Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 103: Chapter 100: Acknowledging Ancestry and Returning to the Clan

Cao Guangrong paid no mind to whether Chen Xing had accepted the situation, warmly taking her hand and pulling her in the direction of Line 2.

Chen Xing: "..."

’Am I about to be officially welcomed back into the family?’

Chen Xing didn’t shake off the man who had suddenly appeared, but she didn’t move from her spot either.

Just as Cao Guangrong thought she was about to refuse, she called out to one of Vice General Du’s Superpower Users, who was standing to the side, gaping at her.

Although she didn’t know his name, she remembered their faces. "Please go over to XX Station and tell Vice General Du’s parents that he’s too busy to get away. He’ll go see them as soon as he’s finished!"

The Superpower User: "...O-Okay!" He nodded blankly.

After Chen Xing’s group was out of sight, he finally snapped out of his daze and immediately ran to the subway station she had mentioned.

The earth-shattering news needed to be reported to Vice General Du, but Deputy Du’s parents were also important.

This time, Chen Xing didn’t struggle and just followed along obediently.

The whole situation felt surreal to her. Even if it turned out they had the wrong person, she wouldn’t be particularly upset.

’With things like DNA tests, she wasn’t afraid of being wrongly claimed as someone’s daughter.’

After pushing through endless crowds for over two hours, Cao Guangrong finally brought Chen Xing before his family. "Mom, Dad... come look! I found Xuexue! Our Xuexue... Yu Lan... We found our daughter!" His voice cracked, rising in pitch.

The woman who was supposedly her mother was nearly fifty, but she had taken excellent care of herself and looked to be in her early forties.

She had delicate features. While she lacked the imposing air of a great family matriarch, she possessed a gentle, refined beauty.

When she saw Chen Xing, her expression shifted from astonishment to utter disbelief...

’To Chen Xing, it was like watching Cao Guangrong’s reaction all over again.’

"Xuexue... Are you really my baby girl, Xuexue?" Mrs. Cao immediately burst into tears, hugging Chen Xing and looking her over again and again.

Chen Xing tried to awkwardly pull away, but the woman held on incredibly tight, as if afraid she would disappear.

She then looked at the two elderly people, who were nearly eighty. They had kind, friendly faces and were utterly astonished.

"Dad... you haven’t been scammed, have you? Xuexue has been missing for eighteen years. How can you be so sure she’s really Xuexue?" Cao Nan said, looking at Chen Xing with suspicion.

Chen Xing’s gaze sharpened.

’They must really be looking for their daughter,’ she thought. ’They weren’t trying to approach me on purpose, and they’re not people from the Research Institute.’

The moment Cao Guangrong had appeared and claimed her as his daughter, Chen Xing had assumed it was some scheme by the Research Institute.

’Otherwise, in this vast sea of people, how could she have run into her family by such pure coincidence?’

Now, Cao Nan’s words had planted an unexpected seed of trust in her suspicious mind.

’That suspicious look on Cao Nan’s face didn’t seem like an act at all.’

"How could I be mistaken about my own daughter?" Cao Guangrong glared at his son. "Yu Lan, you tell him. Is she our daughter, Xuexue, or not?"

Yu Lan was already sobbing too hard to speak; she just nodded vigorously.

"Are you really my sister, Cao Xuan?" Cao Nan’s expression belatedly softened.

Chen Xing didn’t answer, merely staring back at him coldly.

’Never mind this newfound father—even seeing her supposed mother, brother, and grandparents all together, she felt no trace of affection or familiarity.’

’This was not a good feeling.’

’Or... maybe she was just born emotionally detached?’

Her grandparents also stepped forward warmly, tears streaming down their elderly faces. "As long as she’s back, that’s all that matters... As long as she’s back..."

Once everyone had calmed down a little, Cao Nan pulled his wife over for an introduction. "This is my wife, your sister-in-law!"

"Xuexue... hello!" his wife, Li Hongfei, said with great warmth. "I’ve heard your big brother talk about you all the time!"

’That was laying it on a bit thick.’

’We weren’t really family, after all.’

Chen Xing remained silent, her face an expressionless mask that betrayed no emotion.

Li Hongfei looked slightly awkward but didn’t show any sign of displeasure.

Seeing that Chen Xing wasn’t speaking, her grandparents asked their son worriedly, "Don’t tell us something happened to Xuexue... Can she not speak?"

"Dad, don’t worry, she was just talking to me a moment ago!" Cao Guangrong’s excitement hadn’t subsided in the slightest. "She’s probably just in shock. Heck, never mind a young girl like her, even I’m still in a daze. It all feels so surreal. Honey, what about you? Finding our daughter so suddenly... it doesn’t feel real at all!"

Mrs. Cao nodded again, tears still streaking her face as she clutched Chen Xing’s wrist, refusing to let go.

"Dad, now that we’ve found Xuexue, let’s not just stand here packed in the crowd!" Cao Nan suggested. "I just saw Uncle Li and his family get called through. We should push our way to the front; it should be our turn soon!"

"Right, right! Look at me, I got so excited I completely forgot!" Cao Guangrong immediately began leading his family forward through the crowd, carefully shielding Chen Xing in front of him.

The rest of the family immediately followed Cao Guangrong’s lead, forming a protective circle around Chen Xing.

’It really looked like they were treating her as someone precious.’

Chen Xing scoffed internally.

’Even if their familial bond was so strong that they could recognize her on sight, who finds someone after eighteen years and just believes she’s their daughter without even doing a DNA test?’

’This was beyond careless.’

Chen Xing said nothing more, lost in her own chaotic thoughts as she followed the family to the entrance.

It was crowded and chaotic, and the noise was enough to make one’s head throb.

This was especially true for Chen Xing, whose sensitive hearing made her dread loud noises.

They had only just reached the front when an officer in a military uniform, holding a list, shouted, "Cao Guangrong... Where is Cao Guangrong?"

After several shouts, Cao Guangrong finally heard his name. He had to raise his hand and jump a few times before the officer spotted him.

"The Cao Guangrong family may enter the Duole Safety Zone."

As soon as he heard this, Cao Guangrong began urging his family to push forward.

The crowd around them looked on with envy and jealousy.

Before the apocalypse, they had all been people of status. Now, they couldn’t even get on the list to enter the Duole Safety Zone.

"The Cao Guangrong family, six people..." Upon seeing an extra person, the officer, Commander Lü, stopped them. "Your list clearly says six people. Why is there an extra? Per regulations, we can only admit six!"

Cao Guangrong immediately stepped forward. "We just found our daughter who’s been missing for years. That’s why there’s one more. Can I register her now?"

"No! The quota is full. My orders from above are clear: absolutely no exceptions!" Commander Lü said, shooting a cold glance at Chen Xing.

’She’s probably an impostor,’ he thought. ’How else could she have been "found" at such a convenient time?’

"We didn’t expect to find her either! Please, just make an exception this one time. If we get separated again, we might never find each other!" Mrs. Cao pleaded tearfully. "If my daughter can’t get in, then I won’t go in either!"

"That’s right! Commander Lü, it wasn’t easy to find our daughter. Please, make an exception. We’ll sort out the registration immediately!" Cao Guangrong declared, looking as if he would risk everything.

Hearing this, the crowd stirred. ’They can add someone?’

They all surged forward. "If they can add someone, so can we! Give us a spot!" ’It’s just a matter of paying more, right?’

They had plenty of that!

Before the apocalypse, who among them wasn’t from a wealthy family?