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Chapter 67: In the future, I only have affection for you; is that okay?
Zheng Maoxun held the chopsticks in the air: “What did he go to the hospital for?”
Huo Niansheng opened a can of Sprite, handed it to Chen Wengang, and said to Zheng Maoxun, “What? You don’t know why Aunt went to the hospital?”
Chen Wengang took the can, and as the sweet bubbles rushed up, he licked the edge subconsciously. When he looked up, Huo Niansheng’s gaze was glued to him, which was full of meaning. Chen Wengang realized, glared back at him, turned his head aside, and took a few sips.
Zheng Maoxun didn’t notice the clues: “I don’t know. When did she go? Why didn’t anyone tell me all day?”
Meanwhile, Chen Wengang called Zheng Baoqiu, asked a couple of questions, and handed him the phone. Zheng Baoqiu hadn’t slept yet and was still at the hospital, accompanying someone. Zheng Maoxun went to the corridor to talk to his sister.
It turned out that Zheng Yucheng went to the hospital to accompany Huo Meijie on behalf of Zheng Bingyi. In the morning, the couple rushed to the port together, but as soon as they got out of the car, they were surrounded by reporters bombarding them with questions. In the chaos, Huo Meijie tripped and fell, feeling unwell afterward.
At such a critical moment, Zheng Bingyi couldn’t leave, so he sent his eldest son and driver to accompany her to seek medical help.
During the day, Huo Niansheng and others happened to be at the hospital as well. Just as they left Huo Kaishan’s ward, they heard the news and went to visit Huo Meijie. When they went over, Zheng Yucheng was leaning against the corridor. Huo Niansheng nodded at him, and neither of them spoke. Suddenly, the door of the ward opened, and He Wanxin walked out with a sweet smile, hugging his arm, “Yucheng… Aunt is okay.”
After listening, Chen Wengang was silent for a moment: “Forget it; if ships can collide, it’s not surprising that they end up together.” He thought that nothing unusual today would surprise him anymore.
Huo Niansheng smirked cunningly, “But your former lover doesn’t seem too happy about it.”
Chen Wengang finished the Sprite can before asking, “Why, do you still think I have lingering feelings for Zheng Yucheng?”
Huo Niansheng looked at him with a raised chin and said, “Ten years of affection, isn’t that easy to let go of?”
Chen Wengang propped his head like him, “In the future, I only have affection for you; is that okay?”
Huo Niansheng’s lips curled slightly. Leaning closer, he opened his arms toward him: “Come here.”
Chen Wengang moved toward him; his hand touched his pocket. Feeling something hard, he suddenly remembered something. He took out two small folded papers from his pocket and unfolded them in front of Huo Niansheng. The papers were full of creases, with densely packed, scribbled signatures.
“What is this registration for?” Huo Niansheng’s gaze slid onto the paper.
“These are all family members of the crew involved in the accident. Anyone who arrived at the scene today was asked to sign on it.” Chen Wengang glanced over it, trying to smooth it out, “I almost forgot; I need to make copies of these quickly.”
He put down the chopsticks and went to start the printer.
Huo Niansheng used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of squid flower and chew it, watching his back as he worked. The machine spit out a few sheets of hot A4 paper, and Chen Wengang found a file bag and put the original documents in it.
He explained, “The HR department has records of each employee, and tomorrow they need to verify the relationship with the relatives listed here.” Huo Niansheng understood that this was to prevent anyone from trying to take advantage and cheat on compensation: “Let them do what they are supposed to do,” Chen Wengang smiled, “It’s all the same; what does it matter?”
After answering the phone, Zheng Maoxun learned that his mother’s condition was stable and there was nothing special to worry about. He yawned with tears in his eyes. After finishing supper and cleaning up, Chen Wengang discussed with him, “Can you go upstairs and use Zheng Yucheng’s lounge?” He was not happy: “Why should I use his?”
Chen Wengang raised his eyebrows, indicating that Huo Niansheng also needed a bed: “You two are brothers; it’s reasonable for you to sleep on Zheng Yucheng’s bed for one night. The rest of us are outsiders; it wouldn’t be right to intrude into his office, right?”
