December 29 was a weekend near the end of the month. Cheng Tian enjoyed a good lie-in. He had only just returned from his trip, so sleeping in a little was perfectly fine.
At 8:30 in the morning, his mother came straight in and whipped off his quilt. "Time to get up! Even if you're sleeping in, you can't sleep this late! Wash your face, brush your teeth, take out the rubbish, then come back up for breakfast!"
Cheng Tian was stunned. He knew the unspoken rule of coming home for the holidays: at first, you were treated like an emperor, then your standing gradually declined. But wasn't his mother moving a little too fast? It had only been one night!
Frogadier and Aron were already used to this life. Leaning against the egg, the two little ones rolled over and fell sound asleep again.
"All right, all right..." Cheng Tian reluctantly got up, washed his face, and brushed his teeth. Then he bundled up and went downstairs carrying the rubbish.
The snow had stopped, leaving everything blanketed in white. By 8:30, the sky was fully bright, and a group of children were making snowmen down below.
Cheng Tian clearly had no interest in that. A gust of cold wind gave him goosebumps all over. He hurriedly threw out the rubbish and went back upstairs.
His father had left for work as early as ever, and his mother was getting dressed to leave too. "Breakfast is ready. Remember to clean up after you eat. Your dad should have some time off after New Year's Day, so you two can go out and have some fun together."
That suddenly reminded Cheng Tian of the study trip. "Mum, the school's organising a study trip. It's 1,200. Should I go?"
"A study trip?"