Chapter 35: A Warm Morning

Chapter 35: A Warm Morning

After transporting the student back to the other side, and confirming on the way back that the dog hadn't been beaten, Cheng Bing returned home and, just before opening her bedroom door, bumped into Cheng Xiaoxiao coming downstairs.

"...Sister?" Cheng Bing asked, her eyes glazed by the flashlight.

"Not asleep yet?" Cheng Xiaoxiao asked quietly. "What are you doing out here?"

"I..." Cheng Bing stammered, a rare occurrence for her.

Cheng Xiaoxiao looked puzzled and asked, "Would you like some water?"

Cheng Bing swallowed hard. "Mmm."

Then he asked, "Sis, why did you come down here?"

"Oh, I'll take some water upstairs."

"How is Second Sister?"

"What can she do?" Cheng Xiaoxiao smiled. "She talks too much. I'm already dizzy. You should go to sleep. It's so late. The whole family won't be able to get up tomorrow morning."

“Okay,” Cheng Bing nodded. “Sister, you should get some rest too.”

"Okay, go ahead."

Sure enough, the whole family couldn't get up the next day.

Although Cheng Bing felt relieved after finishing her exams, her biological clock was too strong, and she still woke up before six o'clock. After dawdling for a while, she got up and found that there was no one in the main room. When she entered the kitchen, she saw Lin Guohui quietly boiling water.

"dad?"

Lin Guohui sighed, "Keep your voice down, your mom's not up yet. Why are you up so early? Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"Can't sleep? Your older sister and second sister haven't come down either?" Cheng Bing walked over and saw two bags of steamed buns and shumai on the kitchen table. "Did you go to buy breakfast this morning?"

"Well, let's eat something ready-made today. The two of them haven't made a sound yet. I guess your second sister was making noise until midnight last night, so let's not call them yet."

Cheng Bing smiled and looked down.

Lin Guohui: "What are you laughing at? I went to bed early last night and didn't make a fuss at all."

Cheng Bing: "Oh."

Lin Guohui chuckled, then, as if remembering something, said, "By the way, now that you've finished your exams, when are you planning to start working on the bookshelf you were talking about with me last time? If you want to start sooner, I'll take you both to the furniture factory tomorrow."

“I…” Cheng Bing thought that she hadn’t discussed it with Fang Yuenian yesterday, “I’ll ask Fang Yuenian.”

"Then let's ask and discuss it properly," Lin Guohui said casually.

He poured boiling water into the thermos, then opened and plated the breakfast he had bought from the village committee that morning, and casually reminded his son: "Eat some steamed buns and drink some water in the morning, then watch TV or go out to play. Don't look for your mother and your sister."

Cheng Bing said helplessly, "I didn't contact them."

"Turn the volume down when you're watching TV!" Lin Guohui ignored his rebuttal and turned to go back to his room.

Lin Guohui returned to his room. Cheng Qiuyan had already gotten out of bed and was tidying up a small blanket. She was always sensitive to the cold and needed a small quilt to cover herself at night, even in the summer.

"Hey, what's the rush? Sleep a little longer." Lin Guohui quickly stopped her, but Cheng Qiuyan shook her head: "No, Bingbing's up, right?"

“Why do you care about him? He has food and drink,” Lin Guohui pushed her back to bed and covered her with a small blanket. “Sleep a little longer. I’ve already prepared breakfast, and I’ve sent it to Mom’s place.”

Cheng Qiuyan leaned against the headboard and smiled teasingly at him: "Oh? Master Chef is making breakfast this morning?"

“It’s not that simple,” Lin Guohui leaned closer and put his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “From now on, right? Don’t worry about it too much. The little guy has grown up.”

Cheng Qiuyan smiled, "They were all wobbly and unsteady last night, and they've all grown up this morning? Is Junjun up yet?"

"No, let her be. Let her get a good night's sleep. With Xiaoxiao by her side, she'll be fine."

The couple had been preoccupied with their children and household matters for years, and rarely had such a tender and peaceful time. With their hearts at ease, they settled down together to have a private conversation.

Lin Guohui is approaching fifty, but because he has never stopped working and has been physically strong and lean for many years, unlike other middle-aged men who have a round beer belly. Because of his hard work and earning money over the years, Cheng Qiuyan has no need to grow crops. She can only take care of her three children and tend to the vegetable garden and fruit trees. At the age of forty-five, her figure is one of the slimmest in Shuibiwan, and her skin is fair. In the eyes of those envious women, she is truly a blessed woman who has never suffered.

Lin Guohui held his wife's hand and stroked it repeatedly. After a while, he softened his voice and said slowly, "Qiuyan, sometimes I think about it and I feel just like what Dad said last night. I am so lucky to have you as my wife and three such wonderful little ones."

Her husband wasn't the type to say such things all the time. Cheng Qiuyan listened, touched, and whispered, "The three children are all blessed to have you as their father."

Lin Guohui chuckled: "Oh, so being a father is good, but being a husband is just so-so, right?"

Cheng Qiuyan patted him on the chest.

Lin Guohui felt flattered, so he took her hand and held it tightly in his arms. "Qiuyan, when you married me, you had nothing but me. Even I was raised by my father. I know that in my heart..."

Cheng Qiuyan pulled her hand away: "Are you still drunk from last night? What were you talking about?"

Lin Guohui smiled, "Okay, okay, I won't talk anymore, stay with me and sleep a little longer..."

Cheng Bing stood at the door of her parents' room, frozen in place as if about to knock, her expression blank.

Hearing the sounds inside, a blush quickly rose from his ears. Before the blush could spread to his face, he made his decision and ran back to his room as fast as he could.