A Young Woman's Heart

The starlight in the sky seemed to be about to fall down, and the pine trees by the roadside stretched straight up to the sky, their white tips carrying a sense of desolate bleakness.

Today, the entire area near the fruit shop experienced a power outage, except for the hospital which had supplemental power. Everything else, from shops and residences to streetlights, was without power. This wasn't a sudden event; there had been prior notice.

They said they'd replace the circuitry so that power outages wouldn't be so frequent next summer.

Mo Xueyao overheard her father and the other adults saying that all the utility poles standing along the roadside would be removed and the power lines buried underground for safety and stability. She just wondered when such a massive project would be completed.

She pondered that if they were to do that, wouldn't the entire city have to be renovated from top to bottom?

The fruit shop was still open, but there probably weren't many customers. Grandma Jin was quite carefree; after dinner, she closed the shop, not caring whether there was any business or not, and went home to sleep.

At this moment, Mo Xueyao was sitting in the noodle shop next door, while Li Wanyan was giving Zhuang Lianlian a lesson in front of a flashlight that could be used as a desk lamp, specifically answering questions that Zhuang Lianlian couldn't understand on her own.

Even she couldn't help but say with a hint of teasing, "The one who should be going to school is you, not Chen Cheng."

"He'll study hard, right?" Zhuang Lianlian chuckled and nudged Chen Cheng beside her. The latter was using her as a cushion and didn't answer, only giving a lukewarm laugh.

That's just how he is, and Mo Xueyao has long been used to it.

Perhaps because she's used to being alone, she always has a somewhat arrogant demeanor. In reality, she's a pretty good person; otherwise, she wouldn't have treated Zhuang Lianlian so well all this time.

Although there is an element of love involved, shouldn't this spoiled brat be philandering yet heartless?

"Hoo—" Old Chen hid in a dark corner, took a deep drag of his cigarette. There were no candles lit, so his face was not visible. All that could be seen was the burning cigarette butt, which looked like a floating red will-o'-the-wisp.

The group wasn't idle here; they were waiting for someone.

Because I heard that Old Chen's wife—Chen Cheng's mother—was coming back.

It was just a trip back from neighboring Shanghai, nothing major.

But then something unexpected happened – a depraved man dragged her onto a motorcycle on a city street in the middle of the night, then took her to a cornfield to commit a beastly act. She was saved by a kind person.

When Old Chen found out, he told his wife to come back quickly. Coincidentally, the kind person who saved her was also returning to Hangzhou, so he took her back with him.

Because he was a big boss and had some business to discuss, he was already late when he set off—actually, it was after dinner where he had discussed business, plus there was still some travel involved, so he hadn't arrived yet.

Old Chen would wait here, and if anyone came in wanting noodles, he would cook a bowl by the light of his flashlight.

"Whoosh—" A sound different from the other cars came from afar, and then a spacious Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of the store. The window rolled down a little, and voices could be heard coming from inside.

"Is this the place? Below the cancer hospital, Old Mo's Noodle Shop?"

"Boss, there's another Old Mo Fruit Shop up ahead, this should be it."

"Alright, we've arrived."

A sound rang out; it turned out the driver's side door had been pushed open.

Old Chen quickly stood up, walked to the door, and was about to shake hands with the man in the suit when he saw him walk to the back seat, open the car door, and let out a more imposing man. Then he opened the passenger door and let out a woman with many wrinkles on her face, but who didn't look that old.

"Old Chen?" The familiar voice rang out, which lifted Chen Cheng's spirits. Ever since he learned about those things, he had missed his mother more and more.

"Hey, my wife's back! Are you alright?"

"It's alright, thanks to this big boss, don't worry." The night was too dark, and Mo Xueyao couldn't see the woman's face clearly. She only felt that when she was standing next to Old Chen and Chen Cheng went to greet her, there was a sense of family warmth.

"Hehe." Old Chen chuckled somewhat sheepishly, subconsciously taking out a cigarette from his pocket, about to offer it to the other person, but hesitated halfway through his hand.

However, the other person didn't mind. He simply took the cigarette from his fingers, took out an expensive-looking lighter from his pocket that was emitting a blue flame, and lit the cheap cigarette.

"Hello, hello, thank you for saving my wife!" Old Chen was a man who had been wealthy before. Just by looking at the other person's demeanor, he could guess his identity. This person looked to be at least the CEO of a large company, so he naturally had to use honorifics.

"Hehe!" He laughed as he cleared the smoke from his face, casually flicking off the ash. Under the cover of night, on the street without streetlights, the only way to see his face was by the light from the headlights of cars shining in other directions—he had a neatly trimmed beard, and his face and features were very angular, but at first glance, he was still handsome. "No need to be so polite, it was just a small favor, it's what I should do."

A man in a suit who appeared to be just a driver quickly praised, "The boss insisted on going down to check the situation. I just followed him and he subdued both of them."

"It's not that exaggerated. You helped me later." The imposing boss shook his head.

"Neither of you are injured, are you?" Old Chen tried hard to recall the refined, scholarly air he had when he was a wealthy young master.

"It's alright, don't worry."

"Oh, right, I forgot to ask earlier. You can just call me Old Chen. May I ask your surname?"

"My surname is Wang."

"Mr. Wang, thank you so much this time."

"I already told you not to mention it anymore, haha. I haven't had dinner yet, I was wondering if you still make noodles here?"

