Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Qingfeng smiled helplessly. ’Xue Rui really is just a kid,’ he thought. ’It’s best not to show off about things like this.’ He figured he would try to advise Xue Rui later; being too flashy wasn’t a good thing.

What he didn’t know, however, was that Xue Rui had no intention of showing off. He just wanted to give the old lady a little shock, since she seemed to only be interested in the old television at home.

"I can’t read, so whatever you say, goes," the old lady said breezily, without even glancing at Xue Rui.

Everyone was stunned by her words. ’This old lady is so composed,’ they thought. After all, Xue Rui had just deposited that cash into her account.

Xue Rui was speechless. He felt as if he’d thrown a powerful punch only for it to land on a ball of cotton, all its force completely absorbed.

He wasn’t sure if the old lady had no concept of money, or if she was just more nonchalant about things at her age.

In any case, he hadn’t managed to shock her.

And then there was Lin Ruoxi. She was something else. Usually, she’d agonize over a few bucks, but now, with ten million yuan right in front of her, the girl didn’t show the slightest sign of being tempted.

After carefully reviewing everything, the woman from Le You Company’s legal department nodded to Qingfeng. "No issues."

Qingfeng walked up to Xue Rui again and shook his hand. "It’s been a pleasure."

He had chatted a lot with Xue Rui over the past few days, and the two of them got along very well.

Their opinions were surprisingly in sync; they both believed the match-three game would have an extremely long life cycle, and they saw eye to eye on many other things as well.

"Likewise," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"Our flight is this afternoon. We should pack our bags and get going," Qingfeng gestured for his team to return to their rooms and pack.

"Aren’t we staying a few more days? The food here is delicious, the rooms are comfortable, and we can even go to the hot springs..." someone lamented.

"If we stay any longer, we’ll go over budget. Are you going to pay for it?" a woman said with a frown.

The rooms here were not cheap. The six of them had booked several suites, and food and lodging had already cost them tens of thousands, clearly exceeding the company’s travel expense policy.

Xue Rui smiled. "I’m a lifetime member here. I can get you a 50% discount."

"Fifty percent?" The woman covered her mouth lightly. ’What kind of membership gets you that?’ she wondered.

’But if he puts it that way, doesn’t that mean Xue Rui is essentially paying for half?’

She did a quick calculation in her head and realized it would fall exactly within Le You Company’s maximum travel allowance.

"Qingfeng, if it’s half-off, why don’t we just stay and have some fun for a few more days? It’s the May Day holiday, after all, and we still haven’t seen any of Hedong’s attractions. There’s the Crane Tower and the Seven-Colored Salt Lake. We’d just be milking the company’s expense account," the young man from the planning department said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Qingfeng continued walking toward the elevator without breaking stride. "Let’s skip it this time. We have to go back and work overtime."

"What?" The group sighed in disappointment.

"However..." Qingfeng gave a faint smile. "After the game launches, I’ll apply to get you all twice the vacation days, an all-expenses-paid trip. And if it wins any awards, you’ll definitely get extra bonuses."

"Yay!"

...

’The atmosphere at Le You Company is really nice,’ Xue Rui thought. ’If you had to work for someone, you’d be hard-pressed to find a company like this.’

This made him feel even more confident about Le You Company’s project for the match-three game.

"I made ten million," Xue Rui said, winking at Lin Ruoxi.

"Mm, that’s a lot of money." Lin Ruoxi looked a little shocked, but only for an instant. She quickly reverted to her usual expression as she gazed up at Xue Rui.

Xue Rui thought Lin Ruoxi was being too dense. Her reaction was clearly not one of great surprise; it was about the same as usual. Although her gaze held a hint of adoration, was it any different from the feedback he got when he washed the dishes?

’Actually... it might have been even less impressive than his dishwashing.’

In reality, Lin Ruoxi thought Xue Rui was incredible, so making ten million seemed perfectly normal to her.

"You’re a partner in this, too. Five million of that is yours. Why aren’t you asking me for it?" Xue Rui asked.

Lin Ruoxi thought for a moment. "I didn’t really do anything, just wrote some code... and did the daily maintenance."

She didn’t feel she deserved to earn that much money. The only reason she had learned to program was to help Xue Rui.

The game, the business plan... Xue Rui had done it all. She believed the money was his to begin with.

As for herself, she worked for Xue Rui voluntarily. He gave her a place to stay and food to eat, and she was already more than content.

The most important part was that she could always be by Xue Rui’s side...

"Hm... You really have the mindset of an employee. You should never work for anyone else in the future," Xue Rui said with a frown. Lin Ruoxi never fought for her own interests; a personality like that was bound to be taken advantage of.

Lin Ruoxi’s pupils trembled slightly. She didn’t understand what Xue Rui meant.

’Now that the game was sold, did that mean Xue Rui didn’t need her to work anymore?’

Lin Ruoxi grabbed Xue Rui’s sleeve. "Can I please work for you?"

"That, I can agree to. I won’t treat you unfairly. I’ll hold onto that five million for you," Xue Rui sighed. ’I really am a boss with a conscience,’ he thought.

Lin Ruoxi shook her head. "What’s mine is yours."

"Oh?" A wide grin spread across Xue Rui’s face. It was the first time in his two lifetimes combined that he had ever heard someone say that. He pressed on, "Then what about what’s mine?"

Lin Ruoxi thought for a moment. "What’s yours is still yours."

The old lady had gone numb. She had no idea what kind of bewitching potion this granddaughter of hers had drunk.

The two lawyers were still in the conference room, and watching the scene unfold made them green with envy.

In their profession, they had seen far too many wealthy people. While this transaction was surprising, the main shock had been Xue Rui’s young age. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But now? Now they were jealous. Where on earth did Xue Rui find a girl like that?

