At five o'clock in the afternoon, while the noodle shop hadn't opened for business yet, Su Zhu took the crucian carp that Zhu Chunhua, the liquor store owner, had brought over in the morning and braised it. She also made a dish of stir-fried greens.
Because crucian carp had many tiny bones, Su Zhu didn't dare let Chenchen eat it alone. She carefully picked out the bones one by one and fed the meat to Chenchen.
"Eat slowly. Spit out the bones if you feel them."
"Here, have some greens too. Balanced nutrition will help you grow taller!"
"Chenchen is such a good girl. After dinner, go play on your own for a bit. In a few days, Mommy will find time to take you out to have some fun."
"Really?" Chenchen asked in surprise, her little face lighting up with joy.
"Of course it's true. Mommy will take you to the aquarium to see the big sharks!"
"Yes! We're going to see big sharks!" Chenchen clapped her hands in excitement.
Suddenly, she asked, "Mommy, can we take Uncle Ouyang Yunjian with us?"
"Huh?"
Su Zhu smiled and replied, "Uncle Ouyang Yunjian has to work, sweetie. He probably won't have time."
"But you should ask him! If you don't ask, how would you know if he's free or not? Hurry, ask him!" Chenchen urged Su Zhu.
"I... Uncle Ouyang Yunjian is probably working right now. It wouldn't be nice to bother him. Be good, Chenchen, we'll ask him tomorrow, okay?"
"Mommy, you're lying. It's already five o'clock—he's off work by now."
"Oh, right! Uncle Ouyang Yunjian promised me yesterday that he would come to our house for noodles tonight!" Chenchen suddenly remembered his promise.
"Mommy, give me your phone. I'll send him a message. He promised me!"
Su Zhu couldn't resist her daughter's pleading and handed over her phone.
At that moment, in the Hematology Department office on the eighth floor of Zhonghai First Hospital, Ouyang Yunjian sat at his desk, lost in thought.
He didn't know whether he should go see Chenchen or not.
After all, their relationship was just doctor and patient. Suddenly showing up at her home might seem too forward.
But if he didn't go, he worried Chenchen would be disappointed—after all, he had promised.
Most importantly, he really missed Chenchen.
Just as he was struggling with indecision, his phone rang with a voice call request.
"Su Zhu?"
"Chenchen?"
Seeing it was from Su Zhu, Ouyang Yunjian was briefly stunned, then realized it was probably Chenchen who had sent the request.
Whenever Su Zhu contacted him, it was usually through a call or a message—only Chenchen would use voice or video calls.
Staring at the screen, he smiled knowingly and answered the call.
"Uncle Ouyang Yunjian." The moment the call connected, Chenchen's soft, sweet voice came through.
"Hey there." For some reason, hearing Chenchen's voice lifted Ouyang Yunjian's mood instantly.
"Uncle Ouyang Yunjian, are you off work yet?"
"Yes, I just got off work."
"Then when are you coming over?"
"Chenchen... how about another day?" Ouyang Yunjian tested gently.
Hearing this, Chenchen's voice turned downcast, on the verge of tears. "Uncle Ouyang Yunjian, I miss you..."
"Alright, alright, I'll come! I'll come!" Ouyang Yunjian's heart softened instantly.
He realized that somehow, he had completely lost the ability to resist Chenchen's requests.
"Yay! Uncle Ouyang Yunjian is coming! Mommy, Uncle Ouyang Yunjian said he's coming! Send him our address!"
"You little rascal, look how happy you are!" Su Zhu took the phone, chatted briefly with Ouyang Yunjian, then sent him their location.
Meanwhile, on the east end of the street, inside the Zhu family's liquor store, business was slow. Only Zhu Chunhua and his wife Wang Xiumei were in the shop.
Wang Xiumei, in her early forties, wore a leopard-print dress and had wavy red-dyed hair. Her lips were painted a bold red.
Zhu Chunhua was wiping down the counter with a rag while Wang Xiumei sat in a chair, munching on a bunch of grapes.
"Wife, let's not cook tonight. How about we go to Su Zhu's place for noodles? You have no idea how good they are. I almost bit my tongue off!" Zhu Chunhua said, trying to butter her up—his wife was notorious on this street.
"Listen to yourself," Wang Xiumei scoffed, giving him a disdainful look. "A bowl of noodles that good? What, does it taste like a full imperial banquet? I'm not going."
"You really don't want to go? If you won't go, I'll go by myself."
"I'm really going, okay?"
"Don't worry, I'll come straight home after I eat. No detours!"
"You better not!" Wang Xiumei sneered. "Zhu Chunhua, I swear, if you flirt with that vixen Chen Shufen from the toy store again, I'll castrate you myself!"
Zhu Chunhua's legs clenched involuntarily as he forced a smile. "Wife, I wouldn't dare. Really, there's nothing going on between me and her—you're imagining things."
"You'd better be telling the truth. If I find any proof, I'll not only make you a eunuch, I'll kick you out with nothing. Just wait and see what Wang Xiumei can do!"
"I won't—I definitely won't." Beads of sweat started forming on Zhu Chunhua's forehead. He knew his wife meant every word.
Wang Xiumei shot him a fierce glare, slammed the grapes onto the table, and stormed, "Oh, and Zhu Chunhua, where the hell did those forty yuan go from the register yesterday?"
Zhu Chunhua shrank back. "I don't know! We're short forty yuan? That's impossible!"
"Don't you dare play dumb. I can tell what you're up to with just one look. I've let some things slide, but now you're pushing your luck?"
Hearing that, Zhu Chunhua's guilt surfaced. He cautiously asked, "Wait... what else are you letting slide? Did I do something? I told you this morning I got your approval before bringing the crucian carp to Su Zhu's place…"
"I'm asking you—last year when the neighbors organized that fundraiser for Chenchen, did you donate a thousand yuan behind my back?"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。