No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 171 The Little Red Mushroom in the Rain

"Mom... um... Mom..."

"Guan Ren... Guan Ren?"

"?!"

As the line between illusion and reality gradually blurred, Guan Ren, on his deathbed, sat up in shock and opened his eyes to see Guan Qiaoyun patting his face.

"What's going on? Are you having a nightmare?"

"Ah...yes...it seems so."

"Tsk, my mind is too cluttered before bed... Hurry up, I'm going to be late for tutoring."

Guan Qiaoyun lifted the curtains, urging Guan Ren to get up while secretly complaining to herself.

Ha, that heartless little brat…

She usually calls him "Sister Qiaoyun" all the time, but when she expresses her true feelings in her dreams, she still cries out for her mother in a sweet, whiny voice, just like when she was a child.
"So what were you dreaming about that you kept calling my name?"

"Uh... there was a pit, I fell in, and I yelled..."

Guan Ren stammered and made up a bunch of nonsense.

It's not that he enjoys deceiving women.

It's not that they can't tell the truth.

He couldn't very well tell Guan Qiaoyun that he dreamt of a female boss with "unique tastes" who made him call her "Mom," could he?
Based on Guan Ren's understanding of Guan Qiaoyun's temperament, let alone calling other strange women "Mom," she would probably even be jealous if he had a mother-in-law in the future...

……

On the other hand, Guan Ren was having nightmares, but Guan Qiaoyun was in a pretty good mood.

This shows that the little ungrateful child still cares about his mother and still needs her, unlike before when he would only call out his female classmates' names in his dreams.

Guan Qiaoyun vaguely remembered that it was called something like "Xiao Ai Tongxue" (Little Love Student).
hiss…

Guan Qiaoyun did some quick calculations and realized that Guan Ren, who was already involved with Gu Youli and Luo Xiaobei, might have a third love interest.
That scumbag...!
Thinking of this, Guan Qiaoyun once again quietly became wary of her son's "moral issues."

When Gu Youli came to their house before, Guan Qiaoyun was worried that the scumbag would be eyeing other women while enjoying what he had.

Now, she's even more worried.

They were worried that Guan Ren would be greedy, wanting more than what he had and eyeing what was in the pot!
"Pots, bowls, and basins"—if this continues, who knows, one day we might even need to replace all the "ladles"!

However, despite her concerns, Guan Qiaoyun had no evidence.

As for the son, there was indeed no concrete indication of anything.

For the time being, all of this was Guan Qiaoyun's own unfounded worry.

After all, she didn't want the son she had raised with such care to be a scumbag.

This is the main reason.

There is also a secondary reason.

That is, Guan Qiaoyun already found the thought of a young girl taking the little rascal away from her in the future quite difficult to accept, let alone three at once…

"..."

Guan Qiaoyun gently squeezed with her jade-like hands.

Forget it, why think about these things now?
It's not even the beginning of the story, and even if it were, it would be far off. Why add unnecessary worries?

……

So, after silently giving her son a new nickname, "Little Scumbag," Guan Qiaoyun stopped thinking about it and, while tidying her hair, instructed Guan Ren, who was still dawdling in bed:

"The milk is in the pot, kept warm with hot water. The fried egg is on the table, eat it quickly before it gets cold. I'm going to my yoga class now."

Guan Ren glanced at the weather outside, then yawned sleepily.

"It's raining today, Sister Qiaoyun, are you still going to class?"

"What kind of talk is that? You think you won't go just because it rains? Isn't tuition money?"
"Harmful."

Guan Ren curled his lip upon hearing this, feigning the air of a nouveau riche:
"That's my money, Sister Qiaoyun, you can spend it as you like, I don't mind."

"Virtue..."

Guan Qiaoyun ignored him.

What does this little brat know? It's precisely because it's his money that she's so protective of it and uses it with extra care.

"Don't be lazy either. If it rains again tomorrow, you still have to go to the gym."

"alright, I got it."

----------

The rain keeps falling.

After finishing breakfast, Guan Ren went to the tutoring center and found that An Ning, like Gu Youli, was also actively preparing for the final exams and was studying more diligently than before.

Even during breaks, she would study the "English Essentials" that Guan Ren had given her.

So much so that Guan Ren couldn't bear to disturb her and didn't go to talk to her.

He also made a special observation and found that there were quite a few students in the tutoring class who were in the same class as An Ning, both boys and girls. After class, they would visit each other and talk to each other.

But indeed, no one came to chat with An Ning or anything.

Guan Ren also realized that An Ning's statement that she "had no friends" was actually not an exaggeration.

Guan Ren believes that the reasons for this are multifaceted.

It is certain that this "isolation" was not intentional on the part of the students.

There are two main points.

First, of course, it's because An Ning has a particularly introverted personality.

Second...

To be honest, after removing his biased view of An Ning as a goddess, Guan Ren had to admit that An Ning is now quite unremarkable.

To put it nicely, it's "very simple"; to put it bluntly, it's just a bit rustic.

When An Ning came to return the umbrella to him, Liu Xiong's impression of her was "old-fashioned," but he changed it to "simple" when he said it.

Specifically, whether it's her plastic hair clips, her faded canvas shoes, or even those lemon-shaped arm sleeves that she's very proud of and that Guan Ren finds cute, An Ning's clothing has always been somewhat unfashionable.

