Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

The thing Xue Rui had been dreading most still happened.

His clothes had snagged on a barb on the fence...

Every time he’d snuck through here, he had imagined this exact thing happening. He just never thought it would actually happen today.

"My uncle is something else. When he took down the old fence, he couldn’t even be bothered to file down the spikes," Xue Rui said with a frown. He put some strength into his arms and vaulted over the fence in one go.

Lin Ruoxi hurried forward to check on Xue Rui’s shoulder.

A long, red mark had been scraped across his shoulder.

"It’s not an open wound. Let’s go back," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"I’m so sor—" Lin Ruoxi was badly frightened and started to apologize.

But Xue Rui had specifically warned her not to apologize to him. Every time she did, he would flick her on the head. So, she forced the words back down and followed behind him, her face a mask of guilt.

’If I hadn’t been daydreaming just now, Xue Rui wouldn’t have torn his clothes.’

’A moment ago, he said he was going to spend the night at my place. I wonder which bed he wants to sleep in.’

’But... why does Xue Rui want to sleep at my house? Doesn’t he usually live at the school dorms?’

"Where... where are you sleeping tonight?" Lin Ruoxi asked in a small voice.

Xue Rui grinned. "In your room, of course."

Lin Ruoxi’s room had bunk beds. All he had to do tonight was sleep on the top bunk and keep an eye on her.

"Then I’ll sleep with Grandma."

"No," Xue Rui rejected her flatly.

"I, I could just sleep on the sofa..." Lin Ruoxi said weakly.

After saying this, she snuck a glance at Xue Rui’s expression. He looked very displeased.

"Then... then we’ll sleep together," Lin Ruoxi said tentatively.

Xue Rui gulped. ’What does she mean, sleep together? The implications of that are huge.’

After they bought groceries, they found a convenience store right next door.

"Want some snacks?" Xue Rui suddenly remembered that Lin Ruoxi was, after all, just a young girl.

’Come to think of it, have I ever seen her buy any snacks?’

’Even an old man like him would occasionally go and mooch some snacks off Gu Muxue, but Lin Ruoxi never bought anything.’

’Thinking about it carefully, Lin Ruoxi was... always the same. Every day she cooked for him and her grandmother, and every day she brought breakfast for her classmates.’

’This girl was so mature she didn’t seem like a child at all. She lived like a man.’

’Besides, he and Lin Ruoxi had been together for a month now. Didn’t she have her period?’

’Lin Ruoxi’s birthday was even a few months before his. It didn’t make sense, did it?’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’But Lin Ruoxi didn’t seem to avoid anything. She washed dishes and did chores every day, never once showing any signs of weakness.’

But Xue Rui was too embarrassed to ask such a private question.

The two wandered around the convenience store. Xue Rui casually grabbed a bag of potato chips from a shelf. "Want these?"

"No, thank you." Lin Ruoxi shook her head. ’They’re so light and airy, yet they cost five or six yuan. That’s so expensive.’

"What about these?" Xue Rui picked up a box of Choco Pies.

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes lit up. When she watched TV with her grandmother, she often saw commercials for this cake.

But when she saw the price tag on the shelf, she shook her head again.

Xue Rui noticed her gaze. ’Why is she so fixated on the price?’

In the end, Xue Rui gave up asking and just grabbed a huge pile of snacks according to his own tastes.

When they reached the sundries aisle, Lin Ruoxi finally focused on the products. Looking at a large pile of towels, she reached out, felt them, and chose a rather expensive one.

"Is this color okay?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

"It’s fine. You can just pick one out," Xue Rui nodded.

When Lin Ruoxi bought things for him, she rarely looked at the price.

It gave Xue Rui the strange feeling that Lin Ruoxi was like the Gu Family’s old house matron;

and he was the mischievous child, ignorant of the price of daily necessities, grabbing whatever he wanted from the snack aisle.

While Lin Ruoxi was picking out a towel and toothbrush for Xue Rui, his eyes wandered around the convenience store.

He noticed the sundries aisle also sold sanitary pads. Looking at the familiar brand names, he suddenly remembered a "315 Gala" he would see in the future, where many major brands were exposed for quality issues.

"Do you use these?" Xue Rui asked, pointing at a pink package.

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes went blank, and she didn’t dare to meet his gaze.

"I... I don’t need them... these few days," Lin Ruoxi stammered, her face instantly turning red all the way to her ears.

"You shouldn’t buy this brand. Or this one, or this one." Drawing on the news reports he’d seen, Xue Rui helped Lin Ruoxi steer clear of bad products.

However, Lin Ruoxi wasn’t listening to a word Xue Rui was saying.

Lin Ruoxi’s mind was already in utter turmoil.

’Xue Rui is a boy, so why would he ask about this?’

’She had never even discussed such a private topic with her female classmates.’

’She’d read online that if a boy asks if you want to eat ice cream, it’s actually a subtle way of asking if you’re on your period...’

’Was Xue Rui testing her?’

’He’s sleeping in her room tonight... Could it be that...’

"Let’s go once we’re done buying things. Grandma’s already back."

He had just taken a call on the way over. Jiang Wei had said the paperwork was submitted and would be processed after the holiday at the latest.

Xue Rui patted Lin Ruoxi on the head, rousing her from her daze.

While they were in line to check out, Xue Rui kept staring at the chewing gum near the register.

’He had to stay up all night to watch Lin Ruoxi. He didn’t smoke or drink, and betel nuts were out of the question. Caffeine was also addictive...’

’He was thinking about what flavor of gum to buy to stay awake. The compressed mints were strong enough to make your nose tingle; they should be pretty effective.’

Lin Ruoxi followed Xue Rui’s gaze.

