ACMS 9

Chapter 9: A Chance Encounter at the Bar

All the buildings at the Linjiang complex were one apartment per floor.

That day, Shen Hechuan had just casually brushed off Wu Huilan’s question without giving it much thought. He didn’t expect it to backfire so soon—and for her to even spot the little bear slippers that Qiao Le had worn.

Thinking back to how Qiao Le had mentioned wanting to buy a matching pair, Shen Hechuan thought that if he’d known this would happen, he might as well have just given him the slippers.

Shen Hechuan knew that no matter what he tried to explain now, Wu Huilan wouldn’t listen. She was convinced he was dating someone—and not just anyone, but a boy.

Wu Huilan truly didn’t understand why her son refused to admit it.

Same-sex marriage had already been legalized, and while their family did hope for grandchildren, they weren’t rigidly conservative.

To her, Shen Hechuan’s behavior made it clear he didn’t take this relationship seriously.

With that thought, she looked at her son, disappointment in her eyes. “I’m really disappointed in you—playing with someone else’s feelings like that.”

Shen Hechuan took the blame for something he hadn’t done. “I told you, there’s nothing going on between us.”

“Oh, really?” Wu Huilan said. “Slipped up, didn’t you? Just now you said he didn’t exist—now it’s ‘nothing going on between us.’ Does that sound like someone telling the truth?”

Shen Hechuan: “…” There was no point saying more.

“Think things over,” Wu Huilan said. “Once you’ve figured things out, bring him home so we can meet him.” With that, she left.

Shen Hechuan stared at the door that had slammed shut, then looked back at the little bear slippers under the shoe cabinet.

Bring him home?

Who’s he supposed to bring home? Qiao Le?

Things were spiraling in an oddly surprising direction.

Shen Hechuan couldn’t help picturing it for a moment. The image felt a little ridiculous, yet he had a sense that the elders would probably like someone like Qiao Le.

Good-looking, polite.

That kind of young man would likely win over any parent.

…?

Realizing what he was thinking, Shen Hechuan quickly snapped out of it and bent down to pick up the slippers, putting them back into the cabinet.

It was just an ordinary action, but after the way his mom had stirred everything up just now, it suddenly felt like he was trying to cover something up.

…This is ridiculous.

Shen Hechuan shook his head, trying to brush off the nonsense in his mind. He turned around and walked back into the house, picking up the constantly vibrating phone on the bar counter. “Hello?”

Pei Wenjing’s voice came through on the other end. “Where the hell are you? Why aren’t you here yet? Didn’t we say eight o’clock? Do you know what time it is?”

Pei Wenjing had said there was a new bar worth checking out. Knowing how stressed Shen Hechuan had been lately from his family’s pressure, he’d organized a small gathering with a few friends to help him unwind. They’d booked a spot for eight tonight.

Shen Hechuan had planned to go—but then Ms. Wu had shown up out of nowhere.

“I’m coming now.”

He hung up, changed clothes, and headed out.

Once he arrived, he parked and followed the server through the crowd to find Pei Wenjing and the others.

It was a small private gathering. Aside from Pei Wenjing, there were two other familiar faces.

Since Shen Hechuan had arrived late, Pei Wenjing poured him a drink. “Come on, drink up. You’re super late. Any later and we’d be calling it a night.”

That was clearly exaggerated. Even if it wasn’t a full-blown club, a place like this would stay open until two or three in the morning. It wasn’t even ten yet.

But since he was already here, Shen Hechuan didn’t put on airs. He took the glass and drank.

“What took you so long?” one of the friends asked. “Don’t tell me you were still working? Come on, don’t overdo it. Life’s not a competition to the grave.”

Shen Hechuan set his glass down and poured himself another. “No, my mom showed up and delayed me a bit.”

Everyone there knew Wu Huilan. Pei Wenjing raised an eyebrow. “Aunt Huilan didn’t come to push you into another matchmaking session, did she?”

Shen Hechuan leaned back slightly on the sofa. “What do you think?”

Pei Wenjing laughed. “You didn’t tell her I invited you out, did you? If she goes back and tattles to my mom, I’m gonna have to go on blind dates with you.”

“Of course not,” Shen Hechuan said. Among the four of them, two were already married—only he and Pei Wenjing were still single.

“I heard from Wenjing that you met with the Cheng family’s daughter,” one friend said. “What happened? Not a good fit? What type are you into? We can keep an eye out for you.”

Before Shen Hechuan could reply, Pei Wenjing chimed in again. “Hold on, let’s broaden the options a bit. You into guys or girls?”

Guys or girls?

