Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

The students trickled out of the classroom. Many of them headed to the dorms to pack their belongings, and Xue Rui was no exception.

"Are you... still coming over to stay?" Lin Ruoxi asked softly.

She remembered what Yu Minlan had told her—that she shouldn’t invite boys over for a sleepover.

The faces of Yu Minlan and Xue Rui flashed through Lin Ruoxi’s mind. She subconsciously chose Xue Rui, casting Yu Minlan’s words to the wind.

Lin Ruoxi stared intently at Xue Rui. He hadn’t been to her place in a long time, and his scent was gone from her bed.

Xue Rui sighed. ’What man could possibly refuse such a request?’

"I’ll come over today," Xue Rui said. He could already picture her all by herself at home. It was time he paid her a visit.

"Okay." A smile instantly spread across Lin Ruoxi’s face.

When he reached the bend in the hallway, Xue Rui saw Xue Xiaying sitting alone in a corner of the stairwell, her head lowered. She was clutching a handful of paper slips, which he guessed were notes from the students to their homeroom teacher.

"Auntie, everyone’s gone," Xue Rui said softly.

’Just moments ago, she put on a stern face, telling the students not to get sentimental with her. And now look at her, getting emotional all by herself in the stairwell.’

Xue Xiaying blinked, trying to dry her eyes. "The wind blew some dust in my eye."

"I didn’t ask why you were crying," Xue Rui muttered. ’It was so obvious.’

Xue Xiaying had been their homeroom teacher since their first year of high school. He hadn’t expected her to have a harder time letting go than the students themselves.

"You and your smart mouth," Xue Xiaying said, jogging a few steps to Xue Rui’s side and pinching his arm.

Lin Ruoxi, who was trailing blankly behind Xue Rui, frowned when she saw someone else pinch him.

"Come home with me. I already brought your luggage down," Xue Xiaying said, pulling Xue Rui toward the school gate.

Xue Rui rubbed his chin. ’Ever since my family found out I’d made money, they’ve actually started keeping a stricter eye on me.’

’Dad isn’t a problem; he still trusts me quite a bit. It’s mainly Mom who’s always nagging me to come home.’

"Auntie, I’m not going back home for the next few days during the exams. The traffic gets bad," Xue Rui said.

Xue Xiaying thought for a moment. ’He has a point. Although our house is spacious and comfortable, the traffic can get really bad on the day of the exams. Leaving early would mean not getting enough rest...’

Most students who lived far away would choose to stay in a hotel near the exam site.

"Then you should stay at the hotel. It’s close to the exam site too," Xue Xiaying said.

The group chatted as they walked, and they soon reached the teachers’ parking area by the school gate.

When Director Wang saw Lin Ruoxi approaching, he quickly stamped out his cigarette and waved his hand to clear the air. "Lin Ruoxi, I’ll give you a ride home."

"Hello, Director," Xue Xiaying said with a nod.

Xue Rui gave Lin Ruoxi an innocent look. ’I can’t exactly tell my family, "I’m staying at a female classmate’s house and not coming home."’

Seeing that Xue Rui was about to get into Xue Xiaying’s car, Lin Ruoxi said meekly, "Teacher, Xue Rui can just stay at my place."

Xue Xiaying didn’t quite hear her, so she leaned closer to listen again.

After confirming she hadn’t misheard, Xue Xiaying’s eyes went wide. She never expected Lin Ruoxi to make such a request.

Xue Rui was also stunned. ’I thought she would just meekly accept the situation. I never thought she’d actually speak up!’

The calmest one, surprisingly, was Director Wang. In his mind, this top science student had probably already been devoured whole by Xue Rui long ago.

"Lin Ruoxi, do you have any idea what you’re saying?"

Xue Xiaying pulled Lin Ruoxi aside and scolded her in a low voice, repeating the kind of warnings every parent gives their daughter.

’Lin Ruoxi has no sense of self-preservation! How could she bring a young man home to spend the night?’

’Especially with the old lady still in the hospital. If Xue Rui went to Lin Ruoxi’s place, it would truly be a man and a woman alone in a room together.’

Seeing Lin Ruoxi hang her head lower and lower, her expression growing increasingly sad, Director Wang became afraid that Xue Xiaying would affect her state of mind for the exams.

He spoke up, "Leave it. The kid is always running over to Lin Ruoxi’s place, and nothing has ever happened."

’I’ve been a teacher for so many years, what kind of student haven’t I seen? I’ve even seen cases of abortions that ended up in the principal’s office.’

’These two have been close for a long time and have never caused me any trouble. It means that although Xue Rui is a little bastard, he knows his limits.’

Director Wang waved his hand, signaling for Xue Rui to get in the car as well.

Xue Xiaying felt as if she had been struck by lightning. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, so she followed them in her car.

The two cars stopped downstairs from Lin Ruoxi’s apartment building. Xue Xiaying sighed.

She stared blankly at the building. ’I know this apartment. It’s my older brother’s old place.’

’I remember my sister-in-law saying a while ago that she was going to give this apartment to some poor girl...’

’Have they already reached this stage?’

’As their homeroom teacher, I could actually sense that the relationship between Lin Ruoxi and my nephew was unusual.’

’But... how could it have happened so fast?’

’But I heard from Xie Jianfeng that Xue Rui and Gu Muxue were childhood sweethearts...’

Xue Xiaying shook her head. ’It’s all too complicated; I can’t make sense of it.’

’Why are there so many secrets in our family?’

"Lin Ruoxi, can I stay here for the next few days? This apartment is very close to the science exam site," Xue Xiaying said.

After speaking, she shot Xue Rui a harsh glare, pointed two fingers at her own eyes, and then jabbed them in his direction.

