Chapter 55: Waking Up

Huang Wei slept very soundly this time. After all, she had been knocked unconscious, and her head still ached a little when she woke up.

Half-asleep, she heard a “crunch, crunch” sound. It was a crisp noise, somewhat familiar. Huang Wei hugged Huang Chengcheng tighter in her arms, not wanting to get up. But the sound was too annoying, right in her ear, preventing her from sleeping any longer.

She half-opened her eyes, forcing herself to wake up a bit more, and then saw a scene that instantly jolted her fully awake.

Cheng Luyun was sitting at the foot of the bed. Huang Wei could only see Cheng Luyun’s back. She just sat there, head bowed, back hunched, and the “crunch, crunch” sound was coming from her.

Occasionally, there was the sound of something falling to the floor.

This startled Huang Wei into full alertness. Huang Chengcheng, who had been nestled in her arms, rolled to the side because of Huang Wei’s sudden movement to sit up. Rubbing her eyes, the little one groggily crawled up too. Still on the bed, she leaned over to reach her, stretching out two small hands to grab Huang Wei’s clothes.

“Daddy…”

She yawned and called out to Huang Wei, then looked at Cheng Luyun sitting at the foot of the bed. “Mommy?”

Cheng Luyun clapped her hands and turned around. “You two are awake?” Huang Wei looked closely and realized that Cheng Luyun was actually… cracking sunflower seeds? Her startled heart slowly calmed down, though Cheng Luyun’s actions were still rather eerie.

She and Huang Chengcheng had been sleeping soundly on the bed, while Cheng Luyun was huddled at the foot, cracking sunflower seeds with a “crunch, crunch” sound.

“Ah, yeah,” Huang Wei responded, indicating she was awake. She tilted her head to look out the window and saw it was already getting dark; the sun was clearly about to set. In mid-June, sunset was around 6:30 PM, which meant Huang Wei had slept for at least five hours.

The long sleep hadn’t refreshed her; instead, it left her feeling groggy. Sleeping too long only makes you more tired.

But seeing the sky, Huang Wei couldn’t help but think she needed to start making dinner. She yawned, her posture much like Huang Chengcheng’s. Huang Wei pulled back the thin blanket and got out of bed. “I’ll go make dinner,” she said, standing up. She grabbed her hair tie from the nightstand, gathered her hair carelessly a few times, and tied it back.

Cheng Luyun tilted her head and looked at her. “Aren’t you going to rest a bit?”

Huang Wei’s hair-tying motion paused. With one hand tangled in the hair tie and the other holding her hair mid-style, she heard Cheng Luyun’s question. She paused for a moment, then finished tying her hair before answering. “I rested a long time this afternoon. I took their points, so I have to cook. Otherwise, if they leave and tell people we just take money without working, no one will want to do business with us anymore.”

“Oh.”

Cheng Luyun was noncommittal. In her view, making the players cough up their points was simple. As a ghost, making those players wish for death was just a matter of waving her hand. Even if some players had unknown little tricks and managed to self-destruct when she wasn’t looking, many others couldn’t do that. Just tie them up and test one by one—eventually, she’d get the points she wanted.

But Huang Wei seemed to enjoy this slow method of accumulating points. Cheng Luyun found it amusing and wouldn’t interfere.

What came next, however, was less amusing.

Huang Wei walked over and took Cheng Luyun’s hand.

Cheng Luyun looked down at Huang Wei’s hand. Huang Wei rarely did things like this to her, but this was already the second time today! While Cheng Luyun might hold Huang Wei’s hand, her initiative was more like teasing. But being held by Huang Wei, Cheng Luyun found it less fun.

Because where Huang Wei touched, a slight warmth would spread, creeping all the way to her face.

If you want to talk, just talk! Why hold hands?

Huang Wei was unaware of Cheng Luyun’s thoughts. She simply said what was on her mind. “Ah Yun, come help me wash the vegetables.”

Cheng Luyun’s gaze shifted from Huang Wei’s hand holding hers to Huang Wei’s face. At that moment, Cheng Luyun’s smile faltered. “Huh?” She was full of confusion, not understanding why Huang Wei would suddenly make such a request.

Previously, Cheng Luyun had helped Huang Wei wash vegetables on her own initiative.

There was a huge difference between doing it proactively and being told to do it. And Cheng Luyun didn’t even like washing vegetables. She had no desire to agree to this unreasonable request from Huang Wei.

But Huang Wei had a very convincing reason. Still holding Cheng Luyun’s hand, she explained, “Before, it was Sister Cui and Big Ya who agreed to help me wash vegetables, but now both of them are gone. It’s only the third day; there are four days left until the players clear the instance.” To be precise, it was more than four days.

The players probably arrived in this world around noon on June 13th. By that count, they wouldn’t complete the full seven days until noon on June 20th. Today was only the 15th, so there should be five days left.

Huang Wei deliberately said one day less to make Cheng Luyun feel there wasn’t much time.

This sudden statement left Cheng Luyun confused. She tilted her head. “So?”

“So, Ah Yun, you need to help me wash and prepare the vegetables. Otherwise, I’ll be so exhausted I won’t have the energy to cook for you and Chengcheng.”

