Chapter 59: Mom's Not Home
"You have no idea! Hu Wei and Shuting were saying they wanted to turn me into a pervert. Crazy, right?"
"Pfft!"
"Like I even need them to teach me! I'm so perverted I scare myself!"
"That’s… not really something to be proud of?"
"What’s wrong with guys being perverts?!"
As she walked into the building, Chen Cheng quickly shut her mouth, worried that her mom or auntie might have the door open and overhear all her nonsense.
Even though she was on her period, she was still in a decent mood. She didn’t want to go around looking like she was dying and make people worry.
When she reached the fourth floor, right in front of An Yuan’s apartment, the door was already open. An Yuan’s mother must have heard the footsteps on the stairs because she was waiting at the doorway with a smile.
"You're back~"
"Hello, Auntie."
Chen Cheng gave her a polite nod, ready to head upstairs to her own place, but before she could, An Yuan’s mother grabbed her wrist.
"Huh?"
"Your mom’s not home~"
"She’s out playing mahjong again?"
"No, your grandpa’s in the hospital. She’s staying with him for a few days." An Yuan’s mother glanced at the clock. "You have the day off tomorrow, right? How about you come over for all your meals? I’ll have An Yuan call you when it’s time to eat."
"Huh? Really?"
Chen Cheng quickly pulled out her phone and saw a message from her mom.
It wasn’t a big deal. Her grandpa had always had health issues and had even undergone a few surgeries, but she knew from experience that even ten years later, he was still doing fine.
She understood that An Yuan’s mother was just being kind, but the offer made her feel a little awkward. "Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you, Auntie?"
"It’s just an extra pair of chopsticks at the table."
"Well… okay, then. I’ll head up now?"
"I’ll have An Yuan bring you a late-night snack later."
Chen Cheng wasn’t even hungry for a midnight snack, but An Yuan’s mother’s enthusiasm made it impossible to refuse, so she just nodded.
As Chen Cheng climbed the stairs to the next floor, An Yuan’s mother watched her go with a smile before turning to her son, lowering her voice.
"So? What do you think?"
"About what?"
"Should I leave the door unlocked for you tonight?"
An Yuan froze for a second, then sighed, rolling his eyes as he walked back inside. "Seriously?" He didn’t even have the energy to argue anymore.
"Just be careful before you graduate from college~"
"I told you, nothing’s going on…!" Sure, An Yuan had some unrealistic fantasies about Chen Cheng, but they were just that, fantasies. He wasn’t actually planning to make a move on her.
Then, as if testing the waters, he turned back to his mom and said, "Mom, I’m planning to apply to the same university as Chen Cheng. Wherever she goes, I’ll go."
Surely, this would make her object, right? What kind of parent would let their son throw away his future just to chase after a girl?
"That… seems unnecessary, doesn’t it?"
His mom hesitated, as expected. She knew An Yuan had good grades, not quite Tsinghua or Peking University level, but getting into a solid university was no problem. Though, recently, his grades had been slipping… probably because of his so-called romance.
An Yuan put on a determined look and blatantly made up an excuse. "I think it is necessary! What if Chen Cheng gets taken away by some other guy in college?"
In reality, he just wanted to stay with her. With his past-life experience and skills, a degree wasn’t that important to him. Even if he couldn’t use his knowledge as a time traveler to make a fortune, he could still go back into the same industry and build his career from there.
His mom frowned, clearly struggling with the idea. "Let’s not talk about this for now. I need to check on the late-night snack."
Seventh floor.
Chen Cheng finally made it home, panting as she unlocked the door. She turned on the lights, dropped her backpack, and rushed straight to the bathroom.
With her mom gone, she had the whole place to herself. No one to nag her, no one to tell her what to do. But instead of feeling excited, she just felt exhausted.
All she wanted to do was collapse onto her bed, scroll through her phone, and wait until she got sleepy.
