ACMS 32

Chapter 32: Don’t Be Too Bad!

If Shen Hechuan had not brought Qiao Le back home and Wu Huilan had not known anything about Qiao Le’s situation, she would have been overjoyed to suddenly have such a cute grandson.

However, she had already decided that Qiao Le was her “daughter-in-law,” and the entire family was very satisfied with him. Now that such a thing had happened, wasn’t it the same as a fraudulent marriage?

Before coming here, she didn’t believe the matter completely. After all, Shen Hechuan was her son, and she trusted his character.

But when she saw the child sitting in the dining room, and then combined it with Shen Hechuan’s reaction, she had no choice but to believe it.

Shen Hechuan had been used to living alone, and almost no friends visited his house. If it wasn’t someone close, how could they be here?

She didn’t want to blame a child, but she only blamed her son: “Lele is so good. He even stopped studying for you, and was kicked out of his house. And you, you brought the child home.”

“Mom,” Shen Hechuan reminded her, “I told you, it was just a misunderstanding. Lele hasn’t dropped out of school.”

“I don’t care,” Wu Huilan ignored him, “Anyway, this is your fault. What are you planning to do? Does he know about this child’s existence?”

Shen Hechuan replied, “He knows. Xiao Man is the one he’s been taking care of.”

Wu Huilan was shocked: “You even let Lele take care of the child? How could you do that?”

She said this as she slapped Shen Zhenghe in the back and said with deep regret, “If the child is not taught, it’s the father’s fault. It’s all your fault.”

“…” Shen Zhenghe suddenly took the blame, helplessly looking at his wife. He then looked at Shen Hechuan and sighed, “Look at what you’ve become!”

Qiao Man didn’t know what they were talking about, but when he heard Qiao Le’s name, he interjected, “Brother is still sleeping.”

He spoke softly, but Wu Huilan, who was still angry, didn’t pay attention to him.

“Aunt Yang,” Wu Huilan called to Aunt Yang, “Please take the child back to the room. We need to deal with something.”

Although she was angry, she didn’t want to say anything harsh in front of the child to avoid scaring him.

Aunt Yang, confused, went over to pull Qiao Man: “Baby, let’s go back to the room—”

“Uncle, Auntie?”

At that moment, a voice interrupted them.

Everyone turned towards the sound and saw Qiao Le standing by the side in his pajamas.

Qiao Le had just woken up.

When he woke up, he was stunned to find himself on the master bedroom’s bed. After a moment, he recalled that he had drunk too much the previous night, and it was Shen Hechuan who had come to pick him up.

But why was he in Shen Hechuan’s bed? Did they have another alcohol-induced mishap last night?!

Qiao Le’s first reaction was to pull off the covers, and he found himself fully dressed in his pajamas, his body feeling fine.

It seemed like nothing had happened. He sighed in relief, then rolled around on the bed a couple of times.

He had already spent the night here; what was a bit more time?

Shen Hechuan’s bed was really big. He wondered if it was cold for him to sleep alone, with the air conditioner set so low…

Qiao Le lay in bed, thinking aimlessly for a while, when his stomach made a noise.

Usually, Aunt Yang would have already prepared breakfast by this time.

He decided to get up, threw the covers off, and as he opened the door, he heard noisy voices coming from the living room. He walked over, curious, and saw that Shen Hechuan’s parents were also there.

Wu Huilan and Shen Zhenghe were surprised to see him, and when they saw him wearing pajamas, it was obvious that he had stayed over last night.

Qiao Man, seeing that Qiao Le had woken up, happily rushed over to hug his leg: “Brother, you’re up!”

Qiao Le took a step back as he was knocked over by the impact, quickly reaching out to steady him: “Be careful, don’t fall.”

When Wu Huilan heard Qiao Man call Qiao Le “Brother” and recalled what Shen Hechuan had said about Lele helping with the child, her head suddenly began to ache.

