Rebirth Begins with Rejecting My Childhood Friend

Xu Xiuwen let out a slight sigh of relief.

Tang Weiwei's reaction was something he hadn't anticipated.

He almost wondered if Tang Weiwei was a girl from Chongyu. Even if she didn't have the fiery temperament typical of Chongyu girls, girls from anywhere else wouldn't be able to tolerate another woman feeding their boyfriend by hand, right?

But not only did Tang Weiwei accept it, she remained unusually calm, turning what should have been a disastrous scene into something stable.

The most amazing part was that Xu Xiuwen hadn't done anything.

Shen Minyao's silence about his cheating also surprised him. He had thought she would expose the fake calm right then and there and reveal his relationship with Cheng Lu.

While eating the dinner Cheng Lu fed him, Xu Xiuwen racked his brains, thinking hard. Things might have calmed down for now, but who knew if danger was lurking ahead?

The best approach would be to get one of the two women to temporarily leave the hospital room.

But no matter how hard he thought, Xu Xiuwen couldn't come up with a good excuse or method.

Xu Xiuwen was eating pork rib soup and rice, while the three women had bought stir-fried noodles.

Su Yanyan, carefree as always, was happily eating her noodles when she suddenly noticed that the two older girls hadn't touched their food. Unable to hold back, she asked, "Why aren't you guys eating?"

Tang Weiwei seemed to snap out of a trance, picking up her chopsticks to eat. However, the plastic wrap on her chopsticks hadn't even been removed.

This alone showed how distracted she was.

Shen Minyao, too, was deeply preoccupied.

She wasn't sure if she should just come clean and tell Tang Weiwei about Xu Xiuwen's cheating.

As Tang Weiwei's roommate and close friend, she knew she should expose the truth instead of covering for Xu Xiuwen.

But deep down, another voice kept saying, "If you tell her, Xu Xiuwen will hate you for it."

It was that persistent voice that made her hesitate.

Noticing Tang Weiwei hadn't even removed the wrapping on her chopsticks, Su Yanyan burst into laughter. "Sister Weiwei, you're so cute! How are you supposed to use chopsticks if you don't take the plastic off?"

Tang Weiwei blinked, realizing what she'd done. She knew she was distracted, but every time she thought about that incident, she felt panicked and couldn't focus.

Su Yanyan glanced at Cheng Lu, who was feeding Xu Xiuwen, then leaned close to Tang Weiwei and whispered, "Sister Weiwei, Cheng Lu and Big Bro seem pretty close. Aren't you jealous?"

Her voice was already soft, but given how close they were sitting, Shen Minyao still overheard her.

Shen Minyao immediately turned to look at Tang Weiwei, curious about her reaction. Would she be jealous? Or would she brush it off?

This naïve girl from Chongyu—she should get jealous, right?

Weren't Chongyu girls known for their fiery tempers and jealousy?

Even though Tang Weiwei's personality was nothing like the typical fiery Chongyu girls, surely she had that tendency to get jealous, didn't she?

But Tang Weiwei simply stared blankly, as if lost, and said, "What?"

Su Yanyan repeated her question softly.

Tang Weiwei seemed to snap out of it a bit.

She mustered the courage to glance briefly at Xu Xiuwen and Cheng Lu, then quickly lowered her head, as though she had done something wrong and couldn't face anyone.

In the end, she shook her head slightly and muttered, "No, I'm not."

Tang Weiwei only spoke in her Chongyu dialect when she was nervous.

As her roommates, both Shen Minyao and Su Yanyan knew this habit of hers well.

But Su Yanyan didn't think much of it, merely feeling that Tang Weiwei was acting a little strange today.

Shen Minyao, however, raised an eyebrow.

Tang Weiwei's reaction was far too unusual.

Even a girl who wasn't a fiery Chongyu type wouldn't remain so quiet in a situation like this, right?

Shen Minyao couldn't help but develop a suspicion: could it be that Tang Weiwei had known all along that Xu Xiuwen was two-timing her?

But that didn't seem likely either!

If Tang Weiwei knew, why had she never said anything?

And seeing the other woman in question, could she really stay this calm?

Shen Minyao found herself completely unable to read Tang Weiwei anymore.

The atmosphere in the hospital room grew increasingly strange due to the silence.

It seemed like no one had the courage to be the first to speak.

Just then, a knock came from outside the room.

"Excuse me, is Xu Xiuwen here?"

Before the person even entered, their voice reached them.

