In a Relationship With the Rugged Guy Next Door - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The physique of an ox, the sleep quality of a pig…

Chen Jingming fell asleep on the bench at the entrance of the dormitory building.

Perhaps it was because the sunlight was too pleasant, or because there was no sound of traffic, or simply because Chen Jingming had been truly exhausted lately.

When he woke up, he was greeted by two giant, moist nostrils. He let out a sharp cry and recoiled backward.

“Ah!!!”

Chu Feng practically flew over to his side.

Chu Feng pulled Chen Jingming up just as Chen Lang followed behind and gave the “jailbreaking” old yellow cow a firm slap across the snout.

“Broke through the fence again, did you?! Get the hell out of here!”

Chu Feng checked Chen Jingming and found no injuries, only a bit of cow drool on his clothes. He looked up and noticed the gate to the yard was wide open. “The gate wasn’t closed.”

Chen Jingming: “…” The cow: “…”

The cow let out a very aggrieved “moo” and shuffled away.

“Are you okay, Baby?” Chu Feng proceeded to pat Chen Jingming down from head to toe, not even sparing his backside. After the inspection, he added: “Too skinny.”

Chen Jingming was mortified but couldn’t escape. In his embarrassment, he caught Chen Lang’s eye and saw him wearing an unreadable, mischievous smirk.

“Hey!” Chen Jingming muttered, giving Chu Feng a shove.

Chu Feng didn’t budge an inch. He joked, “As long as you’re okay. Later, I’ll slaughter that cow to make some nourishing soup for Baby.”

Chen Jingming: “That… probably won’t be necessary…”

Chen Lang: “Big Bro, don’t be ridiculous. That’s one of our ‘founding’ cows!”

“Just a joke,” Chu Feng said.

The old yellow cow mooed again from the gate, as if to say it wasn’t funny.

…

It was nearing noon. The sun had turned Chen Jingming’s face rosy. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, his thin, white arms looking small inside the sleeves. Chu Feng couldn’t help but circle his fingers around Chen Jingming’s wrist; his fingers met with room to spare.

“Is lunch ready?” Chu Feng asked Chen Lang. “Not yet, it’ll be a while.”

Chu Feng put an arm around Chen Jingming’s shoulder. “Come on, Ge will take you for a tour.”

Chen Jingming felt lazy. He just wanted to bask in the sun and didn’t really want to move.

“Let’s go. Ge will carry you,” Chu Feng said, preparing to hoist him up. Chen Jingming immediately blurted out, “I’ll walk!”

The ranch was vast, but the paths were narrow. To protect the environment, they used electric vehicles—both two-wheelers and three-wheelers. The three-wheelers were for cargo, the two-wheelers for people.

Chen Jingming sat on the back of Chu Feng’s scooter as it zipped along the narrow ranch trails. Chu Feng could have driven these paths with his eyes closed. Chen Jingming gripped the small backrest tightly, not daring to move, while Chu Feng was in high spirits, introducing everything as they sped along.

“This place has been open for nearly five years. It wasn’t this big at first; Xiao Lang and I expanded it slowly over the years. See those buildings? That’s the plant—the pens, the hay storage, and the slaughterhouse are all there. It smells a bit strong, so I won’t take you there today. Over here are the calf pens. These were all born last month. They haven’t turned into old cows yet; they’re very cute. By the way, Baby, guess how many cattle we have here?”

The sun was bright. Chen Jingming squinted. “One… one hundred?”

Chu Feng laughed heartily. “Wrong! We have over five hundred!”

Chen Jingming leaned forward slightly. “Ge, how much does one cow cost?” Chu Feng: “About twenty thousand each.”

Chen Jingming was so shocked he nearly slipped off the seat. He did the math in his head and almost lost track of how many zeros that added up to. He had only seen that kind of money on film project budgets before.

They rounded a U-shaped bend into a flatter pasture where the cattle looked younger. On a slope to the right stood a wooden cabin with a sign that read “Duty Room.” Chen Jingming glanced back and realized they were quite far from the dormitory now.

