Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

"Muxue?" Xue Rui was startled.

He had specifically watched Gu Muxue leave the school today.

’How did this girl get back here?’

Normally, he would have been at Lin Ruoxi’s house by now.

But today was the New Year’s Gala, and Xue Rui didn’t want Lin Ruoxi to have any regrets.

If they just stayed cooped up at home doing the same old things, they might look back on their school days and regret it.

He, for one, had regrets. Every time the school had an event like this, he used to sneak off to an internet cafe...

Now, looking back, he always felt like something was missing.

"What? Am I not allowed to watch the New Year’s Gala?" Gu Muxue said, her face grim.

She had a feeling something was off about Xue Rui.

"Of course not! Let’s hurry and grab a good spot." Xue Rui picked up Gu Muxue’s stool and quickened his pace.

"Slow down, be careful not to slip." Gu Muxue scurried to keep up, taking small, quick steps.

The snow was beautiful to look at, but after being trampled by so many students, it had become dirty, hard, and slippery—quite dangerous.

Lin Ruoxi watched blankly as Xue Rui walked away, a small sense of loss in her heart.

Since Xue Rui didn’t seem to be heading home today, she had also planned to stay for the gala.

She had thought Xue Rui would sit with her.

That’s how it was when they were at home...

But then she thought about it and decided it wasn’t a big deal. She and Xue Rui already spent a very, very long time together every day.

It was a simple life, but she was very content with it.

Gu Muxue was Xue Rui’s classmate, too. She’d heard from Qiu Mengze that Gu Muxue and Xue Rui had gone to school together since they were kids.

"I heard your song on Apple Music. It even made it onto the K-Pop charts," Xue Rui said.

He’d stumbled upon it a few days ago while playing on the iPad. The main reason he noticed was that Gu Muxue’s stage name was just Muxue.

He clicked on it, and sure enough, it was the song he and Gu Muxue had recorded.

Hearing his own whistling become so famous gave Xue Rui a surprising sense of accomplishment.

He never expected that the game he was pouring his heart into hadn’t charted yet, but a casually whistled tune had been taken by Gu Muxue and landed on the K-Pop charts...

"Really?" Gu Muxue’s eyes lit up.

"Really." Xue Rui nodded.

"Hee hee, did you see your name on it?"

She was only in charge of recording the song; her mother handled all the distribution. She had planned on sharing the news with Xue Rui once it gained some popularity, but she hadn’t expected him to find out before she could tell him.

’This feeling of being cared for... it’s really nice.’

"I saw it," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"But, where did you get an iPhone?" Gu Muxue asked.

Xue Rui always used a Nokia, so how could he have heard her song on Apple Music?

The last time Xue Rui took a hundred thousand yuan from her, he hadn’t even bought himself a smartphone. Gu Muxue found this a bit baffling.

Xue Rui froze. ’Where did I get an iPhone?’

’That really is a problem...’

At school, he could use Gu Muxue’s. After school, he could use Lin Ruoxi’s, and she also had an iPad and a computer.

The main issue was that he had gone from an era of folding screens to an era of three- or four-inch phone screens. He just couldn’t stand using a screen that small.

"I secretly bought an iPad. Don’t tell Yaoyao," Xue Rui said in a low voice.

"That depends on your behavior," Gu Muxue said, her voice dropping.

She felt that Xue Rui’s family was a bit too strict with him.

But Xue Rui had been teasing her a lot lately, so she was going to use this as leverage to threaten him a little.

"If you’re going to be a singer... I suggest you use Facebook first to build up a fanbase," Xue Rui suggested.

It was a standard move. Those fans would be useful later for things like boosting chart rankings, monetization, and so on...

"Yeah, my producer said the same thing."

Gu Muxue nodded. She hadn’t expected Xue Rui to have looked into such things for her.

"Well, I won’t worry about it then."

Xue Rui smiled. Gu Muxue had so many resources at her disposal; she didn’t need his help.

"Let’s go inside."

Xue Rui led Gu Muxue into the school cafeteria.

"Let’s sit here," Xue Rui said, pointing to the very back of the cafeteria.

It was a pitch-black corner, a spot so dark even the security cameras couldn’t get a clear shot.

Gu Muxue was about to agree, but then she remembered how Xue Rui had scared her during the power outage... 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

She figured Xue Rui was definitely up to no good, so she walked further forward. "Let’s go to the front."

Gu Muxue wasn’t used to sitting in the back because students would always turn around to look at her.

While she didn’t mind much and would even nod politely at the bolder students, sitting in the front row eliminated that problem.

"Sigh..." Xue Rui let out a small sigh. He really didn’t want to sit up front.

The cafeteria was warm and cozy, and he was starting to feel drowsy.

If they went to the front, he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Plus, he’d be facing the cameras and would have to show the school some respect by applauding...

By 7:00 PM, the students had all trickled in and taken their seats.

Just then, the principal took the microphone and began his boring, long-winded speech. "Good evening, teachers and students..."

Xue Rui was dozing off as he listened, but when he saw the cameraman approaching, he quickly perked up and clapped along with the crowd from time to time.

It had been years since he’d experienced something like this. He found it dull and tedious.

He finally endured it until the students took the stage. A boy and a girl in formal wear were hosting on stage.

You could tell right away they were from the school’s broadcasting club, or maybe they were second-year arts students.

He noticed the female student’s flesh-colored stockings and thought to himself, ’The school is pretty open-minded. At least the New Year’s Gala looks like a real gala; they didn’t make the students wear their uniforms on stage.’

