The next day, Wang Cheng received a call from Mother Zheng too. Since it was inconvenient to discuss the matter over the phone, he arranged to meet her at their usual place. By the time he arrived at the teahouse restaurant, she was already there, though she had sat down less than a minute earlier. The food had not arrived yet. As soon as Wang Cheng took his seat, a server brought over several snacks, all of them his favorites.
Mother Zheng pushed the dishes toward him and looked at her son expectantly. “Chengcheng, how did things go with Jiayan last night? What do you think of her?”
“Not much,” Wang Cheng replied, taking a sip of tea.
“How can you say that? Jiayan is a good girl. You’re about the same age, so surely you should have plenty to talk about,” Mother Zheng said, astonished.
Wang Cheng set down his cup and said solemnly, “Mom, there’s already someone I love.”
Mother Zheng’s expression froze. “What do you mean, someone you love? You’ve never mentioned anything about this to Mom.”
Wang Cheng looked directly into her eyes. “I haven’t told you because there’s something unusual about this person’s identity. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to accept it right away, so I chose to keep it from you.”
He had decided even before the previous night to find an opportunity to tell Mother Zheng he was with Chu Yifeng. The disguised matchmaking dinner had simply convinced him that it was better to endure one sharp pain than prolong the discomfort.
“If you don’t want to tell me, then I won’t force you,” Mother Zheng said hurriedly. She looked flustered, her eyes darting everywhere except toward Wang Cheng.
Seeing her like that, Wang Cheng suddenly understood. “Mom, did you already know?”
“Know what? I don’t know anything!” Mother Zheng denied it at once, snatched up her handbag, and rose. “I just remembered I have an appointment with Madam Chen. Why don’t we talk another time?”
Wang Cheng caught her hand. “Mom, the person I love is Chu Yifeng. We’ve been together for a while now. I know we shouldn’t have hidden it from everyone, but we had our reasons. I don’t want to keep it a secret anymore. So please don’t arrange another matchmaking dinner like last night’s.”
Mother Zheng sank back into her chair, looking on the verge of tears. “Is there truly no possibility of changing your mind?”
Wang Cheng shook his head.
Mother Zheng was, after all, a well-bred woman from a prominent family who had seen a great deal of the world. She eventually regained her composure. She had only recently found her long-lost son, and she could not bear to let this create a rift between them. Once she had sorted through her thoughts, she asked, “Who else knows? Do your adoptive parents know?”
“My two older brothers know, and my mom knows. My dad doesn’t know yet.” Wang Cheng was not certain whether Wang Ziyu knew, so he left her out for the moment.
More precisely, both his older brothers and both his mothers knew; everyone else was still in the dark.
Mother Zheng was surprised that Mama Wang knew, and even more surprised that a woman of her temperament had managed to keep quiet about it for so long. “What about Chu Yifeng’s side?”
“His family knows. I’ve even been to their house for a meal,” Wang Cheng admitted, a little embarrassed. That was precisely why he had wanted to come clean with Mother Zheng.
Mother Zheng lifted an eyebrow. “And his family doesn’t object?”
“Well… They were against it at first. Not so much anymore.” Wang Cheng hesitated, then decided not to mention Old Madam Chu’s demand that they produce a child.
He made it sound simple, but Mother Zheng imagined all the hardships her younger son must have endured to win acceptance from the Chu family. A household as strict about its traditions as theirs could never easily accept a male descendant being involved with another man. Her heart ached for him.
“Have you thought about how you’re going to explain this to your grandfather and your grandpa?”
“Old Madam Chu said she’ll help explain things to Grandpa Zheng.” Mother Zheng was even more surprised. Then she remembered something. A Chu daughter-in-law had hosted a gathering for society wives recently, and Old Madam Chu had attended. The elderly lady had been particularly warm to her and had mentioned both her son and Chu Yifeng. So that was why.
“And what about your maternal grandfather? Surely you remember he’s always wanted an heir. If you and Chu Yifeng are together, you won’t have descendants together. Your grandfather might not hand Zhou Group to you. Do you really want your aunt’s family to benefit instead?”
“What belongs to me will be mine eventually. If it doesn’t belong to me, I don’t want to make things difficult for Grandpa,” Wang Cheng said quietly. Zhou Group was valuable, but it was ultimately a material possession. He did not absolutely have to inherit it.
Mother Zheng sighed. Her son was a man with his own mind, and she knew opposing him would not change it. “All right, then. Don’t tell your grandfather for now.”
Wang Cheng looked at her cautiously, surprised the conversation had gone so smoothly. “Mom, does that mean you agree to me being with Chu Yifeng?”
