Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Lin Ruoxi watched the battered old van drive away and asked, "Why were the village chief’s cigarettes different from theirs?"

Xue Rui hadn’t told her before, but she noticed when she was paying the bill. Those two red cartons of cigarettes cost more than all the others combined.

Xue Rui was speechless. ’Did she really have to ask about something like that? Of course the leader and the workers don’t get the same treatment.’

But he didn’t want to explain it to Lin Ruoxi. ’It’s useless for a girl like her to learn about these things.’

"I asked Yu Minlan to come pick you up. I won’t be going over today," Xue Rui said.

"Okay. I’ll bring you food at school," Lin Ruoxi replied obediently.

She knew Xue Rui had been working hard lately, busy with his grandmother’s affairs and also preparing for the college entrance exams.

Soon, Yu Minlan’s car pulled up in front of the restaurant.

After nodding to Yu Minlan, Xue Rui headed upstairs.

Just then, Xue Jianfeng came downstairs, and the two drove home.

They didn’t say a word on the way, as if each was waiting for the other to speak first.

...

After they got home, Xue Jianfeng called the whole family together for a family meeting.

In the half-hour between them getting home and waiting for Xue Yao to get out of school, five cigarette butts had already appeared in Xue Jianfeng’s ashtray.

"Dad, you should smoke less," Xue Rui said.

Xue Jianfeng sighed and lit another one...

"Dad, why are you being so rebellious?" Xue Rui asked, signaling to his sister with his eyes.

Xue Yao frowned, plucked the cigarette from Xue Jianfeng’s mouth, and tossed it directly into the ashtray. She then snatched the cigarette pack from the coffee table for good measure.

Xue Jianfeng let out another long sigh. His feelings right now were truly complicated.

He had been afraid that Xue Rui would be corrupted by that crowd of aimless rich kids, so he had deliberately restricted him financially. He never expected the kid to earn so much money before he even graduated high school!

Now, Xue Rui had far more cash flow than he did.

He felt completely lost. It was as if his more than ten years of painstaking effort had turned into a bubble in an instant.

Besides, he didn’t think Xue Rui’s money-making had anything to do with his upbringing. That was just Xue Rui growing up "crooked" on his own.

’My child has just grown up. I’ve saved up so much money, but before I can even offer any help in Xue Rui’s life, my son has already taken flight on his own?’

He felt the same sense of loss as someone who spends ten years honing his swordsmanship, only to emerge from seclusion and find the world has entered the age of firearms.

This feeling of powerlessness, like throwing a punch that hits nothing but air, truly made him feel empty and dejected.

"Honey, Xiaorui earned a hundred million," Xue Jianfeng said. This was the kind of thing you could only share with family.

Ren Qunfang’s eyes widened. ’Xue Rui earned a hundred million?’

It wasn’t like she hadn’t struggled out in the world. Back when she and Xue Jianfeng ran their mom-and-pop shop, they’d work themselves to the bone for just five or six thousand yuan a month, and they still had to spend money greasing palms...

’Xue Rui earned a hundred million at his age?’

’Didn’t that mean...’

Although Xue Yao was surprised, she didn’t think much about it, other than that her big brother was amazing.

"Is this all the meeting is about?" Xue Yao asked, playing on her phone while lying on the sofa.

The truth was, Xue Yao had never wanted for money growing up and had no real concept of it. She just knew that a hundred million was a lot.

"Alright, Yaoyao, go have dinner," Xue Rui said, sending Xue Yao away. There was no point in her getting involved in this.

Xue Jianfeng and Ren Qunfang exchanged a look, their gazes fixed intently on Xue Rui.

Xue Rui said helplessly, "Let me start from the beginning. The year before last, I made a game, and later I found Uncle Gu..."

Xue Rui recounted the entire process of how he made his money, from making the game, to finding Gu Qingshan to handle the paperwork, and then selling the game for royalties and trading cryptocurrency...

The two of them listened as if in a dream. It all felt too unreal.

