In a Relationship With the Rugged Guy Next Door - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: “People are supposed to get married and have children when they grow up.”

Chenchen Sour Soup Noodles had been open for over a decade. It had been a fixture in town since Chen Jingming’s earliest memories—first located in front of the middle school, and now moved to the “New Street” since the middle school was converted into a primary school.

A few days ago, Chu Feng had brought a takeout order home for Jingming; it tasted exactly the same as it always had.

The sour and spicy flavor was incredibly appetizing. Chen Jingming drank every last drop of the soup.

Chen Lang had originally intended to eat his buns, but seeing Chen Jingming blowing on the hot noodles—the sour aroma wafting into his face—his mouth began to water. He decided to ditch the buns and order a bowl of sour soup noodles for himself.

He’d leave the buns for Chu Feng.

“Is your brother sleeping in?” Chen Lang asked.

Chen Jingming dipped a strand of rice noodles into the chili dipping sauce, gave a light cough, and nodded. “Maybe he was tired out from last night.”

Chen Lang: “What was he doing to get that tired?”

“…” Chen Jingming forced a smile. “Work, probably.”

Chen Lang was only asking casually and didn’t care to press for details on what Chu Feng was up to.

The sour soup of Changxi City is famous, having spawned all sorts of delicacies: sour soup fish, sour soup beef hotpot, and sour soup blanched vegetables with rice noodles. The soup is more sour than spicy, with classic toppings like pork meatballs, ham slices, tofu, and cabbage. Once served, a handful of cilantro is scattered on top; if you savor it, the broth even has a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste.

Chen Jingming couldn’t handle much spice these days, so he asked for a mild dipping sauce.

“Coming through.” The owner brought over Chen Lang’s bowl. Since there were no more orders behind his, she tucked her hands into her apron pockets to chat. “Xiao Lang, is this Chu Feng’s brother?”

Hearing this, Chen Jingming quickly looked up and greeted her with a smile. “Yes, I am.”

“You’ve grown so much!” The current owner was the daughter-in-law of the previous owner. She had married into the family right when the massive forest fire occurred; six months later, Chen Jingming had been adopted away. “You probably don’t recognize me, do you?”

Chen Lang took a loud slurp of noodles and said, “He was too small back then. Jingming, this is Sister Wen, Xiang-ge’s wife.”

Chen Jingming smiled brightly. “Hello, Sister Wen.”

“Hello, hello.” Sister Wen sized him up. “I thought you looked a bit familiar. Chu Feng came by two days ago for takeout and said it was for his brother—that’s how I knew you were back. I have to say, you really are just like Chu Feng said: fair, delicate, and just like when you were a kid.”

Chen Jingming felt a bit embarrassed and looked to Chen Lang for help.

Chen Lang chuckled. “Yeah, he grew up in perfect proportion. Much better looking than that ‘Old Cow,’ right?”

“Hahaha!” The proprietress laughed heartily. “Is it good, little Jingming?”

Chen Jingming: “Delicious. Just like I remember.”

Chen Lang wasn’t a fast eater either, taking slow bites of noodles and sips of soup. “Sister Wen, did you change the litsea oil (mujiangzi)?”

“Yep.” Sister Wen smiled. “You have such a picky palate. I added this year’s newly picked litsea flowers; my mother-in-law gathered quite a lot.”

Chen Lang: “I thought so. It’s so fresh.”

Chen Jingming smacked his lips and tried to taste the difference, but he couldn’t tell.

Who cares! It’s delicious!

The two finished their meal and prepared to head back. It was only when he got on the motorcycle that Chen Jingming remembered why they had left in the first place.

“Brother Lang, what time is it?”

Chen Lang pulled out his phone. “7:03 AM.”

Chen Jingming had been so happy eating he’d lost track of time. “How long have we been out?”

Chen Lang: “About twenty minutes?”

“Oh…” Chen Jingming got on the bike, thinking that twenty minutes should have been enough for Chu Feng to finish.

