ACMS 1

Chapter 1: Crashing the Blind Date

Qiao Le received a commissioned order through the “Let Me Do It” app.

The client was someone called “Mr. Huo.”

This Mr. Huo claimed to be a gay man who was already in a relationship, but his parents wanted him to carry on the family line and were forcing him into a blind date with a well-matched young lady from a similarly respectable family.

Although same-sex marriage had already been legalized in this era and same-sex relationships weren’t uncommon, the fact remained that same-sex couples couldn’t have children, and for the older generation, that was often unacceptable.

Mr. Huo’s request was for Qiao Le to pose as his boyfriend. His actual boyfriend was an introvert—not good at handling such situations—and Mr. Huo was worried that things might get out of hand and cause trouble for him.

Crashing a blind date certainly had the potential to turn messy. But Mr. Huo’s offer started at twenty thousand yuan.

Money makes the world go round—especially for someone like Qiao Le, who was broke. He could move faster than anyone for that kind of money.

Twenty thousand for one job—about the same as two months’ worth of food delivery.

Qiao Le had signed up on the “Let Me Do It” platform because the money came quickly. So what if the job was a little embarrassing? Pride didn’t mean much to him.

He really was desperate for cash.

So he accepted the order without hesitation—eager to serve every client wholeheartedly.

Mr. Huo gave him an address in the Cuiran Building of Luwan New District.

Luwan New District and Baihui District, where Qiao Le lived, were separated only by a river, yet their standards of living were worlds apart.

Luwan was the city’s financial core and well known as a wealthy area. Baihui, by contrast, was an old, run-down district.

Qiao Le lived in Baihui. He worked and survived there. He only ventured into Luwan on the rare occasion he had to deliver food.

Not wanting to expose his identity or compromise the mission, he parked his little electric scooter far away when he arrived.

Coincidentally, the spot was right next to the Cuiran Building’s open-air parking lot, and the nearest space was occupied by a sleek black Maybach.

The Maybach’s black body gleamed with sharp, elegant lines. It had a calm, distinctive aura.

So handsome.

Qiao Le couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. His own little black scooter looked like a scrawny chick next to that beast.

He locked up his scooter and headed into the lobby of the Cuiran Building, locating the “Seer Café” Mr. Huo had mentioned.

The café’s storefront was expansive. Just one glance through the tall glass windows was enough to tell it was an upscale establishment.

The glass door reflected Qiao Le’s appearance today. To avoid embarrassing Mr. Huo—and to make himself look more convincing—he wasn’t dressed as casually as usual. Today, he wore a dress shirt and slacks, and even fixed his hair a bit.

The outfit had been bought for his high school graduation ceremony last year. He’d only worn it once, so it was still practically new.

It had fit perfectly back then. Though a little loose now, it didn’t affect the look much.

He already had a naturally handsome face, and in a shirt and trousers, he looked especially clean-cut and refined. As he pushed open the door, the staff at the entrance froze for a moment, their gazes falling straight on his face.

The café was spacious. It was Qiao Le’s first time there, and he glanced around as he stood at the entrance.

A staff member noticed and came forward. “Sir, how many in your party?”

There were two people at the blind date already—he made the third.

Not that he was joining the date. He was here to wreck it.

So Qiao Le simply reported the table number. “Table 11, Area A. They’re already there.”

“Area A is this way. Please follow me,” the staff said with a gesture.

Qiao Le followed toward Area A. The staff led him toward a window-side corner. “Just up ahead.”

“I’ll go on my own,” Qiao Le quickly said, stopping the staff.

Some embarrassment was best handled alone. Pride didn’t matter to him—but still, no need to be flashy about losing face.

“Understood, sir,” the staff replied, glancing back at him a couple more times before leaving, somewhat reluctant.

It was still before four o’clock. The café wasn’t very busy yet, and there were only a few occupied tables in Area A. That put Qiao Le at ease—it meant the situation should be manageable.

He stepped toward Table 11, which was partly obscured by some greenery. As he got closer, he finally saw the two people seated there.

Facing him was a young woman in a satin white dress. Across from her sat a man in a charcoal-gray shirt.

The man was turned slightly away from Qiao Le, so he couldn’t make out his face. But from behind, the man’s broad shoulders and upright posture were hard to miss. Even just sitting there, he gave off the impression of being very tall.

Table 11, Area A. Charcoal-gray shirt. Young woman. Blind date.

Everything matched.

It really was his “twenty thousand yuan” today.

Qiao Le took a deep breath and strode forward. As he got closer, he finally got a clear look at the man’s face.

This Mr. Huo had sharp and distinguished features, with deep-set eyes and a refined bone structure. His fingers, casually resting on the table, were long and elegant. Yet the aura around him was one of natural detachment.

Looking at him, a word that Fang Jiaxu had once said suddenly popped into Qiao Le’s mind—“ultimate catch.”

A man like this was top-tier dream material—whether in the gay scene or among straight women.

But no matter how good-looking he was, in Qiao Le’s eyes right now, he was worth exactly twenty thousand yuan.

For the sake of those twenty thousand, Qiao Le marched over with determination, sat himself down beside the man without hesitation, and wrapped his arms around his arm. “Honey!”

