Chapter 028: Senior’s Birthday?

By the time Pei Songjiang arrived at the restaurant, the earlier commotion had already been handled.

The three men who had been beaten refused compensation and insisted on calling the police.

Manager Wang had no choice but to contact the legal department to take over, and also reached out to the Jiang family.

To put it plainly, this whole situation was stirred up by Jiang Junwen. The restaurant couldn’t resolve it on their own, so they had to bring in someone from the Jiang family.

The restaurant was willing to cooperate and compensate, but some demands were just too unreasonable to accept.

After entering the restaurant, Pei Songjiang first went to his private room, dropped off his bag, then circled around to the front hall. His gaze swept over the uniformed staff members.

But there was no sign of Shen Qingli.

He frowned slightly and detoured to the kitchen to check.

Many of the kitchen staff recognized Pei Songjiang. Thinking the boss was here for an inspection, they all worked with renewed enthusiasm.

At that moment, Manager Wang, having just left the office after dealing with the incident, spotted Pei Songjiang and was startled. He quickly walked over and cautiously asked,
“Young Master Pei, are you here to hold me accountable? This incident really was my oversight. I had no idea that the new part-timer was Young Master Jiang’s girlfriend—otherwise, I’d never have hired her!”

Pei Songjiang stopped and turned his head expressionlessly. Behind the lenses of his glasses, his deep, cold gaze locked onto Manager Wang.

Manager Wang: “…”

In his decade-plus of work experience, it was the first time a young man’s stare had made him break into a cold sweat.

He awkwardly explained,
“The situation’s mostly under control now. We’ve handed it over to Legal and PR. They’ll be here shortly…”

Pei Songjiang interrupted him,
“You said just now, Young Master Jiang—as in Jiang Junwen from the Jiang family in Haicheng? He was here?”

Manager Wang: “…”

So, Pei Songjiang didn’t even know what had happened. He wasn’t here to question anyone at all.

Relieved, Manager Wang wiped the imaginary sweat from his brow and said,
“Yes, the young master from the Jiang family came tonight with some friends. His girlfriend got into a dispute with customers, and Young Master Jiang charged in and started a fight…”

He then gave Pei Songjiang a full account of everything that had happened that night.

The more Pei Songjiang listened, the deeper his frown grew. He asked coldly,
“Those three customers were that rude? Harassing our staff so openly? And we still entertain that kind of member? Are we really that desperate for their business?”

Manager Wang was stunned for a second before hesitantly replying,
“Uh, I… I don’t think we are?”

Pei Songjiang’s voice was icy.
“Blacklist them. And the part-time girl—is her name Shen Qingli?”

Manager Wang was even more shocked.
“Yes… Young Master Pei, you know her too?”

Pei Songjiang looked irritated. He had been in the field earlier with his mentor, inspecting plants, which made him late.

Who could have guessed something like this would happen?

He rubbed his forehead and said,
“She’s just a part-timer. It’s not easy for her. Don’t blame her for this.”

Manager Wang: “…”

Now he was sweating for real.

He just wanted to hire a part-time worker. Who would’ve thought she was such a VIP?

First, Jiang Junwen fought for her. Now, even Young Master Pei was defending her.

But the worst part? He had already fired her!

As he wiped his forehead nervously, Manager Wang said,
“Young Master Pei, I’ve already dismissed that part-timer. She received her final paycheck and left.”

Pei Songjiang: “…”

He frowned at Manager Wang and started,
“You…”

But then paused and sighed.
“Forget it. She’s already gone. Just make sure the rest is handled properly. I’m leaving.”

With that, he turned and hurried away.

Manager Wang called out after him,
“Young Master Pei, why not have dinner first? We’ve launched some new dishes today—perfect chance to try them!”

But Pei Songjiang just rushed back to his private room, grabbed his bag, and strode out of the restaurant.
“Next time.”

With his long legs, he was gone in a few strides, not even a silhouette left in view.

Manager Wang chased a few steps but couldn’t catch up.

Pei Songjiang tried messaging Shen Qingli, but she still hadn’t replied.

He was getting worried, but all he had was her WeChat. He didn’t have her number.

He knew where she lived—but that was the Jiang household. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to go there.

Left with no choice, Pei Songjiang hailed a cab to the Dongshan Villa neighborhood.

