Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 122: Let’s Go Together

These kinds of peaceful days did not last long, as the Wen family came calling.

They were earlier than Wen Chuo expected, about a year to be exact.
Perhaps since he has been “reborn”, the flaps of his tiny butterfly wings has unknowingly changed the path of the future of the previous life.

Rong-shu stood in the doorway, looking at the sharp eyed teen before him.
A rare and sudden hesitance came through his entire body, and he didn’t know what to call him.

When Liu Ruo Qing left with Wen Chuo by her side, Fan Qiu Yun had forbidden anyone from even uttering a single word related to them.
Wen Tian Hao naturally took over as the “main” son, and even if anyone outside the family technically knew about this affair, they didn’t pay it much mind, as a homewrecker becoming the head wife wasn’t an uncommon story after all.

Whoever won, then naturally they would be the winner.
And evidently, Fan Qiu Yun had been the one who stood on top.

 

Rong-shu was Wen Jin Cheng’s personal secretary, and all these years, although he had no preference for either side, he had openly and discreetly received quite a few benefits from Fan Qiu Yun and her son.
So on some sort of level, he was not willing for Wen Chuo to take over the company.

“Shao-ye,”1 Rong-shu finally opened his mouth, 

“Are you free to have a talk?”

Hearing this reference call to him, Wen Chuo only felt like it was a stinging and mocking joke.
He didn’t say anything and was just about to close the door when Rong-shu quickly stopped him, 

“The chairman sent me over.
He knows that you have suffered quite a few wrongs these past years.
And no matter what, avoidance is not the answer.
I hope the respectable you would be able to openly and honestly allow me to have a conversation with you.”

His gaze settled inside, evidently wanting to go in, but he was blocked off by Wen Chuo who used his body to stop his gaze and the two of them silently froze in a standoff.

Rong-shu said, 

“I’m only the messenger, and I cannot go back without a report for the chairman.
No matter if you give me a yes or a no, you have to at least give me a chance.
Allow me to say everything clearly, no?”

Bai Yang was still inside and Wen Chuo did not want to start an argument at the door.
Perhaps he was also past his rebellious phase and all the curses and swearing had no more meaning to him.
He stared at Rong-shu’s earnest looking face, a cold glint flashing by his eyes, and responded with an emotionless face, 

“Go wait downstairs.”

And then closed the door with a bang.

Seeing that the Wen family sent someone over, Wen Chuo had thought he would have been really excited, but in reality, his heart was as calm as a pool of stagnant water.
There was no joy, no hate, as if these people were passing clouds in the sky.
The moment he had died in his past life, everything disappeared up in smoke, leaving his life very cleanly without a mark.

He stood on the spot, blanking out for a while before walking back into the bedroom.
Bai Yang was currently lying on the bed, without much energy from a small fever.
Seeing Wen Chuo come in, he opened his heavy eyes, exerting a lot of effort to sit back up.

Wen Chuo thought he was going to ask him something, but there was only silence ringing in his ear.
After a moment, he took the initiative to say,

“Rest up well.
I’ll go down to buy you some medicine.”

The moment he said those words, Bai Yang suddenly lifted up his head to grab his hand.
There was a moment that Wen Chuo felt like his wrist was about to be shattered from the force, and his face couldn’t even hide the slight emotion from the sudden pain.
He was just going to say something when Bai Yang silently let go of him.

“Come back early.”

Bai Yang retracted his hand back towards himself.
His lips were a bit cracked and he stared right at Wen Chuo, repeating, 

“Come back early……”

Wen Chuo reached over to hug him, feeling that he was somehow way skinnier again, and he slipped his hand under the sheets to help massage his waist.
He quietly asked, 

“Does it still hurt?”

Bai Yang leaned against Wen Chuo’s shoulder, quietly shaking his head.

Wen Chuo stepped outside and walked downstairs.
He found that Rong-shu had quite the patience to wait by the alleyway entrance.
Wen Chuo walked past him, heading directly into the small convenience shop to buy a pack of cigarettes before looking at Rong-shu and saying in an indicative tone, 

“What you have to say, say it now.”

Rong-shu was not very used to speaking about private matters on public streets, and he looked left and right before finding that it was way too crowded here, 

“Why don’t we find a quieter spot?”

“There is no quieter spot,” 

Wen Chuo’s gaze was mocking, and then he pointed with his chin at the black car parked in the distance, 

“Let’s talk in the car.”

Rong-shu could only agree and very respectfully opened the car for him before kicking the driver out and sitting beside Wen Chuo.
In an instant, the small and narrow chamber inside the car was filled with cigarette smoke.

