Liu Chen's pearly white teeth gleamed in the sunlight.
Last night, she had put down her pen and used the lottery draw around eight or nine. Logically, with seven classes, each lasting two hours, she had studied for fourteen hours. Therefore, when she woke up, it should have been around eleven o'clock.
But now it was six in the morning!
This meant that time flowed differently during one-on-one tutoring compared to reality. So, she had won!
Moreover, despite studying for fourteen consecutive hours, she felt full of energy, as if she had slept ten hours completely!
Except...
"Rumble~~~"
A loud growl from her stomach was followed by a wave of hunger that Liu Chen hadn't felt since her rebirth.
"So hungry..."
Liu Chen practically ran downstairs to the dining room. No one was there.
"Forgot, they probably played mahjong until late..."
As she spoke, Liu Chen began searching the kitchen for leftover ingredients. Finally, she prepared herself a three-tael portion of noodles, cracked in two eggs, and added two large handfuls of spinach. The meals for the past two days had been too rich, with so much meat and fish. She really missed eating some green vegetables.
A bowl of noodles was quickly cooked. Liu Chen was so hungry that she didn't even wait to bring the bowl to the table. She sat in the kitchen and started eating.
Then,
She had another bowl.
When Ren Yu, the first to wake up in the household, arrived in the kitchen, she saw her girlfriend eating a bowl of plain noodles with nothing in it.
"The roasted lamb from last night was good. I went up to call you, but you didn't respond. I figured you were asleep. Everyone left a portion for you. I'll heat it up for you."
After eating two bowls of noodles, and now eating her third, Liu Chen's eating speed had finally normalized. Hearing Ren Yu's words, she didn't hesitate.
"Okay, you heat it up. Then I'll cook you a bowl of noodles?"
Ren Yu glanced at the bowl of plain noodles in front of Liu Chen, paused for two seconds, and finally said:
"I'll do it."
"Alright, the plain noodles are gone, only the egg noodles are left in the cupboard. Just open the cabinet above your head."
After watching Ren Yu take out the egg noodles, Liu Chen blinked her eyes and said with a smile:
"Then, will my boyfriend cook a bowl of noodles for his girlfriend too?"
Hearing this, Ren Yu's hand trembled, and more than half a bag of egg noodles fell into the steaming pot.
Ren Yu turned to look at Liu Chen, who was sitting by the cabinet, smiling with her teeth exposed, and also smiled.
"Yes, I will cook noodles for my girlfriend my whole life."
Looking at Ren Yu's sincere eyes, Liu Chen felt her heart skip a beat.
When she came to her senses, she found that Ren Yu had already turned back to continue cooking the noodles.
More than half a bag of egg noodles made a large pot. Liu Chen took two taels, and Ren Yu also took two taels. The rest was for Xia Tian, who was coming to take over.
After eating her fill and feeling a slight sweat on her forehead from eating, Liu Chen stood in the garden, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
"Happiness!"
Ren Yu was about to say something when she saw Liu Chen turn around, wave goodbye, and go upstairs to her room.
Without any lingering at all...
Ren Yu stood downstairs, watching Liu Chen's retreating figure as she went upstairs. After a long while, she sighed.
"She's still young, just wait a bit longer."
Jiang Di, who heard this, turned and glared angrily at Ren Yu from behind!
Ren Yu felt the gaze from behind and turned to see Jiang Di opening a can of oatmeal.
If it weren't for Jiang Di's shoulders shaking with laughter, Ren Yu felt she might have actually believed her.
-
Back in the bedroom, Liu Chen's mind was filled with the knowledge she had learned last night. Reviewing the old to learn the new, Liu Chen sat at her desk for several hours. After organizing the knowledge she had learned the previous night, she went downstairs for lunch.
After quickly finishing lunch and seeing off her aunt's family and her grandmother, Liu Chen again quickly returned to her room.
Ren Yu, who had thought Liu Chen had stayed in her room that morning out of shyness, was now like: ???
Old Master Chen saw this scene and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
This was how it should be. Whether their relationship was real or not, one would never cherish what was obtained too easily. He had to let young Ren Yu bump his head a few times, and he would cherish his wife more in the future!
This was what the old man thought. However, when Liu Chen continued like this for the next three days, the old man couldn't sit still.
One day, watching Liu Chen quickly finish dinner and go upstairs, Old Master Chen coughed twice and beckoned to Ren Yu, who had clearly installed surveillance equipment but was still lingering at home:
"Ren Yu, come and sit in my study for a while."
"Yes, Grandpa."
Hearing the word "Grandpa," Old Master Chen seemed to be allergic and quickly coughed twice: "Cough, cough, just call me Grandpa Chen."
Ren Yu nodded slightly, got up, and helped Old Master Chen to his feet, saying, "Yes, Grandpa."
In the study, Old Master Chen looked at Ren Yu, his mouth opening and closing.
Ren Yu, however, said calmly, "Grandpa, if you have anything you want to ask, just say it."
Seeing Ren Yu's composed demeanor, Old Master Chen simply closed his eyes and quickly asked:
"What stage are you and Chenchen at?"
Ren Yu, who had been smiling calmly, froze upon hearing this.
"Grandpa, this is a personal privacy between Chenchen and me."
Seeing Ren Yu's reaction, Old Master Chen was immediately reassured.
"Then it seems there has been no progress."
Ren Yu: "..."
Perhaps feeling that his last remark was a bit too much, Old Master Chen changed the subject: "Do you know what this child has been busy with lately?"
Hearing this, Ren Yu recalled that she hadn't received any response every time she knocked on the door. After thinking, she gave an answer:
"Sleeping."
"Sleeping?"
Liu Fang stood at Liu Chen's bedroom door on the second floor. She twisted the locked bedroom door and, hearing Liu Chen's answer from inside, raised an eyebrow:
"You sleep for so long?"
As soon as the words fell, the sound of the lock unlocking came from inside the room, followed by the door opening.
Inside the room, the Venetian blinds were completely closed, blocking about sixty to seventy percent of the sunlight. The quilt on the bed was half-pulled back. Standing in front of her was Liu Chen, wearing an eye mask and with slightly wrinkled pajamas.
It really looked like she was preparing for an afternoon nap?
"Then, you go upstairs after dinner every night for the past few days, also... to sleep?"
Liu Fang looked at her daughter's face and asked hesitantly.
Liu Chen nodded:
"Sleeping. Maybe I didn't get enough sleep at school. The underfloor heating at home is warm, so I just want to sleep."
"Then you... sleep for more than ten hours a day, doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"
Liu Chen shook her head. Seeing her mother's clearly disbelieving eyes, she changed her words:
"No, I'm just catching up on sleep these past two days. There's something at school the day after tomorrow, so I have to go back."
Hearing this, Liu Fang immediately forgot about the sleep duration and began to instruct Liu Chen on what to pack for Beijing.
Looking at her nagging mother, a wave of guilt surged in Liu Chen's heart. But upon seeing Chen Long behind her mother, Liu Chen had an epiphany.
Her mother was bravely pursuing her happiness this time, and she was also pursuing her own happiness.
Realizing this, Liu Chen couldn't help but embrace her nagging mother, gently patting her back:
"Mom, it's so good to have you."