Rebirth to Save Myself

Chapter 121 Can I kiss you?

Su Xia got up early in the morning, applied a face mask, put on makeup, changed clothes, and styled her hair. She finished by spraying on perfume, then looked at herself in the full-length mirror, checking for any details she might have missed.

Today is Lu Jingnian's graduation ceremony, which is also the main reason she came here. Now that they are officially a couple, she definitely wants to dress up nicely.

"dong dong dong"

"You're here!" Su Xia ran over to open the door, and sure enough, Lu Jingnian was standing outside.

"You look beautiful today!" Lu Jingnian complimented sincerely.

"Hehe, wait a moment, I'm grabbing my bag and camera."

"Uh-huh."

Su Xia grabbed her camera and bag, and Lu Jingnian naturally took the heavier one from her. Then he took Su Xia's hand and headed towards the elevator. As they walked, he said, "Today might take a while, but there's a graduation party tonight, so let's go together."

"Yes, my camera is fully charged, I guarantee I can record it today." The first thing Su Xia did when she got back yesterday was to fully charge her equipment. It was her first time attending a graduation ceremony abroad, and more importantly, it was also Lu Jingnian's graduation ceremony.

"My girlfriend is amazing!" Lu Jingnian gave Su Xia a thumbs up with his other hand, the one he wasn't holding.

They first went to the school and accompanied Lu Jingnian to pick up his graduation gown. After he changed, Lu Jingnian took Su Xia to the family area and told her, "If you need anything, just send me a WeChat message. If I don't reply, call me, okay?"

"Okay, I got it. And remember to tell me roughly when you'll be going on stage so I can record it."

"I'll tell you when I get to my seat."

"Okay, let's go quickly."

"Okay, then be careful."

"Will do."

Lu Jingnian left reluctantly. There was nothing he could do; family members abroad couldn't sit with the graduates. He could only console himself that they were all in the same venue.

He went to his seat, confirmed his name, and then took a picture of the graduation ceremony agenda and sent it to Su Xia:

Heading Towards Summer: [Images]

All the way to summer: roughly in the middle of the time period.

Coffee to keep you going: [OK]

Coffee to keep me going: and there's even music playing, looking forward to it!

Coffee to keep you going: My aunt contacted me yesterday and asked me to take more photos of you to make up for her inability to come.

All the Way to Summer: My mom? She didn't say anything strange, did she?

Coffee to keep me going: No, Auntie just asked me to come to your house for dinner after we go back to China.

All the Way to Summer: That's good, dinner's fine! [Drooling]

Coffee to keep me going: When the time comes, I'll say that when I go back to China, I'll first go and comfort my elderly father.

All the Way to Summer: Do you need my help? Your dad reacted very strongly when Chen Yuan was dating.

Coffee keeps me going: My dad seems to be doing alright now, not as agitated as Chen Yuan was back then.

……

At this moment, Chen Jianguo, the not-so-excited father according to Su Xia, had been scrolling through his WeChat Moments almost two hundred times a day, wanting to see how that brat was trying to fool his good daughter.

Chen Chunqi, who was standing nearby, was speechless and then asked, "She's already in her twenties, why are you so nervous about her dating?"

“I’m not nervous, I’m angry! That brat Lu Jingnian went to university abroad and had no connection with Xiaxia at all. How did he manage to deceive Xiaxia and make her travel all that way to find him?” Chen Jianguo became angrier as he spoke, and sat up straight on the bed.

"Didn't they often study and work on problems together in high school? They must have gotten to know each other then. Besides, it's normal for your daughter to go abroad for fun," Chen Chunqi said dismissively.

"That's why I'm angry!" Chen Jianguo stood on the bed and looked down at Chen Chunqi, saying, "That kid seemed alright back then, he didn't get close to Xiaxia or Yuanyuan, but when we were studying together, he actually tried to seduce Xiaxia! Seriously, if you hadn't stopped me, I would have bought a plane ticket and gone over there to settle the score with him right now."

"Calm down, calm down!" Chen Chunqi pulled Chen Jianguo to sit down, then gently patted his back to help him catch his breath, comforting him as she did so, "Xiaxia said before that she didn't want to get married, it's just dating, why are you so dissatisfied?"

“They tricked my daughter away right under my nose. Chen Wenwei did it, and so did Lu Jingnian.” Chen Jianguo was heartbroken. He felt that Chen Chunqi didn’t understand him. He turned over and sulked to himself.

