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

"Miss Chen, it's almost time, we should head back," Lin Chuan reminded Chen Xiyu, who was still playing nearby.

Chen Xiyu then took out her phone and glanced at it.

It was already 6:30 in the afternoon, and she sighed with some lingering reluctance, "Let's go back then."

The two took the bus home. By the time they got back, it was already late, and it was time for dinner.

Chen Xiyu simply went directly to Lin Chuan's house, saving herself the trouble of going to her house again to call her.

Today is National Day, so the dishes tonight are more plentiful than usual, with fish and meat. Lin Chuan's favorite is sweet and sour fish, which is his mother's specialty, but she rarely makes it, since it's quite a hassle to make it.

"You two should eat more," Mom said with a smile.

"Okay, Aunt Wang," Chen Xiyu said.

"Xiaoxi, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the day after tomorrow, right? Will your parents be coming back?" Dad asked.

"I don't know," Chen Xiyu shook her head.

"Didn't you ask?" Lin Chuan said.

"I asked, but they all said they'll see when the time comes," Chen Xiyu said, pursing her lips.

Today is National Day, and the day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Generally, if there is time, they will let us know in advance. Saying that we'll see about it later sounds like a perfunctory response.

However, Lin Chuan didn't say anything, because it was a family matter, and family matters are difficult to comment on; some things are simply impossible to talk about.

"Oh, I see," Mom smiled. "It's alright. If your parents are busy, they can still come over and have a family reunion dinner together."

Chen Xiyu nodded, "Mhm."

After finishing his meal, Lin Chuan took Chen Xiyu home as usual. Then he sat down at his computer, opened his laptop, and dawdled over writing some novel text. When he saw that it was almost time, he went straight to bed.

The next day, early in the morning.

Lin Chuan had already sat down at his computer and started working early. The living room was quiet except for the sound of the laptop fan and the sound of typing. Chen Xiyu's bedroom door was closed, so she was probably still sleeping. He had sent her a message before he came to ask if she wanted breakfast, but she hadn't replied.

This means they haven't gotten out of bed yet.

At this moment, Lin Chuan's QQ lit up. He opened it and saw that it was Wang Xu.

"Old Lin..."

"what?"

"It's nothing, I just missed you."

"Get to the point."

"Hey, got free lately? Want to hang out online?" Wang Xu finally revealed his reason for coming to see him.

"I'm busy."

"Huh? That's so heartless!" Wang Xu said. "Have you been playing with your childhood sweetheart every day and forgotten your old friends?"

"I'm busy, I really don't have time," Lin Chuan said.

"Okay," Wang Xu sent a frustrated emoji. "By the way, Chen Xueting called me this afternoon."

"And then?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Well, she said she wanted to contact you, but couldn't reach you, so she asked if I could help her," Wang Xu said.

"You agreed?"

"No," Wang Xu said, "but what's up with you, buddy? What happened? Did you rekindle your old flame with Chen Xueting?"

"We have no past relationship," Lin Chuan said.

While writing his novel, Lin Chuan would occasionally switch to chatting and joking with Wang Xu.

Time flew by quickly. The sun was high in the sky when the door to a room in the corner of the living room opened. A girl with slightly disheveled hair, wearing white cotton pajamas, came out, yawning and still sleepy-eyed.

"Good morning," the girl greeted Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan glanced at the time. "It's noon now."

"Hehe." Chen Xiyu chuckled, uttering her famous saying, "Why get up so early when there are no classes during the holidays?"

Lin Chuan stretched and stood up from his chair. "Lunch?"

"Are you going out?" Chen Xiyu asked.

"I don't really feel like going out today. I remember there's some leftover rice at home. How about I mess around and make some fried rice for lunch?" Lin Chuan said.

Chen Xiyu was somewhat surprised, "You can do this too?"

"I know more than you think," Lin Chuan said. "Eat?"

"Okay, I'll go brush my teeth then." Chen Xiyu jogged into the bathroom.

Lin Chuan went straight back to his apartment across the hall. His parents were out today, so he had to take care of his own lunch. Usually, he would just go out and grab something to eat, but he was feeling a bit lazy today.

He rummaged around in the kitchen and found a few eggs in addition to the leftover rice. He also found some chopped green onions, and that was it.

Lin Chuan skillfully heated the oil in the wok. After the oil was hot, he first cracked the eggs into the wok and fried them. Then he added the rice and started stir-frying.

For someone who has lived alone for a long time and has experience, it would be rather abnormal if this didn't happen.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Chen Xiyu smelled the aroma of fried rice as soon as she entered the door. She went to the kitchen doorway and watched Lin Chuan's skillful movements, even flipping the rice a couple of times with the spatula.

"Oh my, Chef Lin, how did you do that?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

"Miss Chen, it's perfectly normal that you never lift a finger," Lin Chuan said.

"Hmph, I can cook too, okay?" Chen Xiyu said.

"What can you do?" Lin Chuan asked.

Chen Xiyu thought for a moment, "Cook instant noodles?"

"You're really amazing," Lin Chuan said.

Lin Chuan sprinkled some chopped green onions on the fried rice, stirred it a few more times, and then took it out of the pan on a plate and placed it on the dining table.

Chen Xiyu scooped a bowl of rice for herself. The rice grains were distinct, and she twitched her nose as her nostrils were filled with the aroma of fried rice.

She took a spoonful, put it in her mouth, and the aroma instantly filled her mouth.

"It's delicious!" Chen Xiyu exclaimed. "Does Chef Lin often make this for others?"

"Speaking of which, you're the first person to have ever tasted my fried rice," Lin Chuan said.

"Hehe." Chen Xiyu chuckled.

After eating and drinking her fill, Chen Xiyu patted her tummy contentedly, ate two more oranges, and then happily went home.

After finishing his meal, Lin Chuan tidied up the kitchen briefly.

At this moment, a light drowsiness came over him. He was used to taking a nap at school, so he would feel sleepy at the right time. He lay in his room for a while and dozed off for several tens of minutes.

He got up and went next door. Chen Xiyu was lying on the sofa playing on her iPad as usual, while Lin Chuan was sitting in front of the computer typing on the keyboard.

"I want to clean this afternoon," Chen Xiyu suddenly said.

"Then clean it up, why are you telling me?" Lin Chuan said, since he had already paid off the cleaning duty for this week.

"Hehe, can you help me with that?" Chen Xiyu said.

"Isn't that cheating?"

"No, this is just friendly negotiation," Chen Xiyu said, her eyes fixed on him.

Lin Chuan smiled but remained silent, seemingly unmoved.

At that moment, he suddenly saw a car slowly stop in front of the community gate out of the corner of his eye; it was a black Audi.