Mother Zheng gave him a reproachful glare. “If I didn’t agree, would you break up with him?”
Wang Cheng coughed twice. Of course not. Before this conversation, he had been mentally prepared for a cold war with Mother Zheng. He had never imagined it would be so simple. With a great worry lifted from his shoulders, he felt immensely relieved. Not many people knew about his relationship with Chu Yifeng yet, but both his mothers were the ones who made the real decisions in their households. With them on his side, he was no longer particularly worried about the rest.
When Chu Yifeng returned, he heard cheerful humming from the kitchen. The tune sounded improvised. After changing into indoor slippers, he approached the doorway. Wang Cheng was stir-frying vegetables, swaying along with his own humming. He was clearly in a wonderful mood.
“You’re back. Wash your hands and help me take the dishes out. I made a lot. We’ll have a proper feast tonight.” Wang Cheng spotted him and called out.
“Did something good happen?” Chu Yifeng asked, taking the prepared dish from him.
Wang Cheng laughed and pushed him toward the dining room. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”
Chu Yifeng tactfully stopped asking and carried the food to the dining table. Just then, a phone in the living room began ringing. He went over and saw it was Wang Cheng’s. After glancing toward the kitchen, where Wang Cheng was still busy, he answered it.
Wang Cheng had made four meat dishes and one vegetable dish. Even the supposedly vegetarian dish consisted of water bamboo and straw mushrooms sautéed with plenty of oyster sauce. The mushrooms turned a rich golden color, looking almost like braised pork ribs. Once they sat down, Wang Cheng told Chu Yifeng about coming clean with Mother Zheng.
“My mom had already guessed something wasn’t ordinary about us. That’s why she used dinner as an excuse to set me up with a woman last night. I ended up making the woman angry enough to leave.” Wang Cheng put a piece of mushroom in Chu Yifeng’s bowl.
Chu Yifeng ate it, then said, “I have good news for you too.”
“What news?”
“Someone called your phone just now. There’s news from Shanhai City. They’ve found the family of Old Village Chief Wang, the people you were looking for.”
“!!!”
Wang Cheng could hardly wait to meet the old village chief’s family, but he could no longer simply leave at a moment’s notice.
Yazhi’s reputation had been growing steadily. Artists who knew how to seize opportunities were finding success, and now performers approached Yazhi on their own without the company having to scout them. Meanwhile, Pan Zhihai was managing the company while also serving as He Zihuan’s manager. One man could hardly handle everything. Until Wang Cheng made proper arrangements, he could not leave. Although the three-month period he had agreed on with Zhou Shichang had not ended, ownership of Yazhi had already been transferred to him. By the time he learned about it, the decision was final. Since that had been the likely outcome anyway, he did not dwell on it.
The next day, just as he was preparing to set off, Wang Cheng received a call from his eldest brother.
Wang Ning’an knew why he was returning to Shanhai City. He had originally wanted to accompany him, since the matter concerned him too, but he had business he could not leave unattended. He asked Wang Cheng to call him again once he found the people.
Old Village Chief Wang had died the previous year, when Wangjia Village had not yet been developed. He passed away less than a month apart from the old monk. Wang Cheng had scarcely gone down the mountain because of the old monk’s death, so he had never heard about it. Later, when Huaying Real Estate began developing the village, he had not paid attention either.
The old village chief’s family had moved to the city because of his sudden death. With nothing left tying them to the village, the whole family decided to relocate. Fortunately, they still maintained contact with some relatives. Otherwise, it might have taken even longer to find them.
The old village chief’s son was named Wang Bo. He was five years older than Papa Wang and had looked after him when they were younger. Their closeness faded somewhat after Wang Bo left to study elsewhere, but while Wangjia Village still stood, he and Papa Wang had kept in touch.
Unfortunately, Wang Cheng had arrived at the wrong time. Wang Bo and his wife had gone to visit their youngest son two days earlier and would not return for another two days. He was the only member of the family who knew about the old events.
With no other choice, Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng headed back toward Guanjia Village.
On the way, they stopped by the jam shops. Song Hai and Guan Ying now managed the New District branch. They were a couple, but both were diligent and responsible, and the business was thriving under their care. At the commercial-center shop were Guan Jiahe and the newly hired Wang Da. Wang Cheng had entrusted the jam business in the city completely to Guan Jiahe and asked him to keep an eye on the jam factory too, so he had little to worry about here.
Guan Jiahe had visited the jam factory that morning. As he returned, he happened to run into Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng at the entrance.