Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

Jingran lowered his head and pretended to be dead, with only four words in his mind: "Break the ruthless and sink the boats."

"I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?" Tangyuan'er said in a strong voice, a puff of white breath coming out of her mouth and covering her glasses.

"I heard you, teacher," Bei Yao repeated casually. "Holding hands and walking together, we are all good friends."

Tangyuan: "..."

He remembered Bei Yao; he was on the second-year high school basketball team and often played basketball on the playground during breaks.

As for the slightly shorter one next to it...

He became even more familiar with it.

"Jingran, right?" Tangyuan crossed her arms and squinted slightly.

Jingran: "Teacher, do you know me?"

Tangyuan: "Nonsense! You used to climb over walls with He Ziyu every day in junior high, how could I not know you?"

Jing Ran: "..."

"Getting back to the point," Tangyuan cleared her throat, "Could you two loosen your grip for a moment?"

Bei Yao: "Why loosen your grip?"

"Because..." Tangyuan lowered her voice, her brows furrowed like a twisted rope, "Because you're both boys. What kind of behavior is it for two boys to hold hands in public?"

Not long ago, because He Ziyu beat Lan Yuan, he was summoned by the principal, who said that the moral education work was not done well and deducted his bonus for the next quarter.

Tangyuan was so angry!

In order to avoid being singled out for criticism by the principal, he became very vigilant and tried to nip any bad signs in the bud.

Right now, the fact that Bei Yao and Jing Ran are holding hands is a very bad sign.

It must be nipped in the bud!

"So, Director Tang means that boys and girls can hold hands?" Bei Yao grinned mischievously, deliberately exploiting a loophole in Tang Yuan'er's words.

"Of course not!" Tangyuan exclaimed, exasperated. "This is a school, a sacred place. Any behavior that violates school rules and regulations should be..."

"But I remember there's no rule in the school rules that says boys can't hold hands, right?" Bei Yao interrupted Tang Yuan'er without hesitation. "Besides, we haven't done anything inappropriate except hold hands. Why is Director Tang so wary? Does she suspect we're dating?"

Upon hearing this, Tangyuan'er's pupils dilated suddenly, and she panicked terribly.

That's exactly what he was thinking, but he was too embarrassed to say it, afraid of adding fuel to the fire and having the opposite effect. Now that Bei Yao has said it himself, it's made him feel a little guilty.

If those two brats give up and admit it, wouldn't his bonus for the quarter after next also vanish?

Thinking of this, Tangyuan felt a pang of heartache and decided to use delaying tactics to give the two of them a way out.

"That's not what the teacher meant. The teacher just feels that boys should have some masculinity. If you two really want to hold hands, you can do it outside of school, but you should be more discreet at school. After all, there are so many eyes watching, and if someone with ulterior motives misunderstands your relationship..."

"How could there be a misunderstanding?"

This time, it was Jingran who spoke.

He blinked and said innocently, "We are indeed dating, there's no misunderstanding."

After saying that, Tangyuan fell silent.

The students passing by also stopped in their tracks.

Jing Ran's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone around to hear. After a brief silence, the crowd became noisy, with some faint screams from girls mixed in.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tangyuan finally came to her senses and asked in a tone of utter disbelief, "What did you say? Say it again?"

I said, we're dating.

Jing Ran looked very serious and deliberately turned up the volume, so that everyone within a ten-meter radius could hear it clearly.

"Aren't those Senior Bei Yao and Jing Ran?"

"Have they officially announced their relationship?"

"If the person involved admits it themselves, it can't be fake. This is so exciting..."

The onlookers, while enjoying the melon seeds, discussed it amongst themselves, completely forgetting that it was Monday and that there was a flag-raising ceremony later.

More and more people gathered at the school gate, and even several girls from the Discipline Inspection Department came over to join in the fun, snapping photos with their phones.

"What did I tell you? There's definitely something going on between them. I figured it out a long time ago!"

"What? You're just being wise after the event. I was the one saying that Tangyuan and the principal had a problem."

Tangyuan: "???" What's it to him!

Jingran puffed out his chest, his face showing an expression that said "Do whatever you want with me," while Tangyuan'er's face turned pale and then red, like a palette of colors.

"This is insane, absolutely insane..." Tangyuan muttered to herself, then turned to the group of students behind her. "Look, look, what are you looking at! Go back to class!"

Students: Unmoved.jpg

Such a spectacular coming-out drama, missing it would be like losing a fortune! Forget about flag-raising ceremonies and such, go cool off somewhere else!

Tangyuan had never experienced anything like this in all his years of coaching. Seeing that a group of people were completely disobeying his orders, he almost fainted from anger.

"You're not leaving? If you're not leaving, you'll all get a demerit!"

A female student asked, "But teacher, with so many people, how can you remember them all?"

Tangyuan: "..."

He refused to answer this soul-searching question.

Across from them, Bei Yao and Jing Ran exchanged glances.

