DLRAS Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Chen Wengang gave him what he wanted, so he should give something accordingly.

When Amanda came in to announce a visitor, Huo Niansheng had also just received a call from Chen Wengang.

His feet were still crossed and propped up on the desk. He glanced at the caller ID and answered, “Wengang, what’s up?”

But Amanda pushed the door open first: “Mr. Huo, Mr. Chen is here.”

She stepped aside to reveal the person behind her. “I just saw him at the reception without an appointment, so I brought him right up.”

Huo Niansheng put his feet down. “What wind blew you here?”

Chen Wengang walked in with a smile. “Am I interrupting?”

This building wasn’t the territory of the Huo Corporation’s headquarters—Huo Niansheng currently held the title of chairman at a subsidiary responsible for investment operations.

It was just past seven o’clock. Those who were supposed to get off work were already gone, but there were still quite a few people working overtime. When Chen Wengang arrived downstairs and looked up, the office areas on the middle two or three floors were still brightly lit, radiating a sense of hard work through the windows.

He had helped Chen Xiangling move during the day, so he was dressed casually. He had thrown on a light-colored cotton T-shirt; the pure cotton fabric was comfortable and form-fitting, but it was soft and shapeless, relying entirely on his physique to hold it up. His straight-leg jeans lacked extra decoration, only highlighting a pair of legs long enough to make anyone jealous.

Huo Niansheng said to his assistant, “Go pour us something to drink.”

Chen Wengang quickly said, “No need to trouble yourself.”

Amanda’s professional smile was very standard. “Alright, there are ready-made beverages in the pantry. Just let me know whenever you want something to drink.”

Chen Wengang thanked her and turned his head to watch her close the office door.

In the evening, after he and Lu Chenlong left Chen Xiangling’s place, Chen Wengang drove Lu Chenlong to pick up his younger brother, Xiao Bao. After dropping the brothers off at their door and politely declining their invitation to stay for dinner, he looked at the sky and originally planned to head back to the Zheng residence.

But he ran into a traffic jam on the overpass. The red taillights connected into countless streams of light. Looking out from the bridge, rows upon rows of residential buildings stretched endlessly with thousands of lit windows. Behind every yellow or white light, there might be a family playing the symphony of pots and pans.

He thought about how going back just meant washing up, taking a shower, and going to bed, only to go to work at the Zheng Corporation tomorrow. Endless work, endless schedules—it seemed there was never a moment of leisure.

He suddenly really wanted to come and see what Huo Niansheng was doing.

Coincidentally, Lawyer Zhu called him right then. Presumably finally done with work, he said he needed to sign something with him in person.

—This made everything fall perfectly into place. Chen Wengang arranged to meet him at the reception of Huo Niansheng’s company.

After signing, Lawyer Zhu hurried off to get off work, and Chen Wengang happened to run into Amanda coming back from her meal.

As soon as the door closed, Huo Niansheng pulled him into a full embrace, his tone teasing: “Are the tables turned today and you’re here to inspect my work?”

Chen Wengang could tell he was referring to the time he visited the special education school. Thinking of this, the memories of the night that followed naturally leaped into his mind. Even though no outsiders were present, his face still grew hot.

It felt as if his clothes could no longer stay on his body; his ears were red, a sight perfectly captured in Huo Niansheng’s eyes.

Since it was no longer working hours anyway, Chen Wengang didn’t bother with reserve. He let Huo Niansheng lead him to the desk and looked around.

Actually, the feeling was a bit subtle.

In his previous life, Huo Niansheng had also used this office. Chen Wengang had been with him for seven years but had never set foot inside—knowing how suspicious Huo was, Chen Wengang never asked about his career or the Huo family’s business, maintaining the most straightforward “kept” relationship possible.

The first and last time he had entered was with Amanda and Lawyer Zhu, coming to pack up his belongings after his death.

The dust-covered office from his memories currently still possessed the aura of a big boss. Huo Niansheng’s black desk was spacious enough to run a horse on; it was kept clean, the file boxes were neatly arranged, and there wasn’t a single sheet of A4 paper on the desk. The office computer was still on, displaying a screensaver.

Chen Wengang accidentally bumped the keyboard, and the screen immediately jumped back to the office system interface.

He immediately shifted his gaze away, not looking any further. Gathering his thoughts, he turned around and wrapped his arms around Huo Niansheng’s neck.

Using the same joking tone, he said, “If I had known you were working overtime, it seems I shouldn’t have been so insensible as to come and bother you.”

Huo Niansheng suddenly grabbed him under the arms and lifted him. Caught off guard, Chen Wengang let himself be pressed down to sit on the expansive desk.

Huo Niansheng rested both hands on his shoulders and leaned in carelessly: “When you just walked in, did I look like I was busy?” As if not ashamed but proud, he added, “Others are working overtime, I’m just slacking off on the job.”

The distance closed, and tentatively, their lips brushed against each other.

The kiss was very light, full of a playful intent.

Chen Wengang closed his eyes, his heart fully content.

