Chapter 49: You should know how he treats you.
On the way back to drive Chen Wengang home, Huo Niansheng suddenly asked, “If you had someone you especially hated, would you want to take revenge on them?”
The question sounded undeniably familiar. Chen Wengang turned to look at him and asked slowly, “What kind of hate? Reaching the level of wanting revenge?”
“Nothing—I just feel like you wouldn’t.”
“Why?” Chen Wengang smiled slightly.
“Haven’t you watched Hollywood movies? The good guys won’t do the same things as the bad guys, otherwise, they wouldn’t be called good guys,” Huo Niansheng said earnestly. “You’re the type to ‘just do good deeds and ask no questions about the future’… Heaven wouldn’t have the heart to not arrange a good ending for you.”
Chen Wengang froze for a moment. He looked out the window and didn’t respond, an inexplicable emotion welling up inside him. His past life and current life were like dough being kneaded layer upon layer when making pastries—some parts were kneaded together, while others remained distinctly separate.
Eventually, Huo Niansheng dropped him off at the entrance of the Zheng residence. “We’re here.” He followed him out and kissed him on the temple. “Door-to-door service.”
And so, this pleasant weekend came to an end.
The commercial van drove off once again. In the rearview mirror, Chen Wengang grew smaller and smaller. Huo Niansheng saw him standing at the empty, gated entrance, waving in the direction the car was leaving. Only after a few seconds did he turn around to ring the doorbell.
It was just past eight in the evening. The courtyard was dim, and the path was deserted. Only faint sounds of busy activity could be heard from the kitchen in the back.
Chen Wengang entered the foyer and nearly stepped on something. Looking closely, it was a yellow screaming rubber chicken with its beak wide open.
This silly-looking toy, caught mid-scream, completely clashed with the elegant decor of the Zheng residence.
He burst into a laugh, bent down to pick it up, and squeezed it hard, finally allowing it to let out its desired bizarre shriek.
This demonic squeak drew the maid, A-Mei, over. She laughed so hard she doubled over, and taking advantage of the lack of onlookers, even came over to squeeze it a few times to relieve stress. “Miss Baoqiu bought this for the baby. It’s so goofy. Yoyo definitely dragged it out here; he’s always hiding it all over the place every day.”
“Where are the others?”
“The Master is accompanying the Madam for a walk right now; they’ll be back in a bit. Miss Baoqiu and Young Master Maoxun went to a friend’s birthday party.” A-Mei glanced at him. “Young Master Yucheng… is working overtime this weekend too. He’s been quite busy lately.”
Chen Wengang was aware of this.
Ever since returning from negotiating the shipping routes in Singapore, Zheng Yucheng had entered a state of selfless devotion to his work. He seemed to be pushing himself very hard. He always looked exhausted when he came home, but his temper was visibly mellowing out. Zheng Bingyi approved of his drive and had even spoken with him a few times.
At the same time, the new life Huo Meijie was carrying seemed to bring about certain subtle shifts in the family dynamics.
On the one hand, she was busy preserving the pregnancy, accompanied and cared for by her husband, and for the time being, had no energy left to deal with Zheng Yucheng. On the other hand, Zheng Yucheng wasn’t as resistant to the little one as everyone—even he himself—had imagined. It was too small, too small to be a threat.
One day, he even brought back a set of children’s science books about animals, saying he thought the design was nice while browsing a book fair, so he bought them on a whim.
Huo Meijie offered a smiling response: “Oh, you… these are for children aged 3 to 6. It’s much too early for the baby to read them.”
Zheng Yucheng replied indifferently, “Then just keep them at home for now. They’ll be useful sooner or later.”
Zheng Bingyi looked at the beautifully printed animal cards and also felt gratified. “Have someone find a place to put them away properly, don’t lose them.”
Later, the butler, Uncle Lin, found a prominent spot for them in the study.
Whenever Chen Wengang went in to look for a book, he would pass by a raccoon smiling at him. Once he walked past, it would continue grinning foolishly at the adjacent bookshelf, where the number of parenting books and children’s picture books was visibly increasing.
As for He Wanxin—
After scheming against Zheng Yucheng once, she surprisingly made no further moves.
Or perhaps she was still pestering Zheng Yucheng, and Chen Wengang simply didn’t know. Just as Huo Niansheng had said, if she didn’t provoke Chen Wengang, he rarely thought of her. He placed the screaming chicken on the table, washed up, and went to bed.
The next day, he changed back into his suit and leather shoes and headed to work at the Zheng Group as usual.
A considerable amount of work had piled up recently, and Chen Wengang finally found himself caught in overtime. It was past nine in the evening when he went downstairs for a late-night snack and unexpectedly received a call from Zheng Yucheng.
However, the person speaking wasn’t the owner of the phone. Judging by the voice, it was one of Zheng Yucheng’s friends: “Is this Chen Wengang?”
The tone on the other end was highly commanding: “Yucheng drank too much. Come pick him up.”
