The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 537 Heavenly Palace on the Clouds (Part 3) The Prototype of the Demon Orb A Phone Call from Northeast China

"Jian Ning!"

In a guesthouse in Jilin Province in Northeast China, Zhang Wei suddenly sat up in bed with a shout.

"Ha ha……"

Like a drowning person rescued, Zhang Wei, covered in sweat, gasped for breath until his lungs were filled with fresh air before he gradually came to his senses.

"Giggle!"

A rooster crowed, and he realized that it was already dawn.

Zhang Wei, wearing an old man's vest, checked the time; it was 5:30 in the morning.

After leaning against the headboard and shaking his head, he finally calmed down completely.

I reached out and picked up a document from the side. It was a case file I had looked at while preparing for the exam last night. It was about a father who found his lost child, but the two broke up again due to differences in their lifestyles and conflicts over marriage arrangements, and ended up in court.

"..."

Zhang Wei stared at the file in silence for a long time before finally sighing and saying, "Thank goodness it was just a dream."

Recalling what happened in his dream, Zhang Wei felt a sudden tightness in his chest and quickly pulled his phone out from under his pillow.

But as he picked up his phone, he also pulled out a talisman from under his pillow.

Zhang Wei was startled, but quickly relaxed. This was the talisman he had bought from Huang Huifeng.

Although I don't really believe in this thing, I did spend money on it after all, so I can't bear to throw it away. I'll just treat it as a psychological comfort.

Even though Jian Ning had teased him about it, he still secretly slipped a card into Jian Ning's backpack when he left.

Just consider it a way to put your mind at ease.

Thinking of this, Zhang Wei opened his phone and went into QQ. His message to Jian Ning was still the one from August 8th.

Jian Ning: There's a large tomb in Changbai Mountain, and I'm going to go down into it for archaeological work.

Seeing this message and Jian Ning's grayed-out profile picture, Zhang Wei felt a pang of anxiety. This was the last thing Jian Ning said to him in his dream.

Is it...

A bad feeling welled up inside me, just like the feeling I had in my dream before the accident happened.

Zhang Wei glanced at the suitcase in the corner, which still contained other things he had bought from Huang Huifeng.

"Jian Ning...is she in danger?!"

This thought kept lingering in Zhang Wei's mind, and that suffocating feeling returned. He knew that this time he was probably just scaring himself, but he couldn't help but think that way.

After fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead again, Zhang Wei slapped himself to force himself to calm down.

I have to go find her!

After making up his mind, Zhang Wei was about to get out of bed to pack his things, but as soon as he moved, he noticed something strange about the blanket.

Zhang Wei's expression changed the moment he reached out and touched it.

"Oh, it was urine."

……

August 14th, a weekend.

"Dali, how have you been feeling since you stayed at the apartment for a few days?"

Love Apartment 3601.

Hu Yifei walked over with a plate of washed fruit and asked with a smile.

“It feels pretty good,” said Zhuge Dali, who was watching TV. “I’ve stayed here before, Sister Yifei, you don’t need to be so polite.”

"How can you call that being polite?"

Teacher Hu waved his hand and said, "I know you used to live here, but since your Uncle Wen took you here, of course I have to take care of you."

After a pause, Hu Yifei added, "It's a pity that there's only one empty room left, the study. It was originally for Zhang Wei, and we were worried you wouldn't be comfortable in it."

"fine."

Zhuge Dali shook her head, suddenly remembering that when the uncle brought her here before, he asked if she wanted to rent another apartment.

She felt it was too much trouble and refused, but the uncle looked somewhat disappointed.

Does the uncle want to rent another apartment?
Just as Zhuge Dali was deep in thought, the door to the suite's balcony was opened.

"Hey, Dali, I have a new Barbie doll here, do you want to play with it?" Chen Meijia walked in carrying a huge doll.

Seeing this, Zhuge Dali chuckled dryly and said, "Thank you, Sister Meijia, you can continue playing."

"Why? Don't you like it?" Chen Meijia immediately pouted. "Barbie dolls are so cute!"

"..."

After a two-second silence, Zhuge Dali said, "I think Optimus Prime is the cutest."

"..."

Chen Meijia fell silent.

Hu Yifei, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh. These words reminded her of her younger brother.

"Dali! Dali!"

Just then, a shout came from the balcony. Lu Ziqiao walked over and said, "Dali, Wensheng just called and said he'll be downstairs soon."

"okay."

Zhuge Dali responded and then said, "Then I'll go downstairs and wait for Uncle."

After Zhuge Dali left, the three people inside the room exchanged glances, and then Hu Yifei asked, "Why did Wen Sheng call Dali to the people in your suite?"

Chen Meijia asked, "Where are Dali going with Wensheng? And... why does she like Optimus Prime instead of Barbie? She's a girl!"

Listening to their questions, Lu Ziqiao looked at the room again and then replied, "Is it strange? Dali often comes to our suite to play games after he moved in, so of course Wensheng would call our apartment first!"

