HR Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Worship

The car sped to the nearest hospital to get Bai Ze medical attention. After a series of tests, it was said that he had an asthma attack and needed to be observed for a while. Zhu Yan went to complete the hospitalization procedures. Bai Ze became somewhat conscious and grabbed Zhu Yan’s clothes, not letting him go through with the procedures, also worried that he would take the opportunity to call Lu Qinyuan. Zhu Yan couldn’t refuse him, so he sat by the bed and took a tissue to wipe his sweat. His hair, soaked with sweat, stuck to his face, making the already weak man look even more pitiful.

Zhu Yan felt very uncomfortable. Thinking carefully, there were not many people he wanted to protect over the years, but he had not protected anyone well. Those under his protection died or were injured, but he was unscathed. He was the one who should be hurt, bleed, and die; it should have been him.

“Do you feel better? Does your chest still hurt?” Zhu Yan said softly, “I won’t call Lu-ye. If you’re tired, close your eyes and sleep for a while. It’s okay to rest a bit later before heading to Cheng Ruoyu’s place. If you don’t recharge, that kid Cheng Ruoyu will see that I’m not covering for you.”

Since Bai Ze wanted to smooth things over, Zhu Yan respected his choice. Visiting Cheng Ruoyu’s place was unavoidable.

Bai Ze nodded slightly and closed his eyes. When Bai Ze was sound asleep, Zhu Yan pulled the clothes he was holding out of the ward.

Bai Ze woke up in less than two hours. He opened his eyes and saw Zhu Yan sitting in a chair, staring blankly with his arms folded. Looking as mighty as a vajra, Bai Ze called him twice before he came back to his senses, “Oh, you’re awake. How do you feel now? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now,” Bai Ze looked up and asked, “How’s my complexion? Can you tell?”

“…A bit pale.” Zhu Yan wanted to say he was fine, but his complexion was too pale, and he couldn’t bear to lie.

Bai Ze slapped himself twice, “How about now? Is it better?”

“Yeah.” Zhu Yan suddenly couldn’t speak, his heart filled with soreness. He took out a newly bought suit for Bai Ze, “Change into this. I don’t know if it fits.” After saying that, he walked out of the ward to let Bai Ze change.

The clothes fit perfectly. Bai Ze didn’t linger and left with Zhu Yan against the doctor’s advice, heading directly to Cheng Ruoyu’s house.

This time, they weren’t going to Cheng Ruoyu’s private nest, but to the Cheng family’s main residence.

On this day, Lu Jianwei would not bring up the matter of him paying respects to his father, but the Cheng family would. On this day, the Cheng family would solemnly burn incense and worship. The Cheng family was a scholarly family, and their ancestors had been prominent for several generations. Even though they had declined, they still retained some traditions, such as setting up an ancestral hall. Of course, Bai Ze’s parents’ memorial tablets couldn’t enter the ancestral hall, but a separate incense table was set up next to it.

When they arrived at the Cheng family’s residence, it was already afternoon. Cheng Ruoyu greeted him as soon as he saw him, complaining a few words before suddenly saying, “Brother, your face is so pale. Are you not feeling well?” His eyes turned to Zhu Yan beside him. Zhu Yan glanced at Bai Ze and shook his head slightly.

Bai Ze looked calm, “I’ve always been this pale. Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They’ve been waiting for you for a long time. If you hadn’t arrived, I was about to pick you up.” Cheng Ruoyu called the housekeeper, “Quick, invite the young master in.”

The housekeeper was a bit old, smiling kindly as he came to invite him. Bai Ze, worried that Zhu Yan would say too much to Cheng Ruoyu, called out in a warning tone, “Zhu Yan.” He was then pulled by the housekeeper towards the main house.

As soon as Bai Ze left, the smile on Cheng Ruoyu’s face immediately disappeared. He asked in a cold voice, “Did that Addict Phoenix, Lu Qingshuang, have an attack?”

Zhu Yan said, “Xiao Bai doesn’t want me to say.” Cheng Ruoyu sneered, turned around, and entered the house.

