Chapter 34: Return to Xingcheng

Chen Yang stayed in Qingshui for only two days, and Lin Wei officially went to the city government to register.

Xu Li, just like in her previous life, was parachuted in from the province to serve as Deputy Mayor of Qingshui City, overseeing agriculture, water conservancy, forestry, and similar work. This time, however, her secretary was changed to Lin Wei.

After starting work, Lin Wei returned to her former busy state as the student council chair.

At the supermarket side, Chen Yang handed over the keys to the Shuanglin Market storefront to Du Yue'e, withdrew 100,000 in cash, and let her take full charge of the renovation, market research, and all the operational procedures for the supermarket.

Chen Chunmei's idea of returning to her hometown to honor ancestors was dissuaded by Chen Yang. The renovation progress of the supermarket in Yangguang Garden Community had been overseen by Zhao Xiaoli all this time. After all, she is a subordinate of Liu Shijie and also has her own work to handle. Always making people worry about one's own affairs is a bit excessive. Therefore, Chen Yang hopes that his aunt's family can go to Xingcheng ahead of time to take over the work there.

As for the matter of the ancestral home being occupied, at this stage there is no longer any need for Chen Yang to intervene. As the secretary to the Deputy Mayor in charge of rural agriculture, Lin Wei only needs to mention it to the county leaders of Qingshui County at an appropriate time, and the problem will be quickly resolved.

Because he planned to settle long-term in Xingcheng, Zhao Donghai still needed to greet his relatives and friends in the Zhao family, intending to leave a few days later. Since he wasn't leaving, and Zhao Qian also had to attend a class reunion, Chen Chunyan naturally had to stay as well. In the end, Chen Yang could only set out alone first.

Moreover, considering that Du Yue'e would have to juggle the supermarket and the Lin family's daily life in the coming time, Chen Yang also left his new car for her.

When taking a taxi from Qingshui to the staff quarters of the Teacher's University Affiliated Middle School, it was already noon. After making an appointment with the telecom installer for a home visit, Chen Yang went to Old Man Zhang's long-established shop and ate a bowl of rice noodles.

After not seeing each other for a few days, Old Man Zhang's attitude toward Chen Yang was a little cold. When Chen Yang was eating, he sat down beside him and silently stared at Chen Yang.

"Grandpa, do I have something on my face?"

"Yes, rotten peach blossom!"

"……"

"What's the deal with that tall, well-built girl?"

"You mean Lin Wei? She's my wife!"

"What? You brat, you have a wife? Then what's going on between you and that lass Qingqing?"

Seeing Old Man Zhang starting to get angry, Chen Yang proceeded to explain the whole emotional entanglement between him, Lin Wei, and Liu Qingqing.

Old Man Zhang's face showed shock, his expression shifting from anger to envy, and finally to displeasure. "Chen Yang, you brat, take it easy—don't think that just because you have a handsome face you can do whatever you want. Based on my understanding of Qingqing's father, your good days won't last long."

Chen Yang felt he was worrying needlessly. "I haven't even touched Qingqing's hand—what reason does he have to come after me?"

Old Man Zhang snorted and said, "Whether you did anything or not isn't important; what matters is whether Qingqing is happy. As long as she's unhappy, I as her father have grounds to settle the matter. The Liu family doesn't like to reason things out when they act."

"What should I do?" Chen Yang suddenly felt a bit nervous, and the rice noodles in his mouth lost their flavor.

"Cold noodles!" Seeing he was in a bad mood, Old Man Zhang gave a somewhat smug laugh. But soon he became displeased again, because a familiar red Porsche was slowly approaching them.

"Senior, you're back?" Liu Qingqing poked her head out of the car and happily greeted Chen Yang.

Chen Yang hadn't told Liu Qingqing his itinerary, and curiously asked, "How did you know I was back?"

Liu Qingqing laughed, "Su Su told me—she's now my undercover agent!"

Chen Yang was somewhat speechless—this girl was too easy to fool, having been taken in by Su Mingyue. He warned Liu Qingqing, "Su Mingyue can betray Lin Wei, and she could just as easily betray you. It's even possible that Lin Wei deliberately leaked the information."

"Why would the senior sister do that?" Liu Qingqing didn't quite grasp what Chen Yang meant.

Chen Yang explained, "As long as Su Mingyue regains your trust, wouldn't your whereabouts then be back under Lin Wei's control?"

"The senior sister is too hateful!" Liu Qingqing suddenly realized and immediately grew angry. "No way—I'm going to settle accounts with Su Su; she actually tricked me again!"

Chen Yang hurriedly called out to her, "My lady, just stop the fuss. As long as we're innocent, let them toss and turn however they like."

"I can't swallow this anger!" Liu Qingqing pouted, displeased, and even dissatisfied with Chen Yang's 'innocent' two characters.

"Then after the telecom installer finishes setting up the broadband, I'll treat you to Haagen-Dazs."

"Great! Great! And you, senior, treat me the best." Liu Qingqing's mood improved at once. "Grandpa Zhang, also give me a bowl of rice noodles."

Old Man Zhang reminded Chen Yang with his eyes to mind his bounds, then got up to cook the rice noodles.

Liu Qingqing got out of the car, moved the stool that Old Man Zhang had been sitting on to a spot closer to Chen Yang. Chen Yang hastily shifted a bit to keep a certain distance from her. Liu Qingqing kept moving, Chen Yang kept dodging. The two kept circling the table, annoying Old Man Zhang, who was cooking the rice noodles.

"You two are playing house—go play that somewhere else, don't interfere with my business."

Chen Yang could only stop and speed up his eating of the rice noodles. After finishing, he paid while saying to Old Man Zhang, "Grandpa, if Qingqing's father shows up, you've got to vouch for me—I'm innocent!"

Old Man Zhang wouldn't miss Chen Yang's attempt to set a trap; after packing up the rice noodles for Liu Qingqing, he immediately urged the two to leave quickly.

"Senior, you and Grandpa Zhang are being sneaky, exchanging glances—are you hiding something from me?" Although Liu Qingqing is simple-minded, her observation skills are still sharp. She immediately noticed that something was off between Chen Yang and Old Man Zhang.

"No, I just suddenly got curious about what kind of person your father is, so I asked Old Man Zhang about it."

"My dad? He's pretty impressive—although he's usually stern, he's very good to me."

Chen Yang sighed inwardly; Old Man Zhang's words didn't sound like a bluff. As long as Qingqing is unhappy, her father will sooner or later show up to demand an explanation.

Well, we'll take it one step at a time. Fortunately, he hasn't done anything over the line.

After the telecom installer finished setting up the broadband, Chen Yang kept his promise and took Liu Qingqing out for Haagen-Dazs. Afterwards he went to Yangguang Garden Community to check on the supermarket's renovation progress, and meanwhile rented a temporary residence nearby for Chen Chunmei's family.

Chen Yang wanted to treat Zhao Xiaoli to a meal to show his gratitude, but she refused. She said this was Liu Shijie's instruction—she was merely carrying out the boss's orders. In other words, this favor should be credited to Liu Shijie.

Someone who always considers the boss's interests will surely have limitless prospects!

Strangely, Zhang Jun, who had worked closely with Liu Shijie in his previous life, never once mentioned Zhao Xiaoli to Chen Yang.

"Could this woman really be, as Liu Qingqing guessed, Liu Shijie's secret mistress, later hidden away in a golden house?"