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

At 11:30 p.m., the black Mercedes slowly pulled up in front of an old residential building. The car door opened, and Lin Chuan and Chen Xiyu got out of the car together.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Zhao, they entered the residential area and climbed the stairs. The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell turned on, and they soon reached the third floor. After walking through the long corridor, Chen Xiyu stopped at her own door.

She took off her coat and handed it to her, saying, "Thanks."

"I thought you were going to take it home and wash it for me," Lin Chuan said.

"What did you say?" Chen Xiyu snorted.

"Just kidding." Lin Chuan chuckled and took the coat from Lin Chuan.

"Did you forget to tell me something today?" Chen Xiyu stared straight at him.

"Go to bed early?" Lin Chuan asked.

Chen Xiyu pursed her lips.

"Happy birthday," Lin Chuan said.

Chen Xiyu then smiled, "Hmm, that's more like it."

"Your greeting card is on your living room table. Go in and check it. Goodnight, Miss Chen," Lin Chuan said.

"Okay, goodnight."

The door to Lin Chuan's house closed, and Chen Xiyu turned around and opened her own door. As soon as she went in, she habitually pressed the light switch on the wall.

Soft lights came on, illuminating the entire living room, but Chen Xiyu was somewhat stunned.

On the coffee table in the living room, a half-meter-tall teddy bear has appeared out of nowhere. A ribbon is tied around the bear's neck into a bow, with a bunch of baby's breath and a greeting card pinned to it.

Chen Xiyu immediately took out her phone and sent a message: "You bought the Rilakkuma?"

"Otherwise what? It's not Christmas today, and Santa Claus isn't going to bring you anything," Lin Chuan replied.

"Didn't you say it would only be greeting cards?"

"Originally, there were only greeting cards, but I had casually written an essay and submitted it to the school magazine. Who knew, I seemed to be quite good at it, and the teacher approved it and gave me a few hundred yuan in royalties, so I bought this," Lin Chuan replied.

Chen Xiyu couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

Lin Chuan responded with a grinning emoji.

Chen Xiyu happily picked up the teddy bear and went into the room. First, she placed the bouquet of baby's breath on her bedside table, then sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the teddy bear, and opened the folded birthday card.

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever written a greeting card, and I don't know what to say. I'll just wish you a long and healthy life."

Actually, I was quite surprised to meet you at the entrance of Class 5. We hadn't seen each other for many years, and I didn't recognize you at first glance. You can't blame me, you've changed a lot too. You used to be the little tagalong who would follow me around like a shadow.

Also, I still remember that you tricked me out of an ice cream when we met, but to be honest, I was really happy that day. After all, it was a chance to reunite with an old friend. My mom was also very happy to see you again. She really likes you, maybe even more than her own son.

Even if you live alone now, you should still tidy up the living room from time to time. A good environment naturally leads to a good mood.

Try to go to bed earlier these days. You always seem to doze off in class. And don't read any novels or weird stuff at night.

If you don't sleep well at night, try going for a run with me in the morning next time. Exercise will improve your sleep quality.

Finally, happy birthday, Chen Xiyu! Remember to live well, eat well, sleep well, and be happy every day.

Your good neighbor, your good class monitor.

Lin Chuan.

P.S., I have something to tell you. Those baby's breath flowers were actually picked by the river in the city park this afternoon. It wasn't because I was lazy; I just noticed how pretty they were when I passed by. I'll take you to see them next time!

Chen Xiyu carefully restored the greeting card to its original creases, then opened the bedside drawer and put it inside. Only then did she lie down on the bed with the Rilakkuma teddy bear in her arms, and couldn't help but roll around a bit.

Meanwhile, in his room, Lin Chuan's fingers flew across the keyboard as he revised the manuscript that he should have finished before leaving.

At that moment, his hand speed exploded like that of a professional e-sports player, his fingers almost leaving afterimages.

He finally finished writing the changes before midnight, and after glancing at the content, he clicked to upload the new chapter.

The new chapter was successfully uploaded at 23:59 PM. Lin Chuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Writing a novel felt just like going to work.

This is only the first year of high school. If it were the third year, there might not be as much time to write.

"Alright, I'll just keep writing for now. We'll talk about the rest later," Lin Chuan stretched and prepared to go to bed.

…………

On Sunday, when Lin Chuan logged into his author account, he found that he had a new VIP volume, which should be what the website meant by "released".

