In a Relationship With the Rugged Guy Next Door - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: “This is the Last Time I Will Call You That…”

At 12:30 PM, the plane landed at Chaoshan Airport.

The climate in the southeast coastal region was completely different from that of Changxi City. The moment they stepped out of the cabin, a heatwave hit them, clingily wrapping around every pore.

Chen Jingming had grown used to this weather over the years; after a brief adjustment, he felt fine. Chu Feng, however, had never lived in such a climate. Within minutes of waiting for the shuttle bus, he was drenched in sweat.

A damp patch even stained the chest of his shirt.

A tall, burly man with a wild aura stood out significantly among the Southerners, drawing sidelong glances from passersby. They then noticed the handsome man in a bucket hat standing beside him and looked down to see them holding hands.

—Holding hands in this heat? That must be true love.

Chen Jingming’s backpack was with Chu Feng; he only carried a small crossbody bag containing his phone, wallet, and other essentials.

“Is it really hot?” Chen Jingming asked.

“Yeah.” Chu Feng was used to physical labor and preferred wearing long pants, which he was wearing today. Since he was holding Chen Jingming’s hand, he didn’t have a free hand to wipe his sweat. He squinted slightly and said, “In this weather, even the cows would get heatstroke.”

Chen Jingming smiled. “It’ll be cooler once we get to the hotel.”

Chen Jingming hadn’t told his adoptive parents beforehand that Chu Feng was coming, fearing their reaction might be too intense.

After leaving the airport, they took a taxi to their pre-booked hotel.

Along the way, Chu Feng kept his eyes on the street scenes outside, thinking that this was the place where Chen Jingming had lived for so long—a place entirely different from Changxi City.

How helpless he must have been back then.

If he had been too young to remember much, it might have been better; he would have grown familiar with the environment and eventually forgotten Changxi City. But Chen Jingming was nearly eleven then—an age where one remembers everything.

As a child, under repeated psychological pressure, Chen Jingming had begun to pretend he had forgotten his mother and brother, cooperating with his obsessive parents to play the part of a “happy family.”

“Brother, that’s the primary school I attended,” Chen Jingming pointed out to Chu Feng.

Chu Feng leaned closer. It was a holiday, so the school gates were closed.

The school looked like it had been renovated recently; it appeared very new, and the small tuck shop Chen Jingming had mentioned was nowhere to be seen.

As the taxi sped past, Chu Feng asked, “The tuck shop is gone?”

“Yeah.” Chen Jingming gently squeezed Chu Feng’s hand. “It was renovated, and they don’t allow shops right in front of the school gates anymore.”

Shortly after being adopted, Chen Jingming fell ill with a high fever that lasted for days. It was during that fever that he had deliriously called out for his mother to Chen Xinyan. That incident led Chen Xinyan and her husband to decide to cut off all contact between Chen Jingming and his hometown.

When Chu Feng stopped calling, Chen Jingming would secretly call him from the tuck shop after school. But Chu Feng was in high school then and stayed late; they never managed to connect.

He was even caught by his adoptive parents. Soon after, a message came from Chu Feng saying he needed to focus on the university entrance exams and wouldn’t be in touch for a while.

“Brother, let’s not think about those things anymore.” Chen Jingming gently pinched Chu Feng’s hand.

Chu Feng pursed his lips tightly and nodded, but remained silent.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it. For the past six months, Chu Feng had tried his best to make it up to Chen Jingming, but he felt that thirteen years could never be compensated for in just half a year.

As painful as it was, he wasn’t as pessimistic as before. He knew he had plenty of time ahead to be with Chen Jingming and make things right.

Just after checking into the hotel, Chen Xinyan called.

“A-Ming, have you set off?”

Because he didn’t want them to pick him up at the airport, Chen Jingming hadn’t told them his flight details, only that he would come over for dinner in the evening.

Chen Jingming said, “Yes, I’ve already arrived.”

“Arrived?” Chen Xinyan’s tone was quite cheerful. “Are you at the airport? I’ll have your father pick you up.”

Chen Jingming paused, then said, “I’m at a hotel, Mother.”

Chen Xinyan: “Why are you staying at a hotel when you’re back home?”

Chen Jingming didn’t speak.

