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Chapter 36: Someone silently placed a fresh flower of love in my hands.
About this issue, it seems like Huo Niansheng has already asked many times.
Chen Wengang answered one last night, but unfortunately, it’s something he couldn’t provide.
Chen Wengang remained silent, and Huo Niansheng took the opportunity to pull his hand away.
Numerous sweet words have been spoken, but this one statement truly could not be more accurate. As for the dewy romantic fate, it didn’t matter to Huo Niansheng. However, yesterday, he couldn’t explain the moment he decided to retreat. When it came to the critical moment, he couldn’t go through with it, feeling that once certain things were done, there was no turning back.
When he released his prey, his feelings were complicated, and he was unable to determine whether it was pity or more of a sense of defeat.
It’s like someone seeing a flower in full bloom on a branch and wanting to pick it up and bring it home but hesitating to cut it off, afraid it will wither.
Huo Niansheng continued, “What you want is care and protection, and you happened to find it in me.”
Chen Wengang grabbed his hand again and said, “Alright, don’t say anything. I’ve thought it through.”
Huo Niansheng looked at him. Chen Wengang was wearing a gray pinstriped shirt with the sleeves loosely rolled up. With a slight movement, the sleeves slid down, covering his wrists. However, Chen Wengang paid no attention; right in front of Huo Niansheng, he unbuttoned his shirt buttons one by one.
When the shirt was halfway undone, he grabbed Huo Niansheng’s hand and placed it on his chest.
Huo Niansheng lowered his eyes to look at him, his gaze deep and his Adam’s apple rolling as he felt the heartbeat that followed each touch.
Chen Wengang appeared calm, but his fingers were still trembling slightly, not necessarily out of fear but possibly due to the excitement. He took a deep breath, and it seemed like his chest was also trembling. They were so close, and Huo Niansheng’s breath both oppressed and comforted him.
Chen Wengang felt exhausted and suddenly didn’t understand what he was so concerned about anymore.
He was afraid of being rejected one day and of having his feelings betrayed. He had lived two lifetimes but still didn’t make any progress.
He cheered himself up: “I can also ask you the same question. What do you want? A bed companion? Sure.”
There was a sharp, icy edge in Huo Niansheng’s profile, mixed with a touch of darkness.
His gaze sharply locked onto Chen Wengang.
Chen Wengang put his hand on his chest and kissed him: “What I want doesn’t conflict with what you want. I want you as a person.”
Huo Niansheng never thought he would be so inconsistent in his life, and all of it was devoted to one person.
He clasped Chen Wengang’s hands behind him and finally disregarded everything, pressing him onto the sofa.
Wrappers torn open lay on the carpet.
However, truth be told, the first time was not as satisfactory as expected.
Huo Niansheng simply didn’t know who should regret it more. At least Chen Wengang had clearly overestimated himself, unable to break free and unwilling to let go, the atmosphere was more tense than joyful. Compared to the joyful reunion, the reluctance seemed to make Huo Niansheng feel like he was committing a crime.
When their bodies were intimately close, he seemed to touch the void deeply hidden in his heart for a moment.
However, that moment of enlightenment was fleeting, quickly becoming an indiscernible glimmer in the vast expanse of the sea.
Chen Wengang breathed slowly, and Huo Niansheng couldn’t discern whether what he said was true or false.
He didn’t even want to investigate whether Chen Wengang was eager to replace someone with himself.
In the end, everything came to an end.
Huo Niansheng sighed bitterly, unable to believe that he had encountered such a frustrating situation here.
After a simple cleanup, he pulled Chen Wengang into his arms, comforted him with gentle words, and beneath his touch was warmth, with skin taut and smooth. Chen Wengang nestled his head in the crook of Huo Niansheng’s neck, and the breath he exhaled felt warm, almost feverish. Huo Niansheng checked his forehead, but there was no sign of a fever.
As the sky gradually darkened, stars twinkled overhead, and they unknowingly embraced each other and fell asleep.
However, when Huo Niansheng woke up, the room was empty.
***
He got up and rushed out of the bedroom, but Chen Wengang’s luggage was nowhere to be found, as if everything had been a ridiculous dream.
Fortunately, he soon saw a note left on the table, saying there was an urgent matter at home and he had to go back, explaining his sudden departure.
Huo Niansheng called him, and only after hearing Chen Wengang’s voice did he feel relieved, confirming that the situation indeed unfolded suddenly. Zheng Baoqiu was also called back. In fact, they had only been on the road for an hour, and Zheng Baoqiu was driving, still stuck in traffic on the return journey.
On the other end of the phone, Chen Wengang’s voice was calm and normal.
As expected, he was treating it as a casual encounter in bed – intimacy on the mattress, awakening out of the bed.
Huo Niansheng helplessly pinched his forehead, feeling as if he had almost been turned into a joke by himself.
After reminding him to stay safe, he hung up and picked up the book that Chen Wengang had turned upside down from the sofa.
Flipping it to the front, it was a chapter from “The Ferry.”
