It turned out to be Ren Yu's father, Zhou Ren, who had come out of the kitchen at some point and was standing at the study door, holding a spatula that carried the aroma of chicken:
"You two, turning the house upside down without a word, what is it? Think your grandma's silver bracelet isn't valuable enough, want to find something else yourselves?"
Hearing this, Liu Chen lowered her head slightly. She knew that secretly searching through the house of someone she had just visited for the first time was a very odd thing to do.
To be honest, Uncle Zhou was just being sarcastic and hadn't directly told her to leave. She already felt that Uncle Zhou had a really good temper.
"Dad..."
Before Ren Yu could finish, Liu Chen interrupted her. Regarding the pendant, she would not let Ren Yu reveal even half a word, as the pendant's "heaven-defying reminder" had a 99-year limit.
"Uncle Zhou, it's my fault, I'm sorry. We'll go to the living room right away."
Liu Chen admitted her mistake quickly, her expression sincere. Most importantly, she addressed him as "Uncle Zhou," which made Zhou Ren's expression soften a little.
Nevertheless, he waited until Liu Chen and Ren Yu had left the study before closing the study door with a bang.
Before coming out, Liu Chen had glanced at the study window. They had looked around, and apart from the study window, all other windows in the house had anti-theft bars installed.
Liu Chen sat back on the sofa. Only then did Zhou Ren nod and return to the kitchen.
At this point, three meat dishes and two vegetable dishes were already on the dining table. Ren Yuanying had already started watching television, which was showing a Korean drama, "My Girl," currently airing on Mango TV.
This drama had been scheduled for late-night slots during the summer vacation, achieving impressive ratings. Now, taking advantage of National Day, Mango TV was broadcasting five episodes a day, completely dominating the ratings of reruns from competing channels.
However, Liu Chen exchanged a look with Ren Yu and began to search meticulously in the living room and dining room.
Seeing that the one-hour countdown had been reduced to only half an hour, Liu Chen even considered giving up and directly announcing that there was a bomb in the house, urging everyone to flee immediately.
But as soon as this thought arose, the pendant on her phone became so hot that it almost burned her, as if telling her with its temperature that if she did that, she would be finished immediately.
The killer, not found. The bomb, not found.
Escaping would lead to even more dangerous consequences.
Liu Chen sat on the sofa, finding the situation extremely tricky.
Just as Liu Chen sat on the sofa, at a loss, Ren Yu's father, Zhou Ren, who had been busy in the kitchen, came out.
Zhou Ren walked out of the kitchen, untied his apron, and hung it on a dining chair. He then took two paper tissues and carefully wiped his hands.
Liu Chen noticed that Zhou Ren was very meticulous when wiping his hands.
But... if he was wiping his hands so carefully, why didn't he just go to the bathroom to wash them?
Moreover, using tissues to wipe his hands wouldn't remove the grease from cooking at all, would it?
Perhaps Zhou Ren sensed Liu Chen's gaze. He turned his head to look, and upon seeing Liu Chen, he nodded silently, then threw the used tissues into the trash can.
After disposing of the tissues, Zhou Ren walked towards where everyone was in the living room. As Liu Chen and the other four had occupied most of the L-shaped sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window, Zhou Ren didn't mind and sat alone on the single-seater sofa.
"Ren Mo is not back yet? His date is probably at the doorstep, or rather, at the bus station entrance."
This was the first thing Zhou Ren said after sitting down.
Ren Yuanying frowned upon hearing this and sat up straight:
"Oh, is the sun rising from the west today? Aren't you usually the type to put on airs with your official demeanor? You always speak in circles and never get to the point. What's wrong? Did you drink too much today? Speaking so rudely?"
"Or do you think that since Ren Mo isn't here, I won't tell him if you speak rudely? Heh, if you really think that, then your calculation is wrong! I'll tell Ren Mo as soon as he gets back!"
Liu Chen was also shocked when Ren Yuanying said this. In her perception, her godmother was always indifferent to everything. She had never seen anyone make her godmother speak like this.
It seemed that when her godmother and Ren Yu's father divorced, it was definitely not an amicable separation.
