Classmate Li Zhuangsheng doesn’t want to be reborn

Chapter 724 Confessing My Heart
After the banquet, Li Zhuangsheng and Hu Mengke returned to their respective hotel rooms. Li Zhuangsheng took a shower first, and when he came out, he saw that Hu Mengke had arrived at some point and was tidying up his things.

"Have you finished packing?" Li Zhuangsheng asked, somewhat surprised, as he casually placed the towel he was using to dry his hair aside.

"I finished cleaning yesterday!" Hu Mengke said with a smile as she folded Li Zhuangsheng's clothes. "I knew you were lazy."

"Don't bother, I can do it myself."

"It's alright, it's not much. Sit down for a bit, it'll be ready soon!" Hu Mengke joked. "How about it, am I a good secretary?"

Li Zhuangsheng gazed at her quietly: "You just said why you don't want to act anymore?"

Hu Mengke's expression immediately turned serious: "No, I was just kidding. I really want to act, I want to become a big star!"

Li Zhuangsheng remained silent for a long time before reaching out to stroke Hu Mengke's head: "We'll be separated tomorrow, and you'll be going back to school soon, right?"

Hu Mengke laughed: "Yeah, my sister wants me to go back to school the day after tomorrow. I still have more than half a year until the college entrance examination, and I want to apply to the Beijing Film Academy!"

"You really have nothing to say to me?"

"Yes!" Hu Mengke stood up and bowed deeply to Li Zhuangsheng. "Brother-in-law, thank you for your help! If there are any more opportunities in the future, please consider me for my sister's sake!"

Li Zhuangsheng looked at Hu Mengke without saying anything, but Hu Mengke didn't mind and continued to help Li Zhuangsheng pack his luggage.

That night, Hu Mengke didn't go back to her own room to sleep, but instead slept in Li Zhuangsheng's room. Li Zhuangsheng didn't say anything, even though it might cause misunderstandings among the crew the next day.

But let the misunderstanding be. Hu Mengke doesn't mind, so why should a real scumbag like me care so much?
"It will be completely over tomorrow."

In the darkness, Hu Mengke lay on the pristine white bed, gazing at the hotel ceiling, and suddenly spoke softly.

Although Li Zhuangsheng and Hu Mengke are the main characters in the story, they are often not required to stay on set because the story itself is more of an ensemble piece.

Overall, however, the moments we shared over the past year are truly memorable.

On the bed next door, Li Zhuangsheng laughed and said, "It's okay, I'll still look for you if there are any roles in the future. You have plenty of roles to play... although it may not necessarily make you a big star, haha."

"Yes, thank you! Please be generous to me!"

Li Zhuangsheng turned slightly to face Hu Mengke: "Do you have some grievance against Hu Mengdie?"

"How could that be! My sister is so good to me! Haha, brother-in-law, don't even think about trying to sow discord between us sisters!"

"You really like your sister, huh?"

"Of course! My sister is so beautiful, and so amazing... She's on TV shows and a social media influencer. She even earned my tuition fees!"

"You also think your sister is pretty? I thought you would say, 'I'm much prettier than that ugly girl!'"

"Brother-in-law, you really hold a grudge! You still remember what I said when I was young and ignorant."

"It was only four years ago." "Oh dear, I was so naive back then! My sister is so beautiful and capable, how could I compare to her!" As Hu Mengke spoke, a hint of bitterness finally welled up in her eyes, "Brother-in-law, anyway, you also think my sister is much better than me, right!"

She seemed to be desperately suppressing herself, but she couldn't help but blurt it out. However, the tone of the last few words changed, as if she wanted to turn the sentence into a self-deprecating joke.

"Your sister isn't actually any better than you," Li Zhuang thought to himself. Even if she's useless, she's still a time traveler who spanned ten years.

But Li Zhuangsheng didn't say that. He thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "Your sister has her good points, and you have yours. There's no such thing as one being better than the other. Are you trying to compete with your sister?"

"I didn't." Hu Mengke bit her lip, her nose stinging, and turned her back.

“You didn’t tell your sister when you went for the job interview, and you didn’t ask her to help you with your short video creations. If you could collaborate with your sister on a few videos, you would definitely gain followers very quickly,” Li Zhuangsheng continued. “Maybe you would already have over a million followers.”

“…Yes, you’re right.” Hu Mengke still had her back to Li Zhuangsheng. “I’ll ask my sister in a couple of days if she can take me under her wing. But she’s very strict with me, so she might not agree!”

Silence. Only a sliver of moonlight quietly seeped in through the gap in the curtains, and the world seemed to fall silent.

After a long while, perhaps unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, Hu Mengke finally spoke up: "Brother-in-law, what exactly do you want to say?"

“I didn’t give you the lead role because of your sister. Although it’s undeniable that you and your sister have a relationship… even if Hu Mengdie wasn’t your sister, I would still give you the lead role.”

"You're lying! Brother-in-law, you don't need to comfort me. I'm just her sister, and I've accepted it! I know my sister is better than me, prettier than me, more sensible than me, and better than me in everything! Everyone thinks so, because it's the truth!"

"What defines excellence? Is it solely determined by the number of fans? You're no less attractive than her, and no one would dare to confidently say she's prettier than you. Being sensible isn't always a good thing. You don't need to imitate your sister; you're adorable yourself."

"...You don't understand anything!"

Hu Mengke's nose felt increasingly sore, and she buried her face deep in the blankets.

The room fell silent again, and there seemed to be a suffocating struggle in the air.

“You don’t understand at all. I shouldn’t have been born,” Hu Mengke said again, her voice tinged with a sob. “Nobody wanted me to be born.”

“How could this be…” Li Zhuangsheng said subconsciously.

“I know my parents have never liked me. They are sexist and desperately want a son. But I am a girl. When I was little, my sister often said to me, why can't you be a boy? My mother's health was ruined after giving birth to me, and she can no longer have children.”

“I was never expected to be anything because I was a sinner. So the whole family loved my older sister. Everything I had was hers—snacks, toys, clothes. She was the only one who could go to dance class. My parents were so proud of her. I was nothing because I shouldn’t have been born!”

Li Zhuangsheng felt a slight chill; the familiar words suddenly filled him with immense sorrow. His thoughts instantly returned to that night seven years ago, when he witnessed that heart-wrenching despair.

He was too naive. He thought he had changed Hu Mengke's fate of being bullied, and he thought that with Hu Mengdie, the reborn person, Hu Mengke should be able to usher in a bright and sunny day.

But the bullying incident in sixth grade was never a dividing line in Hu Mengke's life; originally, there was no dividing line in her life.

(End of this chapter)