Chapter 16

In the afternoon, Han Shu received a message from her landlord in Houhai Village, arranging to view the apartment the next morning. She figured she'd have to move there eventually after the typhoon ended, so instead of going back and forth tomorrow, she might as well settle it all at once.

I originally planned to tell Mr. Problem, the owner of Mr. Problem's B&B, about this as soon as I got back, but plans don't always go as expected.

At this moment, the way Wen Zhiyu looked at her, the tone of his voice, and even his indifferent posture with his hands in his pockets, inexplicably reminded her of the word "resentful husband."

Resentful husband?

Han Shu quickly stopped thinking.

"I was just about to tell you that the weather has improved, and I've also contacted accommodations near Houhai, so I plan to check out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will be the sixth day," Wen Zhiyu said.

"Yes." Han Shu nodded vigorously. "I remember every single item in the check-in guide, and I didn't overstay my time!"

Wen Zhiyu pursed his thin lips even tighter, said nothing, and turned to walk inside.

Han Shu and his aunt looked at each other, both with innocent expressions.

No, is he throwing a tantrum? What's wrong with him? She's such a well-behaved tenant, what could he possibly be unhappy about? What kind of unpredictable and irritable temper is this!

By the time the two reached the living room, Wen Zhiyu had already disappeared at the end of the stairs.

The aunt smiled apologetically and tried to smooth things over, saying, "That's just Wen's personality. He doesn't mean any harm. Don't overthink it."

Han Shu thought to herself that she knew Xiao Wen's personality all too well, but she didn't show it on her face. She just smiled and said she knew.

The aunt immediately asked in confusion, "But what's with that big bump on Xiao Wen's head?"

He hit himself! Han Shu suppressed a laugh.

Back in his room, Han Shu immediately began packing his luggage, packing everything except for toiletries and clothes for that night.

As she entered the bathroom, the three kittens simultaneously rubbed against her. The eldest kitten circled her legs a few times before lying on its side, revealing its soft belly. The second and youngest kittens followed suit, lying down and rolling over, ending up on their backs with all four paws in the air.

Han Shu carefully touched the large and small bellies, and seeing that all three were enjoying it with their eyes half-closed, his actions gradually became more unrestrained.

"Oh dear, we're leaving this luxurious villa tomorrow to live a hard life. What are we going to do? Can we adapt?"

Big Mimi responded in kind, "Meow!"

“You’re from Hainan Island, but I’m not from Hainan Island, so I can’t take care of you. Wen Zhiyu is clearly cold-blooded, heartless, and cruel; he wouldn’t take care of you either… If I post an ad, could I find you a home?”

"Meow!"

"Then I'll give it a try." Han Shu sighed. "I originally wanted to get you spayed, but there isn't a single pet hospital within five kilometers. Even if I took you there, there wouldn't be anyone to take care of you. You can't bring your family with you to Houhai, where you don't know people or cats."

"Meow!"

"You mean Wen Zhiyu—the man who brought you back with me? Why is he angry with me? Is he upset that I didn't spend time with him today?" Han Shu pondered deeply.

"Meow!"

The two, one human and one cat, then opened up to each other and had a heart-to-heart talk.

When Han Shu stepped out of her room, it was already dinnertime, and an enticing aroma wafted from the dining room. The moment she smelled it, her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, and she walked towards it on her own.

Turning the corner, a cold, indifferent back of a head came into view.

On the dining table were already set an exquisite enamel soup pot, a plate of familiar-looking beef ribs, and one meat dish and two vegetable dishes. Wen Zhiyu, however, was engrossed in reading a book.

"Young lady, sit down and eat with us." The aunt saw her and came over with two bowls, one for Wen Zhiyu and the other opposite her.

"No need, no need." Han Shu swallowed, forcing herself to look away. "I'll just make something simple, you guys eat."

The aunt wiped her hands on her apron, affectionately pulled Han Shu along, and only let go when she got to the stool. "I made this especially for you. I heard you've been cooking these past few days. Since you're leaving tomorrow, why don't you try my cooking?"

Han Shu has never been good at communicating with elders, let alone refusing them. He sat down in a daze, picked up his chopsticks in a daze, and started eating in a daze.

After finishing her work in the kitchen, the aunt told the cook to leave the bowls after she finished eating, and then went upstairs.

Han Shu took a sip of the winter melon and pork rib soup, and the fresh and tender flavor filled his taste buds, so he took another big sip.

Across from her, Wen Zhiyu completely ignored her, still reading his book, while using his other hand to casually poke at the beef ribs in his bowl with his chopsticks.

That's strange. Han Shu asked, "Don't you have an appetite?"

