After the Divorce, My Wife and I Were Both Reborn

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: If Big Sister Won’t Marry, Xiao Man Will

"Hello, Xiao Man’s Mother? Yes, this is Teacher Xia. That’s right. Don’t worry, Xiao Man and Yanwan are both here with me. It’s no trouble at all, really. I’m very fond of Xiao Man myself."

Hanging up the phone, Xia Shanshan smiled and hummed a little tune as she went back to cooking. Her daughter-in-law had finally made a rare visit; she had to make dinner extra delicious.

’For my son’s happiness, I have to make a good impression, right? It’s a good way to earn some points with my daughter-in-law.’

Around 6:00 PM, Jiang Wende came home from work to see Jiang Xia teaching Xiao Man how to draw in the living room, while a thoughtful Lin Yanwan was in the kitchen, helping out.

’What a scene. It feels like the young couple is already married—the son looking after the kid while the daughter-in-law helps her mother-in-law. The air is filled with a gentle warmth.’

"Kids, go wash your hands! Dinner’s ready!" Xia Shanshan called out, wearing an apron as she brought out a large bowl of poached pork slices.

"Okay! Coming!"

Xiao Man put down her pencil and happily walked to the sink, humming a song while lathering up with soap.

"Rub your palms, side to side, so the germs have nowhere to hide. Scrub your knuckles, twist your fingers tight, and wash all the germs out of sight."

"Who taught you that song, Xiao Man?" Jiang Xia asked with a grin.

"Teacher Xia did~"

Xia Shanshan looked back and smiled. "Xiao Man is much more well-behaved than you were as a child."

"I’ll give you that. Xiao Man is the absolute cutest."

Everyone burst out laughing.

There were eight dishes on the table. Though they were all common home-cooked fare, every family’s version has its own unique flavor.

Lin Yanwan ate the slowest, every bite stirring up memories. It was a taste from her past. Xiao Man, on the other hand, was devouring her food, thinking Teacher Xia’s cooking smelled amazing and was completely different from her own mother’s.

"Teacher Xia, can my sister and I come over and play again in the future?" Xiao Man swallowed a meatball and looked up with hopeful eyes.

Xia Shanshan froze for a second, then gently patted her head. "Of course. You’re welcome anytime."

"Yay! I like you the most, Teacher Xia!"

Everyone laughed in unison. The meal felt like a family feast, filled with incredible warmth.

「At 7:00 PM, the sky was growing dark.」

Jiang Wende drove the two sisters home, with Jiang Xia accompanying them.

Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan walked slowly through the neighborhood, each holding one of Xiao Man’s hands. He smiled and said, "Mom said you should bring Xiao Man over to play more often."

"...Mhm." Lin Yanwan nodded gently. The night breeze lifted strands of her hair, partially hiding the blush spreading across her cheeks.

Xiao Man’s eyes went wide as she looked back and forth between her sister and her brother-in-law, a burning curiosity growing within her.

"Sister, if you call Teacher Xia ’Mom’ in the future, then what should I call her?"

’This precocious little sister of mine... how does she know so much?’ Lin Yanwan’s face flushed red in an instant.

"This is grown-up business, little kids shouldn’t get involved. You’ll still call her Teacher Xia at school, of course."

"And outside of school?"

"Go ask your brother-in-law."

Jiang Xia picked up the thread, chuckling. "Outside of school, you’ll call her Auntie. But not yet."

Xiao Man nodded emphatically. "Of course I know that! I have to wait until Sister and Brother-in-law get married."

"Such a good girl~"

Jiang Xia looked at his "wife," his face lit up with a brilliant smile. "Baby, Xiao Man is asking. When are we going to make it official?"

"In your dreams!" Lin Yanwan shot him a harsh glare.

’Does he really not know, or is he just pretending? We’re still a long way from the legal age of marriage.’

’Besides... I still need to see if he’s sincere.’

’I’m not that easily fooled.’

"See, Xiao Man? Your sister doesn’t want to marry me." Jiang Xia sighed, turning to his little ally for backup with an aggrieved look.

"Don’t worry, Brother-in-law! When I grow up, if Sister won’t marry you, I will!"

Jiang Xia: "?"

Lin Yanwan: "?"

’Wow. Her little scheme was so obvious, the Three-Body People four light-years away could probably hear it.’

"Go on," Lin Yanwan said, looking at him with a smirk. "Why’d you suddenly go quiet?"

’If I were to drag this out for ten or twenty years, would this lecherous guy actually try to marry us both?’

’Tsk, tsk. A pair of beautiful sisters... what man wouldn’t be thrilled by that prospect?’

Jiang Xia snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight and shaking his head frantically. "Baby, she’s just a kid, you can’t take her seriously! You have to believe me. How could I possibly be thinking something like that?"

She snorted. "Maybe not now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t in the future."

’In ten or twenty years, I’ll be past my prime, while Xiao Man will be young and beautiful. Plus, he’s had maxed-out ’affection points’ with her since she was a kid. Who knows what kinds of filthy thoughts might take root in his mind?’

The young woman, already drowning in a sea of jealousy, couldn’t help but conjure up a grand, over-the-top soap opera drama in her head—

’"Sister, I’ve been in love with Brother-in-law since I was a little girl. But you two were so happy back then, I didn’t dare to dream... I could only bury this twisted love deep in my heart. Now I’m all grown up, and you two still aren’t married. Please, I’m begging you, let me have him! I love him so, so much."’

’"Sister, I’m so sorry... That night, Brother-in-law had too much to drink and mistook me for you... and then... then... he was too strong. I couldn’t push him away... *sob*..."’

’"Sister, I’m carrying Brother-in-law’s baby. The doctor says I’m three months along. You’ll give us your blessing, won’t you?"’

’"Sister, look! Isn’t our baby adorable? Brother-in-law said he would never abandon us..."’

Lin Yanwan shook her head violently, trying to fling the chaotic thoughts away. She looked down at her adorable little sister and felt a pang of shame. ’How could I imagine Xiao Man as that kind of manipulative schemer?’

’She’s only six years old!’

’So, the only way to eliminate this potential threat... is a preemptive strike!’

She whipped her head around to stare daggers at Jiang Xia, wondering how she could tie him to her for good. The most foolproof method, of course, was a child. But in her past life, they’d tried for eight years and had nothing to show for it.

’This is so frustrating.’

’But I believe that as long as we ’put in the work’ regularly enough, we’ll eventually hit the jackpot.’

’Then again, the younger the body, the more... potent the ’seeds’ are, right?’

Seeing the green-eyed stare from his "wife," Jiang Xia felt a strange shiver run down his spine. He swallowed hard. ’She doesn’t think I’m the kind of scumbag who’d even go after a child, does she? Is she thinking about just... taking a knife to me?’

"Baby, if something’s on your mind, just tell me. Please don’t keep it bottled up. My love for you is eternal—enough for three lifetimes."

"Hmph! You’d better mean it!"

After dropping his "wife" and little sister-in-law off at home, Lin Xiaoman waited for her sister to go to the bathroom before secretly running up to Jiang Xia. "Brother-in-law," she whispered, "I just said that to get a rise out of my sister."

Jiang Xia was at a loss for words. ’Good grief, are all kids these days this cunning?’

’And that wasn’t even the main problem. The real issue was, what am I supposed to do now that my ’wife’ is going to think I’m a total creep?’

Meanwhile, Lin Yanwan had quietly peeked around the corner, silently watching the entire exchange.

’I’m sorry, Xiao Man. Your big sister is just a huge green-eyed monster.’

...

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