After being reborn, I gained a childhood sweetheart who appeared out of nowhere.

Back home, Lin Chuan grabbed a clean set of clothes and went straight to the bathroom. He took off his sweat-soaked clothes and turned on the shower.

The icy water splashed on his body, chilling him to the bone. He rinsed himself several times until he felt a bit cold before changing into clean clothes and leaving the bathroom.

Lin Chuan sat on the small sofa in the living room and couldn't help but stretch. The clean clothes brought him a clean and warm feeling, which made him feel relaxed.

After his hair dried, Lin Chuan did nothing but take a long nap, something he hadn't done in a long time. He woke up in the evening.

Dusk was falling outside the window, and his phone, which was lying beside him, was not ringing. A strange sense of loneliness washed over him, as if he had returned to the days when he lived alone. Before he could even savor the memory, the door was opened.

My parents walked in through the door, carrying large and small bags.

Lin Chuan quickly got up and went to take it, glancing at the large and small bags containing fish and meat.

"What holiday is it today? Why did you buy so many nice things?" he asked. Given their family's circumstances, they would normally only be able to afford this kind of meal during the Lunar New Year.

"Didn't you finish your military training today?" Mom asked.

Lin Chuan explained, "The military training isn't over yet, but the field training is."

"So, you're not going to school at night, right?"

Lin Chuan nodded, "Mm."

"I thought you'd be having dinner at home tonight, so I bought a little extra. Besides, your dad got paid yesterday for the two weeks of work he did last month," Mom said.

Lin Chuan paused for a moment, "Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'we' eating at home? Besides me, do you have other sons?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't Xiaoxi at home too?" Mom said.

"I see."

Mom took the things into the kitchen and busied herself for almost an hour. Although Lin Chuan wanted to help, he was refused because she didn't want him to get in the way. Once everything was almost ready, she told him to hurry up and call Xiao Xi next door to come over for dinner.

Lin Chuan arrived at the door of the house across the street and knocked.

"Come in!" Chen Xiyu's voice rang out from inside.

Lin Chuan was taken aback. What did he mean by "come in"? This wasn't the teacher's office. He was speechless. He touched his pocket and found that he happened to have her house key with him. He opened the door and went in.

In the spacious living room, a window was opened a crack, letting in the evening breeze. Chen Xiyu was reclining on the sofa, holding an iPad in her hands.

However, her posture was not particularly elegant; she was only wearing a blanket, and her straight thighs were exposed, making her look exceptionally languid.

Lin Chuan remembered that Wang Xu had told him that the boys in the class all thought Chen Xiyu was a beautiful literary girl who loved reading and liked to sit quietly in a corner reading, pure and untouched by worldly concerns.

Chen Xiyu is indeed much like this in front of others: quiet, beautiful, like pure white.

As for at home... it's hard to say.

"You're so lazy you can't even open a door?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Don't you have the key?"

"Okay, my mom wants you to come over for dinner."

"Oh, really?" Chen Xiyu's eyes lit up. "Is Aunt Wang making a big meal today?"

"I don't know if it counts as a big meal, but there's fish and meat," Lin Chuan said. After all, given Chen Xiyu's seemingly well-off family background, he didn't know what kind of "big meal" she was referring to.

"But I don't really want to move," Chen Xiyu said, swinging her straight little feet. "Could you massage my feet for me?"

"Huh?" Lin Chuan asked in confusion, thinking he had misheard.

"I walked twenty kilometers this morning, and my feet are so sore. It's too far to go to your house, I can't make it." Chen Xiyu said with great emotion.

"You're telling me it's too far from home?"

"Class monitor, my legs are sore, what should I do?" Chen Xiyu blinked.

"You know I'm the class monitor, not some foot massage parlor technician?" Lin Chuan said calmly.

Chen Xiyu squinted at him, a sly smile on her face. Every time Lin Chuan saw her like this, he knew that this girl was definitely up to no good.

"Don't look at me like that," Lin Chuan said.

