Chapter 79
Yuan Chuyu left from the 16th floor and went straight back to his car after getting off the elevator.
Lin Langyi was sleeping, so I took this opportunity to buy some of her favorite snacks and fresh vegetables. That way, the two of us could stay home and have dinner together while watching a movie.
He realized he hadn't even brought a change of clothes, and his hand, which was about to close the car door, paused. Instead, he went to the 17th floor across the street.
After getting off the plane, he only went back to the company to explain some things before heading straight to Dingpu Community. He even left his business trip luggage in the company's lounge.
Yuan Chuyu spent less than ten minutes packing his personal belongings and returned to his car. Just as he started the car and headed towards the exit, a car suddenly rushed out from the opposite fork in the road without any intention of braking and crashed head-on into his car.
The car was thrown backward a distance by the oncoming car speeding and crashing around. Yuan Chuyu's body swayed violently, but he quickly grabbed the steering wheel and brakes to prevent the car from going out of control.
Once both cars had come to a complete stop, he frowned and looked at the car that had gone completely mad across from him.
The two made eye contact through the car window.
Yuan Chuyu's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.
Even more, all the expression on his face vanished, his shoulders slumped back, and he calmly and composedly nodded to the person opposite him as a greeting.
Cheng Yanjin's face was cold, his hands loosely resting on the steering wheel, a lit cigarette between his left fingers, the crimson glow flickering, the rising smoke blurring his face.
His face revealed almost no emotion; his tightly pursed lips and downturned brows created a deathly silence.
Yuan Chuyu remained motionless in the car with a blank expression. His shoulders were slung outwards, a pleasing posture. When he slightly raised his chin and looked straight ahead, he exuded an aloof and unapproachable air.
Cheng Yanjin lightly pinched the cigarette between his fingers, causing the cigarette tip to flick upwards, with half of the ash falling down.
He didn't say a word, leaving only his hand holding the cigarette on the steering wheel. He released his right hand, let it hang down, shifted gears, reversed, and the engine roared softly.
They had only managed to pull away by five or six meters when he slammed on the brakes, shifted gears, and floored the accelerator, violently crashing head-on into Yuan Chuyu's car for the second time with a roar.
With a loud bang, the car was thrown backward a distance again.
Cheng Yanjin showed no sign of stopping; the cigarette continued to swirl and disperse in front of him.
He didn't slow down at all; he pressed the accelerator harder and harder each time, the engine roaring louder and louder, almost lifting the ceiling of the underground parking lot. He fiercely rammed the front of the car, pushing Yuan Chuyu's car all the way from the underground parking garage passage to the wall pillar.
With a loud bang, the car crashed into the wall, scraping off large chunks of plaster, and bits of pale white paint fell off in disarray.
The loud noise triggered a cacophony of alarms from nearby cars, making the entire underground parking lot noisy and chaotic.
Yuan Chuyu sat calmly in the car, removed the key, turned off the engine, and silently let Cheng Yanjin vent his frustration by driving and crashing into the car.
A car owner cautiously peeked downstairs to check the situation. Seeing the two luxury cars reduced to wrecked junk, he gasped in shock and asked in a tone of utter disbelief:
"What happened! Are you alright?"
Yuan Chuyu got out of the car first. He saw that Cheng Yanjin was still sitting coldly in the car without moving. The cigarette in his hand had burned out. He turned his face slightly, shook his wrist while holding a pack of cigarettes, lowered his head to take one, and then flicked the lighter. The flame ignited and the cigarette suddenly turned dark red.
He tossed the lighter aside, straightened up, and casually leaned back in his seat, glancing around as he took a drag.
Yuan Chuyu looked away. He was always polite in public, and explained apologetically to the driver, "It's okay, he's a friend. He just accidentally stepped on the wrong gas pedal."
The car owner frowned and looked at the obvious signs of multiple collisions on both cars. The more he looked, the more pained he became, and he gritted his teeth. He didn't dare to ask any more questions, and just nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, laughing it off: "Be careful, this car, oh dear, it hurts to look at."
"Yes, I'm sorry." Yuan Chuyu apologized again, with a gentle smile on his face, but his shoulders and back were as straight as a pine tree, giving off a sense of coldness and alienation.
