I Can't Fall for My Own Wife Again After Reincarnation, Right? (GL) - Chapter 37

At noon when school let out, Fu Qiao was called into the office for some reason, leaving Xu Yingran and Yao Jin bored as they leaned against the corridor railing outside, chatting idly while looking down below.

Their conversation meandered from one topic to another, mostly just complaining about how tedious school was.

“Memorizing so much stuff every day, I feel like a duck being force-fed,” Xu Yingran said, propping her head up on the railing. “When will this ever end?”

As soon as she said it, she felt like she had uttered those exact words somewhere before.

Yao Jin leaned back against the railing, tilting her head to look at the upside-down world, and mumbled lazily, “There is no end. If you get into university, that’s another four years. If you don’t, you’ll have to retake the exams. Where do you think the end is?”

Xu Yingran sighed, still resting her head on her hand, and glanced at Yao Jin’s odd posture before saying, “Hey, did those two stocks I told you to buy go up?”

“They did,” Yao Jin said, straightening her neck and leaning on the railing. “Honestly, they started rising the very next day. Usually, whatever I buy just drops, this is the first time I’ve seen the line go red.”

“Don’t make yourself sound so pitiful. You were just throwing money around recklessly before.”

“All because of my dad.”

Yao Jin squinted helplessly, her expression as lazy as a cat’s. “He’s in the middle of a lawsuit with my mom. While they’re fighting, they’re both transferring assets. Since I’m his only child, a lot of things have been put under my name.”

She turned slightly to look at Xu Yingran and grinned. “To be honest, I now own three or four office buildings, over a dozen villas, and five companies, big and small. After graduation, you can just stick with me. No need to work, just carry my shopping bags every day.”

Xu Yingran knew Yao Jin was just talking big. Going through her parents’ messy divorce and secret asset transfers couldn’t be easy.

She was just putting on a brave face, inside, she was probably crying like a little kid.

“Sure,” Xu Yingran said, not wanting to dampen her mood, and smiled faintly. “Can I bring family along for shopping?”

“If it’s Fu Qiao, then yes.”

Just then, Fu Qiao emerged from the office and, hearing her name, asked curiously, “What are you planning to take me to do?”

Yao Jin turned around and grinned. “Take you shopping.”

Fu Qiao: “?”

She walked over, puzzled. “Weren’t we going for rice noodles? Why are we shopping now? We only have an hour for lunch, there’s no time for shopping.”

Xu Yingran’s eyes curved into crescents as she laughed. “Don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s talking about taking us shopping after we start working and earning money.”

“Oh.” Fu Qiao blinked and smiled. “That’s still a long way off. Let’s hurry and eat, I’m starving.”

“Let’s go,” Xu Yingran said to the two of them. “The rice noodle place we usually go to isn’t far, about a ten-minute walk.”

The three of them left the school gate and walked ahead, familiar with the route.

Yao Jin wasn’t used to eating street food. The first time she’d tried it was when Xu Yingran dragged her to Fu Qiao’s parents’ barbecue stall. Before that, she had attended an international school where students weren’t allowed to leave for lunch, the cafeteria served buffet-style, so she could take whatever she wanted.

The buffet had pretty high-end offerings, after all, it was considered an elite school. Yao Jin most often ate steak, paired with a glass of lemon water, enough to keep her full all afternoon.

Back home, a professional chef prepared her dinner, so she’d rarely ever eaten from those questionable street vendors.

The rice noodle shop was tiny, barely the size of a palm. The owner had just wiped down a table when Xu Yingran led them inside.

The three of them ordered three bowls of rice noodles and sat at the freshly cleaned table.

The table was the cheapest kind of folding table, and the chairs were hard and uncomfortable, digging into their backsides.

Yao Jin glanced around the cramped little shop, her eyes lingering on the business license and hygiene certificate hanging on the wall. After a long pause, she leaned in and whispered to the two sitting across from her, “Is this place… clean?”

Xu Yingran glanced at the owner cooking noodles in the back before whispering back, “It won’t kill you.”

Fu Qiao translated: “What Xu Yingran means is that it’s perfectly clean. We’ve been eating here for ages.”

Yao Jin gave a reluctant nod. “Oh.”

Three steaming bowls of rice noodles were soon placed in front of them. The rich aroma wafted up as Yao Jin watched the other two tear open their disposable chopsticks and start mixing their noodles.

Xu Yingran picked up the vinegar bottle and asked Fu Qiao, “Want some vinegar?”

Fu Qiao nodded.

Yao Jin watched as Xu Yingran poured a bit of vinegar into Fu Qiao’s bowl, then added some to her own before looking up. “You want any?”

“…No,” Yao Jin said. “I don’t like vinegar.”

“No vinegar? That’s missing the soul of it.”

“Still no.”

Xu Yingran sighed and set the bottle down. “Well, if you change your mind, help yourself.”

The freshly cooked noodles were piping hot. Xu Yingran blew on hers before digging in eagerly, while Fu Qiao ate more delicately, carefully lifting a strand, blowing on it repeatedly, and taking small, slow bites. The rest of the noodles slipped back into the rich broth, only to be stirred and lifted again for another bite.

