DLRAS Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Just let him chase you hard.

Seeing Chen Wengang walk straight toward a group of people, Baldy followed him out of the car.

There were four or five of them in total; among them was a drunken girl, stumbling and being held up by two men. But the rest of the group wasn’t in much better shape. It was hard to tell how many of them could still walk a straight line as they howled like ghosts, slinging their arms around each other’s shoulders and making a racket on the street.

Baldy heard Chen Wengang call out, “Jiang Cai.”

The heavily made-up girl, her arms wrapped around a man’s neck, lifted her eyelids. Her small face was painted with heavy, smoky makeup.

He raised his voice and called out again, “Jiang Cai?”

This time, Jiang Cai reacted. She widened her eyes, puffed her cheeks, shoved the person away, and stumbled under a streetlamp. With a gag, she started throwing up violently. After a long while, when she finished retching, a man grabbed her to pull her up, his hand hovering hesitantly right at the edge of her low-rise jeans.

Chen Wengang frowned. “What is your relationship with her?”

Another guy squeezed over. “What’s it to you, handsome? Is it any of your business?”

Chen Wengang suddenly scolded angrily, “You all reek of weed and you’re asking if it’s my business? Do you need me to call the cops?”

For a split second, there was dead silence.

Baldy stepped up behind him like a looming shadow, his chest and shoulders broad, his black polo shirt revealing two arms bulging with muscle.

The group was all bark and no bite; after muttering a few words, they quickly retreated like a receding tide, leaving Jiang Cai exposed in the middle.

Chen Wengang asked Baldy to fetch a bottle of water from the car. “Do you still need to throw up?”

Jiang Cai, her hair disheveled, shook her head with a dazed expression. Her makeup was smeared, making her eyes look like a panda’s.

Emptying her stomach seemed to have sobered her up a little. Baldy brought the water, and Chen Wengang unscrewed the cap and handed it to her.

Jiang Cai tilted her head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, her gaze regaining a bit of focus.

He frowned and sniffed the air; it wasn’t convenient to get too close, but he could smell a strong stench of alcohol. “Did you smoke?”

Jiang Cai stared at him, then let out a weird laugh after a long moment. “I smoke, yeah.”

“Weed?!”

“Cigarettes. Oh… you mean that. Not yet, I was just saying I wanted to try it… Why are you stopping me, Chen-ge?”

Her childish face carried a mix of debauchery learned from who knows where. Seeing that no one was stopping her, she turned and walked away on her own.

Descending the steps, the area behind the bar street was a pedestrian promenade running along the river. She stumbled, caught herself, and leaned against the riverside railing.

A breeze blew past. Feeling stuffy, Jiang Cai leaned half her body over the edge. “Ah—”

Chen Wengang yanked her back in a heart-stopping panic. He used too much force, and she landed hard on her backside on the steps.

Filled with helpless exasperation, he scolded, “What exactly do you want? Is there some deep, bitter hatred between you and your mother?”

But like she was allergic to the word, she exploded instantly, screaming at the top of her lungs, “It’s not me who hates her! She hates me!”

Chen Wengang froze for a moment, not interrupting her outburst.

“Does she treat me like a daughter or a tool? Is she just afraid that now that she’s dying, no one will take care of her?” she yelled. “Everyone tells me how hard my mom worked for me, how difficult it was for her! But who knows what I went through? Since I was little, she dragged me around to garner sympathy. When she couldn’t pay tuition, she made me kneel to the teachers with her. When we didn’t have rent money, she made me kneel to the landlord. She’d stop people’s cars and force me to kneel to them! Don’t I deserve to stand on my own two feet like a human being? Huh?

“When she’s happy, she hugs me and holds me, cooks good food for me, and says, ‘Baby, look how much Mommy loves you, Mommy does everything for you.’ But when things don’t go her way, who hears how she curses at me? She calls me a burden, a streetwalker, a little bastard, a whore, someone nobody wants, saying she wishes she’d never had me… How does she love me? It’s easy for you to say she’s good. Did your mom treat you like this?”

Jiang Cai wailed, collapsing onto the steps.

When she was tired of crying, Chen Wengang crouched in front of her and handed her a tissue.

He said, “I don’t remember my mother, but my dad treats me pretty well.”

Jiang Cai glared at him again, hiccuped through her sobs, snatched the tissue, and wiped her face.

Chen Wengang said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you back first. If I catch you messing around again, believe me, I will call the cops and have you all locked up.”

