Rebirth Begins with Rejecting My Childhood Friend

"Some things I need to say upfront: this semester, you've only attended this one class, so it's impossible for me to give you any participation grades. If I did, it wouldn't be fair to the others. Therefore, your final grade will be entirely determined by your exam score. If you don't want to fail, you'd better work hard… With your girlfriend's grades being so good, as her boyfriend, you can't fall behind, right?"

Xu Xiuwen understood that Teacher Tang was not deliberately targeting him.

His approach was fair, and since it was stated openly, no other students would have any complaints.

So he nodded and said, "Teacher Tang, don't worry, I will definitely review thoroughly."

"Alright, let's start the class."

The classroom returned to its normal rhythm.

On the podium, Teacher Tang began the last class of the semester.

Meanwhile, Xiao Tang, the little teacher, couldn't help but say to Xu Xiuwen, "Xu Xiuwen, don't worry. I've organized the notes. If you review according to them, the exam will definitely be fine."

Xu Xiuwen wasn't worried at all.

He reached out and ruffled the girl's hair with a fond smile.

In the blink of an eye, two periods had passed.

Near the end of the second period, the entire teaching building suddenly became chaotic.

People in the hallway were running quickly, and one could vaguely hear someone saying something about a "fire."

After the bell rang, Teacher Tang left, and students surged into the hallway.

Soon, it was heard that the female dormitory building was on fire.

Upon hearing this news, discussions erupted.

Students with no classes for the next few periods rushed towards the dormitory building, while those with classes continued to their next classrooms with a gossiping mindset.

Xu Xiuwen's heart sank.

He suddenly had a bad premonition.

He grabbed a passing student and asked, "Do you know which female dormitory building is on fire?"

The student replied, "I don't know either."

Xu Xiuwen's unease grew stronger.

He suddenly thought of something and quickly asked Tang Weiwei beside him, "Is Shen Minyao in the dorm?"

Tang Weiwei replied with an "mm."

"Quick, call Shen Minyao and ask where she is!"

Xu Xiuwen shouted at Tang Weiwei, then immediately ran out of the teaching building, sprinting towards the direction of the fire.

As Xu Xiuwen exited the teaching building, the sky above the distant female dormitory building was already enveloped in thick smoke, turning the clear blue sky into a dirty gray.

The closer he got to the dormitory, the heavier his heart felt.

From the smoke, Xu Xiuwen could see that the burning dormitory building increasingly resembled the one where Tang Weiwei and her friends lived.

When he arrived near the burning female dormitory building, Xu Xiuwen was stunned.

The building on fire was indeed the one where Tang Weiwei and her friends lived!

A large crowd of students had gathered in front of the female dormitory building.

Many were even in light clothing, looking at the burning building with shock.

Some frightened girls seemed to have been scared and were crying softly in their friends' arms.

At this moment, countless windows of the female dormitory building were emitting thick smoke, and some windows even showed clear flames.

It was impossible to tell where the fire started, as the entire building was almost completely covered in black smoke.

Once the fire started, it was uncontrollable.

With each passing second, the situation worsened.

Xu Xiuwen looked at the burning dormitory building with immense anxiety.

At this time, Tang Weiwei and Su Yanyan also arrived breathlessly.

Tang Weiwei gasped, "Xu Xiuwen, Sister Minyao's phone isn't going through."

Xu Xiuwen's heart sank upon hearing this.

He stood on tiptoe, scanning the surrounding girls.

This one isn't it!

This one isn't either!

Still not it!

His gaze swept over one girl after another, but none of them were Shen Minyao.

Tang Weiwei was still trying to call, but the calls remained unanswered.

Xu Xiuwen suddenly spotted the dormitory supervisor.

He rushed up to her and grabbed her hand, asking, "Auntie, are there still people in the dorm?"

The dormitory supervisor was startled by Xu Xiuwen's sudden approach.

Regaining her composure, she pulled her hand away from Xu Xiuwen and frowned, saying, "I used the loudspeaker to shout several times as soon as the smoke appeared. Everyone got out, and no one is left upstairs!"

"Are you sure, Auntie?"

The supervisor, clearly displeased, replied, "Of course, I'm sure."

At that moment, the dormitory building was ablaze, with thick black smoke pouring out from every window.

The fire was getting worse.

Xu Xiuwen quickly returned to Tang Weiwei and anxiously asked, "Still no contact with Shen Minyao?"

