Shen Yuan had just exchanged a few words with Qiao Hailou when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Turning, he saw Qiao Jun and nearly jumped out of his skin. Crap! Had Qiao Jun just seen him argue with Hailou? He’d planned to act all gentle and considerate…
Maybe he hadn’t noticed? Shen Yuan’s heart pounded as he debated whether he should greet Qiao Jun—but hesitated, unsure what to call him. Too awkward.
He’d known Qiao Jun fairly well back in school—they’d met when Shen Yuan joined the student council as a freshman… but now, Qiao Hailou was Qiao Jun’s uncle, and Shen Yuan was Hailou’s husband. If he still called Qiao Jun “senior,” it would lower Qiao Jun’s generation in front of Hailou; if he treated him like a nephew, that would feel strange too.
Shen Yuan didn’t know what to do. Clutching Hailou’s hand tightly, he closed his eyes and thought, “Whatever, just go with it! We’re married and I’m pregnant… might as well own it.”
Qiao Jun was frozen, confused. Shen Yuan pretended to be clueless. Hailou, fully aware they knew each other, acted as if nothing was wrong, his face calm as he led Shen Yuan over and introduced him:
“Let me introduce you—this is my newlywed husband, Shen Yuan.”
Qiao Jun was even more shocked. Not only did this person look exactly like his junior, but he even had the same name! No matter how he looked at him, he seemed like his junior.
“Hello…”
Hailou deliberately corrected him, “What ‘hello’? This is your little aunt.”
Qiao Jun’s face twisted in disbelief. After a long pause, he stammered, “L-Little aunt, hello.”
Shen Yuan’s embarrassment was off the charts. He didn’t respond, ears red enough to bleed. He wanted to glare at Hailou but couldn’t meet Qiao Jun’s eyes—he just tugged Hailou’s hand hard.
Qiao Jun was thoroughly confused. He looked down, saw their fingers intertwined and the wedding rings on their ring fingers, and after a long moment managed to mutter,
“I… I’ll take you to meet my dad and the others.”
His legs felt light, like walking in a dream. Last time Shen Yuan had come over, it was for his little cousin’s birthday—just a school junior. This time, he was now the little aunt. What was going on? Was the world broken, or was he? Or was he dreaming a weird dream?
Even if it was a dream, it was ridiculous. Shen Yuan and his uncle—what connection did they have?
Meanwhile, Qiao Hailou’s eldest brother, Qiao Haixuan, finally got to see this “junior brother’s wife” for himself. Slightly surprised, he realized this young man looked barely twenty. Something familiar tugged at his memory.
His wife, Yuan Wanyi, with sharper memory, reminded him, “Isn’t this the boy from An’an’s birthday last time? I think he’s Li Chen’s stepson, right?”
Haixuan’s eyes widened in realization. Wait—his third brother was friends with Li Chen? And as he remembered, Li Chen and Hailou were on good terms…
Back at the Qiao residence, Shen Yuan was far less composed than before. Last time, he’d just come for a birthday cake. This time, he was coming to meet Hailou’s elder brother and sister-in-law. He was thoroughly intimidated, holding tightly to Hailou’s hand, pressing close, trying to hide.
Hailou, shameless as ever, brought his young, vibrant husband to meet his elder brother without a hint of embarrassment, calmly saying,
“Brother, sister-in-law, I’ve brought my wife to meet you. This is Shen Yuan.”
Then to Shen Yuan: “Call them ‘big brother’ and ‘big sister.’”
Shen Yuan obediently replied, “Big brother, big sister, hello.”
Qiao Haixuan examined him. “Hello… we’ve been waiting for you to come eat.”
Haixuan looked at Shen Yuan, frowning. Shen Yuan felt scared—was it because he was so young? Did Haixuan dislike him or think he was just after money?
Well… in truth, he wasn’t entirely innocent of that.
Haixuan said, “Hailou, come here alone for a minute. I need to speak with you.”
Hailou lowered his voice, coaxing Shen Yuan:
“I’m going to talk to my elder brother. Why don’t you talk to Qiao Jun too? Look at his face—he’s turning purple…”
Shen Yuan couldn’t help laughing. “You really talk about your nephew like that?”
Hailou retorted casually, “Look at him. Isn’t it true?”
Shen Yuan glanced at Qiao Jun—his expression really was unpleasant.
Hailou let go of his hand and went to speak with his brother. Shen Yuan thought for a moment and walked toward Qiao Jun. Surprisingly, Shen Yuan remained calm; Qiao Jun looked terrified.
Shen Yuan found it amusing:
“Senior, no need to be this scared.”
Hearing Shen Yuan call him “senior,” Qiao Jun was even more shocked:
“You really are Shen Yuan!”
Shen Yuan grinned, “If I’m not Shen Yuan, who else could I be?”
Qiao Jun asked in disbelief, “…When did you start seeing my uncle? I had no idea!”
