Chapter 19: Missing

He seemed to be a regular customer. The owner, an unremarkable middle-aged man, brought over two bowls of beef noodles and chatted with him familiarly: “Haven’t seen you for a while, been busy lately?”

He Tingzhou picked out the scallions in his bowl one by one: “Yeah, busy taking care of other people’s businesses.”

The owner chuckled, not offended, and looked at Shuangxu with a friendly smile: “First time I’ve seen you bring someone here. Such a pretty girl, is she your girlfriend?”

He Tingzhou didn’t deny it, with an air of a dashing young man who was being pursued by a girl: “She’s been clinging to me like a leech, what can I do?”

Shuangxu squeezed out a wry smile in the face of the owner’s slightly surprised expression, too lazy to explain.

Although this shop was tucked away in a secluded corner, the food was surprisingly good. The broth was rich and flavorful, the noodles were hand-pulled, thin and springy.

After a bowl of hot noodles, the piercing cold wind by the river disappeared.

Shuangxu was a little warm, her nose slightly flushed. She looked up and realized that He Tingzhou was watching her.

He hadn’t eaten much of his noodles. He leaned back in his chair, looking lazy, fiddling with the rough pottery teacup of the noodle shop, his long legs stretched out under the square table, looking cramped.

“Delicious?”

Shuangxu nodded twice, a little curious: “How did you even know about this hidden place?”

“Haven’t you heard that Yancheng is my territory?” His arrogance was as natural as breathing. “There’s no place I’m not familiar with.”

Shuangxu blurted out: “Are you familiar with the women’s restroom too?”

Only after she said it did she realize how audacious she was, daring to argue with him.

He Tingzhou raised his right eyebrow slightly: “So much to say, are you full?”

“Full.” Shuangxu wiped her lips carefully with a napkin. The lipstick she had applied during the day had long since faded, revealing her naturally moist and red lips.

He Tingzhou glanced at her: “You’re full, go pay.”

“I pay?” Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly. It wasn’t that she was unwilling, but she hadn’t expected it.

Whether it was with Shen Yu or the group of older brothers like Yue Zifeng, no one had ever made her, a younger sister, pay.

“Should I pay then?” He Tingzhou acted like a lord, “I picked you up from the river, sent you home, and even treated you to noodles. Are you in love with me or am I in love with you?”

“…”

“No money? Can’t afford it, call your brother.”

“…”

Shuangxu gave up, obediently taking out her phone to pay.

As she opened her phone, she found that there were more than twenty missed calls, including those from the driver Wang Shu and Fu Yun, as well as Shen Yu.

There were also messages at the top of her WeChat.

Brother: [Where are you]

Brother: [Xiao Jiu, answer the phone]

She didn’t know what was going on, and was about to call Shen Yu back when Fu Yun called again.

As soon as she answered, Fu Yun asked anxiously: “Shuangxu, where did you run off to?”

“I went shopping with Miss Lu, you know that, right?” She was a little confused.

“Old Wang said he sent Manman back and came to pick you up, but he couldn’t find you, and your phone wasn’t going through. I’m worried sick.” Fu Yun’s tone was reproachful, “You child, why didn’t you answer your phone?”

She hadn’t paid attention to the time when she was lost in thought on the bridge. Now she realized that it had been three hours since she left the mall.

“I was in a meeting and put my phone on silent, I forgot to turn it off.” Shuangxu rubbed her forehead in frustration.

“Your brother drove out to look for you, call him back quickly.”

Shen Yu’s call was answered almost as soon as she dialed it. Shuangxu called out “Brother”, then suddenly choked, not knowing how to explain her “disappearance” tonight.

There was a moment of silence on the phone, then Shen Yu’s voice, still gentle, asked her: “Where did you go?”

“Eating noodles.” Shuangxu said.

“Give me the address.”

Shuangxu gave him the address of the noodle shop, and Shen Yu said: “Don’t wander around, wait for me.”

Shuangxu “hmm”ed and hung up the phone, standing there silently for a moment.

There were no other customers in the shop at this time, it was eerily quiet.

Remembering that she hadn’t paid, she picked up her phone again and asked the owner who was getting ready to close up: “How much?”

The owner smiled kindly: “Mr. He has already paid.”

Already paid?

Shuangxu turned her head, the spot where he was sitting was empty, He Tingzhou had left at some point.

She walked out of the shop, and He Tingzhou was leaning against the car, smoking.

He had broad shoulders and long legs, his figure like a clothes rack, his shirt billowing in the breeze, reflecting the light of the car, a dashing and debonair figure.

“My brother is coming to pick me up, I’ll wait for him here.” Shuangxu thought for a moment, then said to him: “Brother Tingzhou, thank you today.”

Although she hadn’t intended to jump into the river, she was indeed in a bad mood at the time. Someone pulled her out of the cold wind by the river and took her to eat a bowl of steaming hot noodles. Her gratitude was genuine.

Through the swirling smoke, He Tingzhou glanced at her and replied in a very “He Tingzhou” way: “You’re welcome.”

He put out his cigarette, straightened up and got into the car. The Koenigsegg roared off with a loud, arrogant sound, probably eager to go find his next conquest.

Shen Yu arrived twenty minutes later.

The owner was kind-hearted, or maybe it was because he was giving He Tingzhou face, he waited until Shen Yu came to pick her up before closing up.

This old alley was quiet at night, it wasn’t safe for a young girl to be alone.

Shuangxu thanked the owner and got into the car. Shen Yu glanced at the simple and secluded noodle shop: “Why did you go so far to eat noodles?”

She couldn’t explain her own psychology, she subconsciously concealed He Tingzhou’s name: “A friend recommended it, the noodles here are really good.”

“Did you come with a friend?” Shen Yu asked.

“Yeah. He left first.”

The car drove out of the alley and onto the asphalt road–>>

The carriage was silent for a moment. Shen Yu casually asked, “What did you talk about with Manman?”

“Nothing much,” Shuangxu replied, “I accompanied her to buy a birthday present for her mother.”

“What did you buy?” Shen Yu asked.

She hesitated. They hadn’t been to a single store that afternoon, and she couldn’t even come up with a lie: “A… coffee shop.”

She’d let Lu Manman fill in the rest of the lie.

When they returned to the Shen residence, the living room was brightly lit. Shen Changyuan, who had been away on a business trip, was already back. Fu Yun hadn’t gone to sleep yet and was waiting for them in the living room.

Seeing them return, Fu Yun finally relaxed. She couldn’t help but scold them: “You went out to eat noodles without telling Lao Wang, and when we couldn’t find you, you wouldn’t answer your phone. We had a hard time looking for you. You’re so grown up, how can you still act like a child, doing whatever you want without thinking about the consequences?”

Shuangxu lowered her head and apologized: “I’m sorry, Mom, I worried you.”

Shen Changyuan patted Fu Yun’s shoulder to calm her down: “It’s fine as long as she’s found. Shuangxu wasn’t intentionally trying to disappear.”

He then turned to Shuangxu: “Your mom just gets anxious when she can’t reach you. She was worried sick at home and even called your brother back.”

Shuangxu nodded: “I understand.”

Fu Yun was still angry: “I’m not blaming you, but you need to be more sensible. I just asked you to accompany Manman to buy a present, but even if you’re unhappy, you can’t just disappear…”

Shen Yu directly interrupted her, gently patting Shuangxu ‘s head: “Go upstairs and rest.”

Shuangxu glanced at Fu Yun. Because of Shen Yu’s protection, Fu Yun’s expression became even worse.

Shen Yu’s expression was calm: “Be obedient.”