His sudden entrance and outburst left both people at the table completely stunned.

Especially the man, who looked at Qiao Le in surprise. “What did you just call me?”

Qiao Le figured he hadn’t expected him to get into character so fast. Truthfully, Qiao Le felt a little embarrassed himself—but with that much money on the table, he could afford to shelve his shame for a while.

The woman across the table had her mouth slightly open in shock, staring at them in disbelief.

Perfect. It gave him plenty of room to perform.

Still clinging to Mr. Huo’s arm, Qiao Le gave it a little shake and asked with wide, innocent eyes, “I called you honey! What, you’re not gonna admit it?”

“You…”

“You what? Why haven’t you answered my calls? I called you like eight hundred times!”

Qiao Le’s expression shifted to a look of righteous anger as he launched into his next act.

Today, he was playing the role of “the boyfriend who caught his man cheating on him with a woman.” A little irrational behavior wouldn’t hurt.

He cut the man off and rattled off a storm of accusations: “Didn’t you say you’d always answer my calls—whether you were eating, sleeping, working, or resting? Is it because you don’t love me anymore?”

Mr. Huo: “…”

There weren’t many customers in Area A, and though Qiao Le had kept his voice down, the commotion still caught people’s attention.

“What are they talking about?”

“Sounds like… some kind of relationship drama?”

Whispers spread from nearby tables. Clearly, people were tuning in.

Thinking he should wrap things up quickly, Qiao Le didn’t wait for a response and turned his fire on the lady, who was still frozen in shock. “Who is she? What are the two of you doing here alone? Are you on a blind date?”

The woman said, “We—”

“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you,” Qiao Le cut her off.

If he had the choice, he wouldn’t be so rude to the woman. But he’d taken someone’s money and had a job to do. He’d just have to apologize silently in his heart.

He could shift the heat back onto Mr. Huo.

Clinging to his arm again, Qiao Le shook it twice and pouted, his tone a mix of grievance and whining. “Didn’t you say you only loved me? Why are you going on a blind date? You’ve already had a vasectomy—meeting women now is just leading them on! What are you thinking?”

Mr. Huo choked on his own breath. “Cough—”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Qiao Le complained at his silence. “Honey, say something!”

Clatter—

The man said nothing, but across from them, the woman accidentally knocked over her spoon.

Other patrons in Area A, after hearing Qiao Le’s words, turned to look at “Mr. Huo” in shock.

“Wow, and here I thought he looked like such a gentleman—turns out he’s scum!”

“That kid looks so young! Can’t believe he’s been duped by some sleazebag!”

“Unbelievable. He’s got such a good-looking boyfriend and still goes out on blind dates.”

Though Qiao Le’s antics were meant to help Mr. Huo, hearing people start to insult him made Qiao Le feel a little guilty.

Strangely, Mr. Huo took it all in stride, like a man used to facing storms, showing no sign of panic at the public scolding.

To Qiao Le, the customer is king—and this customer had paid a hefty price. He figured he should at least help restore some of the man’s reputation.

So he stepped in front of Mr. Huo and turned to the onlookers. “Don’t blame my husband. He didn’t want to do this either. I know he loves me. He only agreed to this blind date so his parents wouldn’t be upset. He must be feeling awful inside too.”

Mr. Huo: “…”

Crowd: “…He’s a hopeless romantic.”

Then Qiao Le turned to Mr. Huo again and said, “I got kicked out of my house for being with you—I even quit school. You can’t betray me now.”

The woman across the table looked at Qiao Le with a very complicated expression. “You’re… insanely in love.”

Qiao Le nodded earnestly. “We’re insanely in love.”

Mr. Huo remained silent, as if by default, agreeing.

The woman picked up the spoon from the table, set it back in her cup, grabbed her handbag, and stood up. “Well, I’ll wish you both eternal happiness, then. I’ll be going. You two enjoy the rest of your conversation.”

She didn’t wait for either of them to respond and quickly walked out of that awkward mess.

Qiao Le hadn’t expected her to leave so cleanly—no shouting, no slaps, not even a single tear. The whole thing had gone surprisingly smoothly.

This job wasn’t hard at all! Easy money—twenty thousand, just like that.

Qiao Le beamed at the thought.

“Would you mind letting go of me now?”

The voice came from the man whose arm he was still clinging to.

Oops. Got carried away.

“Ah, sorry about that!” Qiao Le immediately let go and stood up from the sofa in one swift motion.

He pressed his palms together and gave a polite smile. “Apologies, Mr. Huo. I was just playing the role to complete the job. I hope you’ll be understanding. But judging by how things turned out, I’d say it was a success. Don’t forget to pay the balance!”

“Mr. Huo?” The man gave him a once-over. “Did you get the wrong person?”

Qiao Le froze and looked down at the table number. “Area A, Table 11… that’s right…”

“You’re not Mr. Huo?” he asked. “You placed the order last night through the ‘Let Me Do It’ app—asked me to crash your blind date today?”

“I’m not,” the other man said calmly. “My surname is Shen—Shen Hechuan.”

Qiao Le: “??”

Shen Hechuan added, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not here for a blind date.”

He paused before continuing, “And I haven’t had a vasectomy.”

Qiao Le: “……”

What the—?!