Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Xue Rui returned home and saw his mom eating fruit while watching TV. He casually took off his school uniform jacket and tossed it aside.

The two of them exchanged a look and noticed the sweaters the other was wearing.

The two sweaters were basically the same style.

Lin Ruoxi had knitted an off-white one for Ren Qunfang, while Xue Rui’s was dark gray.

The one Ren Qunfang was wearing was also a perfect fit. The form-fitting sweater accentuated her distinctly feminine silhouette, giving her a unique charm.

"You have one too?" Ren Qunfang was a little surprised.

"Why can’t I?"

Xue Rui smiled. They both knew where the other’s sweater came from.

Ren Qunfang was about to scold him but forced herself to hold it back. She said with a grin, "I’m afraid you won’t ever want to take it off."

"What do you mean?"

Xue Rui asked curiously. While he was touched, it wasn’t to the point where he’d be reluctant to take it off.

"You’ll find out later," Ren Qunfang said, acting all mysterious.

Xue Rui thought his mom was being weird.

He had just noticed that his mom was about to yell at him, but she had suddenly held it back.

’Maybe there’s a guest over.’ He’d seen a Mercedes-Benz parked at the entrance when he came back.

He had intended to greet the guest, but after a lap around the first floor, he couldn’t find anyone.

"Old Gu’s daughter is upstairs playing with Yaoyao. Who knows which one you’re really here to see," Ren Qunfang said sarcastically.

"Muxue is here?"

Xue Rui was a little surprised. Gu Muxue hadn’t mentioned this at school.

But he didn’t overthink it. ’She’s probably here to hang out with Xue Yao.’

「Inside Xue Yao’s room.」

Xue Yao was flipping through an old photo album. "Sister Muxue, this is when my brother ran into a tree as a kid and got a big bump on his head."

"And this one, when he poked a hornet’s nest and his face swelled up like a pig’s head."

...

Xue Rui stood at the doorway, hearing everything clearly.

"Xue Yao, don’t make me expose your embarrassing secrets," Xue Rui threatened, opening the door.

"Oh."

In reality, she had already finished exposing all of Xue Rui’s embarrassing history.

Xue Yao sat to the side, lips pursed, trying hard to hold back her laughter. She mentally ran through the saddest things that had ever happened to her...

Xue Rui really wanted to go over and kick her. His sister’s expression was just asking for a beating.

But Gu Muxue was still here, so he had to pretend they were a harmonious pair of siblings.

"Muxue, how come you didn’t say you were coming over today?" Xue Rui asked.

"I didn’t come to see you. I came to hang out with Yaoyao. Yaoyao said she likes cats."

As Gu Muxue spoke, she picked up the cat from the floor.

"Here, let me pet her."

Xue Rui unceremoniously took the adorable cat.

"Meow~"

The cat let out a cry that sounded like it was trying to be cute. Its clear blue eyes sparkled like gems, and it even rubbed its head against Xue Rui’s hand.

"This cat has such a good personality?" Xue Rui stroked the cat’s fluffy little head, thinking how good it felt.

Completely different from the solid head of a dog like Da Huang.

"Her name is Xiaobu," Gu Muxue said, scratching Xiaobu’s chin.

"Why is this rag shedding?" Xue Rui muttered as a few white cat hairs stuck to his sweater.

"What... rag?" Gu Muxue thought she’d misheard. ’Did Xue Rui just say ’rag’?’

"I said Xiaobu is very pretty."

’Da Huang is still better,’ Xue Rui thought. ’He can be used as a rag.’

Whenever he finished eating something greasy and couldn’t find a napkin, he could always wipe his hands on Da Huang’s head.

But this cat was too white. It would get dirty after just one use...

"Bro, look! Sister Muxue has been to Tokyo," Xue Yao said, pointing to a photo.

Xue Rui put down the cat and leaned in curiously.

’Gu Muxue actually brought her childhood photo album?’

