In a Relationship With the Rugged Guy Next Door - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: “Brother Drank My Wine…”

The mountain road home was winding and treacherous. Chen Jingming didn’t dare drive too fast. When he reached the entrance of the small town along the way, he felt hungry again and stopped at a roadside shop for a bowl of plain noodles.

When he got home, no one was there. Following Hu Xianyun’s instructions, Chen Jingming spread the mushrooms out in a ventilated area to prevent them from rotting quickly due to trapped rainwater.

After finishing, he took a shower and watched TV on the sofa. He sent a WeChat message to Chen Lang asking when he’d be back.

Without waiting for a reply, Chen Jingming fell asleep on the sofa.

By the time he woke up, the weather had cleared completely. The 3:00 PM sunlight was warm and cozy. Chen Jingming, eyes swollen from sleep, sat on the steps in the yard counting mushrooms while munching on a cucumber.

Once finished, he went to record his podcast. Chu Feng had previously bought him professional recording equipment after finding out about his hobby; while it wasn’t a top-tier brand, it was more than enough for an amateur like Chen Jingming.

The large workbench in the living room had become Chen Jingming’s desk, covered with various materials and magazines he’d brought back from his studio.

Lately, he had been reading up on Changxi City’s intangible cultural heritage and meeting many practitioners. He felt these skills were precious and kept thinking about how he could contribute to preserving them.

Today’s podcast was about the story of Song Cheng and the veterinarian.

Chen Jingming’s podcast didn’t feature funny memes or trending topics; it was just delicate, gentle stories, much like the fairy tale radio shows he listened to as a child.

Occasionally, the sounds of cats and dogs barking or groups of children running past drifted in from outside.

Chen Jingming’s editing skills were very basic, so he didn’t remove these ambient noises. The previous episode about the ranch employees had been recorded with headphones while he was accompanying Chu Feng at work; it had captured the sound of the older women singing folk songs together while drinking after their shift.

Unexpectedly, several comments said they found it very interesting and asked what the lyrics meant, though Chen Jingming didn’t understand them either.

At 5:00 PM, Chu Feng and Chen Lang returned with large bags, saying they were hosting a barbecue tonight.

Chen Jingming circled them. “Let me carry those.”

Both Chu Feng and Chen Lang refused.

“Did the baby eat lunch?” Chu Feng asked.

“Yes.”

Chen Lang saw the pile of mushrooms in the yard. “Holy crap, you picked this many? Did Hu Xianyun take you to her secret mushroom spot?”

“Mhm.” Chen Jingming gave a guilty smile.

“That girl…” Chen Lang grumbled. “I begged her for two years and she never took me. Every time she comes back with a full basket, I’m dying of jealousy. Baby, can you secretly take me there?”

Chen Jingming, naturally wanting to protect Hu Xianyun’s secret, replied, “That’s really not possible.”

“Rebellious phase. Is there any milk?” Chen Lang asked. “Iced.”

Chen Jingming hurriedly said yes, rushed into the kitchen to pour milk for Chen Lang, and brought a glass of water to Chu Feng.

Chu Feng downed the water in one go and immediately started prepping the ingredients.

Chen Jingming gave Chen Lang some potato chips, sat on the sofa, and looked Chen Lang up and down.

“What?” Chen Lang coughed dryly.

“Lang-ge.” Chen Jingming smiled, looking at the necklace and the bag beside him. “Did Lang-ge go to Shanghai to buy designer brands?”

Chen Lang glanced toward the kitchen and lowered his voice. “I didn’t buy them. I couldn’t bear to spend that much.”

“President Fu?” Chen Jingming’s gossip soul was ignited. “Did you guys go on a date?”

A rare look of shyness appeared on Chen Lang’s tough face, but he still acted stubborn. “Not exactly. He just insisted on giving them to me.”

“Is it official?” Chen Jingming couldn’t help but lightly punch Chen Lang’s arm with both hands. “So sweet!”

Chen Lang: “…Wait, aren’t you and your brother even sweeter now that you’re like this?”

