Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Chapter 236: Chapter 234: I Am Lin Ruoxi’s Guardian

"I turned my phone off. They just kept harassing me." Lin Ruoxi frowned. She had already told them she wasn’t interested, but they were so persistent they’d even disturbed Xue Rui while he was sleeping.

Xue Rui paused for a moment. It was only then he realized the college entrance exam scores were out.

He logged into his account and glanced at the results. The total score in the final column read: 566 points.

He wasn’t surprised by the score. What he was curious about was what Lin Ruoxi’s report card looked like.

"Come here." Xue Rui beckoned Lin Ruoxi over.

The girl beamed, sticking out the pink tip of her tongue as she leaned in close to Xue Rui.

"Well, you did say last night you wanted to pinch my cheeks," the girl said.

Xue Rui chuckled and reached out to give her cheek a gentle pinch. ’She takes every word I say to heart.’

"Quick, log into your account," Xue Rui said. "I want to see what a top-tier player’s screen looks like."

The girl quickly tapped away and logged into her account.

But the scores for every subject on the screen were all 0. At the very bottom, a conspicuous note read: Your college entrance exam score is ranked in the top five of the province. For your specific score, please contact the Provincial Admissions and Examinations Office...

Xue Rui was stunned. ’So *that’s* what the "Remarks" section is for!’

Yu Minlan was thrilled. "Quick, call them and ask!"

The remarks section provided a contact number.

Xue Rui waved a hand dismissively. "Director Wang will take care of it."

He turned on Lin Ruoxi’s phone and scrolled through her text messages. They were all from the admissions offices of Tsinghua and Peking, as well as other top-tier, household-name universities.

The tone of some messages was particularly urgent; their attitude could even be described as groveling.

"Student Lin Ruoxi, this is Teacher Zhang from the Tsinghua University, Shanxi Province admissions team. I’ve just topped up your phone with five hundred yuan. We will bear the cost of communication. Please give me a call back when you see this..."

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’Holy crap, that’s bold. She hasn’t even decided if she’s going, and they’re already fronting five hundred yuan for her phone bill out of their own pocket.’

’What kind of unorthodox tactic is this?’

Xue Rui thought it over. ’This is actually a pretty clever move. First, they show their sincerity by paying a few hundred for the phone bill. She can’t just take the money and not even call them back, can she?’

’A return call means an opportunity to negotiate.’

He kept scrolling and discovered that several admissions teams were already on their way to Hedong City. In a few more hours, there would be enough of them in Hedong to get a few games of mahjong going.

"Hot damn, they’re really pulling out all the stops," Xue Rui chuckled.

Based on past experience, these admissions teams would instinctively assume that the local system would keep such a promising student close to home. However, they hadn’t anticipated a rebel like Director Wang in the education sector—someone who refused to play by the book and had locked down Lin Ruoxi’s official records.

’These people have no idea they’re heading to Hedong on a wild goose chase.’

Seeing Xue Rui’s devious smile, Yu Minlan felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Let me go wash up. We’ll go out for dim sum after," Xue Rui said, stuffing Lin Ruoxi’s phone into the pocket of his baggy shorts.

Lin Ruoxi nodded, sitting obediently on the sofa to wait for him.

Yu Minlan stared, dumbfounded. "That’s your phone," she said to Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi nodded. "I know."

Yu Minlan was at a loss for words. Lin Ruoxi followed Xue Rui’s lead on everything. He was single-handedly managing a life-altering decision like choosing a university for her.

Dressed casually, the group headed downstairs. There was a dim sum restaurant near their residential complex.

Xue Rui looked around. It wasn’t as if he’d never had dim sum before; high-end places started at three or four hundred yuan per person, and some even required advance reservations.

But he had no intention of taking the girl to a place that expensive. She wouldn’t be able to enjoy the food if she saw the menu; she’d be mentally calculating the price of every dish.

Besides, even he didn’t think a breakfast that cost several hundred yuan per person was worth it. Affordable and practical was what mattered. He’d seen hard times himself and couldn’t count how many cheap boxed meals he’d eaten in internet cafes.

So, they found a dim sum place with a pleasant atmosphere. It was already eight or nine in the morning, and since it wasn’t a weekend, the people eating there at this hour were mostly locals from Guangdong Province or business owners.

Most of the people around them were chatting in Cantonese or Hakka.

Of course, Xue Rui couldn’t understand a word of it, so he tossed the menu to Yu Minlan.

Yu Minlan and Lin Ruoxi put their heads together, discussing what to order.

"Ruoxi, the shrimp dumplings here are delicious."

"Ooh, what’s siu mai?"

As for Xue Rui, he held a phone in each hand. As soon as a call came through on Lin Ruoxi’s, he would hang up.

Then, texts would start pouring in, one after another.

A smirk played on Xue Rui’s lips. He sent five hundred yuan of call credit to the admissions teacher from before, returning the money.

At that very moment, a large tour bus, painted purple and emblazoned with the Tsinghua University emblem, was speeding down the road.

A middle-aged man sat on the bus, staring nervously at the messages on his phone.

Suddenly, his phone chimed. It was a notification from China Mobile confirming a successful top-up. The amount was exactly five hundred yuan—no more, no less.

The man’s heart sank when he saw the message.

"Teacher Zhang, what’s wrong?" a student in a purple-trimmed university T-shirt asked from the side.

"Driver, step on it!" Teacher Zhang said. "The people from Peking University might already be there."

Lin Ruoxi had actually returned his money. He hurriedly dialed her number again.

...

Xue Rui saw the call was coming from the number he had just sent credit to. He found it rather amusing. ’I could play this game with two phones all day.’

’Who would’ve thought? The day has come when I’m someone out of reach for Tsinghua and Peking.’

