Chapter 117: Back To That Key Moment ①

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Chapter 117: Back To That Key Moment ①

In the end, Jian Chenfeng really did take Shang Ke all the way to Antarctica, with the flights alone taking dozens of hours. While their cruise ship was crossing the Drake Passage, they encountered waves more than six meters high. Seawater even surged against the windows as the ship pitched so violently that everyone was left dizzy and disoriented. It was thrilling in the worst possible way, and Shang Ke almost thought he was about to risk his life again.

Floating ice covered the sea, while the distant snowcapped mountains seemed to merge with the white clouds. Flocks of seabirds swept past them as the icy air struck their faces, cold enough to leave them completely refreshed. Bundled up from head to toe, Shang Ke and Jian Chenfeng landed on Melchior Island and took pictures like mad before heading with the other travelers to Neko Harbour, a gathering place for gentoo penguins and one of the main reasons for their trip—penguin watching.

Plump penguins were everywhere across the snow and glaciers. Some hid in the snow, some sprawled over rocks, while others waddled headlong into the sea… Shang Ke seized every chance to take photos with them, and the penguins were surprisingly cooperative. But the moment Jian Chenfeng approached, he would immediately suffer a merciless group attack. Shang Ke later guessed that perhaps the penguins mistook Jian Chenfeng for an oversized seabird. Gulls were notorious egg thieves, after all—natural enemies that could never coexist peacefully.

Shang Ke could only offer the innocent Jian Chenfeng one hundred and twenty percent of his sympathy. Jian Chenfeng then claimed that his poor wounded heart had suffered a devastating blow and proceeded to seek several hours of “comfort” from Shang Ke’s body.

Afterward, they visited Port Lockroy, Petermann Island, Paradise Bay, and several other places, leaving behind one precious image after another amid the blue skies, snow-white mountains, and pristine sea.

By the end of the trip, Jian Chenfeng’s face had been burned as red as Guan Yu’s, while Shang Ke remained as radiant as ever, looking so healthy and glowing that even the women traveling with them were envious. The contrast became especially brutal whenever he stood beside the red-faced Jian Chenfeng, reducing a certain someone to a distorted shadow in comparison.

After checking into the hotel, Shang Ke mixed up a soothing moisturizing facial treatment and smeared it all over Jian Chenfeng’s face.

Jian Chenfeng was initially extremely uncooperative, so Shang Ke threatened him, “If even one scar is left on your face, I’m going to fall in love with someone else!”

The threat was so vicious that Jian Chenfeng immediately behaved himself.

It didn’t matter. Off the bed, Shang Ke could have the final say. Once they got into bed, though… heh-heh. Two eerie green flames seemed to flare to life in Jian Chenfeng’s eyes.

That night, a certain starving wolf thoroughly devoured Shang Ke from the inside out, fucking him so relentlessly that Shang Ke didn’t manage to leave the hotel for three days.

Once Jian Chenfeng’s face had finally returned to its former handsome glory, the two boarded their flight home. By then, a full month had passed since Jiang Donglin and Jian Xin returned to the country.

The moment they returned, Secretary Cui stormed into Jian Chenfeng’s home, dumped a huge pile of work on him, and declared indignantly, “I’ve had enough! I want a vacation!”

“Would a triple bonus soothe your irritable mood?” Jian Chenfeng asked seriously.

Secretary Cui unceremoniously held up one open hand. “At least five times.”

“Deal.” Jian Chenfeng settled it immediately. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll work overtime with me.”

Oh, no! Secretary Cui looked as though he had been struck by lightning. Could he please have another chance to choose?!

Jian Chenfeng resumed control of the company, first dealing with the problems left behind by the confidential-information leak and Father Jian’s poor decisions.

With nothing much else to do, Shang Ke delivered lovingly prepared meals to Jian Chenfeng every day and used his cooking to soothe the haggard Secretary Cui while he was at it. The poor man looked as though he were on the verge of a complete breakdown…

Once Jian Chenfeng entered work mode, the double nourishment of delicious food and “lust” left him not only completely free of fatigue but even more energetic than before. Even his muscles seemed firmer and stronger.

