ACMS 59

Chapter 59 – Ominous

Qiao Le had imagined countless times what it would be like to meet Liang Shuling again. But after he ran into Jiang Hong and learned about Liang Shuling’s attitude toward him and Qiao Man, he stopped thinking about it altogether.

He figured that even if they did meet again, they would just be strangers—or maybe they wouldn’t meet again at all.

But life always loved to play jokes on him.

Like the upheaval in his family back then. Like this unexpected reunion now.

When he was at his lowest, Liang Shuling had vanished without a word. And now that he was at his happiest, she suddenly reappeared.

Liang Shuling was just as shocked as he was, her face looking like she’d seen a ghost when she spotted him.

Qiao Le guessed she must have never imagined seeing him here, in this kind of place, in this kind of position.

Meeting like this made Qiao Le feel a sudden urge to laugh—it was bitterly ironic.

The shattered glass on the floor was like their blood ties, broken into a thousand jagged pieces.

“Shuling, what’s wrong?” Liu Feng was startled, looking a bit displeased. “How could you be so careless? What if you scared President Shen and his partner?”

Liang Shuling froze, staring at Qiao Le with a hesitant tone. “President Shen’s… partner?”

No one present knew the connection between her and Qiao Le. Zheng Hui helpfully stepped in, “Yes, this is Mr. Qiao Le, President Shen of Hualang Group’s partner.”

Then he kindly suggested, “Mrs. Liu, why don’t I have someone help you clean up the wine stain on your dress?”

Some red wine had splashed onto her gown when the glass was knocked over, leaving a conspicuous ring of dark red—not a pretty sight.

“I—”

She took a step toward Qiao Le, wanting to say something, but Qiao Le averted his gaze and refused to look at her.

Instead, it was Liu Feng who grabbed her arm and said, a bit unhappily, “Go clean up first.”

He clearly felt her clumsiness had cost them face. Liang Shuling could only follow the staff away to tidy herself up. As she left, she took another lingering look at Qiao Le.

A staff member came over to clean up the broken glass. Liu Feng offered an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry. My wife hasn’t seen much of the world and got nervous. I hope President Shen and Mr. Qiao won’t take it personally.”

“It’s fine,” Shen Hechuan replied. “Mr. Liu, are you from Hong Kong?”

“I am, but my wife’s a local.” Liu Feng smiled. “Fate, I guess. President Shen, let me toast to you.”

Shen Hechuan clinked glasses with him and took a polite sip. Liu Feng downed his own and then picked up another glass to toast Qiao Le. “Mr. Qiao, a toast to—”

“He doesn’t drink.” Shen Hechuan raised a hand to stop him and glanced at Qiao Le, who seemed distracted. “Lele?”

Qiao Le snapped back to attention. “Hm?”

“What’s wrong?” Shen Hechuan asked with concern. “Tired?”

Zheng Hui chimed in, “There’s a private room upstairs. Why don’t we go up and talk—”

“No, that’s alright,” Shen Hechuan declined politely. “Maybe next time. We’ll be leaving now.”

Liu Feng quickly tried to stop him. “It’s still early, President Shen. Won’t you stay a little longer? I had some work matters I was hoping to discuss…”

“No need,” Shen Hechuan said firmly, ignoring the invitation. He turned to Qiao Le. “Shall we?”

Qiao Le nodded. Seeing this, Liu Feng quickly handed him his business card—he hadn’t had a chance earlier due to the shattered glass incident.

Shen Hechuan accepted it out of politeness, picked up his pocket watch, and left with Qiao Le. Zheng Hui personally escorted them out.

By the time Liang Shuling returned with her dress cleaned, they were already gone. She found Liu Feng sitting on a sofa in a quiet corner and asked anxiously, “Where are they?”

Liu Feng was sipping his drink. “Who?”

“Le—” She paused, correcting herself. “President Shen and his partner. Where are they?”

“Gone,” Liu Feng said. “They left a while ago.”

“But didn’t you say you wanted to discuss a potential partnership? Why’d you let them go?” Liang Shuling blurted out, unable to hide her frustration. “Why didn’t you stop them?!”

