After I Started Dating the Scum Gong Substitute, the White Moonlight Returned - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

At nine o’clock in the morning.

Cheng Jianyu parked the car steadily and picked up the warm coffee cup from under the windshield. The office building was bustling with people during the rush hour. Brother Chao was sitting on the waiting chair in the lobby. Seeing him striding over from afar, he noticed the young man’s slender build. He wore a loose, casual spliced-stripe shirt, slim-fit light-colored jeans, and the cuffs were tucked into British-style Martin boots. He was lowering his head, carelessly scrolling through his phone with one hand, while people waiting for the elevator nearby peeked at him from time to time.

Brother Chao vaguely felt that Cheng Jianyu had changed. The face was still that same refined and indifferent look, but his words and actions were clean and composed, possessing a confidence from the inside out. Just like now, he knew the people around him were looking at him, but he didn’t care at all, generously accepting the baptism of their gazes.

“Xiaoyu.” Brother Chao caught up and stepped into the elevator.

Cheng Jianyu raised his eyes from his phone, glanced at him, and gave a low “um” as a greeting.

With several people in the elevator, Brother Chao couldn’t bring himself to speak, so he just smiled at him. Until the elevator stopped, he followed Cheng Jianyu out. A retro and elegant wood-carved plaque was engraved with the delicate characters “Ming Jian.” He scanned it quickly. “Xiaoyu, I want to talk to you.”

Cheng Jianyu didn’t mean to let him come in and sit down; he turned his head and looked at him without any emotion.

“Xiaoyu, Jiang Yan is going to terminate his contract with our team. I hope you can put in a good word for us and persuade him not to be impulsive. His career is currently on the rise, and changing management teams might cause unnecessary influence. This is something you wouldn’t want to see, right?” Brother Chao had no way to seek help and no ability to save himself; he slapped his forehead and remembered Cheng Jianyu.

He used to think Cheng Jianyu was a stumbling block in Jiang Yan’s career, but only now did he realize that Cheng Jianyu was the safety pin for Jiang Yan, this “hand grenade.” For the five years that Cheng Jianyu was around, the world was peaceful and everything was fine. Now that Cheng Jianyu had left, the explosion had injured himself, and he finally realized how important Cheng Jianyu’s existence was.

After much thought, he decided to beg Cheng Jianyu. He understood Cheng Jianyu’s temper—submissive and always ready to help.

Cheng Jianyu, indifferent, slowly turned his head. “I’ve broken up with him.”

“You two will reconcile; small quarrels are normal.” Brother Chao was full of confidence. He had seen with his own eyes how much Cheng Jianyu loved Jiang Yan, and Jiang Yan could dismiss his management team for Cheng Jianyu, so he must have Cheng Jianyu in his heart too. As long as Cheng Jianyu bowed his head and went to please Jiang Yan, this matter would be almost certainly resolved.

Cheng Jianyu seemed to laugh, looking at him mockingly. “If you were me, would you reconcile with him?”

This sentence was like a slap in the face to Brother Chao, leaving him stunned. Honestly speaking, based on Jiang Yan’s temper and his malicious attitude toward Cheng Jianyu, breaking up was a way out for Cheng Jianyu. Since there was a way out, who would still walk a dead end?

“This… after all, you like him; this is different.” Brother Chao defended himself with a red face and thick neck.

Cheng Jianyu’s chin lifted slightly, his jawline clear. He said flatly, “If I were you, I would reflect on my own mistakes to Jiang Yan, rather than counting on someone who has been ordered around and treated like a nanny by you for five years. What do you think?”

This was the first time Brother Chao realized he could be so ruthless, leaving no face for anyone, his words piercing like needles. “Xiaoyu, your being with Jiang Yan was voluntary; you can’t blame me!”

Cheng Jianyu ignored him, placed his coffee on the front desk at the entrance, pressed his fingerprint lock, and while walking inside, said lightly: “Scum is still human no matter how scummy they are; as for what you are, I won’t comment.”

