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Jiang Cheng sighed as he closed the door to his home behind him, letting his hair down and running his fingers through it. He kicked off his shoes, and barely a second later he heard the tell-tale sound of paws running across the wooden floors. He braced himself, just barely managing to keep his footing as his husky tackled him, licking all over his face, obviously excited that her owner was home.
Jiang Cheng couldn't help but grin as he leaned his head away, aggressively petting her sides and laughing as she started bouncing.
"Did you miss me, Princess?" he cooed. She responded with a loud bark right in his face.
"A-Cheng, is that you?" he heard Lan Huan call out from further inside the house.
Princess immediately fell back to all fours and ran toward the kitchen where Lan Huan's voice had come from. Jiang Cheng took the opportunity to wipe the dog slobber off his face and take his jacket off before finally moving inside past the threshold.
"I'm home!" he called out, snorting as he heard another bark like she was responding to him.
As he moved through the house, he looked around and let himself smile. It was still just as gorgeous as the first day he saw it, but now it seemed less like it'd been pasted from the pages of a magazine and instead it felt like a home. There were various paintings all over the living room, some of them done by Lan Huan, and a huge cat walk along the walls leading to and from different cat trees. There was even a large painted fan taking up most of the space behind the sofa that Lan Huan had commissioned Nie Huaisang to create.
When he finally opened the door to the kitchen, he smiled at the sight that greeted him. Lan Huan was at the stove, staring at a pot of water, likely waiting for it to start boiling. Dandelion--their fluffy orange maine coon--was laying on top of the fridge also staring at the water, and on top of Lan Huan's shoulder was the newest addition to their little family, an orange kitten that followed them home one day named Egg Tart.
Jiang Cheng smiled softly at the thought as he realized that this really was his family now. If someone had told him 15 years ago that he'd be living with--and more importantly, in love with--the man he'd met at Wei Ying’s college party in their apartment, he would have laughed at them. But now, it just felt... right. He couldn't imagine his life without Lan Huan anymore, and he definitely didn't want to.
Since when had he become so sentimental?
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at his own thoughts and went behind Lan Huan, wrapping his arms around his waist. He moved onto his tip-toes to kiss Egg Tart's face before moving to the other side of Lan Huan's neck and kissing Lan Huan's cheek.
"How was your day?" he asked as he let himself fall back to stand normally.
"It was okay. Nothing big happened other than someone accidentally lighting part of the break room on fire," Lan Huan replied, still staring at the pot on the stove.
Jiang Cheng blinked, leaning his shoulder against the wall near the stove so he could see Lan Huan's face. He seemed totally impassive, like he really thought that a fire was 'nothing big'.
"That sounds like a pretty big deal to me," he said as he quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh, it was fine. They stopped it almost immediately, so there was minimal damage and thankfully no one was injured," Lan Huan said, finally glancing at Jiang Cheng with a little smile on his face. "How was your day, though?"
Jiang Cheng sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as a scowl immediately pulled at his lips. "It was fine except for dealing with more of Mr. Yao's bullshit. He's still asking for more funding than he deserves and keeps trying to fucking undermine my position as CEO even though I've been doing this for years now."
"Is he still complaining about your age?" Lan Huan asked.
"No, he's stopped bitching about me being young ever since I saved his company from going bankrupt, but now he apparently has an issue with me being unmarried," Jiang Cheng said with a scowl. He still couldn't believe the audacity of the old man.
Lan Huan frowned, his shoulders tensing slightly as he asked, "What has he said?" in a deceptively pleasant voice, which Jiang Cheng knew Lan Huan only used when he was trying to cover up his actual feelings.
Jiang Cheng knew that if he asked Lan Huan what was wrong now, he would only get a vague dismissal in response. He would have to weasel the information out of him later. Instead, he shrugged and said, "Apparently some of the smaller companies are worried about me not having an heir. I swear, it's like they're planning to murder me or something."
"I wouldn't put it past them," Lan Huan answered slowly. He placed some pasta in the pot and stirred it for a long moment before asking hesitantly, "What are you planning on doing about it?"
Jiang Cheng blinked, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out what the fuck Lan Huan was talking about.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.
