CH 97

Reborn Man (7)

Translated by Jev Kaez

Edited by Jev Kaez

Ji Rui glanced at the box, unpacked it and turned the phone on. There was only one number in the phone’s address book, which was his mother’s new number.

He turned around and entered the room, and dialed his mother’s number: “Mom, did you arrive successfully?”

The other side responded, and the voice transmitted through the phone sounded a bit distorted: “You have to take good care of yourself by yourself, I heard them say, you still live in our original place, there is still a month and a half in the summer vacation, and should live in the previous house, they can take care of you.”

Even if people were not here, mothers were still very concerned about their sons.

Ji Rui’s mood had calmed down a lot at this time. If he hadn’t had a part-time job, he might have agreed to his mother’s request, but at this time, he firmly refused: “No, I think it’s good to live here. Yes, and I have lived here for so many years, I am not used to living with outsiders, and I am not used to being served.”

He was originally an ordinary boy, not the eldest young master of a rich family.

Ji Rui’s mother persuaded him a few more words. Ji Rui looked at the wall and said, “For me, this small house is my home, and if I live there, I’m afraid that I will forget what my father looked like.”

The son mentioned his early deceased husband, the other end of the phone fell silent immediately, and even his breathing became a little heavy

Because she was not respected by her parents, in order to avoid becoming like her father as much as possible, Ji Rui’s mother showed respect for her son’s choice.

“Since it’s your choice, then mom respects you. Time flies so fast, I forgot that you are already an adult.”

The mother and son chatted on the phone for an entire hour, and Ji Rui’s mother heard a voice reminding her to cut off the call.

Ji Rui’s mother said to her son a little apologetically: “The doctor said that I should be less exposed to electronic products in the future, and during the treatment, I may not be in contact much.”

“It’s okay, I’m not a child, it’s the most important thing for me to keep your body healthy.”

Ji Rui’s mother naturally knew that her son was not a child, but at the age of 18, he had just grown up and had not yet entered the society. Which parent didn’t care about their children? In her situation, if something happened to her son, she couldn´t ask for help.

She sighed, and finally cut off the call with Ji Rui.

This phone call made Ji Rui feel at ease. He had few friends in this city. Before, because his mother was seriously ill and the family was in financial difficulties, he even had to pick up garbage to make up for the family. In this case, even though he didn’t think much, his former friends were still a lot estranged from him.

Now everything was changing for the better, he would have new friends and everything would be fine.

Before his mother left, he left the rest of the family’s savings to him.

The house they lived in had less than 30,000 yuan of savings left. Ji Rui originally wanted to take an art exam, but studying art was too expensive, so when his mother was ill, he switched to design.

Although it was an undergraduate, it was still in the art college, and the tuition was more expensive than other undergraduates in the school, about 10,000 yuan a year.

This was just tuition fees. In addition to tuition fees, he also needed living expenses and various other expenses. If his mother wanted to treat the disease, he would definitely have no way to make money. He didn’t really want to use his grandparents’ money.

Although they were related by blood, to him, the two old people were just strangers, not relatives.

In the case that the other party didn’t like him, he didn’t want and had no face to use the other party’s money. Especially if he took the money and promised not to meet his mother, he would feel like he had sold his mother.

But relatively speaking, he didn’t need to pay extra for his mother’s medical expenses, and his financial burden was much smaller. He definitely didn’t need to collect waste and pick up garbage, and he could still do various part-time jobs.

Working at Lu Yi’s side until the 15th of August, Ji Rui got his first part-time salary.

The money was not much, but it was very meaningful, and there was one thing he had delayed for so long, and he had not told Lu Yi until now. He felt that if he didn´t tell Lu Yi, it would feel a bit like a fraud.

So, after washing the dishes, he knocked on Lu Yi’s door: “That… Mr. Lu, there is something I want to talk to you about.”

Lu Yi put down his work and came out. Ji Rui had been working for more than a month, and Lu was very satisfied with him.

Although the other party was young, he didn´t have the squeamishness of a child of this age at all. Every time he came to do things, he was diligent and loved cleanliness.

So, when he learned that the other party lived alone, he asked the other party to put an extra set of cutleries here, and to go back when he finished eating.

It would be a waste for him to eat alone. If there were two people, they could eat several more dishes. After the other party finished eating, they put away the dishwashing bag.

And it also includes cleaning. In terms of labor, Ji Rui was obviously a good contract worker.