Chen Xiyu chuckled, "If you don't give me a massage, I'll tell Auntie later that you won't let me come over for dinner."

"Huh?" Lin Chuan looked completely bewildered. "Friend, do you want to hear what you're saying?"

"Just one minute," Chen Xiyu said, swinging her legs. "I spoke well of you to the homeroom teacher last time, so you have to repay me."

Lin Chuan sighed and walked over to the sofa to sit down.

Chen Xiyu smiled and placed her feet on his lap. Lin Chuan held the outstretched feet; the girl's feet were softer than he had imagined, and her calves had smooth and beautiful lines.

Lin Chuan wasn't a professional technician, and he'd never even been to a foot massage parlor, so he didn't know any professional techniques; he just randomly pressed around.

Chen Xiyu enjoyed it as if it were a given, and after a while, she showed a strange smile, "Xiao Lin, your massage skills are pretty good, have you considered becoming a professional masseuse?"

"That might be a bit expensive," Lin Chuan said.

"We've known each other for so long, how about a discount?"

"I'll give you a 13% discount," Lin Chuan said, then he let go of her hand. "Alright, time's up, get up."

"Press for one more minute," Chen Xiyu said, looking like she was about to cheat.

"You're not getting up, are you?" Lin Chuan squinted and reached out to tickle the soles of her feet.

Chen Xiyu squealed and cried out from the tickling, then burst into laughter, rolling around on the sofa. "Hahaha, stop tickling, it itches, stop tickling... I'm getting up."

Seeing that the other party had given up, Lin Chuan finally let go.

Chen Xiyu sat up from the sofa, tears still glistening in the corners of her eyes. "I'm going to tell Aunt Wang that you bullied me!"

Lin Chuan smiled. "That would be best."

Chen Xiyu grinned, put on her cotton slippers, and scurried out the door to the next room.

As soon as Chen Xiyu entered Lin Chuan's house, she called out to her mother, "Aunt Wang, did you call me for dinner?"

"Hmm," Mom looked at Lin Chuan walking behind, "Why did it take you so long to call someone?"

Lin Chuan said, "Ask her."

"Hehe, my router just broke, so the internet was bad. I asked him to take a look," Chen Xiyu said.

"What's a router? Should your Uncle Lin go over and take a look?" Mom asked.

"No need, it's already fixed," Chen Xiyu said.

Looking at the girl with a bright smile who seemed to be lying without even thinking, how come Lin Chuan never realized before that his childhood sweetheart was so clever?

After everyone sat down, Mom kept asking questions like, "Was military training tough?"

Chen Xiyu said with a smile, "It's alright, it's not too hard. But Lin Chuan is the class monitor and team leader."

"That amazing?" Mom asked in surprise.

"No, it's mainly because your son is quite good-looking that they let me go on stage," Lin Chuan said.

"Ugh, shameless!" Chen Xiyu said.

"I'm not wrong. Instructor Liu said that in addition to having standard movements, the team leader also needs to have good looks and walk at the front of the formation." Lin Chuan shrugged.

Mom smiled. "Xiaoxi, is your mom still working at the school?"

"No, she's somewhere else now," Chen Xiyu said.

"Are you really living alone now?" Mom asked.

Although she used to be alone, her mother worked at a nearby junior high school. She didn't know if her mother was a teacher or a leader, but she rarely came back. The two families had met before.

Chen Xiyu's mother would often send things to their home, saying it was to thank Lin Chuan's family for taking care of her daughter.

Once during Chinese New Year, my mother gave me a big red envelope. When she opened it, it was full of red banknotes. She immediately returned it, saying that Xiaoxi was just having a simple meal at home and didn't need such a thing.

As for Chen Xiyu's father, he is even more mysterious. No one knows what he does. I heard that he is doing business outside.

Lin Chuan had never met her before, so he knew very little about Chen Xiyu's family, and he had almost no idea whether she had any siblings.

However, none of that really matters. Right now, everyone is sitting together eating, enjoying each other's company, which is quite nice.