527. Sleepless Night
After dinner, Mother and Uncle sat on the sofa side-by-side—one playing on the mobile phone while the other was keeping Black Bean company through a cartoon.
Ning Chu kept stirring the meat at the dining table, leisurely chatting with Wen Yang, who had just gotten off work.
During office hours, Wen Yang was slow to reply to messages, but after work, it was like he was glued to his phone, responding almost instantly. This kept her busy, her head buried in her phone, completely distracted from the hotpot.
When they lived together normally, they didn’t chat this much.
From work to life, from games to spicy topics, they went on non-stop, even exchanging memes now and then without a hint of dullness.
But when she took a moment to look up, Ning Chu suddenly noticed that the distance between Uncle and Mother seemed to have shrunk a bit since earlier.
Her interest piqued, she fixated on them.
Uncle’s expression was as stern as ever, but his rear end was subtly inching closer to Mother’s, until their shoulders brushed. Only then did Mother react, frowning slightly and playfully shoving Uncle’s shoulder, but the next moment, she found herself pulled in by his muscular arm around her waist.
“There are kids around; it’s inappropriate…”
Mother struggled a little, but Uncle showed no sign of letting go. In resignation, she glanced at Black Bean.
The cat had pulled up a little stool in front of the TV, staring up at the screen, utterly oblivious to her gaze.
Then, Mother turned to Ning Chu, who was still glued to her phone, and let out a sigh of relief. Her previously tense posture relaxed, leaning against Uncle.
Yet, Ning Chu kept stealing glances at her mother’s behavior.
At over forty, Mother was blushing like a shy schoolgirl—it was mildly embarrassing to watch two middle-aged people flirting.
As she looked at them, she suddenly understood why Yan Xinya was so into shipping couples…
Looks like it’s pretty ship-worthy!
Ning Chu teased them with her gaze, but just as the sweetness started to seep in, it turned sour.
So when are you two going to fast forward to the wedding already?
I’m rushing to find Wen Yang!
She quickly snapped a picture of Mother and Uncle, saving it in a private folder for future teasing.
Ning Chu lowered her head, pretending to be still engrossed in her phone, and yelled, “Mom! When are you two heading out tomorrow?”
As soon as she spoke, she turned around, and sure enough, Mother had put some space between herself and Uncle, maintaining a poker face as she met Ning Chu’s gaze.
“What’s the rush? Just a day or two.”
Mother shot her a look, then turned to Uncle to complain, “You don’t know her. She’s been home for less than a day and already can’t wait to find her boyfriend, always looking outward.”
“I raised her for over twenty years; it’s been half a year since I’ve seen her! Doesn’t she know to spend time with me? In her heart, it’s all about Wen Yang.”
“…”
Mother’s complaints made Ning Chu facepalm in embarrassment.
You keep talking and I’ll send that newly taken picture to everyone!
She thought fiercely but only managed to stand up from the dining table and scurry into the small spare bedroom.
She just couldn’t stand Mother’s chatter anymore! Better to play games with Wen Yang.
Once inside her room, she could still hear Mother’s lingering complaints outside and sighed.
Mother was fine everywhere else; it was just that she loved airing their family’s private business… And Uncle wasn’t even married to her, so he technically counted as an outsider.
“Ning Xin, you should go wash up and get to bed too.”
“Huh? It’s only nine!”
“By the time you wash up and then make a ruckus, it’ll be eleven!”
Before long, Black Bean waddled into the room, cheeks puffed up and sulking, “I haven’t finished my anime yet…”
“Mommy’s with Uncle outside; don’t go adding to the commotion.”
“Sis, I wanna watch anime! Stop playing on the computer.”
Black Bean leaned toward the computer only to see Ning Chu hastily switching the chat window to the desktop. Her initial disappointment flipped to excitement as her little head leaned closer to the screen.
“Are you chatting with Brother-in-law? Why not video call him?”
Because video calls require talking, and there are some topics that would be inappropriate for you to hear.
Ning Chu answered in her mind while casually initiating a video call with Wen Yang, typing, “Black Bean hasn’t seen you for ages; she wants to video chat.”
