Classmate Li Zhuangsheng doesn’t want to be reborn

Chapter 501

"I don't know... I don't know what I think." Zhu Zhixue said slowly, "I was very embarrassed in the past. When my parents divorced, I wanted to live with her, but... life was not good. At that time, I really hoped that she could be nicer to me, but she didn't."

Li Zhuangsheng was silent. The memory of his first year in junior high school was already very vague to him. For Zhu Zhixue, only five years had passed, but for Li Zhuangsheng, it was more than ten years ago.

But even after more than a decade, he still remembered how she shivered with cold during class breaks and could only squat next to the metal bookcase to avoid the wind. He still remembered her rusty pencil case and her tattered pen. He still remembered how she almost shed tears of shame and anger when facing the questioning of her classmates. He still remembered the self-mockery and grievance in her eyes when she picked up the pen that had been stepped on from the ground.

He has always been kind and helpful to others, but Wang Shuangmei is the first person he feels guilty about.

"Actually, I've always hoped that she could...care about me again. I know this idea is very pathetic. But besides her, who else would love me?" Zhu Zhixue's voice was low.

Li Zhuangsheng took a deep breath and smiled: "Then today, let's go and wish Auntie a happy birthday. Go get off the car and buy her a set of cosmetics, and you can give it to her in person."

"No, no..." Zhu Zhixue shook her head suddenly and said anxiously, "That's not what I meant. I, I wanted to say that I am so useless!"

"No, this is very normal. She is your mother after all." Li Zhuangsheng comforted gently.

"But she doesn't love me, I know that." Zhu Zhixue said, "She loves my brother, she doesn't love me."

Li Zhuangsheng was silent for a moment. At this time he could of course comfort her by saying, "Even if she prefers your brother more, you are still her daughter."

But he couldn't say it, how could he say such words so easily!
"I feel ashamed of myself like that. I want to prove to her that even if she doesn't love me, I can still live a good life!" Zhu Zhixue raised her head and looked at Li Zhuangsheng again, "I want to dress up beautifully. I don't need her, and there are people who love me. I am also very happy!"

"…Is this what you really think?" Li Zhuangsheng asked calmly.

"Yes!" Zhu Zhixue nodded seriously.

This was what she really thought. She was unwilling to accept it and she was unconvinced... She was deeply ashamed of herself for being so weak and pitiful that she could only beg for affection from her mother!
She had long understood that her mother did not love him.

Even before she started dating Li Zhuangsheng, she had fantasized that one day she would be admitted to a good university and her mother would be happy for her. But fantasies are just fantasies after all, and what really broke her fantasy was her mother's vigilant hostility.

The last time she went to her stepfather's house for dinner, she saw the hatred and disgust in her mother's eyes. Since then, her mother has never called her again.

Li Zhuangsheng finally understood Zhu Zhixue's thoughts. He smiled and held Zhu Zhixue's hand tightly, and Zhu Zhixue interlocked their fingers tightly.

The two did not get off at the hotel, but stopped at the door of a cosmetics store. Although Zhu Zhixue dissuaded him, Li Zhuangsheng still bought a set of cosmetics for Wang Cuiyun. It was not very expensive, only more than 700 yuan, but it was just right as a gift.

In any case, it's always right to be more polite and considerate. At least there's no need to give others bad reputation.

"You bought too expensive things..." After leaving the cosmetics store, Zhu Zhixue complained a little, feeling sorry for the money Li Zhuangsheng spent.

"It's just a small expense. It's nothing." Li Zhuangsheng pinched Zhu Zhixue's little face. "You said it yourself. From now on, my family will listen to me."

Zhu Zhixue pouted and stopped talking, hugging Li Zhuangsheng's arm like a little bird. The man is the head of the family and the pillar of her life. When she thought of this, she felt sweet in her heart, as if she had really married Li Zhuangsheng.

A thunder suddenly sounded in the gloomy sky. The two quickened their pace and soon arrived at a restaurant. After asking the front desk, they walked into a private room.

"The little guest has arrived..."

A loud laugh came from the box, but it stopped abruptly.

Li Zhuangsheng looked around quickly. There were seven or eight people in the box, most of them were middle-aged women, presumably Wang Cuiyun's friends. There was also a little boy of five or six years old, who should be Zhu Zhixue's half-brother.

The man who was talking had a short haircut and a rather sturdy build. Li Zhuangsheng thought that he must be Wang Cuiyun's current boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, it's Auntie's birthday today, but I came here uninvited." Li Zhuangsheng smiled and handed over the cosmetics box, "I wish Auntie a happy birthday and all her wishes come true!"

He had a lot of blessings in his mind, but he was too lazy to say them.