Watching them, Yao Jin finally looked down at her own bowl. After a long internal struggle, she snapped apart her disposable chopsticks and started eating.

The owner’s noodles were perfectly chewy, and the broth was fragrant, spicy, salty, and slightly sweet. It was delicious.

Yao Jin had assumed street food from a dingy little place like this wouldn’t be anything special, but one bite proved her wrong.

As she ate, her eyes wandered back to the vinegar bottle. Mimicking Xu Yingran, she added just a tiny splash, and it made the noodles even tastier.

By the time they finished, it was almost time to head back. Each of them grabbed a skewered sausage to eat on the way to school.

Yao Jin’s mouth was shiny with grease, clearly enjoying herself.

“Let’s come back sometime,” she said, already craving more. “I saw they also have wontons. Wonder if they’re any good.”

Xu Yingran bit into her sausage. “The wontons here aren’t as good as the noodles. If you want wontons, we should go to that place on the next street over. Theirs are amazing.”

Fu Qiao tilted her head. “The one near Seventh High?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“Sounds good. The pork patty buns next door are great too, and so are the soup dumplings.”

“Then it’s settled, we’ll all go together.”

Listening to Xu Yingran and Fu Qiao planning where to eat and drink later, Yao Jin gradually began to feel a bit dazed.

Xu Yingran probably noticed Yao Jin’s low spirits and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet all noon, not like your usual self.”

“Nothing,” Yao Jin said calmly. “I just think you two are so happy, living simple and joyful lives every day.”

Fu Qiao looked at Yao Jin, then at Xu Yingran, not quite understanding.

Xu Yingran naturally knew Yao Jin’s inner struggles. Though she was a wealthy second-generation heiress, her parents didn’t seem to particularly love her. After years together, all they did was argue, eventually leading to dividing assets and separating.

“Don’t say that,” Xu Yingran comforted her. “Actually, you’ll be happy in the future too. Always try to look on the bright side.”

Xu Yingran had also lost her parents. If not for this rebirth, she would likely have lived with lifelong guilt over the past, so she deeply understood Yao Jin’s feelings.

A warm, harmonious family without illness or disaster, that was the most beautiful wish one could have.

Yao Jin lowered her eyes and nodded. The pride of youth made her unwilling to show weakness in front of others. Even with friends, she wanted to present her best self.

Though Fu Qiao didn’t understand what they were talking about, she obediently refrained from interrupting.

The three chatted about other topics, making plans to accompany Fu Qiao to sign up for a training class on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, Fu Qiao woke up early.

Last week, Xu Yingran and Yao Jin had said they would accompany her to register for the training class, but she hadn’t mentioned it to her parents at all.

As the end of October approached, business was getting worse.

In the past, their barbecue stall would still have customers until two or three in the morning, but now, after nine or ten, there was basically no one left.

With no customers, there was no reason to stay open late. Recently, Fu Jun and his wife had been closing up by midnight and returning home early.

Around seven in the morning, Hu Mei heard noises from the kitchen and got up, throwing on a coat. Seeing Fu Qiao cooking porridge, she asked in confusion, “Isn’t today Saturday? Why aren’t you sleeping in? What are you up so early for?”

Fu Qiao glanced back at Hu Mei and said awkwardly, “I made plans with Xu Yingran and the others to go to the bookstore.”

“Oh,” Hu Mei replied, relieved when she heard it was with Xu Yingran. After all, the two girls were inseparable, always together.

“Do you need money?” Hu Mei walked to the coat rack in the living room, pulled a few red bills from her jacket pocket, and handed them to Fu Qiao. “If you see any books you like at the bookstore, buy them. I see you’ve almost finished your exercise books, if you need more, get a couple.”

Fu Qiao looked at the money in her hand. She knew business had been bad lately, and these few hundred yuan might have been last night’s entire earnings. She absolutely refused to take it.

“Mom, I don’t need money,” Fu Qiao said. “I still have exercise books at home, and I don’t want to buy anything. I’m just going to look around.”

“But you’ll need bus fare, right?”

“I have change for the bus. Giving me big bills won’t help.”

Fu Qiao absolutely refused to take the money, leaving Hu Mei with no choice but to sigh and say, “Alright then. If you ever need money, just tell us. Don’t keep everything bottled up inside.”

“Mm,” Fu Qiao replied with a smile. “I will.”

Breakfast ended just past 7:30 in the morning. The broadcasting class started at 8:30, and with the bus ride taking half an hour, they needed to get moving.

After packing everything she needed, Fu Qiao went to knock on Xu Yingran’s door.

Xu Yingran, who seemed to have just woken up, opened the door drowsily and greeted her with a sleepy “Morning.”

“Yao Jin said she’ll meet us directly at the training center, so she won’t be picking us up,” Xu Yingran said as she changed her shoes by the door. “We’ll head there ourselves.”

“Okay.”

As Fu Qiao watched, Xu Yingran finished putting on her shoes and grabbed a set of keys from the side.

“Why are you taking the keys?” Fu Qiao asked, puzzled. “Aren’t your parents home on the weekend?”

“They are,” Xu Yingran said, jingling the keys in her hand. “That’s why I borrowed my mom’s electric scooter. We won’t have to squeeze onto the bus.”