The call connected quickly, Wen Yang’s handsome face appearing on the other side of the screen. He looked cozy, leaning back against his headboard with a gentle smile.
“Brother-in-law! Here I am! Miss me?”
Black Bean practically shoved herself into the camera, quickly dominating the whole frame with her big face.
“Missed you tons!”
Wen Yang wanted to see how Ning Chu was, but all he could see was a cat’s head, which made him feel a bit helpless.
“Where are you? Why aren’t you coming to play with me!”
This cat had no awareness of being a third wheel.
“Just at my rental apartment; I just found it a few days ago.”
“How much rent?” Ning Chu chimed in, “Can you take a quick camera tour for me?”
“A single room, just over two thousand.”
Without even standing, Wen Yang turned his phone around, capturing the cramped little apartment.
One bed, one wardrobe, one desk—the entire place was cramped, with just an L-shaped hallway about a meter wide, roughly the same size as a standard small bedroom.
“So expensive and so small…”
“The location’s great, and the company provides rental subsidies. Once I’ve saved enough, I’ll move into a one-bedroom.”
“Is it quiet? How’s the soundproofing?”
Ning Chu didn’t ask for much, but these two points were crucial. The former would ensure she could sleep well without interruption, and the latter would mean she didn’t have to bite her lip to stifle any noises.
Even though that lip-biting look would only make Wen Yang more excited.
“Everything’s pretty good.”
Wen Yang took the phone into the bathroom to show her the inside, and Ning Chu could already picture living in this tiny rental with him… The small space didn’t feel suffocating but rather cozy.
After all, they’d be out all day for work, and the evenings would mostly be spent in bed, so a small space would make cleaning easier.
A smile crept across her face, her eyes twinkling as she rested her chin on her hand, “How big is the bed? I don’t want to find out it’s the floor after I move in.”
“It’s okay, it’s quite big.”
Probably a standard double bed of about one and a half by two meters, which might be a bit cramped for them considering Wen Yang’s size.
“Brother-in-law! I want to move in too!” Black Bean chimed in, completely unaware, “I’m fine sleeping on the floor!”
“Didn’t Mommy ask you to wash up? Stop being a nuisance here.” Ning Chu pushed Black Bean away with a sigh, urging her, “If you don’t hurry, Mommy will get mad.”
“Oh~ then I’ll chat with Brother-in-law later.”
She rolled her eyes at Black Bean.
This cat may be smart in life skills and do well in school, but managing emotions was apparently not one of her strong suits.
…
The video chat continued late into the night until Ning Chu suddenly remembered that Wen Yang had work the next day. Regretfully, she closed her laptop and lay back against the headboard.
Black Bean had already fallen asleep, kicking off her blanket and curling up in the corner of the bed.
Ning Chu threw the blanket over Black Bean’s stomach, “Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”
Most likely, Mother would be heading out with Uncle tomorrow, and they’d go out for a celebratory dinner as a kind of wedding feast, which meant she would finally see Wen Yang the day after!
With a mix of anticipation for the future and confusion about job hunting, she lay on her bed with a heavy heart, eyes closing.
Just what kind of job could she find?
It would be great to have a nine-to-five job, so she could go out with Wen Yang in the evenings for shopping or a movie.
Too bad the rental space was so small—otherwise, she could occasionally cook for Wen Yang.
Maybe she should get a projector? It’d be nice to lie in Wen Yang’s arms watching movies on a big screen…
Her thoughts were all tangled and messy, swirling in her mind like a chaotic ball of yarn, until Ning Chu’s breathing steadied and she drifted into a light sleep.
Until a sudden noise jolted her awake from her half-dreamy state.
She blinked, staring into the dark room, listening to the faint sounds of explosions echoing outside, and sighed in dismay.
Weren’t they supposed to book a hotel or something?
Why is nobody even pretending anymore…
d*mn, I’m so jealous! Showing off your boyfriend right in front of your daughter!
Ning Chu pulled the blanket over her head, yawning in exhaustion.
Sleep was not coming her way!