This familiar voice made Xu Xiuwen's heart skip a beat.

Cheng Lu recognized it too and raised an eyebrow, looking a little surprised.

When no one answered, Jin Haonan, the person outside, took it upon himself to reply, "Yes, it's this room."

The next second, the door opened, and the newcomer walked in.

"Why are you here?" Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but blurt out.

His head was spinning now.

If Cheng Lu's arrival was still within reason, why was An Shishi here too?

How did she even know he was hospitalized? This didn't make sense!

She wasn't familiar with anyone from the software company, and no one would've specifically informed her, right?

And now, of all times, her arrival was just adding fuel to the fire.

The situation was already chaotic enough.

An Shishi had barely stepped inside when she was met with Xu Xiuwen's accusatory tone.

She scanned the room briefly, quickly locating him, and said in a voice full of grievance, "Master, I heard you were injured, so I came to see you. Why are you saying this to me right away? You're breaking my heart."

Xu Xiuwen immediately saw through her act.

Heartbreak, my foot! This green tea drama queen was always putting on a show.

Under normal circumstances, Xu Xiuwen didn't mind playing along, but with the current situation threatening to blow up at any second, where was the patience for her antics?

"Go back," he said coldly. "I'm not in a good mood and don't want to see you."

An Shishi froze in place.

Xu Xiuwen seemed genuinely angry!

No way.

She panicked for a moment.

Xu Xiuwen had never spoken to her so coldly before.

Was he getting tired of her?

The thought made her even more nervous.

She had gone all-in on Xu Xiuwen.

There was no way for her to turn back or leave him now.

If he got tired of her and decided to leave her, she truly wouldn't know what to do.

Cheng Lu, overhearing Xu Xiuwen's icy tone, also felt a little uncomfortable.

She noticed the nervous and worried expression on An Shishi's face.

At that moment, An Shishi resembled a small, trembling puppy about to be abandoned, overwhelmed with unease.

The sight tugged at Cheng Lu's heart.

After all, An Shishi was her closest friend at school.

Unable to hold back, Cheng Lu spoke up. "Xu Xiuwen, why are you being so harsh to Shishi? She came to see you—what's wrong with that?"

"That's not…" Xu Xiuwen started to explain.

"Stop talking," Cheng Lu cut him off. "Ever since you got hurt, your temper's been terrible."

Xu Xiuwen let out a helpless sigh.

Cheng Lu then turned to comfort An Shishi. "Shishi, don't mind him. He's just in a bad mood because he's hurt. It's nothing personal."

Under normal circumstances, Cheng Lu's reassurance would have been immediately effective.

In fact, even if she hadn't said anything, An Shishi usually wouldn't care.

But this time was different.

An Shishi's heart was entirely tied to Xu Xiuwen.

As long as he didn't hate her, wasn't tired of her, and didn't plan to abandon her, she didn't care about anything else.

But if he was tired of her, no amount of Cheng Lu's support could make a difference.

An Shishi looked at Xu Xiuwen helplessly, like a wounded little animal.

Xu Xiuwen glanced at her and finally noticed her unusual emotions.

Although he was feeling irritable, he suppressed his frustration and asked with forced patience, "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're upset over one thing I said?"

An Shishi cautiously asked, "Xu Xiuwen, do you… hate me now?"

It was rare for Xu Xiuwen to see An Shishi being so careful and timid.

At first, he didn't understand, but he quickly realized what was going on.

He sighed internally, a wry smile crossing his mind.

This An Shishi—usually clever and manipulative like a fox, always stirring things up—was now being silly and overthinking?

How could he ever be tired of her?

With the way she always came up with new ways to keep him entertained in bed, there was no way he could be bored of her.

What man could say no to black stockings?

And even if he could, lace, milk silk, cotton silk, ice silk, pure silk… who could resist those?

Not to mention polka dots, floral prints, embroidery, and ribbons…

It was impossible to refuse so much variety.

But he couldn't very well tell An Shishi in front of everyone, "I'm not tired of you; I still like you just the same."

The fallout would be unimaginable.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Yes, I'm tired of you right now."

He even glared at her "fiercely" for effect.

If Xu Xiuwen had tried to appease her with fake sincerity in front of Cheng Lu, saying, "I don't hate you," An Shishi would've been absolutely convinced he was lying and genuinely tired of her.

But hearing him say he hated her, she actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Coupled with the look in his eyes, An Shishi instantly understood she had been overthinking.

She realized she had acted foolishly, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Her overthinking wasn't entirely unwarranted.