Sitting on the desk, his feet couldn’t reach the floor, so he arched his insteps upward, slowly rubbing against Huo Niansheng’s calves.

Raising his hand to hold onto Huo Niansheng’s arm, a hint of a smile formed at the corners of his lips: “Since you’re not busy, why didn’t you come find me?”

Huo Niansheng instead cried foul: “I specifically didn’t bother you because I knew you had exams, to leave you time to review.” As he spoke, he pulled open a drawer and drew out a stack of newspapers, as if to prove his point. “And how do you know I wasn’t thinking about you?”

Chen Wengang glanced over and saw a photo of himself. It was the final issue of their school newspaper for the semester, the one that published his interview.

His face grew even hotter, and he instinctively reached out to grab it: “You…”

Huo Niansheng raised his hand to dodge. “What are you grabbing for? I took this from the newspaper rack at the entrance of your academic building when I went to your school for business that day. It’s free; if you want one, go get it yourself.” Addicted to teasing him, he shook the newspaper open and leaned mockingly close to Chen Wengang’s ear. “I’ve been thinking these past few days that the next time we meet, I’d make you read it out loud yourself, while I’m from behind…”

Chen Wengang slapped a hand over his mouth.

Huo Niansheng pulled his hand down, taking the opportunity to kiss his wrist. A tingling sensation drilled into his palm and traveled all the way to his Adam’s apple.

“I even read this interview carefully. It’s written quite cutely. They asked how you usually study and what social activities you’ve done in college. At the very end, they even asked if you’ve ever been in love and what your ideal type is—mature, steady, calm. Who were you referring to?”

Chen Wengang raised his downcast eyes, staring at him with a smile: “These are all just generalizations. You can’t take them seriously.”

Huo Niansheng whispered into his ear: “Then tell me the truth… what kind do you like?”

Chen Wengang tilted his head and whispered back into his ear: “I like someone in the prime of their life, honest and dutiful…”

The rest of his words were blocked by a muffled groan. He could no longer laugh, arching his body in surrender and gripping Huo Niansheng tightly.

Huo Niansheng just groped him a couple of times, but ultimately didn’t press him down onto the cold, hard desk.

Holding him tenderly for a moment, he suddenly asked, “Have you not been sleeping well lately?”

Chen Wengang looked at him: “Mm, how did you know?”

Huo Niansheng rubbed the top of his head: “Because your scalp is so tight.” A sudden whim struck him. “Go lie down, I’ll give you a massage.”

Inside this office suite, there was a break room set up with a single bed for midday naps, an air-conditioning quilt folded into a thin square.

Chen Wengang hesitated for a moment about which side should face up, but Huo Niansheng decided his posture for him, pressing him down onto his stomach.

Chen Wengang turned his face sideways, resting on his arms, to look at Huo Niansheng. The bed sank beside him, and fingertips began to press into his scalp little by little.

In this regard—it had to be said, Huo Niansheng’s service was equally commendable. As he massaged, his fingers moved down to the cervical spine, pressing against the acupoints. He pinched his way down bit by bit, stroking all the way into the sore crevices of the shoulder blades, producing a few soft pops.

How many modern people didn’t suffer from the fatigue of prolonged sitting? Chen Wengang squinted his eyes, almost sighing in comfort.

His appearance amused Huo Niansheng, making him think he looked like a cat.

Light and clingy.

Especially after his shoulders and neck were massaged, Chen Wengang consciously rolled over, lying in Huo Niansheng’s arms, changing sides to have him continue massaging his head.

Huo Niansheng bore the burden willingly, his fingertips pressing upward, massaging from the Baihui acupoint to the Fengchi acupoint. Looking down, he saw the person in his arms enjoying it with total peace of mind, resting his eyes. He suddenly spoke, “How has your health been lately?”

Chen Wengang said, “I’m already better. Why?”

“How about your mood?”

“Also fine.” Chen Wengang understood what he meant. “I haven’t had an episode lately.”

That was a good thing. Huo Niansheng rubbed him a little while longer. “If you’re in a good mood, let’s go out for a walk. Do you have time this weekend?”

Having established a relationship, it was the time to enjoy it. Knowing the taste of pleasure is human nature. In fact, by today, Huo Niansheng also understood what a personality like Chen Wengang’s wanted. He wanted companionship, dates, and quality time. Chen Wengang had given him what he wanted, so correspondingly, he should give something in return. Huo Niansheng was a man who kept his promises—not necessarily a good person, but at least he played fair.

But Chen Wengang thought for a moment and tactfully crossed out one day first. “This Saturday won’t work, we have an activity.”

Huo Niansheng didn’t think it sounded like work, so he probed, “What activity?”

Chen Wengang explained, “It’s the kids from the orphanage. They can’t just run outside whenever they want; they can only go out to play if volunteers take them. We agreed to take two kids out.” He sat up, thought about it, and added, “Why don’t you come along?”

Huo Niansheng stared at his neat temples and straight nose bridge; in truth, he probably wasn’t even paying attention to what he was saying.

