My Exclusive Dream World Adventures
Chapter 261 - Chapter 261 261 Reencounter with Cao Ningning

Chapter 261: 261 Reencounter with Cao Ningning Chapter 261: 261 Reencounter with Cao Ningning Old Tang finally decided to think about it, and Chen Xu knew that changing jobs was definitely a matter that required careful consideration. He told him he could take his time to think about it, as the invitation was always valid.

It happened to be dinnertime, so the two of them went to the restaurant next door to eat before heading home.

Chen Xu was driving home, and it was the evening rush hour. The road was particularly busy, with stop-and-go traffic testing his patience. He couldn’t help but think that taking the subway might have been better; he might have been home by now.

Usually, he wouldn’t be bothered by this, as his home was close by and the traffic wouldn’t be congested for too long.

After crawling along for forty minutes and turning onto another road, traffic finally thinned out and he was able to pick up speed. Unconsciously, he found himself near his former rental.

He had lived there for two years and was more familiar with the roads in this area.

When he passed the park where he used to run, he looked towards another intersection. After his daily run, he used to enter from this intersection and take the back road to his rental.

Involuntarily, his thoughts turned to the girl he often saw feeding cats there. He wondered if she still visited daily to feed the stray cats.

So much time had passed; those kittens must have grown up as well.

As he thought this, his car didn’t slow down and he continued driving past. The events were long past, and he decided to let them remain as a memory. He didn’t want to pursue them further.

Past this stretch was a three-way intersection. Turning right would take him in the direction of his home.

As he made the turn, he caught sight of a man and a woman struggling on the sidewalk. The woman was wearing a school uniform, which instantly caught his attention.

Street lights didn’t reach that corner, so he couldn’t make out their faces. He could only infer they were a man and a woman from their clothes and voices.

He couldn’t help but recall a recent news story about a girl who was assaulted on her way home at night by a man who beat and kicked her severely, and then dragged her away.

With this in mind, he felt he couldn’t ignore it.

In the past, he didn’t like to meddle, simply to avoid trouble. Now, however, he felt more confident and was ready to intervene if he saw injustice.

After checking his rearview mirror and seeing that there were no cars behind, he pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car.

“Miss, do you need some help?”

He stared at the man and shouted loudly.

Perhaps sensing someone approaching, the man instinctively released the girl. The girl in the school uniform immediately ran towards Chen Xu.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Xu was surprised to recognize the girl as the cat feeder he had just been thinking about, Cao Ningning.

He blurted out, “Why is it you?”

Cao Ningning paused, staring at him for a couple of seconds. Her face shifted from confusion to delight as she pointed at him and said, “You are Chen Xu?”

Chen Xu was pleased that she still remembered him, but he also remembered the immediate situation and asked her, “What happened just now? Do you know that man?”

At that moment, the man showed no intention of leaving, standing there with anxious impatience.

Cao Ningning shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Chen Xu was puzzled. What did she mean by “I don’t know”?

Just then, the man spoke up, “You know her, good, come with me.” He reached out to grab Cao Ningning.

Chen Xu’s brow furrowed as he grabbed the man’s hand and twisted it backward.

“Ow, that hurts, let go…” The man’s arm was twisted around, and he cried out in pain.

Chen Rubing. “I think it’s you who should come with me. Call the police.” The last instruction was for Cao Ningning.

“Oh.” Cao Ningning finally reacted, taking out her phone.

“Wait, don’t… don’t call…” The man desperately shouted.

Cao Ningning subconsciously looked at Chen Xu.

Chen Xu scoffed and said, “Now you’re scared? Too late. Don’t mind him, call.”

After the police were called, they arrived quickly. The man, named Tian Jian, became cooperative, revealing the truth, “My son and she are high school classmates. He attempted suicide by slashing his wrists last night, fortunately, we found him in time, and he was saved. After waking up, he still blamed us, asking why we saved him instead of letting him die.”

“I figured he must have been provoked, but his grades were excellent, he was in the top ten of his class in the recent monthly exams. It wasn’t until my wife found the suicide note he left that we learned it was because of a girl in his class…”

As he spoke, the man struggled to control his emotions, “I’ve raised him for over a decade, sent him to the best schools, and yet, just because a girl doesn’t like him, he wants to die, I…”

Chen Xu couldn’t help but glance towards Cao Ningning as he heard this; such a story didn’t seem fabricated.

At that moment, she appeared anxious and explained in a quiet voice, “He just came up to me and grabbed my hand, saying he wanted to take me to see his son, he didn’t tell me all this.”