As the sky grew dark, Xue Rui stole a glance at Gu Muxue’s reflection in the glass. Her toes were slightly pointed, her expression tinged with a little expectation.

’This girl is such a tsundere,’ he thought. ’She obviously brought it just to show me, yet she’s pretending not to care.’

Gu Muxue’s photo album was frighteningly thick. Xue Rui hefted it; it felt like it weighed about ten pounds. It was filled with photos of Gu Muxue at every age.

Xue Rui became a bit entranced as he looked. Gu Muxue had been beautiful since she was little, dressed in bright, splendid clothes. She was as pretty as a porcelain doll, almost unreal in her cuteness.

Gu Qingshan was a photography enthusiast, so every one of Gu Muxue’s photos was carefully composed.

Moreover, unlike his own childhood photos taken at a studio with fake backdrops, every one of Gu Muxue’s pictures was taken on location.

Mount Fuji, the Sydney Opera House, Big Ben...

Gu Muxue was only in high school, yet she had been to far more places than an old man like Xue Rui.

Page after page, it was all photos like these.

Xue Rui flipped faster and faster. ’Gu Qingshan went a little overboard with the beautification,’ he thought. ’What I want to see are the embarrassing photos...’

The result was a bit disappointing for Xue Rui; the album didn’t contain what he was looking for.

Gu Muxue was the one who brought the album. Everything he could see was what Gu Muxue wanted him to see.

Or maybe, Gu Muxue simply didn’t have any embarrassing photos.

"You’ve seen all of mine. Where are yours?" Gu Muxue asked.

"Mine? The one Yaoyao had just now."

"No, Yaoyao said that one is hers. She said you keep yours locked up," Gu Muxue said with a frown.

"It’s the same either way. My album isn’t any different from Yaoyao’s, except maybe for a few more school pictures," Xue Rui explained.

’What kind of trouble is this girl trying to stir up now?’ he wondered.

"Want to search my room for it?" Xue Rui said with a mischievous grin.

"Well, I suppose I can reluctantly accompany you," Gu Muxue said, putting on a magnanimous air.

The two of them went to Xue Rui’s room. What greeted them was a room that couldn’t possibly be any plainer.

There were no decorations, no toys, no ornaments.

"Are you lying to me?"

Gu Muxue frowned. No matter how she looked at it, this room seemed uninhabited.

"I’m not lying. This is just how my room is."

He had been too mischievous as a child; no toy survived long in his hands, so there was nothing left to keep. His dad also wouldn’t let him have a TV or computer, which made the room seem even emptier.

"This fountain pen..."

Gu Muxue noticed that the birthday present she had given Xue Rui before was still on the desk. This was definitely his room.

Xue Rui rummaged around the room, looking for the photo album.

To be precise, he had been reborn for several months now, and he hadn’t even searched his own room more than a few times.

Because there had really been no need to...

Now he was also curious if he had secretly hidden anything during his adolescence.

After searching everywhere and finding nothing, he prepared to look under the bed.

The heating in his house was turned up high, and the sweater Lin Ruoxi had knitted was very thick. He was sweating buckets and thought about taking it off.

However, when he took it off, he pulled his T-shirt off with it.

"Wh-What are you trying to do?" Gu Muxue grew nervous.

Xue Rui was about to pull his T-shirt back on, but hearing Gu Muxue’s words, he was suddenly in no hurry.

He walked to the door with a grin and casually closed it.

"The soundproofing in my house is really good," Xue Rui said, raising an eyebrow.

"Pervert!"

Gu Muxue pushed Xue Rui aside and was about to open the door when the lights suddenly went out.

"Xue Rui, turn the lights back on!" Gu Muxue said coldly.

Xue Rui was baffled too; he wasn’t the one who turned them off.

He opened the door and saw that it was pitch black outside as well.

"The power’s out. You can use your phone’s flashlight," Xue Rui explained.

"M-My phone is in Yaoyao’s room." Gu Muxue’s voice trembled slightly.

She could only vaguely tell where Xue Rui was by the sound of his voice.