Even now, in winter, the somewhat old white down jacket that An Ning is wearing is obviously bought from a very cheap store. It's probably not real down, and the style and fit are also very poor, so it's inevitable that it's a bit wrinkled.

It's fair to say that compared to Gu Youli wearing the same white down jacket, the difference in their appearance is immediately apparent. Although she always appears clean and tidy, apart from Guan Ren, other students of her age might not necessarily notice this.

In other words, An Ning's simple and unpretentious way of dressing was always contrary to the prevailing aesthetic of her classmates at that time.

Compared to Guan Ren's view of An Ning as a "soft and gentle female announcer," most other people probably see her as a "country bumpkin announcer."

[A reserved, country girl]

This impression meant that An Ning had a low profile in class and was therefore inconspicuous.

Upon closer reflection, Guan Ren realized that in his past life, he had neglected An Ning, just like most people.

He was just lucky; he was later amazed by her in the graduation photo, and that's how he "discovered" the "Little Lemon Goddess".

"A hidden goddess...wait, isn't that what they call...a treasure girl?"

Guan Ren muttered to himself, his brow furrowed in thought.

Little did he know that Little Lemon had been secretly peeking at him for the fifth time this morning…

--------

At noon, the tutoring class ended.

The rain outside is pouring down, it's pouring.

"It must be a celestial being, drunk and carelessly crumpling the white clouds..."

Guan Ren stood at the entrance of the teaching building, looking smugly at the rain outside. Then, in a flash, he caught a glimpse of a petite figure hurrying by.

What's rather strange is that the other person's gaze actually met Guan Ren's as well.

But after only one glance, she hurriedly dodged away.

This startled Guan Ren, who quickly called out to her:

"An Ning!"

"!"

Little Lemon, who was about to leave the teaching building, paused upon hearing this, turned around, and tucked her wet umbrella inwards to prevent rain from dripping inside. Then, she stared blankly at Guan Ren:

"Guan Rentong..."

"..."

"Guan...Guan Ren, what's the matter?"

"what's up?"

Guan Ren was at a loss whether to laugh or cry:

"I'd like to ask you what's wrong. Why are you avoiding me?"

"No...no..."

An Ning quickly waved her hands repeatedly.

"No, you did. You were clearly avoiding my gaze just now."

Guan Ren paused, looked around (there weren't many people), took a deep breath, and then gazed at her:
"An Ning, do you hate me?"

"no!"

Upon hearing this, An Ning's pupils visibly dilated.

Guan Ren is a very, very good person, the best of all. How could she possibly dislike him?

Moreover, she wanted to repay Guan Ren. Guan Ren said that being friends with him was a way of repaying him, so how could she possibly hate her first friend?

"I only did it because...because of you..."

An Ning's soft lips parted slightly, her gaze meeting Guan Ren's eyes again. Her face flushed as expected, and she lowered her head, her hands gripping the umbrella handle tightly in front of her lower abdomen. Her voice, though softer than usual, carried a hint of grievance.

"Because Guan Ren, you... didn't speak to me all morning, I thought... you hated me..."

"what?"

Guan Ren was dumbfounded:

"I hate you? Why?"

"do not know…"

An Ning bit her lower lip and shook her head:
"I think it might be because I was too slow replying to your text last night, or I said something wrong that upset you..."

"What are you talking about?!"

Guan Ren smiled wryly and waved his hand. This girl was really overthinking things.
"First of all, you replied to the text message quite quickly, and you didn't say anything wrong. Secondly, even if that were true, it wouldn't be a big deal for me because we're friends. If I really disliked you over such a trivial matter, then such a petty friend wouldn't be worth having. The fault lies with me, not you. Don't take all the blame upon yourself, okay?"

"Ah."

An Ning listened, blushed and nodded, then blinked her eyes as if they could speak, stealing glances at Guan Ren's expression.

Even though she didn't say anything, Guan Ren could still read the struggle in her eyes.

So he took the initiative to explain that he hadn't spoken to her all morning because he didn't want to disturb her studying, and so on.

……

Finally, the small misunderstanding was cleared up, and Guan Ren got down to business:

"Although I reminded you to bring an umbrella last night, I was lazy this morning because I saw that the rain was light and I didn't bring one. I just put on my coat hood and came to school. So this time, it's your turn to lend me your umbrella."

"Oh, alright."

An Ning nodded immediately and decisively extended the umbrella in her hand to Guan Ren.

"Give it to me? And what about you?"

"I can get a little wet, it's okay."

"Are you stupid...? When did you become as dumb as your sister?"

Without saying much, Guan Ren took her umbrella with one hand and naturally took her hand with the other. Just like that, he led the bewildered little lemon into the rain, holding the umbrella together.

“Look, this time is different from last time. Let’s just get through it together.”

"..."

Under the transparent umbrella, An Ning obediently walked alongside Guan Ren without saying a word, only occasionally looking up at his profile and then looking down at her small hands, which he had let go of and were now tucked into his sleeve.

After a few rounds, all that was left was a delicate and lovely oval face, flushed red, which, from a distance, resembled a little red mushroom growing in the rain.

(End of this chapter)