Chapter 77
Lu Yichuan’s three-day business trip was postponed. Jiang Heng and Lu Yichuan spent seven days holed up in the hotel room, going through countless condoms. By the time it was over, Jiang Heng almost cried tears of joy at the sight of the sun.
He didn’t know if the ox was tired, but his field was definitely plowed.
Although the sun was shining, it was still cold outside, the wind whipping snow flurries against their faces. Lu Yichuan bundled Jiang Heng up in a thick winter coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck. “Still want to go skiing?”
This time, Jiang Heng genuinely felt sore all over. After a whole week, he finally understood what it meant to feel like your body was falling apart.
“Skiing my ass! I can barely walk!”
Lu Yichuan chuckled. “It’s okay, there are ski resorts in City A too. Or we can come back here next time.”
Jiang Heng, his chin buried in his scarf, a hat covering most of his face, his cheeks rosy against his pale skin, grumbled, “Do I have to go through this…every year?”
Li An, carrying their luggage, stopped when he saw them standing close together, his expression serious, his mind racing.
Lu Yichuan, oblivious to his inner turmoil, reassured Jiang Heng. “No, I asked, this heat cycle is because you’ve just…reached maturity. After this, it will be like…normal humans.”
Jiang Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness…otherwise, it wouldn’t be “Domineering CEO Forces Himself on a Cat” anymore, but “Omega Wife Runs Away.”
Back in City A, Jiang Heng slept for a whole day to recover from his…exertion.
It was almost New Year’s Day, and the weather was getting even colder. A thin layer of ice covered the garden outside the villa in the morning, but it still wasn’t snowing.
After more than a week, Ran Nian finally returned to resume her tutoring sessions. Unable to find a taxi, she had ridden her electric scooter, her face red from the cold wind as she rubbed her hands and removed her scarf.
“The housekeeper told me you went on a business trip with Xuechang Lu. Did it snow there? Was it fun?”
What snow? The only thing Jiang Heng had seen was the hotel ceiling.
He took a sip of hot coffee. “It was alright. Just snow, nothing special.” He gestured towards another cup of coffee he had prepared. “Drink some, it will warm you up.”
Ran Nian sat beside him, holding the coffee cup in her hands. “My hometown is at a lower altitude than here. I’ve been studying for so many years, and the furthest I’ve ever been is here. I haven’t seen snow often.” She sighed. “They say this year will be a harsh winter. I wonder if we’ll get any snow here.”
Jiang Heng said, “You will. If not this year, then next year. If not here, then somewhere else. You’ll go to many places in the future.”
The girl, wearing a slightly pilled sweater, smiled. “Yes, I believe I will go far.”
She winked at Jiang Heng playfully. “It seems you and Xuechang Lu had a good time on your trip.”
Jiang Heng froze. “Wh-what?”
Ran Nian pointed at his neck.
Jiang Heng instinctively touched his neck.
Ran Nian said, “Wrong side. It’s on your right.”
“…”
Socially dead, instantly.
Seeing the boy’s flushed face, Ran Nian chuckled.
“I thought Xuechang Lu was the refined, gentlemanly type. Turns out all men are the same in bed.”
Well, she could understand. If she had such a handsome boyfriend, she might be even more…enthusiastic…than Lu Yichuan.
Ran Nian, no longer teasing the easily embarrassed boy, took out her teaching materials and prepared for their lesson.
As she unpacked her things, Jiang Heng, holding his coffee cup, hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, “What do you…think of Lu Yichuan?”
Ran Nian hadn’t expected him to ask this and thought for a few seconds before answering.
“I’m not very close to Xuechang Lu, but he’s quite famous at the university. I occasionally hear things about him.”
Looks alone wouldn’t make someone stand out in such a large university. Lu Yichuan’s fame came from his impressive academic achievements and his…dramatic family background.
She said, “I’m in the student union. Our president is Gao Zhilan. She’s friends with Xuechang Lu; he sometimes comes to the student union. We don’t interact much, but from what I’ve seen, he’s a gentle and polite person, different from the other rich kids I know.”
“Aside from his wealthy background, he has a very good reputation.”
She summarized, “He seems gentle, but…distant.”
Ran Nian, holding her notes, hesitated. As an employee, she shouldn’t gossip about her employer’s private life, but the boy’s sincere gaze made her feel like he deserved to know.
