Chapter 61

Lu Chen’s background?

Meng Yinyin was stunned for a moment, and her confusion deepened.

She had been at the Nanjiao Brigade for so long and had gone through everything with Lu Chen—taking everything that belonged to him from Lu Dashan’s hands. She thought she understood his background quite well.

But now that Dong Qingcheng had mentioned it, it seemed like there was something she didn’t know.

Could it be that Lu Chen was hiding something from her? But even if he was hiding something, how did the person in front of her know?

Meng Yinyin’s mind wavered, but she ultimately decided to trust Lu Chen.

“I’ll ask Lu Chen myself if there’s anything to know. Comrade, if you have nothing else, please leave.”

Dong Qingcheng hadn’t expected Meng Yinyin to respond this way. He thought curiosity would lead her to ask questions about whatever he was implying. These two people—both were full of surprises.

But to be honest, Dong Qingcheng hadn’t planned on telling Meng Yinyin much. After all, things hadn’t been clarified yet, and if he told her, it would probably cause unnecessary trouble. As for why he came to find Meng Yinyin, it was naturally…

“Comrade Dong!”

Lu Chen’s deep voice rang out from the courtyard.

Dong Qingcheng looked up to see Lu Chen standing there, fixing him with a steady, dark gaze filled with warning.

Shrugging, Dong Qingcheng smirked and spoke deliberately, “Since you don’t want to talk to me, I had no choice but to come to your family. After all, as your family member, she has the right to know.”

“But then again, who knows? I might accidentally say something wrong.”

If he couldn’t talk to Lu Chen directly, he would have to keep pestering Meng Yinyin.

Dong Qingcheng knew his actions were shameless, but he no longer cared. They had been searching for the truth for over twenty years. Now that he had a lead, he was determined to uncover the mystery, no matter what it took.

The two men locked eyes in a silent battle of wills.

Dong Qingcheng was gambling, gambling on how much Lu Chen cared about Meng Yinyin.

Finally, Lu Chen said one word in a low voice: “Fine.” At that moment, Dong Qingcheng knew he had won. He exhaled quietly in relief.

Meng Yinyin looked back and forth between them, completely clueless about what they were discussing.

Lu Chen walked over and said to her, “You go in and eat first. I need to talk to him for a moment.”

It was clear the two men had something to discuss. Without saying much, Meng Yinyin obediently turned and went inside to continue her meal.

After her figure disappeared, Lu Chen led Dong Qingcheng out of the house.

He took him to a bamboo forest not far from home. There was no one around, so it was a good place to talk.

Once they stopped, Dong Qingcheng dropped his earlier facade and spoke seriously.

“I apologize to you and Educated Youth Meng for what happened earlier. But, Lu Chen, please understand my intentions. My family has been searching for my aunt for many years. I must get to the bottom of this.”

Now that Lu Chen had agreed to talk, he no longer resisted. 

He interrupted him and spoke directly. “Get to the point. Ask what you want to know, and I’ll tell you what I can.”

Taking the hint, Dong Qingcheng didn’t waste time and quickly asked all his questions.

He mainly wanted to know how Lu Chen’s mother had passed away, whether her family was still alive, and details about her life.

Unfortunately, Lu Chen could only answer one of these questions. His mother had died during childbirth. As for the rest, he didn’t know.

Dong Qingcheng hadn’t expected this outcome. After hearing Lu Chen’s response, he was silent for a long time before finally asking with difficulty, “What about your mother’s family?”

“There’s no one left,” Lu Chen replied, adding, “She only had a father, my grandfather, who passed away before I was born. I’ve never met or heard of any other relatives.”

Hearing this, Dong Qingcheng felt a sudden jolt in his heart. A strong premonition took hold.

Only one grandfather, no other relatives—did this mean Lu Chen’s grandfather might have been a solitary man with no family of his own?

But tragically, Lu Chen’s grandfather had passed away long before he was born, and his mother had died during childbirth. This left Lu Chen with no way to ask about his mother’s or grandfather’s past.

