Chapter 017: “She’s Not Back Yet?”

Shen Qingli had been cycling slowly, but she could feel the sky growing darker and heavier—it looked like it might rain.

She was debating whether to speed up and head home or find somewhere to take cover.

Just then, she heard someone call from the roadside,
“Shen Qingli.”

It was a boy’s voice—low, cool, with a hint of… resentment?

Or maybe that was just her imagination.

Two seconds later, a tall boy walked up beside her. His large, well-defined hand suddenly pressed down on her bike’s handlebar.

Since she was already riding slowly, the sudden press brought her bike to a complete stop.

Shen Qingli was stunned. She looked up—and locked eyes with Pei Songjiang’s dark, intense gaze.

She was shocked.
“Senior Pei?”

Today, Pei Songjiang was wearing a black hoodie, a black baseball cap, and light gray sweatpants speckled with mud.

The mud came from when he was planting peanuts earlier.

He lowered his head and looked at Shen Qingli with a complicated expression.
“You’ve been cycling to and from school lately? That’s a long distance—how long are you planning to keep this up?”

He sounded a bit angry.

Didn’t Jiang Junwen have a private driver? Why wasn’t he picking up Shen Qingli?

Pei Songjiang had gotten off the bus on purpose, just to confirm things with her.

He wanted to ask—was she avoiding the bus because she was afraid of running into him? Was she worried Jiang Junwen would be upset?

If that was the case, then he’d stop taking the bus altogether.

What Pei Songjiang didn’t know was that Shen Qingli’s WeChat had blocked him—and she didn’t know it either.

She noticed his expression didn’t look great, but didn’t think much of it.

Getting off the bike, Shen Qingli asked,
“Senior, what are you doing here?”

Pei Songjiang hesitated for two seconds before replying in a low voice,
“Just passing by.”

Shen Qingli smiled.
“What a coincidence, then!”

Pei Songjiang gave a slightly guilty-sounding “mm.”

Shen Qingli began pushing her bike and walking alongside him. She explained honestly,
“My phone got snatched by Jiang Junwen this morning on my way to school. I don’t have a phone now, so I couldn’t scan my transit card. A classmate helped me unlock a shared bike, so I’m just slowly riding home.”

Pei Songjiang, who had been overthinking all day, was stunned.

He had never expected that to be the reason.

He froze in place and looked at her with a complicated expression.
“You’re saying… your phone is with Jiang Junwen?”

So the one who used her phone to send him that message really was Jiang Junwen?

Shen Qingli nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.
“He keeps skipping class. Madam Jiang asked me to keep an eye on him. But when he found out, he got angry and snatched my phone so I couldn’t contact her.”

Pei Songjiang: “……”

He frowned deeply.
“So that’s what happened.”

Good thing he’d gotten off the bus just now to ask her directly.

Otherwise, he might’ve stayed in the dark.

Pei Songjiang said gently,
“Your dad is a driver, so he has to follow their instructions. But you don’t. You’re not obligated to do what they say. If their requests are unreasonable, you can say no.”

He felt that Shen Qingli was too obedient and soft-hearted—a girl like her was too easy to take advantage of.

Shen Qingli didn’t know how to explain the complexity of the Jiang family, especially Madam Jiang’s manipulative and difficult personality.

In her previous life, because she dated Jiang Junwen, Madam Jiang often made things hard for Shen Guiqi, using it as leverage to control Shen Qingli.

But this time, she was already preparing to leave the Jiang family.

Without that romantic connection to Jiang Junwen, the Jiang family actually treated her father fairly well.

Old Master Jiang, in fact, had always liked Driver Shen.

After a few moments of silence, Shen Qingli finally said,
“I know.”

She had always known. But in her past life, love made her give up too much.

She looked a bit sheepish.
“Senior, I’m really sorry about that morning…”

Pei Songjiang couldn’t help it—he lightly tapped her head and said in a low voice,
“I already told you, you didn’t do anything wrong. Stop apologizing all the time.”

This was the third time she had apologized. What—was she going to apologize every time she saw him now?

Just then, light raindrops began to fall from the sky.

Pei Songjiang glanced up and frowned.
“It’s starting to rain. How about I call a car for you? Don’t ride your bike in this.”

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone, ready to order a ride.

But Shen Qingli refused.
“It’s still early. I don’t want to go home just yet.”

Pei Songjiang didn’t press her. He turned to look at her and asked,
“Did you eat dinner?”

Shen Qingli nodded obediently.
“I did.”

He thought for a moment, then asked,
“What about milk tea?”

Shen Qingli found the question a bit odd. She hesitated.
“I have… I mean, not today.”

Pei Songjiang smiled.
“Then let’s go. I’ll buy you some milk tea.”

He parked her bike to the side and brought her into a nearby shopping mall.

By now, the rain had picked up. People on the street were running for cover.

Pei Songjiang took off his baseball cap and put it on Shen Qingli’s head.
“Come on, run. It’s getting heavier.”

Wearing his cap, Shen Qingli felt a little shy, but before she could say anything, he had already tugged her sleeve and started running.

