BDBE 7

Chapter 7 Uncle

Shen Wanchao was stunned for a moment before realizing that the “pale-faced student” the person in the room was referring to was himself. 

Then Tao Yan’s voice became louder and clearer: “He’s my nephew, please show some respect and don’t talk nonsense!” 

The person seemed determined to compete with Tao Yan to see who could shout louder, and argued defiantly: “Do you think you can fool me? I’ve checked, you don’t have any nephew. Who is he, why is he living in your house, and why have you stopped seeing me since he came?” 

Tao Yan’s voice weakened a few degrees, and Shen Wanchao held his breath to barely hear him: 

“I said we’re over. If you continue to harass me, I’ll have to call the police.” 

Shen Wanchao was somewhat surprised, and hesitated for a moment before finally pulling back. 

He had never heard Tao Yan mention a lover, and he had assumed that the other party had really been single all these years. 

Shen Wanchao had no idea why Tao Yan didn’t tell him, but since he didn’t say anything, it meant that he didn’t want him to know. 

So Shen Wanchao turned around, reopened the door, and quietly left. 

After locking the door, Shen Wanchao took out his phone and dialed the police: “My friend seems to have been illegally broken into by his ex-boyfriend. Could you please send someone over to check?” 

After hanging up, Shen Wanchao slowly walked out of the community with his backpack on, while simultaneously sending Tao Yan a white lie: 

[Thank you for letting me stay at your place for a while. I’ve found a more convenient place near the school, so you don’t need to bother me anymore. Come over for dinner next time^^]

He had indeed caused Tao Yan a lot of trouble during this time. 

They had known each other for almost twenty years, Tao Yan himself probably wouldn’t mind, but it would still make the people around him uncomfortable over time. Shen Wanchao didn’t want to put Tao Yan in a difficult position. 

Shen Wanchao suddenly paused upon remembering that when he first went to Tao Yan’s house half a month ago, he saw an extra toothbrush on the sink… 

Oh dear, it seems I really have bothered Tao Yan. 

He couldn’t stay at Tao Yan’s house any longer, and Shen Wanchao had to start thinking about what to do next. 

Firstly, he couldn’t go to his parents’ house. Aside from the difficulty of explaining his current appearance to them, if they found out he had become younger, it would be the whole family knowing. 

Secondly, he couldn’t go to his apartment. The property manager there had Zhou Hui’s contact information; if he moved in Zhou Hui would know immediately. 

Fortunately, although Shen Wanchao looked younger, his valid ID still proved he was a 37-year-old adult. 

So, he could stay in a hotel temporarily and rent an apartment later. 

His only worry was the possibility of being questioned by the hotel receptionist: “Is the photo on this ID yours?” 

Shen Wanchao took out his bag and started searching for his ID. The ID he found read: 

Name: Shen Chao; 

Date of Birth: March 20, 20XX, just two days shy of his 18th birthday. 

Shen Wanchao then remembered that his original ID was still at Tao Yan’s house. 

Shen Wanchao stood alone in the middle of a bustling residential street at dusk, clutching this useless underage ID. 

In this vast, bustling city, was there really no place for him…?! 

Just as Shen Wanchao was contemplating whether to turn back and ask Tao Yan to take him in for a few more days, a horn suddenly blared ahead. 

The Maybach gleamed with warm golden light under the streetlights, its body reflecting the red sign of the “Fried Egg Snail Rice Noodles” stall on the roadside, instantly bringing the luxury car down to earth. 

In the brief moment of surprise, Zhou Hui had already gotten out of the car, walked up to Shen Wanchao, and took the ID card from his hand. 

Zhou Hui glanced at the ID card with a smile: “So your name is Shen Chao.” 

Shen Wanchao wanted to snatch his ID back, but then worried it would seem unnatural; after all, it was a genuine ID card, and he wasn’t afraid of Zhou Hui seeing it. 

“Uncle, you haven’t left yet? Are you eating snail rice noodles over there?” Shen Wanchao said as he covered his nose. 

Zhou Hui: “Uncle doesn’t like snail rice noodles, they smell bad. Do you like them?” 

It seemed a day was enough for Zhou Hui to accept the title “Uncle.” 