A man in love inflicted maximum damage on single dogs. Secretary Cui felt the urge to take revenge on society more than once and, for the first time, discovered just how hateful his boss could look. What happened to that cold, sharp, domineering CEO from before?

“Bring Second Young Master Jiang home for dinner in a few days.” Once the company crisis had been resolved and everything returned to normal, Father Jian called Jian Chenfeng with this request.

“All right, Dad.” Jian Chenfeng calmly accepted his father’s change in attitude.

Before bringing Shang Ke home to meet his family, Jian Chenfeng decided to introduce him to his friends first.

“Handsome Feng, seriously?” Song Qianxing looked utterly unconvinced. “Fine, you found yourself a man, but why did it have to be Jiang Yumo?”

The Jiang family was fairly wealthy, but there was still a gap between them and the families in Jian Chenfeng’s social circle. Of course, that didn’t mean they couldn’t associate with one another. The real problem was Jiang Yumo’s terrible reputation. Anyone with even a little discernment or pride generally wanted nothing to do with him.

None of them could have imagined that the famously picky Jian Chenfeng would fall for the spoiled young master they considered the least likely person in the world to catch his eye.

“Brother.” Qiu Jun put an arm around Jian Chenfeng’s shoulder and advised him earnestly, “First off, I’ve got nothing against gay people, but couldn’t you at least choose someone decent? A guy like Jiang Yumo isn’t even qualified to warm your bed, is he?”

Jian Chenfeng swept him with a cold glance. “I don’t want to hear another word from you belittling him. Otherwise, we won’t even remain friends.”

“All right, all right.” Qiu Jun raised both hands in surrender. It looked like Jian Chenfeng had truly fallen hard this time. Not only had he fallen for a man with a terrible reputation, he was apparently completely serious about him.

The others were thinking much the same thing. They exchanged helpless glances and privately wondered whether they ought to give Second Young Master Jiang a proper “welcome” later, preferably one that would make him reveal his “true colors” in front of Jian Chenfeng without anyone appearing too deliberate.

While they were still plotting, the door to the entertainment room opened with a soft chime.

Everyone turned toward the sound and felt their eyes brighten the instant they saw the newcomer, as though sunlight had suddenly poured into the room. He wore a white casual suit over a black shirt, his figure slender and his temperament gentle and refined. There was a peculiar natural rhythm to every step he took. “Bright eyes and pearly teeth” was usually a phrase used to describe women, yet somehow it didn’t feel inappropriate when applied to him.

This was Jiang Yumo, the notorious spoiled young master rumored to indulge in wine, sex, money, and every other vice? Holy shit, wasn’t the difference way too huge?! They had expected either a listless weakling, some arrogant and overbearing fashion disaster, or, at best, a shallow and hypocritical rich second-generation brat.

But the man before them, whether in looks or temperament, was clearly outstanding even among the elite. He was neither a “weakling” nor a “fashion disaster,” much less some shallow rich brat. They even felt that if someone spent every day around a man like this, staying straight might become difficult. At least where appearance was concerned, they no longer questioned Jian Chenfeng’s taste.

Jian Chenfeng walked over to Shang Ke, wrapped an arm around his waist, and smiled. “This is my lover, Jiang Yumo.”

He then introduced the others to Shang Ke: Song Qianxing, Qiu Jun, Wang Xiao, and Zhou Du, all childhood friends or close family acquaintances.

The four stood to greet him. They were friendly enough on the surface, but the scrutiny in their eyes was obvious.

Before coming, Shang Ke had already more or less guessed what they thought of him, so he didn’t care. He openly met their assessing gazes.

There were only so many standard ways to get acquainted: eating and entertainment.

Qiu Jun suggested starting with a few games of billiards. The others immediately agreed and enthusiastically invited Shang Ke, the “newcomer,” to break.

“Can you play?” Jian Chenfeng asked quietly.

