ACMS 13

Chapter 13: Safety Measures

Qiao Le got out of the car but forgot to take the ointment. Shen Hechuan called out to him, stepped out as well, and handed it over. Still a bit uneasy, he asked, “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Qiao Le quickly waved his hands. “No, no, really, I’m fine.”

Going to the hospital with Shen Hechuan in this situation—if the doctor started asking about what happened last night, wouldn’t that be instant social death?

Seeing that his complexion looked normal, Shen Hechuan didn’t push. “Alright then.”

“Then you should head back. I’ll—”

“Daddy!”

A voice suddenly cut him off. Qiao Le was caught off guard and startled. He looked down and saw his little brother clinging to his leg, pouting, “You’re back, Daddy!”

Qiao Le: “…”

Shen Hechuan was visibly surprised for a second.

The kid looked about four or five. Qiao Le had just said he was nineteen—who has a kid that old at nineteen?!

“Xiao Man?” Qiao Le looked down. “What are you doing here? Where’s Brother Jiaxu?”

Qiao Man turned and pointed. Not far away, Fang Jiaxu was waving at them from a breakfast stall.

“Brother Jiaxu brought me out for breakfast. Daddy, mm—”

“No calling me that today.” Qiao Le quickly covered his mouth and introduced Shen Hechuan, “This is my friend, not one of those weirdos.”

Qiao Man made a few muffled sounds and blinked his big, curious eyes at Shen Hechuan.

From those few words, Shen Hechuan quickly grasped the situation. So the little brother was Qiao Le’s human shield against unwanted attention.

He asked, “Your little brother?”

“Yeah.” Qiao Le let go of Qiao Man. “Xiao Man, say hi.”

Qiao Man looked up and said, “Hello, Uncle. My name’s Qiao Man.”

Shen Hechuan: “…”

Technically not wrong for a five-year-old to call him “uncle,” but it still made it feel like he and Qiao Le were a generation apart.

“Hello, Xiao Man.” Shen Hechuan nodded, then introduced himself in kind. “I’m Shen Hechuan.”

“Hello, Uncle Shen!”

Shen Hechuan wasn’t particularly fond of children, but Qiao Man was fair-skinned, cute, and well-mannered, with two little tiger teeth when he smiled—hard not to like.

He couldn’t help but ask, “How old are you?”

“Five.” Qiao Man held up five tiny fingers. “I’m in kindergarten’s senior class!”

Adorable.

Shen Hechuan thought he was looking at a child version of Qiao Le.

Too bad he came empty-handed today—he’d have to bring a gift next time.

“I’m heading off, then,” Shen Hechuan said to Qiao Le.

“Okay.”

After he left, Qiao Le brought Qiao Man over to Fang Jiaxu. Fang Jiaxu quickly noticed something off about his clothes.

Because of financial reasons, Qiao Le never fussed about what he wore. Outside of his work uniform, most of his clothes were wholesale basics from online marketplaces—cheap and durable.

But the clothes he had on now were obviously high-quality in both fabric and cut, not to mention they weren’t even his size. Combine that with the man who’d just dropped him off and that high-end car that other vehicles instinctively gave way to…

Fang Jiaxu instantly picked up on something unusual. Why hadn’t Qiao Le come by bike like usual? Why had someone driven him? Why was he wearing someone else’s clothes?

“You’re acting suspicious,” Fang Jiaxu circled him, sniffing the air. “You smell like another man.”

Qiao Le: “…” Do you have a dog’s nose? And also—could that line be any more embarrassing?!

Fang Jiaxu continued, “Whose clothes are those? Who was that guy?”

“Just a friend.”

“A friend?” Fang Jiaxu spotted the bag in his hand, labeled with the name of a traditional medicine pharmacy. He snatched it. “You bought medicine? Are you feeling sick?”

He moved too fast for Qiao Le to stop him. “It’s not—”

Fang Jiaxu peeked inside and immediately recognized the two ointments.

