Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 379 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (90)

"Okay! Then when you're resting, have your aunt cook something at home." The voice on the other end was as usual.

Lu Liruan didn't know exactly what had happened, but she had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Over the years, the two families have not had frequent contact.

Lu Liruan, who works in the media industry and interacts with many people, has a basic understanding of Aunt Chen's personality.

Things started to get strange the day Aunt Chen went to her shop.

The day she came to my house for dinner, I clearly asked her, since you're such a good cook, why don't you find a job?

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Lu Liruan could tell that Aunt Xia's life had clearly improved considerably over the years.

Aunt Xia didn't look as young as she does now when she was a few years younger. Now she's finally made it through the tough times. She and her husband have worked hard and saved money for so many years, and now they have some savings.

Moreover, one of the children in the family is now earning money at work, and the other is about to go to university. The most difficult time has passed, and the whole family has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

Aunt Xia now seems very relaxed. When facing Jin Shuhe and Lu Liruan, she treats them like her own son and daughter, nagging them, but it makes people feel quite warm.

Even a few years ago, when Aunt Xia's family wasn't in such a good situation, she still sent things to Jin Shuhe and Lu Liruan every year.

Aunt Xia is a kind-hearted, simple woman who has no ulterior motives. She never says that she feels her things are too little or too cheap and that she is ashamed to give them. Every time Lu Liruan receives a gift from her, she can feel that she really treats them like children and thinks of them whenever she has something good to eat.

Uncle Zhao, on the other hand, was very quiet. Although he cared about Jin Shuhe, Lu Liruan mostly heard news about him from Aunt Xia.

Jin Shuhe and Lu Liruan had no idea he was married until the day they arrived...

His family situation was clearly quite dire; Aunt Xia had even secretly told Lu Liruan, "We thought he'd be a bachelor for life, but we never expected him to actually get married..."

She couldn't say anything bad about others, but Lu Liruan could sense that Aunt Xia meant that she felt Aunt Chen was not old and didn't understand why she had chosen him, an old bachelor.

Not only did they find someone, but despite their difficult family circumstances, they also wanted to bring them to live in Pucheng.

Many families in this situation have both husband and wife working together, and once they've earned enough money, they go back to their hometown to build a house and live there.

But Uncle Zhao is not... Lu Liruan doesn't know what he wants to do.

Lu Liruan could sense this from Aunt Chen's words: she brought Aunt Chen to Pucheng, but didn't let her work.

But then she secretly came to me privately... asking if I could help her find a job.

First of all, Lu Liruan believed that the two of them were not familiar enough, and Aunt Chen's personality did not seem like that of someone who would readily ask for help from others.

Moreover... Lu Liruan recalled what she had said that day.

She said that Uncle Zhao was afraid of causing her trouble, so when she brought it up, he wouldn't let her come.

He also told her that she was uneducated and unfamiliar with the big city, so she should stay at home and do laundry and cook, which is why she could only sneak over to him.

But her words were contradictory.

If she were to go out to work, her husband, Uncle Zhao, would definitely know.

This wasn't something that could be kept secret, and it seemed that Uncle Zhao found out about it immediately after Aunt Chen went back, even though he hadn't agreed to find her a job yet.

If, as she herself said, she wanted to keep it a secret from her husband, she could have simply said that he was just coming to deliver something to her; why did she have to reveal everything directly?

But Lu Liruan felt that Aunt Chen might indeed not be highly educated, so her thoughts were not valid.

It seems that all Aunt Chen did was ultimately just to get the photos for herself?

The photos have already been given to Jin Shuhe, but Lu Liruan has already looked at them several times.

There was nothing special about those photos.

Lu Liruan couldn't figure it out herself, but she wasn't one to keep quiet about it.

The reason I won't say is because there's no concrete evidence.

Because I was worried that I was overthinking things, I kept it to myself.

Lu Liruan was already tired of writing scripts...

Lu Liruan was worried that she might have missed something when she spoke, so she typed it out and sent it to Jin Shuhe.

When Jin Shuhe saw Li Ruan's message, he thought to himself that Li Ruan and he were completely in sync; they were thinking the same thing.

"You don't need to handle the cases here anymore," Wu Qidong said to Jin Shuhe that day. "We have enough manpower."

He wanted to say something more, but in the end he just sighed and said, "Be careful."

"Yes."

Jin Shuhe's day off was Thursday, but he didn't tell Lu Liruan.

Before leaving, he called Sister Li Ruan to tell her that he would be done soon.