At noon, Lin Chuan revised his new chapters and released his two VIP chapters. Now he only needed to wait until the same time tomorrow to find out the number of first-day subscriptions for his novel, which is an important indicator of a novel's success.

After the VIP chapter was uploaded, Lin Chuan left his room to prepare for lunch. His parents were still not home today, and there wasn't much leftover food in the kitchen.

There was no other way but to go out for a meal. He went across the hall and called Chen Xiyu. The two of them went out for a deluxe set meal at "Shaxian Grand Hotel".

Lin Chuan treated it as lunch. In the afternoon, he didn't go out for a stroll, but stayed in the house to do his weekend homework.

Although it was just an ordinary weekend, the amount of homework at the No. 1 Middle School in the city was terrifying.

Lin Chuan was still catching up on his homework when he went to evening study hall, and finally finished it after the study hall ended.

Monday morning.

"I have two things to tell you," Xue Ren said, tapping his lesson plan lightly as the school bell rang. "The first thing is about student grants. Our school is now accepting applications for student grants. If you're interested, you can go to your class monitor to register first."

"Of course, you can come directly to me, no problem. The number of scholarships is not publicly announced, so you can apply if you need them. Don't overthink it."

"That's the first thing," Xue Ren paused, "The second thing is that we'll be having midterms next week, so you all need to prepare well this week."

The previously quiet classroom suddenly erupted into a frenzy.

"Teacher, why are midterms coming up so soon?"

"Yes, so fast?"

"Fast? It's been more than two months since school started, is that fast?" Xue Ren said.

Everyone looked at each other, realizing that it seemed like they had been in school for quite a while.

"In short, study hard this week. I will give you the scope of the exam later," Xue Ren said. "Of course, the same applies to the other teachers."

"Okay," the students in the class responded.

Xue Ren called Lin Chuan up and gave him a few more instructions about the scholarship before leaving.

After finishing their business, Lin Chuan and Wang Xu went to the cafeteria for a meal. After ordering, they ran into Chen Xiyu, Zhou Yun, and Zhao Jiajia, so they sat down together for a meal.

While eating, Lin Chuan suddenly remembered that he had published the book yesterday. He took out his phone and saw that his editor had sent him a message a dozen minutes earlier.

"Your initial order amount is 790 so far. There are still three hours left in the 24-hour window. If you're lucky, it might reach 1,000," Yueshan said.

"How's this result?" Lin Chuan asked.

"As this is your first time writing a serialized novel, this is already a very good achievement," Yue Shan said. "In addition, you are still a freshman in high school. To be honest, I feel that if you have the time, you should work hard on online literature for the next few years. You will definitely achieve great things in the future."

Although Lin Chuan wasn't in this field, he knew that online novels and various forms of literature would experience a period of rapid development in the future.

Some people have earned enough to last a lifetime from just one book, but he hasn't thought that far ahead yet, since he's only a high school student.

His youth has just begun, and he has a long road ahead. He still has about two and a half years of high school life and four years of university life. He has countless choices to make and countless futures to look forward to.

"Okay, thank you, editor." Lin Chuan closed his phone.

"I feel like I've only been at No. 1 High School for a short time, how come I suddenly have to take the midterm exams?" Wang Xu said with a frustrated expression.

"Midterm exams are exams, isn't that normal?" Lin Chuan asked.

"This isn't normal." Wang Xu's face darkened. "I feel like the teacher didn't teach anything."

"Is it possible that you didn't pay attention in class?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Absolutely impossible!" Wang Xu said.

"It's alright. I don't think the scope of this exam is very broad," Zhao Jiajia said.

"Zhao, you're a really good student." Wang Xu's dejected face instantly brightened.

"It's not as good as you say. Besides, the top student in the grade is right next to me," Zhao Jiajia glanced at her neighbor, Chen Xiyu, who was engrossed in her phone. She leaned closer. "Hey, are you reading a novel?"

"Hmm?" Chen Xiyu put her phone away. "No, I was just looking at some information."

"oh."

Chen Xiyu put down her phone and looked up, her eyes meeting those of Lin Chuan at the opposite table.

"What?" Chen Xiyu asked.

"It's nothing," Lin Chuan said.

"I have something to do."

"Um?"

"Can I eat your food?" Chen Xiyu blinked, looking at the scallion-flavored chicken pieces on his plate.

"Can I refuse?"

"Can't."

"Then why did you ask?"

Chen Xiyu smiled and directly took his chicken leg away. Lin Chuan could only watch helplessly as his chicken leg left him.