“But there’s something…”
She hesitated. “It happened a long time ago, I only saw some rumors online when I first arrived at the university, I don’t know if it’s true. I didn’t believe it at first, but recently, my boyfriend mentioned it again.”
“What is it?” Jiang Heng asked.
“Xuechang Lu supposedly had a childhood friend, a very close friend, who died in a car accident. He even broke ties with his family because of it, so they must have been very close.”
“Recently, there are rumors…” Ran Nian’s voice was hesitant, “…that Xuechang Lu’s new boyfriend…bears a resemblance to that childhood friend.”
She had seen the way Lu Yichuan looked at Jiang Heng. She couldn’t describe it; it was as if all the light in the world was focused on Jiang Heng, and Lu Yichuan was simply drawn to it instinctively.
But was that intensity solely for Jiang Heng, or was he looking at someone else through him? Ran Nian couldn’t tell.
The deceased were like a distant moon, no matter how beautiful a white rose bloomed, it could never compare to that untouchable light.
Jiang Heng hadn’t expected her to say this.
He thought, had the rumors spread that far? That he was just a replacement?
“We’re not…like that,” he explained to Ran Nian, “I’m not a replacement. Our situation is a bit complicated, but it’s definitely not what they think.”
“That’s good to hear.” Ran Nian breathed a sigh of relief. “I haven’t interacted with him much, but Xuechang Lu always seemed like an empty shell back then, perfect, but…soulless, like he could break at any moment.”
“It’s different now. You’ve…given him his soul back.” She smiled. “I think he genuinely likes you.”
“And those marks on your neck…for someone as aloof as Xuechang Lu, that’s a clear sign of possessiveness.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
He suspected everyone had a misunderstanding about Lu Yichuan.
Ran Nian’s tutoring session ended at six o’clock. She had barely left when Lu Yichuan returned from work.
Jiang Heng, chewing on his pen, finished the last question, tossed the pen aside, and ran to Lu Yichuan. “Hot pot! Hot pot!”
The man took off his jacket, and the little cat circled him, chanting, “Extra spicy! Extra spicy!”
Lu Yichuan paused. “Little Jiang Heng, did extra spicy hot pot save your life in a past life?”
Persistence pays off. Lu Yichuan bought a yuan yang hot pot, and Jiang Heng finally got his extra spicy broth.
[Translator’s Note: Yuan yang hot pot is a style of Chinese hot pot that features a divided pot with two different broths—one spicy and one mild—allowing diners to choose their preferred flavor.]
CEO Lu took off his suit jacket, put on an apron, and went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. The housekeeper had already prepped everything; he just had to wash and chop them.
Jiang Heng, in his fluffy slippers, followed him around, his requests the same as always. “Lots of meatballs, lots of shrimp paste, and Mimi’s favorite beef. Oh, and tripe! And potatoes!”
Lu Yichuan, a human-shaped plushie dangling from his leg, chopped the vegetables. “Cilantro?”
Jiang Heng’s face wrinkled in disgust. “No! Get that away from me!”
Lu Yichuan chuckled.
Jiang Heng buried his face in his shoulder, his eyes peeking out, his voice muffled by the fabric. “Lu Yichuan, is it almost New Year’s Day?”
“Yes, you’ll have a day off. Where do you want to go, Rongrong?”
Jiang Heng fidgeted with his apron strings. “I want to visit my parents, my…biological parents.”
Lu Yichuan’s hand paused. “Why?”
“It’s not a sudden decision, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I’ve never met them, and Jiang Xingbai probably doesn’t have a strong connection with them either.”
His connection should be with his adoptive parents, but that had nothing to do with Jiang Heng.
The people who were supposed to be his parents were already gone, buried in the earth, their deaths unknown to him until years later.
“I’ve wanted to go since I could transform into a human, but I didn’t know what to say or how to face them. It’s almost been a year, I can’t avoid it forever.”
“Mm-hmm,” Lu Yichuan replied. “Go on New Year’s Day?”
“The day before,” Jiang Heng said. “I want to spend New Year’s Day with you.”
The man looked at him, slightly surprised.
Jiang Heng buried his face in his shoulder, his neatly brushed hair messed up again. “I’m selfish. You’re more important to me.”
Lu Yichuan wiped his damp fingers and gently lifted the kitten’s chin. “What a coincidence. I adore your selfishness.”
He bent down and kissed the boy’s slightly parted lips.
