A Young Woman's Heart

July 16th, Sunday.

For Chen Cheng, summer vacation has just begun.

He had already sent Zhuang Lianlian to work at the grocery store in the morning, and then took a nap after returning home.

I woke up at almost ten o'clock.

There was breakfast left by Zhuang Lianlian in the kitchen. Although it wasn't breakfast anymore, it was enough to fill our stomachs—we'll just treat it as a breakfast and lunch in one meal.

It was summer, so the porridge in the pressure cooker was still warm, but there wasn't much water left, and it had solidified a bit, looking sticky as if glue had been added.

The fried egg was cold, but he didn't mind. It was fine to eat it cold. After all, he hadn't even had such a lavish breakfast before Zhuang Lianlian was around.

There were also various side dishes, all made last night. These dishes taste great even when they're cold, such as stir-fried cauliflower or hot and sour shredded potatoes.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside his door, stopping not far from his door. It must be the neighbor coming home.

This is not a particularly upscale residential area; there are no elevators, so people often walk through the corridors.

Hearing footsteps in the hallway through a poorly soundproofed door is a perfectly common occurrence.

Chen Cheng turned on the TV to make the room more lively. He didn't care what was playing, because all he needed was sound.

It would be even better if it were a noisy sitcom, because it would be more realistic, making it feel as if there were really so many people living a lively life in your own house.

Amidst the noise, he washed the dishes and planned to go outside for a smoke—Zhuang Lianlian didn't like him smoking, so he had to go outside to smoke, otherwise the house would be filled with the smell of smoke.

He put a cigarette in his mouth, tilted his head, and walked out, his right hand in his trouser pocket, playing with the metal lighter.

Chen Cheng opened the door and was immediately greeted by a man standing in the doorway.

The other person wasn't as tall as him. Perhaps it was because of poor nutrition when he was young, or perhaps it was because the burdens of life had bent his back. In any case, he looked a head shorter than Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng recognized this person because he would come once or twice a year.

His address was no secret; his parents certainly knew.

"This year's routine inspection?" Chen Cheng asked deliberately, with a flippant and disdainful smile.

He knew, of course, that the person standing in front of the door was his father.

He probably guessed it too; the footsteps he heard just now were his.

Perhaps out of hesitation, or perhaps out of unease, he never knocked on the door.

The man was wearing a sharp suit, though it was noticeably worn. His black hair, streaked with white, was messy like weeds. He frowned slightly and asked, "You've been smoking again?"

"Is it any of your business? You smoke too, don't you?" Chen Cheng's tone was harsh. He even deliberately lit a cigarette with a lighter and took a deep drag.

"Don't waste money."

"Anyway, you're a big boss, you have plenty of money, what's a little bit of money to you, right?"

Chen Cheng's father, Old Chen, gave a bitter smile, which seemed somewhat humble.

Did you receive the money from last time?

"Is there any more this time?"

“Of course, last time it was your mother who gave it to me, this time it’s my gift, it’s different.” The man standing in front of Chen Cheng seemed unwilling to lose to another woman.

However, in order to avoid constantly increasing living expenses, both parties reached a tacit agreement—so that the living expenses given each month were the same.

"Ahem." Old Chen took a clean envelope out of his pocket and handed it to him. "How have you been lately?"

They were clearly father and son, but at that moment they looked like a salesman awkwardly and trying hard to get on their good side.

— Chen Cheng, as the 'owner,' retains the right to close the door at any time.

"It's alright," Chen Cheng replied, his voice tinged with resistance.

Old Chen glanced into the room and found it neatly organized and spotless; even the smell of smoke emanating from the room seemed to have diminished considerably.

He was just feeling relieved when another possibility came to mind, so he asked, "Did you find a girlfriend?"

"What?" Chen Cheng refused to give a direct answer.

"It's okay... If you have a girlfriend... you should treat her well, especially if you're living together... you have to be responsible..."

"You still have the right to talk to me like this?" Chen Cheng sneered. "Didn't you get divorced yourself?"

Old Chen was immediately choked up, as if he had swallowed a bitter pill, feeling bitter but unable to express it.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Can I go in and take a look?"

"There's nothing to see inside," Chen Cheng said, sounding very resistant.

"Oh..." Old Chen shrank back, his body hunched over even more in his suit. "Live a good life, study hard, and you'll have a bright future."

