I Can't Fall for My Own Wife Again After Reincarnation, Right? (GL) - Chapter 42

Xu Yingran felt that this endless rain was inherently at odds with her.

Aside from losing her parents in the rain and mist in her past life, many other events had been accompanied by such downpours—dark and oppressive, as if trying to swallow everything whole.

And as luck would have it, today happened to be another rainy day.

Fu Qiao probably hadn’t expected Xu Yingran to come out either. After locking eyes with her for a moment, she turned away and quickly headed toward her own home. Xu Yingran snapped out of her daze, tossed aside the umbrella in her hand, and hurried after Fu Qiao.

“Fu Qiao! Fu Qiao!”

Just as Fu Qiao turned to close the door, Xu Yingran nimbly slipped inside.

With a soft click, the door shut behind them. Fu Qiao stared blankly at the person in front of her, taking a long moment before she finally snapped back to reality. She averted her gaze, refusing to meet Xu Yingran’s eyes, and asked in a low voice, “Why did you follow me?”

“I…”

Xu Yingran wasn’t entirely sure why she had followed either. But seeing Fu Qiao drenched in the rain, she couldn’t help but find her strikingly beautiful.

The autumn rain was cold and relentless, soaking the loose strands of hair on Fu Qiao’s forehead. The wet locks accentuated her fair, delicate face, giving her an almost fragile beauty that made Xu Yingran involuntarily recall their kiss in the infirmary not long ago.

Though, to be honest, it could hardly be called a kiss—more like an accident.

She and Fu Qiao had done plenty of things together before. Kissing was nothing; they’d been intimate in every way imaginable. But now, when Xu Yingran tried to recall those moments, her memories were hazy. The only thing that stood out was that “accident” in the infirmary.

Fu Qiao looked so beautiful right now. She really wanted to kiss her again.

Xu Yingran stared at Fu Qiao’s soft, pink lips, her mouth suddenly dry with longing. But before she could act on the impulse, Fu Qiao decisively turned and walked away.

“Hey?!” Xu Yingran pouted, watching Fu Qiao’s retreating back. “Where are you going?”

I haven’t even kissed you yet. How can you just leave?

Fu Qiao ignored her and went to the bathroom to grab a dry towel, patting her hair dry. After a moment’s thought, she decided to take a shower and turned back to Xu Yingran. “I’m going to shower. Do you need something?”

Xu Yingran blinked, then shook her head. “N-no… not really… Well, actually, I just wanted to ask why you suddenly brought up that question at lunch today…”

Her voice trailed off as she trailed behind Fu Qiao like a lost puppy.

Xu Yingran watched as Fu Qiao gathered her clothes, slippers, and even retrieved a freshly dried bra from the balcony. When Fu Qiao turned and saw Xu Yingran still following her, she sighed and asked, “Are you going to follow me into the shower too?”

“I-I-I…” Wouldn’t say no to that.

Xu Yingran’s face burned red. They had taken baths together while traveling before.

And of course, they’d soaked in hot springs too.

Not to mention all the other things they’d done…

Fu Qiao had no idea Xu Yingran’s mind was currently filled with indecent thoughts. Assuming she was just embarrassed, Fu Qiao sidestepped her and said, “If you’ve got nothing to do, you can help me gather the clothes from the balcony and put them on the living room sofa.”

Only after Fu Qiao disappeared into the bathroom did Xu Yingran belatedly mumble, “Oh.”

Outside, the rain pattered softly against the windows. Inside, the sound of Fu Qiao’s shower filled the quiet space.

Xu Yingran finished gathering the clothes and sat stiffly on the stool by the dining table, her face flushed red.

Oh dear, what should she do now?

Unable to help herself, Xu Yingran glanced around. She had no idea where Uncle and Auntie had gone. With the rain today, they couldn’t set up their stall, so why wasn’t anyone home?

If Hu Mei and the others were here, Xu Yingran probably wouldn’t feel so awkward.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her, but the sound of the rain outside seemed to grow fainter and fainter, almost inaudible, while the sound of water from the bathroom grew so loud it felt like it was pounding against her eardrums.

It was as if Fu Qiao was showering right in front of her.

When Xu Yingran realized this, she quickly shook her head, trying to dispel those messy thoughts—but new ones just crept in instead.

Shaking them off wasn’t enough. Xu Yingran knew every inch of Fu Qiao’s body. She even knew about the small mole near the top of her thigh. Whenever they got intimate, Xu Yingran loved to lick that mole until the tiny spot turned bright red before she’d stop.

The sound of water in the bathroom abruptly ceased, followed by the rustling of fabric.

That was Fu Qiao drying herself.

Xu Yingran could picture it—Fu Qiao would first use a clean towel to dry her fair neck, then her slender, delicate arms. After the white towel glided over her narrow waist and honeyed curves, she would lift one long leg to dry the inside, including that small mole, before finally putting on her underwear, lifting her full chest, and fastening the clasp behind her back.

By now, Fu Qiao must have slipped into a long nightgown and changed into a fresh pair of slippers before stepping out of the bathroom, towel-drying her damp hair.

When Xu Yingran looked up, sure enough, Fu Qiao stood before her with a white towel draped over her shoulders, wearing a clean pair of pink-and-white fuzzy slippers.

Their eyes met, both faces flushed.

Fu Qiao’s was from the heat of the shower.

Xu Yingran’s was from the heat of her own imagination.

