Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 533

Xu Xiuwen went downstairs.

Upon reaching the first floor of the dormitory building, he saw Xiao Youran.

At the same time, he also noticed a male student standing beside her.

The guy was quite tall, dressed in a white shirt and light blue jeans—giving off the image of a refined senior.

Since the guy had his back turned toward him, Xu Xiuwen couldn’t see his face.

But he did see Xiao Youran’s expression—polite, yet slightly annoyed.

It was clear she wasn’t happy about this guy pestering her.

Xiao Youran was well aware of her own beauty.

As one of the top three campus belles at Jiaotong University, she was often approached by male students trying various ways to get close to her.

However, in Xiao Youran’s heart, there was only Xu Xiuwen.

So, when faced with attempts at flirting or pursuing her, she always rejected them outright.

As for the guy in front of her…

He had just escorted a rather pretty freshman girl to her dorm.

But as soon as he saw Xiao Youran, he quickly abandoned the freshman and walked straight up to her.

At first, he politely asked if she needed any help.

Xiao Youran, of course, immediately declined.

Yet, despite her clear refusal, the guy didn’t leave. Instead, he kept trying to find excuses to ask for her name, department, and major.

Xiao Youran knew exactly what he was after.

So she got straight to the point and told him she had a boyfriend, hoping that would make him give up.

But the guy still wouldn’t back off and kept clinging on.

This left Xiao Youran feeling quite irritated.

As Xu Xiuwen approached, he overheard Xiao Youran saying to the guy, “I already told you, I have a boyfriend. Stop bothering me.”

The guy responded, “Beauty, having a boyfriend doesn’t matter. I just want to be friends. More friends mean more opportunities, right? It’s not a bad thing to get to know each other. Plus, I know a lot of people at Jinling Normal University. If you ever need help, you can always come to me.”

Such words might work on a naive freshman.

But to Xiao Youran, they were meaningless.

She wasn’t even a student at Jinling Normal University.

Seeing that the guy was completely unfazed by her rejection, she couldn’t be bothered to waste more words.

Just then, she suddenly caught sight of Xu Xiuwen behind the guy.

Her eyes lit up, and a bright, delighted smile instantly bloomed on her delicate face.

“Xiao Xu!”

Xiao Youran bypassed the guy, ran up to Xu Xiuwen, and affectionately wrapped her arm around his, leaning intimately against him.

The guy turned around and, upon seeing Xu Xiuwen, was momentarily stunned.

The man before him had outstanding looks.

Even someone as confident as he was had to admit defeat.

Now that Xu Xiuwen had a clear look at the guy’s face, he had to admit—he was somewhat handsome.

But that was all.

In terms of height, looks, and physique, he was no match for him.

Xiao Youran would never be interested in him.

Not to mention, he and Xiao Youran were childhood sweethearts, sharing a deep bond that outsiders couldn’t rival.

Trying to steal his girl?

At least this guy wasn’t capable of it.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t even take him seriously.

Smiling, he turned to Xiao Youran and said, “Let’s go.”

Xiao Youran nodded obediently.

With that, the two walked out of the dormitory building together.

Seeing them leave, the guy started to panic.

He didn’t even know the girl’s name.

If they parted ways like this, who knew if he’d ever get the chance to see her again?

He wasn’t willing to let go of such a beautiful girl so easily.

And besides, Xu Xiuwen had clearly seen him yet hadn’t said a single word to him—blatantly ignoring him.

That annoyed him even more.

So, the guy quickly caught up, rushed in front of them, and spread his arms wide, blocking their path.

“Wait a minute.”

With their way blocked, Xu Xiuwen and Xiao Youran had no choice but to stop.

This time, the guy didn’t address Xiao Youran.

Instead, he turned to Xu Xiuwen, looked at him coldly, and asked, “What’s your name?”

“I didn’t call anyone.”

Xiao Youran burst into laughter.

Xiao Xu’s way of speaking was just too amusing.

The guy, however, glared at him and said, “If you don’t even dare to say your name, you’re just a coward.”

Xu Xiuwen smiled faintly and replied, “I’m Xu Xiuwen.”

It wasn’t because he was afraid of being called a coward—he just found the guy interesting and didn’t mind seeing what he wanted.

The guy snorted. “I’m telling you, I’ve got my eye on your girlfriend. Break up with her now, or with just one phone call to my uncle, I can make sure you never graduate!”

There was an unmistakable hint of arrogance in his words, as if his uncle held great power.

A regular student might have been intimidated by this.

But Xu Xiuwen wasn’t a student at Jinling Normal University to begin with.

Seeing that the guy had mistaken him for one, he didn’t bother to correct him. He simply said coldly, “Are you done? Can you move now? Stop blocking my way.”

