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

Monday, December 21, 2009.

Lin Chuan had just finished the school's routine flag-raising ceremony, and then walked back to the classroom with Chen Xiyu and a few others. They were surrounded by students in school uniforms, in twos and threes.

"The holiday is almost here," Wang Xu said with a touch of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and regret). "Time flies."

"It's going to be pretty fast. I guess the class will have to put on a show or something, so I'll be busy again," Lin Chuan said, thinking about his work.

"Huh? Does this require a TV show?" Wang Xu asked, somewhat surprised.

"It's normal to have TV programs."

"We're from the No. 1 High School in the city!"

"Does the No. 1 High School in the city not celebrate holidays?" Lin Chuan asked, pausing before adding suspiciously, "Are we talking about the same holiday?"

"I'm talking about Christmas this week."

Lin Chuan was speechless. "Who's talking to you about Christmas? I was talking about New Year's Day next week."

"We don't need to worry about New Year's Day either, isn't that handled by the student council and the school?" Wang Xu said with a smile.

"I'm in the student council."

"Oh, I forgot," Wang Xu laughed awkwardly. "That's alright. But what kind of perks does our class monitor, Lin Chuan, get before Christmas? Like an apple or something?" He only called Lin Chuan "class monitor" at times like this.

"We live in China, we don't celebrate Western holidays," Lin Chuan said casually.

"Tch, if you don't want to give it, just say so," Wang Xu said.

"Yeah, class monitor, aren't you going to give us a present on Christmas Eve?" Zhao Jiajia chimed in.

"Yeah, class monitor," Chen Xiyu chimed in, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Lin Chuan glanced at Chen Xiyu, "You want an apple too?"

"I'll take it if you give it to me," Chen Xiyu said.

"Do you need an apple?" Lin Chuan didn't even need to think to imagine how many people would give her apples and gifts during Thursday evening study session; she estimated that one desk definitely wouldn't be able to hold them all.

"Just tell me whether you'll give it to me or not," Chen Xiyu asked.

Lin Chuan thought for a moment, "I'm not sure I'll be able to leave the school."

"Let someone deliver it," Chen Xiyu said.

"Let me take a look," Lin Chuan said.

"Class monitor, I'll be looking forward to it!" Chen Xiyu said with a smile.

"You don't need to expect anything," Lin Chuan said. He'd at least give an apple; after all, it wasn't a big holiday, and he wasn't used to celebrating things like Christmas Eve.

Besides, even if he didn't give it to her at school, if Chen Xiyu really wanted it, he would just buy it for her on the way back from evening study. Anyway, the two of them go to and from school together, so they can't miss each other.

Back in the classroom, they had two consecutive Chinese classes. When the bell rang, the students were all somewhat listless.

"I have something to tell you about next week's New Year's Day," Xue Ren said.

"Teacher, is there a holiday for New Year's Day?" Zhao Jiajia raised her hand to ask.

"We are going to have a holiday, but before the holiday, we have a New Year's Eve party. We need each class in the grade to put on a program. If our class is willing, we can put on a program," Xue Ren said. "You need to give me the program list and name in the next two days. After the school approves it, we can go to the rehearsal."

"Arts and literature representative, go ask the classmates for their opinions, and once it's decided, have the class monitor come to me."

"Okay, Teacher Xue," Zhao Jiajia said, because she was the arts and literature committee member.

As soon as Lao Xue left, Zhao Jiajia stood up and said, "Classmates, if you have any ideas for a program, you can come and tell me."

"Okay," came a few scattered replies from the students in the class.

Lin Chuan yawned, preparing to take a short rest, when Liu Hao suddenly walked over and called out, "Squad Leader."

"Huh?" Lin Chuan looked up, not even noticing that Liu Hao had started calling him "class monitor".

"Senior Sun Yan asked you to go to a student council meeting after school at noon," Liu Hao said. "She said she would send a message in the organization department's group chat, but you didn't reply."

"Okay, thanks," Lin Chuan said.

It's not that he's aloof, but he doesn't have the habit of using his phone in the classroom. Besides, with his crappy phone, if he used it too often, it would probably run out of battery before school was over.

He was already thinking about whether he should get himself a new phone, or maybe get one for his parents too. In this day and age, phones aren't that expensive; five thousand yuan should be enough. It seemed that he had basically figured out where his first payment for his writing would go.

…………

At noon, Lin Chuan, Liu Hao, and Cheng Xue walked into the student council office. The office was full of people. Chu Wenle and Sun Yan, along with several other ministers, were sitting around a large round table.

