DLRAS Chapter 143

Chapter 143: It’s fine as long as your cousin isn’t here.

“Alright, I see. See you then.”

Chen Wengang hung up the phone. When he looked down, Huo Niansheng was lying across his lap, looking up at him lazily from below.

Having listened to Chen Wengang talk for quite a while, Huo Niansheng felt rather drowsy and let out a thoroughly bored yawn. Harley, who had been running around all day, was also tired out and breathing with a heavy nasal tone; curling its four paws, it lay propped on Huo Niansheng’s chest, exhaling forcefully with a huff in perfect imitation, its tail occasionally sweeping across his body.

Huo Niansheng raised his hand and scratched the crown of its head. As if perfectly attuned to the touch, Harley’s ears twitched with every stroke.

Watching them, the corners of Chen Wengang’s lips couldn’t help but hook upward. He also reached out to scratch Harley’s forehead before asking, “What about you? Are you going?” Naturally, he was asking Huo Niansheng.

Huo Niansheng asked, “Which charity gala is it exactly?”

Chen Wengang replied, “It’s Mrs. Liang’s ‘Starlight Night.’ It’s held every summer and is incredibly famous, so there’s no way you don’t know about it. Successful individuals from all walks of life, corporate bosses, big-name directors, and a lot of movie stars will be in attendance.”

Huo Niansheng recalled it: “That’s pretty boring. It’s the same red carpet and fashion show every single year. I still remember two young actors who made their debut last year; they spent the entire evening putting on quite a show of affectation. Who knows if they came to raise donations or to solicit clients…”

Amused and exasperated, Chen Wengang gave him a light slap: “I think the only thing on display here is your sharp tongue, Young Master Huo.”

Huo Niansheng shut his mouth, though his face still betrayed his dismissiveness. He idly played with the hem of Chen Wengang’s shirt, showing absolutely no intent to repent.

Chen Wengang’s phone buzzed twice more—it was Zheng Baoqiu sending him the time and location. He lowered his head to reply.

Huo Niansheng added, “Since Zheng Baoqiu came to ask you, what, is Uncle sponsoring it this time around too?”

“Yes.” Chen Wengang nodded.

“Why is an old gentleman like him even attending? He’s probably planning to have Zheng Yucheng make an appearance just to flash the crown prince’s face around.”

Chen Wengang stroked his face and asked back with a smile, “What do you think?”

Huo Niansheng sighed as he sat up: “Help me check my schedule.”

The two had linked their private accounts to share schedules; if one person added a memo, it would automatically sync to the other person’s phone. Chen Wengang flipped through it and smiled: “Alright, you don’t have to put yourself in a dilemma anymore. Your group is holding its semi-annual meeting that day, followed by a celebratory dinner in the evening.”

Huo Niansheng stared at the ceiling, falling into a meaningful silence for a brief moment.

Before Huo Niansheng could speak, Chen Wengang covered his mouth: “Don’t you dare say you’re taking time off from work just for this.”

Huo Niansheng dodged his hand and leaned in close to his ear, murmuring clingily, “Am I not exactly the type of person who idles around doing nothing?”

Chen Wengang patted him: “Weigh it carefully yourself—is serious business more important, or is throwing a jealous fit more important?”

Huo Niansheng rested his head against Chen Wengang’s shoulder, leaning on him as if he had no bones. He closed his eyes, a faint smile gracing the corners of his lips. Then, with a thud, he lay back down, caught Chen Wengang’s wrist, and pulled it up over his head.

Understanding the cue, Chen Wengang massaged his temples. “Besides, that brilliant and majestic cousin of yours already has a bone to pick with me. You hold a seat on the group’s board of directors after all, so what kind of example are you setting by leading the way in skipping work? I’m afraid he’d explode with rage and rush over to our house in the middle of the night just to log your attendance.”

“Caring too much is a defect.” Huo Niansheng rested comfortably in his lap. “Let him overcome it on his own.”

Amidst their chatting and laughing, the bathwater was ready. Huo Niansheng headed to the bathroom first, dropping his clothes all over the floor along the way. Chen Wengang let out a helpless laugh, followed behind to pick them up, and hung them piece by piece on the hangers.

He sat back down on the sofa to continue chatting with Zheng Baoqiu.