Wang Cuiyun was stunned for a moment and placed her hand lightly on the cosmetics box. She did not refuse but did not accept it immediately either. She was hesitant.

In full view of everyone, Zhu Zhixue and Li Zhuangsheng were holding hands intimately.

"Shuangmei, who is he?" The man looked a little ugly.

"Hello, my name is Li Zhuangsheng, and I'm her boyfriend." Li Zhuangsheng greeted her indifferently, then tilted his head to look at Wang Cuiyun.

He had seen Wang Cuiyun's photo when he was looking at the photo album at Zhu Zhixue's house, so he recognized her immediately. However, when Li Zhuangsheng recognized her, he didn't have time to look at her face, because the mother and daughter were indeed quite similar in some ways.

Wang Cuiyun was wearing a low-cut dress, and looked only slightly younger than Zhu Zhixue. I wondered if she had done anything on purpose today. However, in terms of appearance, Wang Cuiyun was only average. Even with heavy makeup on her face, she was far inferior to Zhu Zhixue's natural beauty. Moreover, no amount of makeup could cover up the aging of her 40-year-old skin.

Zhu Shan's appearance was only average. The fact that the couple gave birth to a daughter like Zhu Zhixue was a blessing from their ancestors.

"Shuangmei, you guys really..."

"Yes, he's my boyfriend!" Zhu Zhixue interrupted the man, then looked at Wang Cuiyun's hand that wanted to accept the gift but was too embarrassed to do so, and raised her head, "Take it, he bought it especially for you. Happy birthday to you."

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.

The aunties nearby smiled and came to the rescue, gently caressing Zhu Zhixue's shoulders: "Hey, this is Xiaoxue, you are getting prettier and prettier. Xiaoxue, I haven't seen you for a long time, do you still recognize your aunt?"

Zhu Zhixue also showed a smile on her face: "Yes, remember, Aunt Hua, Aunt Zhang, Aunt Xun."

"Just accept this gift from your friend!"

One of the aunts smiled and pushed Wang Cuiyun, and Wang Cuiyun took the opportunity to accept the cosmetics.

"How old are you when you're in a relationship?" The man's face was a little gloomy.

"Who is he?" Li Zhuangsheng asked Zhu Zhixue in a deliberately puzzled manner.

Zhu Zhixue glanced at him and didn't react for a moment. She was thinking about how to introduce the other party's identity to Li Zhuangsheng, but Aunt Xun had already seen Li Zhuangsheng's dissatisfaction with men, so she smiled and said, "He is your Aunt Wang's current lover. His surname is Yan, and his name is Yan Junzhu. Old Yan, you are too old-fashioned. Isn't it normal for young people nowadays to fall in love? My boy can't even find a partner if I want him to!"

Yan Junzhu looked at Li Zhuangsheng coldly and said nothing. Wang Cuiyun, on the other hand, looked Li Zhuangsheng up and down with an inexplicable look in her eyes.

"Okay, now that you are here, please take a seat." Aunt Hua pushed Li Zhuangsheng and Zhu Zhixue to sit down, "Come on, Fenghou, sit next to me!"

Fenghou is Zhu Zhixue's younger brother, and his name seems to be Yan Fenghou. It seems that his parents have high expectations for him. "Sister..."

The little boy shouted happily, but Zhu Zhixue just pursed her lips and hummed softly.

"Call me brother-in-law."

Li Zhuangsheng took out an Alps lollipop from his pocket and handed it to the little boy.

"Brother-in-law..." the little boy called timidly.

Li Zhuangsheng then let go of his hand, and the little boy got the lollipop and happily tore open the wrapping paper.

Everyone sat down, and the aunts were talking excitedly around Wang Cuiyun and Yan Junzhu. From time to time, they would bring the topic to Li Zhuangsheng and Zhu Zhixue. Li Zhuangsheng, who knew Zhu Zhixue's mood, basically answered on her behalf.

"When did you start?" At the dining table, Wang Cuiyun looked at the two of them.

"Oh, during the winter vacation." Li Zhuangsheng said with a smile.

Yan Junzhu looked at Zhu Zhixue, as if he hated her for not fighting for him: "You're almost in your third year of high school, why are you still talking about love? Students who are in love will only delay their studies!"

"Dating is one thing, but who says it will interfere with your studies?" Aunt Zhang gave him a fake reproachful look.

"That's right, Old Yan is too old-fashioned! What's wrong with students? Don't look down on them. Students can also be excellent." Aunt Hua asked Zhu Zhixue with a smile, "I heard that your school has produced a writer. My daughter is also from your Xingpeng school. I heard her say before that she has published many novels! It seems that she is in the same grade as you... I remember... I think her last name is Li. Do you know her?"

