Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 6

Jin Yi felt as if her entire body were bound. Her mind was clear, but her body simply wouldn’t obey her commands.

She couldn’t open her eyes, and she couldn’t move. No matter how she struggled, it was useless; it felt as though someone were pressing down heavily on top of her.

 

“Hey… Jin Yi, wake up.”

 

Jin Yi heard someone calling her name, but she couldn’t offer any response. It wasn’t until the person gave her a forceful shove that Jin Yi suddenly bolted upright.

 

Qu Yin was startled by her reaction. She touched Jin Yi’s forehead and muttered softly, “You don’t have a fever…”

 

“Haa… haa…” Jin Yi was still gasping for air, unable to calm down from her previous emotions. She didn’t even react when Qu Yin touched her forehead.

 

It seemed that what was making her suffer wasn’t just the nightmare from a moment ago, but also…

 

Right, Chu Weiran!

 

Jin Yi’s eyes suddenly widened as she looked at Qu Yin standing by the bed. She grabbed Qu Yin’s hand and asked, “How is Chu Weiran?”

 

“What?”

 

“Chu Weiran!”

 

Qu Yin was thoroughly spooked by Jin Yi’s current state. Jin Yi’s long hair was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot, and she was gripping Qu Yin’s hand with immense strength. Qu Yin tried to shake her off but couldn’t.

 

“Jin Yi, are you crazy?”

 

“What does Chu Weiran being confessed to have anything to do with you?”

 

Hearing Qu Yin’s words, Jin Yi’s eyes glazed over for a moment.

 

A confession? Hadn’t Chu Weiran gone to the hospital?

 

And wasn’t she herself… supposed to be going to the police station? Why was Qu Yin standing in front of her right now?

 

Jin Yi studied Qu Yin carefully, and then became even more confused. The person in front of her was indeed Qu Yin, but she looked significantly younger. Qu Yin was supposed to be obsessed with bodycon skirts and gold-rimmed glasses. Why was she dressed exactly as she had been in university? She had her hair in a high ponytail and was wearing a T-shirt.

 

“Qu Yin?”

 

“Yeah? What, don’t recognize me anymore?”

 

“Did you sleep yourself into a stupor?”

 

Qu Yin felt her roommate was acting a bit strange. It was just an afternoon nap; how did she end up like this?

 

While Qu Yin found it strange, Jin Yi found it even stranger. Hadn’t she taken a fall while going down the stairs? How did she wake up in the dormitory?

 

Seeing Jin Yi’s dazed expression, Qu Yin patted her on the shoulder and said, “Stop being silly. We have class this afternoon. Hurry up, pack your things, and let’s go.”

 

“Class?” Jin Yi blinked, looking at her with total incomprehension.

 

“If you don’t go to class, what are you going to do? Go see Chu Weiran?”

 

Chu Weiran…

 

Hearing that name, Jin Yi felt a jolt go through her entire body. She asked Qu Yin once more, “How is Chu Weiran?”

 

Qu Yin felt her dear classmate had definitely slept her brains out.

 

“Chu Weiran is fine. There’s a confession waiting for her tonight.”

 

A confession…

 

Qu Yin had mentioned a “confession” twice now.

 

Jin Yi looked at the ceiling, then the floor, then at the two single beds. Finally, her gaze fixed back onto Qu Yin. Her stare made Qu Yin feel a bit uneasy.

 

“Are you really out of it?”

 

Jin Yi snapped out of it, but instead of answering, she picked up a small mirror from the desk. She confirmed that the person in the mirror was indeed herself, but several years younger—her skin was fairer, and her hair was longer. No matter how she looked at it, this was her university-era self.

 

Had she traveled through time? Or had she died and been reborn?

 

“Don’t just stand there, let’s go!”

 

Qu Yin gave the back of her head a firm smack, and suddenly, a surge of unfamiliar memories appeared in Jin Yi’s mind. She had been sent to the hospital by her parents and had lain on a hospital bed for a long, long time… so long that she gradually lost consciousness, and then she appeared here.

 

Then what happened to Chu Weiran?

 

Jin Yi’s mind was now entirely consumed by how Chu Weiran was doing. Chu Weiran’s injuries had been much more severe than hers. If Jin Yi had ended up like this… then what about Chu Weiran?

