Chapter 224: Parents Are Coming Back
Over the weekend, Su Yuqing acted normally for the most part.
But Chen Mo still noticed that she was being a little secretive about some things.
He didn’t know what she was up to.
Sometimes, when she was looking at her phone, she would immediately press the lock button the moment Chen Mo got close, making the screen go dark.
It was as if she had a special secret she couldn’t let him see.
As someone who had been a criminal detective for many years, Chen Mo was keenly observant of life’s little details. Su Yuqing’s subtle actions couldn’t possibly escape his notice.
But ’everyone’s entitled to a little secret.’ Chen Mo just figured it was some private matter between girls that she was too embarrassed to let him see, so he didn’t press the issue.
At first, Chen Mo thought this situation with Su Yuqing would only last for a little while.
But half a month passed quickly, and Su Yuqing’s behavior only grew more cautious and secretive.
Sometimes, she would be in the middle of a conversation or watching TV when she’d suddenly seem to remember something, dash back to her room, and shut the door. He had no idea what she was doing in there.
She usually came back out a moment later.
In the face of Chen Mo’s puzzled looks, she never offered an explanation, simply avoiding the topic.
This, of course, only made Chen Mo more curious.
Still, Chen Mo had a pretty good idea that she was running back to her room to write in that strange little notebook of hers.
’I wonder what Su Yuqing has been secretly writing down lately that she doesn’t want me to see.’
His curiosity piqued, Chen Mo tried asking Zhao Yuanyuan again, but he still couldn’t get any useful information out of her.
It seemed not even Zhao Yuanyuan knew what Su Yuqing was plotting.
Time flew by, and summer was just around the corner, which meant the college entrance exams were also approaching.
But amid this critical period, another important event was drawing near: Su Yuqing’s birthday.
Su Yuqing was a Gemini, and Chen Mo needed to plan carefully how they would celebrate her birthday.
But before he could finish his planning, he woke up to a message from his mother.
[My Quirky Mom]: Momo, you’re about to take your college entrance exams and graduate! Your father and I have cleared our work schedules and are preparing to come home to take care of you and help you study. Do my precious son and my precious daughter-in-law want any gifts from abroad? Mom can bring some back for you.
Reading his mother’s message, Chen Mo couldn’t help but recall the time leading up to the exams during his high school years. Back then, because of what happened with Su Yuqing, he had rejected his parents’ offer to come home and take care of him.
Looking back now, he realized that even though his parents were incredibly busy, they always tried their best to be with him during the important milestones in his life.
They were truly responsible and dedicated. It was only because they had to work to support the family that they couldn’t always be by their child’s side.
They hadn’t had a proper family reunion during his high school years in his past life. This time around, they should definitely get together for a good celebration.
[Precious Son]: When are you coming back?
[My Quirky Mom]: It depends on how things go with work, but we’ll definitely be back at least a week before your exams.
After chatting with his mother, Chen Mo’s thoughts turned to Su Yuqing’s fast-approaching birthday.
Her birthday fell on a very special date: May 21st. That day came right after May 20th—a day many couples celebrate like a second Valentine’s Day.
’If they become a couple in the future, they could celebrate Valentine’s Day, then celebrate her birthday together at midnight. That would be incredibly romantic.’
The thought of Su Yuqing’s birthday being on May 21st made Chen Mo wonder. ’Has she been so secretive for the past half-month because of her birthday?’
’But if that’s the case, what could she be secretly writing down?’
Chen Mo was quite curious, but since Su Yuqing wasn’t saying anything, he could only keep his questions to himself.
When he got up in the morning, Su Yuqing had made him breakfast, just like any other day.
After taking a seat at the dining table, Chen Mo looked at Su Yuqing and said with a smile, "My parents should be coming home soon."
Su Yuqing’s hand, which was in the middle of spooning sugar into her congee, froze. The spoon fell into the bowl with a CLINK, scattering a few glistening sugar crystals onto the rim of the white porcelain.
Hearing Chen Mo say his parents were coming back, she froze on the spot.
A wave of inexplicable panic washed over her, and her heart began to race.
"Wh-when are they coming back?"
In her flustered state, Su Yuqing even began to stutter.
"They didn’t give a specific time, just that they’d be back in the next few days," Chen Mo said, taking a bite of his fried egg with a smile. "They have a key to the house. I was afraid they might show up unexpectedly and startle you, so I wanted to give you a heads-up so you can be prepared."
"Then... then what should I do when I see them?" Su Yuqing asked, extremely nervous.
She felt like a new bride about to meet her in-laws for the first time.
"Silly girl, what do you mean ’what should I do’? Just act normal. You can call them Uncle and Auntie, or you can call them..."
Chen Mo deliberately trailed off. Seeing a blush creep onto Su Yuqing’s face, he chuckled and finished, "...your employers. That works too."
Hearing the second half of his sentence, Su Yuqing shot him a small glare.
Her adorable, flustered expression only made Chen Mo laugh with amusement.
Although Chen Mo’s teasing helped Su Yuqing relax a little, the thought of meeting his parents soon still made her incredibly tense.
For the next two days, Su Yuqing was often in a daze, even at school.
She was still preoccupied with how she should act around Chen Mo’s parents.
’I wonder how they’ll react when they see me.’
’I don’t know how they’ll view my presence here after they get back.’ Her mind was a tangled mess of unknowns and anxieties.
As a result, Su Yuqing spent the next two days looking utterly distracted and unsure of what to do.
「Time flew by, and soon it was Friday night.」
After their evening self-study session ended, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing went for their usual late-night snack before heading home.
Following their usual routine, they returned to their apartment, unlocked the door, and prepared to go inside.
But when Chen Mo flicked the light switch, he was surprised to find that the lights wouldn’t turn on.
However, the motion-activated light in the hallway behind them was still on, so it didn’t seem like a power outage.
He immediately suspected there might be a problem with the apartment’s wiring.
"What’s wrong?" Su Yuqing asked, noticing that Chen Mo hadn’t turned on the lights.
"I don’t know. It seems like there’s a problem with the wiring," Chen Mo said. He used his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the way and was about to lead Su Yuqing inside, but the moment the light hit the doorway, the hairs on his arms stood on end. He had spotted something wrong!
"Wait!" he exclaimed, quickly shielding Su Yuqing behind him and stopping her from entering.