Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

"Da Huang, your master is so dense. You’re better at reading people than she is."

Xue Rui sighed and tugged on the leash. "You sure have to pee a lot."

He often tried to tease Lin Ruoxi, but her straightforward answers would leave him speechless...

Xue Rui had asked Lin Ruoxi why she hadn’t let the old woman onto the boat.

Lin Ruoxi’s logic had been impeccable. She said the old woman was elderly and wouldn’t have survived without someone to care for her.

But she wanted even less for Xue Rui to die, and she couldn’t bear to watch the old woman die either, so that was the only choice she could make.

To Xue Rui, how was that any different from a blatant confession of love?

Unfortunately, Lin Ruoxi was completely oblivious to this, dealing a "critical hit" to Xue Rui’s tender heart.

"Pssssst..."

Da Huang was relieving himself on the side of the road, and Xue Rui whistled, trying to get him to empty his bladder completely.

The game had been online for two days, and the numbers weren’t great, so Xue Rui had some rare downtime.

It was Friday and he had the day off. He planned to check out Ren Jun’s newly opened pet shop, get Da Huang a free bath, a deworming, and whatnot—basically, try out every service his uncle had to offer.

"Da Huang, you’re the one at the bottom of the totem pole," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

These were the years of explosive growth for e-commerce. Soon, someone would create a ranking for consumer spending power:

Women > Children > The Elderly > Pets > Men.

However, that wasn’t the ranking in Lin Ruoxi’s household.

In their household, Xue Rui was actually the biggest spender, followed by the old woman, and then Lin Ruoxi.

And Da Huang? He was just in charge of finishing the leftovers.

This treatment left Xue Rui feeling rather flattered.

A biting northwest wind swept by. Xue Rui pulled up the collar of his sweater, but he didn’t feel the cold at all.

He had to admit, it felt really good to be cared for.

’That girl is so skilled. The size is a perfect fit.’

Xue Rui thought about it. It was true that Lin Ruoxi hadn’t used a measuring tape on him before she knitted the sweater.

But he didn’t dwell on it. Lin Ruoxi had a photographic memory for code; what was sizing him up with just her eyes?

Before long, he followed the address Ren Jun had given him and arrived at a pet shop.

Xue Rui looked around. The location wasn’t bad; there were several high-end residential complexes nearby. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The shop was called the "Beloved Pet House." The character for "pet" in the name was in a specially designed font, surrounded by cartoon animals. The overall decor had a very warm and inviting feel.

This aesthetic was worlds apart from Ren Jun’s usual style. It was obvious he’d hired a professional designer.

Just then, Ren Jun was out front sweeping with a broom, reciting classical poetry.

"In youth, I knew not the taste of sorrow, / I loved to climb the storied tower. / Loved to climb the storied tower, / For a new verse, I would feign despair."

"Now I have tasted sorrow through and through, / I wish to speak, but hold my tongue. / I wish to speak, but hold my tongue, / And say only, ’What a fine, cool autumn day!’"

Ren Jun had already spotted Xue Rui, but he finished reciting the poem before waving a greeting.

"Xiaorui, I’m telling you, poetry has real depth. It perfectly captures how I’m feeling right now. Why didn’t I realize this back in school?" Ren Jun said, his face full of regret.

Before Xue Rui could respond, Ren Jun tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky, giving Xue Rui only his side profile.

"Never mind. You wouldn’t understand."

He regretted not studying harder, feeling like he’d missed out on so much.

In truth, this was due to the delayed impact of education.

Teenagers with zero life experience can’t resonate with these emotionally rich poems.

All they know is to memorize them mindlessly for exams.

Yet, years later, when they’ve grown up and experienced the vicissitudes of life...

...in a fleeting moment, they find their own emotions resonating with those of a poet from a thousand years ago. Only then does what they rote-memorized so long ago truly blossom, understood and elevated at last.

Xue Rui smiled. He understood this principle, of course, but instead of explaining it to Ren Jun, he just said disdainfully,

"What’s with the wannabe hipster act? Go wash my dog."

Ren Jun shot back, "And you’re supposed to be college material with that attitude? You’re an embarrassment to college students everywhere."

He knew Xue Rui’s grades had improved a lot lately, but he felt that while his scores had gone up, his refinement hadn’t.

"None of your business. Why don’t you try scoring 500 on the exam first, then we can talk," Xue Rui said with a cheeky grin.

Xue Rui figured that since Ren Jun had never been to college, he saw all university students through rose-tinted glasses.

In his opinion, the caliber of college students these days was nothing special. After the pressure cooker of senior year, most of them just went wild once they got to university...

...so in terms of overall discipline, they were actually worse than high school students.

"Why didn’t my niece come?" Ren Jun peered behind Xue Rui, looking for Lin Ruoxi.

"She thinks dogs are for guarding the house and eating leftovers. They don’t need to be so pampered." Xue Rui’s eye twitched.

Lin Ruoxi hadn’t shaken her countryside habits yet; she still saw dogs as tools for guarding the home.

That was why Xue Rui was the one who handled getting Da Huang neutered, bathed, and dewormed.

"Hey, uh, Xiaofei! Come wash this dog," Ren Jun yelled into the shop.

"Yeah, yeah, I’m coming," a girl’s disgruntled voice replied.

Xue Rui glanced up and thought the girl looked a little familiar.

"Why is it you again, you weirdo? And this mutt," the girl said with a frown.

"Weren’t you working the front desk at the pet hospital?"

Xue Rui remembered now. He’d had a run-in with this girl before.

