Chapter 27: Not Going Home at Noon

Chapter 27: Not Going Home for Lunch

Cheng Miao slowly stretched, and without even opening his eyes, felt around for his jacket, since he needed to hit the bathroom first.

Just as he was about to crawl out from under the covers, someone grabbed him. "Cheng Miao!"

"What is it? I'm about to pee my pants." Over the past half month, Cheng Miao had gotten used to Lu Yu's presence. He leaned on him like he always did and said, "Quick, get me my jacket. I need to go to the bathroom."

Lu Yu gave him a solid smack on the head. Cheng Miao cracked his eyes open, annoyed, and saw Lin Jinrui staring at him with wide, curious eyes. He yanked the blanket up to cover himself.

"You... what are you doing here?!"

Lin Jinrui looked a little pouty. "Didn't we say we were gonna do homework at your place?"

Cheng Miao smacked his forehead—he'd almost forgotten. Then he shot Lu Yu a dirty look, like he was blaming him for not waking him up.

Lu Yu shrugged, looking helpless. "I tried, man. You just wouldn't get up."

Cheng Miao could only turn his back and slowly get dressed. Good thing it was winter and he still had clothes on—if this were summer, he'd have been totally exposed.

By the time Cheng Miao finished breakfast, Lu Yu and Lin Jinrui had already knocked out today's homework. Cheng Miao snatched Lu Yu's homework and was about to start copying.

Lin Jinrui quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. "Cheng Miao, you can't copy homework."

"It's cool, I already know all this stuff." Cheng Miao waved his hand dismissively. Him even bothering to do homework was already doing the teacher a favor.

"But..."

"Cut the 'buts.' When finals come out, you'll see I'm right. I'm a genius." Cheng Miao copied the homework with total confidence.

Just as he finished copying, his mom got home from work. Seeing the house all neat and tidy and the kids actually doing their homework, she patted Cheng Miao's head, beaming with pride. "You used to sleep till noon on breaks. It's nice you've got company now. Have you finished today's homework?"

Cheng Miao played the good kid and handed over his homework. "Done. I was up by eight, ate breakfast, cleaned up with Lu Yu, and then we got started on homework."

His mom smiled. "What a good boy. Miaomiao's all grown up."

Lin Jinrui watched from the side, her eyes about to bug out of her head. She was seeing a whole new side of Cheng Miao today. Lu Yu heated up the food, Lu Yu cleaned the house, and the homework was copied from Lu Yu—but somehow Cheng Miao was the one who'd "grown up." She figured Cheng Miao hadn't grown up—he'd just gotten sneakier.

His mom went off to cook, and Lin Jinrui whispered, "Cheng Miao, that's not right. You shouldn't lie."

Cheng Miao looked confused. "Why not?" He held up his hand and started counting on his fingers. "First off, Lu Yu doesn't care if I say that, right?"

He nudged Lu Yu, who could only mutter, "Mm."

"Second, saying that makes my mom happy. If I fought with her, nobody'd be happy."

"And finally, yeah I copied the homework, but my grades aren't gonna suffer! I'm still confident about that." Cheng Miao said with great confidence. "So isn't that a win-win all around?"

Lin Jinrui felt her whole worldview tilt. She had to admit what Cheng Miao said made sense, even though something felt off.

"Sometimes a little white lie is necessary." Cheng Miao concluded.

Then he shuffled back over to his mom. "Mom, when are we making the meat dishes?"

Every year before New Year's, they'd make meatballs, crispy fried pork, braised meat, and roasted meat. Once they were done, they'd store them outside or in the freezer, then just steam them when they wanted to eat.

Cheng Miao had been craving this for ages, but it was only made around New Year's.

His mom said impatiently, "What date is it even today?! Have your dad pick up the meat tomorrow, and we'll do it the day after."

Cheng Miao quickly said, all obedient, "Okay, I'll help. So what's for lunch?"

"I forgot to grab veggies today. We've only got cabbage. Let's stir-fry some steamed buns!" As she spoke, she sliced the cabbage into shreds and directed Cheng Miao, "Go grab three buns—actually, make it four. Ruirui's eating here too, right?" She looked at Lin Jinrui.

Lin Jinrui shook her head, a little embarrassed. "I'll eat at home. My mom's waiting for me." She hopped off the kang, slipped on her shoes, and bolted out.

His mom found it funny. "That girl, it's not like I'd force her to stay."

Cheng Miao gathered his homework and glanced sideways to see Lin Jinrui's backpack left by the table. "How did she forget her backpack?"

He looked at Lu Yu, then said to his mom, "I'll return it to her before she gets too far."

His mom was busy stir-frying and didn't turn around. "Hurry up then! The food will be ready soon."

"Okay, Lu Yu, come with me." Cheng Miao replied, then grabbed the backpack and pulled Lu Yu along as he chased after her.

The two ran out, and Lin Jinrui's figure was already far ahead. Cheng Miao was about to call out to her but suddenly stopped.

"She's going the wrong way, isn't she?" Cheng Miao said, puzzled. "She should take the left path to go home."

"Yeah, she went right."

From the slope in front of Cheng Miao's house, there were paths on both sides. If Lin Jinrui was going home, she should have taken the left one. The two exchanged a glance and carefully followed behind Lin Jinrui.

After going around a long stretch of road, that shabby old house appeared before Cheng Miao's eyes again. Just as Lin Jinrui was about to push the door open, Cheng Miao hurriedly called out, "Lin Jinrui!"

Instinctively, he didn't want to see Lin Jinrui walk into that courtyard alone again.

Startled by the call, Lin Jinrui quickly turned around. Seeing Cheng Miao and Lu Yu, she looked a bit flustered and embarrassed. "What are you two doing here?"

Cheng Miao handed over the backpack. "You forgot this."

Lin Jinrui scratched her head apologetically. "Sorry for the trouble." She took the backpack and was about to go in.

"Aren't you going home? Why are you here?" Cheng Miao pressed further.

Lin Jinrui lowered her head and was silent for a long time.

"We're friends. If something's going on, you can tell me. I'll keep it a secret." Seeing her hesitate, Cheng Miao continued.

After a long moment, Lin Jinrui's voice came out low, as if squeezed from her throat: "My mom doesn't let me go home for lunch."

"Why not?" Cheng Miao was very confused.

"I don't know. I used to go home to make lunch, but now she says I can't come back."

Something unusual was definitely going on. Cheng Miao thought for a moment, exchanged a glance with Lu Yu, cleared his throat, and said, "Your mom must have her reasons for not letting you come home. But as kids, we should care about our parents. What if she's not feeling well and you're not there?"

Lin Jinrui was a bit taken aback. "Should I go home and check?"

Cheng Miao nodded. "Of course. We'll go with you. If anything happens, it's better to have more people around."

Lin Jinrui nodded, quickly shouldered her backpack, and hurried back toward home.