By the time he got out of the car, it was past 9 PM.

He stood at the entrance, checked his phone again. Still no reply from Shen Qingli.

But soon, he saw someone approaching from the roadside—it was Shen Qingli, coming home.

…

Shen Qingli was feeling annoyed. She had clearly decided to let go of the grudges from her past life.

But Jiang Junwen kept coming back to stir up trouble.

Could it be… Her steps faltered as a terrifying thought occurred to her.

Had Jiang Junwen also been reborn?

No way, right?

If Jiang Junwen had been reborn, he would’ve gone straight to Luo Shuyao and stopped her from going abroad.

Why would he bother chasing after her, the substitute?

As Shen Qingli was lost in thought, a calm male voice called her name in the night breeze:
“Shen Qingli.”

She looked up and saw Pei Songjiang standing under the dim streetlamp not far away.

His expression was complicated as he walked quickly over and lowered his head slightly, studying her face.

Shen Qingli widened her eyes in surprise.
“Senior Pei? What are you doing here?”

Pei Songjiang was silent for two seconds before saying,
“Today’s my birthday. There’s a party. I wanted to ask if you’d like to come.”

Shen Qingli was even more surprised.
“Ah? Really? Then… happy birthday, Senior.”

She reached into her backpack, rummaging around—but couldn’t find anything useful.

In the end, blushing, she took off the little chick keychain hanging on her bag and handed it to him.
“Happy birthday, Senior. I didn’t know ahead of time, so I didn’t get you a gift.”

That little chick keychain had been taken by Jiang Junwen in her previous life.

This time, she had intended to keep it for herself.

Pei Songjiang looked at the chick—it was yellow, with a red collar and a straw hat on its head, fluffy all over, and a tiny bell hanging from its neck. Very cute.

Without hesitation, he reached out and accepted it, his expression composed.

As his warm fingers brushed hers, Shen Qingli flinched and quickly pulled her hand back.

Pei Songjiang glanced at her—and noticed her cheeks were flushed.

He lowered his head slightly and quickly attached the chick keychain to his shoulder bag, then said softly,
“This is perfect. I really like it.”

Shen Qingli felt that the keychain was a bit too small and shabby to be a proper gift, but Pei Songjiang seemed to genuinely like it.

Pei Songjiang asked her,
“We’re going to sing karaoke. Do you want to come?”

Although it was phrased as a question, his eyes were fixed on her with a hint of expectation.

Shen Qingli wasn’t in a great mood either. If Madam Jiang found out that Jiang Junwen had gotten into a fight at the restaurant because of her, who knows if she’d secretly slip birth control pills into her food again.

So she immediately nodded,
“Sure, let’s go. Are we leaving now?”

Pei Songjiang nodded and ordered a car through a ride-hailing app.

At that moment, he suddenly regretted leaving home without taking the Maybach his grandfather had given him when he ran away after an argument with his parents over studying agriculture.

That car didn’t cost his parents anything—so surely he could’ve taken it, right?

Always having to call a ride, especially when Shen Qingli was with him, wasn’t ideal.

And in the future, he’d have to rent a place and take her out to have fun…

No, he needed to buy a new car soon.

He still had some money saved up anyway.

As he was thinking, he sent a message to his group chat:
[It’s my birthday today. Blue Star KTV. You better show up!]

There were only 7 people in the group. Some were still out in the field, others busy rushing their assignments or papers. When they saw the message, they were immediately hyped:

Yang:
[Whoa! Old Seven, you finally remembered to treat your older brothers and sisters to dinner?]

Chai Ke:
[Wow, a treat from Young Master Pei? Gotta show up for that! I haven’t eaten yet—tonight I’m ordering the expensive stuff!]

Seilei:
[Wait a sec, Old Seven—if I remember right, isn’t your birthday in July? The date doesn’t match. Are you really having a birthday today?]

…

The car arrived. Pei Songjiang opened the door for Shen Qingli, and as she got in, he reached out to shield her head. Shen Qingli felt a bit embarrassed, her heartbeat speeding up.

After making sure she was seated, he walked around to the other side and got in. Then he replied in the group chat:
[If I say it’s my birthday, it is. You’ll understand when you get there.]

He added:
[I’m bringing a friend. Don’t blow my cover.]

