Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just the right volume for Jiang Chengyu to hear clearly.

How could Jiang Chengyu possibly miss such an opportunity?

He quickly hugged He Ziyu, gently stroking his head like he was coaxing a child, one stroke after another, incredibly tenderly.

He Ziyu rested his chin on Jiang Chengyu's shoulder, finally feeling at ease.

It feels so good to have someone to rely on.

After a while, He Ziyu suddenly twitched his nose.

"Brother Yu."

"Um?"

"Are you wearing perfume today too?"

Jiang Chengyu's collar smelled wonderful, a scent that was a blend of fruity and woody notes, neither too strong nor too weak, much better than the one he had secretly sprayed on his father earlier that day.

Jiang Chengyu nodded. "Does it smell good?"

"It smells good." He Ziyu, like a puppy, clung to Jiang Chengyu's neck and kept sniffing. "It smells much better than my dad's. Did you steal your dad's perfume too?"

"It was a gift from my mom's client for my birthday last year," Jiang Chengyu said. "I hadn't opened it until today, and this is the first time I've used it."

He Ziyu was captivated by the fragrance, somewhat intoxicated. "This scent is really wonderful, a woody aroma with a hint of sweetness, it smells delicious... Send me the brand later, I want to buy it too."

After buying them, I'll stock up on them and then send Jiang Chengyu a bottle every year so he'll always smell like this.

He Ziyu was making his own plans.

"Okay," Jiang Chengyu said, "I still have a few unopened bottles. Come to my house later and take whichever one you like."

"Mmm," He Ziyu nodded, clinging to Jiang Chengyu's neck reluctantly, muttering repeatedly, "Smells good, smells so good..."

He has always had a soft spot for men who wear perfume.

In his past life, when he was with Lan Yuan, he bought him all kinds of expensive perfumes, bottle after bottle, filling up his dormitory storage shelves.

In the end, however, all those perfumes became tools for Lan Yuan to expand his network of contacts.

Today he gives his roommate a bottle, tomorrow he gives his teammate a bottle. As he keeps giving them away, his storage space becomes empty, and He Ziyu's heart grows cold.

After that, He Ziyu stopped sending him perfume. He figured he wouldn't use it anyway, so why bother making himself miserable?

"What would you like to drink? Order whatever you like. I don't have much time. After I pay the bill, I'll be... Hey, Ah Yu?!"

He Ziyu was holding Jiang Chengyu tightly when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. His nerves snapped back to attention after a short moment of relaxation, and he looked over warily.

The direction my gaze lingered on was where Jing Ran stood, looking utterly bewildered, with Bei Yao, dressed in sportswear and panting heavily, standing beside her.

He Ziyu quickly jumped away from Jiang Chengyu.

"What are you all doing here?"

"We..." Jingran hesitated, then walked up to the two of them. "No, don't rush to ask me. Let me ask you first, what are you doing here hugging Yu-ge? And why are you two dressed so formally? Are you doing insurance sales on the side?"

"Selling insurance my ass, what are we doing... well, it's a long story."

Caught off guard by Jingran's question, He Ziyu really didn't know where to begin.

"Then let's talk slowly." Jing Ran sat down opposite the two of them and beckoned to Bei Yao, "Come over here too, don't just stand there like a telephone pole, looking silly."

Bei Yao wasn't angry at being scolded. He smiled and greeted the two of them, then happily sat down next to Jing Ran, resting his chin on his hand and looking at him.

He Ziyu: "..." There are other people next to my older brother.

But thinking about it, he didn't really have anything to complain about. After all, he himself was hugging Jiang Chengyu's neck and sniffing him in public. It was already good enough that people didn't think he was a pervert.

Under Jingran's persistent questioning, He Ziyu recounted the story of the "spark" and his and Jiang Chengyu's emotional journey in dressing up as such.

Jing Ran's expression gradually turned to one of admiration, much like when "Fire Seed" had looked at him earlier.

"Ah Yu, you're amazing! You have such a good business sense. If you make money in the future, can you buy me popsicles for a whole semester?" After saying that, Jing Ran added, "I'm your best brother."

"Sure, I'll take you forever. Or I'll just keep you as my mistress."

"Get lost, who wants to be your mistress? If anyone's going to be one, it'll be the official one..." Jingran was about to say it when she noticed Jiang Chengyu and Bei Yao staring at her, so she quickly changed her mind, "Never mind, never mind, you can keep whoever you want, just don't keep me. I'm an upright person."

It's one thing for Jiang Chengyu, that jealous jerk, to be watching him, but why is Bei Yao joining in the fun? What does it have to do with him?

"Now, how about we talk about you two?" He Ziyu rested his chin on his hand, his eyes gradually becoming gossipy. "It's Saturday today, what are you two doing together? Did you sneak out on a date?"

"Let's meet up with a snakeskin stick!" Jingran was a little agitated. "We just bumped into each other on the street. You can ask Beiyao if you don't believe me. He can vouch for me."

Bei Yao nodded. "Yes, I can testify."

They did indeed meet on the main road.

Today was a rare weekend, and Jingran originally wanted to sleep in until she naturally woke up. However, her mother suddenly invited a group of her sisters to the house, and they chattered and made a ruckus.

