Everyone turned and saw Wang Cheng execute a neat flip off the table. Somehow, he and A-Xi had ended up fighting on top of it.
After landing, Wang Cheng hooked one foot around a nearby chair, flicked it upward, and sent it flying toward A-Xi. A-Xi did not dodge. Instead, he caught the chair and set it down. Fighting was one thing, but he did not dare damage anything in the house. The next second, chair after chair came flying at him, and A-Xi caught one in each hand.
“Hey, you lost.” Wang Cheng had somehow appeared beside him. He held a fruit knife snatched from the table against A-Xi’s neck.
A-Xi glanced at the knife at his throat, finally stopped moving, and said three crisp words. “I lost.”
Wang Cheng had won by exploiting A-Xi’s instincts, but that was a skill in itself. A-Xi had once served in special forces and carried out many dangerous missions. He knew perfectly well that the only way to survive on a battlefield was to use everything around you that could possibly be used. Wang Cheng’s method might look underhanded, but it was no different from what happened on real missions.
One servant became so excited that he started to clap. After one slap of his hands, however, he realized the timing was inappropriate and immediately fell silent.
“Come sit down, all of you,” Old Madam Chu said again.
The bodyguards returned to their posts. Chu Yifeng and Wang Cheng sat opposite the two old people, with Old Master Chu’s livid expression clearly visible from where they were.
Old Madam Chu ignored him. Her calm gaze settled on Wang Cheng. “You’re young, yet you can hold your own against a special-forces soldier. Not bad. Who taught you martial arts?”
Wang Cheng wondered what the old madam was planning. He suspected she was about to try persuading him, so he said, “My master. He was a monk. He once told me that a person should follow their heart and not let rules bind them. Walk your own road and let everyone else take a taxi.”
Elio’s Notes: Wang Cheng’s master is mangling a familiar Chinese saying, “走自己的路，让别人说去吧” — roughly, “Walk your own road and let others talk.” He swaps the solemn ending for “let everyone else take a taxi,” which turns the life advice into one of the old monk’s deadpan jokes.
“Pfft!” Lei Yunze could not hold it in when he heard the last sentence.
Even A-Xi, standing in the corner, could not help glancing at Wang Cheng a few times.
Chu Yifeng was caught between laughter and helplessness. He leaned over and murmured in Wang Cheng’s ear, “Try to be a little more serious.”
Wang Cheng glanced at him. He was being serious. The final sentence was not false either. During the first few years Wang Cheng followed the old monk, the man had seemed to have some savings. But as Wang Cheng grew older, those savings dwindled. Sometimes they could barely afford three meals a day, much less transportation. Once, when Wang Cheng asked the old monk for travel money to take care of an errand, the old monk had said that exact sentence with an extraordinarily solemn expression. Afterward, he seemed to become addicted to it and would periodically repeat it as though it were profound wisdom.
Old Madam Chu had weathered too many storms in life to be thrown off by Wang Cheng’s nonsense. She even calmly agreed. “Your master was right. But when he taught you to follow your heart, did he ever tell you not to trade a lifetime of happiness for a moment’s pleasure?”
Wang Cheng nodded. “My master said things like that too. But if I don’t enter hell, who will? Besides, I’ve already returned to secular life.”
Old Madam Chu smiled. “You’re quite a clever boy.”
“If I weren’t clever, your grandson wouldn’t have taken a liking to me.”
After Wang Cheng said that, Old Madam Chu’s expression cooled, though she still looked far better than Old Master Chu beside her. The old man’s face had become practically painted in dark colors.
“In any case, I will not agree.”
“Letting you stay together isn’t impossible.”
Old Master Chu and Old Madam Chu spoke at the same time, but their meanings were completely opposite. The old man immediately widened his eyes at his wife.
Old Madam Chu continued to ignore him.
Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng exchanged a glance. They both felt that even though the old madam seemed willing to compromise, her condition would definitely not be simple.
“What condition do you have, Grandma?” Chu Yifeng asked.
Old Madam Chu took a sip of tea before speaking slowly. “The issue of descendants must be resolved. How you resolve it is up to the two of you, but adoption is not allowed.”
“It’s the twenty-first century,” Wang Cheng said.
Old Madam Chu smiled lightly. “My thinking is old-fashioned.”
“…” Wang Cheng had no response. She was almost a match for the old monk. If the old monk were still alive, he had no idea which of them would come out on top in a confrontation.
