Chapter 104: Standing Up for Him
“Uncle, I’m Chengcheng’s boyfriend now.”
As soon as An Yuan spoke, the atmosphere in the room turned tense.
Chen Cheng forgot all about trying on her new shoes. She turned to glance at her stunned mother, then at An Yuan, who stood his ground without a hint of fear. Her father had his back to her, making it impossible to see his expression.
She started to panic. Men are possessive, aren’t they? Especially when it's their precious daughter they've doted on for seventeen years! And now, just like that, some brat comes in and takes her away?
From her father’s perspective, this guy had no job, used to bully her when they were kids, and was probably only after her looks...
Putting herself in her father's shoes, Chen Cheng even felt a bit angry on his behalf.
After all these years of being friends, An Yuan still couldn’t read her signals?!
Her father shut his suitcase and stood up straight, broad-shouldered and imposing. The man who was usually gentle and even a bit timid in public now resembled a lion preparing for battle.
Not even when he argued with her mother had he ever looked this serious.
They wouldn’t actually fight, would they?
Surely not...?
Chen Cheng anxiously shot An Yuan a look, practically begging him to leave. But he didn’t move.
“We don’t allow dating at this age,” her father finally spoke, waving his hand dismissively. “Stop bothering our Chengcheng.”
“But... Chengcheng is already nineteen...”
In their hometown, people often count ages by the traditional method, making Chen Cheng nineteen by that standard. But now, her father conveniently ignored that custom.
“She’s only seventeen. A minor! What kind of relationship are you talking about?”
He stepped forward, firmly pushing An Yuan toward the door. An Yuan stumbled but kept turning back, trying to explain.
“Uncle, I’ve known Chengzi for years. You can trust me—”
Before he could finish, her father shoved him out and slammed the door shut.
But just as quickly, Chen Cheng ran barefoot across the floor, ignoring her father’s stunned expression, and pulled the door open again.
Her mother let out a weary sigh. This was exactly why she never objected to her daughter dating.
Chen Cheng had grown rebellious. She wouldn’t even let her parents choose her clothes anymore, how could they possibly control her love life?
Her father instinctively asked, “Chengcheng! What are you doing?”
“I…”
Chen Cheng hesitated, intimidated by her father. The words that had reached her lips suddenly got stuck in her throat. The cold floor sent chills through her feet, but she still clung tightly to An Yuan’s arm, stubbornly meeting her father’s gaze.
Without hesitation, she chose An Yuan.
Yet, at the same time, she was both scared and defiant. She wanted to hide behind An Yuan, but she forced herself to stand in front of him, like a mother hen protecting her chick.
“Go back inside,” An Yuan whispered urgently. “It’s not a big deal. Don’t fight with your parents over this.”
“No!”
An Yuan felt a headache coming on. The look in Chen Cheng’s father’s eyes... He genuinely wanted to tear him apart.
“When did you get so bold?”
“I told you, I only act tough at home…”
Chen Cheng could no longer meet her father’s gaze, lowering her head in guilt.
She couldn’t imagine how painful it must be for him to see his own daughter standing up for another man.
Still, she tightened her grip on An Yuan’s arm, face flushed red, took a deep breath, and raised her voice.
“If that’s the case... Then I just won’t get married in the future! I only want An Yuan!”
It was like a public love confession, right in front of her parents!
Chen Cheng’s face felt like it was on fire, her neck turning red from embarrassment. Her mind went blank from the overwhelming shame.
After a moment, her father turned away as if nothing had happened and said stiffly, “I’ll go make lunch.”
As he walked toward the kitchen, her mother quickly waved at the two still standing in the hallway.
“Hurry up and come inside.”
Chen Cheng immediately let go of An Yuan and dashed into the bathroom, desperate to cool her burning face with a cold towel. More importantly, she wanted to hide from both her mother and An Yuan. She couldn’t handle the teasing that was bound to come. She was completely and utterly embarrassed.
But what she said earlier was the truth. Other than An Yuan, she really couldn’t imagine herself dating anyone else.
Maybe she really would stay single forever…
“Wear your slippers! It’s freezing!”
“I know!”
Her mother reminded her while turning to An Yuan. “Don’t bully Chengcheng.”
Although, in reality, it was usually Chen Cheng who bullied An Yuan.
Still, An Yuan nodded seriously and said, “Auntie, I would never let her suffer.”
“Then go clean the windows.”
“Got it!”
It was already surprising enough that Chen Cheng, with her social anxiety and introverted personality, dared to stand up for him. And she even said something that sounded like a love confession in front of her parents! That was completely unexpected.
An Yuan was in an excellent mood. Humming a tune, he climbed back onto the windowsill to continue wiping down the glass.
Not long after, Chen Cheng came out of the bathroom. Her face was blank, but there was still a faint blush lingering on her cheeks.
“Well, well… ‘You won’t marry anyone but me’?”
Embarrassed and annoyed, Chen Cheng shot him a glare. “Who said I’m marrying you?! Just clean the windows properly! If they’re not clean, you won’t get lunch!”
“Alright, alright~ But you don’t know, your dad was looking at me like he wanted to kill me.” An Yuan sighed dramatically. “When we have a daughter in the future and she starts dating, I bet I’ll look just like him.”
Huh? A daughter? Isn’t this moving a little too fast?
Chen Cheng froze. Her mind instantly jumped from having kids… to making kids… to all the things she had read in certain… spicy novels. Her face turned redder.
“Almost done. Pass me the newspaper so I can dry the glass.”
An Yuan threw the dirty rag into the bucket and bent down to ask Chen Cheng for the piece of paper, but he found the girl was lost in thought, her face flushed and standing there in a daze, completely not hearing what he had said.
“Chengcheng? Chengcheng?”
“Huh?”
It took her a couple of calls to snap out of it. Flustered, she hurriedly handed him the paper.
“What were you thinking about? You totally spaced out.”
“N-Nothing. I was just worried they’d start arguing again, especially during New Year’s.” She quickly diverted her eyes toward the kitchen. “Listen, they’re talking about you.”
An Yuan fell silent, focusing on the voices from the kitchen while he wiped the glass.
For once, her parents weren’t arguing. Their conversation sounded calm, but the noise from the kitchen fan made it hard to hear what they were saying.
“Your mom said I’m reliable and honest.”
“Tch~ She’s just worried my dad will break your legs and end up paying your hospital bills. She’s saying nice things for damage control.”
Reliable? Sure. But honest? An Yuan, where exactly is he ‘honest’? If he were really honest, he wouldn’t always be teasing her, touching her, and messing around! An honest guy would be flustered by her teasing, completely at a loss for words while she made fun of him!
Chen Cheng rolled her eyes at him. With nothing better to do, she climbed onto the windowsill and started cleaning the other side.
“Hurry up! We still have to do the bedroom and balcony windows.”
“Be careful. Don’t fall.”
“I won’t—ugh! My socks are dirty now. I’ll have to change them later.” She pouted before suddenly teased An Yuan. “Want them? They’re, you know, fresh and worn by a pretty girl~”
An Yuan instinctively glanced toward the kitchen in a panic. “Don’t let your parents hear you.”
“What? You actually want them? Pervert.”