Chapter 52: You... You Have to Pay More
Having given up the chance to see a movie, Zhang Ya hurried back just to have dinner together.
So, Cheng Yao took them to the mall for some Jiming soup dumplings, which tasted quite good; at this hour, the mall was crowded with students, mostly those returning to school, stopping by for a stroll or a bite to eat.
They didn’t linger outside. After dinner, they bought some fruit and the three of them returned to their little apartment.
Zhang Ya’s presence there was entirely natural.
Cheng Yao wished she would stay there permanently and live with him.
Cheng Cheng also hoped for a sister-in-law like Zhang Ya.
In the kitchen, Cheng Cheng whispered, “Brother, sister-in-law tried to bribe me—five hundred yuan.”
“As my good little sister, you should know what to do,” Cheng Yao patted her shoulder as if entrusting her with a great responsibility, “Next time something like this happens, you must let me know in advance.”
“Mm…” Cheng Cheng rubbed her fingers together.
Cheng Yao’s face darkened. “Who taught you that?”
Blushing, Cheng Cheng couldn’t tell if she was excited or embarrassed. “You… you have to pay me more…”
“?”
…
…
On the sofa, Zhang Ya accepted a glass of juice and asked, “Why did you suddenly want to play the piano?”
“It’s just… I think playing the piano looks beautiful…” Cheng Cheng tossed aside the kitchen conversation.
A smile played on Cheng Yao’s lips as he thought of a string of poetic phrases.
Everything you say and do shines with such brilliance, so dazzling that I close my eyes, but in my heart, I cannot stop yearning for you.
That was exactly how he and Cheng Cheng had once felt about Zhang Ya.
Hearing Cheng Cheng’s thoughts, Zhang Ya laughed.
She had started learning piano because of her parents, but gradually, she came to love it herself and showed real talent for it—unlike Cheng Cheng, whose interest was natural from the start.
“I can teach you, if you’d like?”
“Can I, sister-in-law?”
“Of course…”
That address, “sister-in-law,” made Zhang Ya feel a little shy inside.
But, she found she didn’t mind it at all.
Cheng Yao sat on the sofa, playing on his phone and watching the two of them whisper to each other. Zhang Ya’s hands-on, attentive teaching made the scene feel very warm to him.
Someday, he thought, they should have a daughter.
No, he wanted her to give him many children, a whole brood—sons and daughters alike.
He checked their favorability level; it still hovered around eighty-four or eighty-five, without any significant breakthrough.
In fact, according to Cheng Yao’s understanding, there was now an eighty percent chance something could happen with Zhang Ya, but this wasn’t a game; everything had to be real.
A game is a game, reality is reality—he drew that line clearly.
He would wait a little longer; rushing things would only spoil them.
The piano’s melody drifted through the room, though broken and hesitant. Cheng Cheng sat awkwardly on the piano bench, pressing the keys cautiously—a waste of a fine instrument.
The little puppy squatted nearby, wagging his tail, barking now and then.
Puppies are always so energetic, scurrying and climbing everywhere, chewing on things to teethe, even dragging around shoes.
After teaching some basics, Zhang Ya had to admit she lacked patience—she wasn’t cut out to be a teacher.
“Are you going to enter the Top Ten Singers competition?”
“Yes,” Cheng Yao replied with a grin. “The prize money’s pretty good. If I win, I’ll take you traveling. We’ll eat, drink, have fun—really enjoy ourselves.”
“Our school has a thirty-thousand-yuan prize, but it’s only at the end of the year. By then, I’ll probably be competing in the Xinghai Cup and won’t be able to participate anyway. Plus, the competition at our school is fierce.”
“That’s true.”
Zhang Ya picked up the dog’s toy stick. “You haven’t been back to your hometown in a while, have you?”
“I don’t plan on going back for now.”
There was just the old house, and it would only be him and Cheng Cheng there. Besides, they were both studying here now, so there was no need to return.