Zheng Baoqiu was actually also asking Chen Wengang whether her cousin—who always loved to stir up trouble—would be attending.

Ever since he cut ties with the Zheng family, Chen Wengang and Zheng Baoqiu had maintained close contact over the past few years. They would message each other regularly over trivial things, sharing even the jokes they came across. Chen Wengang didn’t usually follow entertainment trends, so any gossip he heard was second-hand from her.

When Zheng Baoqiu graduated from university last year and took up a position in the group, Chen Wengang had spent a long time acting as her sounding board regarding her future career planning. As for Zheng Maoxun, although the two had their own separate social circles now, they still met up occasionally for gatherings and entertainment; at the very least, their connection hadn’t faded.

When the siblings graduated, Chen Wengang made a special trip to take photos for them, bringing flowers to celebrate. Their commemorative photo was still taken by the campus lake. Compared to when Chen Wengang had graduated, the people wearing the bachelor’s gowns had changed. But no matter which occasion it was, Zheng Yucheng was never in the picture.

Given Zheng Maoxun’s temper, he would most likely spark a confrontation upon seeing Zheng Yucheng, so it was naturally for the best that they didn’t meet. Zheng Baoqiu might have taken a separate photo with her eldest brother, but she possessed an excellent sense of propriety and wouldn’t bring him up without reason.

For Chen Wengang, he had severed half of his past life while preserving the half that deserved to be maintained. He regularly returned to visit Uncle Lin and maintained proper etiquette toward Zheng Bingyi. As for the relationships he didn’t deliberately cultivate, they naturally faded away as time marched on.

He rarely held a grudge against anyone. Even after Mo Qing’s face was accidentally scarred, leading to his depression, he could no longer stay in Jincheng due to the rumors surrounding him. He chose to delay his graduation and go abroad for treatment; over these past few years, Chen Wengang hadn’t inquired about him even once. Similarly, whether Zheng Yucheng’s fiancée was imprisoned for her crimes or the engagement between the Zheng and He families was called off had absolutely nothing to do with him either.

On the return journey, Chen Wengang took over the driving.

By the time they arrived home, it was already midnight. After washing up, they put Harley into its bed, hastily packed up their luggage, and went to sleep. The weather was scorching hot, so Huo Niansheng turned on the air conditioning. However, with a sharp beep, the house suddenly tripped a breaker in the dead of night. Chen Wengang was already so dazed with sleep that he couldn’t open his eyes, feeling only a hand patting him gently. Huo Niansheng told him to sleep first while he went out to inspect the fuses.

Chen Wengang didn’t even know when he came back.

In his half-dreaming, half-waking state, he only felt the surroundings grow cool, accompanied by a warm embrace beside him, which he readily snuggled into.

When he woke up in the morning, Huo Niansheng was holding him by the waist. Returning the favor, Chen Wengang also wrapped an arm tightly around the other man. A whimpering sound echoed behind them. Chen Wengang looked back to find Harley watching them with wide, round eyes, eagerly waiting for its walk.

He spaced out for a moment and smiled gently, kissing Huo Niansheng first and then kissing the dog in turn.

Chen Wengang took the impatient Harley out for a run, buying rice noodle rolls and shumai for breakfast on his way back. Huo Niansheng got up late and was leisurely brushing his teeth in the courtyard. Seeing them return, his first words were, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

After they finished breakfast, Chen Wengang tied his necktie for him, adopting a lecturing posture: “No complaining. Go to work properly and earn money to support the family diligently.”

Harley let out a bark of agreement.

Huo Niansheng laughed, pressed him close for a kiss, and picked up his car keys to head out.

Along the way, neighbors greeted Huo Niansheng, exchanging morning pleasantries.

“Where did you go over the weekend?”

“Meeting a client today? You look quite sharp.”

He lived with Chen Wengang on Jiangchao Street. Although certain things were never explicitly stated, everyone held a tacit understanding regarding their relationship. As for the two of them, they also shared a few tacit agreements. Huo Niansheng had quietly changed his vehicle; his Spirit of Ecstasy had been replaced by a Trident, and he routinely drove an inconspicuous Mercedes-Benz back and forth. Even the clothes he brought over here had no obvious logos. It was just that very few people could recognize that his unbranded clothes were actually far more expensive than those with visible brands, except for when he wore Chen Wengang’s clothes.

