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Chapter 116: What about my Wengang?

At the very beginning, Chen Wengang hadn’t even thought about where he wanted to go.

He just didn’t want to stay in familiar surroundings—the wardrobe was half filled with Huo Niansheng’s clothes, ties, socks, and opening the cupboard, there was his lighter, watch, pen, used glass…

Following the car ahead onto the elevated road, he drove aimlessly for a while, until he unconsciously found himself heading towards the outskirts.

Chen Wengang collected his thoughts and, after some consideration, turned onto the road leading to the hillside villas.

When he was close to his destination, it was already late, and he encountered a group of racing enthusiasts overtaking him from behind. Chen Wengang remained indifferent, just slowing down his speed, watching as the young riders swiftly disappeared into the distance.

He drove his car until it reached the wire fence where he couldn’t go any further, as his license plate wasn’t registered in the security system. At this time, the security guards were off duty, and the staff were probably all asleep.

Chen Wengang wanted to check the time, only to realize he wasn’t wearing his watch. He reached for his phone, but it was already dead.

After searching for a while, he remembered that the time was also displayed in the car, the faint screen just passing 0:00.

It was December 24th, and it was almost Christmas Eve; he only then realized the hustle and bustle on the streets were for that reason.

Chen Wengang left his car outside, thankfully he had entered his fingerprint before, so he used the password to open the small gate and slowly walked up.

The ivy was dense and eerie, climbing straight up to the wall, with the castle-like villa disappearing into the endless darkness.

Opening the door and entering the house, there were too many memories here, but he had another reason for coming. Chen Wengang stopped in the living room for a moment, then went up the spiral staircase. He remembered he should take a look at the safe Huo Niansheng had shown him, wondering if there were any clues he missed. As the days passed, even he began to doubt if Huo Niansheng had really done something wrong.

His hand touched the door of the study, but the door was ajar.

Chen Wengang’s first reaction was that the butler was here packing things up.

But which employee would be so diligent, working for the absent employer in the middle of the night?

There were a few soft noises inside the room, just downstairs, with the curtains tightly drawn on the second floor, he hadn’t noticed that the lights were still on in this room. The soft light illuminated a tall man holding a stack of documents. He looked up and glanced at Chen Wengang.

Not seeing him for a long time, Huo Niansheng was not in a mess, still in a suit and tie, his hair neatly combed, every corner of his eyes and brows exuding elegance.

Chen Wengang choked up, feeling like he was in a dream.

Huo Niansheng also stood still, but his body had already moved, striding over and pulling him into his arms tightly, “I’m back.”

Chen Wengang felt like his throat was stuffed with cotton, subconsciously hooking his hands tightly around his back, his heart rate skyrocketing. His mind was also a mess of cotton, unable to think of anything, just feeling his eyes swelling with tears, a seed rapidly sprouting in his chest, wanting to burst out.

Huo Niansheng lowered his head, continuously kissing his forehead and eyes, repeating again, “Wengang, I’m back.”

This time, Chen Wengang sensed something different in his words—he dared not think, the Huo Niansheng in front of him was just the same as before, yet there was a slight change— he couldn’t describe it, the fleeting sense of discord was as if it were a hallucination.

“When did you come back?” Chen Wengang looked up at him, the light reflecting two patches in his pupils.

“Just today.”

“Why didn’t you tell me…”

“I called you, but your phone was off the whole time.”

“I…” Chen Wengang understood, “I didn’t charge my phone all day, it shut down automatically.”

“I flew back and passed through customs. Huo Zhenfei’s secretary picked me up to avoid being bothered by reporters, so I came here first.” Huo Niansheng said, “After coming back, I still have to cooperate with the investigation, but I just wanted to see you first. But you didn’t answer the phone, and I couldn’t find out where you were.”

Chen Wengang leaned against his chest with his eyes closed, then opened his mouth, “It’s good that you’re back. Whatever happens, I’ll be with you.”

The anticipated joy and tears did not erupt, in the end, there was only this faint sentence.

The two of them walked towards the bedroom upstairs, with Huo Niansheng explaining: “I took a taxi with an assistant sent by the local branch office. He was bribed by my second uncle, holding a gun wanting to hijack the car. They probably hoped for my disappearance, making it easier to pin the money laundering charges on me. Later, when we were driving to the outskirts, I wanted to disarm him, but then the driver suddenly resisted and crashed into the bridge railing.

“As a result, there was an accident, the driver and the car were still on the bridge, and we both fell into the river. That person was swept away when he went into the water, most likely in grave danger. I managed to swim to the riverbank and grabbed onto a tree root to pull myself ashore, then went back to retrieve my documents and called the police.

“But when I fell into the water, I probably hit my head, and my mind went blank. Acting on instinct, I thought I didn’t know if anyone else had been bribed. After reporting to the police, I left on my own. Fortunately, it was just intermittent amnesia, and after a few days, I slowly remembered everything, knowing that you must have been worried…”

With each additional word, Chen Wengang felt more scared, as Huo Niansheng spoke so casually, he couldn’t imagine the scene at that time.

If there had been a mistake at any stage, it would have been a permanent farewell.

Arriving at the bedroom, Chen Wengang reached out to push the door open. Huo Niansheng followed closely behind, and with a click, the door was locked.

The sound was chilling, and Chen Wengang’s heart skipped a beat.

As he turned around, Huo Niansheng pulled him in front of him, pressing him against the door and kissing him fiercely.

Chen Wengang was powerless to resist, pressed against the door panel, Huo Niansheng was like a wild beast suddenly gone mad, holding him tightly in his arms.

“I finally…” The rest of his words were swallowed. Chen Wengang was almost suffocated by him.

