I Can't Fall for My Own Wife Again After Reincarnation, Right? (GL) - Chapter 22

A month into the senior year of high school, the school organized a unified monthly exam for all third-year students. The results came out the next day.

Xu Yingran stared at her exam scores in disbelief.

Tenth from the bottom in the class.

Xu Yingran: “…”

No big deal. It’s fine.

She actually thought scoring tenth from the bottom was quite impressive, considering how difficult it was to relearn knowledge she’d forgotten for so many years. Meanwhile, Fu Qiao, that girl, had performed exceptionally well in the monthly exam, ranking first in the class and second in the grade, just ten points shy of the top scorer in the grade.

Li Yuwen praised Fu Qiao in class and asked her to prepare a speech no longer than one minute to share on the school broadcast about how she improved her studies.

After the homeroom teacher left, Xu Yingran finally put away her test papers.

If she didn’t do well this time, she could just try harder next time. Besides, as an adult, she knew success wasn’t solely dependent on academic performance.

Yao Jin sat at her desk, frowning at her test paper with a deeply troubled expression.

“Jin, what rank did you get this time?” Xu Yingran walked over, leaning lazily against the desk with her hip.

Yao Jin closed her test paper solemnly, her face dark and silent.

Seeing her like this, Xu Yingran suspected she might not have done well either and quickly comforted her, “It’s okay. Look, I didn’t do well either. We’ll just work harder together next time.”

Yao Jin shook her head, furrowing her brows. “I did terribly this time. My dad will definitely hire me a tutor when I get home.”

Xu Yingran blinked. “What rank did you actually get?”

Yao Jin looked up at her and said, “Seventh.”

“Seventh in the class?”

“No, second in the class, seventh in the grade.”

“…”

Xu Yingran was speechless. She really shouldn’t be friends with such a pretentious person.

“Wait,” Xu Yingran said, puzzled. “Weren’t we at about the same level? How did you outperform so much? Shouldn’t you have only been slightly better than me?”

“Really?” Yao Jin said calmly. “At my previous school, my grades were average. I just improved a bit after transferring here, but overall, I’ve actually declined.”

A nearby classmate couldn’t take it anymore and sighed, “Yao Jin, we should just rename you ‘Yao Versailles Jin.’ If ranking seventh in the grade counts as a decline, then 90% of the students in our school might as well give up!”

Xu Yingran nodded vigorously. “Exactly, exactly.”

Just as Yao Jin was trying to defend herself against the accusation of being pretentious, Fu Qiao walked out of the classroom carrying her test papers.

Xu Yingran glanced at her and noticed Fu Qiao was heading straight to the office. She lowered her voice and said to Yao Jin, “I’m going to see what Fu Qiao’s up to.”

Yao Jin replied, “She’s going to the office. Are you really going to follow her?”

“Of course.”

“…”

Yao Jin looked up at her and said, “Xu Yingran, do you have a crush on Fu Qiao?”

The moment those words were spoken, Xu Yingran froze, her face flushing red as she snapped at Yao Jin, “Don’t talk nonsense! I don’t like her!”

Yao Jin raised an eyebrow playfully, signaling her disbelief.

Meanwhile, Fu Qiao stood in front of Li Yuwen, holding her test papers, and said, “Ms. Li, you marked this question wrong. I got it wrong, but you didn’t deduct points.”

Li Yuwen took a look and realized she had indeed made a mistake.

Although it was just a minor question, if marked incorrectly, another 3 points would be deducted. In that case, Fu Qiao would likely drop from second place in the school ranking to third or fourth.

Li Yuwen glanced at Fu Qiao and said, “If it was marked wrong, why didn’t you just pretend not to notice? That way, I wouldn’t have to deduct those three points from you.”

But Fu Qiao replied earnestly, “A mistake is still a mistake. Even if I lose three points, it’s what I deserve. Students shouldn’t lie, right?”

Li Yuwen was startled by Fu Qiao’s words and suddenly realized what she had just suggested. Flustered, she said, “Yes, you did the right thing. As your teacher, I should praise you for that.”

“No need, Ms. Li.” Fu Qiao smiled at her. “Thank you for adjusting my score. I’ll head back to class now.”

“Wait a moment.”

Seeing Fu Qiao about to leave, Li Yuwen quickly stopped her. “Fu Qiao, have you finished filling out that transfer application form you took from me the other day?”

Truthfully, Li Yuwen was quite fond of Fu Qiao.

She was an excellent student, bright, kind, and lovely.

If not for the impending move, Li Yuwen would have preferred to keep her at the school.

“Transferring in your final year means adjusting to a new environment. Honestly, I still don’t recommend it,” Li Yuwen said. “If possible, I’d prefer you to stay with us.”

Fu Qiao fell silent for a long moment. She knew transferring would be a major disruption to her studies, and she truly didn’t want to leave her friends, teachers, and classmates behind.

“I’ll think it through carefully. Thank you, Ms. Li,” Fu Qiao said softly.

Li Yuwen sighed inwardly at her response and waved her off, signaling for her to return to class.

