Chapter 325 - 322: Alone Together

Chapter 325: Chapter 322: Alone Together

Wang Ming was cleaning up the house when there was a sudden knock on the door.

The house had been vacant for so long that he was wondering who could possibly be knocking. When he opened the door, he froze in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"What, am I not welcome?"

"No, of course you are. Welcome."

Shen Ying smiled broadly. "Isn’t Aunt Li coming back today? I figured you probably hadn’t done much cleaning yet, so I came to help."

Her gaze swept around the room. The living room looked relatively clean, and the house didn’t seem particularly messy; Wang Ming must have done some light cleaning over the past couple of days. Still, it was obvious the place had been vacant for a long time—a faint, musty smell hung in the air.

Old Wang scratched his head. "It’s not so bad. It’s just dusty. I can handle it on my own."

"So you’re not happy I came to help?"

"I am deeply honored by your grand visit, Miss Shen Ying." Wang Ming stood at attention.

"Tch, what a character." A small smile played on her lips.

"Uh, hurry up and come in."

Shen Ying nodded and stepped onto the doormat as the door slowly swung shut behind her.

Her heart suddenly began to beat a little faster. This was the first time she had ever been to Wang Ming’s house.

Wang Ming pressed his lips together, then broke the awkward silence. "Uh, we don’t have any new slippers for guests. Do you mind wearing my mom’s?"

"Mhm."

After changing her shoes, Shen Ying looked around and discovered that Wang Ming’s home was quite large. It was a three-bedroom apartment, one of which was an art studio, with a total area of over a hundred square meters.

Her own family’s home wasn’t even this big. ’Aunt Li didn’t just have to raise a son, she had to support the family too. It must have been so hard for her.’

"Are all these trophies Aunt Li’s?"

Shen Ying looked at the many artworks hanging on the studio walls, along with several heavy-looking glass trophies. It was clear at a glance that they belonged to a leading figure in the field.

"Yeah." Wang Ming nodded and chuckled. "My mom used to be a middle school art teacher. She led her students to win a few awards and participated in some art exhibitions herself. Speaking of which, the reason Old Jiang and I ended up on this path is largely thanks to her influence."

"Impressive."

Shen Ying marveled, picking up a trophy to examine it carefully before gently setting it back down. She hadn’t grown up in such an artistic environment; her parents were just ordinary people.

’But everyone has their own lot in life,’ she thought. ’Constantly comparing yourself to others just makes life exhausting.’

"If I’d known you earlier, maybe I would have ended up learning to paint with you guys too," she joked.

"Haha, who knows!"

After chatting for a bit, they started on the housework. There wasn’t actually that much to do—just mopping the floors, dusting, wiping the windows and furniture, and clearing out the cobwebs in the corners and the grime in the bathroom.

As they worked and chatted, a man and a woman together, the chores didn’t feel tiring at all.

"What time do you think Aunt Li will be back?" Shen Ying asked.

"Her flight is at nine in the morning. She should get to Yu Du Airport around two in the afternoon, and then it’s a few more hours by car to get back here. So, she should be home around five or six," Wang Ming said after a moment of thought.

"It takes that long even by plane? The Imperial Capital really is far," Shen Ying remarked.

"You’re telling me. It’s nearly 2,000 kilometers, even in a straight line."

"Speaking of which, what does it feel like to fly?" Shen Ying asked curiously.

This was a rather philosophical question. Ever since their ancestors came down from the trees, humans have yearned to soar through the sky as freely as birds. It was only in modern times, with the invention of the airplane, that humanity officially set foot in that untouched domain. Yet, they still couldn’t fly with the same freedom as a bird.

"Hmm... it’s actually kind of boring. Aside from the initial excitement and novelty, you get sick of looking at the sea of clouds after a while. Plus, the windows on the plane are tiny, and if you’re not in a window seat, you can’t see a thing."

Wang Ming thought for a moment before continuing, "And you can’t use your phone on the plane, so everyone just sits there, bored. You get sleepy after a while, and you have to put up with the occasional turbulence. Sometimes your ears hurt because of the pressure changes. But it is fast, I’ll give it that. The train would take ten, maybe twenty hours. Anyway, you’ll find out all about it when you fly to the Imperial Capital during summer break."

"If I were on a plane, I’d be terrified of an accident happening. If something went wrong, that would be the end of it," Shen Ying said, sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Haha, I’ve had the same thought. My heart is in my throat every time we hit turbulence. But planes have a pretty high safety rating, so there’s really no need to worry."

"Mhm."

Shen Ying wiped down the coffee table with a damp cloth. "Do you still need this expired medicine?"

"You said it yourself, it’s expired. Of course we’re just going to throw it out. Go ahead, toss it. My mom and I only come back for the New Year anyway. We have to be back at work on the seventh day of the festival, which means we have to leave for the Imperial Capital on the sixth. After that, we probably won’t be back again until the next New Year," Old Wang said casually as he mopped the floor.

Shen Ying suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for single-parent families like Wang Ming’s. ’Whatever happened, his mom had to face it all alone. It’s a good thing he’s grown up now and can help share some of her burdens.’

"In that case, I’ll come help you clean again next year," Shen Ying said suddenly with a smile.

Wang Ming was taken aback for a second. "Okay."

He paused, then sighed. "We’ll probably buy a house and settle down in the Imperial Capital in the future. This place will just be our roots, something to come back and visit every now and then."

Shen Ying silently bit her lip, not saying a word.

’Jiang Xia and Yanwan will definitely stay in the Imperial Capital, too. If you look at it that way, I’ll be the only one left here in our hometown.’

’We’d barely see each other more than a few times a year.’

"Shen Ying, you’ll come to the Imperial Capital too, won’t you?" Wang Ming asked suddenly.

"Of course. Didn’t I say I was going to visit you all during summer break?" Shen Ying answered.

"Uh, I don’t mean for a visit..." Wang Ming scratched his head. "I mean moving to the Imperial Capital to live there, in the future."

For a moment, Shen Ying didn’t know how to answer that question. ’I’m a girl; I’ll have to get married eventually. Even if I went to work in the Imperial Capital after graduation and found a boyfriend there, that’s still three and a half years away.’

"I can’t afford a house in the Imperial Capital," she said jokingly.

"Renting doesn’t seem too expensive. My mom and I are renting now. But still, I want to move out on my own. You have more freedom living by yourself."

"It’s not expensive now, but in four years, who knows? The rent could be several times higher by then!" she teased. "But if you were to be my roommate, I might just consider it."

"Huh?"

Wang Ming blinked, looking into Shen Ying’s teasing eyes, and his heart suddenly gave a hard thump.

...

(For all the students taking the college entrance exams tomorrow, good luck! Go for it!)