Chapter 7

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A loud, continuous clanging of metal jolted Narumi awake from his sleep. At first, he tried to escape the disturbing noise, pulling himself completely under the covers, hoping to continue the sweet dream that had been interrupted. In his dream, he was back at the hair salon across from the Haosikai Building when he was ten years old, enjoying the sweet fragrance and the first time in his life that he had been treated with respect. However, the continuous clanging seemed unwilling to let him and his dream go; the sound continued relentlessly, "clang, clang, clang," until he poked his head out from under the covers and opened his eyes in the blinding sunlight.

It was Saturday. Chengshi glanced at his phone on the bedside table and realized it was almost 11 a.m. But Chengshi didn't want to get up. His throat was burning, and his head was throbbing—a hangover he hadn't felt in a long time. After arguing with Huang Ruoyu last night, Chengshi had sat alone on the first floor and drunk an entire bottle of red wine, eventually forgetting how he got upstairs or into bed.

After thinking about these things that were actually impossible to figure out, Chengshi began to concentrate on figuring out what the incessant "bang, bang, bang" noise was. So he shakily got out of bed, leaned against the wall, and walked to the window to look into the backyard. He saw Huang Ruoyu wearing one of his old shirts and a pair of very baggy overalls, with gardening gloves on his hands, vigorously digging at the hard soil in the corner of the backyard wall with a shovel. Two weeks ago, Chengshi had promised Huang Ruoyu that he would install a basketball hoop in the backyard so that Cheng Yushan and Cheng Yusi, the siblings, would have something to play with, but he kept putting it off and hadn't done it yet.

After watching Huang Ruoyu vigorously swinging a shovel and the two children running and jumping around her for a while, Cheng Shi leaned against the wall and turned to enter the bathroom.

He first gulped down a torrent of tap water, then used plenty of cold water, toothpaste, and a washcloth to restore his brain to normal function—his throat felt much better, and the muscles in his face began to return to control. But Cheng Shi felt he still couldn't control his hands. His hands, in his eyes, once again appeared small and thin, almost the size of Cheng Yusi's palms, looking utterly powerless. And Cheng Shi sadly discovered once more that his fingernails, which he had bitten so short, seemed unlikely to grow back to their proper size. Looking at his hands, Cheng Shi couldn't help but think of Cheng Xinhua's rough, powerful hands, which he could never pry open, making him want to punch the smart mirror above the sink. He managed to restrain himself, thus considering himself a person with extremely strong self-control—much stronger than Huang Ruoyu's.

When Narumi went downstairs, he didn't find the empty wine bottle and glasses he had drunk from the night before in the DK—which is the LDK (Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen) without the "L" in the kitchen-dining area. There were only a few bits of milk and breadcrumbs on the table, obviously dropped by the two children while they were eating breakfast, but there was no breakfast prepared for him as usual. Narumi walked around the kitchen island but still couldn't find his breakfast. However, he noticed that the stove had been meticulously cleaned as usual, with all the appliances and utensils shining and spotless. This made Narumi even angrier—so there was no breakfast for him today? Although lunch was coming soon, whether he ate breakfast or not didn't really matter, but the feeling of being ignored was unpleasant.

However, Huang Ruoyu is truly adept at managing household chores, almost to the point of being unlike a typical "Shanghai woman." But for some reason, homes managed by Huang Ruoyu always seem to lack a certain warmth—to put it bluntly, everything is too clean and tidy, making the whole house feel like a showroom, perfectly suited for display on a real estate agency's website.

Seeing that he really wouldn't get breakfast, Cheng Shi, who didn't have much of an appetite to begin with, surprisingly calmed down. He decided to brew a pot of coffee, drink a couple of sips, and call it a day. He planned to go upstairs to change his clothes after finishing his coffee, and then take the shovel from Huang Ruoyu's hands. He was prepared to grab it if necessary, as long as he could get this morning back to his usual weekend routine as soon as possible.

