In a Relationship With the Rugged Guy Next Door - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Beside Brother, There is Nothing to Worry About…

There were four packages in total.

Chen Jingming unpacked all of them. Aside from that particular one, they were all standard items needed for the “process.”

He sat on the sofa, staring at the pile of items in deep thought.

—What exactly was going through Chu Feng’s mind when he bought sixteen tubes of lubricant?

Even though it had been a week since he was last “penetrated,” seeing these things still made Chen Jingming shudder involuntarily. The honest, hearty, straight-edged “big brother” was truly gone forever.

Outside in the yard, Chu Feng was still spraying down the ground with a high-pressure water gun. The noon sun was at its peak; once the ground was washed and dried, everything would be sparkling clean.

Chen Jingming cleared up the packaging waste, flattening the cardboard boxes and stacking them by the door to give to the elderly scrap collector later.

By the time he returned to his desk, his WeChat message list had finally loaded.

In reality, there weren’t that many messages from friends; it was the flood of friend requests that had caused the app to lag. He clicked through them. Even as of last night, people were still trying to add him, and the request notes were still filled with insults.

With a heart as still as stagnant water, Chen Jingming deleted the one he had opened.

He scanned through his messages. Most were from former colleagues and classmates asking how he was doing, telling him not to overthink things and to contact them if he needed anything. Chen Jingming had a decent reputation, but very few people were truly close to his heart.

During his student days, he wasn’t exactly outgoing, nor was he antisocial. He was always gentle and polite, often preferring to take a loss himself rather than start a conflict. He was always cautious, doing his best to avoid trouble.

When he first arrived at his foster parents’ home, he was still a bit mischievous. Although he was generally sweet and well-behaved, he had been spoiled by his birth mother and Chu Feng. At that young age, he truly believed his gentle foster parents would dote on him the same way.

What eleven-year-old doesn’t cause a little trouble?

Once, playing with neighborhood kids, he fell into a flower bed and got his legs covered in mud. He didn’t cry; he just brushed off his pants and went home. He thought someone would say, “Baby is so brave,” but instead they said, “Why are you playing so filthily?”

Chen Jingming was scared into tears. They sighed as they came over to coax him, but their eyes held a disappointment they couldn’t hide. They liked quiet, sensible children. At first, he felt wronged and wanted to complain to Chu Feng, but his contact with Chu Feng was soon cut off.

From then on, Chen Jingming became a quiet, sensible child.

…

Shadows of the Past

Scrolling down to his foster mother’s messages, he saw she had sent over forty. He glanced at Chu Feng in the yard and hesitated for a long time before clicking.

“A-Ming, is the work situation handled? Remember to tell Mom.”

“Since it wasn’t your fault, can we demand an apology?”

“Today your father lost his temper again. He was called for ‘self-reflection’ at work because your enemies reported him.”

“A-Ming, why no news? The phone won’t go through.”

“Your cousin says the internet is full of your ID info and home address.”

“A-Ming, you’ve been gone for over a month. You’re being so thoughtless!”

“Don’t let Mom and Dad down. If you don’t want to stay in Shanghai, you should come home. Reply when you see this.”

Reading these dozens of messages nearly drained Chen Jingming of his strength. It took a long while for him to pull himself back, only to realize his face was wet. He hurriedly grabbed some tissues to wipe himself clean.

Looking at his phone again, he exited the chat as if escaping. Ever since returning to Changxi City and coming to terms with the cyberbullying, he had wanted to call them to say he was safe, but he never had the courage. He knew they would be disappointed. They didn’t like him mentioning anything related to Changxi; they didn’t like him dwelling on the past.

They didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t their biological son.

…

Moving Forward

He breathed slowly and began replying to some friends. He found a message from a producer at Xingyu Film & TV. A week ago, she had messaged to say that The Ugly Child was expected to be greenlit in June and asked how he was.

Chen Jingming replied with his thanks, expressing his genuine joy that the script was being made. He gave her his new number.

During the half-hour he spent replying, his phone didn’t stop popping up with spam. Some malicious “fan” had used his number to register for various websites; several notifications for male enhancement products popped up.

He cursed inwardly. No one in this house needs that stuff.

