Chapter 026: I, Wu Chen, Came from an Ordinary Family!

Chapter 026: I, Wu Chen, Came from an Ordinary Family!

Wu Chen found this deeply puzzling. Why would anyone already be watching him, this early on?

His new life had only started today. Plenty had happened in these few hours, true, but judging purely by how fast information traveled, no one should have had time to set their sights on him yet.

Ding Ruilong?

Ding Ruilong wasn’t a deity. There was no way he could know of Wu Chen’s existence yet.

At the very earliest, that would take days.

So who had already put a tail on him?

Li Ruotai, maybe?

Had he sent someone to watch him—even into the restroom?

No, that didn’t add up either. Li Ruotai wasn’t foolish enough to do something so obvious, and his trusted men weren’t sloppy enough to get caught this easily.

Wu Chen turned it over in his mind, but his feet kept moving. Eating came first. His life had been unlocked—he intended to enjoy it properly, not shortchange himself, even if being watched hinted at something brewing, even danger.

But it didn’t matter.

Wu Chen didn’t believe any sudden turn of events could get the better of him. If it could, that thousand-year loop would have been wasted on a dog.

The moment Wu Chen stepped back into the private room and shut the door, a man in a baseball cap leaned out from around the corridor corner. He glanced once at the door, then pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Hello, boss.”

“Where is he?”

“Having lunch with Young Master Li and Miss Li.”

“Keep watching. Be careful. Don’t get spotted.”

“Understood, boss, don’t worry. Oh—boss, should I try listening in on what they’re saying?”

“Are you out of your mind? If Young Master Li catches you at that, you’ll be fish food by tomorrow. Just tail him carefully and see where he ends up.”

…

Inside the private room.

“What were you two talking about?” Wu Chen pulled out his chair and sat, asking with an easy smile.

“You, Brother-in-Law.” Li Ruotai picked up the thread at once, sounding a touch more deferential than before. “Haven’t asked you yet—are you from Donghai originally?”

“Yes. From a county under the city—Ning’an County.” Wu Chen answered lightly, as if it were nothing.

The moment Li Ruotai opened his mouth, Wu Chen already knew what he was after.

Fishing for information. Nothing more.

Li Ruobing knew it too, but she didn’t stop him. Truthfully, she wanted to hear what Wu Chen would say as much as her brother did.

“County boy, huh. So you live in the city now?”

“I do. Old Street, East District, inside Yuehe Community.”

“That area… that’s the old part of town. All old housing. Brother-in-Law, with the kind of skill you’ve got, you never thought about buying somewhere nicer?”

“No need. It’s my family’s old apartment. Living there suits me fine.”

“Family’s old apartment?” Li Ruotai repeated the phrase, sensing an opening. After a pause: “Brother-in-Law, didn’t you just say your family’s from Ning’an County? How’d they end up with an apartment in the city too?”

A logical snag.

“It is the family’s old place.” Wu Chen looked up, smiling. “My dad and mom, back when they were young, right after they got married, came into the city together to build a life. My dad was a cook—could handle lamian, could stir-fry. My mom had a bit more schooling, so she worked as an accountant. That was over twenty years ago now, and housing was cheap back then. The two of them scrimped and saved for years before finally scraping together a down payment and taking out a mortgage on that apartment.”

“After that… my grandfather’s health went downhill for years before he passed. Once my grandmother died, my parents talked it over and decided to look after him. At first they wanted to open a storefront in the city, but they didn’t have the capital, so they went back to the county instead and opened a small restaurant there—easier to look after the old man that way too.”

“The city apartment got rented out for years after that. Prices kept climbing, and they never could bring themselves to sell…