Chapter 10: Waiting for You Downstairs

【Task Completed!】

This was the latest message on the wristband, but Jiang Cheng’s face showed no joy.

The more times “Jiang Chen” was exposed in front of others, the slimmer his hope of concealing his identity became.

Yet to gain more time, he had no choice but to carry out the tasks assigned by the wristband.

It ultimately formed a dead end.

Jiang Cheng took off the wristband and threw it heavily onto the bed.

He stared at it in silence for a while, then picked it up again and pressed the transformation button.

He hadn’t yet figured out the pattern of task assignments. 

He had to cherish every passing second.

Tonight, as expected, he would probably eat alone again. 

Jiang Chen changed into a nightgown and walked into the kitchen.

There were still some vegetables left in the fridge. 

She found some noodles and the Zha Jiang sauce Mom had prepared in advance, boiled water to cook the noodles, then drained them and mixed in the sauce.

Jiang Chen blanched the chopped greens and laid them over the Zha Jiang noodles.

A simple dinner, suitable for one person. She had just sat down when she heard the sound of the door lock turning at the entrance.

Only she and Mom had keys to the house—

The scene Jiang Xiaoyue walked into in the living room was this: a girl in a strawberry-patterned nightgown with slightly widened eyes, her soft pink hair tied into a simple ponytail, a bit of Zha Jiang sauce on the corner of her lips, looking at her in shock.

“Who are you?” 

Jiang Xiaoyue’s face darkened. Without waiting for the girl to answer, she quickly walked into her son’s room. 

It was empty, with only the changed school uniform tossed on the bed.

She checked the bathroom next—no sign of Jiang Cheng.

“Auntie…” 

Jiang Chen’s trembling voice sounded behind her.

Jiang Xiaoyue turned around almost instantly. 

She looked at the girl who was even a bit taller than her, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

If she had seen such a youthful and charming girl in another setting, she would probably admire her, but now this girl had appeared at home, seemingly the unidentified female her son might be dating.

Jiang Chen could barely form any effective words. Mom probably still thought he was hiding somewhere in the house.

No… how was she supposed to explain her current identity?

Hello, I’m your son’s friend. I happened to pass by your house. 

Thanks for the hospitality. See you next time, Auntie.

If she said that, she might as well wait for death when she changed back!

Jiang Xiaoyue took deep breaths. After a few rounds, she asked calmly.

“This… classmate, are you dating my son?”

“…Yes.” For now, she had to muddle through somehow.

She could only assign herself the role of girlfriend.

“So, when I’m not home, you two… do this?”

Jiang Chen saw Mom staring at her nightgown and knew she had misunderstood.

“Auntie… although you might not believe it, we really haven’t done anything.”

“Whether I believe it or not doesn’t change what you might do, does it?”

Jiang Xiaoyue seemed to have sorted out her emotions. 

She poured two glasses of water and handed one to Jiang Chen.

“Classmate, some words might not be pleasant, but Auntie thinks it’s necessary to say them. Whether you’re dating my son or not, appearing at our house at this hour when the parents aren’t home… it’s not appropriate in itself.”

“Yes.” 

Jiang Chen held the glass, head lowered, saying nothing.

Seeing the young girl, Jiang Xiaoyue inexplicably felt a softening in her heart. 

And though it was their first meeting, she felt a sense of familiarity about her.

“Where’s Little Cheng?” 

She pushed aside the doubts in her mind and turned the topic to her son.

“Jiang Cheng had something urgent come up and went out, so… I’m here alone.”

Jiang Chen glanced at her mom, then quickly lowered her head again.

“You were just eating dinner, right?”

“Yes, I’m done, Auntie.”

Though she had only taken a few bites, Jiang Chen had no appetite now.

“I can tell you haven’t eaten enough.” 

Jiang Xiaoyue stood up and walked into the kitchen. 

Soon, she made two simple home-cooked dishes.

“At your age, just eating noodles won’t provide enough nutrition. Dinner should be eaten properly—”

Jiang Xiaoyue stopped midway, probably realizing she was talking too much, and didn’t continue.

The two sat around the dining table to eat. 

Jiang Xiaoyue also cooked herself a bowl of noodles—scallion oil noodles.

After eating, Jiang Chen took the initiative to wash the dishes. 

Jiang Xiaoyue sat at the table, watching the girl’s busy figure, lost in thought.

“It’s getting late. Should Auntie send you home?”

“No need! Auntie, I’ll just take a taxi myself.”

Jiang Xiaoyue nodded. 

She went back to her room midway to change clothes. 

When she came out, she saw that Jiang Chen had also changed out of the nightgown and was wearing a smoke-gray dress.

Not the set that had been drying on the balcony.

She felt her heart wasn’t in good shape. 

Her brows furrowed and never relaxed.

“I’ll walk you downstairs. Also, do you know when Jiang Cheng will be back? I called him, but no one answered.”

“I’m not sure… Auntie, he seems to have forgotten his phone.”

“Hm.” 

Jiang Xiaoyue slipped into her high heels and accompanied Jiang Chen to the main door.

Then the two saw a blonde woman leaning against a car looking over. 

Her gaze first landed on Jiang Chen, then quickly shifted to Jiang Xiaoyue, filled with confusion.

“Auntie, you can go back. My sister is here to pick me up.” 

Jiang Chen thought quickly and pointed at President Wang.

Though President Wang didn’t understand, she still opened the car door and let Jiang Chen get in.

Jiang Chen sat in the passenger seat, watching Mom walk back into the community. 

The tension seemed to dissolve in an instant.

“Is that your relative?” 

President Wang started the car and glanced at the girl staring out the window.

“Yes…” 

Jiang Chen responded vaguely.

Mom could be considered one… right?

“You called her Auntie—is she from your mom’s side?”

“Yes…”

President Wang didn’t know what she was chatting about either. 

The two actually had no topics in common.

Two evenings, one dinner.

Their intersection was so brief. 

Even coming to this community tonight had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

President Wang hadn’t even contacted her, yet she had run into her anyway.

The girl was wearing the simplest dress, yet so beautiful that one couldn’t look away. 

Any adjective seemed to lose meaning before such vivid features.

Jiang Chen’s very existence was astonishing.

I seem… a bit off. 

President Wang suppressed the flutter in her heart. 

She felt as if she had become a shy girl meeting her idol.

The youthful times of the past suddenly resurfaced on her—no, it was the palpitations of a puberty she had never experienced beginning to burst in her heart.

“We… where are we going?”

Jiang Chen had gotten in the car in a daze. 

She had only wanted an excuse to leave, but President Wang had actually driven off with her.

“Where do you want to go?”

President Wang pulled over to the side of the road. She turned to look at Jiang Chen in the passenger seat. 

Their breathing was so clear inside the car.

“I don’t know… anywhere is fine.”

Her mind was a complete mess. 

Temporarily escaping home might make her feel lighter now.

Where to go—really, anywhere was okay.

“Then let’s just drive around.”

President Wang didn’t know what young girls liked. 

Her high school days seemed mostly spent studying, then attending training classes arranged by the family.

Back then, she was already preparing to take over the family business.

“Okay…” 

Jiang Chen nodded.

Under the neon lights, the black car merged into the flow of traffic.