Two days later, Wang Cheng set out for the capital. It was the same airport as before, but the purpose of this trip was completely different. Winter in the capital was colder than in Shanhai City, and it snowed more often. At the coldest point, temperatures could remain below minus ten degrees Celsius for days at a time, so everyone at the airport was wrapped in coats and down jackets, bundled up like fat rice dumplings.
Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng walked out of the terminal. The cold air hitting him head-on made Wang Cheng shiver. Having grown up in Shanhai City, he was not used to weather this cold. A car was already waiting outside the airport, with a man in black-framed glasses standing beside it. The moment he saw them approaching, he opened the door.
At Chu Yifeng’s urging, Wang Cheng quickly climbed into the car. Chu Yifeng followed. As soon as the door closed, the cold outside was cut off.
“I nearly froze to death just now. How cold is it? Even at its coldest, Shanhai City never gets like this.” Wang Cheng rubbed his gloved hands together. The friction finally brought some warmth back into his stiff fingers.
“Probably around minus seven.” After taking off his gloves, Chu Yifeng brushed the frost from Wang Cheng’s scarf and clothes. The place where he had lived overseas had winters even colder than the capital’s, so this temperature did not feel especially cold to him.
“That low, and it’s still daytime? Even at night Shanhai City only drops a few degrees below zero at worst.” Wang Cheng decided he had no desire to adapt to this weather. One of these days he should call Wang Ziyu and ask how she had managed when she first arrived. She definitely must have had trouble adjusting too.
“Let’s find time to buy you a few warmer coats,” Chu Yifeng said.
“No. Next time I’ll go by myself. There’s no need to trouble you, Boss Chu.” Wang Cheng immediately refused. It was not that he did not want to go out with Chu Yifeng, but if things kept going like this, he would end up drowning in debt. “Besides, I don’t plan to live in the capital forever. It’s prosperous here, sure, but I still think Shanhai City is better.”
One sniff was enough to tell him that the air in the capital was not as good as Shanhai City’s.
The corner of Chu Yifeng’s mouth lifted. He had clearly noticed what Wang Cheng was thinking. “I almost forgot. Someone still owes me a great deal of money.”
Wang Cheng immediately felt as though he had taken an arrow to the knee.
At the same time, Chu Wenting, who was investigating Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng, soon learned that the two had left Shanhai City and that their destination was the capital. He was greatly surprised.
Could Cousin have learned that the family planned to act and decided to strike first?
It was certainly possible. According to what Chu Wenting had discovered, his cousin had secretly been dating a man named Wang Cheng for several months, and their relationship remained stable. During his time in Shanhai City, Cousin had repeatedly done things that did not fit his normal personality, proving how much he valued this man.
The more Chu Wenting thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Still, he decided not to tell his grandfather, father, and the others yet. Once the pair arrived in the capital, he would watch what they did. If his guess was correct, he could think of a response then.
Chu Yifeng owned three properties in the capital. Because he rarely stayed in any of them, they were almost devoid of lived-in warmth, though someone came by every week to clean. The Chu family knew about two of them. Chu Yifeng told the driver to take them to the third, which happened to be fairly close to Meifu District.
Binhai Garden was a famous high-tech villa community in the capital. Everyone who lived there was either rich or powerful, so management was extremely strict. There were three security guards stationed at the outermost checkpoint alone. The development was called high-tech because the first procedure for entering the main gate required the villa owner’s fingerprint. The second procedure was at the villa itself and required iris recognition. Owners could also authorize people they trusted by registering their fingerprints and irises in the system.
“The security here is incredible. You could hide a beauty in a golden house and no one would ever find out.”
Wang Cheng marveled at it. He had only ever seen things like this on television. This was his first time encountering them in real life.
Chu Yifeng replied, “Don’t worry. If I were going to hide anyone, it would be you.”
“Bah. You’re the Chen Ajiao here.”
Elio’s Notes: Wang Cheng is riffing on the idiom jinwu cangjiao (金屋藏娇), “to hide a beauty in a golden house.” The traditional story centers on Chen Ajiao, so he jokingly casts Chu Yifeng as the “hidden beauty.”
“If you’re willing, I don’t mind.”
Chu Yifeng tossed the luggage onto the sofa. “I’m going to turn on the heat. I’ll show you around in a little while.” The villa was enormous, more than spacious enough for two people, and far more luxurious than their apartment. It had a duplex layout with a fashionable mixed-style interior. The colors were not dark either, unlike the apartment’s severe black-and-white palette, so the place felt lighter and more cheerful. Once the heating came on, the house finally warmed up. A villa this large really was something only rich people could enjoy. If an ordinary household ran the heat this way every day, they would probably be bankrupt within a few months.
