Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

"Huh? You two know each other?"

Sensing the gossip in the air, Jingran instantly perked up.

How did Brother Yu meet such a beautiful girl? Where did he meet her? When did he meet her?

Jiang Chengyu: "We..."

"Our parents are friends," Han Zhiruo smiled slightly and answered first, "Jiang Chengyu went to the United States during the summer vacation, and we met once."

Upon hearing this, Jingran was slightly taken aback. "So you met during the summer vacation? Why didn't you tell us, Brother Yu..."

"Is it necessary to give a special introduction after only meeting once?" Jiang Chengyu glanced at Jing Ran indifferently, his coldness evident in his tone.

Jingran scratched his head blankly.

Judging from this, the two seem to have a conflict, so it's best for him to say less.

Han Zhiruo didn't mind Jiang Chengyu's cold words and even took the initiative to greet He Ziyu.

"This must be Young Master He, right?"

He Ziyu: "You know me?"

"When I was in the United States, Uncle Jiang showed me your photos and said that you were good friends who grew up together. Today, when I meet you in person, I find that you are even more handsome than in the photos."

"Uh, thank you..."

He Ziyu licked his lips, somewhat embarrassed.

He didn't know how to face Han Zhiruo.

Should we greet them with a smile?

But he couldn't laugh, especially when he thought about how Jiang's parents were trying their best to match her with Jiang Chengyu, which made him even more jealous.

Should we ignore it?

But Han Zhiruo didn't do anything wrong, so why should she have to endure that kind of emotional abuse?

Just as He Ziyu was about to fall into a vicious cycle, Han Zhiruo said gently, "I'm new to this school and not very familiar with my classmates yet. If you don't mind, let's have lunch together."

"I'll go with you too!"

Jiang Nanqiao skipped over, looking very happy.

"Aren't you having dinner with your deskmate today?" Jingran asked.

"Her? She started dating a senior in high school and dumped me without a second thought." Jiang Nanqiao shook her head helplessly. "After the college entrance exam in a few months and the senior graduates, she'll definitely come back to me. Whether I eat with her then or not depends on my mood."

"People who are in a relationship naturally want to be together, especially during the honeymoon phase," Jingran said casually. "As a friend, you should just put up with it."

"And what about you?" Jiang Nanqiao raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you having dinner with Yao-ge?"

The topic inexplicably shifted to her own life, and Jingran blushed deeply.

"I...I didn't talk to him!"

"Okay, okay, you didn't talk about it~" Jiang Nanqiao patted his shoulder. "Zhou Lian once said, you can never wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep. I won't wake you, you can keep sleeping."

"..."

Several people knew that Jingran had set up a "probationary period" for Beiyao. It was called a probationary period, but it was really just a negotiation. However, Jingran refused to admit it and said that if he failed the assessment, it would be as if nothing had happened. So everyone would tease him a few times to make him face reality.

Soon after, the school bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats.

Jiang Chengyu watched He Ziyu's retreating figure, his mind in turmoil.

Jiang Chengyu was unaware that Han Zhiruo had transferred to No. 8 Middle School, and he figured his parents didn't intend to tell him either. This feeling made Jiang Chengyu very uncomfortable, and for a moment he was back in the days when his parents were manipulating him like crazy in the United States.

As the English class was drawing to a close, the English teacher asked the students sitting in front of and behind each other to check each other's memorization of vocabulary.

He Ziyu turned to face Jiang Chengyu, feigning nonchalance as he asked, "Will you memorize first, or should I?"

Jiang Chengyu stared at him for a few seconds, then couldn't help but say, "Ayu, I..."

"If you want to explain your relationship with Han Zhiruo, you don't need to, because I already know." He Ziyu lowered his eyes, his fingertips fidgeting uncomfortably on the spine of the book.

"You knew?" Jiang Chengyu frowned slightly. "How did you know?"

He Ziyu thought for a moment and said:

"You haven't been in a good mood since you came back from the US, and Han Zhiruo is someone you met in the US. If you connect these two things a little, you'll find the answer, right?"

"..."

He thought long and hard before deciding to keep Jiang's mother's visit a secret for the time being.

After all, although Jiang Chengyu seems calm, he might not be as composed as him if he were really provoked. He didn't want Jiang Chengyu to confront Jiang's mother head-on in a fit of anger, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

"Alright, Yu-ge, isn't it normal for families like ours to arrange marriages? Although it's a bit early for your aunt and uncle to be trying to sell you off, they probably think Han Zhiruo is more outstanding and it would be a shame to miss out." He Ziyu secretly took Jiang Chengyu's hand, covering it with his English book as a cover. "Anyway, don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll face it with you."

He Ziyu's expression was very serious. He secretly opened Jiang Chengyu's palm with his hand hidden under the textbook and intertwined his fingers with his.

No matter what, he's someone who's been through a lot. He survived being disfigured and having his legs broken in his past life, so what's a little setback like this?

Jiang Chengyu looked at He Ziyu, feeling an indescribable bitterness in his heart.

