Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

"What else?" He Ziyu tilted his head, his expression unconvinced.

Jiang Chengyu pursed his thin lips, somewhat hesitant.

He didn't know whether he should ask He Ziyu directly.

After all, this sounds very unreliable, and it would probably be quite awkward if you actually asked.

After thinking it over, Jiang Chengyu decided to give up.

"I thought...you wanted her to tutor you." He made up an excuse, but his voice wasn't very confident.

"Why don't I just ask you for tutoring?" He Ziyu raised an eyebrow. "Your grades are better than hers, you're patient, and you even offer the extra service of eye drops."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chengyu's expression was neither happy nor helpless.

Seeing Jiang Chengyu's expression, He Ziyu couldn't help but pinch his cheek. "Brother Yu, you're so strange. Why are you suddenly asking me this? You don't think I like Jiang Nanqiao and want to use talking about comics as an excuse to go on a date with her, do you?"

Jiang Chengyu felt a little embarrassed after his sore spot was hit, and his wandering gaze revealed his truest thoughts at that moment.

He Ziyu narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was amiss.

Is Yu Ge jealous again?

This time it's taken it a step further; he's now jealous of girls!

"I didn't think that way..." Jiang Chengyu stared at the ground, the words "saying one thing and meaning another" clearly written on his face.

"Oh, that's good." He Ziyu forced down the corners of his mouth that were unconsciously turning up. "But Qiaoqiao is really cute. She's good at studying and has talents. Dating her would definitely be a win."

After saying that, he secretly glanced at Jiang Chengyu.

She's as wicked as a little fox.

Even though he had already fallen into He Ziyu's traps several times, Jiang Chengyu still jumped in without hesitation this time.

"Ayu, don't you...like boys? Or do you not actually care that much about gender, and it's just a matter of personal preference? But even so, you're still a student, you should prioritize your studies..."

Jiang Chengyu was a little flustered; his language skills seemed to have deteriorated, and he couldn't speak properly no matter what he tried.

What he actually meant was that dating was fine, but not with anyone else, only with the person in front of you named Jiang Chengyu.

But he only dared to say these flirtatious and arrogant words to himself.

Seeing Jiang Chengyu's awkward expression, He Ziyu couldn't bear to tease him any longer and said with a smile, "Alright, I'm not interested in girls and I won't mess with any young ladies. You don't need to worry about my studies either; I'll work hard."

"real?"

"Of course it's true! Haven't you noticed how hard I've been working these past few days?"

"That's not what I'm asking," Jiang Chengyu said, looking at him with clear eyes. "I'm asking if it's true that you're not interested in girls."

His expression was so serious that He Ziyu felt a little sorry for him.

Even though they had known each other for so long and were very familiar with each other, Jiang Chengyu still seemed uneasy about liking her.

He Ziyu knew that this unease was something he had given to Jiang Chengyu.

Because of his indifference in his past life, Jiang Chengyu became a follower of light, silently following behind him until her death, never able to wait for him to turn around.

In this lifetime, he wants Jiang Chengyu to become that ray of light.

That beam of light he was chasing.

"Although I can be a bit mischievous sometimes, I don't joke about things like this. I can tell the difference between appreciation and liking."

"To be honest, I might have been gay from birth, but I just hadn't figured it out yet."

"Now that you've figured it out, there's no going back to the way things were."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chengyu's expression softened.

He should trust He Ziyu.

The gossip circulating in school is bound to become distorted, and he must have been out of his mind to get so hung up on such unfounded things.

"Brother Yu," He Ziyu suddenly thought of something and lowered his voice, "I don't plan to admit to my parents that I like boys. If anyone asks about it in the future, please help me keep it a secret."

Jiang Chengyu was slightly taken aback. "But what about before..."

"I'll find a way to gloss over Lan Yuan's matter," He Ziyu said. "I used to do whatever I wanted because I was the only son in the family, but things are different now. He Ningqiu is very shrewd, and I don't want him to use this as an excuse to cause trouble."

Having heard He Ziyu put it this way, Jiang Chengyu basically understood what was going on.

The He family is large and powerful, so it's inevitable that illegitimate children would want to fight for the family fortune. What's more, He Ningqiu's biological mother is still alive, and there are adults pulling the strings behind the scenes, making the situation even more complicated.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chengyu agreed without hesitation: "Don't worry, I will keep it a secret for you."

He Ziyu thanked Jiang Chengyu, and at the same time, secretly made a vow in his heart:

When he becomes truly powerful one day, he will openly and honestly bring Jiang Chengyu home and announce to the world that this man is his!

……

When He Ziyu arrived home, no one was home.

There was a note on the table written by my mother, saying that she was accompanying my father to some charity event and would not be back until very late.

Now, only he and He Ningqiu were left in the huge villa.

"The food is in the kitchen. Eat if you're hungry," He Ziyu said, then picked up his bag and went upstairs.

After taking off his dirty school uniform, He Ziyu went straight into the bathroom and started taking a shower.

While taking a shower, he pondered the matter of the studio.

