Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

"Huh? What's wrong with me?" Liu Wen was taken aback and subconsciously touched the recording pen in his pocket.

Lan Yuan: "You're being a little too attentive today."

"Being overly attentive? Not really. All I did was ask you to play some ball," Liu Wen raised an eyebrow. "Haven't we been getting along for too long? Are you not used to this sudden warming up?"

Lan Yuan ignored Liu Wen's teasing and presented the facts and reasoned with him:

"At the beginning of the game, you kept passing the ball to me, and several times you passed it to me when it was sure to go in. This is not your style."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wen couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, is that all? I'm just helping you slap them in the face, aren't I? Have you forgotten what I told you in the text message yesterday?"

I definitely haven't forgotten.

I just find it strange.

Lan Yuan: "I'm of no use to you now. Instead of helping me, you'd be better off getting on good terms with those people."

Now, he has nothing.

They were truly outcasts of fate.

Upon hearing this, Liu Wen patted his shoulder meaningfully.

"I admit I had a lot of complaints about you when I was your underling, but I don't hold grudges, so the past is the past."

"Besides, we're quite similar in some ways. We're both proud and unwilling to admit defeat. Sometimes when I see you, it's like seeing myself."

"So when I hear those people slandering you, my first reaction is to stand by your side and shut them up."

As Liu Wen spoke, he looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle and sighed.

"I used to think I would be happy after you left the team, after all, I wanted to surpass you so much, I wanted to take away your glory..."

"But when you were really gone, I realized what a respectable opponent I had lost."

"I know it sounds sentimental to tell you this now, but I can't help it. I'm the kind of person who can't keep things bottled up inside, so please bear with me."

After speaking, Lan Yuan fell silent, and after a long while, he asked, "What you just said, were you serious?"

"Of course," Liu Wen replied without hesitation, "Why would I waste my breath? I'd rather sleep a little longer at home."

Lan Yuan was somewhat moved upon hearing this.

In fact, he hadn't made any true friends over the years. His former cronies all drifted away after he became a laughingstock, and even He Ningqiu gradually lost contact with him.

Liu Wen's return to him now is quite unexpected.

"We've known each other for so many years, and we've overcome all sorts of conflicts, big and small. Why is this an exception?" Liu Wen looked very regretful, almost as if he was about to beat his chest and sigh in despair.

Seeing that Lan Yuan was about to fall into his trap, Liu Wen pressed his advantage, saying sincerely, "Brother Yuan, how about we make up? You go back to the basketball team, and I'll continue to be your little brother like before, okay?"

Lan Yuan could hardly believe what he was hearing, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Liu Wen actually took the initiative to make peace with him and wanted to continue being his underling?

Before Lan Yuan could react, Liu Wen continued:

"Or, if you don't want to go back to the basketball team, we can play basketball together on the weekend."

"As you can see, the players from No. 5 Middle School are no good at basketball. Bei Yao and Gu Wang are in their senior year of high school and don't have much time. The only one who can play perfectly with me is you."

Liu Wen's words successfully won over Lan Yuan.

Having been away from the court for so long, he missed the feeling of fighting alongside his teammates so much, but...

"I have more important things to do." Lan Yuan frowned slightly, his expression somewhat solemn.

"What's wrong?"

Faced with Liu Wen's questioning, Lan Yuan hesitated, unsure whether he should tell him the truth.

Noticing the hesitation in Lan Yuan's eyes, Liu Wen quickly said, "If it's inconvenient to say, then don't. It's your life, you're in charge. If you want to come back, just tell me, and the captain's position will always be reserved for you."

A skillful maneuver of feigning indifference successfully exploited Lan Yuan's weakness.

He had been feeling very depressed lately and longed to confide in someone. Liu Wen's appearance was like a lifeline falling from the sky for him.

After a brief silence, Lan Yuan said, "The Lan family is facing some problems and urgently needs the He family's help. I need to find a way to win over He Ziyu..."

Upon hearing Lan Yuan mention He Ziyu's name, Liu Wen immediately perked up.

He was originally struggling with how to steer the conversation towards He Ziyu, but now Lan Yuan has solved the problem directly.

Before the people who bought water returned, Lan Yuan told Liu Wen about what had happened during this period.

Lan Yuan felt an unprecedented sense of relief as he was able to finally vent the resentment that had been suppressed in his heart for so long.

Little did he know that what awaited him was not a regained friendship, but a storm that would crush him...

……

After finishing his homework for the weekend, He Ziyu lay in bed and started a video call with Jiang Chengyu.

After the video call connected, Jiang Chengyu, covered in sweat, appeared on the screen.

"Brother Yu, what are you doing?"

"Just finished running." Jiang Chengyu picked up his phone and took a picture of the gym. "I'll do one more set of strength training and then I'll be done."

He Ziyu clicked his tongue and deliberately acted coquettishly: "Don't take a picture of the side, take a picture of you, I want to see handsome guys~"

Jiang Chengyu was no match for He Ziyu's demeanor. After a slight smile, she quickly pointed the camera at herself.

