Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
In the flower city of July, the temperature wasn’t too high, and a gentle breeze made it the perfect time for a nap.
Jiang Chenyu lay on the daybed feeling drowsy, and just as he was about to fall asleep, an elderly voice suddenly rang out above him: “Xiao Yi, are you in there?”
The young man quickly opened his eyes; whether it was the bright light or something else, his pupils appeared particularly light.
He rolled off the daybed and hurried to the window of the small supermarket.
There were two people waiting, an old man and a young boy, who appeared to be grandfather and grandson.
“Grandpa Zhang, what do you want to buy?” he yawned lazily.
The boy, following his grandfather, had initially been grumbling about the shabby little shop, but upon seeing Jiang Chenyu, he was instantly captivated by the young man’s face.
Yes, he was face-control.
Though young, he considered his aesthetic taste top-notch.
Not to mention he had previously thought the owner of this little shop would be an old man of his grandfather’s generation, only to find a young man who was not much older than himself.
The face before him was the most vibrant and spirited he had ever seen, especially those eyes!
The boy widened his eyes while staring at the young man and his mind couldn't help but wander as he thought that if he had known the owner was so good-looking, he should have brought along the girls from his class who were infatuated with him.
He wondered: Who is more handsome, him or this brother?
While the boy was lost in thought, Jiang Chenyu was chatting with Grandpa Zhang.
After a short while, Grandpa Zhang suddenly remembered what he had come out for: “Xiao Yi, do you still have that spring water? Grandpa wants a case.”
Spring water?
The boy quickly snapped back to reality but felt confused as to why his grandfather had come here to buy spring water.
“Yes, but you should know my rules,” Jiang Chenyu’s pupils flickered, reflecting a faint golden glow in the sunlight.
Grandpa Zhang nodded eagerly: “I understand, I understand.”
Jiang Chenyu turned and went back inside the shop before walking behind the screen that leaned against the daybed.
In no time, he returned with a case of water.
He placed the water on the table by the window before he pulled out a golden abacus from underneath and, in front of the grandfather and grandson, clicked it a couple of times before saying, “That’ll be twenty.”
Grandpa Zhang took out two ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Chenyu, and let his grandson carry the water home.
The boy examined the bottled water and noticed that it didn’t even have a label.
“Grandpa, this is an unbranded product!” he suddenly became anxious.
He shot a glance at the smiling young man while silently muttering to himself: Don’t think that just because you’re good-looking, you can sell unbranded products; I’ll report you!
Just as he finished speaking, his ear was pinched by his Grandpa: “Unbranded your head! Stop dawdling and take it home!”
“Hey! Grandpa… that hurts, that hurts!”
Under his Grandpa’s glare, the boy reluctantly carried the case of water. But before leaving, he shot Jiang Chenyu a special glance with his eyes saying, “You’re really good-looking,” while the other side said, “But I’ll still report you!”
This little display made Jiang Chenyu laugh uncontrollably.
Seeing him smile, the boy’s face instantly turned red.
In the next moment, he was pinched by his grandfather again: “What are you looking at? Hurry up and go! This spring water is a good thing; your grandpa relies on it to lower his blood pressure!”
“Is this really spring water? Are you sure there are no added substances?”
“Your grandpa may be old, but he’s not foolish. Do you think you know better than a doctor about what’s added?”
After watching the grandfather and grandson leave, Jiang Chenyu turned around and wanted to return to the daybed for a little more rest.
The eight-panel screen leaning against the daybed was pure black with golden characters, looking quite imposing and contrasting sharply with the supermarket’s shabby exterior.
Behind the screen were rows of shelves stocked with rare items that would definitely cause a frenzy if thrown outside.
For instance, the spring water that is just taken out can not only lower the blood pressure and blood lipids but could also treat other minor ailments.
Yet these so-called rare items were the least noteworthy in the supermarket.
At the very back of the supermarket was a tightly shut door, which had been sealed for twenty-two years in this world.
Jiang Chenyu stood still while squinting at that door, and after a long while, he let out a long yawn.
“Time to sleep, time to sleep!”
Just as he lay back down on the daybed, another man’s voice interrupted Jiang Chenyu’s drowsiness.
“Are you… Jiang Chenyu?”
Three people suddenly appeared at the window.
