Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After a while, Qi Chengyue got off the bed, still red-faced. Cheng Dongge had thrown the previous night"s clothes into the washer, and Qi Chengyue had no clothes to wear. Her decision to stay there was made at the last minute, and she did not even have any fresh underwear that she could change into.

She had no idea where the underwear she took off the previous night was. She had just taken it off and tossed it somewhere, but Cheng Dongge must have put it away since she could not locate it.

When he took them off her the night before, she did not think much of it because her mind was blinded with pa.s.sion. When her cognition was clear, however, she felt incredibly shy when imagining him holding her undergarments, especially her panties.

Still unable to locate her underwear, she was left with no choice but to open Cheng Dongge"s wardrobe and wear one of his white dress s.h.i.+rts. It was long enough to cover her thighs, but she still felt very uncomfortable because she was not wearing any panties.

She went to the toilet and noticed two cups and two toothbrushes on the sink. One cup and one toothbrush looked relatively new, and although he did not leave any message for her, she knew that it was meant for her to use.

Blus.h.i.+ng, she could not help but break out in a smile. She was particularly elated to see two cups and two toothbrushes arranged side-by-side.

Taking out the toothbrush from the cup, she grabbed a tube of toothpaste that Cheng Dongge had already used halfway. When she squeezed out the toothpaste, she could not help but imagine how Cheng Dongge looked like when he did the same. It was intimate to think that the tube"s opening had earlier came into contact with his toothbrush, and was about to come into contact with hers.

After brus.h.i.+ng her teeth, she used Cheng Dongge"s facial wash and moisturizer—both men"s products—since she did not manage to buy her facial care products.

Once that was done, she scanned the entire bathroom and laid eyes on a particular spot.

The undergarments that she had been searching for all along were hanging just above her head, and they were already washed.

Cheng Dongge neither had a housekeeper or a helper, so there were no prizes for guessing who it was that washed Qi Chengyue"s undergarments.

Qi Chengyue felt her entire brain explode. That man—to think that he washed her underwear and kept his actions secret from her!

Those garments were the more intimate ones, especially when it came to her panties. They were surely dirty after having been used the entire day, yet he still held them in his hands as though it was nothing disgusting.

Qi Chengyue quickly took down the still-damp underwear and searched for a hairdryer to blow it dry.

As she was almost about to blow them dry, she heard the door clicked open. Qi Chengyue switched off the hairdryer and tried on the panties. They were not fully dry yet, and although she could still wear if she truly needed to, doing so would not be good for her body.

Then again, she thought for a moment and realized that she had done almost everything with Cheng Dongge, and there was no need to fret too much about those things. She just had to remember not to accidentally reveal herself too much. She rehung her panties to dry and went straight for the door after coming out of the bathroom.

The door swung open as she reached it, and Qi Chengyue was all smiles as she said, "You"re back! Why didn"t you wake me up just… auntie…?"

It was not Cheng Dongge who returned but his mother, Sun Shaoyun. Qi Chengyue did not expect that at all.

Drained was the color on her face in an instant.

Sun Shaoyun was still holding on to the set of keys. She opened the door and had on foot in, but that was all there is to it as she froze at the doorstep.

"You…Miss Qi, you"re…" Sun Shaoyun was so startled that she mumbled incoherently. She looked at Qi Chengyue from head to toe and knew at once that Qi Chengyue was wearing Cheng Dongge"s dress s.h.i.+rt, seemingly with nothing else underneath. By that alone, Sun Shaoyun could tell how far their relations.h.i.+p had progressed.

Qi Chengyue"s pale face became flushed. "auntie, please wait for a while."

She dashed back into the bathroom and wore her undies without caring that they were still damp. Her bra was not going to dry so quickly, and she could not wear the dress she wore the night before because that would reveal her nipples. It was better if she wore his s.h.i.+rt.

Qi Chengyue ran over and said, "Auntie, you…please wait here. I"ll be done in a bit."

Running into the bedroom, she rummaged around the closet and finally managed to dig up a pair of sport shorts. She wore them and tied up the strings so tightly that the waist of the pants bunched up on her hip.

It was then that she went out and stood awkwardly in front of Sun Shaoyun, clueless as to what she should say.

"Miss Qi, your clothes…" Although Qi Chengyue was fully clothed, it looked completely out of place since everything on her belonged to Cheng Dongge.

"I came back from an event last night and the dress isn"t fit to be worn right now," Qi Chengyue explained, embarra.s.sed.

"Oh." What Sun Shaoyun wanted to add was, "If your dress isn"t fit to be worn, then are Cheng Dongge"s clothes fit to be worn?"