Even his scolding was refined; not a single dirty word was used. The glass door of the studio closed slowly. Brother Chao was furious, but amidst his anger, he felt a bit strange—Cheng Jianyu actually dared to call Jiang Yan “scum”; the world had truly turned upside down!

Hospital.

The daily morning rounds were the busiest time. As an expert physician parachuted into the department, Wen Yueming’s popularity was unprecedented. Besides being gentle, meticulous, and tireless in listening to the elderly patients’ families ramble, there was another reason: he was different from most doctors.

This difference manifested in every aspect. For instance, he didn’t have the smell of alcohol and disinfectant on him; instead, it was replaced by an elegant and warm woody scent. Perhaps his clothing was too tidy and clean, his cufflinks and collars flawless; or perhaps the heavy watch chain exposed from the pocket of his white coat—a pure gold Patek Philippe pocket watch from half a century ago.

He had never mentioned his family background, but almost everyone who came into contact with him could quickly make a judgment: this was a man from an advantaged background, and not just “ordinary” advantaged.

A living “golden turtle son-in-law” (a rich, eligible bachelor). Even with his obvious physical disability, this only stopped a small number of people from trying to climb the social ladder. After weighing the pros and cons, most people felt more sympathy for him.

Wen Yueming held a medical record folder and a silver fountain pen, writing as he said: “Auntie, we won’t use hormones for you for the time being. Don’t have too much psychological pressure; this illness is not as hard to treat as you think.”

The intern following him today was a girl who echoed him: “Pay more attention to your diet, remember to drink more water, and keep a happy mood; it’s healthier for your body.”

Wen Yueming turned his face to look at her. The girl reflexively wanted to lower her head, but immediately raised her face high, looking at him with a sweet smile.

“What’s your name?” Wen Yueming withdrew his gaze, continuing to write about the patient’s condition with a rustle.

“Li Yu.”

“Which ‘Yu’?”

“The ‘Yu’ from ‘constant and unwavering”

The nib of the fountain pen paused, and dark blue ink seeped into the thin paper. He lifted the pen, calmly put the cap back on, tucked it into his chest pocket, and looked at the medical record in his hand, smiling lightly. “Your name is very good.”

The voice was consistently slow and gentle, yet there was a fresh liveliness to it, as if he had remembered something interesting.

The girl bit her lip, wishing she could immediately pull out her phone, post on Moments, and howl—today, the male god praised her name.

Because of this little episode, Wen Yueming was in a pleasant mood in the morning and returned to his office with light steps. Pushing the door open, he found Jiang Yan sitting in his office chair. His black windbreaker was zipped up tightly, his face lowered, and his distinct jaw was hidden in the collar, making it impossible to see his expression.

“How long have you been waiting?” Wen Yueming took out the glass cup reserved for guests, poured a cup of water, and placed it on the desk.

Jiang Yan looked up, and Wen Yueming saw that his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept all night. “Did you stay up late?”

“Not long, just arrived.” Jiang Yan rubbed the bridge of his nose to wake up, leaned his head back against the chair, took a deep breath, and said, “I came to have my hand dressed and to look around.”

His right hand, which was resting on the armrest, was wrapped in gauze, and the smell of medicine flowed through the air. Wen Yueming pulled out a chair and sat opposite him, hands clasped, neither questioning nor exposing him, waiting quietly for what came next.

After a few minutes of tacit silence.

Jiang Yan tucked his injured hand into his pocket and sat up straight, looking at him fixedly. “I want to ask about Cheng Jianyu.”

Wen Yueming smiled and shook his head at him. Too young, still unable to hold back. He followed his lead and told him the truth: “Seven years ago, I went to the Jiang City Hospital to lead a team to research a project. The house prepared by the hospital for me was upstairs from his family. Cheng Jianyu was seventeen at the time and in his second year of high school.”