Huo Niansheng casually placed the note that Chen Wengang left between the pages like a bookmark, leaving it there, and tossed the book back onto the sofa.
Just as he sat down, he suddenly wanted to see what Chen Wengang was reading. He opened it again and saw the main text—
“Someone silently placed a fresh flower of love in my hands.
Someone stole my heart and threw it to the ends of the earth.
I don’t know if I have found him,
Or if I am still searching everywhere for him;
I don’t know if this is extreme joy,
Or intense pain.”
A smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of Huo Niansheng’s mouth, and the image of Chen Wengang leaning on the sofa reading a book floated before his eyes.
However, that image was hazy, overlapping with something else, and suddenly clouded like a mist.
The Chen Wengang in front of him no longer looked like a young and beautiful figure. What exactly it was, Huo Niansheng couldn’t see clearly.
***
After hanging up the phone, Chen Wengang was about to lock the screen when his phone suddenly vibrated again and a new email came in.
Since the sender was not displayed, he quickly slid to open it, saw the photo in the attachment, and immediately turned off the screen.
In his ears, Zheng Baoqiu’s complaint could be heard, “The holiday hasn’t even ended; why is there so much traffic on the road?”
Chen Wengang turned his head and comforted, “Don’t worry; safety first. Your mom will be fine. Do you want me to drive?”
“Forget it. We’re in the middle of the road; it’s not convenient.”
“Did you inform Mu Qing?”
“Oh, no need. You don’t know yet; I heard his phone break, and he went back by himself yesterday.”
They didn’t even go back to the Zheng family; instead, they headed straight to the private hospital. Zheng Baoqiu rushed all the way into the ward. Mrs. Zheng’s ward was no less luxurious than a hotel room. Huo Meijie sat on the bed, her face smiling as she was embraced by her daughter: “Mom!”
She had suddenly felt dizzy while taking a shower in the morning. After being helped out and lying down, she noticed some bleeding, so they brought her to the hospital for an examination.
Examination results—
Mrs. Zheng was pregnant again.
Therefore, although the situation was sudden, it wasn’t bad news: the joy of having another child.
Zheng Baoqiu asked the doctor, “Is my mom okay?”
The doctor said, “Your mom’s annual health check reports are always good. Of course, she will have to bear some risks, and it will be harder than for younger mothers. But if she really wants this child, she would have to be careful and go for regular check-ups. For now, it seems fine.”
Looking at Huo Meijie’s expression, it was evident she hadn’t considered not having the child.
She called her daughter in and asked, “Do you want a little brother or a little sister?”
Chen Wengang lowered his eyes, leaned against the wall, and listened to the lively conversation inside the room.
Of course, at their age, there were many issues with pregnancy, but it was the parents’ choice.
Zheng Bingyi also accompanied them in the ward, with wrinkles filled with the joy of having a child in old age. The housekeeper, Uncle Lin, was meticulous, handing out red envelopes to medical staff both inside and outside the ward. When Chen Wengang and Zheng Baoqiu came forward to congratulate, Zheng Bingyi happily handed each of them a red envelope.
Zheng Maoxun and Mu Qing also came from the bar and home to visit respectively.
The last one in the Zheng family to learn about the news was probably Zheng Yucheng, who was away on a business trip.
Zheng Yucheng should be back by now. When Uncle Lin, the housekeeper, called him, his flight had just landed. Hearing that one driver was on leave and the other went to the hospital to deliver things, Zheng Yucheng didn’t trouble him and took a taxi home from the airport.
However, it was unclear where he went midway. His flight landed around noon, and he delayed until the evening to arrive at the Zheng residence.
At the entrance gate, Zheng Yucheng hesitated for a long time.
He took a deep breath, his face gloomy as if it were the end of the world.
But no one noticed his ghostly expression. Carrying his luggage, as soon as he entered the main hall, he saw a bustling scene.
Because Huo Meijie was an elderly pregnant woman, she needed to nourish her body. The kitchen was boiling a variety of tonics. A-Mei and the other maids were busy with thorough cleaning, inspecting every nook and cranny that might be harmful to pregnant women. Even the pampered pet, the poodle, had been locked up early.
Uncle Lin was overwhelmed with his commands. Seeing that Zheng Yucheng was exhausted from a long journey, he took his suitcase, urging him to go back to his room and rest.
In reality, Zheng Yucheng had already lost interest in Huo Meijie’s pregnancy.
His mind was in a daze, and he returned to Jin City with almost a feeling of fleeing.
After forcing himself to sleep for a while, when he went downstairs, it was already midnight. He bumped into Chen Wengang in the small living room, who was talking on the phone in a low voice.
Zheng Yucheng saw his gentle expression: “It’s a teacher taking a student, and parents are not required to accompany… Don’t worry about the tuition for now. Take a look at the link I sent you. Xiao Bao can apply for assistance with this condition. Can you fill out the form? If you don’t understand anything, take a screenshot and send it to me. When you go there, tell them it’s recommended by a Mr. Ma, Ma Wen, for cultural affairs…”
Chen Wengang, facing the floor-to-ceiling window, finished speaking and unconsciously traced a circle on the condensation on the glass with his finger.