“Chu Feng is here too, isn’t he?” Chen Xinyan asked.

Chen Jingming gave an affirmative hum.

There was only silence on the line. If Chen Xinyan had previously believed there was hope for reconciliation by Chen Jingming coming to see them, his answer now was an unmistakable sign that he was truly leaving.

Chen Jingming: “Mother, I’ll come over by myself this evening. Can we have a proper talk?”

“Talk if you want to,” Chen Xinyan said before hanging up.

After the call, Chen Jingming turned around to see Chu Feng sitting on the edge of the bed watching him. Chen Jingming smiled, walked over, and sat intimately on Chu Feng’s lap. Hooking his arms around Chu Feng’s neck, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Chu Feng smiled.

“Are you worried about me?”

“A little.” Chu Feng wrapped his arms around Chen Jingming’s waist, kissed his cheek, and said, “But I also trust you. I believe my baby can handle this. I’ll just be your solid support.”

Chen Jingming laughed and pushed Chu Feng over onto the bed. “You’re the best to me!”

He had intended to take a nap, but as soon as he lay down, his stomach growled. Chu Feng laughed, pulled him up to take a shower, and they went out for lunch.

Despite saying he trusted Chen Jingming, as the time for him to head to his adoptive parents’ house approached, Chu Feng began pacing anxiously, giving repeated instructions.

“If their emotions get too intense, call me immediately.”

“Yes, yes, I know.”

“Even if they cry, you can’t go soft-hearted, baby.”

“I won’t.”

“Will they get so angry they try to hit you?”

Chen Jingming organized the local specialties he had brought from Changxi. “It’ll really be fine, Brother. Even though those years were emotionally suffocating, they never hit me.”

“No.”

Chen Jingming: “Hmm?”

Chu Feng: “I have to go with you. I can’t just stay in the hotel waiting.”

“Brother—” Chen Jingming’s nervousness was dispelled by Chu Feng’s frantic worry. He hugged Chu Feng’s sturdy waist, caught between laughter and tears. “If you go, there’s an 80% chance a fight really will break out.”

Chu Feng: “They couldn’t beat me anyway.”

Chen Jingming jumped slightly in frustration. “Oh! No fighting!”

Chu Feng let out a laugh, and Chen Jingming thought he had agreed.

“Let’s go,” Chu Feng said.

Chen Jingming: “…”

Chen Jingming couldn’t sway Chu Feng once he had made up his mind. Fortunately, Chu Feng only intended to wait near the house; if anything went wrong, he could rush in to protect Chen Jingming instantly.

The evening was cooler than the day, but there were many mosquitoes. Chen Jingming told Chu Feng to find a small shop to sit in. Chu Feng agreed, but insisted on seeing Chen Jingming inside first.

“Take these.” Chu Feng handed the local specialties to Chen Jingming.

Chen Jingming took a deep breath, hugged Chu Feng, and then accepted the gift boxes.

As Chen Jingming walked into the residential complex, he looked back to see Chu Feng standing at the entrance. Seeing him look back, Chu Feng waved, his tall frame casting a long shadow under the streetlight.

It was an old residential area, but it was well-maintained.

Both his adoptive parents shared the surname Chen. Both of their families were well-off, and they had successfully secured jobs within the civil service. While not excessively wealthy, they never lacked money and had been able to buy their apartment in full.

The location was good, and the layout was spacious. When Chen Jingming was in university, they had bought another new apartment, intended for him to live in after he got married.

In their plan, Chen Jingming would return to Chaoshan after graduation to work and stay by their side, find a girlfriend, get married, and have children.

During his senior year internship, they tried to use their connections to get him a developer job at a local bank. Chen Jingming used the low salary as an excuse not to return, which made them angry for a long time; they demanded he return home at least once a month.

It wasn’t until Chen Jingming sold his first script and sent the entire 50,000 RMB payment to them that they felt he had given them “face,” and they bragged about him to all their relatives.

Since then, all their friends and relatives thought Chen Jingming was making a lot of money outside. Every time he returned, they would ask about his work, and cousins even came to him to borrow money, which troubled him for a long time.

Old residential buildings only had stairs. Chen Jingming stood downstairs and saw the lights on in the apartment. He unconsciously glanced back toward the entrance of the complex.

