Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Chapter 186: Chapter 184: What a Huge Pot to Carry

Lin Ruoxi stood frozen on the spot, head down and expression blank, having been suddenly pushed out of the room by Xue Xiaying.

’Why? Xue Rui hasn’t even gotten mad at me yet.’

The young woman stared with dazed eyes as she trudged back into her room. She just felt like something was missing from tonight...

...

’She’s finally gone. I’m sleeping here tonight,’ Xue Xiaying sighed.

Xue Rui also breathed a sigh of relief. The girl had come for another "night raid," and with the college entrance exams right around the corner, he couldn’t afford to waste any energy.

’What if I don’t do as well as last time?’ His performance on the exam in his past life had been a supernormal display.

This time... although his foundation was more solid than it was before the exam last time, whether he could perform well was another matter entirely.

"Okay, Auntie. You can take the bottom bunk."

Xue Rui agreed to Xue Xiaying’s request as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After all, they had squeezed onto the same heated brick bed back in their hometown over the New Year...

He scrambled onto the top bunk in a few steps, lying flat and staring at the slightly yellowed ceiling. A wave of nostalgia washed over him; he had slept on the top bunk as a child.

"Xiaorui," Xue Xiaying said.

"What is it?"

"..." Xue Xiaying fell silent again.

In her mind, Xue Rui was far more mature than his peers, so her subconscious tended to think of him as a jaded veteran of the world. But then she remembered he was her own family, her own kid, and she couldn’t accept that fact. She wanted to keep thinking of him as a child...

Her heart was truly torn. But on second thought, both Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi were already legal adults...

She slapped her forehead with her palm. Being legally an adult and being psychologically an adult were two different things. Many people were no different from children before they graduated from college.

Did these two kids really understand the meaning of doing... that kind of thing?

"Xiaorui, some things... come with responsibility. They aren’t things you can just... do casually," Xue Xiaying stammered. She had been organizing her words for a long time, and she finally managed to say them.

The corner of Xue Rui’s mouth twitched. His aunt was just too responsible, which was why she had lost so miserably in his past life.

That’s just how the world was. It tended to reward those who broke the rules, while the responsible ones? They got labeled "nice guys."

It was this unfair system of rewards and punishments that caused moral bottom lines to sink lower and lower. This was especially true with the spread of the mobile internet, which shortened the perceived distance between people and even spawned apps like "Momo" and "Tantan," which were basically designed for cheating...

’What a f-ed up world.’

"I know," Xue Rui said calmly.

Xue Xiaying was stunned. Why was Xue Rui so calm?

’Did I say it too vaguely?’

Thinking it over, she realized that might just be the case...

Just how far had these two gone?

Lin Ruoxi couldn’t understand what she was saying, as if she needed everything spelled out for her. And Xue Rui? She had no idea if he understood or not.

It was true. She herself hadn’t understood these things until she went to college, got dragged by her roommate to watch "adult films," and attended a few public lectures that slowly opened the door to a new world. Before that, she was clueless...

This kind of thing was like a knowledge point stuck in the gap between middle school and high school; you were guaranteed to need it later.

And yet, the middle school teachers would say, "This isn’t on the high school entrance exam. Your high school teachers will cover it."

Then you get to high school, and the high school teachers say, "You learned this in middle school, so I won’t go over it again."

Some students would say they’d learned it, while others hadn’t. But the ones who hadn’t were too introverted to speak up, and so that knowledge point was just... missed.

It was the same with sex education. The textbooks only brushed upon it, and no one ever elaborated. Yet society just assumed that everyone would naturally understand these things when they reached a certain age.

If no one taught them, why did everyone assume they would know?

It was just too strange.

She tried to formulate her words for a long time, wanting to teach Xue Rui about human biology, but she had no idea how to begin.

Xue Xiaying suddenly felt that the education system’s lack of focus on sexual health was a massive, massive problem. There was still a long, long way to go...

Even at her age, she still got flustered just talking about sex.

Right now, she truly admired those people who could stand on a stage holding a condom. How on earth did they have the nerve to host that kind of lecture?

Every time Xue Xiaying was about to speak, it felt like something was stuck in her throat...

She nervously clutched the mattress. Suddenly, her hand touched something.

The shape, the texture, and the wrapper...

Although it had been a while, why did it feel so much like the souvenir they gave out at the AIDS prevention lecture?

’It couldn’t really be a condom, could it...’

Her breathing quickened as she brought the object in her hand up to her eyes.

It was exactly what she had guessed...

"GNASH GNASH GNASH~"

Xue Xiaying ground her teeth so hard they audibly squeaked.

No wonder Xue Rui was so calm. It turns out they’d already done everything there was to do?

Xue Xiaying felt her blood pressure spike. So her worries were all for nothing?

These two had already done it all, and they even had the awareness to be safe. What else could she possibly say?

Hearing the sound of teeth grinding from the bunk below, Xue Rui curiously poked his head over the side to take a look.

He saw Xue Xiaying, head turned to the side, gnashing her teeth at a small, golden wrapper...

’Holy crap! Talk about getting thrown under the bus!’ Xue Rui screamed internally.

He was all too familiar with that wrapper. But why was it in Xue Xiaying’s hands?

Lin Ruoxi should have put it away. Had she put it back under the mattress?

But none of that mattered now. Before Xue Xiaying noticed him, Xue Rui pulled his head back and let out a few soft, deliberate snores.

When Xue Xiaying heard Xue Rui "fall asleep," she felt a sudden sense of relief for some reason.

"Xiaorui’s grown up," Xue Xiaying murmured to herself. She tucked the wrapper back where she found it, reached for the cord by the bed, and pulled. The room was plunged into darkness.

...