 

“Jin Yi, I’m not dealing with you anymore. Go ahead and daydream by yourself. You’ve gone loopy from that nap.”

 

After saying this, Qu Yin truly left Jin Yi behind and walked out the door.

 

Once she was gone, Jin Yi sat on the bed hugging her knees. Images of Chu Weiran lying in her arms kept flashing through her mind. As she thought, her eyes suddenly cleared with realization.

 

Since she had been reborn, she had to stay far away from Qin Zhaomu. And she absolutely had to make sure Chu Weiran stayed far away from Ye Yuan as well.

 

She had to stop the confession tonight.

 

With that thought, Jin Yi suddenly felt motivated. She got out of bed, tidied herself up, and headed to class.

 

Walking through the familiar campus, Jin Yi’s sense of reality grew stronger. She really had been reborn. This feeling reached its peak when she arrived at the classroom. After being glared at by a familiar professor, Jin Yi slunk inside.

 

When she sat down next to Qu Yin, she was immediately teased.

 

“Ooh, the ‘good student’ who is never late is actually late. Look how angry you made the old man.”

 

Jin Yi’s face flushed at the remark. She rarely arrived late; unless it was due to some uncontrollable circumstance, she was almost never tardy.

 

“Just shut up!”

 

Throughout the entire lecture, Jin Yi was mostly spacing out, thinking about the events of her past life and what was to come next. Although she still couldn’t fathom exactly what had happened, the facts told her she had returned to four years ago.

 

At this time, she was only a sophomore. She shouldn’t have any connection with Qin Zhaomu yet, right? And Chu Weiran shouldn’t be involved with Ye Yuan yet either?

 

Thinking of this, Jin Yi frowned and nudged Qu Yin beside her, asking, “You said today that someone is confessing to Chu Weiran tonight?”

 

“Yeah, a confession.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Wow, you’re kidding, right? You were calling out her name in your sleep at noon, and now you’re acting like you don’t know who’s confessing to her?”

 

Jin Yi froze, her face turning red. She had called out Chu Weiran’s name? She remembered her body wouldn’t obey her at the time; how could she have said a name?

 

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

 

“Tsk tsk, feeling shy now? You called it out so passionately earlier.” Qu Yin leaned into Jin Yi’s ear and whispered in an extremely low voice, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been ‘handled’ by Chu Weiran or something.”

 

Jin Yi’s face turned even redder at the comment, and she shot Qu Yin a glare. Truly… speechless.

 

Jin Yi had always known Qu Yin was someone who didn’t take things seriously. But she had forgotten that back in school, Qu Yin could be this improper.

 

“Qu Yin, stop talking nonsense. I didn’t call her name.”

 

What Qu Yin said was simply too scandalous; Jin Yi couldn’t possibly admit to it. She was worried about Chu Weiran—it wasn’t like she liked Chu Weiran, okay? If anyone liked anyone, it was Chu Weiran who liked her, right?

 

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Jin Yi thought of that drawing.

 

The little rabbit eating a carrot…

 

By the end of class, Qu Yin noticed Jin Yi seemed a bit gloomy. It seemed she had been like this ever since being teased.

 

Qu Yin draped an arm over Jin Yi’s shoulder and said with a laugh, “I was just joking with you earlier, don’t be mad.”

 

“What?” Jin Yi looked at her in confusion, not following what Qu Yin was talking about.

 

“Ugh, about what I just said regarding Chu Weiran, the part about you being ‘handled’ by her.”

 

It would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned it; as soon as she did, Jin Yi’s face turned red again.

 

Now Qu Yin was the confused one. Why did she blush every time it was mentioned? Could it be that it was actually true?

The relationship between Jin Yi and Chu Weiran had gone from good to bad; since starting university, they hadn’t even had a single interaction. Qu Yin had no idea the two of them actually knew each other.

She simply assumed Jin Yi had a crush on Chu Weiran.

 

But then again, who didn’t? Qu Yin herself once had a crush on her. Who wouldn’t crave Lingda University’s “School Beauty” after seeing her?

 

“She’s pretty and petite with a hint of sexiness, and she walks with this lazy, charming grace. Though she isn’t very tall, her proportions are perfect—curvy in all the right places. She’s a total bombshell!”