Xu Xiuwen hadn't spent time alone with her in a while, hadn't done those intimate things with her, and even today, when he was injured and unconscious, he hadn't told her about it.

What woman wouldn't start to spiral under such circumstances?

Especially since An Shishi had always felt insecure.

Although she often said being the other woman was fine as long as she didn't fight for anything or make demands, deep down, she was always worried.

She feared that Xu Xiuwen might decide to end things with her to avoid Cheng Lu or Xiao Youran discovering their relationship.

The more she got to know Xu Xiuwen, the more she liked him.

His tenderness and attentiveness had completely captivated her.

She absolutely didn't want to break up with him.

At times, she even had extreme thoughts—if Xu Xiuwen insisted on ending things, she'd rather die.

Even death seemed preferable to being separated from him.

These persistent worries were why she panicked today when she learned of his injury and realized he hadn't told her.

So, when Xu Xiuwen's attitude turned a little cold, she lost her composure and spiraled into overthinking.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiuwen's roommates were already stunned by the arrival of yet another beautiful girl.

The girl addressed Xu Xiuwen as "Master" the moment she entered, her voice sweet as honey.

It was so pleasant that it felt like her words were coated in sugar.

Xu Xiuwen's roommates couldn't help but wonder if this beautiful girl was yet another girlfriend of his.

But what surprised them was how cold and dismissive Xu Xiuwen was toward her. His tone wasn't pleasant at all.

Was that really necessary?

And when the girl looked genuinely worried and upset, it tugged at their hearts.

They silently cursed Xu Xiuwen in their minds: This guy really doesn't know how to cherish a beauty.

An Shishi's arrival brought some liveliness to the ward.

She started asking all sorts of questions, clearly concerned about Xu Xiuwen's condition.

Xu Xiuwen, though a bit annoyed, patiently reassured her that he was fine.

But An Shishi still looked unconvinced and worried.

Finally, Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but say, "Everyone else who came to see me at least brought fruit. You came empty-handed? That's how you visit someone?"

An Shishi froze for a moment, then smiled awkwardly.

"Should I go buy some now? What kind of fruit do you want?"

"Forget it," Xu Xiuwen replied. "If you could just stop talking and not cause trouble, I'd already be grateful."

An Shishi rolled her eyes at him.

At this moment, she noticed the other people in the room and cheerfully greeted them, "Long time no see!"

Yang Baishan couldn't help but ask, "You know us?"

An Shishi smiled and said, "Haven't we met before?"

Xu Xiuwen's roommates frowned.

Met before? They had no memory of it.

Then Wang Juncai seemed to recognize her.

In an uncertain tone, he asked, "Are you An Shishi, Siyu's roommate? The one who joined us for lunch in the cafeteria that time?"

An Shishi nodded. "That's me."

"Whoa!"

The room erupted in exclamations.

An Shishi laughed and asked, "Why are you all so surprised?"

Wang Juncai replied, "Honestly, if you hadn't said it, we wouldn't have recognized you. You're so different from back then."

"Really? Do I look better or worse now?" she asked with a playful smile.

The excitable Yang Baishan immediately chimed in, "Better, way better!"

"Thank you," An Shishi said with a polite smile before adding, "But I don't think I've changed that much. I just put on a little makeup."

Hearing their conversation, Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but interject, "Old Yang, you guys are exaggerating. She looks the same as before to me—how has she gotten prettier?"

Xu Xiuwen saw An Shishi regularly and had practically seen every inch of her.

Although he wasn't tired of her, the gradual changes in her appearance hadn't registered with him.

But his roommates were different.

The last time they'd seen An Shishi was a long time ago.

Their impression of her was still stuck in their first year of college—back when she was a plain and modestly dressed rural girl with a fresh, bare face.

Now, An Shishi wore expensive designer clothes, applied light makeup, and carried herself with the charm of a woman who had stepped into a new stage of life.

Even if it were someone else, they probably wouldn't have recognized her at first glance.

Jin Haonan sighed, "It really has been a while. You've changed so much, An Shishi."

An Shishi rolled her eyes at Xu Xiuwen in response.

Then she smiled at his roommates and said, "Even though it's been a while since we've seen each other, I often hear Xu Xiuwen mention you all."

Yang Baishan immediately perked up, intrigued.

"Oh? What does Xu Xiuwen say about us?"

Noticing An Shishi's playful glance, Xu Xiuwen quickly interjected, "Shishi, don't you dare say anything random!"