-
When Ren Yuanying finished speaking, Zhou Ren didn't even frown. Instead, he looked at Ren Yu, who was sitting next to Liu Chen, and said:
"Ren Yu, send a message and ask how much longer it will be. The soup I'm simmering in the pot will have the meat stewed to mush in another half an hour."
Before Ren Yu could respond, Ren Yuanying interjected:
"Your pathetic soup, let it be stewed to mush. When Mo Mo brings that child, if you dare to continue speaking like this, I'll flip your soup pot over!"
Seeing her godmother's combat power reaching its peak, Liu Chen sat on the sofa, feeling that there was something familiar about the conversation.
But no matter how Liu Chen sat on the sofa, she couldn't figure out what was familiar about the words just spoken.
Zhou Ren looked at Ren Yuanying, who spoke like a prickly hedgehog, and slowly shook his head.
"Yuanying, you're still the same as you were back then, liking to stab people's hearts with your words. After so many years, your temper hasn't improved one bit."
Upon hearing the name "Yuanying" at the beginning, Ren Yuanying shivered all over, her hands rubbing her arms incessantly.
"I say, Zhou Ren, are you intentionally trying to stir up trouble today? We've been divorced for a long time. Please call me Ren Yuanying, or Ms. Ren, or Boss Ren, whatever. Furthermore, what do you mean by 'I like to stab people's hearts'?
If you haven't gone deaf, then go and ask around. Who in C City doing business doesn't say that I, Ren Yuanying, am an honest person?"
After saying this, Ren Yuanying glanced at the children in the living room and decided to give up trying to maintain appearances.
"Since the children are here, I'll make it clear. After we got married, how much support did I get from my family? When you were eating and wearing, didn't you know?
Heh, don't tell me you didn't know. Your monthly salary wasn't even enough to pay the rent, let alone your social expenses!
Later, you couldn't even afford the rent. Is it stabbing your heart to ask you for money? Then your heart is really easily stabbed."
Liu Chen sat on the sofa, listening to her godmother's words, and roughly understood. Was Ren Yu's father a "phoenix man"?
This...
Being a phoenix man and still complaining that the woman's words were hurtful...
Isn't this what later became popular online as "eating soft rice but being hard-headed"?
Zhou Ren, upon hearing Ren Yuanying's words, probably hadn't expected her to bring up the past in front of the children. He took two deep breaths and finally couldn't help but speak.
"Yuanying, do you think I don't know why you married me back then? Do you want me to say that in front of the children?"
Zhou Ren said this with three parts sarcasm, three parts indifference, and several parts disdain, as if he was certain that Ren Yuanying wouldn't dare to let him reveal the truth.
Ren Yuanying was indeed stunned. She didn't let Zhou Ren reveal what happened back then, but instead asked Zhou Ren with a rather peculiar expression.
"Zhou Ren, what do you think I married you for back then?"
Perhaps it was the strange expression on Ren Yuanying's face that made Zhou Ren snort coldly as he looked at her:
"Heh! You're the one who insisted on asking in front of the children, don't blame me for telling the truth."
Hearing this, Ren Yuanying's expression became even more distorted.
It seemed as if she wanted to laugh, and at the same time, she seemed to be angry. Liu Chen, sitting beside her, felt a pang of anxiety. She thought that with only twenty-five minutes left until her demise, and she hadn't found the crucial point yet, her godmother was about to get into a fight with her ex-husband!
How to put it, it was just ridiculous...
"Go on, say it. Let the children hear how you've been feeding yourself platitudes all these years."
Ren Yuanying said, seemingly unconcerned about the so-called truth Zhou Ren was about to reveal.
"Heh, you're forcing me, Ren Yu. You should know that with your maternal grandmother's conditions back then, coupled with your mother's looks, she was quite popular in college."
Zhou Ren's opening statement made Ren Yuanying, who had intended to continue her mockery, frown and fall silent.
"I know."
Ren Yu nodded, indicating that he knew. He was a bit older than Ren Mo and remembered some of the family's situation from when he was younger.
Zhou Ren smiled upon hearing Ren Yu's words:
"Then why aren't you curious, why your mother chose me among all the male classmates?"
