Chapter 389: The Enemy Is Not Far From Here

Just as Chen Xueru was staring blankly at the doorway, Cai Quanwu lifted the cotton door curtain and entered the clothing store, bringing a chill with him.

He pulled a wedding invitation with gold lettering on a red background from his pocket and handed it to Chen Xueru with both hands.

"Manager Chen, I... Huizhen and I are holding our wedding on the tenth day of the first lunar month. I must insist that you grace us with your presence when the time comes."

"What?" Chen Xueru snapped back to reality, took the invitation, and widened her eyes. "You and Xu Huizhen... are getting married?"

Cai Quanwu scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Girl, listening to your tone, you still look down on your Cai Shu a bit!"

"No! No! I don't!" Chen Xueru waved her hands hurriedly. "It's just... I just feel that, at your age, and with Sister Huizhen..."

"An old ox eating tender grass, right?" Cai Quanwu picked up the sentence himself, smiling even more honestly as wrinkles gathered at the corners of his eyes. "I often say that myself. But Huizhen... she doesn't mind."

Chen Xueru also smiled and carefully placed the wedding invitation on the clean glass counter.

For a moment, she was at a loss, but then she calmed down and asked with a smile, "By the way, Cai Shu, I haven't seen He Yuzhu. Where did he go? Have you seen him?"

Cai Quanwu shook his head. "I haven't run into him for a few days either. However, I heard Comrade Tian Dan mention that he's been helping out at the bureau lately and is quite busy."

"Oh..." Chen Xueru nodded thoughtfully. "Then when you deliver the wedding invitations, you must be going to his place, right? If you see him, please do me a favor and pass on a message that I have something to discuss with him."

"Done!" Cai Quanwu agreed readily. "I'll head over in a bit and will definitely pass the message to you."

After seeing Cai Quanwu off, the shop became quiet again.

Chen Xueru looked at the striking red on the counter, and her thoughts drifted away. Xu Huizhen, she's only in her early twenties, right? This is already her second marriage. And herself? She wasn't young anymore, and her family had repeatedly asked people to introduce suitors, yet she had pushed them all away with one excuse or another. There always seemed to be a thread tied in her heart, and at the other end of that thread, swaying back and forth, was that person who was never serious but made her feel secure. After all these years, was it time to... make things clear to him?

She looked at her own blurry reflection in the counter glass and tugged at the corners of her mouth, her smile tinged with self-mockery. What girl would go out of her way to bring this up herself?

He Yuzhu hadn't slept soundly because of all the commotion in the courtyard last night, and he only managed to close his eyes when the sun was already high.

He hadn't been asleep long before he was startled awake by a rapid, cheerful knocking at the door.

"Brother! Get up! You big lazybones! The sun is already shining on your butt!" He Yushui's voice was crisp and bright, piercing through the door panel, mixed with the chattering laughter of several little girls.

He Yuzhu, annoyed, shuffled over in his shoes to open the door. He saw five little girls led by He Yushui, bundled up like balls, huddled at the doorway. Their little faces were flushed red from the cold wind, but their eyes were startlingly bright.

"Are you all going ice skating? I'm not going. Let Ershuan take you!" He Yuzhu said, his eyes still heavy with sleep.

He Yushui "slid" in from under his arm, and the others followed, giggling.

He Yushui sat on the sofa, swinging her legs, and said righteously, "Brother, you don't keep your word! Last time, last time, you promised fair and square to take us to buy new clothes! Are you trying to welsh on the debt?"

He Yuzhu finally woke up completely and slapped his forehead. "I really did forget! Give me five minutes to wash my face and we'll go!"

The children cheered instantly. He Yushui, familiar with the place, dug out the snack box to share with her friends, then stood on tiptoe to take several bottles of Arctic Ocean soda from the cupboard. With a few "pop" sounds, she pried off the caps, and the sweet and sour scent of soda immediately filled the room.

The little girls held their sodas, sipping them in small mouthfuls while bobbing their heads and singing the version of "Childhood" that He Yuzhu had adapted.

