In a Relationship With the Rugged Guy Next Door - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: “The Boss and Brother Lang had a fight.”

Chu Feng felt relieved once he saw that Li Yongjing had “understood.”

Afterward, Li Yongjing kept prying for details about Chu Feng’s partner. Chu Feng shared quite a bit, and Yongjing spent the entire night grinning foolishly without ever suspecting Chen Jingming. He even congratulated Jingming on having a “sister-in-law.”

Jingming’s face ached from smiling. When he went to the restroom, he couldn’t help but smirk at his reflection in the mirror.

“Hello there, sister-in-law, haha.”

The drinking session ended around ten o’clock.

“Come over to my place next time, Jingming, and bring your sister-in-law along,” Li Yongjing said before getting into his car.

Since he had been drinking, his wife arrived to pick him up, looking furious. She waved a smiling goodbye to Chu Feng and Jingming, but the moment she got in the car, she landed a punch on his arm. “Are you ever going to stop?! This is the second time this month I’ve had to fetch you!”

“I was doing serious work!” Li Yongjing squeaked, ducking. “I was helping Chen Jingming find a job!”

“And what does drinking have to do with that?”

“I didn’t want to drink, but Old Cow told me he’s officially dating someone! How could I not have a drink to celebrate that?”

His wife, Li Baozhen, paused. “Really? Who is it?”

“If you forgive me, I’ll tell you…”

…

The Rising Tension

By the end of July, Chu Feng was busy with land rental negotiations, but progress was stalled. Both he and Chen Lang were at their wits’ end.

On the other hand, Jingming had good news. His new script, Let Me Tell You a Happy Story, had garnered interest from two film companies, and an agent had reached out wanting to represent him. Director Tan Zhi advised him to wait a bit before making a commitment.

Jingming also sent his resume to Wanyi Group and was waiting for an interview date. The rest of his time was spent helping out at the ranch. It pained him to see Chu Feng stressed, so he tried to visit more often or stay home to cook dinner.

One Saturday morning, the town was bustling with tourists. Chu Feng had left early without making breakfast, leaving a note for Jingming to grab something at the market. On his way back with beef rice noodles, Jingming ran into Seventh Uncle.

Seventh Uncle, a former bus driver in his sixties, was deeply respected in Changling Town. He was known for driving remote routes that others avoided just to help the elderly and children.

Jingming noticed him carrying a massive cardboard box and hurried to help. “Seventh Uncle, let me take that.”

“Jingming, you’re too delicate for this,” the old man laughed.

“I’m much stronger now!” Jingming insisted, hoisting the large box onto his shoulder.

As they walked, Seventh Uncle shared stories of Chu Feng’s early days that Jingming had never heard: selling his car to pay wages, spending a week in a rainstorm searching for lost cattle, and once getting so drunk from a business dinner that he slept on his own doorstep.

Jingming’s heart ached. He realized how much Chu Feng had sacrificed. “Brother has worked so hard,” he thought, resolving to be even better to him.

…

A “Helpful” Evening

That night, Jingming prepared a two-course meal, wearing an apron to greet Chu Feng at the door.

“You’ve worked hard~” Jingming chirped, massaging Chu Feng’s shoulders.

Chu Feng looked terrified. “Baby, what happened? Is everything okay?”

“Nothing! I just want to take care of you.”

The dinner was a bit… overcooked. The pork belly was fried so hard it was nearly indestructible. But seeing Jingming’s expectant eyes, Chu Feng swallowed it whole without a complaint. After dinner, while Chu Feng tried to work, Jingming insisted on doing the laundry—including the pants Chu Feng was currently wearing.

“Lift your hips,” Jingming commanded, unbuckling Chu Feng’s belt.

“This is really unnecessary…” Chu Feng laughed, but he stood up and handed over his pants anyway.

Jingming trotted off with the laundry, leaving Chu Feng sitting at his desk in just his underwear. “Keep up the good work, Brother!”

…

The Interview and the Wound

A few days later, Jingming went to the Wanyi Group for his interview. He met Xu Yue, the curator of the Ethnic Museum.

“Can you handle loneliness? Can you do dirty work?” she asked.

“I can,” Jingming answered firmly. He explained his background as a screenwriter and his desire for a stable job in his hometown.

The interview was a success. “I don’t have any other candidates. HR will contact you later,” Xu Yue said.

Jingming was ecstatic. He messaged Chu Feng but received no reply. He rode his motorcycle to the ranch to share the news. When he arrived at the livestreaming tent, Meng Qingyu looked worried.

“Jingming,” she whispered. “The Boss and Brother Lang had a fight. Some villagers tore down our fences, and Brother Lang got hit when he went to argue. Then he and the Boss started fighting in the office.”

Jingming rushed to the office and heard Chen Lang shouting.

“Stop trying to save every penny for Jingming’s ‘freedom fund’! He’s family! Don’t let those thugs bully us!”

“It’s not that,” Chu Feng’s voice was weary. “I want him to come home without any burdens or debts to his adoptive parents.”

“He’ll have more of a burden if he finds out you got hit on the head with a hoe just to save some cash!” Chen Lang yelled.

Chu Feng sighed. “Don’t tell him. Just say I fell… Baby? When did you get here?”

He stood up, instinctively trying to hide the bandage on his head.

Jingming stood in the doorway, his lip trembling as he looked at the wound. So, the “savings” were meant to pay off his debt to his past life.

Chen Lang coughed awkwardly. “Uh, Jingming… your brother… he tripped.” He saw the tears in Jingming’s eyes and added sheepishly, “Do you believe me?”