Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots
Chapter 574: Chen Zhu Returns (4)_1

Chapter 574: Chapter 574: Chen Zhu Returns (4)_1

Not only did Lin Yuan recognize him, but many of the people eating across the street also did, pointing at him and saying, "Isn’t that Chen Zhu from Old man Chen’s house?"

"Yes, yes, oh my, dressed like this, I almost didn’t recognize him!"

"Hey, Zhu Zi, did you become the top scholar or something? Look at your clothes, wow, so nice, and that carriage, you must have become a high official, right?"

Everyone was saying their piece, but Chen Zhu acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, merely nodding to them without speaking. However, he was quite puzzled. He had only been gone for a few months, so how did the dilapidated house next door turn into a high-roofed one with red tiles? Compared to that large house, his own shabby little hut seemed quite pitiful, no wonder Wang Qiaoxin looked so displeased.

Chen Zhu glanced enviously at that house, only then noticing Lin Yuan standing at the doorway. Although her clothes were no longer patched and threadbare and her cheeks were cleaner, Lin Yuan still looked the same, only a bit whiter and plumper, seeming even more beautiful.

Seeing Chen Zhu examining her, Lin Yuan smiled lightly and greeted him, "You’re back?"

Chen Zhu’s face showed a moment of embarrassment, and he forced a laugh while tugging at the corner of his lips, "Ah, yes, I’m back."

"Then you should go home quickly, Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen talk about you every day."

Chen Zhu’s face grew even more embarrassed. He coughed twice and nodded. Turning his head, he eyed the tables and variety of dishes set up from Lin Yuan’s house to his own doorstep with some confusion, "Is this... is your family celebrating something?"

At this, Lin Yuan’s smile deepened and her tone lightened playfully with a hint of cheekiness, "Yes, my mother gave birth to a little brother for me, and today we’re holding his full-month celebration. Since you’re back, come join us for the meal later."

Chen Zhu was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Lady Liu, who only knew how to produce losses, would actually be able to give birth to a son, and that he hadn’t been ’hexed to death’ by Lin Yuan, the Little Disaster Star—it truly was a miracle!

Though he thought so, his face betrayed none of his thoughts as he nodded, then shook his head, "No, no, I have to leave soon."

Just as he was about to say more, Wang Qiaoxin, who had been quietly observing from the side, suddenly tugged at his sleeve. The tone in her voice clearly carried hostility and dissatisfaction towards Lin Yuan, "Who is she?"

Chen Zhu cleared his throat awkwardly, casting a complicated glance at Lin Yuan before turning to Wang Qiaoxin with a pleasing smile, "A neighbor’s, a younger sister."

Wang Qiaoxin haughtily lifted her chin, eyeing Lin Yuan slantingly, and drew out her voice purposefully, "Oh, so she’s the sister."

Lin Yuan was amused by her aggressive tone and shook her head without saying anything.

However, this simple gesture in the eyes of Wang Qiaoxin became an affront—this village girl dared to look down on her!

Wang Qiaoxin’s eyes narrowed, and she inwardly sneered, seemingly declaring sovereignty as she tightly grasped Chen Zhu’s hand and raised her eyebrows at Lin Yuan.

Not just Lin Yuan, but even Xia Zheng was rendered speechless by the girl’s possessiveness. He laid a hand on Lin Yuan’s shoulder and naturally took her hand, whispering something in her ear. Lin Yuan smiled and responded softly in turn.

Their intimate and natural interaction naturally took Wang Qiaoxin by surprise, and Chen Zhu’s eyes widened in disbelief as he watched their clasped hands, feeling as though something inside him had been painfully pricked.

Lan Hua, who followed out later, recognized Chen Zhu at a glance, and upon seeing the woman standing beside him, the scorn on her lips flashed away momentarily. She was about to speak when Lin Yuan pulled her back and shook her head at her.

Lan Hua glanced at Xia Zheng, then back at Lin Yuan, swallowing the words she was about to utter, but she didn’t let Chen Zhu off; she gave him a disdainful look.

The villagers had not been aware of the matter between Chen Zhu and Lin Yuan, if not for the day Lin Jianling, with his two sons, went to Lin Yuan’s house to catch an adulterer, bringing Chen Zhu’s parents along, it’s likely nobody would have imagined that the two shared such a deep connection.

But now, seeing that Lin Yuan had the outstanding Xia Zheng by her side, and Chen Zhu had brought back a woman too beautiful for words, it seemed—as Lan Hua had said that day—they truly didn’t have any relation at all.

Under the various speculative and curious eyes of the villagers, Chen Zhu felt a bout of cowardice and quickly took Wang Qiaoxin’s hand to push open the door and go home.

But the front door, usually left unlocked, was bolted from the inside today. He pushed several times but couldn’t open it, so he had no choice but to start knocking loudly on the door.

Aunt Chen responded with a sound and came over to open the door with small, quick steps. But Old man Chen’s scolding was heard first, "All this fuss over just wanting one of your two taels of silver, still going on and on! Knock knock knock, even bolting the door doesn’t help! Truly a bunch of botherations!"

Hearing Old Chen’s scolding, Chen Zhu’s face flushed with a mix of shame and anger.

Wang Qiaoxin was taken aback, unsure who the person speaking inside was, and looked at Chen Zhu in confusion, "Who is that, talking about?"

Chen Zhu awkwardly coughed, "Maybe, maybe it’s someone else. Don’t take it to heart. My dad, he—he’s got a bit of a temper."

In an effort to show her magnanimity, Wang Qiaoxin smiled gently and shook her head, though internally she was very displeased with this future father-in-law she was yet to meet, who had started scolding before even seeing her.