Wen Zhiyu glanced at her with an air of superiority and raised the book slightly. "Read."

The cover faces Han Shu directly, with six large characters prominently displayed: "Pure Rational Criticism".

Han Shu: ...

Is this a subtle dig at her? Yes, it is.

She was speechless. "When Kant wrote this book, did he know you would use it this way?"

She saw it, and Wen Zhiyu stopped acting, snapped the book shut and put it aside, then devoured the long-neglected delicious beef ribs in one bite.

Han Shu: ...

Bro, you're really not pretending at all!

She put down her bowl. "I'm checking out tomorrow. Do you have any other questions?"

"No."

"……No?"

Wen Zhiyu kept his eyelids down and simply said, "Mm."

After six days of stay, how many questions were answered?

Driven by a sense of morality, Han Shu felt that she had gotten the better deal and was inexplicably in the wrong. So he suggested, "How about we play another game after dinner?"

To everyone's surprise, Wen Zhiyu casually refused, "No need."

"You were angry this afternoon because I didn't play with you, right? Why don't you want to play anymore?"

"I don't want to think about it anymore."

"..." Han Shu hesitated, then asked, "What about Kant?"

Wen Zhiyu swallowed, raised his eyes, and said seriously, "I condemn you."

Han Shu: ...

Perhaps her speechlessness was evident in her eyes, for Wen Zhiyu put down his chopsticks. "Yesterday, when we played the last game, you said you were too tired and would continue this morning. What about this morning?"

"That's just one sentence—"

"Just being polite," Wen Zhiyu said. "I said I wanted to play some more, and you insisted on doing it tomorrow morning. I said okay, I'd go to bed early and get up early to continue, and you said goodnight while yawning and scratching your face. Is 'tomorrow morning' just being polite, and 'goodnight' just being polite? Was 'playing after dinner' just being polite?"

Han Shu, half amused and half helpless, explained in a softer tone, "When I got up, you weren't up yet. I had something to do, so I went out first. I really didn't expect you to be waiting for me."

Wen Zhiyu stared at her with a probing look, and after a long while nodded, "Well, then I forgive you."

Han Shu couldn't believe his ears, "Huh?"

Wen Zhiyu repeated clearly and distinctly, "I forgive you."

From being sulking to forgiving, it took less than a minute. Han Shu couldn't help but chuckle, "So, are we still playing after dinner?"

"I'm done playing." Wen Zhiyu leaned over, pulled out a tissue, and wiped his mouth. "Get some rest, goodnight."

After saying that, he looked away, put down the bowl and chopsticks, got up, and walked briskly towards the stairs.

Han Shu looked confused and called out to the straight back, "I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Before I leave, I plan to release a gecko and a cat. Want to come along?"

"No."

The indifferent male voice became even lighter and farther away after being filtered through the corner of the TV wall.

Wen Zhiyu strode forward, his long legs encased in his pajamas, without looking back.

Han Shu stared intently at the spot where the figure had disappeared, feeling a sense of loss and a bittersweet feeling.

After eating, she stood on the porch just like on her first day, looking around.

This villa, decorated only in black, white, and gray, belongs to a writer with a black, white, and gray exterior but a colorful inner world. Sometimes he is aloof, sometimes childish, sometimes like a psychopath, and occasionally like a deranged murderer.

Mr. Problem's B&B is a guesthouse without any service, but it feels as warm and welcoming as home. Mr. Problem is the owner, who has absolutely no service mentality, but he is a very nice, lovely, and funny person.

Therefore, when Han Shu left the next morning and Wen Zhiyu still did not show up, he felt somewhat sad.

It's only been six days, just six days. Why is she still a little reluctant to let it go? It's her fault for being too soft-hearted, unlike the one on the second floor who's so hard-hearted! After all, it was a six-day encounter, how can she be so indifferent?

Han Shu suppressed his thoughts, used his key to cut open the tape sealing the gecko box, and then stumbled back three meters. Emerging from the dungeon into the light of day, a large and a small gecko soon appeared. Only after the two gray figures disappeared among the "severed limbs" in the yard did he tiptoe away to clean up the mess.

"Mimi, you're next."

Han Shu pushed open the gate with all her might, first carrying the cardboard box containing the cat down the steps before returning to pick up her heavy suitcase. As the black iron gate creaked shut, and the view of the courtyard narrowed and disappeared completely through the crack, she cursed inwardly as heartless, then silently said thank you and goodbye.

The last thing Wen Zhiyu said to her was "goodnight," and she didn't have time to say thank you or goodbye to Wen Zhiyu.