“I mean, you don’t have anyone to inherit your company in the future,” Lan Huan said, his voice carefully neutral.
Jiang Cheng scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'll just appoint someone from within the company to take over, and if they don't like it, oh fucking well."
Lan Huan's shoulders relaxed a little as he turned to look at Jiang Cheng, his voice still hesitant as he said, "You really aren't planning on...?"
"Are you serious?" Jiang Cheng asked, feeling the first stirrings of anger begin to thrum under his skin. "Huan-ge, do you really think that after being together for 8 years, I would abandon you just to satisfy some assholes whose opinion I couldn't give less of a shit about?"
"No, I just..." Lan Huan trailed off with a frown.
Jiang Cheng breathed in deeply, reining his anger in and then letting it go with a heavy sigh. He stepped forward, turning the stove off and moving the pan away from the hot burner. Then he grabbed Egg Tart from Lan Huan's shoulder and placed him on the ground before turning to Lan Huan with narrowed eyes.
"A-Cheng?" Lan Huan asked, sounding almost nervous.
Jiang Cheng sighed again and then flicked Lan Huan on the forehead before placing his hands on Lan Huan's shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes.
"Listen closely, because I'm not going to tell you this again," Jiang Cheng said seriously, though he knew that was a lie. He would say this as many times as he had to until it got through Lan Huan's thick skull.
"Okay," Lan Huan breathed out with a small nod.
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath before barreling forward to say the words he should have said years ago.
"The only people in this world whose opinions I care about are you and my family. My mother may give us shit sometimes because we're both men, but even she has come to love you and accept us, just like the rest of them--hell, Jin Ling already calls you Uncle, for fuck's sake. You are the only people I care about, and if anyone else has an issue with us, they can go get fucked by a pineapple for all I care."
Lan Huan winced as if he was imagining it, and Jiang Cheng snorted at his reaction before continuing.
"Look, I know that you still have your hang-ups about us and for some fucking reason you think you don't deserve to be happy, but you do. And I don't give a shit if you agree or not, because I'm going to do my damnedest to make you happy for as long as you let me." He paused when he noticed Lan Huan's lower lip begin to wobble a little, leaning in to kiss him softly before continuing. "Huan-ge, I would not have moved in with you if I wasn't in this for the long haul. I would not have adopted three pets with you, and I sure as fuck would not have let you name Egg Tart if I was even slightly considering ending this in the future. Do you understand me?"
Lan Huan sniffled and nodded as a single tear fell down his cheek. Jiang Cheng rubbed it away with his thumb and smiled as gently as he could.
"Huan-ge, I love you. If we could legally get married, I would have asked you years ago. I promise, you have nothing to worry about."
It took Lan Huan a long moment to respond, but eventually he nodded and whispered, "Okay."
"Come here, you idiot," Jiang Cheng said fondly as he wrapped his arms around Lan Huan's neck and pulled him close.
When they kissed this time, Jiang Cheng kept Lan Huan close, refusing to let him go.
Jiang Cheng walked into a large conference room and held back the urge to turn around and leave as soon as he saw how full the room was already.
It was the day of the annual meeting between a bunch of CEOs from local companies that was used to form contracts and establish trade agreements with other CEOs with their lawyers present so that no one could try and weasel their way out of their obligations. It was a tradition that had apparently started from back when all of their families were martial clans. He wasn’t sure how much truth there was in that rumor, and quite frankly he didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, these meetings were just a pain in the ass.
He specifically avoided looking in the direction of where Yao and Ouyang were sitting, not wanting his blood pressure to spike before the meeting even started. He was still pissed because of what they’d said a few weeks ago, and he had the sinking feeling that they would bring it up today. It’d been months since they’d started harassing him, so why would they be courteous enough to not mention it now when they could try to embarrass him in front of some of the most influential people in China?
Jiang Cheng took his regular seat between his lawyer and Nie Huaisang, letting out a heavy sigh and shooting a glare at his friend when he started chuckling. Nie Huaisang glanced at his brother discreetly before leaning over to Jiang Cheng and whispering, “Your boyfriend hasn’t been able to look away from you since you walked in the room.”
