Chapter 80: When he lowered his head, his eyes were filled with tenderness.
Chen Wengang’s response was to slap both hands onto Huo Niansheng’s face, the flower still pinched between the fingers of his left hand. “Are you crazy?”
A piece of the rose stem pressed uncomfortably against his face. Huo Niansheng took his hands down. “You’re going to disfigure me, baby.”
He seemed to grow even more energetic, refusing to let it go. “What’s your answer?”
It was clearly banter. Chen Wengang pursed his lips and looked at him with a smile. “Sure.”
He added, “Not immediately, though. You have to give me some time.”
Unable to tell if he was being serious or not, Huo Niansheng pressed a hand against his back. “And what about the first part?”
Chen Wengang closed his eyes and rested his chin in the crook of Huo Niansheng’s shoulder, his nasal cavity filled with that familiar woody scent. He shifted his posture, wrapping both arms under Huo Niansheng’s armpits to embrace him fully. “Why are you acting like a middle schooler in love… Of course I like you.”
Huo Niansheng hugged him back, remaining silent for a good while.
It wasn’t until Chen Wengang nudged him. “Aren’t you hot?”
The two impeccably dressed men sat on the steps of the building to catch the evening breeze, watching all sorts of pedestrians pass by below.
Chen Wengang rested his arms on his knees. Huo Niansheng sat one step lower. Just sitting by the street watching people like this, neither of them found it boring.
He lowered his head, teasing Huo Niansheng. “Did you know, you care more about Zheng Yucheng right now than I do.”
Huo Niansheng had just used him as a temporary smokescreen and asked casually, “Oh, how has he been lately?”
Chen Wengang replied very tactfully, “I’m not sure.”
In truth, perhaps his own life was going too smoothly; he often practically forgot that he and Zheng Yucheng still lived under the same roof.
But as for Zheng Yucheng’s situation, combining his past and present lives, he still knew a bit. In the conglomerate, everyone called him the Crown Prince, but whether it was genuine respect or veiled sarcasm were two completely different matters. To his face, they respectfully called him “Junior Mr. Zheng,” but away from Zheng Bingyi’s sight, they were all feigning compliance while secretly acting in opposition. Behind the facade of family businesses valuing human connection and seniority, it was hard to avoid management chaos and corruption, let alone various overt and covert attacks. All of these ensnared Zheng Yucheng, making it difficult for him to take a single step.
Chen Wengang recalled the economic case that had dragged him down in their past life, and feeling his interest wane, he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
Reading the room, Huo Niansheng didn’t press the issue.
The two briefly ran out of topics. The atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival was indeed drawing near; the posters plastered on the newsstand were all of Chang’e flying to the moon.
Staring at the Jade Rabbit, Chen Wengang suddenly made small talk. “What flavor of mooncake filling do you like?”
Huo Niansheng threw out an answer randomly. “Any of them. Jujube paste, I guess.”
Chen Wengang said, “I like jujube paste too.”
Huo Niansheng murmured an “Mm.” “What a coincidence, then. We won’t have to fight over this during the holidays in the future.”
Chen Wengang said, “Actually, it’s just that there weren’t many choices when we were kids. Not like now, with a whole bunch of all sorts of flavors.”
Huo Niansheng laughed. “Then I really do like it, especially knowing that the people I hate the most hate this flavor the most.”
Chen Wengang let out a snort of laughter and didn’t ask who it was he hated.
Huo Niansheng turned his head and saw him looking up at the sky, his eyes curved like crescents, looking as if moonlight had spilled into a pool of autumn water, sparkling and shimmering.
The moon, however, looked like a flattened, oval mooncake, not yet reaching its perfect fullness, hanging lazily in mid-air.
They just went on like this, shooting the breeze about nothing in particular. But today, as if competing to see who had more stamina, neither opened their mouth to say they were leaving.
It was nearly midnight when Huo Niansheng finally took the initiative to pat his backside and stand up.
When he looked down, his eyes were full of tenderness. “Alright, I’ll take you back.”
