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Chapter 62: Because I don’t have to pick on him.
On the way, Huo Niansheng felt like an overly fussy employer.
It took him a long time to convince himself not to dwell excessively on that nightmare that seemed like a premonition. Until he saw Chen Wengang looking up at him under this expanse of stars—his eyes sharp in black and white, his gaze shifting onto him, revealing a serene smile.
Huo Niansheng realized it wasn’t a dream.
Because many fragments of memories reawakened within him. They were like countless planktons in the sea, like snowflakes, floating up and down, living and dying, suddenly turning into colossal creatures with tentacles, dragging him down into the abyss with their slippery, icy touch.
In the chaotic black vortex, what he remembered was Chen Wengang’s indifferent face.
Chen Wengang, who greeted people with a smile, always with a tone of tender affection.
But when was it that he wasn’t always smiling like this?
Even if Huo Niansheng strategized and had great powers, there were things he couldn’t achieve, even if he was willing to pay any price for them.
This shouldn’t be. When did Huo Niansheng ever experience such powerlessness?
Huo Niansheng reached out and held Chen Wengang’s hand.
At the moment, he was still dressed in his business attire and shiny shoes, having taken off his coat when he got out of the car.
He freed his other hand, loosening his tie, and the two of them held hands as they walked down the street, with Bald disappearing at just the right time.
At the center of the street, there was a children’s playground. But at this time, not a single child was let out to play by their parents. Huo Niansheng lifted Chen Wengang up and sat him on top of the slide.
The slide was too small, and Chen Wengang, with his long legs, just propped himself up against the bars, steady as a rock, unable to slide.
Huo Niansheng leaned forward, hands on the railing, as if playing, trapping him inside.
A bit of wind blew on the summer night, their breaths getting closer and closer until they overlapped.
Chen Wengang asked him, “Can you tell me what’s really going on?”
Huo Niansheng asked back, “What do you mean?”
“Things have been really strange lately,” Chen Wengang sighed, “One after another, everyone’s speaking in riddles. You’re not telling the truth, Kang Ming isn’t telling the whole truth either, and even the woman looking for a job today is evading the truth. What am I supposed to do?”
Huo Niansheng helped him tidy his scattered hair by the temples. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing going on. Even if there is, I won’t let it happen. Remember the paparazzo last time? It’s fine to have more people following you. Is Kang Ming interfering with your normal life?”
Chen Wengang reached out and hooked his neck. “No. It’s just that you rich people are always good at stirring up trouble.”
Huo Niansheng smiled knowingly. “Well, what can we do? Just bear with it, alright?”
He then asked, “What about that woman?”
“I don’t know. The situation seems a bit complicated. I can’t decide. I’ll leave it to the person in charge.”
“Then don’t tire yourself out like this.”
Chen Wengang looked up at him. The warm yellow glow of the streetlamp cast a halo around him.
Huo Niansheng suddenly lowered his head, sealing his lips and capturing his breath.
“I just remembered something,” Chen Wengang whispered in his ear, “My car broke down when I went out this morning…”
Naturally, he didn’t return to Zheng’s house that day, being taken by Huo Niansheng to stay at the Yunding Tower.
The first thing he did after entering was to hold Chen Wengang’s hand and input his fingerprint into the door lock. “I forgot last time.”
With a beep, the prompt indicated success, but Huo Niansheng didn’t let go of his hand.
The second thing he did was carry Chen Wengang to the living room, put him on the sofa, unbutton his shirt, and bring up the issue of about the address last time—
“And, how many times has it been? Shouldn’t we settle this?”
“I don’t remember,” Chen Wengang chuckled lightly in his voice, “Do you keep a count?”
A fire ignited instantly, and the bathroom floor was wet.
His eyes were dazed, and urgent heat breathed on his neck.
Chen Wengang frowned, gripping him tightly.
There was actually a subtle feeling. For such a long time, enduring was possible, putting in enough effort to talk about love and affection, as if proving that this relationship was not just about getting into bed, but emotions and love ultimately manifested in the physical body. It was impossible not to think about it. Who wouldn’t want to?
Huo Niansheng tied his hands to the headboard. His posture was like capturing prey. At that moment, the phone suddenly vibrated.
Chen Wengang struggled. Huo Niansheng glanced at the cabinet and picked up the call without permission.
The owner of the phone couldn’t stop him, and it was Zheng Yucheng’s voice that came through: “You didn’t come back today…”
The heavy breathing spoke volumes, followed by a sudden silence.
Huo Niansheng paused. “Sorry, I’m busy. Are you in a hurry?”
Five seconds later, the call ended. After a pause, it quickly rang again, shaking the table with each ring.
Huo Niansheng calmly reached out and turned off the phone, his gaze cold and dark in a place unseen.
After a while, Chen Wengang lay on the pillow, gradually regaining his senses, and asked, “What are you doing?”
Huo Niansheng released him, kissing the nape of his neck. “You’re a man too; don’t you know how despicable men can be?”
Chen Wengang, feeling helpless, turned away from him.
Without a trace of guilt, Huo Niansheng also lay down, wrapping his arms around his waist, holding him close, and gently nuzzling his chin against the top of his head. Chen Wengang yawned, rolled over, and lay against his chest without further argument.
But it’s true, men aren’t just despicable; they also need to mark their territory.
Huo Niansheng sought another kiss from him, and Chen Wengang responded softly.
