Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

When He Ziyu returned home, he helped his mother with the cooking and then made a dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

While the food was still hot, he quickly packed it up and took it next door.

The doorbell rang for a while, but no one answered. Thinking that Jiang Chengyu was asleep, He Ziyu took out his phone and called him.

After the beep, the call was connected.

"You lazybones, are you asleep again? I'm at your door, open the door now." He Ziyu squinted, feigning displeasure.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Jiang Chengyu's voice came through, "Ayu, I'm in the bathroom right now, it's not convenient. Just leave the food on the steps by the door, I'll come get it in a bit."

He Ziyu raised an eyebrow. "So, are you sure you can manage by yourself? Like... pulling up your pants or something?"

Jiang Chengyu smiled. "Even if you couldn't, you can't get in now, can you?"

"That's true. You go ahead then. I won't put the food on the steps for you, it'll get cold soon. Let me know when you're coming out," He Ziyu said. "Oh, by the way, give me a spare key to your house later, so you don't have to keep running around, it's not good for your wound healing."

After saying that, He Ziyu added, "I promise I won't sneak in while you're sleeping or taking a shower, I swear."

Jiang Chengyu, on the other end of the phone, pulled his coat tighter and smiled slightly.

Even though it was just a phone between them, he could still picture the boy's adorable, earnest explanation.

He Ziyu has such magic; a casual remark can make flowers bloom all over the mountains and fields in his heart.

It truly echoed the two-line poem, brimming with "chuunibyou" (adolescent delusions of grandeur) that he copied into his diary when he first fell in love in the second year of junior high:

My love for you has become an illness, incurable by any medicine.

The disease is called love, and its cause is you.

……

He Ziyu sat on the sofa in the living room and waited for a long time, but Jiang Chengyu's call never came.

Several times, he wondered if Jiang Chengyu had fallen into the toilet and couldn't get out.

Just as He Ziyu picked up his phone, worried, to call and ask what was going on, Zhou Ying stopped him:

"Ayu, you should eat first. Chengyu's condition must make it difficult for him to go to the toilet, so it's normal for it to take a while. If you rush him, he'll just become more flustered."

Upon hearing this, He Ziyu put down his phone. "This guy, he doesn't even call me when he goes to the bathroom. It's not like I haven't seen him naked before."

"That was when you were little. Your mom used to dress you in little skirts. If I asked you to wear one now, would you?"

"Don't mention that again!"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about it." Zhou Ying pulled him to the dining table. "Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold soon."

He Ziyu had originally planned to have dinner with Jiang Chengyu, but the plan fell through, which was somewhat disappointing.

He sat in the chair, slowly picked up his chopsticks, and was about to pick up some food when he heard the door open.

It is He Ningqiu.

He Ningqiu has been at the hospital with Lan Yuan for the past two days, and during that time she also met Lan Yuan's parents who came to visit him.

Lan Yuan's parents were naturally furious when they learned that their son had been beaten, but when they understood the whole story, they instantly lost their confidence.

Jiang Chengyu's fracture is no small matter.

Although Jiang Guosheng and Shen Murou devoted most of their energy to their work, that did not mean they didn't care about Jiang Chengyu.

In fact, they wanted to raise a "perfect" son more than anyone else.

Moreover, the Jiang family has been enjoying great success in Yuecheng in recent years, holding resources that are crucial to the survival of second-tier companies like theirs. If they knew that Jiang Chengyu's bones were broken by Lan Yuan, they would probably hold a grudge against the Lan family.

Thinking of this, Lan Yuan's parents were actually a little relieved. They were relieved that He Ziyu had knocked Lan Yuan's nose crooked. At least this way, when Jiang Chengyu's parents wanted to cause trouble for Lan Yuan, they wouldn't be able to say anything when they saw him in such a miserable state.

"Ningqiu hasn't eaten yet, has he? Go wash your hands and sit down to eat with us," Zhou Ying said, getting up to serve him rice.

After a while, He Ningqiu washed her hands and returned to the dining table, sitting down next to Zhou Ying.

After what happened yesterday, he was a little afraid of He Ziyu, and even at home he subconsciously kept his distance from him.

Zhou Ying briefly inquired about Lan Yuan's condition, and He Ningqiu said that he was fine and would be discharged from the hospital in a few days. Then, she held her bowl and ate quietly.

He Ningqiu ate very quickly and soon said he was full. He took the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen and returned to his bedroom.

Looking at He Ziyu again, he was still holding his chopsticks, lost in thought.

Zhou Ying: "Ayu, why aren't you eating?"

He Ziyu snapped out of his daze, glanced at the time, and finally couldn't resist picking up his phone again.

Before the call could even be made, a text message from Jiang Chengyu popped up.

I've been in the bathroom too long and I don't have much of an appetite. I'm going to take a nap and then I'll look for you when I wake up.

He Ziyu stared at the text message, feeling that something was off, but considering that being too long-winded might annoy people, he decided to reply honestly:

"Then you should go to sleep first."

……

Two whole hours passed after the text message was sent, and the other party didn't reply.

He Ziyu felt increasingly uneasy.

The first time he delivered food to Jiang Chengyu, he vaguely heard some noises on the other end of the phone while talking to him, which didn't sound like they were indoors.

The subsequent text message also seemed a bit unreasonable.

It's not even evening yet, and you're only sleeping for two hours?

This is not Jiang Chengyu's style.

To confirm his suspicions, He Ziyu didn't hesitate this time. He went straight to the neighbor's house, squatted in Jiang Chengyu's small garden, and called him.

No one heard.

