ACMS 58

Chapter 58 – Reunion

Shen Hechuan schooled his expression and walked over, reaching out to pull down Qiao Le’s shirt that had ridden up to his stomach. “Don’t catch a cold.”

“I’m not cold.” Qiao Le’s eyes were glued to his screen, and he used one free hand to lift his shirt up again.

His pale stomach was exposed once more. Shen Hechuan glanced down and poked his belly button with a finger, making Qiao Le burst into laughter and swat his hand away while saying, “Stop messing around.”

Shen Hechuan said, “You asked for—”

Before he could finish the word “it,” Qiao Le suddenly tossed his phone aside, rolled over, and sprinted to the bathroom with a hand over his mouth.

Shen Hechuan grabbed some tissues and followed, only to see Qiao Le dry heaving over the toilet. He crouched down and gently rubbed his back.

After vomiting, Qiao Le rinsed his mouth and wiped it with the tissues.

“Are you okay?” Shen Hechuan asked with concern. Seeing how pale he had become after throwing up, he felt awful that he couldn’t do anything.

Qiao Le waved it off. “I’m fine, I—”

His face changed, and he threw out, “My game!” before dashing out of the bathroom. A second later, his wail echoed from outside: “I lost!!”

Shen Hechuan: “…”

When Shen Hechuan came out of the bathroom, Qiao Le was clutching his phone, mourning his lost game. As soon as he saw Shen Hechuan, he accused, “Why didn’t you keep playing for me?!”

“I don’t know how,” Shen Hechuan said honestly. “I’ve never played it.”

“You’ve never played Match-Match Fun? You’ve never even played Match-Match Fun?! Match-Match Fun of all things?!”

Three layers of disbelief. Shen Hechuan sighed, “Did you have to say it three times?”

“You’re such a boomer!” Qiao Le teased. “What do you do for fun, then?”

“Rock climbing. Surfing. Skiing. Diving. Skydiving.”

As Shen Hechuan listed them off, Qiao Le became more and more amazed. He stared wide-eyed at Shen Hechuan, stunned that behind such a refined and composed exterior was such a wild, untamed soul.

“All extreme sports?!” Qiao Le exclaimed. “You’re amazing!”

As the sole heir of Hualang Group, Shen Hechuan was under constant pressure. These sports were his way of releasing that stress.

Catching Qiao Le’s admiring and dreamy gaze, Shen Hechuan understood immediately. “You want to try?”

“Yeah.” Qiao Le nodded.

Shen Hechuan’s gaze dropped to his lower abdomen and he placed a hand there. “Next year, after the babies are born, I’ll take you.”

“Okay!” Qiao Le leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “It’s a promise.”

The soft lips brushed past quickly. A faint smile appeared in Shen Hechuan’s eyes. “Let’s sleep.”

“Good night.”

–

With Xiao Man on holiday and sent back to Penshang No. 1, Shen Hechuan and Qiao Le finally had some proper alone time together.

Bored at home during the break, Qiao Le would sometimes visit Shen Hechuan’s office for a free meal during the day or go out in the evening for drinks and fun with Fang Jiaxu and the others.

Fang Jiaxu always asked about the babies condition—his level of concern was enough to qualify as the third parent.

Aside from occasional morning sickness, Qiao Le often forgot he was even pregnant. His belly wasn’t obvious yet, and it was still early enough that he hadn’t felt them move.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the Spring Festival.

Before the holiday, Fang Jiaxu hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner for the whole bar staff and handed out red envelopes. Even though Qiao Le no longer worked there, he still got his share.

The baeo had done really well this year, so the red envelopes were much fatter than last year’s.

After dinner, everyone gradually left. Fang Jiaxu was drunk, and Xiao Jiang took on the task of escorting him home.

Qiao Le was waiting for Shen Hechuan to come pick him up. Zhou Xiaoyun hadn’t left either, so he asked if she wanted to wait together.

