Classmate Li Zhuangsheng doesn’t want to be reborn

Chapter 663 Hidden Beauty
"What's wrong? You look so listless." Li Zhuangsheng walked to Qian Feishu's workstation.

"Alas, life is unpredictable." Qian Feishu sighed softly, "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie."

"Why are you suddenly so concerned about the country and its people?" Li Zhuangsheng blinked. "Do you also want to do charity? I know a channel to donate to left-behind children."

"Oh no, what I mean is, the differences between people are really huge, something a rich person like you wouldn't understand!"

“I wasn’t born rich. If you need anything, just say so. I can help you if you have any difficulties.” Li Zhuangsheng patted his shoulder.

"Actually, I often feel sad... You say life is only a few decades long, and true youth is nothing more than high school and college. I recently looked back on my journey and found that my youth was really incredibly pale."

"So you're just feeling sentimental because you're about to graduate?"

Qian Feishu said excitedly, "No, don't you understand what I mean?"

Li Zhuangsheng shook his head: "You're making it sound so cryptic, how could I possibly understand?"

Don't you think I'm missing something right now?

"what?"

"Girlfriend? I'm about to graduate and I still don't have one! I didn't even have a girlfriend in college, how am I supposed to find one after graduation?!"

"Oh—I understand!"

Li Zhuangsheng realized what was happening and was both amused and exasperated: "Why didn't you just say it directly..."

"I'm being very direct, boss, did you forget to say you were going to introduce me to a girlfriend?!"

"I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten, but it's summer vacation, so wait until school starts!" Li Zhuangsheng laughed. "What type do you like... but with this job, it should be relatively easy for you to pick up girls, right?"

Qian Feishu posts updates on the company almost every day, sometimes lamenting how hard he works overtime, sometimes complaining about the tight schedule, or criticizing the artists' mistakes and expressing how troubled he is as the supervisor. He's like a peacock in heat, spreading his feathers everywhere, as if he wants to announce to the world: I am the person in charge of the "Huabiao Millennium" animation.

Li Zhuangsheng thought to himself, surely there are girls who fall for this. Besides, according to backstage statistics, the female audience of "Huabiao Millennium" far outnumbered the male audience. And women are most prone to blindly following trends; after Ding Zhen became famous, many girls went to Sichuan to find "Khampa men" to provide free escort services, even Ding Zhen's uncle wasn't spared. And as for Qian Feishu's appearance... at least she's better looking than Ding's uncle.

"To be honest, two girls have recently taken the initiative to chat with me." Qian Feishu's expression was strange.

"Isn't that great? Let's have a good chat, maybe we'll even find love!" Li Zhuangsheng raised an eyebrow.

Qian Feishu's expression became increasingly awkward: "But... I'm not very good-looking."

Li Zhuangsheng was speechless: "You've actually picked on someone..."

Qian Feishu's face flushed slightly, a mixture of embarrassment and anger in her eyes: "What's wrong with wanting to find a prettier girl! Boss, don't you care about looks?!"

"I didn't say that, but pretty girls aren't necessarily suitable for being together... Actually, I feel that sometimes, girls who truly like you are more attractive than pretty girls."

Li Zhuangsheng found Lin Yuehua very charming, even though Lin Yuehua's appearance was quite ordinary compared to Hu Mengdie or even Zhu Zhixue.

"So what do you like about Xiaodie?"

"I like her not just because of her face..." Although it is undeniable that appearance plays a significant role.

"Okay, I got it. So you like pretty girls, right?" Li Zhuangsheng sighed. "How pretty do you want? What do you think, Senior Bai Min?"

"Bai Min... she's too familiar with me!" Qian Feishu clicked his tongue, unable to put it into words.

Actually, he had a vague feeling that Bai Min might have a special affection for Li Zhuangsheng, because she showed him a special kind of concern. Of course, he never dared to say it or ask, he only suspected it.

"I didn't say I wanted to set you up with Senior Bai Min. I was asking if someone like her is considered attractive to you?"

Bai Min often says that men will only slow down her path to becoming a rich woman. Her current goal is to turn Zhuang Shengxundie into a listed company, so that her shares will be worth a fortune... Although having dreams is a good thing, Li Zhuangsheng never even dared to think about a listed company.

"I guess so, but those who study dance are the best..." Qian Feishu coughed.

Why do you want to learn dance?

Qian Feishu winked ambiguously, giving him an expression that said, "Don't you understand?"

"You're a virgin, and you're really thinking too much..." Li Zhuangsheng's lips twitched slightly. "What other requirements are there, like whether you've ever been in a relationship or something..."

"Virgins first!" Qian Feishu said decisively without hesitation.

