Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The next morning, Chu Heng called an emergency meeting as soon as he arrived at the company.

"From now on, Mr. Chen is your deputy general manager. Everyone, get to know him. Knock it off with the 'Brother Chen' stuff."

It was the transitional season between spring and summer, and people who ran warm had already started wearing short sleeves. Yet, Chu Heng had buttoned his shirt all the way up to just below his Adam's apple. The ruby on his ring finger glinted softly under the office lights, as if he was afraid no one would notice it.

Everyone listened to Chu Heng's work arrangements, but their gazes couldn't help drifting toward the other matching ruby in the room.

Someone couldn't resist teasing, "Boss, if we don't call him 'Brother Chen,' should we call him 'Mr. Chen' or 'the boss's wife'?"

"Get lost," Chu Heng scolded with a laugh, glancing at Chen Jinsheng before clearing his throat. "During work hours, it's 'Mr. Chen.'"

"Oh~~~" the crowd chorused in a drawn-out tease. "So, outside work hours, can we call him 'the boss's wife' then?"

It was all good-natured ribbing. Chu Heng imagined the scene of Chen Jinsheng working seriously while a group of people chattered away calling him "the boss's wife" and couldn't help but want to laugh. Chen Jinsheng remained sitting there with a straight face, as if the person being publicly teased wasn't him.

"Ask your Mr. Chen," Chu Heng said, his inner contentment plain on his face—beaming, his eyes crinkled with a smile. Looking at Chen Jinsheng again, although he was as composed and taciturn as usual, there was unmistakable warmth in his eyes.

The old employees knew exactly what was going on and launched into another round of teasing and banter.

Jing Jing nudged Wang Yelong, who was sitting beside her with an inscrutable expression, and whispered, "Their progress is this fast? A whirlwind marriage?"

In less than a year, they were already wearing matching rings.

"Yep."

Jing Jing blinked. "How come you don't seem surprised at all?"

"Why should I be?"

Yesterday, he was the one who helped print the equity transfer agreement, helped deliver the flowers, helped pick up the custom-made rings, and helped keep watch at the garden gate. The only thing he didn't do was go in to officiate the wedding and set off fireworks to celebrate.

"Just wait for the wedding candies," Wang Yelong said with a calm expression, playing it cool.

"What do you mean? Are they planning a wedding ceremony? Given our boss's profession, that doesn't seem very appropriate, does it?"

"Go abroad and have a private one."

The meeting room was buzzing. Chu Heng cleared his throat, said sternly they should continue the meeting, and only then did everyone quiet down. Seeing this, Jing Jing couldn't continue whispering with Wang Yelong and sat up straight to look at the projection screen.

There had been quite a few personnel changes in the company recently—new hires, old promotions—all requiring formal introductions to facilitate future work handovers. The biggest change was in equity. Originally, Chu Heng held seventy percent, while Wang Yelong and Jing Jing shared thirty. Now, Chu Heng had given away half of his shares for free, bringing in a major new shareholder out of thin air. Of course, the employees were buzzing with discussion.

But firstly, Chen Jinsheng's character and abilities were witnessed by the old employees. They had worked together recently, fostering some rapport and camaraderie. As for the new employees, they weren't in a position to question it. Secondly, people are always more interested in gossip than anything else. The moment those two obviously expensive rubies appeared, they stole the spotlight, throwing everyone off topic.

Jing Jing tsk-ed in amusement, thinking she really should just wait for the wedding candies as Wang Yelong said.

She wasn't worried about new employees blabbing online, as they had all signed confidentiality agreements. Still, a word of warning was in order, especially for the new artists.

She multitasked, jotting down meeting points while mulling over her next steps. Half an hour later, when Chu Heng wrapped up the meeting, she closed her notebook and followed the crowd out of the conference room, not paying attention as someone bumped into her.

Her notebook almost slipped from her hand. Jing Jing frowned and lightly scolded, "Xiao Meng, what are you doing? I didn't see you paying attention during the meeting, and now you're spacing out while walking?"

Meng Hui seemed to snap back to reality, stammering an apology, "Sorry, Sister Jing Jing, I didn't mean to."