When Fu Qiao stepped out of the office, she was surprised to see Xu Yingran and Yao Jin waiting for her by the door.

“What are you two doing here?” Fu Qiao asked curiously.

Yao Jin pointed at Xu Yingran. “She got worried when you went to the teacher’s office and dragged me along.”

Xu Yingran flushed and pretended to glare at Yao Jin. “Why’d you have to sell me out like that?”

Yao Jin simply smiled without a word.

Fu Qiao, however, understood and chuckled at Xu Yingran. “A good student like me wouldn’t get scolded in the teacher’s office. Why are you so worried? You should worry about yourself instead.”

Xu Yingran’s grades had slipped so badly that Xu Chunjiang and Zhao Yu were bound to explode. Fu Qiao was even considering whether to visit Xu Yingran’s house that evening to help divert some of the parental fury.

“But what were you doing in the teacher’s office anyway?” Xu Yingran asked as they walked back.

“There was a question I got wrong that the teacher missed. I went to have her adjust my score,” Fu Qiao explained.

“Huh? So your total score dropped by a few points?”

“Three points. Still first in the class, but now third in the grade.”

Yao Jin frowned. “Isn’t that unfair to you?”

Fu Qiao shrugged. “Not really. A mistake is a mistake. Even if the teacher didn’t notice right away, she’d eventually find out. Better to admit it myself.”

Xu Yingran fell silent at Fu Qiao’s words.

Wasn’t her own relationship with Fu Qiao the same?

They had gotten together without considering whether they were truly compatible, five years of dating, five years of marriage. Only in the end did Xu Yingran realize they might not have been right for each other after all.

Yao Jin was still chatting with Fu Qiao, the two of them huddled together discussing wrong answers that made Xu Yingran’s head spin, causing her to frequently zone out.

By evening when school let out, Fu Qiao was still scribbling away furiously.

Noticing this, Xu Yingran walked over, placed a hand on her desk, and leaned down to look. All she saw were long paragraphs written on the draft paper, it seemed to be a speech?

“What’s this?” Xu Yingran bent down curiously to take a closer look.

Fu Qiao had sensed her approach the moment she came over. Now, as Xu Yingran leaned in close, Fu Qiao inexplicably felt her whole body grow warm.

Gripping her pen tightly, she said, “It’s a speech for the school broadcast.”

Xu Yingran remembered, apparently, the top five students had to do this.

Yao Jin was seventh, so she was exempt.

“How many words do you need to write?” Xu Yingran tilted her head to look at her. “Under a minute?”

“Yeah,” Fu Qiao replied awkwardly. “A speech under a minute, then answering a few questions from the host, about ten minutes in total.”

“I see…”

Xu Yingran straightened up and said to Fu Qiao, “Well, it’s not until next week, so there’s no rush. Let’s head home first.”

Only after Xu Yingran left did Fu Qiao finally relax, though she also felt an inexplicable emptiness in her chest.

Whenever Xu Yingran got close, Fu Qiao would inexplicably feel her whole body heat up, yet when she left, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

This reaction was something Fu Qiao had only recently started experiencing. Now, stealing a glance at Xu Yingran standing beside her, she couldn’t help but feel that she really did seem different from before.

When they were kids, Xu Yingran had been Fu Qiao’s little shadow, afraid of the dark, dogs, and heights. Back then, Fu Qiao had always been the one looking out for her.

But then puberty hit, and whether it was because Fu Qiao’s nutrition hadn’t kept up or Xu Yingran had shot up too quickly, Fu Qiao had fallen noticeably behind in height.

This had upset Fu Qiao greatly. Hearing that drinking milk could help with growth, she started drinking a carton of pure milk every day, but in the end, she didn’t grow even a little bit taller.

The school’s broadcast station was still playing soft music, sometimes even some pop songs, a rare moment of relaxation for the students. Walking in time with the music, they watched as Yao Jin got into her family’s private car. The white-gloved driver waved at the two of them before driving off with his young mistress.

Xu Yingran stood by the roadside, arms crossed, and sighed. “Some people are born in Rome.”

Fu Qiao glanced at her, amused yet resigned. “It’s rare to see you envy someone. Are you jealous of Yao Jin now?”

“Not exactly jealous,” Xu Yingran said. She knew about Yao Jin’s family situation, the wealthy had their own share of troubles. Yao Jin’s parents’ divorce and the legal battles over assets had already become public knowledge. As the only child, Yao Jin had no say in the matter and couldn’t change anything.

In contrast, ordinary families like Xu Yingran’s and Fu Qiao’s were just fine, loving parents, harmonious households, no major illnesses or disasters, just peaceful, stable lives.

Fu Qiao turned to look at her. The dappled shadows of the trees lining the road had turned golden, and the area was bustling with students just released from school. Beyond the fence, people were still practicing running on the rubber track, and further away, a few were playing basketball.

This might just be the most ordinary yet happiest day. Fu Qiao stole a glance at Xu Yingran, where dappled light fell upon her head and face, making her seem almost unreal.

Fu Qiao couldn’t help but stare, lost in thought, before finally turning away after a long moment. Together, they walked home, treading upon golden sunlight.