The police arrived quickly and wasted no time, immediately leading the group to the police car.
Zong Yuan’s money was already all gone. As the police escorted Aunt Lin and Uncle Wang to the car, there were still some who were captivated enough to step forward and spit at them. The police were well aware of the strange dampness and foul odor emanating from these two.
Aunt Lin and Uncle Wang had an innate fear of police cars; they cried and sobbed, “Officer, don’t believe them! They’re bullying us!”
“Let’s talk at the station. Get in,” the officer replied.
Before they even reached the police station, Jiang Shengyan’s secretary had already found a lawyer waiting for them nearby.
The lawyer was dressed in a suit and spoke confidently, one line after another. Aunt Lin and Uncle Wang had never seen such a scene before. They sat nervously, trembling as they were questioned one by one.
The lawyer’s expression grew more serious as he approached Jiang Shengyan, saying, “Mr. Jiang, these two will be punished.”
Jiang Shengyan rolled his eyes. “Of course.”
Seeing the lawyer rendered speechless, Zong Yuan covered his mouth with one hand and smiled. “Please, continue.”
The lawyer continued, “This couple has committed the crime of unlawful entry into someone else’s residence. If the circumstances are serious, it can be considered a crime. In such cases, they could face a prison sentence of up to three years or detention.”
He lowered his voice. “If the circumstances are particularly minor and the harm is negligible, they typically wouldn’t constitute a crime. Generally, they’d just be detained and fined.”
Jiang Shengyan understood, his face darkening. “And then?”
“The law is merciless, but people can show compassion,” the lawyer explained. “If the elderly were momentarily confused and did not profit from this, plus since you provided them with the key, it wouldn’t count as a forceful invasion. They would mostly face fines and possibly a short detention.”
Jiang Shengyan breathed heavily, instinctively looking at Zong Yuan, filled with trust and reliance, believing he would have a way out. Zong Yuan gently patted his hand and turned to the lawyer. “What if they secretly monitored others and stole trade secrets?”
The lawyer looked surprised. “Then I would need to investigate that thoroughly.”
The lawyer worked quickly and they soon emerged from the police station. Jiang Shengyan felt his pent-up anger dissipate, walking a few paces with a limp, “Zong Yuan, Zong Yuan, Zong Yuan.”
He called out and Zong Yuan replied without the slightest hint of impatience. Suddenly, Jiang Shengyan grabbed him, stopping him in his tracks.
Under the scorching sun, Zong Yuan’s forehead had already begun to sweat.
Jiang Shengyan muttered, “I’m still not happy.”
“Then think of something that makes you happy.”
Zong Yuan comforted him as if he were a three-year-old child.
Jiang Shengyan looked at Zong Yuan, whose features were deep and sharp, exuding an overwhelmingly addictive sense of security. “I want to smoke your cigarette.”
Zong Yuan handed it to him.
Jiang Shengyan took a puff, coughing at first. But after getting used to it, he found it quite nice. He rambled on about his childhood, nearly wearing his mouth out from talking.
After listening to a few stories, Zong Yuan was overwhelmed by the smell of smoke invading his nose. This was the last cigarette, and he swallowed hard. Amid Jiang Shengyan’s chatter, he wrapped his arms around him from behind, taking the cigarette from Jiang Shengyan’s hand.
Jiang Shengyan was startled into silence, staring blankly at his movements.
Zong Yuan held the remaining half of the cigarette in his mouth, taking a deep drag before unceremoniously tossing it on the ground. He pressed Jiang Shengyan’s head down and kissed him, making contact with his parched lips.
Smoke swirled around them, the cheap tobacco taste transferring from Zong Yuan’s mouth to Jiang Shengyan’s.
It seemed more enduring than the half a cigarette.
Jiang Shengyan’s pupils contracted sharply and then he reacted, not dodging or running away. He responded passionately, wrapping his arms around Zong Yuan’s neck, lost in the intense collision between men.
It was like a puppy biting without any technique.
The smell of smoke was strong and their heavy breathing intertwined. Jiang Shengyan pushed Zong Yuan away, and the corners of his eyes glistened with moisture. “You’re hard.”
Zong Yuan replied, “Mm, hard.”
He licked his lips, where Jiang Shengyan had bitten him, frowning slightly.
The way the man licked his lips while frowning was incredibly sexy. Jiang Shengyan covered his racing heart, murmuring, “What kind of aphrodisiac did you give me?”
Every cell in his body screamed, “I really like him”, and he felt completely at the mercy of his emotions. For the first time in over twenty years, Jiang Shengyan tasted the terror of such feelings.
But what could he do? Even if it was terrifying, he couldn’t stop wanting to get closer to him.
Zong Yuan looked at his lower body in frustration. “Bro, have some spirit.”
