Chapter 36: You Must Be Kidding!
Chen Cheng actually had a pretty good relationship with both of her parents.
Her mom had a ton of flaws. She was too strict, loved playing mahjong, and nagged nonstop. But since she had been raised by her mom from a young age, she naturally felt closer to her.
her father, on the other hand, was always giving her money whenever he came home and treated her well overall. But since he was rarely around, there was always a bit of emotional distance between them.
However, when it came to her parents’ relationship, things weren’t great.
Their relationship seemed like a mere formality. Even when her father was home, he slept on the couch, and they had been living separately for a long time. They argued all the time.
As her mom always said, “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve divorced him ages ago.”
Listening to the shouting coming from the balcony, Chen Cheng lost her appetite after eating half a crab. She sat at the dining table, restless and uneasy.
She wanted to do something to fix their relationship. But no matter how much she thought about it, there was nothing she could actually do… She could only sit there helplessly, waiting for the argument to end.
This was exactly why she never wanted to get married…
Before long, her father stormed back into the dining area. When he saw his daughter sitting there with her head down, fiddling with her nails, looking all downcast, his tense expression softened.
“Just eat.” His tone was still sharp, the lingering frustration from the argument clear in his voice.
Chen Cheng shrank back instinctively, and her father immediately adjusted his tone.
“Are you free tomorrow at noon? I’ll pick you up from school, and we can go shopping for clothes.”
“I’m not sure…”
“Then how about the weekend?”
“Let’s see…”
His softened tone helped ease her mood as well. She took a bite of every dish on the table before saying, “I’m full.”
“You sure? Grab me a bottle of liquor from the storage room, and I’ll finish up the leftovers.”
The father readily stepped into the role of peacekeeper. Looking at his cute daughter, the anger from the argument completely faded, then he asked with a smile. “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow? I’ll get up early and make it for you.”
“Bean sprout pancakes?”
“With meat and clams?”
“Sure!”
Chen Cheng got up to grab the liquor, but as she reached the doorway, she hesitated. Turning back, she curiously asked, “Dad… what do you think of An Yuan?”
“That kid? He’s alright.”
Oh! That sounded like a pretty decent impression!
But when her father saw her smiling happily, he suddenly sensed something was off. His expression turned serious as he quickly corrected himself.
“Didn’t he used to bully you all the time? Didn’t he even break your arm once? Stay away from that kid!”
“No, no! We’re not even close!”
“Then why are you asking about him?”
For once, both of her parents actually agreed on something. They both didn’t want her hanging around An Yuan.
In her past life, her father and An Yuan practically became sworn brothers, and her mom had even wanted to take An Yuan in as a godson. But now? They treated him like some suspicious neighbor’s kid they had to keep an eye on.
“It’s nothing! I’ll get your liquor!”
Chen Cheng darted into the storage room, grabbed a random bottle of baijiu (grain alcohol), handed it to her father, and then made a run for her bedroom.
“I’m going to rest!”
She had to tell An Yuan about this, before he accidentally showed up and got kicked out by her father.
After locking her bedroom door, she flopped onto her computer chair and quickly typed out a message to An Yuan.
“My dad hates you too, haha!”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“I just like seeing you struggle~” She typed fast, smugly adding, “Oh, and my dad gave me a thousand yuan! Let’s figure out how to spend it!”
Before, she was always stressed about not having money, but now that she actually had some, she didn’t know what to do with it.
The things she wanted to eat or drink didn’t cost much, just a few yuan. Her biggest expense was usually buying games, but with school keeping her busy, she barely had time to play.
“How about I just give you all the money?” She suggested. “You’re way better at this than me. Consider it an investment, and if you make a profit, I get a share!”
Even though this was a parallel world, maybe things would still play out like her past life. Maybe… An Yuan would actually make money?
Chen Cheng… well, at least she knew herself well enough. She was just an ordinary student who had never really stepped into society. If she suddenly had the idea of making money or starting a business, it basically meant she was already being scammed.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“It’s just a thousand yuan! Think of it as me asking you to save it for me.”
Chen Cheng secretly decided on her future strategy. Find someone reliable to support!
Unlike her, a total homebody, An Yuan had actually worked hard. Just a few years after graduating college, he was already earning tens of thousands a month, buying houses and cars. His insight, experience, and ability to take action were all way ahead of hers.
“That works, I guess?”
“It’s settled then! I’ll come downstairs and give you the money!”
Chen Cheng wasn’t worried that An Yuan would just run off with it. It was only a thousand yuan, and after being friends for so many years, she at least trusted him with that much.
She stuffed the money in her pocket and rushed out the door. “Dad! I’m going downstairs to buy some drinks!”
“Don’t drink too much of that stuff! Come back soon!”
She ran downstairs to the fourth floor and knocked loudly on the door.
A moment later, An Yuan opened it. His hair was still damp, he had probably been chatting with her while showering.
But for some reason, his gaze seemed a little suspicious.
“Here!”
Chen Cheng didn’t notice anything odd. She pulled out the cash and stuffed it into his hand.
“From now on, I’m your investor! Even though a thousand yuan isn’t much.”
“Uh… alright.”
Chen Cheng made herself right at home, heading straight for the fridge and grabbing two bottles of soda.
“I told my dad I was coming down for drinks, so I gotta take some back to make it look legit.”
She flopped onto the couch, stretching out and complaining, “Ugh, my dad comes home, and the first thing he does is start arguing with my mom. He’s insane.”
An Yuan sat on the other end of the couch, frowning. “Wasn’t your mom out of town?”
He knew how things were at her place. Whenever her parents fought, Chen Cheng would always come downstairs to hang out with him.
“They fought over the phone! Honestly, I think they should just get divorced already.”
“Yeah… they’re making themselves miserable, and they’re making you miserable too.”
“I really envy your family~”
Although An Yuan's parents usually live apart due to work, their relationship has always been very good, they call each other almost every day, when they reunite, the whole family is always happy, and in all these years, Chen Cheng had never once heard of them fighting.
“It’s not as perfect as it looks,” An Yuan said, sitting cross-legged and watching her lie there without a care in the world. “My parents argue sometimes too.”
“Tch, whatever. I gotta go.”
Chen Cheng sat up. She couldn’t stay out too long, or her father would start calling.
Just as she reached the door, she suddenly changed direction and headed for the bathroom.
“Let me borrow your bathroom real quick~”
The air inside was still thick with steam, carrying the scent of body wash and shampoo. Just as she was about to use the toilet, her eyes landed on a pair of white stockings draped over the toilet’s water tank.
Huh?
Then she remembered, she had stuffed her skirt and stockings into An Yuan’s backpack earlier. So… why were these in his bathroom?
“I hand-washed them for you while I was showering.”
“Oh, really?”
Come on, be honest. You didn't just happen to use my stockings as material while taking a shower, did you?
She turned to look at him. He stood at the doorway, looking completely serious and upright.
…Was she just overthinking it?
She stared into his eyes. He met her gaze without a flicker of guilt. Eventually, she started feeling embarrassed and looked away.
I’m so sorry! We’ve been best friends for years, and yet I doubted you with such dirty thoughts!
Besides, An Yuan’s thing was black stockings, not white ones.
“W-Well, I’m leaving… What about my skirt?”
“I threw it in the washing machine. Pick it up next time.”
“Oh… okay.”
An Yuan let out a relieved sigh. Good thing he hadn’t actually done anything with her stockings. Otherwise, he definitely would’ve felt guilty.
…Though he had been tempted for a second.