’Well... it’s not really about me, but I am the one holding the phone.’

Lin Ruoxi watched Xue Rui with a smile. She knew he liked to mess with people sometimes, but it was always harmless fun, so she just let him be.

Xue Rui felt it was unfair that he couldn’t understand what people around them were saying, while they could understand him. He decided to even the playing field and switched to the Hedong dialect to speak with Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi paused for a second, then switched to the Hedong dialect as well. "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything that’s filling. I’m not picky," Xue Rui said offhandedly.

Many people had already been admiring Lin Ruoxi’s beauty. When they heard the group speaking in a dialect instead of Mandarin, their curiosity was piqued as to where this lovely young woman was from.

"Young lady, where are you all from?" an older gentleman asked in Mandarin.

"Hedong," Lin Ruoxi replied politely.

"Hedong? The hometown of Lord Guan?" The old man was quite knowledgeable and easily struck up a conversation with her.

"Yes, the homeland of Guan Gong," Lin Ruoxi confirmed with a nod.

"I’ve visited the Martial Temple there before," someone else chimed in.

...

Yu Minlan was astonished. ’Not many people know about a small place like Hedong,’ she thought. ’I’ve been going to school in Guangdong Province for years and have barely met anyone who’s heard of it. But today, I run into a whole crowd of them just by grabbing a bite to eat.’

"That’s how business people are," Xue Rui explained.

These uncles and grandfathers who could afford to leisurely enjoy dim sum were worldly and well-traveled. They could strike up a conversation and find common ground with anyone, no matter where they were from.

Especially when chatting with such a beautiful young woman, they would practically trot out their entire life’s knowledge. They weren’t on the same level as university students; they knew how to say what people wanted to hear...

’This is good, too,’ Xue Rui thought. ’The atmosphere here is relaxed. Letting the girl chat with these uncles is good practice for her communication skills.’

The phone in Xue Rui’s hand vibrated again. It was the same familiar number.

Xue Rui thought for a moment before pressing the answer button. After all, he couldn’t just dump all the responsibility on Director Wang. He had to make their stance clear from his end.

"Hello, is this Lin Ruoxi? Please, you must consider our offer carefully! We’ll be arriving in Hedong in less than an hour," Teacher Zhang said, his voice laced with anxiety.

Xue Rui paused. ’Just how high did Lin Ruoxi score to get the admissions team this worked up?’

’Or maybe it had something to do with the five hundred yuan I just sent back.’

’But damn, this whole spectacle really looks like they’re on their way to abduct someone. These people are coming to get the girl in the flesh.’

"Ahem," Xue Rui cleared his throat and said seriously, "I’m Lin Ruoxi’s guardian."

Teacher Zhang was taken aback. He hadn’t slept all night, and he’d had someone look into Lin Ruoxi’s family situation. She was an orphan with only a grandmother. Where did this "guardian" come from?

He suppressed his curiosity. "And you are...?"

Now it was Xue Rui’s turn to feel awkward. The girl was staring at him, her eyes full of expectation.

’What kind of identity am I supposed to give?’

’Am I supposed to say, "I’m Lin Ruoxi’s dad"?’

’Wouldn’t that be reopening old wounds?’

’Actually, the girl isn’t that sensitive about it. Maybe she’d even play along and call me ’Dad’?’

’Just the thought of it... was kind of exciting.’

"Never mind what kind of guardian. I’m her guardian, that’s all you need to know," Xue Rui said.

Teacher Zhang’s voice suddenly turned cold. "Which university’s admissions team are you with? How can you be so malicious?"

He’d only had a wink of sleep since dawn and still hadn’t even heard Lin Ruoxi’s voice. His patience was wearing thin. He suspected the person on the other end was from a rival university’s admissions team, just messing with him for fun.

Xue Rui held the phone away from his ear. ’What the hell is going on?’

’How did I end up on an admissions team now?’

"Has Lin Ruoxi been kidnapped?" a young woman’s voice suddenly exclaimed from the phone.

Xue Rui’s brow twitched. ’Now I’m a kidnapper?’

"Lin Ruoxi, you take the phone," Xue Rui said, handing it to her.

"Hello, this is Lin Ruoxi," she said into the phone.

Lin Ruoxi’s voice was as gentle as a clear spring, washing away all worldly cares.

Hearing such a lovely voice, Teacher Zhang instantly felt his mood improve. He quickly composed himself. "Hello, Lin Ruoxi. This is Teacher Zhang from the Tsinghua admissions team..."

Lin Ruoxi frowned slightly. "I know. I’ve been intentionally ignoring your calls."

Teacher Zhang was left speechless. This was definitely Lin Ruoxi’s number; her family had no other contact method, only this cell phone.

Her attitude was resolute, as if she’d intended to refuse them from the start.

"Miss Lin," Teacher Zhang began in a softer tone, "was the person who just answered the phone your guardian?"

Usually, if the student was reluctant, they would try to persuade the parents. He first needed to confirm whether the person on the phone was actually her guardian and not a rival admissions officer.

Lin Ruoxi glanced at Xue Rui. "Um, yes, he’s my guardian."

"And what is his relationship to you?" Teacher Zhang asked casually, already thinking of what polite title to use when addressing him later.

Lin Ruoxi froze. Xue Rui said he was her guardian, but what kind of guardian was he to her?

She didn’t know how to explain. He didn’t fit any of the usual roles. He was even a year younger than her.

As she thought about family relationships, her mind drifted to many people.

Her grandmother, Aunt Ren...

Ren Qunfang had given her a house, saying it was for when she had children.

She turned her head and whispered into the phone, "I... I’m going to have his children. Xue Rui is my guardian for the future."