 

As Qu Yin spoke, she sounded like a complete creep. It made Jin Yi’s skin crawl.

 

Is Chu Weiran really like that?

 

It seemed to deviate quite a bit from her own impression, though she agreed on one point: Chu Weiran was indeed a bit short. Jin Yi wanted to correct her—saying she “isn’t very tall” was an understatement; she was actually quite short.

 

But before she could speak, Qu Yin continued her lament.

 

“Xiao Yi, it’s normal for you to blush. There’s no shame in liking Chu Weiran. Only someone with broken vision could fail to see her appeal!”

 

Jin Yi choked slightly, feeling personally attacked. In her past life, she had stubbornly refused to see Chu Weiran’s appeal. Even now, she wanted to be direct; while she no longer looked down on Chu Weiran, that didn’t mean she liked her, right?

 

“It’s not what you think. And… she really is a bit short.”

 

“Short? Where is she short?!” Qu Yin was offended. She wouldn’t allow Jin Yi to insult her goddess.

 

“163 cm is definitely on the shorter side, okay?”

 

“You even know her height that precisely, and you still claim you don’t like her?”

 

“I…”

 

How the hell was she supposed to explain? Chu Weiran had stopped growing in the eighth grade, and Jin Yi had actually been teased and then punished by Chu Weiran because of it. That year, Jin Yi had a massive growth spurt. She used to be half a head shorter than Chu Weiran, but because Chu Weiran stopped growing, they ended up the same height.

 

But she couldn’t say that, nor did she want to. Since their relationship turned cold, she almost never mentioned her “childhood friend” sister to anyone. Speaking about her so familiarly now would ruin the persona she had built.

 

But if I’m going to stop Chu Weiran, aren’t we going to have to become familiar again sooner or later?

 

Jin Yi looked at Qu Yin. If Qu Yin insisted on saying she had a crush on Chu Weiran, she decided she just wouldn’t deny it anymore. She wasn’t admitting to it; she was just too lazy to explain.

 

Yes, that was perfect. She only wanted to prevent the tragedy of her past life, not get involved in romance. In this life, she was going to study hard and improve herself every day.

 

“Yi, what are we eating later?”

 

“I want hairy crabs.”

 

Qu Yin: “…”

 

“Have some shame! I can’t afford to treat you to that.”

 

“Oh, then I’ll treat you.”

 

Jin Yi was an optimist by nature. Otherwise, in her past life, she wouldn’t have been able to get over being cheated on by Qin Zhaomu in just a few days. Life had to go on; the past was the past. She only cared about the present.

 

And right now… she wanted hairy crabs.

 

But Qu Yin wasn’t on board. She shook her head and said, “Let’s not go out. Isn’t your budget tight this month? Let’s just eat at the cafeteria.”

 

Right. If Qu Yin hadn’t mentioned it, Jin Yi would have forgotten.

 

When she was originally recommended for the History Department at Jingda University, her parents had been dead-set against it, wanting her to study Management. Jin Yi was stubborn and refused. After a stalemate where neither side would budge, her grandfather finally spoke up: Let the child study what she loves.

 

Jin Yi had been thrilled, but her joy was short-lived.

 

“I’ll pay your tuition, but you provide your own living expenses. And you have to stay here in Ling City.”

 

And so, Jin Yi ended up at Lingda, living the life of a student who had to work part-time jobs on weekends. Her family was wealthy—though not quite on the level of the Chu family, their hotel chain covered almost every major northern city. Jin Yi had never suffered a day in her life; she had been raised in luxury. Her parents never expected her to last.

 

But it turned out they didn’t know their daughter very well. Jin Yi persisted. She was down-to-earth, and her family’s wealth hadn’t spoiled her. She was also incredibly stubborn; she figured if others could do it, why couldn’t she?

 

So, she worked occasionally to make her life more comfortable. It wasn’t that she didn’t have money—she had plenty of New Year’s red envelope money saved up since childhood, enough to support a very high quality of life. In fact, in her previous life, she had paid for the house she shared with Qin Zhaomu out of those savings.

 

Jin Yi wasn’t poor; she was just frugal. Qu Yin hadn’t known any of this during university and genuinely thought she was struggling.

