Morning 02

Ye Shuang heard Alice scream from the bathroom, but he felt too awkward to go over and take a look. After all, there were three girls bathing in there. Fortunately, the bathtub was large enough that they could squeeze in together without any real problem.

That is, if Alice was willing.

While Alice was taking a bath, Ye Shuang took the RV keys and decided to go back to the vehicle to see whether Bobo had left him any information. With Alice standing nearby earlier, he hadn’t felt comfortable searching in front of the girl.

After arriving at the parking lot, Ye Shuang returned to the RV. It was spotlessly clean, almost as if someone had deliberately tidied it up. Still, considering Alice’s mood, it was perfectly normal for Bobo to keep the RV clean.

Ye Shuang looked around and even tried opening the compartments, but he found nothing of value. However, he did discover a locked drawer. He picked up the RV keys and examined them, but it was obvious that they couldn’t open it.

“Did I guess wrong?”

After finding nothing else, Ye Shuang had no choice but to give up for the time being and return home.

Alice had come out by then. She was wearing pajamas, her little face flushed with anger. After being treated like a doll and scrubbed from head to toe, Alice never wanted to see those giant backpacks swaying in front of her again.

Even so, Alice obediently sat still while Tang Keke dried her hair. After all, Tang Keke had pinched her cheeks plenty of times while bathing her.

“Ye Shuang, where did you go?” Bai Yuyou asked curiously when she noticed him coming back. It was already nighttime, and she wondered what he had gone out to do.

Ye Shuang didn’t explain in detail. He merely smiled faintly. “I took out the trash and went for a walk.”

Bai Yuyou nodded and didn’t give it any further thought. After that, Ye Shuang helped Yezi with her homework for a while, and soon it was time for bed.

The night passed uneventfully. Other than Bai Yuyou sneaking over in the middle of the night, nothing else happened.

…

The next day.

It was barely dawn when Ye Shuang got up. After gently pushing Bai Yuyou, who was wrapped around him like an octopus, aside, he washed up and began preparing breakfast. Since there were more people in the house now, he had to make considerably more food.

As the warm sunlight streamed in through the window, Ye Shuang looked around the clean room and suddenly felt much better.

Then he seemed to remember something and took out his phone to check the date.

“Today… is Mom’s birthday?” Ye Shuang swiped across the screen, his gaze falling on a photo saved in his cloud storage. It was a picture of him with his mother and father.

“Happy birthday, Mom. Don’t worry—I’m not alone anymore.”

He didn’t say anything overly sentimental. After speaking softly, he sat quietly by himself for a while, then turned off the screen and continued preparing breakfast.

After putting on his apron, Ye Shuang began making breakfast with practiced ease. He wasn’t going to school today, so once breakfast was ready and Bai Yuyou and the others had left, he would head to work at the company.

Just then, Ye Shuang heard someone knock on the door. When he went to answer it, he found Peach standing outside. Compared with her previous visit, she had arrived a little later this time, and she also looked much more energetic. She had probably just been exhausted from staying up late at the party.

“Good morning, Brother Ye.” When Peach saw Ye Shuang, she raised the bag in her hand. “I made breakfast myself and brought it over. Would it be all right if I joined you?”

“Come in first. You made it yourself… What time did you get up?” Ye Shuang was stunned. He had already gotten up at the crack of dawn to prepare breakfast, so if Peach had made hers and then spent time traveling over, she must have gotten up before sunrise.

“It’s fine. I’m very quick at making breakfast. It only takes ten-odd minutes.” Peach knew what Ye Shuang was worried about, but she was actually quite nimble. From getting out of bed to finishing breakfast and leaving, she had spent less than half an hour.

Besides, she had driven over, and there wouldn’t be any traffic at this hour.

“You should still make sure you get enough rest.” Ye Shuang sighed, looking somewhat helpless. Peach was young and healthy, but that didn’t mean she could wear herself out.

Noticing his expression, Peach said, “Brother Ye, I already quit my job as a librarian. I have much more free time now, so you don’t need to worry.”

“You hadn’t quit that job before?” Ye Shuang asked instead.

After all, the pay wasn’t particularly high. He had originally helped Peach find it as a temporary job, so he hadn’t expected her to keep doing it for so long before finally quitting.

“Yes. It was the first job Brother Ye introduced me to, so I treasured it. Although I worked there on and off, I never really stopped.” Peach smiled. “But I think there are other students who need it more now.”

“I see.”

Ye Shuang had originally wanted Peach to take a break, but she insisted on helping. Peach was very good at cooking—or perhaps it was because she had been preparing meals for her younger brothers and sisters since she was little. In any case, she was skilled at making breakfast for large groups of people.

The kitchen should have taken quite a while to get everything done, but with Peach’s help, they finished in no time.

“Alice… I see. Things have gotten even livelier at your place, Brother Ye.” While they chatted, Ye Shuang explained Alice’s situation. Peach looked a little curious.

“If so many people are living together, is one washing machine really enough?”

“You’ve reminded me. There are too many clothes now, and the rooftop is already packed with laundry. I probably should buy another washing machine.” Ye Shuang smiled.

“Washing that many people’s underwear together really isn’t appropriate.”

“Underwear… washed together?” Peach looked genuinely surprised.

“Yeah.”

After all, Bai Yuyou’s, Keke’s, and Yezi’s underwear were all washed together. Ye Shuang was usually the one who hung the clothes out to dry, so he naturally had to hang theirs up as well.

Of course, it was easy enough to tell the girls’ underwear apart. Perhaps Ye Shuang had simply become too familiar with them.

He had never seen An Shiyu and the others’ underwear, though. Instead, the washing machine would sometimes contain all sorts of strange outfits.

“That isn’t a good habit, Brother Ye. Washing them together is a little… strange.” Peach clearly felt that this wasn’t appropriate.

“You have a point.” Ye Shuang also realized that perhaps he had spoiled Bai Yuyou too much. Underwear like that should really be washed by hand—or, at the very least, he could buy a separate washing machine for it.