Rebirth to Save Myself

Chapter 119 Meeting Abroad

Su Xia passed the subsequent interviews and physical examinations smoothly, and received the acceptance letter from her first-choice university. After revising her thesis at least twenty times, her professor reluctantly nodded in approval. The next thing to do was wait for her thesis defense, which was scheduled quite late, meaning she could return around the time of graduation photos. So Su Xia bought a plane ticket to visit Lu Jingnian. She double-checked that Lu Jingnian's graduation date would be earlier than hers, so she could attend his graduation ceremony while also taking care of her own.

She remembered that year in their senior year of high school, he had already gone abroad, but he specially came back to take graduation photos with her. Later, she found out that he had come back not long after leaving because he had asked his father for an advance on his living expenses, and then he started looking for part-time jobs to earn money.

Since Lu Jingnian can go to such lengths for her, she can certainly put in the same effort when she's sure of her own feelings. Love is a two-way street, not one where one person constantly gives in to the other.

The other three in the dorm had watched the two of them flirting since freshman year, and now seeing Su Xia make such a big decision, they were all quite impressed.

Chen Wanying watched Su Xia pack her luggage and said, "I still remember when I asked them if they were a couple, Xia Xia stubbornly said no."

Ye Zhenzhen nodded in agreement and then said, "What do you mean by high school friends? When you're bored abroad, you can discuss problems together and help each other improve. Tsk tsk tsk."

“I even visited Lu Jingnian’s parents during the Chinese New Year. They kept inviting Xiaxia to visit their home,” Lu Lu nodded and said.

"So you've already met each other's parents? That's really fast. Do his parents have any objections to the two of you?" Chen Wanying asked curiously.

“His parents don’t know we’re together. Besides, we’re not even together yet, we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend!” Su Xia was caught up in Chen Wanying’s words and only realized what was going on after answering for a while.

“But I think girls like Xiaxia are definitely liked by elders. She gets good grades and has such a good personality,” Ye Zhenzhen said from the side.

"Don't praise her, she'll get arrogant." Su Xia patted Ye Zhenzhen, making her blush a little.

"Hahaha, praise me again! I've never seen anything like it before, Xiaxia actually blushes!" Chen Wanying exclaimed as if she had discovered a new continent, and quickly patted Ye Zhenzhen.

"This is the first time I've realized that love really can change a person!" Ye Zhenzhen sighed as she looked at Su Xia's reaction.

“If you’re envious, you can find a boyfriend too!” Chen Wanying nodded and then said to Ye Zhenzhen.

"No, no, I need to focus on making money, I don't want to date." Ye Zhenzhen was scared after the last time and didn't want to date at all. She rejected anyone who confessed to her.

"Have you chosen your clothes yet?" Su Xia changed the subject, hoping that these people would not focus their attention on her.

"It's settled, I've already placed the order. Why are you so concerned? You'll be abroad by the time it arrives, so you won't be able to try it on!" Chen Wanying teased Su Xia.

"Okay, okay, I'm begging you, please stop teasing me." Su Xia said, clasping her hands together in a helpless gesture.

"If you promise to bring us gifts when you come back, we won't say anything more," Chen Wanying said proudly.

“No problem, one for each of us.” Su Xia smiled and accepted the offer.

"I've been looking at makeup looks lately, and I think we can do this. I've also found some scenes to make our graduation photos stand out," Chen Wanying said, sharing a few links in the group chat.

"Wow, this photo looks so beautiful! Can we take a picture like this?" Ye Zhenzhen was a little worried. The colors in the photo were so rich and bright. She didn't remember any scenes like this at school.

"That's easy, I have a camera. As for how well they look, part of it is from adjusting the settings in post-processing, just use those nice, clean-line parameters." Su Xia scrolled through her phone and showed them the photos she had taken earlier.

"Wow, is this your sister? The photos are so beautiful! And these too, and Lulu's too, the feeling! I didn't even realize I had a photographer next to me. I only knew you could shoot videos." Chen Wanying looked at the photos with surprise. Each photo looked very atmospheric.

“Xiaxia took a lot of photos for me before, and even printed them out for me. One wall in her room is covered with photos, and she even bought a printer to print them out,” Lu Lu chimed in.