Lu Liruan was extremely busy at home. She had ordered takeout several times in the middle of the night these past few days, and with plenty of food in her large refrigerator, she could easily stay home and pretend to be dead.

The deadline was fast approaching, and Lu Liruan was so frustrated she was practically bald.

“Okay, it just so happens that you’re busy and I’m busy too. By the time you’re done, I’ll probably be done too, and then we can take a break together!” Lu Liruan said dreamily, taking another sip of the freshly brewed coffee, which made her wince from the heat.

"Well, now that I have it, I want to tell Sister Li Ruan something very important."

Lu Liruan didn't notice anything amiss: "Alright, alright, every word you say is important, you're my little ancestor." She would use different ways to act cute every day.

"You go ahead and do your thing, I'm busy too." Lu Liruan's typing was so fast it was practically sparking.

"Ah."

Jin Shuhe arrived at Zhao Lizhu's house around four o'clock in the afternoon, when it was getting slightly dark.

This was his first time here, whether it was when Zhao Lizhu was alone in Pucheng before, or after he returned to Pucheng after getting married.

The weather is gloomy today. The weather in Pucheng is a bit strange this year. In previous years, it was still freezing cold at this time, but this year, the temperature has already climbed above zero.

The ice melts during the day but doesn't freeze properly at night. If it weren't for the city's excellent sanitation, the streets would be in complete chaos.

Zhao Lizhu's current residence is still in a very remote area, with a street in front of him that hasn't even been paved with asphalt yet.

Jin Shuhe was wearing black casual pants and walked carefully so as not to get them dirty.

Zhao Lizhu's home is on the third floor.

The corridor smelled of damp, musty dust from years of neglect; the handrails, with their paint peeling off in patches, were covered in a thick layer of grime.

Their door wasn't even decorated with Spring Festival couplets; it was just covered in small advertisements.

"Dong dong dong."

Jin Shuhe knocked on the door with his fingers.

"Dong dong dong."

"Coming—" came Aunt Chen's voice from inside.

When she opened the door, she glanced up at Jin Shuhe's face, then immediately looked down, turned to the side, and warmly welcomed him inside: "Xiaohe's here! Come, come, come in!"

She was wearing a thick red plaid shirt that had faded a bit from washing, along with sleeves and an apron, and looked like she had just come out of the kitchen.

Jin Shuhe nodded to her, changed his shoes, and looked into the house.

The room is only about 40 square meters, with one bedroom and one living room. The kitchen and the small living room are connected, and the room is filled with the smell of cooking oil.

The whole house was dark and gloomy, with almost no decoration. Even the floor wasn't tiled; it was just old-fashioned cement.

"Xiao He is here."

Zhao Lizhu's voice came from the bedroom as he came out.

"Uncle Zhao."

"You're here, why did you bring anything?" Zhao Lizhu looked at the fruit and milk that Jin Shuhe had brought.

"I'm a junior, how can I come to my elders' house empty-handed?" Jin Shuhe smiled and said, "I'll go help Aunt Chen."

"No need! You're a guest, there's no reason for you to lay a hand on me!" Zhao Lizhu pulled him to sit down on the hard wooden sofa.

"It's alright, I don't think Aunt Chen is busy enough." Jin Shuhe took off her coat, said a few words to Zhao Lizhu, and then got up and walked towards the kitchen.

He didn't turn around to look at Zhao Lizhu's gaze as he watched his back.

"Auntie, how do you cut this?" Jin Shuhe washed her hands and rolled up her sleeves.

"Ah...you're like this..."

Aunt Chen seemed startled and tried to block Jin Shuhe's movements. When she turned around, she met Zhao Lizhu's gaze, and the shovel in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

Jin Shuhe bent down to help her pick it up and rinsed it under the water: "I'll cook it, Aunt Chen."

Jin Shuhe seemed oblivious to everything.

But Aunt Chen, who was standing next to him, seemed to have lost her soul. She was slicing potatoes into shreds, but she did it all in a mess, with some cuts being too thick and others too thin. When she realized she was going to fix the cuts, the sharp blade cut her finger, and blood gushed out immediately.

She couldn't help but let out a cry of "Ah—"

"Auntie, quickly rinse it with water." Jin Shuhe was also startled. When she looked over, a piece of shredded potato had been stained red with blood, spreading out on the wooden cutting board full of knife marks.

Hearing the noise, Zhao Lizhu got up and walked over. After seeing what had happened, he frowned and scolded impatiently, "What are you doing! You unlucky bastard!"

"Uncle Zhao! Auntie didn't mean it. Do you have any Band-Aids at home?" Jin Shuhe subtly stepped aside, standing in front of Aunt Chen to block the fear that Aunt Chen couldn't hide in her eyes.

