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

During the break between evening study sessions, Lin Chuan was still working on the test paper assigned by the teacher in the morning. It wasn't that he was particularly diligent, studying during the break, but rather that if he didn't work on it now, he wouldn't have time when he got home.

He sensed someone standing in front of him, looked up, and met a pair of eyes.

"Class monitor, I've finished revising it. Can you take a look?" Zhou Yun asked softly.

"Hmm." Lin Chuan reached out and took the notebook from her. After looking at it for a while, he gave her a thumbs up.

"It's well written," he said.

Zhou Yun lowered her head and continued, "It was the class monitor who helped to revise it."

"Don't talk nonsense. I didn't help you revise it. I just gave you some suggestions. Actually, if you ask your teacher, they will give you suggestions too," Lin Chuan said.

Whether it's an essay contest held within or outside the school, the work is written by the author, but it's perfectly acceptable to ask someone to take a look and give some feedback; that's the role of an editor.

He read the article very carefully and helped quite a bit. On the one hand, Zhou Yun was Chen Xiyu's deskmate, and on the other hand, he felt that Zhou Yun seemed to really need this manuscript fee, which might only be a few hundred yuan.

"Then should we submit it according to this version?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Okay, thank you, class monitor," Zhou Yun said.

"fine."

Just as Lin Chuan was about to continue his homework after seeing Zhou Yun off, a boy entered the classroom and called out to him, "Class monitor, someone's looking for you!"

He looked up and saw several girls standing in the corridor. He had no choice but to get up and walk out of the classroom.

"Class monitor, why are you flirting with other girls again?" As the two passed each other, the boy grinned and winked at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan smiled without saying a word.

Outside the classroom stood several girls he didn't recognize. They weren't from any clubs or the student council. Before Lin Chuan could speak, the girl at the front stepped forward, holding a notebook in her hands.

"Excuse me, is the school magazine's call for submissions handled by you?" the girl asked softly.

"Who told you to give it to me?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"Xue Ren, Teacher Xue," the girl replied.

"Okay, then give me the notebook," Lin Chuan said.

Lin Chuan took the notebook from them, but seeing that few people showed any sign of leaving, he asked, "Is there anything else, or are there other people you'd like to solicit contributions from?"

The girl kept her head down, stammering as if she was too embarrassed to speak, until the girl next to her gently nudged her with her hand.

The girl slowly asked, "Excuse me, could I add you on QQ?"

Lin Chuan was stunned. Good heavens, so it turns out he was just lusting after my body.

Although the girl was pretty, to be honest, he wasn't interested in that kind of thing.

Just as I was about to find a reason to refuse, the other person spoke up again, "I don't mean anything by it, it's just that other friends want to write for the contest, and they can ask you if they don't understand anything."

"Yes, yes, we also want to write an essay for the contest," the girl next to her chimed in.

It was such an obvious attempt to cover up the truth, and the reason she gave had many loopholes. Lin Chuan didn't expose her, since she actually had a "legitimate reason."

"Should I write it down in my notebook, or can you write it down on your phone?" he asked.

"I'll just write it down on my phone." The girl excitedly pulled out her phone.

"The QQ number is 109..." Lin Chuan read the QQ number aloud, then asked again, "Did you write it down?"

"Yes, thank you." The girl bowed slightly to him.

"It's okay. If you have any questions about the essay, just contact me on QQ." Lin Chuan waved his hand, then took the notebook and went back to the classroom.

The evening study session went as usual, with nothing particularly noteworthy. After returning home that night, Lin Chuan casually logged into his author account and discovered that his novel had suddenly gained many more comments and monthly votes.

It seems that the previous tips did bring a lot of exposure. He also asked the editor, and he learned that in addition to receiving money, these tips would also bring a lot of exposure and readership to the novel.

He glanced at the comments casually; some praised it, while others said it was uninteresting. That's how it is with novels—the more people read them, the more different opinions everyone has.

He didn't pay much attention, and after posting today's update, he went to bed and slept soundly.

…………

Friday, noon, teachers' office at No. 1 Middle School in the city.

Lin Chuan stood in front of the half-open door. He raised his hand, just about to knock, when the door was pulled open.

Both of them were stunned for a moment when they saw Lao Xue walking out from the opposite direction.

"Squad leader, you've come at the perfect time. I was just about to look for you," Xue Ren said. "How's that essay contest going?"

"In our class alone, we've already submitted four essays for the competition. All the other first-year classes combined have twenty-three students," Lin Chuan said.

In reality, not many people can actually write such essays, since they are only first-year high school students and only those who are very confident in their writing skills can write them.

"What illustrations?"

"So far, the only one I've received is Cheng Xue from our class, who drew two pictures," Lin Chuan continued. "If no one else submits their work after school this afternoon, I'll bring it to the office."

