Rebirth: The Comeback of the Girl
Chapter 217 - 216: Human Relationships and Unexpected Events

Chapter 217: Chapter 216: Human Relationships and Unexpected Events

Zhen Yu originally thought that after helping Mr. Zhen dodge that incident from his previous life, the matter would be over! But unexpectedly, on New Year’s Eve, Mr. Zhen actually showed up at their door! Zhen Yu and her mother were sitting in the living room having dinner when the wires used for hanging clothes in the yard, along with their attached items, began to make noise.

Speaking of which, it was an invention of Mr. Zhen’s from back in the day! The Zhen Family’s yard was long and narrow, and during winter with the windows shuttered and doors closed, it was very difficult to hear someone shouting from outside the gate.

So Mr. Zhen extended the thick wire used for hanging clothes from above the door of the house all the way to above the courtyard gate. A person standing outside the yard just needed to reach through the crack of the gate, grab the wire and shake it vigorously, and then the people inside could hear the noise.

After the mother and daughter let Mr. Zhen into the living room, they continued with their dinner.

In the presence of her mother, Zhen Yu wouldn’t bother to ask him an extra word like "Have you eaten?"

Mr. Zhen didn’t insist either. He waited until the mother and daughter had everything tidied up and sat waiting for him to explain his purpose before he finally spoke.

"Xiao Yu! Did you know in advance that something was going to happen that day? Where did you hear it from?" Mr. Zhen’s words clearly showed he suspected that his daughter had gotten news beforehand.

Zhen Yu certainly wouldn’t tell him the truth! She calmly feigned ignorance and counter-asked, "Which day? What happened?"

Mr. Zhen asked again with a mix of belief and doubt, "You really don’t know?"

"What’s real and what’s fake? Have you come here to interrogate a criminal?!" Although Mrs. Zhen was confused, that didn’t stop her from disliking Zhen Halong’s tone of voice, and she couldn’t help but interject with a retort.

Mr. Zhen quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile, "No, no! I’m just here to ask around."

"Ask about what?" Mrs. Zhen questioned, "What could you possibly have to ask Xiao Yu about?!"

Zhen Yu also put on a puzzled face, looking at Mr. Zhen.

Mr. Zhen had no choice but to come clean to his ex-wife and daughter.

"Last Friday, Xiao Yu came to my place, didn’t she! It’s that night I couldn’t make it, and several of the card players got arrested!"

"Serves them right! If it weren’t for Xiao Yu looking for you, you’d be in there too!" Mrs. Zhen said bluntly.

"Ah! Let’s not talk about this now!" Mr. Zhen waved his hand, and then continued, "I heard they’re going to be locked up for a bit and also have to pay fines! Those families came to me! Saying that it was I who snitched! How unjust is that?! I told them it was because our daughter needed me for something that I couldn’t make it, but they just don’t believe it!"

Mrs. Zhen almost immediately saw through those people’s intentions and pointedly taunted, "Humph! What’s with believing or not believing! They all know you won the big prize, and they’re hoping to swindle some money out of you! Who else but you avoided being caught and fined?!"

Mr. Zhen was stunned to silence.

After a while, seeing that he really had nothing to say, Mrs. Zhen began to usher him out.

"Off you go! Xiao Yu just happened to help you once by chance, and now you come here to doubt her! Whether others believe you or not is none of our business! You go back and discuss what to do with that little missus of yours! Don’t sit around here idling!"

——

Mr. Zhen led the way out, with Mrs. Zhen following behind to see him off.

Just when Zhen Yu was about to follow, Mrs. Zhen suddenly turned back and glared at her, and Zhen Yu immediately understood, touched her nose, and stopped walking, watching as the two left the house.

Zhen Yu stood in front of the living room and pondered for a while, feeling that the incident didn’t have much impact on her, and went back to her room to study.

Perhaps due to the influence of the ’toilet incident’ that happened a while ago, the school did not hold any activities for New Year’s Day, and Zhen Yu was happy to relax.

