My Gorgeous Neighbor Is Cooking Every Day - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ren Ruofang retorted: “I won’t do anything bad.”

Xia Xingye pretended not to hear and added: “Sister, trust me. It’s best to be cautious of others.”

Jiang Yingyue was only half-understanding, but she nodded after hearing Xia Xingye say that: “Alright, then for now, she won’t be able to hear us talk.”

Ren Ruofang panicked: “If I can’t hear you talk, how will I know if the person you find is my childhood friend?”

She didn’t want to be shut in a small bottle, where she couldn’t see anything and couldn’t hear anything. What difference was that from being sent to hell?

Ren Ruofang had a point, but Jiang Yingyue didn’t want to disappoint Xia Xingye. She was conflicted.

Seeing Jiang Yingyue’s struggle, Xia Xingye reluctantly said: “Fine, then let’s help her find her friend first. After that, she’ll stay away from us.”

To find the childhood friend Ren Ruofang mentioned, they specifically went to the place where Ren Ruofang used to live.

Ren Ruofang’s former residence was a large courtyard. The few households in the courtyard were now deserted. The locks on the gate were rusty, the windows were broken, and everything was covered in dust. When they pushed the door open and entered, a cloud of dust rushed out, making Xia Xingye cough until she was breathless.

Jiang Yingyue reluctantly pulled her away, handed her water, and waited until she caught her breath before saying: “I’ll go in and look. You wait outside.”

Xia Xingye asked: “Are there any unclean things inside?” By “unclean things,” she meant ghosts.

“No,” Jiang Yingyue said, “There are no unclean things, but there’s too much dust. Don’t go in and get dirty.”

Xia Xingye looked at her clothes and then at Jiang Yingyue, saying innocently: “I’m already dirty. It makes no difference whether I go in now or not.”

Ren Ruofang couldn’t help but speak: “Let’s all go in and look, but there probably won’t be anything inside. My family took everything when we moved.”

Xia Xingye and Jiang Yingyue went inside the house. Ren Ruofang chatted with them about her and her childhood friend’s past.

Ren Ruofang and Dong Yiyu lived together in this courtyard. They were very close friends from a young age. Later, Ren Ruofang moved to the town due to family reasons.

Initially, they kept in touch, but gradually, as they became busy with their own lives, their contact lessened, until Ren Ruofang moved to the city later, and then they completely lost contact.

Ren Ruofang didn’t know what Dong Yiyu was doing or what kind of life she was living. She only remembered that she and Dong Yiyu had agreed to meet here fifteen years later. No matter what happened, as long as they were still alive, they had to come here.

“You said as long as you were still alive, you would come, but you are already dead. Why are you still here?” Xia Xingye asked.

Ren Ruofang didn’t speak, and Xia Xingye didn’t rush her. She was flipping through things in the room. There were many children’s items, suggesting the adults in the family had been good to her.

Xia Xingye saw a wooden top discarded in the corner. A piece was chipped off the top, either broken in a fall or damaged by being left there for too long.

Xia Xingye stared at it for a while and then crouched down to examine the wooden top. At this moment, Ren Ruofang suddenly spoke: “I had a car accident on the way, but…”

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, “But I was two days late. My flight was delayed abroad.”

Her voice was choked with sobs: “Because I came too late, I couldn’t meet her. If you can help me find her, I’m willing to do anything you ask.”

“We’ll talk about what we want later,” Xia Xingye efficiently wiped away the dust and asked: “You moved away, didn’t you take this with you?”

Ren Ruofang was inside the bottle and didn’t know what Xia Xingye was talking about: “What thing?”

Xia Xingye explained: “There’s a wooden top in the corner.”

Ren Ruofang sighed: “So it’s here. I looked for it for a long time after we moved and thought I had lost it during the move. I didn’t expect it to be left at the old house.”

Xia Xingye and Jiang Yingyue simply searched all the rooms in the courtyard but didn’t find anything that could pinpoint Dong Yiyu’s location.

As they left, Xia Xingye closed the door again. After washing their hands, she and Jiang Yingyue left the courtyard.

It was already evening when they left the courtyard. Xia Xingye pulled Jiang Yingyue to get something to eat.

They went to a small private restaurant run by the owner. After Xia Xingye and Jiang Yingyue ordered and the owner served the dishes, he sat behind the TV to watch it.

The food the owner cooked was very similar to home-style cooking, clean and simple. As Xia Xingye was eating, she suddenly whispered: “Since you were childhood friends, didn’t she tell you what she liked, what university she wanted to attend, or what major she wanted to study?”

“She did, but I don’t know if she went.”

“Don’t worry about that for now. Just tell us everything you know,” Xia Xingye said helplessly, adding a piece of vegetable to Jiang Yingyue’s plate before continuing, “Whether she attended university there or not, we’ll know after we check.”

“She said she wanted to open an art gallery when she grew up,” Ren Ruofang’s voice was a little low, “But our families weren’t well off back then. Even if my family had money, we couldn’t afford for me to study art, and her family was even worse off.”

