Chapter 37: Weekend Morning
A rare weekend.
Early in the morning, Chen Cheng was jolted awake by the noise outside her bedroom.
She lazily turned over, pulled a pillow over her ears, and pulled the blanket over her head, trying to drift back to sleep.
She finally had a day off. Of course, she wanted to sleep in.
Waking up early every day lately had left her with dark circles under her eyes.
Half-asleep, the noises outside kept fading in and out, slipping into her dreams and waking her up again. Her mind would blur for a moment before she drifted off, only to be disturbed once more…
After about ten minutes of this, Chen Cheng suddenly threw off her blanket and sat up, her sleep-deprived eyes dull and lifeless. Frustrated, she grabbed her head with both hands and roughly ran her fingers through her already messy hair, turning it into a complete bird’s nest.
"Ugh! Can't I just have one peaceful morning on the weekend?"
Her mom had come back from her trip a couple of days ago.
her father also happened to have a day off.
Whenever the two of them were home together, there wasn’t a single day without an argument!
This was exactly why, after graduating college, Chen Cheng would rather rent a place elsewhere than move back home. If she couldn’t deal with them, she could at least avoid them!
"They've been arguing since their past lives, I swear…"
She yawned, rubbing the corners of her eyes, and reached for her glasses on the bedside table. After a quick wipe, she put them on, and her vision instantly became clearer.
With one last grumble, she silently got up, sat down at her computer, put on her headphones, and played some music. Curling up in her chair, she hugged her knees to her chest.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The loud knocking, it was always her mom, made the whole door shake.
"Chengcheng! Time to get up!"
"Got it~"
At home, even if she wasn’t woken up by the noise, there was no way she could sleep in as late as she wanted.
With a deep sigh, she dragged herself to the door and opened it. Her mom stood there, holding a mop and a bucket, still sounding irritated from the argument earlier.
"You're an adult now, and you still don’t make your bed after waking up."
"Take out the trash and leave it by the door."
"Stop keeping the windows and curtains shut all the time. You need to let some fresh air in."
"Hurry up and eat. Your dad made soybean sprout pancakes."
Chen Cheng mumbled a half-hearted response and sluggishly made her way to the bathroom. She washed her face, applied moisturizer, sunscreen, and brushed her hair.
What used to take five minutes now took ten. But at least the moisturizer was working, her skin no longer felt dry and irritated, though it still occasionally itched.
When she finally arrived at the dining table, breakfast was already served. her father was still busy in the kitchen.
"Start eating, there’s more coming."
"There’s already too much. I won’t be able to finish all this…"
"Want to go shopping later? I’ll buy you some new clothes."
As she ate, Chen Cheng tried to think of a way to get out of it.
As a homebody, she didn’t like shopping, especially not with family. She couldn’t even pick out what she wanted.
"I already made plans with my best friend. I’ll just buy clothes while we’re out, and she can help me pick."
"That works too. What time are you heading out?"
"Right after breakfast."
"Bang."
A sudden noise rang out, drilling straight into her ears like a thunderclap, making her jolt in shock.
Startled, she hurriedly looked around for the source of the sound.
She stared in the direction of the sound for a few seconds before pressing her lips together and looking down to continue eating her pancake.
The old problem has occurred again, probably due to lack of sleep. She was feeling mentally exhausted, and even the smallest noises made her overly jumpy.
After breakfast, Chen Cheng returned to her now spotless bedroom, freshly cleaned by her mom.
She opened her wardrobe and stared at the clothes inside, trying to decide what to wear for her outing with An Yuan.
A dress? No, she didn’t want to wear anything too feminine.
Technically, the school uniform she wore every day was considered girls’ clothing, but skirts felt way too girly for her. Whenever she put one on, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she looked like a crossdresser.
Luckily, now that the weather was getting cooler, her mom had somehow dug up several pairs of fall and winter pants for her.
She picked a pair of loose-fitting pants and a sweatshirt, both oversized enough to hide her figure and give off a bit of a masculine look.
"Men’s clothes are still the best."
She muttered to herself. Sure, dresses looked nice, but men’s clothing made her feel much more comfortable, both physically and mentally.
"Mom! I’m heading out!"
"Where are you going?"
"Dad told me to buy some new clothes."
"It’s getting cold, get something warm."
"Got it~" Chen Cheng nodded obediently, resisting the urge to ask her father for money. Instead, she quickly added, "I won’t be home for lunch!"
her father had given her 1,000 yuan not long ago, but she had already handed it all over to An Yuan. While she was technically going out to shop, she was actually planning to head to an internet café instead.
Besides, she didn’t like asking her family for money. It always came with a long lecture about how hard it was to earn, making her feel guilty every time.
On the fourth floor, she found the door to An Yuan’s place slightly open. She knocked lightly on the metal door, and almost immediately, there was movement inside.
An Yuan’s mom greeted her with a warm smile. "Chengcheng~ Have you eaten breakfast?"
"Yeah, I have."
"That boy is still getting ready. If I had known he was going out with you, I would’ve woken him up earlier!" She welcomed Chen Cheng inside. "Want some fruit? I bought some big crabs last night. I’ll send a couple to your family later."
Chen Cheng, feeling at home, casually grabbed a washed strawberry from the table and popped it into her mouth.
"We actually just had crab a few days ago~"
An Yuan’s mom was always friendly, so she didn’t think much of it.
"No problem! Your dad can make steamed red crabs with noodles for you." She affectionately patted Chen Cheng’s head, smoothing down a stray tuft of hair, her eyes filled with the fondness of a mother-in-law looking at her future daughter-in-law.
"I’ll get some water to fix this messy hair of yours."
Just then, An Yuan finally finished getting ready. He glanced at them from the living room and lazily greeted, "Morning~ So tired."
"Why are you still half-asleep? Go change! You’re young, you shouldn’t be sleeping so much!"
"Oh… okay."
After getting scolded out of nowhere, An Yuan scratched the back of his head and disappeared into his room. He reappeared a few minutes later, dressed neatly, hair styled, and looking as sharp as ever, completely shaking off his half-asleep state.
"Shall we go?"
"Coming! Bye, Auntie~"
Chen Cheng hopped off the sofa and ran after An Yuan.
Since it was rare for them to go out shopping together, An Yuan had put extra effort into his appearance today. Even though they had both seen each other in their messiest states, he had taken the time to style his usually messy short hair with gel, giving it a cool, spiky look. But Chen Cheng didn't notice it at all.
"My dad told me to buy clothes, but I don’t have a single cent on me! I gave all my money to you."
"Then…"
"So you’re treating me at the internet café later? I’ll just tell my parents I didn’t find anything I liked."
An Yuan thought for a moment. "Let’s still check out some stores first. We can’t just sit in the café all day."
"Hmm, okay, that works." Chen Cheng leaned in and tugged at his sleeve. "Hey, how did you do at the sports meet the other day?"
Their school had just held a sports event, and An Yuan, Pan Jie, Gao Dong, and Chen Shuting had all participated.
For the senior students, it was a great chance to relax. But for students like Chen Cheng, who didn’t compete, all she could do was sit in the classroom, listening to the distant cheers and announcements while grinding through practice problems with a bitter heart.
"Third place in long-distance running, first in the relay race."
"Impressive~"