"Ah, I want photos like this too, Xiaxia," Ye Zhenzhen said, pulling Su Xia's hand and acting coquettishly.

"I'll take some really beautiful graduation photos for you all," Su Xia assured him, patting her chest.

"Yay, I'm going to make everyone on my WeChat Moments envious of me!"

Su Xia didn't hide her plans to visit Lu Jingnian from him; she openly showed him her flight information. At first, Lu Jingnian thought she was going somewhere for fun, but upon closer inspection, he realized the destination was actually his city.

Lu Jingnian was shocked, then hesitantly dialed Su Xia's video call. Su Xia was already waiting for his reply, so she answered quickly, asking as soon as the call connected, "What's wrong?"

"Your plane ticket, is it real?" Lu Jingnian asked haltingly.

"Really? I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. First to Korea, then I'll transfer to your place." Su Xia nodded with a smile.

"Will you come to my graduation ceremony?"

"Ah."

"Haha, I'm so happy right now, I don't know what to say for a moment." Lu Jingnian wiped his face on the other end of the video call, and he even secretly pinched his thigh to verify if it was true or not.

"Pfft, then I'll trouble you to show me around after I arrive, to tell me all the interesting and fun places. Is it alright to take me on a tour?"

"of course."

Will your aunt and uncle attend your graduation ceremony?

"No, they said they'll celebrate when I graduate and go back to China."

"oh oh."

"Are you worried that you'll run into my parents? Does this count as formally meeting the parents?"

"It shouldn't be considered formal. As for meeting the parents, we've already met them a long time ago."

"..." Lu Jingnian was being his usual witty talker and didn't expect Su Xia to respond to him. He was so caught up in Su Xia's words that he forgot what to say next.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect Lu Jingnian, who usually seems so eloquent, to be so useless!" Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help but burst out laughing as she watched Su Xia tease Lu Jingnian, leaving him at a loss.

Upon hearing Ye Zhenzhen's words, Lu Jingnian hid his face from the camera, refusing to show it no matter how Su Xia coaxed him.

Two days later, Su Xia said goodbye to her roommates and went to the airport in the early morning. After a three-hour flight, she landed in Korea. She then immediately re-checked her luggage, had breakfast at the airport, and browsed the duty-free shops, buying some cosmetics, hats, and other accessories—not much, enough to carry on to avoid exceeding the baggage allowance. Then it was almost time to board.

Lu Jingnian followed Su Xia's itinerary closely until she successfully boarded the plane, only then did he feel relieved and calculate the time to pick her up at the airport. He even pulled Kevin aside to start coordinating outfits.

Kevin pieced together the gist of what had happened amidst his rambling: "So, the girl you like bought a plane ticket and flew 22 hours to get here just to attend your graduation ceremony, right?"

"Yes, do you think she did this because she likes me too?" Lu Jingnian asked Kevin cautiously.

"Dude, you've kept yourself pure for her for four years, and she even flew all the way here for you, what are you still doubting!" Kevin looked at Lu Jingnian in disbelief. His buddy was handsome and well-educated. Moreover, families that could afford to send him abroad to study at their own expense were usually quite well-off. He was also pursued by many foreign girls at school. And now, this guy was worried that his girl might not like him after coming all this way.

“But things that aren’t explicitly stated don’t count.” Lu Jingnian knew that there was a difference between being in a relationship and not being confessed. If you love someone, you should give them the best, make them known to everyone, and let everyone know that she exists.

"Then confess your feelings when she arrives!" Kevin, a single guy, looked at Lu Jingnian with exasperation. What kind of innocent young man was this?!

"Yeah, I think so too. Although it's not yet time for our four-year agreement, I can't wait any longer."

At 11 PM, Su Xia, who had just landed after a 14-hour flight, felt her back was about to give way. And this was with a first-class ticket; economy class would have been even worse. So Su Xia took out her phone and sent a message to Chen Wanying:

Coffee keeps me going: Thank you for insisting that I choose first class!

Chen Wanying: We've arrived? Right? First class is much more comfortable.

Coffee to keep me going: Just got off the plane and was about to collect my luggage.