Jing Jing's frown deepened. "I know you've been on break for a while, but you need to get back into work mode quickly, especially now that the whole company is busy. Since you're shadowing Brother Chu on set, you need to be even more attentive. Don't go around in a daze all day."

Compared to others in the company, Jing Jing neither disliked nor particularly liked Meng Hui. The young man was decent, but from the start, he had made it clear he came to their company to become a producer. Wasn't that just using their company as a stepping stone?

Jing Jing had worked with Wang Yelong since she was young. Later, when Wang Yelong had a falling out with his former employer and started his own business, she followed him out. However, she never managed to land any good artists and scraped by until she met Chu Heng.

The three down-on-their-luck amateurs hit it off immediately, plunging headfirst into the entertainment industry. At first, they could only rely on Chu Heng funding roles himself to get work. The three of them had been through the wringer together. Therefore, Jing Jing valued Chu Heng and the company's success almost as much as Chu Heng himself.

Naturally, she didn't like people who used Chu Heng and the company as stepping stones.

"Yes, I know. Thank you for the reminder, Sister Jing Jing," Meng Hui said.

He always had this unyielding yet not confrontational attitude, effectively shutting people up. Jing Jing was exasperated. Just then, someone called Meng Hui from behind, so she walked past him and out.

"Meng Hui, come here." After calling him, Chu Heng turned to Chen Jinsheng. "Go check out the new office first. I'll come find you later."

Chen Jinsheng nodded, reached out to adjust Chu Heng's shirt collar, pulling it up a bit, then picked up their cups and stood up to head for the door. The hallway was narrow. He turned slightly sideways, brushing past another person without noticing who it was, and left the conference room directly.

Meng Hui's steps faltered slightly. He clenched his teeth tightly to keep his roiling emotions from showing, lowered his head, and walked up to Chu Heng. "Brother Chu, you wanted me."

Chu Heng was reading a document. Hearing this, he hummed in acknowledgment and tossed the file onto the table. "Come with me to the set tomorrow. Binchuan City, T Province. Old Ding has already bought the tickets. The contact information for the crew's liaison is in there. Go pack, and head straight to the airport tomorrow."

Chu Heng's neck was long and slender, with smooth, distinct curves. Even though his collar was buttoned tightly, it couldn't cling perfectly to his skin with movement. Meng Hui immediately saw the top half of a bite mark and the faint red marks peeking from the collar gap.

He averted his gaze a beat too late, picked up the file, but was then drawn to the ring on Chu Heng's left ring finger.

His hand tightened instantly, gripping the file. In a tone devoid of emotion, he said, "Brother Chu, aren't you going to rest a few more days?" He forced a smile. "Not spending a few more days with Mr. Chen?"

Chu Heng looked up at him, seeming about to speak when he was interrupted by a sudden ringtone.

The ringtone came from Chu Heng's phone, which was face-down on the table due to the meeting. Chu Heng flipped it over, glanced at it, then turned it face-down again, waving his hand. "You can go now."

His movements were quick, but Meng Hui, who had been staring intently, still saw clearly that the caller was He Mingshuang.

And it was a video call.

Remembering what he had just heard Chu Heng say to Chen Jinsheng, a flash of contempt crossed Meng Hui's eyes. He quickly lowered his gaze, took the file, and exited the conference room.

"Close the door."

Everyone else had already left. Meng Hui acknowledged and pulled the door handle, glancing inside just as the door was about to shut completely.

Chu Heng had answered the call. He Mingshuang's beautiful face appeared on the screen, along with the delicate face of a child.

That child called out to Chu Heng:

"Uncle Chu."

The contempt in Meng Hui's eyes deepened.

What big star? What film emperor? Just a scumbag who swings both ways and plays both sides.

He closed the door and quickly left the company.

As the elevator descended, he made a phone call.

The elevator doors reflected a pair of cold, venomous eyes.

"Hey, I saw something interesting related to your wife and kid, and also—"

"Chu Heng."

*

"Going to another set again?"

