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Chapter 49: You should know how he treats you.
Taking Chen Wengang home, Huo Niansheng suddenly asked, “If you have someone you really dislike, would you want to retaliate against them?”
This question sounded familiar. Chen Wengang turned to look at him, slowly asking, “What kind of dislike? To the extent of wanting revenge?”
“Nothing serious—I don’t think you would,” Huo Niansheng said.
“Why?” Chen Wengang grinned.
“Haven’t you watched Hollywood movies? Good people don’t do the same things as bad people; otherwise, they wouldn’t be called good people,” Huo Niansheng said solemnly. “You’re the kind who believes in ‘do good deeds and don’t ask for returns’… Heaven wouldn’t hesitate to arrange a good ending for you.”
Chen Wengang was taken aback, looking out the window without responding, feeling a strange emotion welling up inside him. Past and present, like layers of dough kneaded together, some parts were mixed while others were distinct.
Finally, Huo Niansheng dropped him off at the Zheng family’s doorstep: “We’re here.” Then he got out of the car and planted a kiss on Chen Wengang’s temple: “From pick-up to drop-off.”
And that’s how this pleasant weekend came to an end.
The business car drove off again, and in the rearview mirror, Chen Wengang became smaller and smaller. Huo Niansheng saw him standing at the deserted gate, waving toward the direction the car left, before turning to ring the doorbell after a few seconds.
It was already past eight o’clock in the evening, and the courtyard was dimly lit, empty except for the faint bustling sounds coming from the kitchen in the back.
Chen Wengang stepped into the foyer and almost stepped on something. Upon closer inspection, it was a yellow, squeaky chicken toy with its mouth wide open.
This silly toy making screaming noises was completely out of place with the elegant decor of the Zheng residence.
He chuckled and bent down to pick it up, squeezing it hard until it finally let out a strange squeak.
The strange sound drew the maid, A-Mei, who also laughed heartily, even taking a few squeezes herself while no one was around, relieving some stress. “Miss Baoqiu bought this for the baby; it’s so quirky, definitely something YoYo would pick out and hide away every day.”
“Where are the others at home?”
“At this hour, the master and madam are out for a walk and will be back soon. Miss Baoqiu and Master Maoxun are attending a friend’s birthday party.” A-Mei glanced at him. “Master Yucheng… he’s also working overtime this weekend. He’s quite busy now.”
Chen Wengang knew about this.
Ever since returning from Singapore, Zheng Yucheng had entered a workaholic state. He seemed to be pushing himself hard, always coming home looking exhausted, but his temperament seemed to gradually settle down. Zheng Bingyi acknowledged his ambition and had talked to him a few times.
Meanwhile, the arrival of Huo Meijie’s pregnancy seemed to bring about some subtle changes in the family dynamics.
On one hand, she was busy with her pregnancy and had her husband’s care and company, temporarily having little energy to deal with Zheng Yucheng. On the other hand, Zheng Yucheng didn’t seem as resistant to this little one as everyone, including himself, had imagined. It was too small to pose a threat.
One day, he even brought back a set of popular science books on animals, saying he thought the design was good when he was browsing the book fair, so he bought it.
Huo Meijie smiled faintly. “You… These are for children aged 3 to 6. It’s too early for the baby.”
Zheng Yucheng said lightly, “Then let’s just keep them at home for now. They’ll come in handy sooner or later.”
Zheng Bingyi went to see the beautifully printed animal cards and felt relieved, “Find a place to keep them safe, don’t lose them.”
Later, the housekeeper, Uncle Lin, found a conspicuous spot for them in the study.
Whenever Chen Wengang went to look for a book, he would pass by and see a raccoon smiling at him. As he approached, it would then laugh foolishly toward the nearby bookshelf, where parenting books and children’s picture books visibly increased.
As for He Wanxin—
After plotting against Zheng Yucheng once, she seemed to have quieted down.
Or perhaps she was still entangled with Zheng Yucheng, but Chen Wengang didn’t know. Like Huo Niansheng said, she didn’t provoke Chen Wengang, so he rarely thought of her. He placed the squeaky chicken on the table, freshened up, and went to bed.
***
The next day, dressed in a suit and tie, he went to work at the Zhengshi group.
Having accumulated quite a bit of work recently, Chen Wengang finally found himself working overtime. Around nine o’clock in the evening, as he went downstairs to grab a late-night snack, he unexpectedly received a call from Zheng Yucheng.
However, it wasn’t Zheng Yucheng speaking on the other end; the voice belonged to one of Zheng Yucheng’s friends. “Is this Chen Wengang?”