The middle-aged man and woman at the forefront looked at him with tears in their eyes and were filled with excitement.
As they approached, the two reached out, seemingly wanting to grab his arm.
Jiang Chenyu furrowed his brow deeply and instinctively took a step back.
His action seemed to have greatly startled the woman as tears instantly streamed down her face: “Child! My child!”
Hearing the word “child,” Jiang Chenyu paused while looking at the three people before him with a complex expression.
The man noticed his gaze and paused before becoming even more excited: “Child, we are your biological parents! Thank the heavens, we finally found you!”
They were so overwhelmed with emotion that they could hardly say much, and can only cry incessantly.
The third person at the back had red-rimmed eyes that made his gaunt cheeks look even paler.
“Brother… it’s so good, we finally found you!” He managed to say these few words before his body swayed and nearly fell to the ground.
“Xiao An!” The middle-aged couple quickly supported him upon seeing this.
The young man clutched his chest while breathing heavily and looking quite unwell: “I’m just so excited to find my brother.”
As he spoke, an unnatural flush appeared on his pale face, and his eyes glistened with tears.
"Yes, yes, we’re finally reunited," the man and woman said with their tears turning into laughter as the three of them embraced warmly.
Jiang Chenyi tilted his head slightly with his gaze filled with scrutiny and curiosity but not a trace of joy.
His demeanor didn’t suggest he was looking at his biological parents; it was more like he was watching a new play he’d never seen before.
Once the frail young man steadied himself, the couple’s attention returned to Jiang Chenyi. "Child, come home with us!" they urged.
Their tone was earnest and truly resembling that of long-suffering parents who had finally found their lost child.
The noise from their side was quite loud and attracted the curious gazes of nearby residents.
Jiang Chenyi glanced at them with a well-behaved smile appearing on his face. Noticing the satisfaction in the eyes of the three people, his smile deepened.
"Let's find a place to have a proper talk."
The couple, seemingly unwilling to be the center of attention, quickly agreed to his suggestion.
Jiang Chenyi closed the window securely then unlocked the latch beside it, and stepped out from the long-closed door of the small supermarket.
"Let's go, we'll talk outside."
He had no intention of bringing them inside.
The couple didn't mind this at all, but the thin young man glanced back at the supermarket with a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
They arrived at a black car parked nearby.
The couple naturally took the front seats, leaving Jiang Chenyi standing by the car door.
Just as Jiang Chenyi was wondering how to open the door without a handle, a hand reached out from behind: "Brother, let me help you open the door. Our family has cars like this; you'll get the hang of it after seeing it once."
He pressed a certain spot on the door, and with a beep, the door slowly opened.
Jiang Chenyi gave the young man behind him a deep look but said nothing as he got into the car.
The couple in the front seats, seeing this, nodded in satisfaction: "Xiao Yi, although Xiao An isn't your biological brother, he means no harm. We've raised him for so long, and you two will surely get along like real brothers."
Real brothers?
The words lingered in Jiang Chenyi's mouth and almost made him laugh.
The adopted son sitting beside him, upon hearing his parents' words, had a slight flicker in his eyes.
But soon, a gentle smile appeared on his face as he echoed their words: "We are brothers, after all."
"Yes, yes, you are brothers." The couple seemed to recall something and quickly corrected themselves.
Jiang Chenyi leaned his head against the car window before letting out a slow yawn.
If they hadn't come looking for him, he would have been asleep by now.
Throughout the journey, the three of them talked about how hard it had been to find him, which made him feel more drowsy.
They found a teahouse, and as soon as they entered, Jiang Chenyi noticed the faint look of disdain on their faces.
As soon as they sat down, the thin young man couldn't help but say, "This place is too small; there's no proper tea room. Brother, when you come to Rong Province, I'll take you to a proper teahouse. Mom, Dad, and I all love drinking tea there."
Jiang Chenyi propped his chin on one hand and let out a soft laugh upon hearing this: "Oh? Really? But I don't like drinking tea."
The three of them were momentarily stunned, probably not expecting him to refuse so bluntly.
Seeing their reaction, Jiang Chenyi's smile grew even brighter: "By the way, so you're from Rong Province."
The couple felt a pang in their hearts. Even though the child's smile was so beautiful, why did they sense a hint of sarcasm in his tone?
