Rebirth to Save Myself

That night, the forum exploded again! Countless people flooded the previous post where Chen Li apologized, leaving comments on it:

First floor: Did you know she's the heiress of the Anker Group?

Second floor: You dare to mess with the young lady of Anker Group? I really admire your courage.

Third floor: You offended the young lady of Anker Group, and all you got was a demerit? As expected, the young lady is too kind-hearted! If it were me, I would definitely expel you from school, and you won't even get your diploma.

……

3251st floor: She'll have to keep a low profile today, she's offended such a big shot.

Chen Li had just returned from her part-time job when she noticed a flood of replies to her apology post, with many people saying they didn't quite understand. She then browsed the school's online forum homepage, where the most popular post was:

I never imagined I'd be attending the same university as the heiress of the Anker Group. What an honor!

[Picture][Picture][Picture]

First floor: Confessing to you, Miss, do you need a boyfriend? I can eat, drink, and sleep with you. [shy]

Second floor: Wake up, upstairs. Miss already has a boyfriend. Didn't you read the previous posts spreading rumors?

Third floor: Yeah, I remember I already had a boyfriend when I started college, and our relationship was very stable.

Fourth floor: I know, her boyfriend is from our dorm.

Fifth floor: The person on the fourth floor, what does her boyfriend look like? Is he as handsome as me? [Selfie]

Sixth floor: Ugh! Stop making a fool of yourself upstairs, someone like you wouldn't even look at a rich girl like you.

……

"What?! She's actually the heiress of the Anker Group!" Chen Li couldn't believe it. She went back to the top of the post and carefully looked at the three pictures: Chen Wanying speaking, Chen Wanying standing with the chairman of Anker, and Chen Wanying receiving a card from the chairman. It was hard not to see from the photos that the two looked five or six points alike. Chen Wanying looked a bit more gentle, but they were indeed father and daughter.

"Look at her, she's offended a big shot and doesn't even realize it!"

"That's right, it's just spreading rumors. The chairman himself clarified it today."

“If the young lady is wronged, then she’s doomed.”

Although the people around her were whispering, they were still talking in a voice Chen Li could hear, as if they were gloating over the bad days that were about to begin for her. Chen Li ran back to her dormitory quickly, then slumped against the door and sat on the floor, muttering, "What? Such a powerful background."

Besides Chen Wanying's rapid rise to fame, another initiative that brought her to the public's attention was the "Brilliant Light Project." This was a public welfare program introduced to her by Chen Wanying at the request of the chairman of Anker Group. The project aimed to support and improve the living conditions of women, providing opportunities for women with dreams and aspirations so they could contribute more to society without having to worry too much. The first beneficiary of this project was Lu Lu.

Su Xia hurriedly returned to her dormitory with two meals in hand. She opened the door, then pulled off her mask and exclaimed, "I never thought I'd get celebrity treatment one day."

"Thank you for your hard work, Xiaxia!" Chen Wanying took the meal from Su Xia, then handed one to Lu Lu, and said, "I didn't expect everyone to be so enthusiastic."

"Most of them want to replace Lin Zhe and be your boyfriend, after all, you are the only heir of Anker Group." Su Xia put down her book and sat down to rest. Ever since Chen Wanying's actions, all four of them in the dormitory have become famous.

Everyone wanted to see Chen Wanying and get close to her. Unable to see her directly, they tried to approach her roommates, so Su Xia and Ye Zhenzhen were also enthusiastically drawn into the conversation. Lu Lu, as the first person in the Yingying Micro-Light Project and Chen Wanying's roommate, was bound to become famous. The two of them could only hide in their dormitory, afraid to go out. The teacher understood their predicament and didn't deliberately mark them as absent.

“Ah Zhe was really worried about me. Before I went to university, he told me not to talk about my family background, so that I wouldn’t be taken advantage of by people with bad intentions. I didn’t expect it to be exposed before I even graduated. Sigh, it’s all fate.” Chen Wanying sighed while eating.

“I agree with Lin Zhe on this point. Look at Chen Li, she bullies you just because you don’t have any powerful connections.” Su Xia nodded. There are too many people who rely on their connections to bully others.

