Chapter 451 Modern Arc 7 (Meng Wan x Song Tingzhou)

Chapter 451: Modern Chapter 7 (Meng Wan x Song Tingzhou)

There hasn't been much worth watching lately—all the big blockbusters were saving themselves for the Spring Festival box office battle. The only halfway decent thing out was some goofy adventure comedy.

Meng Wan figured that with Song Tingzhou's old-school vibe, they'd pick a movie and buy tickets once they got inside. But once they got inside, he found out the other man had already bought tickets online, along with a popcorn and cola combo. And the seats he'd picked were dead center in the middle row—must have grabbed them a couple days ahead.

Song Tingzhou held his hand the whole way in, so he barely had to look where he was going. It wasn't until they got to their seats that Song Tingzhou handed him the popcorn and told him to wait while he fixed the seat back before letting him sit.

The straw was already in the cola—Song Tingzhou was basically one step away from holding it up and feeding him.

This was the first time anyone had fussed over Meng Wan like this, treating him like some little girl. It was honestly a little awkward, but he couldn't deny how warm it felt to be cradled so carefully in someone's hands.

It had been years... so many years since anyone had been this good to him.

"Don't grab the popcorn with your hands."

The movie hadn't started yet, and Meng Wan was still all flustered and shy when he heard Song Tingzhou say something out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

Confused, he set the popcorn on the armrest tray between their seats, and then his hand was grabbed again.

This was the second time that day. Song Tingzhou's grip was a little smoother than when he'd held his hand getting out of the car—his slightly sweaty palm wrapped around Meng Wan's completely, then slowly laced their fingers together, holding tight.

As the loud trailers blared and the theater went dark, Meng Wan got pulled toward Song Tingzhou. His throat bobbed, and he tensed up for no real reason.

Song Tingzhou stared straight ahead, not even glancing at Meng Wan leaning toward him or the hand he was holding. With that serious look on his face, he seemed like he was there to do an inspection.

The movie started, and Meng Wan actually ended up getting into it. The jokes came fast and thick in the middle, and he laughed along with everyone else a few times. When he automatically reached for his cola, he caught Song Tingzhou quickly looking away.

He came to the theater and didn't even watch the movie—he's been staring at me this whole time?

Meng Wan took a sip from the straw, and suddenly he couldn't focus on the movie anymore. He leaned over to Song Tingzhou, who quickly noticed and leaned in too.

The theater was too loud, so Meng Wan's mouth was basically right up against Song Tingzhou's ear, his warm breath hitting him as he spoke.

"Want a taste of the cola?"

He said taste, not drink. Song Tingzhou was still stuck on how intimate the moment was, and before he could even process what that meant, the guy right by his ear suddenly ducked down and tilted his head up—a soft touch, there and gone in a flash.

Song Tingzhou froze for just a second before grabbing the guy trying to pull away. He leaned over the armrest between them and pressed in, lips on lips, a faint clean sweetness lingering as they both closed their eyes without thinking.

They kissed three times during the less-than-two-hour movie. When the lights came back up, Meng Wan saw that Song Tingzhou's ears were bright red.

No way...

Meng Wan really didn't expect Song Tingzhou to be this innocent at almost thirty, which made him—someone dating for the first time—feel like some kind of creep.

His hand got taken again, and Song Tingzhou's voice dropped a notch, sounding a little indulgent. "You hungry? Want to go grab something to eat first?"

Meng Wan smiled at him. "Sure."

Song Tingzhou had apparently asked around beforehand and found some private kitchen place, taking Meng Wan to try the local specialty: lychee mushroom chicken soup. It was savory and fragrant, and since Meng Wan loved chicken anyway, he downed two big bowls of soup and couldn't even eat any of the main dishes.

Seeing his lover eat his fill put Song Tingzhou in a great mood. He didn't sing while driving or suddenly get chatty, but he was clearly in a softer mood. He treasured his time with Meng Wan—after all, back when he was grinding away at work, he never thought he'd actually land him.

After that, whenever they had free time, they'd go out on dates. Lingzhou County was small, so running into people they knew was unavoidable. Song Tingzhou didn't try to hide anything—he was totally open about it.

"Yeah, that's right, my boyfriend."

"Taking him out."

"Work stuff can wait till Monday."

Qiao Xingyuan, in his thick-lensed glasses, was still dealing with work on his phone even while eating with his family. He stared in disbelief at his usually workaholic boss, seriously tempted to flip the table right then and there.

Forget it... don't get mad...

"Dad, what's up with you?" his daughter asked, confused. Ever since her dad went over to greet his boss at the next table, his face had been weird—sometimes fierce, sometimes like he'd reached enlightenment.

Qiao Xingyuan had let it go. "Nothing, sweetie. You're finally on winter break—in a few days, Dad's taking you and Mom to Yunnan."

