Blue Cocktail chapter 59
Silent confrontation.
Cheng Shuo’s eyes were silent, like a stagnant pool of dead water, his emotions solidified into stubborn, unmeltable mud.
The silence lasted only for a moment. At that moment, he heard Cheng Yu’s urgent voice, “Okay.”
Immediately after, there were urging words, “I promise you, quickly transfer the money to me.”
Cheng Shuo raised the corners of his lips slowly and silently.
He began to feel fortunate that he had made an extremely correct decision. It turned out that Cheng Yu would readily sever ties with him for only four hundred yuan. He could achieve his goal of being completely independent and carefree. He had thought it would be much more difficult, but he had overestimated the situation.
“Do you keep your word?” Cheng Shuo squinted, “I’m afraid you might change your mind.”
“We can sign an agreement to sever the father-son relationship,” Cheng Yu immediately suggested.
“Stop pretending; you know that such a thing has no legal effect.”
“What do you want me to do then?” Cheng Yu sounded impatient.
“Change your household registration.”
“No problem, I promise,” Cheng Yu almost didn’t hesitate, “Can you transfer the money now?”
Cheng Shuo lowered his eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, pondered, and then looked at Cheng Yu again. His eyes were calm, like a deep, quiet ancient well. “I’m afraid you might not do it, so, after changing the household registration, I will transfer the money to you.”
After hearing this, Cheng Yu’s face briefly distorted, anger emerging in his brows and eyes. His voice became sharper, “Are you playing games with me?”
“I’m not playing games with you. I am the person in this world who wants to sever ties with you the most,” Cheng Shuo’s eyes gradually turned cold and stern, “Come on, Cheng Yu, please understand the situation. Do you think I don’t know what you’re plotting?”
Cheng Shuo deliberately sneered, “Oh, without my four hundred yuan, you won’t survive. What are you pretending for? This is four hundred yuan, not four million. Go find a part-time job; you can earn it in at most three days. Oh, right, I forgot you’re a patient. Patients can’t work, huh? You can borrow money from someone else. Basically an online lender; you can gather enough money to buy medicine! You came to me for money because my money has no interest, and you don’t have to pay it back!”
Cheng Yu’s mouth widened as if he wanted to say something harsh, but in the end, he fell into silence, unable to find words.
“Let’s end our conversation here today.” Cheng Shuo seemed disinterested, wrinkling his brows and waving his hand, “I’ll set the time for handling the procedures. Anyway, you’re a freelancer with a flexible schedule. I warn you, don’t bargain with me again. Otherwise, I won’t let you have a penny.”
“You can leave now.”
Cheng Shuo opened the curtain, glanced at Cheng Yu diagonally, walked away, slammed the door shut, deafening.
The sneer on his brows and lips slowly disappeared, leaving no expression. He suddenly felt exhausted, perhaps because the facial muscles had undergone intense and frequent movement in the short ten minutes of emotional fluctuation, or perhaps because he was accustomed to taking a nap and drowsiness had set in, only the biological clock was at play.
A nap would be good.
That’s what he told himself.
Cheng Shuo stood up and walked towards the bedroom. Before he took a few steps, he suddenly heard the sound of the door lock turning behind him.
His steps abruptly stopped, and he turned incredulously.
“I’m back!”
Lu Huaiqian’s left fingertip hooked the keychain and transparent plastic bag, waving them in mid-air, making a metallic clinking sound like jingling bells. He always smiled, enjoying the unexpected.
“Was it fast?”
In a daze, Cheng Shuo felt as if he were dreaming. If the confrontation with Cheng Yu just now wasn’t a dream, then now he must be dreaming, right?
When Lu Huaiqian changed his shoes and found that his slippers were missing at the entrance, he hurried back to the bedroom barefoot. There were no slippers there either, but there was an extra pair of Cheng Shuo’s slippers. He speculated and picked up the slippers, walking to Cheng Shuo. He stood still, lowered his head, smiled, and said, “Why are you wearing my slippers?”
Cheng Shuo quickly took off the ones on his feet, took the ones from Lu Huaiqian’s hands, and put them on. The entire process was silent.
“Guess what I brought back for you?”
“I can’t guess.” Cheng Shuo replied.
Because it was Lu Huaiqian, anything could be brought back.
Pulling Cheng Shuo onto the sofa, Lu Huaiqian took out a plastic cup from the transparent bag, presenting it like a treasure. He uncovered the top half of the hemispherical cup, inserted a spoon, and presented it to Cheng Shuo.
When Cheng Shuo took it, he unexpectedly found a thin layer of mist covering the cup wall. The palms of his hands were moistened by the mist. He picked up the spoon; the yogurt that should have solidified into blocks had already melted into a semi-solid and semi-fluid state, with blueberry particles floating in it.
He stared at it for a few seconds, scooped up a spoonful, silently swallowed, and it was very sweet.
“Where did you buy this?”
“A nearby dessert shop, not far from here.”
“How far is not far?”
“About a five-minute drive.”
“Did you buy it on your way back?”
“Yes.”
Cheng Shuo suddenly tightened his palm, and the plastic cup deformed slightly under the pressure of his fingers.
He stood motionless, silent for a long time, before whispering, “Did you stand outside the door for a long time?”
Lu Huaiqian chuckled unexpectedly, patted Cheng Shuo’s shoulder, “Not bad, Cheng Shuo, it seems that after being with me for a long time, you have become much smarter.”
Cheng Shuo had long been accustomed to Lu Huaiqian’s behavior of praising himself when complimenting others.
He sighed silently in his heart, “How long were you… standing at the door?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Why didn’t you come in when you arrived?”
“I felt,” Lu Huaiqian shrugged with an open hand, “you probably didn’t want Cheng Yu to see me.”
Cheng Shuo suddenly looked up, “You know his name is Cheng Yu?”
Lu Huaiqian still smiled brightly, “Sorry, I accidentally overheard some things.”
Cheng Shuo stared at Lu Huaiqian, “Some things, how much?”
“From ‘a little over a month ago, I helped you sign on the application for off-campus housing.'”
Cheng Shuo pursed his lips tightly, then slowly lowered his head again. The spoon in his hand unconsciously stirred in the plastic cup, becoming slower and slower until it stopped. “…Then why didn’t I see you?”
“To avoid Cheng Yu discovering me, I definitely had to hide more discreetly, so at that time, I was hiding around the corner on the second floor.”
Hidden in the blind spot of vision, obscured by multiple steps.