"My dad was afraid I'd feel wronged, so he publicly acknowledged that I'm his daughter. He originally wanted to send me abroad to study, but I didn't really want to go. There's nothing fun abroad, and our domestic education is pretty good too." Chen Wanying was also quite helpless. If it weren't for Chen Li, she wouldn't be stuck in her dorm waiting for Su Xia and Ye Zhenzhen to bring them food.

"That's a good thing, at least people won't dare to gossip about you anymore. After a while, things will calm down, and everything will be fine," Su Xia comforted Chen Wanying.

"Mmm, it's okay. At worst, I'll have my dad hire a bodyguard for me." Chen Wanying nodded, accepting Su Xia's comfort.

Su Xia couldn't help but imagine Chen Wanying going to class with four men in long black coats and sunglasses in front of and behind her—she was practically a celebrity! The scene was too beautiful to even contemplate!

While people's desire to join in the fun is understandable, they'll forget about it after a while when something new and interesting happens. Chen Wanying and Lu Lu can now go out without worry, no longer cooped up in their dorm rooms, afraid of being overly enthusiastic people rushing up and giving them a piece of their mind.

After the final exams of the second semester of their junior year, everyone was about to begin their senior year internships. Chen Wanying, unsurprisingly, would be interning at her family's company. Su Xia was preparing for graduate school entrance exams, and Lu Lu was preparing for studying abroad, so the two of them stayed in the dorm together. Ye Zhenzhen's parents found her an internship at her uncle's company, where she could also take the civil service exam. It seemed that all four of them had found their direction and were working towards it.

Lu Jingnian has been a bit troubled lately. He's also a senior in college now, and he's already secured an internship. What's bothering him is that he wants Su Xia to come and attend his graduation ceremony. He's calculated the time; his graduation ceremony is earlier than Su Xia's, so if Su Xia comes, they can go back together and attend Su Xia's graduation ceremony. He regrets that he only managed to take graduation photos with Su Xia during high school because he went abroad early, and couldn't take the college entrance exam and graduate together with her.

However, Lu Jingnian also knew that going abroad was really troublesome, and Su Xia was busy preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination, sometimes not replying to messages for three or four days. He was also conflicted about whether to bring up this matter with Su Xia.

Meanwhile, Su Xia was also discussing this matter with Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan looked at Su Xia with a disappointed expression and asked, "Do you really not like Lu Jingnian and only treat him as an ordinary friend?"

Su Xia's eyes darted away, seemingly unwilling to answer the question. She was a coward, so cowardly that she stopped thinking about Lu Jingnian as soon as he went abroad, burying her head in the sand like an ostrich. Su Xia answered slowly, "I don't know, I haven't thought about it seriously."

"You, you're always the one teaching me, how come you're so clueless when it comes to your own affairs?" Chen Yuan wanted nothing more than to reach out from the screen and poke her forehead.

"But if I go over there first, won't it seem like I'm too eager to be with him?" Su Xia asked worriedly. As someone who is almost fifty years old, she has never been in a relationship and has never tried to understand how couples get along.

"Let me ask you, Lu Jingnian made a four-year promise to you, and he hasn't had a girlfriend in almost four years abroad. What does that mean? With his looks and personality, how could he not have girlfriends pursuing him? In high school, he had girls chasing him from the first year to the third, and even some junior high students had crushes on him. Girls would be willing to date him if he just waved his hand." Chen Yuan was truly exasperated and continued to berate Su Xia: "Lu Jingnian simply realized that you didn't understand things, so he gave you time to adjust and let you realize whether you liked him or not! Now that you've decided to go abroad to find him, it means that Lu Jingnian isn't just a friend to you, am I right?"

Although Su Xia was unwilling to admit it, she still nodded honestly and said, "Isn't it said that girls lose their value if they take the initiative?"

"What dynasty's thinking is this? You've really corrupted yourself!" Chen Yuan raised her voice, startling passersby. Chen Wenwei, who was next to her, patted her on the shoulder to calm her down.

She and Chen Wenwei returned to the provincial capital during the summer after their junior year and were both looking for internships. She felt that now was not the time for her to look for an internship; she should buy a plane ticket and fly over to open Su Xia's brain and see what was left inside besides studying. She took a few deep breaths and then said to Su Xia in a commanding tone, "Open the app right now and book a ticket. Then come back, apply for a visa, and book a flight to Lu Jingnian's place."

"But I still have to take the postgraduate entrance exam!" Su Xia still stubbornly insisted.

