Chapter 214: Familiar, Yet Strange

Cheng Tian frowned when he saw his master return, looking dejected.

“Master, she gave you the cold shoulder. Are you really going to let that slide?”

Cheng Tian placed a stool by the stove.

Cao Yu waved his hand dismissively.

“A pretty girl with a bit of an attitude? That’s perfectly normal! What’s the rush? Just take your time and wear her down.”

He pulled the ballpoint pen from behind his left ear and tapped the cap on the cutting board twice.

“I wouldn’t give the time of day to the ones who are all smiles and bows from the get-go!”

Cheng Tian followed his master’s gaze and stared at Yao Yuzhen’s back, nodding repeatedly.

“You’re right, Master. With a waist and legs like that, Sister Yao could pass for a girl in her early twenties!”

Cao Yu also stared at her back, a grin spreading across his face. The corner of his mouth twisted as he lowered his voice.

“No wonder her last man kicked the bucket early!”

In his eyes, a woman as flawless as Yao Yuzhen couldn’t possibly be without a man unless her husband was dead.

Who would let go of a treasure like that otherwise?

Easy on the eyes, impressive to show off in public, and in bed…

He and his apprentice exchanged a look, snickered, and quickly went back to work at the stove.

Having run into Yao Yuzhen here today, Shen Zhenwu was sullen all through lunch, barely saying a word.

Song Yao and the others were still laughing and joking around.

He just sat there. If Yang Wanqing hadn’t called his name, he probably would have stayed silent from the start of the meal until the dishes were cleared.

Song Yao reached for a chicken wing on the opposite side of the table, her elbow knocking over Shen Zhenwu’s water glass. He didn’t even reach out to steady it.

Yang Wanqing glared at him and snapped.

“You’re here in body, but where has your mind wandered?”

She was both furious and frantic.

She was furious that her son couldn’t see the situation clearly, and frantic that he might be even more clueless than she feared.

What if, in a moment of passion, he really brought that woman home…

That would be an absolute farce.

Humiliating them over and over!

Shen Zhenwu snapped back to his senses and looked up, bewildered.

“The food… is it to your liking?”

Song Yao quickly nodded.

“It’s delicious! But Dad, you haven’t had a single bite!”

Shen Zhenwu immediately grabbed his chopsticks and shoveled a large heap of food into his bowl.

Decades they had been husband and wife, and that one glance just now still made his heart lurch.

That was the woman he had protected for half his life.

But the moment he looked up and saw Song Yao, he came to his senses.

Yao Yuzhen didn’t want to see him at all.

Seeing him only annoyed her.

And by extension, she couldn’t stand Song Yao either.

‘So annoyed she’d wanted to get rid of the child…’

Any lingering, foolishly soft spot he had for her instantly turned to ice.

‘I really shouldn’t think about her anymore.’

‘Maybe… maybe Yao Yuzhen really feels at peace like this.’

‘After all, there’s no one around to annoy her now.’

‘Perhaps this is the life she always wanted.’

‘Besides, she’s already moved into that man’s apartment.’

‘She’s probably waiting for him to get out someday, isn’t she?’

Shen Zhenwu’s mind buzzed, and then everything became crystal clear.

As soon as they finished wolfing down their food, they left.

As they left, Shen Rongdan glanced around a few times.

Seeing no one, the child immediately lowered their head and silently followed the adults out.

Once their figures had disappeared, the supervisor who had been yelling at Yao Yuzhen earlier rushed over as if his feet were greased.

“Hey, do you have any idea who that man was who just stood up for you?”

Before she could open her mouth, the supervisor was already rubbing his hands together in excitement.

“He’s probably some kind of military leader! They were in a car with military plates!”

He said this while raking his eyes over Yao Yuzhen from head to toe.

“Tsk. I really couldn’t tell you had a trick like that up your sleeve!”

She said flatly, “If there’s nothing else, I’m going back to chopping vegetables.”

The supervisor froze for a second, then waved his hand.

“Go on, go on!”

But just as she turned around, the man slapped her hard on the ass.

“Well, well. Copping a feel of a middle-aged woman is more interesting than I thought!”

Yao Yuzhen spun around, her eyes wide and round with fury.