After all, whenever he did it himself, it only took a few minutes.

“What’s up?” Chen Lang turned to look at him. “You’re acting weird. Did you have a fight with Old Cow?”

Chen Jingming: “No, nothing’s wrong. Let’s go back.”

…

When they got home, Chu Feng was already awake.

Chen Jingming followed Chen Lang into the house. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, Chen Lang shouted “Old Cow!” Chu Feng emerged from the bathroom. He was shaving, his chin covered in white foam.

“Oh, you’re back.” Chu Feng glanced at Chen Jingming. When their eyes met, he gave a shy, slightly embarrassed smile.

Chen Jingming pursed his lips and looked away.

Chu Feng was wearing a formal suit today—the first time Jingming had seen him dressed up. His white shirt was tucked into his trousers. Even though it was a loose-fit shirt, his chest muscles strained against the fabric, creating a distinct silhouette. Compared to his broad shoulders and back, his waist actually looked quite narrow.

It turned out Chu Feng had an inverted-triangle physique.

Business attire on a body like that had a concentrated, masculine allure that Chen Jingming understood all too well.

If he walked into a gay bar like that, he’d be eaten alive until not even a hair was left.

The thought that the man dressed like this had been “handling it” just twenty minutes ago in the bed they shared made Chen Jingming’s imagination run wild.

“Back? So you were awake just now?” Chen Lang tossed the bag of buns onto the dining table and sat down, crossing his legs. “Baby, is there any milk? I want some.”

Chen Jingming said there was. “Do you want it warmed up?”

Chen Lang: “No.”

Now that Chen Jingming was back, Chen Lang was no longer the “youngest” of the team. He was enjoying the thrill of bossing Jingming around for tea and water.

An April morning, a hot bowl of sour soup noodles, followed by a glass of cold milk.

“Refreshing.” Chen Lang’s skin was a bit darker than Chu Feng’s; a bit of milk foam clung to his upper lip like an Oreo cookie. “Thanks, baby. You’re so good. Why are your ears so red?”

Chen Jingming: “Are they?”

Chen Lang: “Yeah, go look in the bathroom mirror yourself.”

Chen Jingming glanced toward the bathroom. Chu Feng was leaning over the mirror, meticulously shaving.

“No thanks.” Chen Jingming immediately looked away, giving Chen Lang a fake smile. “My ears just get red on their own. Don’t worry about it.”

Compared to Chen Jingming, Chen Lang was a seasoned social observer. He could see right through it with one eye closed.

However, to save his “brother’s” face, Chen Lang didn’t say anything out loud. But he couldn’t resist doing something, so he gave Chen Jingming a wicked grin and made a greasy little tongue-click.

“Brother understands you.”

Chen Jingming: “…”

…

Manager Fu of the Crescent Hotel was scheduled to land at 10:20 AM. Chen Jingming, Chu Feng, and the others arrived at the airport before 10:00.

“There are two of them, right?” Li Yongjing asked. He had been away on a business trip and only returned to Changxi at 3:00 AM. After three hours of sleep, he’d gotten up to rush to the airport. He had dark circles under his eyes, but he seemed excited. “On my trip yesterday, CEO Zheng, who supplies ‘Old Sour Fish,’ mentioned he’s expanding his shops to other cities by the end of the year. The fish supply needs to double; they’re busy expanding the ponds.”

Chu Feng rested one hand on the railing. “How many stores?”

Li Yongjing: “Not sure, but quite a few. They even went to spring campus recruiting this year. Imagine that—even fish farming requires university students now.”

“What’s wrong with university students?” Chen Lang pointed at Chen Jingming. “We have a graduate from a Top 985 university right here.”

Li Yongjing laughed. “And could you convince him to raise cattle?”

Chen Jingming: “I could do it.”

Chu Feng: “No, you couldn’t.”

