After being reborn, I raised my childhood sweetheart.

Chapter 18 The Childhood Sweetheart Who Never Grew Up
In Xia Ke's bathroom, Xu Yuan took a shower while trying to recall memories of Xia Ke from his past life.

Honestly, it's really hard to connect that aloof girl with the lively, mischievous kid in front of me.

In his previous life, Xu Yuan moved and lived in the same apartment building as Xia Ke, one floor above the other.

However, the two were not in the same class, and their classrooms were far apart, so they would only pass each other in the hallway and rarely met at school.

At that time, Xu Yuan only thought about studying hard, graduating and paying off his family's debts; he was single-mindedly focused on his studies.

Xu Yuan only learned her name after she passed away.

Yes, Xia Ke passed away in her first year of high school. The school's official statement was that it was an accidental drowning.

Of course, privately, people have many different opinions about the truth.

But Xu Yuan was certain that in her past life, Xia Ke was always alone, whether at school or at home.

She doesn't have any close friends, which gives her a mysterious aura.

So, were she and Lin Yueyao no longer good friends at that time?
Even so, given Xia Ke's lively, cheerful, and easy-going personality, she certainly wouldn't be all alone...

Something must have happened in between that caused such a dramatic change in her personality.

But that was eight years later, and now that she had met him, their fates would naturally change.

Therefore, what we need to do now is to pay more attention to her physical and mental health; worrying about other things now is meaningless.

Xu Yuan took a long shower in the bathroom, which worried Xia Ke's parents.

"Why is this child taking so long to take a bath? Is he thinking about something?"

Xia Lei thought for a moment and said, "Because he doesn't have a mother, seeing our happy family, he'll definitely feel envious, and probably secretly wipe away tears in the bathroom."

Xia Ke thought for a moment and asked Lin Yueyao, who was standing next to her, "Yueyao, since you don't have a father, have you ever cried secretly?"

Xia Ke's words made Lin Yueyao, who had been silently pretending to be invisible, even more silent.

Seeing this, Xia Ke's parents quickly shut her up, stopping her from saying something hurtful, and laughed it off to Lin Yueyao:
"Hey Yueyao, is your mom waiting for you to come home for lunch?"

"Yes, I need to call my mom!"

"Here, take your phone."

Xia Lei handed the phone to Lin Yueyao, who went to the side to make a call, telling her mother that she didn't need to go to Xu Yuan's house to cook lunch.

At this moment, Xu Qiuyun got up and gently knocked on the bathroom door.

"Young Master, the change of clothes is placed at the door. You can try on Ake's clothes first; they should fit you."

"Hey, just give him those clothes and pants, don't ask for them back."

Xia Lei offered a word of advice, only to be met with a glare from Xu Qiuyun.

Xu Yuan emerged from the bathroom wearing Xia Ke's Snoopy cartoon T-shirt and blue denim shorts.

At that time, many children's clothes were not gender-specific, so they didn't look too out of place.

When Xia Ke saw Xu Yuan come out, she pulled him and took his arm, saying, "Come on, young master, let me serve you and blow-dry your hair!"

"It's okay... I don't need to blow it, it'll dry in a bit."

"Oh dear, that won't do. What if you catch a cold?"

"Oh, really, no need... it really dries very quickly."

"Don't be shy, Young Master Yuan, come on, let me blow your hair until you look handsome!"

wrong.

Seeing Xia Ke and Xu Yuan's intimate interaction, Xia Lei felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't help but complain to his wife beside him:

"Our daughter really thinks she's a servant girl now, how come she's even taking care of that child?"

"Oh, they were just playing house."

Xu Qiuyun said with a smile, "Don't be so sensitive, go and help me serve the dishes."

During his time at Xia Ke's house, Xu Yuan tried to learn as much as possible about the family's basic situation as part of his intelligence gathering.

Xia Ke's father, Xia Lei, runs a short-distance transportation business near the building materials market, while her mother, Xu Qiuyun, runs a flower shop with a friend on Guta West Road, and business is pretty good.

Overall, Xia Ke's family is financially well-off, but her parents are very busy with work, so Xia Ke is usually left to her own devices.

However, because the children got along well, Xia Ke's parents were also very familiar with Lin Yueyao's family situation. From their words and actions towards Lin Yueyao, it was clear that her family had always taken good care of her, treating her almost like a daughter.

At the same time, Xia Ke's parents were also very interested in Xu Yuan's family situation, and they asked Xu Yuan a lot of questions about his family.

