Chapter 79: The Ren Family of Shen City [2]

Yan Yu had no idea what his mother had done wrong to warrant such a brutal fate. If his mother hadn’t left the school that night, he probably wouldn’t even exist now. Yet even so, Yan Yu felt a deep sense of guilt toward Zhao Qingqing.

“That person named Ren—who is he, really?”

Yan Yu pressed his forehead, struggling to think. Whether it was to unravel the mystery behind his mother’s death or to avenge Zhao Qingqing, he was determined to get to the bottom of everything.

But… after what he discovered today, Yan Yu wasn’t sure how to tell Zhao Qingqing. Perhaps it was best to keep it from her for now. He couldn’t bear to see a sweet girl’s nature twisted by hatred, though the decision felt somewhat selfish.

“What are you looking at?” Yang Xuefei suddenly asked.

Yan Yu hurriedly put away the photos and documents, awkwardly replying, “N-nothing. Um, Feifei, I have a question for you.”

“You can ask, but you have to do me a favor first.” Yang Xuefei seemed to be in a good mood.

“We’re so close, do we really need conditions?” Yan Yu joked.

Yang Xuefei smiled and opened her pale, delicate palm toward him. “Let me borrow your phone.”

“What for?”

“To vote for my idol! Don’t tell me you’ve never watched ‘Idol Preschool.’ I’m Cai Kunkun’s number one fan. Our idol is currently in a talent show, and every phone can cast one vote. So, I need your phone for one vote!”

Yan Yu was baffled—idol, fan, Cai Kunkun—what on earth were these things? But since he needed her help, he could only hand over his Little Smart phone cautiously. “My third mom gave this to me. Don’t break it.”

“Little Smart?!” Yang Xuefei was speechless. “Are you a caveman? How am I supposed to vote for Kunkun with this?”

“You’re discriminating against Little Smart. You have no idea how hard it works!”

“Pfft, but it’s nothing compared to Kunkun’s dedication! Kunkun performed on stage with a 99-degree fever for his fans, kept practicing tap dance even with both legs fractured, persisted in vocal training when his throat was swollen seventy-nine times its normal size, dances over fifty-seven hours a day, has thirty billion fans worldwide, and yet never lets it go to his head!”

“…”

Yan Yu suddenly realized that when girls chase their idols, their intelligence can rival that of a baboon.

“Baboon—no, Feifei, we’ll deal with the voting later. Can you answer my question first?” Yan Yu put away his Little Smart.

Yang Xuefei sighed. “Fine, but remember to borrow Xiao Wan’s phone later to vote for Kunkun.”

“Alright, no problem,” Yan Yu said. “Do you know anyone impressive in Rong City with the surname Ren?”

“Ren?” Yang Xuefei blinked. “That’s not a common surname, but I can tell you for sure… there isn’t anyone.”

Yang Xuefei was born into a scholarly family, and her circle of friends and elders were all prominent figures in Rong City and even throughout Jianzhou Province. If she said there wasn’t anyone, it was probably true.

“If not in Rong City, what about Lu City?” Yan Yu persisted.

Jianzhou Province had two major cities: Rong City, the provincial capital, and Lu City, the economic hub by the sea, with several international ports. Lu City not only developed rapidly but also had a strong artistic vibe, making it especially attractive to creative youths—except for the housing prices…

“Lu City doesn’t have one either,” Yang Xuefei thought for a moment. “But I do know a Ren family—not sure if it’s related to the one you’re curious about, because this family is in Shen City.”

“Shen City?” Yan Yu was taken aback.

Shen City was the heart of the nation, a center for economy, transportation, technology, industry, finance, trade, exhibitions, and shipping—a pioneer coastal city. Also known as the Magic City, it was home to the country’s top elites, and in the most bustling area, Lujiazui, a square meter could fetch prices of hundreds of thousands…

A Ren family alone didn’t sound impressive, but add “Shen City” in front, and it became extraordinary.

“Hey, Shen City is far from here. The Ren family you’re looking for definitely isn’t from Shen City.” Just as the bell rang, Yang Xuefei urged, “A man should keep his word—hurry and borrow Xiao Wan’s phone for me.”

Yan Yu was speechless. “No need for Xiao Wan. I’ll have Fatty and Tall Guy help you.”

“That works too!”

Yan Yu called over Fatty and Hao Zhuang, had them hand over their phones, and went outside to make a call.

Since Yan Yu and Su Han had classes and couldn’t leave, the task of tracking down the other two roommates from his mother’s dormitory years ago fell to Master Cao.

“Hey, Old Cao, how’s it going?” Yan Yu asked when the call connected.

“Master, the Ye Han and Zhang Weiwei you mentioned both live in a small mountain village called Fengmen near Rong City. Phones aren’t working, so I’m driving over now,” Old Cao replied smugly.

After his little scooter was scrapped last time, he managed to swindle some money and bought a secondhand QQ car. He drove everywhere, eager for people to know he was a car owner.

“Fengmen Village? How long will it take?” Yan Yu asked.

“Very close—about two hours. Can’t talk now, my phone’s almost dead and I need GPS.”

“If anything comes up, report to me right away.”

“Got it!”

After hanging up, Yan Yu saw Su Han approaching. She said, “Come in, I have something to announce.”

“Official announcement?” Yan Yu blinked.

“Official announcement, my foot!” Su Han glared at him.

With Su Han’s arrival, the classmates gradually returned to their seats. Once everyone was settled, Su Han said, “Due to the school’s concern about your academic stress, it’s been decided that starting next Monday, our class will go on an outdoor excursion to relax.”

“Wow, the school is so good to us, they know how stressed we are…” Fatty exaggerated.

Everyone laughed, knowing full well that as a bunch of rich kids, academic stress was hardly an issue.

“Are we under a lot of stress?” Yan Yu wondered aloud. “Eat, sleep, occasionally tease the pretty desk mate—life’s great!”

Yang Xuefei rolled her eyes at him. “Actually, the school’s holding a baseline exam and is afraid our class will disrupt the test environment, affecting the real good students’ scores…”

Yan Yu burst out laughing.

When the chatter died down, Su Han continued, “The activity lasts three days. Today’s Friday, we leave next Monday. The destination is Fengmen Village, two hours from the city center. Tonight, inform your parents and get ready. If you can’t participate, report to me…”