ACMS 5

Chapter 5: Who’s Calling Me Honey?

The duck’s loud cry made Qiao Man burst into giggles. He let go of Qiao Le’s leg and reached for the duck in his arms. “Brother, let me hold it, I’ll carry it!”

The little guy looked like he’d gained a bit of weight over the summer, his chubby cheeks glowing, eyes bright with joy.

Qiao Le could tell his brother had been well cared for.

The duck’s wings were already tied. It wasn’t going anywhere. So he simply handed it to his brother and patted his little head. “Hold on tight.”

He wasn’t worried that Qiao Man couldn’t manage—the videos Chen Li had sent often showed the kid chasing ducks around the yard for fun.

“Okay!” Qiao Man wrapped his little arms around the duck, squeezing it so tight it started quacking again.

Inside, Aunt Chen Li heard the commotion and came out. Seeing Qiao Man wobbling toward her with a duck bigger than he was, she quickly wiped her wet hands on her apron and took it from him. “Careful, don’t drop it!”

Then she looked up at Qiao Le, beaming. “Lele, you’re back! Just in time for dinner—”

But the smile froze as she noticed what he was carrying.

Her face fell. “Why’d you bring so much again? Didn’t I tell you we’ve got everything here? Don’t waste your money.”

Qiao Le had long grown used to her changing expressions. He obediently replied, “Didn’t cost much. The fruit was cheap—ten yuan for 1.5 kg (3.31pounds).”

The prices in the small town were low, so even though Qiao Le bought two large bags of goods, he didn’t spend much.

“No matter how cheap it is, you can’t keep buying things every day like this,” Chen Li nagged a bit, then told him to take Qiao Man inside while she went to the courtyard to put the duck away in the coop.

Qiao Le entered the house with his younger brother, set the fruit on the table, took off his backpack, and began pulling out the things he’d brought.

Aside from some nutritional supplements, he had also brought a back brace and a small massage device.

His uncle worked in construction and usually picked up odd jobs in the town, while his aunt was a primary school teacher—these were all things they could use.

When Chen Li returned after settling the duck and saw what he had brought, she couldn’t help but scold him again for spending money recklessly.

Qiao Le cheerfully helped her put the items away. Even when she lectured him, he wasn’t upset—on the contrary, he felt it was something to be happy about, that there was still someone in the world who cared enough to nag him.

Last year, his father had jumped to his death, and his mother disappeared without a trace. It felt like the sky had fallen on him.

It was only then that he discovered that before his death, his father had borrowed a great deal of money from relatives and friends under various pretenses in order to invest in stocks—even mortgaging the family house.

When it all happened, Qiao Le had only been in university for less than two months, with just a few thousand yuan in living expenses—completely unable to repay the debts.

Although “a son doesn’t owe his father’s debts” may be the law, morally speaking, paying back what was borrowed is a basic principle—especially when some of the people his father borrowed from had helped their family greatly in the past.

Most of them weren’t wealthy. Some had spent their entire lives saving up just a little, only to lend it away. That included his uncle Liang Jiancheng and his aunt Chen Li.

Whether it was out of conscience or a sense of duty, Qiao Le couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.

Especially since after his father’s death, his uncle and aunt had handled the funeral arrangements and taken care of Qiao Man.

A person should never forget where they come from, and should always remember to be grateful.

Qiao Le helped his aunt carry the dishes to the table, while Qiao Man helped set out the bowls and chopsticks. Being small with short legs, the little one had to stand on tiptoes to reach the table, but he took the task very seriously—laying out the chopsticks neatly and even placing a spoon with each set.

When he finished, Chen Li praised him from the side, “Good job, sweetheart.”

Qiao Man’s eyes lit up as he looked at Qiao Le, who reached out and gently tapped his forehead, “Good job.”

Qiao Man beamed, “Mm!”

When his uncle Liang Jiancheng returned from work, the whole family sat down to eat together.

After dinner, Qiao Le helped clean up the dishes, drank tea with his uncle for a while, gave his younger brother a bath, and finally took him to bed.

The next morning, after breakfast, his uncle took him and Qiao Man to town to catch a ride.

Before they left, his aunt packed a bunch of homemade goods—sausages, pickled vegetables, salted duck eggs, and so on—reminding him over and over not to overwork himself and to remember to eat regularly.

Hearing her caring words, Qiao Le’s eyes grew a bit misty. He pushed down the lump in his throat and nodded earnestly, “I know. You and Uncle should also take care of your health. Thank you for looking after Xiao Man during this time.”

“We’re family, no need for all that,” Chen Li’s eyes were also red as she patted his shoulder. “Your cousin doesn’t come home often. With Xiao Man here, we were happy to have his company.”

Chen Li’s two children—one had married and settled in the north, the other was attending college out of town. At home, it was just her and Liang Jiancheng.

She had originally hoped that Qiao Man could stay and attend kindergarten in the town so she could take care of him and Qiao Le wouldn’t have to work so hard. But the child had just lost his parents and couldn’t bear to be separated from his brother—so they had to give up that plan.

It took over seven hours to get from Liuhe Town back to Yunjing City. Qiao Man, still a small child, had fallen asleep on the bus long before they arrived. When they reached the station, Qiao Le gently woke him up.

