Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 527

“Shishi!”

Xu Xiuwen called out to An Shishi.

An Shishi turned her head to look at him, smiling as she asked, “What’s wrong, hubby?”

“Uh… I think this outfit looks really nice. You could just wear it for me; you don’t have to change.”

An Shishi shook her head. “No, there’s a saying: ‘A woman dresses up for the one she loves.’ I wore this for you. I thought you’d like it. If you don’t, then I won’t wear it. I’ll go change; you eat first.”

With that, An Shishi continued walking toward the bedroom.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t dare forcefully stop her. Doing so would only make things more suspicious.

He watched as An Shishi entered the room, silently praying that Liu Ruo wasn’t foolish enough to be hiding in there.

If Liu Ruo got caught like this, well… that was on her. He had already done his best to cover for her.

At this moment, Xu Xiuwen had little appetite left. He simply sat at the dining table, waiting.

A minute passed.

He didn’t hear anything from the bedroom.

Xu Xiuwen let out a breath of relief.

It seemed Liu Ruo hadn’t been discovered.

But just then—

An Shishi suddenly walked out of the bedroom at a brisk pace, heading straight for the dining room.

Her face was no longer smiling; instead, her expression was serious.

Xu Xiuwen’s heart skipped a beat.

Still, he forced himself to remain calm. “What’s wrong, Shishi?”

An Shishi held up a single strand of hair and looked at Xu Xiuwen. “Hubby, why is there another woman’s hair on our bed? Can you explain this to me?”

“Uh…”

Xu Xiuwen had no idea how to answer.

Bracing himself, he said, “Shishi, listen to me. Here’s what happened— A few days ago, a family friend, an older lady, came to Jinling to visit me. She stayed over for a night, and I let her sleep in your bed. Maybe the hair is hers.”

An Shishi didn’t believe him.

Her eyes suddenly turned red. “Hubby, do you think I’m stupid? That I’m easy to fool?”

“What? No, of course not!”

A look of sorrow spread across An Shishi’s face. “I admit that I had other intentions when I first got close to you, but after being with you, I’ve never lied to you. My love for you is no less than Cheng Lu’s or Xiao Youran’s— not even by a fraction. In fact… if it’s what you want, I wouldn’t even mind Shuishui. But why do you keep lying to me?”

“Shishi, I—”

“When you were downstairs making that phone call, you didn’t want me to come up. I already thought that was strange, but I chose to trust you. When I changed my shoes just now, I saw an unfamiliar pair of women’s shoes on the rack. I was waiting for you to tell me, but you didn’t say a word. Now that I’ve found the evidence, you’re still trying to lie to me. Wuwuwu…”

As she spoke, she suddenly burst into tears.

The sadness hit so abruptly that Xu Xiuwen was caught off guard.

But seeing An Shishi cry made his heart ache.

He quickly stepped forward, pulling her into his arms, comforting her.

“Sigh, I didn’t mean to lie to you. Please, don’t cry, okay? Just listen to my explanation. This isn’t like the An Shishi I know.”

He had hoped that a few words would be enough to soothe her.

But unexpectedly—

The moment he admitted to lying, An Shishi’s sobbing stopped abruptly.

Then, Xu Xiuwen felt the slight trembling of her shoulders in his embrace.

Xu Xiuwen’s eyes widened as a thought popped into his mind.

No way…

He placed his hands on An Shishi’s shoulders and took a step back.

Lowering his head, he looked at her closely.

Sure enough, An Shishi was holding back a laugh.

Xu Xiuwen instantly realized—he’d been completely tricked!

An Shishi had been suppressing it for a while, but in the end, she couldn’t hold it anymore. With a “pfft,” she burst out laughing.

She rolled her eyes at Xu Xiuwen, pouting, “Bad hubby, you finally admitted it.”

Xu Xiuwen stared at her in disbelief.

“Shishi, you… you were acting just now?”

An Shishi chuckled at first, then suddenly retracted her smile, her tone turning slightly resentful. “If I hadn’t acted, who knows how much longer you’d keep lying to me.”

Xu Xiuwen was speechless. He smacked his forehead.

He’d been fooling others all his life, and now the tables had turned—he was the one who got fooled.

He was used to sweet-talking and putting on an act.

Never did he expect to be completely deceived by An Shishi’s performance.

But he couldn’t really blame himself.

Her acting just now was flawless.

Anyone would have been fooled.

For a brief moment, he even had the impulse to sign An Shishi up for acting classes and turn her into a movie queen.

But he held back in the end.

Not to mention whether An Shishi would be willing—he himself didn’t want to see her rise to fame and have a bunch of male fans calling her “wife.”