Huo Niansheng’s strength was like he wanted to crush him, or punish him. Chen Wengang both desired him and feared this sudden ferocity, instinctively trying to struggle.

Suddenly, his body was lifted, Huo Niansheng held him horizontally and threw him onto the bed.

Then, without bothering to take off his coat, he pressed down on him. With his limbs firmly restrained, Chen Wengang had nowhere to escape. Huo Niansheng roughly tore off his clothes, throwing the belt to the ground, as Chen Wengang tried to retreat into the bed, but his ankles were caught and dragged back.

Huo Niansheng dangerously asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Chen Wengang stopped resisting, helplessly holding onto his hand, surrendering himself to his dominance.

Huo Niansheng eventually softened, pulling the person into his arms, pressing them to his chest. “Don’t be afraid, I missed you. Let me touch you, okay?”

He slowed down his movements, slowly exploring, indeed as he had said, from the neck to the ankles, gently and tenderly advancing.

Finally, he gently pushed aside Chen Wengang’s hair, his lips tenderly brushing against his cheek, that soft touch like a gentle breeze.

Chen Wengang looked at Huo Niansheng in a daze, his eyes gradually turning red.

He asked, “Do you know everything?”

Huo Niansheng looked into his eyes. “When I crawled out of the water, I almost thought I had just escaped from a boat… But upon closer inspection, oh, it wasn’t the sea. I couldn’t remember how I fell into the river at that moment, or where I was. But at that time, the only thing I could think of was you. I thought about how much suffering you had endured, how much pain you had gone through…”

“You…”

“You see, sometimes a bump isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Forgetting about what happened now clears space for what happened before.” Huo Niansheng hugged him. “So I didn’t tell anyone, I also need some time to digest, to piece things together and figure out what happened.”

After speaking, the person beneath him remained silent for a long time, their head hanging low on his chest. Huo Niansheng lowered his head to lift the other’s face.

Chen Wengang’s eyes were filled with a layer of mist, holding onto Huo Niansheng’s neck, trembling in his embrace like a leaf in the wind.

Huo Niansheng couldn’t bear to see him like this. “It’s okay, it’s all in the past now, everything’s fine. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

Chen Wengang shook his head, his guilty conscience suffocating him. “I… I’m sorry.”

His tears finally streamed down his cheeks. “Niansheng, I regret it… I regret that when you were still here, I didn’t treat you well… I didn’t know how to cherish… I’ve never dared to think about it, the regret you carried when you left…”

Huo Niansheng’s eyes also turned slightly red, covering Chen Wengang’s mouth. “You definitely don’t have as much regret as I do. I regret it so much. I regret that I only knew about your accident afterwards, regret why I got on that boat. I don’t care about dying, but when it came down to it, the only thing I couldn’t let go of was you. At that moment, I only had one thought: what about my Wengang? With no one to take care of you in the future, and you wouldn’t take care of yourself properly, refusing to even step out the door. There are still decades of life ahead, living all alone, how would you manage…”

Chen Wengang sobbed uncontrollably in his arms, like a child grievously wronged.

Huo Niansheng had said he could cry in front of him, allowing all the sadness from both past and present to be released without reservation.

They held each other tightly, the soft mattress supporting their weight. Huo Niansheng had one arm supporting his body, the other wrapped around Chen Wengang’s waist. Chen Wengang held onto his neck, crying until his voice was hoarse, tears streaming down onto Huo Niansheng’s neck.

Huo Niansheng’s heart was also breaking, patting his back gently. “Wengang, my dear, don’t cry…”

The scalding tears slowly turned cold on the skin, forming a chilling patch, as if leaving a permanent mark on him.

Chen Wengang finally cried himself out.

His brain felt dizzy and unbalanced from lack of oxygen, his throat hoarse, unable to make a sound. Huo Niansheng first pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his tears, but it became soaked, not enough, so he grabbed a towel to wipe, and finally he carried Chen Wengang to the bathroom to wash his face.

Chen Wengang refused to leave Huo Niansheng’s side for a moment, wishing he could also transform into a vine, growing on Huo Niansheng forever.

After a long time, they lay back on the bed, whispering to each other in the dead of night.

Huo Niansheng stroked his hair, pouring out his heart gently. “I should have remembered earlier… These years, I always felt like I was waiting for someone, but I wasn’t sure who it was. Even if someone tried to get close to me, none of them felt right. No wonder people say, once you’ve experienced the vastness of the sea… It wasn’t until I met you that I suddenly realized what I wanted. At that moment, I knew I had to chase you down.”

Chen Wengang chuckled with a hoarse voice. “I don’t believe it. You don’t even remember, how could you have fallen for me at first sight?”

Huo Niansheng gently said, “It’s true. When I saw you trying on clothes in the mall, I immediately fell in love with you.”

Chen Wengang turned slightly, and Huo Niansheng leaned over him, their lips pressed together. They exchanged many kisses, sometimes intense, sometimes gentle, but this time, there were no secrets between them, burying all the confusion and uncertainty.

Chen Wengang still remembered, he had passed away on a Christmas many years ago.

In the future, he could remember it like this: on this Christmas Eve, he was fortunate enough to regain his lost love.

Author’s note:
Finally, I can reveal it: Yes, Lao Huo has also been reborn, but he had lost some memories before. In this lifetime, from the very beginning, the one who accompanied Chen Wengang was the Huo Niansheng who had once weathered storms with him~

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4 Comments

  1. Oooh, the author is sneaky! For all these chapters, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was worried that HNS was really dead and CWG would go ballistic before offing himself. Then he would try for a third time. I’m glad they’re both alive and remember mostly everything.

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