"Ohhh~ you must’ve gotten fired for your terrible attitude," Xue Rui said with a grin.

"None of your business!"

The girl gritted her teeth. She had, in fact, been fired from her previous job at the pet hospital.

"Uncle, this girl has a terrible attitude. Where did you find her?" Xue Rui asked, his expression turning serious.

Ren Jun understood what Xue Rui was implying and asked hesitantly, "You mean, I should replace her?"

The girl was visibly stunned. ’How can I be this unlucky?’

’The owner of this shop is this guy’s uncle?’

’And Xue Rui has so much influence! He just asked a single question, and my boss is ready to fire me?’

The girl’s face instantly broke into a huge smile. She scooped up Da Huang and started walking toward the back. "Oh, Da Huang, let’s go get you a bath!"

"I think she’s capable of changing," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

He was just trying to scare her a little. The girl looked to be only seventeen or eighteen; there was no need to be so harsh.

Ren Jun waved his hand. "You have no idea how hard it is to hire people these days. There are so few girls willing to wash dogs."

"Don’t worry, there’ll be more in the future. College students will be lining up for the job."

"Stop bluffing. You think college students would do this kind of work?"

"Why not? If they won’t do it, there are plenty of others who will."

As the two were chatting, an Audi A6 slowly pulled up to the curb.

Xue Xiaying got out of the car with a few books from the trunk. "Ren Jun, I brought some history books. Not sure if you’ll like them."

"Xiaorui? What are you doing here?" Xue Xiaying asked in surprise.

"Xiaying, you’re here! Let me make you a cup of tea." Ren Jun eagerly scurried off to brew some tea.

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’How come I didn’t get offered a cup of tea when I showed up?’

"Auntie, why are you bringing him books?" Xue Rui asked.

He’d already guessed it. Ren Jun was definitely using "studying" as an excuse to get close to Xue Xiaying.

"Ren Jun said he’s preparing to take the liberal arts college entrance exam to make up for past regrets," Xue Xiaying explained.

She had been shocked when she first heard the news. It was the first time she’d ever seen someone from the workforce go back to take the college entrance exam...

’He’s really something else,’ Xue Rui sneered internally.

’To put it in such high-minded terms... But whatever.’

’If he can’t get a good score, neither my dad nor I will approve.’

"Xiaorui, thank you," Xue Xiaying said with a smile. "Is there anything you want to eat? Your aunt will buy it for you."

Xue Xiaying’s sudden gentleness made Xue Rui uncomfortable. He rubbed his arms.

"Auntie, please don’t be like this. It’s weirding me out."

"Xue Rui!" Xue Xiaying pinched him.

Xue Rui grimaced. "Now *that’s* more like it..."

"Oh, you..." Xue Xiaying laughed helplessly.

The class she was in charge of had placed first in the entire grade on the recent midterm exams, with an average score that was leagues ahead of the rest.

As their homeroom teacher, Xue Xiaying had the highest vantage point and the clearest view of the situation.

She knew the credit wasn’t hers—it was Xue Rui’s.

Every class has students who have given up on themselves, and a single one of them can drag down the class average significantly.

Even veteran teachers with decades of experience were often helpless with such students.

But somehow, Xue Rui, through his own actions, had given these students a sense of urgency, and their scores had improved rapidly.

What teachers could do was limited to helping willing students improve, at best raising a score from an 80 to a 90.

But Xue Rui was different. He was raising the grades of the students in the back of the classroom.

Those students who had been content to "let it rot," because they were already at rock bottom, every single step forward was a huge improvement.

Going from a 20 to a 60 could be done in just a month...

During a meeting a few days ago, the school leadership had singled her out for praise.

Even the most senior teachers, her veteran colleagues, looked at her with expressions full of admiration.

By making such a strong impression on the leadership, her path to a promotion would be much smoother.

She never could have imagined that she would end up basking in her own nephew’s reflected glory time and time again.

What’s more, she had a sneaking suspicion...

...that Ren Jun’s newfound dedication to studying was also thanks to Xue Rui’s influence.

"I think I should make you the Study Rep."

Xue Xiaying mused for a moment, thinking no one was more suited for the position than Xue Rui.

"Nope. Not doing it."

Xue Rui refused flatly. He didn’t want to deal with any extra responsibilities right now. He’d even offloaded his duties as the Sports Rep, so there was no way he was taking on the role of Study Rep.

"Tea’s here," Ren Jun said, walking over with a tray of exquisite floral tea.

Just then, Xue Rui stood up. "Uncle, I’m going to head home now."

Ren Jun nodded in satisfaction. ’What a considerate kid,’ he thought. ’He knows not to be a third wheel.’

Xue Rui caught Ren Jun’s micro-expression and immediately started pulling Xue Xiaying away. "Auntie, don’t bother with the tea. I’ll get a ride home with you."

Ren Jun was left standing there, tray in hand, completely stunned.

In the end, all he could do was watch helplessly as the car drove off, waving and shouting after them, "Drive safe!"

The young girl emerged from the back of the shop, leading a clean Da Huang. "Boss, I’ve finished washing Da Huang."

She put on a huge smile, thinking this was her chance to make a good impression.

The moment Ren Jun saw Da Huang, he flew into a rage. "Son of a bitch!"

A strange sense of frustration welled up inside him. It was like his wife had been stolen away, but he was still stuck raising the other guy’s kid...

"Boss, I promise I’ll work hard," the girl said, looking aggrieved.

"It’s not about you," Ren Jun said, waving his hand dismissively.

The girl jumped, thinking she was about to be fired again.