“No need. My boyfriend’s coming to get me,” Zhou Xiaoyun said with a smile.

“Boyfriend?” Qiao Le looked surprised. He knew she’d broken up with Yang Jian, but didn’t know she had a new boyfriend.

“Mhm.” Zhou Xiaoyun nodded. “You know him too.”

I know him?

While Qiao Le was still puzzled, a black car pulled up on the other side of the road.

Zhou Mingze got out and walked over, greeting Qiao Le before naturally taking Zhou Xiaoyun’s bag.

“Lawyer Zhou?” Qiao Le looked between the two of them. “You two…”

Zhou Xiaoyun blushed. “We just got together recently.”

Back when Zhou Mingze helped her deal with Yang Jian’s debts, they became more familiar through repeated contact. Coincidentally, they were from the same hometown.

That common bond gave them plenty to talk about, and things developed naturally from there.

“Actually, we owe it to you and President Shen,” Zhou Mingze said with a smile. “You’re technically our matchmakers. After the New Year, we’ll treat you to a meal—you’d better show up.”

Qiao Le was genuinely happy for them. “Of course. Anytime.”

“Want a ride?” Zhou Mingze offered.

“No need, Shen Hechuan’s picking me up.”

Just as he said that, Shen Hechuan’s car pulled up. He seemed surprised to see Zhou Mingze as well and rolled down the window to say hello.

Qiao Le got in the car, and just as he finished buckling up, a hand warmer was shoved into his arms. Shen Hechuan said, “Warm your hands.”

It was inside a fluffy cover with bunny ears.

Qiao Le stuck his hands in. “Where’d this come from?”

“Judy’s.”

“You took your assistant’s stuff?”

“I paid for it.”

“Good then.” Qiao Le was happy to enjoy it guilt-free.

He looked up and saw Zhou Mingze and Zhou Xiaoyun getting into their car too—not far away, and he could clearly see the happiness on Zhou Xiaoyun’s face.

That smile was light and full of joy, completely different from the helplessness and sorrow she once wore in the hospital.

This is nice.

Everyone was moving toward something better, finding their own happiness.

He turned his head toward Shen Hechuan, thinking—me too.

Shen Hechuan noticed his gaze. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.” Qiao Le smiled and started telling him about what he was doing around this time last year.

He’d worked through last year’s Spring Festival—double pay and high bonuses were too good to pass up. The first thing he did after getting paid was take Xiao Man to an amusement park.

As the car slowly started moving, the familiar storefronts passed by outside. Watching the pedestrians go by, Qiao Le suddenly felt like he was seeing his past self weaving through those streets and alleys.

It hadn’t been that long, really, but thinking back on the nonstop hustle of the past year, it felt like a lifetime ago.

At a red light, the car stopped in front of a familiar store. Qiao Le pointed to it. “I used to work there.”

Shen Hechuan looked over—it was a western restaurant.

The lights inside were warm and inviting, and the place was packed.

Qiao Le said that had been his first job. The manager had liked him a lot and wanted to train him, but he only stayed a month. The pay was too low, and he had desperately needed money back then.

As he told the story, Shen Hechuan looked into the restaurant and seemed to see Qiao Le in a shirt and vest moving briskly around inside.

On the way back, Qiao Le talked about many things he’d done over the past year.

He had taken on all sorts of jobs—food delivery, construction, sales, service, and more. He once thought he would keep his head down and keep going like that forever.

Until he met Shen Hechuan.

When the car pulled up to Pengshan No. 1 Residence, Shen Hechuan parked in the yard, turned to him, and said, “We’re home.”

Qiao Le understood what he meant and smiled in response. “Mm, we’re home.”

The next day was New Year’s Eve.

The house was being decorated from early morning, festive energy filling every corner. Even Aunt Liu and the others had changed into new work uniforms.

In past years, the couplets at the Shen family’s home were always put up by the staff, but this year, with Qiao Le and Qiao Man around, the two volunteered to do it themselves. Shen Hechuan didn’t feel comfortable letting them climb stools, so in the end, he took over the job again.

