Chapter 86 Going to See Mother

Although Shen Jin couldn't understand the various emotions in his heart, he was certain of one thing: he liked this city and missed it.

He was especially happy and full of anticipation at the thought of meeting the woman he had spoken to on the phone in this city, and his thoughts about the city began to grow.

"Let's go." Luo Zheng patted his shoulder, and when Shen Jin turned around, he smiled and said, "Let's go out of the airport first. It's too stuffy here, it's much more lively outside."

"Well, I just feel..." Shen Jin nodded, wanting to say something but having no clue where to start, so he could only swallow his words and then follow Rong Lan and Luo Zheng.

When they came out of the airport, what greeted their eyes was a bustling city, with traffic, skyscrapers, and all sorts of people. Shen Jin was dazzled by the sight, but also very happy.

Rong Lan was caught up in his joyful mood and couldn't help but smile as well, but at the same time she was a little confused: "What's there to be happy about? Although it's a bustling city, A is also..."

"I don't know, but I'm just so happy! It feels different!" Shen Jin laughed heartily, his head turning around and his eyes darting everywhere. He made a gesture of embracing nature, and his smile became even brighter.

Luo Zheng and Rong Lan were speechless. They could only exchange a knowing smile and lead him outside to wait on the side.

"Have you called home yet? A car will be coming to pick you up later?" Luo Zheng glanced at Rong Lan, then looked at Shen Jin beside him. If possible, he wanted to take Shen Jin to meet his mother right now, since Shen Jin was really looking forward to it.

However, Shen Jin was a stranger to Rong's mother, and his identity was also questionable. It wouldn't be convenient to bring him along like that. Rong's mother rarely saw strangers due to her physical condition and her inner turmoil.

"Yes, he'll be here soon." Rong Lan glanced down at her phone, then at Luo Zheng and Shen Jin, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke, "But after everything that happened to you, and now that you've just returned to the city, you can't possibly take him to meet my mother first thing, can you?"

Luo Zheng: "..."

Coincidentally, he was right.

Seeing his sudden silence, Rong Lan got the answer and could only sigh softly. He didn't know what to say for a moment, but he understood his mother's situation. She was used to living in seclusion and was always resistant to strangers.

He glanced at Shen Jin. Although he didn't think his mother would dislike him—after all, he found Shen Jin quite pleasing to the eye, perhaps because he was good-looking, and after looking at his delicate features for a while, he could even see a familiar shadow in them…

The moment the thought crossed Rong Lan's mind, his heart skipped a beat. He abruptly turned around and stared intently at Shen Jin, who felt uncomfortable under his strange gaze and touched his face, asking, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just random thoughts." Rong Lan took a deep breath, forcing herself to shift her attention, looked at the bustling street, and took out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it.

"You seem a bit off, what's wrong?" Luo Zheng asked, glancing at him. Seeing his pale face, she couldn't help but scoff. "Don't tell me you get airsick? I've never seen you get airsick before."

"..." Rong Lan took a drag of her cigarette, flicked it, and glanced at him. "Get out of my way. I'm here because of something else, nothing much... just some things from the past."

Besides this answer, Rong Lan didn't know what else to say. After all, he couldn't possibly say that he saw the shadow of his brother who had died many years ago in a stranger. If he did, Luo Zheng might think he was crazy.

Although Luo Zheng made a few jokes, everyone has their own private matters, so he didn't ask any further. The important thing right now was to deal with the current situation. He had been away from this city for several months, and now that he was finally back, there were many things to do.

“I don’t know what’s going on with the driver today. He hasn’t come back yet. He probably ran into some trouble along the way.” Rong Lan stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette and threw it into the trash can. He glanced down at his watch. “I think we should go get something to eat first. The food on the plane is really not something an average person can stomach.”

The food on the plane wasn't too bad, but it didn't suit his taste. No matter how he ate, it just didn't feel right. Of course, not everyone was the same; for example, Shen Jin enjoyed the food quite a bit.

Rong Lan thought this person was really easy to take care of. After all, he wasn't picky about food, was well-behaved and obedient, and would eat whatever was given to him. He even ate the food on the plane with relish and smiled so happily.

“That works too.” Luo Zheng nodded. He hadn’t eaten much on the plane, so he was inevitably hungry now. He looked at Chen Jin, who was looking around at the scenery, and smiled helplessly. “What do you want to eat?”

"Me?" Shen Jin was so excited after arriving in this city that he didn't care about what to eat at all. In his opinion, having something to eat was already a blessing. "I'll eat anything! I'm not picky!"

Rong Lan: "..."

Sure enough, he was well taken care of, unlike me, who always picks at food.

"We have a lot of authentic local dishes here, let me take you to try them." Luo Zheng smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair, tidying his clothes that had been ruffled by the wind, before heading towards the food area.