That would seriously disgust him.

As for Bai Yue’er?

That was different—she had already been an actress before they got together.

The order of things mattered.

An Shishi smirked. “Alright, spill it. Who’s hiding in the house?”

Xu Xiuwen still wanted to hold out a bit longer.

“Shishi, there’s really no one here. Fine, I admit, I didn’t want you to come up earlier because someone was here. But before you arrived, she already left.”

An Shishi grinned. “Oh? What a coincidence. Then why did she leave without her shoes? She just walked out in slippers?”

“Uh… she was in a hurry and forgot to change, I guess.”

An Shishi didn’t expose his lie, just continued asking, “So who is she? Why doesn’t she dare to meet me? Don’t tell me… it’s Song Siyu?”

Xu Xiuwen frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense. How could it be Song Siyu?”

An Shishi pouted and asked, “Since she’s already gone, and the house is empty, I can check around, right?”

Xu Xiuwen had no good reason to refuse.

If he wasn’t guilty, there was no reason to stop her from checking.

Left with no choice, Xu Xiuwen nodded. “Fine, go ahead.”

He sighed internally.

Auntie, you’re on your own now. It’s not that I don’t want to cover for you, but my girl is just too smart—I can’t fool her.

Just as Xu Xiuwen braced himself for An Shishi to start searching—

She suddenly shook her head. “Forget it. Since hubby says there’s no one, then I’ll take your word for it. If I really found someone, it’d be awkward for all three of us.”

An Shishi was still as understanding as ever.

That’s why she was his favorite little sister.

Xu Xiuwen let out a relieved sigh, then pulled An Shishi into his arms. “Good girl. But really, there’s no one here. Searching would just be a waste of time. Come sit with me and eat.”

He wrapped an arm around her and led her back to the dining table.

An Shishi tilted her head, watching him curiously. “Hubby, since I’m not checking, why don’t you just tell me? Who was that girl?”

Xu Xiuwen focused on eating, ignoring her question.

An Shishi kept analyzing. “It must be someone I know, otherwise she wouldn’t be so afraid of me seeing her, right?”

“Aiya, I’m really curious now! Hubby, just tell me. That way, I can help cover for you in the future.”

Hearing that, Xu Xiuwen finally stopped eating.

He turned to glance at An Shishi and asked, “If I really got another woman, wouldn’t you be jealous?”

An Shishi pouted ‘sorrowfully.’ “What good would jealousy do? If I got jealous, would that stop you from being a playboy?”

Xu Xiuwen: “…”

An Shishi immediately broke into a grin. “Hehe, anyway, I’m just your lover, not your official girlfriend. Let them be the jealous ones. As long as hubby is happy, that’s all that matters to me.”

Xu Xiuwen found himself growing fonder of An Shishi.

Perhaps it was precisely because of her attitude.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to offer an explanation.

“Shishi, I understand why you’d suspect my relationship with that woman. I admit, I might be a little flirtatious, but I can guarantee you this time—there’s absolutely nothing romantic between us.”

Hearing this, An Shishi looked puzzled. “Then why is she afraid to see me?”

Seeing Xu Xiuwen’s hesitant expression, she quickly changed the subject.

“Alright, I won’t ask anymore. Just finish your meal.”

After lunch, Xu Xiuwen washed the dishes.

Since he had no idea whether Liu Ruo was hiding in the master bedroom, Xiao Youran’s room, or even the bathroom, he couldn’t risk letting An Shishi wander into that area.

So instead, he pulled her onto the couch with him to watch TV.

They watched for a while.

Then An Shishi suddenly yawned.

“Sleepy?”

She nodded. “Mhm, hubby, I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Then go take a nap.”

But instead of getting up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his embrace, acting spoiled.

“If I sleep, no one will be here to watch TV with you.”

Xu Xiuwen’s hand rested on her waist.

Hearing this, he moved his hand lower and playfully smacked her perky butt.

“I’m not a kid. I don’t need company to watch TV. I told you to go sleep, so go. If you don’t listen, I’ll spank you.”

An Shishi let out a soft whimper as she flinched from the playful slap.

Her face flushed.

She pouted, complaining, “Bad hubby, you’re always smacking my butt. What if it gets swollen?”

“Stop being naughty.”

“Who’s being naughty?!”

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, An Shishi jumped up instantly.

She looked down at Xu Xiuwen, huffed, and said, “Fine! If you don’t want me to stay, I’ll just go to sleep.”

Xu Xiuwen was secretly thrilled.

As long as An Shishi went to sleep, he could sneak off and check where Liu Ruo was hiding.