Seeing Chen Jianguo's reaction, Chen Chunqi stopped talking and instead picked up her phone to send a message to Su Xia:

Chen Chunqi: Your dad is heartbroken.

Coffee for a Lifeline: Huh? Because I'm in a relationship?

Chen Chunqi: Yes, Chen Yuan was with us too.

Coffee to keep me going: [crying and laughing]

Coffee to keep me going: I'll be back in a few days, and I'll try to talk him out then.

Chen Chunqi: Then don't bring Lu Jingnian, otherwise he'll feel even worse.

Coffee to keep me going: Good.

Chen Chunqi: Did you have fun abroad?

Coffee to keep me going: It's alright, but I don't really like the taste. And it's not as convenient as it is back home. I'll ask Dad to take you to the Maldives or Hawaii sometime when he has time.

Chen Chunqi: Take your time, there's still plenty of time.

Coffee to keep me going: Not fast enough. How about this summer? It'll be hot, so let's go on a beach vacation.

Coffee to keep you going: I think it's a good idea. Yuanyuan and I will discuss it and make a guide for you guys.

Chen Chunqi: Okay, I'll do whatever you say.

After chatting with Chen Chunqi, Su Xia continued watching the graduation ceremony. Actually, graduation ceremonies are quite boring; whether in China or abroad, there are always speeches from the principal and other leaders. Then, one by one, the students go on stage, receive their diplomas from the principal, and have their tassels turned. This process is done in order of the students' names, so Lu Jingnian was in the middle.

After reading the name starting with L, Su Xia knew it was almost time, so she set up her camera, ready to record video at any moment.

"Next up, Lu Jingnian."

Lu Jingnian calmly strode onto the stage, walked up to the principal, accepted the certificate, and bowed. He stood next to the principal to take a photo, after which he could leave the stage. The whole process took less than five minutes. Su Xia put away her camera with satisfaction, then checked the schedule. There was still a famous person to speak, so it would probably end around noon.

All the Way to Summer: I'm done.

Coffee to keep me going: Mmm, perfectly filmed the whole process.

All the Way to Summer: Let's have dinner together in a bit; Kevin and his girlfriend are coming too.

Coffee to keep me going: Okay!

Heading Towards Summer: Tonight, at the graduation party, shall we dance?

Coffee to keep me going: What if I didn't skip it?

All the Way to Summer: I didn't either, just casually joining in the fun.

Coffee to keep me going: Good.

After the graduation ceremony, everyone was taking photos with others. Su Xia sat quietly in a chair, waiting for Lu Jingnian to come and pick her up. Lu Jingnian jogged over, then asked, slightly out of breath, "Have you been waiting long?"

No, where's Kevin?

“He’s taking pictures with his girlfriend over there, let’s go over too.”

"Okay, I'd like to take a picture with you too."

"Me too."

Lu Jingnian led Su Xia to Kevin's side. Kevin was a black-haired Chinese man, and his girlfriend was also Chinese. Lu Jingnian said that Kevin had pursued his girlfriend for a long time before winning her over, and he doted on her.

"Kevin, I brought my girlfriend over." Lu Jingnian waved and pointed at Su Xia.

"Wow, Lu, your girlfriend's clothes are so pretty! Hello, my name is Susan." Susan left Kevin behind and walked over to look at Su Xia.

"Thank you for your compliment. My name is Su Xia." Su Xia extended her hand and shook hands with Susan.

"Haha, we're really destined to meet. Although my surname isn't that, it's Lin, Lin Susan." Susan also extended her hand to shake hers.

"That must be fate," Su Xia said, seemingly unconcerned.

"What's the name of the clothes you're wearing? I'd like to buy one and try it on." Susan was a little curious. Unlike Kevin, she had been studying here since she was little, so she wasn't very familiar with Chinese clothing.

"The outfit I'm wearing is called Hanfu. The style of the clothes varies depending on the dynasty in China. Today I'm wearing Ming Dynasty clothing." Su Xia explained these clothes to Susan very carefully. She happened to be wearing a horse-face skirt today.

"Wow, that's so cool." Susan nodded, her desire to try it on growing even stronger.

"Hello, my name is Liu Kaiwen. I'm Lu Jingnian's roommate and best friend. The spicy strips you sent me last time were absolutely delicious." Kaiwen walked over at this moment, introducing himself with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Su Xia. Thank you so much for lending Lu Jingnian your car these past few days. I still have some hot pot base and snacks; I'll have Lu Jingnian bring you some later." Su Xia nodded; since he was Lu Jingnian's good friend, she had to give him face.

