Rebirth: Start to Save the Treasure Girl

That afternoon, Xue Rui and Grandpa Wu chatted for a long time.

Grandpa Wu was completely open with Xue Rui, telling him everything, such as which university Wu Hongwei went to, which girl he had a crush on when he was in school, and what trouble he had caused as a child...

Gu Muxue was responsible for charming Aunt Jin and winning her favor.

The four of them devised a plan that day, with Aunt Jin playing the "protagonist" role. They would have the nurse brought by Xue Rui throw Aunt Jin onto a stretcher and carry her away openly under the surveillance cameras.

Xue Rui only mentioned it briefly; most of the plans were discussed by Grandpa Wu and Grandma Jin, which made Xue Rui feel a pang of pity for Wu Hongwei, whom he had never met before.

As the saying goes, an old person in the family is like a treasure.

In Wu Hongwei's home, there are two lively characters...

As for why Wu Hongwei wouldn't let Teng Wenbo help, Xue Rui felt it wasn't because he couldn't repay the favor, but because he was afraid of what happened to him today.

I rushed to the village, only to find the elderly couple planting corn...

Who could stand this?
That night, Xue Rui and Gu Muxue stayed overnight at Grandpa Wu's house.

There is a pear tree in the yard, covered with buds that are about to bloom, some of which are already showing a pale white color, as if they will bloom at any moment.

"Xiao Rui, when do you think these flowers will bloom?" Gu Muxue asked, leaning over the bed.

"The pear blossoms bloom late, come and wash your feet." Xue Rui brought over a basin of water for washing feet, and also took a small stool, gesturing for Gu Muxue to sit down and wash her feet.

"Hmph! Why are you so diligent today?" Gu Muxue smiled, feeling sweet inside.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Mu Xue. Without you, the negotiations wouldn't have gone so smoothly," Xue Rui said truthfully.

If he came alone, although he could gain the trust of the two elders, it would take much longer, since society is wary of men but tolerant of women.

This is why many successful people take their wives with them when they go out; women are naturally "social lubricants" and can quickly shorten the distance between people.

Gu Muxue's performance today was outstanding. Her childlike acting made Aunt Jin very happy.

"Hehe~" Gu Muxue hopped and skipped to sit on the edge of the bed.

The scenery in Qinghai is beautiful, and Xue Rui from Qinghai is also very gentle.

Xue Rui carried a hoe and dug the ground, while she followed behind, sowing seeds.

The feeling of stepping on solid ground is truly reassuring.

For a moment, she really wanted to stay here and live a simple life of farming and weaving.

The ringtone of her cell phone pulled Gu Muxue back to reality.

Gu Muxue picked up her phone and saw that Lin Ruoxi had sent another message:
[Mu Xue, remember to wash his feet and massage them for a while; he worked hard planting corn today.]

Gu Muxue thought for a moment, then immediately stood up from the bed and instructed Xue Rui, "You sit on the bed, and I'll sit on the stool."

Gu Muxue's voice carried a hint of displeasure as she thought to herself, "I've planted corn too, why are you only concerned about Xue Rui?"

"That won't do, I promised to wash it for you."

Xue Rui took a hard line.

"I didn't say I'd actually wash it for you. Take a picture and send it to Ruoxi," Gu Muxue pouted.

"Xi Xi went too far. I'll teach her a lesson when I get back."

Xue Rui spoke seriously, firmly standing by Gu Muxue's side.

Xue Rui considers himself somewhat "chauvinistic," but compared to Lin Ruoxi, he is nothing.

Gu Muxue's eyes curved into crescents upon hearing this; as long as Xue Rui protected her, that was enough.

"We still need to maintain appearances; I don't want to argue with her," Gu Muxue persisted.

Xue Rui nodded, took a picture with his phone, and sent it to Lin Ruoxi.

Suddenly, he felt a soft touch on his feet. Xue Rui looked down and saw that Gu Muxue was indeed washing his feet. Her movements were very gentle, and a blush rose on her cheeks.

Xue Rui was startled. Wasn't it supposed to be a "vanity project"?

"If you're going to pretend, then pretend to be serious," Gu Mu said, her face flushed, her voice sounding very unnatural.

Gu Muxue simply dislikes being ordered around.

But she felt there was nothing wrong with washing the feet of someone she liked; Xue Rui would wash them for her occasionally too…

Xue Rui tentatively reached out and gently patted Gu Muxue's head, just like he would pat Lin Ruoxi's head normally.

After rubbing for a while, Xue Rui realized that Gu Muxue did not resist, and simply assumed that Gu Muxue was becoming more and more gentle.

He was completely unaware that Gu Muxue's expression was growing increasingly gloomy.

