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Chapter 108: Don’t make a sound.
Chen Wengang felt suffocated, sensing that there was more to Huo Niansheng’s words, and he felt uneasy. Huo Niansheng was dripping wet above him, like a fish that had leaped out of the water, his hair still dripping, with droplets falling on his cheeks. Their lower bodies were pressed together, emanating the warmth of a man’s body.
Huo Niansheng looked down at the person beneath him for a long time, patiently waiting for him to open up. Chen Wengang hesitated to speak, and in the end, he said nothing.
The phone left by the door rang, like a lifesaving signal breaking the deadlock. At first, Huo Niansheng ignored it, but Chen Wengang looked around anxiously, urging him to answer. After a while, the phone finally stopped ringing. They barely had a moment to breathe before it started ringing again.
Huo Niansheng clicked his tongue and finally got up, walking over to dry his hands.
“What’s up? Oh… like this, mm, got it.”
When he returned, Chen Wengang had already hidden in the water. Huo Niansheng looked down to meet his eyes, their positions were now reversed.
Chen Wengang submerged half his body in the water, his arms resting on the edge, his eyelashes fluttering. He looked up at Huo Niansheng, buoyed by the water, seeming as if he would slip away into the depths with just another touch.
Huo Niansheng had to stop scaring him: “I need a break. You go ahead and swim.”
Chen Wengang kicked off the pool wall and darted away, his movements agile.
However, he swam absentmindedly, doing freestyle to the other side, then backstroked back, looking at the sky as it moved bit by bit, until he crashed into a hard chest. Huo Niansheng had reached out to shield his head: “Keep swimming and you’ll hit the wall.”
Chen Wengang stood up, the pool water reaching his chest, the rippling reflections lighting up his face.
Huo Niansheng wiped the water off his face along his nose: “How can you backstroke without knowing where you’re going?”
Chen Wengang smiled with pursed lips, resting his chin on Huo Niansheng’s broad shoulder. He squinted and looked back at the path he had swum. This was a private pool, with no lanes marked in the water, just a square of clear blue, like a rectangular fish tank.
Skin against skin, Chen Wengang felt he was the fish—
Hiding in the highest place, yet still in the corner of the fish tank.
In the end, he couldn’t resist returning to Huo Niansheng’s side.
There was a tray with lemon water nearby, and he stretched out his arm but couldn’t reach it. Huo Niansheng handed him a glass.
Chen Wengang lowered his eyelashes and took a sip, making small talk: “Who just called you?”
“Huo Zhenfei.”
“What did he want?”
“Wang Qiming is organizing a party, inviting people to play on his broken boat.”
Huo Niansheng spoke nonchalantly, seemingly indifferent, as he focused on stealing his lemon water. Lips touching lips, Chen Wengang was so entangled he started to choke and coughed, giving Huo Niansheng a glare before handing him the whole glass, letting him drink to his fill.
Huo Niansheng bit the straw Chen had used, sipping loudly: “Huo Yingfei is going, and Huo Zhenfei wants me to go and keep an eye on him.”
Chen Wengang responded with an “oh.”
The name Wang Qiming sounded somewhat familiar to him.
Not long ago, there was a batch of reimbursement documents from the Huo Foundation that he felt had issues and didn’t sign. The financial transactions involved an entertainment company and a holding company, with the ultimate beneficiaries being surnamed Wang. The Wang family was also a prominent clan in the city, and this Wang Qiming was a young member of the Wang family.
There were many transactions within the foundation, used to avoid some taxes or balance accounts, which wasn’t surprising.
Chen Wengang made a mental note — Wang Qiming was backed by the Wang family business, and Huo Yingfei was backed by Second Uncle Huo’s faction.
That explained why Huo Zhenfei was concerned and sent someone trustworthy to see what they were up to.
Chen Wengang wrapped his arm around Huo Niansheng’s arm. Naturally, the boat would go out to sea, but Huo Niansheng hadn’t said whether he would go or not.
He didn’t press the matter and instead brought up the day Huo Lingchong forced him to sign the documents, and also mentioned the gossip Huo Yingfei had come to spread—
Huo Niansheng laughed as he listened: “Is that really what he said about me?”
Chen Wengang wrapped his arms around his neck: “He said you’re fickle and paranoid. How do you explain that?”
Huo Niansheng pressed their waists together: “Why do I feel that’s not what he meant?”
