Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng had lunch together. At one-thirty, the two parted ways, one returning to the company while the other drove back to Guanjia Village.
Since Chu Yifeng was already near the company, it took him less than five minutes to get there. Even though he arrived late, nobody dared say anything. The company was gradually getting on track now, and with more employees, the atmosphere was no longer as casual as before.
When they saw Chu Yifeng, a hint of awe appeared in the employees’ eyes. They had heard from the senior staff that the boss could often be seen at the company these days, but he still gave them the same mysterious, unattainable impression.
“Have you noticed? The boss seems to be in a really good mood today.” Female Receptionist A gazed dreamily at the boss’s tall, handsome back. Choosing this company had really been the right decision. She never expected the boss to be such a young and handsome man. Then she leaned over and whispered to the other woman at reception.
After Tang Sisi was fired, the company hired two new receptionists. Both were neat and pretty young women, but unlike Tang Sisi, they did not entertain ideas they had no business entertaining. They were much more sensible.
“Your eyes are playing tricks on you.” Female Receptionist B rolled her eyes. The boss wore that same indifferent, slightly cold expression every day. She truly could not see what made him look happy. There had to be a limit to being lovestruck.
“Your eyes are the ones playing tricks. I just think the boss is in a good mood.” Since her coworker disagreed, Receptionist A stopped trying to explain. Sometimes whether a person was happy was not something you could judge only from their expression. She did not really know how to explain it either. She could simply feel it.
Meanwhile, Wang Cheng received a call from Yuan Xia while he was on the road.
He and Yuan Xia had not seen each other in quite a while. Back when Wang Cheng was still going to work at Huaying Real Estate, the two would occasionally meet on their days off and eat together. Their ages were not far apart, so talking to each other never felt awkward.
In Wang Cheng’s impression, Yuan Xia had always been gentle and fairly cheerful. But the moment the call connected, Yuan Xia’s rushed, nervous voice came through.
“XX Street, XX Road. Come save me, quickly.”
The baffling words had barely left his mouth before the call disconnected. Wang Cheng did not even have time to say a single word. He was surprised, but he did not stop to think. He immediately turned the car around and drove toward the address Yuan Xia gave him. Fortunately, whenever they went out to eat, Yuan Xia liked taking him to places he enjoyed. The address he had just mentioned was one of those places. Since it was one of Yuan Xia’s favorites, they had gone there two or three times, and Wang Cheng already knew the location by heart.
It was some distance away, and Wang Cheng needed a little time to get there. When he arrived, however, Yuan Xia was nowhere to be seen on XX Road.
Wang Cheng did not get discouraged. It had taken him some time to arrive, so Yuan Xia might already have been moved somewhere else. He should still be nearby. Wang Cheng drove slowly along the street, searching inch by inch while taking out his phone and repeatedly calling Yuan Xia. Nobody answered, so he kept calling.
It was a little after three in the afternoon, and there were very few people on the street. Two or three minutes later, Wang Cheng spotted several figures struggling in a dim alley. Looking more closely, he recognized Yuan Xia among them, being dragged and pulled by several men.
A bright beam of light suddenly flooded into the alley, accompanied by several short blasts of a car horn. The men inside were startled. They turned and saw a sedan stopped at the mouth of the alley, its headlights so dazzling they instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.
Yuan Xia, on the other hand, looked delighted. He recognized Wang Cheng’s car.
During that brief pause, Wang Cheng had already gotten out. He left the headlights on, so with the light behind him, the men could not make out his face.
“Get lost. Don’t stick your nose into other people’s business,” snarled a man with a scar on his face. He assumed Wang Cheng was only a passerby.
“You’re the ones who should get lost. What are you trying to do to my friend?” Wang Cheng flexed his fists. It had been a while since he fought anyone, not since that fight with Chu Yifeng. His hands were starting to itch.
At those words, Scarface and the others were all startled. They had investigated Yuan Xia beforehand, and today he had clearly come here alone to eat. Where had this acquaintance suddenly come from? Someone had ordered them to keep the matter secret, so Scarface quickly calmed down and signaled to his two subordinates. Understanding immediately, the two walked toward Wang Cheng with malicious expressions.
“Wang Cheng, they’re not good people. Be careful!” Yuan Xia suddenly regretted calling him. The three men trying to grab him obviously were not ordinary street thugs. He really should not have dragged Wang Cheng into this mess. But he quickly realized his worry was unnecessary.
One of Scarface’s men had only just rushed over when Wang Cheng dropped him with a single punch. The other man froze in shock. Before he could react, Wang Cheng’s fist smashed into his face. The man hit the ground, clutching his face and groaning. For quite a while, he could not even get back up. It had been absurdly easy.
Scarface was startled too. He immediately let go of Yuan Xia and charged at Wang Cheng. His skills were somewhat better than those of his two men, but Wang Cheng still dealt with him in only a few moves.
