Chapter 19 Missing

He Tingzhou seemed to be a regular customer. The boss was an ordinary middle-aged man. When he brought two servings of beef noodles to him, he chatted with him familiarly: "I haven't seen you here for a while. Have you been busy recently?"

He Tingzhou picked out the scallions from the bowl one by one: "Well, I'm busy taking care of other people's business."

The boss smiled and looked at Shuang Xu with kindness: "This is the first time I see you bring someone here. Such a pretty girl, is she your girlfriend?"

He Tingzhou did not deny it, and said in a tone of a man who is afraid of being entangled by a woman: "I am willing to die for you, but now I am entangled by you. What can I do?"

Shuang Xu forced a forced smile at the boss's slightly surprised expression and was too lazy to explain.

Although this shop is located in a remote and inconspicuous place, the food is surprisingly good. The soup base is fresh and rich, and the noodles are hand-made, thin and elastic.

After eating a bowl of hot soup noodles, the chilly wind from the river disappeared.

Shuang Xu felt a little hot from eating, and her nose tip turned slightly red. She raised her head and found that He Tingzhou was looking at her.

He didn't eat much noodles. He leaned lazily on his chair, playing with the noodle shop's coarse earthenware teacup, with his two long legs resting under the square table, looking very submissive.

“Is it delicious?”

Shuang Xu nodded twice, a little curious: "Such a hidden shop, how did you know about it?"

"Have you ever heard of whose territory Yancheng belongs to?" His arrogance was as natural as breathing. "There is nothing here that I am not familiar with."

Shuang Xu blurted out: "Are you familiar with the women's restroom as well?"

Only after saying this did I realize how bold I was to even dare to argue with him.

He Tingzhou raised his right eyebrow slightly: "You've talked so much, are you full?"

"I'm full." Shuang Xu took a tissue and carefully wiped her lips. The lipstick she applied during the day had long since fallen off, revealing her true rosy color.

He Tingzhou glanced over and said, "When you're full, go and pay the bill."

"I'll pay?" Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly. It's not that she was unwilling, but she just didn't expect it.

Whether she was eating with Shen Yu or Yue Zifeng's group of brothers, no one would ever let her, a younger sister, pay the bill.

"How about I pay?" He Tingzhou said with a clear conscience like a master, "I picked you up from the river, sent you home, and even treated you to noodles. Do you have a crush on me or do I have a crush on you?"

“…”

"No money? If you can't afford it, ask your brother to come."

“…”

Shuang Xu gave up and obediently took out his phone to pay.

When I turned on my phone, I found that there were more than 20 missed calls, including those from the driver Uncle Wang and Fu Yun, as well as Shen Yu.

There are also pinned WeChat messages.

Brother: Where?

Brother: [Xiaojiu, answer the phone]

She didn't know what had happened and was about to call Shen Yu back when Fu Yun called again.

As soon as the call was connected, Fu Yun asked anxiously, "Shuang Xu, where have you been?"

"I went shopping with Miss Lu. Didn't you know that?" She was a little confused about the situation.

"Old Wang said he would pick you up after sending Manman off, but he couldn't find him anymore and couldn't get through on the phone. I was so worried." Fu Yun said in a reproachful tone, "Why didn't you answer the phone, kid?"

She hadn't noticed the time while she was daydreaming on the bridge, and only now realized that three hours had passed since she left the mall.

"I was in a meeting and turned the volume down, and forgot to turn it back on." Shuang Xu rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Your brother is driving out to look for you. Call him back."

Shen Yu's call was connected almost as soon as he dialed. Shuang Xu called out "Brother" but suddenly choked up again, not knowing how to explain to him why he was "missing" tonight.

There was silence on the phone for a moment. Shen Yu spoke in a gentle voice and asked her, "Where did you go?"

"Eat noodles." said Shuang Xu.

"Give me the address."

Shuang Xu reported the address of the noodle shop, and Shen Yu said, "Don't run around, wait for me for a while."

Shuang Xu said "hmm", hung up the phone, and stood there silently for a moment.

There were no other customers in the store at this time, so it was surprisingly quiet.

Remembering that she hadn't paid yet, she picked up her phone again and asked the boss who was about to close the shop: "How much?"

The boss smiled friendly and said, "Mr. He has already paid."

Paid?

Shuang Xu turned his head and found that the original seat was empty. He Tingzhou had left at some point.

When she walked out of the store, He Tingzhou was leaning against the car smoking.

He had broad shoulders and long legs, and his figure was like a clothes rack. His shirt was blown up by the breeze, reflecting the light of the car lights, and he looked unrestrained and elegant.

"My brother is here to pick me up. I'll wait for him here." Shuang Xu thought for a moment and said to him, "Brother Tingzhou, thank you for today."

Although she didn't want to jump into the river, she was in a very bad mood at that time. Someone pulled her back from the cold wind by the river and took her to eat a bowl of steaming hot noodles. Her gratitude was sincere.

In the swirling smoke, He Tingzhou glanced at her and replied in a very "He Tingzhou" way: "Thank you."

He put out his cigarette, stood up and got into the car. Koenigsegg drove away with a roar of arrogance, probably eager to find his romantic encounter.

When Shen Yu arrived here, it was already twenty minutes later.

The boss was very kind, or perhaps he was doing it for He Tingzhou's sake, so he waited until Shen Yu came to pick her up before closing the shop.

This old alley is even quieter at night, and it's not safe for a little girl there.

Shuangxu thanked the boss and got in the car. Shen Yu looked at this simple and remote noodle shop and asked, "Why did you come so far to eat noodles?"

Unable to explain why, she subconsciously concealed He Tingzhou's name: "A friend recommended it to me. The noodles here are delicious."

"Are you here with friends?" Shen Yu asked.

"Yeah. He left first."

The car drove out of the alley and onto the asphalt road. There was silence in the car for a moment. Shen Yu asked casually, "What did you talk about with Manman?"

"We didn't talk about anything." Shuang Xu replied, "I accompanied her to buy a birthday present for her mother."

"What did you buy?" Shen Yu asked.

She paused. She hadn’t visited any stores that afternoon, so she couldn’t come up with a story for a moment: “Coffee…shop.”

Just lie to her and let Lu Manman make up the second half herself.

When they returned to the Shen family's house, the living room was brightly lit. Shen Changyuan had returned from his business trip, and Fu Yun was still awake and waiting for them in the living room.

Seeing them coming back, Fu Yun finally felt relieved. She couldn't help but scold him, "You went out to eat noodles without telling Old Wang. You couldn't find him and you didn't answer the phone, so we had to look for him. You are so grown up, why are you still like a child? You act on your whim without considering the consequences."

Shuang Xu bowed his head and apologized: "I'm sorry, Mom, I made you worry."

Shen Changyuan patted Fu Yun on the shoulder to calm her down: "It's good that the person has been found. Shuang Xu didn't do it on purpose."

Then he said to Shuang Xu: "Your mother is always too concerned. She was worried when she couldn't get in touch with you. She was so anxious at home that she even called your brother back home."

Shuang Xu nodded: "I know."

Fu Yun was still angry: "I'm not blaming you, you should be sensible. I just asked you to accompany Manman to buy a gift. No matter how unhappy you are, you can't disappear..."

Shen Yu interrupted her directly, raised his hand and gently patted Shuang Xu's head: "Go upstairs and have a rest."

Shuang Xu glanced at Fu Yun. Because of Shen Yu's protection, Fu Yun's face became even worse.

Shen Yu said calmly: "Be obedient."