Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 428 - 348: Romantic Trashy Man?

Chapter 428: Chapter 348: Romantic Trashy Man?

Autumn outing, guesthouse, rainy night.

That was where their entanglement began.

Chen Jieyu had thought today’s "revisit to the old place" would be that barbecue restaurant where they first had a date alone.

But unexpectedly, the final destination turned out to be that guesthouse.

This shameless man had no filter, he could go straight to the point without any preamble: "Stay with me in a room tonight."

Chen Jieyu found this type of communication quite exhausting.

Yet, on this special day, he had booked such a special place.

And according to him, he had taken the initiative, having already reserved that suite with a large floor-to-ceiling window and excellent soundproofing, waiting for your nod.

In the end, the counselor chose silence.

That was her way, silent consent.

This was exactly the same as that time at the guesthouse.

Back then, she had told Cheng Zhu: "I don’t know how to put this, and I don’t know if you can understand what I really mean; it’s not that I don’t want to pay you back."

Faced with her pride and inferiority, Cheng Zhu, being quite a player, had half-jokingly, half-seriously said, "So, is it that hard to say you like me?"

At that moment, she was silent as well.

But that silence was also an answer.

Lin Lu’s confession was quirky, while Chen Jieyu’s was silent.

Yet on that night, her response to Cheng Zhu’s advances was more proactive and passionate.

At this moment, the urban mature woman with gold-rimmed glasses sat in the Land Rover, looking out the window.

She suddenly thought that it might be nice to spend a day in the guesthouse for her birthday this year, to clear her mind.

Rounded up, it could also be considered as him unknowingly celebrating her birthday.

...

...

Back in the staff housing, Chen Jieyu returned to her bedroom to gather the items she would take.

There wasn’t much to take, just skincare products, makeup, and a change of clothes.

While in her room, she even changed into a set of underwear she had bought not long ago.

Before descending with her luggage, she opened the refrigerator and hesitated looking at the old ornamental cake.

In the end, she decided to bring it along.

She took the chilled small cake and carefully placed it inside her bag.

Having done all this, she then went downstairs.

Her home was actually only a few steps away from Cheng Zhu’s car.

But she walked with utmost caution, feeling a tad nervous, fearing she might bump into someone.

During her student days, she never understood why dating was so consuming for her early-romantic peers.

Now, she somewhat understood that sneaky thrill.

As she reached the car, Cheng Zhu opened the trunk.

Chen Jieyu placed her luggage inside, noticing a carry bag brought by Cheng Zhu containing his daily essentials.

This made her secretly scorn, "He definitely had it all planned out."

This randy man just wanted to stay out with someone.

It was lust-driven all along!

Such pure intentions, only one shade.

After boarding the vehicle, as night fell, the Land Rover sped toward the guesthouse.

Along the way, Chen Jieyu felt a bit awkward.

She had previously felt it was too risky for Cheng Zhu to come to her dorm.

But she could see he found joy in it.

Yet, like today, agreeing to stay out together made her feel strangely uncomfortable.

It did not feel as natural or inevitable as it did in the dorm.

Cheng Zhu had noticed she changed into the sneakers he had bought when she boarded the car.

"Is it because you saw I wore them today?"

"Or is it because of some other reason?" he wondered.

Inside the car, Cheng Zhu’s playlist played randomly.

He was the kind who liked to set his music player on shuffle, yet infuriatingly skipped songs crazily.

As he skipped, the car started playing the song "Embrace."

On that indebted night at the guesthouse, Bluetooth speakers played this same song.

It was fitting then, and even more so now.

The song echoed inside the car.

"[Shedding the mask of a long day, rushing to the boundary of dreams~]"

To others, Chen Jieyu was meticulously crafted, wearing a mask.

"But to me, she is real," thought Cheng Zhu.

"[The midnight of a pumpkin carriage, changed into fairy tale glass slippers~]"

Chen Jieyu might be considered a Cinderella; she didn’t have glass slippers, but she had the white sneakers Cheng Zhu gave her.

When the car arrived at the guesthouse, it was 8:30 PM.

The guesthouse owner recognized the handsome man and beautiful woman, then glanced at the Land Rover outside, feeling a bit envious.

"Rich kids are really something, huh, driving a Land Rover to school and even getting the teacher."

"Come to think of it, how come their class counselor is so pretty, or is it that all universities in Hang City are like this now?"

Of course, he just muttered to himself internally.

As a guesthouse owner, he maintained professional integrity and would not disclose guests’ information.

To be precise, being in this business, he was accustomed to witnessing things ordinary people wouldn’t, peering into another layer of the world.

He was used to it.

When registering, Cheng Zhu stood there comfortably.

Chen Jieyu felt slightly uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed.

