Wang Cheng left without making a sound. The two people arguing never realized that the secret they most wanted hidden had already been overheard by the person they least wanted to know.
If news of something this serious spread through Guanjia Village, there would be no shortage of people taking pleasure in their misfortune. Those who had long wanted to kick them while they were down would certainly seize the opportunity. Besides, Wang Ningkai had not invited most of the Wang relatives to his wedding, so it was entirely possible some still held grudges. The family therefore decided to keep the matter quiet for the time being. If they could solve it, good. If not, they would hide it for as long as they could. Even Madam Zhang did not know.
After Wang Ningkai and Wang Xiaoyan finished arguing, they came back inside. Knowing there were guests in the house, neither showed the emotions from the fight, though some of their anger inevitably spilled over. Wang Xiaoyan in particular could not stand seeing Wang Cheng.
She had only learned later what Wang Cheng had done outside the hotel when he attended their wedding banquet. Because of that incident, some of her father’s business partners had kept the Wang family at arm’s length afterward.
Wang Cheng did not take her barbs to heart, but Mama Wang was not the sort to stand by while someone insulted her son. She immediately sneered. “Which mountain ditch did this one crawl out of? No upbringing at all.”
What Wang Xiaoyan hated most was hearing people say she had no upbringing. Back when her family had no money, she had not cared, but now that they were wealthy, she could not stand such comments. She was about to lose her temper when Wang Ningkai pulled her back. Even Madam Li, who should have been on their side, surprisingly did not speak up for Wang Xiaoyan.
Mama Wang found that a little strange, though she showed nothing on her face. It was New Year’s Day, and she had no intention of letting her son’s good mood after returning home to spend the holiday with them be ruined. She therefore took her husband and son and left.
“Did either of you notice that Big Brother and Sister-in-law were acting strangely?” Papa Wang thought about it again and again and still felt something had been off.
Mama Wang glanced at him. “Whatever is going on with them has nothing to do with us.”
Papa Wang immediately knew she was still angry and switched straight into wife-soothing mode.
Wang Cheng smiled. “Dad, Mom, I actually know why they were acting like that. When I went outside earlier, I overheard Cousin Ningkai and Wang Xiaoyan talking in the backyard. It sounds like something went wrong with Wang Xiaoyan’s father’s company and dragged Eldest Uncle’s family down with it.”
The couple stopped in their tracks. “Really?”
Wang Cheng nodded. “Truer than gold.”
The two exchanged a glance. They really had not expected things to develop in that direction. Mama Wang stopped being angry immediately.
That evening, Wang Ziyu and Wang Ning’an called home one after another. Papa Wang and Mama Wang sat in the living room taking the calls. It was still a little regrettable that neither of them had been able to return to Guanjia Village and spend New Year’s Day with the family. Wang Cheng also received a call from Mother Zheng and went upstairs to answer, so he missed Mama Wang sounding Wang Ning’an out about whether he had a girlfriend.
Wang Cheng tried to speak to Mother Zheng in the same easy tone he used with Mama Wang, telling her amusing little stories from his childhood and making her laugh. He could occasionally hear Father Zheng and Zheng Jingxue faintly in the background.
“Chengcheng, Mom went to see your maternal grandfather today and told him about you. He wants to meet you. When can you come to the capital?”
“Maternal grandfather?” Wang Cheng truly knew nothing about Mother Zheng’s side of the family.
“Your maternal grandfather has had people looking for you all these years. Your brother was able to find you so quickly this time partly because of his help.”
The Zheng family carried considerable weight in the capital, but they were officials and every move they made drew attention. When it came to searching for someone who had disappeared, businesspeople had far more freedom. Without the financial resources of Mother Zheng’s family, Zheng Jingen could never have found Wang Cheng so quickly.
“Once I settle things here, I’ll come over. Probably in the next couple of days.”
“Good. Mom will wait for you.”
The next day, Wang Cheng drove into the city to see Yuan Xia. When Yuan Xia learned he was already back in Shanhai City, he suggested meeting at their usual place. Only after they met did Wang Cheng learn that Jiang Xuan had been out of Shanhai City for the past two days. No wonder Yuan Xia had asked him out. So he was lonely. Wang Cheng’s expression made the thought obvious enough that Yuan Xia looked a little embarrassed. Wang Cheng stopped teasing him and said, “I’ll probably be going to the capital again the day after tomorrow.”
