Chapter 86: Don’t Come Crying with a Big Belly
Oh no! Where did it go?!
Chen Cheng, dizzy from the fever, shook out her blanket, but there was nothing on it.
Not on the bed either. Did it fall to the floor? Under the bed? Between the headboard and the wall? Maybe in the mattress gap?
She frantically searched everywhere for the little toy she had no idea where she had tossed.
"You never bother making your bed, but now that you have a fever, suddenly you do?"
Her mom pushed the door open and urged, "Stop messing around. Come out for breakfast, take your medicine, and then go back to sleep."
If she refused now, wouldn’t that just make her look even more suspicious?
Chen Cheng unwillingly glanced around her room one last time. Still no sign of the toy. With no other choice, she forced herself to act natural and walked out.
"What’s for breakfast?"
"Noodles with meat dumplings, I've put the vinegar on the table."
"Okay."
As she headed toward the dining room, she heard movement behind her. Turning back, she saw her mom grabbing a mop and a bucket from the balcony, getting ready to clean her room.
Wait, what?!
"Mom, I still need to rest later."
"It won’t take long. Keeping the place clean and letting fresh air in will help you recover faster."
Ignoring her protests, her mom stepped into the bedroom with the mop.
"……"
Damn it!
All she could do now was pray her mom wouldn’t find anything.
Anxiously, she had no appetite at all. Instead of eating, she sat tensely at the dining table, legs bouncing as she imagined worst-case scenarios.
If her mom really found it, what was she supposed to say?
Maybe she could just play dumb. Her mom might not even recognize what it was.
Or she could say it was a capsule toy?
No! If she brings it to me and asks about it, that means she already KNOWS what it is!
Then she wouldn’t be the sweet, innocent daughter anymore. In her mother’s eyes, she’d turn into a total pervert!
"Mom, maybe I should—"
"Go, go, don’t get in my way! Just eat your breakfast!"
With no choice, Chen Cheng left, but she was still on edge. She barely tasted the peanut sauce noodles as she forced them down, her mind filled with regret and panic.
"There’s no way she’ll find it. I just searched the whole room."
Muttering under her breath, she nervously picked up her phone and texted An Yuan.
"I think I caught the flu. Fever, body aches. My mom got me a sick day off, so don’t wait for me today."
"Flu? Want me to come check on you?"
"No."
"Come on, your mom already thinks we’re together. She doesn’t seem like she’ll break my legs over it. Your dad’s gone, right? If he’s still there, I won’t come."
"It’s just a minor illness, no need."
Then, needing to vent her worries, she typed:
"I lost something… My mom might find it."
"Something?"
Chen Cheng hesitated, then vaguely replied:
"Something… inappropriate."
"You didn’t go and buy a physical R18 book, did you? Good stuff like that and you’re not sharing with the brothers?"
"Knock head.JPG"
Chatting with An Yuan helped calm her nerves a bit.
Alright, she’d just finish breakfast, get some rest, then kick her mom out and thoroughly search her room again.
She finished her noodles in just a few minutes, took her fever medicine, and hurried back to her room.
Her mom was still cleaning. She let out a small sigh of relief.
"Mom, I’m done eating. Gonna rest for a bit."
"Okay."
Chen Cheng sat on the bed, turned her head and there it was.
Right on the bedside table.
A tiny capsule-shaped toy, lightly dusted with dirt.
Her heart nearly stopped.
She twitched at the corner of her mouth, forcefully suppressing the overwhelming embarrassment. Keeping a blank expression, she decided to act as if nothing had happened.
Her mom definitely didn’t know what it was!
“Chengcheng, why did you buy something like this?”
“……”
Why did you even recognize it?!
Chen Cheng stiffly turned her head to look at her mother. Her mom had just finished mopping the floor, standing upright while holding the mop, staring at her with a complicated and slightly weird expression.
“I… I was just… curious.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Chen Cheng’s eyes darted to the wall, avoiding eye contact.
How would she know why the old ‘Chen Cheng’ bought this kind of toy?! In the previous life, she never even considered getting a "toy"!
Thankfully, her mom didn’t ask any further. She just picked up the mop and bucket and left the room.
Chen Cheng let out a long sigh of relief, quickly grabbed the toy, shoved it into the drawer in her wardrobe, locked it, then flopped onto her bed, burying her burning face into her pillow.
Ahhh! My image is ruined forever in my mom’s eyes!
Sorry, Mom! Your daughter’s a total pervert~
“Chengcheng.”
Her mom suddenly pushed the door open again.
“Ah?!”
Chen Cheng turned her head nervously.
“You…”
Her mother frowned slightly, seeming like she had something to say. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to go ahead.
“It’s fine to date, but don’t let yourself get taken advantage of too easily. You’re pretty, it’s easy for guys to trick you.”
“I won’t! Definitely not!” Chen Cheng shook her head so fast it almost left afterimages. “Absolutely impossible!”
Even with her exaggerated reaction, her mom still lowered her expectations. “At the very least, don’t get pregnant before marriage. Be safe. Make sure you and An Yuan agree on that.”
Chen Cheng sat up in shock, her face turning bright red. “What are you even talking about?! That’s not happening!”
“Just don’t come crying to me one day, pregnant and begging for money…”
“No way! Me and An Yuan are just, just…” Chen Cheng hesitated, struggling to finish the sentence. She couldn’t bring herself to say they were just ‘brothers’ or ‘friends.’ Instead, she clenched her pajama pants, turned her head away, and mumbled in a much smaller voice, “...a little ambiguous, that’s all. We’ve only held hands.”
Her mom looked even more surprised than when she found the toy. “For real?”
“For real!”
Her mom looked her daughter up and down. She's pretty and has a great figure but a little dumb and easy to deceive... I mean, pure and simple.
It had been months, right? And An Yuan had only held hands with her daughter?
“He’s actually that responsible?”
Of course he was. That guy worked his butt off to buy a house and car in the city for his family. His work schedule was so intense that in just a few years, the stress had made him fat, balding, and even caused physical health issues. Call him a coward, call him slow, call him an idiot, whatever. But when it came to responsibility? Maxed out.
Too bad he chose the wrong person in his past life.
Hearing her mom praise An Yuan, Chen Cheng couldn’t help but smirk proudly, but she still instinctively badmouthed him. “He’s just too scared. Total coward.”
“Oh? So you want to take the initiative?”
“I never said that!” Chen Cheng pulled the blanket over her head, hiding her burning face, only leaving her eyes peeking out. “I’m going to sleep! Leave me alone!”
“Alright, alright~ Just make sure you take responsibility for yourself.”
“I know!”
“You say that, but…”
Her mom muttered as she closed the door.
Chen Cheng let out a long, miserable sigh, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Wait… does everyone just assume she’s going to marry An Yuan?
Even if she ignored the fact that she was a man in her past life, didn’t her parents ever consider how awkward it’d be for childhood friends to date and get married? How many childhood romances actually worked out?
Lying there, she slowly felt the fever’s exhaustion mixing with the drowsiness from the medicine.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and her thoughts began to wander.
If they weren’t married, but just roommates living together… that actually sounded kinda nice…