Her almost maiden-like demeanor amused Cheng Zhu, finding it quite cute.

Besides, when handing over her ID card, she intentionally blocked Cheng Zhu from seeing it.

"Quite a big star complex, won’t even let me see your ID photo?" he thought silently.

After they went upstairs together, walking down the hallway, Chen Jieyu softly asked: "How come you didn’t need to register your ID?"

She had just noticed this detail.

The guesthouse owner only registered her information, not Cheng Zhu’s.

"What, you don’t want to show me your ID photo, but you want to see mine?" Cheng Zhu changed the subject, teasing on purpose.

This made Chen Jieyu feel a bit embarrassed.

She always found Cheng Zhu peculiar, seemingly young but often able to see through her little thoughts.

"What’s there to see in an ID card," said the counselor.

"If you don’t want to see it, then don’t," shrugged Cheng Zhu.

Being toyed with like this, Chen Jieyu forgot to continue questioning.

As for why Cheng Zhu didn’t need to register, that was because he had already registered that afternoon, having already visited once.

Reaching the end of the hallway, he swiped the room card.

After the two of them walked in, Cheng Zhu shut the door and then turned on the room lights.

When the lights came on, Chen Jieyu was utterly captivated by the sight before her, a flicker of disbelief in her eyes.

In the suite’s living area, by the floor-to-ceiling windows, hung the words "Happy Birthday."

The carpet in front of the window was filled with large and small gift boxes.

There were 27 gift boxes in total, each marked with a number from 1 to 27.

Some boys, when they first start dating a girl, follow a cliché pattern for birthday gifts.

That is, she gets as many gifts as her age.

For example, if the girl is 20 years old, prepare 20 gifts.

This is for the 1-year-old you, this is for the 2-year-old you, this for the 3-year-old you...

This demonstrates commitment, wins by quantity, and expresses an attitude as if he’s been part of her past life.

— Darling, if I don’t let go of the past, then surely, I’ll not let go of the future either.

When exactly this small gimmick became popular, Cheng Zhu couldn’t quite remember.

His memory was hazy; it seemed to be quite recent?

Some gimmicks get hyped on the internet and suddenly become popular.

And honestly, a lot of guys are really clueless, many actually search online: "What to give my girlfriend for her birthday?"

These small tricks will have people online advising you.

Cheng Zhu certainly wouldn’t think this trick was impressive.

He personally didn’t like overly gimmicky stuff.

Like giving a gift meant for a one-year-old, mostly just pacifiers and the like, what’s the use?

Keep it to later give to your own child?

I’d like to see how many of you make it to marriage and having children!

Moreover, do you think it’s her first time encountering this kind of surprise?

Please, they’ve probably experienced this old trick during their last relationship!

Buddy, you might even be re-gifting what your predecessor picked out, believe it or not?

But because it was Chen Jieyu, because of her unique life experience, after some thought, Cheng Zhu chose to do this.

He knew well that a family placing less value on daughters would hardly celebrate her birthday properly.

From the previous incident of borrowing five thousand, it was clear they didn’t care about Chen Jieyu’s well-being, they didn’t care whether she could manage on her own in such an expensive city as Hang City.

Cheng Zhu speculated, "They probably wouldn’t even bother to prepare a birthday gift, probably just buy a small cake or cook some birthday noodles as a token gesture."

This scumbag certainly had plenty of tricks.

He had different approaches for different women.

Sometimes, it felt like he was just manipulating, as if he was a high-level manipulation machine.

But he always achieved the best effect; Cheng Zhu definitely put thought into it, indeed with sincerity.

To ordinary people, preparing birthday gifts this way might seem romantic.

Cheng Zhu thought that Chen Jieyu probably had many voids in her heart, and he just wanted to help fill those a little.

What damn parents, what damn grandparents? You don’t care for her, I do!

The two stood in the room, Cheng Zhu pointed to the gifts on the floor, saying, "Don’t think it’s all for you. Gifts 1 to 6 are for the little brat Chen Jieyu."

"Gifts 7 to 12 are for the elementary student Chen Jieyu."

"Gifts 13 to 15 are for the junior high student Chen Jieyu."

"...."

Cheng Zhu kept speaking.

"Lastly, only this 27th gift is truly for you," he said.

In fact, from the moment he first spoke, Chen Jieyu already felt a lump in her throat, on the verge of tears.

She clenched the strap of her bag that contained the ornamental cake tightly.

A person who had never even had a birthday cake in her childhood, today had received a floor full of gifts.

Cheng Zhu embraced her from behind, then leaned in slightly and whispered softly, "Happy birthday."

...

(ps: Second update, tomorrow’s update will be late, and I will post a double Chapter to facilitate later modifications, sigh, I’m already quite adept at this.... seeking monthly pass!)