Zhang Ya settled next to him. “Remember back then, when you took me on the subway to catch crayfish? And skin frogs? That was so disgusting…”
“I remember. We even caught a water snake.”
“Yes, yes, I still get goosebumps. I’m terrified of snakes.”
I keep a python now.
You’ll get used to it!
The two of them laughed and chatted, while Cheng Cheng sat by the piano, frowning, feeling out of place.
I’m not practicing anymore!
She scooped up the puppy and retreated to her own room, leaving the two of them to their world.
She never expected her little sister to be so considerate this time.
Cheng Yao immediately wrapped an arm around Zhang Ya’s slender waist, unable to resist leaning close to whisper in her ear, “When are you leaving tomorrow?”
“The earliest bus.”
“Then… sleep with me tonight,” Cheng Yao suggested tentatively.
Zhang Ya rested her snowy chin on his shoulder and shook her head. “No, I’m sleeping with Little One. I know what’s on your mind.”
“Yes, I’ve wanted you for a long time!”
“…Still no.”
Zhang Ya hadn’t expected Cheng Yao to be so blunt. Her cheeks burned as she grabbed his wandering hand, not giving him a chance to do anything. Cheng Cheng was still in her room, after all.
In the end, her strength was no match for Cheng Yao’s, but she didn’t dare make a sound. All she could do was emit muffled noises, like someone jogging or eating spicy snacks, keeping them low for fear Little One would hear from the next room.
Suddenly, Zhang Ya caught his hand, quickly returning to normal and calling out, “Little One, do you want to take a bath?!”
“Sister-in-law, want to bathe together?” Cheng Cheng poked her head out at once.
“Ah, sure.” Zhang Ya nodded lightly, glaring at Cheng Yao as she finally escaped his grasp.
She realized Cheng Yao was getting more and more audacious.
After all these years, she’d managed to hold back—what’s a bit longer?
If it really comes to it…
If it really comes to it, then…
As these thoughts ran through her mind, Zhang Ya pressed her lips together and dashed into Cheng Cheng’s room.
Cheng Yao glanced at Cheng Cheng, knowing the little rascal had been eavesdropping.
He didn’t push his luck, just checked in with his conscience—was it satisfied? Judging from Zhang Ya’s flushed, shy face, it seemed it was.
He really wanted to bathe with Zhang Ya, to help scrub her back or something—a pity.
There was no internet at home yet. He’d called the service center already, and estimated they’d come to install it tomorrow or the day after—they’d been busy.
Fortunately, he had unlimited mobile data.
Cheng Cheng didn’t; for her, just having a phone during her student days was enough. She needed to focus on her studies—that was the way forward.
He played a few rounds of PUBG, lucking into a match with two girls from Japan.
“Konnichiwa… You two play well,” he said.
“You play well too… hehe…”
Cheng Yao perked up. “Are you sisters? By the way, your Chinese is really good—are you sure you’re not faking it?”
“We’ve been studying here since we were little. Our father’s Chinese, our mother’s Japanese—we’re mixed.”
“No wonder. I’m Cheng Yao, nice to meet you.”
“…”
There was laughter on the other end, though they didn’t quite catch his joke, it sounded oddly familiar.
“My name is Mari.”
“And I’m Airi.”
“No way, do you know someone named Xiao San, that jerk?!”
“…”
They played two rounds, and Cheng Yao dug up quite a bit of information.
The two of them attended a private Japanese school in Guangzhou; it was the first time he’d heard there was such a school in Guangzhou, and that they didn’t accept local Chinese students—he realized how little he knew.
Still, without knowing the full story, he refrained from commenting.
He added them as friends privately, arranged to play again another time, hoping to learn more—since Zhang Ya was already out of the shower.
Cheng Yao stood up and said, “I’ll get you a jacket. For now, just wear mine—the house isn’t fully stocked yet.”
“It’s fine, I’ll just wear yours,” Zhang Ya nodded gently, thinking that as a man, Cheng Yao couldn’t be expected to think of everything.
…