No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 289 The Friend's Mother? (Bonus chapter for Bai Zihei's hidden alliance leader)

"How was it, Sister Shui Rou?"

"Hmm, they look good... Oh no, I already said those were all good too, it's just a matter of whether you're comfortable... Come on, move around a bit."

"okay."

Ah ~
Is this the charm of older women...?
As Guan Ren tried on the clothes, he felt a sense of healing.

Who would have thought that men could also experience the emotional value of having their partners praise and admire them while they're buying clothes?

Of course, Guan Ren didn't consider Shui Rou as a "partner" or anything like that.

At most... um...

AUO's mother?
Hmm… Although Little Lemon is indeed a good friend, something still feels off…

For now, I'll just play the role of the older sister.

"Alright, Sister Shui Rou, if you think it's good, then I'm relieved. I'll buy it... uh..."

Suddenly, the gentle smile on Guan Ren's face froze.

Because the moment he turned around, he saw a familiar figure not far away.

Gu...Gu Wancheng?

Why is she here?

And... judging from his expression, he doesn't seem to be in a good mood...?
As for the reason for his bad mood, it's strange, even though Guan Ren hadn't done anything wrong, he seemed to have a vague idea that it was related to him.

"Guan Ren? What's wrong?"

At this moment, Sister Shui Rou leaned closer, looking puzzled.

A strange, intense feeling of guilt, as if he had been caught cheating by his girlfriend, immediately made Guan Ren break out in a cold sweat.

"No...nothing's wrong..."

In short, let's avoid getting involved in karma for now.

Before An Shui Rou could follow his gaze, Guan Ren suddenly turned around, drawing her attention back to the clothes:
"Sister Shui Rou, do you see a small hole somewhere in this dress? I... I can't see it very clearly..."

"Huh? Really? Let me see."

……

To be fair, this subconscious avoidance behavior actually made Guan Ren feel even more guilty about "stealing food".

The problem is, objectively speaking, that's not the case at all.

His only girlfriend right now is Xiao Lihua. As for cheating... cough... at most he's only had one or two affairs with Luo Xiaobei... and they weren't serious, just a kiss.

But in this situation, who can he go and steal food from?
That's utter nonsense!
No matter how much he tried to convince himself, Guan Ren couldn't help but feel guilty.

……

On the other hand, Gu Wancheng was also very confused.

Specifically, when she discovered that Guan Ren seemed to turn away from her for the woman beside him after seeing her, Gu Wancheng's already uncomfortable feelings inexplicably intensified.

Click!

Click!

A moment later, the sound of heavy, resounding high heels approached from afar.

Guan Ren's ears twitched, and his heart skipped a beat.

She immediately turned her head, and Gu Wancheng's cold and beautiful face was already in front of her.

"Guan Ren."

"Teacher Gu..."

Guan Ren forced a smile, feigning surprise:
"What a coincidence! You...you're here to buy something too?"

Gu Wancheng raised her eyes slightly and glanced at the somewhat bewildered, mature woman beside him who looked to be about the same age as herself.

I have to admit, upon closer inspection, he really is a remarkable person…

"Guan Ren, what are you doing here?"

"I...cough, I'm buying clothes, Teacher Gu..."

"You took sick leave from school just to buy clothes?"

Gu Wancheng narrowed her eyes slightly. Due to anger, or rather, due to the discomfort in her heart, she naturally adopted the stern aura she had at school and reprimanded in a low voice:
"You're so energetic, you don't look sick at all! You're already in your senior year of high school, and you still dare to fake illness and skip class!"

"No, Teacher Gu, I..."

Guan Ren was about to explain when he heard a gentle voice beside him, neither humble nor overbearing:

"Teacher, you've misunderstood."

"Sister Shui Rou..."

An Shui Rou took a few steps closer to Gu Wan Cheng and looked at her intently:
“Guan Ren was indeed sick. He originally wanted to go for a walk, but we bumped into each other on the street. I happened to be shopping, and he... he was worried that I couldn't carry it, so he came to accompany me. Buying clothes was just a side trip; he wasn't faking illness.”

"you…"

An Shui Rou's statement was very organized.

The key point is that her voice is very pleasant, and even Gu Wancheng's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

But at the same time, it also made the expression on her face more serious:

"May I ask who you are?"

"Oh, I am...I am..."

An Shui Rou smiled, but then stopped halfway through her smile, unsure how to respond.

……

How should I put her relationship with Guan Ren?
Is he... a friend?
Although it was true, given the age difference between the two, An Shui Rou found it difficult to say the word "friend".

