Chapter 112

Qiao Shao instinctively spoke up for He Shen. “He’s great and he treats me really well.”

It would have been better if he hadn’t spoken up. As soon as he opened his mouth, Qiao Ruan froze all over, Yang Xiaolong’s eyebrows were going to disappear into his hairline!

Da Qiao rolled his eyes at his son, and He Shen smiled bitterly in his heart.

Qiao Shao also realized that he had said too much. He was anxious and wanted to ease the tense atmosphere, but the more anxious he was about He Shen, the worse the looks the two seniors directed at He Shen.

Of course, if Qiao Shao weren’t worried for He Shen, the two elders would only dislike him even more. This was an endless loop that he simply couldn’t get out of.

Da Qiao was now on He Shen’s side, and since he dared to show his cards, it naturally meant that he already had a solution. “Let’s talk in the study.”

Fortunately, dinner was already finished and they could go and have a chat.

Qiao Ruan and Yang Xiaolong got up and went ahead to Qiao Zongmin’s study. They had to carefully question Qiao Zongmin about this. How old was Xiao Shao? How could he invite a wolf into their house!

The adults went upstairs, and Qiao Shao and He Shen were left downstairs.

Qiao Shao felt ashamed. “Grandpa and Granddad like you very much. They’re just a little surprised.”

He Shen understood very well. “If it were me, I would be angry too.”

Qiao Shao was unconvinced. “What’s there to be angry about? You’re so good.”

He Shen’s heart was filled with sweetness. His lips curved into a smile. “Their most beloved Baobei was s.n.a.t.c.hed away. How could they not be angry?”

Qiao Shao: “…………”

In a sense, Qiao Shao was really was their most beloved Baobei.

Qiao Ruan’s wife pa.s.sed away early and he never remarried. He had only one son, Qiao Zongmin, but both father and son were too stiff and reserved and neither paid much attention to the other until Qiao Shao was born. Qiao Shao was a bit like Yang Yun and had a good temper. Qiao Ruan kept Qiao Shao with him for many years and he truly, truly regarded him as his darling.

Yang Xiaolong also only had one daughter, Yang Yun. After his daughter got married, he didn’t look favorably upon Qiao Zongmin. Only after his grandson was born, did his impression improve. His wife and daughter died from sickness one after the other and he poured all his love into Qiao Shao. Qiao Shao’s every word and deed affected his mental state.

So what He Shen said wasn’t an exaggeration. Qiao Shao really was the darling of their heart and the person they care about most in this world. It didn’t matter whether He Shen was good or not, finding this out by surprise, they wouldn’t be able to accept it. It was only natural.

Qiao Shao thought about the two old men and he felt his heart twinge. “Things haven’t been easy for them.” The two seniors had been very worried during those years he spent recovering in the hospital. He will never forget hearing in his half-asleep, half-awake state, the sound of his granddad’s m.u.f.fled sobs and grandpa saying “let me suffer for him, use my old life and let him recover”.

He Shen embraced him and said, “We will take good care of them together in the future.”

Qiao Shao nodded hard. “They will love you very much.”

He Shen agreed. “En.”

Before long, Qiao Ruan, Yang Xiaolong and Qiao Zongmin came out of the study.

He had no idea what Da Qiao said to them but the two old men’s att.i.tude was somewhat gentler. Although they were still tense at least they didn’t take back the gifts.

After sending his grandparents off, Qiao Shao secretly asked Da Qiao, “What did you tell grandpa and granddad?”

Qiao Zongmin glanced at him: “I told them you were madly in love with him.”

Qiao Shao: “…………”

Qiao Zongmin asked him solemnly, “Don’t tell me you aren’t?”

Anyway, He Shen was not here and Qiao Shao was afraid that his father would make trouble again. He quickly responded, “Yes! Yes, that’s right!”

Qiao Zongmin was disappointed. He flicked his forehead angrily, “With you acting like this, what else can we do? We’re going to have to like the person you like!”

Qiao Shao coughed and said embarra.s.sedly, “He Shen is a really good person…” You won’t regret liking him!

Qiao Zongmin felt his heart ache. He urged him, “Go do your homework. I haven’t finished my drink yet.”

Qiao Shao happily went to look for He Shen.

Qiao Zongmin looked at his silly son and gave a long drawn-out sighk2014;Fine, everything has its weakness and these two children were also k2026;a perfect match.

The second year course was relatively more difficult than the first year’s. Qiao Shao didn’t relax just because he’d achieved some success on the monthly exam. He just wanted to raise his Chinese score during the midterm exam.

Nowadays, the English teacher regarded him as a treasure and always called upon him to do the recitations. Their teacher couldn’t sing enough praises for his speaking ability.

