Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 427 - 347: Visiting the Guesthouse Again with the Counselor

Chapter 427: Chapter 347: Visiting the Guesthouse Again with the Counselor

Chen Jieyu placed an old-fashioned frosted cake on the table, which had become a rarity in Hang City of 15 years ago.

Only those cake shops with many years of business would continue to make them.

But in a few more years, when the wave of retro became popular again, many cake shops would begin to promote this style voluntarily, and there would be countless buyers.

Of course, by that time, the ingredients would definitely be better, and the cream would have a finer texture, so the taste would not be the same as in childhood.

For several years, not to mention businesses, but also some variety shows were earning viewers and money with the two words "nostalgia."

Perhaps this was because those who had no money in their childhood had grown up, and now had money in their pockets.

Chen Jieyu looked at the small frosted cake and became somewhat distracted.

When she was a child, before her younger brother was born, she always thought that families like hers did not buy cakes for children’s birthdays.

She often envied her classmates and friends who celebrated their birthdays with cakes, especially since some of them would even invite her to their birthday parties.

The creamy cakes were very beautiful and looked immensely tempting, and they tasted very sweet.

Sometimes, she heard other children tell the birthday child, "When it’s my birthday, I’ll invite you to my house for cake too!"

Whenever this happened, there would be a slight ripple in Chen Jieyu’s little inner world.

After her brother was born, her family began to celebrate his birthday.

The cakes were always bought by Daddy, and he bought this kind of small, frosted cake.

Her brother would occasionally cry and fuss, complaining that the cake was too small.

But according to the men, they hated sweets the most, and their grandparents were too old to eat them.

You are just a child, you can just eat a whole cake by yourself!

Back then, the little boy was also young, especially greedy, and did not understand sharing.

Each time he blew out the candles, he would gobble up the cake quickly and still complained it wasn’t enough.

A few years later, the little boy grew older and became a bit more sensible. He started to think of sharing a piece with his sister to share the joy of his birthday.

But by that time, Chen Jieyu was no longer young, and she no longer craved cakes that much.

Moreover, this was not her birthday cake.

When she first came to Hang City, Chen Jieyu still did not have the habit of celebrating her birthday.

To her, it was just an ordinary day, even a day she wanted to deliberately avoid.

It wasn’t until she passed by a decades-old shop on the street and saw this old-fashioned frosted cake that a strong desire to buy it emerged in her heart.

She still wasn’t used to celebrating her birthday and had never thought about doing so.

Perhaps she just bought it for the little girl who once deeply longed for it.

— Happy birthday to ’me’.

...

...

In the early morning of January 2nd, on the sofa of the staff dormitory, Chen Jieyu lifted the transparent cover of the frosted cake.

She would usually light candles on the cake according to tradition, but she wouldn’t make a wish.

Because the young Chen Jieyu did not have a cake on her birthdays years ago, let alone the ritual of making wishes after the candles were lit.

But since it was still a birthday, and because children always dream of a good life and have many small wishes, she would still make silent wishes on her birthday.

It was for this reason that she would just light the birthday candles and then blow them out after ten seconds.

The reason she did these things in the early hours of her birthday was so that she could treat January 2nd as an ordinary day.

However, today, she looked at the cake without inserting the candles for a long time.

After a while, the urban mature woman with gold-rimmed glasses sighed softly.

"People really do get greedier and have more and more expectations," she thought.

Chen Jieyu believed Cheng Zhu probably didn’t know it was her birthday today because she hadn’t mentioned it.

She had also made no such arrangement in her heart and had not thought about spending her birthday with him.

But human nature is indeed contradictory and complex.

There was still a little bit of hope deep in her heart.

This hope was called—what if?

And there’s a saying that fits well:

"[Once people have expectations, they also have troubles.]"

In fact, Cheng Zhu certainly knew that today was her birthday.

It’s easy to find out someone’s birthday.

For example, the last numbers of Chen Jieyu’s WeChat ID were 0102.

This was normal, as many people have this habit of setting their ID.

There was also the fact that class two of computer science had its own WeChat and QQ group.

Because at that time, many people still frequently used QQ, unlike later, when WeChat became more popular.

QQ had personal info, and Chen Jieyu’s QQ information also showed January 2nd.

So, he picked up his phone at dawn and sent a WeChat message.

"Are you asleep?" he asked.

Chen Jieyu’s eyes brightened slightly when she received the WeChat.

"Not yet," she replied instantly.

"Still awake so late today?" Cheng Zhu intentionally asked.

"Yes," she replied just like that.

The shameless man murmured to himself with his phone: "Hey! Why are you all like Lin Lu, each of you purposely not telling me about your birthdays, eh!"

Alright, alright! You women are all so good!

Making it difficult for us men, right?

Too bad, you can’t stump me!

He started typing: "Are you free tomorrow?"