Jiang Shengyan’s face turned red, shy and expectant. “How about I comfort it for you?”
He tentatively probed, “Zong Yuan, you’re lasting in that department, right?”
Zong Yuan replied enigmatically, “What do you think?”
His bro pointed at him confidently.
Jiang Shengyan looked at him as if he were a family heirloom, filled with adoration. “It’s going to be impressive.”
Suddenly, Zong Yuan felt a chill in his heart.
Zong Xiaomo and Er Ya squatted at the door and quickly ran over when they spotted someone. “Brother, how’s it going?”
Zong Yuan replied, “It’s fine, we’ll talk later.”
Zong Xiaomo responded with an “oh”, but Er Ya suddenly interjected, “Brother Yuan, how did you get a cut on your mouth?”
Zong Xiaomo was surprised. Upon looking closely, she exclaimed, “Bro, you bit your lip!”
Her question was straightforward, but Jiang Shengyan felt guilty and almost jumped up. “It’s him! He bit himself!”
Zong Yuan shot him a meaningful glance, thinking about settling the score later. He nodded, “I accidentally bit it while eating.”
“That’s really careless.”
As they spoke, they had already reached home. After bidding farewell to Er Ya, Chen Hongmei was waiting in the house. “So how is it? Did they really go looking for trouble?”
Zong Yuan replied, “It’s fine. They’ve been taken to the police station.”
“Oh my,” Chen Hongmei gasped, “Did they really plan to go after Shengyan?”
Zong Yuan looked at Jiang Shengyan’s expression and felt relieved. He recounted the events as they were and Chen Hongmei expressed her disbelief. “I never expected them to be such people. What a lack of conscience.”
She felt even more sympathy for Jiang Shengyan. “Shengyan, why don’t you just come stay at Auntie’s place? When I have time in a day or two, we can do a thorough cleaning of the whole house together. How does that sound?”
Zong Xiaomo reminded from the side, “Mom, we don’t have a guest room.”
“What do we need a guest room for?” Chen Hongmei said boldly. “Can’t he just share a room with A’Yuan?”
Jiang Shengyan’s expression turned oddly strange. “Of course, that’s fine.”
Zong Yuan squinted his eyes and smiled. “I have no problem with it either.”
After dinner that night, they washed their faces and brushed their teeth. Zong Yuan found a spare toothbrush for Jiang Shengyan. As soon as the toothpaste touched his teeth, Jiang Shengyan’s expression twisted in agony. “Damn, that’s spicy!”
It was a double dose of mint, exploding in his mouth.
He finished brushing his teeth with a face full of pain.
It was already dark outside. Zong Yuan saw that Chen Hongmei and Zong Xiaomo had gone into their rooms. Boldly, he bent down and ordered Jiang Shengyan to open his mouth. “Let me check.”
Jiang Shengyan replied, “Ah.”
Then a tongue darted inside.
Zong Yuan filled his mouth with minty freshness, nodding in satisfaction. “Very good, now go to sleep.”
Jiang Shengyan felt his anger rising, filled with anxiety. “What if it’s my first time?”
Zong Yuan replied, “You’ll get used to it. It lasts only two or three minutes at most each time, twice a day. You’ll end up liking it; it’s really pleasant.”
How refreshing mint toothpaste was.
Jiang Shengyan couldn’t believe it. “Two minutes each time and only twice a day?”
He glanced down at Zong Yuan, his eyes full of despair.
Zong Yuan asked curiously, “Are you saying you do it several times a day?”
Jiang Shengyan was confused and comforted himself, “At least there are still four minutes left in the day. Four more minutes.” He remembered that Zong Yuan should feel more self-conscious and forced a smile. “It’s fine, Zong Yuan, I don’t mind even if it’s only four minutes a day.”
He tried to be strong. “If it really doesn’t work, I—I can also…”
Zong Yuan was speechless.
Finally understanding what he was thinking, Zong Yuan felt a throbbing in his temples from the absurdity of it all. With a mocking laugh, he bent down and picked Jiang Shengyan up.
Jiang Shengyan instinctively said, “Hey!”
Zong Yuan’s hand landed mercilessly on his backside, gritting his teeth. “I will make sure you know what it means to last!”
Jiang Shengyan bit his shoulder and Zong Yuan suddenly stopped. “What’s wrong?”
Chen Hongmei stood at the door holding a basin, her face in shock as she looked at them. The metal basin slipped from her hands, crashing to the ground with a loud bang, sliding to Zong Yuan’s feet.
The atmosphere turned completely silent.
Jiang Shengyan lay on Zong Yuan’s shoulder, staring blankly.
Chen Hongmei’s voice trembled as darkness clouded her vision. “What… what are you two doing?”