Coffee to keep me going: That's right, fourteen hours, it almost made my butt rot...

Chen Wanying: Did Lu Jingnian come to pick you up? Have you decided where you'll be staying tonight? It's late at night where you are, so be careful.

Coffee to keep me going: He came to pick me up; he told me about it two hours ago.

Chen Wanying: Then you go first, we'll talk again after you've rested enough.

Coffee to keep me going: Good.

Su Xia put away her phone, grabbed her luggage, and pushed a luggage cart towards the exit. As she walked, she texted Lu Jingnian:

Coffee to keep me going: I just grabbed my luggage and was about to head out.

All the Way to Summer: Okay, I'll stand on this side of the exit.

Heading Towards Summer: Do you have a lot of luggage? Can you push it?

Coffee to keep me going: It's alright, just two suitcases, I can manage. I even had a stroller with me.

All the Way to Summer: That's good, take your time.

Su Xia pushed her luggage slowly to the exit. From a distance, she could see a lot of people standing there, some of whom were holding signs with various languages ​​written on them, presumably to pick up people.

Following the crowd, she spotted the boy holding the bouquet. The weather was almost summer; he wore a white T-shirt under a plaid shirt, slim-fit blue jeans, and white sneakers. Su Xia noticed he'd styled his hair with hairspray, and his eyes lit up the moment he saw her.

Lu Jingnian waved happily, then shouted, "Here!"

Su Xia looked at Lu Jingnian through the fence. In the three years since she'd last seen him, the boy had matured considerably. He seemed to have grown taller; before she left, he only reached her neck, now barely reaching her chest. As she drew closer, she could smell his faint fragrance, the same scent as three years ago. For a fleeting moment, she felt as if she were back in high school, and her eyes welled up with tears.

While Su Xia was sizing up Lu Jingnian, Lu Jingnian was also sizing up Su Xia. Even though he had watched every single video she had posted, he still felt a strange yet familiar feeling when he saw her in person. Su Xia was wearing a simple Song Dynasty-style tube top with a thin gauze shawl over it, and a modified three-quarter length horse-face skirt. Her hair was also simply tied up and secured with a hairpin.

That hairpin was a gift he took out of Chinatown to give her. It traveled across the ocean to reach her, then followed her through her hair back to him. How wondrous, yet how perfectly natural! Yes! That was Su Xia, the girl he had loved for a very, very long time.

Lu Jingnian handed the flowers to Su Xia and said, "You must be tired. I've booked the hotel. Let's go check in now."

"I'm not tired. Have you been waiting long?" Su Xia generously accepted the flowers and did not stop Lu Jingnian from taking her luggage cart.

"No, it takes me time to get to the airport too. I borrowed a car from my senior, I'll take you to the hotel later and return it to him tomorrow." Lu Jingnian moved Su Xia's luggage to the trunk, then opened the passenger door for Su Xia to sit in.

How long does it take to get to the hotel from here?

"It will take about two hours. If you are tired, you can take a nap in the car."

"No need, I just woke up over there. If you're sleepy, I can drive it."

"That won't do. You don't have a driver's license here. It would be terrible if they found out."

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that. I'm used to driving in China, haha."

"It's okay. I wouldn't have taken the driving test here if it weren't so inconvenient to get around here."

Do you usually borrow a car when you go out?

"I borrow it occasionally when I need to go to the supermarket to stock up on goods, but I usually ride a bicycle."

"No wonder you've become so muscular; it's all from working out!"

"My graduation ceremony is in three days. I'll take you sightseeing in the next couple of days. Would you like to visit my school?"

"Okay, but didn't you say you were going to return the car to your senior tomorrow morning?"

"And Kevin too. He just bought his car not long ago. His girlfriend invited him out today, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to borrow it from my senior. After he found out you were here, he said I could use his car as I pleased."

"Kevin is such a loyal friend!"

"Yes, he plans to stay here after graduation, so he bought a used car that the seller was going to sell."

"That's great. I brought a lot of snacks from China this time, so I'll share some with him later."

"He's probably jumping for joy. He's taken a lot of those spicy snacks and rice seasonings you sent him before."

"Hahaha, I'm glad you like it."