DLRAS Chapter 7

Chapter 7: It was Huo Niansheng who really gave in repeatedly.

The driver received the call and brought the car to the entrance of the department store to wait. The two of them got in. The poodle they had picked up was still in its cage in the back seat, happily sniffing around. But on the way back, Zheng Baoqiu remained deep in thought about that sentence.

She wore her emotions on her face; it was impossible for Chen Wengang not to notice.

He couldn’t really say much, so he just continued playing with the dog. Zheng Baoqiu finally looked up, shot a glance at the driver, leaned over, and lowered her voice to a near-whisper, asking Chen Wengang: “What do you think… my cousin is like?”

Chen Wengang had no reason to be too familiar with Huo Niansheng, so he said: “I’m not too sure. Very generous?”

Zheng Baoqiu’s eyes widened. “Him? Generous? It’s more like there’s something wrong with him.”

Chen Wengang asked her: “What do you think is wrong?”

She said with certainty: “I think he’s trying to pursue you, that’s why he’s being so attentive.”

Chen Wengang was speechless. Zheng Baoqiu said: “You’re a guy too. Would you casually say ‘you look good in anything’ to another guy?”

He actually couldn’t find a way to refute that.

And Chen Wengang couldn’t admit that this was indeed Huo Niansheng leaving a flirtatious signal for him.

He had underestimated Zheng Baoqiu.

In his subconscious, he still always thought of her as the little girl in the butterfly dress from years ago. Only today did he realize that she was already an adult college student. Having grown up in a large, complicated family, no matter how naive her personality seemed, she had a precocious side. When Chen Wengang was her age, he probably wasn’t as perceptive as she was.

In his past life, when he met Huo Niansheng at this age, thinking back carefully, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t received similar signals.

It was just that back then, he was very repulsed and instinctively wanted to avoid people like that. Leaving aside the fact that he and Zheng Yucheng were as close as could be, steadfast and loyal, with no possibility of him shifting his affections, Huo Niansheng’s image in his mind was nothing more than a frivolous playboy who left a trail of broken hearts everywhere.

He didn’t think a single strand of hair on Huo Niansheng’s head was trustworthy. Flirting everywhere—how could the words out of a playboy’s mouth be taken seriously?

Even Zheng Baoqiu thought so now: “If my cousin really is pursuing you, don’t get too close to him.”

Chen Wengang asked: “Are you worried I’ll be tricked by him?”

Zheng Baoqiu rested her chin on her hand. “I’m not speaking ill of him. He’s not a bad person, his private life is just a bit unprincipled. You see, when my mom tells me to interact with him, she always reminds me to keep my distance from his fair-weather friends and not to mix with them in their messy crowds of men and women.”

“Messy crowd” was perhaps a bit of an overstatement, so she corrected herself: “Anyway, no one has ever seen him with a steady partner. Everyone knows he has a short attention span. Really, listen to me, it’s perfectly fine to be friends with him, but you absolutely must not get emotionally involved with him.”

Chen Wengang smiled and said he understood.

Seeing him so nonchalant, Zheng Baoqiu wasn’t overly worried.

His mature and steady personality was poles apart from the cynical, playboy cousin in her memory. Even if Huo Niansheng was just playing around, he wouldn’t seek out such an unexciting target; at most, he was momentarily curious. If Chen Wengang was unwilling, Huo Niansheng wouldn’t go so far as to force him.

When they arrived home, there was still over an hour until dinner. Chen Wengang helped Zheng Baoqiu carry her shopping spoils of the day up to her room.

When Chen Wengang returned to his own bedroom carrying his bag of clothes, he was startled as soon as he walked in. There was an extra figure in the room.

It was Zheng Yucheng, who had arrived uninvited and was sitting at the head of his bed. Who knew how long he had been waiting.

“Wengang.”

“Why didn’t you go to the company?”

“Dad called me back today, said he had something to discuss with me.”

Chen Wengang quickly understood. With two parties involved, Zheng Bingyi had to talk to each of them one by one.

He set the bag aside, pulled over a chair, and sat down on it. “What did Yifu say to you?”

This time of day was the transition from afternoon to evening, and without the lights on indoors, the lighting took on a somewhat dim, ambiguous quality.

For the entire afternoon, Zheng Yucheng had hidden in Chen Wengang’s room, staring blankly at the sunlight as it shifted from bright and dazzling to precarious and fading. The scenes from the afternoon replayed repeatedly in his mind: Zheng Bingyi warning him that a relationship with Chen Wengang was absolutely impossible, and telling him to look out for himself.

Zheng Yucheng had originally intended to argue his case vigorously. He had prepared a bellyful of drafts, wanting to persuade his father that times had changed, that it was no longer the era of blind, arranged marriages. He wanted to talk about human rights, freedom, equality, and how different minority groups also deserved respect.

