No One Understands Reincarnation Better Than I Do

“Auntie Su, out buying groceries this early?”

“Ah, yes… I asked the butcher yesterday to save me a rack of lamb ribs, so I came early to pick it up…”

Su Ping looked Guan Ren up and down. She still found it a bit hard to believe that this kid had come to the school track for a morning run. Quite an odd sight.

“Little Guan…”

“Yeah?”

“What brought this sudden inspiration on? Out jogging this early on a Saturday?”

“For health.”

“Tsk…”

Su Ping gave him a playful yet skeptical finger wag.

“You brat, what are you doing worrying about health at your age?”

“Hehe.”

Guan Ren gave a hearty laugh.

“It’s because I’m young that I need to lay the foundation early. You’ve got to start exercising while you can.”

“Not bad.”

Su Ping nodded repeatedly at that.

“Now that makes sense.”

A high school boy getting up early on a Saturday to jog might make him an outlier among his peers, but in the eyes of a middle-aged woman like Su Ping, it was definitely a sign of positivity, responsibility, and maturity.

“By the way, Auntie Su, that lamb you bought looks pretty good.”

“This?”

Su Ping hadn’t expected the conversation to veer in this direction. She lifted the bag in her hand.

“I bumped into this lamb vendor at the market yesterday. Said it was some kind of ‘Hengshan thyme-fed lamb’… I don’t really know, just looked decent to me.”

“Auntie.”

Guan Ren’s expression turned a bit more serious as he said earnestly.

“You’ve got a good eye. That thyme-fed lamb from Hengshan is delicious. At least as good as prairie lamb or Tanyang lamb.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing how serious he was, Su Ping’s eyes lit up.

“They only had a little left yesterday, and someone else had already reserved it, so I asked the vendor to save me some for today. So it’s actually worth it?”

“Yes. It’s normal to be unfamiliar with out-of-town lamb, but you can tell good meat by its color and marbling. All I can say is, you’ve got an eye for quality. Someone else might have missed out.”

“Hahaha, oh stop it, I just thought it looked decent and figured I’d give it a try, hahaha…”

When you compliment someone, you’ve got to do it sincerely. That way, it actually sinks in.

Su Ping kept smiling, her eyes flitting between Guan Ren and her bag of lamb. The more she thought about his words, the more satisfied she felt with her purchase.

“Oh, right, Guan Ren, I’ve heard of Tanyang lamb before, but what’s this ‘thyme-fed lamb’ all about?”

“Well… Auntie, let’s walk and talk.”

As he spoke, Guan Ren naturally reached out and took the bags of groceries from Su Ping’s hands.

“Ah, Little Guan, you…”

“It’s fine. That looks heavy. Let me carry it for you.”

“But you… Aren’t you supposed to be running?”

“Eh, it was my last lap anyway. Just let me help you, Auntie. Come on.”

Su Ping was a bit caught off guard, but plastic bags weren’t easy to wrangle with, so she let him take everything.

“Auntie, that ‘thyme’ is actually just what we call thyme. Our local lamb in Jiangzhou County and surrounding areas isn’t great, but Hengshan’s white cashmere goats are fed with thyme…”

---

And so, Guan Ren carried the large and small bags for Su Ping while chatting with her.

Although Su Ping responded the whole way, at least half her thoughts weren’t on the conversation anymore.

She occasionally glanced at the bags in the boy’s hands, and the smile on her face gradually took on a gentle, almost maternal glow.

This kid…

He was never this considerate before.

Su Ping was a little puzzled. Could it be that the start of second year in high school had made him see the light?

Hard to say.

Kids at this age often had a sudden growth spurt in mindset too after just a summer or winter break. It wasn’t uncommon.

---

Guan Ren’s home and Luo Xiaobei’s were in the same direction. Before long, he had carried Su Ping’s groceries all the way to the residential complex where Luo Xiaobei lived.

Although Su Ping tried to decline again downstairs, Guan Ren still carried the groceries all the way up to the eighth floor, right to Luo Xiaobei’s front door.

“This kid, you must be exhausted?”

“Not at all. Didn’t you say I’d miss my run? Look, I just turned it into strength training. No loss at all.”

“You little rascal, always got a way with words…”

Su Ping had been smiling the entire time.

Looks like he really has grown up.

If only his grades could improve a little too…

---

Actually, when it came to academics, Su Ping didn’t have much hope.

At least in terms of “Guan Ren and Luo Xiaobei staying friends,” she had no particular expectations of him.

After all, when it came to grades, Luo Xiaobei wasn’t that great either.

Slightly better than Guan Ren, maybe, but still in the lower-middle tier of the class.

Coincidentally, both of them had started off strong and then declined—top of their class in middle school, but slipping after entering high school.

As they say, “well-matched in social status.” So in Su Ping’s view, there was no concern about one dragging the other down. No big deal.

Unfortunately, the person who had final say in the household—Luo Xiaobei’s father, Luo Jianming—was rather particular about this.

Since the start of high school, Luo Jianming had increasingly disapproved of the two kids hanging out, and his impression of Guan Ren had gotten worse.

