Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

The two questions in a row left He Lianghan completely bewildered.

He held He Ningqiu's report card and it took him a while to come to his senses.

"When did I ever compare the two of you? You're both my sons, they're both my flesh and blood, and neither of you can replace the other, you know?"

"Then why do you always praise He Ziyu, but when it comes to me..."

He Lianghan frowned and interrupted him: "Ayu is a troublemaker. We've never been able to control him since he was little, unlike you, who is obedient, sensible, and has potential. Dad is strict with you because he has high expectations for you."

"..."

The unexpected answer caused a glint of disbelief to flash in He Ningqiu's eyes, but he quickly lowered his head and pursed his lips guiltily.

"I know better than anyone how you and your mother survived those past ten years or so. Your father brought you back because he really wanted to make up for what he owed you, but if you doubt my intentions, that would be truly heartbreaking."

He Ningqiu: "Dad, I..."

"I've already made arrangements for your and Ayu's future," He Lianghan said in a deep voice. "Your Uncle Jiang is right. Every child has their own strengths, and they can shine if placed in the right position. Like you, you're good at studying and can draw. You're clearly a promising talent in the arts, so Dad has decided to nurture you in this area."

As He Lianghan spoke, he opened the drawer beside him and took out a recruitment brochure.

"I got this brochure from a friend. Take a look. If you're also interested, Dad will fully support you and hire the best teacher for you."

"..."

He Ningqiu took the brochure, her gaze falling on the large words "Yuecheng Academy of Fine Arts" at the top, her hands gripping the edges of the paper tightly.

He has no interest in going to any art academy.

He wanted to learn how to run a company, become a businessman, and take over the family business.

This was also the reason why his mother sent him to the He family.

But he couldn't say these things to anyone, especially He Lianghan.

He Lianghan didn't notice the change in He Ningqiu's expression and continued, "Haven't you always loved painting? If you can get into Yuecheng Academy of Fine Arts, it will be a great benefit to you whether you become a painter or a teacher in the future."

"But Dad, painters don't earn much money." He Ningqiu looked up at He Lianghan. "Many painters only become famous after they die. If I paint for twenty years and remain unknown, what will people think of me?"

"That won't happen," He Lianghan said firmly. "Your brother will be in charge of the entire group in the future, and he'll definitely have plenty of connections. Just have him smooth things over for you, and your reputation will spread."

Upon hearing this, He Ningqiu's gaze darkened immediately.

It turns out that the father had already planned to hand over the entire group to He Ziyu for management...

Then what is he?

Is he just there to accompany He Ziyu?

"He won't help me," He Ningqiu said in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly.

He Lianghan was slightly taken aback. "What?"

"I said, he won't help me," He Ningqiu repeated coldly. "He doesn't like me, he never has. He's been suppressing me behind your back, whether you believe it or not, that's the truth."

"..."

He shouldn't have said these words to his father, but he couldn't help it. The thought of He Ziyu's arrogant attitude towards his mother at the banquet made his grievances surge, with nowhere to vent them.

He had considered going all in and exposing He Ziyu's threats against them, but that would not only leave him with nothing, but would also confirm his mother's status as a mistress, and the entire Yuecheng would know that he was an illegitimate child and view him with prejudice.

After much deliberation, I could only express my dissatisfaction in this subtle way.

He Lianghan was silent for a moment, then picked up a cigarette and lit it.

The study was instantly filled with smoke.

He knew he was not a good father, and even though he tried his best to treat his children equally, the results were still unsatisfactory.

Therefore, he always turned a blind eye, trying his best not to look or think about it.

The study was quiet; no one spoke. After a long while, He Lianghan finally said, "You're sixteen this year, and you'll be an adult in two years. The adult world is far more complicated than you imagine. If you can't even handle a brotherly relationship now, what will you do in the future?"

"..."

"Ayu grew up under my nose. He might be a bit arrogant, but he's definitely not malicious." He Lianghan flicked his cigarette ash. "I'm telling you this to tell you that instead of coming to me to vent, you should treat this as healthy competition, like he did, and work on improving yourself."

"dad……"

"If there's nothing else, go back. You can handle your grades yourself. Anyway, the entrance requirements for art school's professional courses aren't too high. Just don't fall out of the top 100 in your grade."

"..."

He Ningqiu clutched the folded document in her hand and left the room with suppressed anger.

In the smoke-filled study, He Lianghan leaned back in his chair and gently pinched the bridge of his nose.

He did consider having He Ningqiu take over the company in place of He Ziyu, but the idea was impulsive and unrealistic. After He Ziyu started working on it, he stopped thinking about it.

A few days ago, he heard his friends talking about Yuecheng Academy of Fine Arts at a dinner party and thought it would be a good fit for He Ningqiu. He kindly asked for the brochure for him, but He Ningqiu was not happy when he saw it. Instead, he was a little disappointed.

