Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!-Chapter 211 - 182 Stab You Once

Chapter 211: Chapter 182 Stab You Once

Chapter 211: Chapter 182 Stab You Once

The barbecue restaurant was called Jiu Rou, and its signature products were rice wine and beef.

The rice wine was complimentary, and customers could drink as much as they wanted.

But the meat was not cheap.

Chen Jieyu glanced at the menu and couldn’t find any affordable meat dishes.

She roughly estimated that the average spending per person at this restaurant was about four to five hundred yuan.

That meant, for two people dining normally, a thousand yuan would just fly away!

For her past financial situation, this was indeed a splurge.

Now, having agreed to pay Cheng Zhu 4000 yuan each month, this meal really felt like a sky-high price.

But she was well aware that, for Cheng Zhu’s financial status and spending ability, this price range really wasn’t much.

“Mr. Chen, the meat in this restaurant is of relatively good quality; they really use good ingredients,” Cheng Zhu said while looking through the menu.

In big cities, some dining places sell an image and class, and the quality of the ingredients might not necessarily match up.

Cheng Zhu felt that this place was actually worth the money.

Chen Jieyu nodded slightly, but in her mind, she was thinking about how she was going to get by after this meal and where she would need to cut expenses.

Next month’s living expenses would be slashed by a thousand right off the bat; it looked like she would need to cut back in every aspect.

Cheng Zhu, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned about her financial situation; his approach to ordering was just to order whatever he felt like eating.

Chen Jieyu hardly ordered anything, indicating she usually had very little for dinner.

That was actually true.

People who could eat anything and not gain weight were really a rare breed.

A woman who wanted to maintain her figure still had to live by that old saying, “Watch your mouth and move your legs.”

Fate hadn’t dealt her many good cards; she was born with a bad hand.

If she didn’t even know how to maintain a decent appearance and figure, then she’d be truly foolish.

Cheng Zhu didn’t say much when he saw she didn’t order much.

After a while, a female waitress entered the private room, carrying a pot of rice wine and two delicate little cups.

“This is our restaurant’s complimentary signature rice wine; both of you can give it a try.”

Chen Jieyu was about to say no need when she saw Cheng Zhu had already picked up the wine pot and started pouring the wine into the cups.

She actually had the habit of a little drink daily.

Because sometimes she had insomnia and slept very lightly.

Having a little drink before bed allowed her to sleep more soundly and deeply.

But having dinner alone with her student, and drinking wine in a private room, was something she hadn’t thought about before.

After the waitress left, Cheng Zhu pushed a small cup of wine towards Chen Jieyu and took a sip from his own cup, nodding in satisfaction, “Hmm, it’s still the same taste.”

He had often visited this restaurant in his previous life.

“Mr. Chen, I personally think the rice wine here is particularly good, and it’s also a signature of the store. You can drink as much as you want for free.”

“The cups and wine pot are also handmade by the owner and his wife. If you like them, you can take them home after the meal,” he said with a smile.

Chen Jieyu nodded slightly and looked at her small wine cup filled with rice wine, her finger tracing slowly around the rim as she pondered whether to drink.

But then she thought about how expensive the meal was; why not drink something that’s free?

The cups and wine pot were quite attractive, and they could be taken home as well—perfect material for a social media post.

She picked up the cup, took a small sip, and then discovered that the taste was indeed nice, the alcohol wasn’t strong, and it was quite fragrant with a slight sweetness.

“I should tell you,” Cheng Zhu interjected, “you don’t feel much while drinking this wine, but it has quite an aftereffect.”

“Some wines make you feel uncomfortable when their aftereffect hits and it can last a long time. This one, however, is fine—sleep it off and the effect dissipates quickly, at least that’s how it is for me,” he added.

Chen Jieyu nodded her head; she hadn’t planned on drinking much anyway.

She didn’t see herself as the type who, when upset, would drink heavily to vent her emotions.

When the barbecue arrived, she took the initiative, “I’ll do the grilling.”

She ate very little herself, and by grilling, she could minimize her own eating.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

Cheng Zhu didn’t insist otherwise; the two of them dined and chatted casually.

They talked occasionally about things in class or discussed gaming projects.

“Are you from Sichuan Province?”, he asked.

Chen Jieyu named a place Cheng Zhu had never heard of.

Seeing his expression, she said, “A small, remote place, but the scenery is quite nice.”

“By the way, did you go home for National Day and give a good scolding to your troublemaking brother?” Cheng Zhu jokingly prodded, as if instigating mischief.

Hearing this, Chen Jieyu’s eyes dimmed slightly behind her gold-rimmed glasses. She just nodded slightly before downing the rice wine in her cup.

“Seriously, he crashed his motorbike into someone, owes sixty thousand; must’ve been pretty bad,” the insensitive man continued.

After speaking, he poured her more wine and bluntly asked, “Is it because of this matter that you’ve been troubled?”