His response filled Huo Niansheng’s heart. He remembered their initial stumbling steps, but he never thought about or cared about Chen Wengang’s past with Zheng Yucheng. It was the same now. This was his person; every reaction was carefully crafted by him, and every gesture was an acceptance of him.
***
The next day, when Chen Wengang arrived at the headquarters of the Zheng Corporation, he encountered a familiar manager from the HR department.
The manager called out to him, “Is your sister’s contact information correct? The number starting with 186?”
Chen Wengang was taken aback, “Which sister? What phone number?”
The HR manager, holding a folder, casually pulled out some documents to confirm with him, “Chen Xiangling, your cousin, right? We’re trying to contact her to schedule an interview. We called her twice yesterday, but she didn’t answer. Can you check if the number is correct?”
Chen Wengang frowned, “Where did you get this information? Who said she was going to interview?”
The manager was also puzzled, not understanding why he didn’t know, “Wasn’t it Mr. Zheng who mentioned it?”
Although Zheng Yucheng was rising quickly, he hadn’t reached a position where he could be called “Mr.” by colleagues yet. However, it was not polite for colleagues to address him directly. Some people were quick-witted and started calling him that in advance, which wasn’t a big problem. Promotion would come sooner or later.
Chen Wengang was about to say something when he received a call. It was Chen Xiangling.
Her confusion matched that of the two present, “Ge, Dad called me this morning.”
In Zheng Yucheng’s office, he heard two slow knocks on the door.
Early in the morning, the air conditioning in his room was broken. The repairman came and said it would take a while to fix it. The stuffy air was unbearable, so he had to leave the door wide open. Chen Wengang stood at the doorway and knocked twice again.
Zheng Yucheng responded, “Come in.”
Chen Wengang sat across from him, placing the documents on the table, “How did you come to think that my cousin needs a job?”
Zheng Yucheng hesitated, his expression changing repeatedly, “I called you the day before yesterday… I wanted to discuss this matter.”
The matter left unmentioned was like a surge of anger and embarrassment rushing to his heart. He guessed his face couldn’t be any uglier.
Chen Wengang clasped his chest, calmly looking at him, waiting for an explanation, “Speak now.”
Zheng Yucheng paused, “It’s not a complicated situation. I just heard your uncle mention when I was at the dock that she’d be graduating next year, but the school didn’t assign her an internship position. It’s not an exception; our company was already planning to hire administrative staff, and it’s a common practice for employees to recommend their relatives and friends for positions. Don’t overthink it.”
Chen Wengang remained very calm, “You’re so generous, how can I not overthink?”
Zheng Yucheng sat up straight, looking back at him, “Are you angry because I interfered without permission?”
Chen Wengang stared at his face, not answering immediately.
He scrutinized Zheng Yucheng with a gaze that was hard to describe.
Zheng Yucheng even suspected that the air conditioning wasn’t just malfunctioning but actively heating the room. The office chair or something emitted a suffocating smell of rubber; whether it was an illusion or not, his nostrils were filled with this unbearable rubber smell.
After a while, Chen Wengang stood up and said, “I believe you didn’t have any malicious intent; at most, it was just thoughtlessness.”
Zheng Yucheng’s jaw tightened into rigid, cold lines, “Your reaction tells me I’ve made another mistake.”
Chen Wengang smiled faintly, “You just don’t consider things from other people’s perspectives. Leaving aside whether my uncle’s words are true or not, you simply think that with her parents’ attitude, you can decide everything for her. You don’t consider that she might have different thoughts of her own, so you didn’t even realize that she hadn’t submitted a resume herself. You just had the HR department add her information; how generous of you. So when you called the day before yesterday, were you asking for my opinion or informing me of the result? Should I thank you now?”
“…”
The door was half open, and a secretary passed by, hearing Chen Wengang’s voice inside, “It’s not feudal society anymore, Zheng Yucheng.”
She was quite startled, her heart pounding, and she quickly held her breath and moved to the side of the wall.
Before leaving, Chen Wengang said lightly, “Put away your high and mighty attitude; think about it properly.”
Zheng Yucheng suddenly spoke up, “Wait a moment.”
Chen Wengang stopped and waited for him to finish.
Zheng Yucheng showed a very bitter smile: “I admit that I am not perfect, and I have a lot of shortcomings that I am not even aware of. I have reflected on what you said last time when I came back. But I have also been thinking about it. When did you start picking on me like this?”
He continued: “It seems that it has been since you met Huo Niansheng. To be honest, Wengang, would you talk to him like this?”
Chen Wengang thought for a moment and said, “No, I wouldn’t.”
Zheng Yucheng looked at him deeply.
Chen Wengang looked back calmly. He knew that these insinuations were hurtful, but when he received the call from his cousin, the one million that Zheng Yucheng gave to Lu Chenlong in his previous life suddenly pressed on his chest, and some things that had passed by became unfulfilling and unpleasant.
Chen Wengang said: “Because I have no need to pick on him, Huo Niansheng never gave me this opportunity.”
After he left, the secretary returned, passing by the doorway again and catching a glimpse of Zheng Yucheng lighting a cigarette inside.
Chen Wengang called Chen Xiangling back through a secure line, telling her it was a misunderstanding and not to worry about it.
After the new semester started, Chen Xiangling moved to the dormitory at the cram school to prepare for exams more conveniently.
As for Uncle Chen Zeng and Aunt Chen, Chen Wengang was sitting at his desk, tapping his mug, contemplating how to handle the situation. Suddenly, he received a message from Luo Suwei about the issue with that middle-aged woman.
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