âYouâre what?â Tang Feng didnât know how to react. What did Lu Tian Chen just say? He was jealous?
âDo you need me to repeat it?â Lu Tian Chen drove calmly down the street, and said in the same calm manner, âIâm jealous.â
âOh.â Tang Feng finally understood. He leaned back in his seat and mulled over the deeper meaning of Lu Tian Chenâs words. âIf itâs too sour, then you can stop at the next intersection and Iâll go buy you some sweet bread.â
âI donât need any.â It was another direct reply.
âThen what do you need?â Tang Feng laughed. He knew what Lu Tian Chen meant, but the president was hard to understand. He wasnât sure what Lu Tian Chen was trying to get at between the words.
Lu Tian Chen slowed down and parked near the sidewalk. He rested his hands on the steering wheel, but turned his head sideways to stare at Tang Feng. His dark eyes were like a pair of black holes, pulling Tang Fengâs eyes toward him.
Tang Feng suddenly understood what was going on. He immediately shook his head and waved his hand in protest. âNo, no, no. Youâre definitely joking. My G.o.d, please tell me youâre just joking around.â
âI donât like jokes,â Lu Tian Chen said.
âThat what are you doing right now?â Tang Feng could feel a headache coming on.
âIâm confessing.â Despite all his wishes, Lu Tian Chen still uttered the two words he didnât want to hear.
Tang Feng covered his ears and sighed. What was going on these past few days? Was it national confessing week? Heâd thought that Lu Tian Chen was merely curious and treated him well simply out of business appeal. Even if Lu Tian Chen did like him, it was the physical kind of like. Despite that, Lu Tian Chen hadnât made a move on him at all over these six months.
All right, Tang Feng had to admit he was wrong.
âYou mean, you like me. Do you want to sleep with me or something?â Tang Feng asked directly out of curiosity.
âI wonât sleep with people Iâm not interested in,â Lu Tian Chen said while his scrutinizing gaze drifted downwards.
Tang Feng felt as if Lu Tian Chen was undressing him with his eyes. After scanning over the actorâs body, Lu Tian Chen nodded to himself, as if saying he was satisfied with what he saw.
âThat just nowâŠI felt that was s.e.xual hara.s.sment.â
âYou can think of it that way.â Lu Tian Chenâs unperturbed acceptance made Tang Feng swallow any reply he might have made.
He opened the window for a breath of fresh air. Otherwise, he was going to burn up under Lu Tian Chenâs intense gaze. Tang Feng rested his forehead on his hand and gazed at all the cars pa.s.sing around them.
He wasnât a narcissist, but he had wondered about what he would do if Lu Tian Chen suddenly fell in love with him. Of course, when that thought had appeared in his mind, he laughed at himself for how ridiculous and unrealistic it sounded. But here he was, faced with a confession from Lu Tian Chen.
âThen, what do you want to tell me?â Tang Feng asked.
âI want to be together with you.â It was a straightforward answer, fitting with Lu Tian Chenâs personality. Tang Feng rather liked that part about the man.
Lu Tian Chen was different from Charles. The latter might appear like a dumb bear on the surface, but was a sly, old fox underneath. Charles could smile and pat you on the shoulder like an old friend while stabbing you in the back with a sharp knife. Afterwards, he could even put on a worried act and swear to take revenge for you.
Lu Tian Chen was the
exact opposite of Charles. If he didnât like you, then he simply didnât like you. He didnât bother hiding his displeasure and openly voiced his thoughts. It wasnât necessary to question the sincerity of his actions. He wasnât the kind of person who would stab you in the back if he truly liked you.
A blunt personality made it easy to offend people, but Lu Tian Chen had the a.s.sets to back up his straightforward disposition.
It was the reason why Tang Feng was willing to collaborate with him, and also why he trusted the man.
But faced with Lu Tian Chenâs confession, Tang Feng smiled and shook his head. âNo, thatâs not possible.â
âWhy not?â Lu Tian Chen then added with conviction, âYou donât like Charles.â
âNo, I do like him. Heâs a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, and also a ticking bomb at that. But donât drag him into this conversation.â Rather than listening to Charlesâ confession, Tang Feng would much rather hear Lu Tian Chenâs. While crafty, Lu Tian Chen at least lived according to a set of principles.
âLook, you disliked me a lot before, right? You even sent me over to Charles because of how much I annoyed you. Of course, I admit I was also at fault. But between the two of us, you will always be the one holding the reins. You have power and you have influence. I donât have any of that, because I am in an inferior position.â Tang Feng was truly showing his age with his reply. Normally, no one would be able to remain so calm after hearing a confession and start a.n.a.lyzing the situation instead. Tang Feng concluded, âAt the moment, I am incapable of forgiving you or accepting your feelings.â
Lu Tian Chen narrowed his eyes. He understood the hidden meaning in Tang Fengâs words.
