Must admit, Yu Cheng’s knack for hitting the trending searches was simply off the charts; even outsiders couldn’t help but marvel at it.
After dominating the top three spots on the search rankings for twenty-four hours, just as one wave settled, another rose. An account suspected to be Yu Cheng’s sugar daddy personally entered the fray to furiously curse back:
@EarnSteadyWithPei: Piss off! Even if Laozi is dating Yu Cheng, that’s an upright and proper romantic relationship. Go to hell with your ass-selling bullshit!
Shortly after, someone dug up the true identity of the account owner.
He was a second-generation rich kid whose family ran a chain of restaurants. While he couldn’t compare to the heavy-hitting big names on the rich list, he was still the only son of a well-known entrepreneur, so his personal background certainly wasn’t shabby.
Besides, the guy actually wasn’t bad-looking.
A photo of Pei Yan accompanying his old man to a local business chamber meeting had been plastered all over the internet, unexpectedly earning him a batch of fans.
[I feel so ashamed. I actually think Yu Cheng’s taste is not bad…]
[Lmao, he just looks like a rich sucker who only knows how to rage in the comments, right? Didn’t Yu Cheng clearly say before that he wouldn’t look at anyone except Chu Hanfeng?]
[Although this kind of delusional fan speech is normal, it’s so disgusting that Chu Hanfeng keeps getting dragged into Yu Cheng’s clout-chasing, ahhhhh!]
[Don’t get some people, visual appeal really is justice! This rich second-generation kid and Yu Cheng are birds of a feather. I heard they’re mixed up with underworld gangs and even got into a fight provoking someone from the Chu family before. Looks like their good times won’t last long!]
[Fighting someone from the Chu family? Could it be Chu Hanfeng? Why do I smell gossip?]
[You’re overthinking it. A rich kid from a small restaurant chain, how would he dare provoke Chu Hanfeng? Does he think money is too easy to make or his life is too long?]
Yet within half a day, the account that originally posted the gossip about Yu Cheng suddenly showed abnormal status.
Along with it, every piece of news related to the matter across the entire internet was cleared out without a single warning, disappearing completely without a trace.
The speed was so fast that the gossip-eating masses were caught completely off-guard.
[Did this rich kid make a move?]
[The speed of eating melons can’t keep up with the speed of deleting posts. I’m numb.]
[The hot searches are all cleared. Now the top three are XX tax evasion of 80 million, New Year’s Day holiday arrangements, and XXX’s new song.]
[That 80 million, holy crap! Much more disgusting than Yu Cheng!!!!!]
The targets of the netizens’ bombardment shifted in an instant, leaving even Yu Cheng himself astonished.
Only Pei Yan in the chat box was still nagging: “Goddamn underworld mixed-up! Laozi’s skin is fair and clean alright!”
Yu Cheng casually replied with an eye-rolling sticker. As Yu Zhengxiang finished tidying up his room and walked down the stairs, Yu Cheng hurriedly shoved his phone back into his pocket and stood up from the sofa obediently. The dejected, penitent posture made Yu Zhengxiang’s heart ache.
He had originally thought letting Yu Cheng go out to experience the harsh realities of society might be good. Since the kid ran away from home and desperately wanted independence, it was just the right opportunity to grind down that arrogant and reckless edge.
Besides, he himself was getting older, and business had been tough these past few years; dealing with all sorts of corporate battlegrounds had left him utterly exhausted. It was fine if Yu Cheng didn’t contact him, sparing that kid from worrying blindly.
Yet after half a year of leaving Yu Cheng alone, seeing his own son’s aggrieved appearance right now made Yu Zhengxiang soften with pity.
From the moment Yu Cheng drew his first breath over twenty years ago until now, he had never seen Yu Cheng lower his head and eyes like this in front of him. Before he could even speak, Yu Cheng directly hugged him tightly without saying a word, and through the glass of the television cabinet, he could see that this little rascal’s eye rims were even red.