Chen Cheng didn't answer, he just gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Old Chen's lips moved, but in the end he said nothing and turned to walk downstairs.

As Chen Cheng watched his departing figure, he suddenly felt that he seemed to have aged a lot.

He, who had been standing inside the door, finally took half a step out: "Hey!"

"Hmm?" Old Chen turned his head with some surprise, but tried his best to restrain himself.

"..." Chen Cheng looked at him, unable to say many words, and finally just said dryly, "And you... how are you?"

"Hehe, everything is fine."

"Oh." Chen Cheng didn't ask anything more, but went back inside and closed the door.

It's like separating the two of them from each other.

Old Chen gave a bitter laugh and walked downstairs step by step, his feet feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He didn't go straight back to the fruit shop; he took half a day off and is still at work.

I plan to change into my work clothes at the cheap hotel I booked for two hours for ten yuan, and then go to work.

He would leave very early every day and return very late. Sometimes the fruit shop would be closed before he returned. So Mo Xueyao's father, Mo Wenli, simply gave him the key to a roller shutter door so that he could come and go as he pleased.

Time has smoothed out too many of the rough edges.

This former rich kid is now just like an ordinary person, having lost his former ambition.

Back in his room, Chen Cheng tossed the envelope onto the table and plopped down on the sofa.

He rubbed his hair vigorously, suddenly realizing how lonely he was.

Suddenly, I wanted to go find Zhuang Lianlian.

He didn't finally stand up until the sitcom on TV had played commercials several times, and decided to go to the grocery store.

Anyway, he spent his summer vacation helping out at the general store whenever he was bored. Although it wasn't a formal job, he was happy to go to work with Zhuang Lianlian.

Clearly, both of them are afraid of being alone.

Chen Cheng tidied himself up and went out again.

Under the dazzling sunlight, he rode his electric bike to the grocery store and parked it casually by the door.

"Where's Grandma Jin?" Chen Cheng asked as he entered the grocery store.

"She went to senior citizen university today."

"Oh—life is quite fulfilling." Chen Cheng chuckled and sat down next to Zhuang Lianlian. There were always two chairs available here.

The chairs can be placed side by side, so that two people can sit together.

Their relationship was as passionate as the temperature of summer.

"What's wrong today? You seem a little different than usual?" Zhuang Lianlian asked with a light laugh.

The electric fan beside them was blowing whirring, bringing only a little bit of coolness.

"nothing……"

"Ok?"

"It's just that my dad came—he brought money."

"Did you have a fight with him?"

"No," Chen Cheng denied. "We just chatted for a few minutes."

"It must be because your attitude was terrible," Zhuang Lianlian knew his personality well. "You gave your dad a sour look, didn't you?"

"...No, I don't think so."

"You seem guilty."

Chen Cheng chuckled awkwardly, picked up the iced yogurt that Zhuang Lianlian had drunk from, and sipped it as well, finishing the remaining half box in one go.

"Hey! That was for me to drink, how could you drink it all in one go!"

"Give me another bottle, please."

"It costs money, you can't just use it to drink all the time."

"Then I'll pay. Here, I'll treat you to ten boxes."

"What a waste of money." Zhuang Lianlian rolled her eyes at him, then hugged his arm. "You, you really are something."

"Oh dear, it seems I've come at an inopportune time." At that moment, Grandma Jin's voice came from outside the door, and then she walked in with a kind smile on her face.

“Hey, Grandma Jin…”

"Uh, hello Grandma." Chen Cheng also said politely. It wasn't that he was a very polite person, but after all, this was his girlfriend's workplace. If he didn't treat the boss well, he might be bullied by the boss. Although this thought was completely a case of judging others by one's own petty standards.

But it's not impossible for it to happen in other places as well.

It's impossible to say that Chen Cheng lacks emotional intelligence; it's just that he often prefers to act according to his own whims.

He knows better than anyone else what he needs to know.

"Classes are over this morning, time to rest this afternoon," Grandma Jin said cheerfully. She looked quite fashionable in her outfit, like an American socialite from the 1980s.

"What do senior citizen universities teach?" Zhuang Lianlian asked curiously.

"I didn't learn too much, just some knowledge about conditioning the body, how to maintain a healthy mindset, and how to do some small crafts."

"I see."