Chapter 36 Don’t You Believe Me?

In Muxiangyuan, Zhuang Wan was celebrating her own birthday.

Coincidentally, her birthday is the same as her original body's.

In her previous life, she lived for twenty years, and she never missed a birthday. When she was a child, her parents prepared cakes and sumptuous dinners for her. After entering college, she celebrated her birthday with her roommates, who would prepare various surprises for her, sing happy birthday songs for her, and give her carefully prepared gifts.

In short, Zhuang Wan lived a very happy twenty years in her previous life, and her birthday became a very ceremonial day for her.

Even after coming into this world, she felt that she should celebrate her birthday properly. Therefore, she worked hard all day, preparing a lot of delicious food with Uncle Niu and preparing a birthday party.

It was a cool May night. Zhuang Wan had set up a barbecue grill in the courtyard. She sat in front of it, busying herself while Uncle Niu tended the charcoal. Lixia and Jingzhe ate with gusto as they worked.

On the other side, Qiu Tan was preparing fruit snacks, while Guard Lu placed the fruits she had cut on a plate on the table.

Seeing him secretly eat a piece, Qiu Tan immediately glared at him: "This is the lady's favorite."

Guard Lu smiled awkwardly, chewed it in a few bites and swallowed it, almost choking.

Qiu Tan couldn't help laughing when she saw his silly look.

Zhuang Wan took a few curious glances and laughed to herself.

With Guard Lu around, she would feel more at ease when leaving Pei Mansion in the future. She believed that Guard Lu would take good care of Qiu Tan.

There were other maids and servants in the osmanthus courtyard, some lighting lamps, others gathered in groups of three or four to chat. In short, there was playfulness and laughter, and the atmosphere was relaxed and joyful.

When Pei Xingju arrived, he saw such a lively and peaceful scene.

He stopped outside the courtyard gate and watched quietly for a while.

Aunt Xu noticed him and hurried out to greet him, "Sir."

Pei Xingju nodded: "What are you doing?"

"Sir, today is Miss Zhuang's birthday. Miss Zhuang invites everyone to have a couple of drinks."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "Miss Zhuang originally wanted to invite you, but you were busy with your duties, so I didn't dare to disturb you."

Pei Xingju said "hmm".

After a moment's silence, he turned and left.

Aunt Xu asked, "Sir, are you not going in?"

"No, I have something else to do." Pei Xingju said.

He knew his place. Zhuang Wan hadn't invited him, probably because he was worried his presence would make everyone feel awkward. So why bother getting in the way?

Here, Zhuang Wan grilled some of the meat, handed the rest to Uncle Niu, and then invited everyone to start eating.

In addition to barbecue, Zhuang Wan also prepared many snacks and a big cake.

She spent an entire afternoon making this cake, which had three layers, each with a different flavor. She also spent two taels of silver on a pot of wine.

The Pei residence didn't have many servants; the servants and maids in the backyard numbered no more than twenty. After Zhuang Wan had divided the cakes, she picked up her wine cup and walked towards Madam Xu.

"Mammy, I offer you a toast." She said, "I've been grateful to you for taking care of me during my stay at the Pei Mansion."

Although Aunt Xu seldom came to Muxiyuan on weekdays, Zhuang Wan knew that if Aunt Xu had not turned a blind eye, she would probably not be so free.

"Mammy, you have to drink this cup?" she said with a smile.

Aunt Xu drank some wine and wanted to say that Pei Xingju had just been here, but the words rolled around on her tongue and she swallowed them back.

"Thank you, Miss Zhuang." Aunt Xu drank some wine and ate some barbecue.

Although there was wine, no one dared to drink too much. Madam Xu drank a glass, as did Lixia and Yu Qiutan. Jingzhe and Guard Lu, with their strong professional ethics, did not drink at all.

Therefore, almost half of the pot of wine went into Zhuang Wan's stomach.

