I Can't Fall for My Own Wife Again After Reincarnation, Right? (GL) - Chapter 4

Xu Yingran, who was pulled into the back kitchen by Fu Qiao, hadn’t realized what she had just called Fu Qiao’s parents. After all, the two of them had been “married” for so many years that Fu Qiao’s parents basically lived with them. Calling them “Mom and Dad” had become muscle memory. So when Fu Qiao turned around with an unhappy face and said something, Xu Yingran finally realized what she had done.

“It was already bad enough when you called me ‘wife’ in front of my classmates, but now you’re calling my parents ‘Mom and Dad’ too?” Fu Qiao was a bit angry and didn’t find Xu Yingran’s joke funny at all. She looked rather upset.

Xu Yingran blinked in surprise. “Did I really say that?”

Fu Qiao stared at her calmly, which was an answer in itself.

“I… I guess I just said it out of habit…” Xu Yingran saw Fu Qiao’s eyes widen slightly and quickly changed her excuse. “Maybe I’m still not fully awake. I was a little confused. I didn’t mean to call them Mom and Dad.”

Seeing that Fu Qiao didn’t believe her, she added, “Really.”

Fu Qiao couldn’t tell what was true and what was fake anymore. Xu Yingran was only 18, still practically a kid. Fu Qiao was shy by nature. Being called “wife” and having her parents called “Mom and Dad” made her feel uncomfortable. She glanced at Xu Yingran and said softly, “Don’t joke like that again next time.”

Xu Yingran looked at her and nodded gently.

The back kitchen was actually quite large. It was part of the restaurant that Fu Qiao’s parents had taken over, so there were various large freezers filled with frozen lamb and other pre-made skewers. In the center of the kitchen were two big basins filled with white bowls and chopsticks. Fu Qiao must’ve been washing them just now.

“Have you eaten yet?” Xu Yingran asked softly as she looked at Fu Qiao.

Fu Qiao had come to help right after school and obviously hadn’t had time to eat. She shook her head slightly.

Xu Yingran felt a pang in her heart when she saw that. It was almost 8 p.m. now—if Fu Qiao hadn’t eaten, she must be starving.

Xu Yingran looked around the back kitchen. Since this was a food place, there were plenty of disposable chopsticks. She grabbed a pair, tore the wrapper open, and picked up a dumpling, holding it up to Fu Qiao’s lips.

The warm dumpling touched her lips. Fu Qiao’s dark eyes widened a bit in confusion as she looked at Xu Yingran.

“Have a dumpling,” Xu Yingran said with a light smile. “My mom made these. They’re really good. Try one.”

Fu Qiao had eaten Zhao Yu’s dumplings before, but what surprised her was—why was Xu Yingran suddenly feeding her?

But with the dumpling already at her lips, she couldn’t just let Xu Yingran keep holding it there. So she slowly opened her mouth and ate the whole dumpling.

“How is it?” Xu Yingran tilted her head curiously and asked, “Is it good?”

Zhao Yu’s dumplings had thin wrappers and were stuffed full. Fu Qiao’s mouth was now completely full, her cheeks puffed out like a little rabbit foraging for food.

The more Xu Yingran looked, the more adorable she found Fu Qiao. Maybe it was because 18 was still young, but she just couldn’t connect this version of Fu Qiao with the one from the future. She felt like the current Fu Qiao was much cuter.

What a sin… How could she think her wife was cute…

Though she complained a little in her heart, as soon as Fu Qiao finished the dumpling, Xu Yingran quickly fed her another one. It was so natural, like she’d been feeding her wife for years. She even asked considerately, “Want some water? Are you choking?”

Fu Qiao wasn’t that delicate. She shook her head to say no, but just as she opened her mouth, another dumpling was pushed in.

One after another, she ate seven or eight dumplings before finally shaking her head firmly with her mouth shut, signaling she was full.

“Okay then.” Xu Yingran pulled out a tissue and gently wiped Fu Qiao’s mouth, then casually stuffed the used tissue into her pocket. She said, “I’ll bring the rest of the dumplings to your da—uncle and aunt. Leave these dishes. I’ll wash them later.”

Fu Qiao watched Xu Yingran walk out the door and couldn’t help but feel something was off about how eager she was to help. The two of them had always been close, but not *this* close—feeding dumplings, wiping mouths… It made Fu Qiao feel a little awkward.

Soon, Xu Yingran came back, now wearing a pair of blue rubber gloves. She smiled at Fu Qiao as she walked in. “Go sit over there for a while. I’ll do the washing.”

Fu Qiao shook her head. “You don’t need to help. Just go home.”

But Xu Yingran refused. “You’ve been working since school ended and haven’t even eaten. You haven’t had any rest. Just sit down. I’ll handle this.”

Fu Qiao felt a bit conflicted. She didn’t like others knowing about her family’s situation. She had good grades and a gentle appearance—she was the model student in the eyes of teachers and classmates. But her family’s business wasn’t exactly glamorous. When the grill was busy, she ended up smelling like oil and smoke. Even she disliked the way she smelled sometimes.

