Chapter 013 – “Do You… Like Me?”

Yu Zhenghao quickly walked over and said to them, “Don’t go, what’s with the politeness? Since there’s space here, just sit down. It’s no big deal—we all know each other anyway.”

Shen Qingli really didn’t want to deal with Jiang Junwen. She tugged Qian Xiqiao and continued walking out.

Qian Xiqiao didn’t really understand what was going on, and didn’t dare say anything. She just followed Shen Qingli quietly.

Yu Zhenghao caught up and asked, “What a coincidence today—are you two out for dinner too?”

Qian Xiqiao sighed, “We actually weren’t planning to come. We were eating in the cafeteria at first, but then something happened, so we left.”

Shen Qingli: “…”

She quickly glanced up and gave Qian Xiqiao a look—telling her to stop talking.

Jiang Junwen was right there. No need to bring it up again.

Qian Xiqiao was actually quite annoyed. She felt like this whole thing wasn’t just Shen Qingli’s problem—Jiang Junwen had some responsibility too, right?

If he just spoke up once, who would still dare to spread rumors about Shen Qingli?

Yu Zhenghao asked in surprise, “What happened? What’s going on?”

Qian Xiqiao wanted to explain, but Shen Qingli wouldn’t let her.

So she shook her head and forced a smile, “Mm, it’s nothing. Nothing serious.”

By now, the two girls had already walked a good distance away from the table. Shen Qingli said to Yu Zhenghao, “Senior, go back and eat. We’re going somewhere else.”

Yu Zhenghao stopped walking. Jiang Junwen and Li Wenyao watched Shen Qingli.

Yu Zhenghao then leaned in and quietly asked Jiang Junwen, “Awen, what’s going on here?”

Those two junior girls were clearly avoiding Jiang Junwen.

Jiang Junwen’s expression was cold. He didn’t answer.

They were eating in a budget-friendly barbecue restaurant.

Shen Qingli didn’t even need to guess—she knew they were probably waiting for Luo Shuyao.

Luo Shuyao’s family had run into trouble, and she probably didn’t dare to spend lavishly anymore.

If she wanted to treat Jiang Junwen and the others to a meal, she would definitely choose a place like this—not because she wanted to, but because she needed to. It served a purpose: to make Jiang Junwen see her hardship, pity her, feel sorry for her.

And truthfully, it worked.

The proud and temperamental Jiang family heir really bought into it.

Just thinking about sitting down to eat with Jiang Junwen and Luo Shuyao made Shen Qingli feel nauseated.

She was already at the door when—

Jiang Junwen suddenly stood up and said, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Then he strode off.

At the same time, Shen Qingli’s phone vibrated—WeChat notification.

The contact name: Young Master Jiang.
Message:
[Shen Qingli, wait for me.]

Shen Qingli: “…”

Damn it. After being reborn, she completely forgot when she had added Jiang Junwen’s contact.

If she’d known, she would’ve deleted it first thing.

She didn’t reply.

She started operating her phone and was just about to hit “Delete Contact” when his next message came in:

[Shen Qingli, don’t even think about deleting me!]

Shen Qingli: “???”

Another message followed immediately:

[Wait for me. I need to talk to you.]

She stared at the screen for a moment.

Qian Xiqiao turned around and saw Jiang Junwen striding toward them.

Thinking about the recent rumors surrounding them, Qian Xiqiao hesitated and said, “Ali… Jiang Junwen is coming.”

Jiang Junwen caught up quickly. He fixed his eyes on Shen Qingli and said in a low voice,
“Shen Qingli, come here. I need to talk to you.”

Then he shot a cold look at Qian Xiqiao.

Qian Xiqiao: “…”

Shen Qingli glanced around at the people coming and going. Then she told Qian Xiqiao,
“Xiqiao, wait for me five minutes.”

Qian Xiqiao didn’t dare object. She nodded and stood off to the side.

Shen Qingli walked to a quieter corner.

She really couldn’t figure out what Jiang Junwen wanted to talk to her about.

But she knew that if she refused, he might lose it and cause a scene right there in the restaurant.

That would’ve been truly embarrassing.

Back at the table, the three guys exchanged looks.

Yu Zhenghao leaned in and asked Qian Xiqiao, “What’s going on?”

Qian Xiqiao shook her head blankly, “I don’t know either.”

Li Wenyao stared at Shen Qingli’s back, was silent for a few seconds, and then said,
“Awen probably wants to ask her why she’s been taking pictures of him. I bet it was Mrs. Jiang’s request.”

Yu Zhenghao sighed, “Awen’s been acting…”

He glanced at Qian Xiqiao but didn’t finish the sentence.

What he meant was—was Jiang Junwen paying too much attention to Shen Qingli lately?

It didn’t feel right.

…

Shen Qingli followed Jiang Junwen to a quiet corner just outside the restaurant.

He was wearing a dark blue hoodie and black jeans. His shoulders were broad, his legs long—tall, handsome, eye-catching. Just standing there, he drew glances from passersby.

People love beautiful things.

Shen Qingli figured—her lovestruck past self wasn’t that hard to understand.

If only she had known from the start that she was just Luo Shuyao’s stand-in…

She never would’ve agreed to date Jiang Junwen.

Shen Qingli walked up to Jiang Junwen and said, “What do you want? Just say it quickly.”