Bai Ze was not there. He had already been taken to the ancestral hall by the housekeeper. A plate of candied kumquats and a kumquat pound cake, which Bai Ze loved to eat, had already been prepared on the table. As soon as they sat down, Cheng Ruoyu began to interrogate him. However, Zhu Yan only played dumb, not revealing a single word, only replying with one sentence: “Ask Xiao Bai.”

Xiao Bai is your ancestor! In the end, Cheng Ruoyu said angrily, “It’s a pity you weren’t born in a time of war. If you were to be an undercover agent, you would be better than anyone else.”

Having been influenced over time, Zhu Yan had also learned to be sarcastic. He generously accepted the praise, saying politely, “Thank you for the compliment.”

Cheng Ruoyu was speechless. He ate a kumquat in a fit of pique, completely soured, both body and mind.

Although the Cheng family’s ancestors were a scholarly family, they weren’t inflexible. Later, they simply abandoned literature and engaged in commerce. By Cheng Du’s generation, they had directly degenerated into drug lords, and their family business rapidly expanded. In recent years, Cheng Du had slowly begun to launder his assets and seek other livelihoods. However, due to his long-standing power, the Cheng family of Shang Ning City was the first to be mentioned when it came to drug dealers.

Cheng Du was past the age of fifty. In recent years, he had rarely intervened in the affairs of his subordinates. He had a face like Guanyin, with kind eyebrows and eyes. His smile resembled Maitreya, lacking any majesty. However, his love for smiling was well-known, and it was difficult to distinguish between his genuine and fake smiles. Someone gave him the nickname “Smiling Guanyin,” which became very popular in the underworld.

However, as soon as this Guanyin saw Bai Ze, his face became stern and serious. He pointed to the brocade yellow futon on the ground, “Kneel down.”

Bai Ze knelt down silently, his back straight, “Mom and Dad, your son is here.” He kowtowed three times, lit incense, and after worshipping, Mrs. Cheng took it and inserted it into the incense burner.

The Cheng family didn’t require the whole set of three kneelings and nine prostrations, bathing and worshipping the ancestors. As long as they sincerely offered incense, the worship was complete. It was very simple. It was said that he should be able to stand up after offering incense, but Cheng Du didn’t intend to let Bai Ze get up. He pointed at the memorial tablet and asked, “Tell me, what does a gentleman stand by?”

Cheng Du asked in a sophisticated manner, and Bai Ze answered very sincerely and concisely, “Dad, I was wrong.”

“It is by trustworthiness that one stands,” Cheng Du finished his self-questioning and self-answering, and began to educate, “Since ancient times, everyone has died, but a person cannot stand without trustworthiness. A real man is worth a thousand pieces of gold for his word. Once spoken, it’s like water spilled, one spit is like a nail. If you can’t do what you promise, then don’t promise it. Since you promised, you should keep your word. Not doing what you say is no different from farting.”

Mrs. Cheng felt sorry that Bai Ze had been kneeling for too long and would be uncomfortable. She persuaded Cheng Du kindly, “It’s not easy for the child to come back once. You don’t even know where you’re gallivanting all day long. I think Jian’er’s complexion is so pale.” Bai Ze had been weak since he was a child, and the asthma burdened him, so it was normal for his complexion to be a bit pale. Mrs. Cheng was just saying it casually, but upon closer inspection, she found that Bai Ze’s complexion was indeed very bad. Her heart instantly rose, “Jian’er, where are you uncomfortable?”

She reached out and tested the temperature on Bai Ze’s forehead. Her gaze slid down and landed on his face, where she saw two five-finger mountains superimposed on his fair skin, slightly translucent pink, like rouge. Mrs. Cheng’s eyebrows furrowed, her voice tinged with anger, “Who hit you? Tell Mom.”

When Cheng Du heard this, he was beside himself. His eyebrows stood up, looking like he was about to beat someone with his sleeves rolled up. He said fiercely, “Is it that little whore? Dad will tie him up and beat him to death! Little Wolf is getting more and more useless, actually letting you get hurt under his nose.”

Mrs. Cheng’s eyebrows stood up, “Stop talking nonsense, get the medicine.” Cheng Du let out a cold snort from his nose, glanced at Mrs. Cheng’s eyes, which narrowed slightly, his eyeballs turned unintentionally, and he walked out with his hands behind his back.

