Chapter 031 – You Live Nearby Too?

Pei Songjiang escorted Shen Qingli to the entrance of the villa community. Shen Qingli asked,
“Senior, do you live nearby too?”

Pei Songjiang did own a villa in this area—his grandfather had bought it for him as a gift when he decided to study at A University.

His decision to major in agricultural studies had been opposed by his parents.
They even cut off his living expenses and declared that they wouldn’t support him at all during the four years of college.

But his grandfather supported him wholeheartedly.

After all, the old man had lived in the countryside in his youth and enjoyed gardening.

Feeling sorry for his beloved grandson, he bought a villa here with a yard over 200 square meters in total—perfect for Pei Songjiang to grow things.

Pei Songjiang pointed in a direction and told Shen Qingli,
“I live over there, not far from here.”

Shen Qingli looked where he pointed. She didn’t associate it with the Dongshan Villa District—instead, seeing the well-lit residential area in that direction, she assumed he lived in one of the nearby apartment complexes.

As they arrived at the gate, Shen Qingli turned to him and said,
“Thank you for walking me back, Senior. I’ll head in now.”

Pei Songjiang came to a stop and nodded, waving at her,
“See you tomorrow.”

Shen Qingli glanced at his slender, fair hand with its clearly defined knuckles—and the moment their fingers had interlocked earlier flashed through her mind again.

Her face turned slightly red, and she turned to walk inside.

…

When Jiang Junwen returned home, his mother, Gao Xuanzhen, had already gotten off work and was waiting in the living room.

Because he had discovered her secretly giving birth control pills to Luo Shuyao, she hadn’t approached him for the past couple of days.

She was genuinely worried that he might hate her.

When Jiang Junwen entered, she put her phone on the table and called out,
“Ah Wen, come here for a moment.”

Jiang Junwen ignored her with a cold expression and headed straight upstairs.

Gao Xuanzhen frowned and forced herself to stay calm. She called again,
“Jiang Junwen, I told you to come here.”

He paused halfway up the stairs, his face still cold and clearly annoyed. He turned and walked back down, slumped into the couch with one leg crossed, and asked,
“What do you want?”

Gao Xuanzhen sat across from him with a mocking smile.
“What else? Of course, it’s about your engagement to Luo Shuyao.”

Jiang Junwen’s expression froze, and he frowned.
“You don’t need to worry about Shuyao and me.”

Marriage? He hadn’t even considered it.

Gao Xuanzhen sneered.
“Didn’t you love Luo Shuyao to death not long ago? I thought you were determined to marry her. So why are you so against it now that I mention marriage? Jiang Junwen, what do you really want?”

Frustrated, he scowled.
“Can’t you just stay out of my business? You didn’t agree to us dating before, and now you want us to get married? What do you expect me to do?”

Gao Xuanzhen opened a news app and shoved her phone in front of him.
“Look at this yourself.”

Jiang Junwen took the phone irritably. The moment he saw the screen, he frowned.
“Who leaked this?”

The news was filled with photos of him and Luo Shuyao—dating, entering hotels, even bringing her to the Jiang family estate.

The Jiang family was well-known in Haicheng. As the heir of the city’s wealthiest family, Jiang Junwen had always drawn media attention.

Even his decision to study at A University instead of going abroad had been covered in the news for days.

Now, Luo Shuyao’s father—once a government official—was under investigation. During this sensitive time, Jiang Junwen’s public romance with her was bound to raise suspicion. Especially after bringing her home to meet his parents.

The headlines exploded, with online speculation that the Jiang and Luo families were colluding—an unholy alliance between politics and business.

Gao Xuanzhen let out a cold laugh.
“Well done. Now the whole world knows you’re dating Luo Shuyao. Just what you wanted, right? Are you satisfied now?”

Jiang Junwen frowned deeply, set the phone down, and asked coldly,
“Why didn’t you have it taken down?”

Would this affect the Jiang family’s stock value?

Did his father know about this yet?

The thought of it gave him a splitting headache.

He muttered,
“How did this happen? Who on earth leaked this?”

Gao Xuanzhen snorted.
“Who else? It had to be the Luo family.”

Luo Shuyao had once planned to flee overseas, but now that she’d “snagged” someone from the Jiang family, how could she bear to leave?

Gao Xuanzhen took back her phone and told her assistant to handle the issue.

Then she looked at Jiang Junwen and said,
“I’ve already started taking care of this. But you really need to think carefully about your relationship with Luo Shuyao.”

…

Jiang Junwen was fuming.

So who had leaked the information?

Based on Gao Xuanzhen’s tone, it might have been the Luo family.

But he didn’t want to believe that Luo Shuyao would scheme against him like that.

Later that night, he grabbed his car keys and left to find her.

Just as he drove out, Shen Qingli was returning home. His headlights flashed, and she shielded her eyes, glancing toward the driver’s seat.

She locked eyes with Jiang Junwen’s cold expression.

Frowning slightly, she moved aside.

Jiang Junwen wanted to ask her about her relationship with Pei Songjiang.

Why had he seen them together so often lately—something that had never happened in their previous life?

But then he thought about it and realized… he had no right to ask.

Especially since he had just caused her to be fired from her restaurant job.

He hadn’t shown it outwardly, but deep down, he was worried she was angry with him.

After hesitating a while, he drove off.

…

When Shen Qingli returned to the little building, her father, Shen Guiqi, who had been playing chess at the door with other drivers, stood up immediately.
“A-Li, you’re back.”

Opening her room, Shen Qingli was surprised to see him still awake.
“Dad, it’s so late. You haven’t gone to sleep yet?”

Shen Guiqi nodded and said,
“Come inside. Let’s talk.”

He rarely had heart-to-hearts with her.

When she was little, they talked often, but as she grew up, those moments became fewer and fewer.

Seeing his serious expression, Shen Qingli couldn’t help but worry.
“Dad… did something happen?”

He walked into the room and sat on a stool, watching her unpack her bag.
“A-Li, I want to talk to you about something.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he said,
“I’m planning to resign. I won’t work as a driver for the Jiang family anymore.”

Shen Qingli froze, surprised.
“Dad, you’re quitting?”

He had always said the job at the Jiang household was good. The butler and other drivers were easy to get along with, the job came with free meals, housing, full insurance—and best of all, it paid well for not much work.

So why the sudden decision to leave?

Shen Guiqi looked at his daughter and said softly,
“Madam Jiang’s been giving you a hard time lately, hasn’t she?”

Shen Qingli stayed silent.

His expression turned even more serious.
“And Young Master Jiang… did he say something to you too?”

Shen Guiqi didn’t want his daughter to suffer.

Even if it meant she had to move into the dorms, he would still resign.

He didn’t want her to be mocked at school for being “just a driver’s daughter.”

He couldn’t bear for her to be mistreated.

After a long silence, Shen Qingli finally asked,
“What about Aunt Fen? Did you talk to her?”

Shen Guiqi nodded and sighed.
“She didn’t want to quit, so I’ll leave first and go back to our hometown for a while. She’ll keep working here.”

But Liu Lifen wasn’t Shen Qingli’s biological mother, so her staying wouldn’t affect her much.