ACMS 50

Chapter 50 — A New Line of Thought

Recently, Qiao Le and Shen Hechuan had grown even closer, both in and out of bed.

So close that Qiao Le occasionally had the illusion that they were truly a married couple.

And Shen Hechuan treated him so well, it made him feel like he was floating on clouds.

But now, catching sight of the cobtract, he suddenly came crashing down from that cloud, instantly sobered.

Right… even if they had the kids, what happens when the agreement ends?

Were they supposed to each take one?

Qiao Le immediately rejected that idea.

They were his children—he was definitely keeping both. How could he just give one away after going through all the trouble to give birth?

But what about Shen Hechuan? Was he not going to get either of them?

That seemed way too cruel.

Qiao Le remembered how Shen Hechuan had held him today, hands trembling, and felt a pang of guilt.

Who would’ve thought—when he didn’t want the babies, the contract was a problem; now that he wanted to keep them, it was still a problem.

He sighed, stuffed the contract back into the drawer, and couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: What a stupid contract—it’s totally getting in the way of raising kids.

Just then, Shen Hechuan’s voice came from the door: “What are you thinking about?”

He looked up to see Shen Hechuan leaning against the doorframe. “Not planning to shower?”

“I am,” Qiao Le said, pushing thoughts of the contract aside for now.

“I already put your clothes in the bathroom,” Shen Hechuan reminded him. “Don’t soak too long.”

“Got it.”

After showering, Qiao Le checked in on Qiao Man. Once he was sure the kid hadn’t kicked off his blanket, he returned to the master bedroom.

Shen Hechuan had also just finished showering and sat beside Qiao Le, asking if he was feeling unwell anywhere.

Earlier, Liang Jiayu had gone over some of the symptoms that might come up during pregnancy—nausea, dizziness, chest tightness, and as the pregnancy progressed, heartburn, leg cramps, swelling…

“Nothing for now.” Qiao Le lay on the bed. “They’ve been behaving themselves these past couple of days.”

Even the dry heaving had eased—only brushing his teeth still triggered it a little.

“Want me to massage your legs?” Shen Hechuan offered.

Qiao Le was about to refuse, but then changed his mind. He stretched his legs out and placed them on Shen Hechuan’s lap. “Let’s see how good you are.”

Shen Hechuan focused on massaging his legs. Clearly not used to doing this kind of thing, his pressure was inconsistent—sometimes too light, sometimes too strong—which made Qiao Le burst out laughing.

“Uncomfortable?” Shen Hechuan paused.

“Not really,” Qiao Le said, hugging a pillow and laughing. “It’s just a little ticklish. You can use more force, I can take it.”

At his cue, Shen Hechuan increased the pressure, and Qiao Le gave a satisfied sigh. “Mmm, just like that… Ah, that feels good…”

“…” Shen Hechuan glanced at him, eyes slightly raised. “Don’t say it like that.”

Qiao Le clamped his mouth shut, stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Shen Hechuan, are you happy?”

“Hm?”

“About the babies,” Qiao Le clarified. “Now that we’re keeping them—are you happy?”

Shen Hechuan paused, then bent down to kiss him. “I am. What about you?”

Qiao Le thought for a moment, then said, “I am too.”

Even though he hadn’t planned to keep them at first, now that they were staying, he really did feel happy.

Still, the contract wasn’t resolved. And that was a real headache.

So much so that he was still thinking about it during class the next day.

—

“Qiao Le? What are you spacing out for?”

Chen Hao’s voice pulled him back to reality. Qiao Le looked around and saw the other students packing up and leaving the lecture hall.

Class was over.

It was a general education course, and the professor was already putting away their materials.

“Nothing.” Qiao Le closed his textbook and asked, as usual, “Wanna grab lunch together?”

“Not today.” Chen Hao grinned. “I’m heading to the cafeteria at Jiangnan Court—I’ve got lunch plans with Xu Jiayin. Sorry!”

Xu Jiayin was also in their badminton club, from the Literature department.

Qiao Le immediately got it. “Oh, you and her—”

“Hey, don’t start rumors.” Chen Hao cut him off quickly. “I haven’t won her over yet. Once I do, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“Alright then.” Qiao Le walked out of the classroom with him. “I’ll be waiting for the good news.”

Chen Hao added, “Hey, give me some tips, will you?”

“What kind of tips?”

“Chasing someone, of course!” Chen Hao said. “How did you and Mr. Shen get together? Who made the first move? Got any tricks you can share with your bro?”

Qiao Le paused. That… was kind of outside his area of expertise.

Who chased who?

Honestly, if he told Chen Hao the truth, it’d probably scare him. He and Shen Hechuan had started out as a financial transaction.

And just yesterday, he’d been worrying about the terms of their agreement. What tricks could he possibly offer? He and Shen Hechuan weren’t like Chen Hao and Xu Jiayin. He hadn’t even chased Shen Hechuan…

But then his thoughts stopped—he suddenly realized something.

Right now, he and Shen Hechuan were bound by a contract. But what if… he did chase Shen Hechuan? What if he turned their contract marriage into a real marriage? Wouldn’t that solve the whole issue?

After all, things between them were going well. They were already married, the babies were on the way.

And honestly… he really liked being with Shen Hechuan.

Qiao Le’s eyes lit up. The more he thought about it, the more doable it seemed.

Shen Hechuan didn’t have anyone he liked. He had the advantage of being close. If he just made a move and locked things down, wouldn’t that be the perfect solution?

