Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 243 - Chapter 243 Chapter 209 Shen Qingning Dares Not Meet Lin Lu

Chapter 243: Chapter 209: Shen Qingning Dares Not Meet Lin Lu Anymore Chapter 243: Chapter 209: Shen Qingning Dares Not Meet Lin Lu Anymore In the living room, Comrade Cheng and Comrade Xu Yun exchanged glances.

That brat, did he just say this card has 6 million in it?

The pair felt a surreal, dreamlike sensation.

They knew Cheng Zhu’s claw machine business was doing well, but never asked about the specifics of how much he earned each month.

They had no clue about this industry, but estimated based on the flow of customers that he must be making at least a few hundred thousand a month, right?

Just that number alone made them feel they had achieved an extraordinary parental accomplishment–my son has a bright future!

In their circles, whose child could earn so much money while still in college?

Xu Yun and Cheng had always restrained themselves during conversations with acquaintances about Cheng Zhu, barely stopping themselves from boasting about him excessively in front of friends and family!

In fact, for a child to be something his parents could boast about to others was quite satisfying.

Of course, that’s provided the money comes from a legitimate source, otherwise, it would just be exploiting the child.

Running a small restaurant like Cheng did, dealing with smoke and fire every day was hard.

And in the service industry, sometimes you had to endure poor treatment.

But seeing his child succeed made it all feel worthwhile.

Yet, they never expected that Cheng Zhu would pull a fast one tonight… laying all his cards on the table!

“I’m laying it all out–I’m a millionaire!”

Earning a few hundred thousand a month versus having six million just sitting in a card–the shock was incomparably different!

The astonishment on their faces was intense, so much so that when Xu Yun repeated the words “six million,” her voice started much louder and then suddenly dropped, as if wary of eavesdroppers.

Before Cheng Zhu’s rebirth, their family was just a typical moderately well-off household.

Now with the restaurant and the community fresh supermarket, you could say they were actively climbing towards the middle class.

Now, this darn kid was not playing by the rules!

“A small shop like this one sold for six million?” Cheng found it unbelievable.

“To be precise, it sold for 5.5 million. The remaining five hundred thousand are from other earnings, not from selling the shop,” Cheng Zhu said.

“Can you really sell it for so much?” Xu Yun was still in shock.

The family sat in the living room discussing this episode, and Cheng several times wanted to ask Cheng Zhu what he planned to do with the money but always held back.

You could only say their son had been successful too quickly; as parents, they hadn’t completely adjusted their mindset.

Just a few months ago they still treated him like a child, not really seeing him as an adult, even secretly discussing whether he would fall in love in college and whether they should increase his allowance.

And now, suddenly, there was six million in his account!

Since they had always seen him as a child before, they couldn’t help but want to interfere a bit or give some advice.

But Cheng and Xu Yun were the kind of open-minded, clearly self-aware parents, so they had always held back.

Your son is already capable of earning so much–do you really want to micromanage him with your own experienced yet possibly outdated advice?

We’ve never made big money, have we?

Should we tell him to save it carefully and not waste it?

Or tell him to buy real estate or gold?

Or say, put it in Mom’s care, and I’ll manage it for you?

They both felt that it wasn’t right.

When they found out the business “Youu Come to Play” was doing well, and Cheng Zhu could make a good amount of money each month, these topics had been discussed privately on several occasions.

Parents naturally worry about their children; the outside world is full of temptations, and being successful at a young age brings its risks.

They had also seen many reports–many young people simply expand their ego after early successes and then fall hard.

Many parents, feeling that their own visions and capabilities couldn’t keep up, could only offer the most stable advice, hoping their child wouldn’t squander their hard-earned wealth.

In the end, Xu Yun couldn’t help but suggest, “Mom was thinking… maybe you should consider looking at some houses?”

“Sure, sometime soon we as a family can go have a look,” Cheng Zhu responded with a smile, mentioning looking “sometime.”

But let’s not forget, he had secretly vowed to himself to repurchase the properties he bought in Hang City in his previous life.

One of those properties was even half renovated, and he hadn’t lived a day in it before he was reborn. It was just too damn frustrating.

At this moment, looking at his somewhat helpless parents, Cheng Zhu feigned surprise, “Oh, did Little Youzi not tell you I’m planning to open a bubble tea shop?”

“Bubble tea shop?” Xu Yun was stunned and glanced at her husband, saying, “No.”

“Is the young lady keeping secrets now?” Cheng Zhu laughed, feeling his sister would be quite a force to reckon with when she grew up.

“I’ve recently rented a new location, planning to start the bubble tea shop. I’ve also applied at school for entrepreneurship support to develop a game. I’ve indeed been quite busy lately,” said Cheng Zhu.

Of course, he never mentioned his most profitable identity as the QQ Tycoon.

Xu Yun and Cheng exchanged glances again with her asking, “Do you still have time for classes?”

They had been constantly exposed to the debates of whether education is useful or useless all their lives.