Mrs. Zhen took quite a long time to see the guest out, and Zhen Yu had finished a full set of math exercises before she returned.

As soon as she entered, she started to shout, "Zhen Yu! Come out here!"

Zhen Yu was startled and immediately stood up and went to the living room after putting down her papers.

"Mom, what happened?"

"What happened? You dare to ask me what happened!" Mrs. Zhen felt a surge of irritation, "Tell me! What the heck happened on the 27th?!"

"Ah... Nothing much really." Zhen Yu said, struggling.

Slap—

Mrs. Zhen fiercely slapped the edge of the kang bed and jabbed her finger hard into her daughter’s temple!

"You’re still making excuses! Can’t you be a bit smarter when you do things? Huh!! Can we really trust Zhen Hailong? Aren’t you afraid that after helping him, you’ll get yourself into trouble again?!"

Zhen Yu staggered from the poking but didn’t dare utter a word.

She didn’t talk back, letting Mrs. Zhen scold her to her heart’s content. If she dared to retort, then she shouldn’t expect to sleep early tonight! Mrs. Zhen could go on lecturing her until midnight!

After poking a few times, Mrs. Zhen withdrew her hand and said earnestly, "I know you’re ’capable’! But is this how you’re supposed to use your abilities?! By brazenly removing your father from this, won’t others suspect Hailong?! If others suspect him, he can immediately suspect you! I had to cover up for you with lies outside just now before sending your father off!"

Mrs. Zhen seldom called her daughter by her full name, but now she did so very solemnly: "Zhen Yu! From now on, you better be cautious! If you slip up in front of others again, believe it or not, I’ll smack you!"

"I got it! Mom." Zhen Yu obediently nodded.

Though she had lived two lives, her age was not that much extended! She had only been reborn for a little over a year, and counting both lives, she hadn’t lived past thirty years.

Furthermore, in her previous life, she was used to being alone and seldom interacted with others.

This life, relying on being a ’Prophet’, she seemed to know a lot, but actually, in terms of social skills and norms, she was far behind her mother.

Maybe, in the future, she should discuss more with her mother before doing anything.

——

January 4, 1997, Saturday, heavy snow.

When Mrs. Zhen opened her eyes, she thought she woke up late, but after checking the clock, she realized it was not even 5 o’clock yet.

Even through the layer of plastic sheeting, she could vaguely make out a blanket of glistening white outside the window.

"It’s snowing..." Mrs. Zhen muttered to herself while dressing. After putting on her shoes and stepping down, she went to flip through the calendar, "Tomorrow is Xiao Han! Less than two weeks until the Laba Festival!"

"Mom." Zhen Yu came out from the inner room, wrapped in a small jacket, "It’s Saturday today, I’ll go with you to the Shoe City!"

"Why go out in such heavy snow!" Mrs. Zhen continued to study the calendar without turning her head, "Tsk! Why is the New Year so late this year! The New Year’s eve is only at the end of January! When is your final exam again?"

"Next Wednesday."

"Right, right! Wednesday! Then you’ll be on winter break soon!" Mrs. Zhen’s thoughts leaped quickly, "Your brother must be having exams soon too! I have to make a call to check today!

"Yeah! Do ask!" Zhen Yu nodded, "It’s probably these two weeks of exams, and if the timing is right, let’s go pick him up!"

"Ah?" Mrs. Zhen asked in surprise: "Can’t a grown lad make his way back by himself?"

"Mom, we should have saved enough for the final payment we owe Boss Zhang! Let’s pay it off before the Spring Festival! I remember from the TV shows I watched as a kid that debts are collected before the New Year..."

"Exactly! You don’t owe debts before the New Year, and you don’t celebrate the New Year if you owe debts! Yes, that’s the right thing to do!" Mrs. Zhen slapped her thigh, "My daughter is the one who thinks things through!"