DLRAS Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Why are you so resistant?

“I’m not exactly a proper teacher. They always used to call me ‘gege,’ and once they heard I was working at a school, they thought it was a huge deal, as if I had been promoted to some high official. Let them be happy.” This was what Chen Wengang was chatting about with Huo Niansheng.

“Do you like kids?” Huo Niansheng asked.

“They’re alright. Sometimes they’re noisy, sometimes they’re cute.”

“Have you ever thought about adopting one yourself in the future?”

“That’s a different matter.” Chen Wengang was surprised internally; he didn’t know how Huo Niansheng suddenly thought of this. No one would ever think of Huo Niansheng as someone who could raise a child. “Taking care of a kid is easy, but being a parent is hard. Besides, there are many factors to consider. I like girls, but agencies don’t just casually let single men adopt them. And when she grows up, it wouldn’t be convenient for a man to look after her.”

“Then what should we do?” Huo Niansheng placed a hand on his flat stomach. “Why don’t you just give birth to one for me?”

“Crazy. You can’t stay serious for even two minutes.” Chen Wengang laughed and swatted his hand away. “Why don’t you give birth to one yourself?”

Sunlight blanketed the ground, feeling a bit warm on the skin, but it was tolerable. The weather had already begun to turn cool.

Chen Wengang reached out and snapped a loose thread dangling from Huo Niansheng’s apron.

A black jewelry box appeared before his eyes, pulled right out of Huo Niansheng’s pocket. He opened it, deliberately flashing it in front of Chen Wengang’s face. Two rings lay nestled in the velvet, reflecting a dazzling glare under the sun.

Chen Wengang’s expression froze for a second, his face changing slightly, and he immediately reached out to snatch it.

Huo Niansheng clamped him down with one arm and raised the jewelry box high with the other, his tone glib: “Why are you trying to rob me?”

“That’s my—”

“Is it yours?” Huo Niansheng asked. “Why did a certain someone order rings?”

He was just joking around, but Chen Wengang stood stunned and tongue-tied, his expression losing a bit of its usual vibrant life.

He mumbled a complaint, seemingly to cover up his reaction: “I’m the client. How could Miss Meng just give my things to you?”

But his eyes darted to the ground, and Huo Niansheng sensed the anomaly in his mood.

It was as if someone had hit the pause button; both of their movements stalled for a split second.

In that fissure of time, Huo Niansheng saw a vision of himself. Just like now, he was holding a ring box, flashing it teasingly in front of someone. A figure sat silhouetted against the light; he couldn’t see the person’s face clearly.

Yet the other person’s reaction was incredibly cold, merely glancing down at it.

Huo Niansheng seemed completely oblivious: “Try it on, let’s see how the design looks.”

The person replied with something that sounded like an evasion, signaling reluctance.

Huo Niansheng simply leaned in anyway, grabbing his left hand, picking up the ring, and slipping it down his ring finger all the way to the base.

However, the other person quickly pulled it off, finding an excuse: “I’m left-handed. It’s inconvenient to wear things on this hand.”

He gently placed the silver band back into Huo Niansheng’s palm.

Huo Niansheng pulled up his right hand and forcefully slid it on again: “Then wear it on this side, it’s the same.”

The two hands he held in his palm showed signs of chemical corrosion, leaving behind rough scars, with the right hand far more severely damaged than the left.

The person spread his right hand in front of his eyes, looked at it for a few seconds, and once again pulled the ring off: “Keep it for someone else.”

Huo Niansheng pressed his hand down, casually but leaving no room for argument: “It won’t fit anyone else. Besides, who else do I have?”

The other person stubbornly lowered his eyes. “It’s not fitting for me either.”

Huo Niansheng crouched in front of him: “It’s just a small gift. Tell me, what’s not fitting about it?”

The man fell silent, then smiled faintly: “Someone else once put a ring on my finger, too. Care to guess who he ended up marrying?”

Huo Niansheng’s expression turned cold and quiet. He reached out and stroked the top of the man’s hair.

The person continued: “Let’s just put everything out in the open. I know you treat me flawlessly… but don’t tie your whole life to me. You have money, you have power, where out there couldn’t you find someone better? In my current condition, walking around with a face like this, to still have the luxury to dream about romance and eternal vows—I think it’s laughable. I’m living day by day, taking it one day at a time. Whether I have these things or not, it’s all the same to me. I’m sorry. The problem is me.”

