Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

"Five hundred points? Five yuan?" Ren Jun looked astonished.

What did Xue Rui say? Why had Xie Jianfeng’s attitude changed so drastically?

Five yuan was practically giving her away for free, wasn’t it?

’Is this his way of agreeing?’

Ren Jun couldn’t help but smile with delight, but he felt that something wasn’t quite right...

"Kid, I said five hundred points on the college entrance exam," Xie Jianfeng sneered.

"What?"

Ren Jun’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He had graduated years ago. How could he possibly be mixed up with the college entrance exam, something completely unrelated to him?

Seeing Ren Jun’s reaction, Xie Jianfeng laughed smugly. ’Xue Rui really knows what he’s doing.’

’I was too materialistic, thinking everything could be measured in money.’

’On second thought, what if I really pushed the guy into a corner and he did something reckless?’

’Wouldn’t that make me the bad guy? How could I face my wife then?’

’Xue Rui’s idea is brilliant. Ren Jun is bad at studying, so we’ll ask him for a score.’

"Go study. Learning has no limits. If you score five hundred points, I will definitely give you my consent," Xie Jianfeng said, shaking his head smugly.

"Right, I’ll support you then, too," Xue Rui chimed in.

Xue Rui felt that setting a monetary hurdle wasn’t good. His aunt wouldn’t be happy about it either, as it would be like they were putting a price tag on Xue Xiaying.

But five hundred points was completely different. For Ren Jun, it might be even more difficult than earning five million yuan.

The upside was that studying carried no risks.

Besides, Xue Xiaying herself was a high school teacher, so she would readily accept this condition.

The key was that if Ren Jun really could achieve this score, the two of them would gradually become closer in terms of cultural refinement.

Even if he didn’t score five hundred points in the end, if he got over four hundred, everyone would find it acceptable.

All that mattered was that Ren Jun tried his best.

After all, his family didn’t need money. What they wanted was to see his attitude.

For a loafer who was used to making a quick buck to be able to settle down and study—how could that not be seen as a prodigal son returning to the right path?

Besides, knowledge really can change a person’s character.

"I’m this old, and you want me to go back to school?" Ren Jun said, his face looking miserable.

"We’re not asking you to actually go to college. You just need to get the score," Xue Rui explained.

"Go on home and hit the books." Xie Jianfeng dragged Ren Jun downstairs.

Ren Jun glanced back at Xue Rui, and it seemed he understood something.

"I’ll study!" Ren Jun said, gritting his teeth.

Xue Rui smiled and waved.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Gu Muxue: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

’I have to keep up appearances, or Gu Muxue will definitely get mad.’

Before long, Xue Rui received Gu Muxue’s reply: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

It was followed by a tongue-sticking-out emoji.

Xue Rui smiled.

’Just how dense was I in my past life? All I thought about was surfing the net and playing games?’

’Gu Muxue had done so much for me behind the scenes, yet I never even noticed.’

’But this time, I won’t let Gu Muxue go.’

He chatted with Gu Muxue from the doorway for a bit, then went back inside to entertain the relatives.

As it neared midnight, many of the elders had had too much to drink and began to trickle out of their rooms. He went over to lend a hand, helping his drunk relatives downstairs.

"Zhuang Zhuang, you should learn a thing or two from Xiaorui in the future. It’ll do you good," a man slurred, his face flushed red.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" a woman chided. In her eyes, Xue Rui was nothing but an uneducated hooligan.

She was afraid that if her own son spent too much time with Xue Rui, he would be led astray.

"What? Am I not doing this for our child’s own good?" the man retorted, displeased.

"But his grades are all failing..." Xue Zhuang muttered.

"Uncle, I’m the one who should be learning from my cousin. He’s a student at a 985 university, after all," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"Look at him!" The man, frustrated that his son wasn’t living up to his potential, kicked Xue Zhuang on his chubby bottom.

"Hey! You can’t hit the child..."

"You don’t know! This brat wanted to sit in his grandfather’s seat as soon as he arrived!"

"Uncle, he’s just a kid. What does he know?" Xue Rui quickly grabbed the man to hold him back.

"All the more reason to beat him!"

Xue Rui’s comment only made it worse. The more the man thought about it, the angrier he got. Xue Rui was two years younger than his own son!

...

「After a lively night, the second day of Golden Week arrived.」

That morning, he received a message from Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi: When are you coming?

Xue Rui: Around noon.

Lin Ruoxi: Are you eating here?

Xue Rui: Yes.

He and Lin Ruoxi rarely communicated on QQ, but when they did, their exchanges were extremely efficient.

Xue Rui felt it was like talking to a boy.

But he did have to work with Lin Ruoxi on their project over the next few days. With this rare block of free time, they needed to speed up their progress. It would be best if they could launch before December.

Xue Rui took a taxi to Lin Ruoxi’s house. The moment he walked in, he was greeted by the fragrant aroma of home-cooked food.

Steamed sea bass, braised pork ribs, garlic shrimp...

"Is it New Year’s already?" Xue Rui asked with a laugh.

"Um... I bought too much food. Wash your hands first."

Lin Ruoxi took off her apron and pulled out a chair for Xue Rui.

When Xue Rui finished washing his hands, he found Lin Ruoxi already holding out a towel for him.

He muttered to himself as he dried his hands. ’This girl must have bought the ingredients yesterday, but I didn’t stay for dinner.’

’So... she waited until I came today to cook them.’

Xue Rui sat down in a seat facing the main door, while Lin Ruoxi sat to his right.

He felt it was a bit strange. They usually ate at the computer desk, rarely in the living room.