Qiao Shao also became more and more confident. Now that he no longer feared the quiet, he demonstrated his true abilities and performed particularly well in this course that he was already very familiar with.

He was also the apple of Old Tang’s eye. He would often ask him to solve problems on the blackboard together with Chen Su.

He Shen expressed a bit of dissatisfaction with this. “Why doesn’t he call me?”

Qiao Shao stared at him. “Because you’d skip the solution and just write the answer. How can anyone learn from that!”

He Shen said nothing.

Qiao Shao took out a lollipop and coaxed him. “Grandpa had someone send it from France.”

The corner of He Shen’s lips raised slightly and said “Ah——-“.

Qiao Shao peeled off the wrapper for him and put it into his mouth.

He Shen’s eyes turned into crescents. “It’s delicious.”

Qiao Shao said, “How can it possibly taste bad!” This is the Hermes of the lollipop world, don’t you know!

Everyone knew that Qiao Shao didn’t like sweets. It needn’t be said who this lollipop was for. Even if it didn’t taste good, He Shen’s heart felt both sweet and warm.

The first semester of second year high school could only be described as ‘smooth-sailing’ for Qiao Shao. The only thing that gave Qiao Shao a bit of a hit was the Autumn Sports Fest.

In such a large-scale event to win glory for the cla.s.s, Qiao Shao was a.s.signed to sit to the side and eat and drink well.

It couldn’t be helped. Now that he was all better, his academic performance had blossomed, but his body still needed time to respond. Qiao Shao has worked hard already, but he was still not fit to partic.i.p.ate in the sports meet.

And because of his well-developed limbs and simple mind, the cla.s.s decided to have Silly Husky Song as their representative.

Qiao Shao had even less chance to go up and play.

The most important thing about this kind of event, thought, was partic.i.p.ation. On the court, Qiao Shao was still a very enthusiastic audience member and continuously criticized He Shen. “You should have signed up for one of the activities!” It was such a waste of his good physique.

He Shen fanned his face for him. “No, it’s hot and muggy.”

Qiao Shao gave up. “How did you get abdominal muscles when you’re such a bag of lazybones!”

He Shen’s lips curved into a smile. “Were you peeking at me while I was swimming?”

Qiao Shao blushed. “Who, who was peeking!”

He Shen: “Oh, you weren’t peeking, you were out and out staring.”

Qiao Shao lowered his voice and said. “Don’t be c.o.c.ky. Be careful or Da Qiao will build you an exclusive swimming pool.”

He Shen even had the nerve to say. “Then you better be careful not to let Sir see you peeking at me while I swim.”

Qiao Shao said angrily, “No one peeks at you swimming!!!”

Fine, he had taken a little peek. But only because He Shen’s b.u.t.terfly stroke was really handsome … cough …

Later, East High had an indoor swimming pool built. The donor was called He Qiao. According to rumors, this man was He Shen’s father and he donated it to let his son exercise while he was studying.

Qiao Shao’s mouth twitched when he heard this. The eyes of the student body were sharp, this guess was actually spot on!

After all, isn’t Qiao Zongmin, He Shen’s “father”? The two were so in tune with one another. They often talked about matters and completely left him out of it!

The day’s diary entry went like this: Da Qiao, in his flamboyant and bold script, said, “h.e.l.lo, everyone. I am He Qiao.”

Qiao Shao criticized, “The name He Qiao sounds so bad!”

He Shen wrote neatly, as if he were writing an entry in a calligraphy compet.i.tion. He didn’t even have the decency to blush when blowing rainbow farts. “These two names are the best. They’re my favorite last names.”

Qiao Shao once again felt a bit pity. There really was no one left in the old He Family.

Ah no, now there was still He Qiao. Fine, quality over quant.i.ty. As they say, old ginger is hotter than new.

Qiao Shao took fifth place in the mid-term exam. Although he was still far from the G.o.d of learning, he had completely shaken off his reputation as school sc.u.m.

Song Yi mourned. “Loneliness haunts me. Why do I feel like I don’t fit in with you guys anymore!”

His seatmate comforted him. “Don’t worry. It isn’t just a feeling. You really don’t fit in. After all, the students to your front, back, even your seatmate, are all in the top ten.”

Song Yixu burst into tears, two rivers streaming out of his eyes.

As the weather turned colder an important occasion came ever closer.

He Shen’s birthday was already special enough but January 1st was also New Year’s Day.

Qiao Shao had prepared a gift for him early on. With the help of his granddad, he designed a pair of cufflink for He Shen. He used the rare diamond spinel tools from his granddad’s collection to craft a piece that was subdued but delicate; a very exquisite gift.

During the past six months, He Shen has been making regular visits to the Xie Family house. Qiao Shao didn’t know the specific details, but with Da Qiao looking after him, he felt relieved knowing that He Shen wouldn’t be bullied.

