Chapter 9: Because of Rebirth, There Is Reminiscence
"I…" Li Qiang was taken aback by Su Qing’s reaction and didn’t know what to say for a moment.
But Su Qing didn't care about what Li Qiang had to say. She turned around and naturally asked Chang Hao, "Where is Zhou Yuwen?"
"Huh?" Chang Hao was stunned. From his perspective, he didn't know Su Qing at all, but she asked as if it were the most normal thing.
Chang Hao was confused, but seeing Su Qing’s bright eyes and pretty face, he thought to himself, Damn, what’s Zhou Yuwen’s deal? How does he know such a beautiful girl?!
Damn, why isn't he here playing cards with such a pretty girl!?
"He… he said he had something to do and couldn’t come." Being suddenly questioned by Su Qing made Chang Hao stammer a bit.
"What’s up, Su Qing? Your boyfriend didn’t come?" Zheng Yanyan asked.
Boyfriend!?
Damn! Zhou Yuwen has it this good?
"He’s not my boyfriend yet," Su Qing finally realized she had overreacted. But it couldn’t be helped; she was so eager to meet Zhou Yuwen, only to find out he wasn’t here, unlike what she remembered. Su Qing felt a bit panicked.
Could something have gone wrong with the rebirth?
Could it be that Zhou Yuwen didn’t come to this school?
Knowing Zhou Yuwen was still around made Su Qing relax a bit. Though puzzled as to why Zhou Yuwen didn’t come to play cards, she wasn’t as flustered as before.
"Giggle! Not your boyfriend yet, but he will be, right?" Zheng Yanyan laughed.
"Stop it!" Su Qing glared at Zheng Yanyan playfully.
Chang Hao caught on and said with a laugh, "Oh, you know Old Zhou! Why didn’t you say so? I’ve been calling him, but he wouldn’t come. If I knew you knew him, I’d have asked you to call him! He’d definitely come if a pretty girl called!"
Call?
That was a good idea!
Su Qing's eyes lit up, and she immediately tried calling.
The number was invalid.
This was awkward.
Chang Hao and Zheng Yanyan first thought Zhou Yuwen had blocked the call.
Did they have a fight?
Seeing Su Qing's distracted look, they thought, This doesn’t add up. Su Qing is so pretty. Why would Zhou Yuwen make her angry? What’s he thinking?
Chang Hao glanced at Zheng Yanyan.
Zheng Yanyan was also puzzled. Seeing Su Qing for the first time, she felt Su Qing’s beauty was on par with hers. What kind of man could make Su Qing so obsessed?
Zhou Yuwen?
Zheng Yanyan became a bit interested in this guy.
"Aren’t we here to play cards? Are we playing or not?" Li Qiang grumbled, feeling frustrated. He was promised an introduction to a beautiful girl, but she clearly came for Zhou Yuwen!
Damn, what luck does Zhou Yuwen have? He’s not even as handsome as me, yet he gets such a beautiful girl?
"Of course, we’re playing! Miss, Zhou Yuwen is probably asleep. Let’s play cards for a while; he might wake up," Chang Hao suggested.
Su Qing knew Zhou Yuwen hadn’t registered his number yet and felt uneasy. According to her previous life’s timeline, she should have met Zhou Yuwen in the cafeteria. Why wasn’t he here? Was it the butterfly effect?
Unable to figure it out, Su Qing decided to play cards for now and call later.
To be honest, even though Su Qing was reborn, her mental age wasn’t much older than these kids. However, she liked to act mature, thinking how silly it was to play cards with them. In fact, her card-playing skills were terrible.
In her previous life, Su Qing liked Zhou Yuwen because he wasn’t good at studying but was great at playing cards. He could play equally well with the elders in middle school and spent his high school days sneaking behind the teacher’s back to play cards.
The first day of college playing cards was also the first meeting between Chang Hao and Zheng Yanyan. Chang Hao fell for her at first sight. Most guys’ first goal in college is to find a girlfriend. At his high school graduation party, Chang Hao was teased by his friends about going to the countryside and dating a country girl.
How could the prideful Chang Hao stand that? In the new student group, he met Zheng Yanyan, who was also from Beijing and going to Jinling. Without thinking, he started pursuing her, though he was cautious, fearing her photos were edited and she might not be pretty.