She didn’t know how Shen Hechuan had convinced Qiao Le to help him take care of the child. It really was heartless!

Wu Huilan sighed inwardly, feeling guilty as she looked at Qiao Le. She stepped forward and spoke softly: “Lele, are you awake? Did we wake you up?”

“No, I woke up on my own,” Qiao Le shook his head. “I didn’t know you and Uncle were coming, so I didn’t come out to greet you.”

After saying this, he turned Qiao Man around and introduced him to Wu Huilan and Shen Zhenghe: “This is my little brother, Qiao Man. Xiao Man, say hello.”

With his brother beside him, Qiao Man was full of confidence and loudly called out: “Hello, Grandpa and Grandma!”

Wu Huilan was shocked: “Brother?!”

Shen Zhenghe was equally shocked: “Brother?!”

“Yes,” Qiao Le scratched his head, “It doesn’t seem right to call you Grandpa and Grandma. I think it should be Uncle and Aunt—”

“Right,” Shen Hechuan reminded him, “Xiao Man refers to me as Uncle.”

“…” Qiao Le realized, “Oh, right.”

Qiao Man, with a confused look, asked: “Then what should I call you? Uncle and Aunt?”

Qiao Le was also stumped and threw the question to Shen Hechuan: “What should he call you?”

Shen Hechuan was equally stumped. When Qiao Man first called him “Uncle,” he also felt like he and Qiao Le were of different generations.

“How about…” Qiao Le suggested, “He’ll call you Uncle, and Grandpa and Grandma?”

Shen Hechuan had no objection: “As long as it’s not Uncle and Aunt.”

Otherwise, he would feel like he was from the same generation as his parents, and that would make him feel like an old cow eating tender grass with Qiao Le.

They discussed and decided on what Qiao Man should call Wu Huilan and Shen Zhenghe.

“Wait.”

Wu Huilan, one of the key people in the conversation, interrupted them: “What is going on here? Can someone explain this to us?”

Shen Zhenghe also asked: “So this little friend named Qiao Man is Lele’s brother?”

“Yes,” Qiao Le nodded, “What’s the matter? Uncle and Aunt, why are you so surprised? Xiao Man and I should still look pretty similar.”

Wu Huilan and Shen Zhenghe had assumed that Qiao Man was Shen Hechuan’s son and hadn’t noticed the similarities in their appearances.

After hearing him, Wu Huilan carefully examined the two of them and said to Shen Zhenghe: “They really do look alike.”

“Yeah,” Shen Zhenghe agreed, “Their eyes and noses are really similar.”

Then, the two of them exchanged a look: So, it’s all just a misunderstanding?

Qiao Le had just woken up and didn’t know what had happened. Realizing he was still in his pajamas, he said: “Uncle and Aunt, you go ahead and eat breakfast. I’ll go change my clothes.”

Qiao Man followed him: “I’ll go too, I’ll go too.”

Qiao Le picked him up, and the two of them went back to the room.

Aunt Yang, seeing the situation, quickly went to the kitchen to get some bowls and chopsticks to avoid the commotion.

The remaining three, Wu Huilan, Shen Zhenghe, and Shen Hechuan, were left standing. Wu Huilan placed her bag, which had been hanging on her arm, aside and said to Shen Hechuan: “Ah, now that you’ve gained some confidence, you’re even fooling me, your mother.”

Shen Hechuan smiled: “I wouldn’t dare.”

“What exactly is going on?” Shen Zhenghe asked.

“Lin Jing saw me and Xiao Man eating together in the restaurant yesterday and misunderstood our relationship, so I just went along with it,” Shen Hechuan briefly explained, “I didn’t expect the news to spread so quickly, and you and Mom came so early.”

“How could I not come when something this big happens?” Wu Huilan said, “I really thought you were hiding the fact that you got married and now there’s even a kid involved.”

Shen Hechuan replied: “The marriage is real.”

Wu Huilan & Shen Zhenghe: “What?!”