Shen Wanchao was too lazy to answer his question, and he roughly guessed why Zhou Hui hadn’t left. 

And as expected, the next second, Zhou Hui asked, “Why are you out again? Did something happen at home and you can’t go back? Do you want to stay at Uncle’s for a few days?” 

Shen Wanchao stared at Zhou Hui’s upturned eyes for a long time. He saw the undisguised probing in his dark eyes. 

But so what? He had nothing to fear now. 

Shen Wanchao smiled sweetly and replied, “Thank you, Uncle. You’re such a good person.” 

With that, Shen Wanchao turned and walked towards the Maybach. 

Zhou Mingchen, inside the car, witnessed the entire interaction between the two. He was unable to hear what they were saying because of the distance, so all he could see was Shen Wanchao’s cloyingly sweet smile and Zhou Hui’s slightly bent head and overly gentle expression as he talked.

“Damn it.” 

In his sixteen years of life, Zhou Mingchen had never felt such a strong sense of crisis. 

Their family was truly falling apart. 

Zhou Hui was going to be in jail sooner or later. 

Shen Wanchao opened the back door but Zhou Mingchen blocked him. He didn’t want him to get in. 

Zhou Hui’s voice came from the front at just the right moment: “Xiao Chen, this is your dad’s cousin.” 

Zhou Mingchen was still stunned and didn’t react. 

“Xiao Chao is the son of your maternal grandfather’s youngest brother, two years older than you, so by seniority he’s your uncle,” Zhou Hui lied without batting an eye. “He transferred to Qiongya School this semester, so he’ll be staying with us for a while. You two should get along well.” 

Shen Wanchao: ? 

When did this setup happen? 

Zhou Mingchen felt his brain was filled with flour from their earlier interaction, then Zhou Hui’s words added water and stirred it all up…making a complete mess. 

“Wait…” Zhou Mingchen tried to clarify the relationships, “You said he’s my dad’s cousin?” 

Zhou Hui nodded proudly, “Yes, so he also has the surname Shen, and he looks a lot like your dad when he was younger, makes sense, right?” 

A closed loop, what a perfect explanation! 

Zhou Hui couldn’t help but praise his own cleverness. Zhou Mingchen questioned, “But you didn’t know him last night!” 

Zhou Hui calmly replied, “Did I say I didn’t know him? I was just surprised that he came back with you. He was reluctant to come to our house before, no matter how much I tried to persuade him, he wouldn’t listen, which made me worry for days.” 

This last half of his sentence sounded sincere, and Shen Wanchao turned his head away without showing any emotion.

“Nonsense! Last night, you clearly…” 

Zhou Mingchen carefully recalled his conversation with Zhou Hui last night and realized that he hadn’t actually said he didn’t know Shen Chao! 

Zhou Hui pressed his advantage: “If he weren’t your uncle, why would I get up early to make breakfast and provide such attentive service?” 

There was some truth to that… 

Zhou Mingchen hesitated. 

Shen Wanchao took advantage of this opportunity to also chime in: “Well, I originally wanted to live on my own, but my mother wouldn’t allow it. She insisted that Uncle Zhou take care of me, and I failed to resist.” 

Zhou Hui corrected him: “You should call me brother.” 

Shen Wanchao: “…” 

He knew Zhou Hui’s complicated setup was definitely not for good; this was what he was waiting for! 

At this point, Zhou Mingchen had to accept the fact that Shen Chao was his distant uncle. 

After accepting this, Zhou Mingchen felt much better, and his gaze towards Shen Chao became friendly again. 

So he was a relative’s child, which was why his father took such good care of him. 

It wasn’t what he had imagined. 

After a brief contemplation, Zhou Mingchen finally moved his leg to let Shen Wanchao into the car. Just then, Zhou Hui called out to Shen Wanchao, “Come sit in the front, I have something for you.” 

Shen Wanchao didn’t think much of it and walked over to open the passenger door. 

He saw a takeout box sitting on the passenger seat. 

The box was sealed, but Shen Wanchao could still faintly smell a… foul odor emanating from it. 

Zhou Hui pointed to the takeout box: “I bought snail rice noodles for you.”

