Cheng Daichuan stared at her back for a full two minutes before Ruan Xi suddenly turned, happily waving at him.
She made an OK sign with her hand and mouthed that she’d made her choice.
Cheng Daichuan saw Ruan Xi turn back and point to his direction for the salesperson at the Ice Cream Cart.
The salesperson nodded and handed her a tray.
She carefully carried the tray loaded with Ice Cream and Cold Drinks, wading along the pool edge back toward him.
Cheng Daichuan walked over and took the tray.
Ruan Xi was delighted, like she’d found treasure: “I was just going to get you a Cold Drink, but it’s so hot now, and the Cold Drinks looked so good, I got myself one of the same flavor. Oh, and the salesperson said the Ice Cream can be made into a little cat shape, so I got one for you too. Look, isn’t it cute? Doesn’t it look like Ais?”
Well, how could he stay mad after that?
Cheng Daichuan looked at the smiling girl beside him and said helplessly, “Ais isn’t that cute.”
“Ais is super cute!”
Ruan Xi leaned on the pool edge, took a bite of Ice Cream, and the rich, fruity sweetness exploded in her mouth.
The atmosphere felt just right?
She bit down on the little wooden spoon that came with the Ice Cream: “Cheng Daichuan, actually, Shi Chao called me earlier, that jerk…”
Since it was about Cheng Daichuan’s Father, she sighed and changed her words, “I heard about that person a long time ago.”
Ruan Xi always thought bringing up those things would make Cheng Daichuan uncomfortable, “But if I don’t say anything, you still don’t seem to sleep well…”
The side effects of the seasickness medicine only seemed to affect Ruan Xi.
Every time she woke up, Cheng Daichuan had already showered, even done a lot of other things.
Today, he hadn’t taken the medicine—could he even sleep?
Ruan Xi’s feelings were written all over her face.
Cheng Daichuan said: “Worried about me?”
Ruan Xi frowned: “Of course I am. If I chat with you, will you feel better?”
Cheng Daichuan looked at Ruan Xi’s serious expression: “Probably.”
The clear pool water reflected the orange of the sunset, and the evening breeze gently ruffled the pool, then brushed softly past them, heading out into the endless distance.
It felt like the world was incredibly gentle and clear, without any filth.
But that wasn’t really true.
Cheng Daichuan said that when he was in middle school, the family of three went to see a newly developed apartment complex.
At that time, Cheng Daichuan’s Father was already making good money and wanted to move to a new place.
It was Madam Shang who kindly advised that the new apartments were overpriced, and business needed enough cash flow, so it was better to wait.
Cheng Daichuan remembered that day—Madam Shang was fixing a bouquet of lush Double-Color Peonies.
The Peonies had no agenda, just blooming their best.
Madam Shang was the same—no agenda, smiling beautifully as she said, “Besides, after living here so long, it’s hard to leave. We’re close to your School, and we get along so well with the neighbors.”
Cheng Daichuan squinted in the sunset: “That same year, without us knowing, Cheng Guangkai still bought an apartment in the new complex.”
Cheng Guangkai must have been that person’s name.
Ruan Xi’s mind flashed with a thousand bad thoughts, her eyes wide as she couldn’t understand how someone could be so shameless: “Don’t tell me…”
Cheng Daichuan smirked: “Yeah, he had a lot of women.”
There were all kinds of women—some he’d keep around long-term and bring to the new apartment, and the one-night-stand types, well, those were at hotels to avoid trouble.
Ruan Xi’s face turned ugly, and it took all her willpower not to curse.
She scooped up a big chunk of the now-melted cat-shaped Ice Cream and stuffed it in her mouth, viciously crunching the chocolate pieces.
She’d even advised Shi Chao not to act rashly…
Ugh! Regret!!!
She should’ve let Shi Chao beat that guy up— use every ounce of strength!
Ice Cream couldn’t put out the fire in her heart, which only burned hotter, shooting up to her scalp.
Ruan Xi’s anger soared as she stood in the cool pool, almost about to combust.
At that moment, Cheng Daichuan reached out his hand.
Just like in the early mornings when he wasn’t fully awake, he gently ruffled Ruan Xi’s hair: “If you want to curse, just do it.”
“After all, he…”
“You don’t have to hold it in, or you’ll make yourself sick.”
Seeing the indulgent smile in Cheng Daichuan’s eyes, Ruan Xi suddenly couldn’t say anything at all.
The Ice Cream was already a mess, she opened her mouth, eyes stinging, her voice tinged with tears: “How can someone be so terrible? Aunt Shang…she’s such a good person!”
Cheng Daichuan said: “Yeah.”
Ruan Xi shook her head: “I don’t get it, why would someone with such a good family…”
But it was Cheng Daichuan who comforted her: “Don’t overthink it. We don’t need to understand why someone does the wrong thing.”
“But Cheng Daichuan, don’t let someone like that hurt you anymore.”
“Ah, did I?”
“Not sleeping well isn’t okay.”
“I’ve been sleeping pretty well these past two days.”
“That’s just because you took the seasickness medicine!”
Ruan Xi rattled off a bunch of warnings about the dangers of poor sleep she’d heard from elders over the years, “Especially before bed, you really shouldn’t be thinking about this stuff.”
Cheng Daichuan looked calm: “I haven’t. At first, it was hard to accept, but now…I just feel sorry for Madam Shang.”
Ruan Xi was a little dazed.
