Grocery Store No.514

Jiamei villa area is located in the east of Huacheng, which is a well-known wealthy area.
Many famous people in Huacheng have real estate there.

Yan Yu drove Ling Hua’an and slowly passed the gate of Jiamei Villa.
It wasn’t because there were no security guards at the door, but because Yan Yu’s family lived here.
Arriving at the door of Shen Xin’s house, Yan Yu parked the car and said, “Hua’an, you wait here.
I’ll go over there.”

Ling Hua’an nodded and looked at Wang Lei who was beside him, “Go ahead, be careful not to be discovered.
”

Wang Lei said with a smile, “Laoban can rest assured, I promise to complete the task.”

Yan Yu and Wang Lei got out of the car one after another, they walked to Shen Xin’s house and connected to the video intercom on the door.

“Who are you?” A woman in her thirties appeared on the screen.

Yan Yu answered lightly, “I’m Shen Xin’s friend.
I came here to meet her.”

The woman hesitated for a moment and said, “Sorry, Miss Shen is not at home.”

Yan Yu frowned, “not home? But I made an appointment to meet her today.”

“Miss Shen is really not at home.
She hasn’t come back for several days.”

“When did she leave the house? Did she say where she goes?”

“Miss Shen left on the 1st, a man came to pick her up.
She said she was going to have a maternity check-up, but she never came back after that.” The woman sighed with pity on her face.

“Did you see what that man looked like?”

“No, it was far away and he was wearing a mask.
So I couldn’t see what he looked like.”

“Did you see his license plate number?” 

“I only remember two numbers.
It was 6 and 8, the other is not clear.”

“How about the color, brand, and the style of that car?”

“It’s a black car, and I don’t know what brand it is.
Who are you, why are you asking so much?” Yan Yu’s consecutive questions made the woman suspicious.

“I’m Shen Xin’s friend, you don’t need to be nervous.
If she comes back, please ask her to give me a call.”

 Once again a hesitant look appeared on the woman’s face and she said, “Yes, I will pass it on when she comes back.

Yan Yu hung up the intercom video.
He turned around and walked back to the car.
While Wang Lei went in through the door into Shen Xin’s house when they were talking before.

“Shen Xin was picked up by a man on the 1st.
She said she went to a maternity check-up.
And the man drove a black car.”

“Is there anything else? ”

“The housekeeper  knows that Shen Xin has died and has become very guarded, that’s all I can ask.”

Ling Hua’an nodded, “Okay, send me back.”

“Hua’an, rest at my house today.” There was a vague expectation in Yan Yu’s tone.

“No, I won’t be able to sleep in a different environment.”

Disappointment flashed in Yan Yu’s eyes, “okay, then I’ll send you back.”

Aware of Yan Yu’s emotions, Ling Hua’an sighed in his heart and said, “Let’s go to your house to have a meal.
I’m hungry.”

Yan Yu felt a burst of joy in his heart, “Okay, then what do you want to eat, I’ll make it for you.”

“Century egg and pork congee, I haven’t eaten it for a long time.
”

The villa where Yan Yu’s family lived was not far from Shen Xin’s house, only two kilometers away.
After driving the car into his garage, Yan Yu got out of the car while protecting Ling Hua’an.

Although the house is large, there are only two people who stay there.
Yan Yu and his housekeeper.
The housekeeper is surnamed Zhang and Yan Yu calls her Zhang-jie.
She has been working there since his grandfather was alive.

Seeing Yan Yu coming back, Sister Zhang hurriedly greeted him, “Xiaoyu, why are you back? Oh, it turns out that Mr.
Ling is also here.”

Sister Zhang had met Ling Hua’an before, so it was not surprising that she recognized him.
Ling Hua’an smiled politely and said, “Zhang-jie, it’s been a long time.”

Sister Zhang smiled warmly, “It’s indeed been a long time, Mr.
Ling please come in.”

Yan Yu came to the living room with Ling Hua’an and sat down.
He looked at Sister Zhang and said, “Zhang-jie, go take a rest.
Leave it to me here.”

Sister Zhang was stunned, then smiled, “Okay, I just feel a little sleepy.
So I’ll go back to my room to take a nap.”

Sister Zhang greeted Ling Hua’an before going to her room.
Yan Yu took out a cup of milk from the refrigerator and poured it out.
He put it in the microwave to heat it up and then handed it to Ling Hua’an saying,  “It’s not good to drink tea on an empty stomach.
Drink some milk first.
I will make breakfast.”

Ling Hua’an nodded and said, “Okay, you can do your own thing.
Don’t worry about me.”

“The temperature of the milk is just right, drink it quickly.” Yan Yu did not forget to remind him.

Ling Hua’an was helpless for a while, “okay.
I will drink it.”

The bell in his pocket vibrated, and Shen Xin’s voice came into his ear.
She faintly said, “I really envy you.”

“Envious of me?” Ling Hua’an finished the milk in his cup in one gulp and asked, “Envy me for what?”

“There are so many people who love you.” Shen Xin’s tone was full of undisguised envy.

“Everyone has their own pain, you just didn’t see it.” Ling Hua’an groped to put the cup on the table.
Then he said, “however, I’m really lucky to have met them.”

After a moment of silence, Shen Xin couldn’t help but ask, “Are you having a bad time too?” 

Ling Hua’an smiled and said, “As long as I’m still alive, even if I’m suffering… It’s fine.”

