Rebirth to Save Myself

It's Friday, so everyone's in a good mood and they've made plans to go somewhere fun tomorrow. Lu Jingnian followed Su Xia and Chen Yuan, all the way to Chen Yuan's classroom door, and then followed Su Xia into the classroom.

Su Xia really wanted to say, "Big brother, I'm panicking when you're following me, it feels like I'm being forced to walk." But this big brother was in the same class as her, and she couldn't very well ask him to take a longer route to the classroom via the other staircase. So she could only take small, hurried steps up the stairs.

Lu Jingnian also looked at Su Xia with curiosity. She had obviously quickened her pace, but she wasn't walking very fast. Why did she act like she was the bad guy, so timid and hesitant, constantly glancing back at where he was? They had been tutoring each other amicably after school yesterday, and even said they would cooperate happily in the future. Women are truly incomprehensible creatures.

Although Lu Jingnian refused Su Xia's offer to buy him milk tea as an apology yesterday, Su Xia still bought a cup of lemonade during lunch break and brought it back to the classroom. Seeing Lu Jingnian sleeping on his desk, she wrote something on a sticky note and placed the lemonade next to him.

As soon as Lu Jingnian woke up, his attention was drawn to the lemonade next to him. There was a sticky note on the bag that read: "An apology and compensation for you."

He looked at Su Xia, who was looking at the questions with Xie Shilan. They said something and then suddenly laughed. He couldn't help but laugh along. Then his deskmate saw the lemonade in his hand and exclaimed, "Aren't you going to drink it? Give it to me, I'm thirsty."

Because Lu Jingnian was very popular with girls, they often bought him all sorts of water, drinks, and milk tea. He wouldn't drink any of them, but his deskmate got to enjoy them all.

"No, this is mine." Lu Jingnian slapped his deskmate's hand away, took a sip from the straw, and found it to be sweet and sour, not exactly delicious.

His deskmate, who was sitting next to him, was wondering why this kid suddenly wanted to drink today. "Could it be that he has a crush on someone?" he wondered. Then, with a gossipy look, he asked Lu Jingnian, "Who gave this to you?"

"I want you to manage."

"It's not a girl you like, is it? Which one? Is she a senior or a junior?"

The Provincial No. 1 High School is a combined junior and senior high school, but they are not in the same teaching building. After Lu Jingnian was promoted from Huaqing High School, his handsome face and 185 cm height attracted a lot of female fans.

"neither."

"Holy crap, could it be someone from our grade? Is it that pretty girl from Class 8?"

Class 8 is an arts class, filled with students who study fine arts and dance. They always dress up beautifully, and even the same school uniform looks different on them. My deskmate mentioned that the beauty in Class 8 is the undisputed number one in the grade, and she's also the one who bravely confessed her feelings to Lu Jingnian in the cafeteria but was rejected.

Everyone initially thought it would be embarrassing to be rejected in public, but the beautiful woman became more determined after each setback, vowing to win Lu Jingnian's heart before she would give up.

"No." Lu Jingnian took a bottle of Coke out of his desk drawer and tossed it to his deskmate, saying, "This is what she gave me. Here you go."

Lu Jingnian stopped answering any questions his deskmate asked, which aroused his deskmate's curiosity to a whole new level, making him unable to concentrate on the afternoon classes.

After school, Lu Jingnian went to Su Xia's seat to have tutoring together. Then Su Xia asked him, "Tomorrow is the weekend, are you still having tutoring?"

Su Xia hadn't originally intended to bring this up, but after learning yesterday that Lu Jingnian lived in the same neighborhood, she decided to ask politely. He certainly wouldn't agree, since boys usually spend their weekends playing sports or video games with friends.

"Okay, will you come to find me or should I come to find you?"

Huh? What did he just say? Su Xia looked up at Lu Jingnian, her expression still unchanged, and Lu Jingnian saw right through her.

"Any questions?"

"No, no, let's go to the coffee shop in the neighborhood," Su Xia quickly shook her head, then suggested meeting at the coffee shop. Seriously? They weren't close enough to go to each other's homes, okay? It would be so awkward if they ran into each other's parents!

"Um, what time?"

"Around nine o'clock, I'll come out after I finish breakfast."

"it is good."

On the weekend, Su Xia got up early, went for a run, and when she came back, she found Chen Yuan also awake and waiting for her at the dining table to have breakfast together. She asked, "Why are you awake? You usually sleep for a while."

"Then I have to go with you! What if that Lu Jingnian isn't a good person?" Chen Yuan had thought about it all night and decided not to go to sleep. She wouldn't stand by and watch Su Xia get bullied.

