ACMS 8

Chapter 8 – All Alone

Yang Mu stared between Qiao Man and Qiao Le, clearly stunned—especially when he realized they really did look a bit alike.

But Qiao Le looked so young. How could he possibly have such a big son?

Still clinging to a bit of hope, Yang Mu asked Qiao Man, “Little one, who are you calling daddy?”

Yang Mu had only started coming to the bar last month. At the time, Qiao Man had still been staying with their aunt in the countryside, so Yang Mu had never met him and didn’t know he was Qiao Le’s younger brother.

Of course, Qiao Le wasn’t about to miss such a golden opportunity. Without hesitation, he crushed Yang Mu’s hopes: “He’s calling me. He’s my son.”

Then he turned to Qiao Man and said, “Baby, say hello.”

Qiao Man cooperated perfectly: “Hello, Uncle! My name is Xiao Man, and I’m five years old!”

“F-Five?” Yang Mu looked dazed, eyes flicking back to Qiao Le, clearly in disbelief. “But you look so young—how could you have a five-year-old?”

“Me?” Qiao Le replied, “I just look young. I’m almost thirty.”

Yang Mu: “…”

From behind the bar, Fang Jiaxu chimed in at just the right moment, “I can vouch for that—it’s true. This is a bar, after all. It’s not like we’d hire minors.”

That was the final nail in the coffin. Yang Mu’s face shifted through several expressions as he held the bouquet. In the end, he kept his gentlemanly demeanor, muttered, “Sorry to bother you,” and left quietly.

As soon as he was gone, Qiao Le let out a huge sigh of relief and high-fived Qiao Man. “You’re such a smart boy.”

Qiao Man giggled, hands on his cheeks. “Brother Jiaxu taught me.”

He had been reading storybooks in the lounge when Fang Jiaxu suddenly came in and told him his brother was in trouble—someone was bothering him and needed help.

The moment Qiao Man heard that his brother was in trouble, he dropped the book and rushed out.

He didn’t fully understand why calling his brother “Daddy” would help, but Brother Jiaxu said it would scare the bad guy away.

And it actually worked!

Qiao Le turned to Fang Jiaxu. “Thanks.”

Fang Jiaxu waved him off. “Get back to work.”

“No problem.” Qiao Le gave Qiao Man another praise. “You did great, Xiao Man. Go back to your book.”

“Okay!” Qiao Man nodded, climbed down from the chair, and hopped back to the lounge.

Though there’d been a little hiccup, the rest of the shift went smoothly. Near closing time, his coworkers let Qiao Le leave early so he could take Qiao Man home.

When Qiao Le returned to the lounge, Qiao Man was already asleep on the folding bed.

It was only 80 cm ( 31.5 inches ) wide, but since Qiao Man was small, it suited him just fine. He was curled up with his Psyduck plush, sleeping soundly—he didn’t even stir when Qiao Le entered.

Qiao Le gently woke him. “Time to go home, baby.”

Qiao Man rubbed his eyes, sat up, folded his little blanket, and waited for Qiao Le to pack up the bed. Then the two of them headed home together.

On the way back, Qiao Le told him he’d be really busy over the next few days, so he’d stay with Fang Jiaxu for a bit.

Whenever he went to help at the other bar, he often didn’t finish until three or four in the morning.

Qiao Man had stayed with Fang Jiaxu before, so he didn’t resist the arrangement and nodded obediently. “Okay.”

Once they got home, after a bath, the little one was already so sleepy his eyes could barely stay open.

Qiao Le tucked him into the covers and climbed into bed himself.

——

Shen Hechuan had been getting calls from Ms. Wu Huilan again lately—nagging him about getting married.

She had played mahjong with Mrs. Lin a few days ago and learned that the Lin family had a niece of marriageable age who was still single. After a bit of digging, she found the girl to be a good match in both looks and temperament—exactly the kind of daughter-in-law she was looking for.

Most importantly, the girl was only five years younger than Shen Hechuan.

Last time, Shen Hechuan had rejected a matchmaking prospect from the Cheng family because the girl was “too young.” But this one was only five years apart—wasn’t that just right?

So she started bombarding Shen Hechuan with phone calls, urging him to clear some time to meet the girl and get to know her.

Shen Hechuan was beyond annoyed, but since the one doing the pestering was his mother—and his father and grandfather were backing her up—he was constantly being scolded.

In the end, he simply stopped going back to the family estate.