Chen Wengang hugged him tighter: “I don’t care. In my ears, I only hear those two words.”
Huo Niansheng pressed his forehead against his: “Yes, I am just as he said. Why didn’t you discover it earlier?”
Chen Wengang tightened his arms around his shoulders. In truth, he didn’t care at all about what Huo Niansheng was saying. He cared even less about what unrelated people had said; he was just having a casual conversation. He only wanted to take in Huo Niansheng’s breath and feel his presence in every moment, right here and now.
If having Huo Niansheng by his side still couldn’t bring him complete peace, then he really didn’t know what would.
They soaked in the pool until the time when the street racers started their activities, then showered and returned to the bedroom.
The next day, there was nothing more to do. After noon, they prepared to head back home.
Before leaving, while Chen Wengang helped the housekeeper clean the kitchen, Huo Niansheng went to the study alone. He rechecked the documents in the safe; all the seals were untouched, the surveillance was functioning normally, and he restored the bookshelf to its original state.
On the drive back to the city, Chen Wengang got sleepy in the afternoon and dozed off against the seat.
Huo Niansheng glanced sideways at him, his face calm, but his mind was in turmoil.
In reality, the documents were both important and not that important. The purpose of this trip was to inform Chen Wengang of some things he needed to know, but at the same time, Huo Niansheng also wanted to confirm some things he cared about.
Since it was undoubtedly true that Chen Wengang had secrets, it was hard for Huo Niansheng not to think about it.
What did he know? What had he seen? Had he also had the same dreams?
If in those dreams Chen Wengang had also picked up all his memories, many of his reactions seemed to have a reasonable explanation.
But there was no evidence.
As Huo Niansheng turned the steering wheel to the left, he was momentarily distracted and hurriedly straightened the wheels. The corner they had just passed was where he had thrown away the ring. Did Chen Wengang know about that? What happened afterward? In such a situation, what would become of them in the end?
Huo Niansheng still had no clue, so he chose to probe, thinking it was the least harmful way.
However, Chen Wengang’s reaction was much stronger than he had imagined.
Huo Niansheng’s gaze darkened, and so did his mood. On the one hand, it seemed he had hit the mark, but on the other, it felt like he had touched a switch that shouldn’t have been touched. He was like someone blindly extracting a pearl from an oyster, potentially getting nothing, and instead getting his hand clamped.
Or perhaps, in the worst-case scenario, the oyster shell would never open for him again due to his haste.
Huo Niansheng didn’t speak the entire way, only waking Chen Wengang when they reached the parking lot.
They returned to the apartment. The housekeeper had taken two days off and, finding herself bored during the downtime, happily went to make them dinner.
Chen Wengang helped her peel onions, the older and younger pair squeezed in the kitchen, chatting about the supermarket discount on eggs.
As usual, when Huo Niansheng sat down at the table, the housekeeper stopped chatting and went back to the kitchen to eat.
As for the friction in the villa study, neither of them brought it up again.
Afterwards, Chen Wengang reflected that he had acted like a child unable to face reality, stubbornly covering his ears and refusing to listen, as if ignoring it would prevent anything bad from happening. In reality, Huo Niansheng wasn’t wrong; it was just that emotionally, he couldn’t accept it.
Huo Niansheng didn’t bother him with it anymore, but Chen Wengang knew he wouldn’t change his mind.
Out of a certain mindset, Chen Wengang even went so far as to ask Lawyer Zhu to draft a personal will for him—
Reciprocating the gesture, if he were to die unexpectedly, all his assets would go to his partner, without leaving anything out.
Lawyer Zhu agreed very quickly to this request, and it was simple to execute, from signing to notarization, everything went smoothly.
But after everything was done, the lawyer finally spoke slowly: “Are you doing this to spite the boss?”
Chen Wengang sat in the office chair opposite him, dazed for a long time: “Was it that obvious?”
Lawyer Zhu was already quite familiar with him and gave a professional smile: “—it’s almost written on your face. Drafting this document doesn’t seem like an expression of love; it looks more like seeking revenge on someone.”
Chen Wengang gave a bitter smile and rubbed his brow in front of him: “Rest assured, my allocation of the assets is sincere and not impulsive. If something were to happen to me, the person I care about would not be neglected, and my career wouldn’t be left unattended… I want him to understand what this feels like.”
Lawyer Zhu looked at him, unclear if he understood or not.