Then he added, "Wensheng said he would take her to Nuolan's for dinner, and the food there is already prepared."

"I see~" *2
"But why would she like Optimus Prime instead of Barbie?" Chen Meijia asked again, using her limited brainpower.

"..."

Hu Yifei rolled her eyes and said irritably, "So what if Dali likes Optimus Prime more? Who says girls have to like Barbie dolls? I like Optimus Prime more too!"

After all, she has a younger brother like Lu Zhanbo, so she's seen more Optimus Prime dolls than Barbie dolls.

"that is!"

Lu Ziqiao chimed in, "Haven't you noticed these past few days that even though Dali is a girl, she gets along much better with us guys when it comes to hobbies?"

After a pause, Lu Ziqiao lowered his voice and said, "Moreover, I discovered that beneath Dali's well-behaved girl exterior lies the heart of a... devil."

"Hey, Lu Ziqiao, it's going too far to talk about a child like that!" Hu Yifei said unhappily.

"I'm not talking nonsense!"

Lu Ziqiao immediately added, "For example, a couple of days ago I was at a bar and saw three beautiful women sitting together drinking. You know, when beautiful women are in a group, the best way to strike up a conversation is to make them stand alone. Just as I was making up an excuse, Dali said she could help me."

"You took Dali to pick up girls? Lu Ziqiao, how wicked are you! She's still a child!" Chen Meijia immediately looked at him with disdain after hearing his words.

"No, we were playing Ludo at a bar, and my aunt and Guan Gu were there too!" Lu Ziqiao said irritably. "Can you let me finish?"

"OK, go ahead."

"At that moment, Dali could tell at a glance which of the three girls was out to hook up with rich guys, which one had just broken up with her boyfriend, and which one was the easiest to approach."

"Really?" Hu Yifei asked with a strange look. "You're corrupting the children. Be careful, Wen Sheng might come after you."

"What? How could I have taught her to be bad?" Seeing that he was about to be blamed, Lu Ziqiao quickly denied it. "Dali said that Wen Sheng taught her, but according to her, Wen Sheng taught her how to avoid scumbags, but she learned a lot more from it."

"..."

Hu Yifei's lips twitched, unsure whether to say that Wen Sheng was a good teacher or that Dali had high comprehension.

Then Lu Ziqiao continued, "Then I don't know what Dali said to those three girls, but he actually got their contact information, and they even invited me to have a drink with them."

“This…” Although Chen Meijia also felt something was off, she thought for a moment and said, “Well, he has already helped you, and you still say that Dali has the heart of a demon child.”

"Heh, you did help me, didn't you?" Lu Ziqiao scoffed. "That's all you did for me. You wouldn't believe what happened next. I was planning to get Dali away from those three girls and have some fun with them, but I couldn't get them away at all. Besides, Dali was even more attractive than me. All the girls' attention was on her, only..."

At this point, Lu Ziqiao's face fell, and he continued in a mournful tone, "She only pays attention to me when she asks me to help her with her homework."

"..." Hu Yifei and Chen Meijia exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on, with your brain, how could you do Dali's homework?" Chen Meijia mocked.

"I don't know how to make it, so Dali replaced it with ice cream, fried chicken, and earthworm cookies," Lu Ziqiao said helplessly. "I only mentioned that I had made earthworm cookies for fishing before, but I didn't expect Dali to remember it."

Hearing Lu Ziqiao's complaints, Chen Meijia snorted, "Serves him right!"

"This is just Dali being a little mischievous."

“No, no, no, you have to believe me. I’m always right about people. Dali is definitely a prodigy.” Lu Ziqiao thought for a moment and then said, “Have you guys seen ‘My Own Swordsman’? Mo Xiaobei grows up to be a madman of the Crimson Flame. I think Dali will be too.”

"Bullshit! How disgusting is it to talk about other kids behind their backs?" Chen Meijia said irritably. "Besides, what kind of judgment do you have? You're like a blind man!"

I came back from studying in Northeast China, and I've evolved from an apple into a pineapple without anyone noticing!
Upon hearing Chen Meijia's words, Lu Ziqiao frowned and retorted, "Oh? You talk as if you have a good eye, but you can't even count."

"you!"

Chen Meijia was furious that she was being mocked for not being able to count!
"What's wrong with me? Tell me if you dare!"

“Fine, I’ll say it! I could tell Wen Sheng wanted to be Dali’s father!”

"..."

……

At Nolan's house.

"Dali's here!" Nuolan greeted Zhuge Dali warmly as she opened the door. "Come in, come in! Auntie has prepared lots of delicious food for you."

"Hello, Sister Nuolan!"

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Dali first called out sweetly.

"Didn't I tell you? You don't need to call me 'sister,' just call me 'auntie.'" Nuolan handed her a pair of slippers and said, "Auntie knows her place. At my age, of course I should be called 'auntie.'"

"..."

