Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

The BMW, with its right turn signal blinking, slowly pulled over to the side of the road.

A traffic officer saluted Ren Jun and motioned for him to roll down the window.

The officer was a middle-aged man with a square face, the kind of features that just screamed "government employee."

"Hello, Officer. What did I do wrong?" Ren Jun asked curiously.

"Just checking if the rear passengers are wearing their seatbelts," the officer said with a friendly expression.

"Captain Chen, I’ve been on this detail all morning, and this is the first car I’ve seen with passengers in the back buckled up," a young auxiliary officer said in surprise.

’There aren’t any colleagues on duty up ahead,’ he thought. ’Is it because this is an expensive car? Are rich people just that much more safety-conscious?’

’That girl in the back is really pretty...’

"Xiaorui, you’re something else," Ren Jun said, full of admiration.

When Xue Rui had fastened Lin Ruoxi’s seatbelt for her, Ren Jun had thought it was a bit much. Who even wears a seatbelt in the back seat?

But as luck would have it, there were people at this intersection checking for exactly that today.

He was reminded of the last time Xue Rui had forced him to call a designated driver, saving him from a potential stint in jail.

Ren Jun couldn’t help but feel that Xue Rui’s luck was truly incredible.

"Very good. Keep it up."

The officer nodded, signaling that they were free to go.

"Officer Chen, we’re good, law-abiding citizens."

Xue Rui grinned, giving the officer a mock salute. He had heard the auxiliary officer call the middle-aged man "Captain Chen," so he decided to go with "Officer Chen."

"Xue Rui!"

A girl shouted Xue Rui’s name.

Xue Rui was slowly rolling up the window when he heard someone call his name, so he rolled it back down.

A pretty, short-haired girl with skin that glowed with a youthful radiance was jogging toward him, holding a lunch box.

"You are...?" Xue Rui thought she looked a little familiar.

"I’m Chen Tingting!"

Chen Tingting was a little taken aback. Xue Rui had just saved her a few days ago. How could he suddenly not recognize her?

"Tingting, is he your classmate?" Officer Chen asked.

Xue Rui’s memory was gradually clearing up. Just as he was about to remember, the girl in front of him, her eyes red, said, "You’d remember if I said Guoguo!"

"Oh—Chen Tingting, I remember now." Xue Rui finally recalled who this girl was and where he had seen her.

It had been too dark that night, so he hadn’t paid much attention to her appearance. Plus, since it was the weekend, Chen Tingting wasn’t in her school uniform. Instead, she was wearing a crisp shirt that gave her a boyish air. From a distance, one might have mistaken her for a cute young boy.

"Is Officer Chen your father?" Xue Rui asked.

They both had the surname Chen, and they clearly knew each other. It was an easy guess.

"Yep." Chen Tingting nodded obediently and handed Xue Rui a lunch box.

"Have you eaten? My mom just made this braised pork. I tried some, it’s delicious!"

Officer Chen reached out a hand. ’That’s my lunch,’ he thought. ’How did it end up with this kid?’

In an instant, the way Officer Chen looked at Xue Rui changed. It was now tinged with a hint of vigilance, as if he were looking at a criminal.

"Thanks, but I’ve already eaten." Xue Rui declined to steal Officer Chen’s lunch.

"Next time some punks are bothering you, just shout, ’My dad’s a cop!’" Xue Rui said with a laugh.

’Her dad is a traffic police captain, and she doesn’t use that to her advantage?’ he thought. ’What kind of punk would dare bully a police officer’s daughter?’

"My dad’s just a traffic cop, not a police officer," Chen Tingting said, shaking her head.

"Traffic cops are police officers! Officer Chen, wouldn’t you agree?" Xue Rui gave him a strange look and turned to Officer Chen.

’How does a police family raise such a clueless daughter?’

"I’ve told her, but she doesn’t believe me," Officer Chen said helplessly.

In his daughter’s mind, a "police officer" was the kind who chased bad guys with a gun every day...

