Song Wenze found it somewhat unbelievable that Chen Heng would say such a thing. With an obscure tone of voice, he asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Chen Heng tilted his head and hooked his lips, his eyes were playful, and his voice was amiable and soft, "I was just joking with you."
"Wh... what?"
"Yichen slept in the room next to mine. Nothing happened between us. Don"t think too much, I will not fight over him with you." His lie from a moment ago was full of loopholes. As long as Song Wenze checked with Ou Yichen, he would know what happened. How could Chen Heng possibly leave behind lies that could be used against him?
The young man on the other side laughed, then his voice suddenly became deep and low. "I know. From my childhood to now, whenever I wanted something, you always gave it to me, isn"t that so?"
The original host was the super-unequaled Holy Mother. Regardless of whether Song Wenze wanted his toys or the trophies he had won in compet.i.tions, the original host was sure to give it to him.
It came to the extent that Song Wenze"s wants intensified, and he wanted to obtain the love of the original host"s parents. Su Yi"s parents treated Song Wenze very well, but the youth felt that it was not enough. He even wanted to replace the original host"s position in his parents" hearts. Later, Su father and mother got into a car accident because they braved the rain to pick Song Wenze up from school. They were run down by a big truck that was driven by a drunk driver.
Thinking of this, Chen Heng didn"t know whether the original host was too stupid or too kind. Living at his side was a man-eating wolf, but he believed that it was a sheep that needed protection.
"You are my younger brother." Chen Heng came out from his musings, and the smile that formed at the corner of his mouth was ice-cold and oppressive. "As long as I am able, I will give it all to you."
After hanging up the phone, the man put the slightly wet towel to one side, and ran his fingers through his hair; his slightly narrowed eyes contained a deep and profound look.
It"s already been delayed long enough… He wants to eliminate Song Wenze as soon as possible.
***
The next day, after Chen Heng got up, he knocked on the door of Ou Yichen"s room.
The door was quickly opened, and Ou Yichen appeared, having already worn his clothes from yesterday. The look on his face was somewhat apprehensive and he called out, "Su Yi."
Chen Heng resumed his gentle expression from before, "Let"s go."
"Okay." Anxiously glancing at the man, Ou Yichen breathed a sigh of relief as he followed behind Chen Heng. His previous self confident image was recovered as he walked freely and at ease.
After completing the check-out procedures, Ou Yichen proposed to send him back, but Chen Heng firmly refused. "No need, I still have matters to attend to."
"Su Yi, are you still minding about what happened last night?" Because of this matter, Ou Yichen wasn"t able to sleep for the whole night; his face was haggard, and his chin was covered with stubbles.
Chen Heng slowly shook his head. "I really have things to do today." He paused; then playing down the truth, he said: "I have already forgotten about what happened last night."
While he was saying this, he flagged down a taxi. Chen Heng opened the door and turned his head towards Ou Yichen, gently saying. "Go back and have a good night"s sleep. There are dark circles under your eyes."
Ou Yichen subconsciously stroked his eyelids, and when he raised his eyes, Chen Heng had already gotten into the taxi and left.
His shoulders immediately came down in defeat and he stood in a daze.
He didn"t know why he acted like he was possessed last night. He actually l.u.s.ted after his own good brother.
Maybe, it was because he drank too much…
On the other side, after Chen Heng got into the taxi, he directly had the driver take him to the second-hand car trading center nearby.
Fifteen minutes later, the car arrived at his destination. Chen Heng paid the fare, opened the door and got off.
He made an appointment with a man who worked here; the person also happened to be the original host"s xué dì, though they weren"t that close.
After waiting for a while, a man in work clothes hurriedly came over. "Su xué zhǎng, is that you?" The person who came wasn"t tall and his hairline was somewhat receding, he possessed common facial features, but with an extremely eye-grabbing mole at the corner of his mouth.
Chen Heng smiled and nodded. "I haven"t seen you for a few years."
The man smiled and while scratching his head, he said. "Oh, that"s right; you wanted to buy a car. I left a few well-equipped cars for you. Do you want to take a look?"
Chen Heng"s face showed signs of embarra.s.sment, he mumbled: "Do you have a cheaper car; I just wanted to have a more convenient means of transportation when going to work, it doesn"t have to be that good."
The man stared blankly, then he immediately said: "We"re former schoolmates, so I won"t charge you with the intermediary fee. The kind of car you want should be around 50,000-60,000.”
"Is there... something that costs around 20,000?"
Ten minutes later, the man brought Chen Heng in front of a row of cars. "These cars all have problematic parts. The owners were too lazy to repair these cars so they dragged them here to sell as sc.r.a.ps. If you want, you can drive off with one of these for a mere 10,000."
Chen Heng"s eyes flashed a hint of something dark; he opened his mouth and spoke gently: "That"s all right, I can just have it repaired."
" Xué zhǎng, I am not saying that a man ought to drive better cars, ah. But this kind of car could only be operated for a month at most. I can"t give it to you." The man tried to persuade Chen Heng to change his mind.
On Chen Heng"s face was a shallow smile: “It"s not a problem. I"ll buy it and just use it for practice. If I get enough money, I"ll change it for a new car.”
After meticulously inspecting the cars, Chen Heng finally chose a Volkswagen. But because the owner of the car temporarily had to go back to the city due to an emergency, he could only come back for it after a week. Chen Heng left after paying the deposit.
He went to the bus stop and waited for the bus. After about five minutes, the bus slowly came over. Chen Heng got on the bus and found a familiar-looking youth when he was looking for a seat.
He stopped in his step before walking over. "What a coincidence, we meet again."
The youth, who still wore a non-mainstream hairstyle, sat up straight when he heard Chen Heng"s voice. There was a glimmer of joy in one of his eyes that wasn"t covered by his hair: "Ah, h.e.l.lo."