The last stroke of the circle extended outward. Outside the window was pitch-black, reflecting his contemplative face.
In his previous life, he missed out on some important events, only learning about them when it was too late. About Lu Chenlong’s younger brother, Xiao Bao, it seemed that the reason for his untimely death was due to reckless running outside. He accidentally scratched the new car of a wealthy second-generation with a stone. The other party, who was drinking, got furious and smashed a bottle on his head, causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage. At the time, it seemed harmless, but he suddenly fell into a coma and was rushed to the hospital that evening.
While he was in the ICU, besides Zheng Yucheng’s donation of a million yuan, according to the neighbors, the wealthy second-generation’s family also sent money through their representatives.
The other party explained plainly, “Your kid is originally mentally disabled. If you can’t take care of him and let him cause trouble everywhere, who wouldn’t give him a beating? Consider it bad luck for us this time. We’ll compensate a bit, and we’ll consider it settled. If you’re not satisfied, go ahead and sue; at most, it will be considered negligence causing harm.”
Chen Wengang wiped away the circle on the glass with the palm of his hand, and his brows were unconsciously furrowed.
In fact, he had been concerned about this matter for a while. The specific details of when and where the accident happened, or how the child got into trouble and got beaten up, were all relayed to him later. The information was too vague, and now it was impossible to verify.
But it was too late for regrets, and avoiding one calamity didn’t guarantee avoiding the next.
Hiring someone to follow the child all day and locking him at home was not a practical solution.
Children like Xiao Bao, with slow mental development but continuous physical growth, would become more energetic, and their destructive ability would increase. There would always be times when they could run out, times when parents couldn’t watch over them.
Chen Wengang knew that this was not just a problem for the wealthy second-generation. Based on his experience, he could imagine that children like Xiao Bao might have already been beaten outside before, but he couldn’t express it.
The only fundamental solution was to intervene with the child himself.
After hearing the situation, Ma Wen, the person in charge of the foundation, promised that a spot in the special education school they were preparing for welfare institutions could be allocated to him. Before that, he recommended an intervention organization that could be used as a transition.
Zheng Yucheng could tell who Chen Wengang was talking to from his conversation.
The dark and sturdy guy surnamed Lu vividly appeared in his mind.
Normally, Zheng Yucheng would have been a bit jealous, but today he had no time to pay attention. He even tried to actively avoid it, but Chen Wengang hung up the phone, turned around, and already saw him. “Did you just wake up?”
Zheng Yucheng could only stop saying, “Hmm.”
His gaze was still evasive, not wanting to look at him.
Chen Wengang sighed, “Was your business trip smooth?”
Zheng Yucheng had something on his mind, “Wengang, during this period…”
Chen Wengang said, “I know you’ve encountered some trouble, right?”
Zheng Yucheng was as if suddenly awakened and his pupils contracted, “You—you know?”
Chen Wengang had already opened his phone’s email and extended it to him, “Someone has already sent it to me.”
The email attachment contained pictures of Zheng Yucheng and He Wanxin having meals, shopping, and entering a hotel together. If the weight was not enough, there was also a somewhat explicit picture of the two. In the hotel room, Zheng Yucheng was sleeping with his head on the pillow, seemingly tired after the passion, while He Wanshin took a selfie with an affectionate smile.
Just like many couples leaving behind memories after a passionate encounter.
Zheng Yucheng’s jaw tightened, and adrenaline surged in an instant. He snatched Chen Wengang’s phone.
However, realizing it was too late, he reluctantly put down his hand bit by bit and returned the phone.
Zheng Yucheng closed his eyes, unloading the last trace of hope, and said, “Listen to my explanation.”
Of course, Chen Wengang knew what had happened.
However, he remained silent, listening to Zheng Yucheng continue, “I met He Wanxin in Singapore; I didn’t expect that she would actually give me sleeping pills… and I never thought she would take pictures and send them to you. I thought she only wanted to use them to threaten me.”
But deep down, he knew that no matter what, he had committed a grave mistake and lost all chance of regret.
When he encountered He Wanxin’s entanglement in Singapore, although he knew the other party had come for him, he still didn’t take a firm stance and didn’t make a decisive refusal. He thought of it as just going along with the flow, but this time he fell into the other party’s trap—now saying all this was meaningless.
“You thought she wanted to use them to threaten you,” Chen Wengang said. “So, if she didn’t send them to me, were you planning to keep it a secret?”
“It’s not what I was thinking…” Zheng Yucheng rubbed his face in agony. “I’m not hiding anything from you; for the past two days and nights, I’ve been a mess. The only thing I know is that I really let you down…”
But he swore, “Once I sort things out, I will definitely be honest with you, no matter what the result.”
Hearing this, Chen Wengang squinted his eyes and scrutinized him from head to toe with a subtle look.
His silent gaze was like burning charcoal, making Zheng Yucheng swallow a bitter taste that seemed to scorch through his intestines and lungs.
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