Neither car made any more noise, the alarm in the underground parking garage gradually stopped, and the car owners who came down to check on the situation left.
After calling the police and asking the insurance company to handle it, Cheng Yanjin finally got out of the car. He pressed the half-smoked cigarette against the hood of the car, and as the smoke dissipated, the crimson glow vanished instantly.
The strong smell of smoke made me feel as if I had been scalded inside a furnace.
He has lived for over twenty years and has never smoked.
Yuan Chuyu ignored this, not uttering a single word of concern. His face remained gentle and refined, as if he didn't care that Cheng Yanjin had suddenly started smoking, or as if he wasn't the owner of the car that had been wrecked.
When the police arrived and issued the traffic accident report, Yuan Chuyu and Cheng Yanjin, who were clearly the parties responsible for the accident, did not exchange a single word with each other from beginning to end.
Both parties had no objection to determining liability and compensation; their common principle was to keep things simple, and they even wanted to settle privately.
The towing company took both vehicles away. Yuan Chuyu left his phone number and, after handing over the vehicles to the staff, turned around to find that Cheng Yanjin had already left sometime earlier.
He glanced at the floor display screen at the elevator entrance but didn't see the 16th floor. Cheng Yanjin's suitcase was still lying unattended next to the elevator.
Yuan Chuyu turned his head calmly, his gaze so cold it could almost be described as arrogant and ruthless. He planned to walk to the entrance of Dingpu Community to hail a taxi.
I haven't bought the wontons and pudding pastries yet.
As Yuan Chuyu walked past a convenience store at the entrance of the residential area, he paused at the door, turned his head, and peered through the glass for two seconds.
The threshold for being submissive and humble has been lowered, probably because Lin Langyi's ambiguous "we'll talk about it later" at the dinner table today stimulated her. As a result, when she sees Cheng Yanjin now, all the pent-up forbearance seems to have been suddenly cut open, and all the rationality that had been forcibly suppressed, generously understood and yielded poured out like water, leaving nothing but excessive emotions at play.
He turned and followed them into the convenience store.
The glass door opened, and the mechanical voice of "Welcome" rang out as usual. Cheng Yanjin didn't even lift his eyelids, focusing only on selecting various daily necessities from the shelves.
His basket was filled with all sorts of things, from bowls and chopsticks to water cups and slippers; a jumble of different items were thrown together, as if he were moving house.
Yuan Chuyu withdrew his gaze and walked arrogantly to another shelf.
He knew exactly what Cheng Yanjin was thinking.
However, my plan is to throw away everything I've touched and replace it with something new once I get home.
If you have such a strong sense of conviction, then why are you so determined to hold on to Lin Langyi?
Doesn't he have any self-awareness?
Yuan Chuyu paced slowly in front of the shelf, finally reaching the moment to reveal the truth. It was as if the last shovel had finally chiseled a hole in the corner of the wall, and he, as the culprit, was making an even more intense wish for the wall to collapse.
He carefully examined the colorful family planning supplies in front of him, reached out and took a few boxes, but just as he turned around, he suddenly stopped and stepped back, taking advantage of the situation to pile them up, scraping six or seven boxes into his basket with a "crackling" sound.
On an entire shelf of family planning products, only one shelf space for polyurethane T-type products was empty.
After making his large purchase, Yuan Chuyu walked toward the cashier with a normal expression.
Cheng Yanjin was in front of him in line, already waiting for the cashier to scan each item one by one.
He picked out a box of chewing gum at the cashier. Yuan Chuyu noticed that he chose the lychee flavor that Lin Langyi liked. He looked away and sneered inwardly.
Cheng Yanjin tore open the packaging, poured out a few pieces and popped them into his mouth, then stood the chewing gum upright on the cashier's counter: "Add this."
The cashier nodded, still scanning the barcode while checking the computer screen.
Suddenly, several boxes of condoms were tossed over from the side, and a gentle, refined voice said unhurriedly, "Let's pay together."
The cashier glanced over during a break from her busy schedule and saw a dozen or so boxes of T-shirts on the counter. The man who looked polite and well-mannered walked to the front, stood in front of the facial recognition payment machine, and smiled kindly: "I'll pay."
This kind of situation is common. The cashier had just nodded to announce the total price when the man who had bought a lot of household items suddenly let out a short laugh.
