Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

After he finished speaking, the dinner table suddenly fell silent.

He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu exchanged glances, and then both looked at Bei Yao.

Bei Yao was also a little confused.

He had just seen Jing Ran with his mouth open and thought he had dislocated his jaw, but he didn't expect that he was being asked to feed shrimp.

He couldn't be happier.

Thinking it over, Bei Yao brought the shrimp in his hand to Jing Ran's mouth.

While he was biting, she deliberately brushed her fingertips against his lips.

It's soft, like jelly.

Jing Ran, completely oblivious to being groped, was instead chewing away with great relish. Seeing this, He Ziyu across from him was genuinely worried for the silly boy.

"Is it good?" Bei Yao asked.

"It's delicious, but the spicy version is still the best. It's a pity that A-Yu can't eat spicy food."

As Jingran spoke, she licked her lips, her glossy lips making Bei Yao's heart flutter.

Bei Yao quickly drank a sip of chilled plum juice in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

Unfortunately, the arsonist is still at large.

"More." Jingran opened her mouth again as soon as she finished swallowing the shrimp in her mouth.

This time, he leaned half his body over Bei Yao, his hand resting on the edge of his chair, his knuckles inadvertently brushing against Bei Yao's thigh.

Bei Yao: "..."

Help! He needs a fire extinguisher.

Jiang Chengyu, seeing that Bei Yao was holding back a lot, felt a little sorry for him and quickly refilled his plum juice.

……

Because peeling shrimp takes too much time, it took the four of them almost an hour to eat lunch.

By the time we finished eating, the food had mostly been digested.

Bei Yao suggested going to the stadium to play basketball in the afternoon, saying that Jiang Chengyu was there today and could help him see if he was good enough to join the basketball team.

"Let's forget about it," He Ziyu frowned. "Lan Yuan will definitely be at your basketball team's event, right? I don't want to see him; he's disgusting."

"He took the day off today," Bei Yao said. "I know you hate Lan Yuan, and if he were here, I wouldn't have asked you to come over."

Upon hearing that Lan Yuan wasn't there, He Ziyu's brows relaxed, and he instantly stopped worrying.

Anyway, we don't have any plans for the afternoon, so it would be nice to exercise together.

Incidentally, he could also see what Jiang Chengyu looked like when he played basketball.

……

In early autumn, the sky is high and the clouds are light.

Upon arriving at the stadium, He Ziyu spotted several figures in sea-blue under the sunlight.

The No. 8 Middle School basketball team's uniforms are blue, and their sports headbands are also blue. In his previous life, He Ziyu's favorite color was this one, because whenever he saw this color, he would think of Lan Yuan.

And now...

"Couldn't you guys change the color of your team uniforms?" He Ziyu crossed his arms, looking disgusted. "I remember the Second Middle School team uniforms were also blue. When our school played against the Second Middle School in junior high, wow, the colors clashed so badly that you couldn't tell them apart."

Bei Yao remained noncommittal, instead asking, "Then what color do you think would be better?"

He Ziyu stroked his chin and pondered for a while, then glanced at the pink trim on Jing Ran's sneakers and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Pink is the way to go. Pink is eye-catching and has a cute contrast, which is perfect for tall, athletic, and handsome guys like you."

"Holy crap, Ayu, are you serious? Making them wear pink? Why don't you just print Hello Kitty on them too?" Jingran couldn't help but feel a chill as she imagined Beiyao dressed in bright pink.

"What's wrong with pink? Isn't pink your favorite color? You even told me before that there's more to this world than just girlish hearts; there are also boyish hearts."

When her little secret, which she had been keeping hidden all along, was exposed, Jingran felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

He loves pink. To what extent? His bed sheets, blankets, toothbrush, and slippers are all pink.

He only told He Ziyu about this because he felt embarrassed. After all, it would be a laughing stock to tell people that a boy likes pink.

So when he's out in public, he can only try to hide his love for pink. At most, he'll buy some pink sneakers, and if someone asks, he'll say it's a limited edition, just for the novelty, so it won't be too embarrassing.

"He Ziyu! After all these years of friendship, you betrayed me like this?" Jing Ran reached out and grabbed He Ziyu by the neck. "I've never told anyone that you're afraid of the dark or ghosts, and that you grind your teeth in your sleep..."

"You two slept together?" Jiang Chengyu and Bei Yao asked in unison.

Jing Ran: "..."

He Ziyu: "..."

"Well... when I was in junior high, my mom beat me out of the house. I had nowhere to go, so I stayed at A-Yu's house for one night." After Jingran finished explaining, she looked at the two people across from her who were interrogating her like that, and suddenly realized, "Wait, why are you two staring at me like that? I've known A-Yu for three years, is it strange that we've slept in the same bed?"

Bei Yao: "It's not strange, I was just curious and asked casually."

Jiang Chengyu: "The weather is nice today."

Jing Ran's lips twitched.

There's definitely something wrong with those two!

……

Since He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu were both dressed in formal attire, which made exercise inconvenient, they had to temporarily buy two sets of sportswear and two pairs of sports shoes at the sports equipment store inside the venue.

He Ziyu paid for it. He knew that Jiang Chengyu was tight on her allowance and didn't have much money, so he naturally took out his own card when paying the bill.

