Chapter 50

Fortunately, Cheng Shi didn't get a chance to talk to Huang Ruoyu about the lunch meeting she had with An Zheyuan at noon that night.

Because Huang Ruoyu spent an entire day doing something she particularly hated and had been putting off—cleaning every nook and cranny of Napa Valley No. 5. Although Virgo Huang Ruoyu does have some obsession with cleanliness, she actually tends to deliberately ignore those nooks and crannies, preferring instead to keep the surfaces that are immediately noticeable sparkling clean.

But now there was nowhere to hide, so she dragged the floor scrubber and steam cleaner up and down the stairs, moving the bed, sofa, and cabinets out of their places to clean those usually dark corners. She even used Dettol to wipe down every tile in the bathroom and DK, but the smell gave her a headache. Then she stuck her entire upper body into the steam oven and scrubbed the walls until they shone. Countless curtains and screens from upstairs and downstairs were thrown into the washing machine, and she even had a battle with the flying insects in the garden… She did all this without even asking Aunt Wang, the hourly cleaner, for help.

By the time Chengshi got home from get off work, Huang Ruoyu was too tired to say anything. She even had to ask Su Ningna to pick up her two children on the way home.

The next evening, Huang Ruoyu still didn't want to talk, so Chengshi sat with her in front of the TV and watched a movie. Chengshi thought the plot was quite engaging, but Huang Ruoyu, with her "professional" judgment, thought the movie was utter garbage.

A few days later—Chengshi had forgotten exactly which day—after dinner, he noticed Huang Ruoyu pacing back and forth in DK, her body tense and shoulders hunched, just like she used to look before exams when she was in school. Meanwhile, the living room was filled with the sound of clips being put on and shrill laughter—two children were watching cartoons on TV.

"What's wrong?"

"fine."

"Impossible, did something happen today?"

"No." The stiff smile that had been plastered on Huang Ruoyu's face—the same smile she wore during her school skit performances—gradually vanished. Her face contorted into a look of frustrated pain, and her breathing became alarmingly heavy. "No! Nothing happened! Chengshi, are you going to play the fool to the very end? Or have you really not discovered anything after all this time? Didn't you even guess? I'm pregnant, that's what it is!"

"What did you say?" Upon hearing Huang Ruoyu's words, Cheng Shi's face suddenly turned pale, revealing a startled expression.

However, Narumi knew that this feigned expression couldn't last long, because a cheerful smile was already struggling to climb onto his face, so he had to cover his mouth to stop it.

“Well,” Narumi’s calm voice slipped through her fingers, “are you sure?”

“Of course,” Huang Ruoyu threw herself heavily into Chengshi’s arms, as if telling him the news had exhausted all her strength. “Brother Shitou, I didn’t want to tell you so soon. I wanted to wait until later. I know this is a blow to you. But… it’s been two weeks. I took a test myself last week, but I felt it might be inaccurate, so I held onto a sliver of hope until I went to the hospital the day before yesterday. I can’t lie to myself anymore…”

"Oh, why did it take you so long to tell me?" Cheng Shi gave up trying to control his expression. He happily put his arm around Huang Ruoyu's shoulder, stroked her back with both hands, and whispered something without thinking while running his fingers through her hair, "Little Yu'er, cheer up. It doesn't mean we can't leave. We just need to change our plans a little. For example, we can try something different..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chengshi instantly felt the pressure disappear, and normal life returned to him.

“What other way? A different method? But there’s no other way,” Huang Ruoyu said breathlessly. “What do you think I’ve been thinking about these past two weeks? There really is no other way. We went to Dali so that you would have a chance to find yourself, right? But now everything is ruined. It’s all my fault! I was so stupid, so careless…”

“No, no, nothing’s destroyed. Don’t be so pessimistic,” Chengshi hugged Huang Ruoyu tighter. “The worst-case scenario is that we’ll go to Dali again in a few years, and wait until we come up with something…”

"What did you say? A few more years? A few more years? Two years? Three years? Or four years? Do you think it will be many more years before an MCN company wants to sign me if I have another child? And who knows if the profession of streamer will even exist in a few more years? Chengshi, think about it carefully, we have no other choice!"

