Chapter 107: Don’t Be So Pessimistic
As the New Year approached, the internet café was surprisingly busy.
Chen Cheng and An Yuan had to check two different places before finally finding two seats next to each other. They got a temporary card for five yuan, which gave them two hours of playtime.
"The smell of smoke is really strong."
Chen Cheng covered her nose as she sat down. A little disgusted by the grime on the mouse, she pulled out some tissues from her pocket and carefully wiped it down.
An Yuan was also choking on the smoke. In his past life, he had smoked before, but in this one, he was still a high schooler, if his parents smelled cigarette smoke on him, they’d probably beat him to death.
More importantly, Chen Cheng hated the smell of smoke.
"What do you want to play?"
"Dota!"
It had been a while since they had played games together. Most of the time, they shared a single computer at Chen Cheng’s house.
"Do you think they can definitely win Dota this year?"
In her past life, Chen Cheng had only started playing Dota in college when her classmates introduced her to it. Before that, she had climbed to Diamond 1 in League of Legends but eventually lost interest. She was pretty much a dual-game player.
"It’d be awesome to watch it live…"
"Hard to say, it’s a parallel world. But if you really want to go, I can figure something out."
"Forget it, I have social anxiety."
There were too many people around, but An Yuan didn’t really care. It wasn’t like anyone would take that kind of talk seriously.
Even though she was excited to be gaming, Chen Cheng couldn’t help but be bothered by the noisy and smoky environment. She kept one hand over her nose, frowning slightly, and muttered to An Yuan, "When are you getting your own computer? Then we wouldn’t have to come to places like this."
"My dad said he’d buy me one before I start college."
Chen Cheng squinted her eyes, imagining the future. "When we rent an apartment together, we should set up a gaming room. Two computers side by side, just like a mini internet café…"
"Rent together? That’s called living together."
"Same thing~"
Before, she had pictured them as just two roommates, keeping things totally platonic. She had even worried that if they lived together for too long, An Yuan might not be able to resist making a move on his brother…
Well, turns out he had already made his move a long time ago.
But she was still really looking forward to living with him in the future!
An Yuan could go to work, hopefully a nine-to-five job that wasn’t too stressful, and handle the occasional errands. Meanwhile, she could stay home, avoiding social interactions, just doing some housework and writing the stories she liked. No need to write borderline content for views, no need to turn stories into generic cash grabs just for money.
She didn’t have high expectations for income. If An Yuan ever ran short on cash, she could always earn a little from writing to help out. No need for a house or a car…
Actually, writing might get boring after a while. Maybe she should learn something new, like drawing? She had plenty of time, and she did have some basic sketching skills.
Back then, she thought 27 was too late to start something new. But now, at 17, she had all the time in the world.
Chen Cheng was slowly getting used to the smoky air. She crossed her legs, logged into the game, added An Yuan as a friend, and queued up for a match.
"Damn! An Yuan, even my grandma could play better than that!"
"Shut up, you’re not that great either."
Normally quiet and reserved, Chen Cheng became a completely different person while gaming. Shouting in excitement, trash-talking, and blaming teammates like a pro.
If she were playing on the Chinese servers, she’d act all gentle, like a big-sister figure, calming down teammates and preventing arguments, just so they wouldn’t start yelling at her. But when she plays on foreign servers, she lets her true self out, yelling 'NOOB,' 'BOT,' pausing to taunt, since she can't understand what her teammates are saying anyway.
Her phone, sitting off to the side, suddenly started ringing.
She quickly wedged it between her ear and shoulder while still playing. "Hello? Who’s this?"
"Chengcheng, where are you? And why is it so noisy over there?"
It was her mother’s voice. Chen Cheng answered without hesitation, "Internet café, playing games."
"A girl like you, going to a place like that? Don’t we have a computer at home?"
"???"
Is an internet café really "That kind of place"?
Chen Cheng didn’t bother arguing about it. Tilting her head to hold the phone between her ear and shoulder, she asked, “What’s up?”
"It's only a matter of time before An Yuan ruins you..."
Hearing her mom talk bad about An Yuan instantly annoyed Chen Cheng. Why did it have to be him leading her astray? Couldn’t it be that she was already a troublemaker to begin with?
“Mom, what do you want? I’m busy right now.” Chen Cheng’s tone grew heavier, and she frowned in frustration.
An Yuan glanced at her and asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”
“Mhm, got it, got it~ I’ll head back soon…”
She hung up the phone, and unsurprisingly, they lost the game.
Leaning back in her chair, Chen Cheng sighed. “My mom doesn’t want me going to internet cafés, and my dad’s also against it. Should’ve just kept my mouth shut.”
“Are you dumb? Who tells their parents everything?”
“They never used to care… But since it’s the New Year, I don’t feel like arguing with them.”
“It’s okay, here, head pats.”
An Yuan reached out and ruffled her hair. At first, Chen Cheng used to resist being patted like that, but now? She even leaned into his palm like a cat, practically purring in contentment.
“Ahh! Stop that!”
She suddenly swatted his hand away and asked, “So what now? My dad’s home, so you can’t come over. Your dad’s home too, and I don’t know him well enough to just show up. My mom won’t let me go out either, she keeps saying we have to stay home for the holidays…”
“Just endure it for now. College entrance exams are in July or August, so it won’t be long.”
“I can’t endure it!”
“Do it for me?”
Chen Cheng frowned, pouting with dissatisfaction. After a long silence, she muttered, “...Fine.”
It was just six more months.
Even if she tried to resolve her family issues now, it wasn’t likely she’d succeed in such a short time. It was better to endure it for now, and once she got into college, she’d finally be free.
Why was An Yuan’s family always so warm and peaceful, never fighting at all?
“Why don’t your parents argue?” she asked curiously.
Influenced by her parents, she had always thought that married couples not fighting was unusual.
“What’s there to fight about?” An Yuan thought for a moment before replying, “Maybe they were in love back then, and they happened to choose the right person. Unlike me… I misjudged someone.”
“Li Wanyi?”
“......”
Feeling a little jealous, Chen Cheng asked, “Did you ever kiss her?”
“Uh…”
“You’re so experienced, no way you didn’t kiss her…”
That awful woman had even helped him hone his skills!
Chen Cheng knew An Yuan couldn't possibly be as timid as her, there was no way he had kept his hands off his fiancée. But she still couldn’t help feeling jealous. It was like the male version of a purity complex, ever since she became a girl, she started caring about things like this too.
She could only comfort herself, Well, at least in the end, he’s mine. His body is still untouched.
An Yuan gave an awkward laugh. “I don’t even want to hear her name anymore. Why do you keep bringing her up?”
“Let’s go home.”
Was she… upset?
An Yuan couldn’t help but wonder. Back when Chen Cheng was a guy, there was no way he would’ve stayed pure just for his brothers, right?
“Uh…”
He wanted to explain, to ease her possessiveness, but before he could say anything, Chen Cheng had already grabbed onto his arm.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re mine.”
“Of course.”
Chen Cheng’s possessiveness was even stronger than most guys’. She looked into his eyes and said seriously, “If you ever stop liking me, just tell me. I promise I won’t cling to you.”
“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”
“Just… there will always be girls prettier than me. If you ever like someone else… Just be honest, that’s all.”
Even while dating him, she was already picturing their breakup. Afraid that if it ever happened, she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
An Yuan felt both love and pity for her. He gently stroked her head. “Don't be so down on yourself. You’re the prettiest.”
“...I better be.”