After My Rebirth Chapter 21: Sit Down

Chapter 21: Sit Down

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Ma Chi returned home, feeling downcast.  

No, it wasn’t really home—he was staying at Jiang Rongxuan’s place. So, he dragged himself back to the place he was borrowing.  

It was already quite late when he left, so by the time he came back, Jiang Rongxuan was already home.  

Jiang Rongxuan had been busy lately and didn’t have time to mind Ma Chi’s personal life every day. Seeing Ma Chi return from outside, he simply glanced up, then continued with his work without a word of greeting.  

The moment Ma Chi stepped in, he started sighing, sighing as he changed his shoes, sighing as he drank water, and, once seated on the sofa, sighed even as he looked at his phone. He didn’t stop sighing.  

After his 108th sigh, as he was about to sigh for the 109th time, Jiang Rongxuan finally lost his patience.  

Jiang Rongxuan picked up a cushion and threw it at him. “Either shut up or get out.”  

The cushion hit Ma Chi right in the face, finally silencing him.  

Jiang Rongxuan continued tapping on his tablet, and after about twenty minutes, he finished his work, looking up and rubbing his neck.  

Seeing that he was done, Ma Chi started sighing again.  

Jiang Rongxuan glared at him coldly. “Be quiet. Don’t make me say it twice.”  

“Oh—” Ma Chi wriggled his slightly plump body like a fat eel. “Xuanxuan, you’re so cold! Why don’t you even ask why I’m feeling down?”  

“Because I don’t care to know,” Jiang Rongxuan replied. “If you want to say something, say it while I’m still in the mood to listen. If not, keep your mouth shut. Just because I finished my work doesn’t mean you can start babbling.”  

Ma Chi: “…”  

Ma Chi’s actions proved the saying about men being gluttons for punishment. After being scolded by Jiang Rongxuan, he instantly quieted down.  

Ma Chi then explained his attempt to collaborate with Li Sinian today.  

“My thinking was, some people don’t yearn for Rome, not because they don’t like it, but because they’ve never seen its grandeur.”  

“You know, this Mr. Li has been in a small place. I wouldn’t say he’s inexperienced, but he can’t have seen too much, so I thought maybe he’s someone who just doesn’t appreciate Rome because he hasn’t seen it.”  

“So today, I told him about our experiences traveling and studying abroad, thinking that if he aspired to a wealthy lifestyle, he’d surely agree to start a business with me and want to strive for success.”  

“And the result…”  

Ma Chi paused, then let out another sigh.  

Jiang Rongxuan, whose expression was already indifferent, became even colder after listening to his story.  

“What was the result?” Jiang Rongxuan asked.  

Ma Chi shook his head, looking pained. Noticing the icy glint in Jiang Rongxuan’s eyes, he quickly dropped his pretenses and continued.  

“In the end, Mr. Li gave me several free lessons, covering topics like geography, politics, economics, and even law…”  

“I mixed up photos of Saint Petersburg and London, and he pointed it out.”  

“He said he studied finance too, so I talked finance with him, only for him to correct a lot of things I’d misunderstood all along.”  

“And then, when I talked about my time studying abroad, I exaggerated some stories, but he saw right through it. He said, according to local laws, that kind of thing couldn’t possibly happen.”  

“I went there with Rome’s grandeur in mind, only to…have my eyes opened.”  

Ma Chi bent over, burying his face in his hands. Not satisfied, he even rubbed his face up and down.  

“It was so embarrassing.”  

His face, already not very handsome, turned slightly red from rubbing. He looked up again. “How does Mr. Li know so much? He’s nothing like a little restaurant owner near the countryside!”  

“At first, I thought he was just putting on airs, saying stuff that wasn’t true. But when I checked on my phone, it turns out everything he said was spot-on.”  

“Today was so embarrassing.”  

Jiang Rongxuan just watched him in silence, not even raising an eyebrow, showing no surprise at all in response to Ma Chi’s complaints.  

The disdain in his gaze seemed to mock Ma Chi’s pointless words.  

Ma Chi might not know who Li Sinian was, but Jiang Rongxuan certainly did.  

Based on what he’d gathered about Li Sinian, someone who’d received an elite education from a young age wouldn’t be impressed by the things Ma Chi mentioned.  

For Li Sinian, Ma Chi’s visit today probably looked like nothing more than a clown’s act.  

When Ma Chi finished venting and received no response from his friend, he couldn’t help but prompt him. “Hey, Boss Jiang, your buddy just survived a major social disaster today—aren’t you going to react at all?”  

“What do you want, a ‘serves you right’?” Jiang Rongxuan replied coolly. “You went in with the stereotype that ‘country folk have no experience’ when considering a partner you admired. Isn’t it natural he turned you down?”  

“From what you’ve described, I’ve learned one thing: never underestimate anyone, no matter the situation.”  