"Do... you want to buy them?" Lin Ruoxi asked, clutching her phone tightly.

She pointed to the shelf right at the front of the store, her finger trembling slightly.

"Yeah, what’s up? You want some too?" Xue Rui was a little surprised. ’Does Lin Ruoxi like chewing gum?’

’Since prices weren’t that high back then, the cost of chewing gum seemed exorbitant. A small pack was ten yuan, yet just a moment ago she had agonized over a bag of chips that only cost a few yuan.’

Soon, it was their turn to check out.

Lin Ruoxi walked to the front, took a deep breath, bit her lip, and reached out with her eyes squeezed shut.

Xue Rui saw what she was doing and quickly grabbed her wrist, holding her hand tightly in his own.

’Xue Rui really couldn’t comprehend Lin Ruoxi’s train of thought. She had just reached for the Durex condoms below the chewing gum.’

After paying, Xue Rui flicked Lin Ruoxi on the forehead.

"Do you even know what those are?" Xue Rui asked, exasperated.

’To be honest, even in his past life, he hadn’t seen the legendary Durex in person until he got to college.’

’Before that, he was just like all the other little boys, constantly telling dirty jokes but having absolutely no real experience...’

"I know... I just looked it up online..." Lin Ruoxi said blankly.

"..."

Xue Rui suddenly regretted letting Lin Ruoxi get online so early and even buying her a smartphone.

’It was his fault, too. He had deliberately teased Lin Ruoxi with ambiguous words before.’

’But Lin Ruoxi was too earnest, too straightforward, which in turn made him feel a little awkward.’

"Ahem, let’s go back and eat," Xue Rui said, clearing his throat a few times to ease the awkwardness.

’Lin Ruoxi was truly beautiful. Especially recently, after her diet had improved, her figure had changed noticeably. Her cheeks had started to fill out, making her look even more lovely and cute.’

’It would be a lie to say he wasn’t attracted to her.’

’But Lin Ruoxi had her own personality flaws. She was extremely dependent on him, to the point where she was completely obedient.’

Xue Rui believed that as long as he asked, Lin Ruoxi would give him anything.

’But Lin Ruoxi was still young; her body might not have even finished developing.’

’Taking advantage of her now would be like seducing a girl who wasn’t fully sound of mind.’

’In his eyes, it was no different from a crime.’

’If it were Gu Muxue, Xue Rui wouldn’t feel guilty. Gu Muxue was too smart; if he managed to trick her, that would just be a testament to his skill.’

...

When they got home, the old lady was still sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Xixi’s back," the old lady called out as usual.

"I... I’ll go make dinner." Lin Ruoxi’s eyes darted away as she hurried into the kitchen.

Xue Rui shook his head. ’What a mess.’

’He was staying the night at a girl’s house without giving any reason. No wonder Lin Ruoxi got the wrong idea.’

After dinner, Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi stayed in her room and began the day’s task.

Xue Rui customized some familiar sound effects, searched for a suitable server online, and kept calculating his bank card balance.

In the blink of an eye, it was eleven o’clock at night.

Xue Rui went out to use the restroom and saw the old lady was still on the sofa watching TV.

From start to finish, the old lady’s gaze never left Xue Rui.

"Why haven’t you left yet," the old lady said irritably.

"I’m sleeping here tonight," Xue Rui said with a grin.

When he went into Lin Ruoxi’s room, he deliberately closed the door, provoking the old lady to come in leaning on her cane to have a look around.

"Grandma, why aren’t you asleep yet?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

’Usually by this time, Grandma would have been asleep long ago.’

"Can’t sleep. Xixi, you’re sleeping with me tonight." The old lady grabbed Lin Ruoxi and started to pull her away.

"But..." Lin Ruoxi remained stubbornly in her chair, repeatedly shooting questioning glances at Xue Rui.

Xue Rui waved his hand. "Go on, go on."

’He’d already been here all evening. He figured nothing unexpected would happen tonight; he had just been overthinking things.’

’The main thing was, he couldn’t stay awake much longer. He was yawning nonstop.’

After a quick shower, Xue Rui collapsed onto Lin Ruoxi’s bed. He drifted off to sleep, inhaling the faint, sweet scent on her pillow.

In the old lady’s room, Lin Ruoxi lay in her pajamas, tossing and turning. She couldn’t fall asleep, feeling like she had forgotten something important.

’Right, the clothes...’

She remembered that Xue Rui’s shirt had been torn and decided to go mend it.

Lin Ruoxi quietly and carefully got out of bed and slipped out of the room in the dark.

The elderly are light sleepers. Even though Lin Ruoxi was as careful as possible, the vibration of the mattress still woke her grandmother.

"SIGH..." The old lady sighed but didn’t say anything to stop her.

Lin Ruoxi snuck into her own room and saw Xue Rui asleep on the bed, lying on his stomach with his head turned to the side.

A wave of secret delight washed over her, and her steps became much lighter. She felt like the whole world was hers.

Once again, she found herself leaning over him, watching him secretly, a smile slowly forming on her lips.

’She felt like a little thief, only able to completely relax when no one was watching her.’

’But it was also only at times like these that she could gaze at this boy without any restraint.’

Lin Ruoxi looked at the red mark on Xue Rui’s shoulder. It had already faded a lot.

She felt much more at ease and pulled the blanket over him properly.

"HUFF!" Xue Rui’s breathing grew ragged. His eyes flew open, revealing they were completely bloodshot.

Lin Ruoxi jumped in fright. She thought she had been discovered, but Xue Rui seemed to only glance at her before his eyes slowly closed again.

’Was he having a nightmare?’ Lin Ruoxi wondered.