DLRAS Chapter 76

Chapter 76: You don’t want to spend the rest of your life with me?

Only after hanging up the phone did Chen Wengang feel a damp coolness on his knee. Looking down, he saw that Huo Niansheng’s hair had rubbed an irregular water stain against it.

He snatched the towel from Huo Niansheng’s shoulder, draped it over his head, and rubbed it haphazardly. “Look what you did.”

The reproachful tone sounded more like a playful whine. Huo Niansheng held the towel on his head and rolled over.

His gaze fixed on Chen Wengang, he turned his face and planted a kiss right on that water stain.

Even through the cold, damp fabric, his lips felt scalding. They branded the knee, then trailed all the way up the inner thigh.

Huo Niansheng parted his legs. Chen Wengang’s heart pounded wildly, and he pushed against his shoulders to dodge away.

Laughing, he shrank back into the bed. Huo Niansheng lunged, catching him squarely and pinning him down against the mattress.

Chen Wengang cupped his face, pecking his brow bone, the bridge of his nose, and his eyelids, playfully wrestling with him. Huo Niansheng let him kiss him without any rhythm or reason.

When Huo Jingsheng had stumbled upon their intimacy earlier, he assumed they were about to have a wild tryst; he could never have imagined Huo Niansheng possessing such a tender side.

The bedding was as soft as a cloud, gently wrapping around them—a trap that made one forget everything and never want to leave.

Having fooled around enough, Chen Wengang stretched his back, lay on his stomach, and exposed his neck, asking for a massage.

Huo Niansheng actually reached out and began massaging him. “Sooner or later, you’re going to be riding on my head.”

Chen Wengang turned his head to reveal half his face, his eyes brimming with a smile. “Isn’t that just the courage you gave me?”

Huo Niansheng looked down at him, seemingly quite proud of it. “That’s right, the courage I gave you.”

He stopped talking, using his thumbs to press firmly down along the seams of Chen Wengang’s shoulder blades. The slender back contracted or relaxed with his movements, depending on whether it felt sore or soothing. Chen Wengang hissed a few times, which only served as a kind of encouragement; Huo Niansheng served him with sweet willingness.

He thought about how much this person had changed compared to before. When they had first gotten to know each other, he was always so cautious. If someone spoke just a little louder in front of him, he probably would have startled himself first. Huo Niansheng had deliberately teased him, but not because he wanted to see him constantly on edge—that was no fun.

Since when had his thoughts gradually changed, turning into a constant preoccupation with how to coax a smile out of him?

Now he had coaxed him into becoming utterly lawless and spoiled, but somehow, Huo Niansheng felt this was much better.

He gave a low chuckle. “You’re much bolder now, with big ideas of your own. I don’t even dare manage or question you. You said I don’t believe you, but what about you? Even now, can’t you trust me a little more? Just say whatever is on your mind; there’s no need to always test the waters with me.”

Chen Wengang buried his face in the crook of his arm, speechless but feeling his chest grow hot, as if he had just soaked in a hot spring all over again.

He had never intended to completely hide those little maneuvers from Huo Niansheng. Like grabbing tea with Huo Jingsheng, or Huo Jingsheng giving him Huo Zhenfei’s itinerary—these weren’t exceptionally brilliant tactics. How could he guarantee not a single clue would leak out? In all fairness, when Huo Niansheng said he was testing the waters, he had indeed seen right through him. It wasn’t a false accusation. But really, what did doing this prove?

To prove that Huo Niansheng was just as endlessly tolerant of him as he was in their past life? He knew this thought was ridiculous.

After a while of kneading, Chen Wengang said it was enough, and Huo Niansheng patted his back.

Chen Wengang sat up, his shoulders feeling much more relaxed. Seeing him leaning against the headboard, he reached out to rub his temples. “My turn to massage you?”

Huo Niansheng smiled, adopting an attitude of enjoyment. “Alright. When I’m old, I’ll be relying on you to serve me.”

Chen Wengang knelt over his legs, joking, “That’s not your euphemism for wanting to grow old together with me, is it?”

The top button of his pajama collar was undone, his fair neck exposed right before his eyes. Compared to a head massage, Huo Niansheng’s mind had already drifted elsewhere. As they spoke, his hand slowly slipped inside with unruly intentions. “What, you don’t want to spend a lifetime with me anymore?”

