Chapter 25: Let's sleep together tonight!

Chapter 25: Let's sleep together tonight!

One challenge after another, the next important exam is physical education.

After the physical education exam, there will be nothing else to distract them, allowing them to focus entirely on preparing for the high school entrance exam. However, this also means that students will have no chance to relax and will be glued to their seats. Therefore, whether it's to cherish the last opportunity to move around or because every point is hard-earned, the ninth graders are all putting in their best effort, and no one dares to relax.

In the end, several physical education teachers gathered in a corner of the playground, watching the students running laps with great effort, and nodded in unison with satisfaction, saying, "Not bad."

The physical education exam was held at the No. 2 Middle School in the city.

The school does not make unified arrangements. Some students go early on the day of the exam, while others, such as Fang Yuenian, who gets extremely carsick, have to go a day in advance so that they can be in a normal state to take the exam the next morning.

Cheng Bing also needs to go a day earlier. It's inconvenient to get up early because of the long distance. Going a day earlier will also allow her to see Cheng Junjun.

The mother and son set off quite early in the afternoon. When they arrived, they first looked for a hotel, but unexpectedly, all the small hotels in the vicinity were doing very well today, leaving them with little choice. Cheng Qiuyan finally found one. She originally wanted two single rooms, but the single rooms here did not have bathrooms, so she asked for a single room and a small double room, and told Cheng Bing to take a shower before going there to sleep that night.

After booking the room, the two went to No. 2 Middle School to find Cheng Junjun. The three of them had dinner together. When they returned to the hotel, they happened to run into Wang Jing and Fang Yuenian at the front desk.

These two were clearly late.

You can't blame Wang Jing. She had been waiting at home all day for the bathroom renovation contractor to arrive, but she didn't know where he was delayed. He didn't arrive until four o'clock. She was anxious and couldn't just leave him there. After all, she had put in a lot of effort to get this bathroom renovated, and she still had to arrange for solar panels to be installed. So she quickly finished discussing and giving instructions before pulling Fang Yuenian out the door.

Arriving late, all the hotels were fully booked. After asking around, they still couldn't find a room at this hotel. Just as Wang Jing was worrying, she suddenly saw Cheng Qiuyan and Cheng Bing walk in from the door.

The atmosphere was always somewhat subtle when these two met.

Fortunately, there were two children present today, and the two of them had a good relationship that was known to both families, or that they knew but pretended not to know. Seeing that the situation was not right, Fang Yuenian took the initiative to step forward and call out, "Aunt Qiuyan."

Cheng Qiuyan smiled gently, "Sigh."

She looked at Wang Jing with a relaxed demeanor and asked, "You live here too?"

Wang Jing gave an awkward smile. "...We're late, there are no rooms left, we were just about to leave."

Cheng Qiuyan hesitated.

It was getting dark, and finding a hotel was inconvenient. Fang Yuenian looked over with wide eyes again—this child had been good-looking since he was little, delicate and lively. Although he was a bit wild, his eyes were clear and bright when he looked at people seriously. He was a good child. Cheng Qiuyan always thought so. She would not misjudge people, and her son would not make the wrong friends.

So she thought for a moment and offered, "I've booked a single room and a double room. Or, why don't you stay with me and let the two kids squeeze in?"

Fang Yuenian's eyes immediately lit up.

Wang Jing was completely taken aback by her suggestion.

Whether as Fang's daughter-in-law or Cheng Junjun's biological mother, Wang Jing firmly believed that even if Cheng Qiuyan didn't dislike her, she should at least disdain associating with her. The reason she brought the honey cake that day was because Fang Yuenian was injured at the Cheng family's carpenter's shop. Cheng Qiuyan was a kind person and would do everything she was supposed to do; it didn't mean she wanted to befriend her. But today...

She felt uneasy, her throat was dry all the way to the top of her head, as if she had lost the ability to speak. She stood there blankly, unable to say a word for a moment.

She remained silent, and Fang Yuenian dared not respond. Unsure of the current situation, she could only turn her gaze to Cheng Bing.

Cheng Bing glanced at her mother and saw that her face was as calm as usual, without any other emotions, so she said, "Okay, Mom, Fang Yuenian and I will take a shower quickly and go to bed early."

Fang Yuenian seemed to wake from a dream. Although her mind was still a bit muddled, she had already responded with her mouth: "Okay, okay... Thank you, Aunt Qiuyan, thank you for your trouble."

The hotel owner didn't seem to mind. He'd already given out the room, so he didn't care about two more people. He said, "My single room has a big bed, enough for two young men. It'll just be one night, so make do."

Wang Jing opened her mouth twice, feeling as if she were dreaming, and stammered, "Oh... okay, that's good. It's been hard, so hard on you. Thank you, thank you..."

“It’s alright, the child’s exam is important, let’s go,” Cheng Qiuyan said.

Wang Jing pinched her hands until they were red, just like her face and neck, but she seemed not to feel any pain.

Fang Yuenian picked up a small bag from the ground and happily followed Cheng Bing.

Great! I'll sleep with Cheng Bing tonight!

Cheng Qiuyan led the way up the stairs, followed by Cheng Bing. He turned around and looked at Fang Yuenian, who was following closely behind. After thinking for a moment, he turned his head and asked in a low voice, "Are you carsick?"

Fang Yuenian leaned closer and whispered, "It's alright, I haven't eaten."

Hearing the sound, Cheng Qiuyan turned around and saw the two boys talking with their heads close together. It was so cute and funny.