She had no choice but to follow him.

They ran through the rain for a few minutes.

At the mall entrance, many people were already crowding to avoid the downpour.

Pei Songjiang, still holding onto her sleeve, pulled her through the crowd.

He finally sighed in relief, shook the wet bangs clinging to his forehead, and turned to Shen Qingli.
“What do you want to drink?”

Shen Qingli, still wearing his hat and completely dry, looked a little embarrassed.
“Senior… I was supposed to treat you this time, but…”

Pei Songjiang placed a hand on her head.
“Don’t worry, I remember. One cup from last time, one cup from today—you owe me two milk teas.”

Shen Qingli: “……”

This time, the rain was coming down hard. Shen Qingli and Pei Songjiang sat by the window, sipping milk tea.

In truth, the two of them had only met a few times and were still in that awkward phase of being more like acquaintances than friends. Sitting across from each other now, Shen Qingli didn’t know what to say—it was a bit awkward.

Pei Songjiang sat opposite her, seemingly lost in thought. For a while, both of them silently watched the rain outside the window.

…

This rain came fast and heavy.

Some were enjoying the misty downpour, while others were anxiously pacing inside a hotel.

Today was Luo Shuyao’s birthday.

After the lunch gathering, Yu Zhenghao and Li Wenyao had already left.

She and Jiang Junwen stayed at the hotel. Originally, Jiang Junwen was about to leave too, but the rain started.

Luo Shuyao looked at the visibly irritated Jiang Junwen and said,
“Ah Wen, it’s raining—why don’t you just stay the night here?”

Jiang Junwen had always liked Luo Shuyao and wanted to be with her.

But in the past, Luo Shuyao kept a certain distance, stringing him along without ever agreeing to date.

Recently though, she suddenly seemed to sense a crisis.

Taking advantage of her birthday, she directly made their relationship official.

But when Jiang Junwen heard her suggestion, he didn’t look happy or excited.

He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the heavy rain outside with a furrowed brow.
“What time is it?”

As he spoke, he took a phone out of his pocket—its screen was cracked.

Luo Shuyao said,
“Ah Wen, it’s already 8:30… huh? What happened to your phone? Why is it so damaged?”

She looked at the phone in his hand with surprise and suspicion.

No—that wasn’t Jiang Junwen’s phone. His case was black, but this one was red.

Her heart immediately sounded an alarm. She looked up at him and asked,
“Ah Wen, whose phone is that?”

Jiang Junwen’s expression darkened, clearly agitated.
“It’s Shen Qingli’s.”

Luo Shuyao’s face dropped.
“That driver’s daughter? Why do you have her phone?”

Jiang Junwen pressed the power button and saw it was already 8:40—nearly 9:00.

Forget it. Even if he got back late, it probably wouldn’t matter.

Shen Qingli wouldn’t be mad at him just because he got home late.

After all, it was raining, and he was celebrating Luo Shuyao’s birthday. She was leaving for overseas soon.

She wouldn’t be back for five years—how could he not celebrate with her?

Thinking that, Jiang Junwen turned to Luo Shuyao.
“Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

Luo Shuyao was startled. She looked a little displeased.
“Ah Wen, you know my home situation—I don’t want to go back.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Ah Wen, can you just stay at the hotel with me? It’s my birthday—I don’t want to be alone.”

Jiang Junwen felt even more irritable.

He wanted to stay with Luo Shuyao.

But he had to go home.

He had told Shen Qingli he’d be back at eight.

Jiang Junwen began pacing restlessly. Finally, he said,
“Shuyao, how about this—you come home with me. Stay at my place tonight, and tomorrow I’ll drive you to school. How’s that sound?”

Luo Shuyao blinked in surprise. Go to the Jiang family home?

She had only been there when she was a child—never after growing up.

Actually, Old Master Jiang had always liked her. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to see him again.

And Jiang Junwen never brought girls home. If he was taking her back this time, it meant their relationship was being made official.

Being in a relationship with a Jiang family heir would also be good for her current situation at home.

With these thoughts in mind, Luo Shuyao agreed and followed Jiang Junwen through the rain back to the Jiang family estate.

By the time they arrived, it was already 9:30 p.m.

Madam Jiang had been unable to contact Shen Qingli all day—calls had been hung up. She was already in a foul mood.

Now seeing Jiang Junwen return with Luo Shuyao only made her expression worse.

As Jiang Junwen and Luo Shuyao came up from the underground garage, the first thing he said to the butler was,
“Butler, tell Shen Qingli to come see me.”

The old butler glanced at Luo Shuyao, then said,
“Young Master, Miss Ali hasn’t come back yet. I’ll tell her when she does.”

Jiang Junwen froze mid-step. He stopped and turned to the butler.
“She’s not back yet?”

The butler shook his head.
“No, maybe she went to her part-time job? A few days ago, I heard from Driver Shen that Ali was planning to look for one.”

Jiang Junwen’s face turned even darker.
“She’s working a part-time job?”

Luo Shuyao looked at Jiang Junwen’s expression—and her mood instantly plummeted.