"Did we... not mention it?"
Jiang Chenyi sneered inwardly: Throughout the journey, they kept repeating how hard it had been to find him and how he should be filial to them in the future, but they hadn't provided any useful information.
After the waiter served tea to the other three, Jiang Chenyi leisurely sipped the plain boiled water he had specifically requested, then asked, "Sorry, but there's something I've been wondering about for a while. May I ask, what are your surnames?"
From the moment they met until now, over half an hour had passed, and during this time, his biological parents hadn’t even introduced themselves. Not only had they failed to introduce themselves, but they hadn’t even mentioned their surnames.
The three of them froze for a moment before the woman awkwardly smiled and said, "Ah... maybe... we were just too excited to find you, so... we forgot."
They were indeed excited, though it was unclear what exactly they were excited about.
Jiang Chenyi took another sip of his boiled water, and the cup made a soft clinking sound as he placed it back on the table.
The atmosphere instantly turned silent and awkward.
The man felt a faint headache coming on, and the joy of finding his biological son was suddenly halved.
This child, why is he so uncooperative?
"I'm sorry, it's our fault," the man said while wiping his face and forcing out an apology, though his eyes kept darting around and never settling on Jiang Chenyi.
But his biological son showed no reaction to his apology.
This made his mood even worse.
Sure enough, a child raised in a small town, even if he managed to get into a prestigious university, still lacks emotional intelligence.
He muttered a few words to himself before he took a deep breath and then put on the smile he usually reserved for business rivals. "My surname is Lu, Lu Feiyun. Your mother’s surname is Wen, Wen Peiying. Your younger brother is called Lu Jing'an. Our family is in Jinguan City, Rong Province. We run an investment company, and our family is fairly well-off."
The phrase "fairly well-off" was quite modest, but Jiang Chenyi knew the Lu family was the wealthiest in Rong Province.
Lu Feiyun didn’t mention this, and naturally, Jiang Chenyi didn’t bring it up either.
The man’s words were filled with implications of wealth and a comfortable life, suggesting that if Jiang Chenyi returned home, he could enjoy the same lifestyle.
For a child from an ordinary family, this would indeed be an irresistible temptation.
Jiang Chenyi lowered his brows and remained silent.
Just as he was feeling increasingly irritated, a warm presence suddenly appeared beside him.
His adoptive brother sat down next to him, leaving only half a palm’s distance between them. "Brother, if you come back, you won’t have to keep running that shabby little store anymore. Life will get better from now on."
Lu Jing'an’s words reminded Lu Feiyun and Wen Peiying of the old, dilapidated store that looked like it belonged to a bygone era.
The place wasn’t big, probably only a few square meters.
Both of them frowned simultaneously.
According to the information they had, this was the inheritance left to their biological son by his adoptive father. It seemed the child’s upbringing had been quite poor.
If it weren’t for inheriting their intelligence, he probably wouldn’t even have been able to afford college.
Jiang Chenyi saw the undisguised disdain in their eyes, and his irritation reached its peak.
Yet, he maintained a calm smile on his face. In response to Lu Jing'an’s words, he retorted, "I think my life is quite good as it is. The money my father left me is enough to support me."
Tsk!
The disdain in their eyes deepened.
Truly, a poor boy who had never experienced a wealthy lifestyle.
While they were looking down on Jiang Chenyi, they didn’t realize that Jiang Chenyi was also looking down on them.
A father who lacked kindness, a husband who lacked loyalty, a friend who lacked righteousness, and a businessman who lacked integrity.
A mother who lacks kindness, a wife who lacks sincerity, a daughter who lacks filial piety, and an official who lacks integrity.
As for their adopted son...
Jiang Chenyi glanced at the frail young man who kept calling him "brother."
This person lived like a painted skin ghost—his smile was fake, his guilt was fake, his grief was fake, and even his weakness was fake.
This family of three was truly fascinating.
How could his father have ever said they were uninteresting back then?
Thinking of his father, Jiang Chenyi decided he no longer wanted to hold back.
He set down his cup but this time with a heavier thud that sent a shiver through everyone’s hearts.
Under the uneasy gazes of the three, he clasped his hands together then rested his chin on them, and smiled as he looked at the family.
"Let’s talk about something interesting, shall we? For instance, why exactly have you come to see me?"