This reasoning couldn’t be argued with; Zheng Maoxun was indeed too tired: “Okay.” Swaying, he was about to leave when he suddenly turned back, “But I warn you, don’t mess up my bed.”
Chen Wengang pushed him upstairs, feeling both annoyed and amused.
He took the travel kit he bought from the downstairs convenience store, went to the bathroom to wash up, and turned on the faucet to wash his hands, only to find several scratches on his hand that seemed to have been scratched by someone’s nails. He didn’t notice it amidst the emotional turmoil of the families earlier; now the blood had scabbed.
Just as he was examining the wound, Huo Niansheng walked in. He explained first, “It’s nothing, it doesn’t hurt.”
In the quiet of the night, the documentation department was deserted, while other departments still had faint lights. At least the PR department’s people couldn’t do without working through the crisis and coming up with PR strategies.
Chen Wengang and Huo Niansheng squeezed onto the small bed in Zheng Maoxun’s office.
The bed was only 1.2 meters wide, not much wider than the bed board at the workstation. Originally, he let Huo Niansheng sleep alone, but Huo Niansheng hugged him, pulled up the thin blanket, and tucked him in. Chen Wengang had almost no time to be affected; he closed his eyes as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Huo Niansheng wasn’t particularly tired; he was half-lying, staring at his face absentmindedly, and flicking the hair of the person in his arms with his fingers.
Two hours passed darkly, and in the early hours of the morning, some people couldn’t sleep. Chen Wengang got up once, then again, and Huo Niansheng opened his eyes, noticing that nobody had returned for quite a while. The warmth under the covers had dissipated; he rubbed his forehead and got up to look for Chen Wengang.
Pushing open the bathroom door, he saw Chen Wengang bent over, leaning on the sink, vomiting. What’s going on?
Chen Wengang turned on the water with a splash and said, “Go check on Zheng Maoxun. If he’s okay, it’s not the food.”
Zheng Maoxun was sleeping upstairs like a log, perfectly fine. Huo Niansheng had also eaten the same seafood, only Chen Wengang was the one vomiting violently. It indicated that there was nothing wrong with the food, but it was his own problem.
He rinsed his mouth with water, and Huo Niansheng went out to get a cup of warm water, feeding him a little.
Unexpectedly, Chen Wengang vomited exceptionally fiercely, even spitting out how much clear water he drank, and in the end, it was bile, greenish-yellow.
His back felt numb, his throat was sore, and his mouth was filled with an indescribable bitterness. Looking at himself in the mirror, his lips were pale, and his face was tired and sickly, like a ghost.
Huo Niansheng sighed, knowing well that Chen had a delicate constitution, easily affected: “Let’s go; I’ll take you to the emergency room.”
“No need,” Chen Wengang grabbed his arm, unable to vomit anymore. He sighed in relief, feeling much better; there was no need to go.
“No need?” Huo Niansheng sneered. How many of the company’s shares are worth your effort? You think it’s just stomach spasms. After getting some hot water again and lying down for a while, you’ll be fine.”
“Look at how delicate your body is.” Huo Niansheng helped him back, “Always feverish, vomiting, and a whole bunch of problems. Who will take care of you in the future?”
“Is that so?” Chen Wengang drank from the cup in his hand, pulled the blanket up to his chest, and smiled at him, “But you haven’t gotten tired of me yet.”
He lay down with his clothes on, remembering a few months ago when he vomited everything out while riding with Huo Niansheng and others. As of just now, Chen Wengang guessed it was due to the intense mental stress of the day. Sometimes he would feel like this, anxious and wanting to vomit. Actually, not getting sick was already an improvement; he hadn’t been troubled by panic attacks for a while now, enduring through chaotic situations like today.
But Huo Niansheng still sneered at him, “If you’re not tired of me, that’s already good, right? Why, do you think I would still dare to be tired of you?” Chen Wengang caught the taste and realized that Huo Niansheng’s attitude had been evasive since this morning.
He smiled, sat up, and said calmly, “I was too rushed in the morning; I didn’t know how to tell you. I know I’m an indecisive person, often hesitating in my actions, which is not good. Hearing about the accident made me think of that saying; it all proves that tomorrow and accidents don’t know which will come first. So I don’t want to delay anymore. The matter has already happened. Only when I stand by the last post can I resign. I don’t want to show off, but at this time, I’ll do my best; at least afterwards, I’ll have a clear conscience and not owe anyone.”
