To Gu Xin Ye's surprise, she was able to wake up early in the morning even though she did not have to come and work at Qin Zhen's noodle store. After cleaning up herself, Gu Xin Ye called Lin Qiao to let everyone know that she will conduct a video conference with everyone in two hours.
Then, she went downstairs and ran into Mrs. Li who was cleaning up the dining area.
A smile automatically appeared on Mrs. Li's face when she saw her walk down the stairs. "Hello, hello Miss Gu. Good morning. What do you want for breakfast?"
Seeing Mrs. Li's face, Gu Xin Ye's eyes sparkled with joy. Yesterday, she had tried to look for the woman and hope that she could get some juicy gossip about Qin Zhan, but her son then told her that his mother went out.
Now that this woman was in front of her, of course, Gu Xin Ye thought that she should never let this opportunity go. There was no telling when will be the next time for her to run into Mrs. Li again.
"Whatever you are making, Mrs. Li," Gu Xin Ye replied with a polite smile on her face.
Hearing that she did not have to cook something other than what she had made, Mrs. Li's face brightened up. "I made some seafood stir-fried noodles earlier. I'm not sure if Miss Gu is not bored of eating noodles after working with Mr. Qin at the noodle stall?"
"I'm not. Moreover, what you were making is different than what Qin Zhan was selling at his stall."
Mrs. Li nodded a few times. From her expression, Gu Xin Ye could tell that the lady was pleased upon hearing her answer.
"Then, you should take a seat, Miss Gu," Mrs. Li said. "I will come over with a serving of my fried noodles soon."
Gu Xin Ye then watched Mrs. Li entered the kitchen and started to prepare herself with how she was going to make the middle-aged lady to gossip with her. After five minutes, one serving hot serving of seafood fried noodles.
Looking at the generous amount of prawns, cuttlefish, and scallop in the stir-fried noodles, Gu Xin Ye began to feel her stomach rumbling. She grabbed her chopstick and took a bite. At the refreshing and sweet taste of that seafood, Gu Xin Ye began to let out a sigh in satisfaction.
"How was it?" Mrs. Li asked.
Her mouth was too full. Gu Xin Ye replied to her with a thumb up.
Seeing that the girl was happy to eat her craft, Mrs. Li sat down and happily watch as Gu Xin Ye eat.
Her plate was almost empty when she finally recalled that she had come down to get a few gossips from the woman. "Mrs. Li, I seem to remember that you have previously mentioned that the noodle stall belonged to Old Chen."
"Hmm," Mrs. Li nodded a few times. "Now that you mentioned that old man, I began to miss his noodle. Let me tell you something. Although Qin Zhan's handmade noodle was as good as Old Chen's, the broth that Old Chen made is way better."
"Then, do you know why Qin Zhan took over the noodle stand?" Gu Xin Ye lowered her gaze and stared a piece of scallop, trying to make it appear nonchalant.
"I heard Old Chen was going to stay with her son in the city for a few months. Some people said that Old Chen was going to have surgery. His son took him to the city so that it will be easy for him to look after his father," Mrs. Li said. "But no one knew what is wrong with the old man. His grandchildren won't say a word about it."
"His grandchildren?"
"Hmm," Mrs. Li nodded again. "You should know those two kids, Luo Qi and Luo Jun."
Gu Xin Ye paused. It turned out that the people who would know Qin Zhan's secret was very close to her! At this time, Gu Xin Ye made a note to herself to be close to those two kids to get the answer she was looking for.
"So that was why those kids were pretty efficient at their job."
Mrs. Li laughed. "En. Those kids have been helping their grandfather for a long time. They're a bunch of good kids. Their parents passed away in a car accident five years ago and Old Chen was the one who was looking after them."
A sigh escaped her and Mrs. Li then continued to talk about how pitiful those two kids were after their parents had passed away. It was until someone came over to deliver some ingredients to the B&B that she finally stopped talking. Mrs. Li then excused herself and walked away, leaving Gu Xin Ye in her thought.
Gu Xin Ye leave the dining area and head back to her room. After talking with Mrs. Li for almost an hour, she found had learned a lot. However, none of the things she found out was something that she wanted to know.
Anyway, she had to act casual lest Mrs. Li would suspect something.
The only clue she got was that Luo Qi and Luo Jun were Old Chen's grandchild, and Qin Zhan was not only looking after the noodle stall for the old man. He was also looking after the two children.
Could the two children be the reason why Qin Zhan quit his job and move over to this small town and refused to return to the big city?
Then what about his cousin in that luxury car? How are they related?
Mrs. Li mentioned that Old Chen was planning to return after his recovery. Then, why didn't Qin Zhan took some unpaid leave to look after the kids instead? Why did he have to resign? Looking at the way he had driven those men who came to recruit him, it did not seem as if Qin Zhan was planning to return to the city as a pastry chef.
So much mystery...
It looked like she will have to find a chance to talk to Mrs. Li again.
A frown appeared on Gu Xin Ye's face as she was deep in her thought. As was about to climb up the stairs, Gu Xin Ye suddenly had a feeling as if she was being watched. She lifted her head and her gaze met with Mrs. Li's son, Li Jun Xuan.
Looking at the way he was sitting comfortably on the sofa, Gu Xin Ye had a feeling that this man had been sitting there for a while and he had listened to her conversation with his mother.
Suddenly, Gu Xin Ye felt uneasy with the way the man continued to stare at her.
Could it be that he knew something about her and had guessed at her intention?