Chapter 527. Sleepless
After dinner, Mom and Uncle sat side by side on the sofa, one playing on her phone while the other accompanied Hei Dou watching cartoons.
Ning Chu was still sitting at the dining table, leisurely continuing to cook the meat while chatting with Wen Yang, who had just gotten off work.
During work, Wen Yang often took his time replying, but after hours he responded almost immediately, which kept her busy; she was barely looking up from her phone, distracted even while eating hotpot.
When they normally lived together, the two of them didn’t chat like this.
From work to life, from games to awkward topics, they talked non-stop, occasionally trading memes; it felt utterly lively.
When she glanced up, Ning Chu suddenly noticed that the distance between Uncle and Mom seemed to have shrunk a bit compared to earlier.
Her interest piqued, she stared at them intently.
Uncle wore a serious expression, but his backside slightly lifted at intervals, inching closer and closer to Mom until their shoulders brushed. Only then did Mom, who was watching TV, react, frowning slightly to push Uncle’s shoulder away, but the next moment she was wrapped in his stout arm around her waist.
“The kids are here; it’s not appropriate…”
Mom struggled a little, but Uncle remained unfazed, leaving her no choice but to glance awkwardly at Hei Dou.
The cat was sitting on a small stool in front of the TV, gazing at the screen, completely unconcerned with looking back at her.
Mom looked back at Ning Chu, and seeing her still focused on her phone, let out a sigh of relief as her tense body relaxed, leaning into Uncle.
However, Ning Chu had been sneakily observing Mom’s demeanor all this time.
At over forty years old, she still bore a shy pink hue on her face, looking like a bashful little girl.
Watching the two middle-aged people display affection, she suddenly understood why Yan Xinya was so obsessed with shipping CPs…
It really is quite shipable, huh?
Ning Chu teased Mom and Uncle with her gaze, but the sweet taste of that little bit of shipping quickly turned into a wave of sour sadness.
So when are you two going to fast forward to getting married?!
I’m in a hurry to find Wen Yang!
She secretly took a picture of Mom and Uncle, saving it in a private folder to poke fun at Mom with later.
Ning Chu lowered her head, pretending to still be playing on her phone and called out without looking up, “Mom! When are you two heading out tomorrow?”
As soon as she spoke, she turned around; Mom had indeed created some distance from Uncle, maintaining a calm facade as she met Ning Chu’s gaze.
“What’s the rush? Just in a day or two.”
Mom shot her a glare, then immediately complained to Uncle, “You have no idea about her. She just got back and already wants to see her boyfriend, always turning her elbow outwards.”
“I’ve raised her for twenty-plus years; it’s been half a year since we’ve seen each other, and all she thinks about is Wen Yang.”
“……”
Mom’s complaints made Ning Chu cover her face in shame.
You keep talking, and I might just send over that photo I took!
She thought fiercely but merely stood up from the dining table and hurriedly fled to her bedroom.
I just can’t stand Mom’s chatter! I’d be better off playing games with Wen Yang.
Once in her room, Ning Chu could still faintly hear Mom complaining about her outside, letting out a soft sigh.
Mom is great in every way, except for that mouth, always sharing family matters with outsiders… Uncle isn’t even married to her yet, so he counts as an outsider too.
“Ning Xin, you should go shower and sleep now.”
“Ah? It’s only nine o’clock!”
“If you shower and mess around a bit, it’d be eleven!”
Before long, Hei Dou walked into the room, pouting with cheeks puffed up, looking displeased: “I haven’t finished my anime yet…”
“Mom and Uncle are outside, so don’t go butting in.”
“Sis, I want to watch anime. Stop playing on the computer.”
Hei Dou squeezed in next to the computer but saw Ning Chu quickly minimize the chat window, her disappointment immediately transforming into excitement as her little head leaned towards the screen.
“Are you chatting with my brother-in-law? Why aren’t you video calling him?”
Because video calls require talking and could lead to inappropriate topics that you might hear.
Ning Chu internally responded, casually initiating a video call with Wen Yang while typing, “Hei Dou hasn’t seen you in a long time; she wants to video call you.”
The video was quickly answered, and Wen Yang’s handsome face appeared on the other side of the screen, reclining comfortably against his headboard, wearing a gentle smile.
