CHAPTER 77— The Call From Home

The next day, the boys, Nian, and Xuanye were still asleep till 9 a.m.

A phone call buzzed on Xuanye's phone. She didn't hear it at first, but by the second ring, she stirred, blinking against the morning light. With a sleepy smile as if she'd just dreamt of Hao, she reached for her phone. Half-asleep, she answered in a jelly-like voice, "Who are you~?"

On the other end, a woman replied sharply, "I'm your mother, Xuanye. Did you forget me, huh?"

Xuanye's eyes flew open as she jolted up, staring at the caller ID.

"M-Ma~" she stammered. Then she quickly added, "How could I forget you? You're such a good mother~"

Her mother paused. "You're just sweet-talking me. Why are you still there instead of coming home?"

Xuanye glanced at Nian, who was still sleeping peacefully. She gently nudged her, but Nian just snuggled deeper into her blanket.

Smirking, Xuanye said, "Ma~ we have some work in college. We'll come home tomorrow, don't be mad, okay?"

Her father suddenly took the phone. "Xuanye, did you eat?"

Her face lit up. "Father~!"

He chuckled. "You're happy now, huh? Where's Nian?"

Her mother quickly snatched the phone back. "Where's Nian? I want to talk to her too."

Xuanye leaned over and whispered to Nian, "See? DK is on the phone."

Nian's eyes shot open as she smiled brightly. She eagerly grabbed the phone, still half-asleep, and said sweetly, "Loudie~ did you sleep well?"

On the phone, her mother said sternly, "How can I sleep when you girls are still acting like babies?"

Thinking DK was playing a prank, Nian giggled and teased, "DK, don't prank me in the morning~"

Xuanye burst into laughter, burying her face in a pillow as she shook with giggles.

Nian frowned, confused by Xuanye's reaction. She looked at the phone and realized the truth—it was her mother.

Her eyes widened in horror. She dropped the phone onto her lap and smacked Xuanye lightly. "Do you want to die?!"

Xuanye just kept laughing. "I was getting scolded by Mom, so I thought you should get your share too~"

Meanwhile, their mom was still yelling on speakerphone.

Nian nervously picked up the phone. "Ma~ why did you call us?"

Their mother sighed. "Did you forget you have a home? We waited after your exams ended. And then you just told us you got a job—no celebration, no visit."

Nian chuckled and pleaded, "Ma~ we'll be there tomorrow, I promise. Can you please make our favorite dishes?"

Her mother tried to stay serious but softened. "Haa~ just don't forget to come home. By the way… who is DK?"

Nian's eyes widened. She threw the phone back to Xuanye like it was on fire.

Xuanye, still laughing, took it and said, "Ma~ you already know who he is, so why ask?"

Her mom smirked. "Oh, I know. He's from SEVENTEEN, right? You two really lost it. Even in sleep, you're dreaming about them, huh?"

Blushing, Xuanye mumbled, "You'll understand once you meet them tomorrow."

Their mom finally hung up after telling them to come early.

Nian and Xuanye stared at each other.

Nian whispered, "Do you think they'll recognize them? I mean… they are from SEVENTEEN."

Xuanye burst out laughing. "I don't think so! Mom hasn't seen them much. We'll give a full intro~" She raised a brow mischievously.

The girls laughed and went outside.

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Meanwhile, the boys slowly started waking up and came out one by one. Still sleepy, they saluted the girls lazily and sat down.

DK and Dino were the last to come out. DK, half-asleep and moving like a zombie, spotted Nian on the sofa. Without a word, he shuffled over, nudged Boo aside with his hip, and collapsed next to her.

Boo shot him a bombastic side-eye. "Are you showing off your butt now?!"

Nian laughed, then turned to DK. "Why don't you guys sleep till noon? You had a whole concert yesterday!"

Wonwoo replied, "We've got a meeting today."

"What?!" Nian asked, shocked. "You just had your concert last night!"

Xuanye added, "It's your monthly meeting, isn't it?"

Wonwoo blinked. "Wait—how did you know?"

Xuanye looked proud. "I saw your mafia outfits in the video Hao posted. You guys looked like CEOs. Me and Nian lost our souls that day."

Nian giggled and said, "Especially when Hoshi and DK posed like models in front of the paparazzi! I couldn't stop laughing."

The boys laughed.

Joshua added, "Yeah, we loved those outfits. We really felt like CEOs that day."

DK yawned and rubbed his eyes. Nian smiled and pampered his head.

Xuanye turned to Minghao. "Hao, tomorrow we're going to meet my mom."

He grinned. "Is it tomorrow already? Alright~"

"Our mom called this morning," she explained. "She told us to come."

Vernon asked, "Will you be coming back to the dorm afterward?"

Nian replied, "We'll be staying at home. College is over, we got a job, and New Year's is around the corner. We'll celebrate it with family."

Woozi's face fell a little. "Will you come back after New Year?"

Nian gave a faint smile. "Probably not. But our house is nearby, so we'll go to work from there."

Dino asked sadly, "Then when will we see you again?"

Xuanye said, "If you miss us, just call. Or we'll visit whenever we can."

Then she had an idea. "Wait—why don't you guys come celebrate New Year with us at home?"

The boys looked at each other, touched by the offer.

Jun said, "We'd love to… but we'll be visiting our own parents and we might have work too."

The others nodded in agreement.

DK asked, "When exactly are we meeting your parents?"

Nian smiled. "I told you, right? Me, Xuanye, you, and Minghao. We're going together."

DK blinked. "But how?"

Xuanye answered, "We'll meet them at the same time. So get ready!"

DK looked at Minghao. Minghao shook his head in disbelief, clearly not prepared.

Scoups, Jeonghan, Mingyu, and Hoshi spoke up. "We'll cook today, so no one gets ready until after breakfast."

The girls clapped excitedly while the boys sulked playfully.