The rest of them stood aside and waited. Lin Chuan and his group naturally stood aside as well. Although it was just a high school student council, they looked quite professional.

"The reason I've called everyone here today is to discuss the arrangements for next week's New Year's Eve party," Chu Wenle began, his voice calm and unhurried. "Let's follow the same tradition as last year. The Organization Department will be in charge of the preparations, and other departments will coordinate, while also working with the school teachers."

"Including program review, budget allocation, etc..."

The meeting was very simple, after all, it wasn't the first time the student union had done this kind of work. Chairman Chu only spoke for about ten minutes before ending the meeting hastily and letting everyone leave.

Lin Chuan and the others were not able to leave yet, but were instead called to the office next door by Sun Yan for an internal meeting between the Organization Department and the Discipline Inspection Department.

"Although it's said that the entire student union is organizing it together, it's actually our organization department and discipline inspection department that are leading the effort," Sun Yan said. "We usually need to come up with a symbolic plan for these kinds of parties. In the past, it was the senior students who were in charge, but they are now in their senior year of high school, so they don't have time."

She looked at the people in the office, "Now it's our turn. Does anyone here know how to write a proposal?"

Everyone looked at each other, knowing that Lin Chuan also knew how to do this, but there was no need for him to be so proactive since someone else had already taken on the task.

Besides planning, the most important aspect of any event is also the on-site arrangements, and all planning documents ultimately lead to the same goal.

At this moment, Xiao Yu raised his hand, "I can give it a try."

"Okay, I'll go back and send you last year's template, and we'll follow that template," Sun Yan said. "Then it's all right, everyone can go eat now."

As everyone in the office left, Sun Yan called out to Lin Chuan and Cheng Xue, who were about to leave, "Lin Chuan, Cheng Xue, you two stay for a moment."

In the end, only three people remained in the office.

"Senior, is there anything else?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Actually, there's another thing, which is quite important. The student union wants to get a sponsorship for the party. The target is a department store. We've already contacted them, and we'll have a face-to-face meeting later," Sun Yan said. "Our external relations department has only ever been able to receive students from other schools before. We've never done anything like getting sponsorships before. This is the first time, and nobody has any experience with it, so I'm the one who needs to go."

"Isn't it usually the chairman who handles these kinds of things?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Our chairman isn't really suited for this kind of public appearances," Sun Yan sighed.

"oh."

"Then I thought I'd take you two with me, mainly because I feel you two are the most mature and reliable people in our department," Sun Yan said with a smile.

Sun Yan knew that Lin Chuan was steady and reliable, while Cheng Xue was somewhere between steady and aloof. It seemed like it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring her along to talk about this with the adults.

"This is a rare opportunity for you to train," Sun Yan encouraged patiently.

For other high school students, this kind of opportunity is indeed rare and can be considered a good form of training, but for Lin Chuan, it doesn't seem to be considered training.

"And if we can secure this first contract, you will all deserve a lot of credit," Sun Yan said, looking directly at Lin Chuan. "You'll definitely be a contender for the Outstanding Member award in the second half of the year."

"Is this considered a trade in power?"

"Junior, you speak so professionally. This is the minister's high expectation for you," Sun Yan said.

"When are you going?"

"It's scheduled for Thursday afternoon," Sun Yan said.

Seeing that they both nodded, Sun Yan immediately beamed and pulled them out of the office. "Great, it's decided then. Let's go eat together."

…………

The next day, early morning.

Lin Chuan was putting on his shoes in the living room, getting ready to go to school, when his mother's bedroom door opened and she came out.

"Are you going to school?" Mom asked.

"Mm." Lin Chuan nodded.

Since my child agreed to go to the No. 1 Middle School in the city, she has changed a lot. Before, she sometimes had to call her to go to school.

Now she sometimes gets up earlier than them, and her overall energy and spirit are much better. She thinks that maybe going to the No. 1 Middle School and being with good classmates will make her better.

Of course, it's also possible that being with a stream will help one learn good things.

"Today is the Winter Solstice. Does your school make tangyuan (sweet rice balls)?" Mom asked again.

"I don't know," Lin Chuan said.

The Winter Solstice is considered a minor festival for them, though some people call it "Little New Year." Some people pay more attention to it; for example, people in the north eat dumplings, while people in the south eat glutinous rice balls. Others don't care much about it.

Their family always pays more attention to these kinds of holidays, especially the mother, perhaps because they all grew up in the village.

Before he started junior high school, his family lived in a village. His parents rented a house in the city and worked there so that he could study there.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Chen Xiyu poked her head in. "Lin Chuan, you're so slow... Hey, Aunt Wang, good morning."