“Brother-in-law! Here I am! Miss me?”
Hei Dou was worried that Wen Yang wouldn’t see her and leaned eagerly towards the camera, quickly taking over the whole frame with her big face.
“Miss you, miss you.”
Wen Yang wanted to check how Ning Chu had been doing after a few days apart, but all he could see was a cat’s face filled with enthusiasm, his eyes reflecting a hint of helplessness.
“Where are you now? You don’t come to play with me!”
The cat seemed completely unaware that it was a third wheel.
“In a rental place, just found it a few days ago.”
“How much is rent?” Ning Chu chimed in. “Can you take a video of the place for me to see?”
“A single room, over two thousand.”
Wen Yang didn’t even get up, just turned his phone around to capture the entire rental space.
A bed, a wardrobe, a desk—this small rental room took up almost all the space, leaving only an L-shaped aisle about a meter wide, roughly the size of an ordinary small bedroom.
“So expensive, and so small…”
“Good location, plus the company has a rental subsidy; once I have money, I’ll get a one-bedroom apartment.”
“Is it quiet? How’s the sound insulation?”
Ning Chu didn’t have high requirements for where she stayed, but she cared a lot about these two points. The first would ensure she could rest peacefully, and the latter meant she wouldn’t have to bite her lip, desperately enduring without daring to make a sound.
Although that biting lip while enduring always seemed to excite Wen Yang more.
“Everything is quite good.”
Wen Yang took the phone into the bathroom, capturing the view inside there too.
Ning Chu could already envision living in this cramped rental room with Wen Yang… She didn’t find the small space oppressive; rather, she felt that such a compact area would be cozier.
After all, they’d both be working during the day, and at night they’d mostly be in bed, so a smaller space might actually make cleaning easier.
A sweet smile crept onto her lips as she gazed at the screen, “Is the bed big? Don’t let me find out I have to sleep on the floor when I move in.”
“It’s fine, pretty big.”
It was probably a standard double bed measuring around one and a half by two meters. With Wen Yang’s size, they might feel a bit cramped when sleeping.
“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law! I also want to move in!” Hei Dou chirped without a hint of self-awareness. “I can just sleep on the floor!”
“Didn’t Mom say for you to shower? Stop trying to butt in here,” Ning Chu pushed Hei Dou away, urging her on, “If you keep dragging it out, Mom will get angry.”
“Oh~ then I’ll just chat with my brother-in-law later.”
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Hei Dou.
This cat currently understood common sense, wasn’t falling behind in school, and could control her cat impulses quite well, but one couldn’t expect her to understand emotional intelligence too.
…
The video chat went on until late into the night, until Ning Chu suddenly realized that Wen Yang had work the next day, and with a face full of regret, she closed her computer and lay down at the head of her bed.
Hei Dou had long fallen asleep, kicking off the blanket and curled up in the corner of the bed.
Ning Chu casually covered Hei Dou’s little belly with the blanket: “Don’t catch cold.”
Tomorrow, Mom will likely go to eat with Uncle, treating it like a wedding banquet, and the day after she can finally see Wen Yang~
With a mix of anticipation for the future and the confusion and lack of confidence about job searching, she lay down on her bed, closing her eyes.
Who knows what kind of job she might find.
If only it could be a nine-to-five job, then in the evenings she could stroll with Wen Yang or watch a movie.
Too bad the rental room is so small; otherwise, she could occasionally cook a meal for Wen Yang.
Maybe she could buy a projector? In the future, they could lie in Wen Yang’s arms watching big-screen TV, that would be nice…
Her mind was a jumbled mess of scattered thoughts, strung together chaotically like tangled threads, and Ning Chu’s breathing gradually became calm and even as she sank into dreams of the future.
Until suddenly, an unexpected noise jolted her awake from a light sleep.
She opened her eyes in confusion, looking at the dark bedroom while faint sounds of cannon fire echoed in the distance, letting out a troubled sigh.
In the past, they’d always look for a hotel.
Haven’t they set up anything now…?
Damn it, I’m so envious! Just showing off your boyfriend in front of your daughter!
Ning Chu pulled the blanket over her head, yawning sleepily.
Sleepless all night!
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