Rebirth to Save Myself

Su Xia didn't expect that before she could even tell Lu Jingnian about the weekend, he would tell her that he had something to do that weekend and couldn't study together.

“Yes, that’s perfect. I also have some things to do this weekend, so let’s take a break for now.” Su Xia nodded in agreement.

Both of them felt that once they finished talking, that was enough; they weren't close enough to ask each other what the other was doing over the weekend. So, when Su Xia got out of Chen Jianguo's car, she heard Lu Jingnian's surprised voice: "Su Xia?"

Su Xia looked over, also surprised. Just as she was about to speak, Chen Yuan got out of the car and saw him, shouting, "Lu Jingnian, what are you doing here?"

When Lu's father saw Chen Jianguo arrive, he quickly led Liu Jiannan to greet him. Liu Jiannan said to Chen Jianguo, "This is the man I told you about, Lu Zhongqing."

"Hello, Mr. Chen, I am Lu Zhongqing, this is my wife Xie Yuezhi, and this is my son Lu Jingnian." Lu Zhongqing introduced them one by one.

"Hello, Mr. Lu. This is my wife, Chen Chunqi. These are my two daughters, Chen Yuan and Su Xia." Chen Jianguo also introduced his family. The two sides were quite friendly during their first meeting.

"Son, do you know President Chen's daughter? I just heard you call out her name." Lu Zhongqing pretended not to know and turned to ask Lu Jingnian.

“We’re classmates. I didn’t expect to run into you here by such a coincidence,” Lu Jingnian explained to Lu Zhongqing, without doubting that Lu Zhongqing would know the news in advance. The last sentence was addressed to Su Xia.

"It's quite a coincidence. I would have thought you came here after Xiaxia," Chen Yuan said from the side.

"Yuanyuan, you can't be rude," Chen Chunqi said, stopping Chen Yuan's nonsense.

"It's alright, it's alright, they're just kids. Jingnian, why don't you take your two younger sisters and go play with Uncle Liu's son?" Xie Yuezhi said to Lu Jingnian.

Lu Jingnian didn't refuse. It was a family gathering, so he naturally wanted to treat everyone well. The adults were to be entertained, and Lu Jingnian would take care of the younger generation. Lu Jingnian led two people to the lakeside, where Uncle Liu's son, Liu Cong, was trying his hand at fishing.

Chen Yuan got bored after watching for a while and wanted to see if there were any other fun activities. Lu Jingnian, as the young host and a boy, naturally wouldn't let the two girls wander around alone. So the three of them ran to ask the shop owner what was fun nearby. The owner said it was autumn, and there was a chestnut tree on the mountain that was ripe. They could take a basket and pick some; boiling or roasting them would be great ways to eat them.

Chen Yuan was very excited when she heard this. Although she had lived in the countryside for a long time, Chen Jianguo was a good earner! He never let the two women in the family go up the mountain to plant vegetables, let alone go to the mountains to pick chestnuts. So when Chen Yuan heard about this, she pulled Su Xia along to go.

Su Xia had done these things before, but she found them boring and didn't want to go. She couldn't resist Chen Yuan's enthusiasm! In her previous life, to satisfy her cravings, she had practically explored every mountain near the village. In spring, she would gather bamboo shoots and ferns; in summer, peaches and plums; in autumn, chestnuts and jujubes—whatever was available in any season, she would go to the mountains to collect it.

Su Xia, Chen Yuan, and Lu Jingnian were left to go up the mountain to pick chestnuts, each carrying a basket. Upon reaching the chestnut trees, Su Xia looked around and saw that there weren't many chestnuts to pick. It seemed that others had already collected some a couple of days ago, and most were still hanging on the trees.

Chen Yuan was a little disappointed. She picked up a bunch of small pieces from the ground and filled the bottom of the basket, feeling rather disappointed. Seeing this, Su Xia said, "You guys go a little further away, I'll climb up the tree and shake some down."

"Let me do it." Lu Jingnian stopped Su Xia, who was about to climb the tree, feeling that as a boy, he shouldn't let Su Xia, a girl, climb the tree.

Su Xia glanced at Lu Jingnian's white T-shirt, then at the Air Force One on his feet, and figured that this kid had never climbed a tree before. Not wanting to offend him directly, she moved aside.

Lu Jingnian tried climbing, but he didn't get the hang of it and slipped down after a short distance. He grew up in the city, and his grandparents were also city people; they had never done anything like climbing trees like in the countryside. Moreover, he was an only child and was kept very close to his family, so he hadn't really had much time to run wild or play around.

