Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Whatever is between Chen Jinsheng and me—be it love or hate, gratitude or grievance—is a matter solely between him and me. President Xiao, Director Xiao, what gives you the right to say these things to me?"

Chu Heng's tone was no longer playful; the ever-present air of nonchalance around him had vanished completely, replaced by a deep, steady mellow depth akin to aged wine, making it easy to recognize him as a mature man long steeped in the world of fame and fortune.

Even with disheveled hair, wearing a shirt wrinkled from sleep, standing in soaked cotton slippers beside a puddle of spilled water, he still possessed considerable charm.

For a moment, even Xiao Hongbo found it difficult to judge whether this man's malicious intentions were surfacing again or if he truly still harbored lingering feelings for Chen Jinsheng. He looked at him in surprise, his brow involuntarily furrowing.

"I am his friend."

"Friend?" Chu Heng let out a derisive snort. "You didn't go to see him in these past seven years either, did you? Let me guess. Was it because the old patriarch of the Chen family put out the word back then, forbidding any of you from helping him, or risk opposing the Chen family? Later, when you took over the Xiao family business and the old Chen patriarch stepped down, you still didn't visit him.

"President Xiao, didn't you also compromise for the sake of profit, abandoning past bonds? When it comes down to it, there's no fundamental difference between you and me. You stand there now, pointing fingers at me from your high horse, all just to ease your own so-called conscience."

Xiao Hongbo's eyelid twitched, his expression finally losing its usual composure and calm.

What was the Chen family's status in the business world? With a little behind-the-scenes manipulation, they could make a company with a once-booming business go bankrupt due to 'poor management.' His Xiao family frequently had business dealings with the Chen family, and moreover, the Chen family also had members involved in politics. He couldn't afford the consequences of opposing them.

Xiao Hongbo's face changed color several times before he finally said, "Yes, I feel guilty. But what about you? Can you really be at peace with yourself? Don't forget who is the root cause of all this. If it weren't for you, how could he have..."

He didn't continue, because Chu Heng started laughing, as if he had heard something extremely funny. He laughed louder and louder, doubled over for a good while before straightening up, wiping away the tears from laughing from the corner of his eye, and said, "What Chen Jinsheng and I had back then was consensual. He paid, I sold my body—a common transaction in the entertainment industry. How does that make me the villain in President Xiao's mouth?"

The implication in these words was incredibly demeaning, making even Xiao Hongbo, who was accustomed to all walks of life, turn pale with anger.

"Chu Heng!" he snapped. "You know perfectly well he liked you!"

How could you insult him like this? Insult his feelings, even compare him to the most low-class john.

"Liking? How much is 'liking' worth?" Chu Heng mocked lightly, that arrogant, disdainful-for-everything expression reappearing on his face. "Things like 'liking' are only treasured by adolescent boys and girls, the kind they'd live and die for."

Xiao Hongbo's fist clenched until his knuckles creaked. "If he hadn't liked you, what made you think you deserved to get all those assets and top-tier resources from him?"

"By what's written in black and white," Chu Heng said coldly. "The contract spelled it out clearly. Those things were what I deserved."

"Bastard!" Xiao Hongbo could no longer contain his rage. He rushed forward and landed a hard punch at Chu Heng's face, then grabbed the doubled-over Chu Heng and punched him in the stomach.

Chu Heng grunted, knocking over the water kettle and glasses behind him. The room was instantly filled with a clattering din. Amidst this chaotic noise, Xiao Hongbo furiously grabbed Chu Heng's collar. "Do you have any idea..."

His words were cut off by the sudden sound of the door being pushed open. A cold wind rushed in, also cooling the blood that had rushed to Xiao Hongbo's head.

He turned around and saw his old friend he hadn't seen in years standing at the door of the small lounge, wearing a mask, calmly watching them. His little nephew, mostly hidden behind the old friend, stared at them wide-eyed, a phone still held to his ear, not yet put down.

