Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The Uber car stopped outside his neighborhood. Lou Cheng quickly alighted, and opened the umbrella to shade her from the merciless afternoon sun.
Yan Zheke squinted and looked around. She waited for her boyfriend to close the door before asking with great interest,
“Is this where you live? It looks like the hospital staff and family courtyard my family lived in before... ”
She was wearing a white T-shirt with colored lines and a black mini skirt. Her black and red sandals showed off her pink toenails. She looked not only young and beautiful but also very mature and sexy.
“Estates built in that decade all look similar.” Lou Cheng agreed with her casually. Mindlessly, he held her hand and pulled her along into the estate.
Yan Zheke took her hand back and looked at him, “Didn’t you say that almost all the residents know who you are? If you continue holding my hand like that, it would only take five minutes before your mother found out that you’ve brought a girl home. ”
“Less than five minutes...” Lou Cheng said with embarrassment. Holding her hand had become a habit.
He laughed. “Actually, I don’t care. It would be okay for my mother to know. She’ll be so happy to see that I brought such a good wife back home.”
He displayed an open attitude. “Why can’t I introduce Ke who is such a great girlfriend to others? I want to show off our relationship to everyone!”
Unfortunately, I have to consider the feelings of her family.
Yan Zheke looked at his face and murmured, “Who’s the wife you’re bringing back home? I’m not coming with you!”
“Yes, yes, girlfriend, girlfriend!” Lou Cheng looked at the entrance to his estate. “How about I go in first to check if there is anyone home and then I’ll guide you to my place?”
“Okay.” Yan Zheke moved her beautiful eyes upwards. She did not have any other good ideas.
After handing her the sunshade, Lou Cheng ran into his community with haste and agility. All the neighbors along the way greeted him with a smile.
Reaching his house, Lou Cheng found it was quiet. This meant that both his father and mother had gone to work. He felt completely relieved. He went to the balcony and checking the door and road from a high position.
“Ke, after you go through the entrance, just go straight and turn right when you get to building No.4... Yes, there are some people playing chess there... Ok, ok. Now stop, stop, stop. Turn left, turn left. Do you see the word ‘eight’? Yes, this is my building. My house is on the fifth floor, unit two... I left the door open...” As soon as he saw the girl’s figure disappear from the building entrance, he quickly turned and left the balcony.
His eyes swept over the familiar living room and suddenly he felt a little nervous.
Does my place look too old, too shabby or too small?
It’s nowhere near Ke’s home.
Will she get a bad impression...
Lou Cheng gulped. He was happy and excited for he was about to share his past with Yan Zheke. Yet he also felt a little nervous, worried that she would look down on him. It was inevitable for him to have some inferiority complex.
What’s more, there’s no air-conditioning. We just use fans. But that doesn’t matter, I am a walking air-conditioner... He looked at the bright sun, feeling its heat, and waited for her at the door.
After only a minute, he heard the light footsteps of his girlfriend and saw her beautiful figure.
Yan Zheke’s eyes swept across the scene inside his home. She pursed her lips before saying,
“It’s like we’re shooting a secret agent movie, so sneaky.”
Lou Cheng handed her his slippers. Closing the door, he put on his father’s slippers and said with a wry smile,
“Actually, we wouldn’t need to be sneaky, if you were willing to announce our relationship to others.”
“I am not stupid...” Yan Zheke raised her head slightly and laughed. “Do I need to bring my sandals to your bedroom?”
She was ridiculing Lou Cheng for how he had behaved in her house before.
“No, it’ll be much better for my parents to see them when they come back.” Lou Cheng answered her with a smile.
“Hmm!” Yan Zheke bent over to take her sandals and gave them to Lou Cheng, “Take them. Oh, your shoes are so big...”
She lifted her right leg and shook the slippers dangling on her toes.
People feel more comfortable wearing bigger slippers.” As Lou Cheng led her to his bedroom, he peeked at her, trying to catch any reaction to his home.
Yan Zheke looked around with curiosity. She pointed to the door of the second bedroom and laughed with her hand over her mouth, “That’s the place where you watched TV in secret?”
Lou Cheng had once told her a story from his childhood. One time he had been so eager to watch TV, that he’d secretly left the door open and stood behind on tiptoes so he could watch it in front of his room. However, the movie his parents watched that night had turned out to be a scary movie. He was frightened by it and could not fall asleep.
“Yes, ah, it scarred me.” Lou Cheng answered her in a low voice and smiled. He then took the courage to ask her, “Ke, do you feel that my home is a little, a little shabby?”
Coach Yan had always said that they needed to communicate timely and actively, leaving no tension!
Yan Zheke tilted her head and pursed her lips slightly. She smiled and said, “What do you mean? Your house is okay. It’s very clean and neat. Anyway, it isn’t my home. I have only three requirements for other places. Clean, neat, safe. And there are so many of your past memories in this house, it’ll be interesting for us to live here occasionally.”
