Chapter 57

Cheng Yanjin finally received Lin Langyi's reply. His party was almost over, but he couldn't even wait that long and impatiently made a video call back.

Lin Langyi answered the phone. She was at home, her hair loose and soft, hanging down her back, and she looked like she had already washed up.

"What were you doing just now..." He looked at the warm, dim light of the bedside lamp casting a cozy glow on her in the video, and his anxious and irritable tone unconsciously softened, becoming somewhat affectionate and reproachful, "I called you several times and sent you a lot of messages."

"My phone was on silent, so I didn't hear it." Lin Langyi turned her phone around, revealing half a box of fruit slices in the camera lens. "I ate fruit, then went to wash up, do my skincare, and blow-dry my hair. It took me ages."

"Okay, I'm back now." He walked out with his phone in his hand, handed the car keys to the designated driver after leaving the club, and sat directly in the back seat. His eyes kept glancing at his phone, as if he couldn't bear to be apart from it. "Don't hang up, let me tell you about the fun things that happened tonight."

He was pretending to tell stories; what was real was that he stared at her intently, his mouth chattering away as if it had its own mind, and his mind was completely preoccupied with nothing but her face.

Lin Langyi listened for a while and then put her phone on the bed. As soon as her face was out of the camera's view, the person on the other end of the phone became extremely anxious and shouted repeatedly, "Lin Langyi, Lin Langyi, where are you? I can't see you!"

"Don't bother, it's tiring to hold it up."

He wasn't angry when she scolded him; instead, he became excited because he heard her respond. He continued to pester her, saying, "How about I bring you some fruit when I come back later? What do you want to eat? I saw that your fruit slices were dragon fruit and pineapple. I'll bring you some more later."

"If there's nothing else, you can just go back."

After she finished speaking, she suddenly leaned closer to the phone, and her beautiful face suddenly magnified in front of the screen to the point where he could kiss her with a simple head tilt, causing him to stop breathing instantly.

She tapped on the screen, and he realized she was probably checking messages. Before he could even suppress the turmoil in his heart, she quickly left a message: "I have something to do, I'll hang up now."

The screen then went black.

Cheng Yanjin stared at the dark phone, listlessly put his hand down, and said to the designated driver, "Brother, could you please drive faster?"

"Hey, I know, but there's a speed limit here, I can't let you get a ticket."

Cheng Yanjin fiddled with his phone. As the car turned a corner, a wine bottle placed to the side clinked against the glass with a crisp sound. He casually glanced at the side, and a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind. He said to the designated driver, "Hey, I'll give you navigation. Can you drive me somewhere first?"

...

Cheng Yanjin returned to the front door of Yuan Chuyu's house.

He hadn't finished the wine today, and the two remaining bottles were unopened. He planned to return them directly to Yuan Chuyu.

After ringing the doorbell for a long time without any response, Cheng Yanjin stepped back six or seven meters, looked up and peered at the second and third floors, but didn't see any lights on.

They went out?

He glanced into the garage and found that several cars were parked and not moving, so he put down his hand that was about to make a phone call.

He was probably working in his study. Yu Ge's house has excellent soundproofing; he pays great attention to the use of space and the balance between privacy and quiet when decorating his house.

Cheng Yanjin casually placed the wine by the door, put one leg on the doorstep, and typed out the words with one hand. Just as he was about to send it, his fingers suddenly stopped.

The night was deep, with only the ground lights in the greenery in the front yard emitting a cool white light.

Cheng Yanjin deleted all the words in the chat box, put away his phone, and walked around to look into the house through the large French windows connecting to the living room. The thin curtains were only slightly open, and he could vaguely see the little cat's soccer tent that he had seen during the day.

The wine is too expensive, so it's not safe or reassuring to leave it at the door.

Cheng Yanjin said this to himself.

He walked along the wood-plastic composite flooring to the back of the courtyard, stepped over the turf, and stopped in front of the several pots of clematis blooming behind the Podocarpus macrophyllus. He counted them, picked up the fourth pot, and found the house key underneath.

Yuan Chuyu frequently changed his password, probably due to childhood trauma. When installing the electronic lock, he chose a smart lock with separate electromechanical components. The housekeeper didn't know his password and always used a key to open the door. Cheng Yanjin, of course, also knew that there was a spare key.

He inserted his finger into the key ring, spun it a few times, and when he stood back in front of the door, a strange tension welled up inside him.

He couldn't explain where the tension came from, but he knew he wanted to go inside and check on the kitten.

The kitten that should have had a bath.

The door opened, and Cheng Yanjin's hand was still on the doorknob. The room was pitch black, and the faint light coming in from outside was enough to make out the slippers neatly arranged in the entryway.

Yuan Chuyu was not at home.

Cheng Yanjin gripped the key tightly in his hand, suddenly afraid to make a sound.