—Chu Feng was actually still standing there, waving from afar.

The building was at least two hundred meters from the entrance, and trees and cars should have blocked the view, but Chu Feng kept changing his position to watch him go.

Chen Jingming smiled, raised his hand to wave, and walked upstairs with a firm step.

The apartment was on the fourth floor. Chen Jingming knocked twice, and the door opened.

Seeing him after so long, his adoptive mother forced a smile. “A-Ming is back. Quick, come in.”

Over the phone, Chen Jingming had been able to call her “Mother,” but now that they were face-to-face, he found it difficult to say. He steadied himself and said as he walked in, “Mother, these are specialties from Changxi: kiwifruit and beef jerky.”

“Oh… oh, good. I’ll go cut some for dessert later,” Chen Xinyan said.

As Chen Jingming changed into slippers, his adoptive father walked out of the kitchen, carrying a dish with a serious expression.

“Father,” Chen Jingming called out.

“You’re back.”

“Yes.” Chen Jingming felt a bit constrained.

His father said, “Go wash your hands and let’s eat.”

His father’s cold attitude actually made Chen Jingming feel a bit more relaxed. He washed his hands and sat down at the table.

Chen Xinyan served Chen Jingming a piece of steamed grouper. “I went to the pier early this morning to buy it specifically; wild-caught is more nutritious.”

“Thank you,” Chen Jingming said.

They ate in a tense silence for a while.

“A-Ming has tanned a lot.”

“Has he?”

“Yes, and he’s gotten sturdier. Is your health okay?”

Chen Jingming smiled and nodded. He noticed many food items on the small bar counter by the kitchen—traditional cakes and fruit used for grave-sweeping in Chaoshan.

“It’s very good.” Chen Jingming pursed his lips and said, “Can I go with you to sweep the graves tomorrow?”

“Chen Jingming!” His father slammed his chopsticks down.

Chen Jingming also put down his chopsticks. He sat up straight, his back firm. “Mother, Father, I came back this time because I want to discuss something with you.”

Only an endless silence remained at the dining table. The food had mostly gone cold; only the steamed grouper, which had been served last, still had some warmth.

Chen Jingming was too late.

The food, and the home.

“I want to terminate the adoption relationship with you.”

Chen Jingming looked at his adoptive parents. They didn’t speak; only his adoptive mother’s tears fell silently.

“Perhaps you already guessed it,” Chen Jingming said calmly. “You’ve always known that my heart was always back in Changxi City, thinking of my mother and brother. And I’ve always known you were pining for Chen Jiaming. You never spoke of him to me directly—not even his name—but I knew everything.”

Chen Xinyan let out a pained sob. “A-Ming…”

Chen Jingming: “A-Ming—that was his nickname. You never said it, but I knew. No one told me; it’s just that he never disappeared from our lives during these thirteen years. He liked computers and video games, so you wanted me to study computer science. He was a quiet, well-behaved child, so you wanted me to be quiet and obedient too. He liked red, so you always bought me red clothes. The anniversary of his death is October 4th, which is why you are always so sad at this time every year.”

His father lowered his head. “A-Ming, you can’t completely deny all that we’ve given you over these thirteen years.”

“I am very grateful to you, but I also have a bit of resentment and a bit of guilt.” Chen Jingming’s gaze never wavered. For the first time, he spoke so coldly to the two people in front of him.

He said, “Beyond that, there is nothing else.”

No love.

Chen Xinyan’s eyes were blurred with tears as she leaned painfully on her husband’s shoulder.

Chen Jingming: “Mother, he was your flesh and blood; it’s natural that you love him. But I am truly not him.”

“I know…” Chen Xinyan shook her head slightly, struggling to breathe through the pain. “I know. I thought… I just thought you wouldn’t do something so cruel.”

“Even today, can you only see my ‘cruelty’?” Chen Jingming asked softly, his nose beginning to sting.

Chen Xinyan sat up straight and wiped her tears with her palms. “I’m sorry, A-Ming.”

His father sighed and gently patted his wife’s back.

Chen Jingming: “I am very grateful for your upbringing, so… if you can agree, I will pay you a sum as compensation.”

At this point, Chen Jingming finally lowered his head slightly.