Pasting couplets, putting up the ‘Fu’ characters, hanging lanterns—Qiao Le and Qiao Man wanted a hand in everything, and Shen Hechuan could only follow behind like a tail.

That evening, Qiao Man came out freshly bathed and dressed in a new outfit—a onesie with a tiger-head design. Since it was the Year of the Tiger, Wu Huilan had specially ordered it for him.

The little guy had a sweet mouth. He greeted everyone with “Happy New Year,” young or old, delighting them into handing out red envelopes one after another.

After the reunion dinner, Qiao Le played chess with Old Master Shen. The elder worried he’d get tired and quickly urged him to rest, even handing him a big red envelope.

Qiao Le had prepared New Year’s gifts for all three elders in the Shen family, but the money he spent made a full circle and came right back into his hands—several times over, in fact.

Inside Old Master Shen’s envelope wasn’t money, but a card.

That New Year’s Eve, he received four cards—three from the elders, and one from Shen Hechuan, who called it New Year’s money.

After giving New Year’s greetings to Wu Huilan and the others, Qiao Le also called his uncle and aunt. His two older cousins were home too, making the place lively and warm.

Qiao Man, wearing his tiger-head hat, gave New Year’s greetings to his aunt and uncle through the video call. His aunt asked when they would be visiting.

There was a charity gala on the third day of the new year, which Qiao Le had agreed to attend with Shen Hechuan. They planned to visit his aunt’s place on the fifth.

His cousin had heard he was engaged and told him to make sure he brought his fiancé over to meet them. They’d missed the last chance to attend the wedding banquet and insisted on making up for it this time.

Qiao Le agreed, chatted with them a while longer, and ended the call.

Then he sent Shen Hechuan a message saying he wanted to take him home.

Shen Hechuan, who was drinking tea with the elders not far away, looked up when he saw the message. Their eyes met across the room, and they shared a smile.

As midnight approached, Aunt Liu led the staff out to set off fireworks. Qiao Man joined in with a sparkler in hand.

Qiao Le and Shen Hechuan stood not far away, watching the colorful fireworks burst in the night sky—it looked just like the moment by the river when Qiao Le confessed.

Fingers interlocked, Qiao Le asked, “So, do you accept my pursuit?”

“Of course,” Shen Hechuan replied with a smile. “I never rejected you.”

They both had known the answer all along, but speaking it aloud gave it new meaning.

Qiao Le tiptoed to kiss him.

After the brief kiss, he smiled and said, “Happy New Year, Shen Hechuan.”

“Happy New Year, Lele.”

Qiao Man called out to them, telling them to come join in the fireworks. Qiao Le responded, let go of Shen Hechuan’s hand, and walked over quickly.

Shen Hechuan pulled out his phone and captured the moment amid the dazzling bursts of color.

That night, the family played noisily until about 2 a.m. before gradually heading to bed. By the time Qiao Le woke up the next day, it was nearly noon.

It was the first time in his life he had slept until 11 on New Year’s Day.

Back in his hometown, there was a tradition: you had to offer incense to the ancestors on New Year’s morning—out the door by 8 a.m. Sleeping till noon was unthinkable.

Shen Hechuan was no longer in bed—who knows when he’d gotten up.

Too lazy.

Lying in bed, Qiao Le sternly scolded himself and picked up his phone to check his messages.

There were quite a few—not just New Year greetings, but also Song Tongyu inviting him to eat kiln-baked chicken and Chen Hao asking him to play basketball.

Chen Hao mentioned that his parents were visiting and that he’d be staying in Yunjing for the New Year. He told Qiao Le to hang out if he had time.

Qiao Le replied “Okay,” then messaged Song Tongyu. After that, he sent New Year’s greetings to each of his WeChat contacts—even Jiang Hong wasn’t left out.

Once the greetings were done, he got out of bed and went to wash up. As he came out, Shen Hechuan was just coming in from outside.