"Of course, of course, I'm glad you don't mind." Old Chen quickly ran back to the kitchen and busied himself with clattering and clanging.

"There's a power outage today because they're replacing the wiring," Mo Xueyao explained as he approached.

"No wonder, I was wondering why it was so dark here." He smiled and sat down at the table behind Mo Xueyao. The driver offered him his coat, but he refused, "I'm not cold, I won't wear it yet."

"it is good."

"Lin Yang, sit down."

“Okay.” The man named Lin Yang quickly and obediently sat down. Although it was a little inappropriate, Mo Xueyao felt that he looked like a well-trained military dog…

"Oh, by the way, what kind of noodles would you two like to eat?"

What kinds are there?

"Large intestines, kidneys, pickled mustard greens with shredded pork, pork stomach, beef..." Old Chen hurriedly introduced them.

"What would you like to eat?" Boss Wang asked, looking at the 'military dog' sitting diagonally across from him.

Mo Xueyao coughed twice in her mind, telling herself not to think that way, it wasn't good.

"Pork kidney noodles, I guess?"

"What? Your wife thinks your back is bothering you?" Mr. Wang joked in a very approachable way, raising his voice slightly, "I'll have a bowl of pork kidney noodles and a bowl of beef noodles, please!"

"Okay, almost done!"

Chen Cheng's mother had many questions to ask, but since the guests had not yet left, she had to show some hospitality. So she sat down with Lin Yang and chatted with Boss Wang about what had happened on the way.

"Wait, aren't you going to cook your wife's noodles?"

"Of course I'll cook it! I know she likes tomato and egg noodles, haha!" Old Chen laughed heartily. "Boss Wang, I don't know if you'll like these noodles!"

"Of course I can eat it. It's more like I can't get used to those big, meaty dishes," Mr. Wang chuckled. After looking around for a while, he found the ashtray on the corner of the table, shook the ash into it, and asked, "How's business at your shop usually?"

"It's alright, earning enough money to support a family isn't a problem."

"That's not bad." Mr. Wang took a puff of his cigarette.

"Mr. Wang, where in Hangzhou do you live?" Chen Cheng's mother asked with a smile.

“The suburbs.” Mr. Wang just smiled faintly. “My daughter teaches at a high school in the city.”

"Being a teacher is a good job."

"It's alright." Boss Wang couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Ha, thanks to my daughter who loves to talk big, otherwise I might still be the same as before."

Wasn't it better before?

She said I had a stern face.

Sitting diagonally across from him, Lin Yang couldn't help but laugh: "The young lady is quite interesting. Ever since she was in high school, she's always complained about the boss's poker face."

"She said I acted like a patriarch, which was boring to look at, and she didn't like to talk to me. I have no choice but to change since I only have one daughter."

"That means you're not a feudal person either," Chen Cheng's mother flattered.

"Luckily, you've received a modern education, haven't you?" Mr. Wang joked.

The noodles were served quickly.

Mr. Wang ate very politely, while Lin Yang, sitting diagonally opposite him, wolfed down his food, as if deliberately trying to create a contrast.

"How is it?" Old Chen asked with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

"Not bad." Seeing that he still seemed a little dissatisfied, Boss Wang smiled and said, "It tastes just like it did when I was a kid."

"Haha, you flatter me." Old Chen immediately beamed with joy.

The adults started chatting again, from family matters to national affairs, and then they talked about the aftermath of that incident. In short, the children had no say in the conversation.

When it was time to leave, Boss Wang took out a cigarette he was smoking and handed it to Old Chen.

The cigarette box was golden yellow, somewhat like a dragon robe, with the three large characters "Da Chong Jiu" written on it. When Old Chen saw this pack of cigarettes, he was also somewhat moved.

"Want a smoke?" Boss Wang asked.

"Okay, thanks." Old Chen had smoked it before, but this time the taste felt different.

Seeing that he had lit his cigarette, Boss Wang picked one up himself. Instead of using a lighter, he waved to Old Chen, asking him to hand over his lit cigarette. As soon as the lit cigarette touched Old Chen's, his own cigarette lit up as well.

"Ha, I thought only we knew how to borrow fire!" Old Chen laughed. Here, "we" refers to ordinary people at the bottom of society.

"That's what makes it humane." Boss Wang smiled. "Alright, then, we should be leaving now."

"Take care, Mr. Wang. Come and have noodles with me again next time you have time!"

"Okay, it will come."

Even the children knew very well that such a big boss probably wouldn't have time to come back again.

This was just a small favor for him, and he might not even remember it a year later.

……

Chapter 124 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Meet

After the guests left, Chen Cheng's mother chatted with Old Chen for a long time until a few more guests came in the dark, at which point he went back to work, finally giving her a break.

Using the light of the desk lamp, Mo Xueyao curiously looked at Chen's mother. She should be around the same age as her own mother, but she looked older. There were a few white hairs on her head, and her face had more wrinkles than people her age, but you could tell that she had good skin and must have been exceptionally beautiful when she was young.

She found a seat, first looked at Chen Cheng, a smile already blooming on her face, then looked at Zhuang Lianlian, and finally couldn't help but laugh: "Chen Cheng, you're so tall now!"

"Hmm, what for?"

"You haven't seen me for so many years, aren't you going to call me?"

“…Mom.” Chen Cheng sighed helplessly, “What?”

"This is the girl your dad was talking about... right?" She probably meant to say 'wife', but after thinking about it, she changed the word.

"Ah."