I Can't Fall for My Own Wife Again After Reincarnation, Right? (GL) - Chapter 38

Ten years ago, electric scooters didn’t have strict regulations against carrying passengers like they do now, at most, you might wear a helmet or something.

Xu Yingran used to hate those electric scooters that darted around unpredictably or suddenly appeared while she was driving. Every time, she’d feel the urge to roll down the window and yell at them. But now that she was actually riding one, she suddenly understood.

Because it was just too easy to weave through traffic!

Fu Qiao was sitting behind Xu Yingran on the scooter for the first time, gripping the other girl’s jacket tightly as she couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going too fast? We’re not in a hurry!”

Xu Yingran laughed. “Not at all! This isn’t even as fast as when I drive!”

Fu Qiao was puzzled. “How do you drive without a license?”

Xu Yingran didn’t answer but slowed down anyway, saying, “But honestly, it’s pretty cold this morning.”

The weather had been fluctuating between warm and cold lately. This morning, it was only about 10 degrees Celsius, though it would rise to around 20 by noon.

It wasn’t even 8 a.m. yet, so of course it was chilly, especially with the wind hitting them while riding the scooter.

Brrr.

Fu Qiao, shielded by Xu Yingran, didn’t feel too cold, but hearing this, she grew concerned. “Is it really that cold? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Eighteen-year-olds run hot,” Xu Yingran replied carefreely. “Don’t talk too much, or you’ll swallow a mouthful of cold wind. We’re almost there.”

Seizing the green light, Xu Yingran sped toward the building where the tutoring center was located.

After parking the scooter, she jogged back to where Fu Qiao was waiting by the roadside and grinned. “I parked a little far.”

Seeing Xu Yingran’s face reddened by the morning chill, Fu Qiao stepped closer in concern, reaching out to touch her icy skin. “Next time, let’s just take the bus,” she chided.

Xu Yingran chuckled and took Fu Qiao’s hand. “The bus takes half an hour. The scooter takes 15 minutes. Which one’s faster?”

“But when it gets even colder, we’ll have to take the bus,” Fu Qiao insisted, then lowered her voice as she squeezed Xu Yingran’s hand. “Or… maybe you don’t have to come with me anymore. I’m old enough to go to tutoring alone.”

Xu Yingran didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she said, “We’ll see. Let’s go in first, Yao Jin probably won’t be here for a while.”

“Wait.” Fu Qiao quickly grabbed Xu Yingran’s hand. “You haven’t eaten breakfast, right? Let me get you something.”

With that, she dashed to a roadside breakfast stall and bought two steamed buns and a cup of hot soy milk before heading into the building with Xu Yingran.

Since they’d arrived so early, the tutoring center was still mostly empty. The receptionist, after learning they were there to register, asked them to wait in the seating area until the teacher arrived at 8 a.m. to process their enrollment.

Sitting in the waiting area, Xu Yingran ate the warm buns and sipped the soy milk, feeling her whole body revive.

Soon, more people began trickling in, and Yao Jin arrived right on time, spotting them and hurrying over.

“Did you guys register yet?” Yao Jin asked. “Traffic was bad, hope I’m not late.”

“Nope,” Xu Yingran said. “The teacher doesn’t start until 8. You’re just in time to pay.”

Yao Jin rolled her eyes at her. Hearing the receptionist call them over, the three of them headed into the conference room together.

The tuition fees were paid monthly, but there was a discount for paying the full amount upfront.

So Yao Jin straightforwardly paid the entire sum, including the cost of textbooks, totaling twelve thousand yuan.

Fu Qiao stared at the amount on the receipt in a daze, unsure if she had made the right decision by enrolling. After all, as an ordinary student, she had probably never seen that much money in her life.

After settling the payment, Yao Jin turned to Fu Qiao and said, “The fees are all paid. Classes are every Saturday. If you feel you’re falling behind, you can sign up for extra training, but that’ll cost more, payable monthly based on the number of sessions.”

Hearing this, Fu Qiao quickly shook her head. “No, no, I think the teacher’s instruction is good enough. I probably won’t fall too far behind.”

Xu Yingran looked at Fu Qiao and asked, “Have you figured out how to explain this to your parents? If you’re coming here every Saturday morning, they’ll notice sooner or later.”

“Mm… I haven’t thought about that yet,” Fu Qiao admitted. “I’m afraid they won’t agree, so I want to show them some results first before telling them.”

Yao Jin didn’t seem to mind. She checked the time and said, “Class is about to start. You should hurry.”

Fu Qiao nodded, stuffed her things into her bag, and asked the other two, “What about you two? Going home?”

“We’re already here, why go home?” Xu Yingran crossed her arms and glanced at Yao Jin. “Ah Jin and I will go shopping. Call us when class is over.”

Since it was the weekend, all three had brought their phones, making it easier to stay in touch.

Just as they stepped out of the finance office and headed toward the broadcasting classroom, they spotted a very familiar face.

Zhou Wan probably hadn’t expected to run into Fu Qiao and the others again. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she rushed over and asked, “Senior, what are you doing here?”

Noticing the textbooks and receipt in Fu Qiao’s hands, she jumped with joy. “Senior, you enrolled too?”

“Yeah,” Fu Qiao said with a smile. She quite liked this junior. “Just signed up today. I’ll be joining the class, though I’m not sure if I can keep up.”

