Rebirth: Once Again With You

Dai Zhiqiang did not understand why his father would be so adamant about making him go to school because the entrance ceremony went boringly. As expected, he should not have left his father on his own. Dai Heng's face looked pale when he left. His father was probably sick.

Dai Zhiqiang gave his speech as planned and was restless for the rest of the ceremony. Why did this ceremony take so long to finish? It was not like anyone paid attention to it, anyway. He complained in his heart, but he also tried to reassure himself that he probably worried too much. Dai Heng would scold him if he returned so fast, so he doubled his patience until the ceremony ended.

After the ceremony, there should be a first homeroom after this, but Dai Zhiqiang did not want to waste any more time. He grabbed his bag and half-ran to the entrance gate. Dai Zhiqiang did not know why, but he could not sit still if he remembered his father's weak smile this morning. He'd better go home fast to check on his father.

Dai Zhiqiang was in such a hurry that he did not pay attention to where he was going and accidentally bumped into one of the male students walking in the hallway.

"Sorry," Dai Zhiqiang said briefly before he turned away. However, the male students stopped him by his shoulder.

"Wait a second. You had some nerve to bump into us and thought you could get away with it."

"Based on your tie, aren't you the first year? It seems we have to teach a new first-year who did not know the way of the world some lesson."

Dai Zhiqiang did not have time for this. He had been impatient and on his edge all morning, and these guys just had to make the matter worse for him. His eyes darkened dangerously.

He noticed there were four of them. If he wanted to take care of them, he could not possibly do that without causing a commotion. It would be good if he were just a regular student here, but he was here under a scholarship program. One slight mistake, and his scholarship might be revoked.

Dai Zhiqiang quickly analyzed the situation and concluded he would be in a disadvantageous position if he got into a fight here. So he calmed himself down before he said, "I apologize for bumping into you. I was in a hurry because my dad was sick at home, so if you'll excuse me," Dai Zhiqiang said politely.

"You think an apology is enough?!"

"Kneel down and beg for forgiveness, or pay for the compensation fee, then we'll let you go!"

The four seniors snickered at him. Dai Zhiqiang knew talking with these people was useless, but he did not have any choice but to take a diplomatic route now.

"Then, let's talk about how I can compensate you tomorrow. Don't worry, I won't run away. I'll give you my number too if you don't believe me," Dai Zhiqiang said. He would have more time to 'deal' with these delinquents if it were tomorrow.

"Ah? What makes you think you have the right to negotiate here? We didn't care about your situation! Kneel down if you can't pay us!"

"Wait, I remember him! Isn't he the guy who gave a speech representing the scholarship students during the entrance ceremony?"

"Man, so he is a poor guy? He is so poor he got accepted with mercy, yet he lied through his teeth about compensating us. If you are poor, then you should have said so! Why bother putting a tough front?"

"As expected, you should kneel and beg for forgiveness now. I'm sure you also lied about your sick dad, but that's okay. Ain't no use for poor and useless dad, anyway."

Dai Zhiqiang's veins bulged out in anger. He was so close to snap right now, and he could just imagine the color red before his eyes. He could stand it if these guys insult him, but the only thing people will get from insulting his father is a brutal beating!

"E-excuse me!"

After hearing a voice beside them, Dai Zhiqiang and the four upperclassmen stopped talking. A girl wearing a gray jacket and a pair of glasses stood there. She had long black hair tied to the back, and he looked at them with a worried expression.

"Huh? What do you want, girl?!" One of the upperclassmen yelled at her. She flinched in shock, but although her body shivered in fright ever so slightly, she did not run away.

"The-the teacher asked me to find him and take him to the class." The girl ran over to Dai Zhiqiang and tugged on his sleeve. "Classmate, let's go now, or the homeroom can't get started!"

"Wait a minute! We have not finished talking with this guy yet! Scram, you ugly glasses!"

However, one of the upperclassmen slapped the guy who had just talked in the head. His eyes bulged out in disbelief. "Shut your mouth! Let's just go!"

The guy who just got slapped in the head whined aggrievedly. "Why are you hitting me, big bro?"

"Say nothing more, and let's go! You can't afford to offend that girl!" the third-year student who seemed to be their leader whispered harshly to his stupid junior. He could tell from a glance who this girl was because they came from the same middle school. The girl itself was a nobody, but the one protecting her was not one they could mess with!

The third-year student couldn't care less about Dai Zhiqiang anymore because his life was more important! He quickly urged his junior to follow him, leaving Dai Zhiqiang and the girl behind.

The girl visibly heaved a sigh of relief before she turned to him worriedly. "A-Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Did the teacher really look for me?"

The girl shook her head. "N-no. I lied about that."

Dai Zhiqiang had expected that, so it did not surprise him at all. "I see. Thank you for your help back then."

She lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eyes. "I-I saw you were in trouble. T-those upperclassmen looked scary, s-so I thought I should h-help."

The girl stuttered in her speech, and her voice was almost inaudible. Dai Zhiqiang was grateful to her and did not want to act rude, but he really did not have time to chat.

"I'm grateful for your help. I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry right now. Let's talk later, okay?"

"O-oh, wait!" The girl moved forward, and something warm suddenly pressed on his hand. He looked down and found that the girl had shoved a packet of hand warmers to his hand. Dai Zhiqiang was so surprised he unknowingly gripped the hand warmer out of instinct.

The girl raised her head slightly and gave him a reserved and gentle smile. "I-I thought your hand looked cold, so y-you can take it. I h-hope your father can get well soon. Um, c-cheer up."

After that, her face flushed in embarrassment before she muttered a goodbye and left in a hurry. Dai Zhiqiang still could not process everything in his mind as he looked at the girl's diminishing figure. His hand, which held the hand warmer, felt warm and comfortable. That warmth spread from the tip of his finger to his whole body.

For some reason, he could not get the girl's gentle smile out of his head, and simultaneously, he suddenly remembered what his father had told him this morning.

'You would never know. Perhaps something good will happen if you go to school.'

He did not know if being harassed by the upperclassmen on the first day of school was a good thing or not, but his meeting with that girl was certainly not bad at all.

Dai Zhiqiang silently pocketed the hand warmer, feeling that his face was warming up more than his hand.