Chapter 56

The first thing Cheng Yanjin did after being released was to head straight to Dingpu Residential Area. He thought he would see Lin Langyi doing a live broadcast in her room, but the two met in the elevator beforehand.

"You just got off work?" He was briefly surprised, and naturally grabbed her arm, only to find that she didn't have a bag.

"Hey, where's your bag?"

Lin Langyi glanced behind her when she first saw him from afar, and replied naturally, "Upstairs, I went out for a meal."

"You've already eaten?" Cheng Yanjin looked a little conflicted. He tugged at his collar with his fingers to cool himself down. "My friend said he's hosting two tables of dinner to celebrate my release from prison."

Why didn't you say so earlier?!

He ran a hand through his hair, looking aggrieved: "I was listening to lectures all day on the last day and didn't even have time to get my phone. By the time I finally managed to post something, they had already seen it and that's when they mentioned it."

As the elevator ascended floor by floor, Cheng Yanjin looked expectantly at Lin Langyi: "Why don't you..."

“Then go ahead.” Lin Langyi readily agreed. “I’m really full today, I can’t eat any more.”

He was forced to swallow the rest of his sentence, "Why don't we go together? You can eat less if you want," and regretted it: "If I had known those guys would call me, I should have called them back. That way, I would have told you to have dinner together this morning."

"Hmm? So you weren't planning on going out to eat?" Lin Langyi opened the door, changed into slippers, and walked inside.

"I was planning to eat with you."

Cheng Yanjin followed behind, finally getting a good look at the room for the first time.

He pulled out the same gray men's slippers as Lin Langyi, strolled around the house several times, and finally saw the bedroom full of traces of her life. He smiled, stretched out his arms, and rolled over on the bed.

After rolling around for a while, he suddenly remembered Lin Langyi's rule that you can't go to bed without taking a shower. He immediately jumped up, whistled twice, and tried to cover up his earlier rolling around on the ground. But when he looked up, he only saw a leg sticking out from the doorway.

Lin Langyi was leaning against the outer wall, seemingly looking down at her phone, completely unaware of his earlier actions.

Cheng Yanjin hefted the pillow and asked, "Are you satisfied with the layout and facilities in the room?"

Just as Lin Langyi was about to answer him, her phone vibrated twice more.

She looked down, and the screen automatically unlocked, revealing the sender's name, "Y".

Y: [Are you coming later?]

The next two pictures show the black-lipped clam with its two front paws crossed, its chin resting on its paws, and its head tilted, waiting patiently. The kitten is incredibly well-behaved, and the expression it makes when looking at the camera really does show a hint of grievance at not being able to get its treat.

Judging from the photos, they were probably taken some time ago, at his own home.

Lin Langyi didn't intend to reply to him, but just as she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of spring scenery peeking out from the corner of the photo.

He only showed half of his waist and abdomen, as if he had just come out of the bathroom and casually took a picture of a cat squatting forlornly, with a few water droplets still hanging on his V-line.

The warm light from the bedside lamp slanted down, cutting through those alluringly beautiful silhouettes like a line between dawn and dusk, one half sinking into darkness, the other half revealing a translucent white.

"Lin Langyi?" Cheng Yanjin waited for a while for her to answer, then raised his voice to urge her again.

He's always been impatient; in the blink of an eye, he put the pillow aside and walked straight towards her: "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Her subconscious reaction was smooth and quick: long press, check the box, delete. By the time he walked up to her, the chat box was already empty, and she had already exited WeChat.

Lin Langyi calmly flipped her phone over and held it in her hand, asking, "Where are you meeting tonight?"

"Let's go to Brother Yu's house first and pick out some wine. His wines are just collecting dust at home, so why don't we drink them for him?" He remembered something, "Oh right, I'll also take a look at his bedside table; his is quite nice."

"I'm not going." Lin Langyi waved her hand dismissively, showing no interest. "Bye~"

Although Cheng Yanjin was a little disappointed, he didn't really force her to come along even if she didn't want to. He said listlessly, "Alright then. I was originally thinking of introducing you to our circle so you could fit in, but it's okay. We'll definitely be having a get-together at Yu-ge's house for his birthday later, and I'll introduce you to him then."

*

When Cheng Yanjin arrived at Yuan Chuyu's house, he found that the family's little cat, nicknamed "Coal Ball," had just started eating.

"You just got home?" He squatted down in front of the kitten, his hands were so restless, he wouldn't let it eat properly, he kept touching its tail and its head, and the kitten buried its face in the bowl several times, eating all over its whiskers.