A smile as cold and sharp as a knife.
He pointed to the refrigerator behind him, his voice hoarse, each word cold and hard: "How much for bottled wine?"
"Which one?" The cashier put down the barcode scanner and walked to the refrigerator door. "Beer? Corona or Budweiser?"
Cheng Yanjin held the box of chewing gum in his hand, tilted the bottle down and then stood it up again, the gum inside tumbling and making a clattering sound. He nodded with his chin: "Corona."
How many bottles?
Two bottles.
The cashier announced: "Buy four bottles and get a 5% discount."
“Alright.” Cheng Yanjin raised an eyebrow, his smile cold and arrogant. “Then take four bottles.”
After everything was swept up and the items were divided into several bags, Yuan Chuyu took his purchases and walked out first.
Cheng Yanjin was still chewing gum, and instead of picking up any of the bags, he grabbed the thin necks of two beer bottles and took two steps forward.
The cashier called out, "Hey, your stuff—"
Cheng Yanjin ignored him, turned his head as he passed the trash can, spat out the tasteless chewing gum, and the beer bottle in his hand tipped over, spinning leisurely in his hand, the liquid sloshing around.
"Hello, here are your things—"
Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Yanjin suddenly sprang up like a leopard. He grabbed Yuan Chuyu by the collar with one hand as Yuan walked to the door, and with the other hand, he raised it high and smashed the two bottles of beer in his hand over Yuan's head with lightning speed.
With a loud crash, the broken beer bottles shattered on the ground, the alcohol bubbling and splashing as it spilled onto the floor, leaving a pool of light-colored liquid.
Yuan Chuyu turned his head away as he rushed up in two steps. The condensation from the bottle wiped his hair and finally hit his forehead hard.
The cashier immediately fired a sharp, explosive sound.
Yuan Chuyu didn't even retaliate. Bright red blood slowly trickled down his cheek, and when it reached the corner of his eye, he closed his eyes briefly to avoid the discomfort of blood getting into them.
When he opened his eyes again, there were bloodstains hanging down from his brow bone and the corners of his eyes. The wet, sticky blood was mixed with his messy hair, and with his cold and reserved expression, his handsome face was stained with a war-damaged and decadent beauty.
Yuan Chuyu didn't even flinch, as if he couldn't feel any pain.
He stared at the enraged man in front of him, and then, in a seemingly reasonable tone, said indifferently, "Well, I deserved that blow."
But his slightly raised eyebrows and upturned eyes were all trying to provoke and mock the other party, and every inch of them was saying that he would never regret it.
Cheng Yanjin's face was ashen. With a twist of his wrist, he forcefully pushed the person forward, slamming him against the glass door.
The wide sliding door shook violently, creaking and groaning as it sank into the frame, making a sound as if it was about to break.
He pinned the person down and raised his fist to strike their face.
"I called the police! I called the police!" The cashier was so startled by this sudden outburst that his work hat tilted to one side. He frantically searched for his phone while holding the hat, trying to loudly dissuade the cashier.
This time, Yuan Chuyu didn't let anyone beat him. He was still wearing a restrained and formal suit. His fighting movements were few and simple, each move clean and efficient, using minimal force to overcome great strength. It was clear that he had been systematically trained.
But Cheng Yanjin is completely different. He has excellent physical qualities and rich combat experience. When he fights, he doesn't care about the rules. Every move he makes is full of force, wide and powerful, ruthless and vicious. He is a wild man who specializes in attacking people's vulnerable parts.
He has never lost a fight.
In the chaos, someone's elbow struck the glass, and the infrared-scanning glass door wouldn't close, just kept repeating the same thing over and over:
Welcome!
Welcome!
The two briefly separated during their struggle. Cheng Yanjin, his whole body shrouded in a layer of ferocity, grabbed the other's collar and said through gritted teeth, "You really are my good brother. I must have been blind to have you as my brother!"
"You dare touch anyone? You fucking try taking another step near her and see what happens?"
"Who are you?" Yuan Chuyu sneered. "Are you one of your men?"
He increased the force with which he twisted the other person's joints, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, his tone hardening, his eyes churning with turmoil: "I met her first, I liked her first, so why can't we be together?"