"We're just going to study. If you're going, remember to bring your homework." Su Xia ignored Chen Yuan, went straight back to her bedroom to take a shower, and then came out to have breakfast after putting on a dress.

"Xiaxia, you don't understand. I'm going to supervise that guy." Chen Yuan tried to argue that she didn't want to bring her homework.

"Two choices: 1. Stay at home; 2. Take your homework with you."

"I... I choose number two." Chen Yuan hesitated for a moment, but still decided to go over.

When Su Xia and Chen Yuan arrived at the coffee shop, Lu Jingnian had already found a corner seat by the window.

"I'm sorry, my sister insisted on coming out with me." Su Xia quickly went over to apologize.

"We weren't late, why should we apologize to him?" Chen Yuan said nonchalantly, and then pulled Su Xia to order.

"You guys go ahead, I've already ordered." Lu Jingnian told them to go ahead without a care.

"Hmph, you stingy thing, order for yourself." Chen Yuan arrogantly pulled Su Xia to the order counter and said to the waiter, "I'll have a cappuccino and a slice of Black Forest cake. Xia Xia, what do you want?"

"Iced Americano".

"Then let's have a cappuccino, an iced Americano, and a cake."

"Okay, that's 86 yuan in total."

After ordering their food, the two sat back down, and Lu Jingnian immediately started asking Su Xia questions about English. Inspired by him, Su Xia also got into study mode, leaving only Chen Yuan unwilling to study and just watching Lu Jingnian.

"Yuanyuan, take out your homework and do it. If you don't understand something, you can ask him. He's very good at physics, chemistry, and math," Su Xia said.

"I don't want to ask him, I'll just ask you."

"Okay, then hurry up and do it."

Just then, Lu Jingnian's mother passed by the coffee shop and noticed her son, unusually, inside, with two young girls sitting next to him. Excitedly, she took out her camera from her bag and snapped a picture of them. Lu's mother had originally planned to go photoshoots with a friend that day. So, after taking the picture, she didn't linger and left the neighborhood.

The three people in the coffee shop were unaware that they were being secretly photographed, and they buried themselves in their studies until noon. They agreed to meet again at the same spot at nine o'clock the next morning before going their separate ways.

"I'm not going tomorrow," Chen Yuan said to Su Xia as soon as she got home.

"Why didn't you go? Today was great." Su Xia was very confused.

"You guys were just discussing the problems, and I couldn't understand a word you said. That Lu Jingnian, when I asked him a question, he just gave me a formula—how was I supposed to know that?!" Chen Yuan was utterly exasperated with Lu Jingnian. After observing them all morning, she realized they were simply studying. She decided she'd better sleep in tomorrow morning; being dragged out to finish her weekend homework would allow her to relax and play comfortably.

"Okay, if you don't want to go, then you don't have to go." Su Xia didn't force Chen Yuan. Her midterm exam results were pretty good, and she was considered above average in her class. So Su Xia wouldn't push Chen Yuan too much to keep up with the pace of the experimental class and complete the three-year curriculum in the first year of high school.

So, the next morning, Lu Jingnian discovered that Su Xia had come to the coffee shop alone. He remembered how his mother had pulled him aside the day before, asking with a gossipy look if the two pretty girls in the coffee shop were his girlfriends, which had left him completely bewildered. Then his mother recounted what she had seen and showed him the photos on her camera.

In the photo, he and Su Xia are looking down, and because of the angle, they look almost touching. Chen Yuan is also half-standing up and leaning over to look. Sunlight shines through the glass and falls on the table; everything is so peaceful and serene.

His mother joked that this was the essence of youth, and added that Su Xia was quite pretty, fair-skinned, and wearing a dark green dress. She said she would completely agree if he wanted to pursue her.

"Good morning, have you ordered?" Su Xia finished ordering her coffee and came over.

"I ordered it, where's your sister?" Lu Jingnian asked.

"She couldn't get up. She was still sleeping when I left." Su Xia chuckled. Chen Yuan was just like that, always saying one thing and doing another.

"Oh, let's study."

"Uh-huh."

Today, Lu's mother deliberately declined her friend's invitation. Seeing her son leave, she secretly followed him and discovered he had returned to the coffee shop from yesterday. She found a corner to wait, and soon saw the girl she had praised as pretty yesterday walk towards her son. The two sat together, laughing and talking. Lu's mother concluded that her son was definitely in a relationship.