Yu Zhengxiang: “…”
That was simply absurd.
The lifelong proud Chairman Yu immediately panicked, patting Yu Cheng’s back to explain: “I’ve been busy with meetings these past few days, I wasn’t ignoring you.”
Yu Cheng didn’t make a sound. Even though he was taller than Yu Zhengxiang by more than half a head, he insisted on lowering his head and slouching his waist to press his forehead against Yu Zhengxiang’s shoulder, remaining silent for a long moment before murmuring: “Do you have to push yourself to be this exhausted?”
Yu Zhengxiang was caught off-guard by Yu Cheng’s sudden concern, holding back for a long time before replying: “If I’m not exhausted, how can I afford to feed and clothe you and live in a big house?”
Yu Cheng didn’t move, speaking in a muffled voice: “I don’t need you to push yourself this hard for me to be well-fed and clothed, and it doesn’t matter if the house is big or not.”
“What kind of nonsense is this child saying?”
“I’m not joking,” Yu Cheng said. “I know you view your career as more important than anything else, but life shouldn’t only consist of your company. I wanted to tell you this a long time ago. You always say it’s for my sake, but I honestly don’t need you to do this.”
Yu Cheng knew that from childhood to adulthood, he and Yu Zhengxiang rarely spoke from the heart. It seemed like between men, fussing too much always felt cheesy, leading to their rift growing deeper as time went on.
Just like in that book, it started as stubborn mutual ignoring, and once things changed and regrets set in, no words or actions could make up for it anymore.
Unconsciously, Yu Cheng’s eyes grew damp: “Remember that even if something really happens to the company, don’t take desperate risks and drag yourself down with it. If you really must do something for me, just take good care of your own health.”
Yu Zhengxiang paused, sensing that Yu Cheng probably knew something: “Something happen to the company? Who on earth did you hear this from?”
Only after steadying his emotions did Yu Cheng raise his head, his gaze carefully sweeping across Yu Zhengxiang’s face before finally landing on the wrinkles at the corners of the other man’s eyes.
Unable to clearly explain the source of his knowledge, Yu Cheng could only say vaguely: “Nothing, I just heard you ran into a small problem.”
The self-made, successful older father image crumbled instantly. Yu Zhengxiang had nowhere to put his old face and retorted in exasperation: “What do those people know? Even though that plot of land was sold above the upper limit of market expectations and carries the risk of a capital chain fracture, the higher-ups intend to expand the new district to develop cultural tourism. Once the villa cluster is built, will we still worry about not making money?”
This was the first time Yu Cheng had ever talked about these things with Yu Zhengxiang.
In his memories, he only knew that Yu Zhengxiang had eventually been scammed by someone, but the specific reasons were unclear.
At that time, he was barely surviving himself, and the news of Yu Zhengxiang’s accident was undoubtedly adding frost to snow, leaving him with zero time to trace the root cause.
Yu Cheng asked doubtfully: “What if problems come up later?”
Yu Zhengxiang was full of certainty: “The government projects are already approved, now it’s just a matter of time.”
With that, Yu Zhengxiang gave Yu Cheng a baffling look.
Yu Cheng had declared long ago with absolute certainty that he had zero interest in corporate business. He had already figured it out: after he passed away, it wouldn’t matter even if Yu Cheng refused to inherit the company; as long as the company didn’t collapse and Yu Cheng held shares, he could still live better than most people.
Therefore, Yu Cheng had never meddled in company matters all these years, and he let Yu Cheng be, never bringing his own son out to make public appearances in the business world.
After pondering for a long while, Yu Zhengxiang asked: “Did you get tired of playing in the entertainment industry and want me to help you pay the contract termination fee?”
Yu Cheng: “…”
Yu Cheng simply felt his sincere feelings had been fed to the dogs. His overflowing paternal-filial affection was shoved right back into his stomach before he even had a chance to express it.