Old Master Chu seemed to want to express an opinion, but one glance from Old Madam Chu made him shut his mouth. She turned back to the two younger men. “You can think about it. Stay for lunch.”
After all the commotion, both elderly people were tired. A servant immediately helped them upstairs to rest. Only Chu Yifeng, Wang Cheng, and Lei Yunze remained in the living room.
Lei Yunze still felt as though he were dreaming, but thinking back, the clues had been there all along. His eldest cousin did not have many friends. Even with a close friend like Shen Yuan, he was never particularly intimate. Other people were always the ones clinging to his cousin. Back when his cousin had asked Lei Yunze to look after Wang Ziyu, Lei Yunze had found it strange. He had sensed something was unusual then, but had never imagined a relationship like this.
“I think your grandmother is pretty crafty. She says she’ll agree to us being together, but really she’s still scheming to make us break up.” Wang Cheng stroked his chin.
Chu Yifeng neither agreed nor disagreed. “How?” Wang Cheng analyzed it according to both their personalities. “Sure, people can have children through IVF now, but no matter how advanced technology gets, you still can’t use sperm from two men to create one baby, right? So the child would still carry the blood of some unrelated woman. If your grandmother wanted to be even craftier, she could interfere with the IVF process, say with the woman carrying the baby, then let us fight among ourselves until we broke up. At that point, she wouldn’t have to worry about whether we’d stay together anymore. And just like that, a tragic family melodrama would be born.”
Chu Yifeng laughed softly.
Wang Cheng was about to ask what he was laughing at when he noticed Lei Yunze staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. “What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy who knows how to analyze a situation?”
Lei Yunze was speechless.
Chu Yifeng finally stopped holding back and burst out laughing.
Naturally, the noise in the living room did not escape the two old people upstairs. Before long, someone came up and reported everything Wang Cheng had said. Once the servant finished, he tactfully withdrew.
Old Master Chu’s face flushed red. When his wife glanced at him, he finally lost control and started laughing. If Wang Cheng were not involved with his own grandson, the old man would actually find his personality very much to his taste. The younger members of the Chu family were either proper and restrained around him like Chu Wenting, or arrogantly dismissive of his authority like Chu Yifeng. Very few people could remain this relaxed in his presence.
“What a pity. What a pity.”
Old Madam Chu gave a soft laugh.
＊
Zhou Lin and her husband had assumed Wang Cheng would next ask his grandfather for permission to enter Zhou Group and learn the business. Instead, without saying a word about it, Wang Cheng decided to return to Shanhai City. Their first reaction was that he must be retreating in order to advance.
The possibility seemed very high. If Wang Cheng had made these requests immediately after returning to the Zhou family, no matter how much the old man liked him, he might have suspected that Wang Cheng had come back for Zhou Group. Lowering everyone’s guard and making them believe he had no interest in Zhou Group would help him earn the old man’s trust.
Of course, all of this existed only in their own imaginations.
Wang Cheng had his own career. If his grandfather did not bring up Zhou Group, he would never raise the subject himself. Only people with ulterior motives of their own assumed everyone else thought the same way.
Mother Zheng, on the other hand, became worried when she learned of his decision. Her younger son was preparing to return to Shanhai City for New Year, while she had been hoping to spend their first New Year together.
Wang Cheng could not promise her anything. He could only comfort her a little and say he would come back again after some time.
“Mom will have a Zheng family driver take you and your sister to the airport,” Mother Zheng said with a sigh. Deep down, she already knew she could not stop his decision.
“No need, Mom.” Wang Cheng refused with a slightly unnatural expression. “Someone is already coming to pick me up. The car should be outside by now.”
Mother Zheng did not notice his expression and had no suspicions. Still, she insisted on personally watching him leave. Wang Cheng wanted to text Chu Yifeng and tell him not to get out of the car when he arrived, lest Mother Zheng see him, but she remained beside him the whole time, reminding him of one thing after another. He never got the chance.
When they stepped outside the gate, Chu Yifeng had already arrived. This time he was not driving a sports car. Sports cars only seated two, and they still had to pick up Wang Ziyu later. There would not be enough room. Unfortunately, Chu Yifeng failed to read Wang Cheng’s mind. The moment they appeared, he got out of the car.
Seeing Chu Yifeng approach, Mother Zheng felt an inexplicable sense that something was odd. She could not identify exactly what. “Chengcheng, Mr. Chu is the person who came to pick you up?”
“Yeah. Why?” Wang Cheng watched her carefully.