However, as Narumi struggled with the coffee machine in her pajamas, the access control at the gate beeped. When she saw the woman's figure in the access camera's view, Narumi's first instinct was to hide. But it was clearly too late, because the woman had already bowed respectfully to the camera, forcing a mechanical smile, and said, "Good afternoon, I'm so sorry to bother you!"

Just then, Huang Ruoyu came out of the backyard carrying a shovel. She waved to the woman outside the gate through the wrought iron fence, then knocked on the living room's French windows. Without opening the gate, she ran back to the backyard as if fleeing, continuing to swing her shovel. So, Cheng Shi had nowhere to run. He pressed the gate button, walked out of the living room, crossed the front yard, and waited at the gate, welcoming the woman outside—but Cheng Shi couldn't help but think to himself: Why does this woman always come to other people's houses? We're not planning to sell the house, nor are we planning to buy another one!

"Xiao Cheng, I'm so sorry to bother you. I just happened to be passing by and saw Xiao Huang busy in the backyard, so I came uninvited," the woman said politely, bowing slightly again. She then handed a white plastic box to Cheng Shi. "I brought this for you. Xiao Huang said the other day that my lotus plants are growing well. These are the seeds. Just soak them in a pot and put it in a shady spot in the yard. Oh, Xiao Cheng, you don't look well. Are you sick?"

Chengshi took the plastic box with both hands and used one foot to hold the hospital door open for the woman to enter. As she passed by him, Chengshi noticed that the woman still wore an exaggerated full face of makeup, just like on a workday. Although she was always very refined and her clothes were always obviously not cheap, for some reason, she always gave off an outdated "fashionable" vibe.

The woman before Chengshi was named Xie Yiling, a native of Beijing, around 60 years old. She lived in the largest and most luxurious villa in Central Park—Beverly No. 1, Phase 1. Because Xie Yiling had studied in Japan and previously worked for a Japanese company, she always gave off an overly polite air, making those who interacted with her for the first time feel awkward, almost as if they had to bow and scrape along with her to avoid being impolite. Besides this, Xie Yiling had another characteristic: she looked thinner, or rather, more capable, than people her age. Chengshi felt that the reason this wealthy and leisurely woman had such an un-affluent appearance was because she was always restless and meddlesome. This was also why Chengshi disliked her.

Everyone assumes that the people living in the best villas in Central Park must be living a life of luxury, with their only worry being how to squander their money. But that's not actually the case. Perhaps the wealthy are more addicted to making money, which is why Xie Yiling, who should be enjoying her retirement, actually opened a company in Central Park—a real estate agency!

Speaking of Xie Yiling's company, it's the only real estate agency in the entire Central Park area, and even in the town of Changping. This might sound strange, but it's not at all. Just think about how those chain agencies can't compete with Xie Yiling's small, independent agency, and you'll know how capable this woman is, how extensive her network is, and how dedicated and enthusiastic she is to her work.

Take, for example, the Napa Valley No. 5 villa in Phase 3 of Chengjia's development. Xie Yiling enthusiastically showed Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu several villas in Central Park, and ultimately she suggested they buy this Phase 3 house. Although it was Phase 3, the space was just right for a family of four, the price was more reasonable, and although it was second-hand, the previous owner had basically never lived there after the renovation, so the decoration was still fashionable and well-maintained. It only needed a little tidying up before they could move in, which would save them a lot of money. Seeing that Xie Yiling's words were sincere and reasonable, Huang Ruoyu took her advice and decided on the villa, signing the contract with her company. As a result, the Cheng family lived there for almost three years, and Xie Yiling visited them for almost three years as well. Every now and then, she would bring them small gifts and trinkets, showing them even more care than the property management.

To be honest, Xie Yiling was actually quite attentive to almost all the owners in Central Park, since most of them bought their homes from her. Even those who didn't buy from her, she treated with warmth and consideration. It's just that she preferred the Cheng family, this pleasing-looking couple.

“I think these flowers are perfect for your little yard,” Xie Yiling said. “Have you ever grown flowers before? These flowers are very easy to grow.”

"Hmm," Cheng Shi replied absentmindedly, "That's great, thank you, Mr. Xie."

