Chapter 74
After he spoke, it took the man a few seconds to react. “Why do you say that?”
Jiang Heng poked at the small cake on his plate with his fork, his appetite significantly diminished. “He just…won’t.”
Lu Yichuan was so annoying! A grown man, still attracting bees and butterflies wherever he went!
The young man in the corner, his delicate features even more striking in the dim light, his silver-gray hair framing a face that, when not smiling, was as cold as frost.
Beautiful, but distant.
Talking to such a face, even breathing too loudly felt like a sin.
The man fidgeted, about to speak, when someone came over and pulled him up from his seat.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“I…” The man stumbled forward, glancing back at Jiang Heng, unable to finish his sentence, and was pulled away into the crowd.
Jiang Heng put down his plate and followed them.
The banquet hall was large, and the crowd dense. Jiang Heng looked around, but he couldn’t see Lu Yichuan.
The man who looked like him was walking towards the center of the hall.
Jiang Heng deftly navigated through the crowd, ignoring the curious glances directed at him.
He was faster alone than with a companion, and he was now less than two meters away from the two men.
Suddenly, someone bumped into him, and Jiang Heng, caught off guard, stumbled, a glass of red wine splashing onto his sweater.
“Ah—”
They both exclaimed. Jiang Heng frantically tried to wipe the stain, his fingers turning red.
The other person also tried to help him clean his sweater. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! Oh my god, I’m doomed! My sister is going to kill me!”
The voice sounded familiar, and Jiang Heng looked up. Before he could see the person’s face clearly, a voice called out from behind him—
“Jiang Heng?”
Jiang Heng froze and instinctively turned around. The man beside him also turned around, a guilty look on his face.
Jiang Zhuo, holding a glass of wine, his gaze passing over Jiang Heng and settling on the man, his expression a mixture of disappointment and relief, then he frowned.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
The man’s face paled under his questioning gaze.
Finally, the man who had been with him stepped forward, shielding him. “CEO Jiang, we have no quarrel, why are you so angry with my…companion?”
Jiang Zhuo’s grip on his wine glass tightened when he saw him. “Mr. Du, long time no see. I don’t think we’ve met before.”
Du Bowei chuckled. “This is my nephew from a distant branch of the family. He just graduated; I brought him here to broaden his horizons.”
“Distant nephew…” Jiang Zhuo repeated the words, a cold smile playing on his lips. “I wasn’t aware you had a distant nephew who looks exactly like my deceased younger brother.”
Du Bowei glanced at the man beside him, then, feigning ignorance, chuckled and scratched his head. “Really? I didn’t know that! What a coincidence!”
Jiang Zhuo’s face darkened.
Damn it!
Jiang Heng cursed inwardly: That’s so shameless!
“Damn it! That’s so shameless!”
A voice suddenly echoed his thoughts.
Jiang Heng turned and saw a boy with a curly mop of hair.
Four years had passed, but Song Chengan hadn’t changed much. The innocence, bordering on stupidity, in his eyes was still very much present.
Noticing his gaze, Song Chengan turned and looked at him, then slowly…
“Dude, why do you look so familiar?”
Jiang Heng said, “You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
Song Chengan looked at the man who resembled Jiang Heng, then back at the silver-haired teenager, comparing them several times, then slapped his forehead.
“I must have had too much to drink.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
Song Chengan, Jiang Heng’s deskmate for three years of high school, his best friend. He hadn’t expected their reunion to be such a dramatic scene.
The red wine seeped into his sweater, but the two of them, seemingly oblivious to the stain, were watching the confrontation unfold.
Du Bowei continued to smile affably. “It’s a big world, it’s not uncommon for people to look alike.”
Jiang Zhuo’s face was thunderous. “Then why bring someone like him here, at a time like this?”
“Didn’t I just say? To broaden his horizons.”
“He’s so shameless!” Jiang Heng muttered.
Song Chengan echoed, “So shameless.”
Du Bowei tilted his chin at Jiang Zhuo. “CEO Jiang, I wouldn’t worry about my nephew if I were you. Perhaps you should focus on…your younger brother.”
Jiang Heng followed his gaze and saw Jiang Xingbai not far away.
He discreetly curled his toes. What was this, the ultimate awkward encounter?
“This is…dramatic! So dramatic!” Song Chengan exclaimed.
Their commotion attracted the attention of the crowd, and they were now the center of attention.
Suddenly, a murmur rippled through the crowd, and someone behind Jiang Heng whispered, “CEO Lu is coming.”
He looked towards the source of the commotion and saw a tall, imposing figure approaching.
Du Bowei, standing in front of them, saw Lu Yichuan and immediately pulled the man beside him forward to greet him.
For some reason, Jiang Heng pulled Song Chengan, who had gotten considerably chubbier, in front of him and peeked out from behind him.
Song Chengan, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with Jiang Heng, didn’t mind being used as a shield and eagerly whispered his observations to him.
“Lu Yichuan is really making a name for himself this year, no wonder my sister keeps using him as an example to lecture me. Look, the moment he appears, Du Bowei rushes over, all smiles.”
“But I don’t get his strategy. He has a nephew who looks exactly like Jiang Heng. Shouldn’t he be trying to get on Jiang Zhuo’s good side? Although the Jiang family isn’t doing so well these days, it’s still better than offending him, right?”
“Why is he bringing this guy to…introduce to Lu Yichuan?”
His expression suddenly changed. “Holy shit! Don’t tell me he…”
Jiang Heng said, “You just realized that?”
Song Chengan started rolling up his sleeves, and Jiang Heng grabbed his arm. “Hey! Where are you going?!”
“I’m going to avenge Jiang Heng! That bastard Du Bowei, using such despicable tactics!”