Because he’d used them before.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling creams. Wore someone else’s clothes. Got dropped off in a luxury car.

Fang Jiaxu had dated before—he connected the dots in a flash. There’s no way something didn’t happen!

He stared at Qiao Le, eyes wide. “You slept wi—”

Qiao Le quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. “Keep it down! That’s not something to shout about!”

Fang Jiaxu “mmph mmph”-ed. Seeing this, Qiao Man thought it was some game and also covered his own mouth: “Mmph mmph!”

Qiao Le: “…”

Rubbing his temples, Qiao Le finally let go of Fang Jiaxu. “Let’s eat first. I’ve got something I need your help with later.”

“Eat?” Fang Jiaxu frowned. “Forget that—take it to go!”

The three of them packed up breakfast and went back to Fang Jiaxu’s place. While Qiao Man happily ate his share, Fang Jiaxu dragged Qiao Le aside, dying to know who the man was.

He and Qiao Le had known each other for a while, and he didn’t remember any friend like that.

“Shen Hechuan,” Qiao Le replied. “The guy I mistook someone else last time.”

Fang Jiaxu remembered that well. He’d even suspected the guy liked Qiao Le back then—but Qiao Le had shut it down completely.

And now?!

“You two…” Fang Jiaxu pointed at the ointments. “Hmm?”

Qiao Le: “…Exactly what you’re thinking.”

“!!” Fang Jiaxu let out a curse. “Didn’t I say he was into you? And you were all ‘impossible!’ Guess who was right?”

Shen Hechuan liked him?

Impossible.

Qiao Le figured Shen Hechuan had just been softhearted, helping him out on impulse. He firmly denied it again. “No, it wasn’t like that. It was just an accident. I was drugged—”

“What?!” Fang Jiaxu shot up from his chair. “Drugged?! What the hell happened? Did he force you?!”

Seeing his friend look ready to storm off and confront someone, Qiao Le hurriedly pulled him back down. “No, no! He helped me.”

“He helped you?”

Qiao Le quickly recounted everything that had happened the night before. Fang Jiaxu exploded again after hearing the full story, didn’t even touch his breakfast, and immediately dialed a friend.

That friend was still asleep but got yelled awake. Once he heard what happened, he immediately promised to take care of it and told Fang Jiaxu not to worry.

Only then did Fang Jiaxu hang up.

He glanced back at Qiao Le, eyes drawn again to the clothes he wore. Now that he knew the full story, he felt too guilty to keep teasing.

He’d been the one to introduce Qiao Le to that bar job—he hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

If Shen Hechuan hadn’t been there… who knows what might have happened to Qiao Le. The thought terrified him.

“It’s all my fault,” Fang Jiaxu said, full of guilt and regret. “If I hadn’t asked you to cover that shift, none of this would’ve happened. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure they pay for it.”

But Qiao Le hadn’t come to guilt-trip him. The reason he needed Fang Jiaxu’s help was because he wasn’t familiar with the bar owner. If he handled it himself, they’d likely just try to sweep things under the rug. But if Fang Jiaxu stepped in, it would be a whole different story.

And besides, this whole thing wasn’t really Fang Jiaxu’s fault. He’d recommended the bar job for Qiao Le’s own good—gave him time off, even helped look after his little brother for a few days.

“Why are you saying that?” Qiao Le lightly punched his shoulder. “It’s not like you could’ve predicted this. And honestly, I didn’t really lose anything. Just…”

Just that fasting left him feeling a little off, and his waist was kind of sore.

Qiao Le had no dating experience, and when it came to sex, he was a complete blank slate. Even with a friend he could talk to about anything, he still felt a little awkward broaching the topic.

Fang Jiaxu, on the other hand, was totally unfazed. To him, this kind of thing was nothing out of the ordinary. Hearing what Qiao Le said, he finished the sentence for him, “Just a sore ass?”