The tone on the other end was commanding: “Yucheng had drunk too much. Can you come and pick him up?”
Chen Wengang paused: “Where are you drinking?”
“Where else? Heifeng Cave.” This was a bar’s nickname. If Chen Wengang hadn’t gone there with Zheng Yucheng before, he might not have known which one it was. The background noise was deafening, indicating that the person on the other end was also quite drunk. “I can’t believe you’ve let Lao Zheng down like this, letting him drink like a fish… You should know how he treats you; you’re enough of a backstabber… Forget it, I won’t say anymore, just hurry up.”
Chen Wengang chuckled and called Uncle Lin, who said he would send the driver to pick Zheng Yucheng up.
When he arrived home, it was already eleven o’clock, and the atmosphere felt unusually solemn. As soon as Chen Wengang entered, he was ushered into Zheng Bingyi’s study.
Zheng Bingyi usually goes to bed by this time, but today he stayed up late.
He asked Chen Wengang, “Did Yucheng tell you where he was going?”
“I only heard he had drunk too much… Why, hasn’t he come back yet?”
“Lao Wang went to that bar you mentioned.” Uncle Lin said, “He met some of his friends there; according to what they said, he just called you, and then he called a designated driver and insisted on leaving; where he went afterwards, no one knows… He didn’t call you again?”
Chen Wengang just shook his head and said, “No. I didn’t receive any calls.”
From nine to eleven, two hours had passed, which should have been enough time for a round trip out of town and back.
But now both the car and the person were nowhere to be found. Zheng Bingyi frowned, worried as he cursed, “He’s not giving us any peace of mind.”
Uncle Lin continued making calls, contacting the property management of every property under Zheng Yucheng’s name, but to no avail. Two drivers from the household, Uncle Wang waiting downstairs, and the other driving around the vicinity of the bar, hoping to spot Zheng Yucheng’s car.
Late into the night, voices grew hoarse, Uncle Lin shook his head, and Zheng Bingyi remained silent, undecided on whether to report to the police.
Suddenly, both pairs of eyes in the study fell on Chen Wengang.
He hesitated for a moment, “En, I know his phone account password… I wonder if he changed it.”
Having a password login, perhaps they could track the owner’s GPS location, which could be a solution. Uncle Lin handed him his phone, as the elderly man couldn’t handle such things himself. He watched as Chen Wengang logged out of his own account and entered Zheng Yucheng’s account again.
When entering the password, Chen Wengang hesitated for a moment and then entered his own birthdate.
This was the password Zheng Yucheng had been using for a long time.
It worked on the first try.
Chen Wengang remained silent.
Zheng Bingyi and Uncle Lin didn’t react much either. That date was Chen Wengang’s Gregorian birthday, but since childhood, his family had followed the lunar calendar. It was unlikely that anyone would remember these details.
The focus was on solving the mystery of Zheng Yucheng’s whereabouts, and it was soon uncovered—
He somehow ended up at the seaside.
Quite far, in fact. In the middle of the night, driver Uncle Wang took Chen Wengang and Uncle Lin to the scene.
The target on the map remained stationary. In the back seat, the two of them didn’t feel like talking. Only the sound of the navigation guiding the route filled the car. Uncle Wang kept the throttle low, speeding up only because of the distance and the concern for Zheng Yucheng’s safety.
When they saw the location on the map, Chen Wengang felt a vague sense of destiny in his heart, yet at the same time, he felt like he hadn’t grasped anything.
The bay was where they had celebrated Zheng Yucheng’s twenty-first birthday in his past life, camping out for the night in seclusion.
They had chosen this place spontaneously at that time. In reality, it didn’t hold any special significance; the beach belonged to no one in particular.
In the early hours of the morning, they arrived at the location, and Uncle Wang easily found Zheng Yucheng’s car on the road.
It turned out to be a false alarm; Zheng Yucheng had indeed drunk too much and was snoring loudly in the passenger seat.
It was unclear how he had managed to coerce the designated driver into driving to such a remote and desolate place. Perhaps the driver was afraid he might suffocate, as he had lowered the window slightly, and now he was nowhere to be seen. All three of them breathed a sigh of relief and, for the moment, didn’t bother with reproaches.
Uncle Wang knocked on the window, trying to wake up Zheng Yucheng.
The knocking reverberated inside the car, and Zheng Yucheng, with bleary, drunken eyes, opened them, unsure if he was awake or not. Following the gestures, he unlocked the car and opened the door, stumbling out.
He looked into Chen Wengang’s eyes amidst the darkness, like a desert traveller suddenly spotting an oasis, “Wengang…”
He even reached out a hand. To avoid suspicion, Chen Wengang stepped behind the old housekeeper, but then he felt a bit foolish.