“With Lele,” Shen Hechuan added, “We got our marriage certificate last week. We just didn’t have the chance to tell you.”

Wu Huilan & Shen Zhenghe: “…”

“Such a big thing, and you didn’t tell us?” Wu Huilan scolded, “I told you last time to tell Lele, to set a time for both our families to meet and talk about the wedding.”

“We don’t need to.”

Shen Hechuan said, “There’s only him and Xiao Man in Lele’s family, no one else.”

Wu Huilan was stunned: “What do you mean?”

Shen Hechuan sighed and briefly explained Qiao Le’s family situation to his parents.

As soon as Qiao Le finished washing up and changing, he stepped out and was met with Wu Huilan’s gaze, full of both concern and affection.

“Good child,” she said, stepping forward to take Qiao Le’s hand. “Hechuan has told us everything. You’ve been through a lot. From now on, we’re your family, just like Xiao Man’s. We will never let you suffer again.”

Qiao Le looked at Shen Hechuan, who gave him a gentle nod before he replied, “Thank you, Auntie.”

“Why still call me Auntie?” Wu Hui Lan said. “You and Hechuan are already engaged, we’re family now.”

What should one call after an engagement?

Of course, it should be “Mom.”

Qiao Le knew that, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it just yet.

He hadn’t called that word in so long that just thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable.

Wu Huilan saw his hesitation and understood his feelings, saying, “Calling me Auntie is fine too. Whenever you’re ready to change, you can. We’re not particular about that in our family.”

Qiao Le let out a breath of relief. “Thank you, Auntie.”

“Let’s eat breakfast first,” Shen Hechuan said. “The dishes will get cold.”

“No need,” Shen Zhenghe said, “If there’s nothing else, we’ll head back now. I need to tell Dad about this, so he can be happy too.”

Wu Huilan also said, “Yes, I still need to go back to finish the gift list, think about the wedding, calculate an auspicious date, and book the hotel. Too many things to do.”

Qiao Le said, “…Actually, there’s no rush.”

But no one paid attention to his words. Wu Huilan and Shen Zhenghe were quick to come and go, leaving without breakfast.

Qiao Le exchanged a glance with Shen Hechuan and asked, “Are you sure there’s no problem?”

Shen Hechuan replied, “It’s already done. Let’s eat first.”

Aunt Yang reheated the breakfast and brought it back to the table.

After breakfast, Qiao Le returned to his room to read and prepare for his studies after National Day.

During the rest of the holiday, he spent most of his time revising. He also went back to Pengshan No. 1 with Shen Hechuan, this time bringing along Qiao Man.

Old Master Shen was very fond of Qiao Man. Qiao Man greeted him with a “Great-grandpa” and made him smile so widely that his eyes disappeared.

Wu Huilan had originally planned to prepare a wedding for the couple, but since Qiao Le was still studying, the family discussed and decided to hold a small engagement party instead.

In addition to that, Qiao Le also worked a day at A Drink To Unwind, helping out and treating everyone to lunch.

Before he knew it, the golden holiday came to an end.

On the first day of class, Shen Hechuan intended to send Qiao Le to school, but he was rejected.

It only took half an hour to get from Linjiang Complex to Yunjing University by electric scooter, so there was no need for Shen Hechuan to go out of his way to send him, especially with the potential for traffic.

“You only have the third and fourth periods this morning, right?” Shen Hechuan leaned against the doorframe, watching Qiao Le rummaging through his room. “Aunt Yang can take Xiao Man.”

“I’m just going to wander around the school,” Qiao Le said. “Anyway, I can’t sleep.”

Thinking about the first day of school, he had insomnia last night and was awake until late.

Shen Hecun reminded him, “It will be cooler in the afternoon. The ride might be chilly, so remember to bring your coat.”

“Okay.”

After breakfast, the three of them left the house together.

Qiao Le rode the electric scooter to send Qiao Man to kindergarten. It was his first day of transfer, so he stayed to wait until the teacher finished the handover before leaving.

