Rebirth: The Comeback of the Girl
Chapter 108: Finding an Excuse to Hold Hands

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Finding an Excuse to Hold Hands

Han Mingyue didn’t like being watched, so after waiting for a while and seeing that she didn’t speak, she had to break the silence and ask, "Do you need something?"

"Are you thinking of running for the host position?" Shen Qi asked in a low voice, obviously afraid of being overheard.

Han Mingyue frowned. Hadn’t Teacher Jiang already decided on the hosts? What kind of trouble was she trying to stir up now?

She definitely didn’t want to join in the nonsense and cause more trouble for Teacher Jiang.

So she said decisively: "No, I don’t want to!"

Shen Qi choked up because Han Mingyue’s response was so firm that she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to say all the persuasive words she had prepared.

Ultimately, she left unwillingly, sweeping away in a huff.

-

After school on Friday, Han Mingyue told Zhen Yu about not being chosen by Teacher Jiang to compete for the host position.

The two then huddled together to discuss what time to leave tomorrow and the route they’d take downtown.

The two of them not only wanted to buy a small tape recorder, but also planned to pick out their own books at Xinhua Bookstore.

Bai Xue listened for a while, then suddenly interjected, "I also want to buy a small tape recorder!"

Zhen Yu didn’t even glance at her and said, "Let’s go together."

Upon her saying this, Zhen Yan and Han Jiayang shouted at the same time, "I want to go too!"

Fu Yu immediately shouted, "You can’t just leave me behind! I’m coming too!"

Han Mingyue looked at Zhen Yu and, seeing that she didn’t react, had to speak up and say, "Then let’s all go together!"

"You’re all buying tape recorders; I want one too!" Fu Yu quickly followed up.

Everyone ignored him.

Whether he could buy one depended on what Fu’s father and Mrs. Fu thought. This was not something for the others to intervene.

After agreeing to meet at the Zhen Family’s house at eight o’clock on Saturday morning, the friends each went home.

-

After dinner, Zhen Yu asked her mother for money.

"Mom, I need to buy a tape recorder and some books."

Mrs. Zhen was surprised, "Didn’t you say you and your brother were going to take turns using one? Is it inconvenient now?"

"A bit, he needs to take one to high school. We’ll have to buy another one sooner or later."

Mrs. Zhen thought it over and realized it made sense, so she readily took out some money.

"How much? The same amount as last time? Oh right, and you need to buy books too! Another hundred, is that enough?"

"That’s enough," Zhen Yu replied, then paused and added, "The rest will be our New Year’s money~ my brother and I will split it."

Mrs. Zhen smiled as she counted and handed the money to her daughter, "You don’t have to be so tight-fisted, if you run out of money come New Year, Mom will give you more! This year, I’ll raise your New Year’s money."

Seizing the opportunity, Zhen Yan quickly said, "Thanks, Mom!"

While saying this, he wrapped an arm around Mrs. Zhen’s and shook it vigorously.

"You sneaky monkey! Only you would!" Mrs. Zhen playfully scolded and tapped her son lightly, as if she was tickling him.

Zhen Yan leaned on his mother, smiling while letting her pat him, as it didn’t hurt anyway.

Mrs. Zhen suddenly looked up and reminded, "Remember to stop by the shoe store to choose a pair of shoes for New Year’s."

Zhen Yu nodded and summoned her brother to head inside to study.

-

Bright and early on Saturday, the Zhen siblings had already washed up, eaten breakfast, and were sitting on the edge of the kang bed waiting for others to arrive.

Shortly after, Bai Xue showed up.

She’d dropped her little brother off at the Fu Family’s and rushed over to see Zhen Yu, not even laying eyes on Fu Yu.

"Xiao Yu~ my mom told me to go take a picture! Let’s take a joint portrait, shall we?"

"Taking pictures? Don’t we usually do that for Chinese New Year?" Zhen Yu wondered.

Pretending to be annoyed, Bai Xue said, "That’s for the family portrait! You heartless thing! You even forgot my birthday!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he playfully grabbed Zhen Yu.