Based on the goodwill value brought by the other party’s hard work, Lu Yi was willing to squeeze out his few spare time for the other party: “If you have anything, just say it directly, you know I’m very busy.”

Lu Yi’s current life didn´t have any extra communication. Except for exercising in the early morning and after dinner, he hardly went out, but that was it, he was still very busy, busy making money.

Ji Rui looked at Lu Yi and clenched his hands into fists. He said very sincerely, “I’m sorry, when I applied for a job before, I said that I could do a long-term job, but in a month, I will start school…”

When he first said the first sentence, Ji Rui’s heart beat very fast, and slowly, his emotions calmed down, and he was finally able to express his inner thoughts fluently: “I will start school on September 17th, after school starts, military training is also required.”

Lu Yi interrupted him: “What you mean is that you are going to quit your job, right, Ji Rui, you are an adult. What you have done is legally binding. I hope you still remember the contract you signed.”

Lu Yi was not a person with a lot of sympathy. On the contrary, his subordinates had always felt that he was impersonal and liked to act according to the rules and regulations.

“Yes, I remember, I don’t plan to lose this job, but under special circumstances, I want to ask for leave.” Ji Rui knew that he was a little naive, but no matter what, he always had to fight for himself.

He continued: “The school I want to study is very close to here, it only takes ten minutes to get there.”

After walking for about half an hour, he was already planning to buy a small electric donkey.

The management of the art school was relatively loose, and the university courses were not full every day.

“I just wanted to say, can I delay the lunch time for half an hour? Half an hour is enough. I asked the school’s senior and sister. In previous years, the school’s military training only took ten days, so I just ask for ten days off!”

In fact, he had planned it for a long time, but the two people had not been together for a long time before, and he was not sure that the other party would agree, but if he came to ask for leave temporarily, the employer would definitely be angry.

Lu Yi looked at the nervous young boy in front of him: “You are so sure, I will agree?”

Ji Rui didn’t say anything, just looked at him silently.

Lu Yi sighed and said, “From the 15th of next month, you don’t have to come here.”

Ji Rui’s expression was as if hid heart had been hit hard.

Lu Yi paused for a while, and then finished: “Because next month, I will also start school, and I will also participate in the military training for freshmen.”

“Ah?” Ji Rui’s expression instantly changed from pain to surprise. His eyes were wide open, a bit like a stunned hamster.

He knew that his employer was young, but he didn’t know that the other party was so young.

Realizing his gaffe, his face suddenly flushed: “I just didn’t expect it.”

“I didn’t tell you about this before.”

Lu Yi went to search for the courses of his new major, and the lineup was really full. He wanted to change majors, but his grades in the first academic year had to be at least excellent. Fortunately, the school the other party was admitted to was considered a second-rate college, and he was a freshman. The course content was relatively large, and he was still very confident in his learning ability.

“In my freshman year, I should be busy, but I will come back to live on weekends. If you want, in the first academic year, you can work part-time on weekends.”

He wasn’t used to living at school, especially living in a dorm, and friction was inevitable. After the first year of study, he would apply for withdrawal from the dormitory.

“I can do it!” Ji Rui didn’t wait to agree. For him now, this part-time job with Lu Yi is very important, not just for money, but also for other things.

But what else was it, he didn’t dare to think deeply.

Lu Yi redrew the contract.

Time flies very fast for people who live a regular life and have a clear purpose. Because he didn’t intend to spend his time on interpersonal communication in the university, Lu Yi was labelled as “cold and unapproachable” by the class.

But this didn’t have much impact on Lu Yi himself, but made him less troublesome. For example, those dormitory roommates wouldn’t hang out with him. After several beautiful girls who pursued him were rejected one after another, others also basically backed off.

Although university was a small society, it was still purer than the real society. Lu Yi looked good and wore good clothes. Judging from the cost, his family background seemed to be not bad and was very much liked by the teacher.

Originally, there were many otakus in the IT major, and there were many people who were withdrawn and didn’t like to socialize. People like Lu Yi, even if they didn’t like to be close to people, didn’t play games, and never formed a group with roommates to open up blackmail, just relying on his handsome face, as long as he didn’t do anything extraordinary, he wouldn’t be the target of bullying.

Without Lu Yi’s knowledge, those little friends in the major also selected him as the grade grass1 of the major, of course, they just yelled from behind.

No way, although Lu Yi was said to be a peer of the same age, he felt like a big leader in the school. The moment he spoke, he was full of oppression. Who would dare to joke in front of Lu Yi?

