ACMS 24 part 3

“Enjoy your drink again—see you.”

Su Qiao watched his back regretfully, then took out her phone and snapped a photo. She sent it to her friends’ group chat.

[Photo] Just met the cutest delivery guy ever—look!!

As Qiao Le passed the field where freshmen were doing military drills, he slowed his scooter a little and looked over through the visor.

The crisp shouts and upright posture of the students gave him the illusion that it was September last year again.

Back then, he had been one of them—standing tall in formation, goofing off with classmates during breaks, all of them complaining about the blazing sun.

It was so good.

I’ll go back to school for sure!

With that thought, Qiao Le broke into a smile. He sped up and headed toward his next delivery.

–

While Shen Hechuan was away on his business trip, Qiao Le’s routine didn’t really change. He delivered food during the day and worked at the bar.

If anything had changed, it was that he was now curious.

He kept wondering what Shen Hechuan wanted to talk to him about—something so important it had to be discussed face-to-face.

Could it really be about family pushing for marriage again? Another “opportunity” to make money?

But then he reconsidered—probably not. He’d just pretended to be Shen Hechuan’s boyfriend to meet his parents, after all. What else could he possibly help with?

The more he couldn’t figure it out, the more he wanted to know. In just two days, it felt like he was dangling on a string—one end held tightly in Shen Hechuan’s hands.

“What are you daydreaming about?” Fang Jiaxu’s voice snapped him out of it. “You’ve wiped that glass twice already.”

Qiao Le set the glass aside and went back to work.

Fang Jiaxu watched him walk away. “Weird.”

–

The day Shen Hechuan was due back, Qiao Le was still out delivering food when he got the call.

He finished his current order and stopped taking new ones, then headed to Seer Café again.

Since it was a last-minute meetup, he didn’t dress up like the last two times. He was still in his delivery uniform.

It was still Area A. He knew the way well and arrived at the agreed spot, where Shen Hechuan was already waiting.

Maybe it was because the impression from the last two visits had been too strong, but as Qiao Le walked towards Shen Hechuan, he had the strange feeling that he was here for another transaction.

Others came as customers, but every time he came here, he was always making money.

Shen Hechuan noticed him and waved.

Qiao Le sat down opposite him, and the waiter came over to take their order. Qiao Le ordered a latte like last time, while Shen Hechuan opted for an Americano and ordered a few desserts.

They were so familiar with each other by now that Qiao Le didn’t exchange any pleasantries. Once the waiter left, he asked Shen Hechuan what he wanted to talk about, promising to help in any way he could.

Shen Hechuan noticed that his face was a little red. “Have you been out in the sun all day?”

Qiao Le touched his face. “Is it red?”

“Yeah,” Shen Hechuan said, handing him a few tissues. “Your face is flushed.”

Qiao Le took the tissues and casually wiped away the sweat, nonchalantly saying, “It’s nothing, it’ll fade in a bit.”

He was used to the sun by now. Thankfully, it didn’t leave marks. After throwing the used tissue into the trash, he asked again, “So what’s up? You’ve been acting mysterious, now I’m getting nervous.”

Qiao Le asked twice, but Shen Hechuan didn’t get straight to the point. Instead, he gave a bit of a preamble. “My mom wants your WeChat.”

Qiao Le blinked. “Huh?”

“She said she wants to add you as a friend,” Shen Hechuan explained. “We left too quickly that day, so she didn’t have time to ask. She’s been bringing it up for the past couple of days, so she asked me to send it to her.”

“Did you give it to her?” Qiao Le asked, but then he remembered there was no need to ask that. After all, he hadn’t received a WeChat friend request from Wu Huilan in the last couple of days.

Shen Hechuan probably hadn’t sent it to her.

Sure enough, Shen Hechuan answered, “No.”

Then, he looked at Qiao Le and asked, “Would you be willing to give it to her?”

He left the decision in Qiao Le’s hands.

Would he be willing?

Qiao Le didn’t know how to respond. In his heart, he actually was willing, because he had a good impression of Wu Huilan. No one could refuse such a warm and caring elder.

But the thing was, his “relationship” with Shen Hechuan was fake. A lie required many more lies to cover it, and he feared that, in front of Wu Huilan, he might accidentally slip up and tell the truth.

Wu Huilan was so eager for Shen Hechuan to get married, and she had been so thoughtful in decorating the house and picking out gifts for him. If she found out the truth, she’d surely be disappointed and feel betrayed by him.

Just thinking about this possibility made Qiao Le feel extremely uncomfortable.

“That’s definitely a problem,” Shen Hechuan agreed. “It would be troublesome for me then.”

Qiao Le sighed. “So… maybe it’s better if we just don’t.”

“Well then.”

Shen Hechuan interrupted him, “For the sake of resolving this once and for all, let’s renegotiate.”

Qiao Le was stunned by what he said. “Huh?”

Shen Hechuan leaned forward slightly and looked at Qiao Le. “Let’s renegotiate. This time, no platform involved. We’ll make it official with a paper contract.”

“Contract?” Qiao Le was confused. “What contract?”

“A marriage contract.”

Qiao Le: “……”

What kind of contract?

For a brief moment, Qiao Le’s expression went blank. He thought he had misheard. He stared at Shen Hechuan, trying to confirm. “What did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that.”

Shen Hechuan knew Qiao Le had heard him, but the content was so unexpected that it was hard for him to believe. So, he repeated, “Let me say it again: we’ll make a marriage contract.”

