There was not much wine on Wang Cheng’s trousers, but in the middle of winter even a damp patch felt cold. He stood under the restroom hand dryer for a while until it was half dry and the strong smell of alcohol had faded considerably. After washing his hands, he headed back out. Just as he was nearing Huang Tong’an’s private room, the door to the room next door suddenly opened and someone stepped out.
Wang Cheng took one look. What rotten luck.
Wei Wei saw him but did not immediately react. Then several more young men around Wei Wei’s age came out of the room behind him. Their voices finally snapped Wei Wei back to his senses.
“You!”
His voice made no effort to hide his disgust for Wang Cheng. His companions all heard it and looked at Wang Cheng in surprise.
“Brother Wei, you know this guy?”
Wang Cheng nearly laughed. Brother Wei? The title sounded ridiculous, just like that “Fish Spirit” chasing his big brother. This was getting entertaining.
Elio’s Notes: 伟哥 (Wěi-gē, “Brother Wei”) is also an informal Chinese name for Viagra, which is why Wang Cheng finds the way they address Wei Wei funny.
“Of course I know him. I’d recognize him even if he turned to ash. He’s the one who made me lose face in front of everyone at the Jing University cafeteria last time,” Wei Wei said through gritted teeth.
“Who is this guy? He’s got guts, picking a fight with you. Want us to help?” One of Wei Wei’s usual flatterers immediately seized what he thought was a chance to perform and asked with obvious ill intent.
The corner of Wang Cheng’s mouth lifted. “Wei Wei, you really are improving. Planning to sic the dogs around you on me now? If Grandpa finds out, I doubt it’ll end with another warning. You’d better think carefully. Last time Grandpa already told you and Aunt not to visit the Zheng residence so often.”
Wei Wei was startled and furious. “What nonsense are you talking about? When did I tell them to attack you? You think just because you’ve returned to the Zheng family you have someone backing you now? A sparrow turns into a phoenix? Like hell.”
His companions were already stunned by their exchange. This man was part of the Zheng family? They had never heard of anyone like him.
A young man standing to Wei Wei’s right studied Wang Cheng suspiciously. “Wei Wei, when he says Grandpa, he doesn’t mean Old Master Zheng, does he? Since when did the Zheng family have someone like him?”
Only then did Wei Wei seem to remember the young man, and an idea flashed through his mind. “Brother Chenlin, I almost forgot. He’s related to you too.”
“What kind of joke is that? You think I don’t know my own relatives? Someone like him wants to claim he’s related to me?” Zhao Chenlin sneered.
Wang Cheng raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know which corner Second Uncle dug him out of either. Anyway, Second Uncle says he’s the biological son he lost twenty-five years ago. The Zheng family already acknowledged him a few days ago. He’s Second Aunt’s son, which makes him your cousin on her side.”
Zhao Chenlin froze.
Wang Cheng was surprised too. Mother Zheng had only called that morning to say she wanted to take him to the Zhou family to meet his maternal grandfather, and now he had run into someone from her side of the family already.
“Wang Cheng, what are you standing here for?” Huang Tong’an had noticed Wang Cheng had been gone a while and worried something had happened. He came out looking for him and found Wang Cheng standing in the corridor with several people blocking the way. Thinking someone was trying to make trouble for his friend, Huang Tong’an’s expression immediately darkened. But when the others turned and he recognized their faces, he frowned. Why was it these people?
Huang Tong’an’s friends came out behind him. The moment they saw Wei Wei and the others, their faces lit up. “Young Master Wei?”
Wei Wei was a minor celebrity among the capital’s wealthy young people. To the true top-tier heirs he might be little more than small fry, but in the eyes of Huang Tong’an’s friends he was exactly the sort of person they desperately wanted to curry favor with, if only because he was the Zheng family’s maternal grandson.
After the greeting, however, everyone noticed that something was wrong. A few seconds of silence were enough for them to sense the situation. One by one they frowned, privately blaming Huang Tong’an for bringing a friend who had somehow offended Young Master Wei. None of them wanted to be implicated. They had started forward, but now they backed away again.
“He’s your friend?” Wei Wei’s mood immediately improved when he saw this.
“Young Master Wei is joking. This is our first time meeting him. We’re strangers, nothing that could be called friendship.” One of Huang Tong’an’s friends immediately drew a clear line.
Huang Tong’an was displeased. He had always known what these people were like. He walked over to Wang Cheng and asked in a low voice, “Need help?”
Wang Cheng smiled at him. He had not misjudged Huang Tong’an after all. Catching Wei Wei and the others looking over, he said, “Don’t worry. They don’t dare do anything to me. Even if they did, with just these two useless pieces of trash, you really think I couldn’t handle them?”
Wei Wei and Zhao Chenlin immediately flared. “Wang Cheng, you really think we won’t touch you just because someone’s backing you?”
“I’d genuinely like to see what you can do to me.” Wang Cheng smiled with complete calm.
