Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

Chapter 244: Chapter 240: Lin Ruoxi’s Home 2

She felt it also had something to do with the unhealthy views on love she had just heard.

The world out there was too pragmatic; no one talked about feelings, only benefits.

"Hmm, I’m waiting for a call from Xue Rui." Lin Ruoxi held up the phone in her hand before placing her milk tea in the center console.

Yu Minlan looked into Lin Ruoxi’s eyes. She opened her mouth, then swallowed the words she was about to say. She had just been about to curse Xue Rui out.

’It’d be one thing if Lin Ruoxi didn’t know, but I do. Xue Rui’s been on the phone every night lately. What’s there to talk about with some guy for so long? He’s definitely talking to Gu Muxue.’

’He’s probably gone to see Gu Muxue now that he’s back.’

’She knew Lin Ruoxi’s life story quite well. After all, to keep her paymaster happy, she’d had to do her homework.’

Lin Ruoxi’s life had once been bleak, and Xue Rui had been the ray of light that shone into it. Now that this light had temporarily departed, her world seemed to have grown dim once more.

"An exchange of benefits..." Lin Ruoxi murmured to herself.

’Why would love be an exchange of benefits?’

’Was her relationship with Xue Rui a transactional one?’

Yu Minlan spoke up. "Ruoxi, Boss Xue definitely has no intention of using you."

’Xue Rui might be a two-timing scumbag,’ she thought, ’but I have to admit, a scumbag who could restrain himself around Lin Ruoxi for two years is a rare find indeed.’

’Although Xue Rui had hired her to teach Lin Ruoxi about dating, she knew what he really wanted. He wanted Lin Ruoxi to learn to make her own decisions, not just give everything away in a clueless daze.’

’If he didn’t genuinely like her, why would he have waited so long?’

’As for being after something else? That was even more impossible. Lin Ruoxi was penniless; in fact, Xue Rui had even put his own assets in her name.’

It was a sign of the tacit understanding between them, a trust that came from the heart.

"Hmm, of course I know that. Xue Rui would never hurt me," Lin Ruoxi said with a nod.

Through the car window, she saw a couple walk by. The boy’s hands were roaming all over the girl.

After saying this, she reached out a finger and gave her own impressive bust a little prod.

Yu Minlan glanced down at her own flat chest, figuring she could never replicate such a springy motion herself.

"What are you doing?" Yu Minlan asked curiously. ’Is she showing off her figure?’

’If I had a figure like that, I’d be showing it off to other girls every single day.’

"When Xue Rui tickles me, he sometimes... brushes against them," Lin Ruoxi said in a small voice. She figured the things she’d read online weren’t entirely baseless. ’Xue Rui is a guy, after all, and guys like looking at chests.’

’Mmm, not just looking...’

’She just couldn’t understand why Xue Rui liked it, but as long as it made him happy, that was all that mattered.’

"..." Yu Minlan blushed. To think Lin Ruoxi could say something so embarrassing with such a serious expression.

’Every time those two were fooling around, I’d turn my head away, only to sneak a peek back. I’d noticed Xue Rui’s little moves a long time ago.’

’And here I thought Lin Ruoxi had no idea he was taking advantage of her.’

’Turns out, Lin Ruoxi knew all along. She was just indulging him.’

Lin Ruoxi stared blankly at the pitch-black sky. Xue Rui had messaged her earlier saying he had already landed in Hedong City.

Yu Minlan took a sip of her drink, sighing in relief. She was glad Lin Ruoxi hadn’t been influenced by those twisted views on love.

But now, for some reason, she found herself starting to worry about Xue Rui. Lin Ruoxi was being exposed to more and more things; she had even started dabbling in Behavioral Psychology and was already putting it into practice...

’With Lin Ruoxi’s ability to learn, would Xue Rui be able to handle her?’

Just as she was thinking this, a video call came in from Xue Rui.

As the phone screen lit up the dim car, the corners of Lin Ruoxi’s eyes began to lift. Her eyes, which had been like a pool of stagnant water just moments before, now transformed into a gently flowing spring.

Yu Minlan stared, mesmerized. She hadn’t seen Lin Ruoxi smile in half a day. ’She’s still just as beautiful when she smiles.’

She realized she had been overthinking things. Xue Rui could call out a pet name and have Lin Ruoxi utterly charmed. What good would studying all that psychology do her?

From her observer’s standpoint, Yu Minlan saw everything with perfect clarity.

Lin Ruoxi’s emotions were like a thread wrapped around Xue Rui’s fingertips. She was the one whose feelings were being controlled.

’I wonder if Lin Ruoxi even realizes it herself.’

’But... so what if she did? She’s a willing participant, after all.’

"Have you been eating properly?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

"Hmm, I had shiitake mushrooms with greens, and tomatoes with eggs..." Lin Ruoxi reeled off the dishes she had just eaten.

Yu Minlan pinched the bridge of her nose and sent Xue Rui a text: "She didn’t eat any rice today."

Lin Ruoxi had been too emotional. At dinner, she’d only gotten a few side dishes, eating much less than usual. Just now, Yu Minlan had ordered her a milk tea with lots of extra toppings, but Lin Ruoxi hadn’t touched it.

Xue Rui froze for a second when he saw Yu Minlan’s text.

’The thing I was most worried about still happened,’ he thought. In the past, he’d often had to coax her to wait patiently for him, but that was when they were both in Hedong. Even if they couldn’t meet, she knew he was nearby and would be over soon.

’But it was different now. They were a thousand kilometers apart, and it was taking a huge toll on her mood.’

’Yeah, some people are just like that. Back in college, he’d even seen grown men hiding under their covers and crying because they were homesick...’

’She’s never even been outside of Hedong. It was fine when I was with her, but now that I’m gone, she’s stopped eating?’

’What am I going to do if this keeps up? Losing her figure would be one thing, but getting sick from being so down is a real possibility.’