"Writer..." Yan Junzhu couldn't help but sneered, "What's the point of them knowing each other? He is just someone else..."

"It's him." Zhu Zhixue interrupted Yan Junzhu again and pointed at Li Zhuangsheng.

"What?" No one reacted.

"The writer you are talking about is him." Zhu Zhixue had a tense face, but finally revealed a faint smile.

"Are you the one who wrote the novel?" Aunt Hua asked in surprise. "My daughter used to talk about you every day, saying that you write so well!"

"Really..." Zhu Zhixue muttered in a low voice, "He is indeed popular with girls."

"Haha, that should be me." Li Zhuangsheng smiled modestly.

"No wonder, no wonder." Aunt Xun nodded repeatedly, with surprise in her eyes, "You are so outstanding, no wonder Xiaoxue likes you so much!"

Li Zhuangsheng smiled faintly: "You are flattering me. I just wrote some for fun. I am far from being a writer."

Aunt Zhang laughed out loud and stepped forward to pat Wang Cuiyun on the shoulder: "You are still so modest. Congratulations! Your son-in-law is really amazing. He will definitely have a bright future!"

Wang Cuiyun also managed a smile: "Not bad, not bad, it's really amazing!"

She glanced at Yan Junzhu, who looked quite embarrassed. But she did not sympathize with him, and just snorted in her heart.

Soon, all the food was served. As the aunts chatted and laughed, Li Zhuangsheng considerately picked up some food for Zhu Zhixue.

"Take less." Zhu Zhixue said coquettishly.

"I'm worried that you won't have enough to eat!"

"You just want to make me gain weight on purpose!"

Li Zhuangsheng smiled, got up and went to the toilet. He looked outside the hotel and saw a violent storm with thunder and lightning.

"What is your father doing now? Isn't he still studying hard?" Yan Junzhu glanced at Zhu Zhixue's calves under her skirt, and said with a tone of hatred, "He is so grown up, but he is still like a child and doesn't understand anything! How are you going to pay for your tuition in the future?"

Zhu Zhixue slowly clenched her fists, feeling ashamed and angry. However, since Li Zhuangsheng was not around, she seemed to lose her confidence when she spoke: "He's upstairs..."

Yan Junzhu held his head high and said proudly and reservedly, "If you ask me, you might as well come back and live here. Let your mother clean up that small room and make it big enough for you to live in! Your father is such a jerk. He will only be a burden to you!"

Zhu Zhixue felt more and more ashamed and angry, her body trembling slightly with anger. She slowly raised her head, her face slightly flushed, but the words on her lips were too timid to speak to Yan Junzhu.

"Oh, it's okay. Uncle Zhu has been working in the factory for the past six months and is working." At this time, Li Zhuangsheng pushed the door open and walked in with a smile on his face. "And my royalties are not bad, so you don't have to worry about Xiaoxue's tuition and miscellaneous fees!"

The atmosphere became awkward again. Anyone could hear that Li Zhuangsheng and Yan Junzhu were at loggerheads.

In fact, people in middle age have experienced everything, and the aunts present could all see the vague feelings that Yan Junzhu had for his stepdaughter.

"Haha, that's amazing. You can make money at such a young age!" Aunt Xun was the first to smooth things over. She smiled and gave Li Zhuangsheng a thumbs up.

"It's not much, maybe about 10,000 or 20,000 a month." Li Zhuangsheng smiled and returned to sit next to Zhu Zhixue.

"Ten or twenty thousand!"

Everyone exclaimed. At that time, the average salary in a small county was between two and three thousand, and some were as low as just over a thousand. Li Zhuangsheng's words were truly shocking.

In fact, Li Zhuangsheng was exaggerating a bit. Ten or twenty thousand was the royalty he earned if he guaranteed to update at least two chapters every day. He did have that much before the Chinese New Year, but now... But even if he was exaggerating, what would others lose?
"So amazing! Heroes emerge young!"

Aunt Hua secretly sighed that her daughter had not been able to grasp the opportunity of such an outstanding young man!

But it was not her daughter's fault, after all, the competitor was too fierce. Aunt Hua looked at the two again, they were really a perfect match.

When people heard about Li Zhuangsheng's identity as a "writer" before, they were just surprised. After all, in their eyes, Li Zhuangsheng was still a student. But when the concept of writer was embodied with money, they finally reacted.

Yan Junzhu's face flushed. Whoever can make money is powerful. It is obvious that Li Zhuangsheng is better than him, even though he is still a student. This has always been the case in modern society.

"...The income is so high." Yan Junzhu sneered, "It seems that in less than ten years, I can pay off your uncle Zhu's foreign debt!"

(End of this chapter)