Let's look at it from another angle.

What is Guan Ren to her?
guest…?
No, no!
That's true; Guan Ren has been a frequent customer of Ping An Fresh Braised Food.

But... but this wording seems even more inappropriate...

"Teacher Gu."

Just as An Shui Rou hesitated, Guan Ren spoke up:

“This is my older sister, An Shui Rou… Sister Shui Rou, this is Teacher Gu, my Chinese teacher…” Guan Ren said, his eyes darting around, and then added:
"...Ms. Gu took good care of me at school! She was very kind to me! She was also very responsible! She was a well-known excellent teacher in our school!"

"That's it..."

An Shui Rou nodded politely in understanding.

Gu Wancheng, on the other hand, had a somewhat blank expression on her face.

姐…

No way?
It turns out... it really is his female relative?
"Hello, I am Gu Wancheng."

Fortunately, Gu Wancheng has excellent facial expression control.

The change in his mindset wasn't too obvious; he simply extended his hand expressionlessly and shook hands with An Shui Rou.

"I apologize for my rudeness. I don't know enough about Guan Ren's family situation. I didn't know he had an older sister before."

"Ah, no, no, no, Teacher Gu."

An Shui Rou also sensed that Gu Wan Cheng seemed to have misunderstood something again, and her face flushed slightly.
"Guan Ren... he's not my biological brother..."

Of course not, since they have different surnames.

Gu Wancheng knew this too, and thought she hadn't expressed herself clearly:

"It's...my cousin, right?"

"Ah no, Guan Ren... he's mainly my daughter's classmate. We got to know each other later, and he often helped out at my shop. Over time, we became... quite familiar with each other."

"..."

An Shui Rou became increasingly embarrassed as she spoke, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks, revealing her slight awkwardness.

Gu Wancheng's rosy lips trembled slightly, and her sharp gaze, like a blade, pierced straight towards Guan Ren.

"!"

"..."

After stabbing for a while, Gu Wancheng turned around and walked away quickly.

"Teacher Gu!"

Guan Ren called out, but Gu Wancheng ignored him and went straight downstairs.

Guan Ren apologized to An Shui Rou and then chased after her.

……

Gu Wancheng walked quickly. Guan Ren looked up after getting off the escalator and estimated that at her pace, she had already left the supermarket. He was immediately quite disappointed.

"Ugh…"

He sighed, but there was nothing he could do.

Let's go upstairs and go back first.

"cough…"

"?"

However, just as Guan Ren stepped onto the escalator, he heard an accidental cough coming from behind a row of shelves not far away. The voice sounded very familiar.

"Teacher Gu!"

Guan Ren was overjoyed, but because one foot was still on the step, he stumbled and fell when he ran over.

"Is the young man alright?"

The saleswoman next to him quickly came over to help him up.

This attracted curious glances from several passersby.

Among these gazes, only one shadowy gaze stood out, its coldness and displeasure mixed with an barely suppressed smile.

In short, the fall wasn't serious. Guan Ren got up, quickly went behind the shelf, and saw Gu Wancheng picking out soy sauce with a blank expression.

"Teacher Gu, please let me explain."

"..."

Gu Wancheng's delicate hand, which was holding the soy sauce, paused in mid-air. She turned her cold face and looked at him indifferently:

"What do you want to explain to me...?"

In fact, Guan Ren didn't know what to explain.

Or rather, it's unclear what exactly happened.

After all, once a teacher sees a student buying things with an acquaintance and clears up the misunderstanding that the student was faking illness, what else is there to explain?

But Guan Ren still forced himself to continue:

"Well... Shui Rou and I are old acquaintances, we're friends, and I... cough... nothing to do with her."

"you!…"

Upon hearing Guan Ren's words, Gu Wancheng suddenly bit her red lips, frowned, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that wasn't messy, still speaking calmly:
"Why are you telling me all this? What does it have to do with me whether you have relationships with certain people or not?"

"Uh…"

Guan Ren scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly:

"I just wanted to explain what happened earlier. Well... if I don't tell you, who else can I tell... right?"

"It's none of my business. You can tell whoever you want."

Gu Wancheng turned her head indifferently and continued to pick up the soy sauce bottle.

"Heh... You'd better tell your gentle and beautiful sister Shui Rou..."

"?"

Where are those mosquitoes buzzing from?
Guan Ren looked at Gu Wancheng suspiciously:

"Teacher Gu, did you... say something again just now?"

"Which ear of yours heard me speak again?"

"..."

"Go buy your clothes, I'm going to pay."

(End of this chapter)