Jiang Cheng blinked and looked up, his eyes immediately finding Lan Huan who smiled at him. It was a little softer than he would normally show in public, and Jiang Cheng felt his cheeks heat up immediately.
“You two are so cute,” Nie Huaisang snickered.
Jiang Cheng snapped his gaze to Nie Huaisang, prepared to tell him to shut up before someone saved him from the embarrassment of yelling in a room full of stuffy CEOs by clearing their throat and saying, “Shall we begin?”
“Yes, of course,” Lan Huan said, and when Jiang Cheng glanced at him again, he was wearing his usual polite business smile.
The meeting didn’t start off too bad, surprisingly. Jiang Cheng was content to just listen for most of it until Wen Chao started trying to bully Jin Zixuan into a trade deal that was obviously unfair. Jiang Cheng opened his mouth to say something but saw Jin Zixuan’s lawyer glance at him and shake her head.
He bit back the words he wanted to say and settled for glaring at Wen Chao as he started fidgeting with his pen, lifting the top off of it just enough to see the blade hidden in it shine in the light. Wei Ying had gotten it for him a few years ago for his birthday, saying that it was the perfect gift for Jiang Cheng when his temper was starting to bubble over. He’d also said that any time Jiang Cheng started to get pissed at someone who was being, quote, “a little bitch”, he could just look at the hidden blade and think about how easy it would be to just run across the room and stab the target of his ire.
Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure what it said about his mental state that it actually helped.
“Mr. Jiang,” someone said from across the room, and Jiang Cheng immediately tensed.
His eyes lingered on the blade for a moment longer before sliding it out of sight and lifting his gaze to focus on the speaker. “Yes, Mr. Yao?”
“I was wondering if you’d given any thought to what we discussed the last time we met,” Yao said, a self-satisfied smile on his face.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Cheng saw Lan Huan frown as he shifted uncomfortably. Jiang Cheng knew that all eyes were likely on him and Yao right now given how their discussions at these meetings usually resulted in at least one of them yelling at the other. He also knew how rare it was for Lan Huan to show any kind of discontent in public, especially when dealing with business. And suddenly Jiang Cheng hated Yao more than he thought was possible for putting that expression on Lan Huan’s face.
“That discussion is irrelevant to the trade agreements we’re here to discuss today,” Jiang Cheng said, pouring as much venom into his voice as possible in the hopes that Yao would let the subject drop for once.
But of course he didn’t.
“If you are having trouble finding a nice woman to settle down with, I can assist you in your search. I know many matchmakers, and there are quite a few women in my extended family who are of marrying age, and--”
“So, you’ve been harassing me relentlessly about being unmarried because you want to try and earn my favor in business negotiations?” Jiang Cheng asked with a raised eyebrow, not caring that he was being rude in front of so many people by cutting Yao off.
“Of course not!” Yao said, looking a little flustered. “I merely worry about your company and how it will carry on in the future if you do not produce an heir. Your company would have suffered much without you after your father stepped down, and you have helped us so much in the past.”
Jiang Cheng gripped the pen in his hands tightly and allowed himself a short moment to imagine jumping over the table to stab Yao in the neck. He felt something inside of him settle and loosened the grip on his pen, taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders.
“Not that it’s any of your business, Mr. Yao, but I plan on appointing a successor from my employees and I already have several prospects in mind.”
“How do you know that you can trust these employees, though?” Yao continued, undeterred. “It’s possible they wouldn’t have you and your company’s best interests in mind--not in the way family would.”
“My position on this matter will not change, Mr. Yao. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to move on to the real reason we’re all here today instead of sitting here and listening to you bitch and moan about my marital status for the hundredth time,” Jiang Cheng said, crossing his arms and rolling his neck until it cracked loudly enough that he saw Nie Huaisang flinch at the sound out of the corner of his eye. “I’m sick and tired of having this conversation with you, and I’m sure everyone here is sick of listening to you prattle on about useless shit, too.”
Yao looked angry and embarrassed, his mouth open as he spluttered for something to say, and for a split second Jiang Cheng thought that he’d finally won. But then something flashed behind Yao’s eyes and he smirked like the asshole he was, making Jiang Cheng immediately tense back up.
