ACMS 14

Chapter 14 – In Excellent Health

Shen Hechuan had used protection last night—he was at least that responsible. However, he hadn’t had a recent physical checkup.

The company scheduled annual check-ups, but that wasn’t until next month.

Shen Hechuan knew his body well. He didn’t smoke, didn’t drink excessively, and didn’t have any bad habits. His physical condition was excellent.

Even after being active all night yesterday, he wasn’t tired at all.

Still, Qiao Le’s concern was understandable. Getting a check-up was responsible for both parties.

He replied to Qiao Le’s message.

[Shen: I used protection, don’t worry.]

[Shen: I’ll get a physical tomorrow. I’ll send you the results when I have them.]

Afterward, he messaged Judy to schedule a medical exam for the next morning. She responded immediately:

[judy: Got it.]

Shen Hechuan exited the chat with Judy and saw that Qiao Le had sent him a sticker of a cat tilting its head with the caption “Obediently waiting.”

He looked at it for two seconds, then long-pressed to add it to his favorites.

That ended their conversation for now. Shen Hechuan noticed that there were several @mentions in the family group chat.

His mom had already scolded him once last night. He didn’t need to look to know what the topic was. Without bothering to read them, he muted the group and set his phone aside to focus on work.

—

On the other side, after receiving Shen Hechuan’s reply, Qiao Le finally felt his anxiety ease a little.

Fang Jiaxu reminded him, “You want to go put on some ointment?”

Qiao Le thought that wasn’t a bad idea. He took the ointment and went into the bathroom. By the time he came back out, Fang Jiaxu had already cleaned up the table.

“You’ve been worn out these past few days, haven’t you? Go take a nap,” Fang Jiaxu suggested.

“Okay.” Qiao Le nodded. He had been pushing himself too hard lately—he was genuinely exhausted.

Fang Jiaxu had spare clothes at his place. After letting Qiao Man know, Qiao Le changed into pajamas and went to the guest room to catch up on sleep.

When he woke again, it was already noon. Qiao Man was at the little desk by the bed, drawing with half the table covered in colorful markers.

After a good nap, Qiao Le felt much more refreshed. He stretched out lazily in bed.

Hearing the movement, Qiao Man turned and saw him awake. He dropped his pen and pounced on the bed. “Brother, you’re up!”

“Yeah.” Qiao Le reached for his phone and saw a message from Fang Jiaxu saying he had something to do and told him to make himself at home.

Qiao Le got out of bed and scooped up Qiao Man. “Let’s go, Brother’s taking you to get pizza.”

Qiao Man’s eyes lit up. “Yay!”

Qiao Le washed his face, changed clothes, and headed out with Qiao Man.

His electric scooter was still parked at Might Bar—where he’d been doing part-time work recently.

Since Fang Jiaxu had told him to wait for updates about what happened last night, he wasn’t in a rush to pick it up. Instead, he took the subway with Qiao Man to the Liwan New District.

The pizza place was especially popular on weekends, but luckily a table had just opened up when they arrived.

Qiao Le ordered their signature Italian meat sauce pizza, two fruit teas, and fries.

As soon as the pizza hit the table, Qiao Man’s eyes lit up like stars. “Wow, it smells so good!”

“Baby, look at the camera.” Qiao Le pulled out his phone to snap a photo.

The little guy happily threw up a peace sign for the camera—though his hands were a bit short and it came out looking more like a rude gesture.

After taking the picture, Qiao Le switched to the front camera and took a selfie with the both of them, then posted it to his WeChat Moments.

“Brother, eat!” Qiao Man picked out the biggest slice of pizza and—with a combination of chopsticks and a fork—put it onto Qiao Le’s plate.

The sweet gesture warmed Qiao Le’s heart. He put his phone down, tore open a pair of disposable gloves and helped his brother put them on, then gave him a slice before finally digging into his own.

He squinted his eyes in satisfaction. This was the same pizza he’d had at Shen Hechuan’s place last time.

The rich meat sauce flavor was just as delicious as before.

Thinking of Shen Hechuan, Qiao Le wondered if he should’ve offered him breakfast this morning. The man had helped him so much, after all.

Maybe he should ask?

Qiao Le hesitated. After finishing his slice of pizza, he picked up his phone and sent Shen Hechuan a message.

Once he hit send, he felt a little more at ease.

Whether or not Shen Hechuan had eaten, at least he had shown concern—better late than never.

—

Shen Hechuan had just come out of a meeting when he saw the message. He glanced down.

[Qiao Lelelele: Shen Hechuan, have you had lunch yet?]

[Qiao Lelelele: I’m at that pizza place you ordered from last time. If you haven’t eaten, I can bring you a slice?]

That pizza place from last time?

Shen Hechuan paused. His first thought was: Qiao Le was back to delivering food again? And was offering to bring him a slice?

Did he care that little about his own health?

Or… was he really that unimpressive last night?

That thought gave Shen Hechuan a complicated expression. Qiao Le’s firm “I’m not that tired” from this morning rang in his ears again.

Shen Hechuan: “…”

Judy, who had been walking behind him, noticed him suddenly stop. His expression wasn’t angry or happy—more like confused. Worried it had to do with the meeting, she stepped up and asked, “Mr. Shen, is there another arrangement?”

