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Chapter 21.2
When he was asleep, Huo Niansheng had just returned to his office.
Assistant Amanda gave a signal with her eyes, indicating that there was a visitor.
His younger brother, Huo Jingsheng, was waiting inside and had been there for a while.
Bored, Huo Jingsheng played with a dart in his hand; it was a little gadget in his office with a circular target hanging by the door.
Upon seeing him, Huo Niansheng approached and asked, “Have you been waiting long? If you were coming, why didn’t you give a heads-up?”
The two brothers embraced each other with fake affection.
Huo Jingsheng smiled, “I was just passing by, and on a whim, I thought I’d come and see you. Dage, your place is still quite impressive.”
In front of him was a massive floor-to-ceiling window, offering a panoramic view of half the city and the vast, distant sea.
Amanda walked in, refilled the teacup in front of him, and brought a cup of espresso for Huo Niansheng.
Huo Niansheng’s enthusiasm burst forth only for a moment before he composed himself. He sat behind the spacious, solid wood desk, lazily opened a folder, and paid little attention to the people. Huo Jingsheng was left awkwardly sitting on the guest sofa, his face somewhat stiff and his eyes darting around.
He tossed the dart back onto the coffee table and said, “Dage, actually, it’s Second Uncle who sent me.”
“How is that old man doing?”
“In the past two years, his health has not been as good as before. With age, he tends to be more lenient, asking you to visit the family when you’re not too busy.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Niansheng asked, “Not good? How bad is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Stroke? Heart attack? Tumor? Hemiplegia? How many more years does he have left?”
“You… he…” The tea in Huo Jingsheng’s mouth went down the wrong pipe, and he coughed violently, his face turning red.
Huo Niansheng chuckled, walked over again, bent down, picked up the dart he had thrown, and twirled it between his fingers, “Joking! Why are you so surprised? It’s not like it’s the first day you’ve known me. I speak bluntly. If the body is not well, retire. If you need rest, take a break. Elderly people should go fishing, enjoy nature, and not stress about trivial matters.”
Huo Jingsheng coughed for a while before recovering, “Dage,” he forced a smile, “are you still holding grudges?”
Huo Niansheng sat down next to him, legs stretched out and resting on the coffee table. With his long arms and legs, he squeezed Huo Jingsheng into a corner of the sofa. Unwilling to get too close to him, Huo Jingsheng awkwardly tried to shift away, feeling quite cramped.
Huo Jingsheng tentatively said, “Second Uncle…”
Swoosh! The sharply honed dart pierced the bullseye.
“My hand slipped,” Huo Niansheng clicked his tongue, turning to look at him, “What were you saying just now?”
Huo Jingsheng was at a loss for words.
In the previous years, their father passed away, triggering a fierce inheritance battle among the siblings. Huo Niansheng formed a private alliance with the Second Uncle, but wasn’t Huo Niansheng already in cahoots with the Third Uncle long ago? Second Uncle wanted to unite them, but eventually, with the mediation of the Third Uncle, Huo Niansheng acquired shares, went to Zhang City, and completed the deal in one go.
Huo Niansheng was in charge of real estate development and venture capital for Huo’s in that area. Before Huo Jingsheng came, Second Uncle asked him to inquire but not discuss business; he just engaged in casual conversation. However, even that didn’t lead to much. Huo Niansheng seemed like a carefree shopkeeper, only interested in eating, drinking, and having fun.
Huo Jingsheng changed his approach and opened his mouth, “Second Uncle hopes that you can…”
Again, with a swift motion, another dart was released, closer to the bullseye this time, grazing the edge and counting as a nine.
Huo Jingsheng frowned and exclaimed, “Dage!”
On the coffee table in front of him were several entertainment tabloids. Before Huo Niansheng arrived, Huo Jingsheng had already boredly flipped through them.
Unable to resist, he lowered his head to take another look.
