The next morning, Wang Cheng ate breakfast with Father and Mother Zheng before leaving. Although Mother Zheng was reluctant to see him go, she knew she could not keep him too long. Father Zheng could only comfort her by reminding her that their younger son had now formally returned to the family, so they would have plenty of time together in the future.
Wang Cheng had barely stepped out of the Zheng residence when Chu Yifeng called. Only after asking did he learn Chu Yifeng had just left the Chu family residence as well. The two family homes were not in the same area, but they were not very far apart. Wang Cheng waited by the roadside. Ten minutes later, a sports car stopped in front of him.
Wang Cheng opened the door and got in. “You never said yesterday that you were going back to the Chu family.”
“They called me back at the last minute.”
As Chu Yifeng spoke, he glanced once at the rearview mirror. The figure reflected there disappeared when the car turned the corner.
“Last time you said your family might have figured out our relationship. Did they call you back because of that?” Wang Cheng’s instincts were still sharp.
Chu Yifeng did not deny it. “Don’t worry. They can’t control my affairs.”
Seeing how confident he was, Wang Cheng did not ask further. Then he suddenly noticed they were not heading back to the villa. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere interesting.” Chu Yifeng smiled mysteriously.
Wang Cheng immediately became curious. What kind of place required this much secrecy? When they arrived, he discovered it was an elaborately decorated café called Mingshu. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he could vaguely see the interior and a handful of scattered customers.
Chu Yifeng got out and started toward the entrance. Wang Cheng hurriedly grabbed him. “Hey, at least tell me what we’re doing here. Give me some warning.”
“Meeting a woman.”
“What woman?” Wang Cheng’s expression became strange.
Chu Yifeng smiled faintly. “A woman my family arranged for me.”
Although Chu Wenting had been given responsibility by the Chu family, after Chu Yifeng warned him last time, he stopped taking action. He did think his cousin being with another man was less than ideal, but there were plenty of elders in the family. Why should he volunteer to be the one standing in front? If he did nothing, someone else would.
The Chu family knew Chu Yifeng had gone to see Chu Wenting, so yesterday they summoned him home and took turns confronting him. Everyone spoke openly, and the subject could be reduced to one question: what would it take for him to break things off with that man?
Old Master Chu was the most direct. He told Chu Yifeng’s eldest aunt to arrange blind dates with women. Chu Yinghua also wanted her eldest nephew to return to what she considered the proper path and had prepared an entire stack of photographs. The Chu family did not insist on matching social status. As long as the woman had a good character, even an ordinary family background was acceptable.
Everyone expected Chu Yifeng to resist. Instead, he casually pulled one photograph from the stack, pointed at the woman, and said, “This one will do.”
The entire family froze. Had he really surrendered that easily? Of course not. If Chu Yifeng were that obedient, they would never have needed to worry about him in the first place. Still, he promised he would meet the woman the next day. Even though everyone suspected he was planning something, they could hardly keep arguing after he agreed.
“So you’re planning to take me along to meet your blind date?” Wang Cheng found it hilarious. He had never imagined that even Boss Chu could be forced into a blind date. “Aren’t you worried she’ll spread the news that the Chu family’s eldest young master likes men?”
With one hand in his trouser pocket, Chu Yifeng walked through the door a server opened for them. He swept his gaze across the café before saying, “Why should I worry? The capital’s elite circles are far more complicated than you imagine.”
To ordinary people, being gay might still sound shocking, but among the wealthy and powerful it was hardly unheard of. Plenty of privileged young men had relationships with men even if they did not identify as gay themselves, so this sort of thing was not exactly a secret.
Wang Cheng shrugged. If Chu Yifeng was not worried, he had no reason to worry either.
The woman Chu Yifeng was supposed to meet had arrived before them. She had a striking face and wore a short dress that left her shoulders and legs exposed, with a down coat draped over it. Her ten fingers rested on the table, nails painted a vivid red. When she saw them, she was visibly startled, but quickly regained her composure. Her gaze then locked onto Chu Yifeng, her eyes practically shining as though he were something she very much wanted. She stood and greeted him.
Wang Cheng nearly laughed at the ridiculous image his own imagination produced.
Chu Yifeng ignored the woman and looked at him instead. “Why are you standing there? Sit down. What do you want to eat?”
“No need. I already had breakfast. You two probably have plenty to talk about, so I won’t disturb you.” Wang Cheng turned toward the neighboring table, but after only two steps Chu Yifeng pulled him back and seated him on his lap. Wang Cheng sprang up instantly as though the seat had burned him. “What are you doing? I’m not playing along with this.”
The woman across from them stared with her mouth open.
