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- Chapter 76 - Do you know what brand of cigarette your mother liked?
Do you know what brand of cigarette your mother liked?
The first time Xiang Chong saw Huo Cheng in the cemetery, he knew he was Fang Ke’s son.
After all, Huo Cheng resembled his mother quite a bit.
He had heard that after Fang Ke’s death, Huo Tingxiao took his son abroad and did not return to China for many years. Xiang Chong had never imagined their first meeting would be at Fang Ke’s grave.
He pressed his lips together tightly, and was silent for a long time. “Do you know me?”
Huo Cheng was also silent for a while before he said, “I know about you and my mother.”
Xiang Chong was startled. It was impossible that the Huo family would tell him about Fang Ke. Where had he heard about it?
Huo Cheng took out the lighter he had brought with him and asked, “Is this lighter yours? I found it among my mother’s things.”
Xiang Chong stared at the lighter in his hand. It was a cheap lighter that could be found anywhere, but he knew that it was his.
He had given it to Fang Ke as a token of his affection, and couldn’t help but smile at this thought. “I didn’t expect her to keep it.”
Huo Cheng pursed his lips, looked right at him and said, “Did my mother’s death have anything to do with you?”
Xiang Chong didn’t reply. Instead, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook one out, and lit it. Time seemed to warp and slow, even the movement of the exhaled smoke rings seemed to play in slow motion before his eyes.
“This is not the place to talk about that, let’s talk somewhere else.”
“Where?”
Xiang Chong thought about it. “If you don’t mind, you can come to my house.”
“No.” Reflexively, Huo Cheng refused. They didn’t know anything about the other man. If he were alone, he might not have refused; but he would never put Shen Wanying at risk.
“Let’s go to a restaurant.”
Xiang Chong smiled. He seemed to understand Huo Cheng’s concern. “I don’t mind. You can decide on which one to go to.”
Huo Cheng chose Tianxia Ju and reserved a private room. Xiang Chong looked up at the gate of the restaurant, and a lazy smile playing at his lips. “These young masters of rich families really are on another level. You chose such a high-end place just to have a chat.”
Huo Cheng looked at him, his face devoid of all emotion. “I had originally wanted to choose an exclusive club, but you’re not a member; they wouldn’t have let you in.”
Xiang Chong: “…”
“Let’s go.” Ignoring him, Huo Cheng turned to Shen Wanying. She nodded, and followed him in.
The waiters of Tianxia Ju dealt with gentlemen and celebrities every day. It was not surprising to see young masters and young ladies like the couple, but it was rare to see someone dressed like Xiang Chong on the premises.
However, these waiters were, of course, very professional. Although they were curious, it did not show on their faces. They were very thoughtful and led them to the private room.
After refreshments were served, the waiter retreated and gently closed the door behind him.
Shen Wanying and Huo Cheng sat on one side, with Xiang Chong opposite them. The three of them sat in silence for a long moment, and the atmosphere of the room grew heavy.
Unconsciously, Xiang Chong took out a cigarette. He was about to light it, but was stopped by Huo Cheng. “Don’t smoke here.”
Xiang Chong paused for a moment, looked up at him first, then his gaze flickered to Shen Wanying. “Do you mind?”
She smiled and said, “A little.”
He put the cigarette on the table and looked at the boy seated across from him. “You are quite considerate of your girlfriend.”
When there was no response, Xiang Chong fiddled with the cigarette case in his hand and asked casually, “Do you know what brand of cigarette your mother liked to smoke?”
Huo Cheng’s eyes darkened. “My mother didn’t smoke.”
The older man made an amused noise and said, ironically, “Your mother liked to smoke Wuxi’s lady’s cigarette, the pink one.” He picked up the lighter that Huo Cheng put on the table, running his finger over the daisy decoration. “I used this lighter back then to help your mother light the cigarette in her hand.”
Xiang Chong had been 24 then. He was working as a resident singer in a bar on Qingnan Lane, barely making ends meet.
He had had bad grades since he was a child. After graduating from high school, he came to City A alone to work and make money. But because he was so young, and had been deceived before, he’d taken to sleeping on a park bench for several nights, when money was the tightest.
Later, he found a job as a waiter in a bar. He was serious about the job, but there were always female customers who wanted to seduce him. Later, a wealthy lady came to the bar, and she had wanted to keep him as a lover. If he were honest, the conditions offered to him were quite tempting.
But Xiang Chong was young and full of pride. Humiliated, he rejected the wealthy lady angrily.
The next day, the wealthy lady bought the bar and fired him.
When he tried to negotiate with her, she flirted and pawed at him, saying that as long as he was willing to follow her, she would buy him everything he wanted.
Xiang Chong only had two words for her: fuck you.
After leaving the bar, he wandered for a short time before returning to Qingnan Alley. This time he was spotted by the owner of a bar, who asked him to sing in his establishment.
However, he couldn’t sing. He couldn’t even read notes. But the boss didn’t seem to care, he simply let him finish the job he was given.
After singing at the bar for a day, Xiang Chong understood that the boss didn’t actually want him to sing at all; he was there as eye candy, to attract female customers.
Still, he thought, it was better than being a kept lover. And so, Xiang Chong began singing at the bar.
It was there that he met Fang Ke.
T/N: Big thanks to Bright Eyes for helping me with this chapter too!! My god, the tension between the two of them. Huo Cheng flaunting his status (tsk tsk) and everything hahaha. It’s a little ironic that Xiang Chong rejected being the lover of one married woman only to become the lover of another? But then, I’m sure Fang Ke wasn’t interested in keeping him as her, uh, boy-toy. I checked this in one breathless sitting lmao it really is picking up. Thank you for reading! See you in the next chapter~