But the alcohol in that era was not strong. She drank half a pot and walked out of the yard dizzy. Qiu Tan saw her and hurried over to help her: "Miss, where are you going?"

Zhuang Wan waved her hand: "Don't worry about me, I'm going to sober up, you can play with them."

The courtyard was brightly lit, and the shadows of people and trees intertwined. I don't know what funny story Uncle Niu said, but it made everyone laugh.

Zhuang Wan heard the laughter, but felt extremely lonely.

She pushed Qiu Tan again: "Go ahead, I want to walk alone."

Zhuang Wan walked into the garden along the path. The bustle of the osmanthus courtyard gradually faded away from her, and only the rustling sound of insects in midsummer remained in her ears.

Pei Xingju's mansion wasn't particularly scenic, and even the garden was bare. But it did have a few old locust trees, their roots entwined in the soil, filling the entire flowerbed.

Zhuang Wan recalled her grandmother's past life, when she also had many locust trees. In front of the house stood an old basketball court, flanked by two old locust trees. In spring, she loved climbing up to pick the flowers. The locust flower cakes her grandmother made were sweet, fragrant, and soft, making them particularly tempting.

She found a slightly flat tree root, sat down, and leaned back in a daze.

In this strange time and space, there are no relatives or friends, only intrigues and conspiracies that exhaust her.

How I wish I could go back one day!

She thought.

"If I could go back, I would definitely cherish my life..." She burped and muttered to herself, "I wouldn't stay up late playing games anymore. I'd go to bed and get up early... travel... exercise... and live longer."

Thinking back to her previous life when she was twenty years old, she finally got a boyfriend, but they broke up after just one kiss. She felt very regretful.

Then he added: "I need to have more boyfriends."

Pei Xingju's face darkened when he heard the last sentence.

He stood behind the locust tree, gazing at the thin figure. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but at that moment, Zhuang Wan looked like a true young lady from the Zhuang family. Her usual audacity was gone, replaced by helplessness and weakness.

She may miss her parents and brother.

After hesitating for a while, I decided not to disturb him. But just as I was about to turn around and leave, a dry branch suddenly crackled under my feet.

It actually scared the people under the tree.

Zhuang Wan sobered up immediately and hid behind a tree to check quietly.

"It's me." Pei Xingju spoke.

"You came and didn't make a sound. I was scared to death." Zhuang Wan patted his chest.

Pei Xingju had originally returned to his study, but for some reason he felt restless tonight, so he simply closed his book and went out for a walk.

I never thought that I could see her in a daze from a distance. When I approached her, I heard some strange words.

Now, I can't leave.

"Why are you here alone?" he asked.

Zhuang Wan sat down again. She was in a low mood today and had no intention of acting. She slumped over the tree roots, looking like she had given up.

"I'm bored, so I went out for a walk," she said.

"Why are you bored?"

“Everyone gets bored sometimes.”

Feeling Pei Xingju sitting down next to her, she retracted her legs.

"I heard that today is your birthday."

"Hmm," Zhuang Wan stretched out her hand lazily, "Did you bring it?"

"What?"

"You already know it's my birthday, don't you have any birthday gifts?"

Pei Xingju was silent for a moment and said, "It's too late today. I'll give it to you tomorrow."

Zhuang Wan turned around in surprise: "Are you really ready?"

Pei Xingju pursed his lips and said nothing.

In the moonlight, Zhuang Wan looked at him carefully.

Perhaps because she had been drinking, she boldly propped herself up, put one hand on Pei Xingju's shoulder, and leaned in to look into his eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

"Look at you." See if you are acting.

But Pei Xingju doesn't seem to be acting.

In fact, Zhuang Wan also noticed Pei Xingju's attitude towards her recently. She always felt that it was not an act, but a genuine attitude towards her.

But she couldn't understand why Pei Xingju was so nice to her when he clearly wanted to kill her?

"Pei Xingju!"

Zhuang Wan called his name and asked what she had been wanting to ask: "Actually... have you never believed me?"