Rong-shu paused before slowly piecing together a sentence, 

“The chairman’s health has not been great recently, but he has always been thinking of you.
Although the divorce in the beginning was not of his own wishes, he still felt that he owed you and your mother a lot.
He is trying his hardest to compensate now, and wants to bring you back to the Wen family……”

Wen Chuo was blowing out rings of smoke, making it hard for others to see or decipher what he was thinking about.
Rong-shu could only go on in his speech, 

“After all, the other’s heart isn’t doing quite well, and he won’t live for much longer.
From the bottom of his heart, the chairman still sees you as the heir, and the company will be passed on to your hands in the future.”

At this time, the Wen family was already an empty shell.
To say that it was all rotten wouldn’t be wrong either.
For Wen Jin Cheng to bring him back, it was no doubt to stabilize the hearts of the employees and stakeholders, to set him as a controllable puppet. 

In his previous life, when Wen Chuo had been handed the reins of the company, he had been busy taking care of the mess and loose ends left behind.
Without an end in sight, he had to fill up the gaping hole of the treasury, and it could be said that the entire deficit that this useless old man had created was refilled and sealed back up by Wen Chuo.

If it were another person, they would have no doubt chosen to go back, even happily and in celebration.
Wen Tian Hao was destined to have a short life, and Wen Jin Cheng was so old he wouldn’t be able to pop a kid out anywhere.
Just suffer for a few years and you would be able to outlive them all.
By then, there wouldn’t be much effort required to take over the Wen family.

Clouded by the smoke, Wen Chuo slightly lifted his eyes.
This, in Rong-shu’s eyes, looked as if he was moved by what he said.
First, a carrot, then a stick.
He slightly changed the direction of his words, 

“But the only thing is, if you want to go back, you can only take on the identity of being the second son.
So to say, Miss Fan Qiu Yun will be your mother in name to everyone.
The chairman knows this is a bit over the line, but for the Wen family’s name and reputation……”

Wen Chuo couldn’t help but laugh.
He had always thought that besides gaming, he had no other redeeming qualities.
But he did not think that he could add one more – he could endure.
Even a bastard wasn’t as enduring as him.
He must have been crazed out of his mind from being so poor in his past life, as why else did he accept even this kind of humiliation.

Wen Chuo wiped away the tears that came out of his laughter and he asked back, 

“Does the Wen family even still have their reputation and name? Huh?”

The expression on Rong-shu’s face slightly shifted, and at this time, he couldn’t get a feel for what Wen Chuo’s attitude was.
He was just pondering on how to respond when he heard Wen Chuo stop laughing and look out the car window at the scenery outside.
With an expression that was hard to decipher, Wen Chuo said, 

“We are after all father and son.
Let me say a few words to him.”

Rong-shu thought it was quite reasonable and gave an acknowledgement.
He called a number, said something to whoever responded, and then passed the phone over to Wen Chuo.

 

Wen Chuo received the phone and his expression panned out to become even more emotionless and uncaring.
A retching cough came out of the speaker before a very old, elderly voice spoke out, 

“Ah-Chuo?”2

Wen Chuo replied, 

“It’s me.”

When Wen Jin Cheng aged, he aged terribly.
When he occasionally fronted the news, there was no way to see the resemblance of the image in Wen Chuo’s mind to now.
But his tone sounded just like he remembered, as condescending as it could be, 

“Hmm, don’t throw a tantrum.
Come back soon.”

As if Wen Chuo had stayed here for ten or so years, all the faults were not because of him.

Wen Chuo asked, 

“How’s your health?”

Wen Jin Cheng coughed a few times, his voice cloudy and a bit breathless, 

“Like that.”

Wen Chuo smiled, 

“Die early.
The kind of person you are, living on this earth is just a waste of oxygen.
When Wen Tian Hao dies, your Wen family can wait for its lineage to end.”

After all, neither he nor Bai Yang could give birth to a child.

Under Rong-shu’s widening eyes, he immediately hung up, threw the cell phone back, and walked out of the car, slamming the door with a bang without hesitation.

Truly so stupid, truly, so stupid……

Wen Chuo truly didn’t understand how blinded he could have been in his last life, that he would have really gone back to the Wen family.

He had endured until Wen Tian Hao died, had endured until Wen Jin Cheng died, and when Fan Qiu Yun aged a million years from her son’s death and got depression, Wen Chuo was really truly living alone.
When he had turned his head back, Bai Yang had already disappeared.

At that time, that him, he wanted everything, but in the end, received nothing.
Except for money, his hands were empty.
But what was the point of so much money? Wen Chuo was not happy at all, not one bit.

