It was already past ten when they returned to the apartment. Chu Yifeng carried Wang Cheng, who had begun showing signs of drunkenness as the alcohol took effect, into his room. After setting him on the bed, he went to the bathroom for a warm wet towel. He had just bent down to wipe Wang Cheng’s face when Wang Cheng hooked an arm around his neck and sealed his mouth, an unruly tongue even trying to push between his lips.
Chu Yifeng immediately turned the tables. He caught Wang Cheng’s tongue and invaded his mouth, his domineering kiss sweeping through so forcefully that Wang Cheng could not resist. Saliva overflowed from the corner of Wang Cheng’s mouth and soaked into the bedding beneath him, while his tongue was sucked numb.
Wang Cheng tried to escape, but his territory had already been occupied. His clothes were pushed up, exposing his firm chest. The alcohol in his system made his body burn, so he could not feel the slightest chill. Desire was easily stirred in him as well, and he rubbed restlessly against Chu Yifeng’s body.
Chu Yifeng let out a faint, sharp breath. He had originally intended to let him off, but now, even if Wang Cheng resisted fiercely, he had no intention of stopping.
“You brought this on yourself.”
Chu Yifeng lowered his gaze to Wang Cheng’s flushed face and rapid breathing. Drunk as he was, Wang Cheng was barely conscious and naturally could not hear the danger beneath those words.
＊
The next day, Wang Cheng woke with an aching waist and sore back. At first he thought it was simply the aftermath of drinking, but the moment he got out of bed he felt the pull farther down. It did not hurt much, but there was a numb, tingling sensation, as though that part of him no longer quite belonged to him. He immediately knew what had happened the night before.
“Boss Chu, you’re an animal. I was drunk out of my mind and you still managed to lay hands on me.” Wang Cheng walked out supporting his waist and saw Chu Yifeng calmly arranging the breakfast he had just bought. Chu Yifeng looked perfectly relaxed, while Wang Cheng had slept and still felt exhausted enough to sleep again. The imbalance instantly annoyed him.
“Did you forget your bad habit when you’re drunk?” Chu Yifeng asked calmly.
“Huh?” Wang Cheng froze. He seemed to remember saying that when he got drunk, he had a habit of kissing people. Could it be… he had done something stupid again last night?
“Good, you remember. Go wash up, then come eat breakfast.”
Five minutes later, Wang Cheng sat listlessly at the table. Breakfast was one of his favorites, pork-tenderloin flatbread, along with freshly pressed soy milk. The soy milk was rich and pure without being watered down, unlike the odd-tasting stuff sold outside.
“What are you doing today?” Chu Yifeng asked from across the table.
Wang Cheng picked up a pork-tenderloin flatbread and took a large bite. It had not been out of the oven long and was still hot and fragrant enough to stir his appetite. Only after swallowing did he answer, “I’ve been out for two days. I need to go home.”
“Leave this afternoon.”
Wang Cheng noticed Chu Yifeng’s gaze resting on his waist and lower body. He barely stopped himself from throwing the flatbread in his face. Wasting food was shameful. He had to endure. But even if Wang Cheng really had been the one to provoke him, the man should have exercised some self-control.
Chu Yifeng did not go to work. Gao Yongfu was holding down the company now, so nothing serious would happen. Meanwhile, news of Wang Cheng’s resignation had already been announced. When Cheng Cheng heard, he called Wang Cheng and asked why he was leaving, sounding reluctant to lose him as a colleague. Fang Tian, on the other hand, made no move at all. Wang Cheng was not surprised. He assumed Fang Tian had not yet recovered from what he had seen. That was what Wang Cheng thought until Fang Tian called at nine-thirty.
“Wang Cheng, did you resign because I saw you and Boss…?” Fang Tian had hesitated for a long time before deciding to make the call.
Wang Cheng was surprised he would think that. “No. You’re overthinking it. I had already finished the resignation procedures by the time you saw us. If you don’t believe me, ask Sister Li. She handled the paperwork.”
Fang Tian’s expression was complicated. “You and Boss… when did this start?”
“Before I took leave. It’s been more than a month.” Wang Cheng told him the truth. If Fang Tian could accept it, they could remain friends. If not, there was nothing Wang Cheng could do.
“You should know relationships between two men don’t have an easy road, right? Society doesn’t accept people like that. Why knowingly walk into it? Wang Cheng, you’re a smart person. Why would you go provoke someone like Boss? Haven’t you considered that maybe he’s only playing with you?” Fang Tian regarded Wang Cheng as a friend and genuinely did not want to see him go down what he considered the wrong path.
“Hahaha.”
“What are you laughing at?” Wang Cheng suddenly burst out laughing and startled Fang Tian, but what came next frightened him even more. He heard Wang Cheng speak to someone else.
