Ch'en had no intention of staying here any longer, so she walked out of the house with Jeanne. However, just as she reached the door, she seemed to remember something, turned back, and took away that framed group photo.
"Is this the only copy of this photo? If you have a spare copy, I was planning to take one back for Talulah."
Looking at that photo, which Ch'en was precious placing into a file folder, Jeanne intended to take a copy back for that dragon of hers, who could only look at the moon at night to relieve her lovesickness.
"That's not a problem. However, the negative for the original photo probably cannot be found anymore. I reckon we can only use this photo, and I will need to find someone to inquire about it."
Ch'en said while driving with Jeanne. It was a pity that when this photo was taken, it wasn't with the kind of digital camera used now, but rather a film camera that was rarely used nowadays. However, the negative once used for developing the photos had long since been lost. Now they could only rely on methods like photocopying to reproduce it; Ch'en really hadn't paid attention to whether there were any better methods.
The two left Taiheng Road just like that amidst casual conversation, leaving behind the house where Ch'en and Talulah once lived together, with only a damaged door lock to prove someone had been there. Ch'en didn't care, seeming not at all worried that this house with the door wide open would be visited by thieves or someone, and have all the things in the house emptied out.
While on the road, Ch'en had already contacted Wei Yenwu, sending him an extremely short text message while waiting at a red light, telling him what the situation was here. There were only two very short sentences on it: one was "I dismantled the lock on the Taiheng Road house, please contact a housekeeping company to handle it." And the other was even shorter: "Your deductions were wrong from start to finish."
On the other side, Wei Yenwu, who had already returned home, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the message from Ch'en, seeming happy about his own mistake. It seemed this matter was indeed likely his own unnecessary worrying. For the other party to be confirmed by Ch'en under such circumstances, it was safe to assume that even Talulah could be trusted, and currently harbored no malice. Thinking of this, a very comforted smile appeared on Wei Yenwu's face. It seemed the worst-case scenario in his heart, the future where his own hands would be stained with the blood of a relative, would not happen. As for that door lock, was that even a matter? It was merely a matter of a phone call; it didn't require him to expend energy focusing on it.
"You're back so early today? What are you sitting there smiling foolishly at your phone for?"
At this time, Fumizuki, who had gone out to buy things, also returned, followed by that Weasel ninja, carrying several huge bags in her hands. She pushed the door open, entered, and found that her husband had actually returned earlier than her today, sitting alone there holding a phone and smiling foolishly. Fumizuki was also curious: what kind of matter could make Wei Yenwu, the City Chief, so happy? Was it something wrong with his younger brother, or was the situation that little Ch'en inquired about more optimistic than he imagined?
"It's nothing much; Ch'en just went to look for that Miss Jeanne. Based on the news passed back from her, Talulah should still be the child we knew."
Seeing his wife return from buying things outside, Wei Yenwu hurriedly stood up to welcome her. Too much news had exploded today; if he didn't put on a good performance, tonight would be miserable.
"That is indeed good news."
Hearing what Wei Yenwu said, Fumizuki also showed a delighted expression. Naturally, she was also very happy that Talulah had not become the heir to the evil ideology in Wei Yenwu's words.
"When you have time, call them over for a meal together. I quite want to ask her how little Talulah has been doing these years. Having disappeared for so many years, I wonder if she is doing well..."
While the two were talking, Shirayuki, who was beside them, had already placed the two huge shopping bags she was carrying into a ventilated place, quietly disappearing from their sight.
At this moment, Wei Yenwu seemed to smell a familiar scent. It was a scent he could never forget in this lifetime; even smelling it was enough to put his nerves on high alert.
"That matter is naturally not a problem. You can directly contact Ch'en and ask her to inquire. However, Fumizuki... what did you go out to buy? The house doesn't seem to be lacking anything, right?"
Wei Yenwu's expression was somewhat nervous at this time; he looked at Fumizuki in front of him. At this point, Wei Yenwu had already guessed the outcome, but he still asked Fumizuki with some unwillingness to accept it. And hearing Wei Yenwu's inquiry, Fumizuki's expression suddenly became extremely kind. She looked at Wei Yenwu with a face full of smiles, and spoke to him in a particularly gentle tone:
"What else could it be, I just went out to buy a little fruit."
"We bought fruit just the day before yesterday, I wonder what you bought this time?"
Hearing the word "fruit," Wei Yenwu felt a sense of foreboding; this concerned whether his life this month would be a struggle or just survival. While he continued asking Wenyue, who was wearing an ominous smile, he was also contemplating whether he should just find an excuse and run away immediately.
"What else could it be, just some durians. We don't often eat this at home, so didn't I specially go out to buy a batch?"
Wenyue's words were like the dagger seen after the map was unrolled, instantly stabbing into Wei Yenwu's heart. Wei Yenwu immediately stood frozen on the spot, then looked stiffly at the several large bags that Shirayuki had placed aside; was this actually buying out all the durians from the fruit shop at the entrance?
"How are we supposed to eat this, wife? Nobody in our family likes to eat this; throwing it into the house would be wasteful, wouldn't it?"
Wei Yenwu felt a red character for "Danger" appearing above his head; what his life was about to face was no longer as simple as a storm, it could even be a meteor colliding with Earth!
"It's fine, I bought it with your money. Besides, isn't durian also a necessity in our household? Today I learned a quite creative dish, and I plan to cook it for you in a moment..."
Fumizuki's words were very gentle, but at this moment, Wei Yenwu was like a tourist who realized they were wearing short sleeves and shorts in the Northeast; his heart was utterly cold.
"It seems my wife has discovered something again, otherwise, she wouldn't have specially gone out to buy this pile of things... I need to find a solution."
Looking at the durians in front of him, Wei Yenwu sank into deep thought. Fumizuki had already gone to the kitchen to prepare tonight's meal; he must quickly figure out what was discovered again. That durian skin was clearly for him to kneel on! Although Wei Yenwu had trained and could ignore the damage from these sharp thorns, this would also harm his meager authority at home!
"my wife, are you... intending to make dumplings? I'll go out and buy some meat filling!"
Setting aside the matter of authority, what he should do now is find a better reason to leave, and then skip dinner time... After all, as a City Chief, having sudden emergencies is very normal, right?
"No need, today I'm making dumplings with durian filling. I saw others doing it quite well; since I bought them, I'll just experiment with a new dish..."
"What kind of dark cuisine video is that!"
Wei Yenwu widened his eyes, somewhat unable to believe what he was hearing. What kind of talent would fuse durian and dumplings together to form a completely new dish? And Fumizuki, who had her eyes opened today by the secret wealth hidden by Wei Yenwu, seemed to completely ignore those things and started mixing the dough, completely in a state of preparing to turn conjecture into reality.
When she saw the photos of Wei Yenwu's small treasury brought back by Shirayuki today, and the luxurious smoking pipe in the photo, she was also somewhat displeased; just how many secrets did this fellow still have hidden? These durians were indeed prepared for him; however, the sentence about taking them to make dumplings was indeed just a joke. She had already mixed the dumpling filling long ago, just putting it aside. Fumizuki naturally knew where the boundary was between jokes and torture, and would not specially make something that broke imagination for Wei Yenwu, but scaring him a bit was still fine. She also wanted to take this opportunity to see how much more private money she could scam out of him. With this fellow able to afford Gallic wine and that pipe, the hidden wealth was absolutely not a small number...
While warm family activities were being carried out in Wei Yenwu's house, Ch'en also arrived at her destination before the busiest traffic period; it was a restaurant with a huge sign.