Gu Muxue noticed where Xue Rui was looking. She frowned and covered his eyes with her hand.

"She’s allowed to wear them, so why can’t I look? If you wore them, why would I look at her?" Xue Rui teased.

"You!"

Gu Muxue ground her teeth in frustration. Xue Rui was just too shameless.

"Want some?" Gu Muxue glanced around, and after making sure no teachers were watching, she tugged her jacket pocket toward Xue Rui.

"Yes." Xue Rui reached into Gu Muxue’s pocket.

Inside was an assortment of shelled nuts.

’How thoughtful,’ Xue Rui thought. ’She even knew to bring some snacks.’

He wondered if Lin Ruoxi had anything to eat. He had forgotten to buy any.

"There’s more." Gu Muxue pulled out two cartons of milk from inside her jacket.

Xue Rui touched them; they were still warm.

’So Gu Muxue went all the way home just to get warm milk?’

The result was that after drinking the warm milk, Xue Rui felt like he’d taken a sleeping pill. He could barely keep his eyes open, and his head started nodding, bobbing against Gu Muxue’s shoulder.

As for Gu Muxue, she giggled while poking Xue Rui’s face, occasionally startling him by saying, "The cameraman’s coming!"

"Next up is Chen Tingting from Class 1-3, who will perform the pop song, ’A Little Sweet’ for everyone."

After the female host said this, many of the male students in the audience started to hoot and cheer.

Chen Tingting was also extremely well-known at school.

Not just because she was cute, but also because of her flamboyant personality...

"Picking an apple, waiting for you to pass by the door, putting it in your hand to quench your thirst..."

Xue Rui was sitting in one of the front rows, right behind the school leaders and teachers.

As Chen Tingting sang, her eyes never left him.

The more Xue Rui listened to the lyrics, the more irritated he got.

On Christmas Eve, Chen Tingting had staked out the back door of the classroom, practically trying to shove an apple into his mouth.

"You are the right time, the right person."

Chen Tingting had a very steady stage presence. When she sang this line, she even pointed a finger at Xue Rui and gave him a wink.

Xue Rui retorted silently in his heart: ’The hell I am!’

"We’ve already agreed, to spend next weekend together..."

Xue Rui shook his head repeatedly, leaning close to Gu Muxue’s ear to say, "I’m definitely not going on a date with her."

Gu Muxue burst out laughing. She thought Xue Rui was hilarious, getting into a fight with Chen Tingting’s song lyrics.

"It was you who let me see a flower bloom in a dry desert..."

Chen Tingting’s voice was very sweet, and it was a "sweet song" to begin with. Although there were many flaws in her breathing and rhythm, the good outweighed the bad.

Overall, it was still very pleasant to listen to, especially compared to the previous students who had been fidgety and stood stock-still on stage. She was clearly more lively and charismatic.

Even the teachers in the audience were smiling and nodding, thinking the young girl sang wonderfully.

As the backing track slowly faded out, the audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

The principal also gave Chen Tingting a smiling thumbs-up.

Even in the senior section, where the students’ eyes were glazed over from the torment of endless practice exams, there was a look of surprise. They even clapped with a little extra force.

Without a doubt, Chen Tingting was the most popular act at No. 2 High’s New Year’s Gala this year.

"Thank you, Chen Tingting, for that wonderful performance for everyone. Next up is..."

Just as the host was speaking, Chen Tingting suddenly interrupted, "I meant to remind you earlier. This wasn’t for ’everyone.’ It was specifically for Xue Rui. Why didn’t you say so?"

The female host looked mortified. Before she went on stage, Chen Tingting had asked her to change the line.

She thought it was a joke, but she never expected Chen Tingting to actually go through with it!

Chen Tingting had said it right into the microphone. The moment the words came out, the entire auditorium fell silent for three seconds.

Xue Rui swallowed hard. ’What is this mess?’

"Xue Rui, I like you!" Chen Tingting shouted, pointing at him.

The young cameraman gritted his teeth, as if he had made some sort of resolution.

He had already noticed the girl on stage kept pointing at the boy in the audience. He had been afraid of getting his pay docked by the school leaders, so he hadn’t dared to put the camera on Xue Rui.

But now that Chen Tingting was making such a huge scene, he didn’t need to hesitate anymore. The school would definitely have to cut this part out of the final video anyway.

The cameraman was a young guy himself and loved to watch the drama unfold. He aimed the camera right at Xue Rui’s face.

As Xue Rui’s face appeared on the big screen, the audience instantly erupted.

WOW!

A wave of gasps and shouts rose and fell.

Xue Xiaying had been napping at the back of her class’s section when she was suddenly shaken awake by a colleague. She had no idea what was happening, but now all her colleagues were staring at her...

The homeroom teacher of Class 1-3 wished a hole would open up in the ground and swallow him.

A student from his class had actually caused such a scene! The school leaders had seen everything!

Director Wang from the second year reacted the fastest. Seeing the principal’s expression change, he stood up, ready to go on stage and drag Chen Tingting away.

But Li Jianfeng, who was sitting next to him, grabbed his arm. "Don’t be hasty, Old Wang. This is youth! Just watch."

A girl so boldly confessing to the person she liked ignited a fire that had long been dormant in the hearts of many students.

Even the students who were usually more reserved started to join in the shouting.

"Get together! Get together!"

...

Never in the history of No. 2 High had there been such a lively New Year’s Gala.

Afterward, even some residents from the neighborhood couldn’t contain their curiosity and specifically asked students from No. 2 High just what kind of performance had taken place that night.

Why was it so rowdy?