Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 541 - 541 536 Conscripted Strongman

Chapter 541: Chapter 536: Conscripted Strongman Chapter 541: Chapter 536: Conscripted Strongman Jiang Yan and Zhu Zhen had come over intending to help Zhu Jin settle the three of them in, but when Jiang Yan carried Mu Jiawen up to the second floor and tried to put her on the bed, the girl clung to his neck and wouldn’t let go, burrowing into his embrace even more.

Looking down at her, Jiang Yan could tell that even though she was still in a drowsy sleep, she clearly recognized the familiar scent and didn’t want to leave.

He didn’t want to either.

So he turned around and carried her out of the room again.

“Eh? Why didn’t you put her down?”

Zhu Jin and Zhu Zhen had just helped Wang Xiaole and Xu Yan into the bedroom and came out to see Jiang Yan still holding Mu Jiawen.

Why can’t he let go?

Don’t they spend every day together?

“I can’t put her down,” Jiang Yan tilted his head, “I’ll just take her back to the hotel. After drinking, she sometimes throws up in the middle of the night. It’s not good for her to be by herself.”

In reality, that wasn’t an issue at all; Mu Jiawen, once drunk, was very well-behaved and would sleep until morning, with no recollection of having drunk the day before.

But in front of his old classmates, he needed an excuse, didn’t he? Otherwise, Zhu Jin might think he worried that she couldn’t take good care of Mu Jiawen.

Sure enough, hearing that Mu Jiawen might throw up in the middle of the night, Zhu Jin really didn’t dare to let her stay; it wasn’t that she didn’t want to take care of her, but rather the fear of not knowing when she might throw up. What if she suffocated on her own vomit if it happened while they were asleep?

Zhu Zhen then asked Jiang Yan, “Are you not going to the KTV?”

After eating and drinking, the guys had moved on to a nearby KTV to sing. They said they would help out and then head back.

“I’m not going. I’ve been driving all day and I’m pretty tired. Just give Yu Hang and the others my regards.”

After going downstairs, Jiang Yan coaxed Mu Jiawen into putting on her jacket, and Zhu Jin put one of her long coats over it before watching them leave.

As Zhu Zhen walked beside them, seeing Mu Jiawen cling to Jiang Yan so much, he couldn’t help but feel envious.

Noticing his gaze, Jiang Yan said to him, “Since you feel that way, you might as well take the opportunity during the winter break to win her over. Hesitating doesn’t suit you.”

Although it made sense, Zhu Zhen still touched his dark face feeling somewhat not confident and asked, “What if she doesn’t have feelings for me?”

“You’ll know if you ask her whether she has feelings for you or not,” Jiang Yan encouraged him, “You should know, your prospects aren’t just not bad; in the whole of Yunzhou, a Beijing University master’s student in residence, how many can compare? Plus, your advisor is Jiajia’s big brother. I’ve heard him say before that with your personality and intuition for mathematics, you are well-suited to stay on as faculty. That is to say, as long as nothing unexpected happens, your chances of staying at Beijing University are almost certain.

A future Beijing University professor, how could Xu Yan not be moved?”

With all this flattery, Zhu Zhen blushed beneath his dark skin, embarrassed.

He modestly said, “But I’m too dark, and Xu Yan is very beautiful. She studies art and has such temperament, so I’m just afraid she won’t be attracted to my looks.”

Sheesh!

Jiang Yan couldn’t help but turn his head to glance at Zhu Zhen; this concern seemed like it hadn’t just crossed his mind yesterday. Now he finally understood why Zhu Jin’s roommate had been pursuing him for more than half a year, like an honorable gentleman unaffected by seduction, without giving any leeway.

All that nonsense about his mother not wanting him to find someone from out of town—it was all just excuses!

“Come clean, how many years have you liked Xu Yan? You’re quite patient. Weren’t you afraid that someone else would pursue her during your university years?”

Zhu Zhen looked shocked, “You can tell? Do I make it that obvious?”

To avoid Mu Jiawen getting cold, Jiang Yan took big steps, and just in the time of this conversation, they had reached the hotel.

The conversation between the two had to be cut short, as Zhu Zhen left for KTV, while Jiang Yan carried the sleeping, oblivious Mu Jiawen back to their room.

…

The next afternoon at two o’clock, Zhu Jin called Mu Jiawen and asked her to help meet Tong Wei and a few others at the hotel entrance.

At the same time, Zhu Zhen was accompanying Xu Yan to a mall to buy white fleece shawls for the bridesmaids. These had been prepared half a month in advance and were purchased by Zhu Jin’s mother. However, for some unknown reason, this morning when they took them out of the cabinet to distribute to Xu Yan and the others, they found the shawls were all torn.

Of course, it wasn’t due to poor quality that they ripped, but the neat cuts on them revealed they had been snipped with scissors.

Who cut them?

It was said to be the cousin of Zhu Jin’s aunt, who is seventeen years old and in her second year of high school.

The girl’s motive for doing such a thing was still unclear, but Zhu Jin’s parents were very angry over the incident. On one hand, they felt their daughter’s important day was nearly ruined by this girl, and even if it wasn’t ruined, it was still a bad omen and had also affected their mood.

On the other hand, they were extremely disappointed with the girl. The two families lived close by, and whenever Zhu Jin’s aunt and her husband were busy, they would leave their child at their home. Searching their conscience, they believed that although they did not spoil the girl as much as Zhu Jin, they were not far off. Even her high school admission was facilitated by Zhu Jin’s father.

Zhu Jin herself had never caused them such concern when she was in school, so what more did they expect?

Now, it felt like they had fostered an ingrate.

The frustrating thing was that they couldn’t really punish her; after all, she just cut a few shawls, and considering the excuse that she’s just a child, what could they say?

Even Zhu Jin’s aunt offered to pay for the replacement. But was this really about the money?

Zhu Jin’s mother didn’t even get a chance to get angry before her father retorted on the phone to his own sister: Am I short of your money?

Regardless, there was no other choice but to let the matter go. It was a time for celebration, and they didn’t want to create more trouble.

Since Xu Yan was at their house, she took the initiative to take care of buying the shawls. Before leaving, Zhu Jin called Zhu Zhen and asked him to accompany her and help carry things.

This wasn’t to try to matchmake the two; it was purely out of trust in Zhu Zhen and familiarity that led them to call on him last minute as an extra pair of hands.

However, for Zhu Zhen, it was a perfect opportunity!

They took the bus to the People’s Mall downtown, and as they were waiting for the traffic light to cross the street, Tong Wei and her group happened to pass by in a taxi.

“Huh?”

Tong Wei was sitting in the front passenger seat. As they approached the traffic light, she casually glanced outside and saw a figure resembling Zhu Zhen, who was gently saying something to the girl beside him with his head lowered.

Tong Wei straightened up instantly!

But the taxi passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it had whisked away from the intersection. When she turned to look back, the crowd was packed, and the two figures had disappeared.

“Tong Wei, what are you looking at?”

Her roommate asked from the back seat, puzzled.

“Nothing.”

Tong Wei turned her head back and sat properly. She suspected she had seen wrong—how could Zhu Zhen, with his stern face, have anything to do with gentleness?

Yet, that fleeting expression couldn’t be described with any other words but gentle.