Cloud Girl Chapter 1

Every child is a gift from heaven—to come into this chaotic world and continue the lineage passed down from their parents...

However, if you don't have such care, then please let me love you.

As darkness fell, and the last rays of light disappeared into the horizon, Chen Yiwen, carrying large and small bags on his back, finally returned.

Today is the last day of the pre-winter break discounts.

With winter approaching, Chen Yiwen had to take some time to go home and buy a large amount of inexpensive daily necessities.

Passing through the playground where students were still playing ball and the community recreation area, she arrived at the entrance of a narrow mountain path at the foot of Tulo Mountain and stopped.

Chen Yiwen is the eldest of the three Chen sisters. After graduating from university, she worked for a foreign company and earned a fairly high salary.

Even with the house and inheritance left by her parents, her second sister, Chen Nanyi, is very good at studying. Although she is an 18-year-old high school student, she has already skipped two grades and is about to enter her third year of university. Her internship expenses may be even greater.

The third sister, Chen Yijing, suffers from intellectual disability and poor health, requiring her to stay home for recuperation year-round. Combined with various living expenses, their lives always seem somewhat strained...

As the saying goes, the eldest sister is like a mother. She was her parents' first child, and even her two younger sisters—originally, their generation used "Yi" as the third character in their names, and Chen Nanyi was the same after she was born. However, because she thought "Yi Wen" sounded better, she changed it, so the newly born third sister also used "Yi" as the second character.

Therefore, although Chen Yiwen felt guilty for not being able to provide them with a better life, as the head of the family, she still wanted to try her best to save money so that her two younger sisters could have a longer-term life security.

Looking up, she could see Chen Yijing, dressed in a yellow dress, sitting by the low laundry pool near the door, playing in the water with a tree branch in her hand, through the gaps in the trees.

Chen Nanyi, standing on the second-floor balcony, kept her eyes glued to her third sister playing downstairs.

The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the branches and leaves, dappling Chen Nanyi's expressionless face. It harmonized with the ancient walls around him, the branches extending out of the windowsill, and the rustling of leaves falling in the shadows behind the house, creating a serene scene reminiscent of an oil painting.

She lowered her eyes slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yi felt even more exhausted.

Just as she was about to call Chen Nanyi down to help her with her things, a fair-skinned boy who had been walking behind her caught up with her in a few quick steps, smiling and asking, "Shall I help you carry it? Is that alright?" He then reached out to take the package that Chen Nanyi was carrying.

Chen Yi was taken aback by what she heard. She turned to look at the boy, then at the narrow stone path leading up the mountain—a wide marble staircase that stretched straight up to the school building where lights were faintly lit. She then smiled.

"Thank you! But since you're in a rush to class, I'll do it myself!"

Chen Yiwen's father was a high-ranking government official and owned a mansion on Tulo Mountain, a 5A-level scenic spot.

Shortly after his death, the nationally renowned Lu family developed and invested in the first garden-integrated college in the country near Tu Luo Mountain. Later, they also built teaching buildings on Tu Luo Mountain, incorporating their mountain residence.

As for why Chen Yiwen could tell that the boys were rushing to school, it was because the marble steps that their academy later built to Mount Tulo were high and steep, empty like a monk's path, and it was easy to get caught being late.

The original stone path on the top of Mount Tulo was not only quiet and charming, but also had a gentle slope, making the journey faster.

However, this road is considered Chen Yiwen's family's private road. If you want to take it, you will inevitably pass by their house on the mountainside, which always feels like trespassing into someone else's home. So, unless you are in a hurry to go to class, you don't usually take this road.

To everyone's surprise, the boy smiled gently and said, "I'm not in a hurry. Let me help you with a section. I won't take them away!"

The boy's tone ended with a hint of gentle slyness, and he even winked with a smile.

Chen Yi was amused by his words and couldn't help but laugh. She handed him the package, then took back the smaller package and carried it herself, saying, "Thank you for your help!"

The boy nodded slightly, and they walked together onto the stone path leading up the mountain.

The mountain evenings in the depths of winter are chilly, but the air in the forest is filled with a moist scent.

The dim sunlight pierced through the entire forest, giving it a warm feel.

There was no awkward silence from strangers; it was as if they had been suddenly pulled away from the hustle and bustle at the foot of the mountain and were immersed in this vast tranquility, as if they were old friends, strolling leisurely together in this lush, green broad-leaved forest.

The gray-brown, straight tree trunks point straight to the sky, with some sparse or dense branches faintly visible, slowly outlining the contours of the sky. A cool breeze rustles by, yet strangely entangles each person's lingering thoughts.

The two walked side by side, each lost in their own thoughts, making the already short journey seem even longer.

As they approached the intersection, Chen Yiwen noticed that Chen Nanyi, who had probably heard the noise, had run down from the second floor wearing a camel-colored sweater. She held down Chen Yijing, who was still waving a tree branch in the air, and stood on the open space in front of the house, which was higher than the stone path, looking at them with a deep gaze.

Chen Yi suddenly remembered that Chen Yijing would panic when she saw strangers, and Chen Nanyi didn't really like boys getting close to her, so she immediately put away her rare relaxed mood and thanked the boy, "Thank you for carrying it for me, I can do it myself now."

As if noticing their inconvenience, the boy withdrew his somewhat rude gaze, and though he had intended to offer to help them carry it up, he didn't say so.

He then smiled and nodded, and handed the item to her.

As Chen Yiwen carried her bag up the stone steps, Chen Yijing rushed towards her, calling out "Sister, Sister" repeatedly, and grabbed her sleeve to climb up.