"Un... Uncle, I booked a private room. It's your favorite Jiangnan cuisine. I... we should go eat."

Bai Leyao stammered through finishing what he had originally intended to say. None of the three people present paid him any attention.

The sweet female voice on the other end of the phone was still confirming the evening's menu with him. "...Lotus Drunken Crab, Osmanthus Honey Lotus Root, Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, Fermented Glutinous Rice Four Delights. Sir, is serving at six o'clock sharp okay? Sir? Sir?"

"Ah, yes... ah no, we'll decide when we get there," Bai Leyao replied hastily and hung up. He looked left and right; people had already noticed the commotion from their direction, casting subtle, inquisitive glances.

Steeling himself, he said, "Brother Chen, maybe we should go in first."

After the door closed, the atmosphere inside the room grew even more silent and oppressive.

Chen Jinsheng took off his mask and placed the food he had been carrying onto the coffee table.

Xiao Hongbo's hand, which had been clutching Chu Heng's collar, had slackened without his realizing it. He just stared fixedly at Chen Jinsheng. Bai Leyao noticed that his usually decisive and composed uncle's face actually wore a completely blank expression. Then, his lips trembled slightly, his pupils contracted, and he instinctively took a small step toward the coffee table but quickly stopped.

This man, who would be forty in a few years, when looking at Chen Jinsheng, actually had an expression like a greenhorn, looking utterly flustered and awkward. His lips moved soundlessly for a moment before he finally uttered a single word: "Brother..."

Brother?!

Bai Leyao drew in a sharp breath and suddenly turned his head to look at Chen Jinsheng.

How did he not know he had another uncle?

From beginning to end, Chen Jinsheng's emotions showed little change. Even upon hearing Xiao Hongbo's 'Brother,' laden with complex feelings, his brow didn't even twitch. He just responded with a faint "En." "Long time no see."

Bai Leyao remembered when he first saw this man. He stood motionless at the door, like an ancient tree with fallen leaves and broken branches, its bark covered in cracks and scars. Even if a gale howled past, no branches or leaves would sway; even in the warm spring of all things reviving, no new buds would sprout.

He suddenly recalled a time when Xiao Hongbo was dead drunk, muttering incoherently, seemingly calling out 'Brother.' Thinking himself discreet, he carefully observed Chen Jinsheng and finally noticed a slight change in his expression.

Following his gaze, he saw Chu Heng leaning indifferently to the side, as if watching a play unfold. Noticing Chen Jinsheng's gaze, he lowered his eyes, offering no response.

The air in the room was nearly solid.

After a long while, Bai Leyao swallowed and spoke up to break the silence: "Uncle, the food's getting cold. Should we... go eat first?"

This call pulled Xiao Hongbo back from his distant thoughts. He wiped his face. "Let's go." After saying this, he took a few steps toward the door but stopped, turning to Chen Jinsheng. "Brother, come with us."

Chen Jinsheng didn't speak, just looked at Chu Heng.

Xiao Hongbo's expression changed slightly, but in the end, he said nothing more. However, he stood still, making it clear he was waiting for Chen Jinsheng's answer.

Bai Leyao felt he was about to suffocate and cast a pleading look at Chu Heng.

Chu Heng looked at the neatly packed food on the coffee table. A layer of frost had formed on the surface of the transparent plastic bag, now melting into droplets of water in the warm room.

After a long pause, he tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Since President Xiao extends such a warm invitation, it would be impolite of us to decline."

Braised Yellow Croaker with Rice Cakes, Oil-Braised Prawns, Lotus Drunken Crab... one exquisite dish after another was brought out, each one mouthwatering. Yet, as the waitstaff withdrew from the private room, no one at the table picked up their chopsticks.

*

Bai Leyao forced a few dry laughs. "Uncle, Chu Heng... Uncle Chu, Big Uncle... ah no, Uncle Chen, eat! If we don't, the food will get cold."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

*Tap.*

A very faint sound rang out.