Chen Jingming’s shoulders slumped. “It’s different. And…”

Just as Chen Lang was about to ask why it was different, Chu Feng came out of the kitchen. “Xiao Lang, help me slice the beef.”

“I’ll do it.” Chen Jingming stood up proactively. “Lang-ge, you rest. I have something to ask you later.”

Ever since Chen Jingming returned, people had been talking about a big get-together, but the opportunity had never come up.

Now that the market fair was over and Chen Jingming’s work and life had stabilized, they took advantage of the weekend to gather everyone.

Chen Jingming went to the kitchen to slice beef, but his knife skills were poor, resulting in uneven slices. Chu Feng told him to go out and play.

“Then I’ll do something else.” Chen Jingming saw many vegetables needing prep. “I’ll wash the veggies. Lang-ge is tired from the flight.”

Chu Feng, who was marinating chicken wings, smiled. “No need. I’ll do it myself.”

Chen Jingming refused to leave. “Let me help you. You’re tired too.”

“Baby.” Chu Feng smiled, leaning in to give Chen Jingming a peck on the lips.

Chen Jingming dodged shyly. “Lang-ge is right out there.”

Chu Feng: “He can’t see.”

Chen Jingming then leaned in and gave Chu Feng a soft kiss on the cheek.

Even though Chen Lang knew the truth, Chen Jingming still couldn’t act like a couple in front of others. He always felt that in everyone’s eyes, they were still brothers.

It felt weird—almost like incest.

Prepping the food took nearly two hours. The meat alone filled two large basins, and there were plenty of vegetables like chives, zucchini, potatoes, and enoki mushrooms.

Chen Jingming’s delicate hands turned white from being soaked in water.

Chen Lang went home for a bit and then bought two large watermelons from the new street.

As dusk fell, friends and relatives from the town arrived. Besides young people like Hu Xianyun, Chen Lang, and You Jing, there were also elders from the town.

Some brought drinks, some brought fruit. Chen Lang moved two barbecue tables from his house. With the grill, there were three spots to cook. When the pork belly hit the charcoal, the oil sizzled and splattered, making people lean back in alarm.

Chen Jingming and Hu Xianyun carried plates of food into the yard one by one.

In the kitchen, Chen Lang was stir-frying the mushrooms they had brought back. Without needing much seasoning, the mushrooms fried with pork belly and green peppers were delicious enough.

The mushrooms were served in two large plates, and everyone praised Chen Jingming and Hu Xianyun for their skill.

The two of them played along modestly, waving their hands and saying, “It was nothing, really.”

Chu Feng had been working hard all afternoon. When Chen Jingming cut the watermelon, he secretly fed the sweetest middle piece to Chu Feng.

“Is it sweet?”

“Sweet,” Chu Feng said, then added as he looked at Chen Jingming’s cute smile, “But not as sweet as Baby.”

“Aiya!” Chen Jingming really couldn’t handle Chu Feng’s deadpan flirting, but he secretly loved it. He shyly bumped his head against Chu Feng.

Chu Feng laughed. “Let’s go out and barbecue.”

There were seven or eight people in the yard. Just as Chu Feng was about to call Li Yongjing to ask why he hadn’t arrived, the man walked in.

“This is my wife. Jingming hasn’t met her yet, right?” Li Yongjing introduced her. “Li Baozhen. You can call her Zhenzhen-jie.”

“Zhenzhen-jie.” Chen Jingming greeted her sweetly and politely.

Li Baozhen had brought some homemade cream puffs. “Hello, Jingming. These are for you guys. Old Li has told me about you many times; finally meeting you.”

“Sister-in-law, what did he say?” Chu Feng saw Li Yongjing carrying a large glass jar of green plum wine and took it to place on the table.

Li Baozhen laughed. “He said you look delicate but are actually very capable. Haven’t seen you in a while, Old Niu (Old Cow/Chu Feng), you look like you’re in high spirits too.”

Chen Jingming and Chu Feng glanced at each other and lowered their heads shyly.

Chu Feng, however, laughed heartily. “Baby is back, so I’m in a good mood.”

