Chapter 27

"Okay, go ahead. Give me some wine, just a little bit."

As Huang Ruoyu spoke, she took a sip of her drink, then tossed her hair back and leaned against the headboard, distancing herself from Cheng Shi. The blanket on her shoulders slipped down a bit. At the same time, she curled her long legs under her body, making her look relaxed yet incredibly confident, like a leading lady on TV, and appearing ready to listen attentively to Cheng Shi's words.

Cheng Shi felt a halo of light emanating from Huang Ruoyu beside him under the dim nightlight, a light that made Cheng Shi's heart tighten. He vaguely felt that Huang Ruoyu was possessed by Beth, and that he should be reporting to her at this moment... Therefore, Cheng Shi dared not look at Huang Ruoyu, fearing that he would not be able to concentrate on dealing with the current situation. So he forced himself to turn his head to look at the floor under the bed. Then, to buy more time to think, Cheng Shi slowly lit a cigarette.

But that devastating image still lingered in Chengshi's mind: in Dali, where spring reigns year-round, Huang Ruoyu would come home from work in the early hours of the morning, her high heels clattering loudly on the floor, her hair even shinier than it was now, practically reflecting light, yet her face would betray her exhaustion. At the same time, she would become increasingly unreasonable, bossy and domineering, just like those top-performing female saleswomen at Haosikai. But what would Chengshi himself be like then? A middle-aged, unemployed, greasy, stay-at-home dad?

“First of all,” Cheng Shi finally said, having thought it through, “you’re always too hard on yourself. Nothing in this world is truly black and white. To be honest, it wasn’t you who forced me into Haosikai. And if you look at it from a different angle—I mean, about being an actor—since you yourself said you’re not cut out to be one, you shouldn’t regret anything. So we should face reality. Actually, your conclusion can also be applied to me. What I mean is, who can say for sure that I’ll become some great person?”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Huang Ruoyu said calmly. “If you really become some great figure, that would be boring. But actually, there’s nothing to doubt. Everyone thinks you’re extraordinary. Everyone knows you have a much smarter mind than most people, and you’re exceptionally capable. Everyone thinks you’re destined for greatness. In fact, the first time I saw you, I felt that you…”

"Come on," Chengshi chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I'm just a little bit clever and love to show off. I do love to show off that I know a lot, but I don't actually have that much talent. It's just self-praise, or rather, a persona I created for myself. Actually..."

“You’re not just bragging, how can you say that about yourself? Brother Stone, is the situation worse than I thought? So bad that it’s made you completely lose confidence?” Huang Ruoyu looked at Cheng Shi nervously.

Actually, nothing was really bad; life was going on just fine. The so-called "badness" was just Huang Ruoyu's usual dramatic and exaggerated imagination at work, something Cheng Shi understood perfectly well. But what Cheng Shi was more worried about now was that he had actually succeeded in convincing Huang Ruoyu that he was just an ordinary person with a little bit of cleverness—if that happened, it would be more painful than anything else.

He didn't want to be just an ordinary person in front of women, especially in front of his own woman.

“Okay,” Cheng Shi decided to concede, “Okay, if I was once a somewhat talented young man, the problem is there are too many people like me at Peking University, that doesn’t mean…”

“There aren’t many people as outstanding as you, whether they’re at Peking University, Tsinghua University, or even an Ivy League school,” Huang Ruoyu said firmly. “I always remember your roommate from Shucun, what was his name again? The one with all the girls fawning over him?… Oh right, Zhou Qian. I remember Zhou Qian once told me, ‘If I had half a brain made of stone, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything.’ He wasn’t just flattering you; he genuinely believed it. In fact, everyone knows that if you really want to do something, there’s nothing in this world you can’t do, and no role you can’t take on. But that’s not the point. The point is that even if you’re ordinary, you should still seek yourself. Do you understand?”

"Can you let me finish what I have to say? First of all..." At this point, Narumi realized that he actually needed to be quiet rather than continue speaking. So he took a big gulp of wine, letting the burning sensation spread in his mouth and then burn his entire body along his bones.