"Xiaorui, even if you have money now, don’t hang out with shady people..." Xue Jianfeng began earnestly.

"I know. Some things will ruin you if you touch them," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"You haven’t seen it for yourself. You know Boss Xie, right? That fat guy who used to come to our house all the time? His son..."

Of course, Xue Rui understood this reasoning. Many people can’t even quit smoking, let alone get hooked on drugs and ruin their entire lives.

Even the most strong-willed person couldn’t withstand the devastation those things cause.

"Dad, I don’t even smoke or drink. You think I’d touch that stuff?" Xue Rui interrupted.

Xue Jianfeng was at a loss for words.

He never restricted Xue Rui’s spending at their family’s restaurant, letting him act as lavishly as he pleased.

But, on second thought, although Xue Rui would take cigarettes and alcohol from the restaurant, he’d never actually seen his son smoke or drink.

In other words, his son was much stronger than him in this regard, only using those two things as social tools without partaking himself.

"Dad doesn’t want your money, but you need to manage it properly..." Xue Jianfeng started nagging again, planning to slowly pass on his years of experience to his son.

"Dad, I remember our family took out a loan from the bank for that resort hotel, right? Want me to pay it back for you?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

Xue Jianfeng’s temper flared up again instantly. "Get lost! You think I’m short on your pathetic bit of money? Go to bed."

After Xue Rui left, Xue Jianfeng pulled out another pack of cigarettes.

"Honey, what do we do?" Ren Qunfang asked, her face full of worry.

"I don’t know either!" Xue Jianfeng said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his face a mask of bewilderment.

There’s an old saying: when a child brings home their first earnings, it’s a parent’s happiest moment. It proves the child has grown up and can survive independently in the world.

But he couldn’t feel happy at all right now. Xue Rui had a huge amount of cash at such a young age, and on top of that, he would be receiving large royalties every year...

’What parent doesn’t want to pave the way for their child’s future? But now Xue Rui has paved it himself...’

This meant that Xue Rui would no longer need to rely on the family’s support... He and Ren Qunfang just felt a sense of insecurity.

"What if Xiaorui doesn’t need us anymore?" Ren Qunfang asked, her brow furrowed.

Ever since he was little, Xue Rui had loved to roam around outside, but he would still come home to eat when he was hungry.

Now, Xue Rui would never go hungry. She was afraid he wouldn’t come home much anymore.

It felt as if their son would run off the moment they let go of his hand.

"It’s fine. Trading crypto should be similar to trading stocks. Who knows, he might just lose it all one day," Xue Jianfeng consoled himself.

"It would be good if he lost it. Xiaorui’s life has been too smooth," Ren Qunfang said with a nod.

"I saw a particularly beautiful girl with Xiaorui today. She was even taller than the Gu Family’s daughter," Xue Jianfeng said, then added a curse, "That little brat. The moment he gets a bit of stinking money, he’s out chasing skirts."

Ren Qunfang paused. She guessed it must have been Lin Ruoxi. She said in a serious tone, "We shouldn’t interfere in matters of the heart. We should let nature take its course."

"The Gu Family’s daughter is so wonderful—pretty and poised," Xue Jianfeng said sternly.

He thought that Xue Rui was too young and didn’t understand the way the world works.

In his opinion, what the hell was money worth? When you really ran into trouble, money was of little use.

The person who could help Xue Rui the most in life should be Gu Muxue. Besides, they were childhood sweethearts; she was clearly the most suitable choice.

"Is Old Gu’s daughter the only good girl in the world? I happen to know a girl who is beautiful and gentle..." Ren Qunfang retorted.

"What’s the use of a pretty vase? If he runs into trouble, she won’t be able to help Xiaorui solve his problems..."

"Xue Jianfeng! Are you speaking from the heart now?" Ren Qunfang’s beautiful eyes were filled with fury, and they gradually began to well up with tears.

Xue Jianfeng slapped himself hard across the face. ’Xue Rui had messed with my head so much today. How could I say something like that in front of my wife?’