He chuckled, then reached out and touched the kitten's ears, pressing down the two little triangles and then standing them up again, chatting casually: "I remember the first thing you did when you got home was to make these mushy meals for the cat."

"Don't disturb its meal." Yuan Chuyu's sleeves were still rolled up as he wiped his hands with a wet wipe. "Go get whatever wine you want yourself."

"Okay." Cheng Yanjin stood up and strolled towards the wine cabinet. "Aren't you coming today?"

"Hmm." Yuan Chuyu leaned against the wine cabinet, his long legs crossed, and casually raised his chin at the kitten. "I'll give it a bath tonight."

"What's wrong with washing it a day later?" Cheng Yanjin grabbed several bottles of liquor like he was plucking feathers from a bird. "You're a germaphobe, and so is your cat."

Yuan Chuyu remained noncommittal.

Cheng Yanjin took twelve bottles of wine in a row and placed them on the table like cannons before he was satisfied.

After taking the wine, he turned and headed straight upstairs: "I'm going to take a couple of pictures by your bedside table."

"Hmm." Yuan Chuyu didn't move, waiting for the kitten to finish eating before wiping its mouth.

Cheng Yanjin walked familiarly to Yuan Chuyu's room, opened the bedroom door, and turned on all the lights in the room with a "snap".

The bedroom has a minimalist yet luxurious style, with very few items in the room.

Cheng Yanjin looked around, walked to the bedside, squatted down, and carefully examined the Italian-style dark-colored bedside table, all three drawers of which could be rotated.

He moved the books and cups off the table, turned all three drawers around, and finally pulled one open to look at the velvet bottom.

He was still holding his phone in one hand, taking pictures continuously. When he scrolled down to the last layer, several boxes of condoms appeared in front of him.

This was neither surprising nor unexpected, as the butler was ordered to be replaced every quarter. In wealthy families, the greatest fear is that someone will die. This kind of teaching has been instilled since childhood, and several of Yuan Chuyu's close friends know this.

Therefore, even if it has never been used, it should still be replaced regularly. This is not only a long-standing lesson, but also a way to understand the current status of the product.

But strangely, on top of the same few boxes of condoms that were always kept at home, there were two boxes of condoms of completely different colors and brands.

Cheng Yanjin spotted the two boxes at first glance, his expression suddenly froze, the relaxed and carefree look on his face gradually faded, and he unconsciously lowered his hand that was raised to take a picture.

He was extremely familiar with this brand and model.

Or rather, because he has been using it from the very beginning, sometimes when he thinks of the word "case," his first thought is like Pavlov's dog—that's the color and packaging.

If he weren't now standing next to more common and widespread rubber brands, he would almost have forgotten that this was clearly a rather niche brand.

Why would someone use polyurethane as a spare?

Cheng Yanjin didn't know why his heart started beating rapidly and nervously for no reason. He subconsciously glanced back at the door, licked his dry lips, and only turned back after seeing that the room's owner hadn't followed him upstairs. He then picked up a box and checked the production date.

As he picked it up, he inwardly berated himself for being so suspicious and paranoid because of this unfounded, so-called intuition.

But another little voice in his mind argued that his intuition had always been accurate since he was a child, and thanks to this, whenever he started to pay attention to something or someone, he could often notice details that others had not noticed.

Cheng Yanjin checked the production dates of all the sets in the cabinet, and they were all freshly produced in mid-June, including the two boxes.

He silently examined the small boxes over and over, telling himself that there was nothing wrong and not to overthink it, at least the two boxes hadn't been opened or used.

Moreover, it's also possible that the original Chu Yu family thoughtfully and comprehensively increased the quantity and variety of items... It's nothing to worry about.

He tried to reason with himself so logically, but even so, a feeling of frustration and irritability inexplicably welled up inside him, as if he had suddenly bitten into a worm-eaten apple. Although he couldn't see the worm, the glaring hole in the core was hard to accept.

He sat quietly for a while, glanced at them one last time, and then threw all the small boxes into the drawer, slamming the drawer shut with his knee.

Cheng Yanjin didn't continue taking photos, hastily wrapping up the shoot. Because he had something on his mind, he didn't even bother to put the three-tiered rotating drawer of the bedside table back in place before leaving the house.

Halfway down the stairs, he caught a glimpse of Yuan Chuyu sitting on the sofa, holding a small, black kitten in his arms. There was an open box of wet wipes on the coffee table, and he was carefully wiping the kitten's face, which was covered in food scraps, with the wipes.