“Why are you going to the capital again? Don’t tell me you’ve expanded your jam business all the way there?” Yuan Xia asked in surprise. He still did not know what had happened to Wang Cheng recently. Wang Cheng did not hide it and briefly explained his background. Yuan Xia sighed repeatedly as he listened. Child trafficking did happen in real life, but the trafficking of a child from a wealthy family was rare enough that he had only seen such a thing on television. He never imagined it would happen to Wang Cheng.
“If you look at the bright side, you have two fathers and two mothers now. That’s not bad.”
Wang Cheng smiled. “That’s how I think of it too. I didn’t get to grow up with my biological parents, but maybe being raised by my family was another kind of fate.”
Thinking of Papa Wang and Mama Wang still warmed his heart.
“Good. Life is only a few decades long. There’s no reason to waste our time on unhappiness. Better to do something meaningful and leave ourselves fewer regrets,” Yuan Xia said with feeling.
Wang Cheng heard the implication in his words and remembered how suddenly Yuan Xia had asked him out today. “You didn’t ask me here just to tell me that, did you? Come on, confess. What are you plotting?”
Yuan Xia smiled, unsurprised by his sharpness. “After I quit my old job, I found another one. It’s still related to teaching. I’m a kindergarten teacher now.”
“You like kids?” Wang Cheng had not expected that.
“I do. Kids can be annoying sometimes, but most of the time they’re adorable.” Yuan Xia looked almost wistful.
“But you and Jiang Xuan…” Two men together were destined not to have children of their own, unless they adopted.
“I know. That’s why I was wondering whether we could adopt a child.”
“Have you talked to Jiang Xuan about it?”
“Not yet.”
Wang Cheng exhaled. “I think you should discuss it with him first. Something like this affects the future of both of you. You can’t be careless about it.”
Yuan Xia said he would.
The two talked for more than two hours. In the past, Wang Cheng had usually been the one doing most of the talking, but this time Yuan Xia spoke almost nonstop. Nearly ninety percent of it was about the children he taught at the kindergarten, and a happy smile stayed on his face the whole time. It was obvious that he genuinely liked children.
A gay man who loved children?
Wang Cheng had the uneasy feeling that Yuan Xia and Jiang Xuan’s future might not be easy, but he did not discourage him. Having something he wanted and a goal to work toward was a good thing.
After saying goodbye to Yuan Xia, Wang Cheng drove toward the commercial district. Since the jam shop opened, he could count on one hand how many times he had actually visited. He happened to be passing by today, so he decided to take a look. There were not many customers at this hour because it was lunchtime. When he found the jam shop closed, he changed direction and headed to the apartment to look for them instead. After parking beneath the building, he called Guan Jiahe and told him he was downstairs and about to come up.
“You’re coming up?” Guan Jiahe sounded unusually surprised.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Cheng stopped walking, hearing something else in his cousin’s tone.
Guan Jiahe sounded helpless. “Nothing. Forget it. Come up and you’ll understand.”
Wang Cheng put away his phone and hurried upstairs. The apartment was on the top floor of the building and overlooked much of Shanhai City’s nightscape. Only wealthy people could afford to live somewhere like this. When he reached the top floor, Wang Cheng did not ring the bell. He simply took out his key and opened the door.
There had originally been only two keys to the apartment, but Chu Yifeng had someone make a third. That was the key in Wang Cheng’s hand.
When he stepped inside, Wang Cheng saw something unbelievable. The apartment he remembered as spotless now looked as though a force-three or force-four gale had blown through it. Clothes had been thrown carelessly over the sofa, rubbish lay scattered across the table and floor, and the floor itself looked as though it had not been mopped in ages. After only a few steps, the soles of his shoes had picked up a layer of dust.
“Who are you? How dare you break into someone’s home? Youshan, there’s a thief! Hurry out here!” A woman sitting on the sofa clipping her toenails screamed the moment she saw Wang Cheng. Liang Youshan, who had been cooking in the kitchen, heard her shouting about a thief and immediately rushed out holding a spatula. But the instant he saw Wang Cheng standing on the raised entryway, his heart sank. A terrible feeling spread through him.
“Little Boss, what brings you here?” Liang Youshan lowered the spatula and gave an awkward smile, guilt written plainly in his eyes. The woman froze when she heard how he addressed Wang Cheng. So this young man was the owner of the jam shop? But hadn’t Liang Youshan said the owner never came to the apartment?
“If I hadn’t come, I really wouldn’t have known someone had started treating my apartment like her own home.”
Wang Cheng’s expression was ugly. Never in a thousand years had he expected to open the door and find a scene like this. One look at the woman was enough to tell that her relationship with Liang Youshan was anything but ordinary.
Guan Jiahe came out of his room. He looked at Liang Youshan’s embarrassed face and sighed inwardly.