Shen Yuan realized he should be embarrassed:
“Before you introduced your uncle to me, I already knew him. Later I found out he was your uncle, but… I didn’t want to bring it up. I haven’t even come out yet—if I’d suddenly told you I was dating your uncle, you might not have accepted it.”
He apologized sincerely:
“I shouldn’t have gone behind your back. I did something dishonest.”
Qiao Jun finally exhaled, shocked:
“You tell me you’re dating my uncle, and I wouldn’t accept it… then you marry him before I even know? How am I supposed to accept that?”
Especially since he hadn’t even married his own fiancée yet—Shen Yuan had beaten him to it!
Shen Yuan said, “I didn’t expect to marry so quickly either.”
Seeing Qiao Jun overwhelmed by so many shocking revelations at once, Shen Yuan decided to swallow the fact that he was pregnant with Hailou’s child for now. Qiao Jun had enough to process. He’d wait for another opportunity.
Meanwhile, Hailou was pulled aside by Haixuan, who lowered his voice:
“This boy looks really young… how old is he?”
Hailou shamelessly replied, “Twenty.”
Haixuan was stunned, forgetting to breathe for a second, pointing at Hailou:
“Younger than you by so much?! Are you serious? Isn’t he Li Chen’s stepson? Did Li Chen know?”
Hailou: “Yes, he agreed.” (Though he got a beating.)
Haixuan gaped: “Li Chen actually agreed??”
Hailou proudly said, “If he didn’t agree, what could he do? I married Shen Yuan. That’s all that matters.”
Haixuan slowly realized it. Hailou must have coaxed him into it. Once it was done, Li Chen had no choice but to accept. His brother had always been reckless, disregarding what others thought, doing as he pleased. He thought Hailou would mature with age, but apparently not—still outrageous.
Haixuan sneered:
“Hailou, I see you’ve lost your mind. Don’t you look at your own age? Even if you wanted to settle down, you could’ve married someone closer in age. Marrying someone this young, aren’t you afraid he’ll run off with your money in a few years?”
Hailou was unbothered:
“I’m not afraid. I didn’t marry him to settle down. If it weren’t him, I wouldn’t have married at all. It’s because of him that I married.”
Haixuan sighed: “…Do as you will, then.”
Hailou added, “Brother, just scold him in front of me. Don’t be too harsh with him—he’s young, timid. Be gentle, okay? Don’t scare him. Your face can look terrifying—like a crocodile—when you frown.”
Haixuan muttered, “Why are your demands always so much? You spoil him, fine. But you insist I do it too?”
Hailou: “I just want you not to be harsh.”
Both sides agreed, for now.
Around 11 a.m., they sat down to eat.
Haixuan’s wife, Yuan Wanyi, was far more composed than her husband. It’s just that Hailou married a twenty-year-old man—what’s the big deal?
Hailou grew up without his biological mother. He was nineteen years younger than his eldest brother, raised mostly by his brother and sister-in-law. Wanyi, as the eldest female elder in the family, gave Shen Yuan a red envelope containing a check. Having seen Hailou’s marriage certificate earlier, she knew the spouse was male, so instead of jewelry, she bought a men’s watch.
The red envelope and watch were presented together as a meeting gift:
“I’m much older than you, so I’ll call you ‘Little Shen.’ Now that we’re relatives, let’s keep in touch. Here’s my WeChat and phone number.”
Shen Yuan obediently exchanged contacts.
“Thank you.”
He accepted the gifts without hesitation, thinking: the Qiao family is wealthy. Now that Haixuan is head of the family, he probably isn’t stingy. I wonder how big the red envelope is… really want to sneak a peek.
Shock aside, there’s only so much you can be shocked.
Just as the dishes were set and they were about to eat, someone else arrived.
This person came to the Qiao household as if it were his own, not even greeting anyone.
Haixuan hurried to meet him:
“Dad, you’re here?”
Old Qiao, holding his granddaughter, snapped, “Do I need to announce it on a post first? Smells good—have you already started eating? Add two more bowls.”
He walked straight to the dining room.
Haixuan wanted to stop him but didn’t dare: “Dad, wait—dad!”
He intentionally spoke loudly so Hailou could hear and respond.
Old Qiao and Haixuan reached the dining room and immediately saw Hailou.
Hailou seemed oblivious to his father’s arrival, leisurely eating, and picking up a slippery fish ball for Shen Yuan:
“Try this—my brother’s chef made it. Pretty good, right?”
Haixuan: “…”
Speechless. This reckless younger brother really feared nothing, not even the sky falling.
Old Qiao fumed.
Hailou had the audacity to bring a man to his eldest brother’s house!
And then recognized who this boy, entwined with Hailou, was—fuming even more.
What the heck? Hadn’t he already warned him last time?
And yet, he still got entangled with someone like Hailou? Was he blind?