"It's alright, I have my last class this afternoon, I'll just take it then," Xue Ren said. "Thank you for your trouble."

Lin Chuan paused for a moment, then asked, "Teacher Xue, I wanted to ask if my submitted essay was accepted?"

"Your manuscript? I and several other teachers have already reviewed it," Xue Ren paused deliberately, "and we all agree that your manuscript is very well written."

"Then..." Lin Chuan tried to ask.

"As for the payment," Xue Ren said, taking out his wallet from his briefcase and pulling out three red bills. "After all, this is the first time the publication has resumed, so the payment isn't much. If things go well, we'll see if it increases in the future."

"Okay, thank you, teacher." Lin Chuan felt that in this day and age, it was already very good to earn 300 yuan for an essay of about a thousand words submitted to the school for publication.

If you really want to earn several thousand yuan for a thousand words, then you'd have to win a prize in the city's essay competition. Lin Chuan hasn't planned on that yet; this is just an emergency measure. He's not some great writer, and he's never thought about becoming a great author.

Xue Ren said, "No need to thank me, it's money from the school anyway."

"But you paid for it first, Teacher Xue," Lin Chuan said. He could tell at a glance that this was a very simple matter.

Xue Renyi was taken aback. "Hahaha, you know a lot, kid."

After receiving his payment for the manuscript, Lin Chuan went to the cafeteria for lunch and then returned to the classroom to rest.

As afternoon approached, Lin Chuan woke up from his desk, shaking his arm, which was numb from being pressed down on it. Taking a nap in the classroom was fine, it was quiet, but his hand was so numb from being pressed down.

He woke up a little late this time. There were already quite a few students in the classroom. He stretched and glanced around. He saw several boys standing in front of Chen Xiyu's desk, each holding an exquisite gift box.

"Chen, we met when the club was recruiting. I'm Jiang Ze, the president of the badminton club. Do you remember me?" the boy asked cautiously.

"Um, is there something you need?" Chen Xiyu asked, though she didn't actually remember the other person at all.

Jiang Ze smiled. "I heard that tomorrow is your birthday, so I wanted to give you a gift."

Chen Xiyu smiled faintly and said, "No need, thank you."

"It's nothing very valuable," Jiang Ze emphasized. "Really."

"Yeah, we're all classmates, what's the big deal?"

"Yeah," the other boys chimed in.

"The club president went through a lot of trouble to buy it, so please give my classmate some face."

Some of the boys stirred things up, while others played the victim. In Lin Chuan's view, this behavior was no different from publicly confessing to a girl who didn't like him; it would only put the girl in a difficult position.

Seeing the boys arguing there, Liu Hao, who had just entered the classroom, frowned slightly. He wanted to say something, but hesitated. Just then, he saw a boy in the back row get up and walk over.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" someone asked.

Jiang Ze turned around and saw a guy in a school uniform, looking a little sleepy, as if he had just woken up.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Lin Chuan said. "Are some of you in Class 5 on business?"

Jiang Ze paused for a moment, because the other person's tone sounded a bit like interrogation, but he still kept his tone calm, "I'm just giving a friend a gift, is there a problem?"

"No problem," Lin Chuan said. "However, it's your choice to give the gift, and whether your friend accepts it or not is their prerogative."

He pointed to an empty table at the back of the classroom, "That's an empty table. If you want to give a gift, just put it there. Whether people take it or not is their business."

"This has nothing to do with you, right?" Jiang Ze couldn't help but frown.

"I'm the class monitor of Class 5. Class is about to start, and you'll be disturbing the other students if you stay here. Do you think it has anything to do with me?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.

He gestured for them to leave, "Look, that table at the back of the classroom. Put your gifts there, but I can't guarantee they won't be thrown away by the students on duty after school."

Jiang Ze was taken aback, his expression turning somewhat grim, and his voice unconsciously rose a little, "No, you!"

"What's wrong? You want to give me a gift too?" Lin Chuan asked without changing his expression.

"Class monitor, what's up?" The boy who had previously teased Lin Chuan about "playing the field" asked.

"Yeah, class monitor, what's wrong?" Liu Lei, who used to play basketball with him, asked.

Jiang Ze noticed the gazes around him. The boys from Class 5 were all looking over, and their gazes were not friendly. Several of them had already stood up.

"It's okay," Lin Chuan said, looking at Jiang Ze. "If you're also free, quickly put the gift down and go back to class, classmate."

Jiang Ze gave a final hum, took the gift and walked to the back of the classroom. He hesitated for a moment, then didn't put the gift on the table, because he felt it would be a bit stupid to do so.

Watching the person leave, Lin Chuan turned back to Chen Xiyu and said, "You're welcome."