After calling several more times without getting an answer, He Ziyu simply edited a few WeChat messages and sent them over.

Are you not home?

If you're home, open the door for me now.

Immediately, right away.

Sometimes, human intuition is frighteningly accurate. Just like now, He Ziyu is convinced that Jiang Chengyu is not sleeping at home and is hiding something from him.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes...

Twenty minutes passed, and the phone remained completely silent.

The autumn night was slightly chilly. He Ziyu rubbed his cold arms and sneezed.

He sat there on the steps in front of Jiang Chengyu's house, waiting and waiting...

Finally, the phone rang.

However, it wasn't Jiang Chengyu who called, but Jing Ran.

He Ziyu answered the phone and listlessly said "feed".

"Ah Yu, are you home?"

"Um."

"Where's Brother Yu? Is he here too?"

"He..." He Ziyu turned his head and glanced at the dark window behind him, "He may be here, or he may not be here."

Jingran clicked her tongue, her tone a little urgent: "Go knock on the door next door and confirm."

"What happened?"

"Someone saw Liu Wen and his men blocking Brother Yu's way in West Alley. I don't know if it's true or not. If he wasn't there, then it's probably true. Oh, by the way, they also heard those guys asking you why you didn't go..."

Upon hearing this, He Ziyu's head exploded with a "boom".

Liu Wen led a group to block Jiang Chengyu?

Is this about to start a fight? But Jiang Chengyu is still injured!

"I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He told me he was going to sleep, so I..." He Ziyu hurriedly got up from the ground, his voice trembling slightly, whether from fear or the cold, it was hard to tell. "West Alley... West Alley, right? I'll go there now."

After saying that, He Ziyu hung up the phone and walked out.

Before he could take two steps, he bumped right into a tall figure.

Looking up, I was surprised to see Jiang Chengyu!

He Ziyu was stunned. Worry, annoyance, relief... all sorts of complex emotions intertwined, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Ayu, what are you doing here?" Jiang Chengyu asked calmly, as if he had just returned from a walk and there was nothing unusual about him.

He Ziyu did not answer, his narrow eyes staring straight at Jiang Chengyu, watching him take out his keys, open the door, and then follow him like a shadow into the villa.

Jiang Chengyu casually turned on the dimmest light in the living room and said, "After I woke up, I felt a bit stuffy, so I went for a walk, and then..."

"Take off your clothes and let me see." He Ziyu interrupted Jiang Chengyu's monologue and reached out to take off his coat.

Although the living room was dimly lit, he could still clearly see the dust on Jiang Chengyu's coat and the faint bruises on the corners of his mouth.

"Ayu, you..."

"Don't move."

With a cold expression, He Ziyu took off Jiang Chengyu's coat and threw it on the sofa, then grabbed his shoulders and made him turn his back to him.

Then, she grabbed the hem of his clothes with both hands and lifted it up.

Everywhere you look, large areas of abrasions and bruises are imprinted on fair skin, a shocking sight.

He Ziyu frowned, and the atmosphere in the room plummeted.

"Is it Liu Wenqian's?"

"..."

Jiang Chengyu gasped in pain as he lightly touched the bruise with his fingertips.

"Why did they call you over?" He Ziyu asked. "I'm the one who injured someone, why are they retaliating against you?"

Jiang Chengyu stood there, not turning around, unsure how to explain the situation, and even less willing to let He Ziyu see the messy scars on his face.

"You think I wouldn't guess just because you didn't tell me?"

"The news of me hitting Lan Yuan has spread like wildfire at school, you must have seen it too. Those guys see me as a thorn in their side now, they wish they could grind me to dust. At a time like this, Liu Wen bypassed me and contacted you directly..."

He Ziyu bent down, took out Jiang Chengyu's phone from his coat pocket, unlocked it skillfully, and opened the text message interface.

The threatening text messages from the anonymous number haven't been deleted yet; they're just lying quietly in my inbox.

He Ziyu's gaze went down line by line, finally settling on Jiang Chengyu's reply of "okay," his eyes slightly reddening.

Having known each other for over a decade, he knew Jiang Chengyu all too well.

This fool was afraid he would get hurt, so he stepped forward and took on all the hardships that had nothing to do with him.

Just like in his previous life, he arrived late, even though he could have avoided rushing into that fire...

But when faced with a life-or-death decision, she still chose to stay by his side without hesitation.

The large living room was completely silent.

After a long pause, Jiang Chengyu, with his back to him, said in a hoarse voice, "Ayu, I'm sorry, I acted on my own initiative this time, but thankfully, it's all in the past. Those people have promised me they won't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Chengyu suddenly felt a pair of arms gently and devoutly wrap around his waist.

He Ziyu gently rested his head on his back, his voice suddenly becoming very soft, "Brother Yu, let me tell you a secret."

Jiang Chengyu's lips twitched slightly, about to ask what the secret was, when He Ziyu began to tell her in detail:

"One day I had a dream. In the dream, I traveled to many years in the future and met my future self. My future self told my present self that he had accidentally lost a boy who loved him very much, and that I must never repeat his mistakes."

"So I ran and ran frantically through the time tunnel..."

"Finally, the moment has come, and I see you again."

He Ziyu tightened his arms, trying to absorb Jiang Chengyu's warmth.

He didn't want to wait for that meteor shower anymore.

Now, all he wants is to hold this boy who has loved him for two lifetimes firmly in his palm.

"Brother Yu, I like you."

"I know saying this suddenly might seem a bit abrupt, but it's okay..."

"I'm willing to spend my whole life proving that I love you."