Classmate Li Zhuangsheng doesn’t want to be reborn

"Not bad, at least I don't have to pay anything," Li Zhuangsheng said with a smile as he drove his Passat. "Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault in the first place!"

"Hmm..." Hu Mengdie bit her lip lightly and softly hummed in agreement.

Actually, she wasn't entirely in the right. It was true that the other party had forcibly changed lanes, but at the moment before the collision, she was scrolling through her phone on the phone holder, intending to check a message.

She concealed this fact, and her conscience bothered her.

Li Zhuangsheng glanced at her again, and seeing her downcast mood, he didn't say anything more. He wasn't good at comforting people anyway, so he'd let Xie Jiangqing and Hu Mengke comfort her when they got back.

Li Zhuangsheng arrived in Li Xiuyu's car, and if he had a choice, he also planned to leave in Li Xiuyu's car. However, after Hu Mengdie's car accident, she was too afraid to drive anymore, so Li Zhuangsheng had to drive away.

“I don’t see any damage to your car, just some scratches on the paint,” Li Zhuangsheng reassured him.

Hu Mengdie simply nodded, sitting slightly curled up in the passenger seat, when her phone suddenly rang.

"It seems someone is looking for you," Li Zhuangsheng reminded him.

Hu Mengdie glanced at her phone, pursed her lips, glanced at Li Zhuangsheng, and then put her phone on silent.

She was genuinely terrified. When she saw people and horses overturned in front of the car, she realized she had "caused a huge disaster."

At that moment, she was completely lost, but the first person who came to mind was not her parents, not Hu Mengke, not her best friend Xie Jiangqing, and not Qi Haoyu whom she had just been chatting with, but Li Zhuangsheng.

So she mustered her courage, hesitated for a long time, and finally called Li Zhuangsheng.

She didn't know why she trusted Li Zhuangsheng so much. Was it because of his upright and gentlemanly behavior these past few days? Or because of their ambiguous relationship? Or perhaps because he had appeared for her when she needed help the most on several occasions?
In conclusion, judging from the outcome, she didn't choose the wrong person. This allowed her to retain a semblance of dignity.

"Thank you for today... I... I'll treat you to dinner..." Hu Mengdie stammered.

"No need, Mengke's meal is already prepared."

"Then I must treat you to a meal. When are you free?"

Li Zhuangsheng blinked and said in a cryptic tone, "No, it's easy for people to misunderstand if you invite me to dinner..."

Hu Mengdie was taken aback: "Misunderstanding? What's wrong?"

"It's just a misunderstanding about us... it's like you and I are still together..." Li Zhuangsheng stammered, feeling very embarrassed. This embarrassment was hard to describe in words, but he noticed a sudden surge of resentment in his heart, so he quickly smiled and said, "Oh, anyway, don't be so polite! My parents were also covered for by you!"

Hu Mengdie paused, then turned to look at Li Zhuangsheng, who was intently observing the road conditions. She didn't understand what Li Zhuangsheng meant, why he was afraid of being misunderstood. In other people's eyes, weren't they husband and wife?

She suddenly realized who Li Zhuangsheng was talking about... a stranger who didn't know them, or perhaps someone like Qi Haoyu.

Hu Mengdie wanted to say, "So what if they misunderstood? I don't think it's that difficult to be misunderstood. Don't be too self-conscious." But she didn't say it out loud.

Perhaps he felt that saying it aloud would make Li Zhuangsheng even more embarrassed, and he didn't know how to express it perfectly.

"I...I'm sorry, your parents..." Hu Mengdie said. Chen Lanying was really good to her, always asking about her well-being and visiting her at her studio, caring for her even more than her own mother. She also vaguely understood the difference between "mom" and "mother" in the context of a contact.

"There's nothing to apologize for. Your parents have been very good to me too. I'm the one who feels a little sorry for your parents..."

Li Zhuangsheng sighed softly. His future in-laws had been very concerned about his health, inviting him to their home for dinner every few days... They even wanted him and his sister to marry into the same family. Li Zhuangsheng was even starting to suspect that he was their biological son, and Hu Mengdie and Hu Mengke were their adopted daughters.

He's secretly divorcing Hu Mengdie without their knowledge, and he doesn't know how disappointed they'll be when they find out... But he and Hu Mengke were dating, and they'll be his future in-laws!
When the two returned home, Li Zhuangsheng parked the car rather clumsily.

Hu Mengdie's Passat seems to have an automatic parking function, but Li Zhuangsheng wasn't familiar with her car and didn't want to mess with her things, so he simply parked it himself, since he had already learned how.

The two went upstairs, where Li Xiuyu had already returned. Xie Jiangqing inquired about Hu Mengdie's condition with concern, and only breathed a sigh of relief after learning that she was alright. She jokingly scolded her for thinking of Li Zhuangsheng the first thing she did.

"See? I told you Li Zhuangsheng was a good person, wasn't he?" Xie Jiangqing smiled broadly from the bed in the bedroom.

"Yes, he's quite reliable."

Hu Mengdie sat on the bed, curled up, her head resting gently on her knees, and couldn't help but think of how the other person always stood in front of her, no matter what.

My phone lit up; someone had sent me a WeChat message.

"Who is it?" Xie Jiangqing asked.

"Nobody." Hu Mengdie turned off the screen. She guessed who it was, but didn't want Xie Jiangqing to know.

Xie Jiangqing was strongly against her associating with Qi Haoyu, and if she knew that the two were in contact in private, she would definitely nag her again.

But she enjoyed chatting with Qi Haoyu; it felt relaxed and fun… perhaps because of their past relationship. He was her first love, a choice she made against her parents' wishes.

This is indeed why Hu Mengdie naturally has a special fondness for Qi Haoyu.

Although Xie Jiangqing said that Li Zhuangsheng was her own choice, and Hu Mengdie gradually came to understand, she still harbored some doubts about their relationship. Moreover, the timing of their initial contact was indeed somewhat "by chance."

Hu Mengdie sometimes wondered what would happen if Li Zhuangsheng and Qi Haoyu were switched. To be honest, she didn't know. There were too many other emotional factors involved, making it impossible to arrive at an objective conclusion.

Xie Jiangqing once said that if Qi Haoyu asked her out, it must be because he had ulterior motives.

However, all these days, the two have only chatted on their phones, and the other party has never taken the initiative to invite them to meet alone. Moreover, Hu Mengdie has her own bottom line; at least before she gets the divorce certificate, she will not go to Qi Haoyu.

She could sense that Qi Haoyu still had feelings for her. She felt a vague sense of shame mixed with a strange sense of pleasure, and with this feeling, she chatted with Qi Haoyu on WeChat every day.

She had only discussed Qi Haoyu with Hu Mengke, and only Hu Mengke didn't object to her relationship with him. Although Hu Mengke didn't encourage or approve of their relationship, she just listened indifferently. But to Hu Mengdie, this was already a perfect listener.

The words Qi Haoyu and Xie Jiangqing had said before still lingered in her heart. She couldn't completely believe them, but she also didn't quite believe Qi Haoyu was lying.

Perhaps there was some misunderstanding, but she couldn't ask now. (End of Chapter)