Chen Wengang sighed: “I’m not mad at him; I’m mad at myself. I hate myself for being so indecisive, for having everything and still hesitating when by all accounts my life should be perfect. I can’t bring myself to say what needs to be said or do what needs to be done. I just overthink and get angry for no reason… Am I just troubling myself?”
Lawyer Zhu comforted him: “That’s normal. Everyone has pressures that others can’t see. Do you need psychological counseling? I’ve been seeing a therapist myself recently, and I think it’s been helpful. I can refer you if you’d like.”
Chen Wengang politely declined his offer.
But he knew where he had collapsed.
Even Huo Niansheng had noticed the signs—
Chen Wengang seemed to cling to him even more. If he was out of sight for more than a few hours, he would send a message, even if it was just an emoji, a word, or a punctuation mark, as long as he got a reply. If Huo Niansheng didn’t reply, he wouldn’t keep sending messages, but Huo himself couldn’t bear it.
Lawyer Zhu had even pointed out that Chen Wengang’s anxiety might be severe—just seeing a message go unanswered for more than fifteen minutes made Huo Niansheng think of him chewing on his glasses frame.
This was a problem he had caused himself, so Huo Niansheng had to develop the habit of checking messages promptly, not even daring to put his phone on silent.
Previously, whether going to and from work, if Huo Niansheng had time, he would pick up and drop off Chen Wengang. If he didn’t have time, they would meet at home in the evening. Now, since Chen Wengang got off work early, if Huo Niansheng was busy, he would go to Huo Niansheng’s office and quietly wait to go home together.
Only today, he happened to be unable to find time to visit Huo Niansheng.
A fixed sponsorship project at the Huo Foundation had run into a problem. It was a mistake in Xiao Gao’s responsibilities; he had mixed up the inventory lists for two projects. Chen Wengang helped him resolve the issue, working late into the night.
But in reality, Xiao Gao had never worked overtime before, let alone stayed this late after dark.
“In a bit, I don’t know if there will still be buses running. The last one is about to stop…”
“Can you take the subway home?” Chen Wengang glanced at him.
Xiao Gao whispered, “Only the bus goes directly to my place. Taking the subway would mean four transfers to get there… Chen Wengang, it’s not the same for us workers as it is for someone like you who has a car and can be picked up. Even taking a taxi is something we have to think about for a long time.”
Chen Wengang couldn’t help but look up, “Wouldn’t this be avoidable if you were more careful next time?”
Xiao Gao thought he was dissatisfied and didn’t say anything further.
It was only after nine that they basically finished up. The whole 19th floor was dark except for their office, which was lit by a single lonely lamp, making it feel eerie.
There was a sudden noise outside the door, and Xiao Gao, scared, shouted, “Who’s there?”
Chen Wengang hadn’t realized this guy was afraid of the dark. He grabbed him and went out to look around:
“There’s nothing there.”
Xiao Gao, feeling uneasy, didn’t want to stay any longer. He quickly gathered his things, said goodbye, and left.
So, Chen Wengang was left alone. He went to the break room, washed the teacup he had used, and when he returned to the office, he was suddenly grabbed by a hand that reached out of nowhere. It covered his mouth and dragged him inside, a warm breath whispering in his ear: “Don’t make a sound.”
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Oh my god 😳 I need to know what happens next! I can’t wait 😊😊
“Xiao Gao whispered, “Only the bus goes directly to my place. Taking the subway would mean four transfers to get there… Chen Wengang, it’s not the same for us workers as it is for someone like you who has a car and can be picked up. Even taking a taxi is something we have to think about for a long time.” Chen Wengang couldn’t help but look up, “Wouldn’t this be avoidable if you were more careful next time?”” Is this guy serious? He messed up at work and instead of trying to fix it quietly, he’s complaining because he has to work overtime? I’m the last person to tell people that they should sacrifice themselves for their job, but at the very least, correct your own mistakes dude…
Tell me about it . And it’s not even your regular work atmosphere where you’re overworked or constantly under pressure or is being misbehaved with . The work atmosphere there is quite relax . People have higher chances of mistake when overworked and under constant pressure, but this guy have been dumping his share of work on the female assistant all his life and still complaints shamelessly. It’s not unjust to envy the rich but you yourself aren’t a good person either lol , if he was born into a wealthy family ,he would definitely be the type to go astray. Can’t believe this bish is still trying to dump his mistakes on our bub wengang .