Chen Wengang’s footsteps faltered. “Where are you drinking?”
“Where else? Black Wind Cave.” This was a nickname for a certain bar. If Chen Wengang hadn’t been there with Zheng Yucheng before, he might not have known which one it was. The person on the other end sounded like they’d also had too much to drink, and the background noise was deafeningly loud. “I don’t get how you could let Old Zheng down like this, making him drink himself into this state… You should know perfectly well how he treats you. What an ungrateful wretch… Forget it, I’m not saying any more. Just hurry up.”
Chen Wengang scoffed and called Uncle Lin, who said he would send a driver to pick him up.
By the time he got home, it was already eleven o’clock, and the atmosphere felt inexplicably heavy. The moment Chen Wengang entered, he was led to Zheng Bingyi’s study.
Zheng Bingyi was usually in bed by this time, but today he had made an exception and stayed up late.
He asked Chen Wengang, “Did Yucheng tell you where he was going?”
“I only heard he drank too much… What, is he still not back?”
“Old Wang went to that bar you mentioned,” Uncle Lin said. “He met his friends, and according to them, right after they called you, Yucheng called a designated driver himself and insisted on leaving. They don’t know where he went after that… Did he call you again?”
Chen Wengang simply shook his head. “No. I didn’t receive any calls.”
From nine to eleven—two hours had passed. Even leaving the city and coming back would have been enough time.
Now, both the car and the person had vanished. Zheng Bingyi frowned. He was worried, but he verbally scolded, “He never gives anyone peace of mind.”
Uncle Lin continued making calls, contacting the property management for every piece of real estate under Zheng Yucheng’s name, but judging by his expression, he came up empty-handed. Of the two family drivers, Uncle Wang was on standby downstairs, while the other was driving around, conducting a grid search near the bar to see if he could spot Zheng Yucheng’s car.
Having talked until his voice was hoarse in the middle of the night, Uncle Lin shook his head. Zheng Bingyi remained silent, undecided on whether to call the police.
In the study, both pairs of eyes suddenly fell on Chen Wengang.
He hesitated for a moment. “Right, I know his phone account password… I don’t know if he’s changed it.”
Logging in with the password might allow them to track the phone’s GPS location; it was a viable option. Uncle Lin handed his own phone over to let him try. The old man wasn’t good with technology and watched as Chen Wengang logged out of the current account and typed in Zheng Yucheng’s.
While entering the password, Chen Wengang’s hand paused slightly. Under the watch of four eyes, he typed in his own birthday.
Zheng Yucheng had used this password for a long time.
He tried it once, and the login was successful.
Chen Wengang didn’t say a word.
Zheng Bingyi and Uncle Lin also showed no reaction. That date was Chen Wengang’s solar calendar birthday, but his family’s custom since childhood was to celebrate based on the lunar calendar, so it was unlikely anyone remembered it clearly.
The important point was that the mystery of Zheng Yucheng’s whereabouts was quickly solved—
For some reason, he had gone to the seaside.
And quite far away, at that. In the middle of the night, Uncle Wang, the driver, took Chen Wengang and Uncle Lin, and the three of them rushed to the location.
The target remained completely stationary on the map. The older and younger men sat in the back seat, neither in the mood to chat. The only sound in the car was the voice of the navigation app giving directions. Uncle Wang kept his foot heavy on the gas, the speed soaring—firstly because it was far, and secondly out of worry that something might have happened to Zheng Yucheng.
When he saw the location, Chen Wengang felt an ethereal sense of destiny, yet it also felt as if he hadn’t grasped anything at all.
That bay was the place where, in his previous life, just before Zheng Yucheng’s twenty-first birthday, they had hidden away to celebrate in secret, camping overnight.
It was a place they had chosen randomly back then. In truth, it held no special meaning; this beach didn’t exclusively belong to anyone.
In the early hours of the morning, they arrived at the location. Uncle Wang didn’t have to look hard to spot Zheng Yucheng’s car parked on the road.
It turned out to be a false alarm. Zheng Yucheng had simply drunk too much and was sleeping soundly in the passenger seat.
It was currently unknown how he had coerced or bribed the designated driver into bringing the car to such an isolated place—literally in the middle of nowhere. The driver, perhaps fearing he might suffocate, had left the window cracked open before disappearing without a trace. All three of them breathed a sigh of relief, having no mind to condemn anyone else at the moment.
Uncle Wang tapped on the window, trying to wake Zheng Yucheng up.
The thumping sound vibrated through the car. Zheng Yucheng opened his bleary, drunken eyes, his consciousness hovering between waking and sleeping. Somehow, following their gestures, he unlocked the car, opened the door, and stumbled out.
In the dark of the night, his eyes landed on Chen Wengang’s face, like a traveler in the desert suddenly spotting an oasis. “Wengang…”
He even reached out to grab him. Out of a desire to avoid suspicion, Chen Wengang dodged behind the old butler, immediately feeling a bit foolish for doing so.