He took good care of the kitten, and its fur grew thicker, appearing glossy under the light.

Cheng Yanjin stood on the stairs for a while and watched. He saw the kitten rolling over in Yuan Chuyu's arms, and when he touched its head, it would lower its ears for him to pet.

"Are you done filming?" Yuan Chuyu asked without looking up, rubbing the kitten's forehead.

Cheng Yanjin snapped out of his daze, then walked down a few steps, tilting his head back: "Yeah, after I finished filming—oh, I forgot to turn off the light in your room."

He immediately turned around and went upstairs, taking large strides, each step covering two or three steps, and quickly returned to the door of his room.

Cheng Yanjin placed his hand on the light switch, but his gaze involuntarily drifted back to the bedside table that had twisted into a spiral.

"Don't overthink it," he told himself, turning off the lights and going downstairs.

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly lowered his arm, walked straight to the bedside table, stared at it up and down for a moment, then squatted down, pulled out the bottom drawer again, and put the boxes of condoms back in their exact positions as he remembered them.

When he was little, he would secretly take out the electronic products and game consoles that Qiao Wan had hidden from him and play with them. Afterwards, he would be extremely careful to avoid people and put them back in their original places.

But in the past, when he put the game console back, he felt a lingering sense of satisfaction and a sense of relief that he could continue playing next time.

Now, he put the things back exactly as they were, but he felt an inexplicable and endless frustration and annoyance. He had to suppress this resentment, which could be described as "excessive self-consciousness," and pretend that he had never opened the drawer.

He rearranged all the drawers on the bedside table, and put back the books and cups that he had left aside. Finally, he stood up, took a few steps back, and inspected the items. Seeing that everything was exactly the same as before, he walked out with a sullen face.

As he passed the door, he stretched out a hand, turned off all the lights in the room with a "snap," and then left without looking back.

As Cheng Yanjin went downstairs again, he looked towards Yuan Chuyu from afar.

From this not-too-distant distance, he saw the kitten, its face wiped clean, scratching at a plush toy with its paws.

Yuan Chuyu relaxed his muscles and leaned lazily against the sofa, holding his phone in front of his eyes with one hand and idly stroking the kitten on his lap with the other, all his attention focused on the phone.

Cheng Yanjin saw the curve of his lips and the joy and delight that would shine through his eyes even if he covered his mouth.

The two grew up together, and Yuan Chuyu's true emotions were difficult to discern, both during their school days and later at the company. Although he was gentle, he was always meticulous and cautious when it came to matters of the matter. Even when he had facilitated a major collaboration, his smile was businesslike and respectful.

Instead of being like this now, all over as if wrapped in honey.

"In such a good mood?" Cheng Yanjin stepped down the last two steps, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the sofa. "Who are you chatting with?"

Yuan Chuyu slowly raised his head, not locking his phone at all, but casually placing it on the sofa beside his lap, and said nonchalantly, "No, I was watching a pet compilation, it's very cute."

Cheng Yanjin glanced at the kitten, which scratched and bit, clutching the plush toy to its chest and making a fuss.

The small patch of white fur on its front leg became more and more noticeable.

Cheng Yanjin's heart was in turmoil. The more he looked at the cat, the more he liked it, but he also inexplicably felt a possessive desire for it: "Can I borrow your cat for a couple of days?"

Yuan Chuyu, who wouldn't even blink at those expensive wines, flatly rejected the idea: "No way."

Cheng Yanjin followed and sat on the other side of the sofa with his legs spread apart. With a swift movement of his long arm, he snatched the kitten away.

The kitten was obedient and well-behaved. It didn't get angry even when people moved it around like a brick; it just kept fighting with its toys.

Cheng Yanjin spread his hands: "Shake hands."

The kitten wouldn't even glance at him; when the toy rolled to the other side, it turned its head and paws away together.

Cheng Yanjin persisted, turning his palm around and continuing to hold it out in front of it: "Mimi, shake hands."

Yuan Chuyu said at the right moment, "It's still too young to understand."

Cheng Yanjin wasn't angry at being ignored by the kitten. He took the initiative to hold its front paw and shake it. Not satisfied, he then used his fingers to repeatedly stroke a small tuft of white fur on its leg, and finally a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Can I borrow it for two days?"

“No, not even half a day.” Yuan Chuyu refused to budge an inch. “It can’t be separated from people.”

Cheng Yanjin insisted, refusing to accept it: "Am I not human?"