One of the gossip articles mocked a certain young master for trying to please Huo Niansheng through a bunch of public relations efforts, ending up awkwardly causing offense. Among the informed circles, it became a laughingstock. The next day, it was rumored that Huo Niansheng was seen entering and leaving a hotel late at night with a popular actress, speculating on the sensuality inside the room…
For some unknown reason, the assistant had casually placed them here. Of course, it could be bought for the boss to review.
But when her boss saw it, he clearly didn’t care.
Huo Jingsheng helplessly said, “Second Uncle also hopes that you can restrain yourself a bit. In Zhang City, you can be carefree, but now that you’re back, you’re constantly attracting ridiculous rumors. You still want to join the board of directors. How can the shareholders trust you? Investor confidence is like grass on the wall. Do we all have to worry every day about seeing your scandals in the newspapers just for your sake?”
Huo Niansheng laughed without saying a word, neither angry nor concerned, seemingly unaffected by his words.
Huo Jingsheng couldn’t hold back, “Dage, these are things you need to consider carefully.”
Huo Niansheng smiled, “I heard good news is coming your way. It seems you’ve considered it carefully.”
Huo Jingsheng forced a smile, “Not quite; just found a suitable person; still in the process of getting to know each other.”
Huo Niansheng put his feet down from the coffee table, crossing his legs, “Congratulations, congratulations.”
Huo Jingsheng advised, “Marriage, even though they say it’s a walled city, you still have to enter it. The key is to find the right person. Someone like you is suitable for someone gentle, virtuous, sensible, not troublesome, giving you a legitimate status at home while not hindering your playtime…”
Men ultimately understand men’s thoughts. Huo Niansheng’s face didn’t show much, but his eyes flickered for a moment.
Suddenly, Amanda knocked on the door, reminding Huo Niansheng that there was a meeting about to start.
Huo Jingsheng was about to continue, but seeing this, he had to take his leave first.
Amanda escorted him back, and as she opened the door, she saw the boss casually sitting on the sofa, gesturing with a dart in his hand.
She remained calm, and all she heard was a swift sound as the dart’s tail spun, enveloped in airflow, hitting the bullseye accurately.
She glanced at the target, then said in a flat tone, “This behavior is very dangerous.”
Huo Niansheng agreed, “You’re right. Actually, I wanted to hit the back of Huo Jingsheng’s head.”
He walked over, took out the three darts, and walked back, throwing them into the storage box. Amanda lowered her head to look at the coffee table, intending to put away the tabloid and place it back on the nearby bookshelf. Huo Niansheng beat her to it and casually stacked the papers, “I’ll handle it myself.”
With one hand in his pocket, he folded the stack of papers with the other, making a clattering sound as he tossed it into the wastebasket.
After she left, Huo Niansheng casually opened the drawer of his desk.
In the corner were several photos of Chen Wengang.
The top one was slightly tilted at the edges, and upon closer inspection, it had been cut. Originally, it was a group photo, but now only half of it remained, featuring a single person.
However, this was the most heartwarming shot. The person in the photo looked towards the camera, their gaze tender, and their eyes and brows reminiscent of the elusive mist over the sea.
Huo Niansheng looked down for a moment, smiled sarcastically, took out all the photos, put them in an empty envelope, and then threw them back. He continued to clean out the drawer, pulling out a few discarded receipts and tossing them into the wastebasket.
***
Not long after, Chen Wengang received a call from his uncle, Chen Zeng, complaining about his hardships.
The common troubles and worries of ordinary people boil down to a few things: cars, bills, and houses.
They recently got a new commuting car at home, and the monthly car loan was several thousand. The price of fuel kept rising; they planned to buy a school district house in the new city area for the future education of their son, but they hadn’t saved up enough for the down payment; even though the two brothers were still young, they would eventually need to buy a house for each of them in the future. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find wives. But property prices wait for no one, and they need to start saving now. Buying a house is just the beginning; they also need a dowry…
Despite the complaints, both Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen didn’t dare to make unreasonable demands.
