Chapter 43
The next morning, Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu woke up to the sound of drizzling rain. Before they were fully awake, they both realized, yet reluctantly, that it was Sunday, and that their distinguished guests—the virtuous couple Hu Yu and Xie Yiling—would soon arrive at Cheng's humble abode with their mentally unstable eldest son, Hu Zhizhi.
During a card game on Friday night, after learning that Xie Yiling would be visiting the Cheng family with her husband and crazy son on Sunday, Su Ningna offered to help take care of Cheng Yushan and Cheng Yusi.
"You don't want the children to be with that kind of person, do you?" Su Ningna asked Huang Ruoyu with a look of horror. "What if he goes crazy again and kidnaps his parents like he did during the New Year? What if it scares the children?!"
However, after hearing Su Ningna's words, which made a mountain out of a molehill, Huang Ruoyu refused, because she was afraid it would disrupt the Sun family's weekend plans. After all, Su Ningna used to take her three tall and strong boys to play basketball every Sunday afternoon.
But now, as it was almost noon and the time for the Hu family's visit was drawing ever closer, Huang Ruoyu changed his mind.
"Nana, do you have any other plans later?" Huang Ruoyu asked Su Ningna on the phone. "If you don't have any other plans, I'd like to ask you to help look after Shanshan and Xiaosi. If it's not too much trouble, you can take them to the basketball court. I'll tell them to behave and not make a fuss. I've been thinking about it and I think you're right. It's quite... quite scary for the kids to face someone like that."
Upon hearing Su Ningna's immediate agreement, Huang Ruoyu, after hanging up the phone, braved the rain and quickly took the two children to the Sun family's house. Actually, it was still several hours before the agreed lunch time, which was a bit early, but Huang Ruoyu was afraid of the awkwardness of bumping into the Hu family while dropping off the children.
"My God! I wonder when this rain will stop!" Back in the spotless Chengjia DK, Huang Ruoyu sat on the high stool next to the central island and said, "Brother Stone, I'm so nervous right now, touch my hand! It's shaking! I don't know anything about Hu Zhizhi. I don't think I've ever met anyone who's mentally unstable before, have you? I mean, the kind of person who's been diagnosed with madness by the hospital."
Cheng Shi patted Huang Ruoyu's hand, then poured two cups of coffee from the coffee machine, handed one to Huang Ruoyu, and said, "I think he's probably similar to those 'crazy people' we know who haven't been diagnosed by the hospital but are actually a bit neurotic. If everyone went to a mental hospital, I estimate the whole world would be insane. What you need to do now is relax and go cook your dishes. When they arrive in a bit, you'll know what this famous math genius is really like."
“You’re right. You’re born knowing how to handle these things. Brother Stone, you’re such a considerate, generous, and understanding person. Only you can genuinely care about people like them who are mentally ill.” Huang Ruoyu said, looking into Cheng Shi’s eyes. Her expression clearly showed that the unpleasantness of last night had long since vanished.
After saying that, Huang Ruoyu went to prepare lunch without any complaints.
The rain outside finally stopped, but the sky was still overcast. On such a gloomy day, besides scolding the children, the best thing to do was sleep. Chengshi especially liked this kind of weather when he was resting, because the atmosphere perfectly matched his definition of marriage—not exciting or stimulating, but with a sense of security from mutual dependence. Chengshi believed that what sustained a marriage was equal tenderness, punctuated by a touch of romance. For example, a peaceful conversation between husband and wife was the epitome of a beautiful marriage.
So during the two hours or so that Cheng Shi was waiting for the Hu family to visit, watching Huang Ruoyu gracefully cook side dishes while chatting casually with him, Cheng Shi felt happy at least twice, like the feeling of someone who went out before dawn and suddenly felt the first faint but warm ray of sunlight on their face—all of this made Cheng Shi feel very safe.
So when the doorbell rang at the gate, Chengshi felt that she was ready.
