Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 526

Coming back to his senses, Xu Xiuwen didn’t offer any explanation.

He glanced down at the time on his phone and said to Liu Ruo, “Auntie, it’s almost two o’clock. Let’s go get something to eat first.”

Hearing this, Liu Ruo replied, “Xiao Xu, let’s go back home to eat. I’ll cook for you.”

Xu Xiuwen thought about it and agreed.

“But there aren’t many ingredients at home. We’ll need to buy some.”

So, Xu Xiuwen took Liu Ruo to a nearby market to pick up some fresh ingredients. Then, the two of them headed back to Jiangning Huayuan.

On the way back, Liu Ruo looked at Xu Xiuwen seriously and said, “Xiao Xu, thank you for buying me so many clothes today. Don’t worry, once I make some money, I’ll definitely pay you back. I’m not someone who takes advantage of others.”

Xu Xiuwen glanced at Liu Ruo and responded with a hum, “Alright, it came out to a little over 3,000. Let’s just say 3,000. Pay me back when you have the money, there’s no rush.”

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, hearing the number “3,000” still made Liu Ruo’s heart skip a beat.

The cost of living in the city was way too high.

She had only brought a little over 2,000 with her. Even if she gave it all to Xu Xiuwen, it still wouldn’t be enough.

However, what Liu Ruo didn’t know was that 3,000 was already a white lie from Xu Xiuwen.

He didn’t want to give her too much pressure, so he deliberately lowered the number.

In reality, those branded clothes, shoes, and the hair styling—everything together—had cost no less than 30,000.

When they arrived downstairs, Xu Xiuwen and Liu Ruo began carrying the bags toward the elevator.

At that moment, he started regretting not buying a suitcase.

It took the two of them three trips back and forth to get everything into the elevator.

Then, after another round of effort, they finally moved everything into the apartment.

They placed the shopping bags in the front hall.

Xu Xiuwen said, “Let’s just leave them here for now. I’m hungry—let’s cook something first.”

Hearing this, Liu Ruo picked out some of the fresh ingredients they had just bought and headed toward the kitchen.

Xu Xiuwen followed her in to help.

As the saying goes, “When men and women share the work, the task becomes easier.”

That saying held some truth—at the very least, cooperation made things more efficient.

Xu Xiuwen and Liu Ruo worked together in the kitchen with seamless coordination.

Xu Xiuwen took on the role of the assistant.

Liu Ruo didn’t even need to say what she needed—before she could ask, Xu Xiuwen had already prepared it, as if they had some kind of telepathic connection.

This made Liu Ruo see him in a new light once again.

Watching Liu Ruo, who had transformed into a sophisticated city woman yet still cooked with such skill, Xu Xiuwen found her even more beautiful.

Soon, they had prepared four dishes.

Just as they were busy in the kitchen, Xu Xiuwen’s phone suddenly rang.

He took out his phone and saw that it was a call from An Shishi.

Xu Xiuwen glanced at Liu Ruo before walking to the living room with his phone, pressing the answer button.

“Shishi, what’s up?”

An Shishi pouted playfully, “Hubby, I’m all alone in the dorm with nothing to do. Can I come over and keep you company?”

Xu Xiuwen glanced toward the kitchen where Liu Ruo was and said, “I’m not a kid—I don’t need someone to keep me company. School is about to start soon. You spent so much time traveling with me yesterday, you should rest and not run around.”

Even though Xu Xiuwen’s words were meant to get her to rest, An Shishi still felt a little disappointed.

She couldn’t help but pout, “Hmph, bad hubby! I wanted to come see you, and you’re not even happy about it. Now I’m mad.”

Xu Xiuwen said, “Getting angry makes you age faster. How about I come find you later?”

An Shishi giggled. “But I’m already here.”

“What? You’re here? Where are you?”

An Shishi laughed. “I’m downstairs. I can already see your car.”

Xu Xiuwen was startled.

“Don’t come up yet.”

“Huh? Why?” An Shishi asked, puzzled.

“It’s nothing. I just don’t have time to keep you company right now. I might have to go out later.”

“That’s okay! I can just stay at your place and watch TV while I wait for you to come back.”

“That won’t work.” Xu Xiuwen still tried to stop her but couldn’t think of a good excuse.

His repeated refusals finally made An Shishi suspicious and unhappy.

“Hubby, why won’t you let me come up? You’re not hiding some vixen in there, are you?”

Xu Xiuwen’s heart skipped a beat.

He smiled wryly and thought, There’s no vixen, but your mom is here.

He had already promised Liu Ruo not to tell An Shishi about her.

Xu Xiuwen was a man of his word.

Besides, he couldn’t even imagine what An Shishi would think if she found Liu Ruo in his apartment.

If she thought he was hiding something and suspected there was an improper relationship between them, there’d be no way for him to explain.