"Yay!"

Meng Wan overheard the whole thing too. His eyes curved into a smile as he asked Song Tingzhou, "You bully your employees?"

"No." Song Tingzhou calmly put a chicken leg on his plate, then thought of something. "New Year's is coming up. You heading back to the capital for it?"

Meng Wan kept his expression calm. "My family isn't in the capital—I just went to college there. My parents are gone anyway, so there's nothing to go back for."

There was a hint of sympathy in Song Tingzhou's eyes. He set down his chopsticks and took Meng Wan's hand. "Then come to my place for New Year's?"

It wasn't an invitation—it was him asking.

But Meng Wan turned him down, ambition flashing in his eyes. "Construction picks back up after New Year's, so I probably won't have time. Next year, I'll definitely go early to visit your mom."

He already knew about Song Tingzhou's family situation. He'd gotten a taste of the Pinglu Canal's benefits, and if his assets were enough, he wanted to push even further. Opportunities like this were too rare—Meng Wan couldn't afford to let it go.

Song Tingzhou wasn't that surprised, just a little disappointed. His mom was home alone, and he'd be heading back in a few days to spend New Year's with her.

Chang Jinhua already knew her son had finally gotten a clue and started dating. Meng Wan was super smooth when it came to social stuff, so he'd had his cousin buy a bunch of local specialties for Song Tingzhou to bring home. Song Tingzhou would drive to Yongzhou, then fly home, and mail the stuff from Yongzhou on the way.

After Song Tingzhou left, Meng Wan and Zhang Yu loaded up the car on New Year's Eve and went to his cousin's place for the holiday. On New Year's Day, they were back out working connections and handing out gifts.

For the Pinglu Canal project, local bosses and outside investors each made up about half. Of the outsiders, most were from the capital and S City, like Jin Jun. During New Year's, all the out-of-town execs went home, so Meng Wan and Zhang Yu mainly focused on networking with local business owners.

If Meng Wan wanted to stay in the game with the Pinglu Canal, building good relationships with the local factories was key.

After New Year's, he hired a few more people to expand the company. Through Jin Jun and a local named Zhao Qingquan, he got in on several other bid-section projects.

In just one year, his assets kept multiplying. By the middle of the Pinglu Canal project, he'd finally managed to wedge his way in, picking up small support contracts like fencing, site leveling, and trash removal.

Meng Wan didn't mind the small stuff—he just minded that there wasn't more of it coming his way.

He wanted to unload his building materials company before the Pinglu Canal was done and pivot to port export. That was the endgame.

If Song Tingzhou hadn't been looking out for him around here, he never would've gotten a foot in the door. Song Tingzhou wouldn't rig anything or break the law for him, but info that other people killed themselves trying to dig up, he'd know days ahead—that alone was a huge advantage.

The execs who'd barely given Meng Wan the time of day eventually caught on, and their attitude toward him warmed up a lot. Some tried to fish for info about Song Tingzhou, but Meng Wan just smiled and dodged, not offending anyone but not promising anything either. Nobody could get a read on him.

"No, I don't even have time to date, let alone go back to the capital for some class reunion."

Before he knew it, another winter had rolled around. Meng Wan was eating while on a video call with Bi Yun. She was the only classmate he'd stayed in touch with after graduation.

Bi Yun was eating too. "They did one last winter too, but barely anyone showed up—just the ones tight with the class monitor. This year they're saying the whole class is going; they've been planning it since last week."

"Whatever. A few of them used to get together and gossip about me—what, am I supposed to be their dinner show?" Meng Wan said, annoyed.

He'd been running around the construction site all day, and only after getting home and showering did he finally sit down to eat. He was starving, so he wolfed his food down. But he was good-looking and had this calm, classy vibe, so even shoveling food in didn't look rude.

On the other end of the video call, Bi Yun spotted a man's arm on the screen. The white sleeve was rolled up, showing a wrist with clean, strong lines, and it set a glass of warm water down next to Meng Wan.

"Drink some water first, no rush." Secretary Song's voice came from outside the frame.

Bi Yun suddenly leaned her face right up to the camera. "Meng Wan, do you have someone else at home?"

Meng Wan took a couple of sips, then suddenly remembered he'd been with Secretary Song for a year now, and besides Zhang Yu and his uncle's family, he hadn't told any of his friends. But Secretary Song had already told his parents when they first got together.

"This is my boyfriend, Secretary Song. We'll be back in the capital soon and take you out to eat." Meng Wan picked up his phone, turned the camera toward himself, and leaned against Secretary Song, adding, "Brother Zhou, this is my friend Bi Yun. We were college roommates for four years—she's my closest friend."

Secretary Song put down his chopsticks and sat there, calm and composed, with the quiet authority of someone used to government work. "Hello, if you don't mind, I'll set everything up once we get to the capital."

