Rebirth: The Comeback of the Girl
Chapter 119: All Are Commoners

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: All Are Commoners

Zhen Yu confidently delegated the task of co-writing a draft to Han Mingyue, then set her mind to focusing on studying for skipping a grade.

But Han Mingyue didn’t want to easily miss out on this rare opportunity to be alone together and started another conversation.

"Xiao Yu."

"Hm?" Zhen Yu was flipping through a math exercise book, responding while looking for the page she folded the corner of yesterday, ready to write.

"What is your pen name, really?"

Zhen Yu turned her head at the question, her lips slowly curling into a smile, "Guess."

"Sigh..." Han Mingyue realized she wasn’t going to tell him and changed the subject, "Can I take a look at the manuscript you submitted?"

"I’ve sent it off already~"

"You didn’t keep a draft copy?" Han Mingyue was puzzled—Mr. Fang said you should keep a copy, and he seemed to have told her that, no?

"Nope~ It was just a trial anyway."

"Alright! Then, can you roughly tell me what it was about?" Han Mingyue compromised.

"No."

Repeatedly being refused, even someone as indifferent as Han Mingyue couldn’t help having some feelings about it, pursing his lips, yet he still couldn’t help but ask, "Why?"

"Just wait! I’ll give you the proof or rejected manuscript when they come." Zhen Yu thought for a moment and then added, "Most likely the latter."

But Han Mingyue said, "I hope it’s the former."

Zhen Yu, without lifting her head from her sea of exercises, casually replied, "You’ll have it sooner or later."

-

After Han Mingyue had previewed all of tomorrow’s lessons, he looked up and realized that it was already close to 8 p.m.

After stretching in his chair and arranging his backpack, Han Mingyue quietly stood up.

He walked behind Zhen Yu to check the problems she was working on, then suddenly realized that he might not know how to do the math problem she was solving!

He wanted to ask but was afraid of disturbing her; not asking, yet too curious!

Eventually, he reluctantly shifted his gaze to Zhen Yu’s small bookshelf and took down "Shelley’s English Poems."

"Huuh..." Han Mingyue took a deep breath and exhaled, then sat down in Zhen Yan’s seat and opened the book.

Because he was reading the English and Chinese side by side, it took him a while to turn a page.

After reading a few pages, Han Mingyue noticed some unevenness in the book.

He closed and opened the book to locate the foreign object and discovered a dried leaf had been sandwiched in the book.

The leaf was small, shaped like a heart.

Was this used as a bookmark? The page with the leaf marked a longer poem, "Ode to the West Wind."

Was this the poem Xiao Yu was going to recite? Han Mingyue read it silently to himself, stumbling through it.

-

Then he continued to read the poem, consulting an English-Chinese dictionary, until he heard Zhen Yu’s voice beside his ear.

"Can you read it through?"

Han Mingyue’s hands trembled, then he quickly steadied them and turned his head to reply, "No."

"Would you read it out?"

"Should I teach you?"

The two said simultaneously, looking at each other for a moment and then falling silent together.

A few seconds later, Zhen Yu used her fingertips to press against Han Mingyue’s temples, turning his head back straight to look at the poetry collection.

Then leaning forward with one hand propped on the back of the chair, she started to read with her finger.

Han Mingyue couldn’t see the girl’s face, only able to hear her low voice start resonating by his ear, "Ode to the West Wind..."

Zhen Yu softly recited, her voice tender and gentle.

Like the sound of wind and birds in the woods, or like a mother’s lullaby to a sleeping baby, lulling Han Mingyue into drowsiness.

-

After reading through once, Zhen Yu glanced at Han Mingyue’s profile and noticed his blank expression, obviously not listening.

Well, perhaps he didn’t want to read poetry after all, maybe just killing time casually, just like herself.

Zhen Yu thought to herself, since we’re all laypeople, why not listen to music instead.

"Han Mingyue~" She nudged the distracted boy, and only after he snapped back to reality did she ask, "Do you want to listen to music?"

"Sure!" Han Mingyue agreed casually, then suddenly a previous question flashed in his mind, "What math problem were you doing just now?"

"The content from the second semester of the eighth grade," Zhen Yu replied as she took out a small tape recorder and an English music cassette, answering offhandedly.

"You’re self-studying eighth-grade courses?" Han Mingyue was somewhat surprised. What was she up to?

The question crossed his mind, and he automatically came up with an answer—skipping a grade!

"You want to skip a grade?"

Zhen Yu shook her head, handed one earphone to Han Mingyue, and only after he took it did she say, "I want to! Skip a grade!"

"...Are you confident about it?"

"Yes! Of course!"

Pressing the play button, "Heal The World" started, Zhen Yu stopped talking and listened quietly, leaving Han Mingyue with no choice but to shut his mouth as well.

When the song ended, Zhen Yu pressed pause and took the tape out to wind it back with a pencil.

Han Mingyue watched her actions with a smile, "You like listening to this song that much?"

Zhen Yu felt it was wound enough, placed the tape back into the recorder, and said, "I’m just learning it."

They listened again. Han Mingyue glanced at the alarm clock; it was almost eight-thirty. Time to say goodbye.

"We should go." Saying this while taking off the earphones and standing up, he pursed the corners of his mouth and, driven by an impulse, asked, "If you skip a grade, will you be in the same class as me?"

A question that sounded somewhat flirtatious no matter how it was interpreted.

Zhen Yu nodded without hesitation.

I want to skip a grade just to be in the same class as you!

A subtle smile appeared in the boy’s eyes as he took the lead and walked out the door.

-

"Jiaoyang~ It’s time to go home."

"Ah~ I’m not ready to leave yet!" Han Jiaoyang sprawled languidly on the edge of the bed, not wanting to move an inch.

The same went for Zhen Yan and Fu Yu, except that Bai Xue was a bit better off, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Just as Han Mingyue was about to lecture his brother, Mrs. Fu suddenly entered the room.

"What are you stinking kids still doing here at this hour? Waiting for me to come and call you home, huh?"

"Mom~" Fu Yu whined, turned his eyes and said to Mrs. Fu: "Zhen Yan said he’s scared, I’ll stay here and accompany him to sleep!"

"Scared?" Mrs. Fu clearly didn’t believe it.

While talking, Fu Yu was giving Zhen Yan meaningful looks, and Zhen Yan had to cover for his brother, "Yes, Aunt Fu! I’m scared!"

Mrs. Fu watched the two little scoundrels conspiring, but didn’t expose them, "Alright then! Bai Xue, come with me, and let your uncle take you home."

Bai Xue glanced at Zhen Yu, "Xiao Yu~"

"I’m not scared." Zhen Yu declined.

If Fu Yu stayed, he would surely sleep on the big bed with Zhen Yan, and she didn’t want to squeeze onto a smaller bed with someone else, nor did she feel it right to leave Bai Xue, a girl, to spend the night outside alone!

In the end, the Han Family Brothers left with Mrs. Fu and Bai Xue, leaving only Fu Yu and Zhen Yan, two excited half-grown boys bouncing around on the big bed.

Mrs. Fu took the opportunity while everyone was donning cotton-padded jackets to check on the stove. Seeing that the fire was still strong, she quickly mixed in wet coal to suppress the flame.

"Xiao Yu~ make sure to dampen the fire earlier in the evening from now on. The bed will definitely be too hot tonight; if it’s too much, just use fewer blankets."

After giving her instructions, she turned and left.

Zhen Yu finished her nightly routine, leaving a word behind, "Don’t stay up too late, go to sleep early."

Then, without hesitation, she went back to her small bedroom, read until nine o’clock, and promptly turned off the light.