Chen Yi put down his things and immediately hugged her, laughing as he nuzzled her head against hers. "Ha, you've gotten heavier again! Did you miss me, you little lazybones?"

"Sister," Chen Nanyi called out softly.

Chen Yi looked up and smiled in response, lightly patting the dust off Chen Yijing's clothes. She was about to say something to Chen Nanyi when she suddenly noticed a wet patch on Chen Yijing's sleeve and frowned. "Oh dear, why are your clothes wet? This won't do, you'll catch a cold—Nanyi, you tidy up first, I'll take Yijing to change..."

After hearing this, Chen Yi smiled at Chen Nanyi, her eyes sparkling, and then hurriedly carried Chen Yijing into the house.

"Pig, pig pig," Chen Yijing, perched on Chen Yiwen's shoulder, kept poking her own fingers and muttering to herself, waving her arms at the person a step behind.

Chen Nanyi watched them disappear into the shadowy space behind the door, and slowly blinked.

He couldn't help but lower his head, and the breath between his lips and teeth was full of the taste of natural growth.

The package on the ground was covered in dust. Just as Chen Nanyi bent down to pick it up, she caught a glimpse of the tall boy out of the corner of her eye. He was still standing on the stone path below the steps in the open space, staring blankly at the door behind him.

Chen Nanyi raised an eyebrow, somewhat displeased.

She has always been hostile to men who get close to Chen Yiwen—which is not good, but it's not directed at anyone in particular.

In her eyes, her older sister Chen Yiwen not only has a good personality, but is also a very virtuous and traditional beauty, so it's not surprising that she always has many suitors.

But there are always some people who are just oblivious to social cues.

Sending gifts is one thing, but some people not only call our home several times, but they even secretly follow us!

Although it's better to have someone pursuing you than no one, Chen Nanyi not only looked down on those people and hated them, but even Chen Yiwen, who has such a good personality, felt impatient with them.

She knew that Chen Yiwen had sacrificed a lot for them, and it wasn't that she didn't want her to find a boyfriend... It's just that she didn't want such a good person to end up like her mother, not getting a good ending.

Overwhelmed with longing, Chen Nanyi's eyes dimmed. She straightened up and squinted as she sized up the boy.

He wore a white turtleneck sweater over a black, well-fitting coat.

Her hair was clean and tidy, she had long arms and legs, and her skin was so fair it was almost unnatural, which made her clean face look even more pure and clear—big eyes, a long nose, slightly thick red lips, and her ears were also quite auspicious.

His straightforwardness and just-right clumsiness, which are immediately apparent, make him the ideal son-in-law that mothers-in-law would prefer: "down-to-earth, single-minded, and warm-hearted."

However, Chen Nanyi never liked such a bland personality, just as she disliked her own plain brown eyes, avoiding them at all costs.

However, she doesn't have high expectations of most people's humanity, so she doesn't make demands on others, let alone have a deep, heartfelt connection with them.

She always treated people this way, even her own sisters, so she generally didn't interfere with or care about their inner world.

Unlike her indifference and neglect towards others, she harbored a deep affection for Chen Yiwen since childhood and cherished Chen Yijing. Living with them, she naturally hoped that Chen Yiwen could find a good partner, so it's not surprising that she cared so much.

Despite her apparent indifference, Chen Nanyi felt that deep down she had always longed for a vibrant, flamboyant, even unrestrained, life—even though she had always hidden this very well…

It's ironic! She's always lived with the appearance of this guy, yet she doesn't like being around him.

Even though she thought it would be nice to have him as her brother-in-law, she also felt it would be too boring.

Perhaps it was because Chen Nanyi's gaze was too direct, the boy's face slowly turned red. He seemed so shy that he wanted to turn around and leave immediately, but he held back and gave her a friendly nod and smile.

Unexpectedly, Chen Nanyi only glanced at him indifferently, picked up her things and went into the house, which made him extremely embarrassed.

The boy shivered from the cold wind and suddenly regretted not being able to bear seeing the girl carrying such heavy things at the foot of the mountain and instead following her on a whim—he was originally supposed to take the long ladder, but now he had to walk alone.

A cold, biting wind swept by, and the trees beneath the towering cliffs, under the dim sky, resembled gaping, bloody maws, devouring everything governed by the laws of time, climbing towards even more distant memories.

Chen Nanyi didn't see the boy pause for a moment, then smile forlornly, turn his back, no longer straight, and step onto the road where the lights stretched upwards in the darkness.

The wind still howled, rustling through the winter forest.

In the pitch-black night, only a corner of the mountainside still had a glimmer of light, as if it were a lingering warmth in the world.

Small Theater

Whenever the new teacher said, "We've called so many girls, let's have a boy!", Chen Nanyi would always hear the quiet murmurs from the class and involuntarily tighten her jaw.

"Chen Nanyi," the teacher said. She was surprised to see a girl with bright features stand up instead of the expected boy. Looking at her calm eyes, she felt a strange sense of embarrassment, as if she had made a mistake.

Chen Nanyi: I don't like it either, okay? I'm a very indifferent person to begin with, but now I'm always getting emotionally entangled by these... tsk, strange things, really!

Xu Xiaomeng: "I know you were originally someone who didn't want to get married, so I also planned not to get married. But now I need to have a wife, so we have no choice but to get married."

Chen Nanyi frowned: "Is there any causal relationship here?"

Xu Xiaomeng: "Uh...because, therefore, scientific principle!"

Chen Nanyi: "Oh... um? By the way, because you're a man, you can get pregnant—is that a correct way of putting it?"

Xu Xiaomeng (stunned): "Oh, Douke, don't scare me like that!"