"And who do you think you are? Just because you have a title doesn't mean you're anything special!" He spoke faster, unusually angry, his pent-up resentment exploding. "Haven't you heard that the one who isn't loved is the mistress?"
Cheng Yanjin shoved the person backward violently, and the two of them crunched on the broken glass. His face was ashen: "Shameless woman who's willing to pay the price dares to say whether she's worthy or not. If you love being a mistress, you can just lie in the gutter and watch us grow old together in love for the rest of your life."
Yuan Chuyu dusted off his clothes, and as his hand waved in front of him, Cheng Yanjin's fierce gaze suddenly fixed on his wrist, and he stopped moving.
The bracelet had shifted position, with the peach blossom clasp hidden on the inside of the wrist resting against the wrist bone, and a smooth, round, moon-white pearl on the other side.
Recalling how Yuan Chuyu never wanted to say anything when he unintentionally brought it up before, Cheng Yanjin now felt his blood running backwards, and an uncontrollable anger was about to overwhelm him.
Now that things have come to this, is there anything you don't understand?
Inviting a wolf into the house reveals a wolf's ambition and was premeditated.
Cheng Yanjin's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist, and he pointed at the person: "Take it off."
Yuan Chuyu lifted his eyelids and glanced at him indifferently. In front of him, he turned the bracelet back to its original position and even openly stroked the pearl.
Cheng Yanjin's voice suddenly rose, and he shouted angrily, "Take it off!"
"Ha." Yuan Chuyu was not afraid at all. "I also have a pair of glass ornaments in my study, filled with countless pearls, just like the countless memories we share. You want me to take them off? Can you even take them off?!"
"By the way, we opened the pearl shop together, she chose the glass bottle, and as for the bracelet—"
His words paused abruptly, his chin slightly raised, as if returning to the anchor point of his memory, each fragment bringing to mind that tender, affectionate, and enviable smile:
"The bracelet was hand-braided using her hair tie as a base when we were on a date."
Cheng Yanjin punched her and cursed viciously, "You'll never have a chance to rise to the top. Even if you buy another house and pay extra, she'll still come back to our house at night. How many times has she slept at your place?"
His expression was like that of a wolf baring its fangs: "She's young, under a lot of pressure, and occasionally got seduced by some scheming bastard and strayed a little. It's only been once or twice, and you really think it's true love? I'll outlast you!"
Cheng Yanjin spoke those last words with no real confidence, but even though his shoulders and arms were trembling, he had to deceive himself into thinking it was just muscle spasms from a fight.
He said, "It wasn't her who chose you; you were the one who kept pursuing her."
They parted on a completely unpleasant note.
Before leaving, Yuan Chuyu leaned against the wall, touching the collar where the button had been pulled off, and warned, "If you dare to go to Lin Langyi and lose your temper, or make her suffer the slightest grievance, I will take her away tonight."
Cheng Yanjin hadn't taken anything with him. Upon hearing this, he turned his head and coldly uttered a single word:
"roll."
Seeing that he was about to leave, Yuan Chuyu became impatient. The two of them broke down completely and spoke frankly: "What are you going up there for now? She's still resting."
Cheng Yanjin coldly retorted, "I don't need you to teach me how to be considerate of her; she's my wife."
*
Cheng Yanjin still drove off, while Yuan Chuyu took out his phone, navigated to the pudding pastry shop that Lin Langyi liked, and took a taxi away.
Sitting in the back seat, he pressed a handkerchief to his forehead; the blood soaked through the snow-white handkerchief, making it look somewhat frightening.
The driver in the driver's seat frequently and cautiously glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
Perhaps sensing the dangerous origins of the injured man, the taxi drove quickly and steadily, as if eager to get this formidable figure to his destination.
Yuan Chuyu ignored it, focusing only on typing a sentence in the pinned chat box:
[30min]
After he sent the message, his finger hovered over her profile picture... He wondered if she was awake or not; she was sleeping soundly before he left.
My phone vibrated, and I replied with a question mark instantly.
His cold expression melted into a gentle warmth, his eyes softened, he opened the photo album, and as if with precise radar, found the photo he was looking for and clicked send.
The chat box contained a photo of her eating wontons that she had previously posted on her WeChat Moments.