The police, hearing that it was this kind of situation, also felt sympathy and gave a verbal admonishment, “Even so, you can’t just grab a girl on the street, especially when she’s a minor. Whatever the issue is, it should be discussed properly.”

“I was just in a panic, I admit my fault, and I apologize to this young lady.”

The man said urgently, “Now, my son is lying in the hospital and he refuses to eat anything. My spouse is there watching over him and doesn’t dare to leave his side. I really didn’t intend to do anything to her, I just wanted her to see my son and talk some sense into him. To keep him from thinking about suicide.”

“This is up to her to agree,” said the policeman before turning to Chen Xu, “You’ve heard his situation, how do you plan to handle this?”

Chen Xu looked at Cao Ningning.

She said, “I’ll listen to you.”

“Let’s just forget it then,” Chen Xu didn’t want to make things difficult for the man, “But, you are not allowed to bother her anymore. She’s still a student, and for a grown man to pull and drag her around like this, is that proper behaviour?”

The man promised, “As long as my son recovers, I absolutely won’t bother her again.”

With the matter resolved, the policeman left.

Chen Xu also prepared to leave, saying to her, “Call your family to come and be with you.”

He told Cao Ningning that their meeting was mere coincidence, they were strangers and he didn’t plan to get involved in her life. If he could lend a hand, it was simply fate.

Cao Ningning lowered her head, saying, “My parents aren’t at home.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Xu frowned and asked, “Where did they go?”

“I don’t know.”

She shook her head, then added, “My dad left home, and my mom went to look for him. I don’t know where they are now.”

As soon as he heard this, Chen Xu felt her family situation was quite complicated and asked, “Then, is there anyone else in your family?”

She shook her head, her expression somewhat despondent.

Chen Xu found the situation a bit thorny and, looking at the anxious-looking Tian Jian, he still felt worried. If she went alone and something happened, it would be irreversibly regrettable.

He said, “How about I go with you?”

Cao Ningning looked up at him, with shining eyes and nodded vigorously, “Mhm.”

……

By chance, the hospital where Tian Jian’s son was staying was the same one Chen Xu had been in before.

Chen Xu and Cao Ningning followed Tian Jian to the hospital room and saw his son, Tian Hao, a tall and thin boy, quite handsome but pale in complexion. At the moment, he was asleep.

“Is he your classmate?” Chen Xu asked softly.

Cao Ningning didn’t answer; instead, she pulled out her phone, opened the photo album, found a group photo, and looked at the boy on the hospital bed for a while before nodding and saying, “Yes.”

Seeing her action, Chen Xu started to understand.

No wonder he always felt that the girl was a bit odd; so, she had face blindness?

“Little Hao, Little Hao, look who’s here.” Tian Jian moved forward to wake his son.

The boy on the bed opened his eyes, and the moment he saw Cao Ningning, his face froze.

Chen Xu pulled Tian Jian aside, signaling him to step out.

“You two talk,” Tian Jian also realized and followed Chen Xu out, leaving the two to talk.

Chen Xu just stood by the door, ready to enter at the first sign of trouble. He could only faintly hear the conversation, too soft to discern clearly. Most of the talking seemed to be Cao Ningning.

About ten minutes later, Cao Ningning came out. Tian Jian hurried in to check on his son. It wasn’t long before they heard his excited voice, “Good, good, I’ll go get you something to eat right away.”

From Tian Jian’s reaction, Chen Xu knew her persuasion had been very effective, and without asking further, he said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you back.”

They had arrived in Chen Xu’s car.

“He wrote me a love letter a few days ago,” Cao Ningning started to share after they got in the car, “I didn’t read it, just threw it away. Yesterday after school as soon as I came down, he ran over to me. But I didn’t recognize him, and asked him who are you. Then he just ran away.”

Listening to her story, Chen Xu roughly understood the reason behind what happened. The boy had written her a love letter and wanted to hear her reply yesterday, only for her to ask who he was, probably leading him to think she was doing it on purpose, which caused him to be upset and lose hope.

The girl continued, “I’m a little face blind, and in class, I recognize people by their seats, so once I’m out of the classroom, I can’t recognize them. I never expected something like this to happen.”

Chen Xu could see she was upset and comforted, “It’s not your fault. It was completely unexpected.”

The girl was silent for a while when suddenly, a growling sound came from her stomach. In the car, it was especially loud.

Chen Xu asked her, “Haven’t you had dinner yet?”

She seemed embarrassed and gently shook her head.

“I’ll treat you to dinner then, last time, you treated me to breakfast. Now, it’s my turn to treat you.”