They didn't want to make things difficult for Tangyuan'er. Once the official announcement was made, the rest could be resolved privately.

Thinking it over, Bei Yao offered, "Teacher, let's go to your office together so we don't disturb the other students."

Upon hearing this, Tangyuan nodded vigorously.

……

When He Ziyu arrived at the school, the crowd at the school gate had not yet dispersed. From a distance, it looked as if some distinguished guest had visited the school today and the students were rehearsing a welcome ceremony.

"To be honest, they're quite a good match. I just don't know if the minister's small frame can withstand Bei Yao's rough treatment."

"Sister, are you already judging her? What if it's the minister who abused Bei Yao?"

"No way, that's too grotesque. I can't even imagine what Bei Yao would be like, whimpering..."

Hearing the girls' conversation, He Ziyu stopped in his tracks.

Because he had joined the student union, he was quite familiar with several members of the discipline inspection department, especially the one named Wen Xiuxiu. When he and Jiang Chengyu were hiding in the storage room, it was she who happened to come looking for iodine.

He Ziyu: "Xiuxiu, what are you guys talking about?"

"Hey! Ayu, I was just looking for you..." Wen Xiuxiu tugged at He Ziyu's sleeve and pulled him in front of her. "Aren't you on pretty good terms with our minister? Can you tell us what's going on between him and Senior Beiyao?"

"Him and Bei Yao?" He Ziyu was slightly taken aback. "They're friends, what's wrong?"

"But they just officially announced it!" Wen Xiuxiu's voice was high-pitched and thin. "Although I really want to congratulate them, isn't the minister straight? I've always seen him flirting with young girls before, and he even asked me for his WeChat once..."

He Ziyu: "..."

"Hey Xiuxiu, they're just asking for your WeChat ID on business, don't overthink it, okay?"

"I didn't even imagine it! He even liked my selfie and said I was cute..."

"Um, Xiuxiu..." He Ziyu interrupted Wen Xiuxiu, "You just said that they officially announced their relationship?"

"yes!"

Wen Xiuxiu vividly described what had happened a few minutes earlier, leaving He Ziyu completely dumbfounded.

In front of his teachers and classmates, Jingran said that he and Beiyao were dating.

Has the sun risen in the west?

"Tangyuan dragged them to the office. I wonder if they'll be punished. I hope not..." Wen Xiuxiu sighed, sounding just like a worried old mother.

Although their newly appointed department head, Jing Xiaoran, seems unreliable and likes to flirt with girls, he is still quite considerate of the girls. He takes on the dirty and tiring work in the department and often gives them snacks and cookies.

She would be quite sad if Jingran were dismissed because of what happened today.

……

Jingran did not return to class until the flag-raising ceremony ended.

His affair with Bei Yao spread like wildfire throughout the school. Even the cleaning lady would ask them, "I heard there are two guys at school hooking up?"

Before the first class began, Jiang Nanqiao and Han Zhiruo went to the last row to ask He Ziyu about the situation.

Jiang Nanqiao: "We arrived early and missed their public announcement. What about you and Yu Ge?"

Jiang Chengyu: "I arrived late and missed it."

He Ziyu: "I was just a few minutes away..."

With the person involved absent, the group could only speculate, racking their brains but unable to understand why Jingran would take such a risky thing.

"Was he coerced by Yao-ge?" Jiang Nanqiao's imagination ran wild. "If he was coerced, I guarantee I won't let Bei Yao off the hook..."

"Brother Yao wouldn't do that, and you know Xiao Jing's temper. He seems easygoing on the surface, but he's actually very stubborn. No one can force him to do something he doesn't want to do."

"So he did it voluntarily?"

"Probably..." He Ziyu rested his chin on his hand, looking worried. "Actually, I'm quite worried about Xiao Jing right now. After all, his mother has a rather volatile temper. If she finds out about this, who knows what might happen."

"What should we do then...?"

Just when the group was at a loss, the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom and sternly tapped the blackboard with a pointer.

The groups of two or three quickly dispersed and returned to their seats.

Bao Yuan stood on the podium and said coldly:

"Something absurd happened this morning, which I'm sure you've all heard about."

"Jing Ran from our class and Bei Yao from Class 7 of Grade 11 openly violated school rules and regulations at the school gate. This matter has now received high attention from the school leaders."

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur rippled through the audience below the podium.

"The reason I'm taking up everyone's time to say this is to tell you that school is a place for studying, not a place for entertainment. Teachers will not tolerate this kind of behavior. Once discovered, not only will there be a public reprimand, but the parents will also be asked to come to the school for a meeting. You can't afford to lose face like this, and I can't afford to lose face like this even more."

After Bao Yuan finished speaking, He Ziyu felt a tightness in his chest.

Calling in the parents might be okay for others, but for Jingran...

The image of Jing's mother chasing and beating Xiao Jing wildly at school with a rolling pin flashed through He Ziyu's mind, and he couldn't help but shudder.