Chapter 131: She Must Have Suffered a Lot

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: She Must Have Suffered a Lot

Qing Qing was very busy lately.

In fact, she was never not busy.

Ever since her daughter went missing, she had spent every day just like this.

Only the mounting exhaustion could numb her nerves, keeping her from going mad with longing and regret.

Of course, she sometimes thought of her son as well.

Fu Chao was an actor, so it was common for them not to see each other for months if he was filming out of town.

So Qing Qing was used to getting a call from Fu Chao every other day. The mother and son would carve out time from their busy schedules to catch up.

But this time, Qing Qing hadn’t spoken to Fu Chao in four days.

’Is he too busy filming the variety show?’

She heard he was on some parent-child variety show with Qing Xi, where they had even set up a stall to sell fried rice.

Qing Qing couldn’t understand how those two completely unrelated activities could possibly be connected.

But she knew who to call—

"Hello? Is that Xiao Zhou?"

Just then, Zhou Ling, who was walking out of a conference room, received Qing Qing’s call.

She was very surprised. After all, the whole family knew this aunt of hers was an incredibly busy person. Why would she have time to call her today?

Zhou Ling quickly found out why.

Qing Qing: "Xiao Zhou, you must know about Fu Chao filming that variety show with Qing Xi, right?"

Zhou Ling had a sudden realization. ’So it’s about her son!’

She said, "Of course! They’ve been busy setting up a small restaurant lately. They’re super, super busy!"

Qing Qing’s expression turned strange.

"A small restaurant? Fu Chao... is working as a chef?"

’Won’t he poison someone?’

Zhou Ling realized her aunt had misunderstood and quickly waved her hands, explaining:

"No, no, he partnered with the other people on the show to open a small restaurant! It’s been incredibly popular lately! Auntie, has Fu Chao not been in touch with you recently? He probably got too busy and forgot! I watched the livestream. They’re short-staffed at the restaurant, so Fu Chao is doing the work of three people!"

The more Qing Qing listened, the more confused she became.

She just felt that every word Zhou Ling said described someone completely different from her son—the one who seemed good-tempered but was, in reality, incredibly picky.

Zhou Ling’s explanation was also getting more and more jumbled, so she decided to just explain the whole story from beginning to end.

During her explanation, she also mentioned Nan Zhi.

Zhou Ling suggested enthusiastically:

"Auntie, you should go try Nan Family’s Small Restaurant if you have time! I’ve been too busy to go myself, but that young lady, Nan Zhi, her cooking skills are truly impeccable! Absolutely top-notch!"

Qing Qing fell silent, neither agreeing nor refusing to go.

Not daring to bother her for too long, Zhou Ling added a few more pleasantries with a chuckle before hanging up.

Although it was Zhou Ling who had suggested visiting Nan Family’s Small Restaurant, she assumed Qing Qing probably wouldn’t go and forgot all about it after she said it.

Little did she know, after hanging up, Qing Qing only pondered for a few seconds before calling her assistant. She told her to look up the location of Nan Family’s Small Restaurant, and that she would head over as soon as her work was finished.

The assistant: ?

Qing Qing picked up her fountain pen to sign a document, not even looking up.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-No..."

The assistant hurried out to make the arrangements.

An hour later, Qing Qing finished her work for the day ahead of schedule and took a car straight to Nan Family’s Small Restaurant.

At that moment, Fu Chao, who was running around hectically in Nan Family’s Small Restaurant, was still completely unaware.

He skillfully shuttled back and forth between the two storefronts, greeting customers with practiced ease:

"Right this way. A table for three?"

"Our new specialty today is Texas Roasted Chicken. Would you like to try it?"

"Our plum juice is also excellent. It’s a traditional-style plum juice, handmade by our head chef. It’s completely different from the diluted stuff you buy outside!"

"..."

—This was the scene that greeted Qing Qing as she stepped over the threshold alone.

She stood stunned for a long time, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Until her eyes met Fu Chao’s...

Fu Chao: !!!

Qi Pei’er passed by, carrying a dish.

"What are you doing just standing there like an idiot? Hurry up and serve the food!"

"Ah... Oh!"

Jolted from his stupor, Fu Chao started to walk inside, his movements stiff and uncoordinated.

Just as he was about to reach the kitchen entrance, he couldn’t resist looking back—

Compared to the other customers dressed in light, casual attire, Qing Qing’s pantsuit and stilettos seemed overly formal, as if she were a CEO who had just rushed over from a business meeting.

She possessed a cold, aloof beauty. Age had not diminished her charm; instead, it had added to her elegant and noble aura. From the moment she appeared, she had captivated the attention of many people in the restaurant.

Fu Chao took a deep breath.

After the initial shock wore off, it was replaced by a sense of pride and joy.

Even though he was thirty years old, seeing his mother make a special trip to his "workplace" still made him feel like a child.

Still, Fu Chao’s mind was clear.

He knew the cameras were rolling, and he couldn’t just call out "Mom" in front of everyone.

’...Maybe I should just call out to her quietly?’

"Fu Chao."

Nan Zhi lifted the kitchen’s cloth curtain and walked out with a dish, looking exasperated.

"What’s wrong with you?"

She had already rung the service bell twice, but Fu Chao was just standing frozen at the entrance, not coming in.

So, Nan Zhi had no choice but to bring the dish out herself.

She happened to see Fu Chao staring at someone.

Following his gaze...

Nan Zhi’s eyes immediately fell on a woman who stood out from the other diners in the restaurant.

And as luck would have it, the woman was also looking at her.

To be precise, she was likely looking at Fu Chao, and her gaze just happened to fall on Nan Zhi, who was standing beside him.

A strange feeling flickered through Nan Zhi’s heart.

Unfortunately, it was gone in a flash. She couldn’t grasp it, not even a lingering trace.

With no other choice, Nan Zhi could only push the feeling to the back of her mind.

She thrust the dish into Fu Chao’s hands and turned back to the kitchen.

Nan Zhi didn’t give the little episode another thought.

So she didn’t know that even after she left, that gaze never moved away...

After serving the dish, Fu Chao walked over to Qing Qing.

"Hello, ma’am. Just one?"

Qing Qing was still in a daze, not snapping out of it for a long moment.

Fu Chao studied his mother in surprise and finally noticed something was off.

’Is Mom... looking at the kitchen?’

’Did she see Nan Zhi just now?’

’Wait!’

’She didn’t misunderstand something, did she?!’

He could swear to the heavens, his relationship with Nan Zhi was purely that of comrades-in-arms!

"Ahem."

Fu Chao cleared his throat again to get her attention.

Finding an angle the camera couldn’t see, he shot Qing Qing a meaningful look.

Qing Qing received the signal.

She gradually gathered her scattered thoughts, nodded at Fu Chao, and replied in a deliberately polite and formal tone:

"Yes, just one."

Qing Qing had come to see her son.

After hearing what Zhou Ling said, she realized she hadn’t been paying enough attention to Fu Chao; she didn’t even know what he’d been up to recently.

Out of guilt, she had decided to come and see for herself.

But when she arrived, a casual glance landed on the girl beside Fu Chao.

From her perspective, the girl’s side profile was full and delicate, yet her eyes held a natural indifference, a world-weariness that seemed to come from having weathered countless storms.

’She must have suffered a lot.’

The thought popped into Qing Qing’s head, seemingly out of nowhere.

She couldn’t explain why she would suddenly feel a sense of pity and heartache for a strange girl.

They hadn’t exchanged a single word; they didn’t even know each other.