Reborn in 2000: Starting from Pursuing the Pure High School Beauty Desk Mate

Chapter 800: Reconciling with Oneself

On the 29th day of the 12th lunar month.

Chen Fan didn't help at home, but specifically took a day off to go on a date with Su Ruochu.

In the county town.

Su Ruochu walked arm in arm with Chen Fan along the main street.

"I never used to think that our county town was so small, but after going away to university and coming back, I realized this place is pitifully small, with almost nothing to see."

Su Ruochu smiled at Chen Fan: "Does this mean I've become someone who likes the new and dislikes the old?"

Chen Fan laughed and said: "On the contrary. It just proves that you're a nostalgic person."

"We've lived here all our lives, and when I was little, coming to the county town from the village was like suddenly arriving in a big city. Everything was so fresh and new."

"Later, when I went to high school and came to the county town, I started to become familiar with everything here."

"The small shop at the school gate, the McDonald's across the street, the Xinhua Bookstore two blocks away, and the arcade on the 4th floor of the shopping mall opposite, these were all places I used to frequent."

As they reached the entrance of the underground shopping mall, Chen Fan smiled and took Su Ruochu's hand, leading her down the steps.

"Do you remember this place? Every time before entering the mall, we had to walk through this long corridor. When we were in school, this underground passage was filled with small vendors selling pirated books."

Su Ruochu seemed to be caught up in the memories too, nodding with a smile.

"Of course I remember. During high school, I bought a lot of my study materials and workbooks from here."

"Oh, and I also bought many issues of 'Reader' and 'Youth Digest' from here."

"Thinking about it now, even though we knew the books sold by these underground vendors were pirated, we still bought them because they were cheap. It feels a bit embarrassing now."

Chen Fan grinned proudly: "Back then, Guo Shuai and I also bought study materials from here, but the study materials boys bought were a bit different from what you girls bought."

Su Ruochu was curious: "How were they different?"

"The content was different... ahem, the pictures were different too."

Su Ruochu was confused at first, but seeing Chen Fan's teasing expression, she quickly guessed what he meant and lightly pinched him, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"So you were already a bad boy in high school."

Chen Fan quickly smiled sheepishly: "This had nothing to do with me, I didn't have money to buy those things back then, it was all Guo Shuai who bought them."

"At most, I just helped to appreciate them with a critical eye."

"Was it interesting?"

Su Ruochu suddenly asked this question, which caught Chen Fan off guard.

"For teenage boys, nothing was more mysterious or attractive than that."

"Besides, sex education in our country is somewhat taboo, so teenage boys who don't understand naturally have to exercise their spirit of inquiry and explore on their own."

Su Ruochu pouted, "Those are all excuses."

"No wonder you know so much... it turns out you learned it all from those kinds of books."

Chen Fan smiled, "Not entirely. In this aspect, I mainly learned from watching movies and from various teachers."

Seeing Su Ruochu's dangerous look, Chen Fan quickly changed his tune.

"Actually, I didn't see much of that stuff. I've been smart since I was little, so I figured it out on my own."

Su Ruochu blushed and rolled her eyes at Chen Fan, then snorted and walked ahead, leaving Chen Fan behind.

After a few steps, she suddenly turned around with her hands behind her back.

"I want to drink milk tea, it's your treat."

Chen Fan grinned: "Okay."

Su Ruochu held her milk tea in one hand and linked arms with Chen Fan with the other as they came out of the underground mall.

She looked at what Chen Fan was holding in his hand.

"Aren't you drinking?"

Chen Fan smiled and said: "Mine is a hot drink, you can use it as a hand warmer after you finish yours."

Su Ruochu shook her head with a smile.

"I don't need that. I have my own hand warmer."

She then slipped her small hand into Chen Fan's down jacket pocket and looked up at him with a playful smile.

The two of them didn't actually have anything planned for today, so they just strolled aimlessly along the road.

It was clear that both Su Ruochu and Chen Fan were thoroughly enjoying this moment together.

