Chapter 78
Outside the coffee shop, Yu Chen and Li Ye were getting ready to head home.
Li Ye asked, “How are you getting back? Want me to give you a ride?”
The evening rush hour was approaching, and Yu Chen was worried about traffic messing up Li Ye’s plans, so he politely declined. “Thanks, but He Zhen gave me his driver’s number. I just called him, and he’ll be here soon.”
“I see.” Li Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. “Alright then, I’m off. Stay in touch.”
Yu Chen waved goodbye with a smile when suddenly a car horn blared to his left. He turned and saw that it was He Zhen’s car.
He Zhen had already gotten out and was walking toward him. Li Ye hadn’t seen He Zhen in years and teased, “Your driver’s here.”
Yu Chen was equally confused. He smiled at He Zhen. “Boss, what are you doing here? I thought you were sending the driver to pick me up?”
He Zhen glanced at Li Ye, gave a cool nod as a greeting, then took Yu Chen’s hand. “I was in the neighborhood.”
Yu Chen was straightforward and pressed the question. “How did you know I was at this coffee shop?”
He Zhen didn’t answer. Beside them, Li Ye chuckled. “Maybe you two have a telepathic connection.”
He Zhen gazed calmly at Li Ye. “Back in the country?”
Li Ye said, “Yeah. What a coincidence—I ran into Yu Chen the moment I got back.”
He Zhen had no intention of making small talk with Li Ye. He turned to Yu Chen and said, “The barbecue stuff is all ready at home. Let’s go.”
Yu Chen’s lips curled into a smile, and he nodded, not forgetting to say goodbye to Li Ye. “Take it slow on the road.”
Li Ye’s smile was gentle. “You too.”
Once in the car, He Zhen drove off aggressively, quickly leaving the coffee shop behind.
Yu Chen was still stuck on his earlier question. He noticed a cup of hot milk tea in the car and was about to take a sip when He Zhen snatched the straw away.
Yu Chen whined, “Boss, I want some.”
He Zhen asked casually, “How did you two run into each other?”
Yu Chen held the milk tea, eyes fixed on the straw, and told He Zhen about running into Li Ye at the lab.
Then he added, “So we just caught up a little.”
Stopped at a red light, He Zhen turned to look at him with a strange smile. “Do you two have a lot to catch up on?”
Yu Chen frowned and patiently explained, “Yeah, we—”
Halfway through, he broke into a knowing smile. “Boss, you’re not jealous, are you?”
“No.” He Zhen’s tone was flat. “Just asking.”
Yu Chen took advantage of He Zhen’s distraction to sneak the straw back and noisily slurped the milk tea. “My heart belongs to you—heavens above can testify! And you’re still jealous?”
He Zhen felt a little uncomfortable under Yu Chen’s bright, dark-eyed gaze and unconvincingly denied it. “I’m not jealous.”
“You’re not jealous? The car reeks of sourness.” Yu Chen pinched his nose playfully to cheer He Zhen up. “Boss, you need more confidence! With someone like you as my one and only true love, how could I ever settle for some ordinary guy?”
Yu Chen silently apologized to Li Ye in his heart.
He didn’t mean to call Li Ye an ordinary guy.
He Zhen was amused. “Oh, really? Do you think Li Ye is handsome?”
“He is handsome,” Yu Chen said with a grin. “But compared to you, he’s nowhere close. My boss is the most handsome person in the whole world.”
When they were kids, He Zhen had always been won over by Yu Chen’s sweet talk like this.
And even after more than ten years, Yu Chen’s tactics still worked.
He Zhen was fairly satisfied. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. “I want some milk tea too.”
Yu Chen, ever considerate, brought the milk tea to He Zhen’s lips. “If we share a straw, we’ll never be apart.”
He Zhen took a sip. “Milk tea flavored with Yu Chen.”
Yu Chen didn’t get it at first, but when he did, his ears burned bright red. Summoning his courage, he took a big sip of the milk tea and flirted back. “Mm… flavored with He Zhen.”