Qiao Le: “……”

It was the first time he had received a “marriage” request, and he didn’t know how to react.

This was really too much.

He looked at Shen Hechuan and said, “Say it again.”

Shen Hechuan patiently repeated it. This time, he almost enunciated each word, making sure to clearly say “marriage contract.”

Qiao Le’s mind went blank for a moment. Still not willing to believe it, he asked, “Are you serious? You didn’t drink too much, did you?”

Shen Hechuan chuckled. “I don’t have the habit of drinking early in the morning.”

Qiao Le was completely confused. He said bluntly, “Then why would you make such an outrageous request? Marriage? Is that something you can just throw around?”

“It’s not a request, it’s a proposal. And it’s not random,” Shen Hechuan clarified, worried that Qiao Le might misunderstand. “To be honest, after you left that day, my mom started asking when we would get married. She’s even started picking a date.”

Picking a date?!!

Qiao Le’s pupils contracted. “Is she really in such a hurry? I’m only nineteen!”

“But I’m thirty-two,” Shen Hechuan reminded him. He had always hated his family rushing him about marriage because of his age. He never thought that one day, he would be the one using age to talk about a marriage arrangement.

Qiao Le: “……”

Right, he forgot that Shen Hechuan was a whole decade older than him.

Realizing this, he looked at Shen Hechuan with a gaze that held an indescribable meaning.

Shen Hechuan noticed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Qiao Le spoke his mind. “If you were a bit younger, your mom probably wouldn’t be so anxious.”

Shen Hechuan: “……”

That comment made it sound like Qiao Le was complaining about his age.

But at this moment, Shen Hechuan could only agree. “That makes sense, but I can’t change that.”

Qiao Le: “True.”

Shen Hechuan reminded him, “Didn’t you say before that we don’t have a generation gap? Age isn’t an issue.”

“Wasn’t that acting? To help you solve your problem?”

“So there is a generation gap?” Shen Hechuan asked.

“……Of course not,” Qiao Le tried to explain, but when he saw the smile in Shen Hechuan’s eyes, he stopped himself, realizing Shen Hechuan was just messing with him.

This guy is really bad.

“Is your mom really that anxious?” Qiao Le asked Shen Hechuan.

“Yeah,” Shen Hechuan replied. “She even wanted to talk to your parents about the bride price, but I stopped her.”

Qiao Le: “……”

At that moment, the waiter came over to deliver their order. Shen Hechuan said, “Let’s eat first.”

Shen Hechuan’s request was so sudden that Qiao Le needed some time to calm down. He took a couple of sips of his coffee and ate half a slice of Black Forest cake.

The scene today was very similar to the last time, even the conversation content was almost the same, except this time the deal was even more explosive.

“Why me?” Qiao Le asked. He believed that as long as Shen Hechuan made the request, many people would be willing.

Shen Hechuan said, “You’re experienced, and my family really likes you. Most importantly, they’ve already accepted you as my boyfriend, so you’re the most suitable candidate.”

Qiao Le thought about it and felt like there was some truth to it.

A few days ago, he had visited Shen Hechuan’s family as his boyfriend. If they suddenly changed the person, the elders would definitely have doubts.

Shen Hechuan’s reasoning made sense, but for some reason, hearing him say it made Qiao Le feel uneasy.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong, so he just chose to ignore it.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a marriage contract. We can negotiate the duration of the contract, the obligations, and the fees,” Shen Hechuan said.

Seeing Qiao Le remain silent, clearly hesitating, he continued, “As long as you’re willing, you can propose any conditions. I’ll do everything I can to ensure your interests are protected. You won’t suffer any loss.”

Shen Hechuan’s last sentence made Qiao Le laugh. “This doesn’t sound like a capitalist negotiating a deal. You’re just short of saying you’ll give me money directly.”

But Qiao Le knew Shen Hechuan wasn’t making empty promises. After all, during their last transaction, Shen Hechuan had raised the price to 100,000 on his own.

He laughed, and the previously tense atmosphere relaxed a bit.

Shen Hechuan also smiled in return. “It’s not a capitalist deal, I’m asking you as a friend. I know this request is very sudden, but I have no choice because my family is pushing too hard. This is the best way to solve the marriage pressure.”

It was indeed urgent, and Qiao Le empathized.

The last time, with the big red carpet and red lanterns, they could’ve easily grabbed two people and sent them straight to the wedding bed.

Shen Hechuan couldn’t read minds, but Qiao Le was young and soft-hearted, so he easily picked up on Qiao Le’s empathy.

Businesspeople are always quick to seize the most advantageous terms for themselves. Taking the opportunity, Shen Hechuan put forward his next condition. “After marriage, we won’t live with the elders. You don’t have to worry about the truth being exposed. It won’t interfere with your social life or work. You can live the way you like. You can treat this as a commission.”

Living the way he liked.

That sentence made Qiao Le’s hand, which had been stirring his coffee, pause for a moment. His heart, which had already been wavering, became even more uncertain.

If he could pretend to be a boyfriend, then why not pretend to be married?

Moreover, Shen Hechuan had said he would protect his interests to the fullest. He just had to treat this as a commission and carry it out.

The more Qiao Le thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. But he still didn’t agree immediately. After all, marriage was a big deal, and there were some things he needed to clarify.

“How long would the contract be?” he asked Shen Hechuan.

Shen Hechuan thought for a moment. “I’d suggest five years. Does that sound okay?”

Five years. Not too long, not too short.

Enough time for Qiao Le to finish university.