After all, that astronomical breach-of-contract penalty was a total trap; whoever paid it was a sucker.
Irritably grabbing a handful of hair, Yu Cheng retorted unhappily: “Don’t you worry about it. Just pay more attention yourself and don’t fall into a pit without even realizing it.”
Yu Zhengxiang felt a sudden surge of gratification.
This heartless and breezy attitude was his true son!
Yu Cheng turned around, walked upstairs back to his room, his slippers slapping against the floor: “By the way, I booked a health checkup for you. Make sure you clear your schedule and go.”
Yu Zhengxiang instinctively asked: “Out of the blue, why are you booking this for me?”
Yu Cheng didn’t answer right away. Leaning his back against the staircase handrail, he turned sideways and hesitated for a fraction of a second before saying: “I had my fortune told out of boredom a while ago. The master said my dear old dad is clashing with the Tai Sui this year, so his health might not be too good.”
People in the business world all cared about fate and numbers to varying degrees, much like the persistent belief that one must burn the first incense stick at the temple on New Year’s Day to draw a top-tier fortune that lasts the whole year.
Although Yu Zhengxiang muttered about it being nonsense, the next day he resolutely went to the health checkup center, adding one last remark before leaving: “Did you even bother to check your own fortune?”
When Yu Zhengxiang asked this question, Yu Cheng was eating breakfast with a gloomy face and answered without thinking: “Checked. It told me not to force anything in life, and that being a salted fish is pretty good.”
Yu Zhengxiang: “…”
Sounds flawless, actually.
Yu Cheng didn’t say anything more. After finishing his milk, he lay back down on the sofa to catch up on sleep.
Perhaps due to seeing Yu Zhengxiang and having his mind weighed down with too many thoughts, last night he once again dreamed of that absurd and real plot from the book.
He dreamed that he was locked in a dark room without a hint of daylight, the internal fear spreading like a tide through all his limbs and bones, seeping into his marrow with wave after wave of cold chills as if his very heart were being pinched in someone’s palm.
“How pitiful. You should really let Chu Hanfeng see your current pathetic state.”
His hair was violently grabbed to force his face upward, and he panted heavily and uncontrollably.
Then, without any warning, he was fiercely shoved forward, his head forcefully plunged straight into freezing, bone-chilling cold water!
“He’s definitely going to love this.”
For many days running, Yu Cheng failed to get a good night’s sleep.
By the day of Song Feiwan’s private banquet, he had dark circles directly hanging under his eyes.
Even Pei Yan couldn’t help complaining: “I’ve been taking you out for good food and drinks for half a month, why are you looking more and more haggard?”
Yu Cheng leaned lazily in the backseat, ignoring him. Pei Yan observed Yu Cheng up and down a few times and asked out of nowhere: “When did you buy this suit? Isn’t it a bit too large?”
Yu Cheng opened his sleepy eyes, lowering his gaze to appraise himself: “Don’t remember.”
It was indeed too big.
He had rushed out before leaving, failing to pay attention to such details, and simply grabbed whatever looked decent from the luggage Sun Can had packed for him, hurriedly slipping it on.
Fortunately, the suit had a casual cut without excessive accessories or embellishments, and worn so casually by Yu Cheng, it unexpectedly gave off a unique, lazy vibe.
After all, the completion of fashion relies on a face. After failing to pick out any other flaws for half a day, Pei Yan even found himself starting to like it, mumbling after picking at the fabric: “How come there’s no tag either? Was it custom-made?”
Yu Cheng was completely dazed just as the car came to a stop.
Song Feiwan had chosen a rooftop garden in the center of the city for the banquet. A Babylonian architectural style surrounded by greenery dotted with a thousand lights, standing tall amid the dazzling neon lights of the city, possessed a strong artistic sense, and it was undoubtedly Song Feiwan’s aesthetic.