After sending that, he finally turned off his phone.

Shen Qingli was still feeling a bit low, so Pei Songjiang turned to her and asked,
“Do you want some milk tea?”

He’d heard girls cheered up after drinking milk tea.

But Shen Qingli asked instead,
“Do you want some, Senior? Should I buy one for you?”

Pei Songjiang: “…”

She was just too considerate.

It was like she never thought of herself first.

…

When Pei Songjiang arrived with Shen Qingli, a few of his classmates were already there.

Three boys and three girls—add Pei Songjiang and Shen Qingli, that made eight in total.

When they saw him come in, they were excited:
“Old Seven! You finally showed up! We’ve been waiting for you!”

One slightly chubby male student with black-rimmed glasses rushed over to try and hug him, but Pei Songjiang reacted quickly. He pulled Shen Qingli aside and frowned,
“Slow down, be careful not to bump into anyone!”

Shen Qingli was so thin—what if she actually got hurt?

Only then did everyone in the room notice Shen Qingli following behind him.

Their eyes widened slightly in surprise.

One tall female student asked in surprise,
“Songjiang, did you bring your girlfriend?”

The room immediately erupted in teasing:
“No way, no way! Pei Songjiang actually has a girlfriend?”

Blushing, Shen Qingli lowered her head and glanced at Pei Songjiang.

He had a smile in his eyes as he pulled her forward and said to the group,
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is Shen Qingli, a junior from University A across the street. She’s not my girlfriend.”

Everyone gave a knowing “oh” with teasing expressions.

They got it.

She wasn’t his girlfriend yet, but it was obvious that’s where things were headed.

None of them had ever seen Pei Songjiang this close with any girl before.

He was always cold and distant with everyone.

This was the first time anyone had seen him bring a girl along—especially a fellow student.

The group exchanged glances and subtle gestures.

Just look at that—he even faked a birthday just to invite her out. Clearly, he was into her.

Everyone had gossipy looks in their eyes. One male student handed Shen Qingli a bottle of soda, saying enthusiastically,
“Hi, Junior. I’m Yang Qianyu. You can call me ‘Brother’ or ‘Senior’—either is fine.”

Just as Shen Qingli was about to speak, Pei Songjiang reached over, took the cold soda from her hand, and replaced it with a bottle of room-temperature juice. He said coldly,
“You’ve been collecting ‘little sisters’ since the semester started. Got a truckload by now, haven’t you?”

Yang Qianyu retorted,
“This one’s different! She looks way more obedient.”

Pei Songjiang leaned in and said to Shen Qingli softly,
“Ignore them. Here, have some fruit.”

He placed the fruit platter in front of her and even peeled an orange for her.

Everyone in the room gave them strange looks.

Shen Qingli started to feel a bit uncomfortable under their stares.

They didn’t say anything out loud, but their group chat was buzzing:

[Damn, Old Seven has good taste! This girl is really pretty.]

[Is he courting her? Should we help him out?]

They kept chatting in the group, but Pei Songjiang didn’t respond.

Until Yang Qianyu asked:

[Should we help you?]

Pei Songjiang finally replied:

[How?]

Everyone: “…”

The classmates exchanged glances. Yang Qianyu slicked his hair back and wrote:

[Leave it to me!]

He put down his phone, turned down the music, and grinned:
“Come on, let’s play a must-have party game—Truth or Dare! Who’s in?”

Everyone: “…”

Someone griped in the group chat:
[Can’t we come up with something new? We always do this.]

Yang Qianyu shot a glare at Pei Songjiang like, Bro, I’m helping you chase a girl here. You better cooperate without needing instructions.

Then he shouted,
“Old Seven! You in?”

Pei Songjiang: “…”

A bit helpless, he turned to Shen Qingli:
“Ali, do you want to play?”

Though “Truth or Dare” was a popular game among college students, Shen Qingli had never played it before.

Hearing everyone mention it now, her curiosity was piqued:
“Sure!”

Yang Qianyu was thrilled:
“Great! Then we’re all playing! I’ll go get the cards.”

Everyone gathered around the tea table, sitting in a circle on the sofa.

Shen Qingli leaned toward Pei Songjiang and asked:
“Senior, it’s your birthday today. Didn’t you get a cake?”

Pei Songjiang: “…”