Rebirth: The Comeback of the Girl
Chapter 285 - 284: Gu’s Dumplings

Chapter 285: Chapter 284: Gu’s Dumplings

It was just two questions from her brother, coupled with Zhen Yu’s light responses, and Han Jiayang, who was eavesdropping, quickly understood what the two were talking about.

"Was that guy as disastrously defeated as I was?! He must have been looking to save face! Haha..."

While saying this, Han Jiayang felt both a sense of empathy, having been trounced by Zhen Yu in the same way, and a touch of schadenfreude.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yu threw out a cold retort: "...His skills are much better than yours! He could beat you ten times over."

"Uh..." Han Jiayang was like someone whose throat had suddenly been grabbed by fate, quickly losing his fire.

Seeing her brother’s embarrassed look, Han Mingyue kindly tried to smooth things over, "Hey? Is this the dumpling shop? We’ve arrived."

Zhen Yu looked up at the sign: Gu’s Dumplings.

Hmm! Not a bad name! If her mother hadn’t mentioned coming here for lunch, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all!

When had a dumpling shop opened up next to their own gaming arcade?

—

"Let’s go inside and have a look." Saying so, Zhen Yu pushed open the big door of the dumpling shop.

"Welcome!" A sweet female voice greeted her ears as Zhen Yu saw an especially cute girl approaching her.

(Response to the call for extras in Chapter 18: Here we introduce Hui Xian’s cousin, Gu Qing, now online!)

"Here for dumplings? Three people?"

"No." Zhen Yu’s voice softened involuntarily and she stiffly curled the corners of her mouth, which made her look like she smiled briefly, "There are also three adults. Have they arrived?"

"They have! Upstairs!" The girl had a sincere smile on her face, pointing towards the stairs and gesturing for the three to go upstairs to find them.

Zhen Yu nodded at her and led the way to the staircase.

Seeing Zhen Yu’s feigned smile, Han Mingyue couldn’t help but purse his lips, his gaze filled with concern and compassion.

He had long noticed the anomaly in Zhen Yu’s interactions with people! Only today did the events come together in such a way that made him realize just how awkward she had become!

When facing unfamiliar or unacquainted males, she always seemed particularly unsociable, keeping them at a great distance!

Like earlier at the gaming arcade—if he hadn’t intervened, she would have definitely lost her temper!

But when facing unfamiliar females, she would appear much more polite and courteous, and more tolerant as well.

And when it came to younger girls, Zhen Yu would subconsciously try to make herself seem kinder and more approachable.

Like just now with the little waitress at the dumpling shop, she really wanted to put on a smile, but it had turned out rather... unsuccessful.

The longer he stayed by Zhen Yu’s side, the more Han Mingyue could feel this contrast in her behavior towards unfamiliar men and women, this oddity.

He had speculated what could be the cause of her treating strangers differently based on their gender? Ultimately, all his guesses pointed towards her father.

His domestic abuse, his affairs, his abandonment of his wife and children, his preference for sons over daughters...

Han Mingyue silently watched Zhen Yu’s back, secretly vowing in his heart that he must strive to become stronger because he now had someone in his heart that he wanted to protect.

Next year they both would be starting high school, and he absolutely could not allow the incidents of their third year in junior high to repeat themselves in Zhen Yu’s life...

—

"Over here!" Mrs. Zhen called out from her private room with the door ajar, and as soon as she saw her daughter, she couldn’t help but complain, "You three are so slow! We’ve already ordered. Are you not hungry or what?"

Zhen Yu casually pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "The dishes haven’t even been served yet! It means we arrived just in time!"

"Tch!" Mrs. Zhen didn’t care to bicker with her daughter and turned her head to chat with Mrs. Han instead.

Han Mingyue stood up, picked up the teapot from the table, and poured a cup of water for Zhen Yu, saying, "Here, have some water."

After doing this, he sat down next to Zhen Yu and poured a cup for himself and his brother as well.

Zhen Yu only took a few sips, but Han Jiayang was genuinely thirsty.

He picked up the cup to try, and finding the temperature just right, he tilted his head back and drained it in one go, then poured himself another!

"Don’t drink too much water! We’ll have soup with the dumplings soon!" Mrs. Han quickly spoke up to stop her second son from guzzling water, wanting him to save room for lunch.

Just as Han Jiayang was about to retort, a warm and enthusiastic male "Voice" suddenly came from outside the private room, "Here it comes! Here comes the food!"

His attention immediately shifted, and he turned his head to look towards the door.

A not-so-tall man walked into the room, carrying a tray with several cold dishes on it.

Han Jiayang was surprised to see that the man was wearing an apron around his waist! His face was full of smile wrinkles, so it was hard to tell his age!

When Mrs. Zhen saw who it was, she asked in surprise, "Hey? Old Gu? Why are you the one serving dishes? Where’s Little Gu’er?"

"Hi! He’s busy! So I helped bring them up," the man replied with a smile, answering as he deftly arranged the dishes on the table.

"Enjoy your meal! The dumplings will be ready soon!"

----

After the man left the private room and went downstairs, Zhen Yu blinked and asked, "The Gu family? Don’t tell me this refers to the Old Gu Family?"

"Who else could it be referring to if not the Old Gu Family? The Old Zhang Family?!" Mrs. Zhen glanced at her daughter displeasedly, not understanding why she was quibbling about the name of the dumpling restaurant.

Zhen Yu didn’t mind her mother’s expression and continued to inquire, "The ’Little Gu’er’ you mentioned, isn’t that the girl from downstairs?"

"What girl?! She’s older than you!" Mrs. Zhen rolled her eyes, "That’s Uncle Gu’s daughter, Gu Qing. She’s nearly a year older than you!"

Zhen Yu: "..."

After recalling the appearance of the girl downstairs, Zhen Yu had to admit that her mother was absolutely right!

Because although Gu Qing was somewhat petite, she was indeed well-developed.

Yep... Well-developed!!

----

Although Zhen Yu stopped asking, Mrs. Zhen still began to introduce the restaurant to Mr. Han and Mrs. Han, "That Little Gu’er I mentioned earlier is the nephew of the boss! He helps out in the kitchen and also takes orders in the restaurant. The Old Gu who just served us is the owner of this restaurant! He’s also one of the chefs."

Mrs. Han nodded, "Oh, so they are all family! We didn’t see other customers when we came in, probably because we arrived early. Now it’s lunchtime, so people are starting to come in, right?"

"Probably! This dumpling restaurant and my game arcade opened around the same time! We are neighbors after all. When he opened, I brought the network administrator from my arcade to support his business, and through that, we’ve gotten to know each other!"

Mrs. Zhen had barely finished speaking when Mr. Han suddenly interjected, "That’s quite good! Distant relatives are not as helpful as close neighbors. It’s not easy for you to run a business alone with two kids. The more friends you make, the better supported you’ll be when you need help."