"Let me do it, you stand further back." Su Xia pulled Lu Jingnian down, and in no time she had climbed to a branch. She used the small sickle in her hand to cut the chestnut branches and leaves, and the spiky chestnuts hit the ground with a dull thud.

Lu Jingnian found it incredibly novel; this was an experience he couldn't have in the city. Watching Su Xia diligently picking chestnuts from the tree, and seeing Chen Yuan cheering and jumping for joy beside him, he felt a strange mix of emotions.

Su Xia saw that there were quite a few chestnuts on the ground, and since she hadn't taken them all from the tree, she had to leave some for others. So she threw down her sickle first, and then slowly climbed down the tree. Lu Jingnian saw this and wanted to help her, but Su Xia jumped down when she was almost on the ground, and then looked at Lu Jingnian with his arms outstretched beside her, looking puzzled.

Lu Jingnian quickly stopped and changed the subject, saying, "You're so skilled at climbing trees!"

“This is an essential skill for every rural child.” Su Xia didn’t dwell on the meaning of his actions just now, and directly called Chen Yuan over to peel the chestnuts.

First, they used their feet to crush the thorns on the chestnut shells, then used a sickle to pry open the slits, and the plump chestnuts came out. The three of them worked together, and soon the baskets were full. Lu Jingnian originally wanted to carry the chestnuts back by himself, but Chen Yuan and Su Xia refused, saying that they should take the fruits of their labor themselves.

Then, the parents saw the three of them returning, each carrying a basket and talking as they walked. When Chen Yuan saw Chen Chunqi, she happily ran over to her and said, "Mom, look! Xiaxia and I picked chestnuts together, they're huge!"

Chen Chunqi glanced at the baskets. Chen Yuan's basket didn't have much left either, and Su Xia's basket had even less, while Lu Jingnian's basket was two-thirds full.

Seeing this, Lu Jingnian quickly said, "These were all brought down by Su Xia climbing the tree, and then we did it together. Because there were so many, I took a little more."

"Xiaxia, why are you still climbing trees? Can your body handle it?" Upon hearing Lu Jingnian's words, Chen Chunqi quickly went to Su Xia's side to check if she was injured.

"It's okay, Mom. The tree is well-trimmed and easy to climb, and I don't climb very high." Su Xia comforted Chen Chunqi, then held up the basket in her hand and said, "We'll cook these chestnuts later. They're tastier than the ones you buy outside."

“Okay, be more careful next time. Yuanyuan, as the older sister, you should also take care of your younger sister.” Chen Chunqi took the basket from Su Xia’s hand and then said to Chen Yuan.

"Okay, Mom." Chen Yuan stuck out her tongue. Although her mother often nagged that Su Xia was not in good health and needed to be taken good care of, apart from the time during military training when it was very serious, Su Xia was just as healthy as herself.

The owner of the farmhouse was surprised to see that they had brought back so many chestnuts, but he didn't say anything. He simply cooked some of them, and Su Xia said she would take the rest back to make chestnut chicken. Xie Yuezhi was delighted to hear that Su Xia could cook and asked if she could come over for a meal.

Su Xia considered for a moment and said she would borrow the boss's kitchen to cook for everyone that evening. Xie Yuezhi smiled and agreed, but inwardly felt that this girl was very guarded. If it were anyone else, they would probably ask their parents before agreeing, but Su Xia had come up with a compromise that neither allowed her to go to their house nor made her lose face. It was hard to imagine that she was a girl who was only in her first year of high school, and Su Xia and Chen Jianguo's family were clearly not related. Chen Yuan was Chen Jianguo's biological daughter, and Chen Jianguo treated Su Xia like his own daughter. He was a little curious about their family situation.

That evening, Su Xia asked to use the owner's kitchen, and the owner readily agreed. These days, the owners who come to visit are all relatively wealthy, and it's not uncommon for them to want to cook for themselves occasionally; in any case, the owner will always add it to their bill and pay for it all at once.

Besides Su Xia's chestnut chicken, the owner also provided other dishes. The moment Su Xia's chicken was served, its irresistible aroma overwhelmed all the other dishes. One bite revealed tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken, and silky smooth chestnuts—the broth was so delicious you could use it to mix with rice!

After the meal, everyone praised Su Xia's cooking skills endlessly! This made Chen Jianguo very proud, as if he was saying, "I'm proud to have a daughter, and your sons don't seem to be very useful."

"Su Xia's cooking is so delicious. Do you often cook for your family at home?" Xie Yuezhi asked.

“It’s alright, we don’t force our child to cook. She’ll cook if she feels like it one day,” Chen Chunqi said.

