No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 177 Little Lemon's Little Happiness

"Sister? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Oh, then I'll go back to my room."

"Hmm... By the way, Youli, you should avoid contact with Guan Ren in the future. I feel like that guy is a bit unreliable, and I'm afraid you won't be able to handle him."

"???"

……

In an old residential area on the other side.

"hiss--!"

Guan Ren, who was sitting on the sofa, suddenly shuddered.

Guan Qiaoyun, wearing a face mask, looked at him strangely:

"what happened?"

"I don't know, it just suddenly... I felt a faint, indescribable chill creep up my back..."

"Ah."

Guan Qiaoyun found it somewhat amusing:

"That might mean you did something wrong outside."

Guan Ren's eyelids twitched:

"Sister Qiaoyun, how can you talk about your son like that... What wrong could a high school sophomore like me do?"

"Are you still a little boy?"

Guan Qiaoyun glanced at him sideways, wondering what was so small about such a sturdy build.

He's like a donkey; I bet he could pick up his mother and carry her around the living room like a baby.

"Besides, why can't a sophomore do something wrong? Who knows if he's flirting with some girl at school again..."

Guan Ren felt speechless as he listened to his mother's crickets chirping.

Why bring this up again after so long?

"First of all, what do you mean by 'again'? Secondly, I'm busy studying hard every day at school, striving for excellence, respecting teachers, and getting along well with classmates. Where would I find the time to flirt with girls?"

Seeing her son's innocent and clear-headed demeanor, Guan Qiaoyun had some doubts in her heart.

Admittedly, there's nothing more to say about respecting teachers.

Even Guan Qiaoyun, who used to be frequently called in by teachers, now desperately wants her son to show great respect to his teachers at school and cultivate a good relationship with them.

It can unite classmates...

Ha, isn't what she's worried about precisely that this little hooligan is too united with his classmates?
Especially the female students.

Especially the pretty female classmates.

……

Guan Ren also sensed the distrust in Guan Qiaoyun's eyes, and immediately began to skillfully flatter her:

"Besides, with such a beautiful woman at home, my standards have risen so much that I have no interest in flirting with any younger girls."

"Guan Ren, don't try that on me."

Guan Qiaoyun ignored him, sighed deeply, and looked at the television, saying leisurely:
"If you were five or six years old, I would have been completely fooled, since I was still quite young back then... Unfortunately, you've grown into a little devil now, and I've become an old devil too..."

Upon hearing this, Guan Ren thought, "Goodness, there's a hint of weariness in my mother's words." He quickly offered her heartfelt encouragement:
"Mom, you're still young."

"..."

Guan Qiaoyun remained expressionless.

"Really, I'm not just trying to flatter you. If you ask me, you're underestimating yourself a bit. Putting aside everything else, why don't you compare yourself to those old fogies in the yoga class?"

"..."

Guan Qiaoyun remained expressionless, but she did indeed ponder it in her heart for a moment.

Then I realized... Guan Ren's words were actually quite sincere.

However, she still reached out and pressed her finger on his forehead:

"What do you mean by 'old-timer'? Where did you learn such nonsense? Strictly speaking, they are all my classmates. If you run into them in the future, be polite to me and don't embarrass me."

"Yes, yes, received."

Guan Ren glanced at his phone, gave a perfunctory reply, and then hurried back to his room.

Because Little Lemon replied to his text message.

……

[Ping An: Guan Ren, you're happy too! This is my first time celebrating Christmas.]

An Ning logged onto QQ for the first time tonight, which was unusual for her. Guan Ren noticed she was online and the two of them started chatting on QQ.

[Guan Guan Jujiu: It's just a blessing, it's not really a holiday. I didn't celebrate it either. Normal people don't really celebrate this kind of thing; at most, it's just an excuse to go shopping or go on a date.]

Even though Guan Ren had typed a long passage, for some reason, the girl's simple statement, "This is my first time celebrating Christmas," still made Guan Ren think of some sentimental things, and he suddenly felt a little annoyed that he hadn't bought her an apple or something today.

……

Actually, when Guan Ren bought one for Gu Youli in the afternoon, he had considered buying one for An Ning as well.

However, he was also worried that this might cause Xiao Ningmeng's "progress bar" to move too fast, putting her on the same level as Gu Moumou and Luo Moumou too early, which would not fit his strategy of slow and steady progress.

Because they were pressed for time, Guan Ren ultimately gave up.

……

But now, Guan Ren is beginning to reconsider this issue.

How about... I just give her one tomorrow?
But today is Christmas Eve... The reason for giving it to you today is for good luck, right?

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Guan Ren had a flash of inspiration.