Zhou Ren seemed to be asking Ren Yu, but also asking himself. His eyes were a little vacant, as if looking through Ren Yu towards something else.
Hearing this, Ren Yuanying crossed her arms, her face ashen.
Zhou Ren gave a self-deprecating laugh:
"Heh, you might not know, but your mother had a boyfriend at school back then. That boyfriend was like you, a prominent figure in school, from a good family, good grades, good looks, and good at basketball."
Liu Chen found Zhou Ren's words somewhat strange. Why did he need to use Ren Yu as an example?
It sounded odd, as if he was saying Ren Yu was like her mother's ex-boyfriend.
Wait!
With this thought, Liu Chen sat up straighter, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards her godmother.
As expected, her godmother Ren Yuanying's expression was extremely unpleasant at this moment, almost as black as the bottom of a pot.
Seeing Ren Yuanying's expression, Zhou Ren smiled.
"What? Didn't you ask me to say it? I've only just started. Your mother had a match that was well-suited to her family, so why did she end up marrying me?
Heh, because at that time, your mother's boyfriend was going abroad for studies. It was still very difficult to study abroad in those days.
Later, your mother broke up with him."
Broke up?
Liu Chen was stunned. If they broke up, what was the point of saying all this?
Could there be more to it?
"To pursue your mother, I was in the same club as her. During that period, your mother was in a bad mood. At a club gathering, she kept drinking. I stayed with her and drank quite a lot too. The next morning, we found ourselves in a hotel."
Liu Chen: Holy crap, impressive... How did they get a room in a hotel back then???
"I was more conservative, so I proposed to be responsible for your mother. Your mother agreed, and I was happy. But less than two months after we started dating, your mother said she was pregnant."
Upon reaching this point, Zhou Ren's gaze finally shifted from the void and settled concretely on Ren Yu.
"Actually, I didn't think much of it at the time. Since she was pregnant, we would get married. In fact, I had a suspicion that the child might not be mine. But I thought, I loved your mother, and if I raised it without saying anything, it would be my child."
Hearing this, Ren Yuanying felt a vein throb on her temple. After all these years, she only now realized that Zhou Ren had thought of her this way?
She thought he believed she had accidentally gotten pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's child and had gotten him drunk to find a father to register the child's household? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
With this thought, Ren Yuanying couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Instead of explaining, she questioned:
"Is that why? Fine. Since you endured it for so many years, why couldn't you endure it later? What happened? Did you become a leader and decided you didn't need to endure it anymore?"
Ren Yuanying asked this with a smile, but Liu Chen suspected that if eyes could kill, her Uncle Zhou would have been dismembered by her godmother's gaze.
Hearing Ren Yuanying's question, Zhou Ren let out a chuckle.
"At that time, I was young and felt that love was everything. But after living together for a long time, I realized that you were the same as the women in my hometown, always talking about money, money, money, and houses. Also, after you dropped out of school, you didn't continue your studies at home, but instead focused on taking care of the child. At that time, I couldn't understand why you became like this."
Liu Chen was also stunned by this statement. Comrade Zhou Ren, you are not just a little bit scummy!
Even if she used her toes to think, she could figure out that after discovering the pregnancy, her godmother chose to drop out and have the child. Her maternal grandmother would definitely not support such a move. According to her godmother's words, later on, when she had the child, Zhou Ren couldn't even afford the rent, and there were social expenses. That probably meant that her godmother had to ask her parents for money.
So, Zhou Ren was someone who lived in a house subsidized by his godmother, enjoyed money obtained from his godmother's reliance on her parents to handle social expenses with colleagues and superiors, and yet accused his godmother of not continuing her studies and self-improvement while raising a child alone???
Were these the words of a human?
What you wanted wasn't a wife, but a vague, unattainable dream!
"Actually, I didn't plan to get a divorce at that time. I thought if we had another biological son, I could barely get by for the rest of my life, considering it as repayment for the money you spent.
However, you should not have, and should never have, cheated on me after we got married!"
Zhou Ren's words suddenly made Liu Chen recall why his words sounded familiar.
Zhou Ren had just said that the meat in the pot would be stewed to mush in another half an hour, and her mission countdown also had only half an hour left.
Could it be a coincidence?