"Oh, you can make it so delicious without any special training? Is there any secret?" Xie Yuezhi said, then added, "My son has been trained to cook since he was little, but he's only so-so now, and he can't compare to Su Xia at all."

“Xiaxia is amazing. She can cook anything just by showing her a recipe,” Chen Yuan immediately said.

"Amazing!" Xie Yuezhi gave Su Xia a thumbs up. She had heard from Liu Jiannan that the child was a good student and not arrogant. She had so many skills at such a young age, and it was the result of no deliberate cultivation.

"Thank you, but I'm not as amazing as my parents say. I've also failed at cooking many dishes, it's just that my parents only praise the good ones." Su Xia didn't like to show off like this, and besides, she wasn't the main character today.

“My daughter is introverted and doesn’t like going out much. I heard your son is in the same class as her, right?” Chen Jianguo asked.

“Yes, Uncle, Su Xia and I are in the same class,” Lu Jingnian replied.

"Then I'll trouble you to take care of Su Xia from now on. She's not in good health, and she speaks very bluntly, which can unintentionally upset some people," Chen Jianguo said to Lu Jingnian.

“Dad, you don’t know, do you? The time Xiaxia fainted, I was the one who carried her for the first half, and Lu Jingnian helped her for the second half,” Chen Yuan said, surprising everyone. Then Chen Yuan added, “And, now Xiaxia and Lu Jingnian have formed a study group and tutor each other.”

"I was wondering why Su Xia looked so familiar. So it was you who was with Niannian at the coffee shop last time!" Xie Yuezhi said, feigning surprise. Lu Zhongqing, watching his wife's performance, thought she was quite the actress.

"It's me, Auntie." Su Xia had no choice but to admit it.

"What a coincidence! Thank you so much, Auntie, for taking Su Xia to the infirmary." Chen Chunqi raised her glass and said to Lu Jingnian.

"No, no, it's just classmates helping each other." Lu Jingnian quickly stood up and clinked glasses with Chen Chunqi.

"Not bad, young man," Chen Jianguo also praised Lu Jingnian.

Afterwards, the younger generation left the table first, while the elders moved to the tea room to continue chatting. Chen Yuan, arm in arm with Su Xia, prepared to go for a walk after dinner. Lu Jingnian also planned to go along. Liu Jiannan's son, Liu Qi, had already been scolded by his father for not going up the mountain with them in the afternoon, so upon hearing that they were going for a walk, he also expressed his willingness to join them.

The four of them walked together on the wooden bridge by the lake, watching the moonlight reflected on the water, the breeze creating shimmering ripples. It was already autumn, the weather wasn't too hot, and a breeze occasionally blew across the lake, carrying the unique freshness of the mountains. Su Xia and Chen Yuan chatted as they walked, Lu Jingnian occasionally chiming in; the three of them had already become acquainted during their afternoon chestnut-picking trip. Liu Qi was left slightly awkward. He didn't actually particularly enjoy fishing that afternoon, but his city-dwelling sense of superiority made him feel that such a dirty activity in the mountains was inappropriate, so he made up an excuse.

But when his father found out, he said to him, "This outing today was organized by the Lu family. They didn't want to bring you, but since they all brought children, it wouldn't be appropriate for me not to. But remember, you're not the main character today. You're supposed to help Lu Jingnian entertain Uncle Chen's two children. Is it really appropriate for you to be fishing here by yourself?"

Su Xia noticed Liu Qi's embarrassment, so she steered the conversation towards him, asking, "Are you in high school too? Which school?"

"Ah, me? I'm a first-year high school student at No. 8 High School." Liu Qi was momentarily taken aback by the question, but when he realized that all three of them were looking at him, he quickly spoke up.

"Oh, you're pretty good." Su Xia nodded, then asked, "How was your harvest this afternoon?"

"I haven't caught a single one. Fishing is so hard!" Liu Qi complained, sitting by the lake all afternoon feeding mosquitoes without catching a single fish.

“Fishing isn’t easy either. Back in my hometown, they used to use electricity to fish,” Chen Yuan added.

“Yes, fishing requires experience, and you can’t succeed on your first try,” Lu Jingnian said, trying to comfort Liu Qi.

Liu Qi was deeply moved. He had previously thought the three of them were ganging up on him and ignoring him. He came from a poorer family among the four, and he wasn't good at studying. No. 8 Middle School was a private high school, and his father had bribed a large sum of money to get him in. The other three, on the other hand, all studied at the Provincial No. 1 Middle School. The two in the experimental class went without saying, and even Chen Yuan was in the top class at No. 1 Middle School.