Reply to Keats - Chap 63
63. The Unordinary Zhao Shengge
It was Zhao Shengge who discovered the irregularities in Rongxin’s recent scattered stock transactions.
Minglong wouldn’t have been concerned with a decaying family business in decline, but Song Qingmiao was still with the Chen family. Zhao Shengge had seen her call Chen Wan several times before. Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean they were talking about these matters. Besides, Chen Wan always answered the calls right in front of him.
But Zhao Shengge was far too sharp-minded.
He was not a man of high moral standards. Even when it came to his mother, Zhao Shengge didn’t like Chen Wan spending too much energy on anyone else.
If you can’t even focus when pursuing someone, how are you ever supposed to win them over?
Rongxin was a hollow shell now, strong in appearance only. Both the Ge family from Taiji and Xu Zhiying had ambitions of gradually devouring it. Zhao Shengge wouldn’t allow Song Qingmiao to entangle Chen Wan in all this.
Shen Zongnian told him not to waste his effort. “He’s a silent partner of Kexiang. Even if there’s a change, it won’t be made public.”
“But he has no reason to do that, and—” Shen Zongnian lowered his head to send his location to Tan Youming, then continued speaking to Zhao Shengge. “Isn’t he completely obedient to you now? If you want to know something, it should be easy.”
Zhao Shengge shook his head. “You don’t understand him.”
“…” Shen Zongnian closed his laptop. “Anyway, for now, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with him.”
Zhao Shengge picked up his coat and stood. “Good, if that’s the case.”
Chen Wan had bought flowers again.
Still peonies and hydrangeas. It was already late autumn, and these flowers were out of season. Fortunately, Haishi was in the tropics, so flower supplies were still abundant.
“Why are you giving me flowers again?” Zhao Shengge asked.
Chen Wan looked up at him and answered seriously, “Because I’m still pursuing you. When we’re not together, I’m afraid you’ll forget me.”
Zhao Shengge looked at him for a while, then said quietly, “So you know.”
“…”
Chen Wan rubbed the tip of his nose.
It was rush hour in Central, and the setting sun was fragmented by the massive palm leaves.
Orange light streamed through the car window and landed on Chen Wan’s earlobe. Zhao Shengge reached out to touch it, as if catching a golden butterfly.
He thought to himself that with his looks, Chen Wan would probably look good wearing an earring too.
There was a long traffic jam on Prince East Road, but Zhao Shengge didn’t seem bothered. When he got out of the car, he even brought the flowers with him.
“Not leaving them in the car?”
Zhao Shengge replied, “Flowers are meant to be seen.”
Chen Wan thought he was a little overly serious… but also kind of cute, and smiled. “Okay.”
There were many duty-free shops along Tidu Street, and throngs of tourists came and went. Zhao Shengge held the flowers in his arms. Some people glanced his way, but his expression remained unchanged, completely indifferent to the stares.
Chen Wan walked beside him, making sure no one brushed against either him or the flowers.
He was suddenly reminded of the boys from his school days who would go out on dates with their girlfriends, buying them flowers and then taking them out to dinner.
They had Cantonese food. As Chen Wan looked through the menu, Zhao Shengge watched him and asked, “Chen Wan, don’t you ever rest?”
“Hmm?”
He reached out and pressed beneath Chen Wan’s eyes. “They’re really dark.” He looked truly tired.
Chen Wan touched his own eyes and joked while pouring tea, “Mm, working hard and making money to pursue you.”
“…” Zhao Shengge looked at him steadily. The weight of his gaze made Chen Wan feel a little guilty. Only then did Zhao Shengge speak, his voice calm. “Chen Wan.”
“Pursuing me doesn’t require a lot of money.”
“It does.” Chen Wan set down the teapot and looked up, not entirely agreeing, but speaking earnestly. “It takes a lot of money.”
“……”
Zhao Shengge looked at him for a moment. After the waiter left, he said, “Come here.”
Chen Wan obediently moved to sit beside him. Their knees touched. Chen Wan didn’t move away. He thought for a second, then spoke first. “Zhao Shengge, if I’m pursuing you, I can’t just say it with words.”
Zhao Shengge looked at him, saying nothing.
So Chen Wan continued, “I know you already have everything and lack nothing. But I should still give you the best of what I have.”
“That’s what I should do.”
Otherwise, what kind of love is it? What kind of pursuit?
Chen Wan said, “It’s okay if you don’t like it or don’t need it, but I have to do it.”
“I’ll do everything I can to treat you well.”
That was the entire meaning of love for Chen Wan. Even if Zhao Shengge didn’t agree, Chen Wan would still follow through.
