No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 196 School Starts (The new computer is such a hassle, I was offline for the whole afternoon, sigh)

On the other end of the phone, the guitar's tone was rich and deep.

On the other end of the phone, a young girl's melodious singing voice filled the air.

Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you...

……

Perhaps many years later, Gu Youli will still remember that on Valentine's Day in 2012, when she was seventeen, she and her deskmate were talking on the phone from different places, one playing the guitar and the other singing "Happy Birthday".

It was clearly not his or her birthday that day.

But in Gu Youli's heart, this day was even more unforgettable than her birthday.

"Sister Gu~ I'm your fan! Other fans have names, like Corn, Jelly, Vitamin, etc., so I'll call myself Little Snow Pear!"

"..."

Gu Youli ignored her deskmate's antics and simply recalled his guitar playing earlier:
"You played very well."

"It's alright, three parts playing the instrument and seven parts singing. I'm just doing it for fun, so this is about it."

Guan Ren paused, then sighed:
"Speaking of which, I started playing in junior high school, but you seem to be the first person to hear me play a whole piece... oh no, the first girl."

"?"

Gu Youli asked curiously:

"Who was the first person?"

"Yes, an old man."

"???"

Because Gu Youli had fond memories of Guan Ren playing the guitar for her today, she couldn't imagine a handsome young man playing the guitar for an old man, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.

drop--

squeak-

The sound of a hotel card swiping came from the door. Gu Youli whispered urgently:
"Guan Ren, my sister is back. Goodbye."

"See you."

In fact, Guan Ren himself doesn't mind showing off his new skills to his sister.

But Gu Wancheng would definitely mind.

Guan Ren didn't want to provoke Gu the Devil for no reason, after all...

It might sound a bit vulgar, but he wanted to smell Gu Wancheng's fragrance a little longer.

……

snap…

"?"

On the other side, Xiao Lihua's hand speed was a bit slow, so when Gu Wancheng came in, she hurriedly dropped the phone she had just hung up on the ground, which immediately made Gu Wancheng ask:

"Who?"

"close…"

Gu Youli inadvertently revealed a word, so there was nothing left to hide, and she whispered:
"It's Guan Ren..."

Gu Wancheng seemed thoughtful upon hearing this. She placed the snail rice noodles she had bought on the table, said "Oh," and after a moment of contemplation, asked hesitantly:

"Is he... alright?"

"I didn't ask that."

Gu Youli shook her head honestly.

But it is indeed quite strange.

How could my older sister care about the health of her younger sister's classmate who's in a relationship with someone so young...?

Even in casual small talk, it should generally be something like, "What did he want to talk to you about?" Would he ask, "How are you feeling?"

The key point is that this isn't the first time.

After buying New Year's goods at the supermarket before the Lunar New Year, my sister asked me the next day if I had contacted Guan Ren recently and if I knew how he was doing.

If Gu Youli hadn't been so aware of her sister's attitude towards puppy love, her protectiveness towards herself, and her strict demands on her students, she might have even suspected that her sister and Guan Ren had some secret.

But obviously, no.

Otherwise, let alone keeping it a secret, Gu Youli would be very satisfied if her sister could just talk to Guan Ren a few more times in private.

"Eat the snail rice noodles you bought quickly, it's a local specialty."

"Ah."

"I haven't been feeling well lately, so I added some red dates. Would you like the bowl of young pears?"

"I... don't want it..."

-----------

On Valentine's Day, Guan Ren had actually planned to play a song for Luo Xiaobei as well.

But he needs to rest.

Because my fingers got blisters.

"Alas--"

Guan Ren removed the band-aid and saw a large, translucent blister on his finger. He got goosebumps and quickly ran to Guan Qiaoyun's bedroom to rummage through everything.

Guan Qiaoyun didn't have time to pay attention to him. She just sat at the dressing table, grumbling as always about Guan Ren wasting money, while studying the laptop he had given her yesterday that had just arrived.

……

Regarding the matter of buying Guan Qiaoyun a computer, wasn't Guan Ren thinking that the current laptops were not powerful enough, so he decided to buy her one next year when she went to university? But Guan Ren later realized that he couldn't judge current products based on his own perspective.

Although the machines are less powerful nowadays, the software requirements are also lower.