Zong Yuan remained silent and Jiang Shengyan felt a panic rising in his heart.
Chen Hongmei looked at Zong Yuan, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes disappearing into the night, replaced by a gaze that could pin a person to the ground. “Zong Yuan.”
Zong Yuan carefully set Jiang Shengyan down, sighing. “Mom, let me explain.”
Chen Hongmei felt fear rising within her, her hands trembling as she opened and closed her mouth. “Y-you dare to say it?”
Zong Yuan moved closer to her, placing both hands on her shoulders, his expression serious to the point of being terrifying. “Mom, look at me.”
Chen Hongmei looked at him, realizing her son had grown into a reliable adult, capable of handling things. He had grown up and seen the world’s vastness, yet…
Chen Hongmei said, “Son, Mom is getting old. Can you bear to see this?”
Her wrinkles deepened one after another on her face. Why did she work so hard every day? Wasn’t it just to save up a house dowry for her son and daughter, to lessen their difficulties in life?
In some aspects, Zong Yuan was truly cold and unfeeling. He made Chen Hongmei listen to him. “Mom, do you dislike Jiang Shengyan?”
Jiang Shengyan stood straight in the yard, his body stiffened into a statue.
Chen Hongmei glanced at him. Deep down, she felt a fondness for the boy. “I don’t dislike him. But son, both of you are men. Men absolutely can’t be together.”
Zong Yuan replied, “Mom, what are you worried about?”
His expression was partially hidden in the moonlight, vague and indistinct. He rationally clarified for Chen Hongmei, “You don’t need to worry about children. There are test-tube babies and surrogacy. Boss Jiang is wealthy.” He called out to Jiang Shengyan, “Boss Jiang, can we leave it to you?”
Jiang Shengyan responded from his throat, “Sure.”
Zong Yuan continued, “As for relatives and friends, you don’t need to worry at all. We’ll live in a big city. Mom, you’ve always wanted to go see them. Even if they ask me why I’m not dating, we can just hire an actor to play along. We don’t have many relatives, right?”
Children and relatives were the two things that worried Chen Hongmei. When Zong Yuan said this, she felt something was off, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.
The future and her pride were both guaranteed. Her son liked him; she always felt Jiang Shengyan had a familiar face and liked him from the bottom of her heart.
Seeing her wavering, Zong Yuan asked, “Mom, what are you worried about?”
He said, “You like Jiang Shengyan, I like him too. We can have kids and there’s no fear of shame. What else are you concerned about?”
Zong Yuan persuaded her one sentence at a time. Jiang Shengyan, listening beside them, felt so moved that he rushed over and grabbed Chen Hongmei’s hand, declaring with great enthusiasm, “Mom, let me support you for a lifetime!”
Zong Yuan, who had been pushed to the side, heard this and his face darkened. He pulled Jiang Shengyan over. “Support my ass!”
“You take care of the son; I’ll take care of the mom!”
Chen Hongmei looked at Zong Yuan’s expression and suddenly understood everything. Feeling somewhat exhausted, she asked, “Are you sure, A’Yuan?”
Zong Yuan nodded, reassuring her. “Mom, don’t worry.”
Chen Hongmei, a rural woman, couldn’t scold Jiang Shengyan, nor did she want to scold her son. She sighed and bent down to pick up the basin, but Jiang Shengyan was a step ahead and handed it to her.
In the end, Chen Hongmei couldn’t bear to see it. “Go back and sleep, it’s fine. Aunt doesn’t blame you.”
Jiang Shengyan looked down, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry.”
Chen Hongmei patted his head.
Zong Yuan felt a tug in his heart, suddenly remembering that whether in the previous life or this one, his mother always had a special fondness for Fu Xin and Jiang Shengyan.
It was a liking that came from the bottom of her heart.
He walked over and said softly, “Mom, go to sleep. It’s too late.”
Chen Hongmei entered the room.
Lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. One moment she thought of Zong Yuan’s words, the next she thought of Jiang Shengyan, and then of Xiaomo. Finally, she felt a bit drowsy. Before she fell asleep, her thoughts became clearer all at once.
Her children would have their own blessings; they were all adults with their own thoughts and abilities. In the end, parents couldn’t control their children. Fine, let it be.
Jiang Shengyan stood beside Zong Yuan, looking at him with bright eyes. “Zong Yuan, you were really handsome just now.”
He thought Zong Yuan would brush it off.
But really, every movement he made made Jiang Shengyan’s heart flutter.
Zong Yuan led the softened-hearted CEO Jiang back to the room. “Alright, Boss Jiang, that matter is behind us. Now it’s time for me and you.”
“Come on, let’s get started.”
The first night should be intense; afterward, it should be scheduled and regulated.