“See?” Li Yongjing laughed. He continued, “But our setup is fine as it is. I met Boss Zhuang of Nanxi Farm the day before yesterday. He said something that stuck with me—he said if you get too big, you lose the authentic ‘flavor.’ A small but beautiful route is more suitable for Changxi City.”

Everyone pondered those words.

“But who doesn’t want to make money?” Chen Lang countered. “Development is good for the hometown. Then our people wouldn’t have to leave to find work.”

Chen Jingming’s feet were getting tired from standing. Chu Feng sensed it and naturally pulled him closer, letting Jingming lean against him.

Li Yongjing continued, “Easier said than done. To be practical, if a company wants 500 head of cattle a month, can we supply that? Where would we raise them? If they’re raised elsewhere, are they still authentic Changling cattle? Boss Zhuang also mentioned ecological issues, which I’ve always taken very seriously.”

Chen Lang: “This Boss Zhuang has some good insights.”

“Ha!” Li Yongjing laughed. “He said his ‘wife’ handles all the planning and considerations. Old Cow, have you met his wife?”

Chu Feng: “No, I only see him at meetings.”

Li Yongjing: “It’s a ‘male wife’! And he’s quite good-looking. Boss Zhuang took me to his wife’s shop to eat the other day, and I saw him.”

Chen Jingming subconsciously looked at Chen Lang. Chen Lang scratched his head.

“Two men?” Chu Feng frowned.

“Yeah,” Li Yongjing replied. “You’ve never seen that?”

Chen Jingming looked up to see Chu Feng’s reaction.

Chu Feng had an expression of indescribable confusion on his face. “How can two men be together?”

The actual gay men on the scene played dead and said nothing. It was Li Yongjing, the purely straight man, who excitedly explained to Chu Feng: “Why can’t two men be together? As long as they like each other.”

“People are supposed to get married and have children when they grow up,” Chu Feng said. “Otherwise, the world would fall into chaos.”

“God, you’re such an old conservative.” Li Yongjing rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue.

Chen Jingming and Chen Lang exchanged a look. “…”

Chen Lang shrugged, his eyes saying: Now you know why I never told him about my orientation.

“Oh, he’s coming out,” Chen Lang noted.

A group of people emerged from the exit. The team scanned the crowd for a middle-aged man around forty with an assistant.

“Is it not this flight?” “Maybe he’s getting his luggage.” “Strange. Xiao Lang, give him a call.”

Chen Jingming, standing close to Chu Feng, stared at an elite-looking man in a suit, thinking he was incredibly handsome. Jingming had interned at a fashion magazine for six months and recognized that the man’s clothes and travel bag were very expensive.

The man wore silver-rimmed glasses and scanned the crowd outside the barrier. His phone seemed to vibrate, and he pulled it out.

“Brother,” Chen Jingming patted Chu Feng’s arm. “Is that him?”

The group looked over and made eye contact with the man. He put his phone away and walked toward them.

Usually, Chen Lang handled business receptions. He waved naturally and stepped forward, whispering to the others: “Holy crap, he’s so young? And kinda hot.”

The bosses they usually worked with were local and had a more “rugged” social style.

Seeing how young the man was, Chen Lang greeted him: “Brother Fu! It was a long trip. Let me take your bag; you can just call me Xiao Lang.”

Chen Jingming and Chu Feng also stepped forward to greet him.

To their surprise, the man didn’t respond to the “Brother Fu” address. He pulled his bag back slightly as Chen Lang reached for it.

“I am not your ‘brother,’ and I don’t like other people touching my things.”

Chen Lang: “…”

“Manager Fu.” Seeing the situation, Chu Feng stepped forward to shake his hand. “I am Chu Feng.”

“Fu Yu.”

The man clearly did not have a warm or easy-going personality.

After giving Chen Jingming a look, Chu Feng followed Fu Yu out. Chen Jingming hurried over to pat Chen Lang’s back. “Brother Lang, don’t be mad. Just breathe.”

Chen Lang stared at Fu Yu’s retreating back and hissed through gritted teeth: “What a stuck-up prick.”