“A few of the higher-ups in various companies have been spreading rumors about you that don’t exactly reflect you in a positive light,” Yao said, an evil glint in his eyes. “Surely you’d want to at least dispel those rumors before we put this conversation to rest, right?”
Jiang Cheng heard a few people quietly gasp and saw Nie Huaisang and Lan Huan shift uncomfortably. He fought to keep his expression under control, knowing damn well what rumors Yao was talking about. Many people speculated that the real reason he hadn’t gotten married was because of his sexuality, and he also knew that Yao was the one behind them. There were even some rumors about him and Lan Huan since they were both in positions of power with no interest in marrying, and their brother’s relationship didn’t exactly help matters.
This was the first time anyone had bothered to confront him about it directly though, and he refused to show just how fast his heart was beating in his chest from nerves.
So, Jiang Cheng sat forward in the casually intimidating manner he’d learned from his mother, resting his elbows on the table as he narrowed his eyes. “Just what are you trying to imply exactly, Mr. Yao?”
“I’m just saying that it might be bad for your business if people thought you were interested in…”
When Jiang Cheng realized Yao wasn’t going to continue, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Men?”
“Yes!” Yao said, looking for all the world like he’d just been vindicated. “Most people aren’t quite as accepting of that kind of lifestyle here as they are in other parts of the world, after all.”
Jiang Cheng closed his eyes and clenched his fist around the pen, trying his hardest to keep himself from actually using Wei Ying’s pen. It was a near thing--probably the closest he’d ever gotten to using it--and when he finally opened his eyes, he immediately locked onto Lan Huan’s gaze. He was giving Jiang Cheng a soft and encouraging smile, looking more relaxed than he had all morning.
Jiang Cheng nodded slightly and took a deep breath before turning his eyes back to Yao, feeling more confident now that he was reminded that no matter what, he would always have Lan Huan on his side.
“My personal life has nothing to do with my ability to run my company,” Jiang Cheng said, his voice more calm and steady than he felt. “In fact, do I need to remind you that I’m the one who brought your company back from damn near going bankrupt a few years ago because you didn’t bother to read a manufacturing contract and ended up with far more product than you could sell?”
“No, of course not!” Yao said, looking a little panicked now that he realized his attempt to bully Jiang Cheng wasn’t working. He glanced over at Ouyang--of course it was fucking Ouyang--who cleared his throat and straightened his posture, obviousy trying and failing to look more important than he was.
“You are not refuting the rumors, Mr. Jiang. Does this mean that they’re true?” Ouyang asked, his voice trembling so slightly that Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have noticed it if Yao hadn’t shot him a quick glare.
Jiang Cheng clenched his fist, fighting the urge to scream. How the fuck did these imbeciles not know when to back the fuck down? Did the idea of publicly embarrassing him in front of people with significantly more power than them tickle their balls or something? Is that what they got off on--some shitty attempt to grab power and reputation as the people who took Jiang Cheng down a peg?
Well, he wasn’t going to give them that satisfaction. He had nothing to be embarrassed about, after all.
“Yes, they are,” he said before he could really think about his response. He was surprised by his own words, but when he glanced to the other side of the room, Lan Huan was watching him with such a hopeful look that Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but square his shoulders in stubborn defiance. He turned his gaze back to Ouyang and Yao and smirked. “In fact, all of them are true.”
Yao stood up suddenly, leaning on the table and stumbling over his words before shouting, “What are you--”
“The rumors about myself and Lan Huan are true,” Jiang Cheng said, satisfied by the indignation on Yao’s face at being cut off so suddenly.
Jiang Cheng was practically vibrating with energy. If his parents were here, they would have had his head on a spike by tomorrow for putting the reputation of the Jiang family at risk--they’d threatened it several times before they’d moved to the other side of the country--but they weren’t. He was free to do and say whatever the fuck he wanted, and right now he wanted nothing more than to take the power of the rumors out of Yao’s grubby little hands and claim it for himself.
“Lan Huan and I are in a relationship, and that will not change just because you seem determined to make a fool of yourself in front of everyone,” Jiang Cheng said with a sneer as he sat back in his chair casually. “Unless, of course, you think that you and your small company with only one subsidiary can take down both the Jiang and the Lan corporations?”