Zhen Yu dodged while clasping his fists and pleaded, "Mercy, my lord! Please spare my life~ I will certainly remember this sacred day in the future!"

Zhen Yan couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Bai Xue also couldn’t contain her laughter and collapsed onto the kang bed, "Aiyo~ Haha~ Xiao Yu, you’re really too mischievous!"

"Mischievous?" Zhen Yu managed to escape the ’clutches’, straightening his clothes.

Suddenly, they heard the door open, and upon turning, saw the Han Family Brothers enter the room.

Without even thinking, he blurted out, "With a click and a flash, the two make a grand entrance."

"Hahahaha!" Zhen Yan pointed to Han Jiayang, who was the first to come in, and laughed till he couldn’t stop.

Han Jiayang looked back at his brother, then joined Zhen Yan in their merry laughter.

Han Mingyue exchanged glances with the calm and collected Zhen Yu, and also began to smile gently.

There was a touch of mild helplessness, but also seemingly a bit of indulgence.

Fu Yu arrived last, calling out before he even entered the door, "Is everyone here yet? Is everyone here?"

"You’re the only one missing!" Zhen Yan responded.

"Then let’s hurry, let’s hurry! I want to buy a tape recorder! And I need to buy cassette tapes!" Fu Yu was so excited waving his arms and legs that he nearly sprouted happy snot bubbles!

-

Everyone had arrived, so naturally, it was time to set out.

After everyone had gotten ready, Zhen Yan locked the door and the small group headed towards the train station.

As they walked, they chattered excitedly about where to go first and where to go next.

Clearly, the route previously discussed by Zhen Yu and Han Mingyue was now out of the question; they didn’t even need to ask around, Zhen Yu had already decided.

"Let’s go to the department store’s audio-visual section first, then we’ll talk after we’ve bought the tape recorders and cassette tapes."

"Okay!" everyone responded in unison.

The tape recorders everyone chose were roughly the same price as the one Zhen Yu had before, just varying slightly in color and style.

After paying and getting their receipts, they carefully stored their purchases and then dashed into the sea of cassette tapes.

"I want to buy Zhang Yusheng’s! I borrowed one of his tapes a few days ago, it was so nice to listen to!"

"I still prefer Liu Dehua’s music!"

"I want to buy Little Tiger Team’s! You all have it and I’m the only one who doesn’t!"

Several boys discussed excitedly, while Zhen Yu silently turned and headed to the English cassette section, casually flipping through them.

-

As he was browsing, Zhen Yu noticed from the corner of his eye that Han Mingyue had also come to this area. He just glanced over and didn’t say a word.

Soon after, "Whose album do you want to buy?"

Zhen Yu heard Han Mingyue’s voice by his ear and for some reason, Zhen Yu detected a hint of baby-talk.

With a slight smile, Zhen Yu showed him the tape in his hand, "History!"

As he shook the tape, he thought to himself with admiration for the pirated tape vendor!

In his previous life, Zhen Yu had seriously read about Michael Jackson’s biography during the time of the world’s focus on Jackson’s death.

From his vague recollection, the King’s album should have been released in ’95, which wasn’t too long ago!

Han Mingyue extended his left hand to take the tape, only to briefly inspect it before stuffing it back into Zhen Yu’s hand.

After all, whether a cassette tape was good or not depended mainly on whether the songs were nice to listen to, not like a book where you could see for yourself.

Han Mingyue tilted his head slightly, "Are you sure it’s good?"

"There are a few tracks that are really good," Zhen Yu said, putting down his right hand that held the tape and raised his left to keep browsing other tapes.

Han Mingyue’s right hand reached towards the shelf before Zhen Yu to grab the same one, but Zhen Yu seriously pushed his hand down, then said without a sideward glance, "Don’t buy the same one~ Let’s swap and listen."

Although he kept a calm face, in his heart, Zhen Yu was feeling incredibly nervous, his right hand gripping the tape tightly.