“Hmm,” Huo Niansheng responded, lying down again with him, “That’s good. Get some more sleep.”
Chen Wengang took his hand out from under the covers and held his, “From now on, you are the most important to me.”
Huo Niansheng pressed his index finger against his lips and said, “I believe you.”
***
The Zheng family’s ship collision accident continued to be reported in the news for some time.
After the golden rescue period passed, the rescue teams did not find any more survivors. Among the missing, only 13 crew members were confirmed dead, while the fate of the remaining individuals remained unknown. As a week passed, then two, one rescue team after another was completely withdrawn.
Those who couldn’t be found might have been swallowed up by the depths of the sea.
Some persistent family members hired civilian rescue teams, searching hopelessly and resolutely in the vast waters.
Naturally, some people came to cause trouble, while others pretended to cause trouble, holding banners at the door, staging sit-ins… Compensation undoubtedly had to be given, but it couldn’t solve all the problems. The direction of public opinion changed daily, and the PR department had to work late into the night every day. After the accident, Zheng’s stock price remained depressed for a while, and there were various thoughts within the board of directors and the company.
Zheng Bingyi returned to the chairman’s office to stabilize the situation.
But all of this soon had nothing to do with Chen Wengang. He hesitated outside for a moment, raised his hand, and knocked—
Come in.
Chen Wengang walked in and handed his resignation letter to Zheng Bingyi’s desk.
Zheng Bingyi seemed unsurprised, wearing reading glasses as he unfolded Chen’s resignation letter and read it twice: “Have you thought this through?” Chen Wengang stood respectfully opposite his desk and said, “I hope you can understand.”
He subtly surveyed the chairman’s office, likely the room with the best view and lighting in the building. But the decor style was uncertain, with a quite old-fashioned taste. Against the left wall was a shrine, housing a red-faced Guan Gong, with two small light bulbs lit inside the candlesticks and three to five sticks of incense burning in the incense burner, emitting wisps of smoke. A pot of money tree was placed in the corner.
A long time ago, Chen Wengang had thought this office would belong to Zheng Yucheng, and he had wondered what it would look like. Zheng Yucheng didn’t like Guan Gong, or rather, he treated his father’s aesthetics as a major threat. Would he go along with the trend and raise a money tree?
In any case, those were very childish and unnecessary thoughts that now seemed meaningless. His gaze returned to Zheng Bingyi, imprinting the image of his adoptive father.
Zheng Bingyi had aged.
Every edge and wrinkle was deeply engraved on his face, and Chen Wengang could see the traces of aging in his eyelids, the corners of his eyes, mouth, and neck. The wax-like skin was much looser than his impression from nine years ago, but he rarely paid attention to these changes in their daily interactions.
Chen Wengang knew he would age, but the changes seemed to accumulate slowly and suddenly happen in an instant. Zheng Bingyi also stared at him for a long time and said, “I agree. Since you want to leave, I won’t make it difficult for you. Go through the formalities.” Chen Wengang bowed respectfully and was about to leave.
Zheng Bingyi suddenly stopped his adoptive son and said, “I hope you can tell me that these decisions are not impulsive and have nothing to do with anyone else.” Chen Wengang paused for a moment, nodded, and didn’t immediately understand who this “anyone else” referred to.
Zheng Bingyi gestured for him to come over, and with a typical gesture of elderly people, he held his phone at a distance and not very skillfully accessed the photo album.
On the screen were undoubtedly intimate photos of Zheng Yucheng and He Wanxin.
Zheng Bingyi looked at his expression and asked, “Have you seen these before?”
Chen Wengang hesitated for a moment and didn’t say anything, which was tantamount to admitting it.
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“Naturally, some people came to cause trouble, while others pretended to cause trouble, holding banners at the door, staging sit-ins… Compensation undoubtedly had to be given, but it couldn’t solve all the problems.” That’s such a s***ty thing to say. I can understand that CWG is trying to look out for the business he’s working for. But this comment, whether it comes from the character CWG or the author themselves is extremely insensitive. Those people suddenly lost their family members and many of them were probably the breadwinners. Acting like people who seek justice are just greedy is insane.