With the master not home, his guilty conscience about sneaking in finally overwhelmed him.

But Mingming had also entered the house without saying hello many times before, threw down his schoolbag, opened the refrigerator to open an ice-cold beer, went upstairs to the movie theater and loudly played movies, or threw his game cartridges all over the floor and sat cross-legged in front of the huge projection screen, playing games until he was completely engrossed.

Cheng Yanjin took off his shoes, without even changing into slippers, and walked into the house barefoot. In the deathly silence, he called out, "Mimi?"

There was no movement.

Cheng Yanjin stopped in his tracks, and after a moment, deliberately softened his voice and called out, "Beibei?"

There was still no response.

He turned back and went back to the entrance hall, turning on all the lights with a few "clicks".

The house was finally as bright as day. Cheng Yanjin walked straight in, and when he passed the Western-style dining table, he put the bag containing the two bottles of wine on the table. Without stopping, he walked towards the small soccer tent.

There were no cat trees, scratching posts, hollow solid wood towers, cheese tumblers with hanging fish... and no little coal balls anywhere.

For some reason, Cheng Yanjin felt a weight on his heart whenever he couldn't find a place, and the weight piled up, making it hard for him to breathe.

Since Yuan Chuyu adopted this cat, he has doted on it to the extreme. Unless he is away on a business trip, he would never board the kitten. There is no reason for him to be in City A and the cat not to be at home.

Cheng Yanjin searched for the cat everywhere while trying to comfort himself, thinking that neither the cat nor the person was home, and the cat was probably still taking a bath... But eleven o'clock, would the pet store still be open at eleven o'clock?

He wandered around the house for more than twenty minutes, and just as he was about to give up, he finally spotted a dark, murky thing in a tattered paper bag in the corner of the living room.

Cheng Yanjin froze on the spot, staring intently at the bag. He saw the brownish-yellow bag bulge slightly, and suddenly felt the heavy weight pressing on his head vanish.

"You silly cat!" He actually laughed, looking like he had just escaped a disaster. He laughed and scolded as he pulled the kitten out of the paper bag. "Your dad bought you so many things, and you actually crawled through the bag to play."

The kitten clung tightly to its beloved tattered paper bag, refusing to let go even when dragged away. With a "ripping" sound, a large tear was ripped open, and the kitten immediately began to meow angrily.

Cheng Yanjin turned the cat over, buried his face in the cat's belly, and took a deep breath, smelling a very faint cherry blossom scent.

I did take a shower.

This is not an excuse.

This realization came to mind, and the chest tightness that had been building up all night vanished instantly.

Cheng Yanjin chuckled and petted the cat a few times. Seeing that its fur was noticeably fluffier and smoother than during the day, he smiled even more: "I just saw Lin Langyi in a video. Her hair is about the same as yours after she washes it, all fluffy."

He put the cat in the small tent and pointed with his finger: "Time to sleep, you know?"

The cat angrily swung its tail.

Cheng Yanjin wasn't angry at all. He turned off all the lights along the way and left the house humming a song.

...

After making this detour, it was almost midnight when Cheng Yanjin got home. As he got out of the car, his heart pounded, and he felt a little guilty for being so late.

It wasn't like this before. Going home at midnight was considered leaving early; 3 or 4 a.m. was the norm.

He recalled the time at the old house when Lin Langyi stopped him from leaving and made him stand outside for most of the night when he returned. He couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia. Now, thinking back on it, he felt a sweet joy.

He also has a kind of honest, timid demeanor, always keeping a low profile in front of his wife.

Cheng Yanjin took the elevator all the way to the 16th floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened and he stepped into the corridor, he tensed up. He tiptoed to the door, carefully opened it, and even held onto the copper door with both hands to slowly pull it open and then quietly close it again.

Without even turning on the lights, Cheng Yanjin changed into slippers in the dark. He intended to take a shower before going to the master bedroom, but as he passed the room, it seemed to have a kind of attraction that made him itchy to steal a glance at her before going to wash up.

I tiptoed to open the door, and to my surprise, the bedroom curtains weren't drawn.

The bright moonlight streamed in, but the bed was empty.

*

An hour earlier, President Xu of the Pearl Association suddenly sent Lin Langyi a message saying that an academic exchange meeting was held this afternoon at a top 10 university in B City. One of the attendees was a special guest, a top bioengineer from the United States, who brought two doctoral students to visit and exchange ideas, hoping to jointly establish a 2+3 model biotechnology major in the future.

These things had nothing to do with Lin Langyi, but the kind old man with half-white hair gave many examples during his speech to demonstrate the future prospects of biotechnology. The only domestic example he chose was Yingshan Lake's patented bottom aeration and oxygenation technology, drip feeding technology, and the model of "moving" the aquaculture ponds indoors for cultivation.