Lu Jingnian finished his homework and looked up at Su Xia, only to find her still deep in thought. He glanced around and spotted a woman in the corner wearing a sun hat and sunglasses, looking utterly exasperated. Lu's mother was probably trying to avoid being recognized, so she had disguised herself, unaware that her disguise was incredibly conspicuous in the coffee shop.

When Lu's mother noticed that Lu Jingnian was looking in their direction, she guiltily turned her head away. Lu Jingnian said to Su Xia, "I'm going out for a bit."

"it is good."

After saying that, Lu Jingnian walked straight towards his mother, then yanked off her hat and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Hehe, son, what a coincidence! Are you here for coffee too?" Mrs. Lu said with an awkward smile.

"Didn't you make an appointment with Aunt Liu to go to the beauty salon today? Why are you here? Or are you following me?" Lu Jingnian asked her, sitting opposite his mother.

"No, no, your Aunt Liu didn't cancel at the last minute. I just came to have coffee since I had nothing else to do," Lu's mother hurriedly retorted.

"I'd better go ahead first." Lu Jingnian had no choice but to get up and return to Su Xia's side, since he couldn't do anything about his mother.

Su Xia didn't say anything when she saw Lu Jingnian return, but a voice came from behind her a moment later: "Niannian!"

Lu Jingnian looked up and saw his mother running towards him with a coffee cup. She exclaimed with delight, "You're here too! Is this your classmate?"

Su Xia was completely bewildered. What was going on? This aunt looked like a relative of Lu Jingnian. Then she looked at Lu Jingnian, her eyes asking him what was going on.

Lu Jingnian said helplessly, "This is my mother."

"Hello, Auntie!" Su Xia quickly greeted her.

"Hey, what's your name?" Lu's mother sat down and took Su Xia's hand, asking her.

"Su Xia." Su Xia tried to pull her hand back, but Lu's mother held on tightly and she couldn't.

"What a lovely name! What are you doing?" Mrs. Lu continued to ask.

“We’re studying. If you’re not busy, you can go ahead,” Lu Jingnian said.

"Are you hungry? Studying must be tiring. Let me order you a small cake," Lu's mother said directly to Su Xia, completely ignoring Lu Jingnian's words.

"No need, Auntie. I'm not hungry." Su Xia quickly refused, as she didn't really like sweets.

"You can come over to my house to play when you have time. It's not as comfortable at home as it is outside."

"oh oh."

"Mom, why don't you go back right away?"

"This child is just shy. Auntie will be going now. Remember to come over to our house to play when you have time."

"All right."

After seeing off Lu's mother, Su Xia and Lu Jingnian both breathed a sigh of relief. Lu Jingnian said to Su Xia, "I'm sorry, I didn't know my mother would be coming."

"Hmm, it's nothing." Su Xia shook her head and then sat down to continue looking at the questions.

When Su Xia returned home at noon, Chen Chunqi asked her at the dinner table, "Xiaxia, who was the boy next to you at the coffee shop this morning? What was Yuanyuan's name again?"

"Lu Jingnian," Chen Yuan said.

"Yes, yes, Lu Jingnian, you guys are studying in the coffee shop?" Chen Chunqi asked Su Xia.

“Well, we’re not very familiar with each other, so it’s not convenient to go to each other’s homes. Besides, there aren’t many people at the coffee shops outside in the morning, which is nice,” Su Xia said. She felt that her relationship with Lu Jingnian was just a simple academic one, and there was nothing to hide.

"Oh, I see." Chen Chunqi didn't press further when Su Xia said she wasn't very familiar with them. Su Xia was much more reliable than Chen Yuan; she knew what she wanted to do, so there was no need to worry about her.

“Mom, that boy was assigned to tutor Xiaxia by her homeroom teacher, hoping to improve her chemistry grades,” Chen Yuan said, then added after thinking for a moment, “It’s like a study group, where they can improve together.”

"Yeah, your teacher is really nice, she cares about your grades." Chen Chunqi picked up a chicken leg for Su Xia and then continued eating.

"Mom, let's go to the supermarket to buy groceries this afternoon, and I'll cook dinner tonight," Su Xia suggested.

"Yay! It's been so long since I've had Xiaxia's cooking!" Chen Yuan was the first to raise her hand and cheer.

"All you ever think about is food. Let's go together this afternoon," Chen Chunqi suggested.

"Uh-huh."

Su Xia and the other two went to a large chain supermarket near their apartment complex and bought everything from vegetables and fruits to seafood and meat. Chen Yuan even grabbed a bunch of snacks. The three women couldn't carry it all back, so they called Chen Jianguo for help.