After the Divorce, My Wife and I Were Both Reborn

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Jiang Xia, Let’s Make Up

Jiang Xia was still a bit dazed as he watched his mom calmly leave the bedroom.

He didn’t know what his mom had cooked up in her head during those few short seconds in his room, but it was clear his dad’s attempt to tattle on him had failed.

A moment later, Xia Shanshan came back into the room holding a cell phone.

"Here’s your phone back. But I have one condition. If your grades on the next exam drop even a tiny bit, I won’t just confiscate your phone, I’ll confiscate you, too."

With that, she left.

Jiang Xia stared blankly at the flip-style music phone on his desk, his eyes full of confusion.

’What does Mom mean, giving me my phone back now? Isn’t she worried it’ll affect my studies anymore?’ He racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out.

He picked up the snow-white flip phone, turning it over in his hands. Feature phones from this era were mainly for calling and texting. While they could access the internet, the 2G/3G speeds were maddeningly slow, and the photos they took were blurry and indistinct. To someone like him, who came from the future, it was practically useless. Still, it was better than nothing. A good thing, all in all.

He opened the photo gallery. The few pictures inside were some landscape shots he and Wang Ming had taken during their art studio training. Looking at them now brought back a flood of youthful memories.

With a soft sigh, he put the phone aside, took out his storyboards, and continued grinding away at the keyframes.

He didn’t stop until one in the morning. He finally put away the thick stack of drawing paper, quickly washed up in the bathroom, and went to bed.

As exhaustion washed over him, he dreamed. In his dream, his creation, *Cat and Mouse*, was a massive success, winning the award for best domestic animation.

Just as he was giving his acceptance speech, the trophy in his hand suddenly transformed into a ring on Lin Yanwan’s left ring finger.

◇

Later that night, a rumble echoed across the sky. Silvery lightning flashed, followed by heavy drops of rain.

The sound of rain was incessant outside. Lin Yanwan was jolted awake by a sudden, sharp clap of thunder. She instinctively reached out to hug the person beside her, only to find nothing but empty air.

It hit her then: after her rebirth, she and Jiang Xia were separated.

She thought back to how things used to be. Even when they were giving each other the cold shoulder, if there was any loud noise while they were sleeping, Jiang Xia would habitually cover her ears with his hands.

She always claimed to be a heavy sleeper, unable to hear thunder or fireworks. But the truth was, having someone she could rely on next to her, someone to hold, made her feel completely safe.

Without warning, a flash of lightning illuminated the night outside. Lin Yanwan immediately pressed her back against the wall, shrinking under the covers. She knew a deafening crack of thunder would follow.

She had been afraid of thunder since she was a little girl; she would worry about being struck by lightning even while walking under an umbrella during a storm. She was also afraid of the dark. Any little sound from the unknown darkness, whether in front of or behind her, would send shivers down her spine.

A stormy night like this one, especially mixed with the sound of meowing cats, was her worst nightmare.

The night stretched on. Outside, the thunder never stopped, and the rain grew heavier. Lin Yanwan suddenly missed Jiang Xia. ’I wonder if he’s asleep,’ she thought. ’Does he ever think about our past, like I do?’

She fumbled for her phone under the pillow. As the screen lit up, she saw her contacts list only held numbers for her parents and Shen Ying. On a strange impulse, she keyed in the number Jiang Xia had in their past life and hit the call button.

’Will it even go through?’ Her heart hammered in her chest, twisted with anxiety.

RING... RING... RING...

The call went through, but no one answered. freeweɓnovel.cøm

’Wait, I don’t think Jiang Xia has a phone,’ she suddenly remembered. ’Does that mean his parents have it?’

Lin Yanwan was about to hang up, but the term of endearment that came through the line made her heart skip a beat with joy.

"Babe?"

"Mm..."

Jiang Xia had been fast asleep. In his dream, the awards ceremony had morphed into his wedding with Lin Yanwan. Just as they were about to kiss, his phone rang.

He groggily wondered who could be calling at this hour. When he glanced at the screen, he saw an unfamiliar number—one he knew by heart.

"What’s wrong?"

"It’s thundering, and I... I can’t sleep."

Lin Yanwan answered feebly, huddled under her covers. Maybe it was the storm, but her emotional side had taken over, and her voice was a degree softer and more tender than usual.

Jiang Xia glanced out the window. Dense sheets of rain battered the panes, and the night was periodically illuminated by lightning.

It was a serious storm.

Remembering how timid she’d always been, Jiang Xia understood. Still, given where they stood now, he never would have expected her to call him.

"Okay, I’ll talk with you for a while."

"Mm-hm."

The faint glow from the phone screen lit up her face. The roar of thunder in her ears seamlessly gave way to the sound of Jiang Xia’s voice. A light seemed to flicker in her eyes, and suddenly, she wasn’t quite so afraid.

She recalled how, back when they were dating in college, they would talk on the phone for hours about nothing, just like this. Her roommates had been so envious.

"Jiang Xia."

"Yeah?"

"You went quiet. I thought you fell asleep."

"No, I was just remembering some things."

"What things?"

"Back when we were dating, I’d stay up late on voice calls with you every night. My roommate would always complain, ’Stop with the constant PDA! Are you ever going to let us single guys get some sleep?’"

"Pfft..."

Lin Yanwan couldn’t help but chuckle. "If that were me, I might have just hit you."

"I’m being nice and chatting with you, and you’d hit me?" Jiang Xia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I meant back then!"

"You were my girlfriend back then. If we weren’t dating, I wouldn’t have wasted my time talking to you."

"And now?" Lin Yanwan asked suddenly.

Jiang Xia fell silent for a moment. "It’s different."

"How is it different?"

He took a deep breath. "If you’re the one calling, I’ll answer. Anytime."

"Mm."

She responded with a soft "Mm," an inexplicable warmth spreading through her chest. "By the way, did I wake you by calling now?"

"It’s fine. I’m young enough to handle it now. If I were as old as I was in our past life, I’d probably be yawning nonstop by now." As if on cue, a yawn escaped him.

Hearing the yawn through the phone, Lin Yanwan’s brow furrowed slightly. "What time did you go to sleep?"

"A little after one, I think."

"That late?!"

She reflexively glanced at the time. It was just past four. ’That means he’s only been asleep for less than three hours?’

She figured he was busy working on his own project, but this was taking it to an extreme.

"Don’t worry, I can handle it. And it’s worth it," Jiang Xia said with a confident laugh.

"By the way," she asked, "do you remember what our first fight was about?"

"Yuyuan? You were allergic to cat hair, so I suggested we give him away, but you refused. We argued, and then you gave me the silent treatment for a while."

A nostalgic look appeared on Lin Yanwan’s face.

After a long silence, she spoke, her voice almost inaudible against the thunder and rain outside.

"Jiang Xia, let’s get back together. Think of it as... putting our marriage to rest on the right note..."

...

*(My good-for-nothing little brother got into another fight with the family, and I’m in a bad mood. Just one Chapter for now, sorry.)*