Chapter 1
Fan Xing stood at the doorstep of He Qingmo’s home and realized that his palms were sweaty.
He chuckled at his own self-mockery. No matter how much mental preparation he had done, he was still nervous.
Fortunately, Mr. He was not at home, which allowed him to relax slightly.
After entering the house, he placed his luggage in the hallway, found a pair of slippers in the shoe cabinet, and began to survey his new home.
Hmm, this would be his new home from now on.
Because he had married He Qingmo.
Just this morning, he had arrived in this country for the first time, and the first thing he did after getting off the plane was to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and obtain a marriage certificate from a man he had never met before.
That man was He Qingmo. He was said to be the CEO of a big company, handsome, wealthy, and fond of all good-looking… boys.
So, it was because of this that his mother had called him back to the country, Fan Xing thought wryly.
Afterward, he shook his head and pushed aside those annoying thoughts. He picked up his luggage and headed for the coatroom.
He didn’t have many belongings – just a suitcase with a few changes of clothes and a backpack containing his laptop and some books.
He found He Qingmo’s coatroom to be quite large, but there wasn’t much stuff in it, and everything was neatly organized.
Fan Xing found an empty corner and placed his clothes inside. He double-checked to ensure that he hadn’t disturbed the cleanliness of the place before finally feeling at ease.
Checking the time, he realized it was already past 6 PM.
Since he hadn’t eaten much since he got on the plane yesterday, his stomach had started to rumble.
He went to the kitchen and found that the refrigerator was mostly filled with beer and water. Fortunately, he managed to find a cucumber, and there was a little dried noodles left in the cabinet.
He decided to make a simple cold noodle dish.
After boiling the noodles and rinsing them with cold water, he added cucumber strips and the pre-made sauce. A quick toss, and it was ready to eat.
It was simple but tasted good.
After finishing his meal, he cleaned up the kitchen and went to take a shower.
He had been on a long-haul flight for over ten hours, and after getting off the plane, he hadn’t had time to rest or adjust to the time difference. He had rushed straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau and then met many strangers he had never heard of before. Later, due to traffic congestion, he had to get out of the taxi early and walk for twenty minutes with his luggage to reach this place.
It had been a chaotic and exhausting journey.
Now, as he lay in the warm bathtub, he realized that his whole body was sore and tired, and the past two days felt like a dream.
Just two days ago, at this time, he was still working at a coffee shop on the other side of the Earth. He had planned to call his mother after work.
But then his mother’s call had come first.
He was pleasantly surprised and answered immediately.
“Mom, I…”
“Fan Xing, I’ve booked a plane ticket for you. Pack up and come back to the country tomorrow. Remember to bring all your documents.”
“Come back? But Grandma…”
“I’ll arrange for someone to take care of your grandmother. Don’t worry.”
“Really? Thank you, Mom!” He was overjoyed.
“No need to thank me. I have something I need your help with when you return. Our family’s company is facing some problems. Fan Xing, I remember you just turned eighteen, right?”
Fan Xing was puzzled. He didn’t understand how his return could be related to the company’s issues. “Yes, I just turned eighteen a couple of days ago.”
“That’s good. Pack up and say goodbye to your grandmother before coming back. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
So, he had returned.
On the way to the Civil Affairs Bureau from the airport, he had finally realized that he had been called back to get married.
His mother had phrased it delicately, but he knew the truth. The family’s company was in trouble, and they needed him to marry He Qingmo to seek his assistance.
On the way to the Civil Affairs Bureau, his mother had emphasized that as soon as He Qingmo saw his photo, he had immediately agreed to the marriage. It was clear that He Qingmo liked him and would treat him well after the wedding.
Fan Xing, however, couldn’t help but wonder why He Qingmo had seen his photo in the first place.
He had never been to this country since birth, and hardly anyone knew that there was a son named Fan Xing in the Fan family.
Most likely, Fan Xing thought, the Fan family had sent his photo to He Qingmo, allowing him to choose his future spouse.
But now, thinking about all of this had no meaning. He had already married He Qingmo, and he had agreed to it himself. There was nothing to complain about.
After washing away the dust and grime from his body and changing into clean clothes, he felt refreshed.
Only when he left the bathroom did he realize there was someone else in the house.
Sitting by the dining table, a man leaned back in his chair, his long legs casually crossed, making his figure appear exceptionally graceful.
On the table in front of him was an unfinished bowl of cold noodles – boiled noodles, cucumber strips, and pre-made sauce, ready to be mixed and eaten.
In his hand, he held a sticky note that Fan Xing had written and left on the table.
“You… You’re back?” Fan Xing tried to appear less awkward and approached to greet him.
He Qingmo’s gaze shifted from the sticky note to Fan Xing, openly assessing him from head to toe.
Fan Xing had just finished his shower, and his hair was still damp, dripping water. His loose-fitting cotton pajamas left his delicate and fair collarbone exposed, making him look like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.