Most importantly, Guan Qiaoyun needs a computer.

Aside from work, when she wants to watch a TV series, she either watches TV or relies on Guan Ren to find resources online, download them, and then transfer them to her phone.

After all, mobile apps aren't that convenient these days.

Many online movie and TV shows require a computer to watch.

An emperor once said: "If a mother has a need, her son must fulfill it."

Guan Qiaoyun just wanted to watch some TV dramas, so Guan Ren felt that he didn't need to wait until 13 to satisfy her. So he spent 10 yuan to buy a high-end laptop, a Dell XPS 14z, which was released in October 2011.

[Second-generation Intel Core i7 processor! Dual-core, quad-thread!]

[Up to 16GB of RAM! 256GB SSD!]

[Furthermore, it's powered by a GeForce GT 520M dedicated graphics card with a whopping 1GB of video memory!]

Guan Ren saw this in an advertisement in the magazine "Computer Fan".

After comparing it with other models available at the time, I saw that it was from an established brand and positioned as a high-end product, so I decisively bought it and gave it to Guan Qiaoyun.

……

Of course, Guan Ren told Guan Qiaoyun that the computer only cost 2000.

As one of only two "digital idiots" that Guan Ren knew, Guan Qiaoyun believed it without a doubt.

Otherwise, it wouldn't just be a matter of nagging. In 2012, a computer costing 10,000 yuan was even more outrageous than an iPhone 4s, and Guan Qiaoyun would definitely force him to return it.

……

"Hey Guan Ren, come take a look. I've plugged in the network cable, but I can't connect to the internet."

"Wait a minute, I'm busy."

"No, what are you looking for?"

Guan Qiaoyun, sensing that Guan Ren had been rummaging through drawers and cupboards for half a day, raised her eyebrows slightly and couldn't help but turn her head:
"Tell me what you're looking for."

"No need, I'm just looking for a needle. Where did the sewing box we used to put candy in during Chinese New Year go...?"

What were you doing searching for your sewing kit in the closet for so long?

Guan Qiaoyun walked over speechlessly, closed the drawer in the wardrobe that contained stockings and underwear, and shooed Guan Ren to the dressing table.

At the same time, she belatedly realized that her pretty face was slightly flushed.

Because in the corner of the two drawers where she kept her stockings, there were several pairs that she had worn a few days ago but hadn't washed.

……

It was during the Chinese New Year.

Guan Qiaoyun secretly took a break and left it there for the time being.

Some stockings were knotted, while others were rolled up from the top to the tip, forming a small hat-like shape.

It's the kind that fits perfectly on two fingers.

It looks messy, and might even smell of sweat...

For Guan Qiaoyun, who usually keeps everything neat and tidy except for leaving her shoes lying around at home, this was undoubtedly a "stain" on her appearance. So after Guan Ren searched for a long time, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

After all, she didn't want Guan Ren to think, "So Mom can be sloppy too."

……

"Come this way."

Guan Qiaoyun asked Guan Ren to come to the dressing table and found him a needle.

What are you doing with the needle?

"I picked a blister; I've been practicing guitar too much these days."

Guan Ren picked up his hand, and the blisters on three of his fingers made Guan Qiaoyun's skin crawl. She immediately took out a band-aid and wrapped it on him after he finished picking at them.

"Okay, by the way, you said you couldn't access the internet?"

"Yes, the wireless one. The signal in my room is bad, but I still can't connect even when I plug in the wired network."

"..."

Guan Ren glanced at it briefly, then his lips twitched slightly as he pointed to the two RJ45 ports next to the dressing table:
"Mom...you plugged the network cable into the phone port..."

----------

Return to the room.

Looking at his fingers, Guan Ren sighed inwardly:

"It seems that playing guitar for Luo Xiaobei today is definitely out of the question. Let's reschedule for another day."

But once this change is made, it's unclear when it will be completed.

It wasn't because Guan Ren forgot about it.

The problem was that the guitar was too big and there was nowhere to put it. After Guan Ren put it in the old cabinet on the balcony, he completely forgot about the guitar itself.

The situation from the third day of the Lunar New Year has repeated itself.

Two days later.

2 month 16 day.

The new semester has begun at Jiangzhou County No. 2 Middle School.

(End of this chapter)