Chapter 339: Lunch

"Oh, it's Yuping Town, about an hour's drive from Zhonghai city, but the roads are quite winding with many small villages, so it might take about two hours," Wang Mama said.

Yang Chen stood up and said, "I'm a bit worried. I'll go over to check the situation. Wang Mama, you don't need to wait for me for dinner."

"Brother Yang, why don't I go too? I'm also worried about sister," Huilin's sparkling eyes were full of concern.

Yang Chen pondered for a moment and shook his head. "I'm also worried leaving Wang Mama alone at home. You should stay with her. Besides, you're a girl too; going there won't have any intimidating effect."

Huilin understood the truth in Yang Chen's words. She couldn't just wave a sword and shout, "I, the heroine, am here to stop your rebellion!" Moreover, she hadn't brought a sword down the mountain with her, so she didn't say anything more.

Yang Chen's BMW had its own GPS navigation system, and Lin Ruoxi's car naturally had one too. Yang Chen wasn't worried about not finding Lin Ruoxi. If he drove faster, he might even catch up with her.

After confirming the name of the factory as "Yuping Garment Manufacturing" and checking the address, Yang Chen immediately set off.

Twenty minutes later, the car entered the provincial road on the outskirts, no longer the smooth highway. There were many forks along the road, making it difficult to drive fast, often with pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles crossing.

Estimating Lin Ruoxi's temperament, Yang Chen was sure she wouldn't dare to speed, so the chance of catching up with her was quite high.

However, Yang Chen underestimated his "fate" with Sister Lin.

After more than an hour, Yang Chen entered a rural village on the outskirts of Zhonghai. There, in front of a private small supermarket along the village road, Yang Chen was astonished to see Lin Ruoxi's red Bentley parked quietly.

Yang Chen parked his car in front of the supermarket and got out. He looked around but didn't see Lin Ruoxi anywhere.

Just as he was about to enter the supermarket to ask, a tall woman in a beige British-style coat, carrying a brown Gucci bag with her dark hair casually draped over her shoulders, walked out of the supermarket while talking on her phone.

Seeing the familiar and coldly beautiful figure, Yang Chen couldn't help but smile in relief and waved at Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi was in the midst of a phone call, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. When she suddenly saw Yang Chen appear in front of her, she almost forgot what she was saying, her whole person visibly stunned for a moment.

A few seconds later, Lin Ruoxi hung up the phone without a word and walked silently towards Yang Chen, staring at him as if studying something.

Yang Chen felt a bit awkward under her scrutiny and jokingly said, "I don't think I'm that handsome to make you stare at me like that."

Ignoring Yang Chen's attempt at humor, Lin Ruoxi asked coldly, "Who told you to follow me?"

"Ruoxi, how can I not worry when you're going alone to deal with a group of men in a rural town?" Yang Chen said honestly.

"Mr. Yang, please mind your words. Who's your wife?" Lin Ruoxi's face turned frosty, her gaze cutting through Yang Chen's face like a knife. "And whether I can handle it or not is none of your business. We are merely contractually married, and we don't interfere in each other's private matters. We'll be divorcing in a few months anyway, so stay as far away from me as possible. I really don't want to see you."

Yang Chen felt embarrassed but didn't get angry. He directly asked, "You were supposed to go to Yuping Town. Why did you stop here?"

"It's none of your concern. You can go back. I'll handle my own affairs," Lin Ruoxi said coldly, turning and walking back into the supermarket.

Yang Chen sighed and circled around the car, immediately spotting the issue—the front tire of the Bentley had been punctured by a nail!

On these rural roads, such incidents were unavoidable, explaining why Lin Ruoxi couldn't move.

Although Bentley Mulsanne wasn't an extremely rare car, it wasn't something any roadside repair shop could fix, especially in a village where even finding someone to fix a motorcycle tire could be difficult, let alone a high-end car tire.

Yang Chen caught up and asked Lin Ruoxi, "Have you arranged for a repair shop?"

Despite not wanting to engage with Yang Chen, Lin Ruoxi wasn't unreasonable or hysterical. When Yang Chen asked seriously, she replied coldly, "Wu Yue has already called someone to come and change the tire."

"What about yourself? Are you leaving the car and staying here?" Yang Chen asked.

"I'll have someone come pick me up," Lin Ruoxi said icily.

"Why find someone else when I'm right here?" Yang Chen said.

"I'm going to Yuping," Lin Ruoxi replied coldly.

"I can take you there. I'll be your assistant and part-time bodyguard. You know I'm good at fighting; those people won't dare to come near you," Yang Chen blinked at Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi hesitated. It wasn't that she forgave Yang Chen so quickly or was compromising with him to break the deadlock. She was genuinely concerned about facing nearly a thousand workers alone at the lower-level processing plant and was worried about potential violence.

Even though Lin Ruoxi didn't think Yang Chen could be of much help, two people were better than one. If her assistant Wu Yue wasn't on vacation, Lin Ruoxi would have taken her along.

"You're going on your own accord, not because I'm forcing you," Lin Ruoxi clarified, not wanting Yang Chen to feel needed.

Yang Chen chuckled inwardly but kept up appearances. "Exactly, I'm here in an official capacity, not a personal one. Is that satisfactory, Miss Lin?"

Lin ruoxi knew her little trick had been exposed when her stomach growled embarrassingly loud. Her face turned crimson, attempting to hide her embarrassment, but just as she managed to do so, her stomach rumbled again.

Yang Chen was momentarily stunned but quickly realized that Lin Ruoxi hadn't eaten lunch yet and was now hungry. Seeing her visibly upset, he smiled reassuringly. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Whether you're a CEO or a beautiful woman, you're still human. Humans need to eat, and when they don't, their stomachs growl. It's just like everyone farts."

Lin Ruoxi bit her lip tightly, pretending she hadn't heard him. However, deep down, she felt a bit relieved. She had never been so embarrassed in front of a man before—first the car tire incident, then being caught out trying to save face, and now her stomach growling from hunger. It was all too much.

Yang Chen didn't tease her further. He understood that these seemingly trivial matters might be very distressing for Lin Ruoxi, who had a strong sense of dignity, especially in front of him. So he casually suggested, "Let's go into the supermarket and get something to eat."

The small village supermarket was indeed modest, with only three shelves in total. After rummaging around, they found some dried tofu, biscuits, and instant noodles. The beef jerky looked questionable, so they decided against buying it. Yang Chen took out a hundred yuan bill, purchased seven or eight packs of instant noodles, a few packs of dried tofu, and asked the store owner for a pot of hot water and two bowls. They then sat down side by side by the supermarket window, preparing to eat.

Lin Ruoxi, accustomed to having Wang Ma cook for her at home, rarely ate instant noodles. Therefore, she hesitated and opted to open a pack of dried tofu, nibbling at it slowly, despite her hungry stomach growling.

Meanwhile, Yang Chen prepared a bowl of instant noodles for himself and another one, adding two extra noodle cakes.

Seeing this, Lin Ruoxi hurriedly tried to stop him. "One pack is enough for me. Why did you buy so many? You should return them."

Yang Chen smiled helplessly. "Oh no, Miss Lin, one pack is enough for you, but I need to eat several packs."

"You're eating them too?"

"I haven't had lunch either. Of course, I need to eat," Yang Chen said casually.

Lin Ruoxi paused with a piece of dried tofu in her hand, stunned.

Yang Chen had obviously rushed here immediately after learning she had gone to Yuping Town. Considering the timing, he must have been just about to have lunch at home. Yet, he didn't even take the time to eat, worried about her instead.

Lin Ruoxi felt a warm sensation spread through her heart, despite herself.