He Ziyu got his wish and, holding his phone, started to swoon over the girl without a care for his image.

Young people always grow up very quickly. In just one year, Jiang Chengyu's facial features seemed to have become more defined than before.

Looking at the handsome face covered in sweat on the screen, He Ziyu couldn't help but swallow hard.

"If you keep staring at me like that, I'm going to go find you next door."

"Come on," He Ziyu raised his eyebrows defiantly. "Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

"So, should I really go?"

"Come on over, my parents took He Ningqiu out for a walk to clear her head, no one's home."

"Nobody here?" Jiang Chengyu on the other end of the screen grinned mischievously. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have finished my homework!"

……

Five minutes later, Jiang Chengyu rang the doorbell.

He Ziyu opened the door, threw himself into Jiang Chengyu's arms without saying a word, hooked his arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Ugh, I'm covered in sweat..."

"So what? Your sweat smells good." He Ziyu hugged Jiang Chengyu's neck and took a deep sniff, and sure enough, he smelled the fragrance of shower gel.

Jiang Chengyu felt itchy from his teasing, so he bent down, scooped He Ziyu into his arms, and strode towards the bedroom.

In the blink of an eye, He Ziyu was thrown onto the bed.

Jiang Chengyu placed his hands on either side of He Ziyu and, mimicking him, sniffed wildly at his neck, making He Ziyu beg for mercy from the tickling.

"I was wrong, Brother Yu, hahaha..."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chengyu did not stop when faced with He Ziyu's plea; instead, she firmly held down both of his hands.

"Baby, you started this."

"...!"

Just as He Ziyu closed his eyes, preparing to receive Jiang Chengyu's barrage of questions, the cell phone next to him suddenly rang.

"Who is it? Let me take a look..."

"It's definitely a harassing call." Jiang Chengyu pressed He Ziyu, who was about to get up, back down and silenced him with a kiss.

After the phone rang for a dozen times, Jiang Chengyu finally lost his patience and picked it up.

I paused for a moment when I saw the name on the caller ID.

Are those my parents?

"No," Jiang Chengyu handed him the phone, "it's Jiang Nanqiao."

"Jojo?"

He Ziyu was a little surprised and quickly answered the phone.

"Hello, Ayu, it's me," Jiang Nanqiao's voice came through the receiver. "Are you busy? Am I bothering you?"

"No, I just finished my homework and am resting," He Ziyu said. "What do you need?"

Jiang Nanqiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'd like to ask you out for a chat..."

"You asked me out?" He Ziyu was a little surprised, exchanged a glance with Jiang Chengyu, and asked, "Am I alone?"

Jiang Nanqiao first hummed in agreement, then changed her mind two seconds later: "If Brother Yu has time, you can come along too."

He Ziyu didn't pry into the details over the phone. He arranged a time and place with Jiang Nanqiao and then ended the call.

"What could she possibly want by suddenly contacting us?" He Ziyu wondered as he changed his clothes. "Could it be that something's wrong with the studio?"

"If there are problems with the studio, you can talk to them alone. There's no need to involve me or insist on meeting in person to discuss it."

"That's true..."

The two tidied up quickly and called a taxi to the agreed-upon coffee shop.

……

When He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu arrived at the coffee shop, Jiang Nanqiao was already waiting.

"Ah Yu, Brother Yu, you're here right on time!" Jiang Nanqiao smiled. "I've already ordered coffee for you, it'll be delivered in a bit."

Thank you.

After the two sat down, He Ziyu asked impatiently, "What's all this fuss about? Please don't tell me you're transferring schools or something."

"No, no..." Jiang Nanqiao nodded slightly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just wanted to tell you that I might have to put things at the studio on hold for now..."

Upon hearing this, He Ziyu's heart jumped. "Why? Is it because your parents don't want it?"

Jiang Nanqiao neither confirmed nor denied it.

"I'm going into my second year of high school now, and my parents want me to focus on my studies, and besides..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

"And what?"

"..." Jiang Nanqiao pursed her lips tightly, unable to utter a word.

She called He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu out today, certainly not just to talk about this trivial matter that could have been easily discussed via WeChat.

What she really wanted to say was...

"Are you hiding from Han Zhiruo?" Jiang Chengyu, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up...

Hit the nail on the head.

"I..." Jiang Nanqiao held her coffee cup, her heart pounding, "It's not that I'm hiding, it's just, it's just..."

"Actually, Ayu and I noticed a long time ago that she had feelings for you," Jiang Chengyu interrupted Jiang Nanqiao's stammering, "but at that time we weren't sure if you had noticed, so we didn't say anything."

"So you noticed too, right?" He Ziyu pressed on hastily, "Could it be that your sudden choice to study literature was to avoid suspicion?"

"It's not about avoiding suspicion..." Jiang Nanqiao frowned, trying to explain, "I just want to give myself time to calm down and think about this carefully."