"The old gentleman met me on the road and treated me..." Chen Xiao smiled.
"Sit down quickly!" The old lady practically pressed Chen Xiao down onto the sofa, then poured him a glass of water. Chen Xiao hesitated for a moment, feeling quite embarrassed after being hungry for so long, and said, "Um... Grandma, I'm a little hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
Upon hearing this, the two girls next to him almost fainted!
No way! It's not even lunchtime yet! I watched this guy eat a whole dozen packs of instant noodles on the train this morning! That's twelve packs!! And he's hungry again in such a short time?!
He's such a handsome guy, he looks like the reincarnation of Marshal Tianpeng!
Upon hearing this, Madam Wu immediately smiled and said, "Food? Of course! Make yourself at home here! Wait here!"
The old lady turned around and rushed to the kitchen with a happy expression.
Given Mr. and Mrs. Wu's social standing, they should have hired a caregiver long ago. However, the two elderly people prefer peace and quiet and are not comfortable with outsiders in the house. Moreover, the old lady is in good health and feels she can manage on her own. They only hired a part-time cleaner who comes three times a week to handle heavy tasks such as cleaning. The old lady takes care of all other household chores herself.
Chen Xiao sat on the sofa, and Old Wu personally served him a glass of water. The two girls next to him stared wide-eyed. Old Wu was known for his aloofness; even the dean wouldn't receive such treatment as being personally served tea.
Old Wu then turned to look at the two girls and asked them a couple of questions. The two girls then came to their senses and quickly and cautiously told him what had happened.
It turns out that both girls were graduates of the same college; one stayed on as a counselor, while the other went on to graduate school.
The housing issue was a bit tricky. The faculty dormitories allocated by the university were scarce, and the two girls who had just stayed on as faculty members were unlikely to be eligible. They tried to find connections, and finally, a kind person advised them: asking others for help was mostly useless. However, Professor Wu, a senior member of the department, though seemingly cold, was kind-hearted and good to both students and juniors. He had helped many students in the department, and whenever a student was truly in trouble and came to him for help, if their request was reasonable, the old man would take pity on them and, with just a few words, solve the problem.
The two girls brought back a lot of local specialties from home and came to visit, but they didn't expect to encounter such a thing.
After listening patiently, Old Wu thought for a moment and then simply said, "I understand. You can go back now."
Although they didn't get a clear answer, the old man hadn't refused them outright, so there was still hope. The two girls could tell that the old man had other things to do at home, so they didn't dare to delay and got up to say goodbye. When they reached the door, the old man pointed to the two bags of gifts on the ground by the door: "Take these things back with you. I don't accept gifts from students."
The two girls blushed and hesitated, but the old man added, "Don't break my rules."
Knowing they couldn't deliver the items, the two girls could only take them and leave.
After everyone left, the old man sighed, "They're poor students. Life in Shanghai is tough. If they have to rent a place themselves, their meager income right after graduation will probably be barely enough to make ends meet."
He then turned to look at Chen Xiao. Chen Xiao patiently waited for everyone to leave before finishing his tea in one gulp. He then prepared his words and was about to speak...
Old Wu suddenly let out a long sigh, tears welling up in his old eyes. He grabbed Chen Xiao's hand and said, "Little Chen! We've finally found you! We, this old couple, owe you a huge debt of gratitude for saving our lives!!"
List?!
Chen Xiao was about to stand up quickly, but upon hearing the old man's words, he was immediately shocked and stunned.
I forgot to be polite, and only one thought was on my mind!
Thank God! I finally know my surname! My surname is Chen!
Chen Xiao was ultimately disappointed by what happened next.
The elderly couple knew nothing about him except that his name was "Chen Xiao". They only remembered the name "Chen Xiao" when Zhang Xiaotao called out to him during their misfortune.
As for where Chen Xiao lived, what he did, and what he did for a living, nothing was known. After all, there wasn't much communication between them on the island; at that time, Chen Xiao was seriously injured and spent most of his time unconscious.
However, the old man and woman recounted their entire ordeal on the Victoria, from beginning to end, including how they were stranded and how they survived on that small island. They told the whole story, until they finally escaped, but Chen Xiao was kidnapped at sea by a flying woman...
Chen Xiao listened with great interest, but after listening, he realized that the information seemed to have little value to him.
The only thing he seemed to know was that he had a "girlfriend".
The "girlfriend" the elderly couple referred to was Zhang Xiaotao. When they were stranded on the island, Zhang Xiaotao took meticulous care of the seriously injured Chen Xiao, working tirelessly day and night with tender affection. Even a blind person could see that the elderly couple had long since decided that the two were a couple.
After listening, Chen Xiao was stunned for a while, unsure of what to feel.
In any case, I finally know my name: Chen Xiao!
Moreover, he has a girlfriend! Her name is Zhang Xiaotao!
Most importantly, although the elderly couple were unaware of their own situation, they provided several pieces of information about Zhang Xiaotao!
This was something we talked about casually when we were digging for sand crabs on the beach on the island. But we didn't talk much back then, because we were all living for the moment and didn't even know if we would survive. So we didn't exchange contact information or phone numbers.
The elderly couple vaguely knew that Zhang Xiaotao was also in Shanghai, and that she worked as a translator. Beyond that, they knew nothing.
After escaping danger, they arrived at a rescue center in Japan, where Zhang Xiaotao was quickly taken away by Japanese personnel without even a chance to say goodbye. This deeply saddened the elderly couple, as they were kind-hearted people who remembered kindness.
Looking at Chen Xiao, who was in a daze, the elderly couple couldn't help but feel a little sad.
Such a good young man, how could he have lost his memory? How pitiful... It's true that God doesn't protect good people!
Seeing Chen Xiao in a daze, the elderly couple felt sorry for him, and the old lady even shed a few tears.
Later, when they learned that Chen Xiao had no relatives or friends, didn't know where he lived, and was penniless, the elderly couple didn't hesitate for a second:
"I'll stay here! I'll treat this place like my own home! I could stay here for ten or eight years without any problem!"
That being said, the elderly couple didn't mind supporting Chen Xiao. But putting themselves in his shoes, Chen Xiao was so young, and there might be other people in his family. If such a grown person got lost, wouldn't any family be worried?
The two elderly people came up with an idea: to ask the police for help.
The elderly couple couldn't find Chen Xiao before because they didn't know where he was from. How could they find him based on just the name "Chen Xiao"? Even if you asked someone to go to the police station, the police wouldn't investigate such a thing! Even if you asked someone to use connections to investigate, with such a large population in China, how many people named "Chen Xiao" would there be across the country?
"It would be best if... you knew where you were from, that would make things easier." The old man sighed. But as soon as he spoke, the old woman glared at him.
Isn't that obvious? If they knew where they were from, they would just go home.
However, Chen Xiao speaks standard Mandarin without any regional accent. This is because he attended a prestigious academy like Kidd Academy and received an aristocratic education, which explains his standard Mandarin pronunciation.
But now, unfortunately, he suffers from amnesia and can't even speak a word of his hometown dialect. Otherwise, the old man, with his countless disciples and extensive knowledge, might have been able to recognize Chen Xiao's accent.