Chapter 9

In the afternoon, Chen Mo returned to school, rushing as much as he could, but he was still ten minutes late. However, the stern old woman, 'Extermination,' was magnanimous and did not hold it against him, which relieved Chen Mo. After class, several classmates, including the fat one, asked him about the luxurious sports car and the woman who had come looking for him at noon.

Chen Mo did not want to explain too much to his classmates about Chen Siyao, as the matter was too unbelievable. So he gave them vague answers, which left the classmates feeling quite disappointed.

There were two classes in the afternoon. The second one was about biopharmaceuticals. After finishing the class, it was already five o'clock. The sun was still high in the sky, and the weather was still quite hot. He walked out of the classroom and went to the supermarket in the canteen to buy a bottle of iced water, planning to eat something simple and then return to the dormitory. At this moment, his phone in his pocket rang.

"Sister Li Li, you made food at home? Oh, I'll be right back!" Sun Li Li's call was to invite Chen Mo for dinner. Chen Mo thought of Sun Li Li's excellent cooking skills, and his stomach started to rumble. "Sister Li Li is really a good girl, beautiful, virtuous, and dignified. Although she works hard outside, she never bows to money. Otherwise, with Sister Li Li's appearance, if she wanted to, she could have become a rich man's mistress long ago. I wonder which man will have the good fortune to marry such a good wife in the future. I envy him!"

Jiangsong City is just a prefecture-level city with a population of about four million. The transportation is convenient. Chen Mo took bus 253 and got off at Xinhua Street. It took less than ten minutes to walk to his home.

Chen Mo's family was average. His parents were once ordinary factory workers, and the house they lived in was a unit house allocated by the factory. It was a good house twenty years ago, but now it was quite old.

"Knock, knock!" Chen Mo knocked on the door opposite. In less than ten seconds, the door opened, and a face with a ladylike hairstyle appeared.

"Uh... Sister Ya Ping, you're here too!" Chen Mo was surprised to see Zhou Yaping, who opened the door. He wondered why she had come as well.

"What? Don't you welcome me?" Zhou Yaping had a stubborn and fiery personality. If anyone went against her wishes, even the emperor would not be spared. Seeing that Chen Mo seemed to treat her like an outsider, her face immediately turned sour.

"Of course I welcome you, Sister Ya Ping is a distinguished guest. It's just that Sister Li Li hasn't had guests for a long time, and this is probably your first time here!" Chen Mo quickly smiled. Although Zhou Yaping had a small handle in his hand, this woman was not easy to deal with. There was no need to quarrel over trivial matters. Moreover, Chen Mo had a plan to use Zhou Yaping's connections to find his missing parents.

"Come in then!" Zhou Yaping glared at Chen Mo and then turned back into the house.

Chen Mo held some fruit, bananas, apples, and a few simple items. He walked into Sister Li Li's house as if it were his own. "Xiao Mo is back, wait a moment, sister has two more dishes to finish, they'll be ready soon!" Sun Li Li's cheerful voice came from the kitchen.

"Okay!" Chen Mo responded, took a fruit plate from the coffee table in the living room, and went to the kitchen to wash the fruit. Seeing that he had bought something, Sun Li Li scolded him a bit, but Chen Mo just smiled and pointed to the living room, indicating that there were guests.

After about ten minutes, Sun Li Li finished the last two dishes. By then, the dining table in the living room was already filled with various dishes: stir-fried pork with country-style vegetables, egg custard, West Lake beef soup, garlic sprouts stir-fried with pork... a total of eight dishes and one soup, all home-style dishes, but very abundant.

"Sister Li Li, you made too much, but I'm willing to eat it all, hmm... it smells delicious!" Chen Mo usually didn't have so many dishes to eat at the school canteen. He couldn't wait to pick up a piece of meat with his hand and put it in his mouth, his face showing satisfaction.

Sun Li Li, however, patted him and laughed, telling him to go wash his hands and then come to eat.

During the meal, the three of them chatted and laughed, discussing light topics. Most of the conversation was between Sun Li Li and Zhou Yaping, talking about cosmetics and clothes. Chen Mo rarely spoke, focusing on the food on the table and eating heartily.

"Xiao Mo, you're about to have your final exams, right?" Chen Mo was just about to put a piece of egg in his mouth when he suddenly heard Sun Li Li speak to him. He chewed a few times, swallowed the food, and then replied, "Not yet, it's only mid-May now. We won't have a break until the end of June at the earliest."

"Right, when I went to your dormitory last time, I remember your school's dormitory was in a residential building near the campus?" Sun Li Li asked.

"Yes!" Chen Mo nodded. "It used to be a faculty building, but now the school's dormitories are insufficient, so we freshmen have to temporarily live there. After the summer break, when we become sophomores, we might move back to the school's dormitories, and the new freshmen will live where we are now."

"Oh, I have something to tell you. Don't stay in the dormitory for a while. I remember you said the school allows students to live at home, right?" Sun Li Li asked.

"Hmm..." Chen Mo was puzzled as to why Sun Li Li didn't want him to stay in the dormitory. He lived there for the convenience of going to school.

"I heard from Ya Ping that the people who fought with you today have some background. They might still cause you trouble. Although your dormitory is close to the school, it's still dangerous. I thought it would be better for you to come home every day. Ya Ping plans to stay with me for a few days. She is very skilled, and if those people come after you again, Sister Ya Ping can help you. It's just that it's a bit of a trouble for Ya Ping. Sigh, it's all because I'm not capable enough!" Sun Li Li felt a bit self-pitying at the end.

"Cough... Chen Mo, since you're Li Li's brother, you're my brother too. For a while, I'll drive you to and from school. If those people dare to cause you trouble again, I promise I won't let them off easily." Zhou Yaping coughed lightly, then gave Chen Mo a meaningful look, and said seriously.

"So it was Zhou Yaping's idea. No wonder Sister Li Li suddenly wanted me to come home. She must have told her something. But what does Zhou Yaping want? Why does she want me to come home and even offer to drive me to and from school? Could she like me? Today has been full of strange events, first Chen Siyao, now Zhou Yaping!" Chen Mo was full of questions. Since his parents went missing, his personality had become more mature, and he thought things through more carefully, unlike his previous rash and carefree self.

Seeing that Chen Mo was only focused on eating and not saying a word, Sun Li Li thought his male pride was hurt because he needed a woman's protection. So she smiled and said, "Xiao Mo, listen to your sister. Come back home for a while. If nothing happens after a while, you can continue to stay at school. You're a man, and I know that. After you graduate, I'll rely on you, my big brother!"

Zhou Yaping looked at Chen Mo enviously. She felt that Sun Li Li treated Chen Mo exceptionally well. If she had a sister like her, she would be happy in her dreams.

"Chen Mo, if you don't want to, it's fine. After all, it's you who will suffer, not me!" Zhou Yaping deliberately emphasized the word 'suffer,' making it sound like she was helping him, but Chen Mo could sense a hint of threat in her words.