“I helped him with a small favor, and we gradually got to know each other.” He spoke lightly; without Cheng Jianyu’s permission, he couldn’t rashly talk about his tragic privacy. “He is a very good child. Although he came from a difficult background, he was very smart and very special, unlike the children of his age.”

Jiang Yan resisted his anger, feeling very uncomfortable. Cheng Jianyu had liked Wen Yueming since he was seventeen—that was truly long-lasting. He asked straight to the point: “Have you two dated?”

Wen Yueming was slightly startled, lifted his silver-rimmed glasses down a bit, looked at Jiang Yan from the edge, and asked back with a faint smile: “Do you think your uncle would date a minor?”

Wen Yueming’s moral standard had been verified several times since childhood. Jiang Yan believed that with his character, he wouldn’t make a move on a minor, but Cheng Jianyu clearly didn’t think so. “He likes you, do you know that?”

Wen Yueming narrowed his eyes, implicitly acknowledging this question.

Jiang Yan felt his hair stand on end. Cheng Jianyu looked so good now, and he couldn’t have been much worse as a seventeen-year-old youth. With a young man chasing after Wen Yueming, he didn’t believe Wen Yueming had never been tempted. He told himself over and over to stay calm; his uncle’s life was already miserable, he couldn’t take his anger out on him. He took a deep breath and asked the question he cared about most: “Do you like him?”

Wen Yueming was silent, loosened his shirt collar, lowered his head, and slowly laughed. “Jiang Yan, whether I like him or not is not important. Right now, you two are the ones dating.”

“This is very important to me.” Jiang Yan’s fingers tightened in his pocket; the pain of his wound was far less than the pain in his chest.

Wen Yueming raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze as calm as water, and stated plainly: “If Cheng Jianyu tells you that he is with you because you are very similar to me, I think you should first reflect on what went wrong between you.”

“I have only known him for a mere 365 days, interacting as friends of different generations. You are legitimate lovers who have been together for a full five years, 1,825 days. I am very curious: is a year more important than five years? Or is a friend more important than a lover?”

He paused, looked at Jiang Yan’s furrowed brow, and continued: “I don’t know how you treat each other, but based on my understanding of Cheng Jianyu, he is not a hard-hearted person. On the contrary, he values relationships very much and knows how to repay kindness. If he hasn’t been moved by you in five years, then I have to ask you: what on earth have you done?”

Wen Yueming rarely had such a serious moment, and Jiang Yan had never seen it. Being accused like this by a “love rival,” he felt angry and embarrassed. In these short few days, he had experienced almost all the negative emotions he had never felt before.

Cheng Jianyu fooled him, humiliated him, and looked down on him. He couldn’t swallow this anger that broke his heart, but rationally, Wen Yueming’s words were thought-provoking and deafening. Could it be that five years of feelings were not worth a single year?

A kindergarten child would know that five is bigger than one.

What exactly did he do to Cheng Jianyu?

On the scale of competition, he hadn’t even managed to get a single weight, and yet it would still tilt toward a teenage love?

Jiang Yan stood up, his spine straight, and walked out without a word. Wen Yueming looked at his back, sighed gently, and shook his head.

Seeing the variety show promotion for Cheng Jianyu and Jiang Yan on the internet, he had already guessed most of it. So when he first met Cheng Jianyu, he solemnly told Cheng Jianyu that he had let go, and hoped that Cheng Jianyu could also let go. He didn’t want to see the young man who had made his heart flutter back then get trapped in a quagmire of guilt, unable to let go.

Being a memory in his heart was better than becoming a burden.

The caregiver holding a rag pushed the door open to do the daily cleaning. Walking to the mirror facing the office chair, he reached out and turned the mirror that was facing the wall around, saying while wiping: “Dr. Wen, why did you have the mirror facing the wall today? It’s unlucky to have the mirror facing the wall; you can’t do that.”

Wen Yueming looked up in surprise, seeing his own reflection in the mirror, and smiled helplessly. It seems Jiang Yan was not only heartbroken, but he didn’t even want to see the face of the “culprit.”