Su Yanyan also realized why Xu Xiuwen was so worried and whispered, "Could Sister Minyao still be inside the dorm?"

Xu Xiuwen immediately shot Su Yanyan a fierce look.

Su Yanyan was taken aback by Xu Xiuwen's intense gaze.

She felt a bit wronged, thinking, even if Sister Minyao is really up there, it's not my fault, so why is he glaring at me?

Unable to reach Shen Minyao, Tang Weiwei also started to panic.

"Why isn't Sister Minyao answering the phone?"

Xu Xiuwen felt an immense weight on his heart.

After his rebirth, Xu Xiuwen had always harbored guilt towards Shen Minyao, who was his wife in his past life, and thus had avoided approaching her.

Even when she had clearly shown interest in him, Xu Xiuwen had still rejected her.

But with today's sudden crisis, Xu Xiuwen realized just how significant Shen Minyao was to him.

Just the thought of Shen Minyao being trapped in the burning building made his heart race with anxiety and distress.

The fire at the dormitory attracted more and more students who gathered to watch.

The dormitory supervisor pulled out a loudspeaker, urging students to stay away from the building to avoid getting injured by falling debris.

Seeing the loudspeaker in her hand, Xu Xiuwen could no longer hold back.

He walked up to the supervisor, snatched the loudspeaker without asking for permission, and ran quickly to the base of Building 601, shouting, "Shen Minyao! Shen Minyao!"

But soon, the supervisor caught up and snatched the loudspeaker back.

The supervisor, clearly annoyed, scolded, "I've already said that no one is upstairs. Why are you making trouble?"

Tang Weiwei and Su Yanyan followed.

Tang Weiwei apologized to the supervisor on Xu Xiuwen's behalf and explained the situation.

The supervisor's anger subsided a bit after hearing this.

But she remained convinced that no one was left upstairs, as she had called out several times on every floor as soon as the fire started.

The supervisor walked away.

Before leaving, she said, "I've already called 119; they'll be here soon, so you don't need to worry."

Xu Xiuwen stared at the burning dormitory building, silent for a moment.

Su Yanyan asked quietly, "Sister Weiwei, still no contact with Sister Minyao?"

Tang Weiwei looked at her phone and shook her head.

Both of them wore worried expressions.

After a moment of hesitation, she tried to reassure them, "Dada, Sister Weiwei, don't worry so much. Maybe Sister Minyao has already gotten out but just doesn't have her phone with her."

"But where is she? I haven't seen her! I shouted so loudly just now; if she were nearby, how could she not hear me?"

Su Yanyan was immediately at a loss for words.

Tang Weiwei suddenly grabbed Xu Xiuwen's hand.

"Xu Xiuwen, don't be so anxious. The firefighters will arrive soon."

Xu Xiuwen shook his head, "No, if Shen Minyao is inside, it might be too late."

"What should we do then?"

"I need to go in and see if she's in the dorm."

"Ah!" x2

Xu Xiuwen's words drew shocked exclamations from the two girls.

Xu Xiuwen had been struggling silently, considering whether to go in and search for Shen Minyao.

The situation was now: he wasn't sure if Shen Minyao was in the dorm, and the fire had worsened significantly from when it first started, making it extremely dangerous.

But Xu Xiuwen couldn't overcome his inner conflict.

If Shen Minyao was indeed inside and he did nothing, he would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Having made his decision, Xu Xiuwen acted immediately.

He didn't recklessly dash into the building but instead suddenly ran into the adjacent dormitory building.

When he emerged, he was wearing a borrowed coat that was completely soaked and dripping water.

He also held a wet towel, which he had just borrowed.

Equipped with these items, Xu Xiuwen was ready to enter the building.

Su Yanyan suddenly blocked his path.

"Dada, you can't go in. It's too dangerous!"

"Yanyan, don't block me. I need to go in and rescue people."

"I know you want to help, but you…" Su Yanyan was desperate.

She felt she couldn't persuade Xu Xiuwen alone.

Remembering that Tang Weiwei was Xu Xiuwen's girlfriend, she quickly turned to her, "Sister Weiwei, you need to stop Dada. He can't go in."

If Tang Weiwei persuaded him, Xu Xiuwen might be swayed.

But Tang Weiwei's response surprised Xu Xiuwen.

She quickly said, "Yanyan, let him go in!"

