Chapter 33 Avoiding Her

After the Saturday erhu accompaniment session, Xu Yannuo had no badminton training that day—her student had taken leave. She first took the erhu back home, then went straight to the café where she had last encountered Chen Ciyi.

The time was about the same as last time. Upon reflection later, she realized she had seen Chen Ciyi’s companion when ordering last time. Back then, that guy had been chatting quite warmly with the girl at the counter, and the cashier didn’t even need to ask to know which set meal he and Chen Ciyi wanted. Clearly, that guy either worked there or often went with Chen Ciyi. But judging by his demeanor and presence, he didn’t seem like someone who would work there at all. Just one look at him and you could tell he had a fiery temper—if he worked there, he’d probably end up costing the place money. Most likely, Chen Ciyi was just too weak for him to bother with, or maybe Chen Ciyi had some dirt on him, which was why the guy seemed so compliant around Chen Ciyi.

However, regardless of the relationship between those two or what that guy’s deal was, one thing Xu Yannuo was certain of was that Chen Ciyi frequented the place.

As long as Chen Ciyi frequented the place, the probability of her running into him there would be high. Moreover, if someone often visits a certain place, they must have a fixed routine there. And since there’s a fixed routine, the time of their visits would also be relatively regular.

Xu Yannuo entered the café, ordered a coffee and a slice of cake, and took a seat in a secluded corner at the back. The café wasn’t large, and from her spot facing the entrance, she could see all the seats inside as well as the people coming and going outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Yet, half-hidden by the edge of a load-bearing wall, it was hard for passersby outside to notice her.

After sitting down, Xu Yannuo took out her homework from her bag and began working on it while keeping an eye on the entrance. However, she waited until nearly 8 p.m., refilling her coffee cup again and again, finishing her homework, and even playing mobile games for quite a while, but she never caught a glimpse of Chen Ciyi.

Xu Yannuo called over the waiter. With Chen Ciyi and his friend’s appearance, and considering how familiar his friend was with the waiter, the waiter couldn’t possibly have no impression of them.

After Xu Yannuo described Chen Ciyi and the other boy’s appearance and what they ordered, the waiter immediately smiled and said, “I know who you’re talking about. They come every Saturday afternoon, and sometimes on Sunday afternoons too…” After speaking, the waiter glanced around at the seats and replied to Xu Yannuo, “Huh, they actually didn’t come today.”

Clearly, Xu Yannuo’s guess was completely correct.

Is he avoiding her? And on purpose, no less? How impressive!

But can you avoid the first day of the month and also avoid the fifteenth? If not today, there’s always tomorrow.

Xu Yannuo woke up quite early on Sunday, though she usually got up early on weekends anyway. In this household, perhaps influenced by Xu Cheng’s presence, she had never slept soundly since she was old enough to remember. The slightest noise could startle her awake. Once the sky brightened, her sleepiness vanished entirely, and she would wake up early.

As for Cheng Yun, she didn’t know, and she had never asked.

They didn’t talk about Xu Cheng, as if when the two of them were home, as long as they didn’t mention him, he simply didn’t exist. And as long as this person didn’t exist, the household remained peaceful and harmonious.

False calm is still calm.

Xu Yannuo threw off the covers and got out of bed, heading to the living room. The living room was bathed in sunlight, while the kitchen door was closed. The sound of the range hood could be heard from inside—Cheng Yun was preparing breakfast. It seemed she had been up for quite some time.

Xu Yannuo glanced at the calendar in the living room. Xu Cheng hadn’t come back for nearly a month—not an exceptionally long time, but not exactly short either. Having grown somewhat accustomed to the current tranquility, Xu Yannuo suddenly felt that this everyday domesticity seemed like her real life, as if she were just an ordinary high school student enjoying a peaceful, happy single-parent household.

This fleeting, surface-level feeling was truly wonderful.

Xu Yannuo stood quietly in the living room, closing her eyes to relax and savor the moment, before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

After breakfast, she planned to stay with Cheng Yun at home for a while, then head to the café to intercept Chen Ciyi. If she managed to catch him, she’d settle the score from the library incident. If not, she’d bring Cheng Yun some bread and hot chocolate—last time Chen Ciyi drank it, the aroma had smelled quite enticing to her.

Xu Yannuo finished washing up and came out just as the sound of the range hood in the kitchen stopped. Shortly after, the kitchen door opened, and the aroma of scallion oil wafted out. Cheng Yun emerged carrying a plate of freshly pan-fried scallion oil beef patties and a bowl of white rice porridge. On the dining table were also a few small dishes of pickles that Cheng Yun had bought from the market the day before yesterday. Xu Yannuo particularly enjoyed one of them—the bellflower root salad.

She happily wiped her face clean and walked over to the dining table, picking up her chopsticks and reaching directly toward the plate in Cheng Yun’s hands, ready to grab a beef patty to taste. Cheng Yun smiled and reminded her to wait a moment so she wouldn’t burn herself.

Xu Yannuo glanced at the bowl of porridge in Cheng Yun’s other hand—sure enough, just like the patties, it was still steaming hot.

She sat back down at the table and picked up a piece of bellflower root, but before she could bring it to her mouth, the sound of a key turning in the lock of the front security door echoed from the living room entrance. This was followed by the metallic click of the lock mechanism. Though the sound wasn’t loud, both Xu Yannuo and Cheng Yun froze in alarm.

At that moment, Xu Yannuo felt all her hairs stand on end. The horror buried deep in her memory seemed ingrained in her bones. Even though she thought she had grown accustomed to Xu Cheng’s violence over the years and could face it calmly, the sound of his voice still sent an uncontrollable fear through her, making her tremble from head to toe.

Xu Yannuo quickly glanced at Cheng Yun. She wasn’t faring any better—her hands were shaking, and her face had turned completely pale. Fortunately, she had already placed the pie and porridge on the table. Otherwise, if she had spilled them, her hands would have been scalded.

Then, the door was pushed open with a bang, hitting the wall behind it. Xu Yannuo and Cheng Yun trembled involuntarily again, before they even had the chance to turn around. Xu Cheng’s voice had already reached them, “Oh, everyone’s home.” That seemingly ordinary male voice, or perhaps the voice of a father that should have felt safe and reassuring, sounded to Xu Yannuo and Cheng Yun like a voice from hell.

Neither of them responded. Without wasting words on them, under the gazes of Cheng Yun and Xu Yannuo, Xu Cheng went straight into Cheng Yun’s bedroom, heading for the drawer where she usually kept her cash.

Just as Xu Cheng’s figure disappeared from Xu Yannuo’s sight, she began to regain a bit of consciousness and relaxed slightly. Then, she noticed the trail of shoe prints Xu Cheng had left on the floor—he hadn’t even changed into slippers after entering the house. But that was just as well; it meant he wouldn’t stay long. He’d grab the money and leave soon.