Rebirth: Start to Save the Treasure Girl

Xue Rui himself doesn't dislike durian, but he knows that Lin Ruoxi doesn't like it. Every time they pass by a durian stall in a fruit shop, Lin Ruoxi covers her nose and walks away.

This is also why Xue Rui has never bought durian.

But he was curious whether Lin Ruoxi would dislike him because of the smell of durian if he ate it.

If you don't like him... that would be great!

In the future, we can use durians to create a "barrier" so that Lin Ruoxi will not dare to approach.

“I’ll eat it,” Xue Rui nodded.

"Huh?" Lin Ruoxi stared blankly.

"Go ahead and drive it," Xue Rui said with a grin.

"Oh." Lin Ruoxi pouted. She thought to herself that she was just being polite, so why did Xue Rui really want to eat durian?
Lin Ruoxi carefully lifted the durian from the cardboard box, her brows furrowed tightly, her body leaning back slightly, with an expression of utter disgust.

Xue Rui had never seen Lin Ruoxi like this before. He couldn't help but find it amusing and thought to himself that he must tease the little girl properly later.

"Chairman Xue?"

Zhang Feng took a step back, staring in astonishment at the young man in front of him who looked to be only about twenty years old.

Lin Ruoxi pinched her nose and said in a muffled voice, "Yes, everything here, including the graphics cards you guys brought, including me, is..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Xue Rui hurriedly interrupted.

"Sigh~" Zhang Feng sighed deeply.

Lin Ruoxi was a freshman or sophomore in college and already owned a company. The box of calculator cards he sent back was enough to buy an apartment in Chang'an. If Lin Ruoxi's family wasn't wealthy, then she must have married a rich man.

When Zhang Feng looked at Lin Ruoxi again, his gaze was very complicated. He gave Xue Rui an awkward smile and quickly looked away.

How embarrassing...

They were just saying he couldn't afford it, but it turns out this guy is the real owner of the graphics card...

"Don't claim everything as mine; this is all your own hard-earned wealth," Xue Rui said earnestly.

He wasn't saying this to Lin Ruoxi, but to an outsider.

Lin Ruoxi is the owner here, so she needs to have a certain level of authority.

Lin Ruoxi pinched her nose, thinking that Xue Rui must have had a deeper meaning in saying that, so she didn't continue and left with the two durians.

"President Lin has been working with me on games since high school. You've heard of Candy Crush, right? It's one of our products," Xue Rui said loudly.

Zhang Feng's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he inexplicably felt relieved.

But soon, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Actually, it wasn't that Zhang Feng had any feelings for Lin Ruoxi. Everyone cherishes pretty junior girls, but if a junior girl is much better than the senior boys, it will make the boys feel deeply frustrated.

"Um...we're leaving."

After saying this, Zhang Feng turned around and strode heavily to leave the office, wanting to get some fresh air.

"Senior, don't go! Xixi went to open a durian. You guys sit down and have something to eat. I also have something to ask you."

Xue Rui's playful expression vanished instantly, replaced by a very sincere tone. He pushed the two of them to sit in the empty office chairs and said in a surprised tone:

"Senior, you are the first PhD student I've ever met. It's like meeting a real person."

Hearing Xue Rui's flattery, Zhang Feng couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself that rich people still respect intellectuals.

"Speak up, what do you want to ask? Money can't buy knowledge."

Zhang Feng straightened his back instantly. Having money is great, but people with high levels of knowledge are equally rare.

"Oh? How much do you earn a month after graduating with a PhD?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

"This..." Zhang Feng's face darkened instantly. Was he being slapped in the face so quickly?
Xue Rui chuckled and patted Zhang Feng on the shoulder: "Just kidding. I wanted to ask, what does your professor need a graphics card for?"

Xue Rui set up a computing center, and the people in front of him were the target users.

Every business needs market research, and now is a great opportunity.

“We’re from the School of Aeronautics, and we use GPUs for mesh simulations…” Zhang Feng answered truthfully.

Xue Rui's brow twitched as he listened, wondering what the hell was going on?
How did someone who works in AI end up in the airplane business?
But upon closer reflection, it makes sense. It's normal for professors from different disciplines to interact. Perhaps one of the computer science professors introduced Lin Ruoxi to him.

As for Lin Ruoxi's indifferent attitude, Xue Rui also took it quite seriously.

Aviation studies were indeed of little help to Lin Ruoxi.

"Don't you have your own equipment in the lab?" Xue Rui asked in return.

For a professor from a top-tier university like 985 to give Lin Ruoxi a gift and borrow a graphics card was indeed beyond Xue Rui's comprehension.

"It's too expensive to buy, and the school's computer labs are also in short supply. If we had our own, would we need to borrow from Lin?" Zhang Feng said bluntly.

