I am a Chef in the Modern Era

Chapter 123: Shen Yan’s Side Story (Part 5)

Translated by Yan of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

After a month of Shen Yan coming late and leaving early, the Shen family finally became extremely curious about the person who attracted so much of Shen Yan’s attention. Mama Shen’s discreet inquiries to find out who this person was were all brushed away by Shen Yan.

Not many people knew about Jiang Cheng’s return to China. Although they hadn’t intentionally concealed it, they also hadn’t taken the initiative to tell the Shen family. After all, because of some misunderstandings back then, the entire Shen family was very unhappy. Shen Yan himself had firmly said that he had nothing to do with Jiang Cheng. Though those had only been angry words to himself, it became a problem now that he thought about it again.

He couldn’t say anything to Grandfather Shen on his own initiative. It wasn’t because he was afraid of going back on what he said before, but more so because he was afraid that what had happened before had affected the others’ impression of Jiang Cheng. He felt that if Jiang Cheng went to the Shen house, no one would give him any face.

Compared with Shen Yan’s worry, Jiang Cheng was much calmer. As matters stood, no one could be an obstacle between them. It didn’t matter if the Shen family didn’t like him or if they didn’t think highly of him. As long as Shen Yan stood unwaveringly beside him, he would use his entire lifetime to prove that every inch of his heart had the utmost sincerity to Shen Yan. Grandfather Shen used to like him so much. Now, even if he hated him, what could he do with that hatred?

What’s more, he knew that the Shen family wasn’t like his mom. They all loved Shen Yan sincerely. This was obvious from Shen Fu’s boys, so Jiang Cheng wasn’t afraid at all. If Grandfather Shen still didn’t like him and stayed angry, there was no harm if he wanted to even beat him up a few times.

Jiang Cheng grinned as he exited the bathroom, rubbing his hair. His smile looked as if he was somewhat scheming. If things really wouldn’t work out, he would kneel, and kneel until they stopped disagreeing. In any case, in order to be with Shen Yan, he had no plans on having any face.

Shen Yan was still asleep. The room was very warm, so the quilt only covered half his body, revealing his sleek fair-skinned back. Unlike Shen Fu, who exercised every day, Shen Yan spent a lot of time on business and didn’t have much time to exercise, so he didn’t have any obvious muscles on his body. It made him seem somewhat thin, and usually it wasn’t obvious when he wore clothes, but when he didn’t, his waist appeared to have no extra fat at all.

Jiang Cheng bent down, leaning down towards Shen Yan’s neck. He bit at the skin repeatedly several times and a red-purple mark immediately appeared on the fair skin. Shen Yan grunted and opened his eyes sleepily. He didn’t say anything yet before Jiang Cheng once again pressed in with a kiss.

“Let’s go visit your home together.” As they kissed and kissed, Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped and said that.

Shen Yan took two rushed breaths, his lips red. “Now?” He still couldn’t help but have some worries.

Jiang Cheng pecked him on the lips and whispered, “It’ll have to be said someday, don’t worry, if the old man gets angry and wants to hit someone, you can hide behind me.”

Shen Yan was amused by him and laughed. “Okay, but not today. I’ll go back first. Shen Fu and my little nephews are all at home. Let’s wait until they get back to S City.”

Jiang Cheng had seen the two sons adopted by Shen Fu from a distance. They were both obedient and cute, making him a little tempted even though he had always been someone who disliked children. However, this kind of thing really wasn’t suitable to talk about in front of children, especially because Grandfather Shen was very likely to be furious because of this incident. As a result, Jiang Cheng agreed, and the two of them stuck together again for a while before they got up to go to work.

The reason Shen Yan’s lateness had become the norm these days was because of this.

Two little nephews finally managed to come over to play, and Shen Yan didn’t go to Jiang Cheng’s for two days. From time to time, he received a phone call from Jiang Cheng, and the smile on his lips was obvious to anyone.

Two days later, Lin ShuYi and his two children were ready to return to S City. The day before he left, Shen Yan confessed to Shen Fu his relationship with Jiang Cheng. Then, the next day, he asked Shen Fu to head back with Lin ShuYi conveniently so that he could discuss with Jiang Cheng and find a good opportunity to take him back some time.