After taking a shower, changing her pad, and applying moisturizer to her face, Chen Cheng stood in front of the mirror, wearing only a thin nightgown, drying her hair with a blow dryer.
"Ugh, drying my hair always takes forever..."
When she first arrived in this world, her hair was short, barely reaching her ears. But now it had grown out quite a bit, and the stray strands brushing against her neck felt itchy and uncomfortable.
"Ding-dong~"
She ignored the doorbell, but moments later, she heard the sound of the door opening. An Yuan had let himself in with the spare key.
"What are you doing? You didn’t even open the door for me."
"Drying my hair!"
An Yuan set down the food and peeked into the bathroom, which had its door wide open. "I brought pickled fish soup for your late-night snack. If you don’t hurry up, I’m eating it all."
"Pickled fish?!" Chen Cheng’s eyes lit up. She quickly turned off the blow dryer and looked back. "Auntie even knows how to make that?"
She hadn’t felt hungry all day, but just hearing about pickled fish made her mouth water.
"The pickled veggies come in a seasoning packet, and the fish can be pre-sliced at the store. It’s not that hard, I can even make it."
"Anyone can say that. Next time, show me."
"How about tomorrow? I’ll show off my cooking skills!"
Chen Cheng was about to rush over to eat, but An Yuan blocked the doorway.
"What now? I’m trying to eat."
Her hair was still damp, with water dripping from the ends at the back of her head.
"Why are you in such a rush? If you don’t dry your hair properly, you’ll catch a cold."
"If I wait too long, you’ll eat all the fish and leave me with just the pickled veggies!"
An Yuan's eyes swept over Chen Cheng, who was dressed in a simple white pajama shirt. Her pale and delicate legs exposed from under the shirt, and the cotton underwear could be vaguely seen.
And she wasn’t even wearing a bra, her chest slightly pushing against the fabric...
He grabbed the blow dryer from the wall. "I’ll dry your hair for you. That way, you don’t have to worry about me stealing your food."
"Fine, but hurry up."
Facing away from him, Chen Cheng watched their reflection in the mirror. To her surprise, An Yuan actually knew what he was doing, he neatly combed her hair with a comb and dried it from the roots, his touch gentle and precise.
Way better than her usual rushed, messy drying that left her hair frizzy.
With nothing else to do, she compared their heights in the mirror. Even when she stood up straight, the top of her head barely reached An Yuan’s chin. Her frame was small, and standing in front of him, she felt completely overshadowed.
Like a tiny kitten standing next to a big golden retriever.
When her hair was finally dry, An Yuan casually combed it out and tied it up into a fluffy bun.
"I’m not used to having my forehead exposed..."
Ignoring her complaint, he gave the bun a pat. "All done. Now let’s eat."
"Yay!"
Chen Cheng, still bare-legged, dashed into the living room.
A big pot of pickled fish soup sat on the table. She grabbed some bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen, then sat cross-legged on the couch, picking out the fish slices for herself.
"You're on your period, and you’re not even wearing pants?"
"My mom’s not home, so why should I? It’s not cold in here, and I closed all the doors and windows." She answered casually. "Back when I lived in a rented apartment, I never wore pants."
"Hurry up and eat, or I’m finishing all the fish. It’s really good."
Wait a minute. Your mom’s not home, but he’s still here!
An Yuan didn’t argue, though. He sat beside her, sneaking glances at her legs while eating.
The fish slices were so tender, white, soft, and delicate.
"Why don’t you just sleep over tonight? Your mother won’t mind."
"She won’t mind, but she is definitely going to misunderstand again."
"Like she hasn’t already misunderstood everything about us?"
Chen Cheng didn’t really mind. She actually enjoyed how An Yuan’s mother took care of her, and just like An Yuan, she was too tired of explaining things all the time. "We’re just brothers. What’s there to misunderstand?"
An Yuan rubbed his nose. If a certain part of his body could behave, he might have agreed with her.
Unfortunately… it wasn’t behaving at all.
Good thing his school pants were baggy enough to hide his thing.