Downtown became extremely crowded every morning and evening during rush hour, and nowhere showed it more clearly than the bus stops, where crowds shoved and squeezed as everyone fought to board first.
Relying on his strength and sturdy build, Wang Cheng calmly and smoothly managed to squeeze onto the first bus after work. The doors shut on more than a dozen unwilling faces outside. One woman even glared at him. She had tried to yank Wang Cheng back off the bus so she could get on instead, but she could not budge him and was shoved farther back by people coming up behind her.
After making his way toward the rear of the bus, Wang Cheng lifted his arm and took a look.
That woman’s nails were ridiculously sharp. She had deliberately scratched several red marks across his arm. If his skin had not been so tough, she probably would have drawn blood.
Wang Cheng could not help feeling grateful that tomorrow was Sunday and he did not have to work. Even he could not stand squeezing onto buses like this every single day, especially in summer. The weather was already hot enough, and being packed together with other people only made it worse. Lost in thought, he failed to notice the black sports car stopped beside the bus.
The light turned green, and the bus carried its packed load of passengers away from the intersection.
The black sports car drove off in another direction. Its owner was none other than Wang Cheng’s first boss, Chu Yifeng. He probably had not expected to see Wang Cheng there, practically plastered against the bus door. That bald head of his was especially conspicuous, making him difficult to miss. Chu Yifeng glanced once more in the direction the bus had gone before withdrawing his gaze.
After reaching the terminal, Wang Cheng had to transfer to another bus. By the time he got home, the sun had completely set. Nights in the mountains were much cooler, and the stifling heat from his day at work disappeared almost instantly.
Mama Wang felt sorry for her son and estimated what time he would get home, preparing a whole table of dishes for him. The meal was unusually lavish.
There was enoki mushroom and cucumber salad with a sweet-and-sour flavor. Enoki mushrooms were considered highly nutritious and medicinally useful, and before moving away from Wang Family Village, the family had even had a patch of vegetable field devoted to growing them. Mama Wang still planned to grow some in the future, but lately she had been too busy renovating the new house to work on a vegetable plot. There was also stir-fried radish with minced meat, braised chicken feet, red-braised pork, and several other dishes. Even Wang Ziyu remarked that it had been a long time since the family had eaten such a lavish dinner.
She was telling the truth. Wang Ziyu might be quick and capable when it came to chores, but she was not much of a cook. Everyone in the family had been busy lately, so all three meals each day had been fairly casual. Their mouths had practically gone numb from eating bland food.
Wang Cheng smiled. He would have liked to help with the cooking, but he had also been running back and forth to Shiquan County, leaving him little time.
There were hardly any people left in Shiquan County now. Even the elderly residents who had resisted moving had finally gone, so Huaying Real Estate had begun construction as well. Zhang Yiheng or his assistant came over from time to time. Since neither of them knew Shiquan County well, they asked Wang Cheng to act as their guide and also briefed him now and then on the development project.
After dinner, those who needed to wash up went to wash up, while those who needed to clean went to clean.
“Chengcheng, why don’t you go stay at your eldest brother’s apartment? His place is spacious, so one more person won’t matter. Besides, you two brothers didn’t get much time together when you were younger. This would be a good chance to become closer. Your brother would definitely be happy about it.”
Mama Wang came out carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit just in time to hear Papa Wang say this. The two of them had discussed the idea during the day. Their main concern was the distance between Guanjia Village and the city. Spending that much time commuting every day simply would not work. They hated giving up time with their second son just when they had finally gotten him back, but for his sake they could only do this.
“Wouldn’t I be disturbing Eldest Brother?” Wang Cheng did not really mind either way. He had not wanted his parents waiting for him every night before eating dinner in the first place. Their family normally ate at six, but today they had waited until around eight. That was under good circumstances. If he failed to squeeze onto a bus or got off work later, it could easily be after nine before he arrived home. Still, he was genuinely not as close to his brother as he was to his younger sister Wang Ziyu.
Wang Ning’an had attended the best high school in the city. By the time Wang Cheng entered the same school, his brother was already deep into the frantic final stretch of preparing for the college entrance examination. He later attended an elite institution like Jing University, and during those four years, even Papa Wang and Mama Wang hardly saw him, much less Wang Cheng, who spent most of his time up on the mountain.
“What kind of talk is that between brothers? I’m deciding this. That’s settled. Your brother won’t object.” Mama Wang made the decision on the spot and stopped entertaining Wang Cheng’s opinion.
Wang Cheng was speechless. Shouldn’t they at least ask his brother first? What if someone else had already moved into the apartment? A girlfriend, for instance. That possibility seemed quite high.
He had heard his younger sister mention that Eldest Brother had dated two or three girlfriends during university, though almost none of the relationships lasted longer than three months. One had come close, only for them to break up just before reaching that mark. Later, Mama Wang said his brother had used his studies as the reason for not dating anyone during the final two years of university.
After graduating and entering the workforce, Eldest Brother dated another one or two women. Apparently, one relationship finally lasted more than three months, nearly a year and a half in fact, and he had even considered bringing her home to meet their parents. For some unknown reason, though, they eventually broke up as well. His romantic history was both rich and rocky. Wang Cheng had never been in a relationship himself, but he did not envy his brother. It sounded like deliberately finding trouble for yourself when there was none.
Fortunately, Mama Wang was not actually going to disregard her eldest son’s wishes.
The next day, she called Wang Ning’an.