Chapter 103: Winter Break
"An Yuan~ stop playing already."
A leg wrapped in white stockings rested on the desk, teasingly wiggling its toes right in front of An Yuan’s face, swaying back and forth as if trying to provoke him.
An Yuan was busy playing his game. To be honest, he wasn’t even that into gaming anymore, but since it was a competitive match, he couldn’t afford to lose focus. He glanced at the white-silk-clad feet deliberately rubbing against his arm, then quickly refocused on the game.
"Stop messing around, let me finish this round."
"You’re gonna lose anyway."
"I have the advantage. How am I losing?"
Chen Cheng knew when to stop. She was purposely distracting An Yuan, but she wouldn’t go as far as turning off his computer.
Winter break had started, and Chen Cheng had no plans to go out. She was lounging at home, wearing a white hoodie on top and nothing but thick white stockings on the bottom. The hem of her hoodie was just long enough to cover her small hips, making her look like she was wearing an ultra-short dress. Her legs looked extra long and slender, with just the right amount of curves at her thighs.
"Stop playing~" she teased, grinning mischievously. "Play with me instead?"
"Is your game really more fun than your girlfriend?"
Sitting at the edge of the bed, she slowly lowered her legs from the desk and placed them onto An Yuan’s lap, her toes deliberately slipping under his sweater.
She noticed his cheeks had already turned a little red, and his gaming movements were getting sloppy. That only made her even more eager.
And then, he grabbed her ankles.
"Hey!"
"You’re really getting out of hand, aren’t you?"
An Yuan turned around with a dark expression, glaring at her slightly panicked face.
"Let go! You pervert! What, do you have a foot fetish? Aren’t you gonna finish your game?"
From An Yuan’s angle, he had a perfectly clear view of what was under her hoodie. Through the tights, he could faintly make out the outline of her underwear.
This girl had always been careless about these things, especially when no one else was around. He wasn’t sure if she did it on purpose or not, but she always seemed to reveal a bit too much in front of him.
Of course, it depended on the situation. If they were in a flirtatious mood, she’d get shy and cover up. But when they were just fooling around like friends, she didn’t seem to care at all.
Chen Cheng struggled, trying to free her feet from An Yuan’s grip, but his one hand firmly held both her ankles in place.
An Yuan glanced at the screen, the game was already lost. He decided to take out his frustration on her instead.
With an evil grin, he gently poked the bottom of Chen Cheng's foot.
"AHHH!"
The next second, a shrill scream echoed through the room. Chen Cheng’s whole body tensed like she had been electrocuted, then she flopped back onto the bed, twisting like a fish out of water.
"No! Stop! That tickles! Let go!"
"Don’t tickle me, don’t tickle me! Hahaha—AHHH!"
Within two minutes, she was completely defeated. Her eyes unfocused, her cheeks flushed red, her hair in a total mess. She lay on the bed, dazed, panting like she had just run a marathon.
"Now you know how powerful I am!"
"I’m telling Auntie you bullied me…"
"Hey, that’s not fair!"
Chen Cheng finally snapped out of it and sat up, smirking. "Told you you were gonna lose!"
Even when playing games, she couldn't bear to see An Yuan win, especially since she had lost the previous round.
"This is your account anyway, so you’re the one losing rank, not me."
"Why aren’t you playing on your own account then?!"
Just then, a voice called out from outside the room.
"An Yuan! Chengcheng! Stop messing around and come help me clean up!"
"Coming!"
Chen Cheng grabbed a pair of long pants that had been tossed on the bed and slipped them on, quickly fixing her appearance. Within seconds, she was back to looking like the perfect, well-behaved girl.
Her bangs had grown a little long, covering her eyes. She casually brushed them aside, splitting her hair to both sides.
"Should I get a haircut"
"My hair will be shoulder-length by college entrance exams."
"That’s going to be really inconvenient~"
Chen Cheng grumbled as she walked out of the room. Her mom had already moved the mop and bucket to the living room, shifting the sofa aside in preparation for the big pre-New Year’s cleaning.
An Yuan had it the worst, he had just done a deep clean at his own house yesterday, and now he had to do it all over again at Chen Cheng’s place.
"You two clean the windows. Be careful."
"Got it~ An Yuan, let’s go!"