He arranged for everyone to sit: one table for elders, one for middle-aged folks, and one for the young people.

Only Chu Feng insisted on squeezing into the young people’s table, claiming he was afraid they’d cook the food poorly and get diarrhea, until Chen Lang pulled him away.

“Hu Xianyun is here, come over and drink!” Chen Lang said, then asked the youth table, “Are you guys drinking?”

Hu Xianyun and another boy said they wanted green plum wine.

Chen Jingming looked at the wine on their table. The golden liquid with plums soaking in it looked delicious.

He raised his hand. “I want some too!”

Chen Lang poured a glass for each of them.

You Jing arrived late with his guitar, clutching several delivery boxes. “Old Niu, your packages. I picked them up from the Cainiao station on my way.”

Chu Feng immediately got up to take them.

“What did you buy?” You Jing sat down. “A bomb? It says ‘confidential shipping.'”

Chu Feng didn’t blush. “Just some trinkets.”

In the corner, Chen Jingming’s face was already as red as if he were drunk.

“What’s wrong with you?” Hu Xianyun leaned in. “Are you burning up? Move back a bit, don’t stay so close to the charcoal.”

Chen Jingming was dazed. “Oh, okay.”

People in Changxi can’t have a barbecue without playing games. Chen Lang was always the most excited, wanting to be the dealer for a card game called “Water Fish.”

Chen Jingming had never played, so his tablemates explained the rules.

Before he even fully understood, two rounds had passed. Under Hu Xianyun’s egging on, Chen Jingming went for an aggressive play and “won” a drinking penalty.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Chu Feng, protective of his “brother,” stood up to drink for him, but Li Yongjing stopped him. “He’s drinking at home, what are you afraid of? Homemade wine isn’t that strong.”

Chen Jingming didn’t drink often and had no concept of the alcohol content of homemade plum wine. He only knew it was sweet and tasted a bit like alcohol but wasn’t unpleasant.

After a few rounds, Chen Jingming proved to be both reckless and bad at the game. He finished a small pot of plum wine by himself.

Chen Jingming sat on his low stool, shaking his head, trying to focus on the cards in his hand.

“Oh my god!”

“What?” Hu Xianyun leaned over.

Chen Jingming stood up wobbly, holding his cards high. “Water Fish! Water Fish!! Four Aces!”

The others looked. The cards were a 7, 7, 4, and an Ace.

He wasn’t a “Water Fish”; he was just so drunk he couldn’t see the cards.

Everyone burst out laughing. Chen Jingming was penalized by the dealer and had to take another drink.

“Baby.” Chu Feng stepped over from the next table with his long legs and took the glass. “No more. You’re drunk.”

Hu Xianyun also said, “I’ll drink for Jingming.”

Chu Feng said he’d do it, reaching from behind Chen Jingming to take the glass.

“No!” Chen Jingming shielded the glass. “I can drink it.”

He raised his hand to his mouth.

Splash!

—Half a glass of plum wine poured directly onto Chu Feng’s chest behind him.

“Hahahahaha—” Everyone in the yard was hysterical.

Chu Feng laughed helplessly, shaking his shirt.

Chen Jingming, having missed the wine, turned around and saw it had been “drunk” by Chu Feng’s chest. He started a fuss, wanting it back. “What are you doing?”

He grabbed Chu Feng’s shirt. “Mine!”

“Alright, alright, yours, yours.” Chu Feng could only coax him, trying to push him down to sit.

Instead, Chen Jingming lunged at him, his flushed little face burying right into Chu Feng’s chest. “I can drink…”

Usually soft-spoken, a drunk Chen Jingming was surprisingly strong, and his grip hurt Chu Feng a little.

The elders just thought it was funny, laughing while they ate.

Chen Lang and Hu Xianyun exchanged a look and knew things were going south. They quickly urged Chu Feng, “Jingming is drunk, take him inside to rest for a bit.”

“Okay.” Chu Feng faintly felt Chen Jingming licking the spot wet with plum wine, and in a panic, he hoisted Chen Jingming over his shoulder and carried him into the house.

