Chapter 52: This thought also made Huo Niansheng laugh at himself.
When he opened his eyes again, nearly twenty hours had passed.
Chen Wengang checked his phone to confirm the time. The room was empty.
He didn’t know when Huo Niansheng had left.
Half-awake, he went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, finally taking a close look at the scratches on his face.
They were all very light, superficial wounds; the doctor had said that with proper care, they wouldn’t leave any scars. He had survived this ordeal thanks to Uncle Lin. Only now did a delayed sense of fear seem to wash over him—it wasn’t death he feared, but rather the unwillingness to lose the many things he had finally attained.
He recalled a saying someone had once shared: There is no greater joy in the world than finding what was lost, and no greater sorrow than losing what was finally gained.
Coming out of the bathroom, he remembered something and suddenly looked toward the headboard; the sticky note from before was still attached in its original spot.
As he went downstairs, he heard Zheng Baoqiu talking on the phone in the living room: “Okay, okay… I see, I understand.”
Chen Wengang stepped off the last stair and heard her turn to tell Zheng Maoxun—
“That truck driver didn’t make it. He was in the ICU for two days, and I heard they couldn’t save him.”
“Oh, well, that’s dangerous driving. If the person is gone, what else can the police do?”
Chen Wengang wished them a good morning.
Seeing him come down, the two quickly changed the subject.
Actually, he didn’t mind, but Zheng Baoqiu seemed to take it seriously, and even Zheng Maoxun kept his mouth shut, avoiding any mention of the car accident.
Of course, this kid usually didn’t have such a tactful temper; he had probably been suppressed by his sister. Thinking of this, Chen Wengang couldn’t help but smile slightly. Feigning ignorance, he accepted this goodwill and sat down to have breakfast with them.
The truck driver’s family had reportedly rushed over from out of town and received some insurance compensation. But having lost the breadwinner of the family, the relatives wept until the heavens darkened and the earth shook. Uncle Wang had been handling the aftermath with the traffic police, and this was what he recounted upon returning.
Uncle Lin returned home after a full week in the hospital.
On the day he was discharged, he received a hero’s welcome from the entire family. Colorful balloons spelling out “Welcome” hung in the house, and the younger generation took turns hugging him. Zheng Yucheng walked with him to a corner and spoke a few words in private; Uncle Lin raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.
Upon seeing Chen Wengang, Uncle Lin walked toward him, leaning on a cane.
Chen Wengang moved to support him: “How are you feeling? Are your hands and feet still numb?”
Uncle Lin shook him off: “What are you supporting me for? I’m just using the cane as a transition, it’s not like I’m the Queen Mother!”
Chen Wengang smiled. Uncle Lin pointed at his face: “You need to be careful with those injuries. Don’t let them get wet these next few days, and don’t eat soy sauce.”
“I know, everyone who’s seen me these past few days has asked me about it. I’m being careful.”
The old man was satisfied and immediately rushed off to find others to give instructions to. He needed to rest for a while, so he had to assign tasks to the subordinates.
The old butler had served the Zheng family for many years and held a transcendent status. Zheng Bingyi was also in a good mood that day and even agreed to let Zheng Baoqiu order pizza and party burgers—things that normally would never pass his scrutiny. Uncle Lin smiled and scolded her playfully, saying he didn’t know who was actually celebrating for whom.
Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, the whole family bustled together in front of the living room sofa for a group photo.
A few days later, this family portrait was printed, framed, and hung on the photo wall.
Amidst the sweltering summer heat, life continued as usual.
Chen Wengang occasionally ran into Qi Tongzhou at the Home of Love. He had actually signed up with Director Liu and, after an interview, started working as a volunteer.
Previously, Chen Wengang had intended to make things clear to him, but the other party seemed to have sensed something. He started acting very appropriately and put away his overly attentive methods.
However, Chen Wengang took a glance at his social media feed—Mu Qing was appearing in it with increasing frequency.
The two often took photos together, and their itineraries seemed highly overlapped: morning tea shops, bungee jumping spots, hot air ballooning, beach resorts…
It seemed Qi Tongzhou had enjoyed a very rich and fulfilling summer vacation.