It was the sound of chopstick tips lightly tapping against a porcelain bowl.

Chu Heng aligned his chopsticks and, under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, calmly picked up a piece of pork rib. In the past, in such a situation, he would have teasingly asked why everyone was looking at him. But now he had no such inclination, simply savoring the taste in his mouth.

Jiangnan cuisine, though a few dishes were overly sweet, was still quite nice to have occasionally.

Bai Leyao breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his chopsticks, and placed a large piece of yellow croaker into Xiao Hongbo's bowl. "Uncle, eat."

Chu Heng glanced over and, in passing, picked up a prawn for Chen Jinsheng. "You eat too. Don't just stand there."

All four began to eat, and the previously tense atmosphere seemed to melt away like ice.

"Brother, let me propose a toast to you." Halfway through the meal, the ever-silent Xiao Hongbo finally spoke.

He raised his glass with a solemn expression, the clear liquor inside refracting a pure luster under the warm overhead light. Bai Leyao unconsciously slowed his eating pace, his intuition telling him the significance of this pricey drink went far beyond its cost.

He secretly glanced at the man his uncle had called "brother"—also the mysterious assistant of Chu Heng, whom he was finally seeing face-to-face today.

The man had hard-edged features, a high nose bridge, and deep, clear eyes. Such looks should have been paired with an imposing, sharp aura, yet on the contrary, his brows and eyes were gentle, and his demeanor was calm and steady.

Looking at the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, Bai Leyao suddenly found a very fitting word to describe the uncle he had never met before.

He had a story.

If his uncle's life were made into a movie, it'd probably be a hell of a movie.

Bai Leyao didn't zone out for long, because soon Chen Jinsheng filled his own glass and clinked glasses with Xiao Hongbo.

Xiao Hongbo was stunned for a second, both surprised and delighted, while a profound sense of regret washed over him. Chen Jinsheng had changed so much, like a lion turning into a weary old wolf. If, over these seven years, he hadn't held back from helping out of concern for the Chen family, perhaps Chen Jinsheng wouldn't have become so unrecognizable.

He had inquired about the South Suburb Prison in W City and had even passed by its gates without entering. The guards there didn't treat prisoners as human beings but as puppets or objects to be controlled. Prisoners had to wake up, work, eat, and bathe at fixed times every day, down to the second.

Day after day, a person would become like a wound-up robot. But as long as they were human, it was impossible to keep it up perfectly. So whenever they found a loophole, the prisoners would pick fights, stir up trouble, and brawl. When discovered, the guards would tighten their supervision and enforce an even stricter, yet monotonous, schedule to discipline them.

In that brief second, Xiao Hongbo thought of many things, but ultimately, all his emotions were compressed into relief.

It was all in the past.

Chen Jinsheng was in his right mind and in good shape, and could soon start a new life.

And he… didn’t blame him either.

He downed the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp, then toasted Chen Jinsheng twice more. By the fourth glass, Chen Jinsheng set down his cup and shook his head. "I can’t handle anymore."

Xiao Hongbo was taken aback. "I remember you had a great tolerance."

Chen Jinsheng picked up a few shrimp to peel. "It’s been a long time since I drank."

He peeled the shrimp quickly, and the meat came out intact and clean. Xiao Hongbo watched as he dipped the shrimp in vinegar and placed it in Chu Heng’s bowl. The latter didn’t even look up, offering no thanks, and finished it in a few bites.

In just the past ten minutes or so, all the crab Chen Jinsheng had peeled, the shrimp he had shelled, and the deboned fish had ended up in Chu Heng’s stomach.

Wasn’t Chu Heng filming? Shouldn’t he be watching his weight? How could he eat so much?

Look at his own nephew, eating with such restraint, as if afraid of gaining even the slightest bit of weight by tomorrow morning.

Xiao Hongbo was speechless for a few seconds. "I’m going to the restroom."