His tone was fierce, his face stern. Originally, Jiang Cai hadn’t taken him seriously, thinking he was just a phony goody-two-shoes at school. Especially since she had seen a richly dressed man in a sports car pick him up several times, making his whole act seem utterly ridiculous.

And then she had heard that this Teacher Chen had some background himself—rich people just loved playing these games of universal, selfless love.

But at this moment, he suddenly overlapped with the image of a hellish dean of discipline, revealing a rather intimidating side.

Jiang Cai couldn’t help but stiffen her neck, her brows knitting into a tight knot. At school, she wasn’t afraid of tearing at the dean’s clothes in defiance, but the alcohol had made her woozy, and covered in tears and sweat, she felt sticky and too sluggish to move.

She scrambled up, gave a cold sneer, and followed him back, swaggering into the backseat of Baldy’s car.

In short, Jiang Wanxia was a person who needed to be investigated.

Huo Niansheng had someone look into it.

The very next day, at the opening of a new art exhibition invested in by Li Hongqiong, Chen Wengang unexpectedly ran into her. While exchanging pleasantries, her well-informed ears had caught wind of something. “I heard Old Huo is investigating a mother and daughter? Is there something special about them?”

Chen Wengang smiled, skillfully deflecting. “He was just here, didn’t you ask him yourself? What did he say?”

Li Hongqiong was full of praise. “I’ve always felt this is exactly what makes you so reliable. You never gossip behind people’s backs.”

Huo Niansheng had bumped into an acquaintance and was called away for a bit, so the two of them chatted their way to the outdoor smoking area.

Li Hongqiong tapped out a slim cigarette. The way she smoked was elegant and charming; with the slender cigarette pinched between her fingers, she hugged her right elbow with her left hand, looked up at the sky, and blew a smoke ring, looking like a beauty straight out of a vintage calendar.

Of course, Chen Wengang looking at her this way involved a bit of a filter.

After all, he had ulterior motives regarding Li Hongqiong.

The Li Group specialized in real estate development and urban renewal. If they mercifully included Jiangchao Street in their territory, opting for restoration and development over demolition and rebuilding, many memories could undoubtedly be preserved, transforming it into something new without completely losing its soul.

In his free time, Chen Wengang had researched the local county chronicles and compiled some reference materials for her to review.

Amused, Li Hongqiong took the stack of papers from his hand, folded them, and stuffed them into her handbag. “Thanks for your hard work. I’ll study these when I get back.”

By the time the cigarette burned down to the end, Huo Niansheng still hadn’t returned.

But the two of them had pretty much exhausted their limited common topics.

Someone had tossed a few outdated newspapers on the steps—these reporters had somehow remembered Huo Niansheng again, writing about how he spent his days in leisurely entertainment, riding horses and playing golf, and using this to speculate whether Huo Kaishan’s health was stable or if he simply didn’t care at all.

Spotting them, Li Hongqiong made conversation. “This is actually on the milder side. There aren’t any outrageously inhumane comments.”

Chen Wengang turned his head and asked casually, “Just how inhumane could they get in the past?”

Li Hongqiong replied, “Forget it. It’s bad karma, not even worth mentioning.”

She flicked her cigarette ash and cast a sideways glance at him. “And what’s really difficult is that they’ve been making a fuss for so long but have actually managed to hold back from digging into you. Who knows how many media outlets had to be paid off; a lot of effort went into that. Actually, the friends who are close to Old Huo all know he has a new person by his side now. And guess what? Each of us even received a warning not to speak out of turn in front of you. So what else can we say? We can only say behind your back that you’ve got real skill, and sooner or later, you’ll have him tamed and eating out of the palm of your hand.”

Chen Wengang smiled, taking no offense.

After all, Li Hongqiong’s lack of a verbal filter was par for the course. “Actually, just keep things the way they are and let him work hard to chase you.”

Chen Wengang raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to elaborate.

She took another drag of her cigarette. “Do you even need to ask? Men are all the same; what they beg for but cannot get is always the best. The more he invests in you, the more he won’t be able to stop. Did you think your relationship would be as simple as college students dating—you introduce him to your friends, he introduces you to his… like playing house, and naturally merging into one circle? It won’t be that harmonious.

“I know it’s wrong for me to say this, it’s not politically correct, but this world is just that realistic—your statuses are different, and your positions are different. He went to great lengths to chase you, and although others might still gossip, in their eyes, you are the shining pearl he plucked for himself. Conversely, if it were you chasing him, in their eyes, you’d just be throwing yourself at him, trying to cling to a powerful family.”