Liu Feng had gone through great lengths to get the invitation for tonight’s event, leveraging a favor a friend was owed by Zheng Hui. Otherwise, Zheng Hui never would’ve introduced him to Shen Hechuan.

He had prepared meticulously, hoping to establish a connection with Shen Hechuan to lay the groundwork for future cooperation with Hualang Group. But in the end, he got nothing.

“How could I stop them? With what?” Liu Feng snapped. “It was already something just to get a word in. Do you think Shen Hechuan is someone people like us can just cling to easily?”

Liang Shuling was left speechless by his outburst, though inside, she couldn’t accept it.

Why not? Her own son had managed it, hadn’t he?

Thinking back to how Zheng Hui had introduced Qiao Le just now, she still couldn’t believe it.

Her son… was actually the partner of Shen Hechuan, the man in charge of Hualang Group? When had that happened?

Her mind was a mess. She didn’t even hear what Liu Feng kept mumbling on about.

Seeing Qiao Le again so suddenly had left her both thrilled and panicked. Thrilled because she hadn’t seen him in three years—he had grown up so much and looked more mature now. Panicked because she was terrified Liu Feng would find out she had two sons.

When she first met Liu Feng, she only told him she was divorced—she never mentioned her two sons.

Liu Feng had a bad temper and a strong sense of male pride. He couldn’t stand being lied to. She’d finally endured long enough to wait out his divorce and secure the position of Mrs. Liu. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes now.

Liang Shuling sat down beside him, thinking quietly, when she heard Liu Feng say in confusion, “That President Shen’s partner is a man? What the hell is he thinking? Must’ve lost his mind.”

Because it involved Qiao Le, Liang Shuling couldn’t help but retort, “So what if it’s a man? Same-sex marriage is legal now.”

“A man?” Liu Feng snorted. “A man can’t have children. Can’t carry on the family line. What do you mean, ‘so what’? You expect Hualang Group to just hand itself over to someone else when Shen Hechuan dies?”

Liang Shuling’s expression froze. Right—men couldn’t bear children, couldn’t pass on the family name.

If Qiao Le was with Shen Hechuan, then he wouldn’t have children of his own. That wouldn’t do. What were Liang Jiancheng and Chen Li thinking? Why weren’t they stepping in?

And what about Xiao Man? How was he doing now? Would being with Qiao Le affect him?

A flurry of questions filled her mind, leaving her completely rattled. She no longer felt like staying. She turned to Liu Feng. “Did you get President Shen’s number at least? Maybe we can arrange a visit sometime?”

“No,” Liu Feng sighed. He wanted to, but Shen Hechuan clearly had no intention of chatting further. After a pause, he decided he’d try visiting Hualang Group once the workweek resumed.

Liang Shuling didn’t say anything more. She didn’t have Qiao Le’s contact information, so she could only plan to make a trip back to her hometown and ask Liang Jiancheng and Chen Li what the hell was going on.

__

On the other side, Qiao Le and Shen Hechuan were on their way home.

The two of them sat in the back seat. Shen Hechuan asked Qiao Le what was wrong—he had noticed something off about him ever since earlier.

Qiao Le had no intention of hiding it and told him that Liu Feng’s wife was his mother, Liang Shuling.

“Your mother?” Shen Hechuan looked surprised. “What are the odds?”

“I know, right?” Qiao Le sighed. “Just like something out of a drama. She suddenly appeared in front of me and scared the hell out of me.”

Shen Hechuan reached over and held the hand resting on his leg. “What do you plan to do?”

Qiao Le looked at him. “What do you mean, ‘do’?”

Shen Hechuan asked, “If she comes to find you, what are you going to do?”

What was he going to do?

Qiao Le thought of what Jiang Hong had said last time, especially the message she’d passed on from Liang Shuling—“Just pretend I’m dead.”

He realized that aside from the shock of suddenly running into Liang Shuling just now, his heart was surprisingly calm.

So all those years of confusion, disappointment, and longing had already been completely let go.

Turns out, letting go wasn’t that hard after all.

He figured that even if Liang Shuling did come looking for him again, he could face it with peace of mind.

And if she didn’t come, then he’d do exactly what she once said—pretend she was dead.