"Hiss, don't bite, don't bite."

"Hmph! Haven't you touched me enough? You get all worked up over a little kindness. Let's change positions, you'll be the ones washing me."

"Oh."

"What are you 'oh'ing about? If you don't want to wash, then don't. I'm not forcing you."

"Oh."

"Quickly tell me I didn't force you."

"Okay, I didn't pressure you."

……

On the second day.

Xue Rui and Gu Muxue spent the day playing in the neighborhood, and didn't return to the village until 6 p.m., when they began their planned performance.

Grandpa Wu first removed the red cloth covering the monitor, and then the people Xue Rui brought rushed in, put Grandma Jin on a stretcher, put an oxygen mask on her face, and ran out of the house as if she would have died if they had been a second later.

Once they were out of the surveillance range, everyone laughed with relief.

"What kind of job is this? They didn't say we had to act." A nurse wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling a surge of nervousness.

Even though I knew it was fake, I was still more nervous than if it were real.

The group boarded the car for their return journey, chatting and laughing as they discussed where to go and what scenic spots to visit in Chang'an.

Grandma Jin suddenly complained, "Look at the name you gave your child, 'Hongwei Hongwei' (meaning 'grand and magnificent'). Now look what's happened, he's run away and won't come back. You should have named him Jianguo (meaning 'building the country') instead, how wonderful that would be!"

"How can you blame me for this?" Grandpa Wu immediately lost his temper.

"Uncle Wu, I'll take you and Aunt Jin to the hospital for a check-up later," Xue Rui quickly changed the subject.

“Why make that thing? You don’t know, so-and-so in our village was perfectly healthy, but after a checkup, he was found to be full of diseases and died not long after.” Aunt Jin waved her hands repeatedly.

Xue Rui: "..."

Grandpa Wu held his phone, slowly scrolled through the phone numbers, and muttered to himself, "It's almost time. I should be at the county hospital soon."

Xue Rui turned his head sharply, thinking to himself that this old man was no ordinary person; he was too meticulous in his actions, and he spoke as if he were really sick.

If Lao Xue keeps lying to him like this in the future...

Don't even mention it... given his father's personality, he really could do something like that!

Xue Ruiguang's head was spinning just thinking about it.

As the phone rang with a "beep beep" sound, Xue Rui subconsciously leaned closer, wanting to hear the reaction on the other end.

"You ungrateful wretch! Aren't you going to answer the phone?"

A furious shout startled Xue Rui.

Mr. Wu is usually very amiable, but he becomes a completely different person whenever Wu Hongwei is mentioned.

……

California, USA.

At this time, California was completely silent. It was not even four in the morning when a light suddenly turned on in a room of a high-end apartment building.

The middle-aged man, rubbing his temples in pain, groggily got up to find his phone. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the caller ID.

Wu Hongwei is most afraid of receiving phone calls from his hometown, because every time he is tricked by his parents into going back for blind dates.

He instinctively wanted to pretend he hadn't seen it, but when he glanced at the time, it was four in the morning. His parents were usually a bit annoying, but they always called him during the day. This was the first time they had called him at this hour.

He felt inexplicably nervous and pressed the answer button without hesitation: "Dad, what's the matter calling in the middle of the night?"

"Your mother is dying, and you're still sleeping!" The voice on the other end of the phone was still irritable.

Wu Hongwei took a deep breath and asked tremblingly, "What happened to my mother?"

"Your old classmate's student is here. He's taking your mother to Chang'an for medical treatment..."

Following the prepared script, Grandpa Wu recounted the whole story.

After hanging up the phone, a huge question mark popped into Wu Hongwei's mind.

He didn't immediately believe his father's words.

But the timing and events were too unusual, forcing him to investigate.

He subconsciously turned on the surveillance camera, and the moment he saw the footage, he guessed it was probably fake.

The surveillance cameras are usually covered up, so why were they turned on today?

Scrolling back, when he saw his mother being carried out by a large group of people, Wu Hongwei instinctively stood up, his hand holding the phone trembling uncontrollably.

He didn't dare to gamble...

He immediately typed a text message: "Dad, I'm going back to China tomorrow. Send me your address."

However, just one minute later, his father replied to his text message.

Don't come back. What good will it do you to come back? Will your mother's illness get better if you come back?

Wu Hongwei turned off the screen and slowly sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

His father was right, but it was precisely these words that made him feel extremely guilty and deeply uneasy.

In all these years he's been away, it seems like he's done nothing but send money home.

He tried to stand up, but his arms were too weak.

Self-blame, helplessness, guilt...

Overwhelmed by a complex mix of emotions, Wu Hongwei was pressed heavily to the ground.

