After the Divorce, My Wife and I Were Both Reborn

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Brother Jiang Xia! Sister Yanwan

"Lin Yanwan, relax," Jiang Xia said comfortingly. "It’s true my mom is Xiao Man’s homeroom teacher, but what are the chances? Homeroom teachers are swamped every day. They don’t have time to meet all you parents picking up your kids."

"..." Lin Yanwan had no desire to deal with this guy making light of the situation. ’So he’s not the one who’s nervous, is that it?’

Passing by a toy store, Jiang Xia suddenly stopped. He saw a particularly cute Shiba Inu plushie in the display window.

"What are you doing?"

"Buying a toy for Xiao Man."

Lin Yanwan was speechless. This guy wouldn’t let her buy a gift for his mom, but here he was, eagerly buying a toy for her little sister. ’What a hypocrite.’

"Don’t waste your money. Have you forgotten what my family’s business is? Xiao Man is drowning in toys like this. Her little bed is already overflowing with them."

"This is different."

Jiang Xia stubbornly paid. "Generally, people don’t treasure things they get for themselves," he said. "But it’s different when it’s a gift from a friend. They’ll cherish it like a treasure."

Lin Yanwan couldn’t help but pout. ’He’s just full of excuses.’

"That depends on if she likes it or not. If she doesn’t, it’ll get tossed out anyway."

"That goes without saying. Of course Xiao Man will like it."

"How do you know?"

"Because I’m her brother-in-law! She likes everything I give her!"

He said that with such righteous conviction. What was that saying again?

All hail the brother-in-law!

"...Shameless!"

Jiang Xia chuckled. "It’s just like that time I secretly drew a portrait of you. You’ve kept it safe all this time, haven’t you?"

"That was a token of affection! How is that the same thing? Besides, if it weren’t for that drawing, I’m not so sure I would have fallen for you," she huffed.

"I’ll draw you an even better one next time." Jiang Xia gently squeezed her soft hand.

"Mm."

The blushing girl nodded gently.

◇

At 2:50 PM, the two of them arrived at Nanshan Primary School.

By then, a large crowd of parents had already gathered at the school gate to pick up their children. The two of them blended in, not drawing any attention.

Lin Yanwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. ’With this many people, it looks like we won’t run into his mom after all.’

But to be safe, they did their best to hide behind the sidewalk trees. That way, if Xia Shanshan was the one to lead the students out, they could quickly duck out of sight.

At 3:00 PM, the school bell rang right on time. Before long, they saw teachers leading young children to the school gate, lining them up neatly to wait for their parents to pick them up one by one.

The two were dumbfounded. ’Is the procedure really this strict? The kids can’t leave until their parents show up? No wonder so many parents are waiting at the gate.’

"What do we do?" Lin Yanwan looked at him anxiously.

"Let me think..."

Jiang Xia pursed his lips. "Okay, in a bit, if we see another teacher, we’ll grab Xiao Man and leave quickly. If it’s my mom..."

"If it’s your mom, what then?"

"You stay right here and don’t move. I’m going to go buy some oranges."

Lin Yanwan pinched him hard, saying irritably, "I asked you to figure out how to pick up Xiao Man, not to make a joke about being my dad!"

’This guy is going to be the death of me. How can he still be thinking about joking around at a time like this?’

"I just saw how nervous you were and wanted to help you relax," Jiang Xia said with a grin, then continued, "If it is my mom, you stay here and don’t move..."

Lin Yanwan glared at him. "Be serious!" freewebnøvel.com

"You hide here, I’ll go get her."

"Will that work?"

"It should... possibly... maybe... probably work?" He scratched his head. "My mom won’t give her own son a hard time, right?"

Lin Yanwan fell silent. Logic told her this plan had a low chance of success, but right now, there didn’t seem to be any other option.

And she didn’t have the courage to face his mom alone, so she had no choice but to let Jiang Xia give it a try.

The minutes ticked by. The crowd, once dense, slowly began to thin out as the younger students were picked up by adults one after another.

Then, Jiang Xia spotted Lin Xiaoman. She was at the very front of the line, holding up the class sign with both hands as she led her classmates to the school gate. A hopeful expression was on her face as she searched the crowd for her mom. And standing right beside her was none other than the homeroom teacher, Xia Shanshan.

’Xiao Man’s the class monitor?’

Jiang Xia’s eyebrows shot up. He turned to look at Lin Yanwan and found her staring blankly at his mom, completely dazed. Her reaction was just as bad as his own.

’Alright, looks like it’s up to me.’

He sighed. "I’m going. Be careful. Don’t get spotted."

◇

Watching her classmates get picked up by adults one by one, Lin Xiaoman started to get anxious. ’Why isn’t Mom here yet? I always see her the moment school lets out.’

"Xiao Man, where’s your mom? Why isn’t she here yet today?" Xia Shanshan took the class sign from her hand and squatted down to ask her.

"Mom probably got held up on the way. She’ll definitely be here to get me if we wait a little longer," Lin Xiaoman said firmly.

"I’m sure she will."

Xia Shanshan gently patted Xiao Man’s head. She had a very good impression of Lin Xiaoman’s mother.

’The two of them hadn’t interacted much, but any woman who could take time out of her busy schedule every day to pick up her child had to be a wonderful mother, especially since Xiao Man was so sensible and well-behaved.’

However, after ten minutes, there was still no sign of her. All the other students in the class had left, leaving only Lin Xiaoman. Xia Shanshan couldn’t help but frown.

"Xiao Man, can you tell me your mom’s phone number? I’ll give her a call."

"I don’t remember, Teacher Xia." Lin Xiaoman’s lip trembled, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Xia Shanshan sighed. ’If no one shows up, I’ll just have to take Xiao Man home myself. I can’t possibly let a child this young walk home alone. What if she gets abducted?’

’She’d had such a good impression of the girl’s mother a moment ago. Now, just like that, it was gone.’

Just as she was about to call Jiang Wende, she suddenly saw her son walking toward her.

"Brother!" Lin Xiaoman’s eyes lit up when she saw Jiang Xia, and she shouted out loud.

’Brother?’

Xia Shanshan looked puzzled and asked softly, "Xiao Man, who is your brother?"

"It’s Brother Jiang Xia! He and my sister are really close! He even saved me from a big doggy last time!" Lin Xiaoman lifted her chin slightly, her face full of pride.

Xia Shanshan nodded and continued to ask, "Xiao Man, what’s your sister’s name?"

"My sister’s name is Lin Yanwan. She’s a senior in high school this year, twelve years older than me. My sister loves me so much!"

Hearing that name, Xia Shanshan’s heart skipped a beat. ’Old Jiang did mention that our son was dating a girl named Lin Yanwan, didn’t he?’

’Lin Yanwan, Lin Xiaoman.’

She repeated the names to herself. ’To think that Lin Xiaoman is my son’s girlfriend’s younger sister.’

Seeing her son slowly approach, Xia Shanshan asked impassively, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Xia pursed his lips, feeling his ears inexplicably start to burn.

"Mom... Oh, you’re here. Uh, I’m here to pick someone up."