Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

After two days of college entrance examination, the senior high school students finally broke free from their cage and emerged from their cocoons.

The campus of No. 8 Middle School suddenly became much quieter.

The first and second-year high school students envied their older classmates who were able to escape the heat, while sighing and preparing for the final exams. By the time all the exams were over, Yuecheng had entered the most unbearable period of summer.

Just before the holiday, He Ziyu, as the student who made the most progress, was invited to share his experience.

After a year of hard work, his grades have stabilized in the top 50 of the grade. This time, he broke his record and ranked 35th in the final exam, successfully transforming from a "hard-working underachiever" into a "serious and diligent good student," giving a resounding slap in the face to Liu Wen, who had always suspected him of cheating.

Everyone was curious about how the once good-for-nothing young master had transformed into the person he is today. Some parents of underachieving students even went to great lengths to find his WeChat account and ask if he could help them unlock their child's account.

When faced with this situation, He Ziyu could only reply: "Only you can change this."

If those things hadn't happened in his past life, if he hadn't unexpectedly been given a second chance at life, he wouldn't understand today how important down-to-earth hard work is.

On the day of his speech, He Ziyu stood on the stage of the packed auditorium and spoke eloquently into the microphone.

He didn't prepare a script beforehand; every word he spoke was improvised, much like a heart-to-heart talk between friends.

In He Ziyu's view, many people in the audience are a reflection of him, especially those who are unwilling to accept their situation and want to change their status quo through hard work.

His rebirth was certainly a gift from heaven.

But for those of them living in this world right now, isn't every change they make a kind of rebirth in another sense?

……

"Let's give a warm round of applause to thank He Ziyu for sharing."

After Tangyuan finished speaking, she took the lead in clapping, and soon, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

He Ziyu bowed ninety degrees, stepped down from the podium, and returned to his seat.

"How was it? Did I do a good job?" He Ziyu turned slightly to the side and asked Jiang Chengyu in a low voice.

"Not just good, it's excellent."

"Really? I'm quite nervous without a script, afraid of saying the wrong thing. There was a part of me who completely lost my train of thought and didn't even know what I was saying..."

"It's precisely because there's no script that it feels more natural," Jiang Chengyu said. "In previous years, the summary meetings were filled with articles found online, and few people were really listening. But this time it's different; everyone listened very attentively."

"Looks like I have quite a talent for public speaking, hehe~"

After the summary meeting, the students were told to go back to study and revise their final exam papers.

He Ziyu made few mistakes and quickly finished correcting them, then started to daydream with Jing Ran next to him.

"Xiao Jing, have you submitted your subject selection form?"

"No."

"Why haven't you submitted it yet? Tomorrow is the last day."

"I know, I haven't decided yet..." Jingran sighed. "I had already decided to study humanities, but my mom suddenly changed her mind and said that science can improve intelligence, which means that I have a low IQ."

He Ziyu couldn't help but laugh. "Auntie, who's been gossiping about this?"

"I don't know," Jingran said with a look of utter despair. "She stays indoors all day and just reads novels. I don't think anyone could persuade her to change her mind unless something in the novel changed her mind."

"What novel is so amazing?"

"It seems to be a BL novel, but I'm not really sure. Anyway, he's always grinning like an idiot, and I have to call him several times to eat. If I call him too many times, he gets upset."

He Ziyu forced a smile, thinking to himself, "You've finally met your match!"

……

Jingran ultimately chose to study humanities.

It wasn't that Jing's mother had an epiphany, but rather that Bei Yao casually mentioned to her, "We should respect the child's opinion."

In Jing's mother's eyes, Bei Yao was a highly sought-after person, and the words of such a person naturally carried weight. Thus, Jing Ran achieved her wish so easily, effortlessly, and without breaking a sweat.

During the summer vacation, the "Spark" comic officially went into print.

In fact, in the year He Ziyu was reborn, the internet was already very developed. In a few years, many comics and novels would start to use online serialization to charge subscriptions or GG fees.

But He Ziyu understands the artist's "inner conflict".

Going back another ten years, when "Fire Seed" was young, the print media industry was very developed. Back then, there were newsstands everywhere, and He Ziyu often bought prose poetry magazines and collections of ghost stories.

Born in that era, "Spark" has a deep affection for books, and sitting under the spotlight to sign books for readers has been his lifelong dream.

He Ziyu hopes to realize his dream of "spark," and at the same time, he hopes that "The Two Sides" can be different from those fast-food comics and be permanently treasured on the bookshelf by those who like it.

Once printing began, the studio simultaneously started pre-print promotion online.

The group gave up the opportunity to go out and have fun during the holiday and focused all their energy on work.

……

"Ah, I finally beat the game!"

Jiang Nanqiao's excited voice rang out from the Xinrong Jiayuan villa.