Hearing this, Chen Wengang froze. His heart felt like a rising tide, crashing waves surging up with a splash.

As a result, he suddenly slipped out from under Huo Niansheng’s arm, jumped off the bed with a quick excuse about brushing his teeth, and fled to the bathroom.

Caught between laughter and tears, Huo Niansheng knocked on the door from outside. “Hey, baby, is this how you repay me?”

Chen Wengang raised his voice. “You go to sleep first! We still have to talk about Jiang Cai tomorrow!”

In the end, he still let Huo Niansheng in. A brief parting beats a honeymoon, but neither of them brought up the phrase “spend a lifetime” again. It was as if they were afraid the other might take it back.

When they came out, the room was pitch black. Huo Niansheng waited for him to get into bed before switching off the bedside lamp. “Go to sleep.”

The next morning, Chen Wengang woke up bright and early.

He had slept soundly and deeply in Huo Niansheng’s arms. Huo Niansheng showed no signs of waking up, not even noticing when he slipped out of bed.

Rushing over from Zhang City wasn’t a long journey—just a half-hour high-speed rail ride—but after consecutive days of endless meetings, drinking engagements, and banquets one after another, Chen Wengang knew he had been working non-stop. He leaned over the edge of the bed, gazing at Huo Niansheng’s face, the scenes from last night floating through his mind. After a long while, he planted a kiss on Huo Niansheng’s temple, got dressed, and headed out for a walk.

The resort boasted an elegant environment, with lush, shady trees everywhere and the melodious chirping of birds overhead.

Chen Wengang strolled alone along the trestle walkway. Every so often along the bridge railing, a couple of romantic phrases were engraved. Glancing up, he spotted a line from Shakespeare’s sonnet:

But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st.

But this summer, at the very least, was already halfway over.

Circling a massive artificial lake, a row of huge boulders led out to the center of the water.

A solitary shadow crouched in the middle of the lake. Getting closer, it looked like Jiang Cai.

His footsteps paused slightly. Originally, there was no need to go out of his way to disturb her, but she was craning her neck to look into the water, appearing as though she was either pitying her own reflection or contemplating something foolish.

Chen Wengang hopped from one boulder to the next, reaching the rock where she was crouching in a few quick bounds. “Are you alright?”

Jiang Cai looked up at him. “Don’t you have eyes to see for yourself?”

Chen Wengang remained calm, both hands tucked in his pockets. “I understand you’re in a bad mood.”

Jiang Cai hugged her knees, turned her head back to the lake, and mumbled a muffled, “I’m sorry.”

Chen Wengang was genuinely taken aback.

She spoke impatiently. “Enough, Eden has been lecturing me for days, saying that my reckless mouth will only make my own situation harder, blah blah blah. It’s not like I’m completely incapable of telling good from bad.”

Chen Wengang thought for a moment, then sat down cross-legged beside her. “Where’s your mom?”

Jiang Cai replied, “She sneaked out early this morning to discuss things with the lawyer.”

The mother and daughter had been sharing a room; it was a miracle they hadn’t staged a full-blown martial arts brawl in there.

Yet Jiang Cai remained highly disdainful. “Do you think she’s sick in the head? She absolutely insists on making me formally acknowledge my ancestors and return to the clan. Is it really that important?”

Chen Wengang said, “Her feelings are understandable. She might be afraid that her health is failing and wants you to have someone to rely on.”

Jiang Cai glared at him, and he explained, “You’ve seen it yourself. For the Huo family, the easiest solution is to send you away with money. If you have no one to take care of you in the future, at most they’ll give you a house to live in or assign someone to look after you until you come of age, but they won’t formally acknowledge you. What leaks through the cracks of their fingers might be enough to feed you for twenty years, or even a lifetime. But if you’re left all alone, whatever little favors they give you can be taken back just as easily. Right now, she is demanding that the Huo family must accept your identity. That’s what they were arguing about yesterday.”

Jiang Cai stated, “That’s just her own wishful thinking.”

Chen Wengang asked, “What are your own thoughts?”

Venting, Jiang Cai shot back, “I don’t have any thoughts.”

Chen Wengang knew she was just lost. “Alright, let’s go eat first.”

They headed back to find the restaurant. As they reached the bottom of the guest room building, they ran straight into Huo Niansheng coming down.