However, Zheng Bingyi had blocked everything he had to say with a single sentence: “You are free, you are open-minded, but have you ever thought about what will happen to the Zheng family?”

He was struck dumb.

In his ears, he heard Zheng Bingyi say: “So there’s no need for you to tell me all that. You complain that your father’s thinking is outdated, but I ask you in return, have you ever considered your own responsibilities? In the future, will you bring a man home every year to worship the ancestors? If so, why shouldn’t I just let Maoxun do it?”

Whether for the company’s stock price or the concept of clan lineage, the head of the Zheng family had to have a complete marriage and carry on the family line.

If he truly couldn’t do it, it wasn’t as if there wasn’t a more suitable candidate. Foreign royalty had kings who gave up their thrones to marry a beauty; you can’t have your cake and eat it too. What right did he, Zheng Yucheng, have to think he could hold on to both?

Zheng Yucheng was fixed with a stern and severe stare by his father.

Towards Zheng Bingyi, Zheng Yucheng ultimately felt awe and reverence. The words “I can choose not to marry and not have children” stuck in his throat, and suddenly he couldn’t force them out no matter what. Only when push came to shove did he realize how difficult it was—could he just let go of all the years of hard work he had put in?

His Adam’s apple bobbed for a long time, but he couldn’t immediately make such a bold claim.

Seeing him like this, Zheng Bingyi knew in his heart that the situation was secure. “You see, Wengang has always been more sensible than you. He has already agreed to break things off with you.” He patted his son’s shoulder. “He’s doing this for your own good. I hope you can also muster up some resolve.”

This was the final blow to Zheng Yucheng.

As soon as he stepped out of the study, he wanted to call Chen Wengang, almost tripping in his haste. But on second thought, this kind of thing should be explained face-to-face. He lay on Chen Wengang’s bed, resting his head on his arms for two hours, breathing in his scent, and by now had calmed down considerably.

“Nothing much, we just chatted about future plans. I also wanted to discuss with you what we should do next.”

“What are your thoughts?” Chen Wengang crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, facing Zheng Yucheng.

“Did you say anything to him?”

“I promised him that I would make a clean break with you.”

“You—” A look of hurt appeared on Zheng Yucheng’s face. However, the shock in his heart seemed even greater. Originally, he hadn’t believed that such words came out of Chen Wengang’s mouth. He thought Zheng Bingyi was lying to him; his father was shrewd enough to do something like that.

He thought that, at the very least, Chen Wengang was of one mind with him.

The scene of them working together hadn’t even happened; Chen Wengang had sided with his father without even a word of warning.

Zheng Yucheng couldn’t help but reach out to grasp the other’s shoulders. But Chen Wengang was like a slippery fish, somehow dodging out from under his hands.

He smiled bitterly: “So you unilaterally decided to break up, and I’m the last one to know?”

Chen Wengang pinched his forehead. Before he could speak, a call suddenly came through on Zheng Yucheng’s phone.

Caller ID: He Wanxin.

Zheng Yucheng glanced at Chen Wengang and proactively turned on the speakerphone.

He Wanxin’s voice was very cheerful, echoing in the room: “Yucheng, come quickly, I found a cafe with exceptionally delicious tiramisu! Where are you? Can you get here in fifteen minutes?”

Zheng Yucheng said: “Miss He, I apologize, I’m busy right now.”

She said: “Then dinner works too. My best friend recommended a French restaurant on Huandao Road, treat me to dinner there.”

Zheng Yucheng apologized once more: “I’m sorry, it’s really not very convenient.”

He had to do a lot of talking before finally rejecting all her requests. He looked up at Chen Wengang.

Chen Wengang put his hand down, but extended it towards Zheng Yucheng: “Phone.”

When lovers reach the point of checking phones, the relationship isn’t far from being over.

Zheng Yucheng, with an attitude of having nothing left to lose, handed it to him. “I can swear I’ve never done anything to betray you.”

Chen Wengang lowered his eyes and didn’t speak. He scrolled up through the chat history between Zheng Yucheng and He Wanxin.

He didn’t scroll for very long, just curiously glancing at the most recent section.

[He Wanxin: What were you busy with today?]

[He Wanxin: Why are you ignoring me again?]

[He Wanxin: Are you there? Why aren’t you talking? Are you really that busy? Is typing a few words that hard?]

[Zheng Yucheng: I’m sorry, I really have work to do.]

[He Wanxin: You always say you have work; is it real or fake?]

[He Wanxin: I think you just don’t want to see me, right? Giving me the cold shoulder like this, who are you throwing a temper tantrum for?]

[He Wanxin: Zheng Yucheng, answer the phone!]