"By the way, I've been thinking, for our trip on the 2nd day of the New Year, how about we go to Hainan? The temperature is pleasant, it's more convenient than going abroad, and it won't be too taxing for our parents."

Su Ruochu smiled and leaned on Chen Fan's shoulder.

"Mm. Whatever you decide is fine. My parents said they'll go along with your arrangements."

Chen Fan was delighted, "To have such in-laws, I'm really lucky."

"You know it, right? So you should be nicer to me in the future."

Su Ruochu teased, and in the next second, she suddenly stopped and excitedly pointed.

"Do you remember that place?"

Chen Fan followed her gaze and then smiled.

"How could I forget?"

The place Su Ruochu was pointing at was a breakfast shop with a Yonghe Doujiang sign.

5 years ago, this place had a sign for a computer learning center.

Back then, with only a month left before the college entrance exam, Chen Fan had secretly come here to start his business, setting up his first Yuming.com site.

It was also here that Chen Fan and Su Ruochu's relationship had a breakthrough development.

Su Ruochu sighed with emotion: "Time flies so fast."

"But I wonder what Brother Honghai is doing now, we haven't heard any news about him for several years."

"My parents said his family moved away a long time ago, and there's been no news at all."

Chen Fan laughed inwardly.

Zhou Honghai had betrayed his friends at a critical moment, of course he had to run away.

He just didn't know where this guy had been hiding for the past 2 years.

Actually, Chen Fan didn't hold any grudge against Zhou Honghai. Given the circumstances at that time, Chen Fan could understand the decision he made.

After all, their friendship wasn't deep enough for one to go to jail for the other.

However, while Chen Fan could understand him, Luo Wenjie might not.

If Zhou Honghai dared to show his face, who knows if Brother Jie would settle scores with him.

After walking a bit further, Chen Fan suddenly pointed to a self-service beef bone restaurant by the roadside.

Chen Fan pointed at the entrance of the restaurant.

"Actually, I have a deeper impression of this place. Years ago, this is where I confessed to you."

Su Ruochu didn't say anything, just smiled as she looked at this place full of memories for both of them.

"Why don't we have lunch here?"

"Sure."

They entered the restaurant. Since it wasn't lunchtime yet, there weren't many customers inside.

They found a seat near the window with a radiator and sat down.

The waiter brought over a menu, and Chen Fan ordered a few side dishes.

In this restaurant, it cost 25 yuan per person, with unlimited self-service beef bones, but side dishes and drinks had to be ordered separately.

Soon, the waiter brought over a pot of steaming stewed beef bones.

Chen Fan got up and went to the nearby freezer to get a bottle of orange juice with pulp, then put it inside his down jacket to warm it up.

"Boss, do you have any hot water to warm this up? My girlfriend can't drink cold things."

Sitting in her seat, watching Chen Fan tuck the orange juice into his down jacket to keep it warm, Su Ruochu's eyes flickered.

These past few days, she had been struggling with what Gao Xiaoxi had told her.

She kept telling herself to forget about it, but as a woman, she simply couldn't.

It was like a thorn in her heart that she couldn't pull out or smooth over. She even had nightmares several times at night, dreaming that Chen Fan had married another woman and she had been ruthlessly abandoned...

Su Ruochu didn't feel comfortable talking to Chen Fan about this.

Actually, the reason she asked Chen Fan out today, dragging him around the county town to revisit the places they used to go on dates during their school days, was intentional.

She wanted to ask Chen Fan today about what exactly his relationship with Wen Wan was.

But all along the way, Su Ruochu never found the courage to bring it up.

Because Chen Fan remembered all the details of their memories together, some even more clearly than she did.

If he didn't truly love someone, how could he possibly remember so many details?

At this moment, seeing Chen Fan tuck the orange juice into his jacket to warm it up for her, the taut string in Su Ruochu's heart suddenly snapped.

Forget it, she wouldn't ask.

What's meant to be yours will be yours.

What's not meant to be yours, even if you force it, you won't find happiness.

Let nature take its course.

At this moment, she reconciled with herself.