Xue Rui was speechless for a moment; he really didn't understand scientific research.

"Peeled... all done." Lin Ruoxi, facing the ceiling, squinted and brought back two large boxes full of fresh durian pulp.

In an instant, the room was filled with the unique aroma of durian.

Xue Rui clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the employees: "Everyone, come out and have some fruit."

Many employees had never eaten durian before, and they curiously approached to smell it. Some looked eager to try it, while others, like Lin Ruoxi, frowned and walked away.

Xue Rui pulled Ma Dongdong, who was walking around him, and asked curiously, "Is it that smelly?"

"It's not just the stench, the smell of sulfides is making it hard for me to breathe." Ma Dongdong pushed Xue Rui away and took deep breaths of fresh air.

"Eat more, you'll get used to it." Xue Rui still wouldn't let go.

"Habit my ass, physiological aversion is ingrained in our genes, it can't be changed later in life." Ma Dongdong suddenly stopped and walked deeper into the office.

Xue Rui looked up at Lin Ruoxi. The little girl seemed to be like that too, as if she was holding her breath all the time.

Physiological aversion?
……

Because of the strong smell of durian, everyone sat at the door to eat it, so as not to leave the smell in the office.

Xue Rui carried a box of durians toward the steps in the distance. This was a habit he had developed during his school days: when there was something delicious, he and his close friends would hide on the steps to eat it, as if it would taste better that way.

Lin Ruoxi silently followed behind Xue Rui, keeping the same distance from him. She watched the durian in Xue Rui's hand warily, not understanding why such a fruit existed in the world.

Xue Rui sat down on the steps. Lin Ruoxi didn't immediately stick to him as usual. Instead, she kept a certain distance from him, squatted on the ground, tilted her head back, and stared at the durian with her big, bright eyes, full of disgust.

However, when Lin Ruoxi looked at Xue Rui, her gaze would soften instantly.

As Lin Ruoxi's gaze shifted, two complex emotions intertwined and shifted on her face.

Xue Rui's lips twitched. Lin Ruoxi always had this expression when cleaning up Da Huang's poop.

He suddenly felt a little dazed. Did the little girl equate durian with poop?

Xue Rui picked up a piece of durian flesh and slowly put it into his mouth, like a slow-motion scene in a movie, while also paying attention to Lin Ruoxi's reaction.

Lin Ruoxi's eyes widened slowly. She opened her mouth but said nothing, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Xue Rui tentatively put the durian back into the box. When he looked at Lin Ruoxi again, Lin Ruoxi had closed her eyes and was gently patting her chest, looking relieved...

Xue Rui was speechless. Whenever he put the durian to his mouth, Lin Ruoxi would widen her eyes and look nervous.

When he put it down, Lin Ruoxi breathed a sigh of relief, as if to say, "Thank goodness you didn't eat poop." But how could Xue Rui let Lin Ruoxi down?

Xue Rui took a big bite of durian, chewing it with gusto, and looked at Lin Ruoxi with a smile in his eyes: "Xixi, I love durian the most."

At this moment, Lin Ruoxi's gaze was unfocused, and she seemed lost in thought.

"Xixi, what are you thinking about?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

Lin Ruoxi's gaze slowly focused, her expression complicated as she stared at the yellow durian on Xue Rui's lips. Her rosy lips instantly curved into a "W" shape, her chin slightly tucked in, forming soft wrinkles like crumpled candy wrappers, and even her lower lip trembled slightly, her expression extremely aggrieved.

Xue Rui suppressed a laugh, and a famous multiple-choice question flashed through his mind:
Chocolate-flavored poop, and poop-flavored chocolate.

Both of them are irritating.

For Lin Ruoxi, Xue Rui is now like "chocolate with poop flavor".

Xue Rui quickly swallowed the durian, clapped his hands, and stretched out his arms to Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi's eyes lit up, and she subconsciously stood up, ready to throw herself into Xue Rui's arms.

But when she got closer, a strong smell of durian made her stop in her tracks.

"Xi Xi?" Xue Rui blinked, his face full of innocence and helplessness.

Normally, Lin Ruoxi would have thrown herself into his arms without hesitation, but today was different; Lin Ruoxi hesitated.

This is a good thing!
When I don't want the little girl clinging to me anymore, I'll eat a few bites of durian.

Xue Rui finally found a weakness.

Lin Ruoxi looked very conflicted; she was struggling with her instincts.

She wanted to get closer to Xue Rui, but the scent emanating from him was forcing her to leave...

"Xixi, are you disgusted with me?" Xue Rui teased.

"I...I didn't," Lin Ruoxi said, sounding aggrieved.