Chen Jingming mumbled and struggled, clutching Chu Feng’s thin, quick-dry T-shirt.

“Don’t bite… Baby, don’t bite Brother.” Chu Feng had also been drinking, but he was sober. He quickly went upstairs into the bedroom.

When the light flickered on, Chen Jingming finally snapped to attention. “Eh? What happened?”

Chu Feng: “Baby is drunk.”

Chen Jingming: “No.”

His eyes were fixed on Chu Feng’s chest.

The quick-dry fabric was very thin; wet with wine, it clung to the skin, clearly outlining the curves of Chu Feng’s pectoral muscles.

Chu Feng thought his dazed look was adorable. He cupped Chen Jingming’s face, wanting to push him back slightly. “Let me change my clothes. Baby, why don’t you lie down and rest? There are still guests downstairs.”

“No.” Chen Jingming looked up, his cheeks pink, looking at Chu Feng with a confused gaze. “I want to drink.”

He wrapped his hands around Chu Feng’s lean waist and wiggled, and before Chu Feng could react, he buried his head in Chu Feng’s chest again.

Chu Feng let out a low grunt, lightly gripping Chen Jingming’s shoulders, restraining himself. “A bit later, okay? There are people in the house.”

Chen Jingming’s brain was foggy, and he held Chu Feng tightly, not letting him move.

“Baby…” Chu Feng didn’t dare speak up. His hands, which were supposed to push Chen Jingming away, instead became a gentle caress down Chen Jingming’s back.

“Brother drank my wine.”

“Mhm?”

“I want to drink it back.”

Chu Feng bit his lip, picked Chen Jingming up with one arm, reached back to lock the bedroom door, and pressed Chen Jingming onto the bed.

Chen Jingming was stunned, lying on the bed looking at Chu Feng blankly. “Eh?”

Chu Feng reached out and pulled off his shirt, then kissed him fiercely.

…

Twenty minutes later, Chu Feng went to the bathroom to wet a towel and wipe his chest and abdomen.

A faint, musky scent mingled with the smell of alcohol; it was so intense that every breath was inescapable, leaving Chu Feng feeling parched and hot.

Chu Feng changed into clean clothes, rinsed his mouth, and went downstairs.

“Is Jingming okay?” Li Baozhen asked. “That wine still has a kick. I probably put too much sugar in it, making it deceptive.”

Chu Feng smiled. “He’s fine. He just needs to sleep it off.”

Li Baozhen: “The green plums are out again this year. If Jingming likes it, I’ll make him some low-alcohol ones. Old Niu, do you want to make some? I just got thirty pounds of plums. If you want, I’ll have Old Li bring some over tomorrow.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Seventh Uncle chimed in. “Get the spirits from my place. You need grain liquor to make this stuff; it’s more fragrant.”

Seventh Uncle owned a liquor shop and did business based on trust with the locals, using real ingredients.

You Jing was strumming his guitar lazily and said with a smile, “Drinking a bit once in a while is good. Jingming is under a lot of pressure sometimes; drinking to let off steam is good for the health.”

Everyone agreed.

Chu Feng felt inexplicably embarrassed.

They had no idea what Chen Jingming did when he was drunk.

But since so many people cared for Chen Jingming, and Chen Jingming liked drinking it himself, Chu Feng accepted the offer. “Alright, thanks Sister-in-law and Seventh Uncle.”

In a half-dreaming state, Chen Jingming heard the people downstairs laughing and someone singing to a guitar. But he was so drunk and tired he couldn’t open his eyes.

After a long, long time, he felt someone pull him into their arms and whisper, “Goodnight.”

Chen Jingming’s head tilted, and he finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, Chen Jingming woke up early to shower. He felt exceptionally refreshed, with no aches anywhere. He followed Chu Feng around, saying the local wine was better—even if you drank too much, you didn’t wake up with a headache.

Chu Feng was shredding carrots, laughing uncontrollably. “Feeling good?”

Chen Jingming: “Feeling great!!”