The actor was incapable of accepting his feelings at the moment, but that meant there was still hope in the future.
âI have plenty of time. I donât mind gambling on you,â Lu Tian Chen replied.
âAll right. To be honest, Iâve never had the pleasure of enjoying someone chasing after me.â Tang Feng smiled at Lu Tian Chen. âIâm guessing that itâs rare for you to deliberately pursue someone. Am I the first one?â Tang Fengâs smile was a bit too gleeful.
âThatâs right, youâre the first.â Lu Tian Chen made a mental note to himself about the all too obvious dig. He was going to take everything back plus interest in the future.
For someone to realize their feelings, there often needed to be an external stimulus. For Gino, heâd only realized his love for Fiennes after the latterâs death, and the realization sent him down a spiral of hopelessness.
Lu Tian Chen was much luckier in that respect. Heâd been slapped in the face with evidence of Charles and Tang Feng spending the night together. Then, heâd watched Gino and Tang Feng act out an intimate scene with his own eyes. After been hit with so many stimuli, Lu Tian Chen finally came to a realization. Heâd been doubting the subtle feelings he had for Tang Feng, trying to decipher whether it was love or admiration. Now there was no doubt about it; he understood his feelings all too well.
G.o.dd.a.m.n it!
He was in love with Tang Feng.
It was the first time in his life that he felt a stirring in his heart for another person. For a newbie at love, Lu Tian Chen had an amazingly difficult time understanding his own feelings. Thankfully, his natural intelligence applied to topics in romance as well. Otherwise, who knew how long it would take for him to understand his own heart.
âCan I ask you a question, Tang?â Having just come clean with his feelings, Lu Tian Chen tried calling the actor with a nickname.
Tang Feng nodded. âYeah, you can.â
âWhat do you think of me?â
Tang Feng thought for a moment and glanced at Lu Tian Chen. The president was young and handsome, and excelled in every field imaginable. However, Lu Tian Chenâs excellence was also his weakness.
âYour looks are fine. Your face is handsome, and your body is well-built. The air about you is also quite refined. You work hard, yet you also understand when you need to take a break and enjoy life. You arenât a single-minded workaholic, but youâre too pragmatic. I know you like to be efficient, butâŠsuccess in the workplace canât fill or replace what actual emotions can bring you. Do you understand?â Tang Feng explained.
Lu Tian Chen suddenly chuckled. âI understand. Youâre like my college professor, always going on and on about the principles of life and how we should live.â
Lu Tian Chen had struck the bullâs eye. Tang Feng glared at the other man. So what if he liked talking in principles? He had the right to do so at his age!
You bunch of brats!
Lu Tian Chen understood what Tang Feng was trying to say, but what about Charles?
The sly, old fox would never easily voice his thoughts to Tang Feng, much less Lu Tian Chen. He had his own plans.
Like normal, Charles welcomed the other two into the house when they returned. He tried to take advantage of Tang Feng in his usual way, and then had a drink with Lu Tian Chen and chatted about work.
Everything seemed peaceful. But as the saying went, it was the calm before the storm.
âŠ
That weekend, three different people invited Tang Feng to go out, but he rejected all of them.
One of them was Charles. He wanted to go out on his yacht with Tang Feng. They could fish, sunbathe, and go diving.
The second was Lu Tian Chen. He wanted to attend an art exhibition with Tang Feng, and then have a romantic dinner afterwards.
The last invitation was from the little girl Tang Feng came to know recently, Annie. Whenever she had time, Little Annie would call and chat with Tang Feng. Today was the first time she invited Tang Feng to visit her house. Unfortunately, Tang Feng had already made plans with Gino.
They were going to visit Fiennesâ grave today. Tang Feng had given a simple reason for the trip: Fiennes was his idol.
He was going to visit his own grave. It sounded strange no matter how he thought about it. Heâd heard that his grave was at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. It was one of the most beautiful cemeteries in America. Situated near a mountain range, the cemetery had green gra.s.s and towering trees. It was a beautiful environment. Many celebrities had been buried there, including the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
It sounded great to Tang Feng. After sweeping his own grave, he could go visit Michael Jackson while he was there.
It was a two-day trip if they were heading down to Los Angeles. It meant that Tang Feng and Gino would be spending a night together. Upon hearing that, Charles immediately called off his plans to have a party aboard his yacht. Likewise, Lu Tian Chen also canceled his plans to buy a few paintings at the art exhibition.
Fortunately, Annie wasnât coming along.
Despite that, the two-person trip had somehow become an outing for four.