He called a few times, seeing that Chen Wengang showed no signs of relenting due to soft-heartedness, and this matter had to be left as it was.
The house was registered under Chen Wengang’s name, but the right to use it was in his uncle’s hands. According to the agreement, it would be returned after clearing out the tenants.
He hadn’t had the time to go back and check recently. Chen Xiangling had taken the initiative to keep an eye on it, ensuring that his parents didn’t secretly rent out the house again.
The calculation of the inheritance was a bit more complex, but it didn’t take a long time to resolve.
Lawyer Cao was efficient, accounting for every penny and including interest. Chen Wengang trusted him and directly signed the documents.
Everything progressed quickly and smoothly, so much so that it seemed lacking in realism.
For Chen Wengang, the last thing his father left him was a sudden text message from the bank, reminding him that a large sum of money had been deposited into his account.
Looking at that text message, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy.
To alleviate this melancholy feeling, Chen Xiangling quietly sent him a message.
Chen Xiangling secretly bought a set of high school textbooks and started self-studying during her free time. She couldn’t discuss this with anyone else, not even her friends, so she had to consult with her cousin. Chen Wengang had already identified a good cram school, talked to the enrollment teacher, and confirmed that the student status could be arranged.
Unconsciously, half a month passed.
Everyone in the Zheng family was busy.
It was the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Zhengshi Group, and centennial anniversaries were always celebrated extravagantly. Lately, Mr. Zheng had been meeting old friends frequently, and there was a noticeable increase in visitors. Mrs. Zheng, Huo Meijie, lingered in beauty salons, jewelry stores, high-end fashion stores, and the like.
The celebration was a formal occasion, and a glamorous appearance was essential.
When Chen Wengang became an adult, he had a set of evening wear tailor-made for such occasions. Custom suits usually had some room for adjustments, anticipating the wearer’s potential weight gain as the years passed. He had always been slim, but in the past two years, he has continued to grow taller, gaining an additional three to four centimeters.
He went to the store to measure the new size. The tailor politely explained that no matter how much allowance was given this time, the pants length would still be barely enough.
If one were to pay attention to every detail, it would be advisable to remake the entire suit. However, a high-end suit came with a hefty price tag, probably reaching six figures, and the completion time varied from two weeks to several months.
Chen Wengang hesitated for a moment, expressing that he would consider it next time; this time, it would be fine to modify the existing clothes.
However, two or three days later, people from the store called him again, asking him to come in for a fitting and fabric selection.
“Last time, I accidentally splashed water on you, right?” Huo Niansheng explained over the phone, “Consider this an apology.”
When Chen Wengang saw Amanda, Huo Niansheng’s assistant, at school, she waited for him after class and drove him to the store.
At this point, her gaze toward Chen Wengang still treated him as a stranger, at most thinking that he was the target the boss wanted to pursue.
Chen Wengang thanked her gently, and Amanda seemed slightly stunned when faced with his smiling expression.
She scrutinized him for a moment, certain that she had no impression of having interacted with this young man.
The two exchanged polite handshakes.
It was the first time they had met in their lives.
Undoubtedly, Huo Niansheng took the initiative. To be honest, Amanda hesitated at first. It wasn’t until she saw Chen Wengang that she faintly sensed that it might not be as expected. He seemed to have an almost bottomless tolerance for Huo Niansheng as if nothing Huo Niansheng did could provoke his temper.
If that’s the case, it could only be a mutual agreement where one party was willing to give and the other was willing to take.
What she saw was not the true twenty-year-old Chen Wengang.
In his youth, he had to uphold his self-esteem, and all dignity was balanced on a sensitive point as if adding a bit of copper smell or being accused of being materialistic would be unbearable. Until he sailed through numerous vicissitudes and exhausted all avenues, ultimately he didn’t care about anything regarding Huo Niansheng.
Huo Niansheng had already given him everything he could give. At this point, what was there to be pretentious about?
All the warnings from others about him were not wrong; Huo Niansheng’s true nature was a realm of chaos.