"Miss Qi, how far has your relations.h.i.+p with Cheng Dongge progressed? Is it serious?" Sun Shaoyun sat down and asked before even getting a cup of water to drink.

"Auntie, you just came. Let me pour a cup of water for you, or would you prefer tea?" Qi Chengyue asked. She thought that the subject should best be discussed only when Cheng Dongge came back.

"No need for that. I"ll be going soon. I wanted to come and see my son, but I didn"t think…" Sun Shaoyun did not complete her sentence. Before her retirement, Sun Shaoyun was the head of educational administration in one of Li City"s junior high schools. Civility was a quality she honed to a very high-level, so despite her dissatisfaction at Qi Chengyue"s past, she did not overstep her bounds and speak too harshly.

"Have a seat. Don"t trouble yourself. Where did Dongge go?" Sun Shaoyun asked.

Qi Chengyue sat down at some distance away from Sun Shaoyun. She was feeling constantly nervous. "He went down to buy breakfast."

Sun Shaoyun nodded. "Miss Qi, you haven"t answered my question."

Qi Chengyue looked down and was slightly afraid to look at Sun Shaoyun. Back then, Qi Chengyue made a solemn vow to Sun Shaoyun that she would not be together with Cheng Dongge. It had not even been long since then, and Sun Shaoyun just had to b.u.mp into her at Cheng Dongge"s home when she was dressed in such a manner.

"I"m in a relations.h.i.+p with him, and it"s serious." Qi Chengyue mustered the courage to look at Sun Shaoyun despite having a slightly faltering voice.

"How long have you two been together?" Sun Shaoyun asked.

Qi Chengyue did not know how to answer that as they had just been together and she was already spending the night with him. It was all too obvious that they had some activities the night before, and she was worried that Sun Shaoyun would think of her as a very casual woman.

Before she answered though, Sun Shaoyun mumbled to herself, "It wasn"t too long ago that you came to Li City, so I think you weren"t together for long."

"Auntie…" Qi Chengyue tried to explain, but Sun Shaoyun cut her off. "Miss Qi, you were very resolute last time. Remember? When you said that you wouldn"t burden Cheng Dongge wouldn"t be with him for his good and also his family?"

"Auntie, that was what I thought at the time. I really thought that I could do it." Qi Chengyue took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I work at the same company as him and I have to see him every day. We"ll have to interact whenever the company"s affairs require it, and every time I go to work or get off from work, we"d b.u.mp into each other in the company"s entrance. Sometimes we ride in the same elevator. I"ve seen Huang Ziyue look for him before and I"ve seen him go on blind dates with other women.

"He was getting me angry on purpose to see if I can bear with it, testing whether I was really able to let him go just like that. But in the end, I couldn"t. My heart was in pain when I saw him go on dates with other women, and when I saw Huang Ziyue coming back for him and trying to get back with him again, I was even more heartbroken, to the point where I hid away in the car and cried to myself. I said it with determination last time, but after going through all that, I realized I couldn"t do it at all. When he goes on dates, I can"t control myself from sneaking a look. I think if he is to marry someone else, I"ll be watching him silently from the sidelines, and he"ll never know that I"ll be crying and getting angry all by myself. My elder brother and his wife tried getting me to accept another man, but because none of them are Cheng Dongge, I can"t accept it, and I can"t spend my life with another man.

"That was why I agreed to be with him. I"m a selfish person. I don"t want to see him suffering, and I don"t want to be unhappy either. When I decided to be with him, I did so in all seriousness, with the intention of getting married to him. Auntie, I know that being a divorcee puts a burden on Cheng Dongge, and you might not even look kindly upon me. With his character, he can easily find someone much better than me, but…"

Sun Shaoyun stood up and said, "Miss Qi, my mind is a bit jumbled up right now. I came here to see my son, but when I arrived, the first thing I saw was you, dressed like this. You can probably understand the kind of shock I"m feeling right?"

Qi Chengyue nodded and looked down in silence.

"So, for the time being, don"t tell me all this. Don"t tell me about your love for Dongge and don"t speak of your confusion. My mind is in disarray now, and I can"t think straight." Sun Shaoyun sighed. "I need some quiet solitude to think long and hard about this."

Sun Shaoyun stood up, grabbed her bag and held it with her sweaty palms.

"I"ll go first. If Dongge comes back, you don"t need to tell him that I came. I don"t want him to get worried about this and that," Sun Shaoyun said and headed toward the door.

"Auntie, he"ll be back soon, please just stay for a while longer! You came all the way to B City and you can"t just leave like this. You came by plane, right? You would"ve already booked the return flight. There"s nowhere else for you to go if you just leave. Isn"t it better to wait for Dongge to come back?" Qi Chengyue chased after her.