The guy was momentarily stunned.

This response was unexpected.

His threats had always worked before.

Then, it hit him—maybe Xu Xiuwen just didn’t recognize him.

So, he immediately added, “My name is Dai Sheng. My uncle is the vice principal.”

Xu Xiuwen chuckled. “Your uncle is really unlucky to have a nephew like you.”

With that, he didn’t give the guy another chance to speak.

He wrapped his arm around Xiao Youran, brushed past Dai Sheng, and walked off into the distance.

Dai Sheng stood there, watching them leave, but didn’t go after them.

After all, he now knew the boyfriend’s name.

Even if they were gone, he could still find out which department and major he belonged to.

But what puzzled him was Xu Xiuwen’s attitude.

Was he really that fearless?

—

Back in the car, Xiao Youran immediately recounted how the guy had been pestering her.

As Xu Xiuwen had guessed, it was pretty much the same story.

After finishing, she looked at Xu Xiuwen and asked, “Xiao Xu, you’re not mad, right?”

Xu Xiuwen smiled lightly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Why would I be mad?”

Hearing that, Xiao Youran let out a sigh of relief.

Then, shaking her head, she said, “I didn’t expect Jinling Normal University to have people like that.”

“That’s pretty normal.”

Xiao Youran giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Xu Xiuwen asked.

“I just think that guy was ridiculous. He didn’t even realize we’re not students here and still tried to threaten you.”

“Alright, let’s not talk about him anymore.”

Xu Xiuwen drove back to Jiaotong University.

After arriving, he first dropped Xiao Youran off at her dormitory.

After saying goodbye to her, he then drove to Jiangling College.

After all, it was the first day of the new semester—he should at least check in at his dorm.

—

When he got back to the dormitory, Xu Xiuwen found that no one was there.

He glanced at the time.

It wasn’t even mealtime yet.

Pulling out his phone, he called Jin Haonan.

After two rings, the call connected.

“Brother Hao, where is everyone? You guys haven’t returned to school yet?”

“Xiuwen, you’re back at the dorm?”

“Yeah.”

“Haha, the five of us are outside.”

“What are you guys up to?”

“It’s freshman orientation today, right? Our major doesn’t have many male students, so Dong Jun asked us to help with welcoming the new students.”

Xu Xiuwen asked curiously, “Why didn’t Dong Jun tell me about this?”

“Come on, you’re a busy guy. He wouldn’t dare bother you.”

Xu Xiuwen chuckled wryly. “No matter how busy I am, I’m still a student in our department. What do you mean by ‘bother’? Where are you guys? I’ll head over now.”

“We’re at the plaza by the department booths.”

“Got it.”

After hanging up, Xu Xiuwen made his way to the plaza.

—

When he arrived, the scene was almost identical to when he first reported for school.

He quickly located the Industrial Management Department’s booth.

The department had set up a canopy tent.

The person in charge was Dong Jun.

Most of Xu Xiuwen’s dormmates were there, except for Yang Baishan and Liu Zhihao.

As soon as Dong Jun saw him, he smiled. “Xiuwen, you’re here.”

Xu Xiuwen grinned and called out, “Class rep, is there anything I can help with?”

Dong Jun asked, “How come you had time to come back to school today?”

Xu Xiuwen replied, “I don’t have much going on lately.”

“I see. Well, just take a seat for now. There probably won’t be many more students reporting this morning. In the afternoon, when more freshmen arrive, you can help escort them to their dorms.”

Xu Xiuwen nodded. “Okay.”

He walked over to Jin Haonan and asked, “Where are Lao (Old) Yang and Liu Ge (Brother)?”

Jin Haonan said, “They went to drop off some freshmen at the dorms. They should be back soon.”

And right on cue, Yang Baishan and Liu Zhihao returned together.

Seeing Xu Xiuwen, both of them were a little surprised.

Soon, the group sat together, chatting.

Knowing that Xu Xiuwen wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, everyone was happy.

At noon, the group went to have lunch together.

Afterward, they returned to the plaza.

By 1 PM, freshmen began arriving in waves.

Each student, after completing registration, would be assigned a senior to escort them to their dorms and collect their living essentials.

Interestingly enough, almost 90% of the Industrial Management Department’s new students were girls.

Among them, a few shyly kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact.

But most of them immediately noticed Xu Xiuwen, sitting behind Dong Jun.

It couldn’t be helped.

Xu Xiuwen’s looks stood out too much among the surrounding guys.

When Dong Jun was assigning people to escort the freshmen, many girls were hoping to be paired with Xu Xiuwen.

Unfortunately, Dong Jun kept assigning others instead.