By the time he arrived at Yunjing University, it was still before 9 a.m., but there were already quite a few students on the road.

Qiao Le leisurely rode around, passing the teaching buildings, library, and gym, soaking in the atmosphere of the campus. Occasionally, he stopped to take a few photos.

When passing the outdoor badminton court, he saw someone playing and decided to stop and take a photo.

Just as he snapped the shot, a white shuttlecock flew to his feet.

“Hey—”

Someone from the court called out, a tall boy in sportswear, waving through the net at Qiao Le. “Bro, can you pass me the shuttlecock?”

Qiao Le looked down, shoved his phone back into his pocket, and bent down to pick up the shuttlecock and throw it over.

“Thanks—” The boy paused, then said, “It’s you?”

Qiao Le: “Hmm?”

“You were the one who gave me a ride last time,” the boy said. “I was running late for class, and you were delivering food, so you gave me a lift!”

As he said this, Qiao Le remembered. “It’s you.”

It was the day he had been delivering food, and the boy had been running like mad. He had asked for help, so Qiao Le had given him a ride.

“Yes, yes, you remember now, right?” the boy said happily. “Thanks to you, I made it just in time for roll call. My name’s Chen Hao, what about you?”

“My name’s Qiao Le.”

“Are you delivering food today too?” Chen Hao asked, noticing Qiao Le’s sweatshirt. “You’re wearing a limited edition collab version while delivering food? Bro, you’re doing well! Is your job this profitable?”

Qiao Le: “…”

The sweatshirt Qiao Le was wearing was a new release from a brand that Shen Hechuan had bought for him.

A few days ago, Shen Hechuan had sent over a bunch of clothes for both him and Qiao Man, saying it was to celebrate the start of school.

Shen Hechuan had great taste, and all the clothes he sent were the ones Qiao Le liked and were very fitting.

“Not delivering food today,” Qiao Le ignored the other question. “I’m here for class.”

“Class?” Chen Hao was surprised. “You’re a student here too?”

Qiao Le nodded. “Aren’t you?”

“We don’t have an 8 a.m. class,” Chen Hao said. “What about you? If you don’t have class, wanna play some badminton? Do you know how to play?”

Qiao Le looked at the badminton racket in his hand and felt a bit of an itch. “I do, but it’s been a long time.”

“How long?” Chen Hao asked.

“A year,” Qiao Le said. After dropping out, he hadn’t had time to play, so he must have gotten rusty.

“That’s a long time.” Chen Hao said. “No worries, I’ll go easy on you. I have an extra racket, let’s play together!”

“Sure!” Qiao Le said. “I’ll gladly accept.”

Chen Hao told the others playing with him, then went to get a racket for Qiao Le. “You warm up first?”

“Okay.”

Qiao Le warmed up briefly, and when he was ready, Chen Hao called him to the court.

He tossed the shuttlecock to Qiao Le. “You serve first, get a feel for it.”

Qiao Le loosened his wrist and served, and Chen Hao took two steps back, easily returning the shuttlecock, sending it to the ground.

Qiao Le turned to look at where the shuttlecock landed.

“Just play casually, don’t stress,” Chen Hao said. “I was on my high school badminton team, it’s normal if you can’t return it.”

Chen Hao served again, and the white shuttlecock arced through the air. Qiao Le took a few steps back, gripped his racket, and hit the shuttlecock back at just the right moment.

Chen Hao didn’t expect him to return it so accurately. He sent it back, and Qiao Le wasn’t polite, returning it again. When Chen Hao sent the next one back, Qiao Le jumped up and hit it hard with his racket.

The shuttlecock landed perfectly on the ground, scoring a point.

Chen Hao stood there stunned. “Didn’t you say you hadn’t played in a year?”

“Yeah,” Qiao Le smiled. “I forgot to mention, I was also on my high school badminton team.”

Chen Hao: “…”

You’re pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, huh?!