What was he doing? Playing a hawk catching a chick?
There was an inexplicable awkwardness in the air, especially with Uncle Lin and Uncle Wang watching.
Chen Wengang coughed and took a step back.
He looked out toward the dark expanse of the sea, the night tide rising, the waves in the distance like rows of mountains, harbouring a terrifying power. A long-abandoned lighthouse stood on the shore, no longer emitting light, not particularly tall, seeming miniature like a toy in front of nature.
This undeveloped bay was rarely visited by people; the beach was scattered with gravel, with a dilapidated boat stranded ashore.
Chen Wengang didn’t intervene further. Uncle Wang helped Zheng Yucheng into the car, where he lay down, and then he drove away in Zheng Yucheng’s car.
Zheng Yucheng went into a drunken frenzy, repeatedly calling out Chen Wengang’s name incoherently, leaving Uncle Lin with an unpleasant expression, “What kind of talk…”
Chen Wengang remained silent and observed. There wasn’t much he could say.
Uncle Lin, without children of his own, had a different emotional attachment to Zheng Yucheng. Even though he knew Zheng Yucheng had his flaws, Uncle Lin harboured hopes for his improvement. When they couldn’t find Zheng Yucheng earlier, on the way there, Uncle Lin was restless, worried whether he had been in an accident or had encountered unscrupulous designated drivers trying to harm him for money, as if there were hot irons burning his seat.
Uncle Wang rolled down the car window and turned his head back. Their car was another car on the roadside, the one they had driven from home.
As Uncle Wang tossed the keys to Chen Wengang and was about to sit in the driver’s seat, Uncle Lin said, “Let me do it.”
“Let me drive…” Chen Wengang stopped him for a moment. At this point, everyone’s eyes were teary.
“Alright, you go ahead.” Uncle Lin coughed a couple of times in the strong seaside wind and mocked him, “I’m not that old yet.”
With one car following the other, they returned to the main road, moving forward in the darkness like ships at sea.
Chen Wengang called Zheng Bingyi to reassure him and let him know they were safe, suggesting he could go to sleep first.
Following the lead car, Uncle Lin didn’t turn on the radio or music. Even the voice of the navigation software was absent, leaving the air eerily silent, with Zheng Bingyi’s voice clear on the other end of the phone. Uncle Lin remained quiet, listening to him finish the call.
After Chen Wengang hung up, after a moment of silence, he suddenly heard him say, “Do you remember when you had your family searching for you in the middle of the night when you were a child?”
They were talking about the time when Zheng Yucheng accompanied him when he ran away from home.
Chen Wengang smiled faintly, “I wasn’t sensible at that time… I didn’t intend to cause trouble for everyone.”
Just like today, when Zheng Yucheng’s drinking buddy called him on the phone—speaking with authority, treating him as inferior. In fact, back in school, he couldn’t stand such arrogance as he was young. At the time, that teacher also showed favouritism toward students from influential families. Chen Wengang, feeling rebellious, told Zheng Yucheng he wanted to go home, and then the two of them ran back to the old street, essentially staging a runaway.
Uncle Lin smiled lightly, the corners of his eyes creasing slightly deeper: “I was also anxious at that time. You don’t still hold a grudge against me, do you? I’m busy with work; I can’t always look after you… Well, forget it; I’m not very good at taking care of children, and I didn’t take care of you well.”
Chen Wengang was almost pleasantly surprised, “There’s nothing like that. It’s all in the past.”
Uncle Lin sighed. Both of them felt a bit uneasy with this display of emotions.
Thinking of something, Uncle Lin asked him again, “Last Sunday, did you go out with that young master from the Huo family again?”
Chen Wengang didn’t want to be direct, “Volunteering, art exhibition… I stayed out overnight because it was too late to open the door.”
The car drove onto a large bridge, and Uncle Lin exclaimed, “Oh,” pondering for a moment, then called out to Chen Wengang, “What about you? You’re just too devoted. I may have said some things too harshly before, but actually, no matter what…”
Uncle Wang was driving fast, leaving them far behind. After getting off the bridge, there was an intersection where they needed to turn, but suddenly, a small truck came speeding from the opposite direction with its high beams glaring, causing Uncle Lin and Chen Wengang to squint.
For some reason, the truck driver seemed to be dozing off, unaware of the turn, and the truck kept heading straight ahead.
Chen Wengang was seated in the right front passenger seat, strapped in by the seatbelt, and unable to move. In the blink of an eye, the two vehicles were almost about to collide, but Uncle Lin, without hesitation, sharply turned the steering wheel to the right.
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