Shen Wanchao actually liked snail rice noodles, but he hesitated for two seconds because of its high calories and the fact that it would make him fat, and because eating such smelly food didn’t align with his elegant behavior. He glanced at Zhou Mingchen in the back seat and refused: 

“I don’t like this.” 

Unexpectedly, Zhou Hui said, “Really don’t like it? My husband eats very little of this stuff because he has to maintain his on-camera weight all year round, but you’re not him, and there are no cameras filming here. I thought it’s normal for a kid to eat junk food, so I bought it for you. Are you sure you really don’t want it?” 

Shen Wanchao’s heart skipped a beat. He eventually stopped arguing with Zhou Hui, picked up the takeout box, and got into the passenger seat. 

He held the steaming takeout box and said softly, “Thank you, Uncle. I’ll take it home and eat it.” 

Zhou Hui smiled and started the car: “Call me brother.” 

Shen Wanchao pretended to be deaf. 

The takeout box remained on Shen Wanchao’s lap the whole way. 

He felt the heat on his thighs as he stared out the window. 

He was Shen Chao now; no cameras were filming him, and he didn’t need to pretend to be the always elegant Shen Wanchao. 

…Was that what Zhou Hui meant? 

“Then why didn’t I have any?” Zhou Mingchen suddenly asked out of the blue after the car had driven quite a distance. 

Zhou Hui pretended not to hear and continued driving attentively. 

Shen Wanchao didn’t understand what he was talking about and turned to ask, “What didn’t you have?” 

“Snail rice noodles.” Zhou Mingchen’s eyes were resentful. “Isn’t it normal for kids to eat junk food? Why didn’t you buy me any?” 

Shen Wanchao was startled and finally remembered that his own son was still hungry. 

Zhou Mingchen kicked the driver’s seat, “I’m asking you, why didn’t I have any?” 

“Oh, the weather is so nice tonight.” 

As he spoke, Zhou Hui opened all four car windows, and the evening breeze blew in, dispelling Zhou Mingchen’s questioning. 

… 

The next day was Saturday, a beautiful day off, and students didn’t have to go to school. 

Zhou Mingchen had just gotten up and was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Shen Wanchao was already eating at the dining table. Only Mr. Zhou Hui, the only adult in the family, was busy packing his things, bearing the burden of life. 

When Zhou Hui reached for his car keys, Shen Wanchao finally couldn’t help but ask, “It’s Saturday today, are you going to work overtime?” 

Zhou Mingchen floated out of the bathroom while yawning sleepily, “What’s for breakfast today?” 

No one paid him any attention. Zhou Hui answered Shen Wanchao’s question, “Today I’m taking Mom and Dad… Xiao Chen’s grandparents to their physical exams. It was a date we arranged a long time ago.” 

Shen Wanchao put down his chopsticks. He realized that he hadn’t taken his parents for a check-up in a long time. 

Since retiring, his parents had been going for a check-up every six months. Shen Wanchao used to try to make time to accompany them, but since the documentary project started, he had been so busy that he had neglected many things. 

Shen Wanchao wanted to ask about the results of his parents’ check-up in the second half of last year, but he didn’t know how to bring it up. 

Just then, Zhou Hui, with a hint of reproach, said to Zhou Mingchen, “Speaking of which, you should also care about your grandparents’ health. Last year, your grandfather was diagnosed with high blood sugar, and you didn’t even ask about it.” 

Zhou Mingchen, who had just put a piece of bread in his mouth, was speechless. He swallowed the bread and asked, “Then… is Grandfather alright?” 

“He’s fine.” Zhou Hui turned to open the door. “He’s been controlling his diet for half a year, and we’re going to get him checked today to see if it’s effective. Just try not to upset him, and he’ll be fine.” 

With that, “Bang!” Zhou Hui closed the door, and his figure disappeared from sight. 

Zhou Mingchen incredulously turned to Shen Wanchao, “Do you think this guy has any sense? How could I have caused Grandfather’s high blood sugar?” 

Shen Wanchao picked up a piece of bacon and stuffed it into his mouth: “Alright, I’ll talk to him next time.”