So Cheng Shi stared intently at the floor again, trying hard to figure out if Zhou Qian, the English major who was almost as popular with women as him, had really said such a thing to Huang Ruoyu.

"First of all, there is some truth to everything you say."

Cheng Shi spoke again, but his voice now carried a theatrical quality reminiscent of Huang Ruoyu's. He knew he had lost this argument. At this moment, he used the tone of a tragic hero in a play, a tone even the brilliant Zhou Qian would admire, as he spoke to Huang Ruoyu: "Perhaps I really do have some talent. If I were an artist, or a writer, or perhaps..."

"Do you really think that only artists and writers have the right to live the life they want?" Huang Ruoyu said to Cheng Shi with an attitude of both surprise and earnest persuasion. "I don't care if you do nothing for five or ten years, nor do I care if you tell me five or ten years later that you want to be a carpenter, or that you want to sell pancakes, or something else entirely. Don't you understand what I mean? Everything I've said has absolutely nothing to do with whether you have talent or not. The problem now is that your true nature has been suppressed and imprisoned. It's you, the real you, that has been denied again and again!"

"Then what is my true nature?" That night, Cheng Shi looked Huang Ruoyu directly into her eyes for the first time.

Before Huang Ruoyu could answer, Cheng Shi put down his wine glass, grabbed her leg, and she reached out to cover and press his hands down.

"Don't you know?" Huang Ruoyu gently took Chengshi's hand, tracing it across her hips before pausing on her flat stomach. She clasped it tightly again. "Don't you know? You are the most precious and beautiful embodiment of this world! You are a real man!"

Cheng Shi's life has not been smooth sailing. He has experienced many setbacks and has admitted defeat more than once. But only this time does it feel like a victory!

An unprecedented sense of happiness welled up within Chengshi. He felt he had never experienced such pure beauty before, and he felt that nothing had made him more successful than marrying Huang Ruoyu. At this moment, Chengshi felt that everything in the past could be erased at will, and the future was completely in his hands. He felt that the house at No. 5 Napa Valley, the surrounding walls, the suffocating Central Park beyond the walls, the streets, trees, highways, telephone poles... even the entire city of Beijing could vanish in an instant.

Cheng Shi felt that he could rule the world now because he was a real man, and because he had a beautiful being by his side who opened everything to him and walked with him. This being was both gentle and strong, and was a real woman!

One of the great advantages of living in the suburbs is the beautiful ecological environment. However, a major manifestation of this beautiful ecological environment is that after the Awakening of Insects, various birds often start cacophonizing their calls around the house before dawn, disturbing people's peaceful sleep.

As dawn broke that day, amidst the cooing of the turtledoves, Huang Ruoyu gently ran her finger along Chengshi's beak.

"Brother Stone, we made a promise, right? You weren't just trying to make me happy last night, were you?"

Chengshi lay on his back on the bed, feeling the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. At that moment, he felt his chest was so broad and strong, so what in this world could he not do? What future could make him confused or retreat? What wonderful life could he not promise her?

"I promised, I wouldn't lie to you."

“Brother Stone,” Huang Ruoyu smiled happily and gently explained to Chengshi, “The reason I wanted to confirm is because I think we can start preparing right away. Let’s start today. You write your resignation letter first, and I’ll do some research on Dali. By the way, how should we tell Shanshan and Xiaosi? We should tell them right away so they have more time to adjust. And I also hope they know this good news sooner than anyone else, don’t you think?”

"Yes, I agree."

"But Brother Stone, I want to confirm again, are you really sure you've made up your mind? Otherwise, I can't tell them about this decision."

"I've made up my mind."

"Great, Brother Stone!" Huang Ruoyu laughed happily again and gave Chengshi a kiss. "Look at the time! The sun is almost high in the sky! Brother Stone, let's go back to sleep for a while. You haven't slept for long, you'll be very tired at work today."

"No, I'm fine. I can take a nap on the subway, and I can also sleep for a while at my desk when I'm not busy, so don't worry."

So Huang Ruoyu said to Cheng Shi with deep affection, "Okay, I love you."

Then they both fell asleep like children.