I Can't Fall for My Own Wife Again After Reincarnation, Right? (GL) - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Fu Qiao’s words not only stunned Xu Yingran, but also Yao Jin, who had been sitting beside them tapping away on her phone.

Yao Jin looked up, her eyes darting nervously between the two of them. A thought flashed through her mind—she really was a third wheel here. But then again, being a third wheel seemed kind of fun. Carefully, she turned on her phone’s camera, ready to capture this rare moment.

Xu Yingran was completely taken aback. She hadn’t expected Fu Qiao to suddenly ask her such a question. After a long pause, she mumbled, “Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”

Fu Qiao noticed how Xu Yingran avoided her gaze, and a pang of disappointment flickered in her chest. But remembering Zhou Wan’s request, she steeled herself and pressed on, “Just tell me—do you like girls or not?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Xu Yingran caught Yao Jin filming her. Annoyed, she reached out and covered the camera lens. “What are you recording me for?”

Yao Jin replied, “None of your business.”

Fu Qiao echoed, “Don’t mind her.”

Xu Yingran was furious. So the two of them were in sync, ganging up on her?

The steam from the hot pot swirled in front of Xu Yingran’s eyes. Her entire body burned with some indescribable emotion, her ears turning bright red. She stole a glance at Fu Qiao before quickly looking away again.

It was as if a soft, feathery touch had brushed against her heart. Hesitantly, she rubbed the tip of her nose and let out a quiet, “Mhm.”

Truth be told, Xu Yingran had realized long ago that she wasn’t interested in boys. They were rough and uncouth—how could they compare to girls?

Before her parents passed away, her greatest wish had been to have a beautiful, gentle, and sweet girlfriend.

Later, when she started dating Fu Qiao, that wish was fulfilled—but somehow, it still felt like something was missing.

Adolescence was romantic, like the weather in June—hot yet refreshing.

Or like the summer rains that swept through the city, knocking leaves from trees and tapping against windowsills, bringing with them the heat of love.

In the years that followed, Xu Yingran never thought there was anything wrong with liking girls. Almost everyone around her knew about her relationship with Fu Qiao, and no one ever said anything about it. But now, being asked so abruptly, she still felt a little awkward.

Mostly, she was just embarrassed.

After all, the one asking was her wife. To Xu Yingran’s ears, “Do you like girls?” translated to, “Do you like me?”

Ah, how could she possibly answer that in front of an outsider (Yao Jin)?

So after that quiet “Mhm,” her face flushed red. She scratched her cheek uncomfortably and peeked at Fu Qiao through the swirling steam.

Fu Qiao seemed a little upset, her gaze fixed on Xu Yingran in a strange way that made Xu Yingran’s heart skip a beat.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Yingran asked curiously. “Why did you suddenly ask me that?”

Fu Qiao was silent for a long time before shaking her head. She dipped the meat roll Xu Yingran had given her into a sesame sauce-laden dip and ate it slowly before finally saying, “It’s nothing. I was just… asking.”

Xu Yingran originally wanted to ask something more, but since Yao Jin was recording with her phone, she ultimately lowered her head and ordered two more meat rolls without saying anything.

It really wasn’t convenient to talk outside, but that didn’t matter.

After all, Xu Yingran and Fu Qiao were childhood friends—her home was right next door. Once they finished eating and went home, she could ask properly then.

But after the hotpot, Fu Qiao made up some excuse and slipped away before Xu Yingran could even react.

Yao Jin, having just paid the bill, glanced back and chuckled awkwardly. “What’s going on between you two?”

Xu Yingran thought for a moment before leaning in to whisper to Yao Jin, “A-Jin, I think Fu Qiao might be about to confess to me.”

Yao Jin: ?

Where did this confidence come from?

“How did you even get that idea? She just asked you one question,” Yao Jin said, eyeing her curiously.

“You don’t understand,” Xu Yingran declared solemnly. “You already know my secret, but there’s one more thing I haven’t told you.”

Yao Jin studied her, sensing a long explanation coming, and pointed downstairs. “Should we go to the café on the first floor and talk properly?”

At the café, Xu Yingran bought two coffees. She had already let Yao Jin pay for the meal, so she could at least cover this small expense.

The moment they sat down, Xu Yingran said, “Actually, Fu Qiao and I are already married.”

Yao Jin nearly spat out the coffee she had just sipped.

What kind of earth-shattering secret was this?!

What had been a perfectly normal trio outing had now turned into Yao Jin’s solo singles’ party?

Xu Yingran recounted every detail of her conflict with Fu Qiao, and the more she spoke, the worse Yao Jin’s expression became.

At this point, Yao Jin was starting to wonder if Xu Yingran had schizophrenia. She kept claiming to be from ten years in the future, yet the things she said still managed to baffle Yao Jin.

Sipping her sweetened, milky coffee, Yao Jin thought for a long time before deciding to humor her.

At worst, they could just visit a psychiatrist—it couldn’t be less interesting than listening to gossip.

“So, according to you, Fu Qiao will bring you a love letter and confess soon?”

“The timing might be a bit earlier than expected, but yes, that’s how it should go.”

Xu Yingran sighed helplessly and said in distress, “A-Jin, if Fu Qiao really confesses to me, should I accept or not?”

Yao Jin frowned slightly. “There’s not even a hint of it happening yet, and you’re already thinking about whether to accept?”

