In his haze, he seemed to hear the sound of a door opening and closing, along with muffled voices, though it all felt like part of a dream.

“Thank you so much… We have to go to class now and can’t stay, so please take care of Xiao Gu for us.”

“No need to thank me.”