Chen Heng smiled and took the initiative to chat with him. "Since we"ve been brought together by fate, let"s be friends."
The youth was overwhelmed: "Okay, okay, ah."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty three."
"Just like my younger brother, ah."
The young man asked: "Your younger brother?"
"We"re not related by blood."
"Oh."
The two men conversed casually; Chen Heng asked a question and the young man answered with a sentence. From his mouth, Chen Heng knew that the youth was an ordinary courier. The residential area where he lived was not far from Chen Heng"s neighborhood, about four or five stops away.
"Why don"t you give me your phone number, we live so close to each other; I"ll call you so we can go out to play in the future, ah." Chen Heng pulled out his mobile phone.
The youth seemed to be a bit shy, and he slowly reported his phone number. Chen Heng dialed the number he was given, and then hanged up as soon as he heard the youth"s cell phone ringing.
When it was time to enter the name, Chen Heng asked him: "Oh, by the way, what"s your name?"
"Xia Ming."
"Which ‘Ming"?"
"Add the radical 钅(jinzi pang) beside 名(ming)." (T/N: 钅+名=铭 which is how Xia Ming"s name is written)
"Okay, I"ve recorded it down." Chen Heng put his mobile phone in his pocket; on his face was a pure and perfect smile. "My name is Su Yi, I"m glad to meet you." He extended his hand out to the youth.
The youth"s voice sounded very happy. "I am also very glad to have met you." He wiped his hand on his clothes before carefully shaking Chen Heng"s hand.
Chen Heng smiled and waited until they got to the station. He nodded slightly towards the youth. "I"m leaving first."
"En, good bye."
"Bye."
Chen Heng smiled and said goodbye to Xia Ming. When he turned around, the smile on his face disappeared in an instant.
Back home, there was no one in the house; Song Wenze should be out working part-time.
Chen Heng went directly to the study, carefully locked the door, and then sat in front of the computer. While waiting for the computer to turn on, he thought back to that scene on the bus, imagining the vague face of the young man.
He never believed in those so-called coincidences; it was fine if it was only once or twice, but three times or more is premeditated.
In just one short month, they were able to meet twice on the same bus and once in a black car (T/N: black cars are illegal/unregistered taxis in China). This kind of probability could be used to win the lottery. Of course, the thing that roused Chen Heng"s suspicion was the young man"s said profession. He observed Xia Ming"s hand; his fingers were delicate and slender, and his fingertips didn"t have any calluses, how could it possibly be a courier"s hand.
Besides being a distinguished high-end scientist, Chen Heng was also a top-cla.s.s hacker. With his superb ability, he easily invaded the national network security system and called up ID cards bearing the name Xia Ming from all over the country. Then, people under the age of 16 and those over the age of 30 were excluded, and finally, the scope was narrowed down to five people.
Of course, the premise was that the information provided by that young man was true.
Of the five ID cards, Chen Heng eliminated two people whose faces differed from the youth"s. The remaining three had similar faces; among them was a young man with delicate features, he especially stood out from the others.
His slender fingertips softly stroked the computer screen. Chen Heng quickly recorded the young man"s information in his mind. He was just about to continue searching for the youth"s family background when he suddenly heard the front door open.
He stopped what he was doing and quickly turned the computer off. He walked towards the door and opened it.
" Ā Ze, you"re back..."
He had his customary gentle smile on his face, but it froze when he saw the scene in front of him.
It seems that it was not yet time for him to appear.
In his field of vision, Song Wenze was softly holding onto Ou Yichen"s neck, and they were pa.s.sionately sharing a deep kiss.
Upon hearing Chen Heng"s voice, Ou Yichen immediately pushed Song Wenze away and subconsciously wiped his mouth. He was somewhat embarra.s.sed and bewildered: “Su Yi, you"re already here.” Recalling his wilder scenes with Song Wenze, he was thankful that Su Yi never stumbled upon them then or even he wouldn"t know what to do. And at this moment, looking into Su Yi"s tranquil gaze, he actually felt a little guilty.
"En." The corner of Chen Heng"s mouth slowly pulled up. "I hope I didn"t disturb you."
"You didn"t."
Song Wenze, who was leaning half of his body on Ou Yichen, looked at him slightly. There was still a trace of redness at the corner of his eyes, but his eyes have already regained their calmness and they were twinkling with a vague smile.
Is this a show of strength?
Chen Heng was sneering in his heart, but his tone was clear and gentle. "I said it, didn"t I? That you"ll make up sooner or later."
It"s just that this speed really was too fast. He had only called Song Wenze last night and the next day, Song Wenze and Ou Yichen are back together again.
Was Song Wenze that worried that he will steal Ou Yichen from him?
"I"ve talked things through with Yichen, but I still want to live here with brother." The youth took the initiative to come over and pull Chen Heng"s hand. "I"ve also reflected on it; I really shouldn"t have lost my temper at Yichen. So I want us to give each other a little s.p.a.ce, since I"m more likely to indulge in flights of fancy if we"re together all day long"
Saying this, Song Wenze blinked at Chen Heng, he was acting like a spoiled child with his usual coquettish voice. "Besides, the food my brother makes is so delicious, I don"t want to leave~."
Chen Heng gazed at him with indulgence. "And exactly how long do you want to live here?"
Seeing the familiar gentle gaze of the man in front of him, Song Wenze had a moment of absent-mindedness. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the man"s husky voice: "I wanted to buy a second-hand car. Can you come with me to take a look at it some other time?"
*************************
xué dì - junior or younger male schoolmate
xué zhǎng - senior or older male schoolmate
hú sī luàn xiǎng - indulge in flights of fancy/make blind and disorderly conjectures