Xiaoqi leaned over and said, "Brother Zhuzi, our teacher at the Children's Palace said we should sing 'Childhood' for the city-wide singing competition in early spring!"

"That's a good thing!" He Yuzhu encouraged them while haphazardly washing his face with cold water. "Practice hard this time and strive to bring back first place!"

He tidied himself up in a few quick motions and waved his hand. "Let's go! Destination, Qianmen Street!"

The children cheered and crowded him out the door.

Ding Li tactfully opened the passenger door of the Jeep and climbed in, while the other four squeezed together in the back, laughter never ceasing.

He Yuzhu started the car and, carrying a carload of laughter, drove toward the bustling Qianmen.

Chen Xueru looked up and saw He Yuzhu pushing the door open to enter, followed by a string of little tails. She was somewhat surprised and asked, "What's with your second uncle being so fast? He only left a little while ago, and you're already here."

"What are you talking about? What second uncle?" He Yuzhu was stunned by the question.

"Cai Quanwu! He's getting married to Xu Huizhen. He just gave me the wedding invitation and said he was going to your house right away. Just now, I acted too surprised and hurt his self-esteem a bit..." Chen Xueru said, a trace of annoyance flashing across her face.

"Pfft, my second uncle is good-natured. He won't take anything you say to heart," He Yuzhu comforted her.

He Yushui had already led the four children to scatter and pick out the clothes they liked.

"Take your time picking, and put it on my tab once you've decided!"

"Brother! I've got my eye on that down jacket! Buy one for Mom too!" He Yushui shouted, pointing to the most conspicuous one on the wall.

"Fine! If you all like it, each of you can have one!" He Yuzhu agreed readily.

Hearing this, the other little girls gathered around to look, but when they saw the price tag of over two million, they all stuck out their tongues and didn't dare reach out.

He Yushui, however, put her hands on her hips and said, "Brother! Keep your word!"

"You little girl, can't you see your brother's strength yet? Don't worry, no need to look at the price!" He Yuzhu said.

At this moment, Chen Xueru gently pulled his arm, her expression losing its smile, and whispered, "Come upstairs with me, there's an urgent matter."

The two went up to the quiet small reception room on the second floor.

Chen Xueru brewed a cup of tea and placed it in front of He Yuzhu. After sitting down, she leaned very close to him. "Just now, a woman came into my shop. She was dressed like she was in her forties and wore very ordinary clothes. But when I saw her eyes, they were definitely only in their twenties. It's not the time of the Japanese invaders anymore, so why is there still someone dressing up to look older?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on He Yuzhu's face vanished instantly. He lowered his voice and said, "To tell you the truth, another batch of experts has been sent over by the other side recently. We... fell into the hands of a woman last night. After she knocked out one of my informants, she ran away. It was a young woman."

As he spoke, he took a notebook and pencil from his backpack and, relying on his memory, quickly sketched a portrait of the young woman, meticulously depicting those eyes.

Chen Xueru leaned in to look. She pointed to the eyes in the drawing and said, "It's these eyes! Exactly the same!"

"What? She slipped through our fingers last night, and today she dares to come out and shop so brazenly?"

"She wandered around the shop for quite a while, especially standing in front of that new women's down jacket for a long time, but she just thought it was a bit expensive. I even recommended another one to her, and she said she would come back to buy this one when she had the money," Chen Xueru recalled.

He Yuzhu remembered Huang Ying's encounter and warned, "Xueru, remember, if you run into her again, don't act rashly, and don't think about following her to report it. This woman knows traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture; she strikes fast and hard. My informant from yesterday almost died at her hands."

"She's that formidable?" Chen Xueru gasped.

He Yuzhu nodded. "I suspect the place she's staying isn't too far from here. I'll go tell Tian Dan in a moment to step up the investigation in this area."

Chen Xueru bit her lip and suddenly said, "Zhuzi, recently, someone came to my house to propose marriage again..."

"What does the man look like? What does his family do?" He Yuzhu asked.

"You, don't you understand what I mean?" Chen Xueru asked.