Actually, when Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu came to see the apartment, Xie Yiling had already kindly asked them to call her "Sister Lingzi." However, Cheng Shi just couldn't bring himself to call her "Sister" because she was more than 20 years older than him. So, he usually chose not to address her that way, simply using a friendly nod and smile to cover it up when they met. If he couldn't avoid it, he would just call her "President Xie." Over time, Xie Yiling seemed to have gotten used to it.

At this moment, Xie Yiling, standing in the yard with her ever-present eyes, seemed to only then notice Huang Ruoyu digging in the backyard, while Cheng Shi strolled around the living room in his pajamas. So, Xie Yiling and Cheng Shi exchanged a knowing smile, seemingly out of polite conversation.

“Actually, you don’t need to take special care of it,” Xie Yiling said, pointing to the box Chengshi was holding in his arms. “Just keep it out of direct sunlight, and it will bloom in a while. The ones at my company are white, but this one is pink.”

"Oh, I understand." Cheng Shi didn't understand what Xie Yiling was saying at all, but answered perfunctorily, "I know."

But Xie Yiling didn't go inside. Instead, she stood in the yard and kept talking about the precautions for growing flowers. Cheng Shi stared at Xie Yiling's mouth and kept nodding. In his heart, he was hoping that she would leave quickly, while also keeping an eye on the movements in the backyard.

“Okay,” Cheng Shi finally got the chance to shut Xie Yiling up and quickly said, “Thank you so much. I was just making coffee, would you like to come in and have a seat? I’ll pour you a cup.”

"No, no, I have something to do." Xie Yiling quickly waved her hand. "You can just tell Xiao Huang. Okay, I'll say hello to her instead."

Xie Yiling squinted at the backyard, and after measuring the appropriate volume, she said in a slightly louder voice than usual, "Little Huang! Little Huang! I've brought you flowers!"

Soon, the sound of shovels digging in the ground stopped, and Huang Ruoyu's voice came from afar: "What did you say?"

"Flowers! I said flowers! I brought you flowers!"

Xie Yiling's expression relaxed only after she heard Huang Ruoyu's vague reply, "Oh, thank you, President Xie."

Xie Yiling turned around and faced Cheng Shi, who was still holding the plastic box, and said, "What a wonderful wife! Cheng, you are so lucky!"

"Thank you," Cheng Shi replied hesitantly.

"She's really good. She's elegant in public and capable in the kitchen. She's beautiful and talented. She's far superior to that family in Palm Beach, your friend's tall and strong one, what's his name again? She's much better than his wife."

"You mean Sun Pengfei and Su Ningna from No. 8 Palm Beach? They're both really nice people." Cheng Shi felt it was necessary to speak up for Sun Pengfei and Su Ningna in front of Xie Lingling, because he felt that Xie Lingling always subtly mentioned this family, as if she genuinely looked down on the couple, especially Su Ningna.

"Yes, it's that Su Ningna. She always looks so sloppy, like their housekeeper. She's turned their yard into a farmhouse." Xie Yiling muttered. "Of course, as long as the couple is doing well, that's fine. But the standards of our Central Park have been lowered by them... Never mind, I just remembered there's something else I wanted to tell you."

Xie Yiling's "there's something else" was actually the real purpose of her visit. Now she seemed hesitant, clearly considering whether or not to bring it up; then she looked at the listless Cheng Shi and decided it was best not to say anything for now.

So Xie Yiling shook her head and said, "Forget it, let's talk about it next time. It's not urgent. Oh, by the way, I heard you're going to build a stone path from the courtyard gate to the house door, right? I'm going to Japan next week. Do you want me to bring back some tools for you? Japan has a good selection of these kinds of tools, if you need them."

"Thank you, thank you. No need to trouble yourself. Actually, I've already figured out how to do it."

"Yes, I can tell." Xie Yiling seemed to be comforting Cheng Shi. "This job is not easy, take it slow; as for the house, you have to tidy it up as you live in it, don't you think?"

Without waiting for Chengshi to reply, Xie Yiling immediately said "See you later" to Chengshi, then turned and walked gracefully out of the gate of No. 5 Napa Valley.