Chapter 41

Chapter 41

As evening fell, guests gradually dispersed from the banquet hall.

Chen Jinsheng escorted the old patriarch back to the hotel entrance and returned control of the wheelchair to Chen Jiasheng. The old patriarch sighed wearily.

"I'm worn out, Jiasheng. Take me back."

Chen Jiasheng murmured in acknowledgment and pushed the patriarch into the hotel.

The lobby was bright as day, staff standing quietly at their stations. The wheelchair glided silently over the marble tiles, leaving two faint traces.

"Did I make a mistake?"

The patriarch stared at his own aged, withered hands resting on his lap and repeated, "Jiasheng, do you think I made a mistake back then?"

Chen Jiasheng remained silent, quietly pushing the old man forward.

"I've been grooming him to be the family head since he was a boy. He was a model student with excellent character from childhood, always put the Chen family's name and honor first, never gave me a moment's worry. So how did he end up fighting with me like this over a man?"

The patriarch murmured, "I didn't necessarily want to split them up. As long as he married a wife and had children to continue the Chen family line, I wouldn't have cared how many men he kept... I always said your father shouldn't have married that Mu woman. The child she gave him turned out just as stubborn..."

"It's been eight years, almost eight years... You're a father now. Why won't he admit he was wrong and back down, insisting on fooling around with a man..."

The old patriarch, worn out, dozed off mid-sentence. Chen Jiasheng took him back to his hotel room and called for the personal attendant to care for him.

He stepped out of the room and saw Ding Yuan holding Chen Yuanyuan waiting for him not far away. His expression softened, and he hurried over and took Chen Yuanyuan into his arms.

"Did you wait long?"

Ding Yuan tugged down Chen Yuanyuan's slightly hiked-up little suit jacket, covering his fair little tummy. "Just got here."

Chen Yuanyuan held a vibrant blue rose in his hand. Chen Jiasheng asked him, "Did our Yuanyuan have fun today? Where did you pick this flower?"

"Happy!" Chen Yuanyuan carefully touched the blue petals with his short index finger. "Didn't pick it. A pretty big brother gave it to me! He had lots and lots of them, but he only gave me one."

Chen Jiasheng played along. "Why?"

"Big brother said the rest are for someone else!"

Chen Jiasheng smiled, thinking Chen Yuanyuan had encountered a flower seller.

"What did Grandpa say to you again?" Ding Yuan asked softly.

"What else? It's always about Big Brother."

Ding Yuan hesitated, then spoke. "Does he still want big brother to come back?"

"He's just getting old and garrulous," Chen Jiasheng said. "If he could persuade big brother to come back, it would save me some worry, sparing me from dealing with those jumping beans all day. Look how happy Big Brother is now. The only difference is no kids. Otherwise, it's the same cozy domestic life—just like ours."

"Happy? But I heard Chu Heng is still tangled up with another actress."

Whatever Chen Jiasheng truly felt, Ding Yuan genuinely hoped Chen Jinsheng and Chu Heng wouldn't separate.

Today, anyone with half an eye could see the patriarch's attitude toward Chen Jinsheng. Ding Yuan couldn't help but worry. Chen Jinsheng had already been to prison, yet the old man still wouldn't give up. Between the lines, he hinted at a willingness to let Chen Jinsheng regain control of the Chen Group.

But Chu Heng was a deeply rooted thorn in the old man's heart. The reason Patriarch Chen minded so much wasn't just because the rumor of the Chen Group chairman being a homosexual would be bad for the family's image, but more so because this was the first time Chen Jinsheng had defied him since childhood. The old man felt his unshakable authority in the Chen family was challenged, and he was determined to win this battle, even in his old age.

So, as long as Chen Jinsheng remained entangled with Chu Heng for a single day, Patriarch Chen would never agree to let Chen Jinsheng return as chairman. At most, out of sentiment, he might give him a vice-chairman title. The highest position in the Chen family would forever belong to her husband.

Although she had once been acquainted with Chen Jinsheng and now called him big brother, to put it bluntly, she didn't care whether Chen Jinsheng was happy. She just hoped Chu Heng would keep Chen Jinsheng firmly tied down, never affecting her and her husband.

Her thoughts took several turns. Ding Yuan pondered and spoke. "Should I do something about the matter between Chu Heng and that actress... After all, we're practically family. I hope everyone's lives are harmonious and happy."

Chen Jiasheng hoisted Chen Yuanyuan up a bit, giving her a half-smiling glance. "Big brother sees things clearly. It's not our place to worry. Besides, it's a matter between their couple. They might not even want us meddling."

*

Chen Jinsheng's phone had run out of battery. After asking two or three attendants, he learned Chu Heng was most likely in the western ecological garden.

The setting sun cast long shadows of trees on the path. Chen Jinsheng encountered several guests strolling around the resort, all casting curious, probing glances his way. Among the guests were familiar faces; some gave him awkward smiles. Chen Jinsheng pretended not to see, passing by them with an indifferent expression.

As the sun sank in the west, the bricks and tiles in the ecological garden were bathed in a warm orange-yellow hue. Pink and red roses in the garden swayed gently in the evening breeze, like a Monet painting woven with light and shadow.

Chen Jinsheng saw a bright, dreamy bouquet of blue roses, exceptionally vivid and eye-catching amidst the garden's warm tones.

Chu Heng held the flowers with a faint smile. "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

For a moment, Chen Jinsheng couldn't find his voice. He walked to the rose bushes, to Chu Heng. "Are these for me?"

