Chapter 27

Chapter 27

On New Year's Eve, Chu Heng's performance went off without a hitch.

After his final bow, Chu Heng slipped offstage. While everyone's attention was focused on the host's banter, Chu Heng felt a gaze fixed on his back, following him like a shadow. He paused and looked back, locking eyes with Chen Jiasheng in the second row of the audience.

Chen Jiasheng gazed at him impassively. Even as Chu Heng stepped into the shadow of the stage curtain, he could still feel that gaze stuck to him, unwavering.

Chu Heng frowned slightly, a sudden wave of unease washing over him.

This unease lingered even after he got into the car to go home. He stared distractedly out the window, uncharacteristically quiet. The others assumed he was tired and, to give him some quiet, remained silent.

"Put on the radio," Chu Heng suddenly spoke up in the quiet.

Old Ding did as he was told.

The car radio was also broadcasting a New Year's special. The hosts were running through a recap of the year's major national events, and after a while, they began airing the Spring Festival Gala. The dim, quiet car interior was instantly filled with festive sounds.

Amid the cheerful background noise, Old Ding dropped Little Mei off at her place.

After getting out, Little Mei leaned down and spoke to Chu Heng through the car window, "Boss, Happy New Year."

Chu Heng smiled faintly, "Happy New Year."

Little Mei also wished Chen Jinsheng and Old Ding a Happy New Year before turning and entering the apartment complex.

The car started again, merging onto the bustling road.

The green belts on both sides of the street streamed by. Suddenly, a burst of vibrant color flashed past the car window.

A few seconds later, Chu Heng said, "Stop the car."

Old Ding was an excellent driver; he never questioned the boss's sudden decisions. So, upon hearing this, he immediately found a temporary parking spot.

Once the car was parked, Chu Heng opened the door. He was halfway out when he remembered something and said to Chen Jinsheng, "Wait for me in the car." Then he got out. From the rearview mirror, one could see him walking back the way they came, soon rounding a corner.

Chu Heng wasn't even wearing a mask. Thinking he would return quickly, Chen Jinsheng didn't follow. But after about half an hour, Chu Heng still hadn't come back.

Chen Jinsheng frowned slightly, glanced at his watch, and saw the minute hand was nearing midnight. He didn't hesitate any longer and prepared to get out and look for Chu Heng.

The moment he pulled open the car door, the celebratory sounds from the car radio reached a crescendo.

"Dear audience, as the old year draws to a close and the new year approaches, in this moment of nationwide celebration and family joy, let us count down together, bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new—"

"Ten, nine, eight..."

Amid the countdown, a bright red rose came into Chen Jinsheng's view.

The rose's tender green stem was held by a fair, slender hand, half-concealing the delicate buttons of a formal suit behind it.

Chen Jinsheng froze, looking up to meet Chu Heng's slightly surprised face.

Chu Heng quickly caught on and smiled at him, "For you."

The bright red rose was offered to Chen Jinsheng.

*Click.*

The hour, minute, and second hands on the watch dial met at that moment.

The countdown on the radio also reached its end.

"...Two, one."

"Happy New Year!"

For a moment, Chen Jinsheng was dazed.

Chu Heng waved the rose in front of him, "What, don't you like it?"

"...No," Chen Jinsheng took the rose, "Thank you."

Old Ding in the driver's seat kept his eyes down, pretending to be blind.

However, the noticeably increased speed betrayed his inner shock.

The other two in the car pretended not to notice.

Thanks to Old Ding, the originally half-hour journey was cut in half.

The first thing Chu Heng did upon arriving home was change clothes and wash off his stage makeup. After coming out of the bathroom, just as he was about to get his pajamas for a shower, he saw Chen Jinsheng take the bouquet of white bellflowers from the living room, looking like he was going to toss them in the trash.

"What are you doing?" Chu Heng asked him.

"There's only the one vase," Chen Jinsheng said.

The original vase now held the single rose. The red rose and the white bellflowers clashed. To let the rose live longer, the bellflowers naturally had to make room.

Chu Heng gave him a strange look, "Just put them together."

It wasn't like he was creating an arrangement.

After saying that, he headed to his room. Chen Jinsheng stood there for a moment, then suddenly shook his head with a laugh. He put the bellflowers back in their place, removed the plastic wrapping from the rose, and inserted it into the same vase.

By the time he finished his shower and tidied up the clothes they had changed out of, Chu Heng was already tucked into bed.

Only a bedside lamp was on in the bedroom. Chu Heng leaned against the headboard playing on his phone, with game notification sounds constantly popping up. Chen Jinsheng walked over and glanced, finding him playing Snake again.