Because of this, the two kids, who used to visit each other’s homes often, had rarely done so since entering high school.

Sigh…

Thinking of this, Su Ping let out a sigh. While accepting the bags from Guan Ren, she pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

“Xiaobei, Xiaobei, open the door for Mom.”

“Coming—!”

A response came from inside. After a brief pause, the sound of footsteps followed.

Creak…

The door opened.

“So annoying, Mom, you forgot your keys again… Huh?!”

Luo Xiaobei had one hand resting on the doorframe and the other gripping the doorknob. A milk-orange flavored Alps lollipop was tucked between her lips. She had just mumbled a half-coherent complaint when she suddenly spotted Guan Ren behind her mom and lit up with surprise.

“Guan Ren, what are you doing here~?”

“Coincidence.”

Guan Ren’s reply was brief, and then he looked at Luo Xiaobei with interest.

She had clearly just crawled out of bed. Her hair was messily tied into a bun, and she wore only a close-fitting, cream-colored cotton camisole dress. The hem swayed gently with the movement of her slender waist, and the pair of shapely, toned legs beneath it were so fair they almost dazzled the eyes.

“You’ve got some nerve talking about me.”

Su Ping, seeing her daughter, tapped her on the forehead with a hint of annoyance.

“That old man worked overtime last night, fine. But you, little one, stayed in bed too long. Enough. Don’t block the way. Let me in to put the groceries away.”

Su Ping carried the bags into the kitchen.

Luo Xiaobei turned around, wrinkling her little nose as she glared at the grinning Guan Ren.

“Is it funny?”

Guan Ren shook his head.

“The old man isn’t funny.”

After all, that was his childhood friend’s dad.

“But the little one is funny.”

“You’re the little one!”

“I’m the big one.”

Guan Ren countered casually, only to see Luo Xiaobei pause for a second. Then her eyes cheekily drifted downward—and her little face unexpectedly flushed.

“?”

Now it was Guan Ren’s turn to be stunned.

What was that supposed to mean?

Could it be… this girl was actually a little perv?

“Spit it out.”

Luo Xiaobei narrowed her eyes like a sly fox.

“You followed my mom all the way here. Wasn’t there some ulterior motive?”

“What motive could I possibly have?”

Guan Ren was completely at ease. As he helped her fix the camisole strap that had slipped off her right shoulder, he explained honestly.

“I just ran into Auntie while out jogging. She had a lot to carry, so I figured I’d help.”

“Oh… alright…”

Luo Xiaobei clasped her hands behind her back, her feet—snug in a pair of fuzzy pink caterpillar slippers—fidgeting on tiptoe.

“So, um… do you have any plans today?”

“Studying.”

“……”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Doesn’t matter if I do. We’ll find out after the monthly exam… Ah-choo!”

“?”

Mid-sentence, Luo Xiaobei suddenly sneezed.

The temperature had been fluctuating lately, and mornings were still chilly.

Standing at the door in that thin camisole dress, she’d been letting the wind blow on her for quite a while. No wonder she was catching cold. Yet she still rubbed her little nose absentmindedly, which made Guan Ren feel both amused and helpless.

“What’s with that look… I’m catching a cold because of you, and all you do is laugh…”

“Because of me?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes… my bad. I’m sorry.”

But what was a sorry worth? Was it sincere?

“Think again.”

Luo Xiaobei shot him a sideways glance.

“Sorry, or hold me?”

Guan Ren thought for a moment.

“Both.”

Then he reached out and wrapped the slightly chilly, sweet-scented girl into his arms.

Compared to the waist-hug from the night before, this time he held her more securely and warmly.

“Now if I say I’m sorry, will you accept it?”

“Accepted.”

“But this isn’t a long-term solution either. Don’t just stand here like a fool. Go back inside.”

“Mm…”

Luo Xiaobei nodded, but instead of moving away, she pressed even closer against him.

“Guan Ren…”

“Yeah?”

“It’s been so long since you came over. This afternoon… at noon, why don’t you stay for lunch…”

“Uh… I wouldn’t mind, but Uncle Luo…”

“……”

There was nothing she could say. Just hearing Luo Jianming’s name made Luo Xiaobei deflate a little.

“Next time, alright? When the timing’s right. When I’m ready, or when Uncle Luo is.”

“Okay…”

“I’ll head back then.”

“Mm…”

Luo Xiaobei nodded again and stepped out of his embrace.

“Oh, and—last night I said no hugging for three days. But you hugged me again today, so you know what that means, right?”

“I know.”

It was an old rule by now. Guan Ren sighed and waved a hand.

“Reset the three-day counter, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Luo Xiaobei re-declared.

“Starting now, no hugging me for the next three days. No objections?”

“None.”

“Hey~”

Now that’s more like it~

Luo Xiaobei lifted the corners of her mouth, revealing a neat row of little white teeth.

Her word was law. What right did a mere childhood sweetheart have to object?

And as for whether it was really any different being forbidden from hugging for three days, four days, or five days…

Luo Xiaobei felt like it mattered.

Because the higher the number she said out loud, the more afraid she became… that one day, Guan Ren might actually stop hugging her.