"Sister Weiwei!" Su Yanyan's mouth dropped open in shock.

Tang Weiwei didn't look at her but turned to Xu Xiuwen, her face marked with concern.

"Xu Xiuwen, whether you find Sister Minyao or not, you must come out immediately."

Tang Weiwei's support was unexpected for Xu Xiuwen.

But he reacted quickly, nodding and saying, "I understand. You stay outside and wait for me!"

Su Yanyan was completely stunned by their exchange.

She sighed and stepped aside.

"Dada, be careful. If it gets too dangerous, come out quickly."

Xu Xiuwen acknowledged her with a brief "Hmm" and then dashed towards the entrance of the female dormitory building.

There were many students gathered around the dormitory, causing a noisy and chaotic scene.

At that moment, a boy suddenly ran towards the building.

This act immediately drew everyone's attention.

The dormitory supervisor, seeing this, immediately shouted, "What are you doing? Come back!"

But Xu Xiuwen had already made up his mind and was not going to listen to the dormitory supervisor.

Under the gaze of countless students, Xu Xiuwen, clad in a soaked coat, charged into the dormitory building.

The situation inside the dormitory was even worse than Xu Xiuwen had imagined.

Thick smoke filled the space, with murky particles that made each breath painful to the chest.

The black smoke nearly enveloped all the space, making it impossible to see ahead.

The roaring flames laughed like demons, emitting occasional crackling and explosive sounds.

The old dormitory building offered no resistance to the flames. Wherever the fire reached, it scorched everything.

For Xu Xiuwen, this was his first close encounter with a large fire.

His natural fear of the fire made his legs tremble slightly.

He swallowed hard and quickly assessed his surroundings.

The layout of the female dormitory was similar to that of the male dormitory.

Xu Xiuwen bent low and followed the wall to find the staircase, then charged up without hesitation.

By the time he reached the sixth floor, the fire was even more intense than below.

The transparent plastic door at the stairwell was on fire, with the softening plastic unable to support the glass, causing large shards to fall and scatter everywhere.

The dormitory was now deserted.

The normally quiet corridor was filled with thick smoke, obscuring everything.

It felt like a monstrous entity that could devour anyone.

Heavy objects fell from the ceiling, creating piercing noises.

Flames leaped out from every dorm room door, their fierce appearance chilling.

Below the female dormitory building.

With such severe fire conditions, several school leaders rushed over as soon as they learned about the fire.

When they arrived downstairs, they heard that a boy had just run into the building.

One leader couldn't help but say, "This is reckless! Get him down!"

Someone used a loudspeaker to shout at the dormitory, urging Xu Xiuwen to come down quickly.

But Xu Xiuwen upstairs paid no attention to this.

He hunched over, pressed against the wall, and ran swiftly towards Dorm 601.

The surrounding smoke made it hard for him to breathe, and he had to press the wet towel covering his nose and mouth tighter.

As he passed one dorm room, a fierce flame burst out from inside.

The high-temperature flames burned Xu Xiuwen's skin, causing him pain.

He was knocked to the ground by the force of the fire.

He struggled to get up and quickly continued running forward.

The corridor, which was not long, felt infinitely stretched at that moment.

After expending tremendous effort and enduring numerous hardships, Xu Xiuwen finally reached the door of Dorm 601.

The door to Dorm 601 was closed.

Fortunately, before coming up, Xu Xiuwen had gotten a key from Tang Weiwei.

With one hand holding the wet towel to cover his nose and mouth, Xu Xiuwen quickly reached into his pocket with the other, found the key, and unlocked the door.

As the door opened, Xu Xiuwen immediately rushed inside.

He quickly turned around and closed the door behind him, blocking the searing heat.

Xu Xiuwen didn't have time to catch his breath.

"Shen Minyao, are you here!" Xu Xiuwen shouted.

Although there were no visible flames inside Dorm 601, the room was still filled with smoke.

Xu Xiuwen could not see clearly inside the room.

He called Shen Minyao's name, but no one responded.

Determined, he took a few more steps forward.

At that moment, he suddenly saw someone lying on one of the beds.

Xu Xiuwen hurried over, climbed onto the bed, and pulled back the thin blanket.

Underneath the blanket lay a quiet girl—none other than Shen Minyao!

Finding Shen Minyao, Xu Xiuwen was overwhelmed with relief.

Not listening to the dormitory supervisor and risking going upstairs to search was indeed the right decision.