At the red light, He Zhen gave Yu Chen’s cheek a firm pinch, leaned over, and kissed him. “Behave.”
Yu Chen said shyly, “Who’s the one not behaving?”
They bickered all the way home until they finally remembered the friends they’d left waiting at the house.
Fang Jingrao spotted Yu Chen and excitedly opened his arms. “Chenchen, long time no see. You look even better.”
Yu Chen hugged him back and patted his shoulder with a laugh. “Wow, you’ve gotten a lot taller.”
Fang Jingrao grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I have.”
He Zhen had long found their hugging intolerable. He pulled Yu Chen out of Fang Jingrao’s arms and wrapped an arm around him as they headed to the terrace. “Time to eat. You guys are in charge of bringing everything out. Chenchen, go check the utensils.”
He Zhi’an protested, “You’re way too biased. We’re guests here.”
He Zhen couldn’t be bothered to argue. “Don’t bring the food, don’t eat.”
He Zhi’an backed down and obediently became a little laborer.
Xiao Yu studied Fang Jingrao’s still-smiling face and asked him meaningfully, “I’ve never asked you this before. Do you like boys or girls?”
Fang Jingrao carried plates back and forth. “I’ve never really thought about it.”
Fang Jingrao had always praised Yu Chen’s looks since they were kids, which made Xiao Yu a little jealous. He couldn’t help wondering if Fang Jingrao had a crush on Yu Chen. So he asked, with a hint of sourness, “Do you like Yu Chen? Every time you see him, you say how good he looks.”
Fang Jingrao smiled. “No, I just think Chenchen is good-looking and want to compliment him.”
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Got it. You only want to be friends with good-looking people. Someone plain like me doesn’t matter to you at all.”
“What? That’s not true!” Fang Jingrao looked anxious. “You matter the most to me. And you’re good-looking too.”
“Oh, really?” Xiao Yu was fairly satisfied with this answer. He smiled. “How much do I matter?”
Fang Jingrao frowned. “No one compares to you.”
Xiao Yu stared at Fang Jingrao’s deadly serious, determined gaze and secretly smiled. “Alright, go keep carrying the plates.”
“Okay.” Fang Jingrao busied himself obediently, following Xiao Yu’s orders just like when they were kids.
Xiao Yu’s gaze fell on Yu Chen, who was cuddled up in He Zhen’s arms acting cute, and he couldn’t help feeling envious.
When would he ever be as happy as Yu Chen?
While they were eating barbecue, He Zhi’an, wanting to embarrass He Zhen, deliberately told Yu Chen about He Zhen getting jealous.
Only then did Yu Chen find out why He Zhen had shown up at the coffee shop.
But this kind of thing was just part of a couple’s private fun, so of course Yu Chen was going to side with He Zhen against outsiders.
He wrapped some grilled meat in lettuce and personally fed it to He Zhen. “My boss isn’t insecure. He just wanted to pick me up. He Zhi’an, stop trying to drive a wedge between us.”
He Zhi’an, beer in hand, was dumbfounded. He reiterated, “He was worried about you being with that foreign guy.”
Yu Chen wagged his finger, then nestled cutely against He Zhen’s chest. “The boss came to get me because he cares about me.”
He Zhi’an laughed in exasperation. “Chubby Chenchen, are you really that lovestruck?”
Yu Chen pretended not to understand and nuzzled against He Zhen, tattling like a pampered concubine. “Your brother is picking on me.”
He Zhen’s lips curved with a smile, his light brown eyes reflecting Yu Chen’s bright grin. “I’ll help you beat him up.”
He Zhi’an panicked. “Hey—”
Had He Zhen forgotten who was the older brother?
Xiao Yu was almost knocked over by the saccharine sight of Yu Chen being so coy. He complained to Fang Jingrao, “They’re so disgustingly sweet.”