The first time he met Chu Hanfeng had also been right here, completely captivated and mesmerized by this romantic and gorgeous atmosphere.
Now, after several rounds of renovations, it was even more exquisitely carved and extraordinarily magnificent.
Especially since today’s guests were either wealthy or noble, making the event grand and spectacular. Song Feiwan was surrounded by a crowd chatting merrily, leaving her with no time to attend to too many people. After exchanging simple pleasantries accompanied by Pei Yan, Yu Cheng quietly stood alone in a corner of the terrace to eat pastries.
Although Pei Yan couldn’t be described as entirely at ease in this kind of setting, having seen enough of the world, he could occasionally exchange polite pleasantries. Besides, since he came with a specific purpose, he naturally lowered his posture and became much more active.
Yu Cheng, however, refused to join the hustle and bustle or meddle in too many affairs.
Various perfume scents drifted through the surroundings, blending with the garden’s native botanical aura, naturally sealing off the biting chill of the twelfth lunar month and leaving behind only the intoxicated aura of debauched prosperity and intoxicating, flirtatious spring energy.
Song Feiwan glanced around several times before spotting Yu Cheng in the corner.
Compared to the socializing that everyone around her practiced with practiced familiarity, Yu Cheng stood out uniquely. Whenever someone struck up a conversation with him, he responded neither overly deferential nor arrogant.
Combined with his striking facial features, it drew people’s attention instead.
Yet it was easy to tell that the pretty young master had zero desire to cozy up to anyone.
Song Feiwan remembered that the younger Yu Cheng had been a headache-inducing character. Yu Zhengxiang frequently grumbled about his little rascal causing trouble again, but she always felt it was good for a child to be a bit flamboyant. A youth should possess the fearlessness of a newborn calf, and that spirited, vibrant demeanor was truly endearing.
Still, being like this wasn’t bad either.
As she pondered, her phone rang. Chu Hanfeng had someone relay a message saying his schedule was too packed and he wouldn’t have time to come over.
Song Feiwan was already used to it.
This son of hers had never been close to anyone since childhood and simply wasn’t affectionate enough.
After a moment’s thought, Song Feiwan still sent a voice message to Chu Hanfeng: “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Last time Yu Cheng asked me about your recent situation, and I specially invited him over. I remember you two used to have a pretty good relationship?”
Unexpectedly, the other side replied with unusual promptness.
Though it was just a single question mark, and there was no telling which of her statements it questioned.
Song Feiwan simply snapped a photo of Yu Cheng’s profile and sent it over. Right at that moment, Pei Yan strolled back to Yu Cheng’s side after wandering around, insisting on tasting the small cake in Yu Cheng’s hand.
Song Feiwan replied: “I let him bring a friend along. Is that one next to him his boyfriend?”
She wasn’t well-versed in electronic products, but when she rarely browsed the internet last time, she happened to see the gossip about Yu Cheng’s romantic life.
The only son of the Xijiangyue Restaurant, publicly declaring that he was dating Yu Cheng fair and square.
Two young men, actually quite a match.
The message had just gone out when Song Feiwan heard someone nearby ask: “Whose kid is that? He’s really handsome.”
Song Feiwan followed the person’s gaze, which landed on Yu Cheng’s face, and smiled after half a second of deliberation: “An old friend.”
“That outfit is nice too, looks like a private custom piece from L,” someone chimed in. “Last time I had to pull strings just to book an appointment, and you have to wait half a year in line for a single garment.”
Intending to flatter, the person added a few more words: “Still, Ms. Song is blessed. One phone call and they come right over to your door for tailor-made cutting with overtime hours.”
“Is that so?”
Song Feiwan casually remarked: “I remember Xiaofeng has a similar one too, though this kid wears it prettier.”
Unlike Chu Hanfeng, who was all aristocratic rules.
Failing to pick out a single flaw instead made him look cold and aloof, losing a bit of human warmth.