"Yes," Mom responded, "Xiaoxi, today is the Winter Solstice. Do you want to eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls)? If so, Aunt Wang can make some tonight for you to eat when you come back from your evening study session."

"Great! Aunt Wang's glutinous rice balls are sure to be delicious," Chen Xiyu said with a smile.

Mom smiled too.

Lin Chuan thought to himself, "This person has such a sweet tongue; no wonder everyone loves her."

"Mom, we're going to school," Lin Chuan called out to his mother.

"Mmm." Mom waved her hand.

The two of them went downstairs together and walked towards the bus stop.

"Is today the winter solstice? But I don't feel cold at all." Chen Xiyu walked along the road, looked up, and the morning sunlight shone through the leaves and fell on her, accompanied by a clear warmth.

"That's how it is in southern cities," Lin Chuan said.

Chen Xiyu turned to look at him. "You talk like you've been to the North? What's wrong? Did you secretly go on a trip out of town?"

"I've never been there, but it's in the textbook," Lin Chuan said.

The daytime classes proceeded as usual, and before long it was evening. As soon as the last evening study session ended, Chen Xiyu was eager to go home.

"Let's go, let's go back," Chen Xiyu said.

"Why the rush?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Let's go back and eat some glutinous rice balls," Chen Xiyu said. "I'm getting a little hungry."

"Didn't you have dinner?"

"I ate, but not much. Wasn't it all for Aunt Wang's glutinous rice balls?" Chen Xiyu said.

"Are you a child?" Lin Chuan said. This is typical childish thinking. When there are other things to eat at night, you always eat less for dinner.

"Otherwise what? Are you an adult?" Chen Xiyu retorted.

"I think you're fine." Lin Chuan remained silent.

"hey-hey."

When Lin Chuan returned home, there was no one in the living room, and his parents' bedroom door was closed, as if they were resting.

It's already past eleven o'clock, and my parents usually go to bed early.

Lin Chuan walked into the kitchen, opened the rice cooker, and found that there were indeed some glutinous rice balls inside.

"It's already cooked?" Chen Xiyu also came over to take a look.

"Hmm, but it seems a bit cold." Lin Chuan thought for a moment, "I'll turn on the heat."

"Won't it disturb your parents' rest if you start cooking now?" Chen Xiyu asked.

"You have a point," Lin Chuan said. "Are we just going to eat like this?"

"Then let's go to my house? I have a pot, an electric rice cooker," Chen Xiyu said.

"Is it really necessary to go through all that trouble?"

"But if it's cold, we won't be able to appreciate Aunt Wang's cooking skills," Chen Xiyu said. "Wouldn't that be a waste of Aunt Wang's efforts?"

Lin Chuan had reason to believe that she just wanted something hot, but he didn't call her out on it. Anyway, she always did that. He found a larger bowl, scooped out the glutinous rice balls, and then the two of them went next door.

Lin Chuan entered Chen Xiyu's living room and kitchen, which was spotless. There wasn't a single piece of food waste in the trash can, indicating that not even a bowl of instant noodles had been cooked.

And that pot we bought together before, it's still unopened.

Lin Chuan disassembled the pot, gave it a quick wash, boiled some water, poured it out, put the glutinous rice balls in, plugged in the power, and turned on the stove. After a few minutes, the pot of glutinous rice balls boiled.

He then called out to Chen Xiyu on the sofa, "It's ready."

"Coming." Chen Xiyu came running over in her slippers, then took out two bowls from somewhere, washed them clean, and filled two bowls with glutinous rice balls. She then sat down on the sofa with the bowls in her arms.

Her iPad was standing upright on the coffee table, playing a Miyazaki Hayao movie.

"Come and watch with us!" Chen Xiyu called out.

Lin Chuan originally wanted to eat at the dining table, but since the other party had already invited him, he could only sit down on the sofa with his bowl in his arms. The two of them sat side by side, and after taking a bite, he said, "It's so delicious, Aunt Wang's glutinous rice balls."

Lin Chuan also tried a bite. It didn't taste as good as the first time it was cooked. It was a bit soft and mushy, but it was still quite delicious.

It was late at night, and the night outside the window was cool. The two of them sat side by side on the sofa, holding warm glutinous rice balls in their hands. The music from the anime playing on the iPad echoed in the living room.

"Happy New Year," Chen Xiyu suddenly said.

"Is today considered New Year's Day?" Lin Chuan asked.

"The winter solstice is also considered a minor New Year, and a minor New Year is still a New Year."

"Okay," Lin Chuan said, "Happy New Year."