Wen Sheng, who was following behind Dali, twitched his eye and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Speaking of which, including the girls in the apartment, Dali calls them all "sister," since they definitely prefer to be called younger.

But for some reason, when Nuolan first met Dali last year, she didn't say anything when Dali called her "sister." But after Dali came recently, she made Dali call her "auntie."

Wen Sheng had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, but he certainly wouldn't ask Nuolan for confirmation.

Hmm... Ms. Noah is more suited to interrogating him.

Since Dali calls himself uncle, it's not wrong for Nuolan to be aunt.

Upon entering the house, he saw that Nuolan had prepared a table full of dishes and exclaimed, "What a feast!"

"You rarely come all this way, so of course we should make a little more!"

"But I just arrived yesterday, didn't I?"

"..."

There was a slight awkwardness in the air. At this moment, Wen Sheng said, "Dali, you don't know, you are the only one who eats her cooking without being picky. Of course, she hopes you will come over more often so that she can try out new dishes."

"Nonsense!"

Nuolan rolled her eyes at this jerk: "I do like Dali, okay?"

She paused for a moment, then served Dali a bowl of rice and said, "I hope our future children will be as cute and not picky about food as Dali."

"..."

The air fell silent again. Wen Sheng looked at her again and again, but ultimately didn't respond to the conversation.

Ever since Dali visited a few times, Nuolan has been bringing up this matter intentionally or unintentionally. It's unclear who she's talking to, whether she genuinely has such thoughts, or if it's for some other reason.

Fortunately, Ms. Nuo was sensible and didn't try to trick the child into revealing anything.

However, Wen Sheng wasn't afraid of her trying to get information out of him. He had already reminded Dali not to mention too much about the past.

For example, the camping trip to Sheshan.

What would happen if Ms. Nuo found out?

Watching Nuolan enthusiastically serving food to Dali, Wensheng couldn't help but think of the scene a few days ago when Attorney Zhuge handed Dali over to him.

“I’m going abroad. I originally wanted Dali to go back to his hometown until the end of summer vacation, but Dali said he wanted to visit you, so…”

"It's alright, don't worry about Dali, leave it to me."

"Don't let her get away with this. I know you usually take her out for fried food and other junk food. I'm not here this time, so don't spoil her, you hear me?!"

"I heard you! Do you think I don't know how to pay attention to these things? I only bring her food occasionally when I see her craving something sweet."

"Hmph, I bet Dali doesn't think so."

"Alright, Dali isn't a kindergarten kid. She knows what she's doing, and so do I. Don't worry about things like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation."

"I hope it really will stop me from worrying."

“I can’t advise you on these things, but now you have something else to worry about.”

"what?"

"I've taken care of your child for so long, shouldn't you show some appreciation for me?"

"..."

"Don't worry, there's no rush for you to fulfill the things that Dali's father should fully enjoy."

"Stop messing around, Dali is still here!"

"She usually takes quite a while to finish showering. Come on, let's give her a kiss first."

"You... uh!"

……

"Dali, why don't you sleep here tonight?"

After dinner, Nuolan invited Dali to stay at her home.

Zhuge Dali subconsciously looked at Wen Sheng, but then heard Nuolan say, "Why are you looking at him? Wen Sheng can stay or not if he wants!"

"..."

Wen Sheng's lips twitched, and he said to Dali, "It's okay, stay here. I often stay here too."

Sigh, I hope that in the future... Ms. Noah won't change her mind.

……

The next day at noon, at Love Apartment.

Ms. Hu, who had no classes in the afternoon, was happily humming a song while cooking. Wen Sheng and Dali hadn't returned yet, and Zeng Xiaoxian had gone to the radio station to fawn over Lisa Rong. Ms. Hu was alone in the suite.

"Dingling bell~"

Just as she finished cooking a dish, the landline in the suite rang.

Hu Yifei wiped her hands, picked up the spatula, and went over to answer the phone.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Excuse me, is this Love Apartment? Are you Zhang Wei's friend?"

A stranger's voice came through the phone, and Hu Yifei was startled.

"Yes, I'm Hu Yifei, Zhang Wei's friend. This is Love Apartment 3601. What's up?"

“I’m from the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China. Zhang Wei came to my house a couple of days ago when he came into the mountains. He said he was a tourist looking at the scenery. But yesterday, when I was leading him into the mountains as a tour guide, he suddenly ran off the tourist route and I couldn’t catch up with him…”

"Uh, they don't allow people to walk outside the tourist area, so do you want me to pay his fine?"

"No, what I mean is that the place he went to is very dangerous. He could die there if he's not careful. I'm calling to let you know. This is the emergency contact number he left."

After a pause, the person on the phone continued, "When I took him into the mountains, he seemed to have something on his mind. He said he wanted to go find his girlfriend and that if anything happened, he shouldn't call the police. It sounded like he was making his final arrangements."

"..."

Hu Yifei's face froze, and the spatula in her hand fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)