"Mom, should I go apologize to him? What if he yells at me?"
Ran Yunyu patted Yu Jiaxin on the back and said, "If you go apologize, why would he yell at you? Alright, Xinxin, stop thinking so much. The college entrance exam is right around the corner, don't let these things affect your studies."
Although their family had the connections to secure Yu Jiaxin direct admission to the best university in Donghai City, her parents still hoped she would earn her place through her own abilities.
At that moment, Yu Jiaxin had no heart left for studying. Unconsciously, she had spent the entire day thinking about Lin Xuan.
"Alright, Mom, you can go out. I want to be alone for a while!"
After Ran Yunyu left, Yu Jiaxin took out her phone and checked it.
On any normal day at this time, Lin Xuan would have already made countless calls asking where she was and what she was doing.
Her QQ messages would definitely be flooded with messages from him too.
Nervously, Yu Jiaxin opened her call log, only to find that apart from calls from a few other bootlickers, there was no call from Lin Xuan. A look of disappointment involuntarily appeared on her face.
With a nervous heart, she opened QQ once more.
Yet, she was deeply disappointed.
Lin Xuan's messages still stopped at yesterday...
She scrolled up.
Everything above was filled with words of concern from him.
"Good morning, Jiaxin."
"What do you want to eat for breakfast? I'll bring it for you! You didn't eat what I brought you today, is it not to your taste?"
"Jiaxin, good night!"
"Hope you have a happy day every day!"
...
Everything above was similar messages.
Interspersed among them were a few perfunctory replies of her own.
"Oh."
"I'm going to sleep."
"You're so annoying."
...
Lin Xuan's screen name was Jiaxin's Little Follower.
His personal signature read: Loving someone doesn't need a reason, I hope you're always happy!
Without even thinking, this was clearly meant for Yu Jiaxin.
When she first saw Lin Xuan's screen name and signature, her first impression was that it was extremely childish! Only a fool would do something like that!
Now, looking at it, she couldn't help feeling a trace of warmth.
His screen name hadn't changed, and his signature hadn't changed either, but her attitude toward Lin Xuan had changed.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan hadn't paid any attention at all to whether Yu Jiaxin had come to class.
Under normal circumstances, he truly would have—just as Yu Jiaxin expected—already called and messaged her to ask what was wrong.
All afternoon, Lin Xuan listened attentively to the lectures and took meticulous notes.
Lin Xuan deeply understood the importance of knowledge. For students from impoverished backgrounds, the college entrance exam was the easiest way to change their destiny.
Reborn, Lin Xuan looked at the textbooks he used to find unreadable, and now found them fascinating.
It seemed it wasn't that he lacked talent, but rather that he hadn't put his mind into studying at all in the past.
His deskmate, Ling Yinluo, was extremely shocked. Was this still the same Lin Xuan as before?
During regular classes, he would either slack off and gaze happily at Yu Jiaxin or secretly play on his phone.
Now he was actually listening to the lecture this intently? And he was even taking notes?!
"Lin Xuan, what's wrong with you? Why have you started studying so seriously?"
"It's nothing. I just feel like I've wasted all my time on useless things in the past. I'm going to study hard from now on! I'm going to strive for a good university! Let's work hard together!"
Looking at the full-of-energy Lin Xuan, Ling Yinluo was stunned. She had no idea if he was being serious; he was completely like two different people from yesterday to today.
"Alright! Let's work hard together. You can ask me if there's anything you don't understand!"
With Ling Yinluo's academic performance, tutoring Linxuan was complete overkill.
You had to know that Ling Yinluo's grades were consistently in the top five of the school; she was definitely guaranteed a spot at a key university!
Lin Xuan nodded. With the help of Ling Yinluo and his good buddy Zhao Tianxiang, studying would be much easier for him!
"Hey, Tianxiang, today is Friday. Want to come over to my house tonight? We agreed I'd treat you to dinner!"
The pressure in the third year of high school was relatively high, and there were usually evening self-study sessions, but since most students went home on Fridays, there were no classes that night.
"Sure, it's about time I tasted your cooking, kid!"
Ironically, Lin Xuan didn't know how to cook at all in the past, but in order to bring food to Yu Jiaxin, he successfully taught himself through sheer force of will.
The very first dish he ever made was chicken soup he simmered for Yu Jiaxin.
The chicken was a free-range chicken he went out to buy in advance. Because morning classes started quite early, he began preparing the chicken, seasonings, and ingredients in the middle of the night.
He slowly simmered it for five hours to produce a single bowl of chicken soup.
He excitedly packed it into a thermos and brought it for Yu Jiaxin to drink, thinking she would be happy.
As a result, Yu Jiaxin only took a tiny sip and didn't touch it again. Having lived in luxury since childhood, she looked down on this kind of chicken soup.
Zhao Tianxiang's and Lin Xuan's homes weren't far apart; they lived in the same residential complex. Because of this, the two of them had played together since they were kids, so their relationship was exceptionally close.
Looking at the familiar apartment buildings and familiar streets before him, Lin Xuan couldn't help feeling a wave of emotion.
Lin Xuan's home wasn't large, only about 50 square meters, and only he and his grandfather lived there. His parents had passed away in a car accident, so their financial situation wasn't very good.
Lin Xuan pushed open the creaking wooden door, and his grandfather was applying medicated plaster to his own foot.
"Xunxun is back? And Tianxiang is here too? How is it, are you two tired from studying this week?"
Looking at his grandfather's wrinkled face, Lin Xuan's tears welled up and refused to fall.
In his past life, his grandfather lost his child in middle age and then lost his grandson in his old age, never experiencing any happiness.
He had run himself ragged his whole life for the sake of the family, and in the end, because Lin Xuan jumped to his death, his grandfather even sold off the family property. It was hard to imagine how he had survived those days!
Lin Xuan vowed in his heart that he would definitely let his grandfather live a good life and never let the old man worry again.
"Grandpa, sit down. Let me put the plaster on for you."
Lin Xuan took the plaster from his grandfather's hand and said.
"Oh, alright. Grandpa is old and useless, can't even do a bit of work anymore!"
"Grandpa, did you go carry bricks at the construction site next door again?! I've told you many times, it's dangerous there. Did you forget, a worker was crushed to death at that construction site just last month!"
To pay for Lin Xuan's schooling, his grandfather often sneaked out to do odd jobs, yet even so, the money he brought in was very little.
He really wasn't human in his past life. He spent so much money on Yu Jiaxin, yet never thought to buy anything for his grandfather...
"No, Grandpa just accidentally tripped when walking downstairs."
"Grandpa, stop lying to me! From now on, you're staying away from the construction site. Once I get into university, I'll be able to support myself!"
"That's right, Grandpa, your good health is what Lin Xuan wants to see the most!"
Zhao Tianxiang chimed in as well.
"Alright, alright, my grandson is sensible! It looks like I'm going to enjoy a life of ease from now on!"
After applying the plaster for his grandfather, Lin Xuan and Tianxiang went out to buy groceries.
Since his grandfather hadn't expected Zhao Tianxiang to come over, there wasn't enough food prepared at home for three people.