Rebirth: Start to Save the Treasure Girl

Xue Rui covered his face, slightly surprised.

His intention was to praise Lin Ruoxi more and make her more confident.

But Lin Ruoxi simply hugged him and gently bit him.

It's as if it's saying, "You're cute too."

Lin Ruoxi pressed her forehead against Xue Rui's, her nose twitching slightly: "I can't help but want to rub against you."

"Oops, I got bitten by a puppy. I'll have to get a rabies vaccine tomorrow," Xue Rui joked.

"Yes, I'm your little puppy." Lin Ruoxi's almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents.

"Little puppy, bark a couple of times, let me hear it?" Xue Rui pinched Lin Ruoxi's chin, his tone flippant.

"Woof woof," Lin Ruoxi barked twice in her childish voice.

"Xi Xi, don't you know how to resist?" Xue Rui pinched Lin Ruoxi's face, his tone filled with disappointment.

"I don't want to resist." Lin Ruoxi gently shook her head.

Xue Rui wanted to treat Lin Ruoxi as an equal, but Lin Ruoxi was unwilling to accept such a relationship.

When he doesn't make any demands, the little girl is like a doting mother, eager to do all the housework.

When the three of them lived together, the little girl would always secretly do her share of the housework.

“You’re spoiling her, but that doesn’t seem right either…” Xue Rui muttered to himself.

The essence of spoiling is control, like his maternal grandparents.

His maternal grandfather forced him to stay, and even gossiped about Gu Muxue, whom he had never met. Although he supported him having two relationships, he still had requirements about which ones he was involved with.

Grandma, on the other hand, immediately started asking Lin Ruoxi all sorts of questions, trying to find out about Lin Ruoxi's "fertility conditions," and even tried to blackmail her in the name of love.

In fact, many elders are like this, just not so obvious. They often manipulate their children's lives under the guise of "it's all for your own good".

From the smallest things like clothing and food, to major issues like school choices, jobs, and marriage...

Lin Ruoxi does a lot of things, but she never mentions how much she has contributed, let alone asks him to do anything.

Therefore, it cannot be considered spoiling.

The little girl gave him the purest love, asking for nothing in return, only hoping that he would be happy.

For example, right now, Lin Ruoxi is hugging him tightly, her little hands groping for the blanket behind him, tucking the blanket under him.

This quilt is probably less than 1.5 meters wide, falling into the category of a single quilt, and there's practically nothing left on Lin Ruoxi's side.

Grandma prepared two quilts for them, but Lin Ruoxi laid the other one under herself.

"Xixi, you've gone to great lengths just to share a blanket with me," Xue Rui teased.

Lin Ruoxi gently shook her head: "The first time you slept on the earthen bed at my house, you kept clutching your back the next day. Today I made sure to use a thicker mattress."

"The heating isn't very warm here, are you cold?" Lin Ruoxi tucked the blanket under Xue Rui's neck to keep the warmth from escaping.

"Why didn't Grandma heat the kang (a traditional heated bed)?" Xue Rui asked, puzzled.

"It's not Grandma's fault, the makeshift kang (heated brick bed) couldn't be used for sleeping," Lin Ruoxi explained.

Xue Rui smiled. He was the one who slept on the kang (a heated brick bed), while the little girl was the one who heated it. In this respect, Lin Ruoxi had more authority than him.

"Grandma was patting and pinching you just now. If it were Mu Xue, she would have already lost her temper..." Xue Rui urged Lin Ruoxi to be more assertive.

“They’re doing this for your own good. If I’m healthier, your children will be healthier too,” Lin Ruoxi said softly.

"Ahem, let's not talk about this now, let me check my phone." Xue Rui quickly changed the subject, picking up his phone and swiping left and right.

……

The two lay quietly in bed, unsure of what to do.

Lin Ruoxi looked around the room, imagining what Xue Rui must have lived here as a child.

She would sniff the air from time to time; the smell of the wooden furniture in the old house and the smoke left from years of burning the kang (a traditional heated brick bed) made her feel as if she had returned to her old home.

For the first time, Xue Rui stripped naked and lay down so early. The signal in the village was bad, so he couldn't use QQ or WeChat. He had also forgotten to ask his grandfather for the WiFi password. Now he could only stare blankly at the ceiling, bored.

The nights in the countryside were exceptionally quiet, with occasional barking from outside the window. Xue Rui guessed that Da Huang was arguing with the village dogs.

After lying down for a while, Xue Rui noticed that Lin Ruoxi kept staring at the wall behind him.

He turned around and saw a New Year's picture hanging on the wall. The picture showed two chubby babies wearing red bibs. One of them was holding a huge carp, and the other was holding a burst pomegranate.

It's so damn dated...

Xue Rui still can't understand how these New Year pictures were made so uniformly across the country, as if every household did it.