Jiang Junwen snuffed out his cigarette and tossed the butt into a trash can. His eyes bore into Shen Qingli’s, brows furrowed, voice icy:
“You’ve been taking pictures of me these past two days—don’t you think you should give me a report?”

He paused, then looked at her meaningfully and asked,
“You still keeping my photos in your album?”

Shen Qingli: “…”

She gave him a rather disdainful glance and said in a low voice,
“You’re the one who keeps skipping class. The advisor went and tattled to Mrs. Jiang, and she told me to ‘check you in with photos’ every day. Now you’re actually showing up to class, so of course she’s satisfied. What’s there to report?”

In her previous life, when she helped Jiang Junwen cover for his truancy, all the photos had been staged. So they had to coordinate every day.

But this time, the photos were all real.

What was there to explain?

Shen Qingli was speechless.

After a beat, she added, “Relax. I didn’t save your photos—not a single one!”

So Young Master Jiang, in all his arrogance, didn’t even want people keeping photos of him.

Then why did he say, ‘Take as many as you want’ in the first place? What a temperamental guy.

She really thought he was being dramatic.

Jiang Junwen: “…”

He was briefly stunned, and his expression flickered with something almost like disappointment. Frowning, he stared at her:
“You… took so many and didn’t save even one?”

Shen Qingli looked at him as if he were absurd.
“What else did you expect? Why would I save your photos? To ward off evil spirits?”

Jiang Junwen: “…”

He was so mad he actually laughed.

Taking another drag from his cigarette, he exhaled through a swirl of smoke and stared at Shen Qingli with an increasingly cold expression. She could tell—Young Master Jiang was getting mad again.

And she didn’t even know what exactly set him off this time.

But then again, Jiang Junwen had always been this unpredictable.

She used to try to understand him.

Now, she just thought he was nuts.

He sneered, gaze sharp and voice low:
“I don’t believe it. Shen Qingli, do you like me but just don’t dare to admit it?”

Shen Qingli: “…”

She admitted—back in her previous life, she really did like him at this point.

But now? She was certain she didn’t.

So she took out her phone, opened her chat history with Mrs. Jiang, and showed it to him.
“If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

With a cold face, Jiang Junwen snatched her phone. Swiping through it, he saw their entire conversation—photos of him attending or leaving class.

All of them were blurry shots of his back or side profile.

Not even one frontal shot.

Shen Qingli had only been taking two or three photos a day—not many. But even after a few days, there still wasn’t a single clear picture of his face.

In fact, even profile shots were missing!

If not for the clothes he wore or the backpack he carried, even he wouldn’t have recognized himself in the pictures.

Jiang Junwen’s face darkened instantly. Gritting his teeth, he glared at Shen Qingli in frustration.
“Shen Qingli, well done! You’re supervising me for Gao Xuanzhen and taking my pictures, and you couldn’t even bother to catch my face? How much do you not want to look at me?”

(Gao Xuanzhen was Mrs. Jiang’s name. Jiang Junwen often referred to her by full name.)

Shen Qingli stared at him expressionlessly.
“Why do you care how I take the photos? Besides, your face isn’t that great. What’s the point of photographing it?”

Looking at it just annoyed her.

And honestly, she had no idea what Jiang Junwen was so angry about.

Jiang Junwen: “…”

He gave a cold laugh and nodded.
“Alright, Shen Qingli. Very good!”

Then he looked her in the eyes and said,
“Then tell me—whose face is worth photographing? Pei Songjiang’s?”

Shen Qingli’s guard went up. “What’s your problem? Why are you bringing up Senior Pei?”

Jiang Junwen repeated mockingly,
“Senior Pei? That intimate, huh? I’m older than you too—why don’t you call me Senior?”

Call Jiang Junwen “Senior”?

Shen Qingli rolled her eyes internally.

She kept her face cold. “I don’t feel like talking to you. Give me back my phone.”

Rage surged in Jiang Junwen’s chest. He was livid.
“What exactly is going on between you and him?”

Shen Qingli stood on tiptoe to snatch back her phone.
“Whatever it is, it’s none of your business.”

Jiang Junwen’s expression turned stormy. Suddenly, he flung her phone to the ground.

Smack!
The screen shattered instantly.

Shen Qingli: “???”

She quickly bent down to pick it up, then glared at him.
“Jiang Junwen, are you out of your mind?”

She stared at her poor phone in pain.

That phone had been a gift from Shen Guiqi when she got into A University—he spent almost a month’s salary to buy her the latest model.

She treasured it.

And now? It hadn’t even been used that long, and Jiang Junwen smashed it!

She was furious, but she didn’t scream or lose it. Compared to Jiang Junwen, she was far more composed.

Holding back her anger, she turned the phone on. It still worked.

The screen was ruined, though.

She glared at Jiang Junwen.
“The screen’s broken. You’ll compensate me. I’ll send you the bill. Don’t try to weasel out of it, Jiang Young Master.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the restaurant—she didn’t want to be near Jiang Junwen for a second longer.

On the way out, she opened WeChat, found his contact, and blocked him.

Jiang Junwen punched the wall in frustration.

Damn it.

When he first learned she was taking pictures of him, he was actually pleased.

He thought Shen Qingli had a secret crush on him. That’s why he let her take photos—he figured she’d save them and look at them in secret later.

But now…

Jiang Junwen was furious.

Though even he didn’t know exactly what he was angry about.

…So what was the relationship between Shen Qingli and Pei Songjiang?