At the time, her caption didn't mention the wonton shop at all, but he thought her eyes sparkling when she ate the food was too cute, so he saved the photo and even zoomed in to look at it for a long time. He learned about the shop from the printed logo on the cardboard box of tissues in the corner of the photo.
She likes to eat the crab roe and shrimp wontons at this restaurant, with scallions and double the amount of cilantro.
Sure enough, Lin Langyi quickly sent over the list of what he wanted to eat, exactly as he had in mind.
Yuan Chuyu's smile widened. He switched hands, pressing the handkerchief on his forehead, and typed with one hand:
[Dream on.]
The other party did not reply. He read the short chat history several times, and only put his phone away and looked out the window when he was almost there.
Worried that the wontons would lose their texture if left too long, he went to a dessert shop first. When he got out of the car and entered the shop, his injuries still looked frightening, and people kept sneaking glances at him.
Yuan Chuyu calmly ordered a large portion of corn pudding pastries. After buying them, he even took a full-body photo of the display case and asked her if there was anything else she wanted to eat.
She told him to figure it out.
Yuan Chuyu expanded the meaning of "casual" to mean wanting to try everything.
He ordered a few items from various categories, and finally left with a full load.
I took another taxi to the wonton shop.
While I was waiting in line to get a number, my phone suddenly received a new message notification.
His reverie was broken, and he immediately looked down at his phone to check for new messages.
Her message notification sound was also unique; no matter when, as long as he heard the sound, he knew it was from her.
Yuan Chuyu enjoyed the feeling of whispering back and forth with her. These mundane and meaningless conversations recorded his every emotional ups and downs, and every seemingly boring chat log was a magic potion to cheer him up whenever he looked at it.
He was waiting for her message.
He could automatically picture in his mind the little expressions, tone of voice, and different interjections at the end of her sentences when she said those words.
He felt sweetness from these scenes he expanded and filled in with his imagination. He was quite good at it, because every second he stood by her side without a name, status, or reason, he was coloring and sketching the movie scene frame by frame, engraving her every smile and frown into his mind.
It's as if his memories of her are like countless pearls in a glass bottle.
He lowered his eyes to look.
On the screen:
Don't come, and don't contact me.
He stared at that sentence in silence for a very long time.
So long that the radio announced number 76 several times that he was about to pass his number.
"Young man, is this yours?" An aunt wearing the shop's uniform apron placed the plate in front of him. "I remember you, the one with the broken head, 76, aren't you?"
Yuan Chuyu looked up blankly, not knowing what he was doing. It took him a long time to react before he nodded: "Ah, yes."
"Listen to the numbers! They've called them three times already," the aunt scolded, packing the sealed takeout box in a bag and handing it over. "All done."
"Thank you." He still looked absent-minded, and all his conversations were like those of a pre-programmed, standard robot, behaving in a rigid and mechanical way.
A steaming bowl of freshly cooked wontons was placed in front of him, but instead of rushing around like he would at the dessert shop, he looked back at his phone.
He types very slowly; he typed:
[I've already bought the wontons and pudding pastries, would you like some more?]
A bright red exclamation mark.
The message has been sent, but the recipient has rejected it.
He ignored it and continued typing in the dialog box:
Should I leave it at the door, or send someone to run an errand? I won't come in; that way, he won't suspect anything.
The message has been sent, but the recipient has rejected it.
He released his grip, removed the handkerchief from his forehead, and gently placed it on the table.
A dull ache throbbed from the wound on his head; with each breath, it felt as if a thousand fine needles pierced his flesh and dug deep into his bone marrow.
He spent a long time typing the last paragraph, editing and rewriting it:
【Zhuzhu, I accidentally bumped my forehead and cut myself, so I might not be able to see anyone for a while... It's okay since you're not available either, just wait...】
What are we waiting for?
His finger hovered in the air, hesitant to press down.
The wound hurts a little, but the bleeding has stopped, and it won't leave a scar, so don't worry. If...
I wish you were here with me.
If you were here, how could the wound hurt?
He sat alone on the bench, with the faint call of "Number 79!" coming from behind him. The bustling crowd around him and the aroma of wontons filled the air. Everything seemed like a blurred movie background, indistinct and unclear.
All that was left for him was a bright red exclamation mark.
And messages that can never be sent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