In the blink of an eye, it was the first winter vacation.

Because he was studying in another province, Lu Yi never went back even during the long vacation. Using the original owner’s body, he would do his filial piety for the original owner, but he couldn’t give more of other feelings.

This was the influence of his original family. Lu Yi had never been the kind of person with strong feelings, and it could even be said that he was a little too rational. But he would definitely fulfill the obligations that children should fulfil.

The days just after the exam was the peak time for students to return to school. Lu Yi didn’t want to be crowded with people. In addition, he needed to consult the procedures for transferring majors and checking out of dorm. He booked a flight ticket for the week before the new year, and planned to fly back after the new year.

Of course, there was another reason why he didn’t want to stay at the original owner’s house for a long time, that is, Zhao Wuchen.

A person who could be the protagonist of a story was somewhat of a protagonist. In fact, after doing the math, they hadn’t seen each other for four months. He didn’t think Zhao Wuchen would give up so easily.

There was also the object of Zhao Wuchen’s obsessive pursuit. He parted ways with the other party during the summer vacation, and he had not paid attention to the other party’s situation since then, and he didn´t know whether the other party had succeeded in making a chance encounter with his white moonlight.

Zhao Wuchen equaled trouble, while Lu Yi hated trouble.

But no matter how he didn’t want to see Zhao Wuchen, Lu Yi still went home.

He explained the situation to Ji Rui in advance: “You don’t have to come these days, take a good rest, take paid holidays for the New Year, I won´t deduct wages.”

Ji Rui smiled first: “Thank you the, boss.” But soon he couldn’t laugh anymore.

Lu Yi asked one more question: “You don’t look like you’re happy?”

Ji Rui shook his head and nodded again, his voice a little muffled: “I’m fine, I just miss my mother a little bit.”

His biological father came from an orphanage, and he didn’t have any relatives. He just had a mother, grandfather and grandmother, but they were all abroad, and they still refused to accept him.

He missed his relatives every time during the festive season. He didn’t think so when he was celebrating the New Year with his mother, but when he saw his classmates who bought tickets early and went home beaming, he missed his mother.

During this time, he spent a lot of time on Lu Yi’s side almost every day. If his employer didn’t tell him to leave, he would brazenly stay as a guest.

Lu Yi’s residence was already full of gadgets he brought over, succulents on the shelves, beautiful radishes…

Mom also mentioned that he could go to that high-end community like a garden villa, where there would be servants to accompany him.

But he still didn’t want to go. The bigger the house, the lonelier he felt, and it wasn’t his home at all.

But now, Lu Yi had to leave. In fact, he knew for a long time that the other party was going back to the place he was from, Lu Yi’s own home.

But when Lu Yi didn’t speak, he pretended to be stupid and deceived himself. Now that the other party picked it out, he felt a sour feeling entangled in his heart, as if his heart was pierced by a sewing needle, and it was very uncomfortable.

Different from Lu Yi’s rationality, Ji Rui had always been a very emotional person. His emotions were naturally more delicate than most people, and he was naturally more able to experience loneliness.

Lu Yi fell silent.

After a moment of silence, he broke the silence with laughter: “Actually, I’m very comfortable alone. Today’s salary is paid. I invite you to eat hot pot, boss, how about it?”

Lu Yi still didn’t respond, well, was he acting too embarrassed?

Before Ji Rui’s smile disappeared completely, Lu Yi finally said, “I say, if there is no one to accompany you during the new year, do you want to consider going back with me?”

The feeling Ji Rui gave him was actually a bit similar to his ex-fiancé Fang Chuan, but when they continued to get along, he would be able to appreciate the difference in each other.

It could only be said that the person lived up to his name, and Ji Rui was like his name, as weak and slender as the first-born grass, but tough.2

He was a good boy with a sense of responsibility and a kind heart. In this respect, he was much stronger than Fang Chuan.

Moreover, Ji Rui was only eighteen years old now. Seeing the other party being so careful, he couldn’t help but reflect on whether he was too fierce and the other was just a child after all.

In fact, inviting the other party to be a guest was just a matter of thought.

When he heard Lu Yi’s words, Ji Rui couldn’t believe his ears, and his dark eyes suddenly lit up: “Really?!”

“I will tell my family in advance that I will bring my friends back to be a guest. If you are sure to go, it is best to book the ticket now, and the round-trip ticket is at your own expense. ”

“I’m sure, self-pay is sure, I have money!” Tuition was paid once a year, he worked part-time, as long as he saved a little money, it was enough, and he didn’t have the face to take advantage of Lu Yi.