「The next morning.」

Lin Ruoxi woke up early to make breakfast for everyone. Xue Rui sat in his usual spot at the head of the table, with Lin Ruoxi beside him on his right, occasionally placing some food on his plate.

A ray of morning sun streamed through the window, making Lin Ruoxi’s little face seem even rosier.

The girl’s gaze on Xue Rui was completely unconcealed, a smile playing at the corners of her eyes. She loved watching Xue Rui eat.

The very first time they’d met, they were also eating...

Even though Xue Rui had thrown away her steamed bun...

Xue Xiaying suddenly felt a little envious. Were they always like this?

It was such a heartwarming scene. She couldn’t bear to go over and break the mood.

Unfortunately, her stomach wasn’t as considerate. "GROWL..." it rumbled.

Lin Ruoxi had already set out a bowl and chopsticks for her and even pulled her chair out a little. It was clear they were waiting for her to come eat.

"Auntie, hurry and eat. After we eat, you can drive us to the hospital," Xue Rui said.

"Oh," Xue Xiaying replied.

For the past month, their grandmother had been kept in the hospital under the pretext of "remaining for observation." Xue Rui was essentially using the orthopedic ward as a temporary nursing home.

He thought it was a great arrangement. When the old lady decided to cause a scene, they wouldn’t even need to call an ambulance; she could get medical attention right on the spot.

"Lin Ruoxi, you have to cook several types of meals every day. Isn’t it tiring?" Xue Xiaying asked.

She could cook herself and knew that grocery shopping, washing vegetables, and prepping ingredients consumed a huge amount of time and energy. After eating, you didn’t even want to move, but there was still a huge mess to clean up in the kitchen...

Lin Ruoxi not only had to cook for a diabetic, but she also had to make a separate meal for Xue Rui. Last night, she had even asked about her own food preferences...

Just thinking about it was exhausting, but Lin Ruoxi seemed to be completely used to it.

"Not at all," Lin Ruoxi said, shaking her head.

The young woman felt that her current life was wonderful. There was no endless farm work, no worries about food or clothing, there was heating in the winter, and she didn’t even have to gather firewood to cook...

Besides, cooking for Xue Rui was a happy thing. Why would it be tiring?

After they finished eating, Lin Ruoxi went to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. Xue Rui sat with his legs crossed, a toothpick dangling from his mouth, looking like a bona fide lord of the manor.

The more Xue Xiaying looked, the more annoyed she became. Xue Rui wasn’t even going to lift a finger?

She shot Xue Rui a glare. "And you can just sit there with a clear conscience?"

Xue Rui waved a hand. "Then you go wash the dishes."

"You think I need you to tell me?" Xue Xiaying felt a restless urge to do something, feeling she ought to help Lin Ruoxi.

However, Lin Ruoxi was perfectly capable of doing everything herself. Xue Xiaying just ended up trailing behind her, busying herself with nothing.

To be blunt, after following Lin Ruoxi around, she hadn’t done any real work at all. In fact, because the kitchen was so narrow, she almost tripped Lin Ruoxi.

"Are you okay?" Xue Xiaying quickly steadied Lin Ruoxi.

"I’m fine," Lin Ruoxi said, waving her hand.

...

"Heh." Xue Rui shot a cold glance in their direction. That was exactly why he didn’t go.

The girl fought him to do every little thing, constantly muttering, "I can get it."

He was no help at all with these kinds of chores; he just got in the way. He was better off just lying down and relaxing.

Besides, the girl liked him doing just that.

After breakfast, Xue Xiaying drove the two of them to the hospital to deliver a meal to their grandmother.

When they arrived at the hospital room, they happened to see the boy with the broken leg from the next bed packing his things to be discharged.

"Yo, not staying any longer?" Xue Rui teased.

The two of them could have been discharged long ago but had been dragging their feet until now.

"Sigh... If I stay any longer, my mom’s gonna break my other leg," the youth sighed. He’d actually grown fond of the place. The thought of not seeing this pretty girl anymore made him genuinely reluctant to leave.

"Classmate, which school are you from? Maybe we’ll be schoolmates in the future," the broken-legged youth asked before he left.

He was much younger than Lin Ruoxi and knew she was already taken, but he still wanted to see the places his goddess had been. If he got the chance, he could go to the same school his goddess had attended.

"Classmate Lin will be choosing between the two Qingbei universities this year, you know. So you’d better study hard," Xue Xiaying said with a smile.

"Holy crap!" The youth sucked in a breath of cold air. So Lin Ruoxi wasn’t just beautiful, she was a genius too?

But... when Lin Ruoxi was in the hospital room, she spent most of her time playing on the computer!

But no one was refuting the woman’s words, which meant... this girl could really get into Qingbei.

The young man gave Lin Ruoxi a surprised thumbs-up. "That’s awesome."

Hearing the word "Qingbei," Lin Ruoxi felt a sudden pang in her heart, a wave of sadness.

’Why does everyone expect me to go to Qingbei?’

She didn’t actually want to go.

"See that? Qingbei is full of pretty girls. You’d better go home and study hard," the man instructed his son, then waved at Xue Rui. "We’re off."

"Take care," Xue Rui said with a smile, waving them off.

From a distance, he could hear the treasure of a father-son duo start to bicker again.

"Dad, you dare to dream of Qingbei? You’re old enough to take the college entrance exam too. Why don’t you go take it yourself?"

"How could I possibly pass at my age?"

"Then why didn’t you work harder when you were young? Why can other people do it, but you can’t?"

"You little..."

The man gritted his teeth, struggling to suppress his emotions. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"I’m your son. If you couldn’t get in, what makes you think I can?"

"I see you don’t want your other leg either..."

"Bring it on, bring it on! Break it quick, so I can stay here for a few more months."

"SMACK!"

The man reached out and slapped the boy’s good leg.

"Ah! You actually hit me!"