The noon meal was a lavish affair, with Liu Fang and Ren Yuanying busy in the kitchen. In the living room, Ren Mo was being supervised by Ren Yu as he did his homework, while Liu Chen sat on the soft white carpet, working through problems on the coffee table.
The lunch was abundant, featuring five dishes and one soup, with a small hot pot in the center. Sliced tripe, throat, and tender beef were placed around it. As soon as the spicy beef tallow broth in the hot pot began to boil, the aroma made Liu Chen’s appetite soar, and he ate two bowls of rice.
After the meal, Liu Chen went to the kitchen to wash dishes but was shooed out by her godmother.
"Girls shouldn't do dishes, their hands will get rough. You've eaten your fill, let your brother take you around. You haven't seen your room yet, have you?"
With that, the kitchen door closed with a crisp sound. It seemed her godmother had even locked the kitchen door from the inside.
Meanwhile, Ren Mo, who had been made to do practice papers all morning in the living room, heard this and practically jogged over, saying, "Sister, come on, I'll take you to see the room our Ms. Ren prepared for you!"
Previous visits had only involved the living room and dining room; they had never gone upstairs. Of course, the timing had always been tight, as Liu Fang had to open her shop early the next morning, so they couldn't stay out too late.
They went up the stairs next to the living room. One side of the staircase was a full glass wall. As the sunlight shone on her, Liu Chen felt even sleepier...
Upon reaching the second floor, Ren Mo opened the first room on the right. The entire room was sky blue, covered in posters of "Happy Boys." The comforter on the bed was a crumpled ball at the foot of the bed. In the corner of the room stood a large integrated bookshelf and desk, but the bookshelf was filled with various manga and music CDs.
Next, Ren Mo opened the door opposite this room.
Unlike the blue tones of the previous room, this entire room was painted with gray latex paint. A deep, solid wood bed was placed in the center of the room. On the north side, a long desk was positioned by the window, encircling the entire window frame.
To the left and right of the desk were neat rows of bookshelves, displaying various trophies, awards, and many computer-related books.
This was—Ren Yu's room?
As if to confirm Liu Chen’s guess, Ren Mo walked to the side of the bookshelf and took out a photo album from the top shelf.
"Heh heh, my brother, that cunning guy, he took out all his childhood photos and kept them separately in his room, just to hide his earth-shattering secrets from when he was little!"
Secrets?
Liu Chen was drawn forward by these two words, her gaze falling on the photo album in Ren Mo's hand.
Ren Mo directly flipped open the album.
"Heh heh, this is my first time seeing my brother's photo album too. This room is usually locked, and I can't get in."
...
How unreliable must one be for Ren Yu to lock the door?
The first page Ren Mo opened to was a photo of a little girl, looking like a doll, wearing a white gauze dress and swinging on a swing. However, the little girl in the photo had a tense face and looked very serious.
"Hahaha, look, this one in the princess dress is that guy Ren Yu!"
After speaking, Ren Mo pushed the album towards Liu Chen and then flipped further down.
This photo seemed to be from a slightly later time, looking about four or five years old. She was wearing a pink puff-sleeved top and white shorts, with a tense face, standing at the entrance of the Red Sun Kindergarten.
After flipping through several more pages, Liu Chen saw Ren Yu in various women's clothing. She even felt that if Ren Yu were to appear before her again, her first reaction would probably be to laugh...
"Ms. Ren's hobby is a bit too weird. Fortunately, Ms. Ren was normal when I was little."
"Is that so."
A faint voice came from behind her head. Liu Chen's face first froze, then she instinctively turned her head to look in the direction of the voice.
Their eyes met.
Ren Yu's delicate face magnified to an extreme right before her eyes. Liu Chen then noticed how curled and dense his eyelashes were on those foxy eyes. His skin was so good, fair and delicate, without a single acne mark.
As they breathed, a warm, moist breath carried a faint scent of tobacco. He had probably gone to smoke a cigarette while they were upstairs.
Liu Chen blinked rapidly and turned her head back.
Her heartbeat thudded insistently, thump-thump-thump.
Liu Chen pursed her lips, not knowing what to say, when the sound of a car parking outside reached them.
"It must be Zhuzhu and them. I'm going down."
With that, Liu Chen sat up from the foot of the bed, got up, and walked around Ren Yu, leaving Ren Mo, who was still babbling and trying to appeal to his brotherly affection, to face Ren Yu alone in the room.
May the fellow traveler die, not me. Ren Mo, rest in peace.
Coming downstairs, Teacher Lai was standing in the dining room talking to her godmother.
"I'm using coming to your place as an excuse to get some air. The old lady at home has become more stubborn these past two years, insisting that my aunt-in-law move out of her position. Never mind that my dad retired last year; even if he hadn't, with his sister's personality, who would dare to help?"
Liu Chen overheard this and felt a pang of sympathy. Even someone as gentle as Teacher Lai had mother-in-law troubles.
"Chenchen!"
Mi Zhuzhu, who had come with Teacher Lai, was sitting a bit nervously under the crystal chandelier. Seeing Liu Chen coming downstairs, she quickly ran over.
Lai Jielun also emerged from the kitchen, holding a plate full of sliced dragon fruit. Seeing them, he winked and said, "Let's go upstairs and play. I remember Ren Mo has a lot of game consoles in his room!"
With that, Lai Jielun bounded upstairs two steps at a time. Sensing Mi Zhuzhu's nervousness, Liu Chen took her hand and followed them upstairs.
When they reached the second floor, they discovered the reason for Lai Jielun's excitement: he had brought Monopoly...
Monopoly is a game that any literate child can play, but playing it well requires a certain skill.
Lai Jielun quickly laid out the Monopoly board, distributing four sets of cards. He said, "Since it's Monopoly, we should play something related. The last place has to give the first place five..." As soon as he uttered "five," Lai Jielun saw a pair of long, straight legs and looked up.
"Ahem, Brother Ren Yu, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and, uh, Happy Birthday! Uh, are you playing Monopoly too, Brother Ren Yu? It's okay if you don't want to play..."
"Okay."
Hearing this "okay," Lai Jielun's smile froze. He stared at Brother Ren Yu for several seconds before finally confirming that Brother Ren Yu had indeed said "okay."
"Ahem, the last place has to grant the first place one request, it can be a dare or a truth. Let me tell you, I'm very good at Monopoly..."
Throughout the afternoon, the very skilled Lai Jielun was always in last place. The first place was rotated among the other four. Lai Jielun was already responsible for all the supermarket errands and breakfast runs for the semester.
Until the last game, whether it was bad luck or something else, Liu Chen ended up in last place, while Ren Yu came in first.
"Heh heh, Liu Chen, you finally got caught. Brother Ren Yu, tell us what you want Liu Chen to do!"