The pressure of Shen Hechuan’s grip brought Qiao Le back to the present. He looked up and met Shen Hechuan’s eyes, full of concern and worry. He couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t worry. Even if she comes, it’s fine. She doesn’t have any hold on me anymore.”

“That’s good.” Shen Hechuan gave his palm a reassuring squeeze. “If she does come to you, and you need me with you, promise you’ll tell me.”

“Okay.” Qiao Le nodded, then remembered how enthusiastic Liu Feng had been toward Shen Hechuan just now. “I don’t know if she’ll come, but I’m sure that Liu guy will. He looked really eager to work with you.”

There were far too many people wanting to work with Hualang Group. Shen Hechuan had never even heard of Liu Feng’s company, so he didn’t take it seriously.

After returning home, Qiao Le gave the pocket watch to Old Master Shen.

He hadn’t bought it for himself in the first place—he’d thought the style and feel of the watch suited the old man perfectly. Old Master Shen was delighted to receive it and even took a few pictures to show off to his friends.

On the fifth day of the new year, Qiao Le and Shen Hechuan brought Qiao Man back to Liuhe Town.

To welcome them, Chen Li and Liang Jiancheng had gotten up early to prepare lunch. The two cousins had cleaned the courtyard until it was spotless. The table was filled with tea, candies, oranges, and snacks.

As soon as their car pulled up, the whole family came out to greet them. “You’re back, you’re back!”

Qiao Man jumped out of the car and ran up to Chen Li, hugging her leg. “Auntie, Uncle, Happy New Year! Wishing you good health and all the best!”

“Aww! What a sweet boy!” Chen Li beamed with joy, scooped him up in her arms, and greeted Shen Hechuan and Qiao Le as they stepped out of the car. “Come on in, we’ve been waiting for you to eat!”

The cousins came forward to take the gifts from them. One of them clicked his tongue in approval. “So this is our cousin-in-law? As handsome as they say—definitely a good match for our Lele.”

The eldest cousin’s wife giggled beside him, while the little girl next to her stared curiously at Shen Hechuan and Qiao Le.

The term “cousin-in-law” made Qiao Le laugh out loud. He nudged Shen Hechuan. “Say hi, cousin-in-law.” ¹“表弟夫”, which literally means “my younger male cousin’s husband.” 

Cousin-in-law: “…”

Chen Li and Liang Jiancheng had prepared a huge feast, full of hearty dishes that filled the entire table.

Liang Jiancheng invited Shen Hechuan to sit down. This wasn’t their first meeting, so he wasn’t nearly as tense as the first time. He smiled and said, “Since it’s a reunion meal today, I won’t ramble. Let’s just all wish for a year of good health and smooth sailing!”

“Good health and smooth sailing!” everyone echoed, raising their glasses. “Cheers!”

After the meal, Chen Li and the eldest cousin’s wife took the granddaughter and Qiao Man out to visit relatives, while Liang Jiancheng brought Qiao Le and Shen Hechuan to see the new house under construction.

It was already three stories tall, with plans for five in total. Each floor would be a four-bedroom apartment—one each for Qiao Le, Qiao Man, and the two cousins—so everyone would have their own private space.

Liang Jiancheng had always worked in construction, and he was the one leading the project. As soon as they touched on his area of expertise, he became animated and chatted with them in the new house for two hours straight.

Afterward, Qiao Le took Shen Hechuan around the village. They didn’t return until dinner time.

They stayed until the seventh day of the new year. Because of Liang Shuling, Qiao Le still didn’t tell Chen Li and the others about the pregnancy, planning to find another opportunity later.

Before they left, Chen Li packed them a bunch of local specialties to take back—they’d come with full hands and left with even fuller ones.

Just outside the village, their car passed a black SUV coming from the opposite direction.

That SUV stopped right in front of the Liang home. In the yard, Chen Li was drying sweet potato slices. When she heard the car, she thought they had come back and wiped her hands to go check, only to see it wasn’t their car.

Then she saw who stepped out.

Liang Shuling walked toward her. “Sister-in-law.”

Chen Li: “…”

A woman they’d buried years ago had suddenly climbed out of the grave.

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  “表弟夫”, which literally means “my younger male cousin’s husband.”