Fang Jingrao was thoroughly entertained. “This is the first time I’ve seen Zhen with that expression. He really loves chubby Chenchen.”
Xiao Yu teased, “Do you know when they first fell for each other?”
Fang Jingrao asked, “Was it right before Zhen left?”
Xiao Yu laughed at him. “Probably middle school. Out of all of us, you’re the slowest.”
“Middle school?” Fang Jingrao tried to recall slowly.
How had he not noticed at all?
The meal left He Zhi’an feeling pretty unsatisfied. All his close friends were single, so when they ate together, he never felt like the odd one out.
But today, watching how sweet Yu Chen and He Zhen were with each other, he didn’t say anything, but inside he was a mess of jealousy.
He wanted a good-looking boyfriend too.
After the meal, He Zhi’an and He Zhen washed the dishes in the kitchen, while Fang Jingrao was in charge of clearing the tableware.
Out on the terrace, Xiao Yu was benefiting from Yu Chen’s status, lounging in a rocking chair and chatting.
“Chubby Chenchen, have you used any of those little toys I gave you?”
Yu Chen didn’t dare answer, afraid that Xiao Yu would find out that last time had been a misunderstanding—that he, the idiot, had gotten it wrong.
“Come on, tell me!” Xiao Yu asked eagerly. “Were they fun?”
Yu Chen cracked sunflower seeds between his teeth. “We didn’t use them.”
“You didn’t? Why not?” Xiao Yu pressed. “Didn’t work well, or you just didn’t like them?”
Yu Chen’s face grew hot, and he stammered, “The boss said they wouldn’t work.”
He’d half-fabricated that answer, and he felt a little guilty.
“Why wouldn’t they work?” Xiao Yu’s mind drifted to those vivid little movies he’d seen. “Don’t tell me… He Zhen isn’t up to the task? Didn’t you say last time that he went at it seven or eight times?”
Yu Chen turned his head away from Xiao Yu, his face cycling through shades of red and pale. “Last time I misunderstood. I didn’t actually…”
He looked down, his ears burning red.
“You miscounted? It was actually just once?” Xiao Yu muttered to himself. “Do you think He Zhen overdid it while studying in the US and ran his body into the ground?”
“Probably something like that.” Yu Chen closed his eyes in repentance, hoping He Zhen wouldn’t blame him for passing the buck. If Xiao Yu ever found out that he’d just had an upset stomach that day, he’d probably make fun of him for the rest of his life.
Xiao Yu, ever helpful, started worrying about Yu Chen’s future sex life. “My dad’s friend is the director of a traditional Chinese medicine hospital. Do you want to take He Zhen there for a checkup? They could prescribe something to tonify his kidneys and boost his yang.”
“I’ll see when he’s free. He’s pretty busy.” Yu Chen forced a faint smile. “Thanks, Xiao Yu.”
“Don’t mention it.” Xiao Yu cracked more sunflower seeds and analyzed for him. “Kidney deficiency is a real medical condition. It needs to be treated. He Zhen is too proud. He’d probably rather suffer in silence than see a doctor. For the sake of your own enjoyment, you need to convince him.”
“Okay.” Yu Chen covered his face, red as a cooked shrimp, grateful that He Zhen hadn’t heard any of this.
Otherwise, the next little while would not be fun for him.
Outside the terrace, a tall figure quietly walked away.
After seeing Xiao Yu and the others off, Yu Chen hummed a little tune as he got ready to shower. He noticed that ever since their friends left, He Zhen had been unusually quiet, lounging on the sofa with a thoughtful look on his face, though Yu Chen couldn’t tell what he was thinking about.
Just before stepping into the bathroom, Yu Chen poked his head out. “Boss, is something on your mind?”
He Zhen looked up, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his eyes.
“No. Go take your shower first.”
Yu Chen smiled. “If something’s bothering you, don’t keep it bottled up. You can always talk to me.”