……

On the other side of the phone.

Aunt Jin hurriedly snatched the phone away: "Xue Rui, how could you say that? Our goal is to get him back. By saying this, won't he just stay away?"

Xue Rui chuckled, thinking that although Grandpa Wu's methods were a bit ruthless, they never touched Wu Hongwei's conscience. Instead, they made Wu Hongwei desensitize time and time again.

What he wanted to do was pierce Wu Hongwei's conscience and plant a seed in Wu Hongwei's heart to return to China and develop his career.

"Grandma, just listen to Xue Rui. He can help you keep Uncle Wu here," Gu Muxue said crisply.

Grandpa Wu rubbed his chin, putting himself in his son's shoes. If he were Wu Hongwei, what would he be thinking now?

Anyone with a conscience wouldn't be able to stay in the US, right?
"Never mind him, let's go to Chang'an and have some fun tomorrow."

“No problem, I’ll be your tour guide then,” Gu Muxue volunteered.

"Don't you still have to go to school? We can go play by ourselves, don't worry about us." Grandpa Wu waved his hand.

"For college students, it doesn't matter whether they attend classes or not," Xue Rui explained.

"Do you think everyone is like you?" Gu Muxue said angrily.

"Hahaha~"

The atmosphere inside the car was very pleasant.

……

It was already Monday when I got back to Chang'an.

Gu Muxue asked the department for a few days off to arrange accommodation for the two elderly people and also tried to find a way to get them to the hospital for a check-up.

Chang'an Airport.

Xue Rui and Teng Wenbo chatted casually, discussing how to keep Wu Hongwei here.

“He called me last night, and he was in a very bad mood. He kept saying that he felt sorry for his parents and so on. It’s really strange,” Teng Wenbo said.

Xue Rui suppressed a laugh, thinking that his words had worked.

He had to condemn the other person in his conscience.

Anyway, Wu Hongwei's parents were on his side, so Xue Rui was in a state of fearlessness.

With two "voluntary hostages" in his hands, and considering the feelings revealed by Wu Hongwei and Teng Wenbo, Xue Rui was basically 100% confident.

What he needs to do now is to intercept Wu Hongwei, prevent him from seeing his healthy parents, and at least make Wu Hongwei think about resigning.

"Ah~ I'm so sleepy." Xue Rui yawned.

“The person is here, that’s the one.” Teng Wenbo pointed to a middle-aged man carrying a suitcase.

Xue Rui waved his hand, and Yang Xing, who was behind him, stepped forward without saying a word and took the suitcase from Wu Hongwei.

Teng Wenbo also put his arm around Wu Hongwei's shoulder: "Hey kid, how long has it been since we last saw each other?"

Wu Hongwei stood there, stunned. He didn't speak to the two people beside him, but looked in Xue Rui's direction.

"Are you Xue Rui?" Wu Hongwei asked, squinting.

"Oh my, you recognize me?" Xue Rui asked, feigning surprise.

Wu Hongwei smiled helplessly. His father had specifically mentioned Xue Rui on the phone, and Teng Wenbo had mentioned him as well.

He pondered for a long time along the way, always feeling that there was an invisible hand controlling the course of his life.

He suspected it was this young man in front of him.

"Where are my parents?" Wu Hongwei asked.

Xue Rui's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself that he didn't know where Gu Muxue had taken her today, and that he absolutely couldn't see her today.

We need to find a hospital ward to arrange for Wu Hongwei to go there.

"Sigh~ They don't want to see you." Xue Rui shook his head repeatedly, looking helpless, and then patted his chest to assure him, "But don't worry, they're fine. I'll take you there in a few days."

Wu Hongwei opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.

His parents, however, need to be taken care of by others.

His parents had been wanting him to come home, but this time they didn't want to see him. Perhaps they were utterly disappointed in their son...

"Xue Rui, thank you." Wu Hongwei pushed Teng Wenbo aside and bowed to Xue Rui.

Xue Rui's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and his conscience was inexplicably pricked.

He was playing the role of Wu Hongwei here, and the other party probably noticed, but still chose to thank him first.

"Why thank me? You should thank Teacher Teng more. I just happened to be traveling to Qinghai with my girlfriend, and it was Teacher Teng who asked me to go."

Xue Rui quickly helped Wu Hongwei up.

"Well then, since Xue Rui has already made all the arrangements, let's have a meal first. This will help you adjust to the time difference and stay in China for a few more days this time." Teng Wenbo patted Wu Hongwei on the shoulder and led the two of them outside.

"Okay." Wu Hongwei nodded in agreement.

"Life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills."

Xue Rui sighed inwardly. (End of Chapter)