Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 181 - 181 178 A Meeting of Minds

Chapter 181: Chapter 178: A Meeting of Minds Chapter 181: Chapter 178: A Meeting of Minds On Saturday, Song Jiawen would usually have dinner at her mother’s place as usual, but today she planned to go there a bit later because Yang Dan had called early in the morning to say she would drop by with some milk tea.

The temperature in Beijing at the beginning of November had already fallen to single digits, and the breath exhaled in the early morning turned into white mist.

Song Jiawen was wearing a beige quilted hoodie that Mu Chenyan had bought for her, with a matching down vest layered over it. The white fur on the hood of the vest made her face look even more delicate and ethereal, her pale and fine skin resembling that of a newborn. As she walked downstairs, both men and women couldn’t help but sneak glances at her.

Jiang Yan was sitting on his bicycle, one hand on the handlebar, one foot steadying on the ground. He tilted his head to look at the cheeky girl who was the center of everyone’s attention but was completely unaware of it. As she approached, he reached out to put the hood of her down vest over her head, covering almost her entire face, “Wear your hood, it’s cold!”

Song Jiawen didn’t resist. She took out a pair of black leather gloves from the bag she was carrying and handed them over.

Jiang Yan accepted them and tried them on; they fit perfectly and were lined with fleece, warm to the touch. Satisfied, he flexed his hands in the gloves and asked, “When did you buy these?”

“Last night.”

Jiang Yan looked up, “You went out last night?”

“A bunch of us went together because it got colder, and they all wanted to buy warm clothes. A few guys also came along, so I didn’t call you.”

He had been busy lately anyway, as many people knew he ran a computer store, so they came to him non-stop to purchase computers.

Since coming here, Jiang Yan had never gone shopping for clothes. Song Jiawen was the one who took care of all his clothing needs, from the inside to the outside, except for underwear.

Like the black quilted hoodie with a hood and sweatpants he was currently wearing, they had been purchased before the temperature dropped.

Song Jiawen took a seat on the back of the bicycle, and as Jiang Yan slowly pedaled away, he asked her, “Next month is your 18th birthday. Have you thought about what you want?”

He had already prepared what he wanted to give her as a present but still wanted to hear her thoughts.

Her thoughts?

Song Jiawen had no conception of a birthday because in her fourteen years with the Song family, she had never celebrated it once.

In the past, Xie Jingying and Song Xiwen, even though appearing nice to her on the surface, would avoid her “birthday,” acting very busy on that day to skirt the issue.

But it didn’t matter, that wasn’t her birthday anyway.

As for now…

Since it was the first year she had been found and coincidentally her 18th birthday, Mu Chenyan wanted to prepare a lavish celebration, inviting all their close family friends so she could introduce Jiawen to everyone.

But Song Jiawen disliked that idea!

Taking her personality into account, Mu Chenyan ultimately vetoed that plan, limiting the guest list to a few close members of the Yu family and her two good friends.

However, Song Jiawen didn’t care about any of that. She was not even looking forward to the upcoming birthday party, merely saying, “Before my birthday, I need to go back to Jade City to pay respects to my grandmother. As for anything else… I don’t know, my mom will notify me when the time comes. I hope it won’t be too much trouble then.”

She said, furrowing her brow, “Mom said I could invite a few friends to the house. Other than you and Er’zi, do you think I should invite Yang Dan?”

Just thinking about having to explain the story of how she got lost as a child and only recently found her family again was irritating her. Even if the person was Yang Dan, she didn’t want to say more than necessary.

“If you feel it’s a hassle, then don’t invite her,”

Jiang Yan decided for her, “I’ll talk to Er’zi, and it’ll just be the two of us going.”

As they talked, they arrived at Xinyu. Song Jiawen handed the paper bag she was holding to Er’zi, “Down jacket – saw it while shopping, Jiang Yan has one too.”

Er’zi eagerly took it, pleased. The last time, Jiajia had also bought him a tracksuit. After all, being a girl, she had better taste than him, and he liked every piece of clothing she picked out.

“Do you have enough money? If not, take some from your brother. Stop painting, can’t the two of us open a store and still provide for you?”

The second brother didn’t give Song Jiawen any money, knowing that this was something Jiang Yan had to do; he couldn’t compete with him.

What he didn’t know was that Song Jiawen was now much richer than the two of them. Besides, she went to her mom’s for a meal every week, and with a little bit added here and there, she couldn’t even spend all her pocket money—the excess was all saved in her card.

It was early and not many people were around, so Jiang Yan and the second brother were tidying up spare parts and discussing the purchases they planned to make that day.

Jing Junyang, the guy who had previously given him Chinese cigarettes, had mentioned wanting to discuss a business deal with him. He and two senior friends planned to start a gaming computer company next year.

Initially, Jing Junyang’s plan was to have Jiang Yan build computers for their company once it opened. But after he saw the high-quality gaming computer Jiang Yan built for a senior, Jing Junyang immediately had a new idea.

He wanted to bring Jiang Yan into the partnership.

The two seniors from the computer science department were quite impressed with Jiang Yan and welcomed him with open arms.

Though Jing Junyang didn’t always seem reliable, he had money. Plus, even though he wasn’t great at computer science, he could draw character cards.

The other two seniors were prominent figures in the computer science department, consistently winning top awards, and one had even been guaranteed a spot for further research.

The three had already chosen and rented a location for the company, and after the new year, as soon as the seniors started their internships, they would get to work.

After some consideration, Jiang Yan had already agreed to join.

Around nine-thirty, Yang Dan arrived at Xinyu carrying three cups of milk tea and three cups of coffee.

“Bringing so much, who can finish all this?”

As soon as Song Jiawen saw her, she hurriedly put down the novel in her hand, got up, and took the milk teas from her.

“Drink coffee first, the milk tea can be reheated if it cools down.”

The last time, the milk tea they left to cool was reheated by the second brother in a small pot, and surprisingly, it was still quite tasty.

“How’s business? The boss hasn’t taken advantage of you again, has he?”

Hearing Song Jiawen’s question, Yang Dan smiled with her eyes curved into crescents, glanced at Jiang Yan, and said, “Business is quite good, and the boss is nice too. She says she’s afraid Jiang Yan might sue her if she doesn’t give me the commission as per our contract.”

Having learned from a previous loss, Yang Dan had signed a formal contract with Qiao Yuning on Jiang Yan’s advice.

Relieved by the news, Song Jiawen advised her, “Keep the commission and salary you get for yourself first, don’t rush to send it back home. Your parents are farming at home—they lack neither food nor drink. Your second brother has money; he doesn’t need that three thousand yuan. Even if you want to repay it, wait until you graduate.”

She thought for a moment and added, “Anyway, to your sister-in-law, it’s the same whether you repay now or four years later—she’ll still think you owe her a favor. So just wait until you graduate. If need be, later on, when your nephew starts school, you can give him more support as a way of repaying the favor.”

Her words were not much different from what Jiang Yan had said before.

If Yang Dan didn’t know their personalities, she might have thought Jiang Yan told Jiajia.

But she knew it wasn’t the case.

Was this what they call a meeting of minds?

Changing the subject, she asked, “Are you free tomorrow? Want to visit our campus? Some seniors are going to deal with their papers.”

Song Jiawen shook her head, “I can’t go tomorrow, we’ve agreed to help my roommate collect a debt.”