After paving the way for so long, it was finally time for He Shen to close the net.

Xie Yongyi’s condition was deteriorating by the day. With He Shen staying by his side, he finally signed his will. Once He Shen was an adult, he would take over all the family’s properties.

There was hardly any objection to this. Xie Qing was frightened and her only concern was that she get to keep her original shares. Xie Chengyu has been extremely happy during the past six months. He wished he could forever lead such a befuddled life. As for Zhuang Xinyi, it has been four months since she’s last seen Xie Chengyu.

Seeing that He Shen’s birthday was coming up, Xie Yongyi managed to maintain mental alertness. He said to He Shen, “My good boy, come home. Stop wasting time in that high school.”

He Shen smiled and said, “Wait until after my birthday.”

Xie Yongyi didn’t want to argue with him over these little things and agreed, “Okay! Once you’re an adult, you should also focus on handling the family business.”

He Shen gave a sound of a.s.sent and said, “Ah, yes. I want to invite my cla.s.smates to my birthday banquet.”

Xie Yongyi was surprised. “Your cla.s.smates …”

He Shen said warmly, “We were together for more than a year, I should also properly bid them goodbye.”

Xie Yongyi thought about it and had to agree. “Okay, you can arrange these things.”

The corner of He Shen’s lips hooked up.

Xie Yongyi was still holding his hand. “My good boy, the Xie Family will depend on you in the future. Grandfather can rest a.s.sured with you here. You are very capable …”

He Shen softly gave a sound of a.s.sent, not even the slightest bit of warmth in his eyes.

Qiao Shao was startled when he heard that He Shen would be inviting their cla.s.smates to visit the Xie Family house as a guest. “What are you up to!”

He Shen said justly and reasonably, “Announcing our marriage.”

Qiao Shao really wasn’t sure whether he was joking or not. “Speak human!”

He Shen looked at him and said, “Don’t tell me you plan to hide from them all your life?”

Qiao Shao was stunned, and then he understood. “You’re right.”

There wasn’t a lot of time left. After their third year of high school, he would probably be going abroad for schooling. He should properly say his goodbye’s to them.

Wei Jiayu, Chen Su, Song Yixu, Silly Husky Song’s seatmate, as well as Jie Kai all received the clothes He Shen had prepared for them. These five people, except for Wei Jiayu, stood stupefied in room 516.

Song Yixu was left gaping and speechless. “It’s so … grand?”

He Shen said warmly, “You don’t need to wear it.” But he had prepared it for them anyway.

Wei Jiayu immediately said, “We’ll wear them! What reason is there not to wear these clothes worth more than a hundred thousand yuan!”

As soon as he said this, the other were left even more shocked.

Jie Kai said, “How-how much did you say this was?”

Wei Jiayu said, “I’ve seen Xiao Ge wear this brand. All their clothes are worth at least six figures!”

Song Yixu almost dropped the gift box. “What if I ruin it?” He would never be able to pay it back.

He Shen said, “I’m giving it to you.”

The teenagers all gasped.

He Shen again said, “And there’s no need to feel like returning the favor. I really like the gifts you all gave me already.”

He was afraid they would be so overwhelmed by these that they would try to give him some other gift to try to compensate.

When it comes right down to it, these clothes were meaningless to them. He Shen prepared them only because he hoped that they would be more comfortable at the banquet.

When He Shen left, these teenagers were left to look at each other in blank dismay.

Wei Jiayu was, after all, still a rich second generation and had the proper way of looking at things. He said to them, “There’s no need to lose your heads. This is Shen Ge’s kindly regards.”

Jie Kai murmured: “He Shen’s family is so rich …” Was it really He Shen’s father who donated the swimming pool?

Song Yixu also murmured, “Is his dad Qiao Zongmin?”

His seatmate had also received quite the shock. “No, He Shen’s surname isn’t Qiao…”

After they went back to bed, Wei Jiayu saw that Chen Su was still in a daze.

“Four-eyed Chen,” Wei Jiayu called to him, “will you wear the clothes?”

Chen Su’s brows furrowed tightly. It wasn’t known what he was thinking.

Wei Jiayu thought he was once again distressed about the money. “Let it be. For Shen Ge, these clothes are what those clothes from the street stalls would be for you.”

Chen Su was still out of it.

Wei Jiayu patted him. “Aren’t you overreacting? Did those clothes scare you sh*tless?”

Chen Su said, deeply worried, “Does Qiao Shao know about He Shen’s financial situation?”

Wei Jiayu: “Ah?”

Chen Su said, “They’re both guys to begin with … Can a family like He Shen’s accept him and Qiao Shao?”

The author has something to say: Hahaha, Chen Su, you little angel, no need to be afraid.