He lifted the covers and sat on the other side, patiently waiting for Chu Heng to finish his round before handing him the file in his hand.

"What's this?"

Chu Heng casually flipped it open, scanned a few lines, and his eyes lit up.

Chen Jinsheng had actually written a new business plan.

He thought Chen Jinsheng had forgotten about it after not mentioning it for so many days. After all, in Chen Jinsheng's eyes, him starting a company was probably just child's play, at most warranting some feedback on the original version.

He never expected Chen Jinsheng to write one himself.

Even Chu Heng, as an outsider, could see that the feasibility and profitability of this plan were a world better than the one his employees had spent two weeks producing.

Thrilled, he wrapped his arms around Chen Jinsheng's neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for all your hard work!"

Chen Jinsheng stiffened slightly.

He was actually quite afraid Chu Heng would initiate sex at that moment. Fortunately, Chu Heng didn't. He just pored over the business plan until his eyelids grew heavy, reluctantly putting it down to sleep.

Chen Jinsheng turned off the bedside lamp, brushed the hair from his forehead, and said softly, “Go to sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

*

The premiere of *Blue Mane* was scheduled for the first day of the Lunar New Year.

It was also on the morning of New Year’s Day that Chen Jinsheng saw the now-viral video.

In the video, Chu Heng stood in front of a flower stall, looking intently down at several potted plants on the ground. After a long while, he picked up a rose, inspected it, then put it back and pulled out another. Still not satisfied, he returned that one too. After picking and choosing three or four times, he finally settled on one and handed it to the girl at the stall.

“Just this one, please wrap it up for me. Thank you.”

The girl stared at him, dazed, and asked quietly, “Are you… are you Chu Heng?”

Chu Heng gave a faint smile and nodded. “How much?”

“Ah… ten yuan each.”

Dazzled by his smile, the girl blushed and lowered her head to start wrapping the flower. After Chu Heng paid and took the rose, she asked softly, “Could I get an autograph?”

“I can, but…” Chu Heng seemed to be in an unusually cheerful mood—a stark contrast to his earlier gloominess in the car—“I don’t have a pen with me.”

The girl exclaimed, “Ah… I don’t have one either.”

“I do! I have one!” A girl with long, straight black hair nearby chimed in.

She was holding a boy’s arm—they appeared to be a couple. The boy held a bouquet in his other hand, its wrapping paper identical to the one Chu Heng held, suggesting they had just bought flowers themselves.

She turned back excitedly and said to Chu Heng, “I’d like an autograph too—would that be okay?”

Chu Heng agreed to both requests. On New Year’s Eve, most people were at home with their families, staying up for the New Year’s countdown, so the streets weren’t crowded—but there were still some people out for a stroll.

Soon, a small crowd had gathered around Chu Heng. Fortunately, everyone remained polite: taking photos or asking for autographs, with no pushing or commotion.

Throughout, Chu Heng carefully shielded the flower in his hand from damage. After a while, he glanced toward the clock tower visible in the background of the video and said, “Sorry, I’m running late. I need to go.”

Encouraged by his approachable demeanor, someone in the crowd boldly teased, “What’s the rush? Delivering flowers?”

Chu Heng smiled. “Perhaps.”

Seizing the moment when everyone was momentarily stunned by his reply, Chu Heng slipped out of the circle and soon disappeared from the video. The camera shook a few times, as if the person filming was trying—and failing—to spot Chu Heng in the surroundings. The video ended there.

The clip had been posted by a netizen and had already amassed thousands of likes and comments.

Chen Jinsheng scrolled down.

“??? Is Chu Heng in a relationship?”

“Otherwise? Who buys a single red rose for no reason…”

“So who is it??!! Where are the paparazzi? Why are they missing now?”

“Well, well—the sun rises in the west. Chu Heng has finally dropped his ‘forever single’ image, huh.”

“Chen Jinsheng… Chen Jinsheng?”

Chen Jinsheng instinctively switched off his phone.

Chu Heng, wearing a hat and mask and having changed his shoes, was waiting for him at the entrance. “What are you spacing out for? Let’s go.”

They arrived at the *Blue Mane* premiere venue just in time. Shortly after they settled into their seats, the film began.

This wasn’t the first time Chen Jinsheng had watched Chu Heng on screen. On screen, Chu Heng seemed even more distant and unapproachable than in real life. He portrayed the character brilliantly—appearing worlds apart from his true self.

When his character drove alone into the Gobi Desert, when he leapt off a barren cliff, when he was shot dead by the male and female leads—Chen Jinsheng found himself holding his breath each time.

The character was brave, daring, adventurous, and cunning. But Chu Heng was not.