[Guan Guan Jujiu: An Ning, can you come out for a moment now?]

[Ping An: Now? Where to?]

[Guan Guan Jujiu: I'm coming to your house in a little while, just come out for a bit.]

[Ping An: I understand, okay] Just as I finished speaking, another QQ message rang.

Drop drop-

[On the Riverbank: Where are you? Didn't you say you were going to go on a killing spree on Christmas Eve? What are you doing, playing the Demon King?]

What Luo Xiaobei said was actually Guan Ren's boasting during the day.

He hadn't played League of Legends for a while, but after listening to Liu Xiong and others talk about the game, he got itchy and asked Luo Xiaobei to play with him tonight.

[Guan Guan Jujiu: Sorry, something more important has come up right now. Please wait a moment, we'll begin shortly.]

After sending this message, Guan Ren ignored Luo Xiaobei's subsequent replies, busied himself rummaging through his own refrigerator, then put on his shoes, wrapped a scarf around his neck, and headed straight for the small supermarket downstairs.

……

"Boss, do you have gift boxes?"

"behind."

"So big? I'm just putting some fruit in it. Do you have any smaller ones?"

"That's all."

"All right…"

Guan Ren looked at the huge gift box in front of him, but since it was late at night, he could only make do with it.

Then I asked for a pen and a stack of sticky notes.

Although he couldn't think of any good words right now, it was better than nothing.

Swish swish!
After a series of flamboyant dances.

Guan Ren stuck the note on the large gift box and headed straight for Meteor Road.

……

Meteor Road is practically deserted at night, except for the low two-story buildings along the street, with the occasional light and the clatter of mahjong tiles.

"An Ning."

Knowing the way well, Guan Ren quickly spotted a petite girl wrapped in a down jacket standing in front of a roller shutter door, occasionally tiptoeing and looking around.

An's shop has a double door, and An Ning carefully came out through the smaller door so as not to disturb her sleeping mother and sister.

"Sister Shui Rou is sleeping so early."

"Yes, Mom has to get up at four o'clock every day to do chores."

"Oh right."

Guan Ren almost forgot about this.

"Here you are, a Christmas Eve present."

"what?"

When An Ning saw Guan Ren suddenly pull out a large gift box from behind his back, she froze and instinctively waved her hand.

"This won't do, Guan Ren, I..."

Even late at night, Guan Ren could guess that Little Lemon's little face must be rosy and adorable, and he couldn't help but smile:

"It's nothing, it's not a proper gift, just a token, a peace apple, it's just that the box is a bit big."

As Guan Ren spoke, he shook the box, and it didn't make much of a sound.

An Ning finally felt relieved, and then shyly stretched out her hands and carefully presented the gift:

"Thank you, Guan Ren, but... but I didn't prepare a gift for you..."

"Oh, no need for all that trouble. Too much trouble would defeat the purpose of the blessing. That's fine. It's too cold, I'll be going now so as not to disturb your rest."

After Guan Ren finished speaking, he left decisively without any hesitation.

An Ning stood there, watching his back for a long while before she came to her senses and let out a soft "Ah," before taking the gift into the house.

With the light on, she took a closer look and discovered that there was another sticker on it.

Although the posting is a bit crooked, most people might perceive it as perfunctory.

But An Ning's eyes sparkled.

It comes with a box and stickers.

This is the first time someone has given her such a trendy gift on such a trendy holiday...

A single word of peace brings a lifetime of tranquility.

The sticker had just a few simple words on it. When An Ning opened the box, she found that it really was a "peace apple" inside.

However, this "peace apple" was different from the ones she had seen on other classmates' apples during the day.

It's not an apple.

Instead, it was a lemon, lying plainly and obediently in the box.

"An Ning? You're not asleep?"

"I...I'll be right there, Mom."

After responding with a slightly flustered sound, An Ning looked at the lemon in front of her, a shy smile curving her lips, and for the first time, a unique warmth welled up in her heart.

Unlike the happiness between family members, it's a unique kind of happiness that belongs only to friends.

……

On the other hand, Guan Ren was also very satisfied with tonight's operation.

Not only did they give Little Lemon a gift as well.

They also used two different fruits to further distinguish between friends and green plums sitting at the same table.

It can be said that this not only ensures equality for all, but also avoids, to some extent, the "usurpation" of delaying progress.

"Among all the good men in the world... no... good young men, none could surpass me, Guan."

Walking home, Guan Ren hummed a little tune, feeling the light of righteousness shining on the earth.

----------

(It's been so long since I asked for monthly tickets, please do me a favor, sob sob. Even if you're a platinum-level player, you still have plenty of monthly tickets to give to me, please. Mwah~)

(End of this chapter)