When He Qingmo’s gaze swept over him, Fan Xing instinctively curved his lips, revealing a shallow dimple on the corner of his mouth.
However, the knuckles on the hands hanging at his sides were unconsciously white from gripping too hard. His feet, in ill-fitting slippers, kept fidgeting with the shoe soles, indicating his nervousness.
He Qingmo recalled the sweet and soft smile on the young man’s face when they took photos at the Civil Affairs Bureau earlier in the day. The boy had hidden his hands behind his back, gripping them tightly. He suspected that the boy’s palms might have been bleeding from the nails.
After assessing him thoroughly, He Qingmo withdrew his gaze and glanced at the sticky note. He interrupted Fan Xing, saying, “You wrote this?”
Fan Xing, relieved after He Qingmo’s gaze had moved away, nodded gently and explained, “I didn’t know if you would be back, so I left you a portion. If you’ve already eaten, then…”
He Qingmo looked at the sticky note and commented, “Your writing is really ugly.”
“Ah?” Fan Xing didn’t immediately catch on, and with clear eyes, he looked puzzled as he gazed at He Qingmo. Realizing that He Qingmo was talking about his handwriting, he suddenly felt embarrassed. His fair cheeks turned slightly crimson, and he lowered his head as he softly said, “I’m sorry, my Chinese isn’t very good.”
Indeed, his Chinese wasn’t very fluent. He could understand the basics but had trouble speaking fluently. His speech was slow and hesitant, with a slight accent. Sometimes, he used words incorrectly, sounding like a child who had just started to speak.
Writing was even more challenging for him. When he wrote those square characters on paper, he felt like his hand wasn’t cooperating, making the characters look crooked and messy.
He Qingmo didn’t seem to notice Fan Xing’s discomfort. He nodded and said, “I can tell. Not only is it ugly, but there are also typos.”
“Really? I copied it from my phone.” Fan Xing had always been meticulous and careful in his work. Hearing there were typos, he instinctively wanted to double-check.
He approached He Qingmo and stood in front of him, taking the sticky note to inspect it more closely.
However, no matter how carefully he looked at each character, Fan Xing couldn’t find any mistakes.
Lacking confidence in his Chinese, he couldn’t help but timidly seek advice from He Qingmo, “Could you tell me which word is wrong?”
He Qingmo, still in his relaxed sitting posture, observed him with a hint of amusement in his tone. “Who are you asking?”
He Qingmo was quite handsome. When Fan Xing had seen him earlier in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau during the day, he had thought that he was perhaps the most handsome person he had ever seen.
However, he had an air of aloofness, making him appear unapproachable. At least until now, Fan Xing hadn’t seen him smile.
But when he did smile, with a slight upturn of the corners of his mouth and a slight lowering of his brows, it instantly softened his entire demeanor, as if an iceberg had melted.
Fan Xing couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times before getting tangled up in his thoughts.
He Qingmo seemed to be implying that Fan Xing should call someone.
In fact, Fan Xing had been avoiding this issue ever since he saw He Qingmo. He didn’t know what to call him.
But He Qingmo continued to watch him with a teasing expression, as if saying, “I know you can’t say it, but I want to hear it.”
Fan Xing didn’t want to be stubborn about it, but since he had already married this person, and they would be living under the same roof, addressing each other was inevitable.
He bit his lip subconsciously, gathered his courage, and looked up at He Qingmo. “Bro… Brother…”
He Qingmo’s lips twitched with a smile, but he quickly returned to his icy expression and said, neither warmly nor coldly, “I’m ten years older than you, so calling me ‘old’ is accurate. Why not just call me ‘uncle’?”
Fan Xing, even though his Chinese was not great, understood that no one liked being called ‘old.’ He quickly shook his head and explained, “No, I… I didn’t mean to call you ‘old.’ I was… I was…”
He had wanted to call him ‘husband.’ In the Chinese TV dramas he had watched before, that’s how people usually addressed their spouses.
But when faced with He Qingmo’s smiling eyes, he suddenly felt embarrassed. In his haste, he changed it to “brother,” and who would have thought it would be misunderstood?
But he was already not very good at Chinese to begin with, and he couldn’t explain himself clearly when flustered. In the end, he gave up and simply apologized softly, “I’m sorry.”
Lowering his head, he stared nervously at the tips of his shoes. Water droplets from his damp hair fell onto his fair neck and slid down his skin.
He Qingmo’s gaze followed the trail of the water droplets and landed on his slender shoulders. Suddenly, he got up, walked over, and firmly pinched Fan Xing’s cheeks, forcing him to look into his eyes. He said in a cold tone, “Angry, won’t teach you anymore!” With that, he left and went upstairs.
Interesting to be the first chapter but I hope to see the pampering soon 😍
Thanks for the update!! 🤗 🤗
Thank you for the support! Let me clear all the backlogged chapters before I dive into this haha