Bi Yun automatically sat up straighter. "Hello, hello, of course not, not at all."

"Haha, what are you doing?" Meng Wan laughed and fell against Secretary Song, who naturally wrapped his arms around him.

Bi Yun felt a little embarrassed by her own reaction. Seeing the couple being all lovey-dovey, she didn't want to intrude, so she quickly said, "You two eat. I'll go wash the dishes."

After the meal, Secretary Song cleaned up, then came out of the kitchen, took off his apron, and handed Meng Wan a plate of strawberries. "I'm heading back. There's a bag of snacks on the table with bread inside. If you don't have time for breakfast tomorrow morning, grab a couple on your way out." His cooking was just okay, but today Meng Wan had been too busy, so he'd picked up takeout after work and waited for Meng Wan to come home and eat together.

Someone grabbed the hem of his white shirt from behind. Meng Wan lay on the sofa, eating a strawberry with one hand and clinging to Secretary Song with the other, not letting go.

"Xiao Wan?" Secretary Song chuckled, stopping mid-motion as he took off his coat. "What's wrong?"

Meng Wan didn't say anything, didn't even look at him, just stayed like that and ate a second strawberry.

Secretary Song turned around, crouched in front of the sofa, and looked at him. "It's too late."

"Oh, so you're leaving?" Meng Wan let go of his shirt, leaving a few wrinkles on the smooth fabric.

Secretary Song's Adam's apple moved. "Are the strawberries good?"

He wanted to kiss.

"They're all for you." Meng Wan pushed the fruit bowl into Secretary Song's arms, then rolled over, turning his back to him.

Secretary Song set the glass bowl on the coffee table, sat down near Meng Wan's legs, and propped his hands on the sofa, looking helpless and holding back. "Xiao Wan, we don't have any at home."

Meng Wan sat up partway, his face calm, showing neither anger nor teasing. "Don't have what? I just wanted you to try the strawberries and then... mmm..."

His words were cut off as his mouth was covered.

He didn't get to eat the strawberry, but he tasted it plenty.

Their positions flipped—Secretary Song leaned back against the sofa, and Meng Wan straddled his firm waist.

"Once this busy stretch is over, will you move in with me?" Secretary Song wrapped one arm around Meng Wan's waist and gently stroked his arched back with the other hand. He hadn't planned on moving in together so soon, but he couldn't resist Meng Wan's subtle teasing.

Secretary Song lived in the county government compound, in an apartment allocated to officials—nicer than the place Meng Wan was renting, and the neighborhood was quieter.

Today, they'd only gotten intimate because Zhang Yu wasn't around, and that wasn't going to work long-term.

Meng Wan buried his face in the crook of Secretary Song's neck. "I'll wrap up my current tasks in the next couple of days, and then I'll move."

He didn't have much stuff—these past two years had been so crazy that he'd barely bought any new clothes.

Meng Wan lived on the top floor of a six-story walk-up. Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell outside, and he finally got up to walk Secretary Song out.

As the two reached the door, they bumped right into Zhang Yu, who was coming home late.

Zhang Yu had already been shocked when he found out his cousin was dating the Secretary, but every time he saw Secretary Song at home, he still felt out of place, like this wasn't his rental apartment but the county government office.

"Brother Song." Zhang Yu called him that in private, following Meng Wan's lead, but in front of others, he still called him Secretary.

"Mm." Secretary Song replied, then kept urging Meng Wan, "It's cold outside. I'll head down by myself."

Meng Wan wouldn't listen. He put on his jacket and headed downstairs first. Secretary Song just couldn't control him—he was always wrapped around Meng Wan's finger.

After using the bathroom and washing his hands, Zhang Yu headed straight to the kitchen. A big bag of snacks sat on the rack, and when he opened the fridge, it was packed with fresh fruit and ready-to-cook items—all things Secretary Song had stocked up on during his visits.

Zhang Yu munched on snacks, still amazed by what he'd just seen. He never imagined that someone like Secretary Song would end up so completely wrapped around his cousin's finger after falling in love.

A few more days passed, and Meng Wan's major projects were basically done. As usual, he handed out bonuses to his employees. Secretary Song came to the rental to pick him up. With one suitcase, two big bundles, and his laptop bag on his back, Meng Wan moved straight into the county government compound.

Most of the buildings in the compound were six-story walk-ups. Secretary Song lived on the second floor, in a hundred-square-meter, three-bedroom, two-living-area apartment, with one of the bedrooms converted into a study. Meng Wan walked in, looked around, and asked teasingly, "Where do I sleep?"

Secretary Song had apparently had enough. The moment the luggage was set down, he pulled Meng Wan into the master bedroom.

"The stuff... I already bought it..."

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