“Take off your coat.” Chu Yifeng had already removed his own coat and scarf. Underneath he wore casual trousers and a V-neck sweater, looking handsome and stylish.
Wang Cheng was beginning to feel hot too, and his clothes had picked up plenty of frost outside. They smelled heavily of dampness.
The second floor was only half the size of the first. There was one master bedroom, two guest rooms, and a study. The place had probably been cleaned only the day before, so it was reasonably clean, though someone truly obsessive about cleanliness might still think there was dust everywhere. Wang Cheng had expected Chu Yifeng to dislike it, but the man paid no attention at all. Wang Cheng had almost forgotten that there was a ninety-percent chance this fellow’s supposed clean-freak tendencies had been a lie. And he had actually believed him.
While Chu Yifeng was showering, Wang Cheng went to inspect the kitchen. The cookware had barely ever been used, and there was not a single ingredient in the refrigerator. It was completely empty. Wang Cheng reached inside and came away with nothing but a handful of air. If he had known, they should have stopped at a supermarket first.
After showering, Chu Yifeng searched around and finally found him in the kitchen washing the cookware.
“Boss Chu, there’s nothing in the refrigerator. What are we eating today?” Wang Cheng asked without turning when he heard the footsteps.
“It’s too cold outside. How about ordering delivery today?”
“Fine. I’ll leave that task to you.” Wang Cheng had gone into the yard earlier and promptly been driven back inside by the cold. He had no desire to go out again. They could buy ingredients next time.
Chu Yifeng went to the living room and picked up several takeout menus beside the landline. He rarely stayed here and had almost never ordered food to this address, but the menus had been placed there in advance. The restaurants had partnerships with Binhai Garden, so the food should not be too bad.
After cleaning the kitchen, Wang Cheng went upstairs to shower. Chu Yifeng had prepared clothes for him and placed them beside the bed in the bedroom. When Wang Cheng finished and came out, the doorbell rang downstairs. He headed down and saw Chu Yifeng walking over with food boxes in hand.
“That fast?”
“Come eat.” Chu Yifeng did not look surprised.
When a resident of Binhai Garden placed an order, the restaurants hardly dared make them wait. Even if another order had come first, these restaurants would prioritize Binhai Garden customers and deliver as quickly as possible.
Wang Cheng casually tossed the towel over the arm of the sofa. The food containers were not the ordinary disposable boxes used outside but specially made ones, decorated around the edges with fine, attractive patterns. Clearly some effort had gone into them. Because delivery had been so fast, even without any special insulation the dishes inside were still steaming hot as though they had just left the wok, filling the air with delicious aromas.
Chu Yifeng arranged the dishes one after another. The compact containers seemed capable of holding an impossible amount, and every dish was surprisingly delicate.
Wang Cheng hurried to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks. He had just washed and sterilized them, so they were still warm to the touch. He had never eaten such elaborate takeout before. Cheng Cheng and Fang Tian had once described takeout to him as unsafe, unhygienic, and nutritionally unbalanced, saying too much of it was bad for the body. Looking at this meal now, Wang Cheng realized the real problem had simply been poverty.
After they ate, Wang Cheng called Wang Ning’an. Since he had already come to the capital, there was no way he could avoid telling Big Brother. Wang Ning’an was indeed surprised to hear he was there. Knowing he would definitely ask questions, Wang Cheng told him he was currently staying at a friend’s home.
“Why did you suddenly decide to come to the capital? Do Mom and Dad know? Which friend are you staying with?”
Wang Cheng scratched at his ear. “Big Brother, you have too many questions. Mom and Dad know. It’s a long story, actually. I’ll find time to come see you and explain then.”
“All right. Call me when you’re ready. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”
“No need. I’m with a friend, and he knows the capital much better than I do. Besides, I have a few things to take care of first. Tomorrow I’m planning to visit Little Sister at Jing University. I don’t know whether her living expenses are enough. Once the weather turns cold, she needs to buy a lot of warm clothes, and the capital is much colder than Shanhai City.”
“You don’t need to worry about her. I transferred her some living expenses earlier, but she said she found a tutoring job herself and is getting by on that income.”
“Getting by isn’t enough. That girl is definitely scrimping again. No, I have to go check on her tomorrow.” The brothers chatted for more than half an hour before hanging up. Wang Cheng thought he had successfully changed the subject, unaware that Wang Ning’an had already noticed. He was simply playing along. Wang Cheng was unwilling to discuss this “friend,” which meant the person was probably no ordinary friend.
Wang Cheng let out a breath of relief. Chu Yifeng sat down beside him, apparently holding a cotton swab in his hand. Wang Cheng raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“I’ll clean your ears for you.”
“…”