Huo Niansheng closed his eyes and hung a smile back on his face: “Alright, alright. Never mind then.”

He put the box back in his pocket, chatted with the person for a few more minutes, and got up to leave.

On the way back to the city, he parked his car by the side of the mountain road, got out, pulled out the jewelry box, stared at it open for a long time, and then snapped it shut again.

Huo Niansheng casually tossed it forward.

It didn’t seem like he used much force, but the box traced a long, distant arc, plummeting into the white, mist-shrouded mountain ravine.

Chen Wengang was already leaning against the wall, and as Huo Niansheng took a step closer, he leaned further back, his spine pressing tightly against the wall, stretching himself into a taut, rigid line.

He actually didn’t know how Huo Niansheng had dealt with the rings he rejected in their past life.

Since then, he had never seen that pair of rings again, and Huo Niansheng had never brought the matter up. Even later, when Chen Wengang finally felt a faint sense of regret. But a person always had to pay the price for their own actions; he was the one who had spoken so absolutely, and he couldn’t brazenly make any further demands.

He was the one who hadn’t wanted them.

In this life, he inevitably felt he had been given a new chance.

So when he saw the rings, he couldn’t resist ordering them. But in his heart, he still hadn’t figured out whether he should actually bring them out.

Huo Niansheng whispered by his ear, his voice low: “You ordered the rings yourself, so why are you so resistant?”

Chen Wengang only felt a surge of fear. He had a guilty conscience, his gaze darting away as an overwhelming sense of guilt suddenly crushed him.

He didn’t speak, just stared at Huo Niansheng with an indescribably profound and guarded look.

Huo Niansheng fixated on his expression: “Tell me the reason. Why, hm?”

Chen Wengang opened his mouth, a light sweat breaking out on his back.

“Wengang.”

Qi Tongzhou suddenly appeared, interrupting them, and called out, “Huo-ge. What are you guys talking about?”

Huo Niansheng took a step back, acting as if nothing had happened.

Chen Wengang’s expression returned to normal, and he smiled at Qi Tongzhou: “You haven’t headed back yet?”

“It’s been too busy, I haven’t had a chance to talk to you.” Qi Tongzhou locked his gaze on him, his heart full of suspicion and wariness.

What he had just seen made his intuition scream that Huo Niansheng was coercing Chen Wengang, but the reactions of both men held a layer of subtlety deeper than that assumption.

Besides, Huo Niansheng didn’t look guilty in the slightest. He even took the initiative to ask Qi Tongzhou, “Do you have other plans this afternoon?”

“No… I shouldn’t.”

“Then let’s go.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “We’re celebrating Wengang’s housewarming this afternoon. You should come along.”

Just like that, Qi Tongzhou found himself inexplicably dragged to Jiangchao Street.

Huo Niansheng parked his car on the side of the street, hogging the only available parking spot. Qi Tongzhou’s car followed silently behind, forcing him to circle another half-block to park elsewhere. He rarely visited this part of the old city district, and this was the first time he knew where Chen Wengang lived.

Jogging all the way over, he saw Chen Wengang waiting for him at the door. Qi Tongzhou felt a sweet rush in his heart, yet it was a mixed bag of emotions.

He was thrilled to feel as if he had taken another step into his world.

He was annoyed because Huo Niansheng clearly treated this place with the familiarity of his own home.

Chen Wengang had agreed with Zheng Baoqiu to celebrate his housewarming, and while either place would have worked, at the end of the day, this was his original home.

Qi Tongzhou sat down inside. It was probably the first time in his life he had ever stepped foot inside such a small residential house, curious but afraid to show it.

Two or three landscape paintings hung above the sofa. He restrained himself, trying to glance around without making it too obvious.

Chen Wengang boiled some water in the kitchen, and Huo Niansheng walked over to pour tea for Qi Tongzhou, acting entirely like the master of the house.

Qi Tongzhou glared at him secretly.

Huo Niansheng sat on the sofa opposite him, propping his hands together, his smile faint and unreadable. “What did you want to say to Wengang?”

Qi Tongzhou despised his rudeness. “That’s something I need to say to him…”

“Did you want to see if he’s been affected by the rumors, or did you want to see if he’s gloating over your ‘friend’s’ misfortune?”

“Cough!” Qi Tongzhou choked on his tea, sputtering incoherently in his panic. “Cough, cough… no… cough, cough… no I didn’t!”