"Here's one more for you." Chen Xiyu also put a large pork rib on his plate. So, it seems that Lin Chuan didn't lose out, and even made a small profit?

After lunch, everyone went to rest. The afternoon classes proceeded as usual. The teachers all mentioned the upcoming midterm exams, which are quite important at the No. 1 Middle School in the city. There might even be a parent-teacher conference after the exams.

After school in the afternoon, Lin Chuan said goodbye to Wang Xu, "Go eat, I have something to do."

"Huh? What are you going to do?" Wang Xu grinned lewdly. "Are you going to hook up with someone again...?"

"A scholarship," Lin Chuan said. "Or are you coming with me?"

Wang Xu paused for a moment, then quickly waved his hand, "Sorry, sorry, I don't know."

Why are you apologizing?

Wang Xu scratched his head. "It's nothing. I'm going to eat now."

Lin Chuan's family is indeed in a very ordinary situation. After thinking about it, they still meet the application requirements for the student grant, which would probably amount to one or two thousand yuan a year.

Anyway, Lao Xue said that there is no quota limit for this, and if you meet the requirements, you should apply.

Lin Chuan walked down the long corridor and saw Zhou Yun standing at the door of the teachers' office at the end, about to knock. Zhou Yun heard footsteps, turned around, and saw Lin Chuan.

She paused for a moment, then instinctively called out, "Class monitor."

"What a coincidence, you're here to see Lao Xue too?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Um."

"Scholarship?"

"right."

"Sigh, they just went directly to the homeroom teacher instead of me, the class monitor. I thought we were friends," Lin Chuan said. "Looks like there's not enough trust between us."

"No." Zhou Yun looked a little flustered, and she quickly waved her hands.

"I was just kidding," Lin Chuan said. He noticed that Zhou Yun didn't seem to be very good at joking. "Actually, I also came to get the application form from Lao Xue to fill out the scholarship application."

"Does the class monitor need one too?" Zhou Yun asked.

"Do I look like I come from a wealthy family?" Lin Chuan asked.

"no."

"To be honest, your deskmate comes from a truly wealthy family," Lin Chuan said, raising his hand to knock on the office door before calling out, "Teacher Xue."

"Come in," came Xue Ren's voice from inside.

Lin Chuan pushed open the door, and Xue Ren was sitting at his desk. In front of him stood a short-haired boy wearing black-rimmed glasses, holding a form in his hand.

The boy turned around, saw Zhou Yun, and smiled, "Zhou Yun, you're here too."

"Oh, hello," Zhou Yun said.

"Teacher Xue, so far, no one in our class has registered to apply for the scholarship as required," Lin Chuan said. "Then Zhou Yun and I came here to get the forms, and they gave them to us."

"Okay." Xue Ren nodded. In fact, he had guessed this situation. After all, applying for a scholarship was not a very "glorious" thing.

Many people were reluctant to approach the class monitor, so in the morning, he added at the end that if anyone had any ideas, they could come directly to him.

Xue Ren took out two forms and handed them over. "This is a family situation survey form. Please fill this out first. I will notify you of any further supporting documents you may need. It should be done in the next day or two."

"Okay, thank you, teacher," Lin Chuan said, taking the form.

"Thank you, teacher," Zhou Yun said.

After receiving the form, Xue Ren asked a few questions about the class as usual, and then inquired about Zhou Yun's recent studies, although she hadn't started applying for the scholarship yet and didn't have detailed information about her family situation.

However, he also noticed that the girl's family was obviously poor, and she was also a good student, only worse than Chen Xiyu and Cheng Xue in the class.

"If you have any problems with your studies or life, you can come to me," Xue Ren said to Zhou Yun.

"Yes, I know, Teacher Xue," Zhou Yun said.

"Alright, you guys go eat."

The group walked out of the office together, and the boy from before came over. "Zhou Yun, want to go have lunch together? We've already run into each other anyway."

Seeing Zhou Yun's hesitation, the boy smiled and said, "What's wrong? You don't even want to have a meal with someone from your hometown?"

"That's not what I meant." Zhou Yun paused, her gaze finally landing on Lin Chuan, and she stammered, "Um, class monitor, you..."

Lin Chuan could tell that she was embarrassed to have dinner alone with him. After all, in high school, it was a bit ambiguous for boys and girls to have dinner alone.

"I'm also going to eat, want to come together?" he said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yun's eyes lit up, and she nodded, saying, "Okay."