Chen Wengang reached his hand out to him.
Huo Niansheng grasped that hand and hauled him up.
The so-called “moving out of the Zheng family” and “never seeing Zheng Yucheng again” were naturally just Huo Niansheng talking nonsense. As long as Zheng Yucheng was still breathing and living in Jincheng, it was truly impossible not to catch another glimpse of him. But moving out was achievable.
Chen Wengang’s “sure” wasn’t a brush-off; he took it seriously and was genuinely considering it.
Actually, he was conflicted too. By sheer luck, this had hit upon an issue he had been pondering for a long time.
Moving itself was the easiest thing in the world; pack some boxes, find a few people and two cars, and it was done. No matter how much stuff there was, it would take no more than a couple of weeks to pack up. What was hard to part with was the emotional aspect. Having lived in the Zheng household until now, it was impossible to say he had absolutely no lingering attachment.
That was how living with a large family was. When things were lively and bustling, it didn’t feel like much, but when it was time to leave, there was a sense of profound loss.
In the future, if he wanted to see Uncle Lin and the others, he would have to visit as a guest. Thinking of this inevitably made him feel a pang of sadness.
The first to find out, Zheng Baoqiu, was unsurprisingly very downcast. “Aren’t you going to graduate school? Why not stay a few more years?”
Chen Wengang also felt a bit bad. “You know that, at the latest, I’d have to prepare to move out next year anyway.”
Zheng Baoqiu blamed the problem on He Wanxin. “I still don’t understand why my brother actually got together with her.”
Chen Wengang found it hard to explain clearly in a few words. “I’m not fleeing because of anyone. It’s just that I’ve reached a certain stage and need to start a new life, so I have to make this choice. Of course, I can’t bear to leave you guys either. I can still go shopping with you in the future, okay?”
Zheng Baoqiu wasn’t entirely convinced, looking at his gentle expression and feeling indignant on his behalf.
Zheng Yucheng and He Wanxin were gradually progressing in their relationship. The two families had even booked a table, preparing to meet before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The further along they got, the more such occasions there would be. Zheng Baoqiu naturally understood that Chen Wengang didn’t want to be caught awkwardly in the middle.
Actually, that was a separate matter. Chen Wengang told her, “Look at it from another angle. At my age, especially as a guy, wouldn’t it sound unindependent and unreliable to be in my twenties, a college graduate, and still living with family?”
Zheng Baoqiu couldn’t win the argument against him. “Then you’ll have to figure out how to explain this to Dad and Uncle Lin.”
Chen Wengang said, “Yes, I’ll have to help Uncle Lin out with more chores.”
During the holidays, there were always more things to worry about than usual.
The Mid-Autumn Festival emphasized family reunions. For a family like the Zhengs, visiting relatives and friends was an indispensable task. Uncle Lin was responsible for much of the reciprocal gift-giving. Chen Wengang went to help him check the guest list and inspect the gift packaging. He wanted to spend a bit more time with the old man.
Uncle Lin was actually quite open-minded. “Alright, move out then. Living on your own is a type of tempering; that’s how you grow up fast. If you didn’t want to leave, I actually wouldn’t know how to bring it up. Since you want to leave, I support it. Where is the logic in not taking a step forward just for the sake of us old folks?”
Chen Wengang said, “I haven’t told my adoptive father yet.”
Uncle Lin said, “You just enjoy this Mid-Autumn Festival properly. I’ll give him a heads-up for you.”
The Zheng family banquet proceeded according to plan, but this year, Chen Wengang actually had nothing to reunite with at his uncle’s house. Since handing in his resignation, Chen Zeng had overtly and covertly chided him several times. Chen Wengang avoided seeing him, and his uncle seemed to have gotten angry, putting on the airs of an elder.
In previous years, his aunt would go through the motions and call Chen Wengang home for the holidays, but this year, there was dead silence.
So Chen Wengang simply picked Chen Xiangling up from the prep school and had a meal alone with her.
