Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Chapter 241: Chapter 239: The Art of Wasting Money

Xue Rui’s fingers tapped quickly on the screen: "Go hang out at an internet cafe for now."

’Computer markets are total rip-offs,’ he thought. ’They fleece newbies who don’t know anything about PC specs. After paying back Lin Ruoxi for her driver’s license test, with the paltry sum of money Qiu Mengze has left, if he gets tricked into buying some "military-grade" computer... Well, university is going to be a real blast for him. While everyone else is teaming up for games, he’ll have a hell of a time just running a simple web game.’

After replying to Qiu Mengze’s message, Xue Rui casually got into the car. The little girl, her backpack still on, sat beside him. She pulled two chocolate pies from her bag, took a big bite of one, and smeared chocolate on the side of her mouth.

"How come you’re not giving me any?" Xue Rui asked with a frown.

Lin Ruoxi looked at him with a blank expression. ’Does he want some today, too?’

The little girl hurriedly held the chocolate pie to Xue Rui’s mouth. "Mmph, you can have some."

Xue Rui looked at the half-eaten pie and gently took a small bite.

The little girl held her other hand underneath to catch the falling crumbs, which she promptly popped into her mouth before licking her fingers clean.

Ever since submitting her university application, the thought that she would be going to the same school as Xue Rui made the little girl happy every single day. She was so happy, she even started eating an extra chocolate pie.

Xue Rui, on the other hand, felt this was holding her back. Lin Ruoxi had actually chosen the same university as him—Chang’an Post and Telecommunications—and even the exact same major!

’But what’s so great about software engineering? I only chose it because it’s what I studied before, and it’s an easy major to coast through. You just have to do the big projects, and scraping by with a passing grade in the required courses is a piece of cake.’

’But for Lin Ruoxi right now, there’s absolutely no need for her to take university-level software engineering courses...’

’Software engineering as a major...’

’Programming evolves with the times. The little girl is constantly learning, iterating on new technologies every day. And the professors who’ve been teaching at the university for years? They’re not on the front lines of the industry. In that kind of insular environment, they quickly fall behind the times, teaching only concepts and fundamentals...’

’In my opinion, the University of Electronic Science and Technology would be a much better fit for the little girl. It has a wealth of resources in semiconductors, with labs that cost hundreds of millions. Now *those* are resources worth getting your hands on.’

’Unfortunately, the little girl is just too clingy. She refused to go, even though the University of Electronic Science and Technology is right next door to mine.’

This was what left him feeling the most helpless. The little girl had no ambition, no grand desires. All she wanted was a simple life.

’You have to fight for resources in a university; no one just hands them to you. I feel like it wouldn’t make much of a difference whether she went to a top-tier or third-tier school. With a personality that doesn’t fight or compete for anything, she’ll end up with nothing. She might even get taken advantage of and worked like a mule.’

Xue Rui stroked Lin Ruoxi’s head. ’Oh well,’ he thought. ’It’s not like she absolutely has to put her talents to use. The little girl is perfectly happy as she is now.’

Yu Minlan glanced into the rearview mirror, a touch of envy in her eyes. Lin Ruoxi always claimed she was working for Xue Rui, but in reality, Xue Rui was the one constantly looking after her.

Xue Rui noticed Yu Minlan’s gaze. He spoke up, "I have to leave Shencheng. From now on, you’ll be taking Lin Ruoxi to and from work."

’This was why I had her come to Shencheng in the first place,’ he thought. ’If I leave, I can’t just abandon the little girl in a strange city all by herself, can I?’

’Yu Minlan and Lin Ruoxi are good friends, and they’re both from the same hometown. She can give the little girl a sense of security.’

"Where are you going?" A flash of panic appeared in Lin Ruoxi’s eyes. ’Is he leaving?’

She had thought they would be able to go to work together every day.

"I have important things to do. You need to hold down the fort for me," Xue Rui said seriously.

The little girl didn’t speak. She just reached out with her small hand and clutched the corner of Xue Rui’s shirt. He had given her shares in the company precisely so she would be in charge of product development.

’I have to make money for him to spend. The shares are in my name, but what’s mine is his. There’s no difference.’

Yu Minlan nodded. She understood her assignment.

"Then when will you be back?" Lin Ruoxi looked up at Xue Rui, her big, shimmering eyes filled with reluctance to let him go.

Xue Rui rubbed his face. ’If nothing unexpected happens, I probably won’t come back to Shencheng. There’s a lot of business to be done here, but there’s no need for me to return until things are further along.’

His phone rang. It was Huang Siyue calling.

Her voice was a bit hoarse. "Scumbag, my brother’s back. Are you in Shencheng?"

Xue Rui paused for a moment. "I’m not in Shencheng. Sounds like you have a cold. Make sure you get some rest."

"Scumbags and their smooth talk," Huang Siyue said disdainfully.

"Not at all. Your mental health is already a mess, so you’ve got to at least keep your body healthy," Xue Rui said with a laugh before hanging up.

It took a moment for Huang Siyue to process that. ’So he thinks I’m crazy?’

When she tried calling back, the line was busy. She was so furious it felt like her cold was already halfway gone.

’My software hasn’t been rolled out yet,’ he thought. ’It’s too early to discuss business that requires a user base. For now, just staying in touch is enough.’

But for today, his priority was to comfort the little girl. Otherwise, she’d surely start crying once he was gone.

When they returned to their apartment, Xue Rui helped Lin Ruoxi with dinner. After she finished her shower, he even helped the little girl dry her hair.

Xue Rui stood behind Lin Ruoxi, gently combing his fingers through her hair. ’It’s so silky,’ he thought. ’I could play with it forever and never get bored.’

"I’m heading back to Hedong tomorrow. You don’t need to see me off," Xue Rui said casually.

The little girl immediately whipped her head around, her eyes squeezed shut against the blast from the hair dryer, but Xue Rui saw two teardrops get blown back behind her ears.

She knew. Every time Xue Rui did something out of the ordinary, it meant he was about to leave.

She had tried to prepare herself mentally, but every time she thought about it, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.