Seeing her in person, Chang Hao had no doubts!
A fair-skinned, beautiful-legged Beijing girl! If she became his girlfriend, his friends would be envious!
So, Chang Hao’s eagerness was evident. During the card game, he kept feeding cards to Zheng Yanyan, ignoring his partner.
Zheng Yanyan, liking to tease, asked, "Hey, you said you had high standards for a girlfriend. Do I meet them?"
"Of course! You definitely do!"
Since meeting Zheng Yanyan, Chang Hao felt like a different person.
In their past life card games, Su Qing would make mistakes, and Zheng Yanyan would laugh at her, with Chang Hao joining in. This hurt Su Qing's pride. Fortunately, Zhou Yuwen was there to help her, preventing her from losing too badly, which made her appreciate Zhou Yuwen more.
But this time, without Zhou Yuwen, Su Qing struggled.
Someone bad at cards won’t improve even with multiple lifetimes. Plus, Su Qing wasn’t focused on the game, making several mistakes in a row.
Zheng Yanyan and Chang Hao worked well together, enjoying the game, while Su Qing was distracted.
The most frustrated was Li Qiang, hurt by Su Qing’s earlier words and now dragged down by her poor playing.
After a few rounds, Li Qiang couldn’t take it anymore. "Come on! The opponent has one card left, and you still play a single card?"
"I didn’t notice," Su Qing replied.
"What do you mean you didn’t notice!" Li Qiang was about to lose his temper when Chang Hao intervened.
"Hey, Li Qiang! We’re just playing for fun. Why so serious? Su Qing is new to this; just help her out."
"Hmph! I can’t teach her!" Li Qiang grumbled, thinking she was clearly into Zhou Yuwen. Why should he help?
Li Qiang’s attitude annoyed Su Qing. She said, "I’m not good at this. You guys play; I’ll go back to the dorm."
"Don’t leave! We’re just having fun!" Chang Hao was worried; he still wanted to spend more time with Zheng Yanyan.
But Su Qing didn’t want to play with these kids. Kids will be kids; they even get mad over a card game.
Li Qiang’s temper was one thing, but Su Qing didn’t like Chang Hao either. He just kept teasing Zheng Yanyan and laughing at her mistakes. No wonder Zheng Yanyan didn’t like him! Su Qing wouldn’t like him either!
Thinking about this, Su Qing remembered Zhou Yuwen. Playing cards again brought back sweet memories. When she played with Zhou Yuwen, she always had fun and often won.
Thinking about it now, Zhou Yuwen must have let her win.
Her husband was so good. How could she have been so foolish to divorce such a good man?
Feeling a pang of regret, Su Qing wanted to tell Zhou Yuwen, "Hubby, I miss you."
After a few more rounds, unable to resist her longing, Su Qing said, "You guys keep playing; I’ll make a call."
She moved aside to call Zhou Yuwen.
Everyone knew whom she was calling.
Zheng Yanyan, maintaining her composure, said, "Oh, I’m a bit thirsty."
"Thirsty? Li Qiang, let’s buy some drinks. Yanyan, do you want a Coke or milk tea?" Chang Hao eagerly asked.
"Hmm, milk tea, and bring one for Su Qing too."
"Sure! Let’s go, Li Qiang!"
"You go; I’m not thirsty."
Chang Hao looked at Li Qiang, exasperated. "Come on, it’s my treat!"
"Oh! If it’s your treat, I’m in!" Li Qiang’s mood instantly brightened.
Meanwhile, Su Qing, standing by the cafeteria wall, was nervous. She feared the butterfly effect of her rebirth might mean Zhou Yuwen had a different number.
But she also felt a glimmer of hope.
Hesitating, she finally dialed Zhou Yuwen's number.
“Beep…”
Is it ringing?
“Hello?”
Zhou Yuwen’s voice, still so charming and slightly deep, made Su Qing’s nose tingle. She opened her mouth to say something but didn’t know what to say.
Until she heard,
“Who is it?”
“Say something, or I’ll hang up.”
“Zhou Yuwen!” In her panic, Su Qing blurted out his name.
“?” Zhou Yuwen was bewildered.
“You must...”