Chen Wengang checked his emails. His doctoral advisor was currently abroad and didn’t place any urgent academic demands on their cohort of students, but that didn’t mean they were completely left to fend for themselves. He needed to read various literatures in advance, organize data, and find time to handle the foundation’s work.

Now, an extra task had been added: dealing with all kinds of old classmates and friends.

Ever since Cheng Bo ran into that awkward blunder during the previous classmate reunion he initiated, he had laid low in the group chat for quite a while, remaining silent. It wasn’t until ten days to half a month had passed and the incident had gradually faded from memory that he relapsed into his old ways, continuing to talk about his family business.

Chen Wengang had been a long-time lurker, almost never speaking up in the group. But times had changed; now, someone would occasionally pull him into conversations to ask for his opinion. The number of people adding him privately as a friend had increased, and even more classmates came to him looking for favors or help—one wanting to borrow $50,000 to scrape together a down payment for a house, another asking if he could help find a specialist because their parents were hospitalized, and someone else asking if he could arrange a job for their cousin… the list went on.

Fortunately, Chen Wengang remained a principled person, absolutely refusing to take on things he shouldn’t. The sole exception was the female classmate who had helped deflect the drinks that day. She paid him a visit, bringing a pile of nutritional supplements, and spoke up hesitantly, explaining that she had a younger sister with some intellectual disabilities who had also gone to school out of town. Having heard that he worked at a foundation, she came to inquire if there were any suitable employment channels.

Chen Wengang didn’t make any excuses this time, quickly bringing out a registration form for her to fill out.

The female classmate let out a sigh of relief: “I was worried you’d be difficult to approach. They said…”

Chen Wengang smiled: “How could that be? My capabilities are limited; it’s just that I really can’t help with other matters.”

Reassured, the female classmate felt a bit self-conscious: “That’s good then. I was afraid you’d take on everything just to save face, helping this person and that person, only to end up unable to extricate yourself. To tell you the truth, you have no idea—when we went for karaoke later that day, Cheng Bo failed in his attempt to flaunt his wealth. You know how Huang Jian and his crowd are; they were being thoroughly sarcastic, yet behind your back, they praised you to high heaven. I think they have ulterior motives.”

“Me?” Chen Wengang laughed, “What could they possibly want from me?”

“To put it bluntly, in this day and age, as long as you don’t lend money to people carelessly, you’ll be fine. In any case, thank you.”

Chen Wengang escorted her to the door: “Don’t worry about it. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything.”

In the blink of an eye, the day of the “Starlight Night” charity gala arrived.

Mrs. Liang was the widow of the city’s tycoon, Liang Qing. The charity gala held by the Liang family boasted a long-standing tradition, inviting numerous celebrities and socialites to attend each year. With stars and big shots vying for glamour under the spotlight, it truly resembled a red carpet show and a social stage for the elite.

The Niangang Foundation was only beginning to make a name for itself, and Chen Wengang did not hold the highest rank within it. Originally, given his status, he wouldn’t have been eligible for an invitation. However, courtesy of Huo Niansheng’s reputation, their foundation ultimately received two invitation cards. Since Huo Niansheng, the investor, wasn’t attending himself, one of them ended up in Chen Wengang’s hands. Dressed in a haute couture suit, he spotted Zheng Baoqiu at the venue, wearing a sapphire-blue gown with her hair pinned up.

She appeared more mature than when she had first entered university; her gown was no longer chosen for its flashiness, her makeup was proper, and she looked radiantly beautiful.

Zheng Baoqiu was delighted to see him: “You’re always dressed so plainly on regular days; you’ve finally seen fit to bring out this set of attire.”

Chen Wengang smiled and said, “Don’t make it sound like I usually dress up specifically to go begging.”

Zheng Baoqiu lowered her voice: “My brother is present today. Is that alright?”

Chen Wengang also kept his voice down: “It’s fine, as long as your cousin isn’t here.”

As the two chatted and laughed, Zheng Yucheng’s gaze swept over. He raised his glass toward Chen Wengang from a distance. A few friends beside him followed his gaze to look over as well, but Chen Wengang had already averted his eyes, acting as if he hadn’t seen a thing.

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