Li Hongqiong invited Chen Wengang out for a meal to discuss the old city renovation project.
Every profession has its own secrets, and he knew nothing about real estate development. His scope of knowledge was limited to the areas of the old city where he had lived and walked. There were no large supermarkets nearby, but rather large and small street markets with fresh vegetables, live chickens and fish, and time-honored eateries, exuding a slightly fishy, earthy, everyday-life atmosphere. Behind every old shop with a peeling sign, there might be a tradition. It was exactly this nostalgic sentiment that Li Hongqiong had her eyes on.
Li Hongqiong was treating, but Chen Wengang chose the place—a twenty-year-old shop famous for its deep-fried pigeon. They chatted casually from start to finish. As the meal drew to a close, Li Hongqiong wiped her hands, remembered something, and casually asked him about Mu Qing.
Chen Wengang just teased: “Does Miss June want to investigate personally again?”
Li Hongqiong apologized to him: “My previous behavior was inappropriate; it won’t happen again. As for asking about him, there’s a different reason. They want to collaborate with the art gallery, and since I hold shares there, it’s perfectly normal to want to know a bit about a potential partner. Of course, asking you to gossip behind his back—I suppose you aren’t that kind of person. I was wrong to ask. Just pretend I never brought it up.”
Busy with this and that, a month of the summer vacation flew by in the blink of an eye.
Over on the old street, Lu Chenlong helped Chen Wengang hire a construction team to handle the renovation and remodeling of his old house. Because of the severe leaks, they ultimately decided on a major overhaul of the hard furnishings. They rented a warehouse to move all the furniture into, rewired the electricity, redid the plumbing, and laid new floor tiles.
It wasn’t convenient for Chen Wengang to run back and forth every day, so Lu Chenlong acted as the supervisor most of the time.
The construction team wasn’t affiliated with a renovation company; the foreman took on jobs independently, relying entirely on word-of-mouth recommendations among acquaintances. Lu Chenlong found them through some connection, and their cost-performance ratio was very high. The quality of the engineering could be guaranteed; it just lacked the aesthetic oversight of a designer.
Huo Niansheng received a few photos Chen Wengang sent him, asking which floor tile was more suitable.
He smiled and called back: “Want me to help you decide?”
Chen Wengang asked, “Is Young Master Huo willing to help?”
Huo Niansheng told him to arrange a time and drove him to a home furnishing mall to look at showrooms.
“I want to keep it simple,” Chen Wengang had checked their official website in advance on the way. “So there’s no need for full-house custom designs. Those require communication with the construction team from the design phase, and it’s a bit too late for that. I can continue using the original old furniture; at least the formaldehyde levels will be lower.”
Huo Niansheng turned the steering wheel, his eyes on the road. “You’re the boss.”
Saying this gave him a subtle feeling, as if they were just an ordinary married couple on their way to the hardware market, discussing what their future home would look like. Considering the age of Chen Wengang’s house, they couldn’t afford a new development and could only buy a second-hand old house.
The thought made Huo Niansheng laugh inwardly, but the feeling wasn’t actually bad; perhaps it was novel enough.
They spent the entire day visiting five or six flagship home furnishing stores, covering both high-end and mass-market brands.
Huo Niansheng displayed utmost patience. Even though they had to shop around and compare—which meant they didn’t buy anything—he didn’t show much impatience. Chen Wengang would occasionally look back at him and see him standing absentmindedly by the display stands, looking completely different from the other customers who were busy making selections with their heads down. But every now and then, he would pick something up and gesture to the sales assistant, looking as if he was about to head to the checkout counter in the next second.
Huo Niansheng was genuinely thinking about that apartment.
Probably none of his own properties had ever required so much effort. After all, all he had to do was express an intention, and naturally, plenty of people would produce a result that met his exact desires. However, the feeling of wandering around together was quite different from the feeling of just sitting back and enjoying the finished product.
Seeing a glass wall sconce, a light-colored fabric sofa, or a mosaic console cabinet with a unique pattern… his mind couldn’t help but wonder where this item would be placed if it were brought home, whether it would fit, and if it matched the style.