"Great! I haven't had hot pot in ages!" Kevin exclaimed with delight, realizing he'd hit the jackpot.

"Ah, I remember now, isn't this you?" Susan quickly opened her phone, opened her social media app, found her friend's posts, and handed the photo to Su Xia.

Su Xia took the photo and saw that it was indeed her. A few days ago, when she visited Lu Jingnian's school, someone had stopped her for a long photo, and she hadn't expected them to upload it online. So she nodded and said, "It's me."

"I saw Emily's post and wanted to come over for a photo, but it was too late when I arrived, and you were already gone. It was a pity, so I was pleasantly surprised to see your outfit today. I didn't expect that the photo Emily posted was of you too." Susan was overjoyed. In Emily's photo that day, Su Xia looked like a gentle and refined young lady from ancient China. She really wanted to meet her.

“Isn’t that even more of a coincidence? I’ll take a picture of you two right now, and you can send it to Emily to show off.” Kevin said, and was about to take out his phone to take a picture of Su Xia and Susan together.

"Come on, take a few more pictures."

After taking photos, the group found a restaurant outside and had lunch together. Susan and Su Xia chatted endlessly, and Susan squeezed past Lu Jingnian and Su Xia to sit together, saying bluntly, "We girls will sit on one side, and you boys will sit on the other side."

Susan got happier and happier chatting, and then she simply lured Su Xia away. Lu Jingnian looked at Kevin and said, "Why don't you keep an eye on your girlfriend?"

“Brother, if I could manage things, would I still be here?” Kevin retorted, then patted Lu Jingnian on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Susan won’t lose her.”

"My girlfriend and I have just started dating, so this is a good time to get closer to her."

"Come on, you told me last time that you and your girlfriend knew each other for all three years of high school."

"We were friends back then, not lovers."

"So Susan took her to choose a dress, so she can stun you at the party tonight."

That's why I didn't refuse.

That evening, Lu Jingnian, dressed in a suit, stood at the entrance of the party, staring at the road. Every time a car passed by, he would ask Kevin, "Is this your girlfriend's car?"

"No, they're on their way and will be here soon."

"Is this your girlfriend's car?"

"No."

Kevin's girlfriend drove up and appeared in a red dress. She said exaggeratedly to Lu Jingnian, "Your girlfriend is so beautiful, you're a lucky guy."

Lu Jingnian nodded, then opened the passenger door where Su Xia was sitting, and then he was stunned.

Su Xia asked somewhat awkwardly, "Does it look bad? I guess I'm just not suited for clothes like this."

"No, it suits you perfectly, it looks beautiful." Lu Jingnian took her hand and pulled her out of the car.

Susan walked over, lifting her dress, and said to Lu Jingnian, "This dress is one I highly recommend. Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?"

"Yes, very beautiful." Lu Jingnian looked at Su Xia, who wore a silver sequined fishtail dress that accentuated her incredibly slender waist. Her hair was styled in a low bun, with some bangs framing her face. The red lips against her fair skin, a look that would normally be quite flamboyant, appeared somewhat dignified on Su Xia, making one want to hug her and kiss those red lips.

"Let's go, the party's about to start." Kevin came over, helped Susan lift her dress, and held her hand to prevent her from falling.

"Let's go, my girlfriend." Lu Jingnian took Su Xia's arm and looked at her expectantly.

"Let's go, boyfriend." Su Xia put aside her slight unease, placed her hand on Lu Jingnian's arm, and followed him to the venue.

Susan, being a playful person, quickly immersed herself in the party atmosphere. Kevin joined her in the fun. Su Xia and Lu Jingnian danced twice that night, then stood aside drinking and relaxing.

When Lu Jingnian returned after greeting his classmates, he saw that Su Xia had two rosy cheeks. Looking at her hand, he saw that there were already several empty glasses. Lu Jingnian quickly pressed down Su Xia's hand, which was about to drink, and said, "This is a cocktail, it's very strong."

"Huh? Lu Jingnian, you're back!" Su Xia flashed a huge smile, then raised her glass as if to claim credit, saying, "This is so delicious, sweet, not bitter like beer."

“This is a cocktail, made from several kinds of liquor. Although it tastes sweet, it has a high alcohol content, and you're a little drunk,” Lu Jingnian said gently as he took her glass.

"I'm not drunk." As if to prove it, Su Xia jumped up but lost her balance and was caught by Lu Jingnian.

Su Xia raised her hands, cupped Lu Jingnian's face in them, looked at him carefully, and asked, "May I kiss you?"