Soon, he heard the sound of a door closing.

That meant An Shishi had gone to her room.

He forced himself to wait another five minutes in the living room.

The moment five minutes were up, he couldn’t sit still anymore.

He turned off the TV and quickly walked toward the bedrooms.

He started with the master bedroom.

After taking a quick look around, he didn’t see Liu Ruo.

Next, he checked Xiao Youran’s room—still no sign of her.

The bathroom was empty too.

Xu Xiuwen scratched his head.

He had clearly seen Liu Ruo run this way.

Then, suddenly, a thought struck him.

The balcony.

Other than the master bedroom, the two south-facing rooms were also connected to the balcony.

Realizing this, he quickly headed toward Bedroom B, the southwest corner room.

This was the room Song Siyu had stayed in when she visited before.

Xu Xiuwen opened the door and glanced inside—no one.

But as soon as he stepped in and closed the door behind him, he finally saw her.

Liu Ruo was hiding behind the door.

Seeing her there, Xu Xiuwen let out a sigh of relief.

Liu Ruo immediately asked, “Did Shishi find out about me?”

Xu Xiuwen shook his head. “No, I managed to cover it up.”

Hearing that, Liu Ruo also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Just stay here for now, Auntie. Don’t come out. Wait until Shishi leaves.”

“Okay.”

“Auntie, are you hungry? Do you want me to get you something to eat?”

Liu Ruo quickly shook her head.

Xu Xiuwen reassured her, “Just hold on a little longer.”

As soon as Xu Xiuwen finished speaking, he opened the door, ready to leave.

But the moment the door swung open, he froze.

An Shishi was standing right outside.

She even had a smile on her face.

Xu Xiuwen forced a grin, which looked more like a grimace.

“Shishi, weren’t you asleep? How come you’re up?”

Instead of answering, An Shishi tilted her head slightly, trying to peek behind him. She asked in return, “Hubby, who’s in there?”

Xu Xiuwen feigned ignorance. “Shishi, what are you talking about? There’s no one in there.”

An Shishi chuckled. “Oh? Then I’ll just take a look.”

“No!”

Xu Xiuwen immediately blocked her path.

“Hubby?”

“Shishi, don’t go in.”

His voice instinctively rose as he tried to dissuade her.

Hearing his urgent tone, An Shishi nodded. “Alright then.”

But the next second—while Xu Xiuwen relaxed for just a moment—she suddenly bent down and slipped right under his arm.

“Shishi!” Xu Xiuwen called out anxiously.

Too late.

An Shishi had already stepped into the room.

In Xu Xiuwen’s mind, the moment she saw Liu Ruo, she would instantly recognize her. Then, she’d hit him with the ultimate question: Why is my mom in your house?

But when he turned around, what he saw was unexpected.

An Shishi was merely standing there, staring at Liu Ruo with a puzzled expression.

Xu Xiuwen quickly shut the door.

It was only then that he realized—Liu Ruo was facing the corner, standing against the wall as if reflecting on her mistakes.

From An Shishi’s angle, she could only see her back, not her face.

Perhaps because Liu Ruo looked so different now, An Shishi didn’t recognize her immediately.

Xu Xiuwen let out a sigh of relief.

An Shishi, on the other hand, simply felt an odd sense of familiarity with the figure before her. But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t quite place it.

So, she gave up thinking about it altogether.

Instead, she turned to Xu Xiuwen, smiling playfully.

“Hubby, care to explain?”

Xu Xiuwen swiftly stepped forward, positioning himself between An Shishi and Liu Ruo, blocking her view completely.

Then he said, “Shishi, let’s step outside and talk first, okay?”

An Shishi nodded without hesitation.

Xu Xiuwen carefully guided her out of the room, making sure to keep her line of sight away from Liu Ruo the whole time.

Once they reached the living room, An Shishi sat down on the couch, crossed her legs, and looked at him expectantly.

Waiting for his explanation.

“Shishi, if I told you I have nothing to do with her, would you believe me?”

An Shishi shook her head without hesitation.

Xu Xiuwen figured no one would believe him in this situation.

“Hubby, I’m not Cheng Lu or Xiao Youran. You don’t have to hide things from me, and I don’t want you to.”

“I swear on my character—there’s absolutely nothing going on between us. Do you believe me now?”

This time, An Shishi nodded.

“Then why was she hiding?”

“There’s a reason, but I can’t tell you.”

An Shishi stared at him for a few seconds.

Just when Xu Xiuwen thought she might get upset, she simply nodded.

“Alright, if you can’t tell me now, then you can tell me when you’re ready.”

Her tone was light and unconcerned.