Hearing this, Cheng Luyun’s eyes widened. How dare she? She actually said she wouldn’t cook for her? Cheng Luyun was about to threaten her when she saw Huang Wei spread her hands. “Otherwise… Ah Yun and Chengcheng could go eat with the players at the guesthouse?”

Cheng Luyun absolutely wouldn’t accept that suggestion either. She wanted the players gone, out of her life. Going to eat with them would be a huge loss of face. Besides, Cheng Luyun simply didn’t want to.

Cheng Luyun stared at Huang Wei for a long time, but Huang Wei just looked back like a dead pig that wasn’t afraid of boiling water, her expression saying: Go ahead and stare, I’m simply giving up.

As long as a person gives up completely, no one can force them to work.

As angry as Cheng Luyun was, she ultimately found she couldn’t do anything to Huang Wei.

She definitely wanted to eat, and not just eat—she wanted good food. If Huang Wei refused to cook, all she could do was kill her. But after killing her, what if the System removed Huang Wei? Wouldn’t she be even less able to eat?

Cheng Luyun was still thinking of a plan—a way to make Huang Wei cook without having to compromise.

An idea popped into her mind… what if she turned Huang Wei into a ghost, then controlled her with her power? Make her a puppet, acting only on her commands.

Just as the thought occurred to her, Huang Chengcheng, who had been pretending to be groggy and not fully awake, clung to Cheng Luyun, calling “Mommy” in a small voice. The moment Cheng Luyun looked down, Huang Chengcheng scrambled off the bed with her little arms and legs, went to Huang Wei, and hugged her leg.

She looked up at Huang Wei with an obedient little face. “It’s okay, Daddy. Chengcheng will help you wash the vegetables. Chengcheng can go eat with them too. Chengcheng isn’t picky.”

This sentence infuriated Cheng Luyun. She reached over, scooped up Huang Chengcheng, and held her in her arms.

Huang Chengcheng wriggled her little butt, struggling to get back to Huang Wei. “Chengcheng isn’t picky! Chengcheng will eat anything Daddy makes!” Cheng Luyun gave her a flick on the forehead, but Huang Wei was already smiling, heading downstairs. “Ah Yun, come down and help me wash vegetables quickly!”

Once Huang Wei was gone, the mother-daughter duo fell silent. Huang Chengcheng stopped struggling and became exceptionally well-behaved, knowing she had done something wrong.

Cheng Luyun, of course, knew Huang Chengcheng hadn’t just happened to speak up at that moment.

Their bond as mother and daughter wasn’t just talk. They could truly sense what the other was thinking. When Huang Chengcheng was created, she had taken a small but crucial piece from Cheng Luyun, allowing her to faintly perceive Cheng Luyun’s thoughts.

Huang Chengcheng lowered her head, staying obediently in Cheng Luyun’s arms, not daring to move.

Her mother’s voice came from above. “You really do think of her, don’t you? I’d barely thought of it, and you interrupted me.”

Huang Chengcheng’s voice was timid. “But Chengcheng doesn’t want a Daddy who’s like a doll. That kind of Daddy wouldn’t be Daddy anymore. Even if she hadn’t turned into a doll, she truly likes Chengcheng a lot.”

“What do you know about true feelings?” Cheng Luyun scoffed. She fell silent for a while, then sighed. “Forget it.”

To be honest, she had only been thinking about it. Even without Huang Chengcheng, she wouldn’t have actually done it.

Someone as interesting as Huang Wei, turned into a mere puppet in her hand, would be far too boring. This person’s arrival had brought Cheng Luyun a lot of amusement. If all that amusement vanished, Cheng Luyun would feel sad.

Besides, as a puppet, any “liking” she uttered, Cheng Luyun wouldn’t even need to guess to know it was fake.

Cheng Luyun carried Huang Chengcheng downstairs. In the end, without saying another word, she rolled up her sleeves and helped wash and chop the vegetables. Sister Cui had been fast at prepping, but Cheng Luyun was even faster. Huang Wei had washed vegetables with Cheng Luyun before and knew her speed. In no time, the hour-long prep work Huang Wei usually had was done.

As usual, she ate with Cheng Luyun and Huang Chengcheng first. While Cheng Luyun washed the dishes, Huang Wei gathered the cooked meat dishes and the still-uncooked vegetables, preparing to head to the guesthouse to make dinner for her money trees.

Huang Chengcheng fussed, wanting to go along, but Huang Wei refused. “Are you planning to go eat a second meal? Their food is already limited. If you eat more, the guests won’t have enough. You stay home, and behave.” Seeing her scheme exposed, Huang Chengcheng was dumbfounded but still wanted to go, only stopping when Huang Wei’s doll plan rooted her to the spot. She watched Huang Wei walk away, unwilling.

It was already getting dark. Dinner at home had finished by 7:30 PM, but when she arrived, the players didn’t complain. Auntie Wang even eagerly prepared to help her.

The brand-new kitchen in the guesthouse even had a gas stove and a gas canister installed. Huang Wei had no idea where it came from, but she used it all the same.

While stir-frying the vegetables, she heard Auntie Wang ask, “Are you alright?”

“What?”

Auntie Wang looked at Huang Wei, who had turned back to face her. Hesitating, she finally spoke. “You look terrible, very tired.”

Chengcheng is truly Brother Wei’s little winter coat!