Jiang Cheng didn’t seem nervous. In reality, he thought over what he should say to Grandfather Shen and what he should do several times. He even pondered over and over what he should take when he went and what time he should go. He was extremely afraid that Mama and Papa Shen, who weren’t so fond of him in the first place, would hate him even more. It didn’t matter if they hated him, but if Shen Yan ended up affected too, he was extremely unwilling for that to happen.

Finally, they picked a day and got ready to go the next day. But that day, Shen Yan received an enormous “pleasant surprise”.

Even Mama Shen’s breathing had grown somewhat rougher, and she said in a cold voice, “YanYan, tell me the truth. Jiang Cheng is back?!”

When Shen Yan’s breathing froze, and his first reaction was, Oh no.

Sure enough, when Shen Yan didn’t speak, Mama Shen’s voice rose in an instant, because she knew her own children. Shen Yan would be so silent only when he didn’t want to say it but didn’t want to hide it from her either. “So is it also true that you and Jiang Cheng are together?!”

Shen Yan still remained silent. On the other end of the phone came the angry sound of Grandfather Shen’s walking stick stabbing the ground, “Tell him to come back immediately!”

Mama Shen took a deep breath to suppress her anger and said, “YanYan, you’ve always known what to do and what not to do. Mom has never said anything about it or tried to control you, but why did you hide this from us?”

Shen Yan finally said, “Mom, listen to me...”

“Come back if you have anything to say.” Papa Shen somehow took over the phone and spoke quietly into it. Out of the three of them, he was the most rational and calm.

Shen Yan didn’t rush to agree. He asked, “Dad, who told you this?”

Papa Shen was silent for a while before he said at last, “Jiang Cheng’s mother.”

Shen Yan was frozen.

Things became even more troublesome and hard to deal with. Shen Yan was still stunned when his mobile phone rang again. He looked at the name on the screen, which actually settled his nerves instead.

“Hello.”

“I’m downstairs at your company. Come down.”

Shen Yan said helplessly, “I’m at work.”

Jiang Cheng’s voice sounded quite relaxed and he said, “I don’t think you’re really in the mood to work, are you? Let’s go. It’d be better to come out and play.”

It seemed that, as Shen Yan expected, Jiang Cheng also knew about it.

Shen Yan simply tossed his phone and files aside and went downstairs to Jiang Cheng’s car. After eating, the two of them returned to Jiang Cheng’s home together. This was a new house bought after Jiang Cheng’s return to China. Only the two of them knew about it. As long as nothing was up, Shen Yan usually lived here these days, so they were well acquainted with the routine.

Shen Yan didn’t speak much along the way, his eyebrows were knitted together, as if he had a headache. Jiang Cheng looked at him frequently and Shen Yan didn’t notice at all.

When he opened the door, Shen Yan was about to speak when he was lifted and carried over Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. Shen Yan was given a fright. “Jiang Cheng, what are you doing? Let me down right now.”

Jiang Cheng’s big hand kneaded Shen Yan’s suit pants heavily and he laughed, “I’m going to do you.”

Then, he didn’t give Shen Yan any time to resist. He pressed Shen Yan down under him and fucked him until Shen Yan moaned and begged for mercy, his eyes red.

All the way up until Shen Yan was paralyzed in bed without any strength, Jiang Cheng finally stopped, leaned over and pulled Shen Yan into his arms. His voice shook, “I’m sorry, A-Yan, I’m sorry.”

Jiang Cheng’s sudden apology was completely out of nowhere, but Shen Yan only thought about it once before he immediately understood why. He reached out with his trembling hand and placed it around Jiang Cheng’s neck, rubbing it gently. He opened his mouth and said in a voice so hoarse that it wasn’t like his own, “It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize to me for what your mother did.”

Jiang Cheng looked up at him. Shen Yan’s eyes were black and bright, like the brightest stars in the sky. Jiang Cheng was extremely moved. He pressed his forehead against Shen Yan’s and sighed, “How lucky was I in my last life to have met you in this one?”