Hadn’t Aunt Shang said she was lucky to have Cheng Daichuan? Didn’t she say he’d always been there for her, even accompanying her to court?
“Why do you feel sorry?”
Cheng Daichuan often felt sorry.
In the past, Cheng Guangkai always appeared at home looking tired from work.
Even Cheng Daichuan had overlooked that the hardest worker in the family was Madam Shang.
Madam Shang worked as a landscape designer, managed the house perfectly, and always appeared before everyone with a bright smile.
In high school, Madam Shang had accidentally burned her forearm. After School, Cheng Daichuan rushed to the Hospital—
Madam Shang’s forearm was covered in burn blisters, smeared with greasy Ointment for Burns, a pitiful sight, yet she still raised her arm and smiled at Cheng Daichuan: “Come see Mom’s flower arm— cool, right?”
Remembering these scenes, Cheng Daichuan painfully closed his eyes.
He’d only brought up Cheng Guangkai’s story to keep Ruan Xi from worrying…
But it still touched a nerve.
Why hadn’t he told Madam Shang sooner that she was the greatest mother in the world?
Cheng Daichuan wished he could be like Madam Shang—smiling, talkative, optimistic, and kind, giving more comfort to Madam Shang, whose heart had been broken by that jerk.
But…
Cheng Daichuan frowned: “I have to admit, my personality is more like Cheng Guangkai’s.”
‘How’s the color scheme of this bouquet?’ ‘Is Mom’s new hairstyle pretty?’ ‘Wow, the weather’s great today, how about barbecue?’…
When Madam Shang asked those questions, why hadn’t he responded more positively?
Cheng Daichuan laughed self-mockingly: “Maybe I’m a jerk too.”
Ruan Xi shook her head hard.
That’s not right—the one overthinking is Cheng Daichuan.
Even though she hadn’t spent as much time with him, she knew Cheng Daichuan was nothing like that person.
A flood of images flashed through Ruan Xi’s mind—
Cheng Daichuan pretending to forget his keys, sitting in the hallway chatting with her about Granny’s osmanthus;
Cheng Daichuan saying, ‘Let’s not buy Soccer Shoes yet, Ais seems sleepy lately, I need to take him to the Pet Hospital, maybe get him some supplements;’
Cheng Daichuan pulling her wrist, shielding her behind him to check out green coconuts;
Cheng Daichuan telling Shi Chao, ‘No soccer today, Madam Shang’s been busy and probably hasn’t eaten dinner, I should go home and make her a Night Snack;’
Cheng Daichuan digging a hole in the Garden, burying the little stray cat, stroking its head, saying he hoped it could have a better life next time…
How could they be the same…
Ruan Xi remembered when she had acute appendicitis, sweating from pain, and Cheng Daichuan had carried her all the way down sixteen floors from Shi Chao’s home…
How could they possibly be the same?!
Ruan Xi was desperate to tell Cheng Daichuan that he was nothing like what he thought of himself.
They were now in the 1.5-meter deep part of the pool, and Ruan Xi wanted to use the water’s buoyancy to drift closer to Cheng Daichuan.
She was too hasty—even pushed the Life Buoy away, her feet losing footing, plunging headlong into the clear water: “Cheng—”
Glug—
Ruan Xi was pulled up by Cheng Daichuan.
She choked on two mouthfuls of water, coughing hard, clinging to his arm like a piece of driftwood, not caring about the skin-to-skin contact, urgently blurting out: “Cheng Daichuan, you’re not like that!”
She coughed and spoke, remembering a time that person had come home just as Aunt Shang’s Double-Color Peony died of a pest infestation.
At the dinner table, Aunt Shang told everyone about it, saddened over her years of effort. That person just said blandly, “It’s just a plant, buy another.”
But the next day after School, Cheng Daichuan, wearing a Bluetooth Earphone, leaned on his bike and asked Ruan Xi and Shi Chao if they wanted to go to the Floral Market…
Ruan Xi spoke so quickly, her cough from choking still hadn’t eased, she turned her head and coughed again.
Her face was flushed from coughing.
Cheng Daichuan wanted to pat Ruan Xi’s back, but facing her in just a Swimsuit, he didn’t know where to put his hands.
He could only wait for her to calm down before telling her not to rush.
“I just got a bit emotional and started self-reflecting—if there’s a problem, I’ll fix it, but I’m not planning to give up on myself.”
Ruan Xi, after coughing so long, had also calmed down emotionally, embarrassed, and let go of Cheng Daichuan, hugging the Life Buoy he handed her.
Cheng Daichuan was drinking his Cold Drink.
Ruan Xi also raised her Cold Drink cup, “Ding,” and clinked glasses with Cheng Daichuan.
He looked up.
She smiled: “Congratulations, Cheng Daichuan, your old wish has come true.”
“What wish?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be like Cheng Guangkai? On the day you took me and Shi Chao all over looking for Double-Color Peonies, you’d already surpassed him by a mile!”
Cheng Daichuan was stunned for a second, then smiled: “Really.”
Unnoticed, the sky had already darkened, and the number of people in the pool dwindled.
Ruan Xi sipped her Cold Drink, swallowed, and said, “So, like I said, don’t keep thinking about those things—we need to look ahead and move forward.”
“I said I haven’t been thinking about them.”
“How not? I can tell you’ve got something on your mind.”
Cheng Daichuan glanced at Ruan Xi: “What I was thinking about…was something else.”