"Xixi, do you like that New Year picture?" Xue Rui asked uncertainly.

"Mm." Lin Ruoxi nodded.

"Your taste is..."

Xue Rui's lips twitched. The child in the New Year painting was as fat as a Michelin tire, hardly cute at all.

"Well, I like the symbolism in New Year paintings," Lin Ruoxi explained.

"May you have fish every year?"

"It means many seeds bring many blessings." Lin Ruoxi hurriedly pulled Xue Rui back into the quilt, afraid that Xue Rui would get cold.

Xue Rui immediately shut up; he shouldn't have asked that question.

This young girl is different from other girls; she wants to have a child with him despite her young age.

If Gu Muxue had said these things to him, Xue Rui would definitely have joined in and talked about the future.

But when Lin Ruoxi said the same thing, Xue Rui really didn't dare to respond...

The reason is simple: Lin Ruoxi is a woman of action.

Lin Ruoxi claims to be a college student, but she doesn't go to school at all;

With no parents to look after her, Lin Ruoxi has a great deal of control over her life.

So as long as Lin Ruoxi wants it, there's nothing she can't do...

Just as Xue Rui was pretending to be stupid, he heard Lin Ruoxi's soft, sweet voice:

"Rui, I heard you and Mu Xue discussing children. Why didn't you talk to me about it?"

Lin Ruoxi looked at Xue Rui with a pitiful expression.

Xue Rui's heart skipped a beat.

How did you manage to eavesdrop on my thoughts?
We have to talk about this now.

"Then... shall we chat for a while?" Xue Rui said guiltily.

"Do you prefer boys or girls?" Lin Ruoxi asked excitedly, her voice rising a notch.

"Um...anything is fine," Xue Rui replied casually.

"I like boys. Having a little Rui is like watching you grow up all over again..." Lin Ruoxi said with eyes full of anticipation.

Xue Rui coughed lightly: "I like girls, and Xiao Xixi must be very cute."

He wanted to say the opposite of what Lin Ruoxi said, and there was no guarantee that their opinions would be completely aligned.

"Then... Xiao Rui and Xiao Xi will both have children." Lin Ruoxi smiled sheepishly.

When Xue Rui said "Little Xi Xi," she was touched.

Xue Rui's smile vanished abruptly. So it wasn't a multiple-choice question after all?
“This…” Xue Rui hesitated for a long time, then suddenly remembered that it was only 2015 and the two-child policy had not yet been implemented. He said regretfully, “Having more children than allowed is illegal. We must abide by the law.”

"Well, the country has a two-child policy, which allows couples where one spouse is an only child to have an additional child..."

Lin Ruoxi was secretly delighted; she was an only child after all.

Xue Rui's heart sank. What college student would pay attention to the birth policy?

Oh no, Lin Ruoxi really had been planning this for a long time.

It's all the old lady's fault; she always talks to Lin Ruoxi about having a baby.

And my maternal grandmother, all she talked about today was having a baby.

Now that's good, I've really piqued the little girl's interest... "Xixi, you're still too young, let's talk about it later," Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi looked down at her chest and then looked at Xue Rui expectantly: "No...not small."

Xue Rui, looking exasperated, said, "I was referring to age."

“I’m nineteen years old already. Your aunt was this age when she gave birth to you,” Lin Ruoxi said, pouting.

“She doesn’t study, so of course it doesn’t matter,” Xue Rui said.

“But… I don’t study either,” Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Today, my grandmother secretly asked her when she and Xue Rui were going to have a child, as she wanted to see her great-grandchild born...

Her grandmother had also urged her, saying that having a child would tie Xue Rui down, otherwise there would be no bond between her and Xue Rui, and Xue Rui could abandon her at any time.

Just now, Xue Rui took the initiative to bend down and wash her feet. At that moment, she thought Xue Rui didn't want her anymore. For a split second, she regretted not listening to her grandmother...

"I'm still a student."

Xue Rui looked utterly hopeless; he finally understood why people in the past were so prolific.

There are too few entertainment options at night, having a baby can help relieve boredom.

Sure enough, after only one night without internet access, Lin Ruoxi brought up this topic.

“The law doesn’t say college students can’t have children. Uncle Gu had Mu Xue when he was in college. You’re a boy, so you don’t need to get pregnant to go to class,” Lin Ruoxi said softly.

For a moment, Xue Rui was speechless, as if no matter what reason he gave, the little girl could always come back to his defense.

“I have to go to school and I’m quite busy with my career, so I can’t take good care of you and Xiao Rui. Pregnancy is so harmful to your body…”

"Hmm, you don't need to worry about me. I'm in good health and can go to prenatal checkups by myself..." Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Xue Rui was completely bewildered. What was this little girl talking about?

It's as if he, as the father, doesn't have to do anything except provide genes.

There is no sense of participation at all.

Lin Ruoxi shrank further under the covers, looking up at Xue Rui.