Moreover, Lu Chen’s life after birth was far from easy. Survival alone was a challenge, leaving no time for him to explore his maternal history.

It seemed the trail ended here. Aside from learning about Lu Chen’s mother’s death and her family’s general situation, Dong Qingcheng had no other useful information. He still couldn’t determine if Lu Chen’s mother was the missing aunt they had been searching for.

Lu Chen, noticing the deep frown on Dong Qingcheng’s face, felt no sympathy.

“I’ve told you everything I know. Now, you need to keep your end of the deal.”

Dong Qingcheng understood. His part was to stop bothering Meng Yinyin.

He nodded, saying only, “Fine,” before leaving with a troubled expression.

Lu Chen stood there for a moment, watching until Dong Qingcheng’s figure disappeared. Then, he turned and headed back home.

Whether Dong Qingcheng left disappointed or went elsewhere, Lu Chen couldn’t care less.

As he approached the house, he heard laughter coming from the courtyard.

“Yinyin, your hairpin is so pretty! Who would’ve thought Lu Chen has such good taste?”

“It’s alright.”

Though her words were modest, her tone and expression clearly revealed her delight. She thought the hairpin was far better than just alright.

Yu Xiaoyu didn’t point it out directly, merely laughing and winking at her. Even so, Meng Yinyin’s cheeks instantly turned red.

The two girls chatted and laughed cheerfully, and Lu Chen, standing at the door, couldn’t help but smile as well. The unease in his heart finally settled.

He wasn’t entirely sure if Meng Yinyin would like the hairpin he had bought. He knew she had high standards, and he wasn’t confident in his own taste, so when he made the purchase, he had been quite nervous.

Fortunately, hearing that Meng Yinyin didn’t seem dissatisfied with the hairpin relieved him.

Just as he was about to step inside, he suddenly overheard Yu Xiaoyu lowering her voice and speaking in a mysterious tone to Meng Yinyin.

“Yinyin, when Lu Chen came back and saw you cooking for him, how did he react? Was he overjoyed?”

Hearing this, Lu Chen’s raised foot froze mid-air, and his expression turned to one of surprise.

As for Meng Yinyin, she had been happily admiring her hairpin just moments ago. However, when Yu Xiaoyu brought up the topic, she immediately thought of the burned, blackened potatoes in the pot, and her face fell.

She spoke with utter dejection.

“Don’t even mention it. I can’t bring myself to tell him I was specifically trying to learn how to cook for him. Just a few days ago, my dishes were decent, but of all days, he came back to see my face covered in soot and the food completely burned!”

It was so embarrassing that Meng Yinyin would never admit to Lu Chen that she was earnestly learning to cook, let alone doing so for his sake.

Yu Xiaoyu, imagining the scene, cringed and quickly suggested, “Alright, then don’t tell him yet. Wait until you make a dish that looks, smells, and tastes perfect, and surprise him then!”

That seemed like the best plan. However, Meng Yinyin couldn’t help but worry. With Lu Chen back, she figured her chances of practicing her cooking would become slim.

What she didn’t know was that Lu Chen, standing by the courtyard gate, had already overheard her plan. His heart was filled with uncontainable joy.

It turned out that during his time away, not only had he been missing her, but Yinyin had also been thinking about him, even going so far as to prepare a surprise for him.

This feeling of being cherished was unfamiliar to Lu Chen, yet it was a delightful surprise.

Even if her cooking tasted terrible, the fact that she had learned and cooked for him made it the most delicious meal in the world.

However, recalling Meng Yinyin’s words, Lu Chen decided to pretend he knew nothing about it.

He deliberately made some noise at the gate, ensuring the two women inside heard him before slowly stepping in.

As expected, once he entered, both Meng Yinyin and Yu Xiaoyu immediately stopped their previous conversation.

One greeted him politely, while the other glanced at him and then quickly asked about Dong Qingcheng.

“Did you resolve everything?” Meng Yinyin looked at him curiously.

Lu Chen nodded, reassuring her not to worry.