Shen Yan curled the corner of his mouth. In reality, he had no strength at all anymore, but he still wanted to talk to Jiang Cheng like this. “Don’t talk about this anymore. Have you thought about how to face my family? Now the situation is so turbulent.”

Jiang Cheng smiled. “Are you afraid?”

“What am I afraid of? Reasonably speaking, I go, and you get beaten up.”

Jiang Cheng: ... “En, that’s a good idea.”

Shen Yan didn’t go back for the next two days. It was clear that he was still worried that Grandfather Shen wouldn’t agree when the time came. Although Shen Fu’s affairs had happened first, their situations were intrinsically different in nature. Moreover, Jiang Cheng’s mother was still trying to obstruct them even now, so it was obvious that their future wouldn’t be smooth.

Jiang Cheng was much more relaxed than Shen Yan. In his heart, as long as Shen Yan was standing beside him, he had the courage to face everything. The more he thought about it, the more he could understand why Shen Yan was so angry at the time. His actions that he had made because he was afraid of hurting him ended up turning into the uncertainty about their future. He said over and over that it was for Shen Yan’s sake, but in the end, Shen Yan actually knew more than he did. The more Jiang Cheng thought about it, the more he felt that he had made the wrong decision back then, and happier he was that he hadn’t kept making the wrong decision all the way till now.

Shen Yan was such a treasure that no one would want to let him go. How foolish and ignorant had he been to have pushed him away in the name of being good to him? He would never make such a mistake again.

He didn’t wait for Shen Yan to go to the Shen house together, but instead went quietly before Shen Yan woke up. Unexpectedly, the Shen family didn’t end up waiting for Shen Yan before Jiang Cheng got there first. The Shen family was surprised, but they still invited Jiang Cheng courteously in.

Grandfather Shen sat on the sofa. He looked much older than before, but his eyes were sharper. Papa Shen wasn’t at home, probably at the company. Mama Shen looked at him thoughtfully from upstairs, her expression not very good.

Jiang Cheng looked at the familiar home and the tiny bit of fear in his heart disappeared. He respectfully bowed to Grandfather Shen and then greeted, “Grandpa Shen.”

According to the generation, he should actually be calling him Uncle Shen, but he had long since abandoned the identity that his mother had given him. Now, his identity was only Shen Yan’s lover.

Grandfather Shen was stunned before he snorted coldly, “I’m not your grandfather.”

Once upon a time, Grandfather Shen liked Jiang Cheng very much. Every time Shen Fu caused trouble, Grandfather Shen would lecture him and lament that this wouldn’t be a problem if only Jiang Cheng was his grandson.

Jiang Cheng recalled the past and laughed bitterly in his heart. “But you are A-Yan’s grandfather.”

Grandfather Shen frowned. “Jiang Cheng, do you know who told us the news this time?”

“I know, it’s my mother.”

Grandfather Shen raised his voice. “Didn’t you follow your mother’s wishes and go abroad? For seven years at that, so why have you returned and sought out our Xiao Yan?!”

Grandfather Shen’s voice sounded like a ringing bell, but Jiang Cheng grew more relaxed instead. Sure enough, it was as he had expected. Grandfather Shen was not angry with Shen Yan. He was angry that the person Shen Yan liked was Jiang Cheng, who gave up Shen Yan seven years ago and caused Shen Yan to be heartbroken. In this way, Jiang Cheng was relieved.

They weren’t actually opposed to the two of them, but merely afraid that Shen Yan would be disappointed again. They were thinking sincerely for the good of Shen Yan.

Thinking of his mother, Jiang Cheng once again shook his head and laughed bitterly in his heart. “I came back because of A-Yan.”

“You...” Grandfather Shen was half-dead from anger. He hadn’t expected Jiang Cheng to really say that. If it hadn’t been for this little boy, how Shen Yan would have been so sad back then? Shen Yan had also lost a lot of weight all of a sudden the year Jiang Cheng left. Grandfather Shen saw all of Shen Yan’s sufferings, so how could he like Jiang Cheng now?

Jiang Cheng stopped talking and got up before he knelt down in front of Grandfather Shen.