Jiang Heng was touched, but he pulled his sleeve back down. “Don’t. You can’t beat them. Let’s just…”
Du Bowei, standing in front of Lu Yichuan, introduced himself, then pulled the man he had been hiding behind forward. “CEO Lu, this is my nephew, Du Yu. I brought him here to broaden his horizons.”
He glared at the man beside him. “What are you waiting for? Greet CEO Lu!”
Du Yu, his cat-like eyes wide and innocent, greeted Lu Yichuan timidly.
Everyone around them was watching.
Four years, not a short time, but the social circles of the wealthy were small, and with Lu Yichuan’s current prominence, his past had naturally been investigated.
His relationship with Jiang Heng wasn’t a secret.
Nor was the importance Jiang Heng held in his heart.
After four years, someone with a strikingly similar appearance had suddenly appeared. Even though Du Bowei’s intentions were obvious, the temptation…who could resist?
Lu Yichuan glanced at the young man, his gaze shifting, and his expression finally changed when he saw Song Chengan’s face.
Song Chengan shivered inexplicably. “Did…did I just feel a murderous aura?”
Jiang Heng clutched his jacket, hiding his face. “Your imagination. Move forward a little, I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
“No, I don’t dare to go closer, I’m scared of Lu Yichuan.”
Four years later, and he was still a coward.
Lu Yichuan’s voice turned cold. “Is there something else?”
“Uh…” The smile on Du Bowei’s face froze.
Before he could react, Jiang Zhuo stepped forward. “Du Bowei, I’m warning you, don’t go too far. What’s the meaning of bringing someone like him here?”
His hostility was so blatant that Du Bowei, not waiting to see Lu Yichuan’s reaction, immediately retorted, “CEO Jiang, what are you implying? What’s wrong with introducing my nephew? Everyone is trying to get close to CEO Lu, are you so jealous that you can’t stand seeing me here?”
Jiang Zhuo’s anger flared. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to!”
Du Bowei looked at him. “Then tell me, what am I up to?”
“You!”
Jiang Xingbai tugged at his sleeve. “Brother…”
Jiang Zhuo took a deep breath and turned to Lu Yichuan. “Lu Yichuan, I’ve let go of everything you did before, but Xiao Heng is dead, how could you…”
Lu Yichuan walked towards him, his face impassive in the face of his accusation, and said coldly, “Move.”
Jiang Zhuo didn’t budge.
Jiang Xingbai looked at him. “Yichuan-ge, we’ve heard about your…situation… My brother is just…”
Lu Yichuan interrupted him. “My situation? What situation?”
Jiang Xingbai’s face paled under his cold gaze. “Your mother said…you’re keeping someone at your villa…” He seemed unable to say the words and continued, “I know, you still haven’t forgotten him, but is this fair to him? Fair to…that other person?”
All eyes were on Lu Yichuan.
He was silent for a few seconds, then let out a short, harsh laugh. “A joke. Who told you he’s my…kept man?”
“There are many people here, so let me make this clear. He’s not a kept man, nor is he a replacement for anyone. He is himself, he’s unique, he’s my partner, the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. If I hear another word against him…”
His cold gaze swept across the crowd, the unspoken threat clear.
Jiang Xingbai’s mouth opened and closed, his fingers clutching Jiang Zhuo’s sleeve. “Yichuan-ge…”
Lu Yichuan looked at him. “I’ll say it again. Move.”
Jiang Xingbai, his heart pounding, instinctively stepped aside.
He watched as the man walked past him towards the idle young master of the Song family and pulled a silver-haired teenager out from behind him.
The teenager seemed surprised, his round eyes wide, reflecting the lights of the banquet hall.
Jiang Xingbai looked at the familiar face, finally remembering where he had seen him before.
For some reason, looking at the boy’s face, he felt a wave of unease wash over him.
Jiang Zhuo rushed forward again, grabbing Lu Yichuan’s arm, looking at Jiang Heng, confusion and suspicion in his eyes. “Who is he?”
Before Lu Yichuan could speak, a head popped out from behind him. “Hello, I’m his kept man.”
“…”
Lu Yichuan rubbed his temples. “As you can see.”
Jiang Zhuo stared into Jiang Heng’s eyes. “What’s your name?”
Jiang Heng, experienced now, replied smoothly, “My name is Jiang Xiao Miao. My family back home says, a common name is easier to raise.”
“Jiang? Which ‘Jiang’?”
Jiang Heng: “The ‘Jiang’ in Changjiang (Yangtze River).”
Jiang Zhuo continued to stare at him. “How did you and Lu Yichuan meet?”
Jiang Heng fidgeted with the buttons on the man’s suit jacket. “Oh, I’m from a poor, rural family, never been out of the mountains. My parents sent me out to work because we were so poor we couldn’t even afford food.”
He continued his story with dramatic flair, “It’s so hard to find a job in City A! And the people here are so cold-hearted, I didn’t dare to ask anyone for help. I was cold and hungry, desperate, and a fellow villager told me I was…quite good-looking, and suggested I…sell myself to older men…”
His waist was pinched.
“Of course I refused! How could I do such a thing?!”
“So, broken and destitute, on a rainy night, on a deserted mountain road, I decided to end my life. But just as I was about to give up, a bright light shone on my face.”
“My savior, Mr. Lu! He drove his Maybach through the storm, like a god descending from the heavens, he reached out his hand to me…”
All eyes were on him.
Jiang Heng cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, “Young man, would you come with me? I can offer you unimaginable wealth and luxury, all you have to do…is be my obedient pet.”
Domineering CEO forces himself on a cat!
Lu Yichuan: “…”
Song Chengan’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit—”
