Chương 18: Departure

Lin Che slept soundly through the night and opened his eyes promptly at seven o'clock in the morning.

He subconsciously reached out to turn off the non-existent alarm clock, only snapping back to reality when his fingertips touched the cold phone screen.

After realizing where he was, Lin Che tossed his phone aside and buried his face in the pillow, trying to continue sleeping. He had forgotten to close the curtains before going to bed last night, and the morning light was shining in through the slightly open curtains, illuminating the entire room.

But his clear consciousness, like the sunlight filling the room, could not be dispelled. The tighter he closed his eyes, the more he felt as if someone was shining a bright light on his eyelids.

In the end, he could only open his eyes helplessly, squinting as he looked out the window. The summer sun was hanging on the glass curtain wall of the building opposite, reflecting countless tiny spots of light that were dazzling to the eye.

"What a mess..." Lin Che sat up, rubbing his messy hair, his voice hoarse with the peculiarity of early morning.

Looking at the excessively bright sunlight outside the window, he couldn't help but purse his lips: "The biological clock I developed as a corporate slave before my rebirth didn't even spare the last day of summer vacation. My last chance to sleep in has been wasted like this."

"I'm already thrilled to be able to do it all over again, but why can't I go back to the day summer vacation just started?" Lin Che sighed, got up, slowly got out of bed, and dragged himself toward the bathroom.

"I'll have to wait a whole year to enjoy a student's summer vacation again."

The cool water while washing up completely woke him up. After washing up, Lin Che leaned close to the mirror and gently traced the corner of his eye with his fingertips—there were no fine lines there yet. The boy in the mirror had clear eyes and brows, without any signs of years of fatigue.

"It's so good to be young," he exclaimed sincerely.

"I stayed up all night the day before yesterday, didn't have time to catch up on sleep yesterday, and only slept for four hours last night, yet I still have so much energy now."

"If it were my body before I was reborn, this level of sleep deprivation wouldn't be able to repair the damage to my body in just a day or two of rest. And also..."

He tried to look at the GG brand in the distance, then turned back to look at the toothpaste tube on the sink, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face.

"I can even distinguish tiny print, and I can see it clearly whether it's right next to me or far away. It's such a wonderful feeling."

Although he was only reborn into his younger self, this body made him feel as if the world had become clearer from a hazy state.

Lin Chen's room door was still closed, obviously he hadn't woken up yet. Lin Che took out two slices of bread, three eggs and a few slices of bacon from the refrigerator and began to prepare breakfast.

In their previous life, the father and son took turns preparing all three meals. If neither of them was available, Lin Chen would take him out to eat at a restaurant.

Actually, we could easily afford a housekeeper, but my father always says that hiring someone to cook would make the home feel less like home.

In Lin Chen's dictionary, only meals cooked at home are considered "proper meals," while food from outside, no matter how lavish, is just "makeshift meals." Lin Che deeply agrees with this concept.

He placed the frying pan on the stove, turned on low heat, and poured in a little oil.

Once the oil was slightly heated, he laid the bacon slices flat into the pan. The sizzling sound immediately filled the quiet kitchen. The edges of the bacon slowly curled up, the oil seeped out, and the aroma gradually filled the kitchen.

While the bacon was frying, Lin Che took a bowl from the cupboard, gently cracked an egg, poured the egg liquid into the bowl, quickly stirred it with chopsticks, and added a pinch of salt to the bowl.

When the bacon was almost done, he took it out with chopsticks and placed it on a plate. Then he poured in the egg mixture, which quickly solidified in the pan. He gently stirred it with a spatula until the eggs turned golden and fluffy.

Just as he finished putting the egg rolls on the plate, the bread machine popped out two slices of toast with a "ding".

Finally, he arranged the bacon, egg rolls, and toast on a plate, poured a glass of milk, and placed it in the center of the table.

A noise came from Lin Chen's room, and a messy head of hair peeked out—the hairstyle he had specially done yesterday couldn't last a night.

"Xiao Che, why are you up so early today?" Lin Chen asked, somewhat puzzled. He twitched his nose and continued, "It smells pretty good. Did you make breakfast?"