The scooter turned right onto an even smaller path, but halfway up, it couldn’t climb any further. “I’ll get off,” Chen Jingming said. “This bike is struggling,” Chu Feng muttered, using his feet to help push the vehicle the rest of the way up.

It’s a miracle this bike can move at all with someone your size on it, Chen Jingming thought to himself.

At the cabin’s entrance was a small leveled area paved with stone slabs. Whether by design or through years of weathering, there were finger-wide gaps between the slabs where green grass now grew. Having not exercised in years, the short climb left Chen Jingming breathless.

When he reached the cabin door and saw the view, he froze. The vast openness stood in stark contrast to his own parched, closed-off heart.

“Baby.”

Chen Jingming snapped back to reality, breathing lightly, his face flushed from the sun. The fine beads of sweat on his forehead were slowly being dried by the breeze.

Chu Feng dragged a folding camp cot out of the cabin, intending to let Chen Jingming rest, but instead, he inexplicably walked over and ruffled Chen Jingming’s bangs. “So cute.”

Chen Jingming: “…” I’m exhausted and miserable.

Chu Feng tilted his head in appreciation. “Big eyes, pink lips… Baby has been this good-looking since he was little. Dead cute.”

Chen Jingming looked at him in disbelief, wondering what kind of “straight man” species this was.

“Tsk, tsk.” Chu Feng couldn’t help but touch Chen Jingming’s cheek. “Just like a little girl. No wonder Xia Mingqi always wanted to marry you when we were kids.” (Xia Mingqi was the son of the richest man in town.)

Chen Jingming was speechless. “Ge—”

Chu Feng gave a loud laugh and guided him to the cot. Just as Chen Jingming was about to sit, Chu Feng scooped him back up. “Wait.”

“It’s dirty here.” Chu Feng took a piece of paper and rubbed at some white marks on the edge of the cot. Realizing they wouldn’t come off, he frowned and cursed under his breath, “Which brat is looking for trouble…”

“What is it?” Chen Jingming asked. Chu Feng hesitated. “Yogurt.”

“It’s fine.” Chen Jingming wasn’t a germaphobe; it was just food, so he didn’t care. He moved to sit again, only to be scooped up a second time.

Chu Feng first tried laying down two tissues, then decided that wasn’t enough. He looked around the cabin but couldn’t find a clean cloth or cushion. After a moment’s thought, he simply pulled off his T-shirt and spread it over the cot.

“There. Lie down, Baby. Soak up the sun.”

Chen Jingming felt truly helpless. “Ge, isn’t this a bit dramatic?” Your physique is as dramatic as your actions.

“It’s not.” “It’s just dried yogurt.” “Messy bastards,” Chu Feng said, looking genuinely disgusted by the mess.

Chu Feng lay down first, then shuffled to the edge. But the cot was small; even with him shifting over, his large frame took up most of the space. In the end, he had to lie on his side.

“Baby, come here.”

Chen Jingming sighed inwardly. He could do nothing against this “straight” brother of his. The sun was getting strong now as Chen Jingming curled into the crook of Chu Feng’s arm.

“Baby.” “Hmm?” Chen Jingming was starting to get used to Chu Feng calling him “Baby” in that gruff, rough voice.

Chu Feng turned his head slightly toward him. “If Baby feels sad, Ge is willing to bask in the sun with you.”

The plateau sun had strong UV rays, making Chen Jingming squint. He pursed his lips into a smile and said shyly, “Oh.”

“Wait a second.” Chu Feng suddenly sat up. Before Chen Jingming could even open his eyes, Chu Feng was back. A second later, cool leaves were placed over Chen Jingming’s eyes—one on the left, one on the right.

Chu Feng: “There, now it’s not too bright.”

They were mulberry leaves; Chen Jingming could smell the scent. He peeked from beneath them. Through the gaps, he could see Chu Feng’s side-lying profile—his abdominal muscles were clearly defined, honey-colored and glistening in the sun.

“…” Chen Jingming let out a soft breath and closed his eyes.

The sound of the mountain wind filled his ears. The air was a mix of grass, flowers, and a hint of livestock. Since it was an open-range ranch in a valley with a constant breeze, the smell was faint and not unpleasant.