"I haven't said thank you yet," Chen Xiyu said.

"I knew you were going to say that, so I'm just saying it in advance, no need to be polite," Lin Chuan smiled.

Chen Xiyu smiled and said, "Then I won't say anything more."

Lin Chuan returned to his seat to attend class, and the afternoon classes ended in the blink of an eye.

When the school bell rang, the classroom instantly became lively. Lin Chuan walked to the podium with a stack of notebooks in his arms. "Teacher Xue, these are all the essays we received for the call for submissions, and two illustrations are also included."

"I also made a table, which is the list of submissions, and each submission has a corresponding work," Lin Chuan added.

Xue Ren's eyes lit up, thinking to himself that the best class officer he had appointed was this class monitor.

Lin Chuan, on the other hand, thought that since he had taken the money, he should at least do some work.

"Thank you for your hard work," Xue Ren said.

Lin Chuan stepped down from the podium and happened to come to Chen Xiyu's desk. Chen Xiyu was still packing her things in her schoolbag, so he called out, "Chen Xuewei."

"Why are you calling me like that?" Chen Xiyu looked up.

"I suddenly remembered," Lin Chuan said, "I have something to do later, so I won't be going back with you."

"What is it?"

"I have some forms to work out with the student union, so I'll have to go over there later. I can't go back until I'm done, so it'll probably be a bit late," Lin Chuan said.

"Alright." Chen Xiyu glanced at her deskmate and sighed. "Sitmate, let's go. This person has heartlessly abandoned us."

"I really have something to do," Lin Chuan said with a hint of helplessness.

"oh."

After watching the two leave, Lin Chuan turned around and noticed that Wang Xu hadn't gone home yet; to be precise, he was still chatting with Zhao Jiajia. So he went over to him and asked, "Old Wang, are you going home?"

"Shall we go together?" Wang Xu asked Zhao Jiajia.

"Sure." Zhao Jiajia glanced behind Lin Chuan. "Where's Xi Yu?"

"I've already gone back."

Why didn't you two go home together today?

"Something came up," Lin Chuan said without offering further explanation.

Zhao Jiajia narrowed her eyes, revealing an expression as if she already knew something. "I see."

"What? Oh, I see?" Wang Xu was completely confused.

"It's nothing, let's go." Lin Chuan said.

After they left the teaching building, Lin Chuan deliberately slowed down his pace, otherwise it would be a bit awkward to run into Chen Xiyu at the bus stop.

She arrived at the bus stop and looked around, but didn't see any familiar faces. Less than ten minutes later, the bus Zhao Jiajia was waiting for arrived, and she got on.

Wang Xu also got on the bus. In fact, this bus did not go directly to his home; he would have to transfer to another bus to get home. But he still chose to take this bus.

Because I can spend more time with Zhao Jiajia, and if I'm lucky, the two of us can even sit next to each other in the back row.

"Old Lin, I'm leaving first..." Before Wang Xu could finish speaking, Lin Chuan had already boarded the bus. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going the same way as you today," Lin Chuan said.

"what?"

…………

October 31, 2009, Saturday, sunny.

Chen Xiyu sat up in bed, the blanket slipped off her body, revealing her smooth shoulders in a spaghetti strap nightgown.

She stretched, yawned, and picked up her phone. She had received many text messages from different people, but they were all basically the same: wishing her a happy birthday.

She even had some junior high school classmates she barely remembered. After scrolling through for a while, she saw a message from almost an hour ago, the content of which was very simple.

Have you had breakfast yet?

"Eat," Chen Xiyu replied.

"You're too slow to reply. I was just running and I'm home now," the other person said.

Chen Xiyu sent a gloomy emoji.

"But breakfast has already been bought and is on the table," the other person said.

"Okay," Chen Xiyu replied, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and headed straight for the bathroom.

Chen Xiyu first brushed her teeth, then washed her face with a handful of water, and then looked up at the mirror in front of her.

The light from the incandescent bulb fell from above, and fine droplets of water trickled down her pale cheeks, down her slender neck, and then down her straight collarbone...

After quickly wiping her face with a towel, Chen Xiyu walked out in her slippers. A packed breakfast was on the table, and the porridge was still warm.

Chen Xiyu smiled, sat down, and was about to eat breakfast when her phone rang. She picked it up and saw a text message: "Your mom and I booked a restaurant tonight. We'll pick you up later. Happy birthday."

His tone was somewhat businesslike, and the contact name he sent the message to was "Dad".

Chen Xiyu stared blankly at the text message. It was normal for her parents to remember her birthday, but in the past, they would usually buy her the latest mobile phone, Dior clothes, or a Steinway piano. It was rare for them to take her out to dinner.

"Okay," she replied.