“You…” Yuan Xia stared at Wang Cheng in shock.
“Let’s get out of here first.” Wang Cheng pulled him out of the alley. Once they were in the car, he drove away from the scene as quickly as possible.
Inside the car, Yuan Xia was still badly shaken. “I’ve known you this long and never knew you could fight.”
“I’ve always known how. I learned from my master. Didn’t I tell you before that my master was a monk? He came from Shaolin Temple. I started following him when I was eight, and he taught me almost everything he knew over his lifetime. But I suffered plenty learning his martial arts.” Wang Cheng scrunched up his face. Martial arts were not easy to learn, especially Shaolin martial arts.
“I always thought your master was just an ordinary monk. I didn’t know he came from Shaolin Temple. I used to think Shaolin martial arts were only legends.” Yuan Xia sounded envious. It was a pity he was already too old. Otherwise, he would have liked to learn a couple of moves for self-defense.
“Right. What exactly happened back there?”
“I’m not sure either. I didn’t have class this afternoon, so I was going to ask him to have lunch with me, but he had an emergency meeting. I decided to find somewhere to eat by myself. Then I noticed someone was following me. Once they realized I had noticed them, they tried to grab me.”
Wang Cheng knew that the “him” Yuan Xia mentioned was his lover. “Then how did you think of calling me?”
“I hit a speed-dial key in a panic. I didn’t even know whose number I pressed. Luckily it was yours. You helped me out of a huge mess.” Yuan Xia smiled bitterly. In a way, though, this was better. He had not wanted his lover to know and worry about him.
Wang Cheng brightened. “What an honor. I didn’t expect I’d make it onto your speed dial.” Yuan Xia burst out laughing. “You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not. You’re the first friend I ever made.”
“Oh? Then what about your boss?” Yuan Xia teased.
“Ahem. He’s not a friend.”
“He’s your lover.”
Wang Cheng shook his head disapprovingly. “You’re usually such a gentle, considerate person. How did you pick up this bad habit too?”
Hearing the word “too,” Yuan Xia immediately laughed even harder.
Following Yuan Xia’s directions, Wang Cheng drove to the foot of an office building. It happened to be the same building where his elder brother’s branch office had once been located. Wang Cheng still did not feel reassured and insisted on accompanying Yuan Xia upstairs. Yuan Xia was touched and did not refuse again. They took the elevator to the fifty-first floor. The moment the doors opened, Wang Cheng saw four large characters: Hongyu Group. The name sounded familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before, but he could not remember where.
“I’m here. You can go home without worrying now. I took up so much of your time. I’ll make it up to you when I get the chance,” Yuan Xia said, turning to Wang Cheng.
“What compensation between friends?” Wang Cheng waved a hand. “I’m leaving, then.”
“Drive safely.”
After leaving the building, Wang Cheng glanced back. Yuan Xia had not said anything, but Wang Cheng suspected he probably knew who wanted to kidnap him. Since Yuan Xia did not intend to explain, Wang Cheng would not pry. Yuan Xia was an adult. After this experience, he would surely be more cautious in the future.
Wang Cheng arrived home more than an hour later than expected. Chu Yifeng had assumed he was already there and sent him a message. Only after Wang Cheng replied did Chu Yifeng realize he was still on the road. Since it was not safe to talk while driving, Chu Yifeng did not ask further until they spoke on the phone that evening. Wang Cheng did not hide anything and told him about Yuan Xia.
“Don’t get involved in this.”
“You know what’s going on?” Wang Cheng heard the implication in his words.
“Affairs of wealthy families. Understand?”
Wang Cheng understood instantly. The wealthy family Chu Yifeng referred to was definitely not Yuan Xia’s. It was most likely his lover’s. When Wang Cheng had dropped Yuan Xia at the company, he had assumed his lover was just an ordinary employee at Hongyu Group. Now it seemed the man might actually be a president, CEO, or some other big shot. Truly the sort who stayed quiet until the moment he startled everyone.
“Tsk, tsk. Rich families really are complicated. Boss Chu, your family isn’t like Yuan Xia’s lover’s family too, is it?” Wang Cheng might be dating for the first time, but he had no desire to go through the same thing Yuan Xia did.
Chu Yifeng laughed over the phone. “Don’t worry. My family isn’t so crude and disgraceful that they’d use underhanded methods like that. You’ll know once you meet them in the future.”
“That promise carries a lot of weight. Can I refuse it?” Wang Cheng had not expected the subject of family to come up this early. He really had spoken too quickly.
“Now that you’re on my boat, do you think you can get off so easily?”
“It may be true, but you don’t have to say it so bluntly. At least leave me a little room for imagination.” Wang Cheng joked his way around the issue.
Unfortunately for him, Chu Yifeng had long since learned all his little tricks.