Chapter 80
Thinking of this, Cheng Shi quickly stood up, tiptoed downstairs and into the yard, hoping to catch Huang Ruoyu—no matter what she was doing—he just had to catch her before she started the engine and sped away.
But Huang Ruoyu wasn't in the yard, nor in her car, nor even near her car. She was nowhere to be found. She had vanished.
Cheng Shi ran around Napa Valley No. 5, looking around for Huang Ruoyu's figure, while his sleepy eye bags bounced up and down with his steps.
As Cheng Shi aimlessly ran his second lap around Napa Valley Route 5, he spotted Huang Ruoyu's figure hidden in the greenery—she was slowly climbing up a towering tree. Among the dense canopy of trees, she appeared even smaller and more frail.
Cheng Shi sprinted across the lawn, then leaped over the low flowerbeds, stumbling towards the large tree beneath Huang Ruoyu. At the same time, Cheng Shi wondered: Is she really crazy? Why is she climbing a tree? And, can a girl raised in Shanghai really climb trees? But what Cheng Shi was more worried about was whether, if he caught her, he would see that empty, deranged smile on her face, like Hu Zhizhi's.
Therefore, Narumi hesitated a little when she reached out her hand towards the tree.
"Don't come any closer!" Huang Ruoyu hadn't climbed very high, only about half a person's height at most. But she still stepped on a tree stump, twisting her neck as she gave Chengshi her orders with a look of looking down at him.
"Little Fish, come down first, be good..."
"Don't come any closer! Do you think I can't escape you even if I climb a tree?"
Huang Ruoyu's words were illogical. What direct connection did climbing the tree have with leaving me? Although Cheng Shi thought this, he had no choice but to stop and stand a meter away from Huang Ruoyu, panting as he looked at her.
However, Cheng Shi now knows that Huang Ruoyu is still somewhat sensible, just lacking in logic, and her face doesn't have a delirious smile, but rather a clear expression. The problem is that this place isn't suitable for arguing. It's a busy green belt with people and cars passing by, and there's also a lawn next to it where people often walk their children. More importantly, the property management has installed several security cameras in the vicinity. This means they've been completely exposed to the eyes and ears of their neighbors and the property management.
"Little Fish, listen to me. What I said just now was just said in anger. Now I'm telling you clearly, I don't want you to abort the child."
"Why do you keep talking? Can you please stop talking?" Huang Ruoyu was probably exhausted. She slid down from the half-person height and leaned against the tree trunk, still looking down at Cheng Shi as she spoke.
"Come here first. What are you going up there for?"
"Do you want me to yell? If you say one more word, I'll yell! I mean it!"
If Huang Ruoyu were to shout here, every household in Phase 3 of Napa Valley would hear him, and perhaps even those in Phase 1 of Beverly Hills and Phase 2 of Palm Beach. Sun Pengfei and Su Ningna would also hear him, as would the Hu family's crazed family of three. Therefore, Cheng Shi had no other choice but to go home alone—retracing his steps through the flowerbeds and across the lawn, then opening the gate to Napa Valley No. 5 and walking inside.
Upon returning to No. 5 Napa Valley, Cheng Shi immediately moved the courtyard chair to the corner of the wall, bent over and stood on it, then intently and furtively observed Huang Ruoyu's every move in the distance.
Cheng Shi stood—or rather, crawled—along the wall until his legs got tired, at which point he got down from the chair and sat down. He was certain he had perfectly concealed himself in the shadow of the persimmon tree in the corner, so Huang Ruoyu would never find him.
In Chengshi's view, Huang Ruoyu didn't seem to be doing anything productive by the green belt; he was just leaning against the big tree, lost in thought. A while later, as night approached and the streetlights in the neighborhood weren't yet on, Chengshi couldn't see Huang Ruoyu anymore. But just then, a small red light suddenly appeared from that direction—Huang Ruoyu had lit a cigarette. Chengshi watched the small red cigarette butt slowly descend, and by the time the light disappeared from the green belt, the weekend was completely dark.
Chengshi continued to stare at the dark green belt, unaware that Huang Ruoyu's pale figure had suddenly appeared very close to Napa Valley No. 5—she was crossing the lawn towards Napa Valley No. 5. Chengshi was startled and quickly moved away from the wall.
As soon as Cheng Shi stepped into the living room, Huang Ruoyu pushed open the gate to No. 5 Napa Valley, followed by the living room door. Cheng Shi, hiding on the sofa in the living room, watched as Huang Ruoyu picked up the phone she had left on the coffee table and dialed a number.
Huang Ruoyu's voice was calm, no different from usual.
“Hey, Nana…yes, Lao Hu and his family just left. No rush, you guys eat…um, could you do me a favor? I'm not feeling well today, probably caught a cold, and Shi Tou is pretty tired too. Could you please look after Shan Shan and Xiao Si tonight? Let them stay at your place overnight…Oh, thank you so much, Lao Sun! Nana…no, no, no need to trouble you, they took a shower this morning…hmm, I knew they wanted to stay at your place, they never want to come back when I go…that's great, then I'll call you again tomorrow morning…”
Then Huang Ruoyu tossed the phone back onto the coffee table and turned on the living room lights.
The sudden bright light made Chengshi and Huang Ruoyu squint. Amidst a mix of emotions, Chengshi's strongest feeling was utter embarrassment. However, Huang Ruoyu seemed equally embarrassed, which offered Chengshi some comfort.
After a moment of awkwardness, Huang Ruoyu lay down on her chaise lounge and turned to bury her face in the corner between the sofa and the wall.
In the past, when faced with this situation, Chengshi would definitely run away from home, drive around for a while, find a small bar nearby, have a few drinks, and only return home when he felt he could fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow and stop overthinking. In this place far from the city center, although apart from the newly opened Starry, the other bars weren't very good and looked more like the legendary "big drinking vats," at least you could get a drink.
But tonight, Chengshi knew he couldn't do that, because he and Huang Ruoyu had never encountered a situation as bad as this since they met. More importantly, Chengshi felt so exhausted that he couldn't even leave the gates of No. 5 Napa Valley, let alone drive around. His legs felt like lead, and his head was buzzing. He felt like he was about to die suddenly again, just like he felt that day downstairs at Candy's house. However, Chengshi was grateful that today he had a roof over his head to shelter him, so the poem "If only I had ten thousand mansions, I could shelter all the poor and make them happy!" kept playing in his head.
Now that things have come to this, the only thing Cheng can do is go upstairs again, into his bedroom, and lock himself away again.
Despite being extremely frustrated, Narumi didn't forget to get a full half dozen beers from DK before going upstairs.
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