How could he have, really truly, left that idiot here……

Wen Chuo walked straight to the pharmacy.
Rong-shu didn’t chase after him, and after a brief moment, that black car drove away, leaving behind only a tornado of yellowed leaves.

Time was unstoppable and uncontainable.
Those who fooled around with Wen Chuo had already begun to start their life in the workforce, and Shan Dian had packed his bags long ago to venture into the big city.
People came and left, and the only one that was always by his side, seemed to only be Bai Yang.

When Wen Chuo came back, the person in question was standing before the window, as if to tend to his potted plants.
Hearing the door open, his movements slightly paused but he did not raise up his head.

“The medicine’s on the table.
Remember to take it.”

After that Wen Chuo walked into the bedroom and all Bai Yang could hear was the closet closing and opening.
A brief moment later, Wen Chuo walked back out and called out to him as he put on his shoes by the entrance, 

“I’m going out to buy something.
Be back in a bit.”

Bai Yang walked into the bedroom, and seeing a half-zipped travel bag lying on the ground on the floor bulging with clothes as if it would burst out in the next second, seeing that black t-shirt poke through, his knees suddenly couldn’t handle his weight.
He started to slump down, until his kneecaps met with the tiled floor.

The sun was shining brightly down through the window as dusk was beginning to settle in and it was a beautiful picture that could move the soul.
In the midst of this scenic view, Bai Yang pulled open the bag, looking at the items of clothing randomly stuffed inside.
Pants were intertwined with pyjamas sleeves, seasonal wear all mixed in, as messy as a spider’s web.

He began to pull each item of clothing out and then folded them nicely one by one, leaving not a single wrinkle behind.
He placed them back in neatly, creating much more space than before.
The chilly autumn air was seeping in, seeping in all the way into his bones, and before long, his knees became numb.

Bai Yang pulled open the closet, packing two more fuzzy sweaters in before zipping it back up.

After he did all that, it seemed like he had nothing else he could do.
He leaned against the bed, hugging his knees as he sat right there on the floor and buried his face as far down as possible.
He didn’t move one bit, as if he fell asleep.

When Wen Chuo tugged back two newly bought suitcases, this state of Bai Yang greeted him and he quickly panicked.
Quickly reaching out to drag the other back up, 

“Why are you sitting on the floor, how cold must it be.”

Hugging Bai Yang close, he tested the temperature on his forehead.
When he found that the fever did not reappear, his heart finally calmed down.
He suddenly remembered something and said, 

“Oh right, pack up your stuff too.
We’ll go to Z City the day after.”

Bai Yang’s body froze and his eyes became hazy.
With a bit of hoarseness to his voice, he said, 

“What?”

Wen Chuo explained, 

“I saved up some money, so let’s go to Z city.
We’ll go find San-shen to end the lease tomorrow, sell what we can and those that we can’t, we’ll just throw away.
We’ll buy it all anew when we get there.
Pack up what you can with clothes too.”

With what arrogance Wen Jin Cheng had, after being yelled at, he’s probably blowing up in anger.
Wen Chuo didn’t feel like he would come back to find him again, but after having his address exposed like this, it didn’t make him feel too comfortable.
Taking this chance, it was best to leave Lin Xian.

Seeing Bai Yang not move, he grabbed the back of his hair in frustration, asking hesitantly, 

“What, you…..
aren’t willing?”

He felt that was not quite possible.

“……No.”

Bai Yang shook his head, his expression still a bit dazed.
Seeing him like this, Wen Chuo was relieved.
He tugged the two suitcases over, 

“One for you and one for me.
The rest we can just put in the travel bag.
Don’t keep the old clothes, just throw them away.”

Although if they threw their old clothes away, there probably wouldn’t be anything left.

Wen Chuo didn’t know how to pack a suitcase and after making a mess, he still didn’t know where to start.
From his back, Bai Yang wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his cheek on his shoulder.
With a bit of huskiness to the ending tilts of his words, as if they were feathers tickling on his heart, he said, 

“Let me.”

 

Notes:

 

*1 Shao-ye: sort of like how Huo Ming Chen was referenced, and how XYZ was called, this term is a respectful reference call to the son of a wealthy family (also can be used mockingly too).
Not technically the same as young master as this only implies the son, not as the person they “follow”, if that makes sense.
Altho it can, but given the context here, it’s kind of just a reference call.

*2 Ah-Chuo: not a sneeze haha, but a sort of affectionate way to call Wen Chuo, like Ah-Qi in volume 1 for Lu Qi.

Edit: Corrected name from Wen Tian Hao to Fan Qiu Yun