They went upstairs and the four of them went to the double room first.

If it weren't for its excellent location, this hotel probably wouldn't be very attractive to guests—it's old and small, the lights aren't bright enough, there are two narrow beds in the room, a bedside table with a chipped cabinet door squeezed in between, and a table with a kettle that looks like it's been used for quite a while, and a few cups upside down.

Fortunately, the hygiene was acceptable, and the bed was quite clean.

The two mothers chose a bed on either side and put their bags down.

Awkwardness arose, and feeling lost, the two tacitly began to find something to do. Cheng Qiuyan quickly grabbed a kettle and cups and went into the bathroom to fill them with water, while Wang Jing opened the window for ventilation and checked the lights. They asked each other if the water heater was working properly and if the kettle was clean. They then checked the shampoo and shower gel in the bathroom together. Fang Yuenian watched the two of them busy with their tasks and couldn't help but look at Cheng Bing.

Cheng Bing met his gaze, and in that moment, they both heard each other's innermost thoughts:

If it weren't for their sons' exams, the two of them probably would never have lived in the same room in their entire lives.

With nothing else to do, Wang Jing busied herself arranging food for Fang Yuenian and even asked Cheng Bing if she wanted some. Cheng Bing politely replied, "No, thank you."

Wang Jing then said with a forced smile, "Why don't you go take a shower first, Bingbing?"

Cheng Qiuyan said, "Yes, you go take a shower first. It's getting late, so finish showering quickly and go to bed."

Cheng Bing went to get a change of clothes. Fang Yuenian wasn't in a hurry to eat, but stared at him. For no reason, he thought that he didn't have any proper pajamas, just old T-shirts and shorts. He had never felt anything wrong with living in the dormitory for so many years, but he was going to sleep in the same bed with Cheng Bing later... He actually felt a little embarrassed.

Cheng Bing went to the bathroom, and Cheng Qiuyan followed him, giving him detailed instructions on things like towels, toothbrushes, and shampoo. Fang Yuenian listened intently outside and suddenly realized that even though Brother Cheng was so capable, wasn't he still a baby in front of his mother and had to be obedient?

The more he thought about it, the more interesting it seemed. He had been feeling a bit carsick and nauseous, but now he felt completely better.

There was a television in the room. Fang Yuenian walked around and found the TV on the bedside table. When she turned it on, the satellite TV channel was already broadcasting the news.

After Cheng Qiuyan finished arranging things for Cheng Bing, she came over and saw that the TV was on. She said, "The TV can be turned on? I thought it wouldn't work."

Fang Yuenian said, "Yes, we can watch TV! Aunt Qiuyan, you and my mom can watch TV tonight. Do we have a TV in our room?"

"Yes, there is, but you two are not allowed to watch it. You have to get up early tomorrow morning to run. If you watch TV and lose track of time, you won't be able to sleep well."

Fang Yuenian let out an "Ah".

Cheng Qiuyan couldn't help but laugh.

"Huh? Oh right, Yue Nian, is your head all better now? Has it been hurting during training these past few days?"

Fang Yuenian hurriedly said, "It doesn't hurt at all anymore, I'm completely healed."

"That's good, thankfully it didn't cause any delays."

“Nothing was delayed,” Wang Jing said softly, a smile mixed with gratitude and apology, and a subtle unease on her face. “It’s all thanks to Bingbing for tutoring him; he even improved on his last exam… I really brought a lot of food because he gets carsick and doesn’t dare to eat anything on the way. You, you really don’t want to eat anything?”

Cheng Qiuyan shook her head: "I really don't want to eat anymore. Don't be so polite. Hurry up and eat something with Xiaoyuenian. You've been hungry for so long. —Is this kettle any good?"

“That’s good,” Wang Jing nodded hurriedly. “I washed it three or four times, and I’ll boil it right away and then scald the cups so they can have some water.”

"Let me get my hair permed with you..."

Fang Yuenian looked around but didn't want to interrupt.

The TV was showing colorful images, and downstairs outside the window, other students preparing for exams were talking. They were probably timing each other while practicing jump rope. There were many more people choosing jump rope than long jump, but judging from the sound of the jump ropes flying and accelerating, it didn't seem much easier than long jump... Cheng Bing was taking a shower in the bathroom next door. Apart from the sound of running water, there was no other sound. She had no idea how far along she was...

Fang Yuenian was not hungry at all; in fact, she was a little sleepy.

Wang Jing poured out four glasses of water and let them cool. Just as she was about to call Fang Yuenian over to eat, she noticed her son sitting there looking sleepy and even yawning.

"Why are you so sleepy?" Wang Jing asked curiously. After all, Fang Yuenian had been determined to be a good student recently, and he didn't go to bed early even when he went home on weekends because he had to do his homework. She hurriedly came over and touched his forehead with concern. "Are you still feeling carsick? Does your head hurt?"

Cheng Qiuyan also came over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Fang Yuenian stood up abruptly. "It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm just a little sleepy. I'm not dizzy."

Wang Jing breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, alright, just eat a couple of bites, then quickly take a shower and go to bed."

Cheng Qiuyan said, "I guess it's because of the car ride. It's okay, I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

Fang Yuenian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I'll be fine after a nap."

He went to the table, grabbed two cookies, took a couple of big bites, and was about to urge Wang Jing to eat as well when he suddenly heard the bathroom door open. He instinctively turned his head away.