Mother Zheng opened her mouth, then shook her head. “Nothing. Remember to call Mom once you reach Shanhai City.”
Chu Yifeng had already reached them. He politely nodded to Mother Zheng without speaking, took the luggage from Wang Cheng, and asked him, “Ready to go?”
Wang Cheng nodded immediately. As he hurried Chu Yifeng toward the car, he turned and called to his slightly dazed mother, “Mom, I’m leaving. We’ll talk on the phone.”
The car drove away. Once Mother Zheng disappeared from sight, Wang Cheng let out a breath of relief.
“Afraid your mom will find out?”
Wang Cheng said, “I don’t plan to tell her yet. If she finds out, the Zheng and Zhou families might both learn about it. We only laid everything out with your family yesterday. I think it’ll be easier if we settle things with your family first. Then if the Zheng or Zhou families object later, dealing with it should be much easier.”
Chu Yifeng smiled. “A very logical analysis.”
Today was the first official day of winter break for Jing University students. Many were visibly excited. Without the pressure of exams, face after face turned toward the sunlight with bright smiles. A large number of students had chosen to return home today.
When the two reached Jing University, streams of students pulling luggage were pouring out of the main gate, all of them eager to get home immediately. Only a small number planned to stay a few more days.
Wang Cheng called Wang Ziyu, and she answered almost immediately.
When she learned Second Brother was waiting at the main gate, Wang Ziyu told him she would be there in twenty minutes. Qian Baobao and Mi Li were also preparing to go home. Only Pang Chunjuan was in no hurry because her family lived in the capital. One phone call and naturally someone would come pick her up.
Before leaving, Wang Ziyu carefully reminded Pang Chunjuan not to forget the clothes hanging on the balcony. Then she, Qian Baobao, and Mi Li dragged their luggage downstairs together.
Their dormitory was on the fourth floor. Qian Baobao’s suitcase was enormous, and she was already panting after two flights of stairs. Wang Ziyu switched her own suitcase to her left hand and used her right to help Qian Baobao carry the large case. Just as they reached the first-floor corridor, several people suddenly emerged from the neighboring side. The girl in front seemed not to notice them at all and walked straight into Wang Ziyu. Startled, Wang Ziyu lost her grip on the suitcase, which landed directly on the girl’s foot. The girl cried out in pain.
Wang Ziyu was just about to apologize when she realized the girl was Tang Xin, the department beauty.
“Do you not have eyes when you walk?” The moment Tang Xin’s friend Ma Miao realized the person who had hurt her was Wang Ziyu, she immediately struck first with no courtesy at all.
Qian Baobao instantly bristled. “Hey, hey, hey. Watch how you talk, Senior. Who exactly wasn’t looking where she was going? The person who walked into someone else wasn’t our Ziyu. Don’t think you can twist black into white just because you’re older than us.” Ever since hearing Mi Li’s analysis, she had disliked Tang Xin.
Fan Qingqing said, “You’re the ones without eyes. Some people look so pure and innocent, but who knows what shameful things they do in private? All that talk about wanting to focus on school, yet behind everyone’s backs she’s still busy seducing men.”
The look she gave Wang Ziyu was nakedly hostile, as though she knew everything. In truth, it was nothing more than jealousy.
“Senior, watch your words. You’re an adult, and a woman yourself. Don’t you think having such a filthy mind is embarrassing?” Wang Ziyu was not actually some weak, delicate girl. Her three roommates were simply so fierce most of the time that they made her look like a little white flower by comparison. When something truly happened, however, even that little white flower could stand straight.
Fan Qingqing’s face flushed red with anger. She glanced at the growing crowd around them and shouted loudly, “Wang Ziyu, you injured Tang Xin’s foot and you still dare twist the facts? Don’t think you can run wild at Jing University just because Lei Yunze is backing you. You keep saying you don’t want anything to do with boys, but in the end you still have to rely on one.”
“Qingqing, stop. My foot only hurts a little. It’s really nothing serious. If Lei Yunze hears about this, he might think we bullied Junior Wang Ziyu. Junior still has a journey ahead of her, so let’s not delay her.” Tang Xin tugged at Fan Qingqing and shook her head pitifully.
She did not openly accuse Wang Ziyu, yet every word subtly guided everyone into assuming Wang Ziyu was at fault. Combined with her delicate appearance and the way she endured the pain in her foot without complaint, the crowd quickly began to think Wang Ziyu was the one responsible.