Xue Rui’s mouth twitched. ’Is my aunt coming to watch over me?’

Director Wang laughed. "Good idea. Xiaying, you stay and look after the two kids. Cook for them so they don’t get sick from eating out."

Director Wang thought that Xue Xiaying was a very responsible homeroom teacher, willing to sacrifice her own personal time to protect this top-student prospect.

"Fine by me," Xue Rui said with complete nonchalance. ’After all, I really haven’t done anything. What do I have to be afraid of?’

...

As the group entered the apartment, Da Huang started barking at Xue Xiaying.

"GRRRR..." Da Huang let out a low growl.

Xue Xiaying took a step back, her legs starting to go soft. ’Lin Ruoxi actually keeps a vicious dog in her home!’

’It’s much fiercer than the dogs I’ve seen in pet stores. It’s actually baring its fangs and threatening me.’

Lin Ruoxi frowned and gave Da Huang a light kick. "Stop barking."

Da Huang immediately became submissive, nuzzling its head against Lin Ruoxi’s foot.

"Guard dogs are all like that," Xue Rui said, bending down to pat Da Huang’s head.

Da Huang was very smart. It had quickly adapted to city life and was even house-trained. It understood its place was at the bottom of the pecking order, so it would never actually bite Xue Rui and always let him pet it.

After entering, Xue Xiaying carefully sidestepped Da Huang and sat stiffly on the sofa.

"Da Huang, do a backflip," Xue Rui said, clapping his hands and making a circular motion with his hand, wanting the dog to show off for Xue Xiaying.

’I only mentioned it once offhandedly when I was bored, saying I liked dogs that could do backflips. I never thought Lin Ruoxi would actually teach Da Huang how to do one.’

"How can a dog do a backflip?" Xue Xiaying said in disbelief.

But in the end, Da Huang just scratched its ear with its hind leg, completely ignoring Xue Rui’s command.

Da Huang’s indifference made Xue Rui lose face, so he called out to Lin Ruoxi, "Lin Ruoxi, make it do a backflip."

In Da Huang’s eyes, Lin Ruoxi held the highest status in the house. Whenever she was present, the dog would never listen to Xue Rui’s commands.

Lin Ruoxi walked over and circled her hand over Da Huang’s head.

Upon receiving the command, Da Huang crouched low, then powerfully pushed off with its hind legs, performing a magnificent backflip on the spot. It landed steadily on all four paws, then looked up expectantly, waiting for Lin Ruoxi to come and pat its head, its ears folded back.

However, Lin Ruoxi had just washed her hands and couldn’t pet Da Huang because she was about to cook. Instead, she stretched out her small, white-socked foot and gently pressed it against Da Huang’s belly a few times.

"You little rascal," Xue Rui said, giving Da Huang a kick. ’I might not be able to command you,’ he thought, ’but I can get your master to do it for me.’

Lin Ruoxi smiled faintly. Xue Rui just loved to tease Da Huang.

Xue Xiaying watched the two of them in astonishment. Lin Ruoxi’s demeanor at home was completely different from how she was outside; she looked just like a doting wife and loving mother.

Lin Ruoxi would even indulge Xue Rui’s unreasonable requests, and her gaze toward him held a hint of adoration...

Moreover, no matter how you looked at it, the two of them seemed like they had been living together for a long time.

"Auntie, didn’t Director Wang ask you to cook? How can you let the city’s top student do it? What if she burns her hand?" Xue Rui asked with a serious expression.

"Oh, right." Xue Xiaying quickly stood up. ’How can I let the two kids do the cooking?’

But when she walked into the kitchen, she saw Lin Ruoxi skillfully chopping vegetables, lighting the stove, and scoring the meat...

Her culinary skills were far superior to her own. She did everything in an orderly manner, with everything already planned out. Xue Xiaying didn’t even know what she could do to help.

"Teacher Xue, I can handle it myself," Lin Ruoxi said.

In the end, Xue Xiaying resorted to helping Lin Ruoxi wash the vegetables...

After dinner, Xue Xiaying was floored by Lin Ruoxi’s cooking. Lin Ruoxi even brought her a set of pajamas...

’I feel like I’m the one being taken care of.’

’And Xue Rui is just too much! He’s enjoying the hot water Lin Ruoxi brought him and even has her wash his socks.’

"Xiaorui, are you disabled?" Xue Xiaying couldn’t help but mutter under her breath.

Xue Rui frowned but didn’t offer much of an explanation.

’At first, I was very uncomfortable with it too, as if I were bullying her.’

’But over time, I discovered that the more I enjoyed it, the happier she became.’

So, whenever Lin Ruoxi wanted to do something for him, Xue Rui generally wouldn’t stop her.

...

When it was time for bed, Lin Ruoxi walked naturally into the room where Xue Rui was.

Xue Xiaying couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed a broom from the living room and marched in, only to find a bunk bed inside.

Lin Ruoxi was sitting at the computer, the screen filled with various engineering files that Xue Xiaying couldn’t understand, while Xue Rui was lying on the bottom bunk, reviewing his mistakes on past tests.

’So, Lin Ruoxi is doing something I can’t comprehend, but Xue Rui is actually studying seriously?’

"Auntie, what are you doing?" Xue Rui’s brow twitched. From the way she was holding that broom, it looked for all the world like she was about to beat him.

Xue Xiaying gave an awkward laugh. "I’m sweeping."

’The more I watch these two, the more natural they seem. It’s making me feel like I’m the one who’s out of place!’

But Xue Xiaying hadn’t forgotten her mission. She called Lin Ruoxi out of the room and asked in a low voice, "Why are there two blankets?"

Lin Ruoxi looked down and said, "Because... Xue Rui won’t let me sleep under the same blanket with him."