Xia Lei was very excited after learning that Xu Yuan's father was the owner of the Jinxiu Jiangnan Hotel:
"If we eat at your hotel next time, can we get a discount?"

"Uncle Xia, don't even mention discounts, just come and eat. I'll have my dad treat you, and I won't charge you a penny."

Xu Yuan certainly doesn't have that right, but as a child, it's perfectly acceptable for him to offer some emotional support to comfort the adults.

However, Xia Lei was unmoved. "No, no, no, a discount is fine, but dine and dash is out of the question. You can't charge us..."

Xia Lei frowned. "You just want to be our son-in-law? No way! You're dreaming." "Why can't Young Master be our son-in-law!"

Xia Ke said angrily, "I want the young master to come to our family as our son-in-law!"

Xu Yuan chimed in, "Hey... do you know what 'son-in-law' means?"

"I know, it means you want me to be your husband."

Xia Ke whispered, "But my dad definitely wants you to be a live-in son-in-law, and if we have a baby, it will have to take my surname."

You know quite a lot; no wonder you can understand TV dramas.

Xia Ke whispered to Xu Yuan, "But it's okay. If Dad doesn't want you to be our son-in-law, I can go to your house and be your wife."

Xu Yuan nodded and smiled slightly, "Hmm, that's not bad either."

"I heard it!"

"Hahaha, Dad's angry!"

Xia Ke loves to make her father happy.

Xu Yuan is the same.

Just then, Xu Qiuyun gently patted Xu Yuan's arm, "Yuanyuan, don't just talk, eat more, you're still growing."

Xu Qiuyun smiled and said, "Here, Auntie will give you a chicken leg."

"Ah...no need, thank you, Auntie."

"Oh, don't be so polite with Auntie. You should come to our house often in the future."

"Ah good."

Although Aunt Xu is indeed a very beautiful married woman, and her personality is also very lovely.

But to be honest... Aunt Xu's cooking is really hard to describe!
Looking at the dishes on the table, which were either bland or overly salty, Xu Yuan hesitated, his chopsticks wavering. However, Xia Ke's father ate with great relish, showing how deeply he loved his child.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that he had a strong sense of empathy for his spendthrift stepmother, He Xiaona, during her last dinner visit to their home.

Heaven is so good at reincarnation, who will be spared by Heaven!
Xu Yuan secretly transferred the chicken leg from his bowl to Xia Ke's side.

"Young Master, if you can't eat, then don't eat."

Xia Ke whispered, "I usually do the same thing. I just grab a quick bite and then go to Yueyao's house for dinner, otherwise my mom will be sad."

While they were talking, she put the chicken leg back into Xu Yuan's bowl.

Most kids would fight tooth and nail for a chicken leg, but here the children were giving it to each other, which was quite a unique sight.

Xu Yuan couldn't let himself be wronged, so he stuffed the chicken leg into Lin Yueyao's bowl.

Then, he gave Lin Yueyao a look, letting her figure it out herself.

Lin Yueyao dared not disobey Young Master Xu, and could only silently digest the chicken leg.

After dinner, the sky cleared up, and Xia Ke was very excited looking at the bright sunshine outside the window:

"Let's go on another adventure this afternoon!"

"Don't go out this afternoon, come straight to my house to play."

Xu Yuan got up so early today and played outside for so long, he's really sleepy now, so he thought of a simple way to take care of the child:
"Haven't you always wanted to play Kabuto Giant? Come to my house and play with it all you want."

"Ah, right...right! I want to play!"

"No, Xia Ke, it's time to do your homework this afternoon."

Lin Yueyao reminded Xia Ke, "We haven't done our weekend homework yet."

"Oh... I didn't know that!"

Xia Ke immediately looked troubled. "But I'd rather play Kabuto Giant, what should I do?"

"Then don't write it."

Xia Lei gave Xia Ke an idea: "When you go to school, just say that your dad lost your homework, and the teacher won't bother you."

“Hey, honey, how can you teach the child like this?”

"Oh dear, that homework is just practicing calligraphy, it's not really useful..."

In Xu Yuan's view, Xia Ke's family environment is a model of a very harmonious and loving happy family, with a humorous and witty father and a gentle and virtuous mother.

If she hadn't encountered some major upheaval, Xia Ke would probably be growing up carefree and happy like she is now...

Looking back, I wanted to keep my childhood sweethearts by my side and grow up with them, not just live my own life.

In order to cope with the difficulties that may be encountered in the future, I should make adequate preparations in advance...

Xu Yuan hopes to refine his "Little Green Plum" development plan into specific plans and measures.

　Please, please, please read this and give me your monthly votes!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)