Qiao Le: “…”

“It didn’t bleed, did it?” Fang Jiaxu asked with concern. “Is that Shen Hechuan really that bad in bed?”

Was Shen Hechuan bad?

Probably not.

Qiao Le shook his head. “No bleeding. Just… not used to it.”

“Duh, it’s always like that the first time,” Fang Jiaxu said. “You’ll get used to it after a few more times.”

A few more times?

Qiao Le recalled last night. There was definitely not just one time. Just from what he could remember, it was more than three—and after that? Who knows. He’d already passed out.

“What are you thinking about?” Fang Jiaxu leaned in. “Why’s your face so red?”

Thinking about what? Thinking about a man, obviously!

Qiao Le picked up his soy milk and took a big gulp. The cold drink barely cooled his flushed face when he heard Fang Jiaxu say, “You guys used protection last night, right?”

“Huh?” Qiao Le blinked. “Protection?”

“Yeah,” Fang Jiaxu asked, “Did he wear a condom?”

Did Shen Hechuan wear one?

Qiao Le thought back but realized… he had no memory of that at all. His head was hazy the entire night—he hadn’t paid attention to whether Shen Hechuan used protection or not.

And it had been his first time. If Fang Jiaxu hadn’t brought it up, he wouldn’t have even thought about it.

Right—did Shen Hechuan wear a condom?!

Shen Hechuan seemed like a good person, but that didn’t mean his dick was automatically trustworthy!

What if he wasn’t clean?

The thought made Qiao Le uneasy. He didn’t want to assume the worst about someone, but the reality was—they’d only met three times. He didn’t even really know who Shen Hechuan was.

If something really had gone wrong, and something happened to him—what would happen to his little brother?

Qiao Man was still so young. Who would take care of him?

Just the thought of it made Qiao Le lose his appetite completely.

No, he had to make sure. He also needed to get himself checked out.

He picked up his phone, found Shen Hechuan’s WeChat—which they’d just added each other on that morning—and sent him a message.

At that moment, Shen Hechuan had just finished listening to his assistant Judy’s work report and was signing off on a project proposal.

After parting ways with Qiao Le, he had gone straight to the office.

Handing the signed documents back to Judy, Shen Hechuan instructed her to prepare some gifts suitable for a young child.

“Yes, Mr. Shen,” Judy said, then asked, “How old is the child? And is it a boy or girl?”

“A boy,” Shen Hechuan replied. “Five years old, in the senior kindergarten class.”

Then he added, “Very cute.”

Judy had worked by Shen Hechuan’s side for six years and this was the first time she’d ever heard him describe anyone as “cute.” Her curiosity was instantly piqued. “Mr. Shen, is he your relative’s kid?”

A relative’s child?

His family did have some kids about the same age as Qiao Man, but he’d never paid attention to whether they were cute or not. He wasn’t the kind of person who usually played with children.

“No,” Shen Hechuan replied. “He’s a friend’s little brother.”

Just as he said that, his phone screen lit up beside him—WeChat notifications popped up with several new messages from Qiao Le.

The notifications were set to private preview, but there were five in a row.

That caught Shen Hechuan off guard. They had only just parted ways this morning—why was Qiao Le suddenly messaging him so much?

Could it be that something happened related to last night and he needed help?

Or was he not feeling well?

With that in mind, Shen Hechuan said to Judy, “You can get back to work.”

“Understood.”

After she left, Shen Hechuan opened the messages from Qiao Le.

[Qiao Lelelele: (photo) – Health Certificate]

[Qiao Lelelele: (photo) – Medical Report]

[Qiao Lelelele: Mr. Shen, these are my health certificate and medical checkup results—I had the exam just last week, I’m in perfect health!]

[Qiao Lelelele: I wasn’t very clear-headed last night, so I just wanted to ask… did we use protection? [quietly asking.jpg]]

[Qiao Lelelele: Also… do you have a health certificate or a medical report?]

Shen Hechuan: “…”

Well then.

His safety awareness was… impressively high.