When Wu Huilan’s repeated attempts failed, she showed up uninvited at the Linjiang complex.

Shen Hechuan knew she was coming, so he boiled water and brewed tea in advance.

“I’m not drinking it!”

Wu Huilan threw her purse down next to her with a stern face and sat on the sofa. “Why aren’t you answering your phone? I already set everything up for tonight—how am I supposed to save face now?”

Shen Hechuan placed the tea on the coffee table in front of her. “Snow Mountain [tea].”

Wu Huilan’s nose twitched—she smelled her favorite tea. She shot her son a glare, then picked up the cup and took a sip.

Mm, it really was her favorite.

Fine, he still had a bit of a conscience—she’d scold him a little less.

After putting the teacup down, she softened her tone a little. “Don’t think a cup of tea will get you off the hook. I’m still mad about you standing her up.”

Shen Hechuan reminded her, “I never agreed to meet her. I told you that yesterday.”

“You wouldn’t go yesterday, you won’t go today, and you won’t go tomorrow either. So when are you going? Give me a straight answer,” Wu Huilan demanded.

Shen Hechuan thought to himself, I’ve already given you one—you just keep ignoring it.

So he repeated, “I don’t have any plans to get married right now.”

Wu Huilan had worried herself sick over her son’s marriage. She’d been understanding while he focused on his studies, and patient during the years he was busy with work. She’d never pushed him on this issue before.

But so many years had passed, the company was thriving, the money kept coming in—and yet there wasn’t even a hint of a daughter-in-law.

Now that he was rejecting her again, she couldn’t help but get angry. “This one’s not okay, that one’s not okay—what exactly are you looking for? Last time you said Jiarong was too young. This time I found someone who’s age-appropriate—don’t tell me you’re going to say her personality doesn’t suit you.”

Shen Hechuan hadn’t even met the girl, so he didn’t know if their personalities matched—and he didn’t want to know either.

Seeing him stay silent made Wu Huilan even more furious. She clutched her chest with one hand and pointed at him with the other. “What kind of karma is this? Everything I do is for your own good! Just look at yourself—how old are you now? Living like a hermit! I don’t believe you don’t feel cold sleeping alone in the middle of winter!”

Shen Hechuan calmly reminded her, “The house has heating. I’m not cold.”

Wu Huilan: “…”

“What good is heating? You don’t even have anyone to talk to!” she snapped. “You’re picky about this and that—if you’ve got the guts, go find someone yourself! Even if you brought a man home, I wouldn’t stop you!”

Shen Hechuan looked at her in surprise. “Are you saying…”

Only after speaking did Wu Huilan realize she’d let her anger get the better of her. But the words were already out, and backtracking now would make her look weak—so she doubled down. “I bet you couldn’t even find a man! Useless!”

With that, she grabbed her bag, no longer willing to stay and argue.

Shen Hechuan walked her to the door, only to see her pause in the entryway. Concerned, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wu Huilan looked up at him with a strange expression. “You’re refusing all these blind dates… is it because you’re secretly seeing someone?”

Shen Hechuan: “What?”

Wu Huilan pointed under the shoe cabinet. Shen Hechuan followed her gaze and saw, in the open space below, a pair of neatly placed yellow slippers with little bear faces.

They were placed close to the wall, perfectly aligned.

That’s when Shen Hechuan remembered—Qiao Le had worn them a few days ago when he visited. The housekeeper had taken a few days off, and since the slippers were off to the side, he hadn’t noticed them.

But sharp-eyed Wu Huilan had.

She had bought those slippers herself—they weren’t Shen Hechuan’s style at all. She’d brought them over more than half a year ago and they had never been touched. Yet now, here they were, worn and neatly placed outside.

It was proof that someone had used them and tidied up afterward.

And anyone who could come to Shen Hechuan’s home must have had an unusual relationship with him. Out of all the house slippers, this person had chosen the cute little bear ones—clearly someone young who liked cute things.

Following the clues and recalling a recent phone call, Wu Huilan’s expression suddenly changed.

“It’s not what you think—” Shen Hechuan tried to explain.

But Wu Huilan didn’t give him the chance. “Don’t try to lie. Be honest. Are you really dating a young guy? Is it the one who called you ‘honey’ on the phone the other day?!”

Shen Hechuan: “No! I told you, that was the neighbor from next door—”

“Liar!” Wu Huilan said. “This building has one unit per floor—what neighbor?!”

Shen Hechuan: “…”

Ah, I’ve been exposed.