“Baby.”

Chu Feng’s voice broke his train of thought. As Chu Feng walked in from the sun, shirtless and with bright red marks on his chest from the previous night, Chen Jingming’s lingering sadness was instantly burned away.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, realizing he really wasn’t cut out for being the brooding, melancholic type.

“Are you busy, Baby?”

“Finished,” Chen Jingming hummed.

“Let’s process the green plums, then go to Seventh Uncle’s shop to buy some spirits,” Chu Feng said, walking in. His eyes immediately landed on the items on the coffee table.

“…”

Chen Jingming hid behind his computer. “Brother, did you buy a bit too much?”

Chu Feng gave me a dry cough. “The customer service recommended it… because I’m quite large, your back might not be able to accept it all at once. This one is smaller… though it doesn’t look that small.”

Chu Feng held up a pink anal plug and compared it with his fingers. “It’s about the same as two of my fingers.”

Chen Jingming’s ears were burning. “It’s still much smaller than yours…”

They looked at an enema kit together. It was 450ml. Chen Jingming murmured, “Is all of that supposed to be flushed into my stomach?”

“…” Chu Feng also found it a bit intimidating. “We’ll study it tonight.”

Chu Feng cupped Chen Jingming’s face. “I’ll do my homework this time. I won’t let it hurt you. If it really doesn’t work, you can… penetrate me.”

“Ah!!” Chen Jingming screamed, covering his ears. “No!”

“Why?”

“I… anyway, no.”

“Is Baby a pure 0?” Chu Feng asked. He had searched online and found that most people were “versatile.”

Chen Jingming’s eyes widened as he scanned this 190cm-tall mountain of a man. “Brother, can you actually be the one on the bottom?”

“As long as the baby likes it, I can. I can accept anything about Baby.” Chu Feng chuckled. “If Baby penetrates me, it shouldn’t hurt much, since you’re not that big.”

Chen Jingming: “…”

…

Sweetness and Green Plums

A massive wave of sweetness enveloped Chen Jingming. He threw himself into Chu Feng’s arms. “Brother, you’re so good to me.”

Chu Feng picked him up, supporting him by the buttocks. “Don’t worry, Baby. I will definitely never cheat on you.”

Chen Jingming froze for a second, then burst out laughing. It wasn’t exactly what they were talking about, but it made him happy.

They spent the afternoon processing ten pounds of green plums—washing them, de-stemming them, and pricking small holes in the skin with toothpicks.

“Brother, why the holes?”

“Sister-in-law said they turn out more fragrant this way.”

Chen Jingming got bored after a while and started pricking words into the plums: “Brother,” “Love,” “Good.” He even pricked the names of their friends: “Lang,” “Yun,” “Ni.” Everyone will be soaked together, sweet and fragrant.

“A year isn’t long,” Chu Feng said as they sealed the jars with rice wine and rock sugar. “We have many years ahead of us.”

…

The Evening Invitation

As evening approached, Chen Lang came over. “My sister and brother-in-law are back. They want you guys over for dinner. My sister’s cooking is incredible.”

Chen Jingming teased him about his own “President Fu” being a chef.

“He’s just a cook,” Chen Lang boasted, though he looked shy. He caught Chen Jingming’s eye and whispered, “It’ll be successful tonight. I’ll give you a piece of advice: There’s no such thing as a worn-out field, only exhausted bulls.”

Chen Jingming shrieked again as Chu Feng walked in.

On the way to Chen Lang’s, Chu Feng promised to support Chen Jingming’s career. “Write if you want to. Be a freelance writer. Anyway, with Brother by your side, there’s nothing to worry about. Brother will take care of you.”

When they arrived at Chen Lang’s, the air was filled with the pungent, addictive aroma of “Shrimp Sour Beef.”

Chen Lang’s sister, Chen Jiaqi, was as spirited as ever. She pulled Chen Jingming to sit next to her, reminiscing about when he was a child.

As the table filled with food and the brother-in-law offered drinks, Chu Feng declined with a serious face.

“Not today, Brother-in-law.”

“Something going on?”

Chu Feng glanced at Chen Jingming and said firmly, “Yes, I have serious business tonight.”