“You finished showering?” Xu Yingran asked, though she already knew the answer. “Let me dry your hair for you—don’t catch a cold.”

Fu Qiao had been about to say she could do it herself, but Xu Yingran was already up, retrieving the hairdryer from the living room cabinet and motioning for Fu Qiao to sit in the spot she had just vacated.

Seeing Xu Yingran’s “earnest” expression, Fu Qiao hesitated only briefly before sitting down in front of her.

The hairdryer buzzed loudly, hot air blasting, drowning out the sound of the rain outside. Even the voice of the person behind her seemed distant.

“…What did you do this afternoon?” Xu Yingran asked quietly from behind.

Fu Qiao thought for a moment before answering, “Went to the bookstore to read for a while.”

Xu Yingran didn’t believe her but didn’t argue. Once Fu Qiao’s hair was dry, she reached out and gently stroked the soft strands.

Fu Qiao’s hair was incredibly fine, each strand silky to the touch—unlike Xu Yingran’s, which was stiff enough to prick someone. With her youth, Fu Qiao’s long, raven-black hair was even smoother.

It looked just like the fur of some pampered little pet.

Running her fingers through the soft locks, Xu Yingran felt as if the delicate strands were brushing against her heart, back and forth.

It tickled—so much that it ached.

“Fu Qiao,” Xu Yingran thought for a long moment before speaking. “About me liking girls… can you keep it a secret for me?”

Fu Qiao was slightly taken aback and turned to look at her. “A secret?”

Xu Yingran nodded. “I don’t want my parents to know about this for now. If they found out I like girls, they’d definitely be very troubled. I don’t want them to worry about me.”

In her previous life, Zhao Yu and Xu Chunjiang never got the chance to hear about this. Although Xu Yingran had no intention of hiding it from them, she still wanted to find the right opportunity to tell them herself.

Seeing Xu Yingran’s serious expression, Fu Qiao remained silent for a while before nodding. “I understand. I won’t tell your parents.”

Having reached this understanding, Xu Yingran couldn’t help but smile at Fu Qiao. As she put away the hairdryer, she casually asked, “What about your parents? Are they still setting up their stall in this rain?”

“No,” Fu Qiao came over and took the hairdryer from Xu Yingran’s hands, lowering her voice. “It’s been getting colder lately, so they’ve stopped setting up the stall. They went out for something today and won’t be back until evening.”

Xu Yingran asked curiously, “What’s the matter?”

Fu Qiao glanced at her and lowered her head. “Nothing important. I don’t really know the details.”

Xu Yingran didn’t doubt this. Parents always treated them like children, never telling them anything, so she didn’t press further.

When people relax, they often let their guard down against the obvious.

Xu Yingran had never imagined that Fu Qiao would leave her. Even after Yao Jin mentioned those ‘possibilities,’ Xu Yingran still believed such a thing wouldn’t happen.

What was their relationship?

If they were going to separate, it would have happened long ago. Why wait until now?

So Xu Yingran stayed with Fu Qiao in her room until Fu Qiao’s parents returned, at which point she left. When Fu Jun and Hu Mei came in, they seemed to be discussing moving something, but Xu Yingran didn’t pay it much mind and cheerfully headed home.

Zhao Yu watched her daughter leave the house looking miserable only to return in high spirits and couldn’t help but shake her head.

She really was still a child, laughing carelessly even when the Fu family was preparing to move.

On Monday, Xu Yingran went to school with Fu Qiao as usual.

After the flag-raising ceremony, the school kept the senior students behind to give them a lofty speech, the gist of which was that they had too much free time and shouldn’t just focus on having fun at home but should study harder.

Back in the classroom, Xu Yingran was about to talk to Fu Qiao when she saw her being called to the teacher’s office.

Bored, Xu Yingran leaned on the corridor railing with Yao Jin, idly plucking at split ends in her hair. “Ah Jin,” she said, “why does the homeroom teacher always call Fu Qiao over? She’s not the class president—at most, she’s just the discipline committee member. What could the teacher possibly need to talk to her about every day?”

Yao Jin rested her head in her hands, letting Xu Yingran fiddle with her split ends. They probably looked like monkeys on a hill, grooming each other under the sun out of sheer boredom.

“You’re asking me? Who should I ask?” Yao Jin played with her own hair, grimacing at the sight of all the split ends. She was sure she must have been overusing her brain for her hair to split this badly.

“Huh?” Xu Yingran said, trying to make conversation. “Did you tell your dad about running into your mom last Saturday?”

Yao Jin didn’t respond, just stared blankly at her split ends.

Xu Yingran could tell from her expression that she definitely hadn’t mentioned it and sighed. “I hope your parents’ divorce proceedings wrap up soon.”

Yao Jin thought the same.

They’d never had any real affection to begin with, and after nearly twenty years of going in circles, splitting up was inevitable.

But starting an affair before the divorce was even finalized? That was unacceptable.

Yao Jin still remembered what that assistant looked like—a cool, beautiful woman. How could she be so willing to be a married woman’s mistress?

“Some people will do anything for money,” Yao Jin said coldly.

Xu Yingran was baffled by her sudden remark and was about to say something when she spotted a familiar figure approaching from down the hallway.

Zhou Wan, carrying something in her arms, knocked on the teacher’s office door and closed it right in front of them.

Xu Yingran narrowed her eyes slightly and tugged hard on Yao Jin’s hair. “My love rival is here.”

Yao Jin: Why are you pulling my hair when your love rival shows up?