 

Living this life over again, Jin Yi intended to be better to Qu Yin.

 

“Forget the cafeteria. Let’s go out. What do you want to eat?”

 

Qu Yin looked at her in disbelief. Was this really Jin Yi speaking? The person who preferred the cafeteria for all three meals was suddenly offering to treat her to hairy crabs?

 

Qu Yin grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the cafeteria. “Stop playing around. I know your situation. Come on, I want Malatang.”

 

“It’s fine… I can afford it…”

 

Qu Yin suddenly got a bit annoyed. She stopped and glared at her. “Stop being so annoying! I don’t want hairy crabs. Just treat me to Malatang.”

 

Jin Yi was deeply moved by Qu Yin’s words. The more touched she felt, the more guilty she became. She could have treated her to great food, but she rarely did. They almost always ate cheap food like Malatang.

 

She squeezed Qu Yin’s hand. “Don’t say another word. I feel so—”

 

“Jin Yi! You are so long-winded! I want to finish my Malatang quickly so I can go watch Chu Weiran reject Ye Yuan!”

 

Snap.

 

Where was the love?

 

Jin Yi, who had been so moved a second ago, felt like she heard the sound of her heart breaking. She was dragged to the Malatang stall by Qu Yin. After they ordered, Qu Yin paid.

 

Then, with a bit of a smug grin, Qu Yin said, “This time it’s on me. Next time you can treat me to those hairy crabs.”

 

“Who are you calling ‘sister’? Who’s treating you to anything!” Jin Yi’s guilt vanished instantly. Bros before hoes? More like hoes before bros! Just to see Chu Weiran reject Ye Yuan!

 

Wait.

 

Ye Yuan?

 

“Did you just say Ye Yuan is confessing to Chu Weiran?”

 

“Didn’t you know? I told you yesterday, but you didn’t react at all.”

 

Jin Yi went silent. She had forgotten that Ye Yuan had a “confession” phase with Chu Weiran. In her previous life, she never actually knew how those two ended up together.

 

A moment later, the Malatang arrived. Qu Yin was starving; she blew on it twice and started eating. It was spicy, numbing, and piping hot—Qu Yin was loving it, but she noticed Jin Yi hadn’t moved.

 

“Are you stupid? Why aren’t you eating?”

 

Prompted, Jin Yi snapped back to reality and began to eat.

 

“I’m telling you, Jin Yi, you’ve been weird all day. What’s going on?”

 

“I…”

 

Jin Yi didn’t know how to start. Should she say she was wondering how Chu Weiran and Ye Yuan got together in her last life? And how she was going to stop it this time?

 

Her hesitant look was completely misunderstood by Qu Yin. Qu Yin looked around cautiously, then leaned in close to Jin Yi’s face and whispered, “Are you still thinking about that dream?”

 

Jin Yi was startled. “What dream?”

 

“A wet dream! Didn’t you dream about Chu Weiran?”

 

“No… I didn’t.”

 

Qu Yin didn’t believe her denials anymore. Reactions were the most honest evidence; every time she spoke, Jin Yi blushed, and the more she blushed, the more excited Qu Yin got.

 

“She’s beautiful, has a great body, and great vibes. Most importantly…” Qu Yin’s voice rose as she got excited. “She’s petite and easy to handle!”

 

She had been praising everything about Chu Weiran, but those last few words were quite loud. Qu Yin didn’t notice, but Jin Yi did. As the voice grew louder, Jin Yi felt more and more eyes turning toward them.

 

Jin Yi covered her face. What kind of pervert is this girl?! Talking so dirtily.

 

Petite and easy to handle?

 

“Junior Qu, are you talking about me?”

 

Even though Jin Yi was hiding her face, Qu Yin had been speaking with great gusto—until she was suddenly jolted by that voice.

 

What could be more awkward than talking about someone behind their back and getting caught? Nothing.

 

Qu Yin was mortified, and so was Jin Yi. Jin Yi didn’t dare look up; she only peeked through the gaps in her fingers.

 

She saw a pair of delicate, fair ankles. Further up…

 

Jin Yi didn’t want to look further up. She was too embarrassed. Qu Yin’s words uncontrollably echoed in her mind.

 

Petite and easy to handle