He was worried that He Ziyu would be unhappy and angry with him after finding out about his relationship with Han Zhiruo, but to his surprise, He Ziyu not only didn't, but also comforted him instead.

"Ayu, I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just really don't know how to face this..." Jiang Chengyu sighed softly, "The Han family has a lot of power, and my parents are business people who prioritize profit. They won't let go of this big piece of the pie, and neither will the Han family. In their eyes, Han Zhiruo and I are just two pawns."

"I understand, I understand everything. I understand your difficulties and your parents' hopes. But Brother Yu, this matter cannot be rushed. First, we need to figure out Han Zhiruo's thoughts before we can consider what to do next."

It would be fine if neither of them wanted to, but what if Han Zhiruo had feelings for Jiang Chengyu...

He Ziyu's mind was filled with all sorts of melodramatic plot points from TV dramas, making him feel a little suffocated.

Fortunately, Jiang Chengyu's next words dispelled most of his concerns.

"No matter what she thinks, my attitude will not change. Even if this is a long tug-of-war, as long as you are by my side, I will never back down."

……

During lunch break, the five of us went to the cafeteria for a meal.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit awkward at first, but it gradually warmed up as Jiang Nanqiao and Han Zhiruo started talking.

"Are prices high where you are? What are the university entrance scores like? I've always wanted to go to the US, but I don't know if my grades are good enough..."

Upon hearing this, Jing Ran's lips twitched twice. "Qiao Qiao, are you mocking us academic underachievers?"

Jiang Nanqiao: "You guys? Who else is there besides you?"

Jing Ran paused for two seconds, then realized Jiang Nanqiao was teasing him. He quickly grabbed He Ziyu's sleeve, "Ayu, she's bullying me! I tried so hard!"

He Ziyu: "That's right, Qiaoqiao. Xiaojing has worked very hard, and she ranked 320th this time."

Han Zhiruo, who was eating, looked up and asked blankly, "How many people are there in the whole grade?"

Jiang Nanqiao: "350".

Han Zhiruo: "..."

Jing Ran tensed for two seconds, then burst into a roar:

"You're all bullying me, I don't want to live anymore!!! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"

He Ziyu was amused by Jing Ran and laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, his left hand on Jiang Chengyu's shoulder.

This meal was much easier than I had imagined.

Perhaps because she grew up in a relatively open environment, Han Zhiruo is not as shy as ordinary girls. Her speech and behavior are generous and graceful, making people feel very comfortable and at ease.

He Ziyu even felt that if she hadn't been Jiang Chengyu's marriage partner, they might have become good friends.

After a while, Jiang Nanqiao took a rubber band out of his pocket.

"Ruo Ruo, your hair is too long and it gets soaked with soup. Let me tie it up for you."

"?"

Han Zhiruo was stunned and hadn't realized what was going on when Jiang Nanqiao turned her around by the shoulders and gathered her long hair in his hands.

Her long, black hair was exceptionally smooth and had a faint fragrance. Jiang Nanqiao couldn't help but stroke it a couple more times, feeling nothing but envy.

Her hair is naturally a bit curly, though not very noticeable, but it easily loses its shine when it's down. She dreams of having long hair like Han Zhiruo's.

Han Zhiruo's body stiffened slightly as she let the girl behind her tie up her hair, a hint of surprise flashing through her mind.

She cherishes her hair.

When she was studying in the United States, her classmates all knew that her hair was not to be touched. Once, a naughty boy pulled her ponytail and was immediately dragged into the hallway and beaten up.

From then on, no one dared to touch a single hair on her head.

Before I knew it, my hair was all tied up.

Jiang Nanqiao had a pink bow hanging from her hair tie, which seemed strangely out of place with Han Zhiruo, who exuded an aloof and restrained aura. However, Han Zhiruo surprisingly did not refuse, only said thank you, and continued to eat with her head down.

He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu exchanged glances, both sensing something unusual.

……

the other side.

Bei Yao sat on the rooftop, slurping down instant noodles in the cold wind.

"Brother Yao, aren't you cold..." Gu Wang shivered, suspecting that Bei Yao had gone mad.

"What's wrong? Are you cold? How about we eat in the men's room?"

"Holy crap, what do you mean by eating in the men's restroom? Say it all out, or people will think you're eating shit..." Gu Wang imagined it for a moment, and the noodles in his hand suddenly lost their taste. "I just meant that it's getting colder and colder, we can't eat on the rooftop every day, can we? Maybe we should consider going back to work..."

"No way," Bei Yao refused decisively. "He might come to my class to find me, and if he finds out, I'm finished."

"What do you mean 'finished'? How could it be finished? This is clearly a perfect opportunity to play the victim!"

"That's why you can't find a partner."

Bei Yao's words silenced Gu Wang completely.

To buy Jingran a pink dress, Beiyao spent two months' worth of living expenses and even had to eat instant noodles to survive. But the school is only so big, and to avoid being seen, he could only hide here and enjoy the early winter north wind.

Ten minutes later, the two threw the empty instant noodle box into the trash can and walked down the rooftop together.

Before they could take two steps, they bumped into Jing Ran and Jiang Nanqiao, who were showing Han Zhiruo around the school.