Chen Wengang walked up to meet him, and Huo Niansheng unabashedly gave him a morning kiss.

Jiang Cai had seen Huo Niansheng many times at the special education school, but knowing now that this man was technically her older brother put her in an entirely different state of mind—it was as awkward as it could possibly be. Huo Niansheng merely cast a glance at her before losing interest and shifting his gaze elsewhere.

Chen Wengang gave him a slight tug. Huo Niansheng then offered her a smile, though the thick, mocking undertone made it worse than if he hadn’t smiled at all.

Jiang Cai froze and pursed her lips. It wasn’t exactly disappointment; she had never expected him to be an easy person to get along with in the first place.

Currently, the resort only had one breakfast restaurant open, but it offered a rich and varied buffet.

Chen Wengang and his group arrived first. They grabbed some food and found a seat by the window.

Luo Suwei also came down. Pouring a glass of milk and plating two slices of cake, she walked over to them. “Morning.”

Then Huo Zhenfei came down accompanying his father. Chen Wengang observed them from a distance.

Having already seen them once yesterday, the members of the Huo family present were practically identical to his impressions from his past life.

Third Uncle Huo’s hair was dyed a glossy, pitch black, making him look much younger than his actual age; if someone said he was just in his early forties, people would believe it.

Second Uncle Huo’s hair was threaded with silver, and his face had more folds. Hidden within every wrinkle was the treacherous cunning of an old fox.

But in reality, from the very first moment he laid eyes on him, if glares could physically manifest, Chen Wengang would have already slashed his face to ribbons.

He could forgive He Wanxin before he would ever forgive this old bastard.

In his past life, police investigations revealed that it was this very Second Uncle Huo who, years later, colluded with pirates. Taking advantage of a collective family outing at sea, he orchestrated a cruise ship disaster. In that incident, it wasn’t just Huo Niansheng; Third Uncle Huo, Huo Zhenfei, and several others were all killed in the “accident.” When the investigation results were disclosed, it shocked the entire society. The Huo family lost a massive swath of its elite talents. Were it not for that, the subsequent toppling of the Huo Group wouldn’t have been so easy.

An indescribable, icy ruthlessness filled Chen Wengang’s eyes until someone suddenly nudged him.

Huo Niansheng chuckled by his ear. “Who are you staring at with such bitter, deep-seated hatred?”

Chen Wengang lowered his eyes, the corners of his mouth suddenly ticking up into a smile. “No one. You saw wrong.”

When Huo Yingfei walked in, he happened to lock eyes with them. He gave a snort through his nose and took a plate from the server.

Huo Niansheng turned a blind eye to him, handing Chen Wengang a bowl of steamed egg custard. “Why are you eating fried rice this early in the morning?”

Chen Wengang had clearly been wrestling with those two spoonfuls of soy sauce fried rice for a while. He had been deceived by its appetizing appearance when plating it, only to find it was incredibly greasy. Poking at it with his chopsticks, he eventually sighed. “Forget it, let’s not waste food.”

Huo Niansheng pulled the plate over, scooped the rice onto his own, and pushed the empty plate back in front of him.

Jiang Cai’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

She was staring at Huo Niansheng—the arrogant, snobbish act he had put on earlier seemed completely fake!

Jiang Cai had seen Huo Niansheng come to the school, but she had never seen how they interacted in private. She knew a lot about the unspoken rules of society and had read plenty of novels, so she had made no shortage of dark speculations about their relationship. In her mind, she had defined it as a sugar-daddy arrangement.

But her limited experience hadn’t taught her that being a kept man looked anything like this. Now, Jiang Cai wasn’t so sure.

Jiang Wanxia didn’t make an appearance. Claiming there were too many things she couldn’t eat, she had the restaurant prepare a special sickbed meal just for her.

The next round of negotiations was held in the same presidential suite as yesterday.

Since Huo Niansheng was present today, Chen Wengang also entered the study, sitting right beside him.

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Author’s Note:

“But thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st.” 

This line is quoted from Shakespeare’s sonnet, and the translator of this version is unknown.

Note: Modern society still has pirates. Some may operate individually, while others are part of organized criminal gangs. The ones closest to us are likely scattered across the Malacca Strait and the entire Southeast Asian region. For example, Filipino pirates are notorious for crimes such as bombing attacks, extortion, and kidnapping.

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