“Miss Lin, he is my partner,” Chu Yifeng said directly.
Wang Cheng tried to pull his hand free, but Chu Yifeng’s grip around his wrist was firm.
The woman recovered and immediately said, “That’s fine. I don’t mind if you play around with a man before marriage.”
As she spoke, she gave Wang Cheng a contemptuous look. His good looks had impressed her at first glance, but now she thought he was just one of those “rabbit men.”
Elio’s Notes: “Rabbit man” (兔爷们) is an old-fashioned derogatory expression for a gay man. The term here reflects Miss Lin’s contempt, not the narrator’s endorsement of it.
Wang Cheng rolled his eyes. This woman had far too much confidence. They had not even begun talking and she was already mentioning marriage. Marriage, my ass. To hell with eighteen generations of your ancestors! He stopped struggling, sat down properly, crossed one leg over the other, and looked at her. “Sorry, but I mind.”
The woman stared at him. “Aren’t you shameless? As a man, don’t you feel embarrassed?”
“You’re absolutely right. My greatest virtue is being shameless. If I have no shame to begin with, why would I feel embarrassed?” Wang Cheng nodded as though she had made an excellent point.
The woman was left speechless.
Wang Cheng kept talking without restraint. “Miss, there are plenty of good men in the world. Why insist on hanging yourself on this one tree? He is handsome and rich, sure, but you don’t know how disgusting he is in private. He has all kinds of habits that are almost impossible to tolerate. For example, sometimes he goes a month without bathing and doesn’t even change his underwear. He hates brushing his teeth too. After a week, you can practically see the grime between them…”
Before the woman could respond, Chu Yifeng’s face had already gone dark. Without another word, he dragged Wang Cheng outside. He did not care what the woman in the café thought and drove away immediately.
“I can’t believe you actually said all that. Didn’t you disgust yourself?”
“Of course I did. I’ve got goosebumps.” Wang Cheng raised his arm to show him. “To avoid leaving myself with a psychological shadow, I’ve decided you’re not allowed to kiss me for a while. Right now, the moment I look at you, I picture that filthy mouth I just described.”
Chu Yifeng’s expression became even darker, and he abruptly hit the brakes.
If not for the seat belt, Wang Cheng would have gone straight into the windshield. He was just about to demand why Chu Yifeng had stopped so suddenly when Chu Yifeng grabbed his arm and pressed him back against the seat. Their lips and teeth collided, accidentally nicking the skin. Wang Cheng frowned, but Chu Yifeng gave him no chance to resist. His domineering tongue pushed into Wang Cheng’s mouth, reaching so deep toward his throat that Wang Cheng had no way to fend him off. By the time the scorching kiss ended, all thoughts of the disgusting image he had invented were gone.
“Still have that psychological shadow?” Chu Yifeng held his chin and wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
Wang Cheng glared at him. Apparently he was not even allowed to make a joke.
Chu Yifeng leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth, his low voice close to Wang Cheng’s ear. “We’ve never had sex in the car before. Want to try?”
Wang Cheng’s expression changed slightly. He caught the hand moving toward his crotch before it could go any farther; if Chu Yifeng kept touching him, he was going to get hard. “Enough. You’re horny first thing in the morning. You may want to make the headlines, but I don’t.”
The car was simply parked at the side of the road. Anyone approaching from the front could see straight in.
“We won’t make the news.” Even as he said it, Chu Yifeng knew this was not the place. “What are you planning next?”
“I’m going back to Shanhai City for a while.” He had already spent quite a few days in the capital. It was time to go home.
“When?”
“I’m planning to leave tomorrow morning.”
Chu Yifeng frowned. “That soon?”
Wang Cheng glanced at him. “If you have things to do, you don’t need to come with me. I can go back by myself.”
“That works. I have to go abroad tonight and probably won’t return for at least two days. If you’re in Shanhai City, I’ll worry less.” Chu Yifeng’s business interests were centered overseas. He had already been back in the country for a long time, and some matters could not be handled through video calls forever.
“Then let’s go to the supermarket now. There’s basically nothing left in the villa fridge. I’ll cook you a big meal tonight.” Wang Cheng immediately began planning what to make. The car headed for the nearest supermarket. At the same time, the Chu family had already learned what happened at the blind date. The person watching them repeated their conversation almost word for word, leaving everyone stunned. Although the family wanted to separate the two, they still had no idea what sort of person Chu Yifeng had fallen for. This was the first time they had heard of anyone insulting Chu Yifeng right in front of him and, more importantly, actually managing to make his expression change. Chu Li slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.
“This Wang Cheng really is interesting!”