Watching Lin Xuan stare at her, Yu Jiaxin's neck instantly flushed red.
"Is there something you need?"
Never before had Lin Xuan found Yu Jiaxin as annoying as he did today. Yes, simply annoying!
Clearly, he had already said such harsh things to her, so why was she still coming after him?
"Lin Xuan, I want to apologize to you!"
"What happened last time was my fault. I shouldn't have said your flowers were dirty. Can you forgive me?"
Yu Jiaxin finally got the words out, suddenly feeling a sense of relief in her heart.
"It's nothing, you don't need to apologize. It was my fault for sending you flowers last time, and I won't do it again."
Won't do it again...
Hearing Lin Xuan's reply, Yu Jiaxin felt as though the sky were collapsing.
Would he never give her anything again?
"You're still mad at me, right? Before, I just felt that we didn't understand each other well enough, which is why I turned you down."
"I'm not mad at you. Like I said, everything in the past was because I was immature. Whatever I did for you, I did of my own free will, and whether you accepted it or not was entirely up to you."
"However, I don't like you anymore, and I must ask you not to disturb me again. Can you do that?"
"Lin Xuan... can we ever go back to the way things were...?"
The way things were? Better not. Lin Xuan had no desire to return to the past, playing the role of Yu Jiaxin's number-one simp, only to spend every night crying in heartache.
"We can't go back. From now on, you take your wide boulevard, and I'll cross my single-plank bridge. We're even."
With that, Lin Xuan walked away without looking back, leaving Yu Jiaxin standing frozen in place, full of reluctance and regret.
"Jiaxin, are you alright...?"
Wang Xiaoyan hadn't expected Lin Xuan to be so resolute this time either, but how could they possibly know what Lin Xuan had been through?
In his past life, when Lin Xuan lay on his hospital bed, did Yu Jiaxin even come to take a single look? No, she didn't.
She had even publicly called him nothing more than a blowfly. Lin Xuan kept all of this engraved in his heart.
Throwing his breakfast into the trash can, calling the flowers he gave her dirty, blocking his number, refusing to answer his calls, leaving his messages unread...
There were simply too many instances, not just one or two. In the past, these things played out almost every single day.
"Sob, sob..."
Yu Jiaxin's face was already covered in tears. The boy who once looked at her with eyes full of devotion had been thrown away by her own hands.
"Xiaoyan, I hurt so much..."
Yu Jiaxin turned and buried her face in Wang Xiaoyan's shoulder, weeping.
Wang Xiaoyan didn't know how to comfort her good friend.
Actually, she also felt that Yu Jiaxin was in the wrong here. If you knew it would come to this, why act like that in the first place?
"Xuanzi, I feel like you've become a completely different person! Don't tell me you've been reincarnated or something?!"
As Lin Xuan walked along, he gave a start, thoroughly spooked.
*How the hell did you figure that out?!* he thought to himself.
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? If I'd been reincarnated, would I still end up in this state? I'd already be living in a private villa, kicking back and enjoying life with three or five beauties!"
"I was just joking. But seriously, I never expected you to remain completely unmoved just now when Yu Jiaxin apologized to you. Besides, she was all teary-eyed—if it were me, I definitely couldn't have taken it."
"Then you go ahead and try, buddy! I'm sure you could win her over!"
Lin Xuan joked back.
"Forget it. It's not like I don't remember what you were like when you used to chase her. I couldn't possibly endure that kind of torture. Besides, Yu Jiaxin isn't my type!"
"Come on, tell me then, what kind of girl *is* your type?"
"Well, big-chested and gorgeous, sweet and attentive, and preferably her family's loaded. An only child—the moment I walk through the door, the old man sets me up as chairman of the board..."
A smile spread across Zhao Tianxiang's face.
"That's easy. Just go back tonight and lie down immediately."
"Lie down for what?"
"Lie down and dream! You can have whatever you want in your dreams!"
"Xuanzi, you're making fun of me again, aren't you? Fine, I'll have to rethink helping you review tomorrow!"
Zhao Tianxiang feigned anger.
"No, no... I was just joking."
...
...
The two of them chatted and laughed all the way home.
"Grandpa, I'm back!"
"Xuanxuan's back? You must be exhausted from studying all day. Dinner's ready, hurry up and eat so you can rest."
Usually, his grandfather would prepare the meal in advance and wait for Lin Xuan to come home so they could eat together.
Lin Xuan looked at the dishes on the table: a tomato and egg soup, a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots with shredded pork, and a stir-fried stem lettuce.
Though their family conditions weren't very wealthy, his grandfather always made sure there was at least one meat dish to provide Lin Xuan with proper nutrition.
"Xuanxuan, what are you staring at? Go wash your hands and let's eat!"
"Okay!"
Lin Xuan hurried into the bathroom, washed his hands clean, and sat down at the dining table.
"Here, eat more. You've got a lot of study pressure, so eat more meat to keep your strength up."
With that, his grandfather picked up a piece of meat and put it in Lin Xuan's bowl.
"Grandpa, you eat too. There's way too much here, I can't finish it all!"
"Grandpa doesn't like meat, you eat more!"
Hearing this, Lin Xuan froze for a moment. He knew full well that it wasn't that his grandfather disliked meat—it was clearly just to save money and spare the expense!
Yet he had to eat it anyway, because only then would his grandfather be happy.
With moistened eyes, Lin Xuan kept his head down and shoveled rice into his mouth.
"You child, eat slower! Be careful not to choke."
Lin Changshan looked at Lin Xuan with a gaze full of paternal warmth.
"Mm! Grandpa, you eat too. Stop just watching me, the food is going to get cold!"
"Alright, alright!"
After dinner, Lin Xuan took the initiative to wash the dishes and tidy up the house.
He didn't want his grandfather to keep working so hard.
Watching his busy grandson bustling around, Lin Changshan felt he seemed a bit different from before.
He had grown more mature and sensible. *Child's parents, if you could see him now, you'd surely be so proud.*
After finishing the chores, Lin Xuan lay down on his bed to rest. Right now, besides studying, he faced an urgent priority.
He needed to solve the problem of money.
To support his education, the family had long since run out of savings. The money needed for daily living expenses was earned by his grandfather secretly taking on odd jobs outside; this couldn't go on long-term.
He had to figure out a way to make money! Otherwise, even if he managed to pass the college entrance examination, there wouldn't be any money to pay the tuition fees.
Since he had been reborn, he had to find a way to make his life better; otherwise, he'd be a complete idiot.
Should he go buy a lottery ticket? But Lin Xuan hadn't paid attention to which lottery numbers would win beforehand—after all, who would be bored enough to anticipate being reborn?
Other people who transmigrated and were reborn came equipped with a bunch of systems and golden fingers, but when he crossed over, he had absolutely nothing! And he was still this dirt poor—who could he even complain to?
Did he really have to go work on a construction site moving bricks to earn tuition money? That would be utterly miserable!
As he lay on the bed deep in thought, his phone chimed with a message notification.
Who could possibly be looking for him this late? Curious, Lin Xuan picked up his phone.
It was a QQ message. He tapped it open and saw a little red dot indicating a friend request.
"Lin Xuan, I'm Ling Yinluo."
Ling Yinluo was adding him? Lin Xuan didn't even hesitate and accepted it immediately.
Once they were friends, Ling Yinluo sent a message.
"Lin Xuan, you're still awake?"
"Just lying here. What about you?"
"I was moving today, I'm exhausted! Want to see what my new home looks like?"
"Sure!"
Shortly after, Ling Yinluo sent a video call request.