An Yuan stepped onto a chair, gripping the security bars as he climbed onto the windowsill. Chen Cheng stood beside him, handing him a cloth and changing the water when needed. They worked together smoothly, in perfect sync.
Chen Cheng’s mom leaned on the mop, watching the two of them clean the windows. Ever since winter break started, An Yuan had been coming over almost every day, sticking to her daughter like glue.
At first, she worried that her daughter might get pregnant before the college entrance exams and kept reminding Chen Cheng to be careful. But after a while, she realized what annoyed her more was her daughter’s loud, piercing voice.
Their noisy and chaotic behavior made them seem like two children, bringing back memories of the 'lively' times when Chen Cheng was in kindergarten, over a decade ago.
Maybe some peace and quiet would be nice for once…
"An Yuan, I’m going shopping this afternoon with Hu Wei and Shuting. You wanna come?"
Chen Cheng washed the rag, wrung it out, and handed it back to An Yuan while asking.
"Why would I tag along with a bunch of girls shopping?"
"Then I don’t feel like going either~" Chen Cheng sighed dramatically. "There’s nothing fun about hanging out with them."
She didn’t really share any interests with her female friends. The worst part was that Hu Wei, the little pervert, loved teasing her and often took things way too far. It was a bit much to handle.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Chen Cheng turned around and immediately realized, it was her father. Her smile faded, and she glanced nervously at her mom.
Her mom’s expression remained blank as she walked over to open the door. her father stood outside, carrying a suitcase.
Even though he worked in the service industry, he should at least get a week or two off for the holiday.
Please, just no fighting during the holiday... She was so tired of it. The last thing she wanted was to hear her parents arguing on New Year’s Eve again.
"Chengcheng!"
her father hadn’t even stepped inside before calling out to her. Chen Cheng quickly put on a bright smile and walked over.
"Dad~"
He entered, setting his suitcase down, cheerfully unwrapping his scarf and taking off his coat. But the moment he turned his head, he spotted An Yuan standing on the windowsill. His expression instantly darkened.
Lowering his voice, he asked Chen Cheng, "Why is An Yuan in our house?"
Back then, Chen Cheng’s parents were united against An Yuan. And now, he was still here?
"Uh..." Seeing her father’s unhappy face, Chen Cheng hesitated, unsure how to explain. "He’s helping Mom with the cleaning."
her father shot a displeased look at her mom, but she wasn’t backing down either, glaring right back at him.
Maybe it was because there were others around, or maybe he was still holding onto the promise he made to his daughter, but he didn’t say anything more.
Instead, he crouched down, opened his suitcase, and pulled out a big bag of snacks and candies he had bought from the city.
"Here, you can eat these while watching the Spring Festival Gala."
"Thank you, Dad~"
"How were your finals?"
Can we not talk about this?
She got her period right during the exams. Mom would understand, but Dad probably wouldn’t.
"Not bad, I guess? The results aren’t out yet."
her father kept digging through his suitcase and took out a pair of stylish, fur-lined boots.
"I bought these shoes for you. Try them on, see if they fit?"
Chen Cheng took the boots to the sofa and tried them on. Meanwhile, her father finally had time to focus on An Yuan.
His gaze was cold and sharp, like a wolf eyeing prey on the plains.
An Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. The rag was dirty, and he didn't dare ask Chen Cheng to wash it again, so he stiffly hung it on the windowsill.
"An Yuan, when I was upstairs just now, I saw that your mother seemed to be looking for you." Chen Cheng’s dad casually made up a reason to kick the pig back into its yard.
"Oh, then I should go check on her."
An Yuan jumped off the windowsill anxiously and was about to leave, but when he got to the door, his footsteps suddenly stopped.
He turned around and met Chen Cheng's gaze. Her bright, big eyes blinked, seemingly filled with disappointment at his weak and evasive figure.
No matter what, he would have to face his future father-in-law sooner or later! He was almost thirty, what was there to be scared of?
"Uncle."
"Why haven’t you left yet?"
"I just wanted to say... I’m Chengcheng’s boyfriend now."
Chen Cheng’s face instantly changed.
I TOLD YOU TO RUN, NOT PICK A FIGHT, YOU IDIOT!
We’ve been friends for years, and you still can’t read my signals?!