[He Wanxin: Answer the phone right now!]

This relationship was already a thing of the past for Chen Wengang in his previous life, but combining both lifetimes, this was still the first time he knew what these two had chatted about. He didn’t actually care much about the content of the chat; he just realized that he was no longer afraid of He Wanxin.

Chen Wengang calmly handed the phone back to Zheng Yucheng. “Why didn’t you just block her?”

“You saw it too. Her personality is a bit extreme. If I blocked her, she would definitely escalate things and cause a scene. Dad and Uncle He have been old friends for years, and we still have collaborations with the He family. Why make things so ugly? If something really happened, how would I explain it?”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you,” Zheng Yucheng added, “But she and I have never had any shameful relationship.”

Chen Wengang looked at him with the detached gaze of an outsider. Zheng Yucheng stopped talking.

Chen Wengang let out a laugh. He stepped forward, his slightly cool hands cupping Zheng Yucheng’s face.

He said to Zheng Yucheng: “In the past, whenever we had disagreements, I was always the one who gave in to you.”

“Yes.” Zheng Yucheng couldn’t deny it.

“This time, can you give in to me?” Chen Wengang said. “You don’t even have the freedom to block someone. You have this and that concern; why can’t you understand that I am even less free than you are? Zheng Yucheng, breaking up is the best solution. Don’t make things difficult for me.”

The two looked at each other.

Zheng Yucheng’s eyes gradually reddened. He glared at him, heartbroken and aggrieved, like a child whose favorite toy car had been snatched away.

“Chen Wengang!” he said. “We’ve known each other for eleven years, been together for two… And now everything has become making things difficult for you?”

Before he was twenty, seeing Zheng Yucheng like this, Chen Wengang could never help but soften his heart. Zheng Yucheng had always had a bit of a temper; when he threw a fit, he cared about nothing else, occasionally even saying spiteful, hurtful things. But it wasn’t unforgivable. When two people are together, it’s impossible not to have conflicts. There always has to be one who is strong and one who yields. Nine times out of ten, Chen Wengang would coax him.

Until later, when he was with Huo Niansheng. No matter how you looked at it, Huo Niansheng should have been the dominant one.

But, strangely enough, even though probably no one would believe it if told, the one who truly yielded time and time again was actually Huo Niansheng.

Even when Chen Wengang lost control of his emotions and smashed everything in the room, the other man would just lean against the doorframe, waiting until he was exhausted to ask: “And now, are you feeling any happier?”

Chen Wengang lowered his eyes and subconsciously rubbed his right cheek with the back of his hand.

He lowered his hand and ruffled Zheng Yucheng’s thick, dark hair. “From now on, knock before entering my room, okay?”

Zheng Yucheng stormed out.

The two parted on bad terms.

Chen Wengang stood in place for a while. Remembering something, he went to the walk-in closet to hang up his new clothes.

Only now did he see clearly what style that black shirt was. Zheng Baoqiu’s auspicious dragon and phoenix pattern was extremely festive; Huo Niansheng had taken a different route with this one, piling on accordion pleats and ruffles. The teasing intent from both of them was very obvious. Chen Wengang looked at it for a moment, but still unfolded it.

His slender arms slipped through the sleeves. Huo Niansheng’s eye was indeed very sharp; the size was a perfect fit.

Facing the mirror, he obediently fastened the shell buttons one by one up to his neck.

The black silk reflected a lustrous glow. The person in the mirror had cool, pale skin, managing to pull off even this shirt without looking out of place.

Chen Wengang stared for a long time, helplessly shook his head and smiled, then unbuttoned it one by one and changed back into his own loungewear. Both the black and the red were shelved deep in the wardrobe. He only picked out that white shirt and hung it outside for easy daily wear.

At dinnertime, Zheng Yucheng locked himself in his room and didn’t come downstairs.

Besides Zheng Yucheng’s absence at the dining table, Zheng Maoxun was also missing, reportedly having gone to the race track with friends.

Madam Zheng, Huo Meijie, instructed the servants to keep some food warm to send to Zheng Yucheng’s room later, which drew a cold snort from Master Zheng:

“How much face does he think he has, that we have to serve it right to his mouth? Tell him he either comes down to eat himself, or he starves!”

Huo Meijie pressed her lips together and smiled, actually feeling happy inside. In truth, whether Zheng Yucheng ate or not had nothing to do with her.

Zheng Bingyi had talked with Zheng Yucheng today, but it was impossible to tell if he was in a good or bad mood. After taking a couple of bites, he went upstairs early.

Once he left, the atmosphere at the dining table relaxed a bit.

Huo Meijie turned to Chen Wengang: “Have you been busy with work and studies lately?”