What was this? Playing eagle catches the chicks?
An unwarranted awkwardness filled the air; after all, Uncle Lin and Uncle Wang were both watching.
Chen Wengang coughed and proactively stepped away a bit.
He looked out at the dark, oppressive surface of the sea. The night tide was rising, and the massive waves near the horizon resembled rows of mountains, harboring a terrifying power. An abandoned lighthouse stood on the shore. Long devoid of light and not particularly tall, it looked as tiny as a toy in the face of nature.
This bay was undeveloped and rarely visited. The beach was entirely shingle, and a dilapidated small boat lay stranded upon it.
Chen Wengang didn’t step in to help with the rest. Uncle Wang supported Zheng Yucheng into the car, laid him down, and then got into the driver’s seat of Zheng Yucheng’s car himself.
Zheng Yucheng, in his drunken stupor, kept incoherently calling Chen Wengang’s name, causing Uncle Lin’s face to turn quite sour. “What a disgrace…”
Chen Wengang remained a silent observer, saying nothing; he had no place to speak anyway.
The old butler had no children of his own, and Chen Wengang knew his feelings for Zheng Yucheng were different. Even knowing his flaws and shortcomings, he harbored a deep disappointment in his unfulfilled potential. Earlier, when they couldn’t find Zheng Yucheng, Uncle Lin had been on pins and needles the whole ride over, worrying whether he had been in a car accident, or if he had met a malicious designated driver out for his money and life, looking as if he were sitting on a branding iron.
Uncle Wang rolled down the window and turned the car around first. One car remained on the side of the road—the one they had taken from the house.
Just now, he had tossed the keys to Chen Wengang. As Chen Wengang was about to slide into the driver’s seat, Uncle Lin said, “I’ll drive.”
“Let me drive instead…” Chen Wengang stopped him. Staying up this late, everyone’s eyes were bloodshot.
“Alright, you go sit over there.” The wind by the sea was strong. Uncle Lin coughed twice and scoffed at him, “It’s not like I’m a frail old man in his seventies or eighties.”
The two cars, taillights flashing, drove in tandem back onto the main road, advancing like ships in the dark.
On the way, Chen Wengang called Zheng Bingyi to report that they were safe, telling him not to worry and that he could go to sleep.
Uncle Lin followed the car in front. He didn’t turn on the radio or music, and this time, even the robotic female voice of the navigation app was silent. The air felt excessively quiet, making Zheng Bingyi’s responses on the other end of the line clearly audible. Uncle Lin remained quiet, waiting for him to finish the call.
Chen Wengang hung up. After a moment, he suddenly heard Uncle Lin ask, “Do you remember the time when you were little, and you had the family searching for you in the middle of the night?”
He was referring to the time Zheng Yucheng accompanied him when he ran away from home.
Chen Wengang’s lips curved slightly. “I was ignorant back then… I didn’t think about the trouble it would cause everyone.”
Just like the drinking buddy who had called him today for Zheng Yucheng—speaking in that bossy tone, treating him like a servant. Back then at school, it was precisely because he was young and couldn’t stand that kind of attitude. The teacher at the time was also a snob, showing favoritism to students from powerful families. In a fit of pique, Chen Wengang told Zheng Yucheng he wanted to go home, and the two of them ran back to the old street, essentially staging a runaway.
Uncle Lin smiled faintly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening slightly. “I was frantic back then too. You don’t still hold a grudge against me, do you? My work was busy; it was impossible for me to look after you everywhere… Ah, forget it. I’m not very good at taking care of children, and I didn’t take good care of you either.”
Chen Wengang was almost flattered. “Not at all. That’s all in the past.”
Uncle Lin sighed. Neither of them felt entirely comfortable with this display of emotion.
Remembering something, Uncle Lin asked him again, “Last Sunday, did you go out with that young master from the Huo family again?”
Chen Wengang couldn’t very well speak plainly. “Volunteer work, an art exhibition… It got too late, so I stayed out for the night.”
The car drove onto a large bridge. Uncle Lin let out an “Oh,” pondering it, then called out to Chen Wengang, “You know, you’re just too devoted. Some of the things I said before were harsh. Actually, no matter what kind of…”
Uncle Wang was driving fast and had left them far behind, nowhere in sight. After crossing the bridge, there was an intersection where they needed to turn. Suddenly, a small truck came speeding towards them from the opposite direction. Its bright high beams glared intensely, making both Uncle Lin and Chen Wengang squint.
For some unknown reason, the truck driver seemed to have dozed off. He didn’t even attempt to turn, the front of his truck hurtling straight toward them.
Chen Wengang was sitting in the right passenger seat, secured by the seatbelt, unable to move a muscle. In a flash, the two vehicles were nearly upon each other, an impact appearing imminent. Without a second thought, Uncle Lin violently cranked the steering wheel twice to the right.
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Author’s Note:
No one was hurt.
THAT SCARED ME 😭