Huang Tong’an had the strange feeling Wang Cheng was deliberately provoking them. Their tone suggested they had known each other before, which only made the situation more puzzling.
Wei Wei and Zhao Chenlin really did not dare attack Wang Cheng. In the past, their followers would have been the first to jump forward and vent their anger for them, but now that those people knew Wang Cheng was a direct descendant of the Zheng family, closer in blood than Wei Wei the maternal grandson, they became cautious.
“Looks like you don’t dare after all. Here I thought you had some balls. Turns out neither of you has any. Tong’an, let’s go.” Wang Cheng spread his hands in disappointment and pulled Huang Tong’an away.
“Fuck, who are you calling gutless?” Wei Wei finally snapped and swung a fist at him.
As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Wang Cheng easily dodged the punch and kicked backward at the same time. Wei Wei’s head struck the wall, and a lump immediately rose on his forehead.
“He hit someone! He hit someone!” Zhao Chenlin froze for two seconds before suddenly shouting.
Zheng Jingen came to RedSun the moment he received the call. He was a regular there himself, meeting friends there several days each month, so the manager could not possibly fail to recognize him. Even if Zheng Jingen rarely came, who in the capital’s true princeling circle would not know him?
Manager Sun hurried over the instant he saw him. “Young Master Zheng…”
Zheng Jingen raised a hand, cutting off the unnecessary words. “Where’s my younger brother?”
“Don’t worry, Young Master Zheng. Your younger brother only suffered some superficial injuries. It’s nothing serious. I already had someone put medicine on him.” Manager Sun assumed he meant Wei Wei and privately wondered when Young Master Zheng had become so close to his aunt’s son.
Zheng Jingen’s face sank. “How was he injured?”
“It seems there was some conflict with people from another private room. Someone kicked him, and he accidentally hit the wall.” Manager Sun wiped at his sweat as he explained.
“Lead the way.”
Manager Sun did not dare delay. He immediately led Zheng Jingen to the room where everyone was resting. The atmosphere inside was oppressive. Those who did not understand the situation were eagerly distancing themselves from Huang Tong’an and Wang Cheng, while Wei Wei, the actual person involved, wore a shifting expression. He was secretly unhappy that Zhao Chenlin had taken it upon himself to blow the matter up.
A moment later, the door opened.
The instant Wei Wei saw Zheng Jingen come in, his face changed and he could not help shrinking farther into the corner. Zheng Jingen carried more weight in the Zheng family than even Wei Wei’s parents did.
“Young Master Zheng…” Manager Sun stepped forward, intending to tell Zheng Jingen that his “younger brother” Wei Wei was over in the corner. Before he could finish, however, Zheng Jingen walked in the opposite direction.
“Chengcheng, where are you hurt? Let me see.” Zheng Jingen came to Wang Cheng and asked with obvious concern.
Wang Cheng scratched his head. “Brother, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”
Zheng Jingen frowned. “Manager Sun said you were injured. How can you be fine?”
Wang Cheng tipped his chin toward Wei Wei and said teasingly, “I’m not the one who got hurt. He is.”
Everyone in the room went stupid, especially Huang Tong’an and his friends. Their expressions looked as though lightning had struck them.
“What exactly happened?” Zheng Jingen’s expression did not ease merely because his younger brother was unhurt. The last time Wang Cheng returned to the Zheng residence, Wei Wei’s attitude had already made it clear there was bad blood between them. Yet despite knowing Wang Cheng was a Zheng descendant, Wei Wei, as the family’s maternal grandson, had still dared attack his own cousin?
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
Wei Wei could no longer remain silent. He hurriedly jumped forward. “Cousin, this really is a misunderstanding. Wang Cheng and I were just joking around.”
Zheng Jingen’s sharp gaze landed on him. “If it was a misunderstanding, how did it turn into a fight?”
“No, no fight.” Wei Wei gave a dry laugh. “I accidentally hit the wall myself. It has nothing to do with Wang Cheng.”
Zheng Jingen looked at Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng nodded with a smile. “He’s right. He suddenly got overwhelmed with remorse, felt he’d let the Zheng family down, and decided to smash his head against the wall. I thought, well, he’s still my cousin. I couldn’t exactly stand there and watch him kill himself, so I went over to stop him. His friends didn’t understand what was happening and thought I’d done something to him, so they started shouting and attracted Manager Sun.”
Everyone who had personally witnessed the scene was stunned by Wang Cheng’s ability to lie through his teeth. Just how thick did someone’s skin have to be to say something like that?
Wei Wei suffered the most. A perfectly normal man had just been described as suicidal, and he still could not contradict him.
Zheng Jingen understood immediately what Wang Cheng meant. Since Wang Cheng had not suffered any loss, he did not pursue the matter. Everyone in the room let out a breath of relief, including Manager Sun, who had mistaken the wrong person for Zheng Jingen’s brother. Even now, he still had not processed when Young Master Zheng had acquired a biological younger brother.