After the Divorce, My Wife and I Were Both Reborn

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: World Line Convergence

The weather was perfect for a weekend. Sunlight streamed through the gaps between the leaves, creating the Tyndall effect, making the fine dust motes suspended in the air faintly visible.

The streets were dotted with office drones heading to work early. It wasn’t like later years, when everyone would have a smartphone, their heads constantly bowed whether they were shopping or crossing the street. The people of this era had much more vitality.

Jiang Xia mused about the impact of cell phones on people’s daily lives while waiting at the bus stop for a bus to Xuehai Book City.

According to his plan, he would first buy 500 sheets of punched animation paper. Although it wouldn’t last long, it would have to be enough for now. As for other tools like pencils and erasers, he still had a good supply at home.

Just as he was thinking this, a large black dog suddenly sprinted past him like it had gone mad. The leash dragging on the ground whipped hard against Jiang Xia’s ankle, the force of the impact feeling like he’d been struck by a heavy whip.

He grimaced in pain and looked up to see who owned this crazy dog, but the next second, he heard a child’s scream from behind the bus stop sign.

Lin Yanwan was scared stiff. She was walking down the street, holding Lin Xiaoman’s hand, when she suddenly saw a large black dog shoot out from the gap under the bus stop sign without any warning and lunge toward the two of them—no, it was lunging toward Lin Xiaoman.

Her face a mask of terror, she stood frozen on the spot. It wasn’t until her little sister was knocked to the ground by the vicious dog and began to cry that she belatedly snapped out of it.

"What are you standing there frozen for! Move!"

She suddenly heard a familiar voice and subconsciously took half a step back. Just then, Jiang Xia unleashed a furious kick. The large black dog was sent flying with a whimper. After scrambling back to its feet, it snarled, baring its teeth at Jiang Xia and assuming an attack stance.

"Get lost!"

Jiang Xia shielded the little girl with his body, yelled, and quickly took off his school uniform jacket. Gripping it by the sleeve, he swung it forward with all his might. The zipper struck the vicious dog hard on the head, causing it to whimper, tuck its tail between its legs, and flee blindly across the road.

However, less than two seconds later, a blood-curdling screech came from the street. Even without looking, Jiang Xia knew what had happened.

’Dashing across the road at a time like this... wasn’t that just asking for death?’

Afterward, he glanced around but didn’t see anyone who looked like the dog’s owner. After all, the large dog had a leash attached to its collar; it didn’t look like a stray.

’Did it escape from somewhere?’

The little girl’s face was streaked with tears, and her once-pretty little dress was now marred by several paw prints. Jiang Xia looked at her small face and found it familiar. Thinking about her relationship with Lin Yanwan... ’Could it be? Is this my sister-in-law from my past life?’

In his past life, when he married Lin Yanwan, his sister-in-law was only about ten years old. Winding back the clock, she would have been five or six, which perfectly matched this little girl. It seemed this was undoubtedly his sister-in-law.

He had a very good impression of his sister-in-law. He even remembered that after his father-in-law’s toy factory went bankrupt, the little girl had lived with them for a long time for the convenience of going to school, often following him around calling him "Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law."

She was lively, considerate, obedient, and well-behaved—very lovable. She especially loved to draw. Jiang Xia, seeing her talent, had even taught her many drawing techniques.

"Xiao Man, don’t cry. Be good. Are you hurt anywhere? Can you tell me?" Lin Yanwan asked gently, her hand continuously stroking her sister’s back to soothe her.

"SOB... WAAA... SOB SOB..." But Lin Xiaoman only hitched and cried even more heartbreakingly. freёweɓnovel.com

Jiang Xia frowned. He noticed a bite mark on the sleeve of her forearm. It was likely that after being knocked down by the dog, she had subconsciously tried to push it away and ended up getting bitten.

"Xiao Man, don’t be scared. Let sis—Let me see. Did you get bitten on the arm?"

He knelt and gently took Xiao Man’s wrist, wanting to roll up her sleeve to get a clear look. But Lin Xiaoman instinctively pulled her hand away and cried loudly, "It hurts... SOB SOB... My arm... it hurts..."

Without a second thought, Jiang Xia scooped her up and started walking. "To the hospital, now."

Lin Yanwan froze for a moment, staring blankly at his back for a second before immediately hurrying after him.

Ignoring the bloody mess in the middle of the road, Jiang Xia quickly hailed a taxi. Holding his sister-in-law, he and Lin Yanwan got into the back seat, one after the other.

"Sir, People’s Hospital. Please hurry."

Hearing the child’s cries, the driver nodded grimly and slammed his foot on the accelerator...

◇

"Doctor, how is my sister’s arm?"

Lin Yanwan saw several distinct, red teeth marks on her sister’s fair arm and immediately grew tense.

"It’s fine, not a big deal. Luckily, the clothes protected her, so the skin wasn’t broken. She was most likely just hurt by the bite pressure. It’ll be fine in a little while," the doctor said after disinfecting the area with a cotton swab dipped in medical alcohol.

"So does she need a rabies shot?"

"No, no. As long as it’s not a Category Two or Three exposure, there’s no need. However, the clothes she’s wearing could carry the virus. I suggest you give her a bath and change her into clean clothes as soon as you get home."

"Okay, okay. Thank you, Doctor."

Lin Yanwan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After leaving the doctor, Jiang Xia walked out of the hospital carrying Lin Xiaoman. Strangely enough, ever since he’d picked up his little sister-in-law, Lin Xiaoman had been clinging tightly to his arm, refusing to let go, as if this was the only way she could feel safe.

"Today... thank you," Lin Yanwan said softly after a long silence.

This was the first time the two had spoken to each other since their rebirth. Although they had run into each other at school many times, they had, for some unspoken reason, maintained a tacit agreement to treat each other as strangers.

But this time, it was clear that neither of them could ignore the other any longer.

’If Jiang Xia hadn’t shown up in the nick of time, given how I was frozen in fear, I probably wouldn’t have dared to act against the mad dog right away. And every second that passed would have increased the risk of Xiao Man getting hurt.’

Similarly, the same was true from Jiang Xia’s perspective. From the moment he realized the little girl was his sister-in-law from his past life, he couldn’t just walk away quietly after doing a good deed.

Two parallel lines that were never supposed to cross had, from this moment on, intersected once again.

Jiang Xia shook his head slightly. "Even if I hadn’t been there, someone else would have seen and helped."

Lin Yanwan fell into a brief silence. She knew he was only saying that so she wouldn’t feel too indebted.

’After all, even I was terrified by the dog. Most other passersby would have just stood by and watched. Even if a kind-hearted person had stepped up, it wouldn’t have been right away, and by then, Xiao Man might have already been hurt multiple times.’

"Why were you there?"

"I was planning to go to Xuehai Book City to buy some drawing paper. I just happened to be waiting for the bus."

After Jiang Xia finished speaking, the two of them once again fell into silence.