Hope lies ahead; I'll meet new people and experience new stories in Houhai Village.

The wheels rattled rhythmically against the stone pavement as Han Shu moved forward step by step, dispelling the confusion he had felt earlier and leading him toward an increasingly clear goal.

As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the passage of time becomes tangible in the lingering shadows of sunlight.

When Qin Jianling unlocked the security door with his fingerprint and stepped into the villa, he was dazzled by the bright golden sunset through the west window, and it took him a long time to clear his vision.

Silence.

Qin Jianling easily found her slippers and changed into them. As she walked in, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Zhiyu? Wen Zhiyu? Wen—what the hell are you doing sitting here? Meditating?"

Wen Zhiyu was seen sitting cross-legged in the gap between the sofa and coffee table, his back hunched, his eyes vacant and lifeless, his short hair sticking up haphazardly in all directions, looking pitiful as if he had lost his soul.

Qin Jianling plopped down on the sofa next to him, looking quite surprised. "Has Teacher Wen finally gone mad and lost his mind?"

"Get out." Wen Zhiyu's frozen pupils slanted two millimeters to the left. "I'm not happy."

"Still can't write it?"

"no."

"Is that because you haven't found any new pastimes?"

"no."

"Didn't you eat well?"

"no."

Qin Jianling asked in bewilderment, "Then what's wrong with you, being half-dead? Could it be because of your strange tenant, Z—"

Before the "ou" sound could even be uttered, two cold, piercing glares flew in.

Wen Zhiyu braced himself on the ground with both hands, rotated his hips ninety degrees, and presented an A4 sheet of paper with both hands, saying, "Look."

Qin Jianling read quickly, becoming increasingly shocked as he went along.

The neat and tidy handwriting covered the entire sheet of paper, densely packed, all of it—

game.

The challenges included a two-person drawing exchange, a card memory puzzle, a paper cup challenge with chopsticks, a blindfolded hitting game, flipping a fried egg, and a cup-dragging challenge. Qin Jianling was amazed and was about to ask a question when a hand grabbed his knee forcefully.

Their eyes met, and there was only sincerity in them. "Old Qin, will you play these games with me?"

Qin Jianling's lips twitched, "I—"

Wen Zhiyu was heartbroken. "You won't."

Qin Jianling chuckled awkwardly, "Well, how should I put it—"

"Nobody will."

Wen Zhiyu turned ninety degrees to face the sofa, buried his face in the cushion with a thud, and stopped moving.

Qin Jianling had guessed most of it, put the paper back on the coffee table, and said slowly, "Yes, only your tenants would."

"..." Wen Zhiyu continued to play dead.

"But she's already married and has children!"

Wen Zhiyu sat up. "So what if I'm married and have children? Does being married and having children mean I can't play games?"

"Fine, fine, fine." Qin Jianling surrendered with both hands, "But they've all left, they might have all flown home."

Wen Zhiyu leaned back down, her voice muffled, "No, she's staying on Hainan Island."

“Traveling is useless, since you don’t accept long-term rentals.”

"..."

Qin Jianling ignored him, first finding some food in the refrigerator to fill her stomach, then taking a shower in the guest room. When she returned downstairs to get a drink of water, she discovered that the man was still pretending to be a corpse.

—He was still lying face down on the sofa, cross-legged, without moving an inch.

"..." Qin Jianling walked over and kicked him, "Get up! It's your work time!"

Wen Zhiyu tilted his head slightly, revealing a flower mark from a cushion on his forehead. "No, I'm not in the mood."

Qin Jianling didn't know if Wen Zhiyu had gone mad or not, but Qin Jianling himself was on the verge of madness. This man hadn't written a single word in three months, and he wasn't even showing the slightest bit of work ethic. The pressure on the publishing house was immense; how was he, as the agent, supposed to explain himself?!

Qin Jianling took a deep breath and came up with a plan.

He squatted down and asked seriously, "You have money, right?"

Wen Zhiyu's eyes moved up and down to express his affirmation, "Yes."

"You're in a good mood playing with her, right?"

Wen Zhiyu nodded vigorously, "Okay."

"When you're in a good mood, it's easier to get into work mode, right?"

Wen Zhiyu thought for a moment, "Right—right."

Qin Jianling clapped his hands. "Then just throw money at it and hire her to come and play with you for a few hours every day. That way you don't have to rent her long-term and you can still play games. Playing games will put you in a good mood, and a good mood will improve your work efficiency. Perfect!"

Wen Zhiyu sat up abruptly, no longer feigning death or dejected, his eyes sparkling. "Tell me in detail, how much should I smash it, and how much should I spend?"