Wife, I’ve Been Reborn (GL) - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A Friend’s Reassurance and a Lingering Suspicion

Mu Nan tried to contact Chen Jiao for a long time but couldn’t reach her. Her mother said she had gone to a classmate’s house for the night. Mu Nan couldn’t imagine where Chen Jiao would go other than with her. Furthermore, Chen Jiao had been taken away by Zhao Shi while intoxicated. Mu Nan grew increasingly uneasy the more she thought about it.

Compared to her unease, Chen Jiao, on the other hand, had a good night’s sleep. She woke up the next morning to find herself alone in bed, a new set of clothes laid out on the bedside table. She put them on with a smile, finding them to be quite a good fit.

Chen Jiao met Mu Nan at the school gate. As soon as she saw her, she rushed forward. “Nannan, were you okay yesterday?” Mu Nan shook her head. “I’m fine.” “That’s good. Zhao Shi said those were his classmates from No. 1 High School. I thought they wouldn’t make things difficult for you.” Mu Nan’s bright eyes lost their focus for a moment, then slowly dimmed. Chen Jiao, however, had a shy expression. Mu Nan looked up at her expression and asked, “You and Zhao Shi…” The rest of the words wouldn’t come out. She hoped it wasn’t what she suspected; if it was, then Zhao Shi really took advantage of the situation!

Chen Jiao remained silent, not answering. The two stood at the school gate until they heard the class bell ring from inside, then slowly walked in. “Nannan…” As they were about to reach the classroom door, Chen Jiao quietly called out. Mu Nan stopped and turned to look at her. Chen Jiao shook her arm. “Nannan, Zhao Shi and I…” Mu Nan immediately became serious. “You two didn’t actually do anything, did you?” Chen Jiao lowered her head shyly, biting her lip, her face full of embarrassment. Mu Nan felt rage boiling inside her. Zhao Shi! Mu Nan was a little impulsive. “I’m going to find him!” Chen Jiao grabbed her arm, her face flushed red, her eyes slightly red. “Nannan, it was me…” Mu Nan stopped. “It was what?” Chen Jiao’s face turned beet red, tears welling in her eyes. “I seduced him!” “Don’t blame him!” Mu Nan’s eyes were slightly red with anger. “Chen Jiao!” Chen Jiao nodded and said nothing more.

Mu Nan thought for a moment, then sighed. Yesterday had completely changed her impression of Zhao Shi. Although she couldn’t remember everything, she felt Zhao Shi had ill intentions from the moment he arranged to meet them there. But she didn’t want to make things difficult for Chen Jiao. Chen Jiao saw that Mu Nan remained silent and tentatively pulled her arm. Seeing that she didn’t object, she confidently linked arms with her and walked into the classroom.

…

A Familiar Face and a New Plan

Morning self-study hadn’t started yet. As Mu Nan entered, she saw Xu Liangchen sitting next to her seat. Today, she wore a white long-sleeved shirt, with two buttons undone at the collar, revealing her exquisite collarbone and beautiful neck. Her hair wasn’t long, just past her neck, the dark strands forming a sharp contrast with her fair skin. At this moment, she was slightly looking out the window. From Mu Nan’s angle, she could just see her profile, as delicate as a sculpted jade. Because those sharp phoenix eyes were not visible, her aura was halved, and she was bathed in the morning light, so beautiful that Mu Nan was momentarily lost in thought.

Mu Nan swallowed, recalling the dream she had earlier. She felt a bit embarrassed to approach. She stood at the doorway, hesitating for two steps, until a classmate behind her grumbled for her to come in, which brought her back to reality.

“Morning.” Xu Liangchen heard a sound beside her and turned her head, her brows soft, her voice gentle. “Morning.” Mu Nan was lost in thought and forgot what she wanted to ask.

The teacher entered at this moment, holding a stack of test papers. As soon as Mu Nan saw the papers in her hand, she secretly thought, this isn’t good. With her test scores, who knew where she’d be ranked? But Xu Liangchen… with her excellent grades, she would definitely be seated in the front. She felt a little unhappy. Unhappy Mu Nan turned to look at the girl beside her. Xu Liangchen, however, showed no reaction, looking calm and composed.