“Are you trying to get my pity?!” Grandfather Shen scolded, but he didn’t have any intention of helping Jiang Cheng up.

Jiang Cheng shook his head. “I thought that everything I did was for A-Yan’s good, but I didn’t realize that I was the one that hurt him the most in the end. A mistake was a mistake. I don’t want to find any excuses for myself, but Grandpa, I like A-Yan. I never thought of giving him up.”

Grandfather Shen was silent.

“A-Yan deserves the best in the world. I know I’m not the best, but Grandpa, I just like him. I can’t help liking him, so much that I can’t free myself.”

In front of Grandfather Shen, Jiang Cheng blurted out his love words like there was no end. At last, even Grandfather Shen grew embarrassed. “Stop talking, stop talking. Don’t call me grandpa with every other sentence as if we’re that close. I said I wasn’t your grandpa.”

What else Jiang Cheng had to say was interrupted by Grandfather Shen.

“Call Xiao Yan back. I have something to ask him.”

Jiang Cheng was about to agree when he heard Master Shen say again, “Really, as long as they have someone else, they won’t even come back to see this grandfather of theirs anymore.” Then he stared at Jiang Cheng. “What are you looking at? Are you done? If you are, get up and get out of here.”

Jiang Cheng finally added, “Grandpa, A-Yan cares about you very much, as so do I. I will always remember the kindness you all showed me back then.” Then he got up and got out of there.

This last sentence gave Grandfather Shen’s heart a blow. To tell the truth, all his dissatisfaction with Jiang Cheng was because he went abroad without saying a single word, which mad Shen Yan sad. Apart from that, he actually liked Jiang Cheng very much, to the point that after his shock upon first hearing about Shen Yan and Jiang Cheng passed, what he thought was that thankfully this person was Jiang Cheng.

Although he hadn’t watched Jiang Cheng grow up, those years Jiang Cheng was in H City, he had seen him then. He asked himself whether he could judge people correctly, and so he thought over the two people’s affairs over and over again. If Shen Yan truly liked him, it would be better to let them be together. But then, Jiang Cheng went abroad, and Jiang Cheng’s mother even said that he had some well-matched fiancee. Of course, he was abruptly furious. What was wrong with his Shen family’s child that could allow someone to casually play around with him?

But now, he can also see that there was some secret that nobody knew about between them. He didn’t know what it was, but he thought he still needed to think it over again.

Instead of telling Shen Yan that he had gone to Shen’s house, Jiang Cheng took Shen Yan with him the next day and visited Grandfather Shen again.

This time, Jiang Cheng knelt down as soon as he entered the door. Grandfather Shen looked at him as if he wanted to say something.

Is this a kneeling addiction?

Shen Yan only glanced at him once before he also knelt down with him. Now, Grandfather Shen wasn’t calm anymore. He knew this grandson of his. Normally, he was always gentle, but he was more stubborn than anyone else. Kneeling to Grandfather Shen meant only that he hadn’t let Jiang Cheng go at all.

Neither of them spoke, and after a while the scene Shen Fu saw appeared.

“Xiao Yan has never really been attached to anything since he was young. There’s only you who he likes. We can’t force him to do anything either. I don’t know what exactly happened between the two of you. I just want to ask you, have you really thought it through?”

Jiang Cheng took a look at Shen Yan, and both of them clasped hands, using their strength, as if nobody could separate them. “I know. I thought about that question seven years ago. It’s my fault. I’ve already missed seven of his years, and we don’t have another seven years to miss.”

Grandfather Shen sighed, “What about your parents?”

Shen Yan wanted to speak but he was stopped by Jiang Cheng. “My mother is a little extreme, but please rest assured that I will not let him suffer any more grievances.”

They shared a look with each other, hands clasped tightly together, which surpassed any words.

Grandfather Shen finally waved his hand, “I hope you will keep your word.”

Jiang Cheng knew that this meant he was forgiven. He also knew that he would never let Shen Yan go again in this life. He solemnly swore that with all his love for Shen Yan. He would love him and protect him for the rest of this lifetime, and he would never break his promise.