…
Yongle Village was a small, unremarkable village in the mountains near City A.
The day before New Year’s Day, the sky was foggy. It took Jiang Heng and Lu Yichuan almost five hours by car to reach the foot of the mountain where his parents were buried.
Jiang Heng held a bouquet of flowers, Lu Yichuan carried incense and paper money from the trunk, and Li An consulted the map on his phone.
The ever-resourceful Assistant Li looked at the mountain in front of them. “According to the map, we should reach the graves after climbing this mountain. However…”
He glanced at the two behind him and said to Lu Yichuan, “Judging by the…vegetation, CEO Lu, I suggest you bring a sickle.”
CEO Lu, accustomed to a life of luxury, frowned at the unfamiliar word. “A sickle?”
Forget it…
Li An gave up on explaining and borrowed a sickle from a nearby farmer, leading the way.
Most of the grass had withered in the deep winter. Li An cleared the path, hacking at the overgrown bushes, and after climbing for about twenty minutes, they finally saw two small, unmarked mounds of earth.
The young couple’s death had been sudden, leaving behind a five-year-old child, and they had been buried hastily, without even a tombstone.
Jiang Heng, holding the flowers, took the sickle from Li An and started clearing the weeds from the graves.
Li An, tactfully, retreated to the path to keep watch, leaving them alone.
Jiang Heng cleared the weeds, and Lu Yichuan helped gather them. Neither of them had done this kind of work before, but they were both meticulous.
Lu Yichuan took over after a while, his movements quicker and more efficient, and soon the graves were cleared.
Jiang Heng rubbed his cold, reddened hands and placed the flowers between the two mounds.
“First time meeting, I suppose I should introduce myself.”
He said, “I’m your biological son. I should have been…from this village, but I was switched at birth with Jiang Xingbai and ended up…living a life of privilege.”
Lu Yichuan placed the incense and paper money in front of the graves, not lighting them yet.
Jiang Heng continued, “I should have been dead. My family…we really are connected by fate, all dying in car accidents. Perhaps I’m alive because of your blessings from heaven. After all, I’ve already died and come back to life, anything is possible.”
He smiled and took Lu Yichuan’s hand. “Let me introduce you, this is my boyfriend, the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t know how you feel about…homosexuality, but I’ve chosen him, so even if you’re angry, there’s nothing you can do.”
Lu Yichuan stood beside him, the wind blowing past their ears like a cold kiss.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’ll take good care of Jiang Heng, don’t worry.”
Jiang Heng held his hand. “Although we’ve never met, please rest assured, we’ll come visit you every year. You won’t be lacking anything.”
“Mom, Dad…” he said, “Goodbye. I wish you happiness, and I hope you will also bless me with happiness.”
…
It started raining as they went down the mountain, the rain turning the path into mud, making the descent treacherous.
Lu Yichuan held the sickle and squatted down in front of Jiang Heng. “Get on, I’ll carry you.”
Jiang Heng’s breath formed small clouds in the cold air as he said, “Are you sure?” and climbed onto his back.
He leaned against the man’s broad shoulders, the rain blurring his vision. “Can you…handle it?”
“If I couldn’t, why would I offer?”
Jiang Heng chuckled.
He swung his legs, watching as Lu Yichuan carefully made his way down the mountain, Li An trailing behind them hesitantly.
“It’s been a year already…” Jiang Heng said. “Time flies.”
Lu Yichuan’s hands securely supported him, his footsteps steady. “It does.”
Looking back, it felt like a dream.
The rain intensified, and as the raindrops met the cold air at higher altitudes, they turned into sleet.
Jiang Heng touched the sleet on Lu Yichuan’s black coat. “Lu Yichuan, look! It’s snowing!”
Lu Yichuan glanced at it. “The ground temperature is too high, it will melt as soon as it lands.”
“Oh…”
“Will it snow tonight?”
“Not necessarily.”
Jiang Heng snuggled closer, pulling his hood up, then pulling Lu Yichuan’s hood up as well.
“It’s such a coincidence, my birth parents’ surname was also Jiang. The ‘Jiang’ in Changjiang (Yangtze River).”
“Lu Yichuan, I’ll use the name Jiang Heng from now on. A new beginning.”
Lu Yichuan’s foot paused on a patch of withered grass.
“Alright, Jiang Heng.”
“Hee hee!”