He Zhen’s fingertip rubbed slowly against his thumb, his deep eyes holding a knowing smile. “Okay. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”
“Got it.” Yu Chen trotted off happily to take his shower, congratulating himself on being such a good supportive partner.
He Zhen was lucky to have him in this lifetime.
He Zhen had two bathrooms in his house. Just as he was about to head to the other one to shower, he got an urgent call from He Heng.
It wasn’t anything major, actually. It was just that the employee evaluation plan he’d come up with a few days ago had caused strong dissatisfaction among Director Lin and the others.
The evaluation plan was extremely strict. As soon as it was implemented, it cut one-eighth of the staff at the group headquarters. And every single one of those employees was, without exception, a crony of Director Lin or Director Zhang.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the old foxes were probably gathered right now, scheming up ways to deal with him.
But since he’d put Director Zhang in charge of the foreign trade department, that should drive a wedge between Director Zhang and Director Lin. It was hard to say how much trust remained between the two of them now.
“I know. Don’t worry.”
He hung up and hurried into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, at a high-end private club called Carla in the city center, several core members of He Feng’s board of directors had gathered.
“That brat doesn’t really think those little moves of his can hurt us, does he?” Director Lin’s eyes were vicious. The humiliation he’d endured in the past two days was more than he’d experienced in his entire career at the group. “How are the preparations for the person I asked for?”
“All ready,” Director Chen said with an ingratiating smile. Then, noticing that Director Zhang wasn’t among them, he hesitated. “But this person was specially trained by Director Zhang. Should we let him know?”
Director Lin frowned. “The person is Director Zhang’s?”
Director Chen said, “Yes. A top student from a prestigious American university. Refined, cultured, can sing and dance, and has very high emotional intelligence. Most importantly, she’s beautiful.”
Director Lin hesitated for a moment. “What if she turns on us?”
He couldn’t quite figure out Director Zhang’s relationship with He Zhen at the moment. He wasn’t sure if He Zhen was deliberately driving a wedge between them, or if Director Zhang, seeing that he was at a slight disadvantage, was intentionally trying to curry favor.
The company’s sixtieth anniversary gala three months from now was their best chance to bring down He Zhen.
This honey trap strategy, though ancient and overused, was still effective.
Besides, the beauty they were sending didn’t need to win He Zhen’s heart. She just needed to lower his guard so they could use drugs to create the illusion that He Zhen had assaulted her.
Then, Director Lin would contact the media to blow the whole thing up. Even if the old man managed to get his grandson out of trouble, He Zhen would still have to resign and step down from the board first.
Public opinion wasn’t what it used to be.
People online hated nothing more than those who abused power and threw their weight around.
Director Chen had come prepared. “Unfortunately, we were all wrong about He Zhen’s sexual orientation. But I have an exclusive piece of information that can help us destroy He Zhen completely. I think you’ll be very interested.”
Director Lin frowned. “What information?”
Director Chen smiled and sipped his tea in silence.
Director Lin said, “What do you want after this is done?”
Director Chen said, “The entire overseas trade department.”
Director Lin said, “Done.”
“I heard this from the old man’s friend.” Director Chen recalled. “Half a month ago, He Zhen got injured because he came out of the closet.”
“Came out of the closet?” Director Lin’s eyes widened in shock.
“He Zhen is in love with the old man’s adopted grandson, Yu Chen. But Yu Chen likes girls and absolutely despises He Zhen. I’ve even heard that He Zhen is trying to force himself on him.”
Old Master He and the former chairman of Changqing Construction had been friends for many years, and he’d mentioned it during a chat. Director Chen only knew about this because Yang Changqing had told him.
“So what if Yu Chen is the old man’s adopted grandson? The old man didn’t even leave any shares for his own two sons. What good stuff could he possibly give Yu Chen? All these years, Yu Chen has lived under someone else’s roof in the He family. Now that He Zhen is threatening and bribing him like this, he must hate him.”
“Are you suggesting we talk to Yu Chen?”