Therefore, they still needed to determine a style for the house first—modern minimalist or American country? Should they paint one wall Bohemian blue?
And then, would it be pleasing to the eye and convenient to use when living there later? Who would he be living there with…?
No wonder advertising planners said that these days, you weren’t selling a product, you were selling a scenario.
He turned his head; Chen Wengang was testing a mattress on a double bed covered in a very elegant fitted sheet. The sales assistant was still encouraging him to lie down and try it out. But when Huo Niansheng inserted himself into that scenario, all he wanted to do was stack those soft, plump, white pillows under Chen Wengang’s waist.
But in reality, since that time in the car, Huo Niansheng really hadn’t touched him again.
That expression of his, looking like he was on the verge of tears, had floated in his mind for days; its impact was too strong. Afterward, Huo Niansheng still came to see him, maybe four or five times. The dates were still the usual clichés: booking a restaurant for dinner, watching a newly released movie, going to the ballet, or attending a concert.
Or whatever Chen Wengang wanted to do, Huo Niansheng would just accompany him, like today.
Based on some unspoken tacit understanding from before, the final stop was always a hotel room. Now, the pace seemed to have changed; he didn’t want every meeting to end up in bed. Even if they kissed passionately before parting, Huo Niansheng never took the final step.
Chen Wengang didn’t voice any opinions on this.
He didn’t even find it strange.
The longer they interacted, the more a certain transcendent, unflappable quality became apparent in him—if there was a physical relationship, fine; if not, he didn’t care. It was as if everything just followed Huo Niansheng’s lead. But in the end, it was still Huo Niansheng who was being subtly controlled.
Huo Niansheng thought that even if someone bowed down in submission before Chen Wengang, he would probably still smile faintly and say, “Is that so?”
This thought also made Huo Niansheng laugh at himself.
Towards the end of their itinerary that day, a minor incident occurred.
The sales assistant assumed they were a couple buying a home together: “We’re running a promotion on this latex mattress. If you two decide to place an order today, we can gift you a pair of figurines. The craftsmanship is exquisite; look at these little clothes, they’re entirely hand-sewn…”
Chen Wengang picked up the pair of figurines she mentioned—a groom in a suit and a bride in a wedding dress. The clothes could be taken on and off, and their eyes would close when laid down; they were the kind of things children loved to play with. She said, “Actually, these figurines alone aren’t cheap, and they’re only being gifted today…”
Huo Niansheng suddenly said, “Take a look by yourself for a bit.” With that, he pulled away and left.
Chen Wengang waited for two minutes, realized something, and handed the dolls back.
He searched all the way to the emergency exit, but it was empty inside. He heard a slight commotion from beneath the stairwell, followed the sound down two flights, and finally saw a man lying on the ground. His forehead was red and scraped, and a suspiciously sharp corner of a red fire hydrant box jutted out above his head.
Huo Niansheng was squatting beside him, scrolling through his phone.
Chen Wengang pushed the door open, closed it behind him, and quietly walked over to his side.
Huo Niansheng smiled faintly: “What are you doing here?” He stood up, opened the photo album, selected all folders, deleted them, and cleared the trash bin. Only then did he toss the phone back onto the paparazzi. “Where’s the camera?”
The paparazzi repeatedly said, “I don’t have one, I don’t have one,” but under Huo Niansheng’s cold glare, he finally fished out a compact digital camera. His mouth, however, alternated between cowardly and arrogant; as he handed over the camera, he yelled that this was an infringement of personal rights and destruction of another’s property.
He remained lying on the ground, not getting up. It was unclear whether he had fallen down the stairs or was just afraid of catching a beating if he stood.
Huo Niansheng pulled out the SD card and was about to snap it, but after a second thought, he simply slipped it into his pocket. He let out a scoff and tossed the camera back onto the man’s stomach. The camera clattered against the phone. The paparazzi yelped, jerked up, and continued to act tough, cursing him for violating freedom of speech.
Chen Wengang watched the scene without saying a word.
Huo Niansheng pushed the door open and let him go out first: “Alright, let’s go.”