When it came to the end, his voice was a little crying.

Wasn’t that right… he forced the child to cry himself. Lu Yi’s heart thumped, and he said, “If you don’t want you to go, don´t you feel embarrassed, you don’t have to go.”

“It’s not like that!” Ji Rui quickly retorted, “I’m just… I’m just too happy…”

Although he knew that as a boy, he shouldn’t cry, and counting, he had cried twice in front of Lu Yi, and it seemed useless, but… he really couldn’t help it.

“I’m just happy. I thought I was going to celebrate the New Year alone this year. I’m really happy that you can invite me.” Because he was so excited, Ji Rui became a little incoherent, for fear that Lu Yi would withdraw the invitation.

Lu Yi also saw that he was really happy, and reached out and patted the child’s hair: “Then quickly wipe your tears, clean up, and go out to eat hot pot.”

This was the first time the two had gone out to dinner in more than half a year.

Ji Rui quickly adjusted his mood, and the two went out to eat a steaming hot pot. It was his happiest day for more than half a year.

Although they had been together for more than half a year, they were more familiar with each other than before, but they were not familiar enough to live together. At night, Ji Rui still went back to live in his house.

The quilt was cold, and there were no lights waiting for him in the house, but Ji Rui still felt very warm.

That night, he had a somewhat indescribable dream. The object of the dream was his young employer!

When he woke up from the dream, Ji Rui’s face turned red, and in the middle of the night, he turned on the heater and washed and dried the sheets that had been soiled by him.

After that dream, he finally understood the reason why he didn’t dare to think deeply. Due to character issues, he didn’t want to make his own mind clear right away.

Because now he still didn’t know whether Lu Yi liked men or women. If he liked women, he should bury his feelings in his heart.

If, if the other person liked a man, he may try hard. For now, he was content to maintain such a relationship.

Lu Yi’s side made Ji Rui think so much about a dream without even knowing it. After experiencing Fang Chuan and Yu Ke, he didn’t feel like he had any special desire to fall in love.

To be more precise, he always felt as if he had had more than one traumatic relationship, and he was a little tired.

But it was true that there were only Fang Chuan and Yu Ke in his memory, and the only person he had some good feelings for at present was Ji Rui.

But Ji Rui was too young. He liked to talk about feelings with adults who had their own thoughts and could be completely independent, because they were both rational enough. He could also see that the other party had a good opinion of him, as long as he wanted to, it was not difficult to eat Ji Rui to death.

But this would give him a feeling of bullying a child, so he should wait until the other party was older and more mature.

Regarding the matter that he was going to bring his friend home, Lu Yi told Lu’s mother in advance. He didn’t make the situation too clear, but said that the other party was a friend and classmate, and that his mother was abroad, and there was only one person during the Chinese New Year.

Lu’s father and Lu’s mother were the kind of warm-hearted people. After hearing what he said, why would they say anything to refuse, but instead told Lu Yi to take care of others.

After all, Lu Yi was the elder brother at home, and he had always taken great care of the neighbor’s child, Zhao Wuchen, giving parents a very stable and reliable image.

In a small city, there was nothing to hide from familiar neighbors.

According to previous years, Lu Yi should have returned long ago, but this time, Zhao Wuchen did not see Lu Yi. He was muttering in his heart, a little worried that his rebirth had changed too much, so he kept paying attention to Lu Yi’s situation.

His image to the outside world was still very good, and he learned the date of Lu Yi’s return from Lu Yi’s mother smoothly.

He got up very early that day, waited early in the morning, and pretended to be doing morning exercises in the yard.

When he saw Lu Yi, he was stunned: was this still the Lu Yi in his memory? What was going on? In just one semester, Lu Yi felt like he was reborn. His face was still the same, but it was completely like two people.

In addition to the big change in Lu Yi, there was another person who also shocked him a lot.

He heard from Mother Lu that Lu Yi would bring a classmate to the Chinese New Year this time, but he didn’t know the classmate’s name.

After hearing that he was a male classmate, a sense of crisis rose in his heart. Lu Yi hadn’t come out of the closet yet, and his family didn’t know his sexuality, but he, Lu Yi’s ex-boyfriend, knew very well about it.

But after Lu Yi came in, he looked back and saw Ji Rui, the senior he was thinking about.

Zhao Wuchen couldn’t believe his eyes, who could tell him what was going on?!