Rebirth Must Be Happy

Chapter 31 [031] Chen Xingzhu's Sister

Chen Xingzhu became more and more confused and wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

"Try it."

Xu Jinhuan didn't peel the melon, but simply divided it into six parts. He said, "Each of you take half. Eat slowly. Don't worry. I have something I want to ask you for help with."

There is a fact that goes against common sense: compared to helping others, it is easier to bring people closer together by asking them to help you.

Of course, the request must be something that the other party can easily do and is not abrupt, otherwise you would be deliberately making things difficult for them.

Xu Jinhuan had another intention in saying this, which was to link asking for help with eating melons through verbal innuendo, thereby reducing the potential possibility that Chen Xingzhu would refuse to eat melons.

Habit is a very scary thing. Habitual rejection or habitual acceptance accumulated from small things may have a huge impact on other things.

Chen Xingzhu didn't say anything, nor did he refuse. He just ate the melon in silence.

"I have an uncle who settled abroad. He just got divorced and is planning to send his daughter, my cousin, back to China."

Xu Jinhuan continued chatting casually, "After the summer vacation, she will probably transfer to our school to study in the first year of high school. My parents want her to live with me, which is more convenient. Otherwise, she will have to live on campus.

"Although we are brother and sister, we have only seen each other a few times since we were young, so we don't have much affection. I don't know how to get along with her... Do you have any experience?"

Chen Xingzhu's eating of the melon slowed down noticeably, and he shook his head after a long while.

Xu Jinhuan didn't ask any further questions, but took a step back and said, "Then is there anything I should pay attention to? I would like to think about paying attention to hygiene, washing and bathing frequently, changing clothes and bed sheets, not being shirtless when it's hot, and not going to her room without permission... Is there anything else?"

Chen Xingzhu shook his head again.

"Hey!"

Xu Jinhuan nodded, and then, with his acting skills still not very good, pretended to suddenly remember something, "I want to get a cat, or a puppy... Girls should like it, right?"

Chen Xingzhu stared at him for two seconds, then her eyes dimmed. She lowered her head and whispered, "I think she likes it."

Xu Jinhuan noticed her expression and felt a little distressed, because she had heard her say that she once had a cat that grew up with her, but was abandoned by her "sister" shortly after her mother remarried.

Because "sister" feels that the cat is not close to her, it should not be allowed to live in the house.

This became an indelible shadow in Chen Xingzhu's heart, but the greater harm came from her mother's subsequent handling - in short, the stepdaughter had more "united front value."

Xu Jinhuan brought this up intentionally, not to open up Chen Xingzhu's wounds, but because he remembered her saying that she once met a stray cat in high school that looked very similar to the cat she originally raised and was very close to her.

She wanted to take the baby home to raise, and her mother originally agreed, but her "sister" disagreed, so she had to give up. She tried to fight for it, but the result was predictable.

It was these accumulated emotional injuries that led her to go further and further down the path of self-isolation.

This incident should not have happened yet. If Chen Xingzhu encounters this incident "again" in the future, Xu Jinhuan hopes that she can think of him and what he said.

The melon was not big, so the two of them finished it quickly. After returning to the library, they went to wash their hands at the same time and then did their own homework.

Chen Xingzhu was obviously not paying attention this time. Sometimes he would be dazed for a while, or look up at Xu Jinhuan.

During this time, Xu Jinhuan went to the bathroom. When he came back, he saw that she was not doing the questions, but drawing with a pencil.

It was not professional drawing paper, but an ordinary exercise book, on which she drew a half-length portrait.

Xu Jinhuan took a glance and found that the person she painted was actually herself, but the expression and temperament were a little different. Her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, she had a sweet smile, and she looked lively and pretty.

Chen Xingzhu of later generations also had this habit. Sometimes when she was free, she would paint a portrait of herself. Xu Jinhuan even collected one of her portraits.

He had once asked her, and even teased her, if she thought she was so beautiful that she wanted to draw her. Chen Xingzhu never answered, except for one time, when she smiled in a rare playful tone and said, "If you think so, then so be it."

Xu Jinhuan didn't expect that she already had this habit now, and it was not much different from when they met in later lives. It seemed that she often drew herself.

At this time, Chen Xingzhu seemed to notice his gaze and turned to look at him.

Xu Jinhuan praised in a low voice: "It looks very good, very similar."