And guys like Yang Baishan, who didn’t have a girlfriend, were more than happy to escort the freshmen girls to their dorms.

After all, it was a great opportunity to get closer to them—an easy way to exchange contact information without much effort.

Sometimes, they didn’t even have to ask.

Some freshmen girls would take the initiative to ask for the senior’s phone number.

Yang Baishan was the most enthusiastic about this.

In just one hour, he escorted five freshmen and got five phone numbers.

Everyone teased him, asking which one he was interested in and planning to pursue.

Yang Baishan just chuckled, refusing to answer.

Before they knew it, it was already 2 PM.

The number of students arriving suddenly increased, and there weren’t enough people to escort them all.

Xu Xiuwen also stepped in and made two trips.

As a result, he got to know two freshmen girls.

They asked for his number, and he gave it to them.

After dropping off the second freshman, he returned to the plaza.

By then, it was already past 3 PM.

Just as Xu Xiuwen sat down, he noticed a girl dragging a suitcase and carrying two large bags, slowly making her way over.

As she got closer, Xu Xiuwen got a clear look at her.

She looked like an ordinary student—not very eye-catching.

She didn’t wear makeup or dress fashionably, making her seem plain.

But with just one glance, Xu Xiuwen could tell that her facial features were actually quite delicate.

She also had a nice figure—her upper body proportions were good, and her legs were quite long.

However, others might not have noticed her good features.

Even Yang Baishan, upon seeing her, immediately lost interest.

He sat back in his chair, pretending to admire the scenery in the distance.

Dong Jun, on the other hand, smiled and said, “Hey there, freshman! Can I see your admission notice and ID card?”

The girl quickly took them out of her bag.

As Dong Jun registered her information, he asked, “Where are you from?”

The girl smiled and said, “Hello, senior! I’m from Beijing.”

Hearing that, Dong Jun grinned. “Oh, from Beijing? Wang Juncai, she’s your fellow townsman. You take her to the dorm.”

Wang Juncai already had a girlfriend, so he wasn’t too keen on escorting freshmen.

But he had still helped out twice earlier.

Now, upon hearing that the girl was from Beijing, he finally showed a bit of interest.

He turned to look at her, sizing her up.

However, when he saw her plain and outdated style from head to toe, he was visibly disappointed.

Wang Juncai often bragged in the dorm about how beautiful and stylish Beijing girls were—how the city was full of stunning women.

And now, out of nowhere, a Beijing girl appeared, yet she looked so old-fashioned.

This made him feel embarrassed and annoyed.

His expression soured, and he let out a faint snort without saying a word.

The girl, however, seemed excited when she heard Dong Jun mention her hometown.

She asked, “Senior, are you from Beijing too?”

Still, Wang Juncai didn’t respond.

Dong Jun found his attitude rude and said, “She’s talking to you. Why aren’t you answering?”

But Wang Juncai remained silent, clearly unwilling to engage.

Seeing this, Dong Jun was speechless.

With no other choice, he turned back to the girl and said, “Let me assign someone else to take you to the dorm.”

Just as he finished speaking, the girl suddenly stepped under the tent and stood in front of Wang Juncai.

Looking up at him, she asked, “Senior, can you take me to my dorm?”

Wang Juncai gave her a quick glance and said, “I don’t have time.”

With that one sentence, he shut the girl down.

The rest of the dorm, including Xu Xiuwen, clearly saw the girl’s smile freeze on her face.

Just as everyone thought the girl might get upset, she instead smiled and said, “Okay, senior, you go ahead and be busy.”

Yang Baishan couldn’t stand it any longer and took the initiative to say, “Freshman, I’ll take you.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Yang Baishan then helped carry the girl’s suitcase.

The girl asked him, “Senior, what’s your name?”

Yang Baishan honestly replied, “I’m Yang Baishan.”

The two of them then started walking toward the dorm.

They gradually walked further away.

Although it was only a brief encounter, the girl’s personality seemed to be more outgoing and optimistic.

This was something everyone could sense.

After they left, Shi Xiangming said, “Wang Ge (Brother), she’s your fellow townsman. Even if you didn’t want to escort her, why were you so cold toward her?”

Wang Juncai replied, “I never admitted she’s my fellow townsman.”

The other four in Room 412 exchanged looks, all speechless.

No one understood why Wang Juncai acted that way.

Only Xu Xiuwen vaguely guessed what was going through Wang Juncai’s mind, but he wasn’t sure.

As the time grew later, the number of people registering dwindled.

Soon, Yang Baishan returned.

The first thing Yang Baishan said was, “Wang Ge, that freshman has a really good personality. She’s a nice person.”

Liu Zhihao immediately asked, “What do you mean?”