After praising the pearl, the old professor revealed his true intentions, saying, "However, if the development of biotechnology in China can reach a higher level, pearl farming can actually shorten the cultivation time and increase the yield of seawater pearls. This is precisely the research direction of one of my students."

The biology professor at the university and President Xu were childhood friends, so he immediately sent the video over. President Xu was naturally very grateful and quickly forwarded it to Lin Langyi.

Lin Langyi: If you don't bite this hook, are you even human?!

She called Chairman Xu and learned that the old professor would be in China for ten days of exchange. She immediately decided that she had to meet that big shot no matter what.

At the very least, I should meet with that student whose major is relevant to my studies.

Xu Xiaoshan: "I've already spoken to Lao Liang. Professor Humphrey was planning to visit Yingshan Lake in person. I'm still confirming the specific itinerary. He should arrive in the next couple of days if all goes well. Get ready."

Without saying a word, Lin Langyi immediately changed her clothes and went back to the company to work overtime overnight.

At night, Yingshan Lake is as dark as ink, because the water area is so vast that the existing streetlights cannot cover it completely.

Moreover, because the Zhuang family's funds arrived in time, many places have already been cleared for renovation and surveying, and some circuits have been temporarily cut off to supply the construction projects, so there are fewer streetlights than before.

Lin Langyi mentally planned out a route for visiting along the river after some roads were closed, drove around the area, and finally parked the car in the parking lot and walked the road in front of the company.

Her mind was racing with all sorts of questions she might be asked, and in the midst of this internal struggle, she opened the company door without locking it from the inside.

On her way to the office, she turned on her computer and dug out all the reports and PPTs she had made before. Just as she was about to send the notification of this temporary task to the publicity department, she suddenly heard the sound of pebbles rolling down the corridor.

She was briefly distracted, thinking it was the "marble sound" mentioned in the science video, which was actually the sound of a perforated plate deforming. She didn't pay much attention and continued to edit in the group, "Thank you all for your hard work. You can take turns to rest after working overtime."

After receiving a series of "received" messages in the group, Lin Langyi went straight upstairs to the core research room.

The motion-activated lights turned on with her footsteps, and after a short while, they went out one by one in silence behind her.

When Lin Langyi entered the core area, she put her mobile phone and other items into the locker, changed into a lab coat and put on gloves to inspect the area.

She had taken a while, and when she returned to the petri dish near the door, the tempered airtight sliding door of the laboratory suddenly opened.

Startled by the sudden noise, Lin Langyi turned around abruptly, but there was nothing outside the door.

She paused for two seconds, straightened up and took a few steps back, her eyes scanning the sensor up and down, wondering how the sensor door could open automatically when she was standing so far away.

The cold light outside the door seemed somewhat eerie in the quiet night, and Lin Langyi finally remembered that she hadn't turned on the lock mode after entering the company.

She finally felt a chill run down her spine, and even her arms broke out in goosebumps.

The fact that the motion-activated light outside the sliding door is on doesn't necessarily mean anything, since the sound of the door opening would also turn on the light.

The huge company is like a giant maze, where you never know which corner might suddenly be popped by a man-eating monster.

She didn't dare to go out directly. She took a few steps back to the sides and glanced at the sliding door to see if anyone was there. When she saw that there was still no one there, she quickly stepped forward and locked the door to the core area completely, locking herself inside.

The enclosed space finally gave her a sense of security. Lin Langyi quickly took off her gloves, took out her phone from the storage compartment, and immediately called the security guard on duty at the guard post.

When the call connected, Lin Langyi spoke quickly: "Uncle Tan, do you have any records of outsiders entering your surveillance footage? Right now?"

Uncle Tan exclaimed "Huh?" and honestly replied, "The cars in the parking lot are all registered during the day. No cars come in after 8 p.m., except for you."

Where is that person?

"As for people, there are many... Aren't there houses being built on the west side? There have been quite a few workers there recently."

"I can't access the internal surveillance footage right now because I'm not in the information center. Could you please check if anyone came in through the main gate after I entered?"

Uncle Tan paused for a moment, then started checking backwards. But he had only gone back a little bit when he made a discovery in the surveillance footage. His voice became serious: "Hey, there's a young man standing outside the door right now."

Lin Langyi's hair stood on end: "Which door? What kind of young man?"

"Don't worry, I'm coming over now. It's someone... a bit young. I'll take a picture of the surveillance footage and send it to you."

The photo was quickly sent to Lin Langyi's phone. Lin Langyi opened it and saw a man standing on the steps of the company's main entrance. The door in front of him was open, but he only slightly raised his head and stood outside without taking a step.

Lin Langyi's finger hovered in the air, remaining motionless for a long time.

The overhead shot did not diminish his upright and imposing figure in the slightest. When he stood, his shoulders, back, and legs resembled the strong and resolute strokes of regular script calligraphy, exuding a natural air of strength.

It looks exactly the same as I remember it.