Chen Xiangling stated her stance: “Actually, I wasn’t planning on going home for the Mid-Autumn Festival either. My grades in class are upper-middle, but I haven’t stabilized in the top five yet. I see two of my roommates studying with flashlights at night. While everyone else is on holiday, I also have to hurry up and fill in the gaps in my knowledge.”
Chen Wengang instead urged her to relax a bit. “Just do your best. Don’t ruin your eyes, the loss outweighs the gain.”
Chen Xiangling’s will was resolute. “But there are people ahead of me. This is an arrow on the bowstring; it must be fired.”
Chen Wengang smiled and put some food in her bowl.
While he was eating with Chen Xiangling, he had no idea that Huo Niansheng was sitting in Lawyer Zhu’s office.
Lawyer Zhu was very polite to his boss, spreading the documents neatly on the desk. “You said you wanted to draft a few property agreements.”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. There were many parts over the phone where I wasn’t quite sure of the specific meaning, and I need to confirm them with you in person.”
Huo Niansheng had once told Chen Wengang he was good at reputation rights lawsuits, but that was just him talking nonsense; Lawyer Zhu’s expertise lay in economic and criminal law.
Of course, it was true that he was responsible for helping Huo Niansheng issue legal letters to the media regarding reputation rights infringement; it was his subordinate legal team handling it.
Huo Niansheng held the stack of documents, leaning back in the ergonomic chair. Under pressure, the backrest tilted backward until it was almost flat. Lawyer Zhu watched him treat the office chair like a recliner without a change in expression.
Huo Niansheng skimmed through it quickly, offering a few suggestions, which Lawyer Zhu rapidly recorded with his head down.
Finally, not caring too much, he tossed the documents back onto the desk. “Draft the rest of it and show it to me later.”
Lawyer Zhu responded professionally.
Looking up again, he saw his boss was still lying back, showing no intention of getting up to leave.
The two had been working together for seven or eight years and knew each other inside out. Huo Niansheng had always been the type to speak human words to humans and ghost words to ghosts. Lawyer Zhu probably couldn’t list everyone he spoke ghost words to, but he could count on one hand the people he was willing to speak human words to.
It was safe to say he considered himself one of them.
He put down his pen, propped up his chin, and waited for Huo Niansheng to speak.
Huo Niansheng said, “Have you ever heard of those kinds of cases—where someone is hypnotized and remembers things from past or present lives?”
Lawyer Zhu said, “I think I’ve heard of it. There are strange anecdotes like that in foreign countries, right?”
Huo Niansheng raised an eyebrow. “I said ‘cases,’ you said ‘strange anecdotes’.”
Lawyer Zhu curled his lip and finally let out a laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Mr. Huo, I did take a double major in psychology when I was in school, but that’s not the same thing as psychological therapy, and I know absolutely nothing about hypnotherapy. How would I know if there are cases like that in the industry?”
Huo Niansheng nodded. “Actually, I’m inclined to believe it’s all a scam.”
Lawyer Zhu said conservatively, “I myself am an agnostic.”
Huo Niansheng cast a couple of glances at him, sat up straight, and finally spared the chair. “Truly fitting for someone in your profession. Not a drop of water leaks out.”
Taking it as a compliment, Lawyer Zhu shook his hand and watched him leave, without delving into where this sudden whim had come from.
And so, the week before the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived, and Chen Wengang unexpectedly received an invitation from Yu Shanding.
To show his gratitude, Yu Shanding took the opportunity of the holiday to invite Lu Chenlong out for a meal, bringing his younger brother along, and naturally not leaving Chen Wengang out.
The location was a five-star hotel owned by his company.
After eating and drinking their fill, Yu Shanding mentioned that there was a niche jewelry exhibition in the downstairs exhibition hall. It was also a sales event hosted by a senior collector, closed to the public, and only for the amusement of a small, exclusive circle.
It sounded mysterious enough—and expensive—but for an ordinary person to broaden their horizons for free, Lu Chenlong was a bit interested.
Yu Shanding pulled out two courtesy tickets. As the host, he had at least this much perk.
The three men headed downstairs.
