Chapter 266: Bian Su
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
There was a decent-sized supermarket right beside the florist. A heavyset middle-aged auntie ran the place.
She became on edge upon spotting Luo Ying in her expensive threads and Lu Zhao in his suit. “Who are you?”
“We…” Luo Ying cautiously turned to Lu Zhao.
“She’s my family,” Lu Zhao said in response. “We haven’t seen each other for many years. We made a special trip out here to see her this time. Do you know where she went?”
The auntie took a good look at Lu Zhao after hearing this.
“Are you really her family?” Lu Zhao’s eyes, in particular, reminded the auntie of her neighbor Bian Su. However, she was extremely wary. “How can you prove it?”
The auntie’s question struck Luo Ying as odd. Could you expect the average person to be so watchful and wary?
Her eyes swept the area thoroughly. It was obvious that this grocery store had been open for a long time, and the customers who came and went were very familiar with the auntie.
Lu Zhao’s mother had not been here for long. Even if Old Master Lu had planted someone to monitor her, it would not be a local like this auntie.
Both she and Lu Zhao exchanged glances. This is something that Lu Zhao also should have considered.
After a brief pause, Lu Zhao pulled a picture out of his wallet and looked at it.
“She’s my mother. This is a photo of me and my mother when I was young.”
Even Luo Ying had never seen this photo before. At that time, Lu Zhao was still a child. He should have lived an ordinary life with his mother. He wore very simple clothes. The mother and son held hands and happily made V signs to the camera.
Putting her glasses higher, the aunt got to her feet to examine the snapshot.
She took her time comparing the photo to Lu Zhao to make sure it really was of Bian Su’s child.
She seemed to finally lower her guard. “She’s no longer here,” the auntie muttered.
“What?” Lu Zhao frowned.”What do you mean?”
“Did she leave anything?” Luo Ying reacted quickly.
The auntie ignored Lu Zhao and Luo Ying’s questions. She just opened the iron lock of the cashier drawer and took out a small box from the depths. She opened the small box and took out a folded note from the scattered items.
After such a lengthy process, the aunt handed Lu Zhao the note and said softly, “We’re quite familiar with each other. A few days ago, she suddenly said that she wanted to leave. When I asked her where she was going, she would not tell me anything. She just told me that if a man in his twenties who looked like her came looking for her, I should give this to him.”
The note was neatly folded into a square shape that was immediately recognizable to Lu Zhao. When he was a kid, his mother always did this whenever she left a note for him.
“Thank you, thank you.” Lu Zhao took the note and immediately asked, “Did she say anything else?”
There was some worry in Lu Zhao’s voice. The combination of his intimidating presence and powerful aura made the auntie uncomfortable.
The air seemed to freeze around Luo Ying. She removed her goggles and mask and flashed the auntie a friendly grin. “You don’t know this, but Lu Zhao was forced to be separated from his mother. He has searched for many, many years and went to many, many cities before finally finding this place. Please understand that it was a painful separation. I hope you can tell us more about her life here.”
“Was it that tragic?” The auntie was taken aback.
“Yes, it was!” Luo Ying used her excellent acting skills to describe how Lu Zhao had lived alone most of his life. She also made a dramatic story of Lu Zhao looking for his mother, as if he had gone through hell and back.
The auntie had a son of her own. She almost burst into tears.
“Dear me, how could anyone be put through this!” The auntie’s heart ached when she heard that.
She led the pair into a room behind the counter. There was a set of bamboo tables and chairs in the inner room of the grocery store. They were short and small, and Lu Zhao could not even stretch his legs when he sat down. However, none of it mattered more than his mother now.
“Bian Su, that girl,” the auntie said as she poured them two glasses of water.
“She came to our place half a year ago.”
“Her flower shop is well-decorated, and she’s a nice person. But she was just starting out, so there weren’t a lot of people. Sometimes, when she was having trouble selling flowers, she would offer me some. I took them, of course!
Which woman would turn down flowers? I always put them on the counter. They were so beautiful!”
The auntie thought of Bian Su and smiled. “She’s just so demure! If someone bullied her, she wouldn’t scold them!”
“Bully her?” Lu Zhao became nervous..