Chen Jinsheng admired such qualities—but he preferred Chu Heng. This preference didn’t stem from any particular trait of Chu Heng’s; even though Chu Heng had changed significantly, Chen Jinsheng still felt irresistibly drawn to him.

The lights came up.

It wasn’t until the theater lights brightened that Chen Jinsheng realized the film had ended.

Chu Heng and the film crew stepped onto the stage.

He heard a soft sigh from the seat beside him—as if someone were relieved the film was over. She turned her head, her eyes still glistening with tears from watching the movie, and asked Chen Jinsheng gently, “Did you like it?”

Chen Jinsheng nodded slightly.

The corners of He Mingshuang’s mouth lifted in a faint smile. “I think so too. Chu Heng acted very well, didn’t he?”

She wore light makeup today. When she mentioned Chu Heng, her eyes unconsciously lit up—but the expression faded just as quickly.

“That rose he bought… it was for you, wasn’t it?”

Chen Jinsheng frowned slightly and gave a faint, indifferent nod—not wanting to discuss it further.

He Mingshuang seemed not to notice his reluctance and continued, “I rarely see him buy flowers so happily. He’s a pragmatist—he hardly even celebrates his own birthday.”

Chen Jinsheng couldn’t be bothered to decipher her intentions. He only needed to know the flower had been bought for him.

He Mingshuang gradually fell silent, sitting quietly in her seat, almost blending into the background.

On stage, Qu Chuan was answering audience questions. Chu Heng stood to his left, occasionally chiming in.

Chen Jinsheng watched him—his expression focused in a way he himself didn’t realize.

Soon, it was time for the audience interaction segment. Several main cast members would randomly select a few audience members to come onstage for a short game.

“I’d like to participate too. Is that okay?”

Amid the eager volunteers, Chen Jinsheng heard the woman beside him say this.

Almost no one in the venue could ignore her—but those onstage didn’t immediately agree. Instead, they all cast teasing glances toward Chu Heng.

Chu Heng looked over. His gaze swept past Chen Jinsheng briefly before settling on He Mingshuang’s face. He nodded.

A smile spread across He Mingshuang’s face as she happily went onstage.

As a long-established actress, He Mingshuang received special treatment and was allowed to choose a lucky audience member to join the onstage interaction.

The short game began quickly, and the atmosphere in the theater grew lively.

Chen Jinsheng felt out of place.

Yet his eyes remained fixed on Chu Heng.

Suddenly, he caught a glint of silver flashing from the sleeve of one of the lucky audience members.

Chen Jinsheng’s expression changed. Before his mind could fully process it, his body had already instinctively rushed forward.

But he wasn't quite fast enough.

The silver dagger slid out from the man's sleeve, shooting toward Chu Heng's face at an unexpected speed. Everyone froze, stunned by the sudden attack.

Clutching the weapon, the man lunged straight at Chu Heng. Chu Heng's expression changed as he took a few steps back, but He Mingshuang, clinging to his arm in fear, blocked his retreat.

After a brief silence, screams erupted throughout the theater.

Chen Jinsheng finally rushed to Chu Heng's side, but all he could do was throw his arm up in front of Chu Heng, blocking the sharp blade that was inches away.

*Shhhk.*

The sound of the blade tearing through flesh was drowned out by the screams.

Blood splattered onto Chu Heng's face. He froze for a moment, then his expression turned icy cold. Grabbing Chen Jinsheng's wrist, he sent the knife-wielding man flying with a kick.

The man was kicked off the raised area, crashing into a row of theater seats and startling the audience in the second row, who scrambled to get away.

"Stop screaming!" Chu Heng roared, shaking off whoever was holding him. He strode over to the man, kicked the dagger out of his hand, grabbed him by the collar, and punched him hard in the temple, knocking him unconscious.

Those who had been about to step in to help were stunned, staring at him in disbelief.

Chu Heng managed to regain a shred of composure. He took off his formal suit jacket, twisted it into a makeshift rope, and tied the man's hands behind his back. Without pausing, he walked quickly toward Chen Jinsheng, swiftly removing his white dress shirt and wrapping it around Chen Jinsheng's bloodied, torn arm.

Everything happened too fast—from the sudden attack to the man being knocked out, it had only taken a few minutes. The theater fell into a dead silence, broken only by Chu Heng's slow, deliberate words:

"Call the police. Call an ambulance."

The blade must have severed a blood vessel. Blood gushed from the tall, well-built man's arm, soaking the crumpled white shirt and seeping through the fingers pressed tightly against the wound, dripping steadily onto the smooth floor.

"Call them!" Chu Heng practically shouted.

Chen Jinsheng raised his other hand and gently wiped the blood from Chu Heng's face with the back of his fingers.