"No, no, no, it's not what you think, listen to me..."

"Let's not talk about this now. We'll talk about it after the children are asleep," Huang Ruoyu said, turning her head to the brand-new steam oven as she wiped her tearful eyes with the inside of her wrist. She looked like a stubborn child who didn't want the adults to find out that she was secretly crying.

"Okay," Narumi replied helplessly.

Cheng Yushan and Cheng Yusi sat on the sofa in the living room with their legs crossed, staring blankly at the screen like two little balls. A cartoon dog was fiercely waving a big wooden stick, chasing a poor cartoon cat across the cartoon house that had been ravaged beyond recognition.

"Sit properly and put your legs down."

Cheng Shi walked past the children as he spoke, then went into the guest restroom on the first floor. He combed his thick hair in front of the mirror, while also sorting out his thoughts. He was considering how he should start the conversation when he was alone with Huang Ruoyu later.

Then, words floated happily in Chengshi's mind like musical notes: "Baby, our plan to go to Dali does need to be postponed, but we can look at it this way..."

Next, Cheng Shi would paint a picture of a new life for Huang Ruoyu. He would tell her that if they needed to wait another two or three years, he could accept the new position offered by An Zheyuan and negotiate a good price with him, since An Zheyuan had said money was not a problem. Then, in a few years they could live a more comfortable life, and she wouldn't even need to be a news anchor anymore.

"The job that Lao An offered me is certainly not anything particularly noteworthy, but the pay is still quite good! Maybe if I negotiate with Lao An, my annual salary can double, and making 100 a year shouldn't be too difficult."

So, with that money, they could buy a better house, and if they still couldn't adapt to suburban life, they could move back to the city. Not back to their old, run-down apartment, of course, but an apartment in a more upscale community closer to the CBD. Then, they wouldn't be able to imagine how much more fulfilling and interesting their lives would become, and... and... and...

Smelling the lingering scent of Dettol in the bathroom, Narumi continued looking in the mirror, but unconsciously started washing his hands. Narumi noticed that his complexion looked much rosier than at the beginning of the year. Then he knew what word to add after those earlier "and":

"Besides, why should we treat accepting Lao An's new position as a compromise? Why should we treat this opportunity as a helpless option for you to work in Dali to support your family? This is a rare promotion opportunity for someone my age. It can open up new horizons for me, introduce us to new people and new places, and in time, it might even lead us to settle abroad, let alone Dali. Haoskai is an American company with branches and business dealings all over the world. It's not entirely impossible for me to be sent overseas for an extended period, is it?"

"Well, okay, then what are you going to do? How can you find yourself?" Cheng Shi thought that Huang Ruoyu would probably ask him that.

However, when Narumi firmly turned off the tap, he already had his answer: "Of course I can take responsibility for the decisions I make."

The face in the mirror appeared more mature and masculine. The face nodded in a friendly yet firm manner in response.

Chengshi reached for a hand towel on the shelf, only to find that Huang Ruoyu had forgotten to put any towels in the guest bathroom. He had to open the closet cabinet himself to look for them. That's when he noticed a small cardboard box hidden in a towel roll on the top shelf. The box looked suspicious and out of place in the rest of the bathroom. A sense of dread washed over Chengshi. He took it down and opened the box, finding another blue cardboard box inside with the words "Secret Miao Medicine Recipe" vaguely printed on it.

Without time to think or consider whether she should wait until the children were asleep, Chengshi strode past the children watching cartoons in the living room and into DK with the box in her hand.

Upon seeing what Chengshi was holding, Huang Ruoyu was initially surprised, then turned icy cold.

Without a doubt, Cheng Shi's guess was correct.