"Okay, Dad, come and eat after you've washed up. It's already on the table," Lin Che replied with a smile.

Lin Chen looked him over suspiciously: "You slept until noon the whole summer vacation, did the sun rise in the west today?"

"Didn't you say the day before yesterday that you wanted to adjust your schedule?" Lin Che's smile remained unchanged.

"Also... I suddenly realized that I haven't made you breakfast in a long time."

"So, how much pocket money do you want?" Lin Chen crossed his arms, a knowing look on his face.

"What's that saying again?

'Offering favors for no reason...'"

"Eat it or don't, it's not like I'm making you breakfast just for pocket money."

Lin Che rolled his eyes, turned around and walked towards his room.

"Same as always, one of us cooks and the other washes the dishes. Remember to clean up the dishes later."

After taking a few steps, he suddenly realized how childish his reaction had been—such a spiteful conversation would have been a luxury in his previous life.

Remembering that Su Yuqing had a similar reaction, he couldn't help but smile. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who had changed.

Perhaps as long as parents can still be relied upon, people will never truly mature; in their eyes, children will always be children.

"Oh, just leave it there, I'll clean it up later." After washing up, Lin Chen sat down at the dining table, looking at the still steaming breakfast with a smile.

"Thanks, Xiao Che, hmm... your cooking has gotten better."

Lin Che came back and took the empty plate he had left on the table to the sink.

With the sound of water running from the tap, he said without turning his head, "I guess I'll have to clean it up myself."

Lin Chen immediately became wary: "You brat, so you still want to..."

"Fifty percent," Lin Che suddenly announced a number.

"Twenty percent." Lin Chen shook his head.

"Thirty percent." Lin Che emphasized his pronunciation.

"Deal," Lin Chen conceded.

"The price will go up again starting next month."

"That's tomorrow." Lin Che shook his head helplessly, but he couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, right, I'll need to do some shopping after the move, remember to reimburse me, this should be separate from my allowance."

Lin Chen put the bacon in his mouth and chewed, saying somewhat indistinctly, "I think you just want a kickback..."

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that, Comrade Lin?" Lin Che turned around and looked at his father provocatively.

"Remember to buy everything you need, but don't be greedy."

Lin Che drawled as he replied, "Don't worry about me handling things."

Although he has long been accustomed to not relying on anyone as an adult, it seems reasonable for him to ask his father for "funds" now that he is about to enter high school and has higher consumption needs due to his mature psychological age.

Some time after dinner, Lin Chen knocked on Lin Che's door: "Xiao Che, get ready, we're going to pick up your mother and sister."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Lin Che agreed, then got out of bed and walked towards the door.

As he passed the desk, his gaze lingered for a moment on the drawer containing the transformation device, but he ultimately chose to walk straight past.

"I'd better not practice without transforming tonight. After all, school starts tomorrow. I can catch up on the training later." He touched the back of his neck, as if trying to convince himself.

"Moreover... I have a feeling that I've been existing in the Starfrost form for longer than before since my rebirth, which is not a good sign."

He pushed open the door and left the room, then went into the garage. He was stunned when he saw the silver-white SUV, seemingly not expecting to see it there.

Lin Che gently ran his fingertips across the hood, the cool touch reminding him of the turbulent emotions he felt when that woman drove the car away in another time and space.

"What's wrong, Xiao Che?" Lin Chen asked, rolling down the passenger window when he noticed that Xiao Che hadn't gotten into the car for a while.

Lin Che opened the car door, the familiar feel of the leather seats coming from his palms: "It's nothing, I just feel... it's so good to be able to start over."

"You're being a bit strange," Lin Chen said with a shake of his head and a laugh.

"Speaking of which, you emptied the trunk, didn't you?"

Lin Che nodded: "Yes, I took everything that was originally inside out."

"That's good. Wanyi said they didn't have much stuff, mostly personal belongings... We're about to leave, buckle your seatbelts." Lin Chen said as he started the car.

"Yes, it's tied."

"Let's go then, don't keep them waiting too long."

The SUV drove out of the garage, onto the main road, and gradually merged into the traffic.

Sunlight streamed through the windshield, bathing the two of them in warmth and brightness.