Zhao Lizhu realized he had lost his composure. He put his hands behind his back and said, "There should be some. I'll go look for it." He then slowly walked across the living room toward the bedroom.

“Auntie…” Jin Shuhe gently supported her arm.

Aunt Chen glanced at Jin Shuhe again with a sorrowful expression, but said nothing. It was as if she had lost her tongue today; apart from the words Jin Shuhe uttered when he entered, she had become increasingly silent.

Jin Shuhe didn't say much.

Zhao Lizhu returned with the band-aids, his gaze casually sweeping over the two people. Seeing that Aunt Chen was not making a sound, he relaxed slightly.

Finally, with Jin Shuhe's help, the six dishes were served.

Two of the dishes didn't look very appetizing, but Zhao Lizhu seemed not to notice. He smiled and said to Jin Shuhe, "Eat more today. You've been quite busy lately, haven't you? You look thinner!"

"It's alright, I'm almost done with the work, I'll have some free time in a few days." Jin Shuhe tasted the green pepper and potato shreds that he had cut and stir-fried himself.

"Auntie, you should eat too," Jin Shuhe said with concern.

"Okay, I'm eating."

Zhao Lizhu chatted with Jin Shuhe casually.

"Xiao He, you said you found your aunt a job in the school cafeteria?"

“Yes, my colleague’s family runs a school cafeteria contracting business. They said that as long as Aunt Chen gets her health certificate before the start of the school year, she can go straight to work when the students arrive.” Jin Shuhe nodded.

"This is such a burden to you. I used to cause your parents trouble, and now that you've grown up, I'm causing you more trouble," Zhao Lizhu sighed. "After all these years, I still don't have any ability at all!"

"Uncle Zhao, what are you saying? You and my parents are from the same place. After my parents passed away, you always cared about me. We've known each other for so many years, it's too formal for you to say that." Jin Shuhe said softly, with a smile on her face, but her eyes were cold as she lowered her head to pick up some food.

"We all came from the same place back then, so it's only right that we look out for each other."

After a while, Jin Shuhe suddenly brought it up: "Oh right, I also have to thank Auntie for giving me my mother's photos. I don't have any of those photos."

Aunt Chen nodded in response.

“I was packing up my things when I went back to my hometown to move to Pucheng, and I found these things. Your aunt is very thoughtful, and she said she'd give them to you as a keepsake…”

"Yes, my mother didn't leave me much. When I was in high school, Aunt Chun remembered and gave me my mother's wedding ring."

The atmosphere in the room froze for a moment after Jin Shuhe said this, but Jin Shuhe seemed not to notice and continued softly, "I thought it was lost a long time ago, or that my dad took it to exchange for money."

“Your father… has been somewhat irresponsible.” After a long pause, Zhao Lizhu said calmly.

"Uncle, were you and my dad good friends back then? What was my dad like when he was young? When I went back to my hometown, I asked the people who were still in the village, but they all said that my dad had been gone for too many years, and they only remembered things about him and my mom when they were very young..." Jin Shuhe said with a melancholy tone.

"When did you go back?" Zhao Lizhu suddenly asked in a very harsh tone.

“It was quite a while ago. Sister Li Ruan accompanied me back home and said I should also sweep my grandparents’ graves. Didn’t Sister Li Ruan mention this to you?” Jin Shuhe raised an eyebrow.

"Ah... why is Xiao Lu telling me all this? Maybe he's already told Xia." He suddenly mentioned Aunt Xia.

"Maybe," Jin Shuhe said ambiguously.

"Uncle Zhao, what have you been up to lately?" Jin Shuhe suddenly changed the subject.

"It's the same old story, just doing odd jobs on construction sites. There's not much work during the Spring Festival. I'm just hoping the weather will warm up soon," Zhao Lizhu sighed.

"You're not young anymore, why don't you do something else?"

"What else can I do in my life besides manual labor?" He shook his head.

"Uncle Zhao, what do you think my parents would be doing if they were alive today?"

Zhao Lizhu gave him a deep look but said nothing.

After a while, he suddenly said, "We're out of wine at home, I'll go downstairs and buy some."

Jin Shuhe stood up and said, "I'll go with you."

Aunt Chen, who was under the table, suddenly grabbed Jin Shuhe's pants. She gripped them so tightly that Jin Shuhe could feel her trembling.

Jin Shuhe's expression remained unchanged as he reached for his clothes.

“…Okay,” Zhao Lizhu said finally, and he and Jin Shuhe went out together.