Gentle, obedient, and she only had eyes for Xue Rui.

They figured the odds of meeting a girl like that were lower than the odds of making ten million yuan...

"Thank you both for your hard work, especially having to work overtime during the holiday." Seeing that their business was concluded, Xue Rui took two envelopes out of the backpack Lin Ruoxi was wearing.

Each envelope contained three thousand yuan.

He had borrowed these two lawyers from Gu Qingshan. Even if they weren’t concerned about payment out of respect for Gu Qingshan, it was proper for Xue Rui to pay them an extra fee. It would be a loss of face otherwise.

The younger lawyer was about to accept it, but Lawyer Zhang pushed his hand away. "No, no, it’s enough that Director Gu thought of me. Besides, this is against company policy. President Zhao..."

"Go on, take it. If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, nobody will ever know..."

Lawyer Zhang read between the lines. Xue Rui didn’t want to draw attention to the money he had made.

The two seasoned professionals politely refused a few times as "protocol" dictated, until Lawyer Zhang finally accepted the envelope with a show of reluctance. He did, however, firmly refuse Xue Rui’s offer to see them out.

Lin Ruoxi frowned. She felt like she understood some of what just happened, but not completely. "He actually wanted it, didn’t he?"

If he didn’t want it, why didn’t he just leave?

She found it all too strange, so she decided it was best to ask Xue Rui.

Xue Rui quickly covered Lin Ruoxi’s brutally honest little mouth. Only after seeing that Lawyer Zhang was out of earshot did he slowly let go. "Some things are better left unsaid. If you say them out loud, it makes things awkward for everyone."

"Mm, I get it," Lin Ruoxi murmured with a nod.

"What is it you get?" Xue Rui asked, curious. ’Could it be? Has she finally figured things out?’

"Don’t talk to strangers." Lin Ruoxi nodded thoughtfully. She had figured out the pattern.

When she spoke with Qiu Mengze, Xue Rui never stopped her. He didn’t stop her when she spoke with Aunt Ren, either...

Xue Rui never covered her mouth when she was talking to people she knew.

"Genius." Xue Rui nodded emphatically. He supposed that was one way to solve the problem.

The two of them went to the lobby to wait for the people from Le You Company. He had already arranged for a car to take them to the airport.

The woman from the finance department went to the front desk to get an invoice.

Xue Rui tapped his knuckles on the counter a few times. "On my account, give them a fifty percent discount."

"Oh, okay," the young woman at the front desk replied, then issued the invoice as requested.

The woman looked at Xue Rui in surprise. "You can really get a fifty percent discount?"

This place was practically a holiday manor, complete with entertainment facilities for children and impeccable service. At half price, it was an incredible deal.

"Next time I come here for fun, you have to give me a fifty percent discount, too," the woman said with a grin.

"Of course, definitely." Xue Rui gave a magnanimous wave. The markup was so high, they’d still make a profit even at a fifty percent discount.

’Besides, wasn’t the money all going into his own family’s pocket in the end?’

Suddenly, a greeter behind Xue Rui called out, "Good morning, Boss!"

Xue Rui’s heart skipped a beat. ’What’s Dad doing here?’ he thought.

He had deliberately chosen a resort hotel in the suburbs, thinking his dad rarely came out this way.

Xue Rui didn’t turn around, figuring Xie Jianfeng probably wouldn’t notice him.

However, things rarely go as planned. Xie Jianfeng spotted the familiar back leaning against the front desk and called out, "Xiaorui? What are you doing here?"

"Dad, some of my friends are staying here, so I came to host them," Xue Rui said without batting an eye. Xie Jianfeng wouldn’t fuss over an excuse like that.

Qingfeng had been about to greet Xie Jianfeng, who was, after all, Xue Rui’s father.

But then he recalled Xue Rui saying they were just friends, and he guessed that Xue Rui wanted to keep this from his family.

’Yep, that’s rich kids for you,’ he thought. ’Always wanting to work hard in secret to amaze their families, just to avoid people saying they’re just riding their parents’ coattails.’

He’d seen this kind of mentality many times before. Besides, he genuinely felt that Xue Rui was the real deal.

"Give them a discount," Xie Jianfeng said magnanimously.

"Yep, already gave them fifty percent off," Xue Rui said with a nod.

"Hiss..." Xie Jianfeng sucked in a breath and muttered, ’Aren’t you the generous one!’

The woman from the finance department, however, frowned deeply.

She had just asked the front desk if there was such a thing as a lifetime membership and had been told no...

’Lifetime member, my ass! This place is owned by your family? No wonder you can get a fifty-percent discount!’

’He’s already made so much money, and he’s still making me get this reimbursed?’

The more she thought about it, the more it clicked. Xue Rui was the one who brought them to this place. If the negotiations had failed, there definitely wouldn’t have been a discount, and he would have made a tidy profit off their stay...

She realized Xue Rui was incredibly calculating—the type who never, ever loses.

The rest of the group looked at Xue Rui with peculiar expressions. They’d been staying here for days and had never heard that it was his family’s business.

"All right, let’s go," Qingfeng said, glancing at his team’s reactions and guessing what was going through their minds.

Qingfeng patted Xue Rui’s shoulder. "Don’t be so stubborn. Having family support is the best thing; it gives you a safety net."

Xue Rui sighed. It wasn’t that he was trying to prove something. He just had no idea how Xie Jianfeng would react if he found out how much money he’d made.

It wasn’t that he thought his money would be confiscated. His dad was a man of principle and wouldn’t take a single cent his son earned.

He was just afraid Xie Jianfeng would become anxious over it...

The point was, you couldn’t impress Xie Jianfeng with money. For that, you needed good grades.