Xue Rui thought that if it were Gu Muxue, she would definitely sit face-to-face with him at the table.

But Lin Ruoxi had given him the head seat of her home and sat to the side herself. What did that mean?

’Is she implying that I’m the man of the house?’

Xue Rui shook his head. ’I’m probably overthinking it.’

Lin Ruoxi probably didn’t understand any of these customs.

Never mind Lin Ruoxi, how many kids their age knew the proper etiquette for seating at a meal?

Lin Ruoxi didn’t say a word, simply continuing to put food on Xue Rui’s plate and peel shrimp for him.

"You eat, too."

Xue Rui placed a shrimp on Lin Ruoxi’s plate as well, but he didn’t peel it.

Lin Ruoxi gave a faint smile and started biting into it, making a "CRUNCH, CRUNCH" sound.

Lin Ruoxi didn’t have the habit of peeling them; she could eat them just fine without.

Xue Rui glanced over. He had only given her a shrimp, but the look in Lin Ruoxi’s eyes...

...was filled with joy and a hint of admiration.

It was as if he had done something incredible.

But few men could resist an admiring gaze from a pretty girl. It satisfied the small, hidden vanity in his heart.

"You have some too, Da Huang." Xue Rui tossed a piece of rib to Da Huang.

Da Huang sniffed it and began to gnaw on it with a "CRUNCH, CRUNCH."

"Tsk."

Xue Rui gave Da Huang a dissatisfied kick because the dog hadn’t even wagged its tail. Its attitude was lacking.

"WOOF!" Da Huang started its impotent raging again.

Lin Ruoxi frowned and glared at Da Huang, who immediately started wagging its tail at Xue Rui.

Xue Rui: "..."

After the meal, both Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi sat down at their computers and started on their respective tasks.

"The game needs a stamina limit. We can’t let players play indefinitely, or they’ll get fatigued quickly."

Xue Rui gave Lin Ruoxi another requirement.

"Okay." Lin Ruoxi didn’t understand why, but if Xue Rui told her to do it, she would.

Xue Rui was in charge of game design. Today, he planned to write a background story for the game.

A long time later, Xue Rui looked at the text on his screen and nodded in satisfaction.

Lin Ruoxi leaned over curiously to take a look.

Simply put, the village chief of a group of small animals had been captured by a monster, and the animals needed to work together to climb a ladder and rescue him.

"When can they rescue the village chief?"

Lin Ruoxi asked with some concern, because the story had no ending.

"They can never rescue him, because the ladder is endless."

Xue Rui smiled. It was just a simple premise; not many players would care about it.

But Lin Ruoxi cared about this fictional story, worrying about a non-existent character.

"Some of the custom icons I ordered are ready. I’ll explain the function of each item to you, and we’ll need to add them to the game."

"Okay." Lin Ruoxi leaned her head in, getting close to Xue Rui’s screen to listen attentively.

Xue Rui watched Lin Ruoxi’s high ponytail swaying back and forth in front of him.

On a whim, he reached out, grabbed it, and gave it a little shake. Lin Ruoxi’s head wobbled along with his hand.

"Why aren’t you fighting back?" Xue Rui asked curiously.

It was like a little boy pulling a little girl’s hair—any other girl would have exploded with anger.

But Lin Ruoxi remained quiet, letting him shake her head.

’She seems... kind of happy about it?’

"I sometimes shake Da Huang’s head too..." Lin Ruoxi said in a small voice.

Xue Rui was taken aback. ’What kind of logic is that?’

’When you shake a dog’s head, the dog does seem pretty happy.’

Xue Rui couldn’t help but laugh. He pinched Lin Ruoxi’s cheek and said, "People and dogs are not the same."

"Okay." Lin Ruoxi nodded.

Even if Xue Rui hadn’t said it, she knew that people and dogs were, of course, not the same.

"Never mind, just keep watching." Xue Rui wasn’t sure if Lin Ruoxi had understood him or not.

’The thought process of a genius...’

’It’s normal for it to be different from a normal person’s.’

For the next four or five days, Xue Rui spent his time on tedious work.

Now, just looking at the monitor was making him drowsy.

Xue Rui ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Seeing strands of hair start to fall, he suddenly grew nervous.

"No way. I’m going to go bald if I keep this up," Xue Rui muttered to himself.

The intense mental effort, combined with long hours of sitting, had caused him to lose a few strands of hair at his young age.

He found this hard to accept. He tugged at his hair again, pulling out a few more strands...

"Sit still. I’m going to check you over."

Xue Rui stood behind Lin Ruoxi, smoothly pulling off her hair tie and slipping it onto his wrist.

Her shiny black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Xue Rui felt as if he had plunged his hand into a cool, soft spring.

Lin Ruoxi was very obedient. She sat perfectly still, letting Xue Rui tug at her hair.

"How can the difference between people be so big?"

Xue Rui couldn’t believe it. He ran his fingers through her hair for a long time, but not a single strand fell out. The quality of her hair was surprisingly good.

’Thinking about it calmly, all this work is probably like first-grade math to Lin Ruoxi. Her brain barely has to break a sweat...’

"Do... you want some hair?" Lin Ruoxi turned her head curiously, tucking a few strands behind her ear.

However, a few strands got caught on the corner of her mouth.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she pulled out a few strands of hair and handed them to Xue Rui.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Xue Rui muttered, but he tucked the strands of hair into his pocket anyway.

’She gritted her teeth to pull those out. If I just tossed them in the trash, it would be too hurtful.’

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was a call from Gu Muxue.

"Xiaorui, I sent you the address yesterday. How come you’re still not here?"