"Your request is indeed quite demanding. I'll have Hu Mengdie help you look for something..."

"Boss, you're truly like a second parent to me!"

Li Zhuangsheng said irritably, "Come on, I can only try my best to get Hu Mengdie to find you a reliable girl, but whether you can win her over is up to you. And don't blame us if you run into a jerk."

Qian Feishu nodded vigorously, then suddenly whispered, "Actually, as long as she's good-looking, it's acceptable if she's not a virgin."

Li Zhuangsheng looked at Qian Feishu with a strange expression, but didn't respond.

Qin Luanyu looked around the company, then slipped into Li Zhuangsheng's office and brazenly took his chair, leaving Li Zhuangsheng with no choice but to sit in the guest chair.

"Where should we go this afternoon?" Qin Luanyu hummed a song, picked up a drawing tablet, connected it to Li Zhuangsheng's computer, and started drawing casually. "I just saw that your company has drones, let's go play with drones!"

“Drones have too short a battery life; you can’t use them for long before you have to charge them,” Li Zhuangsheng shook his head. “Besides, drones are dangerous. You’ve never operated one before, and it’s easy for them to injure someone. Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

"I don't know... I'm not familiar with Nanjing."

"How about we go to the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre first?"

“That works too. I have a copy of Iris Chang’s ‘The Rape of Nanking’ at home.”

"Was it left by your mother?"

"Hmm." Qin Luanyu nodded. "Hey, have you ever thought about adapting your novel into an animation? I think your animation is pretty amazing, the art style is fantastic!"

"Although I've had that tiny bit of an idea, look at our company, we have nearly twenty people, and we can only produce about one minute of animation a week. It's almost impossible to make that kind of animation. We can only make two episodes a year at most."

"That's because you're demanding too much from the graphics and frame rate. What if you lower your expectations a bit?"

"You even know about frame rate?" Li Zhuangsheng asked in surprise.

"Bai Min just told me!" Qin Luanyu was somewhat dissatisfied with Li Zhuangsheng's underestimation of her.

"Lowering the standards won't work either. Our company has too few people. We need to at least double the number to barely produce a regular anime series."

"Then add it!"

"No."

"why?"

Li Zhuangsheng shrugged: "The company is already in huge deficit. If we expand hiring again, you're trying to bankrupt me!"

Qin Luanyu was speechless for a moment, unable to find a reason to continue persuading him. "I'll sell the hotel to support you!" Qin Luanyu said sullenly.

Li Zhuangsheng chuckled: "I appreciate your kindness, but I'm really afraid your father will beat you to death... Oh, he'll probably beat me to death first. Alright, don't worry about me. If the company can make a profit in the future, or at least reduce its losses, I'll consider hiring more people!"

The two chatted and laughed until about three in the afternoon, when they went out to the memorial hall. They returned in the evening. The four of them had another meal that night. After returning home, Li Zhuangsheng received a text message from Zhu Zhixue and then went out.

Zhu Zhixue stood under the streetlights outside the residential area, pouting slightly, gently touching her wrist with one hand.

“Let’s go.” Li Zhuangsheng stepped forward.

"I found a job today!"

Upon seeing Li Zhuangsheng, Zhu Zhixue immediately broke into a smile, looking quite proud.

"You...you have money now, don't you?" Li Zhuangsheng asked, slightly surprised, with a hint of reproach.

"That's your money, I'm not touching it." Zhu Zhixue pouted slightly and gave a haughty snort. "It's all so ambiguous, people think you're keeping me as a mistress..."

"How could that be? I just want you to have a better life... I don't want you to suffer like this."

Li Zhuangsheng gently embraced Zhu Zhixue.

“I actually think it’s okay, it’s not too hard. It’s just tutoring, and that little girl is only in third grade. The things I teach aren’t difficult.” Zhu Zhixue leaned against Li Zhuangsheng’s chest. “Besides, I don’t want to be a burden to you forever. I don’t want to rely on you for everything… I have hands, I can support myself.”

"How could you be a burden to me? You are the one I love."

Zhu Zhixue beamed with delight, but after a moment, she said with a hint of bitterness, "One of your sweethearts, right?"

In short, you are the one I love.

"You have such a big heart, it can hold so many people." Zhu Zhixue gently pinched Li Zhuangsheng's waist. "It's really unfair, my heart can't hold anything but you."

"Well, that's very kind of you."

Li Zhuangsheng kissed Zhu Zhixue's cheek, and Zhu Zhixue kissed Li Zhuangsheng's lips in return. The two kissed and cuddled passionately by the roadside, until their clothes were disheveled, before reluctantly letting go of each other.