Unable to stand the noise, Jingran changed her clothes and went outside to seek refuge.

As for where he took refuge, it wasn't an internet cafe or a karaoke bar, but a stadium.

The stadium is a distance from No. 8 Middle School, so you usually don't run into any acquaintances there. When Jingran is bored, she goes there, puts on her headphones, takes a long stride, and runs a few laps to her heart's content, and all her worries disappear.

He was originally going to the stadium today as well.

Unexpectedly, a thief suddenly appeared and snatched his phone.

Jingran took off chasing after him, but he ran too fast and bumped into a big guy. When he looked up, he saw that it was Bei Yao.

Seeing that he was still dazed from the collision, Bei Yao told him to wait where he was, and then went alone to subdue the thief.

When Bei Yao got the phone back, he was covered in sweat.

Jingran felt a bit embarrassed, so she offered to buy him a bottle of water, but Beiyao refused and insisted that she treat him to coffee.

And so the two of them ended up here.

"The basketball team organized a practice session at the stadium today, and we took the same route." Bei Yao took an elegant sip of coffee. "I can only say that fate brought us together."

"..." Jing Ran said, "If you can't speak properly, don't talk nonsense."

After explaining how the two met by chance, Jingran's gossipy nature returned to He Ziyu.

"You still haven't answered me. What were you doing with Brother Yu just now? You were so intimate, you were almost kissing." Jingran said, raising an eyebrow. "Ayu, we understand that you're upset because of your relationship, but using your brother as a comfort is not appropriate."

Bei Yao choked on his food upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "Baby, you're just a little bit away from guessing the right answer. If you keep pushing, you'll be the smartest kid on the street."

Unfortunately, Jingran's words were three parts serious and seven parts joking.

He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu have both been innocent for over a decade, so to say that there was an affair between them...

He wouldn't believe it unless they kissed in public.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I just think the cologne Yu-ge is wearing today smells really good." He Ziyu casually put his hand on Jiang Chengyu's shoulder. "It smells like duck neck, do you want to smell it?"

"Duck neck flavor? Do they even have perfume that smells like that? I want to smell it!"

Jingran was so easily fooled that she believed such nonsense and actually got up and walked to Jiang Chengyu's side, intending to bury her head in his body.

Jiang Chengyu quickly grabbed his shoulder, "Ayu was just kidding."

"I don't believe you, let me smell it." Jingran stubbornly moved closer to Jiang Chengyu. "Ayu smelled it so wonderfully just now, it must smell amazing. Hey Beiyao! Why are you pulling my pants!"

Life is tough, Yao Yao sighed.

Jiang Chengyu's refusal was practically written all over his face, yet he still insisted on getting closer to him. Was this kid really beyond saving?

If there's really no hope, then we'll just have to make do. Anyway, the dumber ones are more obedient.

He'll tie a rope around the little fool's neck and take him to see more of the world; that should be quite a happy thing.

……

Around noon, Bei Yao suggested that they go out for lunch together.

He Ziyu also wanted to find an opportunity to get to know Bei Yao better and help Jing Ran make a decision, so he agreed.

The four of them found a Chinese restaurant nearby.

The waiter brought two menus, and Bei Yao handed them to Jing Ran without saying a word, letting him order first.

"Ayu doesn't eat spicy food, so you can order whatever you like except spicy food." After giving these instructions, Jiang Chengyu picked up the teapot, poured four cups of tea, and carefully rinsed the tableware for everyone.

Jingran flipped through the menu. "This one, I'll have! Garlic crayfish! It's not spicy, so everyone can eat it."

He Ziyu wanted to say that peeling crayfish was too troublesome, but seeing Jingran's drooling face, he didn't say anything more.

Soon, the food was served.

A steaming pot of crayfish, with a rich garlic aroma, looks incredibly tempting.

The waiter brought them four pairs of gloves.

Just as He Ziyu was about to put it on, Jiang Chengyu pressed down on his wrist.

"You eat, I'll peel the vegetables."

Perhaps fearing he would refuse, Jiang Chengyu simply took away his gloves and placed them under his phone.

Bei Yao on the opposite side was not to be outdone.

He forcefully pulled off the gloves that Jingran had already put on, and said in a deep voice, "You eat too. This kind of thing that requires physical labor is suitable for people with a well-developed cerebellum, like me."

Jingran: "And what about me?"

Bei Yao: "You're better at being cute."

……

Jiang Chengyu peeled shrimp very quickly, one after another, and fed them directly to He Ziyu's mouth.

Bei Yao wanted to feed him, but he was afraid that Jing Ran would bite off his fingers, so he didn't dare to make any rash moves.

The four of them ate and chatted. Jingran ate with great relish and didn't notice the two people opposite her constantly "showing affection." It wasn't until she was half full that she realized He Ziyu's "feeding machine" was fully automatic, while hers was semi-automatic.

Jingran was a little annoyed.

Why can He Ziyu eat as soon as he opens his mouth, while he has to use chopsticks?

For some reason, a feeling of resentment suddenly welled up inside her. Jingran turned around, faced Beiyao, and opened her mouth.

Bei Yao had just finished peeling a shrimp when he turned around and saw Jing Ran's mouth wide open.

Immediately following was someone's arrogant voice:

Feed me.