"Not bad, faster than I expected." Han Zhiruo sat in front of the computer, typing away at incomprehensible code.

Jiang Nanqiao was playing the first version of the story-driven game "Positive and Negative Sides" made by Han Zhiruo. It was a first-person perspective game with simple controls. Players would collect special items to activate the story and then make deductions and choices.

"Does this game only have one ending?" Jiang Nanqiao lay on the bed, holding a tablet in her hands, swinging her legs back and forth.

"It has two endings, which one did you get?"

"It's like... the protagonist wakes up and realizes it was all a dream, then returns to normal life."

"That's the front side," Han Zhiruo said. "There's also a back side, which is relatively darker."

During their conversation, He Ziyu entered the room.

"What are you two talking about?"

"JoJo has finished the game, and it was pretty good. Want to give it a try?"

"We should try, but not now," He Ziyu said. "You two come down to the living room; I have something to announce."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nanqiao quickly sat up in bed and asked, "What is it? Is it good news or bad news?"

Han Zhiruo: "Judging from his expression, it must be something good."

After a while, everyone came to the living room.

He Ziyu: "Everyone has been busy all morning, let's take a break. The takeout will be here soon, eat it and then get back to work."

Upon hearing about takeout, Jingran immediately perked up.

"What are we eating today?!"

"Barbecue and crayfish, it's on me."

After He Ziyu finished speaking, Jing Ran was stunned for two seconds, and then suddenly hugged Bei Yao next to her with a loud yelp.

"There's something delicious to eat! There's something delicious to eat!"

Bei Yao: "..."

He doesn't seem to be starving the little thing.

While Jingran was having a good time, Han Zhiruo, who was now more rational, asked, "Why are you suddenly treating us to such a nice meal? Has the studio started making a profit?"

He Ziyu remained noncommittal and looked at He Jianye: "Cousin, you tell me."

He Jianye nodded and said, "Just half an hour ago, we signed the exclusive licensing agreement with Yiman platform. They have already transferred the first licensing fee into our account. The remaining amount will be paid on a commission basis, depending on the popularity of the comics on the platform."

In his previous life, Yiman.com became popular when He Ziyu was in college.

The website's CEO did something truly ambitious back then: he spent a huge sum of money to sign well-known artists to drive traffic to the platform, while also carefully crafting and positioning their personas.

At that time, many people thought it was a losing proposition. After all, besides Yiman, there were many established websites competing with each other. If the artists they brought in couldn't live up to the standards, or the content couldn't keep up, all the money they spent would be wasted.

But even when everyone was pessimistic, the website CEO still took a gamble and went all in.

Unexpectedly, this gamble propelled Yiman to the forefront, ensuring its continued dominance in the comics industry for many years to come.

Of course, at this moment, Yiman is still a relatively unknown website, and the licensing fees it pays are not as high as those of larger platforms.

Fortunately, the people in the studio trusted He Ziyu enough and fully supported whatever decision he made.

Not long after the good news was announced, the deliveryman rang the doorbell.

Everyone hurriedly carried the several large bags of food into the living room and began setting the dining table.

After Jiang Chengyu finished packing the lunchboxes, he called He Ziyu aside and asked, "Did you call He Ningqiu?"

He Ziyu nodded. "I called, but he didn't want to come, so I didn't force him."

After Xiao Shan left, He Ningqiu's autism worsened. She used to lock herself in her room when she had nothing to do, but now she locks herself in her room all the time, as if she was determined to isolate herself from the world.

Once, He Ziyu passed by He Ningqiu's bedroom and saw that the door was not closed. He noticed a newly completed painting on the table and, out of curiosity, went over to take a look.

This sight gave him quite a fright.

The heavy brushstrokes, the somber style...

He Ziyu felt that if things continued like this, He Ningqiu might go astray.

If he really goes crazy, he'll be the one to clean up the mess.

To avoid such a thing from happening, He Ziyu subtly suggested that his father find someone to help He Ningqiu with psychological counseling, and that he would try to invite him to some gatherings and entertainment events.

He Ziyu doesn't want to be a saint.

But the past is the past, and now he has neither the need nor the energy to kill someone who hasn't yet turned evil.

However, the ideal is full, and the reality is very skinny.

He Ningqiu didn't appreciate his kindness; instead, she kept it to herself and now she doesn't say a word to him at all.

"To be honest, I really want to let him fend for himself, but it would be a lose-lose situation if he did something extreme, and the people around him would be affected."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the doorbell rang in his ear.

He Ziyu: "Are they delivering less stuff?"

Jiang Chengyu: "I'll go take a look."

Jiang Chengyu ran to open the door, but to his surprise, the video phone lit up and He Ningqiu's face appeared on the screen.