Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Time flew by, and soon it was late December.

The match-3 game had been online for a month and a half.

Since it was free to download, the traffic was fairly decent.

The main source of revenue was in-game purchases, with players buying items to pass the next level.

So far, it had earned over thirty thousand yuan.

Lin Ruoxi was very content. At this rate, they could recoup their costs in just over six months.

But Xue Rui looked completely dissatisfied and never checked the backend data.

「During evening self-study, at Lin Ruoxi’s home.」

Lin Ruoxi loved the feeling of sitting next to Xue Rui, but now that they didn’t have anything to work on together, he spent every day lying in her bed, hugging his iPad.

She wanted to watch movies with him, but whenever she suggested it, Xue Rui would throw back the covers, pat the bed, and tell her to lie down and watch with him.

But her grandma would wander in from time to time...

"Let’s... let’s make another game," Lin Ruoxi suggested.

’When we were making the game, Xue Rui was always by my side.’

Xue Rui thought for a moment before flatly refusing. "No."

’This match-3 game will have over a hundred million monthly active users in the future,’ he thought. ’If I can’t even make it successful, there’s no point in trying anything else.’

"Aren’t you cold sitting out there? Come in and get warm."

Xue Rui made room for Lin Ruoxi, patting the bed with a grin.

His house was very warm, but in Lin Ruoxi’s old residential complex, something was wrong with the heating. It was just barely not freezing, but if you stayed out for too long, your hands would still get cold.

Lin Ruoxi froze. She went to the living room and glanced over. Her grandma’s room light was still on, but the living room light was off.

Gazing into the darkness, a sense of security washed over her.

CLICK. Lin Ruoxi locked the door from the inside.

"What are you doing? This bed is too small." Xue Rui suddenly clutched the blanket tightly.

’I was just teasing her. Is Lin Ruoxi actually going for it?’ he wondered. ’I can’t resist this kind of temptation.’

’It’s not that I don’t want to pick the fruit; it’s just that the old lady and her mom are watching us too closely.’

’Besides, Lin Ruoxi can’t lie. They’d get the truth out of her with a single question.’

’I’m not afraid of the old lady, but my mom...’

’I’d be totally screwed...’

"It is too small..." Lin Ruoxi said, a little disappointed.

The bunk bed was indeed too small. It could only fit one person; two would fall off.

She looked around the room. The room was also too small; it couldn’t fit a bigger bed.

She pursed her lips, thinking that when she made money in the future, she would definitely buy Xue Rui a big house and get him a big bed.

Lin Ruoxi sat down at the computer and started looking through the user reviews again.

One moment her beautiful eyes would furrow, the next she would be beaming with joy.

From time to time, she would tap a few words on the keyboard.

Xue Rui opened the game’s page and saw that Lin Ruoxi was arguing with the users.

If someone left a good review, Lin Ruoxi would reply, "Thank you."

If someone left a bad review, Lin Ruoxi would reply, "Idiot."

And she was using the developer account to do it.

"You don’t have to pay attention to these comments. They’re meaningless," Xue Rui said with a helpless smile.

’What is this? I’ve never seen a software review section like this before.’

Most developers just ignored users, but Lin Ruoxi took every single comment seriously.

"But, when I see them insulting the game, I just..." Lin Ruoxi said, feeling wronged.

’She thought the game Xue Rui made was excellent. Why would anyone curse it?’

"You can’t please everyone." Xue Rui shook his head but didn’t press the issue.

’Lin Ruoxi’s insulting skills were terrible; she only knew how to use the word ’idiot’.’

’Good thing users could only comment once, or Lin Ruoxi would definitely be argued into tears.’

"Don’t argue with people online."

Xue Rui advised. With her personality, Lin Ruoxi was at a huge disadvantage in online flame wars.

"Mm..." Lin Ruoxi nodded.

"What kind of dumpling filling do you want?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

"Didn’t we just eat?" Xue Rui laughed.

"You have to eat dumplings on the Winter Solstice. Otherwise, Grandma says your ears will freeze off," Lin Ruoxi said.

"The Winter Solstice?"

’He ate dumplings but not the filling. His mom always scolded him for being picky and never asked what kind of filling he wanted.’

’He thought the dumpling skin with just a little bit of filling tasted best, nice and chewy.’

’But dumpling wrappers without any filling were tasteless, so it wasn’t like he was completely un-picky about the filling either...’

’The fact that Lin Ruoxi actually cared what kind of filling he liked made his heart feel warm.’

He looked at the iPad calendar for a long time but couldn’t find any indication of the Winter Solstice. In the end, he had to look it up on a webpage.

"Forget about the dumplings for a second. First, make an iOS calendar app and integrate the traditional lunar almanac," Xue Rui said, feeling a headache coming on.

The iPad’s default calendar didn’t even mark the lunar solar terms. It had zero localization, forcing users to figure it out themselves.

Xue Rui thought Apple was just too arrogant.

However, this arrogance also left some scraps for developers to pick up.

A small utility like a calendar wasn’t hard to develop, and a good one could bring in a steady stream of income.

The market for calendar apps was basically empty right now. It wasn’t a huge prize, but since it was served up on a silver platter, he couldn’t just pass it up.

Besides, for Lin Ruoxi, the college entrance exam was already in easy mode. It was good to find something for her to do in her spare time.

"A calendar?" Lin Ruoxi was very obedient and immediately started looking up relevant information.

Xue Rui casually scrolled through the webpages, finding that they were all about the "2012 Apocalypse." He’d heard so much about it at school that his ears were calloused.

Tomorrow was December 21st, the same day as the Winter Solstice.