Upon opening the courtyard gate, they found Xie Yiling standing alone. She first gave Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu a perfunctory smile, then bowed slightly. Next, she beckoned behind her, and Hu Yu, carrying a large fruit basket, walked over from a distance. Following behind Hu Yu was a tall, thin, and pale young man.
This man didn't look like a math genius at all. From a distance, you'd think he was the infamous "Sharp Brother" beggar from back in the day. He was wearing a tight, dark T-shirt that revealed his pale, thin arms, making him look even more emaciated. His baggy work pants were so worn that their original color was unrecognizable. Most incredibly, despite the rain and the fact that it was summer, he was wearing a thick black knitted beanie.
Hu Zhizhi didn't look up to examine Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu; he didn't even glance at the house at No. 5 Napa Valley. When Hu Yu and Xie Yiling had already entered the Cheng family's yard, he remained standing in the same spot, his legs spread wide apart, yet slightly pigeon-toed, on the Napa Valley driveway, and then intently lit a cigarette.
Hu Zhizhi calmly pulled a crumpled cigarette box from his pocket, carefully took out a cigarette, frowned as he examined it closely, and then cautiously put it in his mouth. He then lowered his head, lit the cigarette with a lighter, and finally took a deep, blissful drag, as if the cigarette had given him an unprecedented enjoyment.
Looking at the satisfaction on Hu Zhizhi's face, it was hard to imagine that it could be from just an ordinary cigarette. So Huang Ruoyu cautiously sniffed, and only when she felt reassured that it was indeed the smell of ordinary cigarettes and not some kind of contraband did she relax.
However, at this moment, the Hu couple and the Cheng couple pretended not to notice Hu Zhizhi's expression and instead tried to exchange pleasantries at the entrance of No. 5 Napa Valley.
By the time Hu Zhizhi finally stepped into the courtyard of No. 5 Napa Valley, Xie Yiling had already finished all the pleasantries she could say, and even Hu Yu had ample time to interject with a couple of polite remarks.
By this time, everyone standing in the No. 5 Napa Valley courtyard noticed that Hu Zhizhi was walking very fast toward the gate. However, it wasn't until he tiptoed and hopped closer that Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu could clearly see his face hidden under his beanie—it was a lean face without an ounce of fat, with a jawline as sharp as if it had been cut with a knife. Although he had small, single-lidded eyes, his eye sockets were very deep, and his tightly furrowed brows suggested that he had been enduring physical pain for a long time. But in any case, this man looked neither like Hu Yu nor Xie Yiling.
However, seeing Hu Zhizhi standing on tiptoe, Cheng Shi suddenly remembered a sentence she had read somewhere before: Why do people walk on their tiptoes? Because they are running, running desperately, because they are trying to escape something.
"This is Chengshi, and this is Ruoyu. Greet them."
Xie Yiling introduced Hu Zhizhi, and the focused expression on Hu Zhizhi's face made it seem as if he was trying very hard to remember who was who between the two people.
"Finally, I've met you in person. I've heard quite a bit about your family's troubles and gossip." But suddenly, Hu Zhizhi grinned without warning, speaking fluently and smoothly to Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu, which was somewhat unexpected for the Cheng couple.
To be honest, Hu Zhizhi's speech, though fluent, was hardly polite, and even sounded somewhat provocative to strangers. But that wasn't so scary, because his smile was far more frightening than his words. His thin cheeks suddenly stretched outwards, forming two vertical nasolabial folds, revealing two rows of neat but stained yellow teeth between his pale lips, while his small eyes stared blankly as if he had suddenly gone blind.
Hu Zhizhi left that barely passable "smile" on his face for several seconds, to the point that Cheng Shi and Huang Ruoyu mistakenly thought that his face would never return to normal.
Cheng Shi felt that Hu Zhizhi's frightening smile was a dark imitation of those friendly and infectious smiles, and it was quite gothic.
Fortunately, when the guests and hosts entered the Cheng family's living room, the smile that had been frozen on Hu Zhizhi's face finally disappeared.
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