"That"s not necessary. I"ll reschedule the flight." Sun Shaoyun walked to the door and wore her shoes.

Qi Chengyue was barefoot, so she simply grabbed a pair of slippers and wore them. "Auntie, I can"t just let you leave like this, you…"

"You don"t need to advise me. I know I"m his mother, and because of that, you wouldn"t want to disrespect me. You"re afraid that he"ll be angry if you just let me go, am I right? I just want some peace and quiet, and this is something I need to talk about with Lao Cheng. To tell you the truth, I don"t know how to face you right now. I"m afraid I might say some unpleasant things if I stay. We all need to take some time to calm down. Don"t try and stop me. If you keep doing that, I might get angry," Sun Shaoyun explained calmly. It was evident that she was trying her best to control herself.

"Auntie…" Qi Chengyue watched as Sun Shaoyun went into the elevator. Qi Chengyue did not dare to give chase, however, and she was in no position to do so anyway because of how she dressed.

She was so anxious that instead of going back into the house, she stayed beside the elevator to wait for Cheng Dongge. Cheng Dongge did not bring his cellphone, so there was no way for her to contact him.

At that point, one of Cheng Dongge"s neighbors opened the door. Taking advantage of the weekend, a young couple brought their children and their grandparents to go for a walk, but when the family walked to the elevator and saw Qi Chengyue dressed like that, they were stumped.

She backed away from the elevator awkwardly and looked down, unable to say anything further.

Fortunately, when the elevator came up, Cheng Dongge was in it. He went out while the neighbors went in.

"What were you waiting out here for?" Cheng Dongge asked. The first thing he saw when he came out was Qi Chengyue.

She grabbed his arm immediately and asked, "You spent so much time outside just to buy breakfast?"

Cheng Dongge lifted the bags. "You didn"t bring any clothes to change, so I bought some clothes and underwear for you along the way."

Qi Chengyue placed her hand over Cheng Dongge"s mouth immediately. The elevator was not soundproof at all, and whatever that was said on that floor could be heard from the floor below.

She grabbed the bags from Cheng Dongge and said, "Auntie came just now, but left after seeing me here. I couldn"t stop her at all. You have to go after her."

"My mom?" Cheng Dongge asked in shock.

"Yes. She"s probably not happy with me. Go after her, quick. You can"t let her go home in a bad mood." Qi Chengyue pressed the elevator b.u.t.ton and urged Cheng Dongge. "She only left a few minutes ago. You"ll probably be able to catch up to her."

He nodded but headed straight for home.

"What are you doing?" Qi Chengyue pulled on him.

"Going home to get the keys. We don"t even know how long it"ll take to find her if we walk, and if that happens, we might miss her," Cheng Dongge said as he took his house keys and unlocked the door. On top of the cabinet was a gla.s.s bowl, which he dipped his hands into and took out a set of car keys. "Wait for me at home."

A nod from Qi Chengyue and Cheng Dongge left.

She placed the food on the kitchen counter and took them out one by one. Judging from the time Sun Shaoyun arrived, it was likely that she already had breakfast during the flight, but because in-flight food did not taste good, it was likely that she did not eat much.

Cheng Dongge bought some porridge and youtiaos from Yonghe, a shop near his residential area.

The other two plastic bags contained the underwear and clothes that Cheng Dongge bought for her.

It was alright to wear the new underwear temporarily, and she had no other choice. She once again took off the one she was wearing and used the hairdryer to dry it before putting it on again and wash the new one. She then changed into the T-s.h.i.+rt and jeans that Cheng Dongge bought.

Whether it was the innerwear or the clothes that he bought, they all fitted her nicely, as if they were measured specifically beforehand.

As a result of hugging her every day, Cheng Dongge was incredibly familiar with their body, but never did it occur to her that he knew her body so well.

After tidying herself up, she received a call from Guan Liya who asked if she was with Cheng Dongge.

"Mm." Qi Chengyue walked to the balcony and spoke with Guan Liya. In doing so, she also kept an eye out for whether Cheng Dongge managed to get a hold of his mother.

"I"m relieved that you two are together. You"re already so grown-up and you have your own stand. I won"t restrict you or anything, but if you"re not coming home, at least inform us so we don"t get worried," Guan Liya"s voice rang from the other side of the phone.

"Mm, I forgot about that. It won"t happen again." Qi Chengyue then said, "Oh yes. Mom, there"s already a judgment for the lawsuit between Zhou Mingyan and the Guan family."