His tongue was numb from the scalding tea. “I was actually… really shocked too. I never thought Mu… cough, that he was that kind of person. I don’t care about the rest, I don’t even care that he used me, I just wanted to see if Wengang was okay.”

Huo Niansheng said meaningfully, “Don’t worry. With me around, he’ll be perfectly fine.”

Qi Tongzhou was choked into silence, thinking furiously that Chen Wengang was perfect in every way—except that he was completely blind.

Not long after, Zheng Baoqiu made her special appearance, followed by Lu Chenlong bringing his younger brother, accompanied by Yu Shanding.

Autumn was in the air, and crabs were in season. Yu Shanding had managed to get a full basket of hairy crabs. The cooking utensils had been brought over from the Lu household. A four-tier bamboo steamer billowed hot steam, filling the house with the rich aroma of cooked crab. Lu Chenlong also whipped up some spicy stir-fried crab and crab roe noodles, and the group shared a bit of chrysanthemum wine.

Just as they finished eating, Chen Wengang received a call from Jiang Cai.

She was still abroad; it was an international long-distance call.

Chen Wengang heard the disorientation in her voice: “Can I video call you?”

He paused for a moment, said yes, and excused himself from the group, heading up to the attic to answer. The video connected, and Jiang Cai saw his face.

Her expression looked somewhat normal, and she let out a massive sigh of relief, as if she had suddenly applied an infinite fondness filter to Chen Wengang. “Thank God, I can finally see someone I know who speaks Chinese again. You have no idea, I don’t understand anything here, I’m going crazy from holding it all in.”

Chen Wengang smiled, understanding what she meant.

Jiang Cai began to endlessly pour out her grievances to him.

Her English was atrocious—aside from “thank you” and “goodbye,” she didn’t understand a single thing. Whether she could communicate with the locals entirely depended on whether the other person spoke Chinese. Stepping out every day felt like rolling the dice. The sanatorium Huo Zhenfei had arranged for Jiang Wanxia was indeed highly professional, but it was remotely located. Aside from the hired caregiver, the rest of the Filipino domestic staff only spoke English. Jiang Cai was so lonely over there that she was on the verge of losing her mind.

Amanda was responsible for helping her translate and communicate, but her professional boundaries were impeccable, always maintaining a strictly business attitude. Unlike Luo Suwei, Amanda didn’t reveal any extraneous emotions in front of Jiang Cai, nor would she utter a single word outside her scope of responsibility.

After listening for quite a while, Chen Wengang asked, “Don’t you still have to go to school? When are you coming back?”

Jiang Cai suddenly fell silent for a long time. “My mom died.”

Chen Wengang was stunned for a moment. “My condolences.” He comforted Jiang Cai, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Upon hearing those words, a crack finally began to slowly form on Jiang Cai’s nonchalant face.

But she didn’t cry. Through the blurry webcam, it was impossible to tell if there were tears in her eyes.

She stubbornly maintained her composure and sniffled. “No. It’s just that they won’t let her return to the country for the funeral.”

Chen Wengang sighed.

Ms. Jiang Wanxia had already been in the late stages of uremia. After going abroad, her condition rapidly deteriorated. Though it happened very suddenly, it wasn’t particularly surprising. Jiang Cai had gone abroad to spend one last Mid-Autumn Festival with her, and then kept delaying her return.

Now, she had passed away all alone in a foreign land.

This woman’s less-than-honorable life had come to an end. Before passing, she had clung on desperately, ultimately managing to secure a future for her daughter.

Huo Zhenfei’s secretary conveyed his intentions: cremate her locally and just bring the ashes back. Transporting her remains back to the country for a burial would be a massive, arduous undertaking, and she had no relatives or friends back home anyway, so what was the point? No one was going to bother themselves with such a troublesome task for her.

Arranging a funeral at all was already a very considerate accommodation.

Chen Wengang could well imagine how desolate this funeral would be. Jiang Wanxia and Jiang Cai, a widow and an orphan, had no one to rely on. If she had died in the country, at least he, Luo Suwei, and a few other colleagues would have shown up out of goodwill, and perhaps she had a friend or two.

Abroad, the entire funeral and farewell ceremony would likely just consist of Jiang Cai and Amanda.

Chen Wengang asked, “How are you doing right now? Do you need me to come over and keep you company?”

Jiang Cai suddenly felt a wave of profound sorrow. Looking at him, her eyes grew red. “I don’t know, what should I do, Chen-ge? I really don’t have a mom anymore.”

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