The three of them arrived at a luxurious restaurant in the city. There were all kinds of dishes, which made Shen Jin's eyes dazzled. He had no idea what to order. In the end, Luo Zheng and Rong Lan ordered something simple.

After all the dishes were served, Shen Jin happily ate his meal, eating whichever dish he could reach, and thanking others for the food they served him before eating it.

Shen Jin picked up some food and smiled happily, giving a thumbs-up and praising, "Mmm, this is delicious!"

"Eat more if you like it..." Rong Lan glanced over and wanted to tell him to eat more if he liked it, but when he saw what Shen Jin had just eaten, he was slightly stunned.

That dish was ordered by Rong Lan. He himself didn't like it, but he remembered that when he was little, his brother especially loved it...

"This is really delicious, you two should try it!" Shen Jin smiled and tried to put some food on their plates. "Really, I'm not kidding!"

“…Hmm.” Rong Lan withdrew his gaze, gave a flat “hmm,” glanced at the food in the bowl, and took a bite. Because it wasn’t his favorite food, no matter how many times he ate it, he still couldn’t taste its deliciousness.

But the person in front of him was different. As if they had tasted some unparalleled delicacy, they looked at him with a blissful expression and eagerly asked, "Is it delicious?!"

Under his intense gaze, Rong Lan awkwardly looked away. He swallowed back the words "the taste is so-so" and instead said, "Mmm, it's delicious."

"I knew it would be delicious!" Shen Jin exclaimed excitedly, then turned to Luo Zheng beside him and asked, "Don't you think so?"

Luo Zheng felt happy whenever she saw his bright smile. Her heart seemed to melt, and she felt much warmer. She smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course it tastes delicious."

As an observer, Rong Lan could always see things clearly. He could tell that Luo Zheng's usual impatient and even unfriendly personality was completely absent in front of Shen Jin. Instead, she was much more patient and habitually went along with him.

Perhaps Luo Zheng herself hasn't realized it yet, but Rong Lan can understand that Luo Zheng is almost completely entangled, and if things continue like this, she will only sink deeper and deeper. How could the Luo family possibly allow such a thing to happen?

There will likely be a lot of trouble, especially for a large family like theirs. The older generation likes to emphasize matching social status, and as an orphan, Shen Jin naturally has no connection with the Luo family.

"Why are you spacing out instead of eating your food?" Luo Zheng gently waved her hand in front of Rong Lan's face a few times, wondering why he wasn't eating properly and was just staring at Shen Jin. Although he was quite handsome, he was staring at him way too intently...

It made Luo Zheng feel a little uncomfortable, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Rong Lan snapped out of her daze at his words, feeling somewhat embarrassed. After all, even the person in question hadn't thought that far ahead, so was she, as an observer, really just bored and looking for trouble?

He glanced at Luo Zheng and said, "I'm just looking. I'm not going to fight you for it. Can't I even take a look?"

Luo Zheng: "..."

Before Luo Zheng could say anything, Shen Jin waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile, "It's okay, look around as you like, I don't mind! Look at whatever you like!"

Hearing Shen Jin say that, Luo Zheng felt a little strange. She silently ate a bite of food, trying to get Shen Jin to take back what he said, and said, "Normal people don't usually stare at people like that."

"Oh, is that so?" Shen Jin was taken aback, somewhat disbelieving his words. Seeing Luo Zheng's serious expression, he found it even more unbelievable. "But you often stare at me like that too!"

Luo Zheng: "..."

Rong Lan, who was sitting to the side eating and watching the show, couldn't help but laugh when she heard Shen Jin say this. She looked at Luo Zheng with some sympathy and patted his shoulder: "Yeah, Zheng, no normal person would stare at someone like that."

"Shut up!" Luo Zheng glared at the gloating person, then explained to Shen Jin, "That's different!"

Shen Jin took a bite of his delicious food, then raised his head and looked at him innocently: "How is it different?"

Luo Zheng: "..."

Suddenly, I didn't know how to answer him.

"Finally, it's different!" Luo Zheng said unreasonably, then put some food in his bowl. "Eat your food and stop thinking about those messy things."

Shen Jin nodded like an obedient child: "Okay, I don't want to think about it anymore."

Luo Zheng smiled helplessly. When the three of them finished eating and came out, the driver Rong Lan was waiting for did not arrive. Instead, he received a call from the driver saying that something had happened at his home, something related to his mother.

"Something happened?" Luo Zheng was a little confused, but she also became anxious and quickly asked, "What happened?"

"It's a long story, and I can't explain it all in a short time. My mother's health is fluctuating," Rong Lan frowned and hailed a taxi. "I can't stay with you guys right now; I have to go see her first."

Luo Zheng pulled Shen Jin aside and quickly called out to Rong Lan from behind, "Wait, let's go together!"