“Hubby, why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me there is a vixen! Hmph! Who is it this time? Someone I know? Is it Siyu?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! Siyu? Where did she even come from? There’s nothing between us! Don’t forget, she’s my roommate’s girlfriend.”

Xu Xiuwen first reprimanded her seriously, then softened his tone to explain, “There’s no vixen around me. If there was, it’d be you, my little fox.”

An Shishi didn’t get upset at being scolded.

Instead, she was amused by his words and laughed.

“If there’s no one, then why won’t you let me come up?”

Xu Xiuwen had a headache. “Fine, fine, come up if you want. Who’s stopping you? Alright, I’m hanging up now—I’m cooking.”

“Mm-hmm! See you soon, hubby!”

Xu Xiuwen pretended to stay calm as he ended the call.

But the moment he hung up, panic set in.

“Auntie, stop cooking for now. Shishi’s coming up soon.”

Hearing this, Liu Ruo, who was in the kitchen, also panicked.

She immediately stepped out, anxiously asking, “What do we do? What do we do?”

Seeing her flustered, Xu Xiuwen calmed down instead. “Auntie, don’t worry. Just hide for now. I’ll call you once she leaves.”

“Okay.” Liu Ruo was flustered but agreed.

She turned around and quickly ran toward the bedroom.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiuwen pretended to stay in the kitchen, continuing to cook.

Then, he suddenly remembered—All those shopping bags from this morning are still scattered in the front hall!

If An Shishi saw them, she’d definitely get suspicious!

Xu Xiuwen had no idea how much time he had left before she arrived.

Without hesitation, he dashed to the front hall, yanked open the door to Room A, and started grabbing the shopping bags, tossing them inside as fast as he could.

At that moment—

He faintly heard the sound of footsteps approaching outside.

Xu Xiuwen glanced behind him—there were still quite a few bags left in the front hall!

Now it was a race against time between him and An Shishi.

The footsteps stopped at his door.

Next, he heard a key being inserted into the lock.

Click!

The door opened!

“Hubby~”

As soon as An Shishi stepped in and saw Xu Xiuwen standing by the door, she beamed with joy.

She ran toward him and jumped into his arms.

An Shishi wrapped her arms around Xu Xiuwen’s neck, even lifting one leg playfully.

“Hubby, thank you for coming to the door to welcome me. Hehe, you’re so sweet.”

As An Shishi spoke, she stood on tiptoes and kissed the corner of Xu Xiuwen’s lips.

On the surface, Xu Xiuwen was smiling, but his heart was pounding like crazy.

Just one second—

At the very last second before An Shishi opened the door, Xu Xiuwen had managed to throw all the shopping bags into Room A.

And he even closed the door in time.

As An Shishi leaned in to kiss him, he subtly released the doorknob of Room A, which he had been gripping behind his back.

Then, he spread his arms and spun her half a turn in his embrace—so that she was now facing away from Room A.

The quick kiss ended.

An Shishi, still holding onto Xu Xiuwen’s arm, asked, “Hubby, why didn’t you want me to come over?”

Xu Xiuwen didn’t know how to answer, so he stuck to his previous excuse. “I might have to go out later, so I wouldn’t be able to keep you company.”

An Shishi replied, “That’s okay! You can go out, and I’ll just wait for you here.”

Xu Xiuwen forced a smile. “Alright.”

After a brief pause, he added, “Go change your shoes. I still have food cooking in the kitchen.”

Hearing this, An Shishi let go of him, surprised. “Hubby, you haven’t eaten yet?”

“I got caught up with something earlier.”

“Aww, my poor hubby, working so hard that you can’t even eat on time. Here, another kiss as a reward.”

She leaned in again and kissed the corner of his lips.

Xu Xiuwen chuckled. “Alright, if you keep kissing me, the food’s going to burn.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the kitchen.

An Shishi changed into house slippers at the entrance before heading to the dining area.

When she saw the four dishes and a soup on the table, she froze for a moment.

“Hubby, is someone else here?”

“No, it’s just me.”

Xu Xiuwen’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Then why did you cook so much food if you’re eating alone?”

Xu Xiuwen was at a loss for words.

After a few seconds of silence, he stiffly explained, “I accidentally made too much.”

“Oh… I see…”

An Shishi nodded, seemingly believing him.

She didn’t press further.

Xu Xiuwen let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He finished cooking the last dish, plated it, and brought it out.

“Do you want a bowl?” he asked.

An Shishi shook her head.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuwen only scooped a bowl of rice for himself.

After sitting down, he started eating.

An Shishi sat beside him.

Xu Xiuwen could feel her gaze fixed on him the entire time.

He put down his chopsticks and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Resting her chin on one hand, An Shishi gazed at him with a bright smile. “I’m just watching my handsome hubby eat.”

“With a sweet mouth like that, are you trying to get me to buy you something? Just say it. I’ll take you shopping when I have time.”