After Cheng Du left, Mrs. Cheng helped Bai Ze sit on the chair beside her and asked directly, “That kid from the Lu family isn’t one to act without a reason. Even the male prostitutes raised by the Lu family wouldn’t dare to do this openly. Tell me, what happened?”

“Mom, you have discerning eyes, nothing can be hidden from you.” Bai Ze first flattered her with a few words, touched his face, and said, “I’ve been a little tired recently, and I was afraid that my complexion would worry you and Dad, so I slapped myself twice when I came. I didn’t expect to still worry you and Dad. I’m sorry.”

“Jian’er, you, you want to make Mom… you want to make Mom’s heart ache to death.” Mrs. Cheng’s nose tingled, and her eyes instantly filled with tears, choking with sobs, “Mom would rather you be a bit naughty than be so sensible.”

“Mom, don’t cry. If Dad sees it, he’ll make me kneel and atone again. I don’t want to kneel in the ancestral hall all night.” Bai Ze comforted her softly, changing the subject and shifting Mrs. Cheng’s attention. He told several jokes he had learned from Lu Jianwei before finally making Mrs. Cheng laugh. Bai Ze also laughed along, relieved.

Mrs. Cheng had just stopped crying when Cheng Du led an elderly gentleman over, carrying a medical kit in his hand. He was Song Ci, Bai Ze’s family doctor since he was a child. Cheng Du had chosen him mostly because of his name, Song Ci, which sounded very cultured.

Song Ci hadn’t seen Bai Ze for a long time. He originally wanted to exchange a few pleasantries, but when he saw that Bai Ze’s face was as white as a sheet, with the heart of a doctor, he scolded him severely and forcibly gave a doctor’s order for Bai Ze to go to his hospital for an examination tomorrow. Bai Ze agreed one by one, repeatedly assuring and compromising to appease the three elders’ frightened hearts.

When Bai Ze got away, Cheng Ruoyu had already guessed seven or eight tenths of the whole story from Zhu Yan’s seemingly unimportant words. His eyebrows were tightly locked, and he gnawed on his thumb, pondering. This was Zhou Yu hitting Huang Gai, one willing to hit, one willing to be hit. As for the twists and turns in between, what they were plotting and scheming, probably no one could say for sure except the two parties involved. But he didn’t know if they could bear this price and this consequence.

Seeing Cheng Ruoyu’s contemplative appearance like a monk in meditation, Bai Ze knew that the great detective had already filled in the blanks in his mind. He patted him on the head and said, “Sherlock Yu, stop pondering. I’ll treat you to tangerines.” He then said to Zhu Yan, “Senior Brother, don’t go back tonight. There’s nothing going on anyway. Tian Tian is throwing a tantrum, and you won’t be able to eat if you go back. I have to go to Uncle Song’s for a checkup tomorrow. Will you accompany me?”

“Yeah, sure.” Zhu Yan agreed without thinking.

After dinner, Cheng Du and his wife dragged Bai Ze to chat about family matters, asking about his recent life and work. They couldn’t help but pick on Lu Qinyuan again. Although they said it, they actually knew that Lu Qinyuan took good care of Bai Ze.

The red marks on Bai Ze’s face had faded, and he looked much whiter. Cheng Du and his wife didn’t keep him talking any longer, only repeatedly urging him to tell them if anything happened and not to bear it alone, and to remember to go to Song Ci’s for a checkup tomorrow. Bai Ze said that Zhu Yan would accompany him, and Mrs. Cheng said very satisfied, “I’m relieved with Little Zhu around.”

Bai Ze just smiled.

As soon as he returned to the room, he heard a game sound. Zhu Yan was holding a gun and playing a shooting game. When he saw him, he stopped, “You’re back. Are you uncomfortable?”

“No,” the exhaustion that he had been forcefully concealing finally disappeared. Bai Ze relaxed his usual dignified and meticulous manner, slumped lazily and weakly on the sofa, his eyes slightly glancing at Zhu Yan, “Senior Brother, is there anything else?”

“Um, I’m giving you this.” Zhu Yan took out a beautifully packaged small gift box about the size of a photo album from the pocket of his camouflage pants. The ribbon decorations on it had already scattered, half-hanging on it. Bai Ze took it and tore it off directly, opened the box, and saw a photo inside.