Chapter 7: We're a set now
"No, you don't need to apologize about anything. I will have to get used to it from now on." Yan Longwei said with a huff.
"Hmm? Get used to it?" Cheng Lihua tilted her head, wondering what he meant by this.
"We're a set now." They're stuck together from now on. Because of how they knew each other, the teacher would definitely put them together from now. Whatever she did, Yan Longwei would be there to help out.
That meant he would get stared at in jealousy by the guys. Dammit! Screw this. Yan Longwei accepted his fate. It couldn't be undone now.
"So, how was class today? Do you need any help with what we learned?" Germany was a different place from where she was now. That made the learning different too.
"Ahh, yes." Cheng Lihua nodded as she took out her books and asked, "Can you help me with this? I don't understand these lines."
"This is how you say this." Yan Longwei told her the answer. And Cheng Lihua started to ask him about the other things she didn't understand.
"Xiao Wei! It's time for dinner! Bring Cheng Lihua downstairs!" Pan Jiaying shouted from downstairs.
"Huh? It's time to eat?" Yan Longwei looked at the clock, "Oh, we've been talking for an hour now." Turning to Cheng Lihua,
"You understand it now?"
"Mmhmm." Cheng Lihua nodded. She felt that things were much easier to understand.
"Then let's go down." When the two came downstairs, they saw many dishes on the table.
There were other people there as well besides Pan Jiaying and Cui Hualing.
"Dad, you came home." Yan Longwei said as he looked at his dad.
"Mmmhmm, I worked a little harder today, so I can get home." Yan Changming said with a smile.
"Your company has been doing so well, Changming. I'm envious." The other man laughed as he said this.
"Your company is no slouch either." Yan Changming said. He turned to Yan Longwei,
"Hello, my name is Cheng Qing." He was none other than Cheng Lihua's father.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Yan Longwei nodded his head. But this caused Cheng Qing to laugh,
"You don't have to be so formal with me. This isn't the first time I've seen you."
"Huh?" Yan Longwei tilted his head, and Cheng Lihua did the same thing.
"Qing, they're probably too little to remember anything." Cui Hualing added, noticing their confused expressions.
"You two have been friends."
"What?" "Huh?"
"I think it's better if I just showed you some photos." Pan Jiaying said as she went and grabbed a photo album.
"Look at this." She showed them a picture.
When was this? In the picture were he and another girl. He had a bright smile on his face as he hugged the girl.
And the other girl was none other than Cheng Lihua.
"When was this taken?" Yan Longwei asked.
"This was when you guys were five. So you guys probably forgot about each other." Pan Jiaying laughed.
"Yeah, I forgot." Yan Longwei had no recollection of what happened so long ago. And Cheng Lihua was the same.
"You guys may not remember it, but we adults do. I can remember everything from yesterday." Pan Jiaying had a gentle smile, remembering everything.
"Jiaying, we can talk about this as we eat." Before she could go into a reminiscing mode, Yan Changming called out, snapping her out.
"Alright."
"..." I don't like the sound of this. Yan Longwei had a strange foreboding about what was going to happen.
...
I knew it. Yan Longwei could only shake his head,
"Remember when the two ran buck naked in the house, and all the neighbors were staring at them." Cheng Qing said as he laughed.
"I remembered that! Jiaying and Hualing spanked the daylights out of them!" Yan Changming laughed too.
"..." "..." The only two who weren't laughing were Yan Longwei and Cheng Lihua. The two had to listen to their parents talk about embarrassing stories about their childhood.
And then an interesting story came up,
"Remember how we talked about having the two get married." The moment Cheng Qing said that,
"Ughh." Yan Longwei choked on his food. The shock that came from his words was too strong.
What did you say?!
"Suprised? So how about it, Longwei? My daughter is beautiful, and she would make the perfect wife." Cui Hualing added
"Mother!" Cheng Lihua wasn't out of the fire either as her face turned red!
"But it was one of your dreams, though." Cheng Qing added, "The two of you were very close.
You said you wanted to marry him when you grew up, while Longwei said he would protect you."
I did not say anything like that. Yan Longwei's mind was denying it. He was a child, but he would never say something so corny as that!
And Cheng Lihua was the same,
"That was because we were children! Everything is different now!"
"I second that." Yan Longwei added. There was no way he could marry a girl like Cheng Lihua. He would be killed by envy and jealousy.
"Aww, but I think the two of you would match. And I wouldn't mind having a daughter like Cheng Lihua." Pan Jiaying added.
"Can we please talk about something else?" Yan Longwei had to change the topic.
This was embarrassing.
"Yeah! Let's talk about something else!" Cheng Lihua agreed.
...
"Hah." Yan Longwei had a huge sigh as he lay in his bed. The parents kept teasing them all the way to the end of dinner.
But it didn't take long for them to leave. Cheng Qing and Yan Changming drank the night away. They drank so much to the point they passed out.
Cui Hualing and Cheng Lihua had to carry him back home. But this wasn't the thing he was focused on.
To think we're childhood friends. Yan Longwei never thought this was the case. But that just made everything too surreal.
As he was thinking this, he looked out the window and noticed Cheng Lihua on the other side! The two were on the same floor, and with how close the building was, he could see what she was doing!
Her eyes were focused as she stared at her easel stand. Yan Longwei could see how focused she was, and it surprised him.
This scene was too surreal. Yan Longwei kept staring at the scene,
Eventually, Cheng Lihua sighed in relief and happiness. But then she noticed.
"..." "..." The two stared eye to eye.
Yan Longwei opened his window,
"It's a lovely weather today."
"Indeed it is." Cheng Lihua opened the window and nodded.
"So you're a painter?"