“Art, you say?” Xia Xingye looked up at Jiang Yingyue: “Sister, I remember there’s only one art school around here, right?”

Jiang Yingyue said uncertainly: “We can check later.”

Xia Xingye laughed: “No need to check. I’ll search online first, and then we’ll go to the school and ask if this person is there.”

As Xia Xingye spoke, she searched for the school online. Sure enough, there was only one art academy here. If that was the case, the scope was generally narrowed down to the art academy, assuming Ren Ruofang hadn’t lied to them and Dong Yiyu really wanted to study art and later got accepted into the art academy.

However, if Dong Yiyu didn’t get accepted, they would have to start over. But they would worry about that later.

After dinner, Xia Xingye asked Jiang Yingyue: “Should we go tonight or tomorrow?”

Xia Xingye lifted her eyebrows a little smugly: “I don’t have class tomorrow. I can spend the whole day with Sister.”

“Go now,” Ren Ruofang urged, “You want to know who was causing trouble in the park sooner, don’t you?”

Xia Xingye looked at Jiang Yingyue, who nodded and said: “We can go tonight.”

This was her job, and she often worked at night. She was just a little worried and asked Xia Xingye: “Can you handle staying up all night?”

“Just one night without sleep,” Xia Xingye patted her chest confidently: “I’m young. I can handle it.”

Since Xia Xingye said so, they decided to go to the art academy tonight.

In the evening, Ren Ruofang was noticeably more talkative than during the day. She shared stories about her and Dong Yiyu with Xia Xingye.

They grew up in the courtyard together and played better with each other than with any of the other children.

Because Dong Yiyu was quiet and always had a blank expression, the other children didn’t like her much. Ren Ruofang talked too much, and the other children found her annoying. Only Dong Yiyu never found her annoying.

She often chattered next to Dong Yiyu for a whole day, talking until her throat was dry and she was satisfied. Dong Yiyu never chased her away. Although Dong Yiyu didn’t like to talk, she was a very good listener.

“She is indeed very suitable for painting,” Xia Xingye commented objectively.

Creative people aren’t necessarily quiet, but most are relatively quiet. Only by calming down can they concentrate on creation. If Ren Ruofang were to study painting, she probably wouldn’t be able to sit still for ten minutes and would wander around. Even with talent, she couldn’t afford to waste it like that.

When they arrived at the art academy, Xia Xingye was about to go in but was stopped by the security guard. The guard sized her up and asked: “You’re not a student here, are you?”

Xia Xingye said with a bitter face: “Uncle, have you forgotten me? I often come out to get takeout.”

The security guard scratched his head: “I don’t remember seeing you. You’re so pretty; if I had seen you, I would definitely remember,”

He pointed to the machine next to him and said, “Swipe your card to enter.”

“I wish I could swipe my card,” Xia Xingye sniffled, saying pitifully, “But I lost my card.”

“Is that so,” the security guard said, “I’ll call your teacher. Which teacher is yours?” He reached for a notebook that had the contact information for all the teachers in each department.

Xia Xingye tried to change the subject: “Uncle, please don’t tell our homeroom teacher. I’ve lost it several times already, and he said he’d kick me out of school if I lost it again.”

The security guard sighed: “That’s so pitiful.”

Xia Xingye nodded repeatedly, thinking she had gotten away with it, but the next second, she heard the security guard say sternly: “Even so, I have to verify your identity before letting you in.”

Seeing that she couldn’t fool him, Xia Xingye turned and pulled Jiang Yingyue’s hand: “Sister, let’s run!”

The security guard shouted after her: “Who are you?”

Xia Xingye didn’t look back, pulling Jiang Yingyue and running all the way. They hid in a convenience store. When the security guard didn’t follow, Xia Xingye breathed a sigh of relief and asked Jiang Yingyue helplessly: “Sister, how do we get in?”

Jiang Yingyue said: “We’ll use the old method to get in.”

“What’s the old method?” Xia Xingye was completely confused.

Jiang Yingyue didn’t intend to explain, only saying: “Let’s rest for a while, and then we’ll go later.”

Although the university gate wouldn’t close at night, going in the middle of the night would obviously attract more attention. The security guards would be more vigilant. Seeing Jiang Yingyue’s serious demeanor, Xia Xingye didn’t question her.

With Jiang Yingyue around, anything was possible. All she had to do was obey.

The two found a coffee shop with a private resting room. It was called a coffee shop, but the room was equipped with everything they needed, including a simple computer.

Xia Xingye had never been to a place like this and was very curious. She looked around, flipping through everything. Hearing voices outside, she opened the door and saw several girls walking inside.

The owner was a charming woman in her forties. As soon as she saw Xia Xingye, she greeted her: “How do you two feel? Do you need anything? We have all kinds of services here.”

Xia Xingye blinked and asked: “Is there a place to shower?”