Chen Wengang sat up straight, gazing at him with rapt attention, his gentle, tranquil eyes fixed on Huo’s face.

Their gazes locked.

The inherent compassion and pity for the weak in his bones was something Huo Niansheng did not possess. But on him, it perfectly complemented his personality. It wasn’t hypocritical; it was as if this person was just naturally meant to be like this. And this was exactly the version of him that Huo Niansheng wanted.

Huo Niansheng probably didn’t even know what he was agreeing to: “Sure, let me know the time, and I’ll see you then. I’ll pick you up.”

As for the difficult tenants in Chen Wengang’s old family home, this is what Lu Chenlong had said at first—Don’t worry, you don’t need to come over every day, and don’t let Lingling come either. I’ll keep an eye on things for you. People always have something they’re afraid of; I don’t believe they can hold out forever.

Less than twenty-four hours later, Chen Wengang received videos from him, one after another.

Busy with work at the company, Chen Wengang asked what was going on.

Lu Chenlong replied with a laughing-crying emoji: “See for yourself.”

Clicking on them, he saw a situation that was indeed not easily explained in just a few words.

Early in the morning, when Lu Chenlong took his brother Xiao Bao out to head to the intervention center for classes, he saw four or five burly men knocking on the door of Chen Wengang’s family home. One of them was quite polite, coming over to ask him, “The owner of this house is surnamed Chen, right?”

Every single one of them was hulking and broad-waisted, their short sleeves rolled up to their shoulders to reveal full-sleeve tattoos. The one asking had two dragons tattooed on his arms.

Lu Chenlong was stunned for a moment and nodded, “Yeah.”

Just then, the landlady came to open the door, also startled. “Who are you? What are you here for?”

While talking, she urgently called her husband out as well. Lu Chenlong stood far away, watching the show. The lead burly man held up a contract to show them: “This is our lease agreement. Mr. Chen rented this house to us, and the lease term starts today.”

The husband, his face dark, tried to shut the door to shoo them away. “Cut the crap. Let me tell you, we aren’t scared! I’m calling the police right now!”

The man with the dragon tattoos grinned playfully, but spoke in a seemingly reasonable tone. “Even if you call the police, we are the current tenants of this house now. You don’t have it easy, but we brothers don’t have it easy either. Don’t we need a place to stay? You see, you can’t just have us sleep on the streets.”

So, ignoring the landlady’s cries of “Hey, hey” trying to stop them, they forced their way into the courtyard, relying on their numbers. Without threatening or resorting to violence, they brought their own folding stools and a plastic sheet. They sat in a circle in the small courtyard, threw the plastic sheet on the ground, and started playing poker.

In a fit of anger, the husband actually called the police.

But when the police arrived, they could do nothing: “How can we arrest them? They’re also renting the place now. You guys should just move out as soon as possible.”

Unfortunately, Lu Chenlong didn’t have time to watch the drama to the very end. Seeing he was about to be late, he picked up his younger brother and dashed off.

When he returned later, the restaurant workers were discussing it excitedly, saying those guys were apparently just hanging out in the courtyard doing nothing else but shouting while playing cards. At noon, they even bought bread and beer, eating and drinking as they pleased. After eating, they asked the landlady to borrow the bathroom, saying if she didn’t let them, they’d relieve themselves in the corner of the courtyard. The landlady reluctantly let them inside. They lined up and took turns, spending nearly two hours just using the bathroom.

So the videos Lu Chenlong sent were pretty much all of this. “Incredible. Where did you find these guys?”

Chen Wengang was quite calm. “It wasn’t me. It was probably a debt collection agency hired by my lawyer.”

Debt collection agencies were typically used for dealing with deadbeats. To be honest, using them to clear out tenants was a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. They usually didn’t even like taking on this kind of personal business. Getting them to do it was entirely thanks to Lawyer Zhu’s connections.

When Chen Wengang was called over to sign the contract yesterday, he had a pretty good idea of what Lawyer Zhu was planning to do.

Lu Chenlong had his horizons broadened: “How do you know so much?”

Chen Wengang just smiled. “Big companies always have some connections like this.”

“Does your Zheng Corporation have them too?” Lu Chenlong muttered. “Are you sure there won’t be any issues that implicate you?”

“Generally, no. They are ‘professionals’. Let’s just say, they probably understand and abide by the law better than you or me.”

After hanging up the phone, Chen Wengang sat for a moment. He got up, went to the stairwell, and dialed another number. It was to thank Lawyer Zhu and casually ask about the fees.

Lawyer Zhu was still very polite: “No need, no need, don’t worry about it. We have to chase project payments every year and have companies we work with on a long-term, fixed basis. Once or twice like this, they just consider it a complimentary service. We can’t bill it separately, and it wouldn’t be right to charge you for it.”

Chen Wengang was very decisive. At this moment, there was no trace of the ‘nice guy’ on his face: “Thank you for the trouble. I’ll treat you to dinner next time.”

Lawyer Zhu said, “Don’t mention it. Sounds good. If you have any problems, feel free to contact me anytime.”

Support me on Ko-fi