“Do you know why it feels so good?”

“Because I drank.”

Chu Feng turned to look at him, a mischievous smirk on his face. “You don’t remember anything at all?”

“Eh?” Chen Jingming blinked. “Mhm… I remember being penalized. You took my wine, but I took it back to drink.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Chen Jingming took an egg and cracked it into the flour batter. “Xiao Yun said, anyone who tries to skip a penalty drink gets ‘rough treatment’!”

As soon as he finished, Chu Feng suddenly lifted his shirt.

“Ah…” Chen Jingming’s mouth fell open.

Chu Feng’s chest was covered in red hickeys.

Chen Jingming looked up. “Me?”

Chu Feng laughed loudly. “Do you think I could suck those myself?”

Chen Jingming scratched his head.

Strange, why do I always want to ‘nurse’ whenever I’m drunk?

Yesterday’s barbecue had left the yard smoky and the ground greasy. After breakfast, the two connected the hose and washed the yard clean.

After lunch, Li Baozhen drove over to bring them the green plums, along with her daughter.

Her daughter was named Li Siru, six years old, with straight bangs and a yellow dress—very cute.

“Call him ‘Brother,'” Li Baozhen said, pointing at Chen Jingming.

Li Siru said in a milky voice, “Hello, Brother.”

Li Baozhen then pointed at Chu Feng. “Call him ‘Uncle.'”

Li Siru: “Hello, Uncle.”

Chu Feng gave a helpless smile, while Chen Jingming laughed hysterically.

“I have to take her to dance class, so I’m off,” Li Baozhen said.

Chen Jingming waved. “Thanks, Zhenzhen-jie. Bye, Xiao Ru. Come play at Uncle’s house next time!”

Li Siru, remembering her mother’s teachings, said, “Bye, Brother.”

Once they left, Chu Feng, holding the hose, said, “Does Baby also think I’m old?”

“How could I!” Chen Jingming hurriedly hugged him to coax him. “You’re in your prime.”

Chu Feng prepared to turn on the high-pressure water gun to wash the yard. “Go inside. This thing is powerful; it’ll splash you.”

Chen Jingming opened his laptop, wanting to write something, but he wasn’t in the mood. He just opened a browser to browse aimlessly.

After the company issued its statement, the heat around Tang Song had died down. Instead, the drama he had been fired from was gaining traction, with people voting for a new male lead.

Some leaked clips appeared from somewhere. People were saying that two particularly atmospheric clips were modified according to the on-set screenwriter’s ideas.

He also saw a blog post from a marketing account expressing regret over Chen Jingming “quitting the industry.” Chen Jingming shouted at his computer.

“I didn’t quit the industry!”

He clicked on the comments. The top comment revealed that Xingyu was preparing to greenlight the script Chen Jingming sold in his senior year, The Ugly Child, though they might change the name.

Chen Jingming was shocked and searched for related terms; several marketing accounts had indeed posted the news.

However, when he checked the official SARFT website, there was no record of it being greenlit.

Although the script had nothing to do with a junior screenwriter like Chen Jingming once it was sold, it was his first sold work after all, and he really wanted to know if there was progress.

After some thought, he took out his phone and put back his original SIM card.

He wanted to find the producer he’d added on WeChat when he sold the script to ask.

As soon as the signal connected, countless SMS alerts and app notifications popped up. The phone he’d used for three years froze immediately.

Chen Jingming watched the screen pop up for nearly two minutes before it stopped. He sighed deeply looking at the “7000+” notification on his messages.

Logging into WeChat caused another freeze as the loading icon spun.

Chen Jingming waited with his chin in his hand.

“Baby.” Chu Feng called him from the door.

Chen Jingming stood up and walked over. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Feng: “Baby, take the plums to the kitchen. I’m wet.”

Chen Jingming carried the plums to the kitchen. On his way back, he saw several packages on the coffee table.

Thinking they were “those things,” Chen Jingming used a knife to open them.

Chen Jingming: “…”

Where on earth did Brother find the tutorial? Why is there an anal plug?