“Come back, and your parents will give you better treatment than the dormitory for your postgraduate entrance exam. After you finish the exam, you can go to Lu Jingnian’s place. I believe that if your parents knew about you and Lu Jingnian, they would wholeheartedly approve,” Chen Yuan said confidently.

"Okay, I haven't seen my parents in a while, I'll go back for a bit." After hanging up the phone, Su Xia started packing her things.

On the way back, Su Xia, unusually, didn't read or edit videos. Instead, she opened the notes app on her tablet and started scribbling. She remembered that noon when she learned that Lu Jingnian had traveled halfway around the world to take graduation photos with her. She appeared before Lu Jingnian with her hair still wet. Why did she do that back then?

She recalled the day Lu Jingnian came to find her. He looked at her solemnly and said, "I'm serious about what I'm about to say. Our four-year agreement—then you'll have no reason to refuse me."

The four-year promise was something Su Xia seriously considered. Since starting university, several boys around her had liked her and confessed their feelings. She seemed to have said something like, "Sorry, I don't plan to date in university."

"If you don't want to date in college, do you plan to find a partner in the office after you start working?"

"This is not your responsibility."

"Look at all those people who date in college. If they don't, they break up after graduation. If they do, they have a foundation, and it will be easier to get married later."

"There's no need for that. You haven't even accepted me yet, and you're already trying to take advantage of me. Goodbye."

Later, the boy was furious and told everyone that Su Xia was spoiled, that he wasn't good-looking enough but still had unrealistic expectations, and that Su Xia made him spend money but still wouldn't agree to be together. When the other three girls in the dorm found out, they went straight to the boy's class and gave him a thorough dressing-down, making him avoid Su Xia from then on.

When someone confessed their feelings to her, she was actually thinking of Lu Jingnian and their four-year promise. She also thought of the message Lu Jingnian sent her that morning; it was snowing where he was, and as a southerner, she had never seen such heavy snow before, and she was shocked every time she saw it.

"I think I like him." Su Xia finally came to this conclusion, and then the world instantly brightened up. She finally settled the matter that had been delayed for three years, and the feeling was like finally driving out of a foggy area and seeing the sun shining on the mountains.

Su Xia has a bad habit: if she doesn't want to do something, or subconsciously feels that doing it will change her current situation, she will procrastinate and refuse to do it. In modern terms, she's stayed in her comfort zone for too long and is unwilling to venture out and explore.

As soon as Su Xia got off the high-speed train and exited the station, she saw Chen Yuan, Chen Jianguo, and Chen Chunqi standing not far away, glancing at the exit from time to time. Chen Yuan spotted her with sharp eyes, immediately tugged at Chen Jianguo, then rushed up and hugged Su Xia tightly, saying, "You've finally arrived."

Chen Jianguo and Chen Chunqi also stepped forward. Chen Jianguo naturally took the suitcase from Su Xia's hand and looked at his two daughters hugging each other, saying, "Let's talk slowly in the car."

Chen Chunqi held Su Xia's hand and looked her over for a while before saying, "You've lost weight."

"Yes, that's why I rushed back to have my mom give me some nourishment!" Su Xia said, looking at Chen Chunqi with a coquettish expression as she held her hand.

"Bu, what do you want to eat? Mom will make it for you." Chen Chunqi nodded and said happily.

"You should cherish this opportunity while it lasts. I was like this when I first came back," Chen Yuan whispered to Su Xia, then looked at Chen Chunqi and added, "I'm eating porridge with pickled vegetables right now."

"Haha, the college student who gets rejected." Su Xia couldn't help but laugh. Isn't this the current situation of college students going home? At first, they're a treasure, they'd practically feed you while you're lying down. Later, they become useless at home, even standing there is considered a nuisance. It won't get any better until you go back to school.

"How many days are you planning to stay this time?" Chen Jianguo asked as he drove.

"Let's wait until summer vacation ends, then go back and prepare for the exams." Su Xia thought that it had indeed been a long time since she had been back, so she should stay a little longer.

"Yeah, that's good. Your mom was just saying the other day why you weren't coming back. It's not like you can't read at home." Chen Jianguo glanced at Chen Chunqi.

“You’re the same, always mentioning me.” Chen Chunqi didn’t care about Chen Jianguo’s feelings and said it directly.

"Hahaha." Chen Yuan and Su Xia were laughing so hard at the couple.