Thanks to Chen Hao, he suddenly had a new direction. Qiao Le gave his friend a hearty slap on the shoulder. “Lunch is on me next time.”

Chen Hao blinked. “Wasn’t I supposed to treat you?”

“Whatever.” Qiao Le waved it off. “So, how did you go after Xu Jiayin?”

“I just asked her out to eat.” Chen Hao scratched his head. “I gave her flowers last time, and she really liked them. Took a bunch of pics and even posted them on her Moments.”

Qiao Le made a mental note and kept asking, “And then?”

Chen Hao said, “I wanted to ask her out to the movies tonight, but she said she’s going shopping with friends and might not be free.”

Flowers, dinner, and a movie.

The classic three-part date combo.

Qiao Le hadn’t experienced it himself, but just like someone who’s never eaten pork can still recognize a pig when it runs, he knew what it meant.

“Do you have a florist you’d recommend?” he asked Chen Hao.

“Yeah, I’ll send it to you.”

Chen Hao sent him a business card on WeChat. When the two reached the first floor, he quickly mounted his bike. “Let’s chat on WeChat, I’ve gotta run.”

Qiao Le waved him off, motioning for him to go.

After Chen Hao left, Qiao Le went to a nearby cafeteria for a meal and took the opportunity to scroll through the florist’s WeChat Moments.

The flowers were beautiful—so many colors that Qiao Le’s eyes were dazzled just looking at them.

He asked the owner for the address and planned to visit after lunch.

After exiting WeChat, he opened Baidu and searched:

[How to win over someone you like—36 tips in one click…]

[Essential tips! How to pursue the girl you like! For men only!]

[How to win over your crush—pure strategy post, both for girls and boys…]

A flood of guides popped up on the screen. Qiao Le clicked on the first one, then the second, then the third…

The more he read, the more impressed he became. Who knew there were so many tricks to this?

He was completely absorbed when Shen Hechuan sent a message, pulling him out of his sea of knowledge, asking if he had eaten on time.

Qiao Le decided to call him instead. “I’m eating now, what about you?”

Shen Hechuan replied, “Just finished a meeting.”

Thinking about the posts he’d just read, a sudden thought crossed Qiao Le’s mind. “Working overtime today? What time do you get off? I’ll come pick you up.”

“No overtime,” Shen Hechuan said. “I’ll get off whenever you arrive.”

Qiao Le’s last class ended at four today, so he teased, “If I show up early, won’t you be leaving work early too?”

Shen Hechuan chuckled lightly, his tone easy and relaxed. “If you come now, I’ll leave now.”

“Better in the afternoon—I still have class,” Qiao Le said. “I’ll be at your office around five. What do you want for dinner? I’ll make a reservation.”

“I’ll go with whatever you choose.”

“Alright, then I’ll decide.”

They chatted for a while before hanging up, and Qiao Le returned to browsing the guides.

“In ordinary life, create romance and surprises when the time is right—like a bouquet of flowers waiting behind the door…”

A bouquet waiting behind the door?

Qiao Le thought for a moment, then messaged Judy on WeChat.

After lunch, he headed straight to the flower shop near campus.

The shop was bigger than he’d expected, with a second floor for photo ops. Business was thriving, and he even spotted a few familiar faces from school.

A shop assistant came up to ask what he needed. Qiao Le honestly didn’t know what kind of flowers Shen Hechuan liked, so he simply said, “I messaged earlier on WeChat. I’m looking for something understated—something for a man.”

The clerk asked what message he wanted the flowers to convey and handed him a catalog of bouquets, each with its meaning.

Qiao Le’s eyes landed on a bouquet of blue roses. That shade of blue struck him as deep and romantic, steady yet elegant—perfect for Shen Hechuan.

“This one,” he said, pointing to the bouquet named “Malta Blue.” “Can you make it a bit bigger?”

“Of course. Would you like to take it with you now or—”

“Can you deliver it?” Qiao Le gave the address of Shen Hechuan’s office. “Just leave it at the front desk.”

“Sure, would you like to pay now or cash on delivery?”

“Now,” Qiao Le thought. Having flowers delivered COD would totally kill the mood.

After paying, he arranged the delivery time with the clerk and sent another message to Judy.

Judy replied quickly, sending three “No problem” emojis in a row.

The flowers arrived just before the afternoon work hours resumed.

Judy went downstairs to collect the bouquet from the front desk, where a coworker immediately chimed in with gossip, “Wow, those are beautiful! Judy, are they from a secret admirer?”

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous,” Judy said as she hugged the bouquet and walked toward the elevator, sending a message to Qiao Le that she’d received the flowers.

She took the service elevator to avoid running into any more gossipmongers.

Once on the top floor, she brought the flowers into Shen Hechuan’s office. Just as she set them down, her phone rang. It was the project manager.

“President Shen has a guest this afternoon—he’s available at four. I’ll get back to you once I—”

Before she could finish, the door to the lounge in the office opened, and Shen Hechuan stepped out. Seeing her, he looked slightly surprised. “Something urgent?”

Judy put down her phone and said, “President Shen, Director Liu from the project department wants to come by and report on Phase Two. You’ll have twenty minutes free after your meeting. Should I tell him to come?”

“Alright.” Shen Hechuan walked to his desk and sat down. His gaze swept over the bouquet. “Anything else?”

“No, I’ll leave you to it.”

Just as she turned to go, Shen Hechuan reminded her, “Take your flowers with you.”

“They’re not mine,” Judy replied. “They’re yours—Mr. Qiao sent them.”

Shen Hechuan froze.

Sent… to me?