Shen Hechuan hadn’t really thought about it deeply. If he had to answer, maybe the first impression was what mattered most.

At the very least, someone who clicked at first sight—someone who made him feel comfortable, or just naturally drew him in…

His thoughts suddenly paused, eyes catching a passing figure in the distance.

He tilted his head slightly, trying to see around someone blocking his view. That person had stopped at a booth, slightly bent over, placing a drink from a tray on the table.

Qiao Le.

At first, Shen Hechuan thought he was seeing things, but once the person turned, he was sure.

Under the dim lights of the bar, Qiao Le wore a well-fitted shirt and slacks, weaving between booths with a tray of cocktails. His upright posture and slim waist caught the eye immediately.

It really was Qiao Le—the same one he’d just seen a few days ago.

What’s he doing here? And in a server’s uniform?

Questions filled Shen Hechuan’s mind. Wasn’t Qiao Le doing deliveries? Something about that “Let Me Do It” platform—so why was he working here too?

Is he taking on another part-time job? Did he skip dinner again?

He was so caught up staring that he didn’t even register what Pei Wenjing was saying beside him.

“Why are you so quiet? What’re you looking at?” Pei Wenjing followed his gaze—and upon spotting Qiao Le—said, “Oh, you’re looking at him. No wonder.”

Shen Hechuan picked up on the hint of something in his tone. “What do you mean? You know him?”

“Nope,” Pei Wenjing said, pointing toward Qiao Le. “But he is really good-looking. I heard he’s the most popular server in this place.”

Just as he finished speaking, Shen Hechuan saw someone at one of the booths stop Qiao Le and slip what looked like a business card onto his tray.

Qiao Le gave the other person a polite nod, said something in reply, then carried his tray toward the other side of the room.

Pei Wenjing saw it too and commented casually, “It’s either business cards or tips. Before you showed up, a bunch of people had already been slipping those into his tray. I even saw someone give him a hotel room key.”

As he spoke, something seemed to click in his mind. He glanced at Shen Hechuan and asked, “You into this type? Should I call him over and have him take a few drink orders?”

Shen Hechuan withdrew his gaze, took a sip of his drink, and replied, “No. Don’t bother.”

He was just surprised to see Qiao Le there—and couldn’t help but wonder, How many jobs is he working? Is he made of steel?

But Qiao Le wasn’t made of steel—he was feeling a bit worn out.

The bar had been hectic these past few days. From 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., he barely had a moment to breathe, constantly welcoming guests, taking orders, delivering drinks, clearing tables, and seeing people out.

The silver lining was that it paid well.

Since the bar had just opened, the clientele were far from stingy. On top of his base pay, he earned a good amount from drink commissions and customer tips.

The only real headache was dealing with the constant stream of people asking for his phone number, his WeChat, handing him business cards, or even hotel key cards.

To make things easier, he even had a rarely used alternate WeChat account just for handling guests he couldn’t afford to offend.

After delivering another round of drinks, Qiao Le returned to the bar and had just set down his tray when someone bumped into him from behind.

“Move. Don’t block the way.”

The person who’d bumped him was another server from the bar, carrying a tray with a bucket of foreign liquor as he brushed past Qiao Le.

The impact knocked Qiao Le off balance, but another colleague nearby quickly reached out to steady him.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully.

The coworker waved it off. “Don’t mind him. That’s just how he is. Before you came, he was the top earner and most popular server here. Now that you’re outperforming him across the board, of course he’s upset.”

Qiao Le didn’t plan on arguing. He was only working three shifts here—tomorrow would be his last. No need to make enemies over something so petty. He’d already made his money, and tomorrow he was going to take Xiao Man out for pizza!

Just thinking of his younger brother made half his exhaustion fade. He picked up the next order and tray and went out to serve.

He placed the drinks on a table and said “Please enjoy” before turning to leave. As he passed another booth, a hand suddenly reached out to stop him. “Wait a sec.”

Qiao Le stopped and looked over. “Hello, is there something I can help you with?”

Pei Wenjing pointed to the person across from him and grinned. “I don’t need anything. Ask him what he needs.”

Following the direction of his finger, Qiao Le’s gaze landed—unexpectedly—on Shen Hechuan.

In the swirl of rotating lights, their eyes met in that shifting light and dark.

The moment Qiao Le recognized Shen Hechuan, his eyes lit up. He parted his lips as if to speak.

In that instant, Shen Hechuan felt a strange, inexplicable tension.

Two words echoed in his mind—

And then the next second, he heard Qiao Le ask, “Sir, would you like something to drink?”

Shen Hechuan: “…”

What exactly was I expecting?