At this point in time, the internet was flooded with discussions about the impending apocalypse.

Xue Rui was blown away by the absurdity of the times...

The influence of the apocalypse rumor was much greater than he had imagined.

Even state media had stepped in, bringing a group of scientists to debunk the rumors...

"Were things really this absurd back then?" Xue Rui was shocked.

Thinking back carefully, he did remember hearing absurd news stories, like someone spending all their life savings because they thought the world was ending...

"Let’s have pork and scallion filling tomorrow."

Xue Rui closed his iPad and got up to sit next to Lin Ruoxi.

Neither he nor Lin Ruoxi cared about the "apocalypse rumor." Life was as ordinary as ever, so they might as well think about what to eat for the Winter Solstice tomorrow.

The next day, the students were all distracted in class.

Because the "Apocalypse" was scheduled for three in the afternoon.

Even the teachers were intrigued and chatted with the students about it.

But they mostly debunked the rumors, telling the students not to be nervous.

Even adults with poor critical thinking skills were getting panicked, let alone these students.

No wonder the teachers made a point to address the issue.

Many boys mustered the courage to confess to their crushes today.

It was as if they felt they wouldn’t have another chance if they didn’t speak their minds now.

The apocalypse rumor created many new couples.

’These students are just too adorable,’ Xue Rui thought.

However, no one confessed to Lin Ruoxi, which surprised Xue Rui a little.

He thought to himself, ’It’s the end of the world, and you’re still afraid of the dean?’

’Looks like they don’t really believe in the "apocalypse theory" that much after all.’

When it was time for lunch, Xue Rui went to eat with Gu Muxue as usual.

Many people around them were discussing whether the world would end at three in the afternoon. Many students were too worried to eat.

"Muxue, it’s the Winter Solstice today." Xue Rui brought over a plate of dumplings.

"Thank you." The corners of Gu Muxue’s mouth turned up slightly.

’She thought Xue Rui was so mature. Unlike the other students worried about the end of the world, he only cared that today was the Winter Solstice.’

’She didn’t believe it either, of course, but she still felt things were a little too uneventful.’

’On such a special day, Xue Rui didn’t confess his feelings to her either...’

Gu Muxue pondered for a moment, then asked, "Xiaorui, if today was the apocalypse and you only had one ticket for the ark..."

Xue Rui’s chopsticks froze. ’How did this boomerang back to hit me?’

"Stop. It doesn’t matter how many tickets there are. If you’re not on the ark, I’m definitely not getting on," Xue Rui interrupted.

Gu Muxue’s heart filled with sweetness. She was very satisfied with Xue Rui’s answer and picked up her chopsticks to peel the skin off a dumpling for him.

"The Apocalypse is just a rumor," Xue Rui said with a smile.

Unexpectedly, Mei Lili and the girl next to her were not happy about that:

"The Mayans’ predictions are very accurate! All their previous prophecies came true. The Apocalypse is just the last one."

Xue Rui was taken aback. ’Traditional culture may have declined a bit these days, but it’s not so bad that people treat foreign stuff as gospel, is it?’

’Besides, what’s with them jumping down my throat? Do they want the Earth to explode or something?’

He couldn’t quite understand the thought processes of these girls.

"The Mayans predicted cars and rockets thousands of years ago, and it all came true. I think it’s real," said Mei Lili.

The girl beside her chimed in, "Not just that, they also predicted the world wars..."

"It’s a pity the Mayan civilization was wiped out, otherwise..."

Their loud discussion drew many other students into the conversation.

In an instant, the area around Xue Rui was as chaotic as if a swarm of flies were buzzing around.

’How am I supposed to eat?’

"Let me ask you this, then. If they were so amazing, how come they didn’t predict the downfall of their own civilization?" Xue Rui retorted sharply.

"Well..." Many people were left speechless.

The Mayan civilization was gone, leaving behind only a few prophecies.

If they could really predict the future, why were they wiped out?

Xue Rui’s rhetorical question left many deep in thought.

Xue Rui cleared his throat. "You need to have confidence in your own culture. We have five thousand years of heritage. First, we had Pangu creating the heavens and earth, then Nvwa mending the sky, and Da Yu controlling the great flood..."

"What kind of natural disaster or man-made catastrophe haven’t we survived? And you believe some foreigner’s prophecy? Aren’t they overstepping their bounds?"

Many people hadn’t yet processed Xue Rui’s words.

But when they thought about it carefully, it really did make sense.

’The most awesome civilization was our own...’

The students looked at Xue Rui with astonished eyes. They had never thought of it that way.

"Well said!" Teacher Guo, who was eating nearby, suddenly stood up and applauded.

That morning, he had warned the students not to believe the rumors.

But the students had paid him little mind...

He sincerely admired Xue Rui for being able to find so many cultural examples to refute the point.

’But... I’m the Chinese teacher!’

"How did I not think of that?" Teacher Guo muttered to himself.

Seeing their teacher applaud, the surrounding students subconsciously started clapping too.

Xue Rui smiled at Teacher Guo, then gestured downwards, signaling for the students to quiet down. "Don’t be superstitious. Everyone, go eat."

Gu Muxue had been sitting there the whole time, watching Xue Rui single-handedly convince the surrounding students, her eyes sparkling with amazement.

"If you don’t eat your dumplings on the Winter Solstice, no one’s going to care when your ears freeze off." Xue Rui picked up a dumpling and placed it in Gu Muxue’s bowl.

Gu Muxue: "..."

Xue Rui had just said not to be superstitious, and now he was saying your ears would freeze off if you didn’t eat dumplings...