Shen Hechuan collected himself. “No, go ahead and have lunch.”

“Would you like me to have someone bring yours up?” she asked considerately.

The company had an in-house cafeteria. Lunch was served from 12 to 2 p.m., and outside that window, there were still noodles and snacks available. Afternoon tea was also offered.

Sometimes when Shen Hechuan was too busy to leave, Judy would have someone bring food to him.

“No need,” he replied.

“Understood.”

After Judy left, Shen Hechuan replied to Qiao Le.

[Shen: Are you delivering food again? Are you feeling okay?]

Almost instantly, Qiao Le replied.

[Qiao Lelelele: No, I have the day off today.]

[Qiao Lelelele: Just brought Xiao Man out for pizza.]

[Qiao Lelelele: (photo)]

Qiao Le sent Shen Hechuan a photo of the pizza, unaware that this kind of sharing was actually a sign of growing intimacy between two people.

Shen Hechuan opened the photo.

Aside from the pizza, the picture also captured Qiao Man’s little hand holding a fork, which reminded Shen Hechuan of that morning—when Qiao Man held up five fingers to proudly announce he was five years old.

Realizing that Qiao Le wasn’t out delivering food, the crease between Shen Hechuan’s brows relaxed. His mood lifted for no clear reason.

Maybe it was relief that Qiao Le wasn’t treating his body recklessly. Maybe it was for the sake of his own quiet, fragile pride. Or maybe it was a bit of both.

[Shen: Good. You should take care and rest well.]

[Qiao Lelelele: Got it~ You too ^.^#]

I should rest too?

Shen Hechuan’s lips quirked up. I don’t need to rest at all. He wasn’t even remotely tired. In fact, he felt like the irritation from all the recent marriage pressure had lifted quite a bit.

Thinking of that marriage pressure reminded him of something he’d forgotten.

He told Qiao Le he’d eat at the office and didn’t need the pizza delivered. Then he tapped into the family group chat that he’d muted earlier that morning.

There were only four people in the group—his grandfather, his parents, and himself.

In just one morning of ignoring them, the other three had spammed the chat with over a hundred messages. His eighty-something grandfather’s typing speed could probably outcompete people scrambling for bus seats.

Seriously, no matter how old you are, you really ought to have a job. Otherwise all you do is sit around and scroll on your phone all day.

Shen Hechuan sighed, thinking he’d taken over the family business too early. He’d handed them all the time and freedom they needed to nag him about marriage.

The first thing he saw after opening the chat was a bunch of link shares.

[Shocking] What Happens to People Who Don’t Get Married? The Alarming Truth…

[Lonely] After Years of Hard Work, Is There a Single Light in This City That Shines Just for You?

[Silent] While Others Are Surrounded by Children and Grandchildren, You Sit Alone in an Empty Room…

All of the links had been sent by his mother, Ms. Wu Huilan.

Shen Hechuan didn’t have the energy or interest to scroll through their entire conversation. He already knew what it was about. He simply typed two words and sent them:

[Shen: Read.]

[Grandpa: ……]

[Mom: ……]

[Dad: ……]

Less than thirty seconds later, Wu Huilan called.

She told him to come back to the old house that afternoon—they were holding a “special discussion meeting” about how he had been hiding his relationship status.

A “special discussion meeting”? Sounds more like a disciplinary hearing.

Shen Hechuan pressed the elevator button and started thinking up an excuse to decline. “Tonight I—”

“Oh no, Dad! Are you okay?! Don’t faint!” came Wu Huilan’s urgent voice on the other end, followed by his grandfather’s groaning: “Feeling dizzy, dizzy…”

“Housekeeper Liu! Call the doctor, quick!” Wu Huilan shouted. “You see what you’ve done? You made your grandpa so angry he’s fainting! If you have any conscience left, get back here now!”

Shen Hechuan: “……”

The elevator doors opened. He stepped inside and changed his tune. “I have a meeting this afternoon. I’ll come tonight. Save the rest of your theatrics for when I get there.”

Wu Huilan: “Oh… Dad, you can get up now.”

Grandpa: “Okay.”

Shen Hechuan hung up, head throbbing.

Can’t dodge forever—might as well stand in the eye of the storm.

As the elevator descended, he opened up his Moments feed to distract himself—and happened to see Qiao Le’s new post.

Two pictures: one of Qiao Man by himself, and one of the two of them together. Both of them were grinning, flashing peace signs. They looked genuinely happy.

Shen Hechuan gave it a like.

The elevator stopped at the cafeteria floor. He walked into the company dining hall and ordered a lunch set. Before he started eating, he remembered the photo Qiao Le had sent him.

As a matter of social reciprocity, he figured he should return the gesture.

So, he snapped a photo of his lunch and sent it to Qiao Le.

Just as he sent the message, a new one popped up on the screen. He tapped it open out of habit.

[judy: Holy crap! I actually just saw Boss Shen taking a photo of his lunch!]

[judy: I don’t even know who he sent it to. Could he be… dating someone?!]

Shen Hechuan: ?

[judy withdrew a message]

[judy withdrew a message]

Shen Hechuan: “……”

Great. Now I know what my subordinates talk about when they’re bored.

Gossiping about their boss.