Li Hongqiong concluded, “You have to maintain your pride and high standards, otherwise, your position will be very ugly later on.”

Chen Wengang said, “Thanks for the reminder. Very realistic indeed.”

Li Hongqiong said, “Yeah, sometimes I also wonder why the rules of this society are like this.”

She gazed into the distance, lost in some unknown philosophical contemplation, shook her head, and lowered her eyes to stub out her cigarette.

At that moment, Huo Niansheng finished his conversation and walked over, but said to Chen Wengang, “I have a meeting to attend. I need to step away for a bit.”

Li Hongqiong beat him to the punch. “Go on then. We were just having a great chat.”

Chen Wengang smiled. In broad daylight, Huo Niansheng pressed a kiss to his lips.

Four eyes watched him leave.

But it seemed there was still more to be said. Chen Wengang leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching him walk to the edge of the street where the driver opened the car door.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked Li Hongqiong, “Since we’re on the subject, I also have a realistic question I want to ask you.”

Li Hongqiong murmured an “Mm? What is it?”

“You’re friends with Huo Niansheng. In your opinion, why would he chase me?”

“Why ask this?”

“Didn’t you say I need to maintain my pride? Know yourself and know your enemy.”

Hearing this, Li Hongqiong found it a bit amusing. She gave him a deep look, as if encountering a fascinating subject worthy of exploration. “Lust at first sight—can we say that? First of all, your looks are definitely up to par. Don’t be mad, I’m sure there’s more to it than that. You have a great personality, a good temper, and you treat people well. I really enjoy spending time with you myself. Like I just said, simply being able to not gossip behind people’s backs is a huge virtue. Do you know how rare it is to find someone who inspires that kind of trust?”

“You flatter me.”

“Actually, these are all just blind guesses. I can only say the feeling you give him is different. Maybe being with you allows him to feel a bit of goodness? After all, he is a very un-good person, and they say you crave what you lack the most. What he lacks most is exactly that.”

“Shall I take that as a compliment?”

“You’re welcome.”

After the two parted ways, Chen Wengang continued touring the exhibition. Huo Niansheng’s meeting, however, dragged on for a long time, and later that evening, he mentioned he had a social engagement he needed to make an appearance at. When Li Hongqiong was getting ready to leave and saw Chen Wengang still lingering at the entrance, she simply invited him to have dinner together at a nearby Russian restaurant.

Huo Niansheng didn’t stay at his engagement for too long before coming to pick him up. He smelled slightly of alcohol but hadn’t drunk too much; his mind was clear.

Chen Wengang went back with him to the Yunding Mansion and made him drink some honey water.

Alcohol naturally loosened the tongue, and he pinned Chen Wengang down, interrogating him. “You were whispering with Li Hongqiong for so long. What were you two talking about?”

Chen Wengang smiled, keeping his lips sealed. “Am I not allowed to have secrets with other people?”

After messing around for ages, they finally took a shower. Huo Niansheng leaned against the headboard, the bedside lamp casting a dim glow over his body. His freshly blow-dried hair fell naturally. At this moment, he had put away all his cynicism and sharp edges, looking just like an ordinary man.

Wrapped in his bathrobe, Chen Wengang approached step by step, cupped Huo Niansheng’s face, and nuzzled his temple.

He leaned in to clearly see the document on his tablet. It was the preliminary investigation file sent over regarding Jiang Wanxia and her daughter.

Chen Wengang read through it as well. At first glance, there was nothing particularly unusual. At most, Jiang Wanxia was a single mother who had dragged her daughter around since she was little, living a life of poverty and distress most of the time. Just as Jiang Cai had described, they had likely suffered a lot. But based on her age and whereabouts, it was at least impossible for her to be the biological mother of either Huo Niansheng or Huo Jingsheng.

Chen Wengang asked, “So, are you going to investigate further?” He checked his own phone, but it had turned off.

He handed it to Huo Niansheng. “It’s out of battery.”

Huo Niansheng took a charging cable and plugged it in for him. “You’re getting quite handy at bossing me around now, aren’t you?”

Chen Wengang just smiled. Having built up the nerve to order him about, he instructed Huo Niansheng to wake him up in the morning.

When he was actually shaken awake, however, he looked at the sky and saw it was still the break of dawn.

Chen Wengang opened his eyes, still groggy with sleep. “What’s wrong?”

Huo Niansheng comforted him. “Something happened. I woke you up to take a look. Don’t panic, it doesn’t involve you directly, but they might need to look for you.”

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