She gritted her teeth, sat down on the step below Xue Rui, tilted her head back slightly, rested it against Xue Rui's chest, and subconsciously held her breath.

"I don't believe you unless you kiss me." Xue Rui grinned mischievously and leaned his face closer. In an instant, Xue Rui noticed that Lin Ruoxi's shoulder muscles tensed up, and she froze on the spot as if she had been electrocuted.

Lin Ruoxi is going through an extremely intense internal struggle.

"You...you can kiss me."

Lin Ruoxi tilted her head back, closed her eyes tightly, and wore an expression of "heroic sacrifice".

Xue Rui pinched Lin Ruoxi's cheek and said sarcastically, "Your lips are pursed so tightly, it's obvious you don't want me to kiss you. If you don't kiss me, it means you don't love me..."

"Well!"

Xue Rui's teasing stopped abruptly. To his surprise, Lin Ruoxi cupped his face and kissed him.

Xue Rui could sense that Lin Ruoxi's breathing was erratic and intermittent today, as if she was choking on the smell of durian and couldn't breathe, but she was still trying her best to control her instincts...

She thought it would be a perfunctory kiss, but Lin Ruoxi kissed him very seriously, more seriously than ever before.

Xue Rui pushed Lin Ruoxi away, but Lin Ruoxi hugged him again and gently rubbed her cheek against his.

Xue Rui suddenly recalled Ma Dongdong's words: "The aversion stemming from genes cannot be changed."

So what is Lin Ruoxi now?
Between instinct and kissing him, Lin Ruoxi chose the latter.

Xue Rui recalled what he had said...

"Not kissing means not loving."

Lin Ruoxi's actions just now were tantamount to saying "I love you" through her actions.

"Don't you hate durian?"

Xue Rui stroked the back of Lin Ruoxi's head. The little girl was clinging to him now, as if she had gotten used to the smell of durian.

"Um, I hate durian, but I love you because you smell like durian."

Hearing Lin Ruoxi's soft, sweet voice, Xue Rui felt a sweet warmth in his heart, much sweeter than the durian he had just eaten.

"Xixi, I won't eat durian anymore," Xue Rui said softly.

Lin Ruoxi paused for a moment, then leaned back slightly, looking at Xue Rui with eyes full of heartache.

Lin Ruoxi felt guilty, realizing that she didn't understand Xue Rui at all.

Xue Rui likes durian, but in all the years they've lived together, he's never mentioned it.

Was it because of my past performance at the fruit shop?
Lin Ruoxi touched Xue Rui's cheek and gave him a doting smile: "Rui, eat what you like. Don't suppress yourself. I can get used to it slowly."

"I like durian, but I like you even more." Xue Rui gently shook his head.

Lin Ruoxi stood there, stunned, a wave of soreness rising in her nose. She quickly blinked and buried her face in Xue Rui's arms.

Durian-flavored Xue Rui is also very gentle...

After the durian incident, Xue Rui brushed his teeth and sat in the office with Zhang Feng and the others, staring at each other blankly.

Xue Rui learned from Lin Ruoxi that the graphics cards in Lin Ruoxi's company were often lent to professors at various universities for scientific research experiments.

In exchange, Lin Ruoxi will receive some guidance and a dataset for AI training, saving on data labeling costs.

The reason why Lin Ruoxi was cold today was entirely because Professor Wang's research project had no value to her.

"Xixi, you should be nicer to Professor Wang from now on," Xue Rui said first.

Even if there is no value in "exchanging benefits" in the short term, Professor Wang's network of connections will always be useful in the long run. Xue Rui felt that Lin Ruoxi's vision was somewhat short-sighted.

"Yes, I will." Lin Ruoxi nodded quickly and obediently.

Zhang Feng looked surprised, wondering if they were kept behind just to say this?

"Senior, may I visit your lab?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

Zhang Feng glanced at Lin Ruoxi, his expression conflicted. He wanted to, but it wasn't something he could decide.

"Hey?"

Suddenly, Lin Ruoxi spoke up.

Xue Rui turned his head and saw Lin Ruoxi holding up her phone, talking to someone.

"Professor Wang? I'll bring my boyfriend to visit you later."

"Hmm, no need to pick me up, I know the way."

"Okay, then I'll hang up."

Lin Ruoxi hung up the phone to herself, gave Xue Rui a sweet smile, and then gently leaned her head in, blinking her big, bright eyes.

Xue Rui knew perfectly well that Lin Ruoxi was looking down at him to ask for a "pat on the head reward".

But Lin Ruoxi's tone and attitude on the phone just now left Professor Wang no room to refuse.

I just told you to be nicer to them, and here you are...

Xi Xi, I told you to be an "academic Daji" to fool the old man, how did you end up becoming an "academic Zhou King"? (End of Chapter)