Xue Rui still seems to disagree...

Xue Rui had taught her that if you want to persuade someone to do something, you have to maximize their interests.

“Rui, when I bring the kids to visit you at school, everyone will be so envious of you.”

"Oh, and another thing, since you and your child are close in age, the child can play games with you..."

Xue Rui quickly interrupted, "Xi Xi, are you just making empty promises to me?"

Lin Ruoxi is indeed different from normal girls!
Other girls always talk about the downsides of having children, like how painful it is and how it affects their figure...

Lin Ruoxi, however, kept talking about the benefits of having children for him.

"Am I wrong?" Lin Ruoxi muttered softly.

Xue Rui fell silent upon hearing this.

As expected of my apprentice, his ability to paint a rosy picture is too good; he even made me a little tempted...

Today, Lin Ruoxi is in "hard mode"; for every sentence he says, Lin Ruoxi can refute it with several sentences.

It seems that Lin Ruoxi becomes disobedient when talking about children.

If it were anything else, a few words of reprimand from him would be enough to make Lin Ruoxi obediently bow her head.

The key issue is that he doesn't have the final say on this matter; men don't have the right to reproduce.

Moreover, Lin Ruoxi kept saying one thing from beginning to end: I can take care of the child on my own, you don't need to worry about it.

Xue Rui knew very well that the little girl wasn't exaggerating...

A scene suddenly flashed through Xue Rui's mind:
He was playing video games with his roommates in the dorm when Lin Ruoxi appeared behind him as usual, placing a bunch of fruit and snacks in front of him. Then she secretly pulled a plastic stick with two red stripes on it from her pocket...

Xue Rui immediately shivered.

"What will Mu Xue think?" Xue Rui gritted his teeth and chose to use Gu Mu Xue as a shield.

Thankfully... there's still someone in the family who keeps their word.

Luckily, he was two-timing, otherwise he would have become a father during his university years.

"I..." Lin Ruoxi's gaze was unfocused.

Does Xue Rui need Mu Xue's consent?

That should be true, after all, Xue Rui "respects" Gu Muxue.

She also respected Gu Muxue in the same way.

In fact, after living together for so long, Lin Ruoxi already knows Gu Muxue very well.

Gu Muxue may seem fierce at times, but when someone asks her for help, she will patiently answer their questions.

Gu Muxue is a very gentle girl.

"I'll call Mu Xue." Lin Ruoxi took Xue Rui's phone from under her pillow.

Xue Rui was stunned. His original intention was to use Gu Muxue's name to intimidate Lin Ruoxi, but Lin Ruoxi was unusually excited today.

No, you really want to know?
Before Xue Rui could recover, Lin Ruoxi had already pressed the dial button.

Hearing the beeping sound from the phone, Xue Rui's heart jumped into his throat.

He snatched the phone, hurriedly pressed the hang-up button a few times, and threw the phone away: "Xixi, you have to consider Muxue's feelings."

Lin Ruoxi said softly, "But... I think Mu Xue will agree."

"It's unfair to her," Xue Rui said solemnly.

When Lin Ruoxi told him she wanted a child, it was a completely different concept from when she told Gu Muxue.

It is often said that "marriage and childbirth" come before marriage and childbirth.

For Gu Muxue, this was nothing short of a "provocation".

The reason the three of them were able to live together peacefully was because the two girls loved him and made compromises with him.

If Lin Ruoxi brings this up with Gu Muxue, there will only be two possible outcomes.

One possibility is that Gu Muxue is pushed to the limit and hardens her heart to drive Lin Ruoxi away.

The second option is to agree and then quietly withdraw from the relationship.

“Hmm, she…she can also have a little Mu Xue…” Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Xue Rui sighed. Not everyone can be as alone as Lin Ruoxi.

Gu Muxue has a complete family. If this kind of thing happened during her university years, her family would definitely put pressure on her to get married.

His dream will be shattered then, and he won't be willing to give up either of them.

If Gu Muxue's family agreed, things would be much easier...

He's still working on it, and the little girl might disrupt his plans.

Hearing Xue Rui's sigh, Lin Ruoxi seemed to understand what he was worried about.

"Then I'll secretly ask for one, so it won't affect you and Mu Xue, okay?" Lin Ruoxi whispered.

"No." Xue Rui's tone was firm.

The current balance was hard-won, and if the little girl's plan succeeds, the scales will be uncontrollably tipped over.

"Okay, I understand. I'll be a good girl."

Lin Ruoxi's chin furrowed, as if she were about to cry at any moment.

"Xixi, I promise you, I'll give you a little Rui after you graduate from university, okay?" Xue Rui said softly.

Before Lin Ruoxi could answer, a notification sound suddenly rang behind Xue Rui indicating that the call had ended.

"broken!"

Xue Rui shuddered. (End of Chapter)