“I won’t make the same mistake again as I did when you were sick.” Chen Wan looked at him with complete sincerity.
Zhao Shengge’s fingers twitched ever so slightly. He heard Chen Wan say, “Actually, I’ve always wanted to say I’m sorry.”
He gave a self-deprecating smile. “Back then I was afraid you’d feel repulsed.”
“I hope you didn’t take it to heart.”
“After we hung up that day, I couldn’t sleep the entire night. I was worried you had a fever and didn’t have medicine.”
Chen Wan slowly shook his head, looking at him with lingering fear. “I won’t let that happen again.”
Then, he pressed his somewhat dry lips together and added, “I’m not saying this to make you agree to let me pursue you.”
Zhao Shengge’s expression remained calm, but his palms had grown hot, and his heartbeat wasn’t nearly as steady as it appeared on the surface. Under Chen Wan’s gaze, he felt as if he were bathed in the warmth of winter sunlight.
Zhao Shengge looked away and said in a mild voice, “I forgave you a long time ago.” He wasn’t the kind of person to hold grudges.
“The list of your offenses is so long, I probably couldn’t keep track of them all.”
“…” Chen Wan was caught off guard, then looked at him teasingly and laughed. “Good to know.”
“When we went bowling, you barely paid attention to me. I was really afraid you hated me.”
Zhao Shengge just looked at him like that.
Not getting a reply, Chen Wan laughed and asked, “Was it because I made that Christmas tree shot that you forgave me?”
Zhao Shengge said, “What do you think?”
Actually, he’d already forgiven him at the Taiping Houkui.
Chen Wan thought about it and said, “Probably.”
His eyes curved with a smile, and he sighed. “Zhao Shengge, if I ever make you mad again in the future, I’ll make a Christmas tree to apologize. You’ll forgive me, right?”
Zhao Shengge didn’t fall into his sweet trap. He narrowed his eyes. “So you’re saying there’ll be a next time?”
“…” Chen Wan gave a helpless laugh. “I just said if.”
Zhao Shengge said, “We’ll see.”
Someone like Chen Wan must never be given a get-out-of-jail-free card. He was already this brazen without one. With it, wouldn’t he become utterly lawless?
Chen Wan rubbed the tip of his nose and said, “Alright.”
Then, after a moment of thought, he added, “But I’m still going to make Christmas trees for you. It’s okay if you don’t forgive me. That was always just my way of wishing you happiness.”
“Chen Wan,” Zhao Shengge asked, “why?”
“Hm?”
Zhao Shengge rephrased, “What do you like about me?”
Chen Wan looked genuinely puzzled. “Do you need a reason to like Zhao Shengge?”
He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Is there really anyone who doesn’t like you?”
“…”
That same sentence goes for you, Zhao Shengge thought, without showing anything on his face.
He pointed out objectively, “Rationally speaking, I think you should’ve already seen through the illusion.”
But he didn’t continue.
“Seen through?”
Zhao Shengge always spoke directly. Whether judging others or analyzing himself, there was a kind of brutally objective clarity. “We’ve spent some time together by now. You should’ve noticed that if you strip away the titles, reputation, and aura, I’m just an ordinary person.”
His taciturn nature and steadiness made him seem proud and indifferent, but in truth, Zhao Shengge was very clear-headed. In everything he had today, personal qualities played only a small part.
“If my last name weren’t Zhao, I might just be a young man commuting on the subway from nine to five every day, worried about mortgage and car payments.”
“You could ride the subway. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Chen Wan said. “If you rode the subway, we’d probably meet on it. But—” He looked at Zhao Shengge with a gaze that was solemn and sincere, “Zhao Shengge is not ordinary.”
“Even if Zhao Shengge rides the subway, he wouldn’t be ordinary.”
Chen Wan’s love for Zhao Shengge wasn’t about loving some favored son of heaven.
“…” Zhao Shengge’s heartbeat went a little off rhythm again. Not wanting to keep talking, he tilted his chin and said, “Let’s eat.”
Chen Wan didn’t move. He kept looking at him, sensing something else beneath the surface, and smiled.
After dinner, the car was parked in an open lot not far away, so they had to walk a bit.
Chen Wan was in high spirits. Victoria Harbour was bustling at night—locals on city walks, cruise passengers, and tourists taking photos. There was no light show tonight, but a nearby sports arena was hosting a concert, and the music carried clearly through the air.
“If confessions truly heal the soul
Who would fear exposing more?
Even if my teeth start to chatter,
Don’t tell a lie,
Tell me why we drifted apart in the end…”
People were walking their dogs on both sides of the path. Chen Wan would take the initiative to step aside.