When lacking money, education seemed extremely important, but once you have money, it feels like just a worthless diploma.

Even if Cheng Zhu really had been skipping classes to mind his businesses, because he was doing well, they were unlikely to blame him too much.

“I haven’t really skipped much. I’ve attended most classes; otherwise, my tutor would’ve called you, right?” Cheng Zhu mentioned.

But, given his current relationship with Chen Jieyu, if Chen Jieyu really were to call Xu Yun or Cheng, she’d probably be the most nervous, right?

And as this family night chat wound down, Xu Yun, still unable to stop caring, finally noted, “Just don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

Cheng Zhu merely nodded.

When he returned to his room, all he could think was, “I need to give my parents a bit more time to adapt, slowly and steadily.”

Just six million?

What’s this compared to…

…

…

Monday morning

Qingning woke up early in the large bed of her home’s villa, feeling like the weekend had simply flown by.

Her feeling wasn’t because she hadn’t had enough rest.

It was purely because both she and Lin Lu had classes today, meaning they both were heading back to school.

That Friday night, after Cheng Zhu had taken her first kiss in what had turned into a home-stay death over two days.

During those days, she often found herself zoning out into a blank state or slipping into wild musings.

For some reason, she felt apprehensive about seeing Lin Lu.

This was a complex emotion, a complex state of mind.

Only because Lin Lu had been honest with her, confessing her feelings for Cheng Zhu. And Qingning, her close friend, had then kissed Cheng Zhu in the car.

And not just once but twice–and each for a long time!

Qingning was now aware that she had created her own awkward and difficult situation.

On that night, sitting on the moped with Cheng Zhu, feeling the evening breeze, she had realized her own feelings.

Yet she told Cheng Zhu she didn’t like him.

Besides, she didn’t share her feelings with Lin Lu either.

But straightforward and passionate Lin Lu was different.

Even though she realized later that she had fallen for Cheng Zhu, she shared it with Ningning right away!

Looking back, actually, Qingning was the first.

The classic scenario of “I was first.”

She was earlier in understanding her feelings, realizing her intentions.

But the problem was, she was just too proud!

Now, the proud girl had to pay the price of pride!

She was now on the defensive, even feeling a bit guilty.

Qingning would lie in bed at night, suffering from insomnia.

She tossed and turned thinking, “If I were like Lu Lu, able to speak out immediately, directly confronting my feelings, would it not have come to this?”

She wasn’t quite sure.

She also wondered, if Lin Lu knew first about her liking Cheng Zhu, what then?

Again, she wasn’t clear about that.

Qingning’s heart was in turmoil, incredibly chaotic.

Back in high school, she had witnessed a scenario where two close girl friends fell for the same boy in their class.

What ultimately happened between the three, she didn’t quite remember.

As an avid fan of angsty romance novels, wasn’t this entangled affection among multiple people a common plot?

Her first heart-flutter, her first time falling for a boy, turned out to be this complex.

These last two days, every time she recalled that Friday night, even when she was driving, she couldn’t help but think of everything that had happened in the backseat.

Remembering how she was pinned against the car door, then wildly kissed by the drunk man.

Qingning thought, “He should take responsibility!”

Yes, that was her precious first kiss.

For many girls who still held onto their first kisses, they even believed that even after establishing a relationship, kissing shouldn’t happen right away–it should progress step by step.

Let alone that she and Cheng Zhu were just friends now.

“Technically, he should take responsibility.”

Especially since he initiated the kiss.

It’s just that… I was just drunk and didn’t resist!

But what troubled Qingning most, what complicated her emotions, was… she might not be able to ask Cheng Zhu to take responsibility.

Ultimately, it was her pride causing the trouble.

After all, on that night, after they kissed, Qingning had immediately said, “You were drunk, I was drunk.”

That sort of statement, to a certain degree, defined the incident.

They were both drunk, it was a one-time misunderstanding.

She didn’t pursue Cheng Zhu for kissing her, but after making such a defining statement, she never brought it up again on her own.

Qingning even thought, “What must Cheng Zhu be thinking?”

That night, before heading upstairs, having told him she didn’t like him.

In the car, after kissing, saying it was because we were drunk.

These were her instinctive reactions based on her personality.

But those reactions had essentially pushed Cheng Zhu away twice.

They say love requires a push and a pull, but maybe for someone proud, they only know how to push, not how to pull.

After pushing him away, her heart keenly hoped he would come closer again.

After these two days, Qingning had somewhat realized that her current awkward situation was indeed self-inflicted.

Sitting in her chair, she sighed deeply, her gaze settling on the Pikachu keychain hanging from her car keys.

“I really don’t know what to do now,” she said, looking at the Pikachu Cheng Zhu had won for her.

She put her car keys into her pocket, stood up, and headed downstairs, ready to go to school.

She was going to see Lu Lu.

…

(ps: First update, please support with a monthly vote!)