Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 267 Thorny Rose (24)

She walked out of the residential compound and used a WeChat mini-program to check how long it would take for the next bus to reach the nearby stop in the cold wind. A Maybach stopped in front of her, and the window rolled down: "Lin Xun."

Yan Zhen immediately looked up and saw that the person in the car was Song Yi. She frowned and asked, "Why are you here?"

The car door opened, and Song Yi urged Yan Zhen, "Let's talk in the car, it's so cold."

Yan Zhen hesitated for a moment, then bent down and climbed into the car.

As soon as she sat down, Song Yi immediately grabbed her hand, the touch feeling almost like touching a piece of ice.

He took her hand in his, breathed on it, rubbed it, and then instructed the driver, "Turn the air conditioning up a bit."

He performed these actions so naturally that Yan Zhen felt a little strange. She pulled her hand back and said, "You haven't answered me yet. What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking you up from get off work. It's so cold, and it's hard to catch the bus," Song Yi said. "Let's go eat first, and then I'll take you home."

Yan Zhen didn't plan to go straight back to her rented apartment; she had arranged to meet Zhang Caiyun at the Huian Supermarket.

"I have something to do, just drop me off at the subway entrance ahead," Yan Zhen said. "Since you know it's cold, just stay home and don't go out and wander around."

Song Yi immediately asked, "Where are you going?"

"I have something to take care of." Yan Zhen didn't intend to tell Song Yi about Lin Chan, so he gave an ambiguous answer: "If you're bored, I'll return that stack of winter vacation homework to you in a few days, and you can do your homework."

“…No,” Song Yi said, stubbornly pressing, “You still haven’t answered me. Where are you going?”

Yan Zhen was somewhat helpless as he pressed her for details: "I went to visit my mother's old friend."

"I go with you."

“It’s inconvenient, my mother’s friend has a special situation,” Yan Zhen said. Seeing that the car had reached the subway entrance, she patted the back of the driver’s seat and said, “Uncle Wu, stop at the subway entrance.”

The driver stopped the car at the subway entrance as instructed. Yan Zhen reached for the car door, but Song Yi quickly stopped her, saying, "But you haven't eaten yet. Can't you eat first before you go?"

"I made an appointment with someone, it's not polite to be late." Yan Zhen patted his hand. "Go back, the day after tomorrow is the weekend, I don't have to work, I'll find you then."

Song Yi: "..."

He watched helplessly as Yan Zhen got off the car, closed the door behind him, and ran into the subway in the cold wind without looking back. The anxiety and eagerness on his face slowly disappeared, and his eyes and brows turned cold.

He leaned back in his seat, pulled out his phone and tossed it to the driver. It was a location tracking app. He ordered in a low voice, "Follow her, but be careful not to let her find out."

"Yes."

Yan Zhen took two subway lines to Huian Supermarket and met Zhang Caiyun.

Zhang Caiyun is almost forty years old this year. She is a plump, shrewd-looking middle-aged woman.

When Yan Zhen met her, she had just finished her work and changed out of her work clothes to leave.

Upon seeing Yan Zhen, her eyes lit up, and she looked her up and down: "You must be Lin Xun. It's been so many years, you've grown even more beautiful. Which school do you go to?"

"Auntie, I study at Bihai High School."

Zhang Caiyun was taken aback: "Bihai High School? That tuition isn't cheap, it's over ten thousand a year. Has your mother struck it rich? Is she willing to send you to such a good school?"

Yan Zhen smiled and said, "Auntie, are you free now? I'd like to invite you to dinner."

Hearing this, Zhang Caiyun was a little troubled: "I'll skip the meal. My son is in tutoring class and is waiting for me to come home and cook for him... Hey, do you remember my son? You two used to play together. He's a year older than you and is a senior in high school. He's really good at science."

Yan Zhen didn't have much of an impression, but said sweetly, "I remember. He always had good grades since he was little, and my mom always told me to learn from him."

Zhang Caiyun's smile instantly brightened, and she put her arm around Yan Zhen's shoulder, saying, "You little rascal, you're much more lively than when you were little... Didn't you have something to ask me? Come to my house for dinner, it's just a matter of adding an extra pair of chopsticks."

Yan Zhen didn't hesitate: "Then I'll trouble you, Auntie."

That being said, when Zhang Caiyun passed by the vegetable market to buy groceries, Yan Zhen tactfully bought cooked food and fruit as gifts.

Zhang Caiyun is from out of town. She and her husband came to the city to work, and their son is in high school locally. The family rents a two-bedroom apartment in an urban village.

When the two entered the house, the lights were already on. Zhang Caiyun opened the door, took off her shoes, and called into the bedroom, "Son, look who's here. Come out and greet the guests."

The bedroom door opened, and a tall, thin boy wearing black-rimmed glasses walked out, holding a pen for doing homework.

Perhaps his mind was still reeling from the sea of ​​homework, he paused for a moment when he saw Yan Zhen, then greeted her somewhat shyly: "Hi."

"What are you 'hey' for?" Zhang Caiyun patted him on the shoulder. "You don't recognize me, do you? This is Lin Xun. Eight years ago, I worked with her mother at the Huian Supermarket. She often came to visit her mother, remember?"

The boy thought for a moment and quickly remembered, and his attitude towards Yan Zhen became much warmer: "It's you, little Xun sister."

Yan Zhen nodded and called out to him, following the information Zhang Caiyun had revealed on the way: "Brother Qi Su."

Qi Su felt his ears burn from the shout and became even more embarrassed.

Zhang Caiyun picked up the groceries and said to Qi Su, "Pour Lin Xun a glass of water. You two chat first, I'll go cook."

Zhang Caiyun went into the kitchen to busy herself, and Qi Su invited Yan Zhen to sit down on the sofa. The two chatted casually.

The two were about the same age and both were high school students. When they talked about the miserable high school life, they quickly found common ground.

Zhang Caiyun prepared three dishes and a soup, and the initial awkwardness between Yan Zhen and Qi Su when they first met basically disappeared.

The three of them had a very pleasant dinner.

After the meal, Qi Su went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Yan Zhen got down to business and asked Zhang Caiyun, "Auntie, did my mother contact you before she left?"

Zhang Caiyun sensed something unusual in her words: "No, she hasn't come back yet?"

Yan Zhen shook his head.

Zhang Caiyun immediately became serious: "It's been eight years, wouldn't it be..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but both of them understood what she meant.

“To be honest, I had the same suspicion,” Yan Zhen said. “I haven’t heard from her in the past eight years. If she were still alive, she would have contacted me.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Caiyun's expression became somewhat subtle.

It was an expression that conveyed both gossip and a reluctance to inquire too closely, for fear of being associated with the matter.

"What did you come to see me about today?"

Yan Zhen cut to the chase: "I suspect my mother was killed by my stepfather."

Zhang Caiyun was terrified, and her face changed color.

"But I have no evidence, Auntie. My mother used to be closest to you. Could you please help me recall if she ever revealed any unusual information to you about my stepfather?"