An Shishi shook her head. “I don’t want anything. Don’t think I’m that materialistic, okay? I just really feel like you’ve gotten even more handsome.”

“I don’t see it. No one else has said that, either. You’re the only one who thinks so.”

An Shishi tilted her head. “Could it just be my imagination? Haha… maybe it’s because love is blind. To me, my hubby will always be the most handsome.”

Xu Xiuwen glanced at her with a smile and shook his head.

An Shishi really knew how to make people happy.

Xu Xiuwen continued eating.

As he ate.

Suddenly, Xu Xiuwen felt something off on his thigh.

It was as if something extra had appeared there.

He lowered his head to look—

A small, snow-white foot had entered his field of vision.

The smooth, fair instep was taut, like a drawn bowstring.

The owner of this foot—

There was no need to ask.

It was definitely An Shishi.

Under normal circumstances, Xu Xiuwen actually liked her little feet quite a bit.

He wouldn’t even mind playing around during a meal.

But today, he was in no mood for it.

He had just narrowly avoided being caught by An Shishi with his future mother-in-law in the house.

His nerves had been on edge the whole time.

Now that he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, how could he possibly have the energy for this?

Xu Xiuwen shook his head and said, “Shishi, I’m eating. Stop messing around.”

An Shishi nudged her foot forward and flirtatiously batted her eyes. “Hubby, what are you talking about? Who’s messing around?”

Seeing that words weren’t working, Xu Xiuwen didn’t bother arguing anymore.

He suddenly clamped his legs together, trapping An Shishi’s foot so she couldn’t pull away.

Then, he reached his left hand under the table and started tickling her sole.

An Shishi immediately lost her composure, bursting into giggles.

Her body swayed back and forth as she laughed uncontrollably.

“Hubby, I was wrong! Spare me! I won’t do it again…”

Hearing her plea for mercy, Xu Xiuwen finally let her go.

An Shishi quickly retracted her foot.

He thought that would be the end of it, that she’d behave now.

But instead—

An Shishi pulled her foot back, then suddenly said, “Ah, it’s so hot in here.”

With that, she took off the white outer shirt she had been wearing.

Underneath, she had on a spaghetti-strap dress.

The dress was short and low-cut.

Before, the outer shirt had covered her up, revealing only her long, fair legs.

But now that she had taken it off—

Her curves were on full display.

Xu Xiuwen wasn’t a fan of his woman wearing overly revealing clothes in public.

At most, he could tolerate occasional shorts and skirts.

But An Shishi had been wearing the outer shirt over the dress, so no one else could see anything.

Since that was the case, he merely glanced at her and didn’t say anything.

However, seeing that Xu Xiuwen remained unfazed, An Shishi decided to up the stakes.

She suddenly said, “Hubby, I’m going to get some water. Do you want any?”

Xu Xiuwen shook his head. “No, I’m good.”

An Shishi nodded, then got up and walked toward the kitchen.

Xu Xiuwen looked over—

And instantly froze.

This spaghetti-strap dress had another hidden feature—

The front was already low-cut, showing cleavage and legs, but the back—

It was completely open.

“An Shishi!”

Xu Xiuwen’s voice rose, clearly expressing his disapproval.

An Shishi feigned innocence. “What’s wrong?”

“What kind of outfit is this? Who let you wear something like that?”

An Shishi giggled to herself. “What’s the problem? I think it’s perfectly fine.”

“Fine, my ass! You’re not wearing this again. Your whole back is exposed—people might think I, Xu Xiuwen, am too poor to buy my woman proper clothes!”

An Shishi burst into laughter. “Hubby, are you jealous?”

Without hesitation, Xu Xiuwen said, “Yes. That’s right. I am jealous.”

An Shishi grinned. “But I had an outer shirt on. No one else can see.”

“That still doesn’t work! What if it rains? If your clothes get wet, your whole back will be on display for everyone to see!”

Some women, when asked by their boyfriends not to wear revealing clothes, might feel upset and even find all sorts of reasons to disagree.

An Shishi, however, wasn’t one of those women.

She understood Xu Xiuwen quite well.

Right now, she could tell he wasn’t really angry. But if she insisted on wearing outfits like this in the future, he probably would be.

An Shishi wasn’t the type to intentionally make Xu Xiuwen angry.

She shook her head and said, “I was planning to wear it just for you, but since you don’t like it, I’ll go change into something else.”

After saying this, An Shishi got up and walked toward the bedroom.

Xu Xiuwen, seeing her obedience, felt satisfied in his heart.

But before he could feel happy for even a second, it suddenly occurred to him—

Liu Ruo was still in the house.

He had asked her to hide earlier, but he wasn’t sure where she had gone. Could she have ended up hiding in An Shishi’s room? That would be way too reckless!

Xu Xiuwen’s heart immediately jumped into his throat.