"Honey, I really didn’t mean it like that," Xue Jianfeng said through clenched teeth. ’This was all Xue Rui’s fault!’

’I used to be able to find some sense of purpose through Xue Rui, but now that was all over...’

’My status in the family has hit rock bottom!’

"Tell me. What did you mean?" Ren Qunfang said, turning her head to the side.

"Back then, I was dirt poor. Meeting you was my good fortune. But Xiaorui is different. He’s a hundred-millionaire now. It’s hard to say what the intentions of the women around him are..."

"How can those gaudy women out there compare to you? They’re all looks and no substance. But you... you’ve raised two outstanding men..."

Xue Rui sat on the second-floor stairs, listening to their conversation loud and clear.

’His old man would need at least an hour to coax his mom back into a good mood.’

Just then, Xue Xiaying came home from work and opened the door to find her brother in a half-kneeling posture before her sister-in-law, his head tilted up, murmuring sweet nothings. It was obvious he was trying to appease her...

Xue Xiaying looked awkward. She pretended not to see anything and tiptoed upstairs.

When she reached the bend in the stairs, she discovered Xue Rui hiding in the corner, eavesdropping.

"Xiaorui, why are you hiding here eavesdropping?" Xue Xiaying scolded in a whisper, pulling Xue Rui upstairs with her.

As they went upstairs, Xue Rui asked, "Auntie, what has Ren Jun been up to lately?"

"Oh, him? He’s just raising cats and dogs and studying every day. I go over to tutor him in math sometimes, and I get to play with the cats and dogs too," Xue Xiaying said with a laugh.

Xue Rui nodded with a slight smile. ’That kid has really settled down.’ For over a year, he hadn’t caused any trouble. He was focused on running his pet shop and studying hard, saving up for a 500-point "bride price."

"Remember to wake me up tomorrow morning," Xue Rui said.

"Don’t worry, no problem at all," Xue Xiaying said with a smile.

Ren Qunfang was always the first one up in the family. Every morning, she would wake everyone for work or school. For ten years it had been like this, day in and day out; she never worried about oversleeping.

"Okay, I’ll bum a ride to school with you tomorrow morning," Xue Rui said with a yawn. ’There’s just been too much going on lately.’

But, the next day...

「8:00 AM sharp.」

Xue Rui was yanked out of bed by Xue Xiaying. "Xiaorui! We’re late!"

Xue Rui rubbed his drowsy eyes. "What time is it?"

"It’s after eight! Let’s go!" Xue Xiaying frantically helped Xue Rui pull on his clothes.

The frantic dressing was making Xue Rui itch all over. "Auntie, you said last night it would be no problem."

"Uhh..." Xue Xiaying didn’t know what to say. Ren Qunfang had overslept today and hadn’t woken her up for work.

"Hurry up! My class is first period this morning," Xue Xiaying said, her face dark.

’Class has already started, and yet I, the teacher, am not even at school...’

On the way, Xue Xiaying drove at lightning speed, even running a yellow light.

The two of them jogged all the way to the classroom, arriving when the class was already halfway over.

The class monitor, Guo Qingqing, was sitting at the teacher’s desk supervising, while the students below worked quietly on their exercises.

When they saw their homeroom teacher come in, the students looked surprised. Director Wang had just been by asking where Teacher Xue was.

Facing the students’ questioning gazes, Xue Xiaying glanced at Xue Rui, a flicker of resolve in her eyes.

Xue Rui suddenly had the feeling he was being set up. ’But what could his aunt possibly be planning?’

Under Xue Rui’s confused gaze, Xue Xiaying said coldly, "Xue Rui, go stand in the doorway."

Xue Rui pointed at himself in disbelief. "Me?"

"I caught you being late. Are you saying you’ve done nothing wrong?" Xue Xiaying said with a grim face.

The students’ faces showed sudden understanding. ’So the homeroom teacher went to catch Xue Rui?’