"Can't be helped, the contract's already signed." Chu Heng kissed Chen Jinsheng's chin—he was fond of that spot—"Cut me some slack? I'm entrusting the company to you, hmm?"

Chen Jinsheng looked at him helplessly. "Take good care of yourself."

After exchanging rings, Chu Heng's attitude toward him had subtly changed. He became more affectionate, hugging and kissing him more often. Sometimes his tone softened too—cool and detached, yet the trailing notes carried a hint of a whine. Chen Jinsheng couldn't resist this version of Chu Heng and ended up indulging him in everything.

But he never expected that this indulgence would lead to trouble.

Chu Heng was filming a movie this time. For the first half-month on set, everything went smoothly: heading out in the morning, wrapping up in the evening, and video-calling Chen Jinsheng before bed. Chen Jinsheng was almost getting used to this rhythm when the nightly calls suddenly stopped.

It was already past midnight, and his phone remained silent. An unease suddenly rose in Chen Jinsheng's heart. He forced himself to suppress this baseless feeling, turned off the bedside lamp, and prepared to sleep.

Then the phone rang as if sounding an alarm.

It wasn't Chu Heng's personal ringtone.

That unease instantly spread. Chen Jinsheng answered the call, and a chaotic jumble of sounds abruptly flooded in, piercing his eardrums.

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen, it's an emergency! You need to come quick!" Little Mei's panicked, terrified cry came through simultaneously. "Boss... Boss was stabbed, he's bleeding so much, you have to come, waa..."

Chen Jinsheng felt a boom, as if a bomb had detonated directly in his brain, instantly blanking his thoughts.

He threw off the covers and bolted out of bed, rushing toward the door. In the dark, he collided with something—the usually sparse, ordinary furniture now became obstacles blocking his way. The faint sound of an ambulance siren from the phone kept amplifying in the quiet space, like hundreds of needles piercing his brain.

Little Mei's frantic sobs mixed with the background noise of a dispersing crowd, like a tragic farce destined to end in death.

Bang—!

Chen Jinsheng crashed into the living room table. The vase he usually cherished shattered on the floor, flowers scattered, and the water inside spread in rivulets, flowing under Chen Jinsheng's bare feet.

Chen Jinsheng stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and spoke: "Little Mei."

Little Mei kept sobbing.

"Little Mei!" Chen Jinsheng raised his voice sharply.

"B-Brother Chen."

"Calm down. How is Chu Heng now? Is he conscious or unconscious? Where is he injured? Is there a doctor with him?"

"I... I don't know. Boss was carried into the ambulance. Only one person could go with him, so Old Ding went. I'm getting a ride with the crew now. I heard Boss calling your name, Brother Chen. When will you get here? We're at Xiaming Street, Taihang District, Binchuan City, T Province..."

Little Mei's words were jumbled. Chen Jinsheng quickly checked the route and flight tickets—the earliest flight departed at six. He pulled on his shoes, grabbed a charger and car keys. "Alright, you go to the hospital first. Confirm Chu Heng's condition and report to me in real time. I'm on my way."

The elevator was taking forever. He took the emergency stairs. The empty staircase echoed with the thudding of footsteps and rapid panting. "Now tell me, what exactly happened?"

"I don't know..." Car engine sounds came from the other end. Little Mei's panicked crying turned into hiccups. "Boss had a stabbing scene today. We were supposed to wrap up after filming, but somehow that prop dagger suddenly became real. Then later, a man rushed up and stabbed Boss with a knife. Boss kicked him away, but then he started bleeding so, so much..."

Chen Jinsheng got into the car, slammed the accelerator, and sharply turned the steering wheel toward the exit. "Where is that man now?"

"I don't know, I don't know, Brother Chen... He disappeared..."

"Do you recognize him?"

"No, he's not from the crew. He was cursing... cursing Boss for seducing a married woman. He kept cursing while stabbing. Brother Chen, when will you get here? I heard Boss calling for you..."

Chen Jinsheng's breath hitched. His heart felt as if it were being brutally squeezed, and blood seemed to rush backward throughout his body. He floored the accelerator, gritting his teeth until a metallic taste exploded in his mouth before saying, "Soon, soon."