Chapter 41: Chu Jingyan

Second Ring Area, Beijing.

The door to a large living room opened.

A tall man with black hair and bronze skin strode in, took off his suit coat, and threw it onto the sofa while loosening his necktie. Taking a deep breath, he went to the bar counter and poured himself some wine without bothering to turn on the lights.

The illumination from the neon lights outside passed through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, dimly lighting the interior of his house.

Exhaustion was etched on the man’s brows. He was lost in thought when the sharp ring of his phone suddenly broke the silence.

Hou Yizhen picked up the phone from his pocket to answer the call. After listening to his subordinate’s report for a while, his brows knitted together.

"Make sure to keep watch on the forums. Don’t let it get out of hand. Don’t remove the hot posts just yet. It will only make everyone more curious. However, negative comments must be kept to a minimum. Don’t let the boy see them."

After ending the call, he immediately called Housekeeper Yang and advised him about the viral posts.

"Master Hou, should I stop the young master from going tomorrow?"

Just as the man was about to answer, ’Of course he should not go,’ the housekeeper continued, "He seems to be looking forward to going. He has been locked up in his room for a while, and this is the first time I’ve seen him smile. What a pity."

Hou Yizhen suddenly swallowed the words he was about to say.

"...Then find ways so he will not know about it. That brat likes to overthink. What if he overthinks and becomes depressed again?"

"...I’ll do my best, Master Hou."

After ending the call, the man slumped onto the sofa and rested his head against the backrest.

His dark eyes were unfathomable.

"So afraid of what others think, yet he’s doing things that catch others’ attention. What does he want? Is he trying to attract me to go over?"

Hou Yizhen stared into the darkness, then grumbled, "I won’t care anymore. I won’t go. The guards are not there just for show."

At that moment, his phone rang again. Answering the call, the man irritably snapped, "Why do you keep bothering me? I already told you what to do."

"Brother Yi?" Loud music blasted in the background, making his voice difficult to hear clearly.

Hou Yizhen paused. His tightly knit brows relaxed a little. Rubbing his forehead, he said, "It’s you. I thought it was someone else."

The other party cheerfully replied.

"You seem to be in a bad mood. Just right. It’s the perfect night to unwind, so let’s have a drink together and forget our sorrows, Brother Yi. Brother Hao and Brother Tian are both here. We’ve invited some girls over too. Come and join us!"

Brother Hou refused. "No, I’m not in the mood tonight," he said curtly. "Invite me next time, but tonight really isn’t a good time."

Back at one of Beijing’s luxury nightclubs, Rong Zexin ended the call and shrugged at his friends.

"He said he can’t come tonight. He’s busy with something, so he’ll pass."

Chu Haoran flirted with a girl beside him before glancing at his friend. "I’ve noticed that he’s been pretty busy recently, but last week, it was like he was injected with an aphrodisiac. I heard that all five of his bed partners were exhausted in just a few days."

Wei Tianyu curiously asked, "I just came back from a business trip. What’s this about him acting like a dog in heat?"

Rong Zexin enthusiastically shared what had happened last week when their moody friend suddenly acted like a dog in heat, railing his bed partners one after another for several days straight.

Wei Tianyu was surprised. "That Hou Yizhen? Although his stamina and libido are strong, he is actually quite restrained compared to us."

His eyes narrowed. "Is it possible that he has encountered some romantic problem, and he’s just in the denial process?"

The moment he said this, everyone, including himself, laughed.

"Brother Hou? That chauvinistic scum? Didn’t he say before that he would never marry or settle down?"

"Forget it. Let Brother Hou rest. Whatever problem he has, he will solve it soon enough."

Chu Haoran was laughing happily when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Squinting, he looked closer and then frowned.

"What the heck? Why is that bastard here?"

Rong Zexin looked around. "Who?"

"That useless cousin of mine, Chu Jingyan. Last time, he caused some trouble. I heard he got sent away to avoid the limelight. It has only been less than a month, and now he’s already back. What is Third Aunt thinking?"

A few tables away, the man they were talking about, Chu Jingyan, was sitting on a circular sofa surrounded by his friends, along with the slender boys and girls they had invited to party.

He was a tall man with a sturdy build and a blond buzz cut, with handsome and masculine features. However, his face was completely gloomy as he drank one shot of wine after another.

"Chu Jingyan, why do you still look so sour? Shouldn’t you be glad that you’re back in Beijing and no longer have to suffer in the countryside? We even set up a celebration just for you."

Bohai Town was actually still part of Beijing, but to these young masters, it was rural enough.

Chu Jingyan shook his head in annoyance, not saying anything.

However, another friend who knew Chu Jingyan very well rolled his eyes. "What else could it be? He found a new white moonlight for himself, but before he could even enjoy that white moonlight, his family sent him back here."

Everyone’s brows lifted, their eyes shining with gossip.

"I thought you were sent over to that rural Bohai Town."

"Is there actually a beauty in such a backward place?"

"I think Brother Chu is just repressed."

Their conversation continued despite Chu Jingyan’s indifferent aura. He kept thinking of the boy, his gentle demeanor, his pure amber gaze, and the way the sunlight passed through his hair...

"Bohai Town does seem to have its share of beauties. I just saw this on the trending posts. This boy looks really pretty, but with his amber eyes and hair, he’s definitely mixed-race."

"No wonder he’s a beauty! Mixed-race people have an advantage in looks—"

"What did you say?" Suddenly, someone interrupted them.

Seeing Chu Jingyan standing in front of her, the girl was surprised for a moment before showing him the screen of her phone, where a video was playing.

It showed a boy with soft brown hair and amber eyes playing an erhu.

The next moment, the phone in her hand was snatched away, and she almost yelped in surprise.

Looking at the towering man in front of her, she couldn’t help but feel that his expression seemed a little strange.

Everyone else curiously gathered around Chu Jingyan to stare at the phone screen.

"Wow, this boy looks really good."

"Isn’t this exactly your type, Chu Jingyan?"

Then one of them suddenly said in realization, "Wait. You said you met a white moonlight in Bohai Town. Is it this person?"

After a pause, Chu Jingyan nodded. "Yeah," he said hoarsely, his eyes dark.

Looking at the comments, his face became even darker.

What he hated most was seeing the person he had set his sights on being admired by countless others as well.

"What? Isn’t this Lin Feng?" one of the men recognized the boy.

"Lin Feng?" Chu Jingyan was distracted. "Do you know him?"

"You don’t know him because he doesn’t interact with our circle of friends, and Lin Feng also likes to keep to himself. But he became a well-known figure while you were busy playing with your previous darling."

"Do you remember President Lin and his sister-in-law?"

Everyone smiled meaningfully.

That scandal was indeed a once in a decade kind of scandal, completely unforgettable even if years passed.

It had been such a scandalous, yellow, and lustful affair!

It kept tickling at their imaginations, making them picture countless scenarios. Some of the people here had even role-played all kinds of brother-in-law and sister-in-law affair, having a lot of fun with their bed partners, imitating President Lin and his sister-in-law.

Ah, that was an exciting period.

"This is Lin Feng, the son of Bai Yunfei from the Bai family. Bai Yunfei was the precious daughter of the Bai patriarch, and because she witnessed the scandal firsthand, she passed away on the spot."

"Lin Feng has been missing for quite a while. It turned out he has been recuperating in Bohai Town all along."

Chu Jingyan’s eyes burned. "Tell me more."

Unknown to them, someone hidden nearby, wearing a hooded top and standing in a dark corner, overheard fragments of their conversation.

The person’s hand tightened around the crystal glass, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

Bohai Town, isn’t it?