In that instant, He Lianghan saw something called ambition in his eyes.

The conversation ended unhappily.

He spent half his life building his fortune so that his wife and children could have a better life, not so that they could have opportunities to fight amongst themselves.

If He Ningqiu and He Ziyu were to actually fight over family property one day, he would definitely be the one who regrets it the most and feels the most guilty.

After finishing his cigarette, He Lianghan got up and left the study.

……

In the early hours of the morning, all was quiet.

The windows of the Jiang and He families were still lit with warm yellow lights.

There's still a month until the final exams.

Although He Ziyu achieved good results in this exam, he was not arrogant; on the contrary, he felt more pressure than before.

"Is there a second way to solve this problem? Please teach me the second way as well, just in case."

"Okay, sure."

He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu started online teaching by turning on their phones and having video chat.

Jiang Chengyu's voice came through the speaker; it was gentle and pleasant to listen to. He Ziyu rested his chin on his hand and gazed at the boy's delicate features on the screen, a smile unconsciously curving his lips.

Jiang Chengyu looked up halfway through her speech and saw He Ziyu's lovestruck expression. She smiled and touched her phone.

He Ziyu was slightly taken aback, and before he could react to what Jiang Chengyu was doing, he heard a "click".

"I took a screenshot."

"What?!"

"It's really cute, why don't you use it as your screensaver?"

"You dare..."

He Ziyu leaned close to the screen, intending to scare Jiang Chengyu, but after admiring his handsome face up close, he couldn't help but become a fan of good looks and kissed the phone.

Jiang Chengyu was amused by his reaction and gave him a kiss in return.

Just as the two were arguing so much that they almost forgot about their business, someone knocked on the door.

"Ah Yu, are you asleep?"

"No."

Zhou Ying pushed open the door and walked in, carrying a glass of milk and a sandwich.

"It's so late, why aren't you asleep? If you can't finish, do it tomorrow."

"It's not homework, it's review. The final exams are coming up soon."

He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu were presenting the questions from outside.

Zhou Ying heard noises coming from his room and knew he wasn't asleep yet, so she quietly went downstairs and got some late-night snacks.

Unexpectedly, not only He Ziyu was awake, but Jiang Chengyu was also awake.

"Hello, Auntie." Jiang Chengyu greeted Zhou Ying with a smile in the video.

"Oh dear, Chengyu isn't asleep either?"

He Ziyu: "He was helping me with the problem."

"Use video to tell the story?" Zhou Ying patted He Ziyu's head. "If I had known you two would be studying this late, I would have told Arou to let Chengyu come over to sleep."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chengyu quickly replied, "It's alright, Auntie, video calls are very convenient."

He Ziyu chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, that way nobody gets in anyone's way. If you don't understand something, just look up and ask. It's great."

Seeing that the two children were studying diligently, Zhou Ying did not dare to disturb them. After telling them to finish their studies and rest early, she left the room.

He Ziyu listened to Jiang Chengyu explain the problems while eating a late-night snack, and by the time he finished eating, he was a little sleepy.

"No, I can't hold on any longer. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Okay, go and get some rest."

"You hang up first."

"You go first."

The two were "condescending" to each other, neither willing to turn off the video.

In the end, Jiang Chengyu made the concession.

After turning off the video, He Ziyu stretched and, too lazy to even wash his face, collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

……

On the other side, Jiang Chengyu didn't go to sleep immediately, but instead opened her notebook and continued to organize her notes.

He Ziyu has good learning ability, but he is not good at integrating information. In order to help him understand more quickly, Jiang Chengyu decided to stay up all night to sort out the key points of today's lecture.

At three o'clock in the morning, Jiang Chengyu finally finished his work.

He felt a little thirsty and tiptoed out of the room. To his surprise, when he went downstairs, he saw his mother sitting on the sofa in the living room, staring intently at her phone.

Hearing the noise, Shen Murou looked up.

"Cheng Yu? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I just finished reviewing my lessons," Jiang Chengyu said. "What about you? Why aren't you asleep either?"

Shen Murou paused, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

A few days ago, she found a BL novel on an app recommended by Jing's mother. She read a few chapters overnight and then became completely engrossed in it.

This novel is a campus romance novel that tops the charts. It has over a million words. Shen Murou is too busy with work during the day to read it, so she can only read it at night. Every time she reads it, it's past midnight.

She stayed up so late tonight simply because the plot had reached its climax, and it happened to be about the two main characters coming out to their parents. In order not to disturb Jiang Guosheng's rest, she had no choice but to sneak into the living room to watch.

"I...can't sleep, so I'll read a novel."

Jiang Chengyu was surprised to hear his mother say she was reading a novel.

She used to criticize novels for being uninformative and told him to read less of them, so why is she enjoying them herself now?

Thinking about it, Jiang Chengyu walked over and asked, "What novel are you reading? Can you share it with me?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Murou quickly turned off her phone.