Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

Jiang Chengyu's phone background picture is a teddy bear. The brown bear sits crookedly next to a textbook, its slightly curly fur bathed in warm yellow light, looking fluffy and very cute.

This teddy bear was a birthday gift he gave to Jiang Chengyu last year, and it was also the first birthday gift he had given to Jiang Chengyu in all these years.

In previous years, Jiang Chengyu would always treat people to a meal for his birthday, because for He Ziyu, choosing a gift was both time-consuming and laborious, and it was much more convenient and quicker to go out to eat.

However, on Jiang Chengyu's birthday last year, Lan Yuan was participating in an inter-school basketball tournament. He Ziyu was so focused on cheering for Lan Yuan that he completely forgot about Jiang Chengyu's birthday.

Afterwards, He Ziyu felt a little guilty, so he used a clever trick and gave the teddy bear that he had placed under the bay window as a decoration to Jiang Chengyu as a gift.

In his memory, Jiang Chengyu was happy for a long time because of this "belated gift," so much so that He Ziyu was too embarrassed to tell him that the bear was something he and Jingran had won while playing a claw machine at the arcade, and it wasn't worth anything at all.

Recalling his past life's various "scumbag" behaviors, He Ziyu felt a wave of shame, while Jiang Chengyu's phone screen felt like a slap across his face.

The thing he used to appease Jiang Chengyu was treasured by Jiang Chengyu, who took pictures of it and used it as a screensaver... The most outrageous thing is that he had been friends with Jiang Chengyu for so long in his previous life, yet he had never noticed this detail.

He Ziyu pursed his lips and remained silent, holding his phone in both hands, and couldn't help but wonder how many unknown secrets were hidden inside.

He didn't have the habit of peeking at other people's phones. Even though Lan Yuan was aloof towards him in his past life, he would never look through his phone without permission. But today, his curiosity was overflowing in Jiang Chengyu.

He Ziyu decided to wait two more minutes.

If Jiang Chengyu doesn't come back in two minutes, he'll just... casually flip through his phone, not looking at photos or text messages, but just seeing what... um... apps he's downloaded.

Perhaps heaven heard He Ziyu's heartfelt words. Two minutes passed, and Jiang Chengyu still hadn't returned. So he mustered his courage and quickly swiped the screen a few times.

Jiang Chengyu's phone was very clean, with no games and almost all the apps that came pre-installed on the phone, giving it an air of aloofness typical of a top student.

He Ziyu was not surprised by this.

Jiang Chengyu was already a good student. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have been able to come to Class 7. Besides, his family was so strict with him that downloading games was out of the question.

Just as He Ziyu was about to give up searching for the little secret and return the phone...

His gaze fell on a folder named "Very Important".

If a folder suddenly appears out of a bunch of dry, unused applications, and it has this kind of name, you can tell there's something wrong with it.

He Ziyu raised his head somewhat guiltily, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, and then opened the app with peace of mind.

Please enter your password.

There's a password?

Could it be that Jiang Chengyu secretly downloaded some adult films inside...?

He Ziyu's lips twitched twice, and he entered his own birthday as if possessed.

Just as expected, the folder opened immediately, and what came into view was a series of photos of him and Jiang Chengyu from childhood to adulthood.

These photos span a wide age range, from playing in the mud in kindergarten, to riding a pirate ship in elementary school, to going to karaoke in junior high... Each photo carries many memories of him and Jiang Chengyu.

He Ziyu continued scrolling down.

As I flipped through the pages, my eyes welled up with tears.

In the short twenty-two years he lived in his previous life, Jiang Chengyu occupied more than half of his life. This man silently accompanied him from beginning to end, from an ignorant child to an adult, and even to the point of death.

But he never turned around to look at Jiang Chengyu, not even for a second.

He Ziyu's vision gradually blurred, and he could no longer see the images on the screen. Overwhelmed by self-blame, he lost control of his emotions and didn't even notice when Jiang Chengyu returned to the dining table.

"Ayu?"

Upon hearing Jiang Chengyu's voice, He Ziyu hurriedly looked up, his eyes slightly red and glistening with tears.

Jiang Chengyu was terrified and quickly asked him, "Why are you crying?"

He Ziyu hurriedly closed the folder, pressed his phone under his buttocks, and said, "N-nothing, I just ate too much chili, and it's making my eyes water..."

"Didn't I order you non-spicy dishes? Why do you keep eating the spicy ones?"

Seeing He Ziyu like this, Jiang Chengyu felt a little sorry for him. He frowned, took out a handful of candy from his pocket, and put it in front of He Ziyu. "Have some candy. These are all from the front desk. They're your favorite mint flavor."