Chapter 322: A Beautiful Dream

Early in the morning, Lu Cheng was woken up by the cold.

From the courtyard came the clatter of pots, bowls and pans; who started stewing meat so early, the aroma rushed straight into his nose.

Lu Cheng sat up from the blanket; the room was especially cold, probably because the coal stove had gone out.

He shook his head, feeling heavy and dizzy; his stomach was clearly empty, yet it churned as if he were about to vomit.

He forced himself out of bed, his feet not yet touching the floor, and quickly jumped back into the blanket.

Uncertain, Lu Cheng lifted the quilt to check, confirming he wasn't wearing any clothes, his whole body completely naked.

"WTF! What's going on?"

Did I drink too much last night? I don't know what time I stopped, and I'm at home now, so it could only have been Zhao Bin who brought me back.

That kid still had a wedding night, no matter how everyone forced him, he somehow didn't drink a drop.

"Pervert! If you're taking me home, just take me home—why strip my clothes!"

The point is, damn it, why strip me so completely? Leave at least one piece on!

His stomach felt terrible, so Lu Cheng put on clothes, feeling woozy, went to the kitchen and grabbed the stove to warm his hands.

"Mom, is the food ready?"

"Almost done, almost done!" Chen Xianglan turned and said, "Why are you looking so cold? Put on more clothes."

"Ah, it's fine, the coal stove in the house went out."

"Huh, what time did you drink until last night? You smell like booze." Chen Xianglan waved her hand dismissively.

"I don't know either, maybe it was after midnight," Lu Cheng couldn't recall at all, surely he had blacked out again, having no memory of what happened last night.

He only vaguely remembered having a dream, an indescribable dream.

Faintly, the woman in the dream seemed to be Lin Qingyan…

Lu Cheng gave a wry smile; he'd already been divorced, so why dream of her? The point was, in the dream, the two of them…

"Then why didn't I hear you call the door?"

Chen Xianglan's words suddenly interrupted Lu Cheng's recollection of the dream scene.

"Oh, maybe I kicked the wall of Yan Hongjie's house, and she opened the door for me."

"In the middle of the night, you kicked someone's wall again; you can't keep drinking that much. It's so cold now, sleeping on the street nobody would know, what if you freeze? You're an adult, yet you make me worry…"

Lu Cheng forced an explanation: "Yesterday Binzi got married, a few buddies were happy, so we had a few extra drinks."

"Even if you're happy, you shouldn't drink that much. You're grown now; you can have a moderate drink. Mom doesn't forbid it, but you can't binge to death; it's harmful to your body."

Since the divorce, Mom had been in a bad mood lately, so Lu Cheng didn't dare to argue.

"Got it, Mom. Fill a bowl of porridge for me to set aside; I'm going to wash my face."

"Go quickly."

Lu Cheng grabbed the washbasin, went to the public faucet to draw water, and Chen Xianglan stuck her head out of the kitchen, calling again.

"Bring the basin over; I'll pour some hot water for you."

"No need, Mom, cold water wakes me up."

"Kid, then wash up quickly, finish your face and eat! Your sister hasn't gotten up yet; wake her first. Day after day, I have to worry about you two; one is more troublesome than the other. When will you grow up…"

Listening to Mom's nagging, Lu Cheng only hoped his big brother would return soon, otherwise he'd be nagged to death this year.

With only a few days left before the New Year, logically his big brother should have received a letter by now; why hasn't he returned?

Even if he doesn't come back, he should at least reply to the letter.

Lu Cheng quickly wiped his face, brushed his teeth, then poured out the wash water and headed back inside.

Just as he was about to grab a towel to dry his face, something on the desk caught his eye.

He picked it up; it was a set of keys—the keys to Lin Qingyan's Siheyuan.

Lu Cheng was momentarily stunned; after divorcing Lin Qingyan, they hadn't seen each other again.

Although Yu Wanrong had decided to give him that Siheyuan, Lin Zhenfeng's job still wasn't settled, so he had nowhere to stay and could only temporarily reside in the Siheyuan.

So how did this set of keys suddenly end up at his home?

The only possibility is that Lin Zhenfeng's job has been secured, and he likely left the Siheyuan.

That's not strange; Lin Zhenfeng returning to work was only a matter of time, the odd part is…

He didn't come to fetch the keys; the keys arrived on their own, yet they couldn't have grown legs and walked over.

Then only one other possibility remains…

Lin Qingyan came last night!

Standing there, Lu Cheng strained to search his memory, but aside from that beautiful dream, he couldn't recall anything else.

If he can't remember, he won't try; he'll ask Zhao Bin later and find out.

After drying his face with a towel, Lu Cheng quickly finished the porridge, and his stomach felt much better.

"The pancake is heated, and there's pickled vegetable strips; have some first."

Lu Cheng slung his gloves around his neck: "I won't eat, Mom. The bike is still at Binzi's Hu Tong, I need to hurry over and ride it back, then…"

"Then at least eat first before you go; it's not a big delay."

Lu Cheng hurried out; he now urgently needed to confirm something.

"It's fine, Mom, I'll just eat a bit at Binzi's place…"

"This kid…"

It snowed last night; Hu Tong was piled with snow everywhere, the rooftops and wall tops were white, and occasionally a few familiar neighbors passed by.

Binzi's house wasn't far; across a main road, after passing a few more Hu Tong alleys, winding through seven or eight turns, he reached the Hu Tong entrance where he parked the bike yesterday.

In the distance he saw the bicycle locked to a tree stump, a layer of snow covering the seat.

The bike had been left outside all night; fortunately it wasn't stolen, and Lu Cheng let out a sigh of relief.

He walked over immediately, opened the front and rear chains, gave a push forward, but it didn't move.

Lu Cheng turned his head and instantly furrowed his brow in puzzlement.

"Eh?"

Squatting down, Lu Cheng picked up another chain from the ground, one end tied to a tree stump, the other fastened to a bicycle wheel.

"What's going on? How did an extra chain appear?"

Lu Cheng stood up, looked left and right, confirmed it was his own bicycle, and the lock had just been opened, so whose chain was this? And why was it locked onto his bike?

He clapped his hands, and Lu Cheng understood: it must be Binzi, afraid the bike would be stolen, who added an extra chain.

One could say he's a good buddy; his actions make people feel at ease.

Following the Hu Tong, Lu Cheng arrived at Zhao Bin's house.

"Big Aunt, good morning."

Zhao Bin's mother was sweeping snow in the courtyard with a big broom: "Lu Cheng's here; I just simmered a big braised dish in the pot. We'll eat together later; after you all drank so much last night, a little food will make you feel better."

"Alright, Big Aunt, is Binzi up yet?"

"He's up, he's up, Binzi, Lu Cheng's here!"

Zhao Bin took off his suit from yesterday and changed into a thick cotton coat: "Lu Cheng, why are you here so early?"

"Yo, the groom's up, what's up, disturbing your bridal chamber, hurry and unlock it for me."

"Unlock what?"

"The bike lock, of course."

"Did you ride a bike yesterday?"

Lu Cheng blinked: "Don't mess with me; the bike at the Hu Tong Entrance wasn't locked by you, so who could have locked it?"