“Awake?” Shen Hechuan placed the breakfast he’d brought on the table. “Come eat something first.”

Qiao Le walked over. “Why’d you bring it up? I could’ve gone down.”

“You went to bed late. I figured you’d be tired.” Shen Hechuan pulled him into a seat.

Qiao Le took a sip of milk and joked that the babies weren’t even born yet, but he already felt like he was in postpartum recovery. It was a little embarrassing.

“Did you all eat already? What about Grandpa and Uncle, Auntie?” he asked.

“We did,” Shen Hechuan said. “They took Xiao Man out to visit friends—said they’re going to earn back all the red envelopes they gave out over the years.”

Qiao Le: “……”

The red envelopes were secondary—it was clearly just an excuse to show off the kid.

He couldn’t even imagine how it’d be once the twins were born and the elders went out flaunting all three kids for red envelopes.

There wasn’t much to do over New Year’s. In one word—it was all play.

In just two days, Qiao Le had learned to play Big Word cards and mahjong and would occasionally join Wu Huilan and the others for fun.

On the third day of the new year, the two of them attended a charity gala hosted by one of Shen Hechuan’s friends.

Qiao Le was three months pregnant now—just starting to show, but still subtle enough not to affect his suit.

To keep him comfortable, Shen Hechuan had specially ordered a casual-style suit for him.

When they arrived, their friend Zheng Hui immediately came over to greet them and personally led them in.

Though the charity gala wasn’t large in scale, it was attended by leaders from various industries in Yunjing.

Zheng Hui brought them to a front-row table. People on either side were familiar faces from Shen Hechuan’s business circle. When they saw he’d brought someone, they curiously asked who it was.

“My partner,” Shen Hechuan introduced openly.

Qiao Le returned their smiles.

Soon, the host came onstage to give opening remarks and explained the gala’s schedule.

It was Qiao Le’s first time at such an event. He found the auction segment particularly interesting and carefully reviewed the auction process and items up for bid.

“See anything you like?” Shen Hechuan asked.

“This one’s not bad,” Qiao Le pointed at an old-fashioned pocket watch. The craftsmanship was exquisite and the design unique. It had a history of over a hundred years—not too expensive, but meaningful as a collectible. It was listed as belonging to a Hong Kong businessman.

Shen Hechuan handed him a paddle. “If you like it, bid for it.”

“Alright.”

When the auction began, item after item was sold. Qiao Le waited until the pocket watch came up before raising his paddle.

At first, there were other bidders, but after two price increases, no one else continued. In the end, he won it for 800,000 yuan.

Winning something he liked put Qiao Le in a great mood—though he couldn’t help wincing inside.

Eight hundred thousand…

He used to hesitate over spending eighty. Now he was throwing money around.

This wasn’t good.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Hechuan noticed the flicker in his expression. “Didn’t you win what you liked? Why the look?”

Qiao Le whispered, “It’s too extravagant.”

“If you like it, it’s not extravagant,” Shen Hechuan said lightly. “Life is short. Enjoy it while you can.”

Qiao Le: “…That’s… kind of true.”

His small internal conflict vanished once the staff brought over the pocket watch. It was even more exquisite and unique up close than it had looked on the big screen. The 800,000 didn’t feel wasted at all.

He admired it for a while, then carefully returned the watch to its box—only to hear Zheng Hui beside him say, “Hechuan, this is Mr. Liu Feng, the former owner of that pocket watch you just won.”

The former owner?

Qiao Le looked up, and his gaze froze.

Standing beside Zheng Hui was a man in his fifties—but what caught his eye was the woman clinging to the man’s arm.

That familiar face made his pupils contract, and he couldn’t look away.

In that moment, all the noise around him seemed to fade like a receding tide. The whole world narrowed down to just him and the person in front of him.

—It was his mother, Liang Shuling.

She saw him too. Shocked, she dropped her wine glass, which shattered on the floor.