“Boss Chu, Fang Tian says you’re only playing with me. What do you think?”
Fang Tian’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest. Wang Cheng was actually with Boss right now? It was barely after nine. Could they be living together? One sentence sent Fang Tian’s imagination racing so wildly he could not rein it in. He wanted to know how Boss would answer, but the sound on the other end suddenly dropped. After a while, Wang Cheng’s helpless voice came through.
“Fang Tian, you know what kind of person I am. How could I willingly dig my own grave like that? Boss was the one who kept pestering me. He threatened to wipe out my whole family if I refused to be with him. He has so much power and influence that I had no choice. I could only give in.”
Every trace of Fang Tian’s anxiety vanished at those words, replaced by metaphorical black lines across his forehead. Only an idiot would believe Wang Cheng.
“You bastard, I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you, okay? Who wants to listen to your nonsense?”
“I’m being serious too. If you want the short version, Boss confessed to me first.”
“This was supposed to be such a serious matter, and now you’ve made it impossible for me to stay serious.” Fang Tian no longer knew what to say.
“Then don’t be so serious. Something like this can only be proven with time. We can deal with the future when it comes. Right now, we should take care of the present.”
“That makes sense, but somehow I feel like you’ve talked me in circles.”
“Don’t worry. Just because the person I like is a man doesn’t mean I’m going to make a move on you. Fundamentally, I’m not actually gay, and besides, your looks aren’t my type.”
“Why does that sound like you’re calling me ugly?”
“Your imagination, your imagination. I never said that. You said it yourself.”
Fang Tian was exasperated. “Forget it. I’m done worrying about you. Judge for yourself. And if something happens later, don’t come crying to me. That’s it. I’m hanging up.”
The phone went dead. Wang Cheng put it away, looked up, and found Chu Yifeng standing there with his arms crossed and his eyes slightly narrowed.
“Kept pestering you? Wipe out your whole family?”
Wang Cheng coughed dryly. “That’s how they do it on television.”
“So you agree with it?”
“I was joking with him. If you actually threatened me like that, I’d drag you down with me. Besides, Boss Chu, you’re such a shrewd person. How could you ever use a method where both sides lose? Right?” Wang Cheng knew he had poked a hornet’s nest and hurried to repair the damage.
Chu Yifeng had long known Wang Cheng’s mouth could be both sharp and sweet. He had personally tasted it plenty of times.
After lunch, Chu Yifeng insisted on driving Wang Cheng to the packaging factory. Wang Cheng did not ask the factory employee to call Manager Xu out. He merely had the employee tell Manager Xu that he had come by, then drove the truck away. Before that, he called Mama Wang.
He had come back drunk the night before, then Chu Yifeng, that scheming bastard, had had sex with him all night. In the morning he had been too busy bickering with him, and then Fang Tian called, so Wang Cheng had forgotten all about calling home. Fortunately, Big Brother had the foresight to reassure their mother first. Mama Wang’s voice sounded completely normal on the phone, and only then did Wang Cheng relax.
He did not drive the truck home. Instead, Wang Cheng went directly to the shop in Chengping. Papa Wang was watching the store, and father and son worked together to carry the jam inside.
Chengping was not Guanjia Village. Far fewer people there knew their family, and the shop had only been open for a few days, so business was not particularly good yet. Still, most people who had bought jam or other products from them had become repeat customers, and the number of customers on the second day had at least doubled from the first.
“Chengcheng, your mom wants you to go home.”
“Did Mom say what for?” Wang Cheng poked his head out from the back room, feeling a little guilty. For a moment he thought Mama Wang had found out something.
“Your mom and your eldest maternal aunt have been going up the mountain these past two days to pick chestnuts and hawthorn. They picked more than ten sacks these past few days. They’ve practically filled the living room.”
“Is Mom not making jam anymore?”
“She is, but there won’t be fresh fruit ready for a few days.”
“Oh, all right. I’ll go back in a bit.” As long as she was not summoning him for an interrogation.
When Wang Cheng returned home, the front door was locked. Mama Wang was not there. He used the key he carried and opened the door. Sure enough, more than ten sacks of chestnuts and hawthorn were piled in the living room. He carried them to the truck one by one. Their neighbor, Third Aunt Guan, happened to come outside. Seeing him, she greeted him with a smile and did not immediately leave, instead standing there to chat.
“Wang Cheng, I just saw your mom leave with your eldest aunt. They probably went up the mountain again. By the way, there’s something you might not know yet. Something happened at your eldest uncle’s house.”
Wang Cheng finally showed some interest, but Third Aunt Guan did not continue. Third Uncle Guan called for her from inside the house, so she stopped halfway through the story and went back in.