His bangs were sticking up, and he blinked a few times, still half-asleep. “Brother?”

“We’re here, Xiao Man. Time to get off,” Qiao Le said, patting him, one hand holding a bag and the other holding his hand as they got off the bus.

Fang Jiaxu knew Qiao Le was picking up his brother today and had specially come to the station to pick them up. When he saw them come out of the station, he honked his horn and got out of the car. “Over here.”

Qiao Man spotted him and waved excitedly, “Brother Jiaxu!”

“Hey!” Fang Jiaxu walked over and bent down to pick him up. “My little guy is back—feels heavier now. Did you gain weight?”

Qiao Man blushed and held up three fingers, “Three pounds!”

Fang Jiaxu laughed, “Wow, that’s impressive.”

Kids are easily pleased—a little compliment could brighten their whole day. Qiao Man was so happy he blushed. He dug around in his little backpack and pulled out a small box, handing it to Fang Jiaxu. “Brother Jiaxu, this is for you.”

The box had a picture of Ultraman on it.

Qiao Le walked over. “It’s from the corner store in the village. The shopkeeper gave him two. He kept one and said he wanted to bring the other one back for you.”

The box hadn’t even been opened—it was brand new.

For a kid, Ultraman was as precious as gold. Fang Jiaxu was deeply touched and gave Qiao Man two kisses on the cheek. “I’m moved to tears.”

Qiao Man giggled and squirmed, shrinking his neck from the ticklish kisses.

Qiao Le put the bags in the trunk, and the three of them got into the car together.

After dinner, Fang Jiaxu dropped the brothers off at home, and Qiao Le gave him a share of the goods he had brought back.

Once home, Qiao Le sorted the local specialties from his aunt and put them away properly, then went to run a bath for Qiao Man. Before bed, he also prepared his brother’s schoolbag and uniform for the next day.

——

Qiao Man’s kindergarten was located just outside their residential complex, making drop-offs and pick-ups very convenient. Since it was in a less central area and the facility was small, the tuition wasn’t too expensive. They also provided aftercare services until 8 p.m.

Qiao Le walked his brother to school, made sure they agreed on a pick-up time in the afternoon, then opened the “Did It Deliver?” app and started taking orders.

There were still lots of deliveries today. With the new school term beginning, orders to schools had skyrocketed. From morning till afternoon, Qiao Le barely had a moment’s rest.

After finishing his current batch of deliveries, he stopped his scooter under the shade of a roadside tree and took out his water bottle to have a drink.

He had only eaten a bowl of noodles in the morning, and after expending so much energy, he was now truly starving.

After finishing the water in his bottle, Qiao Le put it back, opened the “Did It Deliver?” app, planning to find a place to eat some beef noodles before doing another round of deliveries, then head back to pick up Qiao Man from school.

Just as he clicked into the app, before he could switch to the rider’s account, a new delivery order popped up.

At first, Qiao Le thought about rejecting the order, but when he saw the reward the customer had offered, he paused.

The customer’s address was Linjiang Complex, which was quite far away, but he was very close to the store where the customer had placed the order—less than a kilometer away.

Even though the address was far, the customer had tipped! ≧?≦

If he didn’t take this job, he would feel guilty!

He’d already been hungry all day, so a little more time wouldn’t matter.

Qiao Le decisively accepted the order and turned toward the pizza place on the platform.

As soon as he entered the store and smelled the delicious food, his hunger only intensified. He had planned to grab a quick snack first, but this store was so efficient that within five minutes, he already had the customer’s pizza in hand.

If the store wasn’t so busy, he would’ve suspected the pizza was pre-made.

After leaving the restaurant, Qiao Le headed straight for Linjiang Complex.

It was a well-known, high-end residential area in Liwan New District. All the units were over 300 square meters, large open-plan layouts. Qiao Le had delivered to this place once before. To enter the complex, you needed to register and verify your details, and the elevators required a special scan code to access.

The customer lived on the 28th floor. As the elevator ascended, Qiao Le began to feel lightheaded and his ears started ringing.

Ah, he was really starving.

The rapid rise of the elevator made him feel a little nauseous, so he reached out and grabbed the nearby handrail.

Once he delivered this order, he could use the tip to eat something—next time, he’d make sure to carry some chocolate.

The elevator finally stopped on the 28th floor.

He marked the delivery as completed on the app and walked out of the elevator, holding the pizza.

The luxury of the building was evident. The hallway outside the elevator was already bigger than the apartment he rented, and the glossy floor tiles almost reflected his own image.

Qiao Le reached the customer’s door and pressed the doorbell.

The customer didn’t open the door immediately, so he leaned against the wall to wait, trying to ease his discomfort.

After a moment, the door was finally opened from the inside. He quickly stood up straight, handing the pizza over: “Hello, here’s your order—”

His words trailed off in surprise as his gaze turned wide, looking at the person in front of him, his voice unintentionally slipping out: “Honey?”

Shen Hechuan rested one hand on the door handle, holding his phone in the other. When he heard that word, his eyelid twitched involuntarily. Before he could be surprised by the person in front of him, he suddenly heard his mother’s voice from his phone: “…Who’s calling you honey?”

Shen Hechuan: “…”

Who’s calling me honey?

That beautiful young man who had dropped out of school for me and was kicked out of his home by his parents.