Director Chen nodded. “If we offer him enough incentives and convince him to help us, he’s the perfect candidate. Then it won’t just be about kicking He Zhen off the board. We can ruin both the old man and He Zhen together. Destroy their reputations completely.”
Director Lin thought it over slowly. “But if Yu Chen refuses, we’ll be exposed.”
Director Chen said, “So we need a fall guy, and we need to spend some time observing Yu Chen first.”
Director Lin put down his teacup. “Handle this.”
A flash of cruelty passed through Director Chen’s eyes. “Consider it done.”
Yu Chen dried his hair and came out of the bathroom to find that the bedroom was empty.
He went to the study. Also empty.
“Boss?”
“Honey?”
“Darling?”
Yu Chen searched for a long time but couldn’t find He Zhen anywhere.
Just as he was about to call him, his feet suddenly left the ground. By the time he realized what was happening, he’d been thrown onto the bed, his hands pinned down firmly by He Zhen.
Yu Chen’s heart pounded wildly. His clear, innocent deer-like eyes held a hint of grievance. “Boss, you scared me.”
He Zhen’s deep gaze fell on Yu Chen’s slender neck, like a lion sizing up its prey—naked and dangerous.
“Boss, what are you doing?”
Yu Chen’s voice was soft, barely a whisper. He seemed to sense that something was different about He Zhen, and his voice trailed off like a mosquito’s.
He Zhen didn’t answer. His large palm cradled the back of Yu Chen’s head, and the next second, his scorching lips covered Yu Chen’s, making his breathing grow faster and faster.
Compared to before, this kiss was a bit impatient, a bit reckless—not as steady as in the past.
Yu Chen could feel He Zhen’s lips growing hotter, his body growing heavier, pinning him down completely.
Suddenly—
He Zhen pried open Yu Chen’s lips and gently sucked.
Yu Chen was overwhelmed with embarrassment. He tried to push He Zhen away, but He Zhen easily caught his hands and pinned them down again.
No one knew how long the kiss lasted.
By the time Yu Chen was nearly out of oxygen, He Zhen finally let go of his flushed, breathless face.
Yu Chen’s wet lashes trembled as he panted hot breath. “Boss, what’s wrong with you today?”
The question came out soft, like a thin feather—no threat whatsoever, and if anything, it seemed only to fan the flames.
He Zhen pressed down on him, a burning smile surging in the depths of his eyes. “I heard what you and Xiao Yu said on the terrace.”
Yu Chen’s mind went blank.
“Boss, Boss, let me explain.”
“No need to explain, baby.”
He Zhen pressed a finger to Yu Chen’s burning lips. With his other hand, he slowly and deliberately untied his own robe.
“What did you say in that conversation with Xiao Yu?”
He Zhen straightened up, looking down from above at his treasure beneath him, his breath laced with heat and quickening. “Seven or eight times, right? I’ll do my best to satisfy you tonight.”
He Zhen pulled open a drawer, slowly squeezed something new into his palm, and looked at Yu Chen with an intensity he’d never shown before.
“Chubby baby, don’t you dare say it hurts later.”
Yu Chen twisted and struggled to get away, but He Zhen easily caught him by the ankle and pinned him down again.
He Zhen’s kisses fell like raindrops once more.
Outside, unnoticed, a light rain had begun to fall.
The pattering rain weighed down the branches, and a chill swept through the city. In the latter half of the night, a storm came, drowning out Yu Chen’s pleas for mercy.
Yu Chen’s slender shoulders and neck were draped in his robe. He crawled shakily toward the edge of the bed multiple times, trying to escape, only to be dragged back each time by He Zhen’s strong arm and pinned down again.
Facing He Zhen, his moist eyes were hazy and unfocused, his expression tempting—like a feast ready to be enjoyed.
His fingers clutched tightly at the bedsheet.
Yu Chen swore that tomorrow, he was running away from home.
He Zhen was really…
Way out of line!