Back in the hallway, he had pointed out her smudged eye makeup—essentially laying the groundwork for a heart-to-heart now.

Mentioning makeup touch-ups before a meal was as casual as pointing out something stuck on one’s face.

But it was also an implication that he had noticed her unusual mood.

Of course, the mention of smudged eye makeup was purposefully saved until after they had agreed to meet for the meal.

Since she was already exposed before him, it was natural to delve deeper now.

“Sort of,” Chen Jieyu, looking down, subconsciously continued tracing her finger around the rim of her cup.

“Has it been resolved?” Cheng Zhu asked.

“It’s kind of settled for now,” Chen Jieyu picked up the tongs again to grill meat for Cheng Zhu.

“Is that so? Congratulations, shall we toast to that?” he smiled, picking up his wine cup.

“Congratulations?” Chen Jieyu felt a slight bitterness in her heart.

But she still picked up her wine cup and clinked it with Cheng Zhu’s, then drank down the rice wine in one gulp.

Sometimes, this is the price you pay for pretending to be strong and not wanting to bare your soul to others.

An offhand remark from someone else could wound you deeply.

Of course, Cheng Zhu was not speaking carelessly.

He was there to strike right at the heart.

After a few cups of rice wine and the added warmth from the grill in the small private room, they both felt a bit hot.

Cheng Zhu took off his jacket, and Chen Jieyu removed her casual women’s blazer.

She was wearing a silk blouse underneath, which was a close-fitting material that outlined her graceful body curves and accentuated the mature charm about her.

At that moment, her cheeks were slightly flushed, though not very noticeably.

But it was enough to somewhat reduce her normally serious and restrained demeanor.

It was then Cheng Zhu said, “Mr. Chen, selling the store wasn’t because the gaming project really had a funding shortfall; I just needed a reason to sell the store. Please keep that between us, I’ve only told people close to me. After all, you’re the advisor for our project, right?”

“Huh?” Chen Jieyu felt slightly relieved upon hearing this.

So, it meant that not only was Cheng Zhu not short of money, but he’d also have a few million more in hand after selling the store.

At least he wouldn’t be urgently demanding her to pay up.

This meant she could stick to the initial agreement—pay him 4000 yuan each month and then see if she could pay off the rest with her year-end bonus.

But then a wave of uncertainty hit her.

She didn’t know what the future held for her this year.

If she stayed alone in Hang City, it would be wise to have some extra money on hand.

With these thoughts, a wave of sorrow rose again in her heart.

She had hoped to pay off her debts by the end of the year, to be debt-free.

But now, she didn’t even know how she was going to get through this year.

Originally, if these events hadn’t occurred, her plan was to take her mother and brother somewhere off the beaten track for a few days during the New Year holiday.

Because in her memory, the New Year period was often the time when that man would indulge most heavily in drinking and gambling.

He would drink with those friends every day, gathering to gamble.

If he drank too much and lost money, he wouldn’t care that it was the New Year and that he shouldn’t lose his temper.

As her thoughts wandered, she heard Cheng Zhu’s voice, “Teacher, are you tipsy or just distracted?”

“Uh, a bit distracted, thinking about some things.”

“Your gaze just now seemed very uncertain; we haven’t had that much to drink, have we?” he asked while pouring more wine, “Do you drink often?”

“I sometimes have a little red wine before bed to help me sleep.”

Talking about drinking red wine before bed might sound sophisticated. But only she knew how cheap that wine actually was.

“So, it’s not the alcohol taking effect, it’s genuine perplexity?” Cheng Zhu said while serving himself more meat.

Chen Jieyu watched him, his relaxed expression making her feel the urge to speak more.

“I’m not the same age as you, so sometimes our situations and the issues we worry about are different,” Chen Jieyu said.

“I understand. People from small towns often marry early, and families urge them to, right? Did they press you about marriage when you went home for National Day, forcing you to go on blind dates?” he began to blurt nonsense.

Sometimes, when someone hesitates to talk, just throw out some random remarks, and they might just spill everything.

“It’s not that.” When Chen Jieyu heard him talk about marital pressure, she felt somewhat amused and frustrated.

She lowered her head, looking at her wine cup, her finger tracing around the rim again, not looking at Cheng Zhu, but muttering:

“You’re still in university at your age, with classes every day, and your life is planned around your studies.”

“I can sense the anticipation for the future in many students.”

“So you might not have some of the feelings from this phase of life, like feeling uncertain about work or life sometimes.”

“Yet having a clear understanding of your own abilities and current status.”

“Sometimes, it even feels like there’s no future in sight.”

“Is that so?” Cheng Zhu glanced at Chen Jieyu.

He picked up the small wine pot, poured wine into his cup, and subtly stabbed at her heart as he poured:

“I feel like—many people who say they can’t see their future, in fact, see it all too clearly.”

…

(P.S.: Second update, please give a monthly vote.)