Some had tied their dogs to tree roots and let them play freely. As they passed by the park, a large German Shepherd darted out from behind a tree and rubbed against them, but Zhao Shengge sharply ordered it away.
Chen Wan glanced at Zhao Shengge with a subtle expression. Maybe Zhao Shengge didn’t like dogs, he thought.
That night, they returned to Zhao Shengge’s mountainside villa.
Perhaps because Chen Wan had said so many sweet things that day, Zhao Shengge was relatively gentle when taking off Chen Wan’s clothes, stroking his brows and eyes. Sensing that Chen Wan hadn’t rested well, his movements were much more considerate than the last time.
But Zhao Shengge took his time—his kisses were long, his tenderness drawn out.
Afterward, he personally fed Chen Wan water, bathed him, and dressed him, leaving Chen Wan almost no room for his own will or movement. His manner was forceful and close.
Half-asleep, Chen Wan thought to himself: Zhao Shengge is incredibly sexy when he’s fierce, but once he becomes gentle, it is dangerously easy to drown in him.
The next day, both were scheduled to attend a business event in the high-tech zone.
Zhao Shengge rarely appeared on such occasions in person, but the project was about to enter the promotion and roadshow phase, and his presence was needed to help boost investor confidence.
Chen Wan could barely stand straight. Zhao Shengge watched him for a moment, then came over to personally put on his socks and fasten his belt.
Chen Wan’s body was covered with various marks, some blue, some red, their colors distinct, but all hidden beneath a well-fitted suit. Zhao Shengge fastened his cufflinks and tie himself, then lowered his head and kissed Chen Wan’s lips, like sealing up a flawless gift.
Chen Wan instinctively chased after the kiss, but Zhao Shengge gently pushed him away and said, “We’re late.”
Shen Zongnian, Tan Youming, and Zhuo Zhixuan had all arrived. Chen Wan followed behind the group, staying inconspicuous.
Upon entering the venue, Zhao Shengge reflexively went to check the time.
He still had a meeting with management back at Minglong and wouldn’t be able to stay long. But his wrist was bare. He had probably taken the watch off in a hurry last night, afraid it would hurt Chen Wan, and tossed it somewhere. He wasn’t sure. Zhao Shengge paused, turned back, and asked Chen Wan, “Do you remember where I put my watch?”
His tone and expression were completely natural, voice neither loud nor soft, but to the people nearby, it fell like a clap of thunder.
Even Chen Wan paused for a second, then instinctively smiled and said, “Maybe it fell in the car just now. I’ll go check for you.”
Only then did the expressions of those around them return to normal.
Zhao Shengge gave Chen Wan a faint glance but didn’t say anything.
Chen Wan walked over to the front desk to retrieve the seating list for the inner circle and glanced around at the other guests as he did.
Once he got the list, he confirmed that several top executives from Rongxin, as well as Chen Yu and Chen Baoying, would not be entering the inner circle. They wouldn’t be seeing Zhao Shengge. He felt a wave of relief.
Zhao Shengge didn’t stay long and left. That evening, when Chen Wan said he wanted to pick him up, Zhao Shengge didn’t refuse.
But for some reason, everything was different from the night before. The gentleness and consideration were gone, and Zhao Shengge was back to being fierce.
Several times, Chen Wan felt like he might actually die. No matter how he cried out, there wasn’t even a hint of tenderness.
Afterward, Zhao Shengge took a phone call. His voice was calm, completely different from the sexy appearance of his sweat-dampened temples.
After hanging up, he stood and began getting dressed. Chen Wan, still wanting some affection or intimacy, asked in a daze, “You’re leaving this late?”
Zhao Shengge looked at him from above and said coolly, “Work.”
But his movements had already stopped, and his feet didn’t move again. His deep eyes stayed fixed on Chen Wan.
“All right then.” Chen Wan tried to get up to see him off. “I’ll take you.”
“…” Zhao Shengge held him down, his expression truly not looking good. He said, “You think you can still get up?”
Chen Wan really had no strength left. He lifted his eyes weakly, a faint sheen of moisture gathering in them from sheer exhaustion. The fingers tugging at the corner of Zhao Shengge’s shirt slipped down without any strength.
Zhao Shengge quickly caught his hand and wrapped it firmly in his own, face still cold as he forcefully tucked Chen Wan back under the blanket.
His large hand easily clasped the fragile side of Chen Wan’s neck. He exerted some pressure and asked in an unreadable voice, “Chen Wan, are you trying to have a secret affair with me?”
There was no reply for a long while. Zhao Shengge lowered his head to check and saw that Chen Wan had already fallen asleep from exhaustion.
“…”