Chen Wengang gave her a standard answer: “It’s alright, I can manage both.”

However, Huo Meijie’s attitude toward him today was noticeably more amiable than usual, and she inquired about a few other aspects of his life.

It turned out she was well-informed; Master Zheng had asked Chen Wengang about Zheng Maoxun’s performance yesterday, and the news had reached her ears immediately.

Zheng Bingyi entering an early state of retirement was forced by health reasons. After his first sudden heart attack, he refused to admit he was aging. It wasn’t until his second trip to the emergency room that he was forced to step back to the second line. But this chairman’s heart and eyes were still focused on the conglomerate—besides the senior executives coming regularly to report on work, what Chen Wengang saw was what he saw, and what Chen Wengang heard was what he heard.

Therefore, she asked indirectly: “A-Xun hasn’t been at the company for very long. What did you say back then?”

Chen Wengang smiled. “I think he’s always been working very hard.”

Huo Meijie said: “You boys grew up together; brothers should naturally help each other. A-Xun is younger than you and needs more encouragement. Wengang, you should put in a few more good words for him in front of your a Yifu.”

Zheng Baoqiu felt embarrassed just listening to this: “Mom… you’re worrying too much. Er-ge isn’t three years old.”

“Just focus on your studies; you don’t understand these other things. Am I not worrying so much all for your sake?”

Although Huo Meijie came from the Huo family, she wasn’t particularly valued by her maiden family, otherwise she wouldn’t have been married off to Zheng Bingyi simply as a second wife.

In her bones, her views were still very traditional. Her only hope was her own son, so whatever could be fought for, she had to fight for on his behalf.

Her children thought she was snobbish and that her greed was unsightly, but did she not know that herself?

They just didn’t understand yet. There are some things that, if you don’t actively ask for them, if you don’t throw a tantrum and demand them, they won’t just fall into your hands.

Whether it looks unsightly or not doesn’t matter at all. Which family isn’t exactly like this?

Zheng Baoqiu curled her lip. Knowing her temper, she didn’t argue further, but secretly relayed her mother’s words to Zheng Maoxun.

With Zheng Maoxun’s impatient temper, especially caring about his pride, he replied to Zheng Baoqiu with two words: [Fucking embarrassing.]

After thinking about it, he sent another: [Can you get her to stop talking about this? This is too humiliating!]

Zheng Baoqiu replied: [I’m not getting involved in this. We’re in our own house, if it’s embarrassing, then it’s embarrassing.]

[Then tell that guy Chen not to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong. Aren’t you on good terms with him?]

[I won’t say that either. Wengang-ge is so nice; why don’t you like him?]

She put away her phone. Her gaze, originally watching the spectacle, inadvertently swept over to Mu Qing. Sensing Zheng Baoqiu’s gaze, he looked back, maintaining his usual aloof and indifferent demeanor, close to no one.

This suddenly reminded Zheng Baoqiu of something—she had recently occasionally seen on the school forum that someone had evaluated him as the “department grass” (most handsome guy in the department) of the art academy, belonging to the aloof, male god category, claiming he looked slightly similar to the department grass of the School of Economics and Management who was good-looking but had terrible character.

“Someone like him is what you call a true ‘white moonlight’ (unattainable ideal).” Reading that had infuriated her. This counts as a male god? And who was the other one they were referring to?

But as soon as she rebutted, the person hid the post. As if feeling guilty, she couldn’t figure out who could be so bored, and have such terrible taste.

After finishing her meal, Madam Zheng wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin, gave the younger generation a few more instructions, and returned to her room.

That night, Zheng Baoqiu was on a date with her phone, lying in bed playing a dating simulator game, when she suddenly received a call from Huo Niansheng, startling her.

This cousin never visited without a reason; he wouldn’t think to call her if he didn’t have to.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the other end asked: “Did he try on that piece of clothing?”

He certainly wasn’t asking about her, nor was he asking about her clothes.

Zheng Baoqiu hesitated for a moment and said casually: “You mean Wengang-ge? He tried it on, he tried it on, it fits perfectly. Thank you, Cousin.”

Huo Niansheng let out a laugh: “Is that so? Do you have any photos?”

She suddenly sat up straight: “Oh my, it’s almost bedtime… It wouldn’t be convenient for me to run over to his room right now.”

Huo Niansheng said over the phone: “Never mind then. Next time I’m back, I’ll call you guys out to hang out.”

Zheng Baoqiu grew vigilant, afraid that his next sentence would be asking her for Chen Wengang’s phone number.

However, that didn’t happen. After chatting about a few unrelated things, the two said their goodbyes.

__

Author’s Note:

Unimportant revelation: He Wanxin is a villain, but she doesn’t have a “love brain” (being overly obsessed with romance to the detriment of logic).

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