Chapter 24
Cheng Shi squeezed onto the crowded subway during the evening rush hour, just like always.
Inside this stuffy metal can, Narumi abandoned his usual way of thinking and instead endured all sorts of strange smells with a blank expression: body odor, bad breath, perfume, food smells... All of this made Narumi feel extremely irritable, making him regret buying a house in such a far suburb with a 30-year mortgage, and making him want to go back to the single life when he was single and had no family to worry about.
Finally arriving at Tiantongyuan North Transportation Hub, the place where Chengshi parked his car every day, he held his breath and rushed out of the train car. But today, unlike usual, he didn't rush to the parking lot to get his car. Instead, he strolled lazily out of the subway exit, leaned against the wall, and lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag, then another, until only the cigarette butt remained. Only then did Chengshi flick the ash and launch the cigarette butt like a bullet into the distance onto the road. He then put his hand under his chin, cupped his nose, and blew out a breath, only stopping when he felt there was absolutely no taste of alcohol in his mouth.
Then, Chengshi stretched and looked up, noticing the pink, orange, and gray sunset on the horizon. His heart skipped a beat. Yes, it was already 7:30 PM, two trains later than usual. But he wasn't in a hurry to go home. It wasn't that he was afraid of being caught driving under the influence; on the 10-plus kilometers from the subway station to his house, Chengshi hadn't seen a single traffic cop, not even a single security camera. His lack of urgency stemmed from not wanting to continue his cold war with Huang Ruoyu when he got home. The thought of Huang Ruoyu's icy demeanor made him irritable. So Chengshi looked up at the sky again, watching reluctantly as a wisp of cloud slowly slid behind the buildings opposite, before turning back to the subway station and entering the parking lot.
Before the car even reached Central Park Phase 3, Cheng Shi noticed the long-unlit courtyard lights on in his yard. Just as his car parked next to Huang Ruoyu's Tesla, he saw Huang Ruoyu run out of the yard.
Huang Ruoyu was dressed in a new outfit today: she wore a little black dress in the style of Hepburn, and a pair of red Mary Jane flat shoes. The color of the shoes seemed to be exactly the same as the color of her lipstick. Her hair was newly styled in big waves, and her understated chestnut brown hair shimmered with a slight metallic sheen. In addition, she had a white apron that looked like it was made of lace tied around her waist.
Cheng Shi, a straight man, had never really understood women's clothing, but he figured the apron Huang Ruoyu was wearing must be quite expensive. He couldn't understand why anyone would use such thin lace as an apron—could it even keep out oil stains?
Before Chengshi could turn off the car and figure out what the apron was, Huang Ruoyu had already opened the car door on his side, leaned her upper body into the car, and then grabbed Chengshi's arm with her slightly cool and seemingly nervous hand, and started talking.
Huang Ruoyu's hands were much more slender and softer than Candy's. She was also taller, slimmer, prettier, and more elegant than Candy, and her perfumes and lipsticks were far more luxurious. Especially her hair—Candy's cascading hair couldn't compare to even the most expensive hairstylist. In short, Candy was completely incomparable to Huang Ruoyu. But to be honest, Huang Ruoyu looked…older than Candy. Moreover, she spoke faster and in a higher tone, which sounded somewhat jarring to Cheng Shi at that moment.
“Stone, before you go in, I have to tell you something very, very important.”
"What's wrong?"
“So many things. First of all, I’ve been thinking about you all day today, yesterday… no, it’s been like this lately. It’s all my fault, it’s all wrong of me, but it’s because I love you. As for the rest… let’s talk about it later, let’s go inside.”
As Huang Ruoyu took Chengshi's hand and the two of them walked slowly through the narrow passageway at the entrance and into the living room, Chengshi felt an unusually complex mix of emotions in those few seconds. He felt that an ordinary person might not experience so many or such complex emotional changes even in a year.
Cheng Shi felt her head was getting increasingly chaotic, and at the same time, it was filled with the voices of two women. Although the two women's voices were completely different, there was something strangely common in their intonations.
Cheng Shi thought again of Candy's affected manner when talking about the celebrities Apple knew, and of Candy's nonchalant tone when they broke up. Then she understood the commonality between Candy and Huang Ruoyu: their speech was heavily theatrical, always feigning enthusiasm as if they were talking to a romantic movie lead. The problem was, they were simply having a normal conversation with him—a living, breathing man. Was it really necessary to be so theatrical and dramatic? They weren't being broadcast live!
Does everyone in this era feel like they're living in "The Truman Show"? Cheng Shi feels like she's grasped the crux of this era.
“Honey, wait here for a moment,” Huang Ruoyu said to Chengshi again in a pretentious tone, “Just a little while, come in when I call you.”
After saying that, Huang Ruoyu turned and left the living room, walking into the darkened DK room. As soon as the door to DK opened, the aroma of braised pork wafted out, almost bringing tears to Cheng Shi's eyes—no matter what, Cheng Shi could not deny that Huang Ruoyu had indeed won over his stomach, although he did not agree with the saying, "To win a man's heart, you must first win his stomach."
However, Huang Ruoyu did not invite him into DK at this time. Instead, she came out again and handed him a wine glass filled with red wine. Then she turned around and disappeared into DK again.
At this moment, Chengshi could already hear the children's suppressed laughter coming from DK, as well as the "click-click" sound of lighters being pressed.
"Alright," Huang Ruoyu called out after a while, "You can come in now!"
Huang Ruoyu and the two children were already seated at the dining table. Cheng Shi first saw their three faces, and then realized what was shrouding their faces in a flickering yellow light—a huge fondant cake with a "3" and a "5" shaped candle on it.
Then, a slow, sharp singing voice rang out: "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
Cheng Yushan's voice was the loudest among the three people at the table, while Huang Ruoyu was the only one who could sing the high notes in tune. As for Cheng Yusi, he was too young and could only hum along in a haphazard way in "Happy Birthday".
Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Dad!
Facing the three smiling faces in the candlelight, Narumi tried her best to put on a smile as well. Oh yes, always showing her brightest smile was one of Narumi's specialties.
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