But didn’t Chen Wengang know who he was?
He might be the one who knew the most.
With Chen Wengang’s evening wear sorted out, Zheng Baoqiu spent an entire afternoon dragging him to try on new dresses.
Men’s formal wear styles were quite similar, and one set could be worn back and forth, with accessories changed each time.
The fashion and social circles placed many demands on women.
While there were no explicit rules in banquet etiquette stating that a dress couldn’t be worn twice, it would still be considered disrespectful. The grander the occasion, especially among wealthy people, the more prevalent the trend of comparison. In such an atmosphere, not many people could completely break free from the constraints.
Zheng Baoqiu chose a champagne gold dress, adorned with large satin ribbon roses on the skirt hem.
Chen Wengang had been adept at accompanying her to pick dresses from a young age. These high-end dresses, beautiful as they were, often used various embroidery, thin fabrics, and handmade lace, making cleaning and ironing quite challenging.
From the design stage, they rarely considered post-care issues; they focused solely on how to make them look splendid.
These were consumables for a fleeting moment.
When they were about to leave, Zheng Baoqiu whispered to Chen Wengang, “Actually, I ran into Dajie in this store last time. She…”
She glanced around and lowered her voice, “She seemed to want to ask if she could borrow a dress from the store, but was rejected.”
Chen Wengang also asked in a hushed tone, “Did she tell you why?”
Zheng Baoqiu shook her head, “How would she open up to me? Too bad she can’t fit into my clothes; otherwise, I could lend her this outfit.”
This girl remained sensitive and considerate.
Zheng Dongqing, as the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, had married her college classmate a few years ago. Initially, it was a love match, and although Mr. Zheng was not entirely pleased, he eventually acquiesced to his daughter’s wishes. Her husband, Xiang Hao, came from a modest family but later started his own business, managing a freight forwarding company.
After marriage, Zheng Dongqing’s finances were separated from her family. Now, she was unwilling to spend a high price to customize a dress or at least buy a luxury brand ready-to-wear. Perhaps this indicated that the financial situation of their couple was not that ideal. Of course, being financially constrained did not necessarily mean being impoverished.
It should be at a level where they still live better than the average person, but they inevitably fell out of this social circle.
However, she still had a family trust and various financial dividends, so she shouldn’t have fallen into such a plight.
As the youngest in the family, Zheng Baoqiu was not suitable to bring up this matter, so she shifted the responsibility to Chen Wengang.
Chen Wengang sighed and went to Zheng Baoqiu’s father’s study.
Zheng Baoqiu’s father, Zheng Bingyi, was not completely indifferent to his eldest daughter; he just didn’t pay attention to so many details. After hearing about it, he expressed that he knew.
Before Chen Wengang left, Zheng Bingyi called him back, “When He Shibo goes abroad, there will be younger family members representing the He family.”
He didn’t explicitly mention whether it was He Wanxin or He Jiajun, or perhaps both, and he didn’t convey any specific meaning.
Chen Wengang didn’t ask more and just nodded, “I know what to do.”
Zheng Bingyi was satisfied. He opened a drawer, rummaged through it, and handed Chen Wengang a Lexus key, “Maoxun has made significant progress during this time, and I can see that. The car is already parked in the garage. Take it out when you have time and give it a try.”
Chen Wengang was about to refuse.
Zheng Bingyi said, “Take it; it should have been assigned to you long ago. You used to say you didn’t need it, but now it’s inconvenient to go out without transportation.”
Meanwhile, the evening suit sent by Ho Niansheng was delivered to the Zheng family by the store.
When Chen Wengang tried it on again, he discovered that the collar was embroidered with initials.
For custom suits, either the wearer’s name was embroidered or the spouse’s name. But on his suit, the abbreviation of Ho Niansheng’s name was prominently embroidered.
Chen Wengang could only helplessly smile at this revelation.
He pretended not to notice anything and hung the suit back in its dustproof bag.
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