CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 118: CHEN GE

The car interior was quiet, and after a long while, He Qi’an said, "I miss it."

Lin Xiaoyan turned her head to look at He Qi’an.

Neither of them spoke, and when Lin Xiaoyan returned home, she was still feeling down.

Lin Xiaoyan called her mom, wanting to hear her voice.

"Hello, Yanyan, aren’t you working today?"

Hearing her mom’s voice, Lin Xiaoyan felt a little better.

"No, I took the day off today."

Speaking of work, this week had been nerve-wracking, and the store manager still hadn’t been found!

She didn’t know what was happening at the store, but according to Li Jin and the others, everything was normal.

She planned to go to the store tomorrow; she just didn’t want to move now.

Lin Xiaoyan chatted with her mom for a while and felt her stomach was empty. As she chatted, she opened a food delivery app to order something to eat.

"Your cousin is getting married next week, are you coming back?"

Lin Xiaoyan paused for a moment, hesitating upon hearing this news.

"I’ll... see how it goes then."

"Okay, it’s fine if you don’t come back. Your aunt and the others know you’re in Sea City, it’s quite far."

"Yeah, I’ll see then. If I’m free, I’ll come back."

"Alright, it’s up to you."

"How are my brother and sister-in-law doing recently?"

Upon hearing her daughter ask about her son’s situation, Lin Mu was silent for a moment and shook her head, "I haven’t inquired, and I don’t want to know."

"Alright."

Seeing that her mom was in a bad mood, Lin Xiaoyan stopped asking.

After chatting for a while longer, they stopped talking.

The next morning, Lin Xiaoyan went to the store to open up.

"Boss, you’re here!"

Seeing the staff had arrived, Lin Xiaoyan smiled and nodded.

"It’s been hard for you lately."

"Not at all, not at all!"

The store hadn’t been open for long before customers came in.

Another busy day began.

It was Saturday, and Li Wen came.

When Li Wen arrived, Lin Xiaoyan went to the Special Investigation Bureau at noon and chatted with the psychologist for a while.

She then returned to the store.

As she approached the store entrance, she found a group of young girls inside.

As Lin Xiaoyan walked in, she heard the girls taking photos of Li Wen and saying something.

"Oh my God, he’s so handsome, I didn’t expect him to work here part-time!"

"Yeah, from now on, I’ll come here for bubble tea during the holidays!"

"So handsome!"

"Wow, look at how focused he is, isn’t he just so handsome!"

...

Lin Xiaoyan followed their gaze to Li Wen, raising an eyebrow, surprised at how popular he was at school.

"Excuse me, let me through." Lin Xiaoyan intended to enter behind the counter and asked the girl in front to give way.

However...

The girls thought she was cutting in line.

"Boss."

Hearing Li Wen call her "Boss," the girls quickly made way, fearing the boss might have a bad impression of Li Wen.

Lin Xiaoyan: ... Oh my God, it’s like they’re chasing a celebrity!

"Boss, this handsome guy works really seriously."

"Yeah, I’ve never seen such a handsome... uh, I mean, such a diligent employee!"

"Boss, give the handsome guy a raise! From now on, we’ll only buy bubble tea from your store!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

...

The girls in the store chattered non-stop as Lin Xiaoyan moved to the counter. Li Wen immediately turned away with a cold face to make bubble tea.

The other staff saw Li Wen’s cold expression and laughed, teasing him in low voices.

Lin Xiaoyan warmly served each girl.

"Hi, your bubble tea is ready." Lin Xiaoyan smiled as she handed the bubble tea to the girl in front of her.

"Thank you."

When the girl’s fingers brushed against Lin Xiaoyan’s hand as she took the bubble tea, Lin Xiaoyan froze. When she "saw" the scenes and recalled the content, she was so frightened that she screamed.

"Ah!"

Lin Xiaoyan stepped back a few paces in terror.

The staff behind saw Lin Xiaoyan’s condition and quickly gathered around to ask what was wrong.

Lin Xiaoyan’s eyes widened as she looked up at the girl who took the delivery.

The girl furrowed her brows, suspiciously looking at Lin Xiaoyan while holding the bubble tea, "I just took the bubble tea, I didn’t do anything to you, right?"

Looking at the girl’s beautiful face, Lin Xiaoyan’s eyes held a hint of reluctance. The images kept flashing in her mind, and Lin Xiaoyan’s tears fell uncontrollably.

"Boss, what’s wrong?" Several staff and a group of girls looked between Lin Xiaoyan and the girl from before.

Lin Xiaoyan shook her head, struggling to suppress her inner grief and terror, "It’s nothing, I’m sorry, you just look a bit like a friend from my childhood whom I haven’t seen in a long time. Suddenly recalling it, I... miss her so much... sorry."

Lin Xiaoyan wiped her tears, looking at the girl as she spoke.

The girl heard Lin Xiaoyan’s words, saw her red eyes, and thought to herself, "Crazy!" before turning to leave.

The other girls also looked at Lin Xiaoyan strangely, feeling there was something wrong with her.

Lin Xiaoyan knew her excuse was flimsy, but she had no time to ponder it now.

She looked at Li Wen, "Was that girl from your school just now?"

Li Wen frowned, "I don’t know her."

Upon hearing the boss speak, the girls in the store quickly interjected, "She’s from our school, from the art department, Chen Ge!"

"Boss, does your friend really look like her? That’s impossible, Chen Ge is an only child and her family is quite well-off."

"Maybe it’s just a resemblance, but the ages don’t match. Boss, how old are you?"

...

Having learned what she wanted to know, Lin Xiaoyan informed the staff and left the store.

She quickly headed across the street.

Meanwhile

Chen Ge sat in the car, speechlessly recounting the earlier incident to a friend.

"Do you think that boss is crazy? I didn’t even touch her, and she cried like a delicate flower, as if I did something to her, tsk!"

"If it weren’t for the most handsome guy in the finance department working part-time there, I wouldn’t even bother coming to this small shop for bubble tea!"

Chen Ge disdainfully looked at the bubble tea in her hand.

Upon hearing her friend’s invitation to Yun Province again, she thought for a moment and agreed.

"Then I’ll request leave from the instructor tomorrow. If I can get it, I’ll come find you to hang out!"

"Okay, okay, since you’re so eager to pay for the flight, I’ll let you, hahaha..."

Chen Ge laughed heartily at her friend’s teasing and continued chatting.

Lin Xiaoyan had already arrived at the police station.

She had been frowning tightly all along and exhibited some physical reactions.

Just as she reached the office, more scenes flashed in her mind, jolting her into vomiting.

"What’s wrong? What’s wrong?"

"Quickly, get some water, Xiao Lin is throwing up..."

"Coming, coming, here’s water, take a sip."

Mao Hong carefully handed a cup of water to Lin Xiaoyan’s mouth, urging her to take a sip to calm down.

Lin Xiaoyan’s complexion was terrible, forcing herself not to think of those images, but... she couldn’t help it.

"What’s wrong with you?"

At this moment, He Qi’an had just come out of the chief’s office and saw a group of people gathered around.

He walked over and saw Lin Xiaoyan looking unwell, her face pale, and continuously retching.

He furrowed his brow, squatting down to inquire about Lin Xiaoyan’s condition.