“He won’t bother you anymore.”

That wasn’t exactly what she meant. She was curious about Dong Qingcheng’s mention of “Lu Chen’s background” and wanted to know what he was referring to.

However, seeing that Yu Xiaoyu was still present, she decided to save the question for when they were alone.

Yu Xiaoyu, sensing the situation, tactfully busied herself with her meal after greeting Lu Chen. She tried to minimize her presence.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that today’s food disappeared unusually fast.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and she looked up, only to see Lu Chen eating silently but with remarkable speed. What’s more, he was only eating one dish—the somewhat burnt potatoes.

He ignored the other dishes entirely, almost as if he hadn’t eaten potatoes in years. The fresh vegetables and meat couldn’t seem to compare to the charred ones.

Yu Xiaoyu: “…?”

As a guest, she had been holding back, thinking she should let Lu Chen, the hardworking host, enjoy the best dishes. Little did she expect that he would only eat potatoes.

After a moment of surprise, Yu Xiaoyu couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.

It seemed that what Meng Yinyin had said before was true. Although Lu Chen didn’t talk much and appeared cold, he was genuinely a good person.

See, he was willing to suffer so his guests could enjoy the better dishes. He’d rather eat the burnt food himself than let others go without.

Moved by his selflessness, Yu Xiaoyu felt even more strongly that he and Meng Yinyin were a perfect match.

As the meal ended, and Lu Chen went to clean up, Yu Xiaoyu couldn’t resist pulling Meng Yinyin aside. Using his behavior at the table as an example, she said several good things about him.

Meng Yinyin’s ears nearly sprouted calluses from all the praise.

“Alright, alright, I get it!”

It was just one meal; did Yu Xiaoyu really have to act as if she’d been enchanted?

Meng Yinyin grumbled internally, thinking that if Yu Xiaoyu knew Lu Chen’s true nature, she might not admire him so much.

“By the way, Yinyin, are you going to tell Lu Chen about Song Yue?”

Just as Meng Yinyin was silently complaining, Yu Xiaoyu hesitated and finally asked.

Meng Yinyin froze for a moment before a troubled expression appeared on her face.

Of course, she knew what Yu Xiaoyu was referring to. But how could she bring it up? Was she supposed to just walk up to Lu Chen and tell him that while he was away, Song Yue had come looking for her, seemingly intending to cause trouble?

And most importantly, Song Yue hadn’t succeeded because Dou Zhengrong had intervened.

Thinking about Dou Zhengrong reminded Meng Yinyin of the book’s plotline.

She immediately shook her head decisively.

No, she wouldn’t tell him. She wouldn’t say a word, no matter what!

Her biggest concern now was that Lu Chen, Dou Zhengrong, and Lin Xiuzhi will have too much contact, and then everything will go according to the original plot. She would rather keep this matter to herself!

Yu Xiaoyu noticed that Meng Yinyin was unwilling to say anything, but she didn’t press the matter. After all, since that day when Song Yue blocked Meng Yinyin in the vegetable plot, there had been no further incidents. She assumed he must have been too intimidated to act again. Thinking it over, she decided it might not be necessary to inform Lu Chen about this matter.

As the day grew late, Yu Xiaoyu packed her belongings in Meng Yinyin’s room, said her goodbyes, and returned to the Educated Youth point.

Now that the real “protector” had returned, it was time for her to make her exit.

After seeing Yu Xiaoyu off, Meng Yinyin still felt uneasy about not telling Lu Chen about the incident with Song Yue and Dou Zhengrong. But recalling the troubling series of events in the original storyline, she firmly decided to keep this matter to herself.

What she didn’t expect was that even though she chose not to say anything, Lu Chen still found out in the end.

….

The day after Lu Chen returned home, he resumed working with the team in the brigade. The selection for the tractor driver position had not yet been finalized. The brigade leader assured him that the results would be announced soon, so he would need to wait a little longer.

With his anxiety held in check, Lu Chen began his work.

However, on his first day back, Dou Zhengrong stopped him.