Teenagers have strong pride. Fu Qiao never said anything rude, but she really didn’t want others to know what her family did.

But Xu Yingran had grown up with her. They had been classmates since kindergarten and lived next door to each other. She probably knew more about Fu Qiao’s family than Fu Qiao did.

Watching Xu Yingran scrubbing the dishes, Fu Qiao felt too awkward to just stand there. She pulled over a small stool, sat down beside her, and looked up. “I’ll help too. It’ll go faster with two people.”

Xu Yingran thought that was reasonable—they could finish quickly and then she could go home to do homework.

The barbecue stall was doing well. After they washed those two basins of dishes, Fu Qiao’s parents brought another one. Seeing the two girls working in the back, her mom felt a little guilty. “It’s almost 9 already. You girls don’t need to help anymore. Go home and rest.”

Then she told Fu Qiao, “Finish your homework and go to sleep. Your dad and I won’t be home until after midnight. Don’t forget to lock all the doors and windows.”

Fu Qiao nodded. Xu Yingran smiled at them and said, “It’s okay, Uncle, Auntie. I’ll walk home with Qiao later.”

Fu Qiao’s mom beamed and told her, “Wait a bit. I grilled some skewers for you to take back to your parents. These are their favorites.”

Xu Yingran couldn’t refuse, so she accepted them. The warm disposable food container was full of meat, and it smelled amazing.

At 9 p.m., the streets were almost empty. Fu Qiao hadn’t changed since coming to the restaurant—just her work clothes. Her school uniform and backpack were placed together. When she got home, she’d have to hang the uniform to air out, or it would smell like smoke the next day.

Walking through the neighborhood, the smell of barbecue made Xu Yingran’s stomach grumble. She figured that Zhao Yu and the others probably wouldn’t eat much at this hour, so she could just wrap the leftover skewers in a flatbread for herself—definitely delicious.

As they walked, Xu Yingran realized Fu Qiao hadn’t spoken the whole time. Once they entered the quiet neighborhood, the silence became more obvious.

She looked back and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? You haven’t said a word.”

Fu Qiao shook her head and hugged her school uniform. “Nothing.”

“Are you tired from all that dishwashing?” Xu Yingran stopped walking and looked at her. “If you’re tired, just ask me to help tomorrow. Two people working is faster anyway.”

Fu Qiao glanced at her. “It’s fine. Why should you come help for no reason?”

Xu Yingran just laughed. “We’ve been married for so lo—ah…”

The air suddenly became very still.

Fu Qiao frowned slightly and looked at her in confusion. Then Xu Yingran rubbed her nose awkwardly and said, “I meant we’ve known each other for so many years. Helping you wash dishes is no big deal. Don’t overthink it.”

What kind of suspicious excuse was that?

Fu Qiao frowned again. Something was definitely off about Xu Yingran today.

“Are you hiding something from me?” she asked. “You’ve been acting weird all day.”

Xu Yingran gave an awkward laugh and said, “I’m totally fine. You’re just imagining things. I haven’t even done my homework yet. I’m going home first!”

Watching Xu Yingran run off, Fu Qiao was confused. Don’t they live in the same building?

—

**Habit**—it’s a scary thing.

That night, Xu Yingran originally wanted to go find Fu Qiao and ask to copy her homework. But somehow, she ended up helping wash dishes instead?

Only after finishing the dishes and getting home did Xu Yingran smack her forehead—she hadn’t done any homework!

She quickly pulled out her test papers. Senior year was tough—over ten sheets of homework in one night. She was totally overwhelmed.

Worse, her body clock always reminded her to sleep by 10 p.m. That’s right—she had a strict habit of going to bed before 11. Even after time-traveling back ten years, that habit remained.

But her homework wasn’t done. She forced herself to keep going, but her mind got fuzzy. Before 11, she was already slumped over her papers, fast asleep. She didn’t wake up until past 2 a.m.

With a sore back, Xu Yingran sat up in despair.

In the end, she gave up. Who cares about the stupid homework? She was going to sleep!

—

So the next morning, when Fu Qiao came knocking with a carton of milk in her mouth, Xu Yingran yanked her straight into the bedroom.

“Fu Qiao, my dear Fu Qiao,” Xu Yingran pressed her against the door. “Please, let me copy your homework. I promise I’ll finish in ten minutes!”

Fu Qiao was stunned, pinned against the wall. When she heard Xu Yingran’s request, she frowned slightly and said, “You’re in senior year and still copying homework? Do you want to fail?”

Xu Yingran didn’t care. She had to survive the moment.

“We’ll talk about graduating later. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up working at your place as a helper after graduation—and you’ll be the boss!”

As she spoke, she snatched Fu Qiao’s backpack and shamelessly started copying the worksheets.

Fu Qiao opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she just sighed and quietly sat down, waiting to go to school with her.