The two walked hand in hand along the street, talking quietly.

"What did you do today?" Zhu Zhixue asked.

"Qin Luanyu came to Nanjing for a visit, and this afternoon I took her to the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre."

"Qin Luanyu..." Zhu Zhixue paused for a moment before remembering who the other person was.

I saw her in Hangzhou last year after the college entrance examination.

"It's that super pretty elementary school student..." Zhu Zhixue thought to herself.

“She’s already a middle school student. Besides, whether she’s pretty or not has nothing to do with me.” Li Zhuangsheng chuckled and pinched Zhu Zhixue’s chubby little face. “Little jealous girl.”

Zhu Zhixue's face flushed slightly: "I'm not jealous at all. I'm nobody to you. Why would I be jealous? And if anyone should be jealous, it's not my place!"

"I'm getting a sour feeling," Li Zhuangsheng said with a laugh. "She even treated us to dinner last year when we were in Hangzhou. Shouldn't we treat her well this time in Nanjing?"

"Hmph, I didn't say it was impossible..." Zhu Zhixue snorted. "The last time I saw her, she had grown quite a bit taller. She must have grown even taller this time."

"Of course, she's training in sports now, and she's a professional athlete. She's at least 1.7 meters tall."

"You're already so tall, I hope you'll grow to 1.8 meters in the future..."

"I estimate it's about right; it won't go much higher in the future."

The two walked hand in hand, chatting idly. The evening breeze, carrying the lingering warmth of the day and the scent of roadside grass, lazily caressed them. Occasionally, a car would drive by, its sound and light quickly swallowed by the silence. The moon hung high, not very bright, and the dim yellow streetlights cast weak shadows, barely outlining the overlapping leaves.

"Ouch, a mosquito!" Zhu Zhixue slapped her arm.

"Then let's go back early. Next time you come out, spray more floral water." Li Zhuangsheng touched Zhu Zhixue's hand.

"I want to stay with you a little longer," Zhu Zhixue said, tilting her head back pitifully.

"Then let's stay a little longer..." Li Zhuangsheng gently rubbed the spot where Zhu Zhixue had been bitten by mosquitoes.

Zhu Zhixue kissed Li Zhuangsheng's lips again, and their desire was rekindled.

“Xiaoxue, I want…” Li Zhuangsheng looked at the hotel next door. Just in case, he had his ID card and the key to his original rented room in his pocket when he came out.

"I wish...but unfortunately!" Zhu Zhixue suddenly grinned mischievously, her eyebrows furrowed with a triumphant glint, and announced, "I got my period today!"

Li Zhuangsheng was slightly taken aback, and then really wanted to spank Zhu Zhixue's bottom. So you were deliberately rubbing against me just now to tease me, weren't you!

"Well, you've gone astray, haven't you!" Li Zhuangsheng pinched Zhu Zhixue's cheek.

"There's really no other way!" Zhu Zhixue spread her hands, a smile playing at the corners of her eyes.

"Never mind then..." Li Zhuangsheng said helplessly.

"If you really want to, I can help you in other ways." Zhu Zhixue reached up and tied her hair up, no longer joking with Li Zhuangsheng.

Li Zhuangsheng's gaze slowly moved down from Zhu Zhixue's small mouth: "Can we try another way?"

Half an hour later, the two left the rented room. Zhu Zhixue straightened her clothes.

"Sure enough, it's inconvenient without lubricant..." Li Zhuangsheng sighed inexplicably.

"Who told you to take everything here, including the shower gel?" Zhu Zhixue scolded playfully, her eyes full of charm, as she rubbed her chest.

She had her own ulterior motives. If she didn't give it to Li Zhuangsheng, it would benefit someone else... Hmph, I won't give you a single drop!

“Yes, we should buy some in advance next time… Oh, and we can’t return this house!” Li Zhuangsheng suddenly said.

"What do you mean no refund?"

"After I move out of that rented room, how am I supposed to keep my mistress there?"

Li Zhuangsheng laughed and kissed Zhu Zhixue on the cheek. A hotel might not be as clean as home.

Zhu Zhixue had a strange fondness for the phrase "keeping a mistress in a golden house."

Suddenly, a cold, snarling laugh pierced their ears:
"Keeping a mistress in a golden house? That's not a good omen. I remember what Chen Ajiao's ending was again? Oh, even if you could buy Sima Xiangru's poem for a thousand pieces of gold, to whom could you confide this tender feeling?"

The two men's expressions changed slightly. Li Zhuangsheng looked in the direction of the voice and saw Qin Luanyu standing in front of them, grinding her teeth and sneering, with a hint of exasperation on her face.

(End of this chapter)