“This is called preparing for the future,” Xu Yingran said seriously to her friend. “I’m considering things that are definitely going to happen.”

Yao Jin shrugged and didn’t engage further. After a long pause, she finally said, “Xu Yingran, have you ever considered that maybe Fu Qiao won’t confess to you at all?”

Xu Yingran: ?

Yao Jin continued, “You two have known each other for over ten years, been in the same class since kindergarten. If there were feelings, why wait until now?”

Xu Yingran: ……

Yao Jin added, “Maybe Fu Qiao never confessed to you in the first place.”

“How is that possible?” Xu Yingran widened her eyes in shock. “She personally handed me the love letter—how could she not have confessed?”

“Did she say she liked you?”

“Did you even read the letter?”

“Look,” Yao Jin said. “Fu Qiao never actually said she liked you, and you didn’t even open the love letter to read it. How can you claim Fu Qiao confessed to you? Maybe she was just delivering someone else’s love letter, and you happened to misunderstand?”

Xu Yingran immediately stood up in agitation. “Impossible!!!”

In reality, nothing was truly impossible.

Yao Jin’s words seemed prophetic, leaving Xu Yingran utterly anxious. Even after returning home, she couldn’t sit still, pacing back and forth like she had nails in her backside, constantly opening and closing the door to check when Fu Qiao—who had gone to the bookstore—would finally come home.

In the end, Zhao Yu couldn’t take it anymore and locked her in her room to do homework, promising to let her know when Fu Qiao returned.

But how could anyone focus on homework with such thoughts weighing on their mind?

Xu Yingran stared at the colorful test papers in front of her. She recognized every word, yet none of it registered in her brain.

It was as if an impenetrable wall had suddenly been erected in her mind, blocking out all the knowledge points. Inside, a roundtable discussion had begun, debating the one question tormenting Xu Yingran.

Back then, it was Fu Qiao who had confessed first. At the time, Xu Yingran had lost her parents and felt utterly alone, craving someone to stay by her side—and Fu Qiao had appeared at just the right moment.

Xu Yingran had no reason to refuse her. They knew each other inside out, childhood friends with no secrets between them. She didn’t dislike Fu Qiao; in fact, in that moment, she even thought that if she were to find a girlfriend, Fu Qiao would be the perfect fit.

Yes, a fit.

Back then, Xu Yingran didn’t understand what love was. After being together for so long, marriage had followed naturally, their relationship flowing gently like a quiet stream—until, in the end, they felt more like family than lovers.

Xu Yingran had always assumed Fu Qiao must have loved her to be with her, just as she had thought Fu Qiao was suitable.

But now Yao Jin was suggesting it might have all been a misunderstanding?

Damn it, how could it be a misunderstanding?

Yet Xu Yingran recalled that when Fu Qiao had handed her the love letter, she hadn’t actually said anything about liking her. It was Xu Yingran who had done most of the talking before unilaterally deciding they were together.

What about that love letter?

Xu Yingran clutched her head, trying to remember. She hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time—once they were together, did it even matter whether she read it or not?

But where was the letter?

Oh.

Right. Xu Yingran remembered now—Fu Qiao had taken it back.

She could still picture that empty schoolyard after class, Fu Qiao standing frozen for a long moment after Xu Yingran’s outburst, before suddenly snatching the letter from her hands and taking two steps back, her face flushed as she stammered, “I—I have something to do. Wait for me at the school gate!”

Xu Yingran hadn’t thought much of it at the time, assuming Fu Qiao was just shy and needed space to process everything. So she had obediently waited at the gate for Fu Qiao to finish up so they could walk home together.

She remembered Fu Qiao had taken a long time, and when she finally emerged, her mood seemed subdued.

But Xu Yingran, oblivious back then, had simply gazed at her brand-new girlfriend, her mind a whirlwind of emotions, and reached out to hold Fu Qiao’s hand as they walked home together.

After that, the details blurred—but they were together, and that was that.

The two studied together, took exams together, and went shopping together.

Occasionally, they would sneak around outside campus to do shy, intimate things.

Like holding hands. Like kissing.

Xu Yingran still remembered the first time she kissed Fu Qiao—both their faces had flushed red as lanterns, and neither dared to speak first on the way back.

Now, Yao Jin claimed it was all a misunderstanding, making Xu Yingran feel as if the ground had vanished beneath her feet. Restless and agitated, she almost wanted to jump straight out the window to find Fu Qiao and make things clear.

Pitter-patter—

The oppressive sky, heavy with gloom all day, finally broke into rain in the afternoon. It drummed against the window by Xu Yingran’s desk, the world outside dark and overcast, the entire city seemingly swallowed by the downpour.

Had Fu Qiao come back?

With such heavy rain and no umbrella, would she get soaked?

The weather had been fine when they left in the morning—why did it have to rain now?

Xu Yingran couldn’t sit still. She rushed out of her room to grab an umbrella and head to the bus stop to pick her up—only to hear Zhao Yu, chatting while sorting vegetables outside, suddenly call out:

“Xiao Qiao, you’re back? How’d you manage without an umbrella?”

“It just started raining. I ran back.”

“Oh dear, hurry inside and change! Look how drenched you are—don’t catch a cold!”

Hearing this, Xu Yingran flung the door open before even properly putting on her shoes. There, standing at the stairwell, completely soaked, was Fu Qiao.

Xu Yingran froze.