“Senior, you’re so smart and talented, of course you’ll keep up!” Zhou Wan naturally looped her arm through Fu Qiao’s. “Even if you don’t, you’ve got me! Sit with me, and if you have any questions, just ask.”

Xu Yingran’s gaze fixed on their linked arms, her eyes burning with envy.

How had she forgotten about this girl?

Back at school, Zhou Wan had schemed to lure Fu Qiao away, but Xu Yingran had acted fast and snatched her back. Now, at the training center, Zhou Wan had the upper hand.

If only the enrollment fee weren’t so expensive, and if only Xu Yingran had any interest in broadcasting, Zhou Wan wouldn’t have gotten the chance to sit next to Fu Qiao.

The more Xu Yingran thought about it, the angrier she grew. Still, she forced a magnanimous smile and said to Zhou Wan, “In that case, I’ll leave our Xiao Qiao in your hands.”

Fu Qiao gave Xu Yingran a curious look. Her smile seemed so fake, and since when had she started talking so disgustingly?

‘Our Xiao Qiao’?

Fu Qiao shivered inwardly before saying to Xu Yingran, “You two go have fun for a while. I’ll meet you at the shopping center at 11:30.”

“Alright.” Xu Yingran gave them a forced smile and said, “Then I’ll come pick you up at noon, and we’ll go home together.”

Fu Qiao looked at her puzzled, feeling there was something odd about her tone today, yet nothing seemed outwardly wrong. She could only respond with a reluctant “Mhm” before heading to the classroom with Zhou Wan.

Once they were gone, Yao Jin nudged Xu Yingran with her elbow and said, “Stop smiling, it looks fake as hell. They can’t even see you anymore.”

Only then did Xu Yingran drop her grin, gritting her teeth as she muttered, “How could I forget about her?”

Yao Jin smirked at her, slinging an arm over Xu Yingran’s shoulder. “Being jealous won’t help. Fu Qiao isn’t even thinking about that, you’re just putting on a one-woman show here. Isn’t that boring?”

Xu Yingran huffed. “Fu Qiao is my wife. What’s wrong with me being jealous?”

Yao Jin frowned. “Since when was she your wife? Is this something from the future?”

Xu Yingran clamped her mouth shut before finally saying, “Just don’t ask. Let’s go check out the mall first. Since it’s Saturday, it should open early.”

“Sure,” Yao Jin said. “I want to buy some new clothes. Come with me, and if we find something that looks good on you, I might even get you an outfit.”

“Really?” Xu Yingran shot her a glance. “Well then, thank you, Miss Heiress. I’ll carry your bags for you in return.”

Yao Jin grinned. “Then let’s go, little Ranzi.”

The shopping center was fairly large, though not exactly high-end, just an ordinary plaza.

Xu Yingran and Yao Jin wandered around for a long time, with Yao Jin being impossibly picky, nothing seemed to meet her standards.

It was a mystery how she had ever agreed to transfer schools, given how oversized and ugly their school uniforms were. Yet Yao Jin had never once complained.

Hearing Xu Yingran’s grumbling, Yao Jin explained, “Uniforms are uniforms, clothes are clothes. No matter how ugly the uniform is, you have to wear it. But with regular clothes, if they don’t look good, why should I take them?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Xu Yingran said. “You’re absolutely right. Let’s check out this store, it looks decent.”

“Too much of a ‘pale, young, skinny’ aesthetic. Pass.”

“Then how about this one? All dark, edgy styles, you’d like that.”

“Too messy and dizzying. Pass.”

“…What about this luxury brand? Surely you’d like something here?”

“Why would a student wear something that fancy? Just asking to get kidnapped. Pass.”

Xu Yingran had no choice but to keep strolling around the mall with Yao Jin. By the time they had nearly covered the entire place, they had only managed to buy a few suitable outfits.

Just as they were thinking it was about time to head upstairs to the restaurants to grab a table,

“Weekends are crowded. If we’re late, we might have to queue,” Xu Yingran said, checking her phone. It was almost 11:30, perfect timing to go up and wait for Fu Qiao.

As she walked, she texted Fu Qiao and occasionally asked Yao Jin, “What do you feel like eating for lunch? My treat.”

Yao Jin thought for a moment. “Hot pot?”

“You smell like grease all over.” Though Xu Yingran said that, she was also craving hot pot, so she tugged at Yao Jin and said, “Hot pot is fine, but we need a split pot. Neither Fu Qiao nor I can handle too much spice lately.”

Yao Jin glanced at Xu Yingran’s lips, utterly disgusted.

Did they really have to flaunt their love right in front of her?

Just as Yao Jin was about to bicker with Xu Yingran, she spotted a very familiar figure behind them.

A woman in her thirties, dressed in a black wool coat with a silver-gray handbag draped over her wrist.

The woman was elegant and striking, bearing some resemblance to Yao Jin. At that moment, she was eyeing a pair of earrings and turned to pull the younger woman beside her, urging her to try them on.

Xu Yingran noticed Yao Jin’s sudden change in demeanor and turned to look, only to find her staring at the two women.

“What are you looking at?” Xu Yingran asked curiously. “Someone you know?”

Yao Jin’s eyes darkened before she finally replied, “That’s my mom.”