Yao was rendered speechless. He didn’t say anything or move even a centimeter, but Jiang Cheng could practically see the hamster wheel in his head spinning as he tried to figure out a way to back himself out of this situation that had been thrown out of his control.
“You would be going against the Jin corporation, as well. Do not forget that my wife is Mr. Jiang’s sister. I would not abandon someone who is technically family over something as trivial as this,” Jin Zixuan spoke calmly with a sharp edge to his voice.
Jiang Cheng was mildly surprised by the support and felt something inside of him relax at the realization that he really wasn’t alone in this. He looked at Jin Zixuan and nodded a silent thanks. Jin Zixuan returned the gesture before looking back at Yao patiently, as if waiting for him to protest.
Jiang Cheng made a mental note to call his sister later and let her know that her peacock husband had actually grown a spine.
“You also forgot that Lan Huan is my best friend. After the shit he’s been through, I would do anything to protect him from the likes of you,” Nie Mingjue said, the threat in his voice strong enough that it sent a shiver of fear down Jiang Cheng’s spine even though he wasn’t the target of it. “And when I say anything, I mean anything.”
“Da-ge,” Meng Yao hissed quietly enough that Jiang Cheng only heard it because of how close they were sitting.
Jiang Cheng glanced over at Nie Mingjue and had to fight the instinct to gape stupidly. Nie Mingjue had always been an imposing figure with muscles that made it look like he could crush someone’s skull like a grape, but right now he looked downright terrifying. He was glaring at Yao with a sharp grin, looking for all the world like he would enjoy literally skinning Yao alive right here and now if he tried to say anything against them.
Jiang Cheng fiddled with his pen, knowing that he would offer it to Nie Mingjue in a heartbeat if the situation happened to arise.
Lan Huan cleared his throat and everyone’s attention immediately went to him. Most people probably assumed that he would add to the conversation, but he just smiled in that placating way he’d mastered over the years--though Jiang Cheng could clearly see the threat hidden in it--and said, “Might I suggest that we resume our business discussions now that this matter has been settled?”
Everyone immediately nodded and murmured their agreement, even Yao, and Jiang Cheng watched proudly as his boyfriend managed to control the room which was filled with chaos just moments ago. He led the conversation calmly to the joint business ventures they were meant to be discussing, looking completely unruffled by what had just happened despite being one of the main focuses of the conversation.
Near the end of the meeting while some of the smaller companies were negotiating manufacturing contracts, Lan Huan looked up and caught Jiang Cheng’s eyes. He smiled gently, something soft and proud in his gaze, and Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but preen under the attention.
The meeting finished soon after, and Jiang Cheng was almost surprised at how smoothly it went. But then again, Yao had probably been too embarrassed to argue much after starting that debacle and being firmly shut down, so that cut down significantly on the amount of bullshit they had to wade through to get to the point.
As people started getting up to leave, Jiang Cheng noticed Yao immediately rush to get out of the room. Without thinking, he practically jogged to catch up and clapped Yao on the shoulder, feeling proud of the way he immediately startled.
Still feeling almost high from the power rush from earlier, he leaned in and dropped his tone to a low, threatening whisper that no one else could hear, “Thank you for being a cunt and outing me.”
Yao pulled away from his grip and darted out of the room without responding. Jiang Cheng smiled with satisfaction and walked over to Lan Huan, who raised an eyebrow and asked, “What did you just do?”
“I just thanked him for bringing up our relationship so I could do this,” Jiang Cheng said with a smirk as he grabbed Lan Huan’s hand. “Come on, let’s go get dinner. I think we’ve more than earned a date night outside after 8 years.”
Lan Huan let out an exasperated sigh but smiled fondly as he said, “Lead the way, my heart.”
So, Jiang Cheng did just that. He led them out of the building and into the streets, walking in the direction of Lan Huan’s favorite restaurant that they’d eaten food from in their house many times over the years. He never once let go of Lan Huan’s hand, instead lacing their fingers together. Despite the looks they were getting from the strangers passing them, Jiang Cheng felt his confidence grow with every step and smiled when Lan Huan bumped their shoulders together.
With their secret finally out, they had nothing to fear anymore. They were ready to take on the world--together.