“A little,” Shang Ke replied.

What exactly did he mean by… “a little”?

Jian Chenfeng soon found out.

Shang Ke opened the game with ease, sinking ball after ball and turning the table into an elegant, highly skilled solo performance.

He really did know “a little”—enough to leave everyone who had been waiting for him to embarrass himself completely stunned.

Their defeat at the billiard table didn’t discourage the four. They simply moved on to cards.

Unfortunately, disappointment was inevitable. Shang Ke was proficient in sleight of hand and possessed an extraordinary memory. After only a few rounds, everyone else had lost everything, leaving only Jian Chenfeng. Anyone hoping Jian Chenfeng would salvage the situation was badly mistaken. He and Shang Ke went back and forth, each winning and losing, one round after another in an apparently endless cycle, occasionally exchanging sickeningly sweet looks across the table.

Fucking idiots! How was this still playing cards? They were blatantly showing off their love right in everyone’s faces!

The four single dogs were practically battered bloody by the display.

By this point, they were no longer thinking about how to make Shang Ke embarrass himself. All they wanted was to recover some of their own dignity.

After dinner, everyone moved to their private gaming room and enthusiastically suggested a few competitive video games.

Their taste in entertainment immediately refreshed Shang Ke’s understanding of them. A group of wealthy young masters with an average age over twenty-five were shouting and fighting over video games like hot-blooded teenagers. Was this really appropriate?

Shang Ke gave Jian Chenfeng beside him a meaningful look: So I’ve misunderstood you all this time. You’re actually this kind of man—one whose childish heart never died.

Jian Chenfeng solemnly conveyed: In this regard, I am absolutely not one of them.

In truth, only Qiu Jun and Zhou Du were serious gamers, but to make it two versus two, Jian Chenfeng was dragged into the match as well.

Jian Chenfeng had never played video games before, so when Qiu Jun and the others deliberately paired him with Shang Ke, their sinister intentions were obvious.

Looking at Qiu Jun and Zhou Du rubbing their hands together and preparing to crush him, Shang Ke felt a little bad for them, because he was afraid they still wouldn’t win. There was always a chance of making a mistake at billiards or cards, but when it came to computers, Shang Ke—armed with his hacking skills—had absolute confidence. Back when he studied hacking in the Hundred Training Space, various competitive games had been part of his routine for practicing hand speed.

The result was predictable: there was no “worst,” only “even worse.” Jian Chenfeng, the useless pig teammate, didn’t even get a chance to drag Shang Ke down because Shang Ke wiped out their opponents entirely on his own.

After losing again and again, even four men with excellent manners couldn’t help becoming somewhat depressed.

That evening while they were drinking, Shang Ke personally mixed four cocktails for them and smiled. “I had such a good time today that I got a little carried away. If I behaved discourteously at all, please forgive me.”

Shang Ke rarely behaved so flamboyantly. The reason he had shown off so much today was partly to give Jian Chenfeng face and partly to overturn the image these people had of him. Now that he had achieved both goals, there was naturally no reason to keep putting on a display.

Surprise flashed through the four men’s eyes, but they quickly understood what Shang Ke meant. He knew perfectly well how they viewed him, which was why he had gone out of his way to show what he could do—all because he wanted their acceptance.

Shang Ke continued, “You’re among Chenfeng’s very few close friends. I truly want to spend the rest of my life with him, so I sincerely hope to have your blessing. That’s also why he brought me to meet you today. Because he treasures this relationship, he treats it seriously.”

The four exchanged glances and finally relaxed, letting go of the reservations in their hearts. They raised their glasses and clinked them against his, truly accepting him at last.

“Handsome Feng,” Qiu Jun quietly leaned toward Jian Chenfeng and whispered, “I have to hand it to you—your taste really is viciously good. A man like this is absolutely top-tier.”

Jian Chenfeng sipped his red wine and lounged behind Shang Ke, quietly gazing at his profile. His eyes were so tender they seemed almost capable of overflowing.

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