Mu Nan poked Xu Liangchen’s hand, which was holding a book. “Xu Liangchen.” Xu Liangchen turned her head to look at her, ignoring her small gesture, her brows slightly furrowed. “What’s wrong?” Mu Nan bit her lip and quietly asked, “Do you know they’re changing seats?” Xu Liangchen nodded. “I know.” In fact, she was also considering this. Should I use this opportunity to move away from Mu Nan? But the Zhao Shi matter hadn’t been resolved yet, and Mu Nan’s grades would definitely not get her into that university. Because of her arrival, things had deviated from their original trajectory. She wanted to steer things back. But she was also afraid of overdoing it. And having something like what happened yesterday recur.

She was still thinking about how to properly manage her relationship with Mu Nan when she heard the teacher call her name.

…

A Strategic Move and a Tutoring Schedule

“Xu Liangchen!” Xu Liangchen stood up, seeing the teacher looking at her with a smile. “You did well on the test, keep up the good work.” She went up to collect her test paper, and the students below began to whisper. “First in the grade again?” “More than that, she’s fifty points ahead of the second-place student.” Mu Nan felt uncomfortable listening to their sour remarks.

It wasn’t long before it was her turn. She went up and glanced at it; she ranked thirtieth in the class. Not even in the top two hundred in the grade. She felt too embarrassed to go back to her seat with the test paper. The gap in ability between her and Xu Liangchen was too vast, how humiliating!

The homeroom teacher finished distributing the papers and then arranged the seating. She started with Xu Liangchen, the top student. In fact, she had already planned the seating, but moving Xu Liangchen was a bit troublesome. For example, if Xu Liangchen was placed in the front, it would affect the shorter students behind her. It was truly difficult.

Xu Liangchen held her test paper and called out, “Teacher, I have a question I don’t understand.” The teacher waved her hand. “What don’t you understand?” Xu Liangchen walked to the homeroom teacher’s side, leaned down, and rested against the podium. “Teacher, you don’t need to move my seat. I think it’s good as it is.” The homeroom teacher looked at Xu Liangchen. She felt that when Xu Liangchen wasn’t looking at her, she was gentle, but when she looked at her, those phoenix eyes had a sharp intensity that shouldn’t be underestimated.

After speaking, Xu Liangchen glanced at the scratch paper where the teacher had arranged the seats and saw Mu Nan’s name, next to Zhao Shi’s. Sure enough, she couldn’t escape Zhao Shi no matter what. No matter how much she tried to intervene, Zhao Shi always had the advantage of timing, location, and people. She pointed to Mu Nan’s name. “Just let Mu Nan sit next to me. Our homes are close, and next week, we’ll be starting tutoring. It will also be convenient for me to walk home with her after tutoring.” The homeroom teacher’s gaze remained on her. Xu Liangchen’s attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, her posture appropriate. “Alright, then your seats will remain unchanged for now.” The homeroom teacher nodded.

Xu Liangchen returned to her seat. Mu Nan leaned over. “You still have something you don’t understand? Let me see!” With that, she grabbed the test paper. Xu Liangchen tried to take it back, but Mu Nan dodged to the side. A blinding perfect score. Mu Nan muttered softly, “What? Isn’t it a perfect score?” Xu Liangchen didn’t reply. She took a schedule from her book and handed it to Mu Nan. Mu Nan’s face was covered in dark lines. “What is this?” Xu Liangchen lowered her head, her voice calm and flat. “Your tutoring plan.” Mu Nan felt the world grow dark. “Is it that strict? Holy cow, why do I have to get up at five in the morning???” Xu Liangchen didn’t even turn her head. “Because your foundation is too weak.”

Mu Nan looked around, not only getting up at five in the morning, but her bedtime was also moved to eleven at night?? Three small mock exams every three days, a big mock exam once a week, and the test papers would be set by Xu Liangchen. Mu Nan looked at Xu Liangchen resentfully, her lips twitching. “Can’t I not tutor?” Xu Liangchen tilted her head to look at her, her phoenix eyes cold. “What do you think?” Mu Nan swallowed, holding the schedule, and shrinking back. I’ll tutor, alright! Why are you so fierce?!

It wasn’t until the entire class’s seating arrangement had been drastically changed that Mu Nan realized she hadn’t been moved, and neither had Xu Liangchen. She secretly rejoiced. Even though she had someone sitting next to her who would pressure her to study every day, it was as if she had won the lottery, and she kept chuckling to herself. She couldn’t stop being happy until the first class started, her eyes curving, revealing her small canine teeth. She kept teasing Xu Liangchen during class. Until Xu Liangchen couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed her hand, placing it under the desk.

“Xu Liangchen…” “Look at the blackboard, not at me.” “Oh, okay…”