“Although I don’t have any previous memories, I always feel very sad in my heart.
Later, when I heard her talk about my situation, I realized where that sadness came from.” Shen Xin paused for a while,  and said with a choked voice, “Why do you think they gave birth to me if they have no time for me?”

Ling Hua’an was silent for a while, then said, “My father died in a car accident when I was five and my mother remarried when I was eight.
When I was nine, she gave birth to another son, and her heart was set on my brother.
I was like an outsider in that family.
Later, there was a problem with my eyes, and they ignored me even more.
Then when I turned eighteen, I left the house and lived alone.
It has been ten years now.
Except for my dear brother, I’m afraid they don’t even know where I live.”

Shen Xin laughed at herself and said, “Compared to you, I’m quite lucky.
At least I have good ears and eyesight.”

“Although I am blind in my eyes, I am not blind in my heart.
I do not feel that I am flawed, and I have never felt inferior to myself.
Compared with those who have been blinded, I can see more clearly.”

Shen Xin was stunned and said with a bitter smile, “I was probably the person who got blinded that comes from your mouth right? Otherwise, how would I end up like this.”

Ling Hua’an sighed, “Your life now is over.
When you find out the truth and dispel your grievances, you can be reincarnated.
Then it will be a new beginning, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Thank you.” Shen Xin’s ‘thank you’ was much more sincere than before.

“You’re welcome, I’m not helping you for free.”

“You are really…” Shen Xin chuckled and said, “I finally understand why they love you so much.”

Half an hour later, the food was served on the table.
Two bowls of century egg and pork congee, a few of youtiao, and a small plate of pickles.
A very simple breakfast, but the taste was much more delicious than those sold outside.

“How does it taste?” Yan Yu looked at Ling Hua’an with expectation.

“Very good.
Yan Yu, if you open a restaurant and become a chef, you will definitely be popular.”

“I only make it for you.” Yan Yu’s tone was very light, and casual almost sounding like a slip of tongue.

Ling Hua’an paused, he put down his spoon on the table and he looked at Yan Yu, “Yan Yu, you treat me…”

“Eat or it will get cold in a while.” Yan Yu interrupted Ling Hua’an.
“Hua’an, you don’t have to feel any burden.
What I did was my own willingness.”

Speaking of this, Yan Yu even pointed out his thoughts, but Ling Hua’an still did not understand anything.
He sighed, “Yan Yu, I’ll do the investigation myself in the future…”

Yan Yu looked at Ling Hua’an sadly, “Hua’an, even you don’t want me anymore?”

“I didn’t mean that.” Ling Hua’an was silent for a while and said, “I think you should have understood my thoughts these days.
I like Jiang Chengyan.
he also has a good feeling about me. We almost pierced the window paper1.  Yan Yu, I sincerely treat you as a friend.
Your position in my heart is as important as Lu Hao, but I can’t give you what you want.
I don’t want you to waste your time.”

“I know that you like Jiang Chengyan, and I have no intention to compete with him.
When I found out that you liked him, I had already given up.
Today, I just wanted to put an end to my first feeling.”
Yan Yu suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and said as calmly as possible.
“Hua’an, my parents died early and my grandfather left me.
I’m the only one left in such a big family.
You gave me warmth and gave me the motivation to live again.
As we spend more and more time together, eventually I realized that I like you…”

“Yan Yu…”

“Hua’an, listen to what I have to say.” Yan Yu interrupted him again,  for the first time he had the courage to tell him what he really felt in his heart, “I know it’s too late to say this, I just want to say what I really feel in my heart I don’t want my first confession to end so soundlessly.”

“Hua’an, I like you.
Since the night you hugged and comforted me, until now…I have liked you for 1035 days.
I miss you every day, and I wish I would never leave you even for a moment, but I am afraid that you will find out.
So I carefully keep this secret and try to be close to you like a friend.
I think that as long as time goes by, I will have the courage to confess to you one day.
But I didn’t expect that before I confessed, you liked someone else.”

Looking at Ling Hua’an, Yan Yu was silent for a long time.
He quietly wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, “Hua’an, I gave up.
I decided to give up before I opened my mouth.
But you have to give me some time.
I will try my best to turn this feeling into friendship, family, everything is fine, as long as… as long as you don’t cast me away, okay?”

Although Yan Yu kept covering it up, Ling Hua’an, who had always been keen, still noticed that his emotions were not right.
He let out a long sigh in his heart and said, “okay.”

Yan Yu was stunned for a moment, and tears flowed out of his eyes instantly.
He knew that the word ‘okay’ meant that his relationship that had not yet begun was over.
However, as long as he could stay beside Ling Hua’an and no longer feel the despair that seemed to be the only one left in the world, he should be grateful for his own despair.
He opened his mouth and tried for a long time before calming down the complex emotions in his heart and said, “Okay.

Ling Hua’an felt Yan Yu’s suppressed emotions,  so he stood up and came to Yan Yu’s side.
Rubbed his hair like a brother and said, “If you want to cry, just cry.
There is no need to hide it in front of me.
”

Yan Yu hesitated to hug Ling Hua’an.
Seeing that he had no objection, his arms tightened and cried in pain.

~~~

The author has something to say:

In fact, I quite like the character of Yanyu, Ai.

Footnotes

meaning when two people loved each other, but are too shy to tell each other.
That’s like there is a thin piece of paper hiding them from each other.
Once it is poked, they can see each other.
That is, they know how the other person feels. ↺