He knew his adoptive parents never wanted money, but it was the only thing he could offer.

“A-Ming,” Chen Xinyan looked at him. “How could you… how could you think that of us? I never thought that way; we gave everything for you willingly.”

Chen Jingming frowned slightly, and then his tears finally broke through.

He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling as he questioned them: “Was it willingly for me, or willingly for Chen Jiaming? Even now, can you still not admit the psychological damage you’ve caused me all these years?! Who are you trying to fool—me or yourselves?”

“A-Ming!” His father stopped him. “Don’t agitate your mother anymore!”

“Why can’t I! Why!”

Chen Jingming stood up. “You’re just so weak! So cowardly! You don’t even dare admit that you’ve been agitating me and hurting my feelings all this time?”

Chen Xinyan was somewhat startled and kept crying as she apologized.

“Your apologies are too hypocritical. You don’t dare face the fact that you truly wronged me by using me as a substitute for Chen Jiaming and erasing my real feelings.”

Chen Jingming turned his head away, wiped his tears, and sat back down to wait for his mother to calm down.

In the past, Chen Jingming would never have dared to speak against them at a time like this.

He had been afraid of his mother’s tears, afraid of his father’s silence, and afraid of the feeling that “it’s all my fault for being difficult.”

“Mother, Father.” Having calmed down, Chen Jingming pulled out two tissues and handed them over. “This is the last time I will call you that. Chen Jiaming must have been a very good son; you loved him so much you couldn’t face the reality of his passing. But have you ever thought about whether he would be happy knowing you found another child to replace him?”

Chen Xinyan looked up at Chen Jingming as if she had never known him, her eyes filled with confusion.

“Instead of this, it would be better to miss him openly and passionately,” Chen Jingming said.

His father turned away, suppressing his tears as he wiped them.

“A-Ming,” Chen Xinyan suddenly became peaceful. “Are they good to you?”

“Very good.”

“He came, too.”

“Yes, he’s waiting for me just outside the complex.”

Chen Xinyan turned to look at her husband, then back at Chen Jingming. “Can we meet him?”

“No.” Chen Jingming shook his head. “I don’t want you to meet him.”

He would not let Chu Feng sit in such a sad place.

Chen Xinyan: “Looking at you now, you seem very different.”

Chen Jingming’s lips curled up slightly. “When I first went back, my brother said the same thing.”

“Must it be this way, A-Ming?” Chen Xinyan pleaded, refusing to give up. “Even if you don’t want it to be like before, can’t you just visit us occasionally? Can’t we just be a family with more distant feelings?”

“No.”

Chen Jingming rose quietly, stepped behind his chair, and stood straight. He gave them a formal, solemn bow.

“You…” Chen Xinyan broke down once more, and her husband pulled her into his embrace.

Chen Jingming watched them. His chest felt empty and a bit painful, but the feeling of being suffocated was gone.

“I’ll come back tomorrow morning to accompany you to sweep Chen Jiaming’s grave.”

His father turned to look at him, brow furrowed. He didn’t understand why, after speaking so decisively, Chen Jingming was still willing to go grave-sweeping with them.

But he nodded nonetheless. “Go on.”

Chen Jingming turned and left, closing the door behind him. He stepped steadily down each stair.

“Brother?”

“Baby.”

Chu Feng was standing right at the building entrance, scanning Chen Jingming to see if he was physically intact.

Chen Jingming ran over and threw himself shamelessly into his arms.

Chu Feng cupped his face, observing his eyes under the streetlight. “You cried.”

“Mhm.” Chen Jingming didn’t hide it. “I started crying as I was talking.”

Chu Feng frowned.

Chen Jingming smiled and rubbed his cheek against Chu Feng’s warm, rough hand. “I’m a crybaby, after all.”

Chu Feng smiled. “Is it resolved?”

He spoke as he took Chen Jingming’s hand to walk out.

A neighbor returning late passed by, their gaze following them for a moment. They thought, Isn’t that the Chen family’s son who hasn’t been back in a long time? But seeing the tall stranger beside him, who didn’t quite look the part, they didn’t say hello and simply went upstairs.

Chen Jingming clung to Chu Feng’s arm as they walked. “I guess so.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah. Let’s give them some time.”