Yuan Chuyu was too lazy to waste any more words with him.

"Mainly, I want to take it back to Lin Langyi to see." Cheng Yanjin suddenly changed his mind, and for some reason brought up the old matter again. "Speaking of which, I remember that you and she found this cat together."

He stroked the kitten's paw again, seemingly casually: "Aren't you going to show Lin Langyi any recent photos of the kitten?"

Yuan Chuyu smiled slightly: "She never asked me for it."

Cheng Yanjin glanced at him and laughed as well: "Then why don't you take the initiative to send a couple of pictures?"

Yuan Chuyu picked up his phone again, looking at it listlessly: "She's so busy, even our business matters are handled concisely and clearly. Why would I bother sending unnecessary messages?"

Cheng Yanjin stared at him for a while, then kicked the toy off the ground with a paw, and jumped down after it.

The soft texture in my palm suddenly disappeared, leaving only emptiness. When I curled my fingers, all that remained was air.

Cheng Yanjin didn't forcefully grab the kitten back; instead, he asked, "What's its name?"

Yuan Chuyu: "You can call me Beibei."

"Huh?" Cheng Yanjin, who had absolutely no romantic sense, frowned. "It doesn't fit at all. Why not call him Coal Ball, or Blackie, or Little Blackie?"

Yuan Chuyu put down his phone. For some reason, his expression suddenly turned cold after Cheng Yanjin uttered those names one after another.

Such perfect teamwork?

Yuan Chuyu said expressionlessly, "Then you can be called Butterfly."

"Call me father?"

Cheng Yanjin was shocked by the new dad's protective attitude and quickly raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright, I just said I wouldn't put the name on it, and you got angry. Beibei is Beibei."

He packed all the wine on the table into a wooden box, then easily lifted all twelve bottles together by supporting the bottom: "Then I'll be going now."

"Mm." Yuan Chuyu remained seated on the sofa. "Have fun."

Cheng Yanjin changed his shoes and glanced back into the house one last time before leaving: "You're really not going?"

"No, I told you, I need to give Beibei a bath."

...

Cheng Yanjin met with a group of friends at the club. Today he was the star of the show and should have indulged in a good time drinking to his heart's content, but he kept his temper in check.

Xiao Pucheng sat down next to him, puzzled: "What's wrong with you today? Is your throat blocked? You can't even swallow the wine."

Cheng Yanjin was not one to refuse, and he would drink with anyone who came to toast him, but unlike before, he didn't finish his drink in one gulp.

He had just taken a sip, patted the other person on the shoulder and given them a thumbs up, before turning back to answer Xiao Pucheng:

"Didn't I tell you? My wife is very strict. What would I look like if I came home drunk?"

“It’s really changed.” Yuan Yinghe nodded. “My sister often says that you smell bad from alcohol.”

Cheng Yanjin pinched the slender stem of the wine glass with his fingers, turned it around, and suddenly asked, "Hey, isn't your sister busy at Ying Shan Lake lately? Is she busy?"

Yuan Yinghe said, "My sister is doing alright. They don't have to work every day, but she's a diligent worker and goes often. She was indeed busy before, but things have gotten better recently."

"Oh, then she shouldn't be as busy as Lin Langyi."

“Of course.” Yuan Yinghe was speechless. “How can they be the same? Lin Langyi is the boss.”

Cheng Yanjin nodded, holding his chopsticks but not picking up any food: "Do you pick up and drop off your sister every day?"

"Yeah, sometimes I don't get off work until late at night, how can I let a girl go home alone?"

Cheng Yanjin picked up a piece of fish and put it in his bowl. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "You're right."

The dinner party started late today, and halfway through the meal, family members started calling to check on us.

Cheng Yanjin glanced up at his friend who was being urged by his wife, then lowered his head again and continued picking at the bones in his bowl, his phone beside the bowl remaining silent.

He picked up the fish tail but didn't eat it. Instead, he used his chopsticks to carefully separate the tiny bones, picking them off one by one and letting them stick to the side of the bowl. The delicate fish meat, like smooth tofu, was piled up on the other side.

A friend came over to offer a toast, implying that his family was urging him to leave, so he apologized and left first.

Cheng Yanjin put down his chopsticks, stood up as usual, and, as always, clinked glasses with the other person in a hearty and righteous manner: "Okay, take care on your way."

"Wow, so he does have a family after all." Xiao Pucheng exclaimed. "Jin Gou, you used to not let people go until you were satisfied, but now you've finally acted like a human being? Lin Langyi really deserves all the credit."