"Ayu, I'll pay you back tomorrow." Jiang Chengyu carried his clothes and shoes in his left hand and took out his phone in his right hand to write down the amount of money in his notes.

He wasn't used to owing anyone anything, not even He Ziyu.

"Hey, it's not much money, just consider it a gift from me." He Ziyu was both amused and exasperated to see Jiang Chengyu diligently keeping accounts.

In Yuecheng, everyone knows that the Jiang family is incredibly wealthy. Their real estate alone is worth double digits, and with all the stocks and liquid assets they own, they could probably buy a private jet without batting an eye.

Yet this young master, living amidst mountains of gold and silver, was so poor that he couldn't even afford a set of clothes.

Jiang Chengyu's current predicament reminded He Ziyu of the young princes in the ancient imperial palace. Although they were of noble status, the royal rule of "to maintain good health, one must endure hunger and cold" meant they were constantly hungry and had to resort to stealing food from the eunuchs and palace maids...

Jiang Chengyu finished recording the accounts and put his phone away.

"Although it's not much money, it's still money that my parents worked hard to earn. It's not too late to give me something after your studio starts to do well."

"Okay, whatever you say."

He's easily embarrassed, so he has to be careful to protect him!

The two took their things to the dressing room, quickly changed their outfits, and transformed from "business elites" back into "handsome young men".

"Brother Yu, are you done yet?" He Ziyu changed his clothes first and looked at himself in the mirror in the dressing room.

The tracksuit was a classic gray and black color-blocked design, which made him look very energetic. Just as He Ziyu was indulging in his youthful good looks, Jiang Chengyu also came out of the dressing room.

He Ziyu glanced at him and instantly felt that he was no match for him.

He pulled Jiang Chengyu in front of him, smoothing out the wrinkles on his clothes as he did so, muttering, "How come you look so good in everything? You're like a clothes hanger... By the way, with such a great physique, you must have abs, right?"

After He Ziyu finished speaking, he couldn't help but swallow.

He had been eyeing Jiang Chengyu's abs for a long time, ever since the day he returned to school, always wanting to lift up his clothes to take a look.

But even though he wanted to, he didn't dare to actually lift it, so he could only drool over it in his heart.

"Want to see?"

"what?"

"My abs."

Jiang Chengyu looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips, her hands clasped together as she gripped the hem of her clothes.

He Ziyu was surprised that Jiang Chengyu would be so proactive. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he strongly suspected that he was hallucinating.

Jiang Chengyu invited him to see his abs?

Seeing his blank expression, Jiang Chengyu didn't say anything more and simply lifted his clothes.

In an instant, her sleek waistline and toned abs were exposed to the cool, white lighting of the locker room…

He Ziyu was stunned and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.

It's hard.

He knew Jiang Chengyu had a good figure, but he didn't expect her to be this good.

"When did you start practicing? You're so good at it!" He Ziyu's eyes sparkled.

"I train every day," Jiang Chengyu said. "There are security cameras in my home gym, and they will check them."

"My goodness, my aunt and uncle are so strict...Ծ‸Ծ"

"It's alright, I'm used to it."

Jiang Chengyu spoke casually, but He Ziyu felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

Although Jiang's parents did indeed raise him to have excellent academic performance and a great physique...

But He Ziyu always felt that Jiang Chengyu lacked the carefree and joyful qualities that one would expect at his age.

It is said that lucky people use their childhood to heal their entire lives, while unlucky people spend their entire lives healing from their childhood. He Ziyu believes that there must be a corner in Jiang Chengyu's heart where the repression brought by his original family is hidden, and he needs to find an outlet to release it.

……

When the two returned to the court, Jingran was playing basketball with the team. From a distance, the scene looked indescribably eerie.

A group of tall guys, each over 1.8 meters tall, were sandwiched around a kid who was only about 1.7 meters tall. The kid was holding a basketball and trying to shoot, but his shots were completely blocked.

Jing Ran concentrated intently on making feints, trying to get rid of Bei Yao's obstruction. After a few rounds, she finally found a way in, pushed off the ground with her calves, and threw the ball over Bei Yao's shoulder.

With a "thump," the ball went into the net.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Then look at Jingran, who proudly puffed out her little chest, her eyebrows practically flying to the sky.

"Ayu! Did you see that? My series of smooth, fluid feints just now! Wasn't it incredibly cool, dazzling, and amazing!"

Jingran ran up to him excitedly, wiped the sweat from her forehead, revealing a small lightning bolt on her forehead.

He just made a bet with Bei Yao, saying that he could break through their screens and make a jump shot. If he succeeded, Bei Yao would pay for all his chicken legs this month.

Jingran went all out for this month's worth of chicken legs!

"Amazing, incredibly amazing." He Ziyu nodded. "So many tall people couldn't stop you, you're practically invincible."

"I think so too!" Jingran said, hands on her hips, completely oblivious to the other meaning behind her words.

He Ziyu couldn't help but click his tongue.

That silly kid, Bei Yao's screens just now were obviously very perfunctory, he was practically leading him to the basket and holding him so he could shoot.

He, on the other hand, was quite pleased with himself, thinking it was because of his superior skills...