But it was too cramped. Chen Jingming didn’t fall asleep. Chu Feng, however, fell into a deep slumber. Chen Jingming felt a twinge of envy—envy for his ox-like physique and his pig-like sleep quality.

…

Half an hour later, Chen Lang called to say lunch was ready, waking Chu Feng. Chen Jingming thought they would be eating privately with Chen Lang, but instead, they headed to the canteen to eat “big pot” meals with the ranch employees.

“Oh my!” A short-haired auntie carrying a bowl looked Chen Jingming up and down. “This… this… is this a girl or a boy? Whose kid is this?”

“Hahahahaha!” Chen Lang laughed, holding his rice basin. “Auntie Xiang, what do you think? Boy or girl?”

Auntie Xiang looked at his chest, then down at his legs, unsure. “A girl? I can’t quite tell. My daughter keeps her hair short like this too, but this one looks even more delicate than my daughter.”

Chen Jingming stood frozen. “…”

Chen Lang was laughing so hard he was slapping his thigh. He was usually loud and friendly with the staff, while Chu Feng was the more serious one—a classic “good cop, bad cop” dynamic.

Auntie Xiang scratched her head. “So… a boy?” Chu Feng sighed. “Auntie Xiang, this is Jingming.”

“Oh!” another auntie who had been watching from the side chimed in. “Then isn’t this… isn’t this Chunyi’s child? Wasn’t he taken to…”

“He’s home,” Chu Feng interrupted with a smile.

“He just got back, Third Auntie,” Chen Lang explained. “It’s him. Look at those eyes and that mouth—just like Auntie Xiao Chun.”

“He does look like her.” “How old is he? Must be twenty-three or twenty-four by now?” “It’s good that he’s back. Has he graduated? What kind of work does he do?” “Hey, stop asking so many questions, you’re being annoying. He just got back.”

Chen Jingming slowly shrank behind Chu Feng. As more people crowded around to look, the hand holding his stainless steel bowl began to shake uncontrollably. Every breath felt like he wasn’t getting enough oxygen, and his palms grew damp.

His mind flooded with the scene from the day after the scandal—being surrounded and cursed at by Tang Song’s fans. He had kept explaining that he hadn’t done anything inappropriate, but no one listened. His explanations only made them more violent. Fans had been following Tang Song the whole time, yet not one person stood up to prove that Tang Song was the one who had harassed him that night.

Those angry, distorted faces had appeared in his nightmares every night for the past month.

“Filthy gay… even as a whore no one would want you… die, you stinking brat.” “Where is your mother buried? I’ll burn the whole mountain down.” “What kind of trash are you? Why would Song-bao ever like you? You’re lying… dog.” “I hope your whole family gets cancer, Chen Jingming!”

“Baby? Baby?”

Chen Jingming’s thoughts snapped back. “Ah?”

The distorted faces from his nightmares vanished, replaced by the concerned faces of the elders. Chu Feng pulled Chen Jingming in front of him, keeping his hands steady on the younger man’s shoulders. He leaned down and whispered, “Look, what’s this?”

Auntie Xiang held out a small red basket filled with red berries. Chen Jingming remembered these; locally, they were called “April bubbles” (wild raspberries/blackberries). They were tart, sweet, and juicy.

“You loved these when you were little,” Chu Feng said, touching his hand. “Auntie Xiang gave them to you.”

Auntie Xiang didn’t mind Chen Jingming’s silence at all. She pushed the basket forward. “Take them, take them. My old man picked them; they’re very sweet. All you kids love them.”

Chen Jingming took them. “Thank you, Auntie Xiang.” To show his appreciation, he quickly popped one into his mouth. “Mm! So sweet!”

“Give Ge a taste, Baby,” Chu Feng said.

Chen Jingming grabbed a handful. “Here.”

Chu Feng lowered his head and swept the entire handful of berries from Chen Jingming’s palm into his mouth with his tongue. Chen Jingming flinched slightly, looking down at his palm. It was left with a trace of Chu Feng’s saliva and a lingering, tingly sensation.