’Afraid of the dark?’ Xue Rui chuckled inwardly.

He took out a lighter.

With a CLICK, a small flame lit up the room.

Seeing the light, Gu Muxue instantly felt much more at ease.

Unfortunately, the flame went out before long.

"You can’t keep a lighter lit continuously. It needs a break," Xue Rui explained.

"It’s okay. Villas all have backup generators. The power will be back in a few minutes," Gu Muxue reassured herself.

’Fuck!’ Xue Rui cursed inwardly. He had actually forgotten about that.

His house had a generator too; the power would probably be back on in just a few minutes.

"No, my house doesn’t have one," Xue Rui immediately denied.

"Then... let’s go find Yaoyao," Gu Muxue suggested.

"Muxue, my dad was trying to save money back then. This house isn’t exactly... clean. You must not wander around when the power’s out, or else..." Xue Rui lit the lighter again.

Gu Muxue could see Xue Rui’s face clearly, but his eyes weren’t looking at her at all. Instead, he was staring intently behind her, as if he’d been frightened by something.

"Muxue, just now..." Xue Rui murmured.

"What?!" Gu Muxue’s voice trembled more and more violently.

"I think I saw a pair of eyes over there..."

The room was terrifyingly quiet. They could both hear each other’s heartbeats.

Gu Muxue’s neck was stiff. She was truly terrified, but she didn’t dare turn around to look...

Suddenly, Xue Rui threw the lighter in his hand behind Gu Muxue. It landed on the floor with a crisp sound.

Gu Muxue was already afraid of the dark, and Xue Rui had been planting psychological suggestions this whole time. With the sound of the lighter hitting the floor...

Gu Muxue couldn’t take it anymore. Relying on her memory, she found her way to Xue Rui and hugged him tightly.

After hugging Xue Rui, she felt much safer. She nervously opened her eyes and discovered that there really did seem to be a pair of glowing eyes behind her.

’She’s really stacked...’ Xue Rui hadn’t had a chance to put his shirt back on, so the sensation was very real.

Moreover, their faces were pressed together, and Xue Rui couldn’t resist rubbing against hers.

But before he could properly enjoy it, the lights came back on...

’It’s over,’ he thought. ’Now that the lights are on, Gu Muxue’s IQ will be taking back the high ground.’

"Xiaobu?" Gu Muxue saw the pair of eyes clearly. It was her cat.

"Meow~" Xiaobu responded.

"Were you talking about Xiaobu just now?" Gu Muxue let go of Xue Rui and asked, her face dark.

"Yeah," Xue Rui nodded.

Gu Muxue ground her teeth. Xue Rui had been scaring her.

And, thinking back, Xue Rui had been rubbing against her face just now.

As for the whole "no backup power" and "the house isn’t clean" business, it was all just nonsense to trick her.

SLAP!

Xue Rui took a slap, leaving a small, red handprint on his chest.

"I’m going home," Gu Muxue said, puffing her cheeks in anger, and left.

"I’ll walk you out."

Xue Rui threw on his T-shirt and hurried after her. Although he’d been hit on the chest, he still felt like he’d come out ahead.

"Goodbye, Auntie!" Gu Muxue said a very polite goodbye to Ren Qunfang.

"Goodbye, Muxue," Ren Qunfang said with a beaming smile.

"Goodbye, Mom," Xue Rui said as well.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, my bad. I’m just walking Muxue out. I’ll be right back."

"Put on some clothes. Are you trying to get sick, wearing just a T-shirt?"

Although Gu Muxue was very angry, she still offered a reminder.

"Okay." Xue Rui picked up his dad’s jacket from the sofa and put it on.

The moment he stepped outside, a biting gust of wind swept across his neck.

"Hss..."

Xue Rui shivered and instinctively hunched his neck.

Having gotten used to wearing the turtleneck sweater, he felt like something was missing from around his neck whenever he went out.

’So that’s what Mom meant by "won’t ever want to take it off."’