In the previous life, his father did not mind He Ningqiu's side business in his spare time, and even praised him for his business acumen. Therefore, it is clear that his father will not stop him in this life either.

His only worry was whether "Fire Seed" would believe him.

After all, he's just a high school student. Even if he has the money, he's still too naive and it won't be easy for him to gain the other party's trust.

After taking a shower, He Ziyu returned to his bedroom and saw a notification on Weibo.

When he opened it, he was surprised to find that it was "Fire Seed" who had replied to his private message!

He Ziyu immediately became excited.

When he sent a private message to "Fire Seed," he claimed to be a fan, saying that he admired his work and wanted his contact information so that he could have the opportunity to discuss comics with him.

I thought the other party was more likely to politely decline, but to my surprise, "Tinder" actually left his contact information, which was a mobile phone number.

He Ziyu stared at the string of numbers in the private message, somewhat unable to believe his eyes.

He quickly searched for "Fire Seed" on WeChat using his phone number and clicked to add him.

It wasn't long before it was verified.

To show his sincerity, He Ziyu sent a long greeting, in which he mentioned why he was interested in comics, the future market situation, and praised "Huozhong" for his serialized works on social media over the past two years, successfully confirming his status as a fan.

for a long time……

[Spark: I'm currently working on a new project, and if possible, I'd like to ask for your suggestions.]

[Eryu is not a fish: Okay, no problem!]

He Ziyu knew that the new work "Fire Seed" was probably "The Two Sides". He hadn't finished reading that comic, but he had read its twin brother "Two Extremes", so offering some constructive suggestions shouldn't be a problem.

The two agreed to meet this Saturday at a coffee shop.

After sending the last "goodbye" emoji, He Ziyu felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders and lay back on the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

Before receiving the private message from "Tinder", he had considered a hundred possible ways he might be rejected.

Who would have thought the plan would go so smoothly?

However, while He Ziyu was happy, he also felt a little bitter.

In the year of his rebirth, "Fire Seed" was still an unknown independent comic artist with only a few hundred followers on Weibo, including some zombie fans.

He Ziyu thought that "Fire Seed" was probably so generous in leaving his contact information and agreeing to meet him because he rarely encountered fans who truly appreciated him.

……

At that time, downstairs.

He Ningqiu finished her meal alone and put the remaining food into the refrigerator.

He originally intended to send some to He Ziyu, but the thought of that guy making him eat curry made him so angry that he lost all interest in pretending.

He Ningqiu returned to her bedroom with resentment and locked the door from the inside.

He walked to the window, took out his phone, and carefully dialed a string of numbers.

After a long beeping sound, a middle-aged woman's voice came through the receiver.

"Hey, Ning Qiu."

"Mom..." She tried her best to control herself, but when she opened her mouth, her voice was still trembling with tears.

Thinking of the grievances she had suffered at the He family's house these past few days, He Ningqiu's throat tightened, and something welled up in her eyes.

"What's going on? Who bullied my precious son?" The woman's voice was sharp, with a hint of menace.

He Ningqiu sat down under the bay window, crossed her legs, and sobbed a couple of times, feeling wronged. "Besides He Ziyu, who else could it be..."

"You son of a bitch," the woman cursed, then asked, "Are you alone right now?"

"Nobody's here, I'm in my room."

"That's good."

He Ningqiu told the woman everything about He Ziyu giving him the broken pendant, making harsh remarks to him, and feeding him curry. The woman probably empathized with him and started cursing him more and more harshly, eventually even bringing up things like "may he die a horrible death."

To be honest, after enduring so many years in the shadows, her mentality had long since collapsed. If murder weren't illegal, she would have wanted to get rid of Zhou Ying right now and take her place.

That way, she could live with her beloved son openly and legitimately, instead of having to do it secretly anymore.

"Ningqiu, just bear with it a little longer. When the time is right, Mom will definitely rescue you from this fire."

Just bear with it a little longer.

These are the words his mother has said to him the most over the years.

Every time this happens, He Ningqiu thinks, why should he be the one to endure it? What did he do wrong?

"In any case, your father has already taken you in, which is the first step to success."

"Over there, remember to behave well. No matter what He Ziyu does to you, don't resist. Endure it for a while and things will be fine. Sooner or later, he will pay the price."

With her mother's comfort, He Ningqiu calmed down a bit, and her competitive spirit subsided.

The two chatted for a few more minutes, then the woman suddenly said she had something to do.

Before hanging up, she told He Ningqiu to make as few phone calls as possible during this period, and to communicate via WeChat voice messages instead, so as to avoid having her call records checked.

He Ningqiu agreed verbally, but she was still a little uncomfortable inside.

He hoped that these days of hiding would end soon, and that the mistress of the He family would no longer be Zhou Ying, but her mother, Xiao Shan.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated, and a WeChat notification popped up on the screen.

He Ningqiu found it a bit strange.

This phone was bought for him by He Lianghan before he came to the He family. In his WeChat contacts, besides his mother, there were only He Lianghan, Zhou Ying, and He Ziyu, who was forcibly added.

As expected, the other three people will not contact him via WeChat.

He Ningqiu frowned and opened the message.