"Yes, Mr. Chen Jinsheng."

Chu Heng was still smiling, even his eyes holding a subtle warmth. He rarely smiled so softly and gently outside of acting, making him appear exceptionally tender.

He handed the large cluster of blue roses to Chen Jinsheng and took a step back under the other's gaze.

"Although it's sudden and doesn't fit my original plan, I couldn't wait any longer," he said.

Chen Jinsheng held the flowers, half his field of vision filled with cool-toned blue. He stared intently at Chu Heng, actually detecting a trace of nervousness in the other's expression.

"I thought about it. Although Wang Yelong sometimes says unpleasant things, he was right about one thing," Chu Heng said, taking a piece of paper folded into a square from his pocket and unfolding it. "You've worked so hard for the company. I can't let you keep working for free forever."

It was a share transfer agreement, stipulating the transfer of 40% of Chu Heng's company shares. Transferor: Chu Heng. Transferee: Chen Jinsheng.

A vague, indescribable sense of loss suddenly rose in Chen Jinsheng, as if some expectation had suddenly fallen flat. But he still couldn't help feeling joy. Chu Heng could leave him, but he couldn't leave his own company. With these shares, he and Chu Heng would never be separated again.

"These forty percent shares can't compare to the Chen Group, and perhaps not even to what Xiao Hongbo could give you. But, are you willing to accept them, Mr. Chen Jinsheng?"

Willing to accept them?

Why was Chu Heng asking if he was willing?

And why was he suddenly addressing him as 'Mr.'?

Chen Jinsheng looked at the thin sheet of paper. Chu Heng's signature in the bottom left corner was unexpectedly neat—not the usual flamboyant scrawl, but with clear, distinct strokes, as if each stroke was infused with utmost seriousness.

Chen Jinsheng didn't have time to think. He just looked at that signature and nodded.

"Then, Mr. Chen Jinsheng, are you willing to become my husband?"

Chen Jinsheng instinctively wanted to nod but abruptly stopped.

He opened his eyes wide, looking at Chu Heng. "Husband?"

"Yes, husband." A smile more captivating than the roses and the sunset appeared on Chu Heng's face. He bent his knee, holding up a black velvet box, opening it before Chen Jinsheng. "Every day from now on, we can go to work together, come home together, fall asleep beside each other, wake up together. We'll do household chores together, change the flowers in the vase at home together, visit Aunt Mu's grave together. Are you willing to live such a life with me?"

The ring in the square box sparkled in the lingering sunset glow. Chen Jinsheng was speechless.

Chu Heng gazed at him with loving eyes, patiently and tolerantly waiting for an answer. Chen Jinsheng suddenly felt everything had become unreal. He felt his throat move, then heard his own dry voice.

"I've... also been waiting for a long time."

He had been waiting since the day he first fell for Chu Heng, since the first day after being imprisoned, and since the first day after his release—waiting for Chu Heng's response, waiting for Chu Heng to look back at him with such eyes.

He had waited too long, until hope became a luxury, until his heart turned to cold ashes, and then until those ashes stirred back to life.

When this moment finally arrived, he felt as if he were in a dream, beginning to doubt whether everything before him was just a long dream he had while lying on that cold, hard wooden bed.

"Jinsheng, will you marry me?"

Chu Heng's voice sounded again, no longer composed but tense, yet he tried hard to soften it.

"...I do."

If this were a dream, at least let it have a perfect ending.

"...Mr. Chu Heng, will you marry me?"

Chu Heng was taken aback for a moment, then relaxed completely. "Of course."

He extended his hand, smiling like a knight gazing up at his princess. Chen Jinsheng placed his hand in Chu Heng's palm.

Chu Heng slipped the specially designed ring onto his finger. The ruby on it was as bright as a blossom and as fiery as Chen Jinsheng's love.

Chen Jinsheng turned the ring on his finger, staring down at it for a long moment before asking softly, "What about yours?"

"Here."

Chu Heng took out another small box. Inside was a ring also set with a ruby, its design strikingly similar to the other. Chen Jinsheng slowly slid it onto Chu Heng's ring finger and gazed down at it.

Suddenly, Chu Heng pinched his cheek.

Chen Jinsheng looked up at him.

"Does it hurt?"

Chen Jinsheng replied dazedly, "A little."

Chu Heng chuckled, cupped his face, and kissed him. "If it hurts, it's not a dream, my silly boss."

He stroked Chen Jinsheng's face and sighed softly. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long."

He had originally planned to wait until everything settled down before giving Chen Jinsheng a future worth looking forward to. But now, thinking about it, perhaps making a promise early was what Chen Jinsheng wanted most at this moment.

He should have admitted his feelings long ago, instead of constantly avoiding and delaying like a coward.

"Jinsheng," he called his name, tenderly, as if it had lingered on his tongue a thousand times before being softly uttered, "believe me..."

The remaining words were lost as their lips met.

The enchanting, dreamlike blue roses fell to the ground, unheeded. Chen Jinsheng wrapped his arms around Chu Heng's waist, scooped him up, and pressed him against the wall behind them, and kissed him.

After a momentary sense of weightlessness, Chu Heng reacted, his soft laughter fading into Chen Jinsheng's fervent kiss. He closed his eyes, hooked his arms around Chen Jinsheng's lean, strong waist, and let his hands trace the sharp line of his jaw, moving to his temples, behind his ears, and finally resting on his shoulders and the nape of his neck, responding intently to the kiss.