Chen Xingzhu looked at him and asked repeatedly, "Resemble them?"

Xu Jinhuan laughed and said, "It's exactly the same."

Chen Xingzhu didn't say anything else. He lowered his head and continued to perfect the portrait, with a smile on his face.

Since his rebirth, Xu Jinhuan saw Chen Xingzhu smile for the first time. It was beautiful, pure and clear, but...

why?
It's not possible that she will laugh just because you compliment her, right?
Considering that she often painted self-portraits in later generations, Xu Jinhuan felt that there must be some hidden story behind it.

If Chen Xingzhu was so easy to coax, she would have given him countless children! !
After that, the two of them stopped talking, each doing their own homework and reading. In the evening, Chen Xingzhu packed up and left first, and Xu Jinhuan followed suit, packing up his things and going downstairs together. "I need your help with something else."

Coming downstairs, Xu Jinhuan asked for help again, "You're using an iPhone, right?"

Chen Xingzhu nodded.

"I made a little game myself."

Xu Jinhuan explained, "The iOS version requires an iPhone for testing..."

Chen Xingzhu looked at him in surprise, remembering how he was typing on his computer during the Qingming Festival holiday, and finally understood what he was doing.

She thought for a moment and asked, "Should I give you the phone?"

"No, just play with it when you have time."

Xu Jinhuan finished speaking and coughed. "Also, applying for an Apple developer account costs money. I don't have that much money on hand. Can I borrow some from you?"

Chen Xingzhu was obviously much more straightforward this time: "How much?"

Xu Jinhuan laughed dryly and said, "Registering a developer account costs 688. I don't have online banking. Can you help me pay it?"

Chen Xingzhu asked: "How do I pay?"

"I'll send you my Apple ID later, and you can pay for me."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "Call me when it's convenient for you. I'm always available."

"it is good."

Chen Xingzhu agreed, left the library, got on the bus, and quickly returned home. When he opened the door with his key, he heard laughter coming from inside.

She changed her shoes and went into the house. Her biological mother Kong Lingyu glanced at her, then turned away and looked at the photos and videos on the iPad with her "sister" Li Yunxue.

Today is Saturday. My parents and Li Yunxue went out for a spring outing together. Chen Xingzhu went to the library on the pretext of reviewing and did not go with them.

"Xingzhu is back?"

Stepfather Li Gaoyuan greeted him with a smile, "Are you hungry? Auntie is already cooking. Today she made your favorite pork ribs."

"Ah."

Chen Xingzhu responded softly, forced a smile, and went back to her room with her schoolbag on her back.

"No manners at all."

Li Yunxue, of course, saw her sister. She snorted, then reached out and hugged Kong Lingyu's arm. "Mom, I'm still the one who's closest to you, right? She didn't even say hello to you when she came home..."

"How to speak?"

Li Gaoyuan scolded his daughter, "Don't be so picky about your sister all the time. She's going to be a senior in high school soon."

"She's just about to enter her third year of high school, but I'm already in my third year of middle school, okay?"

Li Yunxue immediately retorted loudly, turning to look at Chen Xingzhu and retorting, "She refused to tutor me... and you still have the nerve to call her my sister?"

"Are you asking your sister to give you extra lessons?"

Li Gaoyuan said angrily, "Do you think you're the only one who's smart and everyone else is stupid?"

Kong Lingyu quickly advised: "Okay, okay, don't argue."
-
The sounds from the living room could be heard faintly. Chen Xingzhu was already used to it, so he put down his schoolbag and sat down at the desk.

For some reason, she suddenly thought of what Xu Jinhuan asked in the noodle shop.

She has two younger sisters, but it makes no difference whether she has any or not.

A sister is related by blood and emotion, who came into the world only ten minutes later than her. They had a good relationship since childhood, but they have been separated for a long time. She doesn't even know where the other is now or what she looks like.
The other sister in the living room, in both living and legal terms, was the source of all her troubles and negative emotions.

Two younger sisters are as good as nothing.

Therefore, she could not give Xu Jinhuan any meaningful advice.

Lost in thought, Chen Xingzhu took out the portrait she had drawn in the library from her bag, placed it on the table, then took out a pencil and wrote her name next to the portrait that resembled her own appearance in the mirror:

17-year-old Chen Xingruo

(End of this chapter)