“No, I…” Ma Chi tried to defend himself. “I wasn’t looking down on him—I just thought he might not know the happiness of a wealthy life, and I wanted to show him that it’s actually fulfilling.”  

“This…this was just my sales pitch! If I really looked down on him, would I want to open a restaurant with him?”  

“Oh.” Jiang Rongxuan had no interest in listening further. He picked up his tablet and got up to head to his room.  

When he reached the staircase, he turned back, speaking seriously. “I don’t mind you looking for a partner, but you know that, as a friend of mine, you’re associated with this restaurant. So, I hope you don’t go advertising yourself in a way that’s too foolish.”  

Ma Chi stared at the stairs, not snapping out of it until he heard the door upstairs close.  

For some reason, even though Jiang Rongxuan usually showed more disdain than kindness, he rarely got truly angry.  

But just now, Ma Chi felt like Jiang Rongxuan was genuinely a bit unhappy.  

Why?  

Could it be that Jiang Rongxuan actually cared about his reputation and felt today’s incident was embarrassing?  

Fine, even though today was embarrassing, it didn’t seem like something Jiang Rongxuan would be upset about.  

*  

The next day, Jiang Rongxuan was still busy, but he took some time to visit Li Sinian’s restaurant.  

He had prepared himself for the possibility that the restaurant might be closed, but today luck was on his side—Li Sinian was open for business.  

Entering, Jiang Rongxuan saw Li Sinian leaning over the counter, playing on a tablet, just as he had every other time.  

Only, usually, Li Sinian played a puzzle game, but today he’d switched to something a bit more challenging—Plants vs. Zombies.  

Jiang Rongxuan frowned slightly, noticing that Li Sinian really liked playing games in this position.  

It wasn’t good for his eyes.  

Jiang Rongxuan approached and tapped lightly on the counter.

At a critical moment in his game of “Little Boss Fights Zombies,” Li Sinian didn’t even hear the wind chime at the door. When someone knocked on the table next to him, he finally looked up and saw that Jiang Rongxuan had arrived. He quickly paused the game and stood up. “You’re here? How come you’re here at noon today? Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

Even though Li Sinian’s friendliness was simply because Jiang Rongxuan was a regular at the small restaurant with hardly any business, Jiang Rongxuan couldn’t help but smile and joked, “You make me feel like I’m coming home.”

Li Sinian smiled. “Making customers feel at home is the motto of our restaurant.”

Jiang Rongxuan picked a seat at random and sat down as Li Sinian handed him a menu, but he didn’t take it. “I’ve memorized your menu by now. I don’t need to look.”

Li Sinian’s eyes widened slightly. “Memorized it? You haven’t been here that many times. I haven’t even memorized it myself.”

“It’s delicious; I think about it all the time, so I learned it,” Jiang Rongxuan said, listing off a few dishes. “It’s just me today, so fewer dishes.”

“Alright, just a moment.”

The dishes Jiang Rongxuan ordered weren’t too complicated, and in less than twenty minutes, Li Sinian brought the plates out. He set them down and was about to leave when Jiang Rongxuan invited him, “Sit and have a bite with me?”

Li Sinian looked at Jiang Rongxuan’s eyes—those charming, peach-blossom eyes always glimmered with a gentle smile. Without asking why, he nodded and sat across from him.

Li Sinian thought he was rather double-standard. Yesterday, when Ma Chi asked him to sit and eat, he asked why, and even after an explanation, he was still reluctant. Today, when Jiang Rongxuan asked him to sit, he agreed without hesitation. Maybe eating together really depended on looks.

Jiang Rongxuan smiled when he saw him sit down and casually asked, “Did my friend come here alone yesterday?”

“You mean Mr. Ma?”

“Yes.”

Li Sinian nodded. “Yes, he did.” He smiled helplessly. “He still hasn’t given up on convincing me to open a chain restaurant with him.”

“That’s just how he is,” Jiang Rongxuan said. “Maybe he had an easy childhood and thinks too idealistically. He’s lost so much money on failed investments, yet he still won’t give up.”

“He’s a bit naive and speaks and acts without much thought, but he’s a nice guy—no ulterior motives. Aside from occasionally leaving me speechless, he’s no trouble.”

Li Sinian figured that Ma Chi had told Jiang Rongxuan about his failed attempt to convince him into a partnership. Jiang Rongxuan must have come today to apologize on his behalf. But Li Sinian hadn’t been upset; he was mostly just speechless about the situation. So he said, “I know; I can tell Mr. Ma is quite simple-minded. I didn’t take what happened yesterday to heart.”

“No, you’re allowed to take it to heart. Just because he’s simple doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be held accountable for foolish actions.”

Seeing that Li Sinian hadn’t fully reacted, Jiang Rongxuan chuckled lightly. “What I was trying to say is that Ma Chi is naive and somewhat thoughtless, but I’m not. You can dislike him, but please don’t lump me in with him. Just because my friend’s an idiot doesn’t mean you have to dislike me, too.”

 

 

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