She told everything to her mother, but the latter remained silent. Guan Liya regretted and sympathized with Guan Xiaolin"s infertility, but for her, that was simply karma.

After hanging up, she saw Cheng Dongge"s car. Sun Shaoyun and Cheng Dongge were coming up together, and Qi Chengyue hurried over to the door and waited there. Not a minute later, she heard Cheng Dongge unlocking the door using his keys.

The door swung open and Sun Shaoyi came in. "Auntie," Qi Chengyue called out.

Sun Shaoyun sighed and responded with a nod.

"Mom"s flight is tomorrow morning," Cheng Dongge explained.

"Auntie, Dongge bought back breakfast. We can eat after I heat them," Qi Chengyue offered.

"It"s fine. I ate on the plane." Sun Shaoyun held her bag and went into the living room.

Cheng Dongge watched as Sun Shaoyun went into the living room. He then followed Qi Chengyue into the kitchen and said, "I didn"t think she would come here today but don"t worry, I"ll handle my mother."

Qi Chengyue kept quiet but she knew that she could not just throw it all on Cheng Dongge. She looked up and saw him wearing a casual s.h.i.+rt and pants, looking extremely neat and handsome.

Unbeknownst to her, her love and attachment toward that man were growing by the day.

If Sun Shaoyun was not there, she would long have acted all coy with him.

Seeing her reaction, Cheng Dongge smiled and wrapped her inside his long arms. "How was last night? I"ve been meaning to ask you about it."

"…" Red-faced, she looked up and gazed upon his handsome face. Although she felt shy, she could not help but crack a joke. "Which aspect are you referring to? Staminwise or physically?"

Cheng Dongge would have cackled in laughter if his mother were not there. He pulled her even tighter into his embrace and asked, "How about both?"

"Physically I"m not that tired. I"m feeling quite okay," Qi Chengyue said. Her eyes rolled. "In terms of stamina, you did more than okay, so I"m really satisfied."

She blushed after saying that.

Cheng Dongge raised his head and laughed silently. He bent down and gave her a fervent kiss but did not dare linger too long. For the most part, he was afraid that Sun Shaoyun would think badly of Qi Chengyue, so he went back to the living room.

The porridge that Cheng Dongge brought back was portioned according to one huge bowl, the kind that most restaurants used. The bowls were much smaller at home, so all of the porridge that he bought could be divided into four of those small bowls.

There were some preserved vegetables in the refrigerator, which Qi Chengyue took some and plated. She placed the youtiaos onto the plate as well. Arranging everything on a tray, she brought it to the living room and placed it on the coffee table.

She placed a bowl of porridge before Sun Shaoyun, saying, "Auntie, if you"ve already had breakfast on the plane and you"re not hungry, at least have some porridge."

In truth, Sun Shaoyun did not actually eat much during the flight. She flew economy cla.s.s, and the in-flight breakfast was especially unpalatable—one braised egg, one soggy youtiao, one small mantou, a small container of extremely salty preserved vegetables, and a cup of ice-cold mineral water.

She did try her best to eat the youtiao and braised egg but only managed to eat half the steamed bun. The preserved vegetables were too salty to be eaten, and since they were placed with the steamed bun, half of the steamed bun had been tainted with their salty taste.

She managed to get a whiff of the porridge at that point, and although it was store-bought, it still managed to whet her appet.i.te.

Seeing Qi Chengyue place the chopsticks in front of her, Sun Shaoyun held up the bowl in silence, took the chopsticks, and began eating.

At night, Sun Shaoyun wanted to sleep there, and for the remainder of the day, she did not bring up Qi Chengyue"s relations.h.i.+p with Cheng Dongge. It was inappropriate for Qi Chengyue to stay there, so Cheng Dongge sent her home.

Seeing Qi Chengyue"s return, Guan Liya was rather shocked. "Why are you back tonight?"

"…" For a brief moment, Qi Chengyue did not know how to respond. "Mom, what"s this? You"re expecting your daughter to always spend the night with men outside the house?"

"Doesn"t this mean that I trust Cheng Dongge?" Guan Liya teased. "You two didn"t get into a misunderstanding, did you?"

"Mom, you"re thinking a bit too much! Didn"t you lean on the window and watch everything? Cheng Dongge"s the one who sent me back. What could possibly be the reason for a disagreement? It isn"t nice to stay with him for too long, right?" Qi Chengyue did not mention anything regarding Sun Shaoyun because she was afraid Guan Liya might feel unhappy or angry.

Although Sun Shaoyun was being very courteous, the bottom line was that Cheng Dongge"s family did not look pleased with her, and any woman"s mother would not be happy to hear that.

"That"s true." Guan Liya"s worries were eased.