"I have a meeting at the school in the morning," Chen Jieyu replied.

The implication was clear; she was free except for the morning.

"Okay, then I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon," Cheng Zhu texted.

"What are we doing?"

"Having a meal, do you remember the barbecue restaurant we first went to? It’s been a while since we ate there, I kind of miss it." Cheng Zhu also specifically booked their small private room.

Chen Jieyu looked at the phone screen, recalled the moments at that barbecue restaurant, and walked into her bedroom with her phone, looking at the delicate little sake bottle and cup given by the restaurant on her shelf.

"Sure," she agreed.

Although she had no plans to spend her birthday with Cheng Zhu, she was still happy to go to the "old place" for dinner today.

Or rather, she was quite content.

Indeed, there’s nothing special about a birthday, but life spent together with him is still very nice.

"Then go to bed early, I’m also going to sleep, see you tomorrow," Cheng Zhu sent a WeChat message.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, good night."

"Good night."

After putting down her phone, Chen Jieyu returned to the living room and looked at the frosted cake on the table before finally placing it in the fridge to chill.

...

...

At five in the afternoon, Chen Jieyu did not let Cheng Zhu pick her up from the staff dormitory.

Their dates were like secret romances during student days, often avoiding the eyes of others and sneaking around.

Frankly, Cheng Zhu found it quite fun.

"A healthy love is important, but forbidden love is indeed thrilling!" — Cheng Zhu.

Doing seven-eighths of the stuff with the class advisor at the university wasn’t just about physical pleasure.

He went to a hair salon to pick up the advisor, and she had deliberately gone out to wash her hair and curl it, aiming for a refined and beautiful look.

Today’s Ms. Chen was still wearing a coat, just not the one that Cheng Zhu bought.

She didn’t want her coat to pick up the smells of the smoky barbecue restaurant.

This was the second time the two came to this barbecue restaurant to eat. Since the first visit, Cheng Zhu never chose this place again.

But, memories remained in the cozy little private room.

At that time, Cheng Zhu saw the most vulnerable and broken Chen Jieyu, and kept jabbing her heart during their meal.

It was supposed to be her treat but ended up in a pricey barbecue restaurant, putting the financially strapped Ms. Chen under a lot of pressure at first.

Halfway through the meal, he even told her: Many people say they can’t see the future, but it’s actually because they can see the future all too well.

For the counselor at that time, that sentence was a complete breakdown.

It didn’t just hit her armor, but it was a critical hit.

However, sitting in the private room now, Chen Jieyu recalled that sentence but didn’t feel the same discomfort as that moment.

She didn’t know what the future held for her.

Because of Cheng Zhu’s arrival and their current relationship, her life seemed to have entered a road she had never imagined before.

She was unsure what the scenery would be like if she continued down this road.

It was like her future was shrouded in fog.

That night, she watched Zhou Xingchi’s "King of Comedy" on TV.

She caught that line of dialogue.

"Hey, look how dark it is upfront, you can’t see anything," Liu Piaopiao said, looking forward.

"It’s not, it will be beautiful after dawn," Yin Tianchou responded.

At the moment, while eating, the two chatted casually.

Cheng Zhu was still the same, not treating her as a teacher at all, only calling her "Ms. Chen" when he wanted to tease her.

Most of the time now, he directly used her name.

This time, Cheng Zhu didn’t drink the specialty rice wine of the place, and though Chen Jieyu was willing to have a little drink, she followed suit when she saw that he didn’t plan to drink.

After the meal, she insisted on paying the bill.

"What, the first time we came here you agreed to pay, but I ended up paying, are you trying to make up for it today?" Cheng Zhu said with a smile.

Chen Jieyu did not respond directly, simply saying, "Let me pay today anyways."

Cheng Zhu looked at her and speculated, "Thinking of paying because it’s your birthday today?"

After getting in the car, Cheng Zhu looked in the direction of Technology University.

Chen Jieyu thought today was just about having dinner, but as they neared the school, Cheng Zhu said, "Later go upstairs and pack up your overnight stuff, come stay out with me today."

"Huh?" Surprise immediately appeared on the counselor’s face.

In addition to surprise, there was some discomfort.

Although the two had been intimate several times, it always involved Cheng Zhu running to the staff dormitory followed by things "naturally" happening between them.

This was their first time sitting together and openly saying to stay out at night.

She even felt it was a bit awkward.

In relationships, there’s always such a process.

Perhaps when some guys take the initiative to mention staying out for the first time, they might also be nervously thumping inside, their heartbeat racing.

But of course, Cheng Zhu had no shame.

Chen Jieyu lowered her eyelids and even harbored some suspicions, "Is the idea of coming out for dinner just a pretext for what he had in mind?"

However, Cheng Zhu’s next words made her turn to look at him.

While driving, he said indifferently, "I booked the homestay we stayed at during the autumn outing, that same room."

...

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