But the man just grinned cheekily and gave a slight shrug.

The moment she slipped into the kitchen, Cao Yu blocked the doorway, staring at her with a grim expression.

“You and Xiao Wu seem pretty close behind everyone’s backs, huh?”

Xiao Wu was the supervisor, a man in his early thirties who was always swaggering around.

Yao Yuzhen lifted her gaze and gave him a cold look.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cao Yu’s expression softened slightly. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he lowered his voice.

“Stay away from him from now on. The guy’s hands aren’t clean, and he only picks on the easy targets.”

Yao Yuzhen’s heart sank.

Cao Yu must have seen the slap.

‘But he didn’t stop it, didn’t say a word. Instead, he turns around and warns me?’

Unbelievable… In that moment, she suddenly understood what Yao Yingying had said that day.

How difficult it must have been in those paranoid, turbulent years for a woman who refused to marry, no matter what.

‘I’m not some girl in her twenties; I’m a woman approaching fifty. Can’t I even have this little bit of peace?’

She suddenly wondered if she could even continue working here.

The anger in her heart coiled back toward Shen Zhenwu.

If he hadn’t suddenly shown up, she could have been quietly and steadily saving money.

Once she had enough, she could just leave, without a second thought…

Yao Yuzhen had thought that the worst thing to happen today would be running into Shen Zhenwu and his family.

She toughed it out until eight o’clock, when her shift finally ended.

She hopped on a bus, which jolted along as it headed toward the old house in the alleyway.

It was the house Ruan Yongxing had left behind.

Now, she was living in it.

She had nowhere else to stay at the moment, and renting an apartment was too expensive.

The security deposit alone would cost her half a month’s salary.

He was in the clink now, so it was only right and proper for her to stay in his house.

But tonight, as she approached her apartment building’s entrance, she saw a light on in her window.

The moment her eyes fell on that brightly lit window, Yao Yuzhen’s mind went blank with a buzz.

‘Shen Zhenwu must have seen me waiting tables at the National Guest House today and immediately had someone look up my address.’

‘He’s come to block my door now, planning to drag me back to the Shen Family.’

‘That must be it.’

A gust of wind from the stairwell entrance blew a few loose strands of hair across her eyes.

But she had no intention of budging.

Shen Zhenwu was, without a doubt, her most reliable support.

But she wasn’t the type to bow her head just because she was told to.

Yet, as she took the few steps to the door, she subconsciously smoothed her hair and tugged at her cuffs.

Her hand had just closed around the doorknob. She twisted.

It didn’t budge an inch.

The door was bolted from the inside.

Yao Yuzhen’s face fell completely. She raised her hand and started pounding on the door.

Before the third knock could land, the security door of the neighboring apartment clicked. She instantly stopped and turned sideways to block the apartment number.

She was seething with anger.

‘This isn’t your house, Shen Zhenwu! What right do you have to lock it up tight and treat me like a stranger, keeping me out?’

“Open the door!” she yelled.

Inside, the curtains were whipped open, and a face pressed against the glass.

Familiar, yet strange.

The person’s bangs were a bit long, covering half of their eyebrow.

The door clicked open.

Yao Yuzhen’s anger caught in her throat. The furious expression hadn’t left her face, but she stood as if nailed to the spot, her feet rooted to the ground.

“Mom,” the person inside said.

Yao Yuzhen’s pupils contracted sharply.

These past six months of running around, sleeping under bridges, and cramming into shared rentals had really dulled her mind.

‘I actually… I actually forgot about Shen Shuangshuang!’

Or rather, the person who was now Shen Shuangshuang.

The name on her ID card had been changed, the page in the household registry had been replaced, and even her phone number had been re-registered.

“You…”

Before she could get another word out, Shen Shuangshuang had already reached out and grabbed her arm.

After six months in prison, Shen Shuangshuang was gaunt, almost unrecognizable, having lost at least twenty pounds.

But as Yao Yuzhen looked at her, her heart pounded with apprehension.

She used to dote on her like her own daughter, but after finding out about… those things, looking at this face now sent a chill right down to her bones.

But…

“When… when did you get back?” Yao Yuzhen asked.

Shen Shuangshuang answered as she pulled her inside.