Cheng Yanjin put down his cup but didn't sit down. Instead, he picked up his phone and walked out: "Make a call."

He walked straight out, all the way to a men's restroom stall, locked the door, and made a phone call to Lin Langyi.

The long, drawn-out ringing of the phone went on and off. He had never counted how many times a phone would ring before, but today he found himself unconsciously adding the numbers up with each ring.

It was as if he was combing out every fishbone.

A mechanical female voice sounded, and he remained silent for a moment before lowering his hand, glancing at the screen, hanging up, and switching to a WeChat call.

There has still been no news.

Cheng Yanjin turned around in the cubicle and tried making a video call again, but no one answered.

Call again, no answer, call again...

He made countless phone calls before finally giving up, but his face was clouded with worry and his expression was grim.

He didn't know what he was thinking, but he cut off the last call before it even finished ringing, and then his fingers slid wildly down the list, searching for another profile picture while his breath was erratic.

The name "Y" flashed by, and he stopped abruptly, quickly pulling his thumb back to tap on Yuan Chuyu's name and making a video call without hesitation.

This time, his heart was pounding in his chest. He deliberately memorized every dial tone, as if the fish bones were no longer stuck to the bowl, but instead transformed into every phone call answered too late, stabbing fiercely into his heart.

Unconsciously, Cheng Yanjin bit down on the soft flesh inside his mouth, his shoe soles grinding unconsciously on the ground. Before getting any results, he began to anxiously look for excuses for himself.

If Yuan Chuyu doesn't answer the phone either, is it possible that he's working overtime tonight?

In the blink of an eye, the phone was answered.

Cheng Yanjin's heart skipped a beat, and he loosened his clenched teeth, hearing a familiar voice and tone from the other side.

"What's up?"

Oh right, it's a video call.

Cheng Yanjin put down the phone he was holding to his ear, looked straight ahead, and saw Yuan Chuyu lying on the dark gray bed, his exposed shoulder dressed in pajamas.

At home.

Moreover, the color of this bed sheet is exactly the same as the four-piece bedding set next to his bedside table.

“Brother Yu.” Cheng Yanjin hadn’t thought of what to say, but there was nothing unusual in the footage. He brushed aside his unfounded intuitions and guesses, feeling as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his chest.

Yes, how could Yuan Chuyu possibly take the initiative to go to Lin Langyi? One of them answered the phone while the other didn't; they couldn't possibly be doing the same thing.

Furthermore, if the goal is to eliminate suspicion, it would be more logical for Lin Langyi to answer the phone while Yuan Chuyu does not.

Yuan Chuyu saw him in the bathroom through the camera lens and frowned: "You didn't ask me to bring you toilet paper, did you?"

"Haha." Cheng Yanjin relaxed, revealing his usual carefree and lazy demeanor. "I accidentally dialed the wrong number. Did I disturb your sleep?"

"without."

Cheng Yanjin switched his phone to his other hand and looked it over: "It's still early. Why are you in bed so early?"

"I had a bad cold a few days ago and only got better after getting an IV drip."

"Oh right, then you should get some rest."

There was nothing to talk about. Before hanging up, Cheng Yanjin suddenly called out, "Brother Yu."

Yuan Chuyu's finger had already touched the screen when he heard this, and he said, "Hmm?"

Cheng Yanjin looked at him for a while, then suddenly said out of the blue, "I said a lot of nonsense and did a lot of lousy things before, don't take it seriously."

Yuan Chuyu didn't even lift his eyelids, lightly brushing it aside: "Haven't you done enough wrong things? When have I ever made a big deal out of it?"

"Okay." Cheng Yanjin laughed readily. "By the way."

The screen went out, and Yuan Chuyu tossed his phone aside, where it hit another phone with a thud.

The screen lit up and then dimmed again, and a series of "ding-dong" messages popped up, accompanied by the nickname "Release from Prison," as if urging someone to leave.

Yuan Chuyu glanced at it twice, picked it up, and with a swipe of his finger, deleted all the message notifications on the main screen.

After doing all that, he propped himself up on his elbows and glanced out of the room.

The house is very well soundproofed; you can't hear the sound of water running in the ensuite bathroom in the master bedroom from the guest room unless you listen very carefully.

He got out of bed and walked to the master bedroom. Through the bathroom door where the water was running, he gently asked, "Would you like some fruit? I bought it fresh on the way here."

"Okay." A light and melodious female voice answered crisply through the flowing water.