Pfft, what am I saying? Why did I say that we can live here occasionally?
Lou Cheng was relieved and became confident again. He also understood the viewpoint which she had inadvertently showed. He pulled her beautiful hand into his and said with a smile on his face,
“In the future, we’ll have our own home.”
It’ll be spacious, warm and clean.
“Who wants to have a home with you!” Yan Zheke raised her head and looked to the other side.
Lou Cheng laughed and said, “In fact, I was worried that we would have some contradictions about concepts. After all, we lived and grew up in such different family environments.”
After being firm again, he became frank. He could share the worries in his heart with her openly.
“The contradictions in values and concepts are not that important.” Yan Zheke looked up, smiling. “For example, if we have problems with housework, we can hire a maid to do it. We only need to wash our own private things. If we have issues about who will cook, we can hire a maid who is good at cooking. We can also cook by ourselves if we like cooking. If we have problems taking care of our parents if their health declines, of course, we will feel tired. But we can also hire a professional nurse to do the main work so that we won’t be so exhausted...”
She said these words in a plain tone. It was like such things came naturally to her.
However, Lou Cheng was surprised. What she said just now seemed to have solved most of the contradictions and problems he was worried about.
Of course, what she said required a solid economic base!
“I guess a lot of my imagined problems may not be as important as I think...” Lou Cheng said.
Money was not everything, but people could not live without money. It sounded exaggerated, but many problems would be much more obvious if people were poor. As a saying went, nothing goes well for a destitute couple.
Thinking of this, Lou Cheng was much more eager to earn more money to support the family!
“I instructed you again, didn’t I?” Yan Zheke said with dimples on her face. She laughed happily.
It made her happy to know that her beloved one agreed with her point of view.
“Yes. Ah... You’ve taught me a lot since we’ve been together.” He put her sandals in the corner and let her sit on the bed while he looked for the albums. When he found them, he handed them to her, as if he was giving her a treasure.
“I used to regret that there were so many classes in our grade. We couldn’t take a photo with all the students in one grade and I couldn’t have a photo with you. But, now, hehe.” He expressed his feelings about the past.
Yan Zheke opened her mouth, but then closed it again. A tingling sweetness lingered.
Cheng had been a real fool back then!
She put an album on her lap. While she was looking through it, Lou Cheng turned on the fan and used the Power of Frost. He moved to her side and circled her waist with his arm.
“Really refreshing!” Yan Zheke praised him with a smile. “Is this your graduation photo from senior year? Your hair was so long, it almost covered your eyes. You looked a little sloppy...”
“Not sloppy. I was just lazy, and I didn’t know how to take care of myself. Usually I’d get a brush cut, then let my hair grow freely. When the hair started getting in my eyes, I would go to the barber and get a brush cut again. So for two months, I didn’t need to worry about my hair. ” As Lou Cheng was explaining the mentality he had had at the time, he felt a little guilty.
Yan Zheke glanced at him and snickered, “If you still have this kind of haircut in the future, I will help you cut your hair!”
“Are you good at it?” Lou Cheng asked her with surprise.
“No, I am not. In fact, I’ve never done it before. So I dare you to be lazy!” Yan Zheke laughed covering her mouth as she continued looking through the photos.
After their family became poor, there were less photos of Lou Cheng. Besides, after he’d entered high school, he didn’t like taking photos. So after looking through half of the album, Yan Zheke only found pictures from when he was in primary school.
“Haha, there was a red dot on your forehead. You looked like a girl!”
“That was the class dance. Every student in my class had a red dot on their forehead. I don’t know why the teacher made us do that...”
...
“Hey, this is the naked photo taken in the bathtub you told me about? Your body is totally exposed!”
“I had no choice. At the time, I was so innocent, giving my father the chance to take such a photo. This photo is a black mark in my life...”
...
Sitting there, side by side, they discussed the photos and the stories behind them together. Both of them felt excited. They could hear each other’s breath.
Lou Cheng could smell the fragrance of her body. Holding her in his arms, he had some ideas. Whether he looked up or down, all he could see was his girlfriend’s attractive figure.
We are at home without other people. It’s very comfortable and very secure...
Also, my mom and dad won’t be back for a while...
It has been a long time since we made out...
Lou Cheng turned to the other side and saw her pouty lips. When he lowered his head, he noticed her beautiful fair legs. He suddenly stood up and walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Yan Zheke looked at him, confused.
Lou Cheng closed the door to the second bedroom and pretended to explain seriously,
“Shutting the door. I forgot about it. So, my parents wouldn’t notice anything even if they came back suddenly.”
“Ok.” Yan Zheke’s long eyelashes fluttered. She lowered her head to look at the album on her lap.
Lou Cheng sat beside her again and circled her waist with his arms. This time, he tightened his hold. It was like he wanted to wrap around her.
Yan Zheke wriggled twice, then quieted down. She was still staring at his childhood photos.