In a city as safe as Hedong, even detectives rarely encountered major cases all year long.

He had told Chen Tingting more than once that he was a police officer, but she would always ask to see his gun, saying things like, "All police officers carry guns."

"Traffic police are still police. They even carry guns on certain assignments," Xue Rui explained.

"Dad! So you really are a police officer!" Chen Tingting looked astonished, her gaze toward her father now filled with a hint of awe and admiration.

The corner of Officer Chen’s mouth twitched. ’It’s useless when I say it, but when this kid says it, it works? What’s going on here?’

Chen Tingting motioned for Officer Chen to lean down, and she whispered a few words in his ear.

Officer Chen’s expression darkened even further. He walked over to Xue Rui, took out a pen and paper, and asked, "What’s your phone number?"

"Huh?" Xue Rui was confused. ’He’s not the driver, so why does he need my number?’

However, Xue Rui didn’t refuse. Just as he was about to give his number, Officer Chen added, "This is a question from my daughter. You can choose to decline."

"Dad!" Chen Tingting pouted, her resentful little glare stabbing into her father’s back.

"Sorry, Officer Chen, but I choose to decline," Xue Rui said righteously.

"Uncle, let’s go." Xue Rui slowly rolled up the window.

’A girl with love on the brain is bad news,’ he thought. ’It’s best to stay as far away from this type as possible. Who knows what kind of crazy thing she’ll do to drive me nuts one day?’

’People with love on the brain should be with other people with love on the brain. I don’t think I’m worthy.’

’Especially since her father is a cop—and clearly a doting one who’d do anything for his daughter.’

’If we got together and had a fight, all she’d have to do is complain to her old man a few times, and I’d get stopped by the police every three steps I take on the street. Who the hell could put up with that?’

"Your classmate? Looks to me like that girl is into you," Ren Jun teased.

"Stop fucking laughing. It’s not like you haven’t dealt with that type of woman before," Xue Rui said, glancing at Ren Jun.

A muscle in Ren Jun’s eye twitched. That sentence reminded him of his ex-girlfriend-before-last. During the honeymoon phase, she had been absolutely perfect, doting on him with meticulous care.

But once the honeymoon phase was over, that "care" turned into a form of surveillance that made his skin crawl, as if a pair of eyes were constantly staring at his back.

"You’re right. The farther you stay from women like that, the better," Ren Jun nodded. He knew from bitter experience.

To this day, he still didn’t dare pass by that girl’s house. After all, he was the one who had dumped her and then fled to another city to hide for half a year.

「...」

Back at the intersection where Xue Rui had left.

"You shouldn’t have said it was for me! Why would he give it to you then? I couldn’t even get his name out of him the other day..."

Chen Tingting was still complaining nonstop.

"Did that boy just now help you with something?" Officer Chen had picked up on some details from their conversation.

It seemed that the roguishly handsome young man from just now had helped his little girl.

"Yes. Last week, on a day you didn’t come to pick me up, I ran into a group of punks while walking home by myself." As Chen Tingting spoke, she looked wronged and hugged the lunch box of braised pork closer to her chest.

"What time? Where? Were there any security cameras nearby? Do you remember what they looked like?" Officer Chen fired off a series of questions.

"What, are you going to go arrest them or something?" Chen Tingting snorted.

"If Xue Rui hadn’t shown up that day and scared off those thugs, your daughter would have been in real trouble." When Chen Tingting mentioned Xue Rui, her eyes sparkled.

"You’re underestimating your dad." Officer Chen’s expression turned serious. His eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing from within.

Chen Tingting had never seen her father with such an expression. She had a feeling someone was about to have a very bad day.

"Um... Tingting, Dad’s hungry."

"Nope. Not unless you promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Transfer schools. I want to go to Hedong Second Middle School."

"Yanchi Middle School is one of the top-ranked schools in the city. Why would you want to go to a bottom-tier school like Second Middle?"

"Xue Rui goes to school there."